A New Place To Be Bad...

So I'm sitting at the traffic light near my office, where I've sat every weekday morning for the last almost ten years when I look to my right and realize that there is a Children's Place in the shopping center. The shopping center I've been driving past and shopping in for almost ten years and never realized this store was there. Well I remedied that today. "Santa" is going to be leaving some really cool stuff under the tree for Elizabeth this year.

Ours Is Not To Wonder Why...

Eric is my five year old nephew and Batman to my five month old daughter's Robin. This was her on Thanksgiving Day. But instead of wondering why she was upset or worrying about why his normally happy companion was screaming at him he hugged her then turned and said "She's having a rough day." I immediately felt a sense of relief - that was it she was having a rough day. So simple a five year old could see it.

It's Just Like That Sometimes....

"I couldn't get my head off the pillow." - Eric age 5
(His way of saying he was tired this morning)

In a Thankful Kind of Mood...

At the risk of sounding terribly sappy I want to talk about things I'm thankful for this year...

1) I'm thankful that Miss Elizabeth is part of our family and here to celebrate Thanksgiving with all of us this year. Just remember when she cries that you all think she's the most adorable thing ever :)

2) I'm thankful for all of the wonderful family members and friends in my life who lift me up and make me feel loved all year long. But I am especially thankful for everyone who prayed for us and kept us in their thoughts when Elizabeth was sick and needed help. I will be forever grateful for that.

3) I'm thankful that I have a job and health insurance so that Elizabeth could get the medical care she needed and so that we didn't have to pay $150,000 + for it.

4) I'm thankful for the nurses and the doctors at Grandview Hospital and C.H.O.P. who took care of our little miracle so she could be the healthy little girl she is today. Especially Dr. Liechty who operated twice with such precision that you'd never even know it.

5) I'm thankful that my Mom is a careful driver. Her sitting at the traffic light a second longer then normal (even though her light was green) probably saved her life and Kyle's when the A-hole on his cell phone blew threw the red light.

6) I'm thankful that my Mom and my Mother-in-Law are willing and able to care for Elizabeth everyday so Matt and I can keep working to further all of our causes.

7) I'm thankful that Matt was able to be home with me during Elizabeth's birth and for several months afterward. Her challenges wiped me out but having him to help and support me made all the difference.

I know there are probably a million other specific things I am thankful for but I will end here. I hope to have a more grateful attitude in the coming year - and figured this was a good place to start.

I wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday. Enjoy!

It Was A Good Run...

Wednesday Night a fifteen year run came to an end when Brooks & Dunn lost the CMA Vocal Duo of the year award to Sugarland. Back in 1992 Brooks & Dunn took the award from The Judds and never looked back.

When One Boyfriend Fails, Look to the Other...

Everyone knows my boyfriend is Dale Earnhardt Jr. Well, he's been having a bit of a lack luster year behind the wheel this year. Most weekends I don't watch the race because I don't want to invest three or four hours only to have him blow up or have the wheel break off his car with two laps to go.

So enter my other boyfriend, cowboy extraordinaire Justin McBride. He won the PBR Built Ford Tough Series World Championship on Sunday, November 4th.

I guess that's why I have two boyfriends. I'm hoping Jr's switch to Hendrick Motorsports will jump start things - here's hoping.

I Need the Baby Whisperer...

Don't you kick yourself when you realize you knew how to handle a situation but you didn't listen to your inner voice so it ends up causing more trouble then if you'd just listened to yourself in the first place?

I'm kicking myself today because I still don't seem to be very "in-tune" with my daughter. At the beginning of the week we began adjusting her morning schedule so my dear husband can deliver her to the babysitter, instead of the babysitter coming to get her. So she has to get up an hour and a half to two hours earlier. Our little dumpling doesn't sleep much during the day so to me I thought it was very important for her to get her 10 hours at night, which mean a 7:00pm bedtime.

Well yesterday she was asleep when she arrived home at 6:15pm and had been for an hour. We woke her up and fed her and then gave her a bath. It was 7:30 so I thought I'd better put her to bed but I ignored the voice in my head that said (she doesn't seem tired). So I took her upstairs and put her in her crib. She played on her own for over a half hour. Then I thought she might need more milk before falling asleep so I fed her a 4 oz bottle (2oz less then normal because it wasn't two hours between feedings yet). So after the bottle it was back into the crib where she played for another good while. Then around 915 she started screaming. Both dear husband and I tried to console her but she kept on screaming. I told dear husband to make another 4 oz bottle. She drank the 2 oz's missing from the first bottle and went to sleep.

So two hours and much unnecessary crying later, I realized I could have likely averted the whole issue by playing with her until she tired out, fed her the full 6oz bottle around 8:30 and off to bed, only one hour late instead of two.

I don't like trial and error but I guess I have to get used to it. Since it seems that's what caring for children is based on. *Sigh*