Things She Says

I've written these notes in the past couple of days on things Anna has said:

Last night before going to sleep I started to sing. Anna put her arm around me, put her finger to her lips and said, "Mama, Shh! It's night-night time." Which sounded more like, "Mama, Shh! Idz nigh-nigh tie." She's getting so wordy any more. It's hard to believe.

"C'mon, Daddy. C'mon. Let's go bye-bye... Paul!"
Paul gets mad at me that Anna calls him Paul... ROFL.

*SNOW*

(Anna in the snow earlier this week.)

(Last Sunday. This Sunday it's too deep to go out.)

(Anna crawled up to her napping Daddy and fell asleep like this with him! So cute!)

It snowed 11 inches yesterday! And if that doesn't sound amazing to you, well it is. It's a big deal. It almost never snows in Oregon--in the valleys, that is-- and when it does, it almost immediately melts off. So, yesterday it snowed and snowed and SNOWED. And before nightfall it began to RAIN. So when I look outside right now, it's a winter wonderland, but all of the snow is basically frozen into a thick sheet of ice on the top 2 inches. It's insane. At a round 2 AM this morning, I went outside and ran around like I was a kid. It was fantastic. (Just don't tell anyone.) You take a step, and it breaks, step, break, step, break. It was good. Good times... good times. Paul thought I was nuts. But it really was a lot of fun.

Today, though, Anna woke up at 9 and then just laid in Paul's arms all morning and now she's STILL asleep at 2 PM. I'm thinking that she's not feeling well.

Vegan Dad

I found a cool blog called Vegan Dad who posts vegan recipes. If you don't know by now, I love trying out tons of exotic recipes. Different countries, different diets, etc. You should check it out. Who knew that soy could be so versatile? I know, I know... I already knew that, but this really shows you a ton of new ways to use those types of ingredients. I had a fun time scrolling through the blog and looking at recipes. :D


Does that veggie lasagna look delicious or what???? Mmm yum!

A Quote

"The night was clear and frosty, all ebony of shadow and silver of snowy slope; big stars were shining over the silent fields; here and there the dark pointed firs stood up with snow powdering their branches and the wind whistling through them."
- Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

Well, Merry Christmas!

Time is flying by. I can hardly believe it!

Well, my mom is doing better. She has her balance back... not a hundred percent, though. It's showing like crazy here. There are so many storms, one after another. It's nice, but way too cold for me!

Anna seems to be learning phrases at a time instead of words at a time, which is really exciting, but boy she sure has an attitude. She isn't afraid to let you know what her opinion on things are. Sheesh.

We got her a V-Motion for Christmas! I think she'll like it. She always wants to play with the Wii! haha We got her a pair of Christmas PJs to open on Christmas eve, play dough, a candy cane, a book and I know my sister's family got her a Spongebob flashlight. That's enough presents for one little girl if you ask me lol.

Above, I uploaded a picture of me and a picture of Anna. I messed with them on Photoshop. :D

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Info On My Mom... (While I have the chance...)

Before I head out the door, (I'll be watching my mom for a few days), I just got off the phone with her and had a little more information on her condition. She's in Stage 3 Renal Failure. Which basically means that her kidney (only one of her kidneys actually works) is dying. If she stays as healthy as she can, then she might live out the decade. I'll be on her Last Wishes statement, making sure that when the time comes, that her wishes will be respected.

Right now I'm doing OK. I actually think that this is a much better scenario than can be expected. I know she's going to die. I've honestly thought she wouldn't live much longer, her health has always been poor, and it's somewhat comforting knowing that her death won't be unexpected (like my brother's death was. He died last December 4th of suicide).

Anyway, she's doing better. She said she went on a long walk today, in spite of her doctor's suggestion (as exercise would dehydrate her, which could be deadly), but she said she drank lots of water and I'm encouraging her to do so.

(GFR basically means the rate at which the kidney filters your blood. CKD just means Chronic Kidney Disease.)
----------------

Stage 1 CKD

Slightly diminished function; Kidney damage with normal or increased GFR (>90 mL/min/1.73 m2). Kidney damage is defined as pathologic abnormalities or markers of damage, including abnormalities in blood or urine test or imaging studies.

Stage 2 CKD

Mild reduction in GFR (60-89 mL/min/1.73 m2) with kidney damage. Kidney damage is defined as pathologic abnormalities or markers of damage, including abnormalities in blood or urine test or imaging studies.

Stage 3 CKD

Moderate reduction in GFR (30-59 mL/min/1.73 m2). British guidelines distinguish between stage 3A (GFR 45-59) and stage 3B (GFR 30-44) for purposes of screening and referral.

Stage 4 CKD

Severe reduction in GFR (15-29 mL/min/1.73 m2) Preparation for renal replacement therapy

Stage 5 CKD

Established kidney failure (GFR <15>

-------------

And one last thing before I sign off, Paul and I are looking at a thing called International Media Ministries. I'll write more about that later, as it's not set in stone, but I think that will be a good opportunity and it'll be great to do something... tangible for the Lord. I know He doesn't measure our 'deeds' like that, but it's something that has always been on Paul's heart (the ministry), so that might be something we will do in the coming years.

Thanks!

Thank you to everyone who left a kind comment on my previous post (two before this) about my mom. She's home now. She's very dizzy and weak, though. I'm sorry if I don't respond to your post, but I read them and I'm thankful! So thanks!!! :D

2 Pairs of Earrings for $5 Shipped!

I wanted to share this great deal where you can get two pairs of earrings for $5 shipped!!



Register on line at Dickielee.com (elegant fashion jewelry) for a $10 gift certificate use code "NewCustomer" then apply for a promotional crystal earring at the same time. They will waive S/H. Reg. $14.95 ea. (75% discount) You can't use the free $10 off on the FREE pair of earrings--but they have just about the same pair in their regular Earrings section for $14.95--so here's the breakdown:

1 Pair of earrings for $14.95 (or up.. they have some pretty dangly stuff)
1 Free pair of Swarvovski Crystral earrings
- Free shipping
- Minus $10 promo code

Equals $4.95 for TWO pairs of nice earrings!

I didn't do this part, but someone else posted that you can actually get 3 pairs of earrings for $4.95. If you click on special promotions, there are earrings that are free with purchase of two other pairs of earrings. Apparently the free earrings count as a purchase because I was able to put the additional free pair in my cart and the total for all three came to $4.95.

After you click special promotions, click buy 2 get 1 free.
OR TRY THE ABOVE for THREE pairs!


Anyways, this is totally legit and they want you to spread the news of their promotions. So if you do this, please put in the comment section that I referred you.

My email is sarahmarie [dot] pemberton [at] gmail.com

Christmas Break... So Much On My Mind

I'm sorry I haven't been on much. I don't mean to abandon this site. We will be moving at the end of this month and returning to college, we've celebrated birthdays and holidays, things are so incredibly busy! And my sister is currently engaged to be engaged right now! Moller is a nice young man from the UK and I"m so happy for her. They've been talking about marriage and children. It's so exciting! Also, my mom has been suffering from health problems. She should be getting out of the hospital today. A few days ago, she was hospitalized because she began to go into kidney failure. It was scary. She has asked me to go through her final will & decree, especially where it comes to life support and tube-feeding. I'm glad she chose me. I think I'm honestly the most... how do I put this? Stable? I can handle that kind of stress a lot better than my sisters. After my brother died, both of my sisters dropped into a deep depression, but I never did. I was able to handle it quite well and so I'm glad she chose me.

But as you can see, things have been a tad hectic. I will try to update as much as possible.

The Shape of a Mother Post

I posted in The Shape of a Mother. If you don't know this blog, it is fabulous. Absolutely fabulous. Anything that spreads the word that we are all unique and beautiful women--not air-brushed or spotless Vogue models--but real, tangible women--is a wonderful thing!

Link to my post.

I originally was going to post as "Anonymous"--but I kind of want to share my story--my wonderful husband, the fact that I am imperfect. Beautifully imperfect... Anyway. Check out TSOAM. It's one of my favorite blogs. ;)

Anna's 2 Year Appointemtent Shocked Me!

Why did it surprise me? Because Anna is 36 Inches Tall... meaning she is in the 94th Percentile!!! Can you believe that? At her 18 Month appt. she was only in the 65th, so I thought she would slow down and be about in the 60th by her 2 yr appointment (I'm only 5 foot 1 and Paul is 5 foot 10). NOPE. She's still growing and I'm beginning to believe that she inherited the P-------n Height Gene. (Come to think of it, my Aunt Susie is pretty tall... And Aunt Shirleen, too.... and my uncles were/are all over 6 feet.... maybe it's a combo of my genes and hers?) Enough rambling.
She is 27 pounds and a few ounces, making her in the 65th for weight. Her head circumference was 80th percentile.
I'm still shocked that she's so tall... I mean, I could see it when she was around other two and three year olds, but... I guess I never thought she was above the 60th percentile. I'm.... shocked. What's a synonym for that so I don't sound redundant? Amazed. I'm amazed.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

I got a kick out of this scene from Bones last Wednesday...

If you don't know the dialogue or anything.... I'll give you a quick overview. Basically, Brennan needs magnifying glasses to examine the skull. Booth finds these around an old lady's neck. Booth comes in. Grins. Walks up to her and says, "What I want you to do is take off your glasses, shake out your hair and say, 'Mr Booth, do you know what penalty is for an overdue book?'" Brennan's response? "Why?" Booth looks... annoyed? Flustered? and mutters, "Never mind."
Brennan gives him another errand... finding a butane lighter, denture cream and face powder.

When he's out of sight, she takes off her gloves, takes off her glasses, shakes out her hair... looks confused. Gets that "I don't know what that means" look on her face and then puts back her hair and glasses. LOL....

So Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! I'll be spending the next week in Roseburg with family.
Happy Dancing Turkey gif... (Why would he be so happy when thousands.... hundreds of thousands... of his relatives are getting their heads chopped off, we shall never know. Maybe he got his hands on the apple cider.)

glitter-graphics.com

Christmas Dress Pics

I took these indoors and Photoshopped the background to a solid black... also did some red-eye correction.

2 Years of Breastfeeding

You know, if I didn't stop to think about it, I would have never really realized the significance of breastfeeding Anna for two years. That's lower risk of breast cancer, stronger immunity for Anna, more exposure to brain-building chemicals found in breast milk, etc, etc, etc...
It's kind of amazing. But I really don't think about it any more. The goals, I mean. I don't think about breastfeeding goals or milestones any more. I never really have. I suppose that's out of the ordinary. I never bought any bottles or formula (although my MIL sure bought me bottles and Similac kept trying to get me on their bandwagon! No thanks to both!) Some other company gave us liquid formula with nipples and little glass bottles. Those were great for that ONE night when Anna was 2 weeks old and Daddy stayed up with her and I SLEPT! AND woke up in pain and engorged lol. Other than that.... I honestly never had a goal. I was a member of this mommy site full of notoriously blood-thirsty women, always attacking each other for doing anything remotely resembling "wrong"... giving babies solids at 5.5 months old, as opposed to 6 months old (give me a break! She sucked on a cookie, people!)... Giving her a cookie for her first food and not pureed green beans (I wouldn't like that, why would she? PLUS it was a Girl Scout cookie!!! Who could pass that up? "On my honor I will try to serve God and my country and to live by the Girl Scout Law and give my daughter a Girl Scout cookie for her first taste of heaven.")
And to top it all off... the women of that unnamed site told me that saying that my goal was 12 months was TOO MUCH and to not have such a long goal. Have a 3 month goal or a 6 month goal. Give me a break! Why should we have so little faith in our selves? Why would I arbitrarily break down and give my daughter a bottle... run the water, boil it, de-germify bottles, buy the bottles that are the most healthy, measure the powder, mix the water WHEN I CAN JUST WHIP IT OUT! I deserve one of those bumper stickers that says:
And this isn't in offense to bottle-feeders or formula-users. It's more in offense to those catty women who were my first real experience with "breastfeeding supporters"... Pah to you.
Point is, my first and only goal was one year. I made it. From now on I'm winging it. Anna likes the boob. I like the closeness and the benefits.
Oh and I found my way onto diaperswappers.com and started a thread announcing my two year milestone. Within a day or two four or five more threads popped up announcing 2 year milestones or goals being reached. I was really excited and pleased by the support and praise. It was very nice to hear it. ;)

So, in closing, whatever your goal is. 1 week, 1 year, 3 or 4 years... if and when you make that goal, good for you! You are amazing and I support you and we all should support one another. For being moms, even. Waking up several times a night for months (for me, twenty months! argh...), for feeding and changing our babies, learning their voices, their turns of temperament.... celebrating their firsts and OUR firsts, their goals and OUR goals. It's an amazing experience, motherhood. It truly is. And I am blessed to be one of the women in the world who gets to experience motherhood in one of the ways that it is offered.

I hope that some day I can adopt a child (or children) and experience motherhood in a whole new facet. Motherhood isn't how you feed your child, it's the love that you give your child. A woman who gives birth and breast feeds her child can just as easily abuse that child or starve that child. A woman who adopts and bottle feeds can just as easily smother her child with love.

I honestly don't know where I'm going with this now... I suppose this is what happens when I decide to write after midnight....

I'll post pictures in the next post. ;)

Anna is now 2!

Here are a few pictures of the day! My husband made the cake. It turned out great. Anna tore into her presents and cake. It was a very good day, I think. :D