Crappy Job

Another big night for my little man...it was poopy time on the potty. Now this should be a huge accomplishment in a little guy's life; yet I can't stop thinking about how disgusting it is to clean. At this point I am really glad that I didn't do cloth diapers. It is bad enough to dump out a little pitcher of poop and pee but to do it daily...pretty sure I wouldn't be able to handle it.

I also can't figure out at what point do you offer privacy? As he was grunting on the potty I felt strange sitting there in front of him. But he did want me to continue reading The Night Before Christmas. Hard line to draw and somewhat funny to think of.

Now after some success with the potty, I am still dreading the actual act of potty training. I don't know if I am not ready to accept the fact that my little boy is growing up, if I am not looking forward to the time that he fails (face it no kids get it the first time they where undies...even my perfect child :) ), or if I am just not looking forward to the messy clean up?

I guess it is another step on the "motherhood" trail...stay tuned, it may be a bumpy ride.

Beautiful Wedding Bells

Saturday was my 'little' cousin's wedding. It was kind of a bittersweet occasion with his dad being in the hospital and all. But there was good news on Friday when I arrived at the salon for my FABULOUS pedicure (I would highly recommend the AHA pedicure at ANIU Salon in Middleton), my cousin was on the phone when I got there with his sister and thier dad had woken up and talked that morning!! He didn't realize yet at that time that he would be missing the wedding but at least we had something to celebrate (on top of the wedding).

Rehersal was a little tough, my aunt came with my cousin and her family. She was a real trouper and a rock that I don't think I could have been. Of course as soon as I saw her I broke down, but that was the purpose of rehersal. I got to talk to her on the ride from rehersal to dinner, and I felt better about things and got a small glimps into what they had been living through in the last week. Judie, you truely are an inspiration for your actions this week.

I say my 'little' cousin because I have used to always think that until he started at UWP when I was still there. I am very close with my cousin's in that family, so I think of them more like sibblings then cousins. This is yet another occasion that he made me feel old...but I will forgive him, it was a wonderful time and I wish them all the happiness in the world.

Unfortunately it rained (and snowed) the day of the wedding (which moved the 'outdoor ceremony' inside) but it was still very beautiful! The wedding was held at the House on the Rock resort in Spring Green, and the hotel was wonderful! We had such a great time celebrating this new marriage. I may be a sap but I love weddings. I got to see friends from college I haven't seen in a long time and hang out with my family.

I thought I would post a few pictures. Enjoy!

Picture #1, #2, & #5 The New Mr. & Mrs.

Picture #3 Theta Tau Members

Picture #4 The Fam (Mom and Dad in Front, Derek, Tara, Rob, Steph, Heather & Josh-minus 7 grandkids)

Picture #6 Me and my two sister-in-laws (Tara and Steph)

Picture #7 The Mother of the Groom (my aunt) and my cousin Tracy

…And they lived happily ever after!!!

Congrats Toj and Jess!!!!

30 and Friday the Thirteenth

I turned 30 on Friday and due to the events that encaptured the weekend, it is no surprise that it was Friday the 13th. Having turned 13 on Friday the 13th I wasn't too worried or superstitious of the things that would happen to me on my 30th which was also on Friday the 13th, but I guess I should have been. I should have been warned when I cam down with the flu on Thursday, but I was feeling better by the time I woke up on Friday morning.

It was the first time I can remember when I didn't bring a birthday treat to work. I couldn't handle bringing treats when I didn't know if I would be able to eat them. But the day went well, my sister-in-law took me out for lunch, and my brother and his family came over for dinner. But when I got home I was talking with my sister-in-law that lives with us when the phone rang. It was my mother-in-law, Josh's grandma had passed away.

"Oh my God," was the only thing I could say. Josh's grandma had been living in a nursing home for some time and we have had many near misses with illnesses and various ailments, but it just didn't seem real. She had had 2/3rds of her lung removed due to Lung Cancer about 5 years ago, and was giving 6-12 months to live. So she obviously had been living on borrowed time. And she has had MANY bouts with pneumonia, and she had decided she no longer wanted to go to the hospital. If it was her time to go, she was fine with that, she wanted to stay at the home. It is strange to me that I was so shocked by the fact that she was gone, and I still am. She made it through so many times, I just assumed that this would be one of those times. But she is gone, and I am happy for her that it was on her terms, and I know she is in a better place. I am sure she is looking down on all of us now, at least when she has time between baking for Josh's grandpa and getting her new garden started :)

The next slap in the face came when we were eating dinner. My mom called to tell me my Uncle was in ICU with an infection which apparently had gone septic. His blood pressure was really low and they weren't sure of the prognosis. My uncle's son, my cousin is to get married this weekend, and they didn't know if he would be able to make it. As the weekend progressed he wasn't getting much better and the possibility of him not making the wedding was looking more like a probability. He is still in ICU and the Dr's think things are getting better but it is very slow going. My heart aches for him and the family. My aunt is torn between her son's wedding and her husband in the hospital. I am hoping and praying for the best and hope that there is good news before the wedding. Please keep them in your prayers.

So as you can see it was fitting that my 30th birthday was on Friday the 13th. I can also say that the evening ended on a good note. My aunt (my godmother) who I don't get to see much called later in the evening to wish me a happy birthday. It was a nice surprise and it really lifted my very droopy spirits :) So Thank You Joanne!

On another positive note, Hunter appears to be very excited about the potty. After going a couple times this weekend, he asked to go last night when we got back from McDonalds. My little boy is growing up right before my eyes! I can' t believe it!

Here's to hoping there is better news to come!!

WI FI - Gotta Love it!

As I sit here creating a post I have to say that the world has changed A LOT since I was a kid. When I was a kid we would probably be sitting around the living room watching T.V. my dad and I may be playing cribbage or kings in the corner. But in 2006, I am sitting on the couch updating my blog using wireless access (and yes it is mine I'm not stealing it!), my sister-in-law is blogging on the rocking chair next to me and my husband is sitting at our desk top also blogging - at least that is what he tells me he is doing. That makes three of us using the internet at the same exact time and NONE of us has to wait for the screen to refresh after 30 seconds! It sure is great but it does make me wonder what this does to the "family unit".

Granted for us this isn't a normal picture and our son is not quite 2 and is fast asleep in bed. But think about how common this is for families with teenagers. I would see this as a common occurrence...oh wait another piece of technology to the forefront. My sister-in-law's cell just rang and now she is texting someone too! So many means of communication yet are we truely communicating?

My sister-in-law (AKA traveling chica) has a really good post today (or yesterday) about emailing being the chickenshit way of communication. Then at the same time my cousin (AKA Tadych's) had a posting about the use of Ipods. Are all of these forms of "communication" making us become a society that can't communicate? I read a great article a while back called "A Nation of Wimps" (it is posted on the Tadych's link) which talked about how kids don't need to make a decision for themselves, they don't need to have any problem solving skills because they can, call, text or email mom and dad and ask what to do at any time. I just learned last weekend that you can now order pizza over the internet too. Another instance where you don't need any personal communication.

Is there a point when we are too connected? I would say yes. Do we all fall into that trap? Yes. For example I have a personal cell phone, a work cell phone and access to my network and email from work at home. I try hard to balance work and home all the time. Being a professional and being a mom is a hard balance. I can see how some "power hungry" people can easily get wrapped up in always being connected. Yet I have to say as a working mom there are also a lot of pluses to being able to connect at all times. When I do have extra work that has to be done, I can still pick up Hunter at normal times and then finish my work after he goes to bed, never disrupting his routine or our time together.

I guess the moral is that as long as there are checks and balances and you have good communication with your spouse (because I am a firm believer that your relationship is one of the most important things if not the most important thing for your children) being connected can be a very good thing. That and flexible schedules have changed the world for working moms in a very good way.

PS. as I was spell checking this post the funny thing is that this "technology" isn't up with the lingo because Blog, Blogging, Texting and Emailing all showed up as unknown words.

Potty Time!!!

It was a big night in our house!!! Hunter went potty on the potty for the first time!!!! YEAH!!! Now did he realize that he did it? Probably not...but he was sure excited when I told him. Right now Hunter is really into sitting on the potty because his big cousin Riley does. But typically sitting on the potty consists of me reading about 10 books. But you have to start somewhere. Last night while reading Clifford...again...he started moving the "splash guard" and looked down in the potty...which he doesn't typically do so I took a look...sure enough...there was potty in there!!! Good thing I got the Ernie Is Too Big For Diapers book...must have worked.

On a sad note that just reminded me once again how big my baby is getting :( But I am excited and like I tell new moms...sure my baby is getting big, but each stage is sooo much fun so it is all worth it!

Guess it is time to go buy some potty toys!!! I realize he may not go again for 6 months but it doesn't hurt to be prepared!!

Spam Sucks!!

If you tried to publish a comment on my blog recently you noticed that it changed. A week ago I started getting spam posted to my blog, so I changed it so you had to log in to publish a comment. Then I realized that you needed to have a Blogger acount to publish. I think I changed it now so you can post a comment, but I am the only one who can publish. I hope this works. I will keep an eye on it and change it again if needed!

Happy Thursday!!!

Sometimes Doctors Know What They Are Talking About

Well we are finally going to do it...after many doctor visits for Hunter while he was little and our nurse reminding us that it is a good idea to take the infant/child CPR refresher course, Josh and I are signing up and taking it. Why you ask? Well we had a little scare the other night, Hunter was crying so hard he stopped breathing. (I think there may have been a moment in there that I stopped breathing too). We saw the whole gammet from his lips turning blue and him possibly passing out. He was back to and crying by the time the ambulance came. But it sure makes you realize how fast things can change.

To make a long story short, and because I don't really want to rehash it again, we went to the hospital and he had lots of tests run, and we saw his doctor yesterday and apparently this is fairly common. Some kids do it as a tempertantrum, but I don't think that was what Hunter's was. He had been sick all weekend and really lathargic that day. I think he was probably a little dehydrated too. So when he started crying it was a reflex and he just kind of forgot what to do. All of his tests came back great and they don't think there is anything to be worried about...but that isn't going to make me stop kissing, hugging and checking on him while he sleeps. :)

By the time we left the ER he was up and running around, he was singing the alphabet (or the first three letters and IIIIIII). And he was really excited to go to 'Donalds! So I felt much better! But I have to say I thank my God every minute that nothing happened to him! And I pray that he never does it again! Once again I am amazed at how much I could love one little guy! As mothers told me before I had Hunter, you can't understand the immediate connection you have and how much you can love someone until you have your own child. And once again that was proven to me!

So if you have any little ones, be sure to give them an extra kiss good night, they are precious and they deserve it!