Friday, July 27, 2007

In Gratitude of a Brother (or 4)


My family is full of loving, caring people who want to help me succeed and live a happy life. Four of those people are my brothers. They are always there to offer me support, a realistic perspective, and basically anything else I need to get through a rough patch. This year, I've really needed this support between recovering from childbirth, recovering from a tonsillectomy, and difficult decisions like resigning from my job and moving weeks before the school year starts during a tonsillectomy recovery. Here are just a few things they have done, some of which would have been difficult to offer without the support of their wonderful wives.

* offering to fly half way across country to help me through post-pardum depression
* hours on the phone and internet to check and see if I was ok (they called me)
* advice and shared stories of silly things they've done with their babies
* shared stories of scary things that have happened with their babies
* honest perspective on being overprotective and when to chill out
* encouragement for surgery
* it can't be THAT bad attitude for surgery
* it can't be THAT bad attitude for packing up and moving
* reminding me that I've got more time than I think
* check ups to see how I'm feeling and healing (it wasn't THAT bad)
* jokes and funny You Tube videos to lighten up
* a chance to see them being parents on vacation, I need to lighten up (and have)
* a feeling that I'm respected, loved, and cared for
* some time together as a family playing

I may be a little bit high needs lately and possibly spoiled, but I hope that my brothers feel as supported as I have felt. You guys are awesome!

PS I'd like to thank one of those wifes for letting me borrow the picture from her blog. I hope she doesn't mind. *grin*

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Waking Dreams

Medicine is still working pretty well for me. I feel some pain, but it's managable. I'm also very itchy from head to toe. I'm unable to eat solids today because I'm so swollen there's not a lot of room for the food to go through.


Medicine making me loopy? Yes. I've spent most of the last 24 hours with some really weird dreams. The oddest part is that I'm dreaming them with my eyes open and aware of everything that's going on around me in the "real" world. Basically, I'm still awake.
Examples of Dreams:
1.) Lucas has a fro and I've got long hair parted down the center.We're wearing 70's clothes. Suddenly we realize we've been tense around eachother because we've arranged the furniture in the wrong way.
2.) I'm thinking about how to make a milkshake without waking Dean and begin to wonder if the milk and the icecream are offended about being mixed. Suddenly there is an image of a talking milk (deep voice) and icecream (high voice) asking what the problem is. Don't people like them just the way they are?

Dean's been doing well with all of the daddy time and daycare. He had an injury this morning though. It was one of those "I told you so" moments. Dean's mommy (yeah that's me) is always talking about not setting the carseat on the couch or other high surfaces. Today, after Dean toppled off of the hopechest in his carseat, we found that mom was not in fact being over protective about that one. He's got a pretty good bump on his forehead, but I think he's ok.

Monday, July 23, 2007

In a Fog

No pain yet. Drugs are good. I'm still under the surgery medication, so we'll see how I feel tomorrow. I've been able to eat two real meals, which is a great way to start out. I am so glad for modern times and medicines.

Rubik's Cube


For those of you wondering what Lucas has been up to, this is it. After two weeks, he finally solved it. This one was tricky because each side had an image on it, so not only did he need the colors to match, but each square had to face a certain way. Dean and Lucas spent lots of quality time together. Mostly Dean chewed on toys and played with dad's scratchy beard (who has time to shave when there's a puzzle to be solved?).

This is my last post for a bit. Today's the big day. By about 3 this afternoon I will have no tonsils and be on my way home.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Daring Stunts

Dean has been very grouchy this week while working on his new stunt. I finally got a few pictures of him. Notice the first one his knees aren't on the ground. He yelled at the floor for awhile and then finally figured out how to get his knees down. It's a lot of hard work.

Monday, July 16, 2007

A Tribute to My Mother

My mother has a way of taking things in life and putting them into perspective for me. She is always doing this in a way that leaves me feeling calm no matter what the situation is. Most recently she has helped me with the plans for my tonsil removal. I'm go into surgery a week from today and find myself nervous for a number of reasons. One reason is the scary description from my doctor telling me of "the horrible pain" I'll be in. Thanks a lot doc. The other reason is the need for plans for Dean during all of this. I am a planner, so of course I made this a bigger deal than it is trying to over think everything. Before Dean, my mother would have just had to help me overcome the fear itself. I'm good at planning to lay around the house and not do much of anything. I'm also great at feeling sorry for myself and moaning about how uncomfortable I am. No help needed there. As usual after a short conversation with my mother on the phone this morning, I have confirmation that my plan is a worthy one and will work for me. She's a great problem solver.

Saturday, July 14, 2007

New Booster Chair


After many shopping trips we finally found a booster chair that Dean fits in. We've been using his bouncy chair to feed him. Dean generally spends this time bouncing because that of course is what the chair is for. We play a game to see how talented his parents are with their aim and pray that we don't take an eye out or something.

Friday, July 13, 2007

A Boy Named Sue


Dean has a new favorite place to hang out. It's a prime location for spying on the neighbors and getting into mischief. Notice the "danger" factor. I've really got to keep an eye on him and get the fan off before he scooches too close to his new target. Excitement to be had by all.



Dean's first name is actually Leslie. Though I have men in my family with that name, I know many people think of it as a girl's name. Whenever we go to the doctor's office and they ask when "her" birthday is, I always think of the song "A Boy Named Sue" by Johnny Cash. He'll probably have to have some thick skin while he's growing up.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Fireworks and Family


We had a 4th of July to remember this year. It was Dean's very first. I was sick (darn Strep), but we didn't let that get us down. Lucas' parents came up for dinner and fireworks.


Dean was asleep when the fireworks started and his nervous ninny momma was worried about them scaring him. I, of course, was wrong. Dean loves lights of all sorts. Apparently fireworks are not an exception. When he finally did get upset, I think it was due to being tired.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Joining the Craft

Well, I've finally joined the ranks. Not only am I starting a blog, but I've actually completed a sewing project. Oh, the pressure. Now people will expect me to actually update my page with pictures and crafty words on a regular basis. We'll see how I do.

As for my sewing project, I truly hope no one expects me to do that on a regular basis. My simple project was challenging enough for me. I even had difficulty picking out the fabric and had to take Lucas along with me. He did a nice job and picked two lovely patterns (stripes and floral).
When I finished, I felt that I must add more patterns so I went to the store with Dean and chose two more fabrics. Dean did his best to help.




They don't look so bad.