Our Crazy Yet Normal Life

From the Mouths of a Certain Two Year Old...

2009-06-14T23:10:00.004-04:00

My daughter is turning out to be quite the comedian! She has grown so much over the last couple of weeks, it just blows my mind. For example:

The other night, I asked her to go put a toy in her room. Just as serious as she could be, she looked up at me and said "Mom, it's just not possible".

Julia was playing with her baby dolls a few nights ago, and she came up to me and said "Ugh, I am just so frustrated!"

Where is she coming up with this stuff? I don't know, but I love it! She is at such a fun age right now. She is enjoying playing some role reversal stuff, where I'm the baby and she's the mommy. I'll have to start crying and she comes over and says "Oh no baby, don't cry...I'm here". It melts my heart <3>

I love this kid!

Money For Nothing

2009-06-02T15:18:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I’m usually skeptical about these money for nothing sites. However, I’ve been a member on YouData.com for about three weeks now, and it’s for real. I learned about the website on heyitsfree.net (which I LOVE!!!!! He researches all these free samples and which ones are scams, etc…go check it out). All you have to do on YouData.com is set up your profile (yes, you have to have a cell phone b/c it will send you a confirmation text) and then start clicking on the ads. The companies pay you just to click on the ad. Every Friday YouData puts the funds I’ve made straight into my PayPal account. I know it doesn’t sound like much, but $2.00 - $3.00 a week for absolutely NO WORK is alright with me!!!! And you get referral cash =) You get a dollar for every person that signs up using your referral code, and then a penny for every ad they look at for the first 100. Seriuosly, go check it out…and give me a dollar! Ha!

http://www.youdata.com/join/beckyt80

MIA, Scariest Night of my Life, and Camping

2009-05-29T11:00:00.007-04:00

I have been missing in action for a while here. Not sure why the sudden lack in posting, the good Lord knows we’ve had a lot going on that needs to reported! I guess I’ve just been busy. Yeah, we’ll go with that excuse.
So on to the updates…
_______________________________________

I had the scariest night of my life last week. I’ve posted before about my horrible fear of ghosts – this one far surpasses that. Kinda lengthy, but here goes. Tuesday, May 19, the wonderful lady that keeps Julia called me around 2:00 saying Julia had woke up from her nap screaming in pain. I called the doctor and went to pick her up. When we got to the dr office, I learned that the only dr open was Dr Donna, who was originally Julia’s doctor. I had had her changed to a different doctor about a year and a half ago for several reasons. So Dr Donna Smith tells us that it is just gas, and sends us on our way with a list of things to buy at the drug store. David was out of town, so we were staying with my parents. Around 6:00, we noticed that Julia felt warm. I gave her some Tylenol, but it didn’t help. Julia was not herself at all. She would just lay there and didn’t say a word all evening. I called the dr back and they advised me to take her to the night clinic. Boy am I glad I did.
My exceptional mother, who I thank God for every day, went with me. While I was filling out the paper work, Julia started vomiting. We were sitting in the waiting room and she started jerking. Then, she clinched up her fist, gurgled, and passed out.

She stopped breathing.

Her little nose and lips were turning blue.

I went running through the back of the clinic to find someone to help us. My mom held it together for all of us, as I was a complete mess. I think Julia started breathing again on her own…I don’t really remember. But they were doing all kinds of things to her. She came to, but was still not “there”. She kept going in and out of consciousness. The doctor there called us an ambulance and sent us to the emergency room. Turns out she has a urinary tract infection, and had a seizure due to the spike in fever – so high and so fast. Poor thing had so many people poking her with IVs and blood samples. It was without a doubt the scariest thing I have ever been through. Julia is fine now, thank God. They put her on a pretty strong antibiotic, which she finishes today.

Ummmm, gas? Really? Let's add that one to another list of reasons that I WILL NEVER EVER ALLOW MY CHILD TO SEE DR. DONNA AGAIN.

__________________________________

On to happier news:
Last weekend we went camping with the parents. It’s kinda become a tradition of ours…we go to the lake and hang out all weekend any opportunity we have! Julia really enjoys it, and loves exploring the campgrounds. Here’s some pictures of our trip =)

Only Me...part 2

2009-04-22T22:17:00.002-04:00

So yeah, this morning was just like every other morning. I arrived at work around 8:00, parked in the garage and walked to the building. I got on the elevator with 4 other people, 2 of which were men, so of course they let us ladies on first. I was the first off the elevator when we got to the 4th floor. So I walk to my desk, sit down and work until around 9 when I go into my boss's office for a chat. We chat and then head out to the break room for coffee. As I'm walking out of the office, my boss (and best friend) says "ummmmmm, Becky" and I say "ummmmm, what?".
He then walks over to me and pulls not one, but two knee highs off my shirt. That's right...two knee highs in the perfect X formation had been stuck to the back of my shirt all morning. Now you KNOW those men I got on the elevator with saw it...as did everyone else I came in contact with before 9:00.

Sigh...only me

Easter Pictures

2009-04-17T21:01:00.005-04:00

Seems I forgot to do my Easter post. Oops! Easter Sunday was absolutely gorgeous! Julia woke up and discovered the Easter bunny had left her a basket, and she was very excited! We ate dangerous amounts of candy, and then got ready for church. Here's the lovely lady before heading out the door:
We had a lovely sermon at church, and then the teenagers hid eggs for the little kids to find. Julia had a great time, and my heart was warmed by what I saw in the playground: all of the bigger kids obviously found all the eggs before the little kids even got out there good. I could tell the little ones were upset, but then I noticed the older kids taking the eggs out of their baskets and placing them on the ground close to the little ones. I almost cried it was so sweet. I would have never expected them to do something like that. But Julia, and all the other 2 year olds were so happy and just had a blast after that. =)

Thanks a lot, Jules

2009-04-16T23:04:00.002-04:00

Sigh...are there no secrets any more? Can no one be trusted?

Last night, Julia woke up screaming at the top of her lungs. Usually, David sleeps (or pretends to) right through the middle of the night wake up calls, but for some reason he got up for this one. I heard him make his way into her room, and then as he got right to her crib, I heard her yell
"NO, I WANT MY REAL DAD"
Geez, thanks a lot Julia. You weren't supposed to say anything.
Hahahahaha I have laughed about that one all day.

Worst-Cousin-Ever Award

2009-04-03T23:22:00.002-04:00

And the award goes to...drum roll please...me!!! Ugh. So my little cousin (well, she's not really that little anymore, she's 24) and I have always been close. I mean, we don't hang out much, but we are close. Recently she got admitted into the hospital with the flu, and because she's diabetic, things were a lot worse for her. She ended up having to stay for 5 days. She got merca (is that right?) and it was just bad. Well, I stayed away. I didn't go see her because I was afraid of Julia catching the flu. If it had just been me, I would have been there, but I didn't want Julia to catch that. So I didn't go. Well, I learned tonight that she was very hurt that no one in my family came to see her until yesterday (the day she was discharged). I can't blame her, I would have been hurt too. She said that she didn't blame me for not coming, but I could just tell that she really didn't mean it. She even threw in there that her dad's family were there the day she got admited. And that is bad...cause they are worthless. I simply feel horrible. And I know her mom has got to be mad about it too, because she is very protective of her, and will get upset if anyone hurts her. And I worry so much about not having anybody mad at me. I can't stand the thought of them being upset with me. Ugh!

William Eschenbach

2009-03-18T20:56:00.003-04:00

You know, we take things for granted. We always assume there will be tomorrow to tell our children how much we love them and how proud we are to be their parents. I find myself doing that all the time. Well, not so much the telling Julia how much I love her part, but putting off doing stuff with her until tomorrow. She'll want to play or something at night and I'm so busy doing all my social stuff that I tell her "just a minute". Well what if there's not another minute.

Yesterday evening, the local news broke into my television program to report that a little boy in my city was missing. He was only 2 years old and it appears his older sister opened the gate while they were in the back yard playing and he took off. The mom had stepped inside to tend to the infant baby she had. And just like that, he was gone. His back yard backed up to 200 acres of woods, and the Tyger River was only a mile back. They put out a call for volunteers, and my heart was warmed by the number of people that showed up to help the little boy. Over 500 people was the last report I heard. Unfortunately, the emergency personnel only ended up letting 28 people help. They said that having too many people would hender their search efforts. My husband was one of the people that showed up, only to be turned away. But that's not really the point. The crews searched all night long and into this morning.

The local sheriff let us all know that they found little William this morning around 11:30 in the Tyger River. The dogs followed his tracks right up to the river edge. This child, this innocent, precious boy just jumped right in. They found an area not too far away where he had stopped to play. We were all watching the live feed on the internet at work. I just sat there and sobbed. I can't even begin to imagine what this mother is going through. And the little sister that opened the gate. I hope that she doesn't have to carry that guilt around with her as long as she lives. I'm not sure how old she is, so I don't know if this is something that she'll remember the details of. I hope not.

This story breaks my heart. William is the same age as Julia, so this really hit close to home. I can see her doing that...being so carefree, and just knowing that she's untouchable, and that someone will be there to catch her. I pray that God took William's soul before he had to suffer in that water.

So needless to say, I held Julia a little tighter tonight. I didn't get frustrated when she wanted to play while I was trying to Facebook. I held her a little longer when rocking her before bed. I love that little girl with all of my heart.

God bless William and his family.

What Did You Say??

2009-02-26T23:27:00.003-05:00

Two year old...it's like another language. Here are some of my favorites from my favorite 2 1/2 year old!!!

"Nanks!" = Thanks

"Bopple" = Apple

"Blanklet" = Blanket

"Excue Me" - Excuse Me

You know, I had a whole list of these prepared in my head. I guess that's what I get for thinking I could remember them!! So hopefully the rest will come back to me, and I'll gladly update :)

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-13T10:07:00.005-05:00

My hubby is quite the romantic one! Ok, so maybe only on the holidays, but he certainly does well when they roll around. Yesterday morning, I was paged down to the front desk for a delivery. And when I got there, these were waiting for me: The picture isn’t very good, but the roses and vase are absolutely beautiful!! And they sure are making my work area smell wonderful!

And here are the flowers from last Valentines Day, since I wasn’t blogging back then…

(pay no attention to the collage of an adorable baby behind them)

Hope your day was great and romantic!

25 Things About Me

2009-01-28T18:48:00.007-05:00

Well, I figured since I had already written this up for a thing going around on Facebook, I might as well go ahead and post it on here. I have been VERY blogger slack, and I do apologize. It just doesn't seem that too much has been going on! So here's a couple of things you might not know, or care to, but nonetheless...

1.My granddaddy is E.P. Todd (you know, as in E.P. Todd Elementary)

2.I have a Winnie the Pooh tattoo on my back

3.I want to get another, but I don’t know what/where.

4.My birthday falls on the date the Titanic sank, World War II started, and Abe Lincoln was shot. Nice.

5.My dream job is to work at a mattress testing site. I’d settle with being an English teacher.

6.I HATE feet. Ugh

7.I smoked for 10 years. February 8th will be my 4th year smoke-free.

8.I started my first job when I was 15. I worked hard at Burger King, and loved it.

9.I don’t know how to cook. I should have learned from my grandmother, but didn’t even try.

10.I am the mother of a two year old, and twin angels in Heaven who would be 3 next month.

11.I love to sleep (See number 5). When my sister keeps Julia overnight on Fridays, I usually sleep until 1 or 2:00 the next day.

12.I would give anything to move back to Boiling Springs. Anyone want to buy a house in Enoree??? No, really.

13.I have a freaky obsession with license plates. I memorize everyone in my family’s, and since they came out with the new SC ones, I’ve been obsessively watching for the next letter to come out. Anyone seen an E yet??? Nope, didn’t think so. LOL

14.I can’t carry a tune in a bucket. I love to sing, but like to have people around me, so I don’t do it. I also think that others should know when they can’t sing…like someone I sit very close to at work…hint hint…please.stop.singing.

15.I’m too sensitive.

16.I’ve been to Canada and Seattle, WA. Random, yes, but both far away

17.New York city is my favorite! I’ve been twice, and would go every year if I could afford it.

18.I want to get a crunchy ice machine in my house. I could eat crunchy ice (like at the Beacon) all day every day

19.I love reality TV: Survivor, American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, Biggest Looser, on and on and on

20.I am having a hard time thinking of things to say about myself. I’ve been working on this for 3 days.

21.I have my motorcycle license, and rode a Honda Shadow Aero 750 until I got pregnant and sold it.

22.I am TERRIFIED of ghosts. My honeymoon was horrible because we stayed at Number Two Meeting Street in Charleston and I cried the whole time because I was so scared. My husband just HAD to pick the oldest town to go to. He paid for it though.

23.I’m a huge fan of Harry Potter, Twilight, and Chicken Soup for the Soul.

24. I think Tivo is the best thing ever invented! I’m not sure how I survived before we got it.

25.I have loved reconnecting with some old friends on Facebook. I’m also a big fan of Myspace.

Walking In a Winter Wonderland....er, dusting

2009-01-20T20:42:00.002-05:00

Sigh. Gotta love the South. Everyone in the Upstate of SC was very excited last night (well, everyone except the Northerners who came down here to get away from the snow). The weatherman was telling us we'd wake up to snow...and a good bit of it. I prepped myself for snow cream. It's been so long since I'd had it, I wasn't sure I remembered how to make it, but man was I ready to try!! I had Julia's snow suit ready to go. I woke up this morning early and ran to the window, only to see what has come to be the normal once-per-year-snow for the South. Just a light dusting. I was so disappointed. Julia, however, saw it as she walked past the door and started jumping up and down yelling "Mommy, SNOW!!!" Poor thing...this light dusting is the only snow she's seen, and she was excited about it. I tried to tell her about the great snow of '88....you remember the one - out of school for 2 weeks...but you know, 2 year olds don't listen to stories about the good ol' days too much. Why can't we have snow like that anymore? That was the life! I remember having so much fun when I was little, as we'd get a pretty good snow every year. Can we say global warming?? Oh well, maybe next year.

My Little Princess

2009-01-06T17:05:00.003-05:00

Julia got a Cinderella dress-up kit from Santa, and she loves it!! Here she is, doing some modeling...Enjoy!

Oh wait! We have an unexpected model!!!

Can we say blackmail??????

Insomnia

2009-01-05T23:48:00.002-05:00

Yes, here it is 11:54 and I am blogging. Of course I know that I have to get up in 6 hours, but I just couldn't sleep. I've been lying in bed for over an hour with my mind just racing. I hate it! Here's what's been going through my mind: What's for lunch tomorrow? What will the weather be? How should I dress Julia? Did my ex-boyfriend from 8 years ago cheat on me? Should I send him an email on MySpace and ask him? Wonder if anybody has posted a blog since I checked 1 hour and 10 minutes ago. Did I put those clothes in the dryer?
See...racing, and about some really crazy stuff. All the while, my dear hubby lies there snoring. Ugh. Well, now Julia is crying, so that gives me an excuse to be up...

Wordless Wednesday (almost)

2008-12-31T16:24:00.004-05:00

Here's my little present on Christmas day!! So jolly :D

And here she is playing with her cousin's bf in the nursing home. The residents loved seeing her run up and down the halls.

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

Grrr

2008-12-21T20:38:00.004-05:00

Here's yet another one of my "people never cease to amaze me posts." Seems like I have a lot of these. My hubby's family was up from Myrtle Beach this weekend to do Christmas. They have a 8 year old son and a 4 year old daughter. We don't get to see them very often, so yes, it is very nice when they visit. Except EVERY single time we seem them, the daughter is sick. Usually it's just a cold, and I swallow my fear of Julia catching it and let them play. This time however, she had the horrible stomach bug that is going around. Throwing up and diahrea. I could not believe it when they showed up at my house and told me that she was running a fever and had been puking all night. Do they not realize how contagious that is, and that it's a heck of a lot worse on a kid with diapers???? I felt like I was being mean, because I kept saying over and over "Please get out of her face, you're sick." You would have thought she would have caught on after the 1000th time. Now please don't get me wrong, I do understand that kids get sick and that it's impossible to keep your child from catching stuff. I just think it would have been polite to not bring that around my two year old daughter who seems to catch everything. So guys, please say a little prayer for Julia tonight, pray that she doesn't get this one.

T is for Thursday

2008-12-18T20:47:00.004-05:00

Top Ten Thursday - Letter T

Game time!!!!
All you have to do is make a list of ten of your favorite things. But there is a little catch. Everything on the list has to start with a specific letter of the Alphabet. That letter is randomly assigned by the blogger who you are playing with!I got assigned the letter T from All These B's and Me

1. Tigger - I've always been a big fan of the whole gang on Winnie The Pooh. I'm pretty sure my obsession has grown as I've gotten older :)

2. Tiny Toes - Something about a baby's toes just makes me go crazy! So cute and little!! But they have to be baby toes, cause I hate feet once they get big. Seriously, they freak me out. Don't look at mine, and I won't look at yours. LOL (everybody's got something weird about them, right?)

3. Trees - Christmas trees that is!

4. Tivo - I am in love with Tivo. How in the world did we ever live before we had a machine that would record our shows for us while we are watching another show?? Don't want to watch commercials? Badupe badupe badupe (for those of you without Tivo (get it) that's the sound it makes when you fast forward!)

5. Twilight - Oh yeah, I am one of those Twilight freaks. If you haven't read the series, I HIGHLY recommend it. I'm pretty much in love with Edward. You can't help it after you read it...you'll be in love with him too. The only problem is, the books are geared towards teenagers, so there's no action, if you catch my drift ;)

6. Thai Taste - That's our local Thai restaurant. I get the same thing over and over (House Noodles with Beef) but it's so good!! Maybe one day I'll get brave and order something else.

7. Two year olds - I'm not biased or anything, but man I love me a two year old!!!!

8. The Children's Place - I love shopping for Julia's clothes there. They have such cute stuff, and if you're patient, you can catch some great sales!

9. Titanic - My all time favorite movie. I'm pretty sure I've seen it 100 times.

10. Thursdays! - You gotta love Thursdays...cause Friday is just a day away!!!

Let me know if you'd like to play along, I'll assign you a letter!

Amazing Giveaway!

2008-12-11T20:32:00.002-05:00

Go check out Jaci at Ravings of a Mad Housewife's A-M-A-Z-I-N-G Giveaway!!! She is hosting an amazing giveaway where 4 Fiestaware place settings are being given away! If you are the winner, you get to pick any color! It's all up to you! How awesome is that???? I'm so excited, and really hope I win! Go check it out.

My Miracle Baby

2008-12-10T18:10:00.003-05:00

During this festive season, we celebrate the birth of a miracle baby. Of course Jesus is the miracle baby, and this certainly isn't to take away from Him, but I have a miracle baby of my own. Here's Julia's story.
On Julia's birthday, 9/23/06, I made it very clear that I wanted her placed on my chest as soon as she was born. I had read that it was the best time to start bonding, and I could NOT wait to see her. So after my 4 hours of pushing, Julia finally arrived. I was completely exhausted after that, but I was anxiously awaiting them to pull her out and put her on my chest. Only, they didn't. I saw the doctor and the nurse exchange the "look" and they took her to the little table where they examine the babies as soon as they were born. It didn't really hit me that something was wrong, I just thought that maybe they had forgotten. I heard Julia crying, and thought everything was just fine. And thank God, it was. No one ever said anything to me about Julia's "problem". They never explained to me why they didn't grant my wish. Until the next day. Julia's pediatrician came into the room and told me what had happened. Apparently the second Julia was born, she had an aneursym in her umbilical cord. The SECOND she was born. Dr. Donna told me that had it happened one second before it did, she would have died instantly. I still get chills down my spine thinking about it. One second made the difference between life and death. Our doctor also told me that in all of the 20 years she had been a doctor, she had never seen that happen in a full-term baby.
So I thank God for that. I truly do think it's a miracle that the aneurysm didn't happen when she was still dependant on the cord. And I certainly can't imagine my life without Julia!!

Christmas Pictures

2008-12-09T19:12:00.007-05:00

Ahhh yes, December. The time of year when all cute little two year old girls put on their frilly cute Christmas dresses and head out to get their Christmas pictures taken. They laugh, they giggle, they dance around, and they get giddy just at the thought of seeing Santa and having their picture made with him. And then there's Julia:

I'm thinking at this point that she might quite possibly start cussing the photographer out at any moment.

This lovely picture shows off the adorableness (is that a word?) of her expensive dress. Please just overlook her overwhelming joy.

"Surely things get better when she sees Santa" you're all thinking. Here's the BEST one:

I'm seriously thinking that I may never get another good picture of Julia. Seems like after she turned 1 she decided that was it for her. No more smiling. No more cute little cheesy grins. UGH.

Caution! Slippery When Iced Over

2008-12-04T20:04:00.004-05:00

Hrmmm, that sign sure would have been helpful Tuesday morning. I was running late (as usual) on Tuesday. Julia and I were running all over this house like mad women. Me, trying to get out the door; Julia, just because that's what she does. I finally got coats on and out the door we went. Our front porch has six steps down to the ground. So apparently when it's 21 degrees outside, those steps freeze over. They are stone, so I couldn't see ice on them. I hit that first step and there I went. I don't remember it, but apparently I let go of Julia's hand and grabbed on to the rail on the way down. As I landed on the bottom, I heard Julia screaming. I just knew she had gotten hurt and frantically tried to find her. Turns out, she was still up at the top of the stairs and had not fallen at all. She was just crying "Mommy Mommy". I guess it scared her pretty bad. I dragged myself up the steps to hold her and tell her I was ok. After a few minutes, she said "Mommy, your shoes" over and over. Turns out she was pretty worried that my shoes were down on the ground instead of on my feet. Ok, that part is pretty funny...she's starting early with the whole women love shoes thing. I finally got up the nerve to put pressure on my leg to see if it was broken...I just knew it was. But nope! Thank God! I am pretty beat up and have a nasty place on my shin, but other than that, I am fine. I am so lucky...it could have been a lot worse than it was!!!
And oh yeah, I was late. Fortunately, my boss is pretty cool about stuff like that.

Speaking of best friends...he is starting the adopton process! I am so happy for him and can't wait to be an aunt!! I've never been one of those before :)

Rebel For A Cause

2008-12-02T21:29:00.003-05:00

MckMama is hosting a wonderful fund raiser event for an excellent cause, String of Pearls. This organization helps parents who have had to deal with the terrible pain of loosing a child. It's a wonderful cause, and if you donate on MckMama's page, you are entered to win a fabulous Canon Rebel Camera prize package. Go check out her page and the contest by clicking on my button to the left.

Sunday Night Sweetie!

2008-11-30T19:24:00.002-05:00

Here's miss Julia playing in her egg chair from Ikea. Her aunt Stacey loves that place and bought this for her there. Apparently it spins all the way around so that became a great game...getting in and closing the cover and having her aunt spin her around and around. Sponge Bob had a good time being spun around too.

Sleeping?? Shopping?? Relaxing With the Family?? And other random stuff.

2008-11-28T10:03:00.014-05:00

Nope. Here I sit at work. UGH. I'm pretty sure I work for one of the only corporate offices that is actually open today. We might as well not be, since 99% of the people who work here took the day off. Seriously, the other side of the 4th floor doesn't even have the lights on. But since someone has to send the wires out, and that is my job, here I am. I must say though, I am getting a lot of internet shopping, emails, and blogging done :) Here's Jenn (the only other girl on my floor) and me goofing off:

So I really hope none of my bosses read my blog :) If so, I'm in hot water.

Let's move on to Thanksgiving, shall we, since we have all day. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving day with your families! Mine was half way wonderful! My MIL came over and we did the whole turkey thing. It was delicious, and Julia promptly passed out afterwards for a 2 1/2 hour nap! I totally took advantage of that and took one myself. Of course we had the left overs for supper, and they were just as good. It was a great day! The reason I say half way wonderful is that my parents went out of town for a little vacation. I really missed not being with them. I understand why they did it, but I still don't have to like it!

I just remembered that I never put up Halloween picutres. Wow, I'm slack. So...here's my little pirate. Every time someone would open the door at their home, she would say "Aaaar Matey". It was too cute!!!

Ok, I think I'm done! Hope you all have a great day, whatever you might be doing!!

Friends Forever (or until she becomes a teenager)

2008-11-14T22:13:00.004-05:00

Seems I've had a bit of writer's block. I really wanted to get on here and blog, but just couldn't think of anything worthy. Yeah, still don't really have anything. My MIL had some cancer removed from her ankle, so she's been staying with us for the past week. It's nice having someone here when we get home from work, and Julia loves running in the house and seeing her...however, it's kinda tough not being in the "norm" routine. I feel like I have to entertain. I know I don't, and that she feels right at home, but still.

One sweet thing to mention - last night as I was putting Julia in her crib for night-night, she threw her arms around my neck and said "Mommy, you my best friend". Oh yeah, I melted. She could have asked me to buy her anything at that moment and it would have been hers :) Fortunately we were at home and not Wal-Mart. She sure is becoming vocal. I mean, she's always talked and stuff, but here lately her little conversations are just really coming together. I am loving every minute of it!!

Ok, so how wrong would it be of me to put up the Christmas tree this weekend? I am SO in the Christmas spirit, and I just can't wait! I feel like my mom might have a stroke if she finds out I do it before Thanksgiving :) Maybe she just doesn't need to know. I'll still be very thankfull for all of the blessings in my life at Thanksgiving, just with a Christmas tree. So, what do you think?

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Sigh, I Love This Kid

2008-11-09T20:49:00.003-05:00

Ok, I ain't gonna lie...I missed my kid. It's WONDERFUL to get away and be able to do and go as you please, but as I looked at the pictures on my digital camera and came across this one, I teared up just a little bit.

Anniversary Trip

2008-11-09T20:33:00.007-05:00

Welp, we're back! We ended up at Cherokee for a romantic weekend filled with shopping and gambling LOL. It really was nice. We stayed right across from Harrah's, but only went over there once. I got real mad after I put $20 in a machine and didn't win a darn thing...so we left. I understand addictions, trust me after 10 years of smoking and then having to quit, I understand addictions; but I don't see how people get addicted to gambling. It really made me mad. Anyway, we got up Saturday morning and went on a train ride from Bryson City to Natahala. The leaves were really beautiful. We had a great time, and there was plenty of sleep to be had!

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Doctor?

2008-11-06T14:04:00.004-05:00

Ok yeah, so apparently my daughter really, really, really hates doctors. I know this is pretty normal to be afraid of the doctor and shots, but it's a bit much with her. So today we had to go to the allergist. When Julia was 1, we found out that she was highly allergic to milk and eggs. So they said they wanted to test her again when she turned 2. So today was the day! I bribed my daughter with a sausage biscuit...man, she loves sausage biscuits. As soon as we got into the little room, I could see that lip start to quiver. I quickly said biscuit a million times and she stopped. Then, the little pin came out to draw on her back where they were to test her, and she lost it. I mean, laying on the floor screaming, fists pounding, snot flying. It was horrible. The poor little nurse...I don't think she'd ever seen such a fit. My shouting "biscuit biscuit biscuit" didn't phase her. Somehow we managed to prick her back with the little things, and the nurse ran out of there saying she'd be back in 15 minutes. Julia proceeded to throw her fit, and scream "OUTSIDE" She ran over to the door and started pounding on it. Lord have mercy. So after I convinced her to stop banging the door, she thought she'd just sit there and wait to be released.

So, as it turns out, Julia is still really allergic to eggs, but the milk allergy has disappeared!! Woohoo! So after we leave, I call David to tell him the news and he asks me "So, did she get a biscuit?". Uhhhhhhh no.

Oh, Just a Tuesday Night Rant

2008-11-04T19:17:00.002-05:00

You know, I just don't understand some people. (I'm pretty sure that's how I started off my blog about the woman at Chick-fil-a) Like tonight, for example.
Ok, history: I dated this guy pretty seriously back in high school. Engagement ring, the whole bit. Like most things when you're a teenager, things changed. We had some big problems and ended up breaking up while I was in college. After a while, the hard feelings subsided and I was able to talk to him like a friend. We're cool - I'll see his family at Wal-Mart and they wave, things like that. I haven't seen him in about 6 years. Keep in mind all of this dating was 10 years ago.
So tonight, I had to go to a wake for the father of one of our mutual friends. I knew it might be odd seeing all of these people from my past, but it was the right thing to do. Turns out I didn't see anyone except the mutal friend and his wife, who is very nice to me. Until I started to leave. I was talking to the wife when up walks my ex's current wife. She gives me the biggest go-to-hell look I have ever seen. I mean really, if looks could kill, y'all would be coming to the wake for me. I couldn't believe it! I had never even met her before! The friendly wife introduced me to her, and she wouldn't even speak. I know my jaw had to drop to the floor as she turned on her heel and walked away after the introduction. If she is threatened by a girl from 10 years ago, then she's obviously got some major issues.

Moving right along to my next rant: My husband. Ok babe, if you ever read this, I love you and I just had to get it out. This morning, the lines to vote were way too long to stand in with a two year old, so I called up David and told him that I would just drop Julia off with him at home after I picked her up from my mom's and go vote. So as I leave my mom's tonight, I called him to make sure he was home. "Oh but honey, some guys from work want me to go eat with them." And so I said "Um, don't you remember saying you'd be home tonight so I could go vote, since you got to go this morning while I took Julia to Nannie's?". "Yeah, but...". Ugh. So I'm a bit ill about that. I know my one vote won't make or break it, but still.

Ok, I'm done. Hope your days and voting experiences were pleasant!

Taking a Trip!

2008-11-04T12:34:00.002-05:00

I'm so excited! David has just announced that we are going on a trip this weekend for our anniversary...and it's a surprise! I love surprises :) Arrangements have already been made for the munchkin to stay with her aunt and then her grandma. He's so good to me! I'll let y'all know where we went on Sunday night when we get back. Now normally, I'd worry the whole night if Julia spends the night with someone else, just because I want her to sleep good and not keep the keeper awake. But I am vowing to myself that I will NOT worry about that this weekend...I'll just enjoy myself!! I deserve this!
Woohoo!!! OK, I'm going to calm down now. Just wanted to share!!

Happy Anniversary!

2008-11-02T12:19:00.004-05:00

Today is our 6 year wedding anniversary! And what better way to celebrate than to stay at home all day with a miserably-sick two year old! David is blaming it on running around in the cold Halloween night. Whatever the cause, here we sit!

Here we were six years ago...my how things change in a few years!!

Where we met: David and I both worked at the corporate office at Denny's. I had the hots for him since day one...he took a little bit longer to come around. Finally after excessive flirting for over a year, he finally asked me out :)

Our first date: David picked me up at my parent's house. Late. Of course. I don't think he's been on time for anything. Anyway, we went to eat at Red Lobster and then went to see "What Women Want"

Our engagement: On a very chilly rainy day in March, 2002, David said he wanted to take a drive. We went up to Ceasar's Head and drove around until it stopped raining. Yeah, I thought he was crazy. We walked up to the very top of the mountain where he dropped to one knee and popped the question! It was very romantic. He said he just couldn't wait any longer, so that's why we had to go out on the rainy day.

Our wedding: David and I were married on November 2, 2002 at Saint Christopher's Episcopal Church. It was beautiful! We then went to Charleston for a week for our honeymoon.

2 houses and one kid later, here we are!! I love you David!!!

Blog - Halloween Edition

2008-10-31T10:13:00.002-04:00

Happy Halloween everybody (or all four of you :) Today's post will be rather creepy, and it scares me to even admit it enough to type it out. So yeah, my house is haunted. I'm convinced. David says I'm being crazy and blames everything on batteries dying...but ummmm, nope. So here we go. Here's the list of things that have been happening in my house since Julia was born. And yes, 4 out 5 of happened in her room.
1. The first instance: Julia's mobile turned on by itself. Twice.
2. One night at 2:00 am Julia woke up, wide awake, so I went in her room to rock her back to sleep. She kept staring in her closet which was kinda freaking me out, but then out of nowhere, she started waving at the closet.
3. Julia has a Fisher Price house, well actually it's just the door frame, that is very interactive. One night at 2:45 am I hear the noise that the door makes when it opens. It says "Creeeeeeek, Good Morning!". So yeah, I freaked. I screamed for David and he said, of course, "The batteries are dying. That makes things do funny things." Please note that to date, we have still not had to change the batteries in that house, and that was about 5 months ago. Then again that same night at 3:45 am, it did the exact same thing. "Creeeeeeek, Good morning!"
4. I heard a noise the other night while David was taking a shower. I thought that maybe it was him closing the shower curtin, but the next morning when we woke up that the blinds in our doors had been shut. They were open when we went to bed. The noice I heard was the blinds closing. Oh yeah, I totally just freaked myself out writing that. David told me that he closed them, but I know him well enough to know that he will lie to me to keep me from getting scared.
5. I was sitting in the rocking chair watching David and Julia playing on the floor. All of a sudden, I felt a breeze go across my face. I asked David if he felt anything and he said no. All of the windows were closed and the heat was not on.

Sooooo, that being said, anybody want to buy a beautiful house in Enoree, SC????? Like, now???

Not Me Monday

2008-10-27T21:01:00.005-04:00

I did not have PMS so bad last week that I almost quit my job three times because my boss was being mean to me. I also did not cry everytime he told me to do something. Whew! Being off birth control certainly does not have any bad side effects on me!!!

I did not talk my husband into taking me to my favorite, expensive restaurant because I was having such a horrible week. We are saving for Christmas, so that would have been irresponsible.

I did not catch Julia drinking juice out of a cup that had been sitting on the table for an unmentionable number of days. YUCK!

I did not go to bed at 9:00 Saturday night, and then certainly did not take a two hour nap the next morning when Julia took hers!

I did not elbow my husband in the side for waking me up snoring the other night.

What did you not do?

The Nerve!!

2008-10-24T21:48:00.005-04:00

You know, some people never cease to amaze me. Just when you think you've heard it all...here's one for ya! Apparently today is the day for idiots at drive thrus (see Amanda's post on lunch). So after the family and I grabbed a bite for supper, I decided I would pull thru the Chick-fil-a drive thru for a yummy cookies n creme milkshake. Those are rare since I usually have Julia and she throws small fits in the back if she doesn't have what I'm having. But tonight David had her in his Jeep, so I took advantage. When I pulled in, there were 4 cars in front of me. Not bad! However, after I placed my order and pulled up, the line STOPPED. I'm talking didn't move for 20 minutes. Seriously. We were all just turning our cars off and getting out and talking to each other. I felt like I was in a traffic jam on I-85. If any of you are familiar with the Chick-fil-a at Westgate, you'll know that there's a big curb on the outside so that you can't pull off after you've placed your order. So there we all sat. There were some horns blowing, shouting "did they have to go kill the chickens?" things of that nature. I just laughed. So after about 30 minutes, I see the manager come out and start talking to each of the cars that were "trapped" in line. When he finally gets to me, he says that a lady had ordered some chicken nuggets. Except she wanted her chicken nuggets extra crispy. So they had to cook them for her. They asked her to please pull up and park, but she refused. They asked her nicely several times and explained that all of the people behind her would like to get their food, but nope. She wouldn't budge. Can you believe that??? Manager said that they had called the cops to come tell her to move. So we sat there and waited for 35 minutes so that **BEEP** could have crispy chicken nuggets. Believe me, if I had known that, I would have been laying on the horn too. Right after he left my car, she got her **BEEP** nuggets and left. Everyone in line behind her got their food for free, and trust me, there were a lot of us behind her that were trapped there. I felt bad for Chick-fil-a, because it wasn't their fault but they still ended up having to pay for it.
What is wrong with people these days? She wouldn't have had to wait any longer if she had just pulled up and parked, but noooooooo. I would have felt awful if I had known that I was making all of those people wait that long.

But at least the shake was good.

Mom and Dad VS The Toenails

2008-10-22T09:49:00.004-04:00

Mom and Dad - 0
Toenails - 1

Wow. Who know cutting toenails could be such a horrible, terrifying thing? For some reason, Julia has a complete meltdown when the toenail clippers come out. For about a year, I have been pretending we didn't have this problem and just let them break and fall off (I'm a horrible mother, but you just don't understand how bad it is). But last night, David and I decided that it was time to face the toenail wrath and just make her deal with it. WRONG. First we tried the sneak approach, but she's much too aware for that. The freaking out started immediately. She started crying and screaming at the top of her lungs (fortunately the neighbors are too far away to hear, or there might have been cops involved). Then we tried letting her clip her baby's toenails so she could see that it didn't hurt...nope, not interested. Finally, I held her down and Daddy attempted to cut the toenails. Apparently my two year is stronger than me and kept kicking out of my death grip. We tried the bribe approach, the threaten approach, the beg approach, everything we could think of. After about an hour of torture, both on us and Julia, we gave up. I think maybe one of her toenails actually got clipped.

So, does anybody have any suggestions????? PLEASE?????

Not Me Monday

2008-10-20T09:01:00.004-04:00

It's that time again! Time to tell the things I absolutely did not do last week. We all know, but Not Me Mondays started over at MckMama’s blog – My Charming Kids, and is a lot of fun. So here we go...

I did not sleep until 3:00 Saturday while my daughter was at her aunt's. I did not tell my husband that if he woke me up for anything I would hurt him. It did not feel wonderful to act like a teenager again and sleep all day.

I did not sneak into my 10 year high school reunion after the people taking the money had gone home at 9:30. That would have been so wrong. None of my friends did that either. $120 is a very fair price for some wonderful food, so I was more than happy to pay it. (please note that I really didn't eat any of the food)

I did not dance at said reunion like I was back in high school. I have gained waaaaay too much weight to be dancing to "Baby Got Back", even though that would have been very appropriate.

I did not order sweet tea at the Lake Bowen Fish Camp last night. I have been drinking unsweet tea for years, and that would be tempting me to get off my "diet".

I did not spend hours yesterday looking at Cake Wrecks blog while my mother chased my child around the yard.

So, what did you not do?

Thank God for Sisters

2008-10-18T16:58:00.002-04:00

I just need to say that my sister is the BEST. She has no children of her own, and likes to get the urge out of her system by borrowing mine. So Stacey picked up Julia yesterday so that we could go to the wonderful football game (see below) and said she would return her tonight at the parent's. While I certainly did miss Julia, I'm not going to lie - it was nice to do whatever. I'm sure this will be on my Not Me Monday blog, but I slept until 3:00 today! 3:00!!! It was wonderful! I woke up at 12, had a bowl of cereal and went back to bed. I'm sure I'll pay for it tonight, but it sure was wonderful. I felt like a teenager again! (if only I could find my teenager body again).
So, thank you Stacey for a wonderful night, and anytime you need to borrow her again, that will be fine. I do what I can to help other people out - you know, I'm sweet like that :)

Great Night for Football

2008-10-17T21:47:00.004-04:00

Ahhh, there's nothing better than going to a high school football game in the rain. The busiest game of the season, no doubt. All of the umbrellas pouring a steady stream of freezing rain down your back...not being able to see...the band not playing...yup, nothing better. My 10 year reunion is this weekend and we were all going to the game tonight, the reunion tomorrow night and something in the park on Sunday. I decided that $120 was a bit much to pay for a supper, so thought we'd just go tonight to see everybody. Unfortunately, all I got to see of them was the back of their umbrellas. It was horrible! I just hope my Boiling Springs Bulldogs won! We left half way through the first quarter :) I'm a wuss.
Hope you're Friday nights were much more pleasant.

Update: we lost to Dorman 14 - 0 :(

My Twins

2008-10-16T22:31:00.003-04:00

Since October is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awarness month, and this is the week that it happened to me, I thought I should go ahead and get this out of the way. It all started in August 2005 when David and I found out we were going to be first time parents. We were filled with joy! At my first ultrasound, the technician made notes of two heart beats. The doctor confirmed it. We were going to have twins. I was scared to death and super-duper excited all at the same time. The thought of having twins was absolutely wonderful and certainly grew on us. I found myself wanting to buy matching outfits before we even knew the sex. Thursday, October 10, I bought their first outfits. White, with Pooh on them. That Friday night, I started spotting. I called my doctor right away and he said that it could just be some lining bleeding and that it was normal. But to ease my mind, he said to come to Labor and Delivery the next morning and he would have an ultrasound done. I continued to spot, but it wasn't bad, and even quit before Saturday morning. David and I headed over to the hospital and met Dr. Giep there. I just had a feeling things were bad. And I was right. After having three different people come in and check, they confirmed that my babies had passed. I remember the look on the doctor's face when he told me. I remember exactly where my mom and David were standing in the room. Then, I remember nothing. I know everyone was hugging me and we were all crying, but I don't remember anything the doctor said after that. I was in shock. We went home and I could do nothing except lay in bed and cry. They scheduled my appointment to have the remains removed that next Friday. That whole week I kept thinking that maybe they were wrong. I made the doctor do another ultrasound before I would allow them to do the surgery. Unfortunately the result was still the same.

I'll never forget that room. When we were pregnant with Julia and on the hospital tour, that was the room they took us in to tell us where to go. I broke down and just had to stand there with my eyes shut. When we went in on the day Julia was born, that was the room I had to go in before I was admitted to my own room. Like I couldn't get away from it.

I read all of these blogs about moms who loose their babies after they are born and I can't even imagine. The pain I felt was and still is horrible, but I didn't get to hold them and look into their eyes. I don't know how they do it. I don't really talk about my loss anymore because I feel like people will think I'm silly. It was three years ago and they were only 9 weeks old. I know that isn't the case, that my feelings are valid, but I still think people feel that way about it. I wonder what sex they were. If they were identical. If they would look like Julia does now.

I saw this beautiful poem on Teacher Turned Mommy's blog, and hope that she doesn't mind that I borrowed it.

It's Potty Time!

2008-10-16T18:53:00.002-04:00

Woohoo! Breaking news! About five minutes ago, Julia came up to me and said "Mommy, I wanna potty." My jaw dropped and I froze! Potty? What? Where did she learn that? I bought her a potty a while back, but she never really showed any interest in it. There were a few times when she'd sit on it, but I think it was just because she thought it was a seat. But tonight, there were no false alarms. I ran her in there, dropped her pants and took off her diaper, and sure enough, she pee-peed! I'm so excited! Apparently the lady that keeps her has been working with her about going to the potty. Needless to say, there was a lot of jumping up and down and hugs and kisses! Oh, and Lightening McQueen stickers. Lots of Lightening McQueen stickers.

Guess it's time to buy some Pull-ups???

Only Me...

2008-10-16T14:10:00.003-04:00

In honor of my just doing a huge presentation with my zipper down, I figured I'd write a little bit about the horribly embarassing things I've done at work. Why don't we just go ahead and start with said presentation. Every other month, our Divisional Directors of Operations come to the corporate office and we go down and tell them about our department and what not. So today was that day...everything went great, I got through it without breaking into a sweat, only to get on the elevator to come upstairs and realize that my zipper was down the whole time. Wow. I'm really hoping nobody noticed. I'm sure I didn't get that lucky.

And then there was the time our representatives from Chase Bank were down from OH. We were sitting in a conference room all enjoying our breakfast and coffee over discussion. Somehow, my coffee decided it wanted to try to go into my lungs, which doesn't really work out. So you can only guess what happened next - that's right - I spewed coffee across the conference table. I had no time to turn away or anything...it just happened. All over their papers. After the initial breakout of "oh my gosh are you oks" the laughter started. I still get harrased about that one.

And how about when the same people from Chase were down and we went out to eat at the Marriot for supper. We were all discussing how long we had been in our current positions. Laura said she had been at the bank for 28 years, and I piped up and said (without thinking, obviously) "Wow, that's longer than I've been alive." Yes, I still get harrased about calling our rep. old too.

Sigh...there's more...but we'll save those for another day.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-10-14T20:49:00.011-04:00

http://www.yearbookyourself.com/ TOO FUN

Gone Fishing

2008-10-14T14:08:00.003-04:00

I guess I should feel sorry for my husband who went on a long-weekend camping trip with his buddies, leaving me to care for the crazy one solo. He came home from Wal-Mart last Thursday night with $140 worth of fishing equipment for the big trip. Yes, that's right, $140. I could not believe it. I did not say quite as much as I was thinking, but he knew I wasn't real happy. The fellas left Saturday morning for their fishing extravaganza. During a texting conversation I asked him if he's caught anything. His responce: water. Not a single fish. Now I'm going to tell you what...if I had spent $140 on fishing equipment, I would be very upset. So yeah, I guess I should feel bad for him. But I don't. I do, however, feel that there will be about $140 worth of Partylite Candles in my living room very soon...

Not Me Monday!

2008-10-12T20:44:00.002-04:00

This is my first posting for “Not Me!” Monday, which was started over at MckMama’s blog – My Charming Kids! Basically these posts are, as MckMama puts it, being “brutally honest and living to tell about it”. It's great fun, and feels good to tell what you "didn't do"

I did not tell my husband that he had to let me sleep Saturday morning because he bought concert tickets for a rock concert without asking me. I also did not sleep until 12:30 because that would have been taking advantage of the situation.

I did not tell my 2 year old daughter that "Queen" was broken because I was tired of hearing Cars in the van. That would have been a lie.

I did not eat a whole can of cheese dip in one night. I did not buy more at Wal-mart last night.

I did not cry secretly on the way home from Wal-mart yesterday after the horrible photo experience. That would have been silly.

I did not log onto my blog page 5 times yesterday just to see if anybody had visited. That would have been ridiculous.

It's Picture Day!

2008-10-12T20:37:00.000-04:00

I figured since I hadn't had Julia's pictures taken in studio since her 1 year old birthday, I should go ahead and do that today for her 2nd birthday. So I wait until aftertnoon nap is over so she'd be in a great mood. I get her all dolled up and out we go! Very exciting...can't wait to get some cute pictures to hang in the house and hand out to friends/family. And since my past experience at Wal-Mart had been wonderful (cheap price, good pictures) I decided that's where we go again. So in we go...Grandma, Julia, and me. Unfortunately the lady was already taking someone's pictures so we had to walk around and wait. (insert "Mommy I want that" here). They finally call us over the intercom so we go back to the studio. You would have thought that I was taking her in to get her arm cut off. Julia started screaming and crying and would not, for no amount of bribing, let go of my neck. The poor lady was just standing there shocked. She tried giving Julia toys to play with to get her to stop crying, which Julia took...but still cried. So after about 15 minutes of begging and pleading, we headed out of Wal-mart without 2 year old pictures. Sigh.

Photo Fun

2008-10-11T22:38:00.001-04:00

I saw this on my friend Amanda's blog and I too thought it looked fun :) Go to the 6th file folder and pick the 6th picture. Here it is:

This was taken at my baby shower when I was pregnant with Julia. Sometime in July 2006

Getting Started

2008-10-11T21:53:00.000-04:00

Ok, here we go again. My friend Amanda has been blogging for a while and I really enjoy reading her posts. So I'm going to do it too. I've started blogging before but it kinda fell through, so I'm hoping I can start it up and keep it up! A little bit about me and my family: My name is Becky and I currently live in Enoree SC (don't know? don't ask...nothing here at all except a Lil' Cricket). I was born and raised in Boiling Springs SC and would give anything to be back there. I'm working on convincing my husband that we need to move back, but he's a little hard to convince. He hates the BS traffic (take BS however you'd like). I'll admit, it is bad, but we could always take the back roads :) Anyway...we were married almost 6 years ago and have a 2 year old daughter, Julia. I imagine most of my posts will be about her, since she is my life and pretty much all I do! I'm a big fan of Tivo, and wonder how I made it before we invested. I love animals, and have a very hard time not feeding the strays that wander up to my back porch. For some reason, people enjoy dumping their unwanted animals on my street and I can not turn them down...so we have about 8 outside cats now and some random dogs. I don't count the dogs because they never stick around. I guess the cats know they have it made. So...if you are wanting to get rid of your animals without worrying about their outcome, dump them in my yard. Sigh. It really ticks me off but I'm a softy. I'm going to stop now so that I'll have stuff to talk about later :)