Summer Daze

What is wrong with me? How many times have I started to write a blog only to...not?
I'm just going to post this thing and then just start afresh.


I have been out of it for the last few weeks...lots of things to do. Planning a wedding is a pain in the butt; I don't know why anyone would want to do it for a career. The good news? I finally have a good chunk of the invitation pieces done so I can start putting them together and getting them out. Also, some potential have become definites....the pastor and the church are set...phew.

August cut her first two teeth! She was so good I didn't even know she had until I felt them. Though getting a picture of them is an entirely different story---maybe baby teeth are camera shy.

In our back yard we had two mammoth trees that were rotting out-it was a huge ordeal to get those suckers out of here....






















It took eight guys five straight hours to get the two trees down. They used the crane to get the limbs off and then moved them into the front yard where they cut them into smaller pieces and used the wood chipper to turn into mulch.



Now a quick recap of the last month and a half via pictures....



August's first time on grass...
















Augie mugging for the camera























My mom's boyfriend and I replaced the roof shingles over the laundry room




Boating with Daddy









Going to Baylie's first birthday party









Swimming for the first time EVER













Summer fun











Car shopping with Auntie Sarah










FATHER'S DAY!!!!!











PS I finished my invites!!!!!!!!!!!

How many times can I say I was hot?

So it's a while since I blogged, and life has progressed as it seems want to do. for the first time in months, I saw my friend Naomi. It was really nice seeing her again -- we went to the bookstore and ran a few errands before hanging out at home for a bit. I showed her some of the wedding stuff I'm working on ( i.e. physical manifestations of every possible frustration). We made plans to hang out again soon, and I look forward to it very much.

Today, I got together with my future sister-in-law Nadine. We went to the zoo. Today. I wore jeans. Today. Yes I keep repeating the word today -- it was freaking hot! What was it, 95° or so? For those of you know me, I do not do well in the heat. I only have two pairs of pants that fit me -- they are jeans. Needless to say, I was warm. In fact, when I saw myself in the mirror when we went to lunch, I much resembled the ((((((I was going to make a Ted Kennedy joke here....but maybe I'll forgo))))))

Anyway, time with Nadine is always enjoyed. I wish I'd taken pictures...bummer.

Onto the big one...I'm trying to plan our wedding. Tim and mine; I'm not marrying you...unless you is Tim, and then....okay. I've got most of the things I need to make the invitations, I put a deposit on the hall, I called a potential caterer, I emailed a potential pastor at the potential church and....I can't think of anything else with potential at the moment.

On the bright side, this happened the other night-listen carefully-it really sounds as if she's saying bye-bye....and Tim's face when she does is PRICELESS!

Life cycles

So much has happened in the last few weeks. Tim's gramma passed away. I unfortunately didn't know her for very long, but she was always very kind, generous, and loving every time I saw her. She meant the world to Tim, and it is an understatement to say that this is a very great loss. Tim has told me countless stories of spending summers and much loved family gatherings with his gramma... I pray for him and his family daily to find comfort and peace. His gramma was very loved, and many people came to give their final respects. Tim has found some peace knowing that his gramma and grandpa are together again.

Oh the green horror....and Lou Ferrigno is nowhere to be found

Seriously, when did my life start to be run by a six-month-old? This is ridiculous! Newsflash everybody, August doesn't like green beans. And when I say she doesn't like green beans, I mean she REALLY doesn't like green beans. She did this really cute delicate thing where, when I would put a spoonful in her mouth, she tasted just to make sure I was still torturing her, wail as loudly as she could, and spit it all back out. She would then proceed to cry until we did it all over again. I even warmed them up, that ungrateful little......... girl -- I use that term loosely. I would've taken pictures, but I feared for the safety of my camera. I did, however, photograph the casualty of the great green bean war of 2010.

If you are disturbed by graphic photos, I urge you to look away...

















































*****if you click on these pictures, they get bigger*******












On the bright side-she did this tonight...

Tempting the fates and a little ditty

Yesterday was Mother's Day, and it was fantastic :) In addition to the caricature that Tim had done for me, he got me a card from himself, and August got me a card as well! Tim helped her sign it, and it was the sweetest thing I've ever received. All these years I never realized how much a card can mean. It seems like such a simple gesture, but when I opened up that card and I saw this painstakingly scribbled little signature that Tim helped August write, I almost cried. I got to see my mother and my sister Sarah -- that, of course, is always good. I love my family more than anything, and will always put them first.

Unfortunately this past week, I have made the greatest mistakes one can make when one has a six-month-old. I have tempted the gods and they have smote me down -- I ignored the SCHEDULE! If you're a mother, you know what a disaster this is. I haven't gotten more than four hours of sleep a night since I committed this grievance. I didn't even think we had a schedule! But we did, oh boy, did we ever. You'd think that messing up the schedule wouldn't be that big of a deal; that it would only affect the baby, and she could just catch up on sleep throughout the day...no, life is FAR too cruel for that. That day after her shots was residue from the shots themselves, but now she's acting ALMOST the same way, and I am the perpetrator. I am the evil being that has brought this hell down upon us... well, Tim helped. From now on, I swear I will do my best to get us home at a decent hour, for the torture that awaits me if I don't, is not to my liking. The worst part about it isn't the sleep (or lack thereof), it's the change in August herself. My sweet little girl who's always so happy becomes a hellion of dangerous proportions -- she whines, she screams, she won't sleep, she asks me "why can't I have a cell phone mom? I'm a mature woman. I've got a new boyfriend -- he's 35, he did live with his mother until he was arrested now he's in jail, and he wants to become a family", then she marches around the house in the pair of shoes I told her not to buy because they are inappropriate while periodically screaming in a pitch that the highest soprano cannot hit.



Interesting sidenote, I have a voice recognition software program that I am running. August woke up and is being whiny again -- so I left it running, and let it record what it thinks August is saying.

E. will go a all know are well and will and we will no know him and will you we know you will will I know that our will is and you know you are a new will will will will will will will you do will will will you to you and you are in and you are a

I think she could be a songwriter in this day and age.

The black plague HAS ended, RIGHT? Is there a shot for that?

Yesterday, August had her six month checkup at her doctors. She's doing well, she's 17.7 pounds, and 26 1/2 inches long. She had to have her shots again this time, and she did really well. It almost seemed like she was trying not to cry; you could see her whole body jerk when the doctor gave her a shot, her eyes open wide in surprise, and finally a short burst of crying -- but she stopped after I picked her up and held her. She's had shots three times now since we left the hospital and she has never had a reaction thus far, so I wasn't too worried about. She was good all day.

We went over our friends Jon and Bianca's house to have dinner. They have a daughter named Bailey who's just under 11 months old. The babies seemed to really like each other, they played together, and even seem to talk to each other a little bit. It was really cute. Dinner was a little later than we were expecting so we ended up leaving fairly late, and Augie slept in the car.





When we got home we moved her over into her crib and I turned on the monitor, as we were trying to fall asleep we noticed a strange noise coming from her room, I turned the monitor up and August was wheezing. She seemed to be having a hard time breathing. we got rather worried, and called the baby line at Kent County Hospital. The nurse advised us to call the doctor and get his opinion. It was after midnight so I had to leave a message with his answering service. He called back fairly quickly and I could tell he'd been sleeping. He said if she's having a hard time breathing, take her to the emergency room. I got pretty nervous when he said that, and went to wake up the baby. I moved her a little bit, trying to wake her, and pulled off her bib which actually stopped her wheezing. I decided to just keep an eye on her for a few minutes, and see if she got any better. I stayed awake for quite a while listening to the monitor making sure she was okay. She woke up more last night, fed, and went to sleep a little more difficultly than usual.

When she woke up for the final time at eight o'clock this morning, she ate pretty well and she seemed to be in a jovial mood. I thought that was the end of it. However shortly after, she became whiny, she wouldn't eat, she wouldn't take her pacifier, she wouldn't take her naps, and cried a lot. This is not like her. I became very worried, and checks the lists of children's medicine that was recalled recently, only to find that the Tylenol we had has been recalled. Thank God, I have some target brand medicine. I tried to give it to August, who in the past, has always taken medicine very well and easily. She wouldn't stop crying, and spitting it back out. I kept trying to soothe her when all of a sudden, I moved her to a different position on my lap, and I saw that she had pooped out of her diaper severely. It was all over my jeans and when I went to change her, I noticed it came out the top, the side, and the back of her diaper. I cleaned her up, and tried to feed her again. While she wouldn't eat, she took her pacifier finally. After a few moments she finally fell asleep, and I put her in her crib. This is where we are now, and I surely hope things get better soon.

On the brighter side, for Mother's Day, Tim brought me to a local artist's house to get a caricature portrait of our family done. I've always been afraid to have my caricature done, because I know they emphasize the strongest features on your face. If most peoples foreheads were the size of the Smart car, mine would be the size of a stretch Hummer. The artist was very kind though, and it came out really cute. It was a fantastic idea for a Mother's Day present. The woman was really nice, and gave us many options to choose from. I suggest if you're looking for an interesting idea for a gift for someone, to look into her website and services.










http://www.margaretmowen.com/Artist.asp?ArtistID=1051&AKey=4PH6DEF8

We were also blessed this week, to have some friends of ours, Tim and Rhyanned Murray, give us TONS AND TONS of baby clothes that their daughter has grown out of. I believe we are at the point where we won't need to buy clothes for August for at least a year. This is coming at a good time, since we are on a one income household now.