More thankfulness.

Today I'm thankful for my baby daddy!  He works hard for our family, and he makes sure we have what we need.  I can tell sometimes he is tired of some of the more monotonous work he does, but he keeps going.  He knows the value of insurance for our family, and he'd never let anything get between us and the doctors and medicine we need (especially those outrageous insulin pens!).

He likes to take us on vacation and out to dinner.  He likes to play cards at dinner.  He orders us "pillows" (zeppoli) for dessert.

He is willing to help coach baseball when everyone else is busy.  He goes on long bike rides with the boys.  He takes Mary Claire for daddy-daughter date nights.  He says prayers with our family.  He takes wonderful care of our yard..even when the Japanese beetles are feasting on our crepe myrtles or our ivy begins to take over the windows.  He even fishes snakes and frogs and spiders out of the pool when the rest of us are FREAKING out!  (even that humongous 5" spider!!)

He takes us to see the Statue of Liberty, even when it's an entire day trip, a ferry ride, and a hundred degrees.

And..even lets our kids do wild things that scare me. ; )

Clay.  And his high-flying trampoline flips.

And he makes sure we get date nights for fun time a-l-o-n-e!  We have made a point not to forget where we started.  It'll matter so much in another 20 years. ; )

Thank you for loving me, and my babies!  Especially when we can be exhausted and unlovable. ; )  Love you, honey! xoxo

 

Thankful Starts Here

Thankful November!  I'm going to get better at posting my thankfulness every day this month : )

For my first four days...I'm thankful for my four sweet kiddos.  I know, they are easy-peasy.

Following the yellow brick road...Halloween 2012

I'm thankful that Clay made it here safe and sound after my preeclampsia, being five weeks early, and only four pounds.  He's so tough!  He did another 25 mile bike ride today with his boy scout troop today.  He never gets tired.  And he's full of information.  He can remember anything he reads, and tell you about it a couple years later.  Whew!  I'm so proud of him!

I'm thankful for Mary Claire and her perseverance-that girl could give up at any time, but never does.  I'd mentally check out if someone kept telling me to check my blood...but she keeps going.  God bless her.  And her attitude?  Almost always PoSiTiVE!!  Wowza.  Love that girl!

I'm thankful for Ethan.  That kid is absolutely all heart, manners, and a wallop of brains.  He can navigate social situations, and is incredibly skilled at it!  He is inquisitive, loves, and is so very sweet.  I can't say enough how he uses his nice manners (and even surprises me sometimes with his sorry's and thank you's).  He is so precious and loveable!

Be very impressed...my flowers are ALiVE!  (how they do dat?  humidity in the air?)

I'm thankful for Carter.  Boy, am I glad he's finally here.  It's like I knew he was waiting up in Heaven for us.  He just took longer than the rest of them!  He is the most precious, huggable, smiley baby.  And his latest feat?  Bounce, bounce, bouncing in his jumpy thing.  He has brought the most joy to our family.  I love the way they all love on him.  Love that bundle!

Sometimes if I get stressed that they are lots of work (what with all that laundry they make, their events/practices, homework, messy rooms, teeth brushing monitoring, crumbing my van, etc.), I realize that I'd be sitting around doing nothing.  I'd be bored wishing I had kids. (like I did for so many years!)  So..I've really started enjoying the busyness.  It's the way the current of my life is going, and I'll sleep when they go to college..or have their own kids?...or maybe when I'm underground.  Just not now, I have better stuff to do!
 

Mattress Protection Theory

I've SO missed my bloggy peeps! ; )  Thanks for your input on the meter Situation.  I shall fight.  I shall Go to the Mattresses! ; )  and thank you for bringing me to my (fighting) senses.
I actually found out our strips are like the cheapest ones!  How's that and how are they making us upgrade to dumpy expensive ones?  I don't see how it could be a contractual deal or anything to make them less expensive.  But..there is a lot I don't know.  ..we saw the Bourne Identity a couple of nights ago, and boy!  It makes you think.  Are there things going on all around us that we don't know about?  Did that car that just passed me come from robbing a house?  or is that person sick because they just go the viral update so they can go off their mystery meds?

Ok, reality again.  We got a new door put on today between our house (kitchen) and garage.  Love it.  Hated the awful job the Lowe's installer did.  He totally gawked up the caulk, and it looked like a first grader did it.  I cleaned some of it up where it was still wet, but it was so thick and smeary.  I got SO mad.  I really believe in some work ethic.  Call me old fashioned.  If you are going to do something, do it right.  Even if it's cleaning your toilet.  Don't splash the cleaner all over the place, for goodness sakes.  Is it dinner you are making?  Don't burn it.  Keep an eye on it (and a low burner!).  Caulking?  Keep a wet finger and some paper towels handy.  Good grief.  
Anyway, it has glass in it!  So I can see my cuties playing on the driveway, and see SUNLiGHT!! : )  So excited to add a "window" to that darkish area!  It has blinds built in, so at night, I don't have to look at my van in the garage.  Not exactly Bunko fodder. ; )

K, ya'll sleep well tonight!  Don't think about losing your pharm insurance, or the crazy slow car driving by with it's lights off... heehee, just kidding! : ) 

I'm Alive!!

Well, September slipped by.  Wordlessly.  Sorry, I had this tiny thing called a BABY.  He's still wonderful, but definitely rocking my world.  I'll find a picture... ; )

We are getting ready for the Walk to Cure Diabetes..and I'm doing my best to pull it together!  We have to rush to get shirts ordered (they told me to have my sizes by MONDAY!  (Don't know 'bout where you live, but it's FRIDAY Here!!!).  Still working on our tshirt design, here are some possibilities:

The idea was that we'd give each person a Sharpie marker with their shirt, and they could write on the shirt what they wish for... I just don't know if it converges with the theme, "One Cure" haha..oops.

And this one is ok..we thought it up last year, but couldn't use it.  But..it doesn't speak to the real Olympic-y theme.  Worried about that?  Nah, me neither. ; )  There is no t-shirt contest calling my name.  The name of my game?  Make my girlie happy.  And she loves her some cupcakes!

So..there's that, and my thank you notes on backorder.  (Well, that'd be me being behind, must take responsibility.)  I'll get it together.

BUT, my current grievance is insurance-related.  I can gripe and moan here since they don't frequent my place, and don't have any desire to ask what we want.  Basically, the U of A (where my lovely earns a wage and carries our life-giving insurance) is changing carriers.  He found out last week since he's been serving on the faculty senate, and it just hit the faculty this week.
I'm freaked out.
AND we just got a letter that our pharmacy care is requiring we now only get a choice of two meter manufacturers if we want our strips paid for...and it's not our meter or company.  It's a sucky-give-away-free-cheap-meters-and-make-their-money-on-the-bad-strips-that-require-four-to-check-blood-at-a-time.  It's awful.  And our old meters send her blood sugar to her pump saving a step each and every time, and they work every time.  Even though they aren't the latest thing.  But they are GOOD quality.  I'm sad.  How can it all go bad in one week?

I know if you have diabetes (or a child with it), you know what supplies cost.  The sets (site change) supplies are $750. per month.  There is no way around it.  It's expensive.

Ok, try to turn my frown upside down.  It's just not all roses.  She's alive, and I have to be thankful we don't live 200 years ago.  She'd be gone.

So..how's your week?

My baby can nearly sit up..if he doesn't fall over. ; )  heehee  If I hold one hand, he can balance.  And he is eating some veggies (squishy, of course), and some cereal.  It really makes me feel a teensy bit more independent.  Like if I leave him for more than an hour or two, he'll survive!  We are still heavily nursing (like 10 times a day?).  He's super fast, so he probably doesn't get much at a time.  It's just how he is.  All my babies have been different, and he has better things to do than stare at a shirt! ; )   He is super cuddly and sweet though, and sometimes tries to talk while he eats, it's so funny.  He half babbles and half eats.  It just makes me laugh!

Clay was on some stronger Concerta, but then he lost almost ten pounds, so we dropped him back.  We are currently stuffing him with anything he'll eat.  He's a healthy eater so it's kinda hard.  But..I've been stocking his closet with canisters of Reese's and jelly beans.  heehee, I'm so sneaky.  He gets a cheesecake every week, and basically anything we can get him to choke down.  I even give him protein power shakes.  He's back up five pounds, but it's taken almost a month.

Mary Claire?  Sweet and growing.  Reading like crazy.  And can't WAiT for the Walk!  If we can get the shirts all wrapped up, we'll be sitting pretty.  And then..those bows.  Will I do it again this year?  Ha!  Feeling a bit overwhelmed, so maybe not.  Ok, now it's Sunday, and here is what they *might* look like...now. ; )

What do you think?  She likes the black, and it's closer to our theme of olympics, but she still gets her cupcakes.  I think I'll order her some Rick's cupcakes for post-walk, just 'cause I love her.

See? ..it's still taking me a good weekend to even write one post.  And so much changes in a couple days!

Oh yeah!  Here are some pictures of my cuties:

Now in volleyball school.  She loves it for the new clothes. ; )

seems mustaches have even made it to gumball machines.  Very Mario-esque.

Clay playing catcher.  Can you see the amazingness of my camera?  I caught him catching the ball!

Swear he's not naked.  He's an awful messy eater. ; )

Toes.  Are.  Fascinating.

Hope you had a great weekend, hugs!