Sick and tired of being sick and tired...

That's what the Bubs is right about now.....and has been for a while. He's had a bronchial infection on and off for two months. With the military appointment system at the naval hospital, we weren't able to get one physician twice in a row and every doc thought the Bubs was sick with something different. No matter how insistent I was that we had heard a particular diagnosis before and that the treatment that we'd implemented obviously wasn't effective (otherwise we wouldn't have been there), they didn't listen. On top of that, our normal physician was and, I think still is, out of town for an extended vacation....

We finally managed to find a physician who listened to me and seemed to share my frustration with the sub-standard care we'd been subjected to. He upped the prescriptions to more powerful brands and put in a referral for the Bubs to see a pulminary specialist to see if there was any lung damage or other treatments that we could be taking advantage of.

So while we're waiting on the referral paperwork to go through, is the Bubs at school enjoying being with his classmates? No, ma'am. He's snuggled up with me on the couch, wrapped up nose to toe in his favorite Thomas the Tank Engine quilt that his Nana made him. We're home sick....again. He's only been to school two days this week and has missed too many days in the past couple of months. He missed Monday and Tuesday because he was weak, wheezing, and so overwhelmed with sinus drainage his throat was raw and the poor kid would eventually just throw it up. Ick.

Hubby is out of town and won't be home for a little while longer. He's very concerned for the Bubs and feeling, I'd imagine, helpless that he's not here to be a help and comfort. The Bubs misses him somethin' fierce and there is something special about being wrapped up in a Daddy's strong arms.

We're all feelin' kinda tense that things aren't moving along as quickly as we'd like (darned paperwork), but I can't let the Bubs know that. He's uncanny at picking up on my vibes and taking them on himself. So I'd like to ask a favor, my lovelies. Please say a prayer for the Bubs's recovery, that it would be complete and quick. You have my thanks in advance...

More to November than Election Day, Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving

Take a quick gander at my left sidebar......notice anything different? I've added a list of important and sometimes silly dates to remember in November (heh, I'm a poet and don't know it!).

Anyway, the spark of inspiration struck as I was flipping through a magazine and noticed a few whacky dates on one of the front pages like Button Day and National Egg Nog Day. I know you'll be shocked to know that I lost focus and started to wonder what other odd holidays were on the books. A quick Google search and I had me some results.

Some of the dates weren't that odd, but they caught my eye all the same. The Family Literacy Day and Parents as Teachers Day were among the first to catch my eye. Then I started cracking up when I saw that Use Your Common Sense Day and Election Day both fall on the same day! I mean, c'mon. That's funny right there. The Men Cook Dinner Day caught my eye, as well. I'm sooo going to try and celebrate that holiday....and calling for take out will not count!

Now, I have to remember to keep up with the monthly list but I had so much fun looking at this month's list that that may not be a prob....I think. Which days catch your eye?

Looking, asking, listening....

When I worked as a teacher's assistant (among other things) in an elementary school a few years ago, I quickly learned that you literally had to have eyes in the back of your head. Not only could you easily miss the big things in a classroom full of 25 to 30 kids who all come from different backgrounds and are at different levels educationally, the small details that sometimes matter the most, particularly to a child, can be overlooked. The usually laid back kid who comes in grumpy, the child who sleeps through parts of the class or even the child who eats so ravenously at lunch you can hear them down a noisy table.....sure, all of these circumstances have the potential to be aggravating or even a concern. I've worked with each of these kinds of children and I learned from a few wonderful educators to look beyond the aggravating behavior to the cause. How to do this complicated thing? Simple. Just ask.

Ask the gumpy child what's goin' on. Maybe a child on the bus or in the hallway on the way to class is being a bully to them.

Ask the sleepyhead what time he/she went to sleep the night before. Maybe there is a family crisis happening and the child isn't getting good rest.

Ask the noisy eater why they eat so ravenously. Maybe they don't get to eat when they get home.

With children you never quite know what their answers will be. I've heard every reason for unusual behavior from being abused in some way to a simple, "Mom didn't give me my favorite cereal this morning!".

Could I or the teacher I worked with fix every single problem that walked through our door? No. Could we make our students feel safe, cared for and challenged while they were with us? Most definitely. For some, the simple kindness of asking if they were okay was enough.

This all came back to me in a flash when, last week, I noticed a student come in to the school's Homework Haven program (before school) with both shoes untied. This is a habitual thing for the child and I wasn't very surprised. Since I was volunteering in the laptop station with Dad, he got to the student first to tie the loose shoelaces....the shoes, at second glance, were a full size too small. Well, no wonder the child didn't want to tie those shoes! Dad, who used to work in a shoe department, checked where the big toe was to make sure. Yep, he needed new shoes.

Dad's card in hand, I made a quick run to Wally World later that morning and got that youngun some shoes. When I returned to the class, I was a bit worried that the shoes wouldn't be what the child would like. I shouldn't have worried one bit! That sweetheart "ooohhed and aaahhhed" over those things like they were limited edition Nikes, y'all! And then he said something that made my breath hitch in my chest. "Thank you! My feet don't hurt anymore."

A few days later that student's mom wrote the dearest thank you note. She explained that she was temporarily out of work and knew that her child's feet hurt, "but what was I to do", she said. She offered to pay us back and was proud to say that she had just started a new job. She went on to thank us for taking care of her baby when she could not. It was all I could do not to lay all over the desk I was sitting at and weep. I quickly let Dad know about the note and after he read it, he told the child that, "Your momma doesn't need to pay me back. Why did we get those shoes for you? Because we love you."

Says it all, doesn't it?

Sometimes in this information inundated world I think it's easy to forget to just.....ask. Ask how someone's day has been, ask if life's going okay, just care enough to ask and listen.

As I was leaving the school that day, this song came on the KLOVE radio station. It perfectly suited the occasion. My little Everyday Occasion.



Brandon Heath - Give Me Your Eyes from Brandon Heath on Vimeo.

Christmas List Harrassment Season....No permits required.

I know it's only October, but at my house Christmas List Harrassment Season is in full swing! Bubs has been giving me not-so-gentle hints about what he wants for Christmas and his birthday (they're really close together). I keep finding different toy mailers around the house conveniently left open to the Thomas the Tank Engine section. The child is only five, y'all. Can you just imagine what it's gonna be like in the years to come? The kid is so smart, I fully expect to get a detailed list via email next year. His determination to find the perfect gifts is such that, even though he's under the weather with a fever this weekend, he's still been lying back on the couch perusing the different toy catalogues. I'm allowing myself to justify it by telling myself he's learning to read for informational purposes. *sigh* Whatever works, right?

With money things the way they are right now, I'm feelin' just a wee bit pressured to make everything happen for him this year. He's got his birthday party built up so much in his mind that I can't even hope to meet his expectations. One thing I'm sure of, however, is that if I'll just do something with his class at school I'll be set. He's been telling them about his birthday for months, if you can believe it! As far as him wanting more Thomas toys, the child has a big playroom filled to capacity with them. I'm not exaggerating, folks, he's loaded down with them. How did that happen, you ask? What can I say except that he has many loving releatives who know about his obsession with Thomas and gleefully feed his habit...his Dad and I included. So, the Bubs may not be getting any this year.....weeeeelllllll, maybe just one.

I've usually already got some of my shopping done by this time of year or have at least laid a little money by for everything. Not so, this year. Yep, I've been a distracted slacker this year. What with the Hubs constantly being out of the state (and the military charging him for the stay), the Bubs being sick so often, a possible cross-country move, my being pregnant and a freakin' partridge in a pear tree....well, there's a lot goin' on at my house.

So may the Christmas List making begin and the gifts all be 50% off....or more!

I really don't wanna....but I might hafta

So there I was, sitting at my kitchen table taking a break from dishes and laundry to catch a few scenes of a movie I had going on my laptop when --BAM! The thing that I've been avoiding thinking about slaps me silly across the face. That thing is The Move.

Yep, for those of you who are just stoppin' by and the ones that have, understandably forgotten, there's a very real possibility that we may be getting orders to move across the country. The Hubs is excited about the job change and the chance he'll be getting to learn new skills and I can't blame him. He gives up so much to support our family that I can't begrudge him the joy of doing something different and, possibly, fun.

I seem to have hit a bit of a wall about the whole thing, though. When Hubs brings the subject up, I freeze and go straight into anxiety mode. When he brings home distressing news, I'm usually able to put on a brave front, act like it's all okay and get on with things. But this is almost too much for me to handle these days. Then the guilt comes crashing in 'cause Hubs feels like the move is his fault, personally and I'm making him feel that way with all my grief. Oy. I feel slightly like a whiney child that hasn't gotten it's way...."I don't wanna move! No, no, no! It's too far!"

Hubby did tell me at one point that we may be able to stay in this area for a while longer, but he'd have to deploy in the spring (completely missing the birth of our second child) which means he'd, once again, be in harm's way. It's a no win situation that we're both feeling the pressure to somehow make work. I've learned after almost ten years of being married to a marine that getting one's hopes up about anything that might be good news from the Corps is a waste of time and energy. I'll just keep trying to pray....and not just cry my way through. God is able to keep us in this area, but the hard thing to comprehend is that, just maybe, this is what we're supposed to do. A quandery, ain't it?

Nature's splendor inspires a spiff-up...

This past Friday Dad posed the idea of all of us -he, Mom, Aunt D, me, and the Bubs (Hubby is away)- heading to the mountains for an overnight stay. I was all for it and delighted at the prospect of sharing some laughs and seeing some beautiful fall foliage. I wasn't disappointed on either count! We drove up after church, stayed overnight in a small motel, ate at some "mom and pop" joints, and took pictures galore along the Blue Ridge Parkway.....with Dad dilligently trying to ignore his vertigo at almost every overlook.

At almost every turn, fall's splendor abounded. Whether it was on the trees or on the doorsteps of the local homes, I was delighted with the warm colors and overall sense of homey-ness (homey as in a welcoming residence, not as in a dude). There were even pumpkin people on the downtown corners, left over from the weekend's Autumn Leaf Festival. I would have given money to know how those things were constructed, by the way! I don't think the locals would have taken kindly to a strange woman peeking under their pumpkin peoples' skirts...so to speak.

Looking around at all of that, it hit me that other than a couple pretty mums that Dad bought me, I haven't spread the cheer at our house.....or much of a cleaning rag, either, but that's coming, too. The Bubs has been asking about getting pumpkins for a couple weeks now and I kept forgetting about it or putting it off. He helped me pick out a couple today after school along with a couple of small, yellow mums to add to our porch. As soon as we got home, I quickly arranged our fall goodies and got the seal of approval from Bubs - "That looks good, Mom. I like the pumpkins we picked out." Trust me, for him to even notice anything like that near the end of the day is huge. If you're wondering what the pumpkins are sitting on, it's a couple of pots of gerber daisies that are a bit past their prime. I think the greenery underneath kinda makes the pumpkins look like they're still out in the pumpkin patch. Hmmm...now all I need is a little fall flag. I might be able to pick one up cheap at-- Oops, sorry! I went off on a tangent there for a moment.

I also wanted to spread the cheer in the house. I know that the Hubby particularly likes some of the pumpkin scented candles from Target so I grabbed a couple while I was running around today and set them out on some plates that I grabbed on the cheap from Ross's along with the tablecloth and runner on the right. What is it about getting pretties on the cheap that just puts an extra pep in my step? I'm not on a support group level or anything, I just get a little excited, okay?

Baby's first picture and due date news~

Yep, that's the first picture ever of our little Sweet Pea! Blurry though it may be, I've been showin' it off like it's a fancy portrait from a studio. On the left is a side view of the head and toward the right is its lil' tushy. The dotted line is where the doc had to do a crown to rump measurement to confirm my due date. The doc and her assisting med student got a kick out of trying to get this picture. Our Sweet Pea rolled, tumbled, hiccupped and practiced taekwondo on my bladder before finally settling down on its side and sucking its thumb. I could have layed there in all my inelegant dishabille and watched that child for another hour or two! I'm just sayin' is all.....

Anyway, the crown to rump measurement along with a physical exam revealed that I'm 4 weeks further along than we thought! My due date's been bumped up to early April instead of May. ~Note to self: Correct my baby ticker that's on my left sidebar.~ I think that puts me around 3 1/2 months along. I had been feeling the tiniest flutters, but I thought that was just wishful thinking.....or gas. From the way that child was movin' and groovin' yesterday, it's no wonder I had been feeling a tiny flutter every now and then!

To answer the question that I think most of you are yelling at your monitor....no, I didn't find out if it's a boy or a girl. However, I didn't notice any dangly boy bits. We'll just all have to wait and see what my next sonogram shows. The Hubs is downright certain that it's a girl because my pregnancy is so different from the Bubs's but won't be disappointed if it turns out to be another little boy. He just wants it to be healthy and I feel the same way.

Speaking of the Hubs, I was glad that he got to hear about the baby's antics and see the picture before he had to leave for another exercise. When I showed the picture to the Bubs, he didn't know how to react. I got a very quiet "uh-huh" and a sideways smile. *chuckles* In a way, he was almost embarrassed. He doesn't know what to think about the fact that the baby is in my tummy. That's okay, though. Maybe it will make more sense to him when my belly starts to get bigger. And won't that be fun? I can hear him right now, giggling over how big my tummy is! Oy.