Thursday, February 27, 2014

Things I want to remember

-The way you grab one of my legs and one of daddy's legs and tell us to hug. And then want to be picked up to join in on the group hug.

-The way you say "Bless you mama" everytime I sneeze and sometimes when I cough.

-The way you sing the ABC song or Twinkle Twinkle to yourself while playing with your toys or just laying in your crib.

-The way you run at top speed to give me a hug when I get home at night or when I pick you up from daycare.

-Your love of all things trucks and bus related.

-The way you pat my back when I give you a hug.

-How your always answer "applesauce" when I ask you what you want to eat.

-How excited you get to talk to your grandparents on Facetime and the sweet way you say "nana", "grandma" and "papa".

-The way you say goodnight to all your toys as well as the cat and the dog before going to bed.

-How you insist on having everything put where it belongs and get upset if it's not in the correct spot (You get this from your mama and nana).

-The "happy dance" you do before we give you a snack or treat.

-They way you pretend to chew and say "YUM"  if you see something yummy on t.v.

-The way you say "Whoa Cool" whenever you see a big truck in person.

-The way you cheer for yourself and say "YAY Hunter" whenever you do something good.

-The way you say your full name with such pride and emphasis on your last name.

-How nicely you play with other kids and how sweet you are around other little girls. Future heartbreaker for sure.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

SWW



This week I'm saying So What if:

-After being out of the office for almost a week and a half due to snow and Kristians surgery I was actually happy to come back on Monday. It was nice to be able to just sit down and relax with a cup of coffee and get caught up on everything as opposed to chasing after a toddler and taking care of a recovering husband.

-I don't get the mass appeal of TOMS or those Freshly Picked moccasins. I don't find them to be that cute, especially for what they cost and more especially for babies/kids who feet grow by the second.

-I've become a bit obsessed with the Divergent trilogy, I'm close to halfway finished with the last book and I'm anxious to see how it ends, though I have my predictions. I'm excited to see the movie next month, from the previews it looks pretty close to staying true to the book.

-I'm thrilled the Olympics are over and my favorite shows are coming back--SCANDAL!! 

-I refuse to wash or clean out my car until winter is over, we get a few nice days here and there but then turn around and it's snowing again and I have so much salt and dirt in and outside of my car right now. It's pointless to mess with until all the snow is gone for good. 

-I lie to my kid and tell him that Mickey is sleeping when he asks to watch it for the 85 billionth time in one day. He pretty much accepts that answer though now he will say "wake up Mickey". It's kind of adorable. 

Monday, February 24, 2014

Why moms are the best

Kristian is now one week post surgery and he seems to be healing well though still in a lot of pain and not able to do a whole lot. Because of this I had my mom come down for the weekend to help out with Hunter while I ran some errands and took care of my husband. And also, because Hunter loves when nana comes to visit.

I really can't thank my mom enough for coming to visit, not only did she help entertain and watch Hunter while I got other stuff done but she did about 10 loads of laundry for us, cleaned out the cat litter box, sewed two holes I had in my shirts and helped tidy up the place. I told her many times she really didn't need to do any of that, I really just wanted her to enjoy her grandson and help keep him occupied but being the awesome mom she is she couldn't resist helping out in other ways. Just seems to be the nature of motherhood I suppose, always wanting to help your child no matter how old your child is.

We were all sad to see her go on Sunday. Hunter really enjoyed his nana time and I really enjoyed having an extra set of hands around the house (and also some mother/daughter time). We say all the time that if we ever win the lottery we're building/buying my mother property nearby so that she can visit more often. It gives me such joy to see my mother and my son have such a wonderful relationship.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Updates

The past week has been quite busy around here. We got a huge snowstorm last Thursday that dropped over a foot of snow and was the most snow we've seen in years. I'm not a fan of snow unless it's a huge storm like this where everything shuts down and you get a true snow day. 



Hunter loves the snow and had so much fun playing outside though he did get upset at times because it was so deep that he had some difficulty walking in it. He helped daddy build a snowman and got to play with his little neighbor friend Zachary. 
 





On Friday we stayed home again since the roads were still pretty tricky. I got to spend the day with my mini Valentine and luckily Kristian was able to get home from work early. We had a very low key evening, ate Chinese food, exchanged gifts and watched the Olympics while eating chocolate covered strawberries. 



On Saturday I took Hunter to his girlfriend Jordynn's birthday party. She lives a few houses away so we were able to just walk there and back. Hunter did great and didn't act shy despite being around a group of people he didn't know. He even gave the birthday girl a hug and kiss.

My mom came down on Sunday to spend the night so she could take and pick up Hunter from daycare on Monday while we were at the hospital. I went upstairs to put away laundry and came downstairs to find a Hunter/nana nap. He loves his nana. 


Yesterday was Kristians surgery. His parents met us at the hospital so I had some company while we waited. Fortunately everything went well and according to the doctor the surgery was a success. Kristian spent the night and was able to come home today. He is in a LOT of pain and on heavy pain meds. He can't drive or really go anywhere for at least 3 weeks. I'm so grateful that he made it through okay and now we just wait and pray that once he heals he won't be in pain anymore. 


Still with a smile prior to surgery.

Friday, February 14, 2014

So happy I said yes



Five years ago today an amazing man asked me to be his wife. Saying yes was the best decision I have ever made. Five years later and I now having another adorable Valentine to spend the day with. I couldn't ask for two better guys.

From our family to yours:


Wednesday, February 12, 2014

SWW



This Week I'm Saying So What if:

-Last night my husband said I was becoming quite the little book worm since I've been obsessed with reading the Divergent series. I finally finished the first book (LOVED) and am now sucked into the second one. Since most of my shows are on hiatus right now it's the perfect time to read. 

-I'm all giddy about the possible snow tomorrow. I don't really like snow unless it's A LOT, enough to let me stay home from work and play in it with my son. He kept talking about building a snowman this morning when I mentioned it may snow tomorrow. So long as we don't lose power I'm happy.

-I was bummed and irritated when I found out this morning that the car seat we have in Kristians car is being recalled. Fortunately the seat in my car is a different brand and Hunter usually rides in my car everywhere.

-We will be eating a lot of pork chops, bacon and sausage in the upcoming months thanks to a successful hog hunting trip my husband went on. 

-I almost burst into happy tears last night when we were all sitting on the couch watching t.v. and without prompting Hunter said "Mama, Dada, I wuv you". Serious heart explosion.

-I'm a little bummed that Hunter will most likely miss out on celebrating Valentine's Day at school on Friday if we get as much snow as they are talking about. I also already bought little valentines for him to take to his friends but I don't think they will be used. Oh well. 

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

The Terrific Twos

I hope that I am not jinxing myself by writing this but I have to say that right now I love having a 2 year old. All the talk and warnings you hear about the "terrible twos" do not seem to apply to my child at this moment. However, I reserve the right to change my mind if/when my child turns into a mini demon (which thanks to posting this will probably be next week).

Right now though, he is pretty awesome. Of course he has the typical toddler meltdowns and tantrums but thankfully they are relatively few and far between and don't seem to last very long. Most of them still occur around the 5pm witching hour when he starts to get antsy for dinner. For the most part though he's very well behaved, he listens, he laughs and plays and is basically a joy to be around. Both my mother and mother-in-law have commented on how well behaved he is, especially in public.

He is becoming such an independent little kid who is always wanting to do everything by himself because he is a "big boy" now. He is talking in sentences, can count past 10, sing most of the ABC song as well as other songs, he knows his full name and age etc. He knows all his little friends names and will greet them when he walks into his classroom every morning. We can now have little conversations with him. I am able to ask him what he did at school and who he played with and get an answer from him. It's pretty amazing. He follows directions really well and he seems to thrive on routine and structure (as do I). For instance he knows that naptime is after lunch (both at daycare and at home) so on the weekends after he eats lunch all I have to say is "Hunter let's go upstairs for naptime" and he will (most of the time) stop what he's doing, say goodbye to his toys, walk upstairs and wait for me to put him in his crib. He does the same in the evenings for bedtime.

I realize this could all change at the drop of a hat and from what I hear age 3 is actually much harder than age 2 so I could be in for a huge shift in behavior in the upcoming months. But for now at least I'm going to enjoy this age and all the fun that comes with watching this little person learn and grow.

Friday, February 7, 2014

Going under the knife

Ever since I've known my husband (5 1/2 years) he's suffered from chronic, sometimes severe neck and back pain. It started from an old football injury in high school (one of the reason I don't want Hunter playing football) and just continued to get worse over the years. When we met back in 2008 he had just had one neck surgery a few months prior which was done incorrectly and then another surgery a few months after we started dating to correct the first surgery. He has told me that the way I helped take care of him after the second surgery pretty much solidified his desire for wanting to propose to me.

After the second surgery the pain decreased but never went away entirely and since then has gotten increasingly worse as the years have gone by. He's tried many different options over the years to help relieve the pain but nothing has really worked. Last year he had three injections in his upper back to help numb the area (similar to an epidural) which seemed to work for a while but eventually wore off. He did the same thing this year but unfortunately even after the third injection he didn't get any relief. He's been on many different types of pain medication but doesn't really like the side effects and really doesn't want to be dependent on these heavy narcotics for the rest of his life.

He went to have another MRI done and after showing it to his doc (who did his second surgery) they determined the best course of action was another surgery. It seems that he has some discs in his spine that have degenerated and moved and are pinching into various nerves. So they need to remove the discs and fuse that part of the spine. This is actually in a lower section of the spine than what was worked on 5 years ago.

So in less than two weeks he's going back under the knife for what is a very serious back surgery. This time the surgery is more complicated and has a longer, more painful recovery process. He will be in the hospital for 3 days and then on bedrest for 1-2 weeks with an additional 1-2 weeks where he has to just lay around and not do much. He won't be able to work or drive or lift anything over 10 pounds for about a month. One of the most upsetting parts is that he won't be able to lift or really play with Hunter and of course Hunter won't really understand why so I know that will be upsetting to him.

Fortunately my boss is very understanding and is letting me take time off on the surgery day, work half days on the other days he's in the hospital so I can visit and then work from home for a few days after he's released. Thankfully my in-laws live close by so I know my mother-in-law will be able to come by during the day while I"m at work to help out and we have several neighbors and close friends that have also offered to help out. My mother is coming down to stay the weekend after the surgery to help watch Hunter so I can get all the chores done around the house while Kristian rests.

We went through this 5 years ago after his last surgery but of course didn't have a wild toddler in the mix. So for about a month virtually all the parenting and household duties will fall on me while also trying to work full time. Not to mention taking care of my husband on bedrest. I know there are people in similar or much worse situations- single parents and those caring for sick relatives and I just thank God that this is only a temporary situation for us. The most important thing is getting and keeping my husband healthy and hopefully pain free. It's so hard watching the person you love in constant pain and not being able to do anything to fix it. I know it has affected his quality of life and overall happiness.

I'm not going to lie, I'm terrified of him having surgery. Any kind of surgery is scary but especially when it involves the spine. So I will be in prayer overdrive for the next few weeks and would appreciate any spare prayers that anyone wants to throw our way. He took such amazing care of me after my c-section and during my painful recovery so now it's time to return the favor. In sickness and health right?

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

SWW



This week I'm saying So What if:

-I've stayed up past my bedtime the last few nights reading Divergent. I'm about 70% done and I love it so far. I like it just as much if not more than The Hunger Games and I can't wait for the movie. 

-I was disappointed that our overnight "ice storm" turned out to be mainly rain. I had hoped to stay home with Hunter today but ended up at work instead. 

-I laugh everytime Hunter says "dump truck" (which is often) because it sounds just like "dumb f*ck".

-I teared up during a few of the Super Bowl commercials (the soldier coming home and horse and puppy ones). 

-I seem to be one of the few people that did not like Orange is the New Black. Kristian and I finally watched the first episode of it over the weekend after hearing/reading rave reviews. And it was okay but not something either of us had much desire to keep watching. I just don't find prison shows (dramas or comedies) that appealing. 

-When I went to Target over the weekend to buy a birthday present for Hunters friends birthday party I ended up also buying Hunter a new toy, even though he wasn't with me. It was only $5 and I knew he would love it (and he did). It's hard not to spoil him a bit.

-I'm not really that excited about the Winter Olympics. I prefer the summer games and I'm annoyed it's keeping some of my favorite shows on hiatus for another few weeks.