A great date night

So Christmas is over. Family have come and gone. Presents have been dispersed. It's Saturday night and we are pooped! But this has been the greatest date night with my sweet husband that I had to post it. What did we do? Well...I didn't cook supper although my fridge was stocked full of ham and fixings and soup from a family get together. Instead we ate Wendy's hamburgers, got the kids in bed and then...we exercised to dancing with the stars! That's right! Nate and I did some latin dancing in our living room for almost an hour until our legs were wobbly and then we sat on the floor and....played the kids' playstation 2 Madagascar game. Now it's almost 11pm and I must take a shower and get ready for bed. But what a great night I had with Nate!
I'm on my way to a slim and trim dancing with the stars body - watch out! hee hee

Watch out or you'll poke your eye out...

That comment has never seemed so real to me then now! Ian was in a light saber accident with a friend (maybe foe at the time) and apparently lost b/c he walked away with a hurt eye and the other 5 year old seemed unscathed. (Sorry to make light of the situation sweet friends)! After the initial injury Nate and I took him to the ER in M'boro. We could see blood pooling in his eye. They were so fast in seeing him and quickly diagnosed it worse then I would have imagined. The nurse said the bleeding was one thing to deal with but worse then that she saw that his pupil was oblong and his vision was going in and out which meant he might have a detached retina. She ordered an ambulance and sent us to Vanderbilt. At this point I must confess I lost it. Again with Vanderbilt hospital? Can a family really have two children sent to their ER within 5 weeks? As soon as he got there the optometrist looked at his eye and saw that the pupil was back to the round shape and the blood was decreasing! We definitely call it a miracle. No detached retina...and no surgery...no blindness (all things we were warned about at M'boro). After many hours into the wee morning and three optometrist taking turns looking at Ian, who by the way was such a superstar (Elizabeth can I steal your Vandy title for a minute?) he never complained until about 2:30am when he was sound asleep and was woken up to put in yet more eye drops! So....where was I? He has a torn iris (the colored part of your eye) that has an 80% chance of healing but even if it doesn't heal it won't cause any damage to his eye. go figure??? But the kicker is...we have to keep this little spunky kid as still as possible (wait I mean his eyes as still as possible) for the next several days for the iris to try and heal. This is a critical point now to make sure his eye doesn't bleed more which could cause the retina to detach (worse case scenario). I don't know how many times we've said today "Ian keep your eyes still..." that's hilarious! I told the doctor "we'll just let him watch t.v. all day right?" And she looked very seriously at me and said "No he shouldn't do that and he shouldn't read books either. He needs to be very bored or else we could admit him to the hospital for you?" What???? But Nate and I have realized that your eyes do indeed move less watching a t.v. screen then they do watching your brother play with Lego's, people walking by, or Christmas presents under a tree! So there Mrs. Doctor!
We go back to Vandy tomorrow (Sunday) and maybe the next day too to check the bleeding and the tare. Long term??? He has a higher chance of his retina detaching if he has another trauma to his eye but really what can we do to prevent that? I praise God that he has walked away from a potential horrible accident! There is a sweet angel watching over our little ones I tell you! Parents- put away all light sabers before Christmas (we have at least 3 of them in our house) or at least say really loud when they get them out and start battleing "be careful or you might poke your eye out!"

The confessions of a bad mom...

Last full day before a two week run with both boys at home for the first time with Elizabeth! And what am I doing but keeping my oldest home because he threw up at 3am on my bathroom floor. I think I'm insane today...at first I'm of the opinion he can't go to school simply b/c he threw up in the last 24 hours; but then as the morning begins and he is feeling okay I start to rethink it. Only because he has a Christmas party this morning where he is very excited about getting a 'boy' present (why are we sending more toys to school for our children to exchange I don't understand) and he was to have cub scouts this afternoon and most importantly GO HOME WITH ELI CRAMER!!! So after a good three hours of observation and Eli's persuading me he thinks he is okay I rush to get Elizabeth ready, me suitable for the secretary (hee hee) and his lunch box packed. We get into the van, banana in eli's hand and coffee in mind and he says "I think my stomach hurts." WHAT???? I'm sitting in the driveway with garage door down and a decision to make. Instead of getting mad and losing my cool (what I might normally do) I laugh out loud and say "we are crazy aren't we Eli?" And pull the van back into the garage telling Eli to go lay down in bed. Elizabeth looked at me and gave a big smile when I plopped her back on the kitchen counter and said "home again so soon?"
I feel very bad that I even thought about sending him to school and knowing Katie (Eli Cr's mom) is reading this...even worse that I would think of sending my post throw up child to your house - how desperate am I? (background info....Nate just flew out to Washington D.C. for two days so I'm alone with everyone for the first time and for some reason a little nervous about it----get over it right?) SO...sorry to Eli for being a bad mom, sorry to Katie for almost being a bad friend and maybe getting your whole family sick, sorry to Elizabeth for totally disturbing your mobile crib time and oh yeah, sorry to Mrs. Cliche for almost sending a possibly infectious child to your classroom so he could get that toy that I didn't approve of to begin with.
I'll be okay don't ya'll worry! =)

Wow am I pittiful!

Sorry for all that self-pity I laid out there yesterday. That is embarrassing to read again.
Update on birthday Day: I learned I still weigh 20lbs over ideal pre-pregnancy weight; doctor gave me a two week 'pass' for still healing; I acted a fool all afternoon b/c I thought I wasn't getting a cake only to find out that I did indeed get two small chocolate cakes from my favorite bakery (because he didn't know which one I'd like best) ( now I can add another 5 lbs. to that weight total - but hey I think I was too skinny to begin with!); it was too rainy to go out and eat with all three kids so Nate bought me a Fat Mo's hamburger and the kids pizza; Elizabeth went to bed at 8:30 and slept until 4:45am! Oh and a sweet friend showed up at my door in the pouring rain only to have my son open the door in his whitey titties (because I thought it was Nate) while Elizabeth was screaming her head off and I was trying to corral the others to bed just to give me a funny book to cheer me up on my birthday! How awesome is that?
Life ain't that bad after all!

A more positive side of things...

It's my birthday today and I will now be positive...
1. I'm getting new carpet as an early Christmas/Birthday present from dear family (yeahhhhh)
2. I get to spend another day with Ian by myself (with Elizabeth)
3. I am more thankful for a dishwasher that works now!
4. I have had a ton of facebook friends wish me a happy birthday - that is cool!
5. I got some Merell shoes that I've been wanting from my sweet Dad!
6. My far away sweetest friend sent me a gift card to my favorite store (Hobby Lobby)
7. I have a very heathly baby girl!
8. I still have a package from my mom that I'm saving to open which makes it all the more fun!
9. There is a big tub of chicken salad from Kroger I get to have all to myself now & with crescents!
10. The day is not over and my husband may still surprise me with a cake!!!! hee hee hee

It's my birthday and I'll cry if I want to...cry if I want to...

cry if I want to...you would cry to if it happen to you! (I used to love that song)
This is my complaining post and later I'll post a thankful one so ignore the following if you want to...
1. I'm turning 33 today and I get way too excited about my birthday thanks to my parents who made a really big deal of making me feel special on December 9th every year!
2. I know my husband won't be getting me a cake (even though I asked if I should buy my own today) b/c he is so busy with work and because he NEVER remembers to get me one.
3. I had to tell my children this morning it was my birthday in a pitiful voice something like this, "Eli..did you know today is mommy's birthday" (how sad is that folks - Sarah get a grip)
4. Ian is home sick a second day with diharia (sp), which only happens right before we leave for school and then he is fine all day!
5. My hair looks like an Afro today and I haven't had time to heat it up (fix it)
6. My dishwasher is broken so I get the pleasure of washing all my dishes throughout the day.
7. I have my 6 week OB apt. this afternoon - yes folks I get to see just how fat I still am and my 'free/pass' card is up for the old love machine! (know what I mean ladies?) Sorry Dad if you read that!
8. My sister was supposed to visit me today but b/c I have a sick kid and she has a sick kid she is staying in Nashville. I even bought some chicken salad from Kroger (and cresants) for us to eat Whitney!
9. I really can't think of two more things to complain about - sorry you had to read that!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR SARAH HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

S.S.S.

Secret Sister Suppers - what is it? A new idea that a friend and I came up with on the phone this morning. Do you ever have a really bad day and you are telling a friend about it - well what if that friend showed up at your door in the afternoon with a meal (or maybe the next day) ready for you to serve your family. Would that not be the best gift ever! Let's start it ladies. Next time a friend of yours seems to be struggling with life why not bake two of what you are cooking or go by a restaurant and get take out and then drop it off at her house. You know she will reciprocate one day so it will be well worth your time and money! Plus how good will that make you feel? Maybe this will spread like crazy (but keep the name alive "Secret Sister Suppers")and then we could get on Oprah! Well...maybe not but at least we would all feel really good about ourselves, make better friendships, and save a family from eating mac-n-cheese and chicken nuggets one more night that week! Bonn Appetite!

How rich are you?

I just read this great article about when enough is enough. It's all about the struggle each of us faces with defining enough in our life. They break it down with two definitions: if we try to define enough in terms of what others have. And if we love money. "He who loves money will never have enough." Ecclesiastes 5:10. This is a great time of year to reflect on what is enough to you. How many Christmas presents do your kids need (how much is enough for them?) Do you base your Christmas list for family on how much you spend for each of them or what they would really enjoy? (How much money is enough to equal a good present given?) I have been struggling with this question as I'm sure most people do. I even told my sister this week I didn't think I had spent enough money on the kids for Christmas and was that bad? She set me straight (thanks Whitney) and then I read this article! Enough ----- I've had enough! I either compare what other people are spending or what they have or what I don't have or or or...but enough already! My goal is to be content with what we have this Christmas season, to enjoy each present given and gotten and to relish in the moment of why we celebrate Christmas. I heard a new friend say that her family donates an equal amount of money to others that they give to their own family. I love that! So I'm being more conscious about giving this year and letting my children know why we are doing it. So, next time you think you don't have much money as your neighbor - check out the website I posted and compare your wealth to the rest of the world. Puts things in perspective!

I'm thankful today for

For...random people who bring me supper & they aren't even close friends of mine but do it to be nice and helpful. (especially last night when I was holding a crying baby, my two boys were wrestling in the house very loudly and my husband was at a meeting at 6pm and wouldn't be home till around 8:00) -thank you Sheryl!
For...Elizabeth who held up her head today and looked around the living room as to say "so this is where I live." And who also slept in her crib last night and did really good!
For...the fact that I washed so many clothes the past two days I am taking a break today!
For...a great morning that started before 6am but every child in this house cooperated so I could take both boys to school and get home by 8am with only a little crying from Elizabeth in the van when we slowed down in line to drop Ian off second - THANK YOU NATE FOR MAKING ME COFFEE BEFORE YOU LEFT FOR YOUR MEETING AT 6:30 AND FOR FIXING THE BOYS BREAKFAST! God I love that man!

Now I understand...

What's the saying...it doesn't hurt till it hits home? I totally made that up I think but you get where I'm going with this?
I've been known to say in the past, "I don't understand what the big deal is with the 'economy' problems and people saying they don't have as much money these days and the news going on and on about how desperate times are for our country...blah blah blah" I would say in my udder ignorance. But now!!!!! Let me preface this by saying MY HUSBAND HAS NOT LOST HIS JOB. Now let me say...Nate comes home from a faculty senate meeting last night where all they talked about was these budget cuts the governor is enforcing on the colleges/universities in TN. in order to meet the budget this year. I'm talking millions of dollars of budget cuts just at MTSU alone and they already made cuts for this year but now they have to do it again. What does that mean? Well it means that professors are going to lose their jobs. They are even voting to allow the president Dr. McPhee the right to let go of tenured professors if needed.
Is my husband freaking out? No...at least not to my face. He truly believes that whatever happens God will guide us and take care of us - I'm holding strong to that verse (don't know it exactly) that goes "don't put your trust in man but in God alone." Where is that?
So his attitude is definitely helping me but still! I wanted to cry this morning just thinking about it. Going back to my stupid statement about the economy now...It seems very real to me this week. I heard on the radio where a big tire factory in Rutherford County is letting go of 150 employees 4 days before Christmas. It's everywhere -
At least for Nate's job - the budget cuts there are to help the state since they are so much in the deficit. Which leads me to yell out "why do we have to lose our jobs to 'bail' out the government in TN. when they didn't budget well enough all year? Or am I sadly mistaken concerning how we got in this predicament? (which can be the case!) It's just like the national government - if every family in America is responsible for budgeting their own income and making ends meet each month and paying their bills (and trying to stay out of credit crisis) then why can't our elected officials do the same for our country's budget? When it trickles down and so many people lose their job because of this problem it really makes you ask WHAT IS GOING ON????
Let me end by saying I really try to not talk about politics b/c I most often don't know what I'm talking about - so forgive me if I have said something stupid or that doesn't make sense (but this is my blog isn't it?)