7 (8?) Quick Takes Friday

1. Between Ethan’s weenie and my tata’s, it’s been a big week here at our house! Everything’s fine, he went back to school today and I’m back to the normal chauffeuring of my MIL to doctor appointments. It’s GOOD!

2. Out of the blue one day on Facebook I found two friends that know each other. Their lives would in NO way intersect, so I posted “how do you two know each other?!” Yes, I’m nosy! Turns out that one is moving into the other’s neighborhood. And that one wants to HIRE ME! WooHoo! I’m going to be working as of next week!

3. To remind myself of just how much I love organizing…oh, ok, because it REALLY needed it, I cleaned out the corner cupboard in our kitchen. 1st shelf: medicines and vitamins. You could not BELIEVE how much I threw out! Stuff that expired in 2007! 2nd shelf: spices and cat medicine. Threw out some more stuff. 3rd shelf (because he is so tall!), Jim’s meds, first aid bin and pool testing kit (odd place, but it works for us!). More throwing out of really old stuff. I completely emptied out the first shelf and wiped it down–it was brown and gross from stuff spilling over the years. ::shudder:: It looks AMAZING now! As I told Jim this morning, organizing has its own reward–you get to enjoy the results afterwards!

4. We’re going back for another look at a house we had looked at back in December. As time passes and nothing new appears on the market, our ideas of what we can accept are changing. I’m not saying we’re going to put in an offer on the house, but taking another look is maybe a step towards that.

5. On the way home from my tests yesterday, I stopped in to the Habitat Home Store. I’ve been searching for a vanity for our hall bath, completely unwilling to pay retail. I’ve been there about a half-dozen times looking, but have never found something that worked for us. I had Ethan with me and really only had about 10 minutes. I looked back in the “bath” section and there wasn’t anything. On my way out, I passed by the kitchen cabinet section and lo and behold! There it was! The perfect vanity–right size, nice condition, already white even! However, no price. And I really needed to get out of there. So I called out “How do I get a price on something?” (yes, I’m that person!). Someone came over and said “It’s half off of its price–we’re having a sale.” The price? $25! Half off, including tax? $13.25!! I figured I’d risk it even without Jim’s approval! (I called him and said “I hope I didn’t just make you angry with me!”) I’ll pick it up either today or tomorrow depending on how the timing works out. Man, I love a good deal!

6. Back in November, Jim gave me a massage gift certificate for my birthday. 2 1/2 months later I’m finally going in tomorrow to get one. I’m really looking forward to an hour of having someone just rub the aches away. I LOVE living one mile from a spa!

7. Winter is back. We were up in the 60’s last week–it was surreal for mid-January. Today the wind chills are in the single to low double digits. While I’m not thrilled, it will certainly make me appreciate Spring more when it shows up in two months.

8. If any of you readers are not already followers of Kate, I encourage you to pop on over to her adoption blog. She has 7 beautiful children, ranging from 3-18, and she and her husband have decided to adopt two more beautiful girls from the Ukraine, both of whom have Down Syndrome. If you feel led, you might want to consider contributing to their adoption fund.

About the Ta Tas

So who knew you could manipulate breasts into so many different positions just to flatten them? Seriously, that tech was amazing. And THANK YOU JESUS that it was a woman, because NO WAY would I ever let a man do that to me! And no, nothing HURT. There were certainly moments I was uncomfortable, but nothing–NOTHING–unbearable. So if you are putting off getting a mammogram because you think it will hurt, I promise it doesn’t!

After four films on one side and three on the other (in addition to the original two on each side from Monday), I was told that everything looked good, but that they still wanted to do the ultrasound on one spot. It was “thickened”, which is how it felt during my self-exam. The ultrasound was quick and only weird when they had me lie on my side while using the wand on the top of my breast. That felt uncomfortable. The tech agreed that even through the wand she could feel the bumpiness of the spot I was talking about. It ended up being just some dense tissue. ALL GOOD!

Thank you everyone for the prayers and well wishes. It will be good to go back to normal life and let my breasts become just another part of my body again.

Poor Little Ethan

Last night Ethan was getting himself ready for bed…this is fairly new, having only begun during the Christmas break. He goes upstairs, changes his pullup and will climb into bed. Of course he has to get back out so we can put pajamas on him EVERY SINGLE NIGHT but there’s no explaining that to him.

So, the other kids come running down that “Ethan hurt himself!” and we immediately ran upstairs to see him putting on his pullup sobbing. Ethan does not cry. Seriously. DOES.NOT.CRY. So we knew he must have been in excruciating pain. “Where does it hurt?” no answer. Come on, buddy, show us! Finally we discern it’s his penis. Somehow he managed to shut the dresser drawer on it.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It looked AWFUL. Red, purple, swollen…..we felt so bad! Called the pediatrician’s after hours service, who called back within two minutes (quickest time ever). Motrin, ice (yeah, NOT!), check for problems urinated or blood in the urine.

Fast forward 10 hours.

I get him up at 6:30 like always. Sit him on the potty like always. No peeing. Not a drop. Nothing in his pullup from last night (which is normal). He’s been up an hour and still…no pee. I called the after-hours service again. She said to pump him with fluid. I gave him a can of PediaSure. He’s now watching Blue’s Clues and jumping on his mini trampoline.

I just checked and HE PEED!!! ::Happy Dance!:: I’ve never been so happy to see a wet pullup!

Keep in mind, this is also the day of the mammogram and ultrasound. Won’t THAT be fun with him there?!

Bedtime Thoughts

What is it about bedtime that allows the mind to go places it doesn’t go during the day? Two nights ago I just laid awake thinking about everything in general. Last night my mind went to: how would Jim find a wife after I’m gone because there’s no single women in our church. I mean, REALLY, COME ON!

Looking forward to tomorrow afternoon when this is all over.

Regular Post is Interrupted

I had my annual mammogram this morning. I just got a call saying they want me to come in to get additional views and an ultrasound.

I’m freaking out over here.

7 Quick Takes Friday

1. Laura did very well in the spelling bee, but did not win or place. She was very nervous before and said she did NOT want to win (didn’t want to go on to another competition), but afterward decided that she was very sad, that she did want to win, and that she wasn’t proud of herself. Awww…we encouraged her a lot and told her how proud we were of her for even going that far. We’ll practice harder next year!

2. We had Ethan’s meeting this morning. Behavioral therapist 2 hours/week and a mobile therapist 3 hours/week. How they are going to fit that all in in just four short days I have no clue. I mean, the kid comes home at 4:30 and goes to bed at 8. In between that there’s homework and dinner as well! Time will, as usual, tell!

3. Just watched Kristen Chenowith’s “Taylor the Latte Boy” on YouTube and the response from a guy playing Taylor. Very cute and worth it. She is one talented woman!

4. We’re looking into getting new counters in our kitchen with some of our tax refund money. Being that we have a LOT of counter space (not a bad thing, normally!), it’s not going to be cheap–and that’s just for Formica!

5. I’m waiting on our bank’s 1099-INT and then I can e-file. WooHoo! This is the earliest I’ve been able to do it. I LOVE getting it done and over with while everyone puts it off until the last second and then panics. Yes, I’m THAT person!

6. My desk is, yet again, a PIT OF DESPAIR. I’ve been piling and piling. Sigh. It’s so embarrassing to admit over and over that I just cannot keep this one area clean consistently. If I didn’t have kids, take care of my MIL, was a deacon or worked on our family finances, well, then, that’d be a different story!

7. Work on the house is SLOW. SLOW, people, SLOW. Like I’m thinking no WAY will we be ready by early March. Sigh again. Why can’t I just call Designed to Sell and have them come over for the week?

Big Week for Us

We have a fairly important week at our home. Tomorrow is the district spelling bee featuring Laura. Friday is the day where we come up with the final plan for Ethan’s in-home therapy. We’ll have lots of people here on Friday morning and will be filling out lots of paperwork. By the end of the month we’ll have a mobile therapist in our house, helping Ethan hopefully respond appropriately to his siblings instead of hitting/kicking/hurting them. I’m looking forward to both tomorrow and Friday, and am hopeful for a positive outcome for both, as well!

7 Quick Takes Friday

Good morning, Ladies! Friday again!

1. It was a very full week for me–I was with Jacki three of the five days, went househunting, and have three kids home today.

2. Well, they’re home, but we have to make a trip to the third ring of hell …..um, the Exton Mall. We got glasses at LensCrafters two weeks ago. EVERY SINGLE DAY, with no exaggeration, I am bending Laura’s to fix their crookedness. They are going back for a different pair. These are just too flimsy or something. Kudos to Lenscrafters for having a 30 day exchange policy!

3. My MIL is staying at a nursing facility for a bit. She got out of the hospital yesterday but isn’t quite ready to be on her own yet. Sigh.

4. Regarding house hunting, I’ve seen almost everything out there that is in our price range. It sounds like the U2 song…But I still haven’t found what I’m lookin for!

5. The septic system guy is due here in 4 minutes (7:30am). Our pump has been making a grinding/whirring sound that does NOT sound good. I’m hoping it’s a quick but not expensive fix!

6. Trying to type this on an empty stomach isn’t quite the good idea. I’ve been up since 6 and am getting really hungry. When the kids are getting ready for school, I’ve normally eaten by now.

7. We’re no longer in the BITTER cold zone…the 20’s have given way to the upper 30’s and I for one am thrilled! Not a fan of winter to begin with, when it’s really cold all I want to do is stay in the house and do nothing but drink tea and eat soup.

Girlfriends

When I was little, I had a best friend named Dawn. She lived three doors down and we played together a lot. Eventually we went our separate directions and got new friends, but as little girls we were very close.

Laura finally has that. A girl in her class, Hannah, is her BFF and they write notes to each other and hang out at recess and just are giggly little girls together. I love it! I think it’s very sweet. What prompted this post is the phone ringing and a girly voice asking for Laura; it was Hannah wanting to talk to her BFF even though they spent all day together at school.

Awwww! My baby/toddler/little precious girl is getting older!!

Bible Study Lesson 1 & 2

So I figure the best way to take something away from this bible study is to actually blog about it. That way, when I look back on these entries, I’ll be reminded of the lessons I learned. Because believe me, I promise you, I WILL FORGET. (sidebar: I used to work with a guy who told me I had a mind like a steel trap–I never forgot anything. Once I had children I exchanged the trap for a sieve–nothing ever stays in there!)

So! I got the book a few days ago and started lesson one (I Peter 1:1-3) in Wendy’s while eating a single. It was tasty (no onion, no mayo, no cheese). Peter starts by greeting the church in five cities and talks about grace and peace being theirs in abundance. Elizabeth, who I still think is a little strong on the “fill in the space with the exact word from the passage” talked about the definition of grace (God’s favor) and peace (refers to rest). Her point was that “whatever the trial or test, in it you have no only God’s power but God’s rest.” That’s a pretty good thing as long as we can remember that!

Lesson 2 (finished 1 today and then kept on going) I Peter 1:3-9 talks about our inheritance in heaven (incorruptible, undefiled, not fading away and reserved for us), that we WILL have grief and trials, that our faith is more precious than gold. Her point for this chapter was that we will suffer for our faith. I’ve only recently experienced this (except for a little teasing in high school) and it’s somewhat uncomfortable! She quotes D.L. Moody, which I would also like to do:

“God has settled in heaven certain trails of our faith, which will as surely befall us as the crown of glory be given us at Christ’s appearing. God’s purposes of grace are a golden chain; not a link must be missing. When the devil tries our faith it is that he may crush it or diminish it; but when God tries our faith it is to establish and increase it. Persecution will be to us as the deluge to the ask–a flood to lift us toward heaven.”

She finishes with “so when trials come our way, we can, by God’s grace, but on God’s gentle and quiet spirit, refusing to create disturbances and bearing with tranquility the disturbances caused by others.” My comment in the margin? HOW I SHOULD RESPOND!!