ramblings from an optimist

Our weekend

2011-02-07T11:59:00.000-08:00

We had a rough beginning to our weekend. We got a surprise ice storm Thursday afternoon that none of the meteorologists in the city saw coming. I had to leave work early (as did everyone else in Bham) to get Jenna because all the schools closed early. A drive that would normally take me 15 minutes took an hour and fifteen minutes. The ice piled up fast, and it was a nerve racking drive home.
The next morning schools opened late so I took Jenna to her Nini's (John's mom) house to spend the day. Around 11 she called me. Apparently Jenna had caught the stomach virus her Daddy had last week. She's four years old and has somehow managed to avoid ever vomiting until then(with the exception of spitting up as a baby). Thankfully Nini said she would tend to her so I could stay at work and try to avoid getting it myself. When I got home, John took care of her most of the time, she mainly lounged in her playroom watching TV and would occasionally go get in her bed and sleep. Around 9 I went to check on her and she had gotten up and put herself to bed, poor girl. She woke up the next morning a completely different child. She felt so much better and was glad to be feeling good.

Saturday we decided to go register for my baby shower for Liam. I've got some great friends who said they wanted to throw me a shower and with 4 1/2 years between kids, plus having a boy this time, we need a lot of stuff. There is a new baby store in town that is amazing. They have everything you could imagine needing and then some. Going through the store I really started to get excited about having another baby around. I just hope he's easy like Jenna was. She spoiled me I think. I still can't believe we are going to have two kids. It's a little surreal. Sunday was the Super Bowl. I don't really watch pro football, but the commercials can be really fun. It was a good excuse to have a few friends over too. John made homemade chicken and dumplings which is his signature dish. Over all, we had a good weekend, especially since Green Bay won.

We have a name!!!

2011-01-31T08:32:00.001-08:00

It feels so good to have a name chosen for our son. I was beginning to stress out a little because he didn't have a name, but we're good now. So, without further ado, his name will be:

Liam Bradley Paxton

I love the name. I have always loved the name Bradley, but John wasn't a huge fan. So, he caved a little and let me use it for a middle name. Liam is short for William, which was my dad's name. It feels good to get someone from my side on the family remembered with his name.

I can't wait to start on his room. We have the bedding and theme all picked out. John is a pirate lover and we both wanted to go with a pirate/nautical theme if we were having a boy. Here is the set we have picked out:

I absolutely love it! The colors are perfect and I love the whale. It's a good mix of a nautical and pirate theme. We will be using Jenna's old crib, which is a light wood, and I think it will look great. The matching accessories are also adorable.

Recipe Monday

2011-01-24T12:55:00.000-08:00

So, I have a little recipe to share today. I had to make this twice this weekend because everyone requested it. I learned about it from a friend a few years ago. It is such a simple recipe, and I'm sure there are different versions and names. But here's mine. It is a little time consuming. You should allow for about an hour and a half of your time.

Hot Chicken Cheese Dip

Ingredients
9x13 glass baking dish
4 boneless chicken breasts
1 small bottle of light ranch dressing(I use light because the regular is a little strong)
1 8oz cream cheese
1/2 bottle of Moore's Buffalo Sauce
1 bag shredded mozzarella cheese
1 bag shredded cheddar cheese
1 bag of your favorite tortilla chips

Prep
Preheat your over to 400 degrees. Boil chicken until cooked. Remove from water and sit it to the side for about 15 minutes, or until it is cool enough to shred. During that time, coat the bottom of your 9x13 dish with the cream cheese. Mix the shredded chicken with the buffalo sauce in a medium mixing bowl. Spread the chicken mixture on top of the cream cheese. Pour the ranch dressing evenly over the chicken mixture(you may have to spread it out with a spoon). Sprinkle both bags of cheese over the top.

Bake
Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes, or until the cheese in the center is melted.

And, viola! you have an amazingly delicious dip that all your friends will love!!

21 weeks!

2011-01-21T06:35:00.000-08:00

Wow. I can't believe I'm over half way through this pregnancy. It seems to go by so slow in the beginning, but, I'm really starting to get excited now. So, here is a little update on our progress:

Gender: It's a Boy!

Size of baby: about the size of a banana

Total Weight Gain: 5lbs

Maternity Clothes: Maternity pants and tops w/some regular tops too.

Movement: lots of kicking

Sleep: still sleep well, getting up once to pee

What I miss: shaving my legs easily

Cravings: Pizza, pizza, pizza

Symptoms: I'm done for by 9pm every night

Best Moment this week: Jenna talking to my belly

What's in a name?

2011-01-20T08:08:00.000-08:00

Why is it so hard to name a boy? Jenna's name came so easily to us and we had the perfect girl's name picked out if this one was a girl. But we're having issues with picking a boy name. It started out Jack Thomas. It didn't go over so well with certain un-named close family members who thought it would be ok to make fun of. Seriously!! who makes fun of a name?? to the parents faces!! Those of you who know our family should know who I'm talking about. So, instead of struggling with that his whole life we decided it was best to take that one off the list. Plus, I think we were both settling with it as well. We've got 4 1/2 months to come up with something and we may not know till he's here, but he'll have a name before he comes home.

Life and Death

2011-01-19T08:25:00.000-08:00

Life

So it has been four years since my last normal pregnancy. This one, thankfully, is going very well. I am one of those rare people who doesn't get sick or have a rough time in their pregnancy. Every pregnancy is supposed to be different, but this one has been very similar with only a few exceptions.

I am so excited that I'm having a baby boy! It's going to be a totally new experience. I am wondering how I we're going to handle a rambunctious little boy, especially if he's anything like how he's been acting in my uterus. This kid is the future karate kid. He hurts! I don't ever remember Jenna kicking me like this. He moves around so much. But I love the movement, it is the coolest thing about pregnancy to me. The fact that God chose me to carry this little life is awesome.

My weight gain has been non existent far. I'm eating, but I have noticed that I don't have that huge pregnancy appetite yet. I did get in trouble with my doc. I had not gained anything by my 15 week appt. At my 20 week appt I had gained 5 pounds and that has satisfied her for now. I'm sure I'll start to pack on the pounds soon enough. ;-)

Death

Ronan and Axle are our two cats and we have two dogs(German Shepherds), Max and Lucy. The cats are predominately inside and the dogs are outside surrounded by a privacy fence. (can you guess where I'm going with this?)

Axle is still a kitten and stays inside 90% of the time. He has started venturing out occasionally with Ronan. Ronan goes in and out regularly. Axle and Jenna are best friends. He lets her push him around in her baby stroller, she carries him around, and when he was really little she would wrap him up in a blanket and hold him like a baby, and he liked it! He tolerates her better than any animal I know.

So, Sunday night we are awakened by Axle scratching at the carpet and Jenna's door wanting to get into her room. John gets up and lets Axle outside and we go back to bed. At around 3:15a I hear the dogs.........then I hear a cat.........(if you don't care to read details stop now)......I opened and looked out the window to see poor Axle being tossed around like a toy by our dogs, he never had a chance. John got up and went to clean him up and I lost it. All I could think about was Jenna and how much she loved that cat.

The next day we got Jenna ready and I took her to school and went to work. That afternoon is when we would tell her. The afternoon came pretty quick, I picked her up and we went home. When we got home John sat her down and told her that Axle had gotten out and died. She lost it for about 5 minutes and then she asked for a snack and to watch cartoons. Kids amaze me sometimes. She did ask what happened and we told her that a dog bit him and he died and went to heaven. She's been doing OK, but will occasionally tell us she misses him. We won't be getting another one. I don't want her to get the idea that she'll get a new one every time something bad happens.

It's a.......

2011-01-14T12:38:00.000-08:00

BOY! John is ecstatic, and Jenna is so happy to be getting a baby brother. Let the planning begin!

Back in the Saddle

2011-01-13T10:48:00.000-08:00

Wow, I can't believe I have let this blog sit for almost a year. I logged on earlier and read through the few posts I have and really enjoyed remembering them. I guess thats why people blog after all (lol). I remember feeling like I didn't have anything worth writing about, but SO MUCH has happened this past year. Let us recap:

April- We closed on our house, thankfully it went off without a hitch.

May- We moved into our house after working on it nonstop for about two weeks.

June-July Turned 28. Worst Summer of my life, without a doubt. Went to my yearly check-up only to discover that I had an ectopic pregnancy. I didn't even know I was pregnant. Thankfully avoided surgery and losing my tube, but the treatment and recovery was horrible. My mother was hospitalized again with another infection and spent 6 weeks in a nursing home.

August- Cleared to try again for a baby, my mom has recovered. Finally getting back to normal.

September- Conceived our little miracle on the first try. I was very nervous, to say the least. We were very afraid of another ectopic.

October- Saw our little peanut on U/S, tucked nicely in my uterus, with a very strong heartbeat.

November-Not much to report. Holidays, football, and family get togethers.

December- My first born turns four. She is growing so fast and turning into such a young lady. She is also very excited to be a big sister. We almost get our first White Christmas, it turned the ground white, just not enough to measure.

Here we are in January. Of course the most exciting thing about this month hasn't happened just yet, but it will tomorrow. We will find out if Jenna gets a brother or sister. I am so glad that she doesn't want one over the other. She just wants a baby to love. I will of course post again as soon as we know, I can't wait!

What a month!

2010-03-31T08:24:00.000-07:00

Wow! This has been a month. To re-cap, we started out on the 8th getting approved for a mortgage(praise God!), but that same day my mom ended up having emergency surgery to remove an infection in her leg. It was a VERY emotional day. She ended up being hospitalized for 5 days before coming home on IV meds for the next 4 weeks. During all of this we went through making an offer on the first house we looked at, then finding out someone we knew had put in an offer on the same house(being hugely dissappointed) and then(2 days later) hearing that they changed their minds and resended the offer. Then there was the waiting, waiting on Fannie Mae (owns the house) to either accept or counter our offer, after 4 days they did counter, and we accepted but we had to wait 3 more days for them to basically say ok. We waited on them to actually sign the contract (another 3 days), and now we have to wait on the apprasial to find out if they will give us the loan(apparantly USDA is alittle picky). All while taking care of my mom, being a mom and a wife. It's all very stressful, but I'm getting through it. I just hope April is a little calmer, at least just a little.

We really love the house, as does Jenna. She already knows her way around the house, and even which room is going to be hers. By the way, she wants purple walls and purple carpet, she is such my child. I'm just praying everything continues to go smoothly, I don't know how I'm going to explain it to her if something happens and we don't get the house. But, as I continue to believe and say, "If it's meant to be, it will work out."

That was quick

2010-03-18T12:40:00.001-07:00

It took us a total of 10 days from mortgage approval to contract date to find a house. I have to say I'm impressed and feel very blessed that this could be easy. Don't get me wrong it wasn't with some ups and downs, specifically word of another offer on the house, but everything seems to be working out nicely. Now, to survive the next 60 days until closing and the actual closing. Then I can really relax.

Why, hello there

2010-03-10T10:10:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's been awhile since I posted anything. I guess I felt like I never really had anything to write about. But thats all about to change. No, I'm not pregnant, but, we are about to embark on a house hunt. John got his mortgage approval Tuesday and we are so excited to find a house. We have never done anything like this, and have no idea what we're getting ourselves into, but I think we're up for it. We know to expect ups and downs (we've already experienced a down one day in) and I'm sure we'll learn alot. That's what I plan on sharing here. The looking, the excitment, the disappointment and the processes we will go through to get a home of our own.

Onto house #1

We looked at this one last night in a spur of the moment kind of thing. It's in Mt. Olive, which is exactly where we want to be. It's a 3br 2ba with full basement, 2 car garage, fenced in backyard all on a corner lot. Yeah, I know, amazing right??

(picture courtesy of Realtysouth.com)

John and I fell in love with it. It is everything we wanted in a house. It is a foreclosure and has a few issues inside, but it's all cosmetic. The only other worry with it is some moisture on one wall in the basement. We plan on going back Friday after all the rain to look at it again. With all this being said, we also had our first "downer" as well. We got a huge wakeup call talking to our agent about all the initial costs, not even counting closing. I guess we thought we would just find us a house and move right in, who knew it didn't work that way?! It turns out we need a little dough for the appraisal, inspections, and earnest money, which is money you pay with the offer to let them know you're a serious buyer(something we learned about last night). We have a little saved up, but not enough, so we just have to wait a little longer until we have the funds. But we learned alot and next time we'll be much more prepared.

Even though I'm in love with the house, it is only the first one, there will be more. There is still a chance it can work itself out, but I'm putting my faith in God and only he knows what will happen. If it's meant to be, he will find a way.

Well, I did it.

2009-11-09T08:12:00.000-08:00

I got the H1N1 vaccine. I have been going back and forth on it since it was released. I was unsure about getting it because it was developed so quickly. How, after being made so fast, could it be good, safe, and work effectively?

It came down to the fact that I work in a diagnostic center where I see 75 or so patients a day with various medical problems and illnesses. Many of these patients come in with flu-like symptoms and come to us to get tested. I am also a mother to an almost 3 year old, and a wife. I had to protect my family, I would feel horrible if I brought something that home with me. It also helped that it was free and provided to me by my employer.

Hopefully this was the right choice for me, and I hope everyone else stays healthy regardless of whether or not you decide to get it.

Halloween recap

2009-11-03T06:39:00.000-08:00

I love Halloween. Especially now since I have a child. She is finally old enough to comprehend what's going on and enjoy it. She loved to go to all the Halloween stores and make the ghosts and goblins scream and moan. She thought it was the coolest thing. I'll never forget one time when we went to party city and there was a clown animatronic that took his head off, and Jenna thought it was Ronald McDonald!!

Halloween Eve Jenna helped me carve a Pumpkin. She loved getting her hands down in there and getting all the seeds out. But, she was also very ready to clean them afterwards. We went with our family theme, "pirates" and I carved a pirate ship.

Jenna was a Snow Princess this year. It worked out great because of how cool it was outside. I have to give props to the husband for the costume though. I was so indecisive about her costume. We went to three stores and nothing seems good to me. So, we went to Target and John walked in, saw it, and said that would be her costume, and I loved it.

Halloween night was our big annual "grown up" party. Jenna stayed with John's parents, but she was completely OK with that seeing as they took her to J. Alexanders and then Boo at the Zoo. We did take her to do a little Trick-or-Treating that afternoon, so we didn't miss out on that. We dropped her off with Nini and Papa and began our prepping for the night.

I love dressing up for Halloween and so does John. Although, John's costumes are always very interesting. Last year he was Hunter S. Thompson from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and this year he was John McClain from Die Hard. I was a Warrior Princess (according to the packaging).

It was a fun night. A lot of people came and we all had a great time. I cooked tons of food for the party and we had plenty of drink choices. There was a lot of Beer Pong played as well as Guitar Hero, but I'll spare you the other details of the night. Just know that our living room was still occupied by a few the next morning.

Turns out, camping with a two-year-old can be successful.

2009-10-20T06:29:00.000-07:00

So, we went camping this past weekend. This trip was planned a few weeks ago when the weather looked like it was going to be great. John's parents invited us to go with them and we said sure we would love to go. John and I used to camp a lot before Jenna came along. We talked to Jenna about what we would be doing: sleeping in a tent, hiking, fishing, and yes, even peeing in the woods. As the big weekend got closer, the forecast also got colder. I was starting to get worried, but John and his parents assured me it would be just fine. Papa went out and purchased a very warm mummy sleeping bag for Jenna, one that cost more than mine and John's put together, to ease my concern for her warmth.

The morning of the big day Jenna was very excited. We got all of our gear packed, and Jenna even had her own backpack to carry. Mommy made sure she would stay very warm. She had thermals on under her outer clothes and wool socks. At this point I am still very apprehensive about the cold weather, but going along with it.

We met Nini and Papa at their house and went to Cracker Barrell for breakfast. Then we would make the long drive to Bankhead National Forest in Winston Co. It was about an hour and half drive. The last three miles consisted of a bumpy dirt road that dead ended into the main trail. This was no park and dump camping trip, we parked, hoisted our packs full off everything we would need onto our backs and hiked in about a quarter of a mile. We would be completely cut off from the world with no cell phone service AT ALL!!

(John and Papa holding Jenna, who got a little tired after our hike)

It was BEAUTIFUL. Our campsite was right next to a flowing creek that look more like a river from all the rain, it was so peaceful, and the fresh cold air was great.

After we got set up and settled we had lunch and went on a hike to search for some dry wood. Jenna loved hiking. She was the "leader" because apparantly Swiper was in the woods and he was going to try and swipe our firewood. We did have to make a potty stop, and yes Jenna successfully went potty in the woods and thought it was the greatest thing. We found lots of places for some great pictures.

Jenna even found a critter and couldn't wait to hold it. It was to biggest millipeed I had ever seen.

After we got back to camp Jenna was dying to get into the hammock that Papa brought and put up. She thought it was the coolest thing.

After a little swinging/rocking we were shocked as to what would happen next......

Yes people, there she is NAPPING in broad daylight, on a camping trip, in a hammock....praise God!!

Fast forward to sunset. We did find some firewood and got a nice little fire going. Heated some water for hot chocolate, and roasted weenies. We were all having a great time and staying warm despite the cold.

It finally got dark and we pulled out the s'more ingredients.

And then....................

RAIN.......RAIN........RAIN

It put our fire out and we all huddled under a rain tarp Papa had thankfully thought to bring and put up. We kept waiting on it to stop, and waiting.......and waiting some more, but it was really starting to get cold, so into the tent we went. We sang songs, and wrestled with daddy, and had some great quality family time. We went to bed early of course, but Jenna was full of giggles and "wanted to talk." We did eventually fall asleep and she only woke up about three times, but only because she got lost in her sleeping bag, and as soon as I pulled her back to the top she went right back to sleep. I, of course, slept horribly. I did get enough sleep to function the next morning, of which Jenna decided to sleep in.

Papa cooked breakfast for us that morning, and we began the packing up process, which is the worst part, because all I wanted was to be in a warm house drinking a coke, and eating a Reese cup. Jenna was a little tough to get moving, but once we told her we were going "hiking" again she was ready to go.

My final thoughts??

I'd do it all over again because it was a great experience, but maybe when the temps are about 15 degrees warmer!!

A family hobby that I'm finally embracing.

2009-08-18T07:44:00.001-07:00

My Grandmother made all of my dresses when I was a little girl. I never wore a store bought dress until I was around 10 or 11. I was always amazed at how good she was at sewing. I watched her all the time, learned a lot of the terms and what different machines did. She would let me help when I could and showed me how to do a lot of things. All that said I have always had a high interest in sewing. I sewed a little in my high school Home-Economics class, and when I got married, my parents bought my first Singer sewing machine. I purchased a how-to book on sewing and made some really cute curtains for our den. After that I basically piddled around with a few projects, but I never got really into it.

Sewing is something that you have to practice, practice, practice to get really good at (a little family history helps too). I was way too impatient to realize this when I first started sewing on my machine. After a lot of failed attempts at a few projects I put my machine up. I just got really frustrated with fact that I wasn't good to begin with.

I read lots of blogs, and recently came across some really great sewing blogs that gave me some inspiration. I got my sewing machine back down because I really love to sew. I would love to be able to make my daughters clothes and other things for her. I just have to get that practice. I recently came across this great blog with a nap mat tutorial. Jenna really needed a new one so I gave it my best shot, and it turned out great!!

My most recent projects were for a good friend of mine who is having her second little girl in October. I made bibs, burp clothes, and a taggie blanket from tutorials I found on the Internet because I still need a little guidance before I go at it on my own. Here are some pics of the finished products.

I made three off these bibs. The only problem I had was sewing the area where I had to leave open for turning, but hopefully that will get easier.

The taggie blanket worked out great and I made a set of four burp clothes. They have quilt batting in the middle for extra absorption.

Here's little miss Jenna showing off Mommy's creations.

I hope to continue my sewing adventures and plan on sharing them with you on my blog.

2009-07-30T06:21:00.000-07:00

Not much has been going on this week, hence the lack of writing. I did realize that I have a very clumsy two year old. She had water day at school, but never even got wet. She tripped on the playground as the teachers were setting up the sprinklers and bit into her upper lip. I got the phone call around 9:30a Tuesday and went to her rescue. She was so pitiful and SWOLLEN. She looked like she had a better lip job than Angelina. It did get me a day off with her all to myself, so it wasn't all that terrible.

I convinced my husband to let me rename the cat. The whole Star Trek reference was not working for me, so his new name is Milo. I think it fits him much better.

I officially hit my pre-baby weight!! Yes, it took two and a half years, but I did it. I had come within a couple of pounds of it a few times, but never at it or under. I would like to lose another 5-10, but we'll see. I won't be devastated if I doesn't happen. According to all of my friends it's now time to put it all back on again. Not just yet, but hopefully soon. ;-)

Full Moon Friday

2009-07-27T07:43:00.001-07:00

Was there a full moon Friday????

I was so ready to go home Friday afternoon. I missed my child and I was just tired of working for the week. I was glad to be able to sneak out about 30 minutes early. On my way to pick up Jenna I got a phone call from an irate husband. He was ranting and raving about coming home to this:

Apparently our fence jumping German Shepperd, Max and lab mix, Major just had to get out and attack our lovely swimming pool. They didn't get in for a cool dip, but they did feel it was necessary to bite the holy crap out of it. Not only did they do this to the pool, but they bit and popped every one of her balls and water toys!!!

We have a HUGE fenced in backyard and you would think that they would be happy and content. But apparently not. We have the wire on the bottom of the fence that "zaps" them if they try to go under, but Max is very elusive and doesn't seem to be affected. I think we will be investing in one of those "invisible" fence systems.

Continuing with full moon Friday, I arrived at Jenna's daycare to pick her up, and was greeted by her with, "Mommy, Emma bite me!" Evidently Jenna wanted the truck Emma was riding on the playground and Emma said no, and took a bite to make her point.

Jenna was not happy about what her friend did to her. Nor were her mommy and daddy, but it happens, that's one of the few hazards of daycare and two year old's.

On to more pleasant things. Saturday morning Jenna and I went to Wal-Mart to get a patch so John could try to fix the pool. On our way back it was still early and I decided to hit a couple of yard sales. The first one was just a bunch of junk thrown onto to a sheet in the yard, so we didn't even stop. The second one actually had tables, so we got out. They didn't have much, but we did find something that Jenna could call her very own.....

Yes people, we went to a yard sale and came home with a new family member. He was a stray that wondered up to the house a couple of days ago, and the resident (princess) cat did not like him, so he had to go somewhere. That somewhere was going to be the pound if they didn't find him a home this weekend. Jenna absolutely adores him, and he tolerates her (carrying, up in your face, constant petting, laying on you toddler) very well. So, in our books, he's a keeper.

Blogging world, meet Mr. Spock. Do you think my husband is a Treky??

My Husband, The Pirate

2009-07-24T12:09:00.000-07:00

To continue with introductions we will concentrate on my lovely husband today.

My husband John is a great husband and father. He is still a big kid himself, which Jenna loves!! He has the greatest personality and is ALWAYS the life of the party. He works as an Electrician with his step-dad and he is very good at it. He is a very strong-willed person, but growing up with a disability he had to be. You see, he was born with a very rare birth defect called PFFD. Which basically means he was born with just one complete leg. His left femur, hip and fibia never developed. He saw a lot of doctors when he was a baby to find the best course of treatment for him. After a surgery at age 3, he was fitted with his first prosthetic leg.

John's disability has never slowed him down. Growing up, he played just as hard as any other little boy could, and had the "broken legs" to prove it. He made the basketball team in high school and even wrestled. Although, the docs put a stop to the wrestling because of possible injury. He even swims better than I do.

In the past few years he has embraced his lack of a limb by "becoming" a pirate. You'll see what I mean in the pic. I think it started with the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. He's got the tattoo, costume, and peg leg to fit.

By the way, he does BIRTHDAY PARTYS!!!! ;-)

Introductions

2009-07-24T07:09:00.001-07:00

OK, so this is my first post, obviously. I have been reading other blogs for a while now, and felt it was time for me to give blogging a try. As my blog title states I consider myself an optimistic person and this blog will contain ramblings from my everyday life as a wife and mother. So, on to introductions and a little about myself.

I am 27 years old and have been married for 6 years. I married young, but I don't regret it one bit. My husband's name is John and we have a daughter named Jenna. I have a younger brother, Jeremy. John has two younger brothers, Kyle and Stone that live in Wyoming with his dad. I work for a local hospital and, for the time being, part-time at a department store. John is an electrician, which amazes me everyday considering his condition (that's a whole different post). Our daughter, Jenna, is 2 1/2 and is the light of our lives. She has the greatest personality and is so cleaver. I hope I don't bore you too much, but with a 2 year old there's always something going on! :-)