Busy...Busy....dread-ful-ly busy...you've no i-dea what I have to do. Busy, Busy, shock-ing-ly busy...much, much to busy for you.

If you can tell me where my title is from without clicking here...YOU WIN!!

Wow this week has flown by and it's been SO busy!! Monday, I was busy putting things away from the weekend and doing laundry and what-not….but in truth it was probably the least busy day of the week. We did get to take a nice long walk since the sun was out!! Then we went over to Kari and Andy’s for dinner since they got A NEW PUPPY! It’s a Wheaton Terrier & he’s SO cute. His name is Eddie. The Gortmakers stopped by too, so the big boys played basketball since the weather was decent and us girls chatted while playing with the little boys and the puppy.

Tuesday was run, run, run. Andrew was up early so we were out the door, to the gas station (for $.10 coffee), Wal-Mart and downtown GR to pick up recycling bins and home by 10:30. We then had a testing at 11:45, then hit the bank, the gas station again (for gas) and the library. After Andrew’s second nap, we took another nice long walk! It was BEAUTIFUL outside and I know Rocky needs it! Then, in the evening, Andrew had no appetite at all and started to get really fussy. We ended up putting him to bed at seven with a fever. It kept rising through the night and topped off a little over 104. Needless to say, none of us slept well that night.

Wednesday morning, Andrew’s fever dropped to a low grade, so we went to church. I wouldn’t have, except that the main teacher was on vacation so I was the teacher and had all the supplies with me. Andrew ended up in my class the majority of the time – nursery was just a little to stressful for him that day. But all things considered, the class went well with me teaching with baby in tow. Then we came home long enough for him to take a short nap before heading to a testing where he screamed all the way through it and only tried the first product. It was lovely. He looked so sick and sleepy, the poor thing. And the mean mom that I am, instead of taking him straight home when it was over, we ran into D&W and Walgreens for two quick quick stops. He actually did really good considering. He napped when I got home and I worked on laundry and on the computer for a while. When Marc got home, we all went on a walk before dinner. We gave little man a tub, Marc went to play at Geoffs, Andrew went to sleep and I vegged on the couch with the computer and the TV. It was nice (even though there was NOTHING on).

Today, we did a quick stop at Meijer for a great sale on Chicken Breast only to find out they were out. So instead of a quick in and out stop, it turned into tracking down a not very helpful meat person…finding out if, in fact, they were out…finding out about rain checks, going through the checkout anyway to get the rain check behind the SLOWEST CHECKOUT PERSON E.V.E.R.! It’s one thing, if I was planning on being there a while and had major shopping to do. But when it’s set in your head that you will be in and out and you’re not…well, my patience gets tested. So I got my rain checks and we headed home for Andrew to nap before testing. Again, Andrew still does not have an appetite (the only thing I’ve been able to get him to eat the past 2.5 days is Cheerios and graham crackers – which doesn’t exactly fit the food pyramid all that well). So, again, he did not want the testing food. Fortunately, I can still rate the products and we still get paid. We stopped and got puppy food on the way home and now I’m just working on getting the house clean while Andrew sleeps.

I’m thinking this fever, lack of appetite, lethargy that Andrew has is again, just teething since he seems to do this now about once every 4-5 weeks without any other symptoms. I don’t know. Strange little boy, but we love him.

I could use some warm milk! 

Caught! 

All Sugared Up

Ok, I haven't been a very good blogger the past couple weeks and for those of you who actually do check this frequently (and I know there are some beleive it or not...I have my ways..bwah, ha ha ha ha)...I am sorry.

Our Easter weekend was nice as I hope yours was as well. We went to OH where Andrew got spoiled, sugared up, and thrown off schedule and he loved every minute. But we're home now and he's sleeping well... in fact, I didn't have to get up with him at all last night. (Although technically he did wake up around midnight when we moved him from car to house and he heard the clanking of Rocky's collar...his head perked right up out of his deep sleep).

Get this, this other day, Andrew had a bath and was all ready for bed and Marc was out getting his hair cut. It was bedtime, but we were waiting a few more minutes to see if Daddy would get home to get a hug before bed. So Andrew is playing in his PJ's and I'm on the couch and realize that it is suddendly TOO quiet. So I go the kitchen to find him and just started laughing. Not the slight chuckled, but the full laugh out loud chuckle. You see, he had found a container of dry hot chocolate mix and got it open. So he is sitting on the floor in front of a pile of hot chocolate mix, shoving the dry mix into his mouth. Now the really funny thing is, is that he was he saw me, he double timed it and started using both hands, one right after another shoveling in as much mix as he could. I just laughed. I didn't even stop him. Instead I went and grabbed my camera (which really doesn't do justice to how funny it really was). After I snapped a few shots, I did indeed make him stop eating the mix and cleaned him and floor up. But it was just hilearous. And the determination was even funnier. The look of "Uh-oh, I better get as much as I can in before she takes it away". Little Stinker.

If it's not one thing...

Just a quick update. Andrew's lip is doing just fine. But get this...today, he fell on his train and I saw it happen. Now - I don't generally make it a habit to jump every time he falls, but I did this time. 'Cause I saw it and it didn't look good. Well, I picked him up, but not before he got blood all over the train and on the carpet. Oh, by the way...he is S.C.R.E.A.M.I.N.G. Blood is pouring out of his mouth. Now, if it weren't for talking to the nurse just a few days ago and her telling me that mouth injuries tend to bleed more, I would have thought he severed an undiscovered mouth artery. Did I mention he's S.C.R.E.A.M.I.N.G! So I grab paper towels and I'm trying to catch the blood faster than it's coming out which I am doing unsucessfully, partly because he would much rather pull his head away from my evil paper towel and bury it in my sweatshirt. Yes, my shirt and sweatshirt are covered in blood. I give up trying to clean him up and still have NO CLUE as to what specifically in his mouth is bleeding and give him his water, which he does take. (The screaming stops momentarily). I am now hunting through both my refridgerator freezer and my basement freezer while holding a screaming, drooling blood kid desperatly trying to find a popsicle or something nice and yummy and cold for him to have to help the hurt and take his mind off the pain. And the Lord answered my prayer with a fudgecicle that had been in the freezer well past it's prime. So I strip Andrew, put him in his high chair, rinse the freezer burn off the fudgecicle and let him go to town. It took him awhile to get into it as he was still very traumatized. But between me being back to wiping and the fudgecicle, the bleeding seemed to stop and the tears slowed a bit. When he was finished (no I did not let him eat the whole thing), he still was none too happy, but not over the top wailing, so I wiped him down to remove exess blood and fudge, (which I am still finding as I clean tonight) wrapped his half naked body in a nice fleece blanket and we cuddled up to Veggie Tales. (This part was actually really really nice for me, since he's not a cuddler). Finally about halfway through the show, he started feeling better and was moving around and talking. I don't think he ever fully recovered since he was extra cranky the rest of the night, but he did get a much needed bath and is in bed now, so hopefully, he'll forget the whole thing tomorrow. (still not sure if it was his cheek, tongue, tooth....)

Well, in other news, not really news, just update since I last posted... Sunday night we had our "Fiesta Night" for church and it was really nice. It was our first social thing with this church and it was nice to meet other people including the Pastor and get to tell him how INCREDIBLE last Sunday was. Monday, I don't think we did much...I really don't remember. Tuesday night, we had friends over for dinner. And tonight, I am planning on watching some more Alias episodes from the library while Marc is playing ball with a buddy. Wow...it's 9:00 already! Ok, I am going to go. Have a nice evening.

Freaky

It's Palm Sunday and church was AWESOME this morning. They could have kept it going another hour!! It was really great and so simple. No preaching. Lots of singing, few testomies, communion, scripture reading.....but it was unbelievable!! Still on a high! I'm really going to miss not being there next Sunday as we are going to OH. I'll have to get the CD - although it's not the same. We went to the 11:00 service for the first time. So we didn't recognize hardly anyone. But we were up late watching the Wake Forest game!! WOW - what a game! For anyone wondering...I had UCONN winning it all....and they LOST today to a 10 seed. AAUUGGHH!!! Glad I didn't get into any pools. And I was doing well up until then.

Get this...after lunch, I notice there was some drops of blood on Andrew's sipping cup. So I open his mouth and there is blood in it. Come to find out...his upper lip is STUCK between his two front teeth. He seems fine and the bleeding has stopped unless we try to get it out, then he fights up and bites our fingers. It doesn't seem to be bothering him, so we just don't know what to do. I called the nurse line AGAIN and she said that yes, it was very bizarre and try to check it out while he is sleeping. And as long as it wasn't gusing, or swelling so much he can't swallow or breath, let it go for now and see what happens. So we are doing nothing now. How in the world does that happen??!

Well, we are heading to a "Fiesta Night" for church tonight, so I need to go and get us all ready here soon. I've seriously got a severe case of the hiccups that I've had for about 30 minutes now.

I hope you all have a great week. I am going to go stand on my head while drinking sugar water from the wrong side of a cup while having Marc jump out and scare me all while holding my breath.

My Little Mister. 

Check out this cake!! 

I think he enjoyed it!!

We survived....

We survived the birthday weekend!! It went great. We had both of Andrew's grandparents up and they spoiled, spoiled, spoiled him. In fact, I had to issue a No Suger Edict for the next week for him. (which I've already broken when his squirrally little hand snuck my cookie the next day). Part of all the sugar he ate was his birthday cake which I made and it looked AWESOME!!! Unfortunatly, nobody but him ate it and I dumped the rest of the cake in the trash a few days later. And right after that, my son repeatedly threw his basketball in the trash so that I had to keep wiping off three day old icing off it. But, like I said, he got spoiled. Some new clothes, and plenty of socks, a cool rain coat, some more Little People, some tub toys, a couple DVD's, a book, and some piggy bank money. Man....I need to turn one! For any of you out there who donated to this cause.....Thank you very much!!!! You can click here if you would like to see pictures of the weekend and more of the cake in the face.

So now it's Thursday and I feel like I am just getting back into the groove of things. Monday and Tuesday was just cleaning, laundry, etc... Wednesday, we had church in the AM, then a product testing in the afternoon, and then I have to be honest that I didn't do too much the rest of the day. It was nice...but it's crazy how messy the house can get in an afternoon, without any picking up afterwards. Today, I drug Andrew all over town this morning, the poor thing. We hit Aldi's, the a second hand kids store I wanted to checkout (didn't see anything interesting), then Meijer, then David's Bridal. By the time we got home, Andrew was out and took a nice long nap complete with hat, coat and shoes. I put grogeries away and started into the mess that I had left by not doing much the day before.

Today starts NCAA tournaments (which is why my normal happy Thursday TV night, stinks)and I have my bracket filled out. I have to say...for being an uneducated participant, I think I am doing pretty well. Well, I want to get a few more things done, so this is it for now. Oh and

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Still my little boy

Well, Andrew’s first birthday came and went and he didn’t morph into some little kid I didn’t recognize…He’s still the same little boy I knew two days ago. And I managed to make it through the day without getting emotional once. In fact, the day was so busy, there wasn’t time. I thought about it a bit on the way to church in the morning doing the whole “this time last year” thoughts (At that time…. a year ago…. was pretty much the worst thing in my life). Then I really didn’t think about it again until three and realized that I didn’t even notice when it turned 1 to tell Andrew that he OFFICAILLY one!

Anyway, we had church in the morning and like a good mother, I brought cookies for Andrew’s class. Then we had a quick stop on the way home before naptime for Andrew. I made rice crispy treats and dinner for some friends of ours, and set up pizza dough in the bread maker, and baked a cake, then baked the pizza dough. Made spinach /cheese omelets for lunch and picked up the house. Andrew and I then ran dinner over to our friend’s and visited them and their new baby for a bit. (Really pretty little girl). By the time we got home, Marc was home and the Dressler’s were over a little later. We made and ate our pizzas, then headed to TGI Friday’s for dessert. Andrew got a balloon and his own little sundae with caramel and hot fudge. That was pretty much our night and how Andrew spent his first birthday.

Now we are waiting for his Grandma and Grandpa Dykstra to show up from Iowa…should be here in a few hours. I still have some cleaning to do, but over all, we are ready for company. My folks are coming later Friday. Because of this, I might not update much until next week. Until next time…. Happy Birthday, Andrew!

This time last year.

I was looking over some pictures today that were taken the day Andrew was born and was thinking. This time last year...things were still good, as in, I was feeling alright. I had my doctor appt in the afternoon where she told me that I could have the baby by the end of the day. We had already dropped Rocky off at the kennel. We had already gone out to Chili's for fahita night with the Dressler's...and other than a few Braxton Hicks, I was really feeling fine. I even got a decent (as decent as you can expect for an overdue pregnant lady) night's sleep that night. Stay tuned....if I can manage to pull away, maybe I'll write another "This time last year" note tomorrow. (then again, maybe you don't want me too.)

He is still 11 month's old...

Just a quick note before I go to bed. Today was a busy day...but not compared to yesterday...a little slower. We got up and did devos and ate waffles for breakfast and talked to my mom on the phone, showered, etc....before heading off to a product testing that was pretty bad. Neither of us liked it. It was pasta and veggies, but it wasn't good at all. Then Andrew took a nap when we got home and I cleaned, got the mail, made cookies for church tomorrow, laundry. For a late lunch, I ate leftover homemade chicken nuggets and rice and Andrew had cheese and spinach scrambled eggs. I don't really remember what we did between then and when Marc came home. I was busy, but don't remember details. Anyway, Andrew took another late nap, which allowed Marc and I to eat dinner alone again (chicken alfredo with spinach). The rest of the night we just hung out until Andrew went down, then I tackled the dreaded spare bedroom. Y'know the one that accumlates EVERYTHING until, someone actually comes to stay with you? But I am glad to say, that other than vacuuming...it done (or good enough). Ok, a boring update, I know. Sorry about that. I really just wanted to get everything done yesterday and today since tomorrow is:

Andrew's 1st Birthday!

K is for Kooking

Wow - today was a super busy day. I started when Andrew and I went to Aldi's and Meijer after breakfast to get groceries. We got home and Andrew took a nice nap while I put groceries away, made myself a pot of coffee since I spilled my travel mug in the truck this morning and had to use Andrew's blanket to clean it up (forgive me, kid), shredded-divided-froze chicken that I had cooking in the crockpot all night, froze the broth in yogurt containers, made two egg strata cassaroles for the freezer minus the egg/milk topping, made lunch of tuna fish sandwiches and green beans, cleaned and got the coffee pot all ready for tommorrow and totally cleaned the kitchen...all before he woke up. Well, maybe not totally by the time he woke up, but at least by the time he was finished with his tuna and beans...which he made a MESS with! Oh, FYI - those mats that are made to go under highchairs to catch tuna projectiles are NOT made to go into the washing machine. It ate it, shredded it, mauled it...however you want to put it...it's a mess. Thankfully, we have Rocky.

By then I was ready to get off my feet. So I jumped online for a minute, but the phone kept ringing. Although one call was a friend and I got to chat with her for a while, while chasing around my toddler - did I just call him that? - who was getting into EVERYTHING!!! Cornstarch, Karo Syrup, Carbon Monocide detector, Playstation (that he already broke and let's just say it's a good thing his daddy loves him so much), bowls, oven mitts, instant coffee, muffin pans, guestbook, remote, cell phone, etc... And I am not exaggerating. I was literally walking behind him, distracting him as I took the prohibitted item and tried to make the nearest acceptable item seem intriguing. Y'know, at one time, we had the floor fairly baby proofed...but he keeps finding new ways to get into new things. One a good note, he was once again, a very pleasant boy today. Very silly, full of smiles and laughs. In fact I think he smiled at every person in the stores this morning who happen to catch his eye...which of course, automatically make people stop and chat with him for a minute. Maybe he'll be president someday.

Anyway, then I continued to play with Andrew and work around the house and did more laundry - I hate laundry. Marc got home and I threw some ingredients in the breadmaker and made dinner. We had bacon cheeseburgers, spinach salad, an orange and grapes. Andrew was actually napping through dinner, so it was kinda nice to just eat all by ourselves. (Although Marc has this new fishing idea in his head and it's taken over. That and some deal the Vikings might be doing. I swear, trying to get any other thought out of him is rough). Andrew did wake up and have dinner shortly after we finished though it was during a riveting game of "shake-your-head-'no'-so-fast-you-get-dizzy-while-laughing-the-whole-time". Kinda made it tough for Marc to feed him carrots, when his mouth is whizzing back and forth. Once dinner was cleaned up, I made some Tapoica pudding for Andrew (ok....for me, too). Then we all just hung out for a while until Andrew's bedtime.

Then I worked on more laundry, folding, putting clothes away, taking dirties to the basement etc... until about 10:30. Ahhhhh...I am done for the night.

Remember?

Well, today is the last Monday before Andrew turns ONE!! A lot has happened in the last year. And the funny thing is, is that he won’t remember any of it. On some notes, it’s probably a good thing. Who wants to remember things such as:

Birth
Endless bouncing
Shots
Eating plain avocado
Surgery
Flu

But on a sad note, he also won’t remember:

Any of the cuddling
Any of the Peek A Boo Games
Any of the splashing in the tub
Any of the barnyard animal noises Mommy makes while changing his diaper.
Any of the napping with Daddy in the rocking chair
Any of the trips like to the zoo, Sauder’s Village or Mall of America
Any of the silly chases to and from the kitchen
Any of his first holidays

I know that even though he won’t remember any of this first year, all of it was worth it to build the relationship that Marc and I now have with our Andrew. He lights up when we walk into the room, smiles when we smile, laughs when we laugh, runs to us when he get hurts, snuggles to us when he’s tired and over all loves us. He may not remember any of those things specifically, but through them he’s learned who we are and that we love him.

I think I am going to start his Birthday celebrations a little early and go make some Tapioca for him.

I'm multi-tasking.

Andrew is doing much better today. Tonight he was just in the silliest, goofiest mood. He was so funny doing the funniest things. Yes, throughout the day there were still a few tantrums and there was the whole issue of screaming instead of going down for his second nap, but I still love him. He finally did go down, but it was then a late nap, so I then had to wake him up so he would sleep tonight. Needless to say, he got to stay up a hour past bedtime. But he was so silly and in such a good mood, nobody minded.

I say nobody which implies other people, not just Marc and myself. Yes, we had company. I say company because it wasn't just Kari and Andy who are NOT company anymore....but Kari's sister was also here (who I think Andrew was sweet on). They brought some pizza's and we had a Bourne Identity/Surpremacy night. I've seen both movies a couple different times and yet they still confuse me. Probably because I do things like make hot chocolate, let Rocky out, put Andrew down and update my blog while watching the movies.

I feel today was productive. I cleaned and read a bit this morning (Yes, I am actually still on pace to read the Bible in a year and it's March - Woo hoo! I am in Leviticus and it's all the rules for the Isrealites and I must confess it's BOR-ING). Then Andrew and I had a product testing again today. Funny thing is, is that yesterday he wolfed down creamed spinach like it was going out of style and today he didn't even like the creamed macaroni & cheese. I must admit...it was pretty bad. Anyway, then we went to Best Buy and got our tax software and I pretty much got our taxes done. The only thing I have left to check into is whether or not we can deduct medical expenses. It had to be a certain % to make a difference....but with Andrew's birth, Marc's surgery, Andrew's surgury, and paying our own insurance premiums with a high deductable...we just might hit it. Not sure though. Either way, looks like we will get a much needed refund. Thank you Lord.

Tomorrow, we don't have much planned. I would like to head to the library & bank in the morning. Then work around the house and finish the taxes hopefully. And I guess the countdown can begin. Only 5 more days until my little man is 1 year old. Auuggh, I am not ready.

Popeye the Headbanger

My child has officially learned how to throw a full blown temper tantrum. Complete with the flinging of the body and the screaming. It's lovely. This is what I have been dealing with (or not dealing with as I am not sure how to properly handle the situation to get him to KNOCK IT OFF!) all day. And the thing is, even if I were to give in to his every whim and demand the VERY SECOND he desires something, I don't think it would help because HE doesn't even KNOW what he wants. I try picking him up - no, I try a movie - no, I try some water - no, I try to ignore him and cringe when he bangs his head against the kitchen floor - no, etc... So, I change him...err...I mean..wrestle him against his wishes, and stick him in his crib and let him cry/scream himself to sleep. Thankfully, this doesn't take too long...or I might be dropping him off at Marc's work and heading for the hills. He seems to be feeling fine. At least fine compared to the past couple days. So any 'Been There Done That' moms out there, who know how to deal with tantrums....PLEASE HELP. Oh, and I got peed on today, too. Did I mention today has been lovely?

Well, a quick updated on what we've been up to. Yesterday, we ran around all morning. We had church in the AM, then product testing at 12:30. So I brought books to read and we went there right after church and Andrew slept in the car. Then we hit Sam's for daytime diapers, cheese and yeast. Then we hit the library quickly. We didn't get home until 2. Andrew went down for a nap and as soon as he was up, Marc and us ran to Toys R Us. We had to buy a baby gift, nightime diapers, and a birthday present for Andrew. (If you click on the link...sshhhhh...don't tell. Ok, he was with us when we bought it) I really shouldn't say bought, since we had a $50 gift card. We got the whole lot for $6. Then we headed to the hospital since a couple of our good friends just had thier baby girl that morning. It was like a little reunion. We saw all kinds of people we knew either on the way in to the hospital, in the room, or on the way out.

Today, as you can probably guess, I haven't got much done due to my little Angel of a boy. But we did make it to another product testing this morning (who knew my son would love creamed spinach), and did get the dishes done and I did get one whole load of laundry done. (No - it's no folded yet). And I needed a break...so here I am. Rehashing my exciting day with y'all. Have a great one!

Girls Won Pig It

I HATE FOLDING CLOTHES!! If you have read my past blogs from a while ago (and are still reading, bless you) then you know this is more than a peeve of mind. It's boring and redundant and when you are finally done folding....YOU HAVE TO PUT THEM AWAY! I would rather scrub the bathroom. Anyway, can you guess what I have been doing the past two days during my "free" moments? Free meaning anytime that I am not cooking, cleaning, running after Andrew, soothing Andrew, changing Andrew, playing with Andrew, etc... And due to the lovely health of my son lately...more laundry than ever has been done in the last few days. Ok, my rant is over.

Today was busy, but good (except for the laundry part, but you might have caught on to that by now). Although it snowed all night and all day and we are expected to get more tonight. And it's thick stuff too. I tried to be a nice wife and shovel the drive for my hard working hubby while Andrew was sleeping. After about 15 minutes of shoveling approximatly a square yard...I decided that a simple path to the street that would enable me to take the garbage to the buried curb would suffice.

We also got our mail today. (I know what you are thinking.... she is so desperate for material to write about.) But this was exciting for us. I had stopped the mail before we left for our trips and scheduled it to return LAST Tuesday, but mistakenly put this Tuesday. So we haven't gotten our mail for two weeks. We were waiting for paychecks and some other items we were expecting and also got magazines and coupons and cards. Stuff that when spread out a little everyday doesn't mean much, but when piled all together was like opening a package. (Of course, there were also bills and junk mail...but that's to be expected). Hey what can I say...it takes little to excite us.

Kari and Andy came over tonight and we had a nice ham dinner. I had a little ham in the freezer and between odds and ends items that Kari and I had to add to the ham, came up with a nice spread. Then we just hung out, made carmel corn and played "Pig It and Hog It" GIRLS WON!!

Tomorrow, we are planning on heading to church in the AM. I am kinda surprised they haven't called to cancel it since last time they did, I didn't think it was as bad as it is now. Oh well. Then we need to hit the library and the bank sometime tomorrow, too.

Andrew seems to be doing much better. Still a little extra cranky and still doesn't really have an appetite back, but what he does eat has been staying in. Works for me. Although, he did enjoy some ham tonight. (I know, it's not the BRATH diet). He's in bed now. May he sleep until 8:00 AM. Ok, I am dreaming now...I should head to bed. Have a great night.