Fab Friday (early) and Big News

First, the big news.  It might not be big to anyone else, but it is to us.  Nick sold his truck.  He's taking it to the guy today.  Suffice it to say, he's a little sad about it.  But it will help us to save up money for an SUV.  A van is out of the question now, since we will need something that is 4WD with a hitch.  I'm proud of Nick for letting his truck go so we can afford a bigger vehicle.  We took several pictures, so here are a few:

Here's what we're looking at:
http://www.saturn.com/outlook/
http://www.gmc.com/acadia/acadia/index.jsp

Fab Friday

I'm doing my Fab Friday early this week.  Nick and I are going to a conference tomorrow and Saturday in Louisville.  While ordinarily I would be looking forward to getting away, I'm extremely anxious about leaving Emma for the first time.  She's been sick this week, but seems to be doing better today.  I'm sure she'll be fine, but it's the longest I've been away from her, and I am freaking out!  So without further ado, here are 5 things that have made my week better:

1. Little Noses Saline Drops - LOVE these.  I don't like to give Emma medicine for a simple cold, so I use these several times a day.  They seem to really help her.  Of course, that means a nose that is constantly running, but that is much better than her being super congested. 

2.  Boogie Wipes - Sensing a theme yet?  Nick thought it was ridiculous to buy these when we could just use tissues or regular wipes, but I am hooked.  We used tissues the last time Emma was sick, and her nose got very dry.  She would tear up whenever we had to touch it.  So this week I've been alternating tissues with these wipes.  She doesn't mind and her nose has stayed moisturized.

3.  Funny Faces books - these are Emma's favorite books.  We bought her this one first, and she loved it so much I ordered 3 more.  They make funny noises on the final page, and have different textures to touch.  Plus, they're colorful and the words are funny for adults.  I am so happy to have books that Emma enjoys listening to, and that she can play with too.

4.  The Olympics - I'm usually a bigger fan of the Summer Olympics, but we've been watching these games almost daily.  I still don't get curling, but I know enough to know that the U.S. is not so good.  I am just grateful to have something to watch on tv during the day.

5.  March Madness - technically, this hasn't happened yet.  But it's so close, and I love it.  It's the best time of the year!  And it's the first year I will be at home, and not working, during the tournament.  Which means...basketball all day.  I can't wait.

Mother of All Children

I came across this quote today: 

“Becoming a mother makes you the mother of all children. From now on each wounded, abandoned, frightened child is yours. You live in the suffering mothers of every race and creed and weep with them. You long to comfort all who are desolate.”      Charlotte Gray


For me, this especially became true after the earthquake in Haiti.  It's heartbreaking to think of mothers who have lost children or are unable to feed and care for them, or children who have been orphaned.  I watched CNN when they showed the 15 day old whose mother had died.  How would he eat?  It's not they can just run to the nearest Walmart.  I want so desperately to help, but I feel so helpless.  It's one reason I feel called to adopt, but how can I ever bring just one child home?  I know I'll feel guilty to all the others who are left behind. 

Fab 5 Friday

In my quest to blog more regularly, I'm going to copy some things from other blogs.  Emily and Jenny have both done this.  One is Fab 5 Friday.  I'm probably cheating a little this week, since two of my favorite things are actually people.

1.  Emma
I don't think I have to explain this one.  This cute little girl fills my days with giggles and smiles, and the occasional crying and spitting up.  But it's THE best job I could ever ask for.  I am really loving this particular age. 

2.  Nick
My husband gets a little anxious about Valentine's Day (not that I'm at all hard to please, obviously).  This year he tried to have flowers delivered to me at home.  Unfortunately, I'm a little paranoid and don't open the door when I'm home alone with Emma.  So I was freaking out about a stranger banging on the door, emailing him to see what I should do.  My poor husband. 

 

3.  My iPhone

I know, I stole this one from Jenny, but I LOVE my iPhone.  I feel incomplete without it.  It's actually pretty pathetic.  I used to do things like read books.  Now I usually pass my free time by checking out FB, Twitter & Google Reader on the iPhone.  Plus, I can take pictures and even video to send to Nick at work throughout the week.

4.  Nikon D60

This is my first good digital camera.  The others were all point and shoot.  I love taking pictures (and I think I have an especially cute subject), so I have a goal this year of learning more about my camera and photography.

5.  Books!

I love to read, even if I end up wasting away most of my time on my iPhone.  I have lots and lots of new books waiting to be read.  Currently, I'm reading Adopted for Life, to prep for the Adopting for Life Conference next weekend.  Next on the list is So Long Insecurity by Beth Moore.  I just finished Shepherding a Child's Heart.

So there is my first ever Fab 5 post.  Hopefully I'll remember again next week.

5 O'Clock Club

I stumbled across this 5 O'Clock Club, which has the purpose of waking at 5:00am each morning to have quiet time / bible study.  I have been getting up around 6:00am, which is pretty early for me, and getting my reading and devotion time in.  Yesterday, Nick mentioned wanting to start getting up earlier so he can try to run on the treadmill before work.  So it looks like I may become a member of the 5 O'Clock Club.  5:00am seems insanely early, but I might be able to get a run (who am I kidding, I don't run...a walk) in myself.  All before Emma gets up.  This means that Nick and I will going to bed at approximately 8:00 - 9:00pm each night, but it's worth a try.  I have enjoyed at least spending a few minutes with Nick before he leaves for work.  I'll try to keep you updated on my progress...but we're not starting until next week.  Might as well enjoy a few more days of sleep!



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Monday

This weekend flew by. We made a grocery trip Friday night. I've started meal planning, usually for 2 weeks at a time. I'm having a hard time thinking of new meal ideas. I love to try new things, but usually I don't have much time to cook, so it needs to be quick and easy. Last night we had tacos, and I slipped some veggies in! Nick hates eating vegetables, so I'm trying to be creative. Also, I'm trying to use less red meat, which we seem to eat a lot of. I use ground turkey instead of beef, but I need some meet-less meals that he will actually like. I threatened to start using tofurkey, but who am I kidding? Yuck.

Nick and I were able to have a date night Saturday. I love hanging out with him, but honestly, I miss Emma. And we just went to the basketball game, which was fairly boring. I'm pretty disappointed in WKU this year...actually, that's an understatement. They're terrible. I'm hoping for some changes after the season is over, but not counting on it. Duke is ok this year, and South Carolina has been (inconsistently) good as well. I love watching South Carolina on tv. It's so bizarre seeing Coach Horn and the other assistants I know coach somewhere else.

I'm happy the Saints won the Super Bowl. I'm not a big Peyton Manning fan. I get tired of hearing about him all the time. I thought the Colts would run away with it, but was happy for New Orleans. The commercials weren't too impressive. I had been hearing so much about the Focus on the Family commercial, but for all their big talk, they kind of wimped out. It didn't even mention abortion. Which, in my opinion, was a good thing. Fortunately, no one reads my blog, so I won't be starting any controversy with the mostly conservative people I know. Sometimes I wonder how in the world I developed the political ideology that I did, seeing as how I live in this extremely conservative state and am a southern baptist. I read today about a bill our state is seeking to pass which would force women to have an ultrasound prior to an abortion. My first question is, who would pay for that? Me and you, I suppose. I had a hard enough time getting my insurance to cover medically necessary ultrasounds (don't even get me started on the obvious need for healthcare reform...as I type this, we have an insurance claim pending which they claim is for a "pre-existing condition" in order to get out of paying. But obviously there's nothing wrong with healthcare), and now we can apparently afford to provide one to women who don't want or need one. But don't worry...the woman won't be required to watch the ultrasound. I guess she can just cover her eyes. What's the intended outcome? To make a woman either feel even guiltier for the rest of her life for having an abortion, or to actually guilt her out of her decision. In which case, she will have a child she can't afford to provide for. Sure, she could always consider adoption...if she can afford it. I'd much rather pay higher taxes in order to provide maternity coverage to women who have chosen to give their unborn child up for adoption. Anyway, this just reinforces my desire to move out of this state, preferably to Hawaii.

I'm a terrible blogger. I don't think I'm suppose to share my political beliefs. Oh well. We're supposed to get some more snow tonight and tomorrow. I'm sick of the snow this winter. Usually we don't get any, and now this year, it's every week. I'm ready for spring. That's another great thing about Hawaii...the weather. It's always warm, rarely rains, and the weather is consistent, which would be great for my allergies. I cant wait until we're 59 1/2 and can start withdrawing from our Roth's. Hopefully we'll have some money in them by then.

Update

I've been pretty bad at updating lately. The past 2 weeks have been busy and stressful. Thankfully, Emma finally seems to be feeling better. Still no teeth, but the teething tablets seem to help some. I'll be so happy to see a tooth in that mouth. Emma's appetite has definitely returned. I've tried to get her back on her schedule, but she is so hungry. I don't know if she's just trying to catch up from being sick, if she's on a growth spurt, or if this is her new normal. Either way, she's picking up much of the weight she had lost. She lost almost 2 pounds while she was sick, which is a lot for a 17 pound baby. Fortunately, we've had 3 straight days without throwing up so far...hopefully that is behind us. Nick and I are very apprehensive about taking her back to the nursery at church, but we're not sure what other options we have, unless one of us stays home each week, which is no fun. Nick and I are going to a conference later this month called Adopting for Life. While I'm very excited, I'm very nervous about leaving Emma overnight. It will be nice to spend some time alone with Nick, but I'm pretty uneasy about her being away from us for so long. But it has to happen sometime, I suppose.

Emma couldn't have cared less about the snow. We took her out a couple of times, but since she can't stand yet there wasn't a lot she could do. We spent more time bundling her up than we did actually outside. I think we're ready for spring to get here so we can go outside and play more.

Emma has started saying dada a lot. Nick calls us every day at lunch and when he's leaving work, and it makes Emma so happy. She laughs every time the phone rings (sadly, because he's usually the only person who calls me). Yesterday she said dada when he called. I don't know if she meant to, but it's still cute. She doesn't have much interest in saying mama, but why should she when I'm always right there. The same with crawling...no desire to do it. Nick is much more anxious than I am to get her to crawl. He won't have to chase her around the house! She's pretty content to lay there and watch the dogs or play with her hands. Maybe she won't crawl at all, but she's also not interested in standing. At all. She's very happy to sit up. So she's definitely not going to be an early walker, which I will probably be grateful for once she does start walking.

So that's what has been going on in our house. We are sooo thankful to have our healthy, (mostly) happy baby back!