The Anti-Potty

I think we'll be taking a potty break for a little bit. Anna went from excited to pee-pee on the potty to extremely anti-potty tantrums within a few days. I think we'll be putting it off for a while and then pick it up again. Besides, I left Anna's potty at my sister's house! LOL! Maybe it was meant to be! hahaha

Update on Baby Sara

They are talking about sending Sara home! How exciting! But please keep praying for her. She still cannot suck, so she'll have to be on a feeding tube. She is also not tracking (following objects with her eyes). So please stay in prayer for her. Also, her parents are nervous about taking her home. They're afraid they won't know how to properly take care of her.

This Is Hilarious!

Thanks to my friend Kortney for posting (or re-posting) this... it truly is a cut above the rest!

Just in case you need some writing inspiration. Every year, English teachers from across the USA can submit their collections of actual analogies and metaphors found in high school essays. These excerpts are published each year to the amusement of teachers across the country. Here are last year's winners:

1. Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master.

2. His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.

3. He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.

4. She grew on him like she was a colony of E. coli, and he was room temperature Canadian beef.

5. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.

6. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.

7. He was as tall as a six-foot, three-inch tree.

8. The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated because of his wife's infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM machine.

9. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't.

10. McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag filled with vegetable soup.

11. From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in anothercity and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30.

12. Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze.

13. The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.

14. Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph.

15. They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan's teeth.

16. John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.

17. He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant, and she was the East River.

18. Even in his last years, Granddad had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut.

19. Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do.

20. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work.

21. The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for a while.

22. He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame, maybe from stepping on a land mine or something.

23. The ballerina rose gracefully en Pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.

24. It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools.

25. He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up.

I've Been Tagged--7 Random Facts

The rules:
-Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
-Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
-Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

So here are mine...

1- Numero uno... I attended Northwest University with a major in education, but graduated early with an AA. It was a good thing, though. I didn't want to do education. I just thought I had no way out b/c I was already like 180 credits into it lol...

2- I could use a nap.

3- I'm really excited about the Bones Season Premiere (3 days and counting, September 3rd on Fox) Yeah... I accept my addiction. I choose to do nothing about it. ;)

4- I LOVE TO WRITE!!!

5- I prayed for Anna's blue eyes. Mine are brown. Paul's are blue. God heard my prayer. Yippee!

6- I love to oil paint! I haven't done it since before Anna was conceived, though. I'm paranoid about the chemicals (paint thinner, strong scent of oil paints, etc.)....

7- I have partial adontia... That means that two of my teeth are "baby" teeth. There were no adult teeth beneath them. I'm praying Anna didn't inherit it. I hate it. If I had the money, I'd have them capped or veneered--something along those lines.

Here they are:
Loving God Means Loving People
Storing Up Treasures in Heaven
3 Angels to Grow Me
Get the Lead Out
Seeryus Mama
Our Journey Home
21st Century Nomad

BFF Gold Card Award

Aww... :D Thank you very much to Sarah of Sassyfrazz for nominating me for the BFF Gold Card Award!
Just a few tidbits of info on Sarah--She is the mother to 4 (one of whom is on the way!!!) and she is a wonderful Christian woman and a fantastic blogger!

Here are the rules for this award:- Only 5 people are allowed to receive this award.- 4 of them followers of your blog.- One has to be new to your blog and live in another part of the World!

Here are my peeps (in no particular order):

1. Renee@ Life With My Special Ks--A blog about being a busy mom to four beautiful children and battles with leukemia and Down's Syndrome, and also being a wife to a military man. ;)

2. Lisa @ What Have I Done--Lisa blogs about her busy life with a full time job, hubby, and two beautiful school age girls!

3. Violet @ Just A Girl And Her Dog--Violet is a friend of mine from college. She is a nanny and an awesome auntie!!!

4. Shannon @ Gabi's World--One of my fave blogs! Shannon blogs about her busy life as a mom to three beautiful children, one teenager, one school age daughter, and one little toddler son. She's also a step-mommy to two sons. Her daughter, Gabi has Down's Syndrome... adventure is around every corner with this brood... seriously! :D

For #5, I don't know anyone who quite fits the bill, but there are a million great blogs to your right of the screen!!! Enjoy!

Breastfeeding Vice Prez

Thanks for the blurbs of info on Sarah Palin! She is also a breastfeeding mother! Now that just MAKES MY DAY! Seriously!!! Wow!!! OK, I officially have a girl-crush on this woman. ;) hehe Just kidding! But seriously... o.O

(Somebody mentioned that Palin also has adopted, but thank you firemom(!!!) that info may not be true. If anybody has the truth, that would be great... either way! I'm excited to have a booby mama on the ticket hehehe)

Sarah Palin for McCain's VP!

Shout out to strong female role models!

I was so excited to see the news this morning! Sarah Palin is McCain's Vice Presidential runningmate! How cool is that!? The best part is that Palin (besides sharing a gorgeous name with yours truly) is a mom to 1. A special needs son (Down's Syndrome) and 2. A soldier son... I'm also pretty excited to see a "hockey mom" be on the ballot. It's very cool!

Updates: Anna & Baby Sara

While I was at my sister's house, Anna learned several new words AND 2-3 word combos. I was very excited to hear how much she learned this week! It was very cool!

And as for Sara, I asked my hubby to tell my bloggers, but apparently he did not. Argh. Anyway, EXTREMELY GOOD NEWS!!! Sara is off her respirator AND she's out of the ICU! How awesome is that!!!!!!! :D I'll keep everyone updated!

It's already almost the weekend! Have great weekends, everyone!

This Week

This week I'll be at my sister's house visiting. She doesn't have internet, so I'll try to update as often as I can. I may also post before I leave tomorrow morning with an update on Sara.

I do have one short update on her. Her grandma was tickling Sara's feet and she moved her feet to avoid being tickled! :D I'm so so incredibly happy!!! :D

One New Thing On Sara!

I learned this morning that Sara's Liver is functioning 100% of normal! This is after a week of her organs apparently "shutting down"... God is in control!

UPDATE (from Sarah's hubby): Little baby Sara is doing great. The doctors finally took her off the ventilator this morning (Tuesday, August 27). Her recovery is underway!

Fantastic Update On Baby Sara!

Update on my pastor's granddaughter, Sara, who was left accidentally in a car for three hours on a hot day...

My MIL came home today with great news on Sara.
Last night the Lord woke her dad up in the middle of the night and told him to pray. He ignored it the first time and went back to sleep. Then, the Lord woke him a second time. Justin woke up and asked the Lord what he wanted and the Lord told him to worship Him. Justin began to worship the Lord and he prayed that God would "provide the ram in the thicket" and the Lord said, "I am the Ram."

Remember that yesterday the doctors told them that Sara would die. This morning, however, Sara has been alert with open eyes! Praise God!!! They also inserted a feeding tube. Sara hadn't been fed in a week. So she's eating AND she's urinating! This is a fantastic sign meaning that her body isn't shutting down.

Praise the Lord!!!

I'll be keeping updates as they come! :D

ETA:

The urologist just checked Sara and said that she is urinating proper amounts for an infant!!! That's a great obstacle overcome! Plus!!! :D :D :D She is starting physical therapy on Monday!!! From death to PT in a day! I call that miracle!!!!!!!! :D

Prayers For Sara

So far, I have no new news about Sara, but as I hear it, I will update.

These are prayers written for Sara...

***

Heavenly Father, you are an awesome God, I thank you for all we have, opportunities, health, children, thank you for giving your only child to teach us love and forgivenes and to have eternal life with You.

***

Lord, I ask at this time that you hold Baby Sara in your loving hands. Comfort her, I know you have the ultimate, the best, plan for all of us, please do not let this baby suffer. If there is a way to let her heal without suffering, please walk her through this. Please be with her family as well, comfort them as they worry about their daughter, sister, granddaughter, and the rest. Lord, also please lay your healing hands on the providers caring for her in the hospital. Help the doctors to know what to do for her, and the nurses and any others involved to give her comfort and provide the best possible care.

Thank you Lord, In Jesus name I pray, AMEN!!

Update on Baby Sara

Thank you all for your prayers!

I was told that Sara is going into renal and kidney failure this morning. It seems so bleak, but God is on our side!

As for Sara's parents, the police focusing their investigation more intensely on them. I know they are doing their job, but her parents are innocent and it's only causing more stress on the situation. It's been really difficult for the whole family. Let's keep them in prayer.

I'll try to keep updates on my blog as much as possible. Thank you all!

Please Pray For Baby Sara!

Our pastor's granddaughter was left in the car by accident about a week ago in 100+ degree southern California weather. The mom thought the dad had her, the dad thought the mom had her. Anyhow, Sara is in the NICU now. I thought she was doing well, but yesterday the doctors told the mom, "So, how do you feel that you have some decisions to make?" Poor Jessica freaked out... I would have, too! Nobody told her that they expect her daughter to die. The doctors gave her a week to four weeks to live.

Please pray for Sara's recovery! This is just a tragedy, but God is the Great Physician!

Pictures From Yesterday

Sorry about the quality, but I thought they were cute bathroom pictures! :D

Potty Training So Far...

Yesterday went very well. Anna peed in her panties today for the first time, so I guess that we're doing well. I'm trying not to be discouraged by little hurdles. We went to the store with Anna in panties and had no accidents, although I was very paranoid. Anna's in a diaper right now post-accident.

Any suggestions on potty training? What worked for you?

Oh I also forgot to mention that yesterday Anna turned 21 months old!!!!! *sigh* It's really hard to believe!!!

Guess What We Bought???

Today we bought Anna a Dora potty seat and a 3 pack of Dora underwear. She keeps going to the bathroom and wanting to play with the toilet seat lol, but the good thing is, she went peepee on the first try! I love my little girl!!! :D

The Blogging Slump

I'm so sorry I haven't been a very diligent blogger lately. Life has been very uneventful, but that's not always a bad thing. It's actually a nice thing. After the events of the past year, it's quite nice to have nothing good and nothing bad going on. Just normal, regular, daily events.

Maybe I should share what goes on in a regular day?

Lately, this is our day:

8:00 AM, Anna wakes up and is rearing to go! Yikes! She's an early bird... so unlike her mother!

9:00 AM, Breakfast. Mommy checks email and other computer junk...

10:00 AM, cartoons... Anna likes Little Einsteins. I feel virtuous being able to get her to watch more educational programs (as opposed to Spongebob, Spongebob, and more Spongebob... I can now mix in Little Einsteins and Backyardigans... this is good)

11:00 AM... still nothing wonderful going on. It's too darn hot to go out. We'll burn & roast. 2 year old + Lobsterlike sunburn = Bad Day. I decide to stay indoors and live an unexciting life.

12:00 PM... Lunch... Nothing fancy... Sandwiches, usually, milk, fruit...

1:00 PM...Mommy reads. I've been reading Kathy Reichs novels lately. Very interesting and quite a step outside of my norm. It was a good step. Yay me!

2:00 PM... still nothing wonderful going on... what do I do with my day???

3:00 PM... Daddy wakes up, he works until 6 in the morning and comes home around 7, so he's a very late riser. Anna plays with daddy, clings to his legs, calls his names... general awe and wonder.

4:00 PM... still nothing wonderful. Maybe a trip to the nearby jungle gym.

5:00 PM... Dinnertime...

6:00 PM... I have honestly no idea... my days just flash by nowadays. Mostly Anna plays, climbs, gets in trouble. She's a monkey. She does quite a lot of climbing and I do quite a lot of refereeing.

7:00 PM... Computer time?

8:00 PM... Play time?

9:00 PM... Anna's out like a light.

There's my exciting life. Now you know why I have nothing to blog about lately. Maybe I'll also mention that my hubby applied for a security position (he's a security officer) on the coast. We're praying that he gets it. He's qualified for it. If he gets it, then that'll mean a 7-10 dollar raise and a move to a much less expensive city. Not to mention we'll be on the coast.... a dream!

Wordless Wednesday

New Haircut...

Go Green (August 2008)

This is Go Green Month! I'm the first to admit I'm not very green at all. But I think maybe if we all do just a little bit... take things to the recycling center, buy a Brita-type water pitcher instead of plastic bottles, walk when we can, etc. That it can make a big impact on the earth. I'm not the kind of person who goes and preaches this stuff from the rooftops, but I think that if I can do a little something here and there, that at least I'm not just sitting back and watching everything roll by. Have a Happy Go Green Month!


A little video from one of my fave actresses, Emily Deschanel on Carpooling. It's pretty funny and informative. ;)

Wedding Day!

Anna and Grandma

Anna, 20 months

Mr. and Mrs. Perkins and family (plus the minister)

The kiss.

The rings. :)

Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Ethan Perkins! Today was Annette and Ethan's wedding. And I can tell you that this is the first wedding that I actually even came close to shedding tears. Trust me. That's big. I'm not a big crier (unless I'm angry, then the tears just flow... go figure... or if I just gave birth... OK off that tangent now) Anyhow, it was an amazing ceremony, but the thing that was so amazing was their story. Annette's first husband was arrested for some horrible things a while ago and she was left with her three children to raise alone, a girl and two boys. Ethan's wife just up and left one day and never looked back. That left him with his son and daughter to raise alone. Then one day, the two met and fell in love. The rest is history. It's amazing how God brought them together. Out of the ashes. They are both God-fearing Christians and oh they love each other and one another's children so much! At the ceremony, not only did they say vows to one another, but they also said vows to each others' children. Annette's oldest son was crying. I think he misses having a father. God gave him that today. An earthly father, that is. *sigh* It was a wonderful day. I have photos to share now. :) (You can click to enlarge them.)

New Words!

Yesterday was a good day for new words!

First, I bought Trident gum. One of Anna's favorite treats. One that I don't mind giving her, either. ;) Anyhow, she kept coming to me and saying, "Gahm!" She wanted gum! What a bright girl!

But that's not as amazing as this next thing, because there were no prompts from me. (You know, telling her the word first.) She brought her Sesame Street shapes book to me and sat on my lap. She opened it up and on one page there are pictures of a 'ball', a 'window', a 'book', and a 'door'. She pointed to the ball and said, "Ball".... I already knew she knew that one. She pointed at the book and said, "Booah." I knew that she knew that one already. Then she pointed at the door and said, "door" and KNOCKED on it, then she pantomimed opening the door! I was blown away! I'd never heard her say 'door' before and I've never pointed at it and said, "door", either. I dragged her into the living room and tried to have her reenact it for everyone. *sigh* She only knocked on it, but wouldn't say door. lol. :D

Autumn

Today I'm having dreams of autumn leaves and cool warm weather. I can't wait for the autumn to arrive. Unfortunately, I hate winter, and winter seems to last forever in the Northwest. Am I right? It seems to rain continually from October until May. I'm not looking forward to that, but I am looking forward to the fall. I love it and I can't wait for it. :D

On the other front, I'm considering a haircut, but my hair is fine and wavy/curly so I'm a loss as to what I should choose for a cut. I've always cut it in 'layers'... sometimes I wish my hair would choose one. Curly or straight. That would make things much easier. Instead it is always just very wavy. Sure, it makes for some nice natural volume, but I always feel like I've got the same haircut. Hmmm... any suggestions?

Scripture Sunday

“But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”- 1 Samuel 16:7

GIVEAWAY WINNER

Using Random.org, our winner is............ (drum roll please...)

"The Wades"

Please check out their blog here:

http://jeremyandamywade.blogspot.com/

Congratulations!!! :D

Northwestern Irony

Hehehe... I had a funny thought today. It's ironic that I live in the Northwest with who I am. I hate coffee. I hate sea food. And I HATE rain and cold. But I really can't escape either of these things in my daily life because of where I live. How funny! :D

Well, our trip to the park was very nice. I had a great long talk with Marina, Nevaeh's mother. It was great to have a connection with another woman. She's about ten years, give or take, older than me, but we had a really great talk. It's nice. I honestly don't have a lot of good close friends any more, now that I'm out of school. The friends I have made in recent years have all been at college (who I don't see any more) or at church. It's a good feeling to have some new friends.

Well, I hope that everyone has had a great day! I just realized today is the last day of my contest! I'll choose the winner tomorrow--give it a couple extra hours. ;)

My Week O' Break

Thanks for my contest, I've been taking the week off from blogging. I usually spend my day writing short stories. I love it. It's my secret passion. I should share some of what I'm writing sometime. =) But for now, it's after ten .... almost ten thirty in the morning. I'm exhausted. Anna had another one of those rough nights where sleep is not a prerogative. Good for her lol. On the other hand, mommy could use a hot shower in coffee... not that I drink coffee, I just bathe in it from time to time... I was thinking the other day, I have a lot of food aversions. Ever stop and think about stuff you like or don't like? If I put it on paper, I'm a pretty picky eater. I don't like beef, pork, sea food of any kind, coffee, strong tea... OK, OK, I'm going off on a tangent... It's the exhaustion. I blame that. Anyhow, Anna and I are going to the park soon with a lady from our church and her daughter, Nevaeh. Nevaeh is almost exactly a year older than Anna and she's smart as a whip, very sweet, big blue eyes. I love the girl, honestly. So, we're off to do that. Fascinating, huh? Just a little update on our lives. I'll have to post some of my short story sometime soon. :)