Dull

Life is dull since the holidays are over. I have a funny pic or two to share. Hopefully, I'll add those tonight.

I'm doing really well on eating better. I'm logging everything and have made great progress. Check out my boring fitness blog. I'm trying to think of something to spice it up... because it really is boring. Link on the right.

Christmas Eve and Christmas

Christmas Eve is usually the party for Jeff's Mom's family.
Since Jeff is now the children's choir director at church, we had a commitment to be at church for the Christmas Eve service. We went to the Brown family party afterward.

Here's a picture of all the kids after the Silent Night song during the candlelight finish of the Christmas Eve Service. They were singing We Wish You a Merry Christmas.



We weren't at the Brown family party for long. Jules got to open her presents, we said hi to everybody and then we were off. Even at that, we didn't get home until 9:30pm. Jules was cranky and didn't want to read a book (Mommy was hoping for The Night Before Christmas.) or leave cookies out or anything. Santa's going to think we're scrooges!

We're going to have to figure out something that works for our family. The Brown Shindig is notoriously a late event. I'd like Jules to have some "home" Christmas Eve traditions... but we have 362 days to figure something out. No pressure.

Santa came:

He brought Jules the Care Bear, a computer game, a big magna doodle, and dominoes.

I think she got 4 baby dolls from various sources, not to mention 4 stuffed animals that are her size and even more smaller stuffed animals. The kid is not hurting for toys... and Santa knew that.


Jeff and I got each other new couches for Christmas, and we got great gifts from our parents and Ben. This Christmas was pretty much all about Jules.

Jules helped Uncle Ben stir the eggs for Christmas breakfast... and then she ate a TON of them.


The casseroles were a hit. (Although, I had very little to do with that. It's nice having a husband and brother in law who love to cook.) And thanks Mom for the addition of the wonderful potato soup!


The night ended with a hot game of trivial pursuit with all five (that's right - all five were at our house at once!) siblings duking it out!

Left to right - Jenn, Ben, Cory, Craig (Jenn's husband), Jerry and Jeff

Friday, we decided that since Emily passed away last week, Mario needed a playmate. I picked out this little buddy at the Humane Society. We've named him Ralphie, in honor of the goofy kid on The Christmas Story. He's very calm but still likes to play with Mario. He's a terrier mix with brindle coloring and a white belly as well as a few other white markings. He has big floppy ears and many times, one sticks up while the other flops... like this picture.

Christmas Eve Morning

Jules and I slept in a little this morning (7:15!) and then went to have breakfast. We had pancakes and eggs at McD's. I know... but it's actually pretty good!

Then, we set off to see Santa Claus. She was a little nervous about it, but I talked it up and bribed her a bit. If you sit on Santa's lap, you get candy. While we were in line, she just kept saying "candy" and pointing at Santa. She did really well.

Compare to last year: She didn't even know about candy at that point.

She's 9 months old in this one.

We went to the mall play area around 9:30 and had the lay of the land. Here's Jules in her "big red car". She loves the Wiggles, so it's appropriate. She's leaning out because she thinks that will prevent me from getting her in the picture. Silly girl.



She's napping now. We'll go to church tonight and then to the Brown family Christmas party. The great thing is that we get to spend all day at home tomorrow. My parents and Jeff's parents will come over and his siblings will be in and out all day.

Holiday Weekend

We had a great weekend. Somewhat laidback, and definitely fun. Holiday parties abound.

Friday - Jules spent the night with Jett and Phoenix. Jeff and I went to his work holiday party.

Saturday - Mommy got to sleep in while Jeff brought Jules home. :-D Thank you for that!!!! Then we went out to breakfast and did a little shopping - Jeff and I decided that our gift to each other would be a new couch and chair... so we were looking for that. We kind of lost track of time... so we were a little late to get to Aunt Meredy's house for our family Christmas.


We all raked it in. We exchanged names, but my parents did stockings for all of us. They do it up right! Jeff and Jules were exhausted after such a busy day, so we went home to nap... then more shopping and Jules ended up spending the night with Grammy and Gramps so we could try to finish up our shopping (Target is open late this time of year...)


Sunday - Jules wore her super cute "Claus" outfit to church... then we immediately drove out to Bowie, for the Young Family Christmas Party. It was awesome to see everybody. I think we all had fun. Nana came over to our house for dinner afterward, and then Jett and Phoenix came over so that their parents could have a date night. FULL HOUSE! Exhausting and fun... that's what the holidays are all about!

December 19th.

Last December 19th, we went in for Jules 9 month check up to find out that she had an ear infection. This year, we went today because she has had diarrhea since yesterday. Just a virus, but we got all the proper instructions.

She actually weighs less than she did at her 18 month appt... but I guess that happens when you have a stomach virus. 24 pounds. And she did not want to let him touch her. But in the end, she decided that if she could look in his ear, he could look in hers... and so on.

I'm supposed to find Jules a new pediatrician, so if anybody knows of one with a good office staff in the mid-cities, North Fort Worth area, please let me know. This visit reminded me. Stupid doctor actually told me that I should put bows in Jules' hair. Think I don't TRY?!? She was only in a boys t-shirt because she has diarrhea and went through all of her own clothes at the babysitter's house!!!! I didn't feel the need to explain all that to the terd.

With Love

We all gave her kisses and cuddles this morning, and she passed away at the vet after a couple of seizures on the way there. I can only imagine how horrible that was for him. Bless him for being the strong one and taking care of her.

I'm going to have to dig up a couple of pictures of Emily.

Added: One of my favorites... like daddy, like dog.

She's leaving us...

Emily

I love her and she's the best. calm, loving, cuddly, never loud or mean.

I'm not an animal person, but I love this dog. About a year ago, she got sick. Wasn't eating much, getting "sick" and just not looking good. So we took her to the vet. She had diabetes and her blood sugar levels were out of this world. It took the vet a week to stabilize her levels enough to send her home with us. And the insuline. 2 shots a day... and she HAS to eat immediately after the shot. Well, she's refusing to eat now. What do you do?

Our best guess is that she's about 13 years old. The humane society told us that she was two when Jeff picked her up in 2001. She was more like six. I think vets fall back on the 2 age frame to tell you that it's an adult dog.

As I said before, I am not an animal person. My heart is breaking for this little dog. We're going to take care of her. I appreciate that Jeff and I have always agreed on the principals of our pets and how to take care of them. No fighting or crying... just do what needs to be done. Jules is going to miss her... but she'll probably forget her before long. That is so sad to me... because she is the best.

Update: Jeff sent me this story that he wrote a couple of years ago. (In case you aren't aware, Jeff's a freelance writer - in his spare time - and is published frequently in the Dallas Morning News and Fort Worth Star Telegram.)

A Tale of Two Tails

Pets are family that you get to pick out, unlike the odd assortment of goofballs and misfits that you’re stuck with for real family. They’re like furry little family members, with their own furry little personalities. The personality you pick out is important. You don’t want to spend the next ten-to-fourteen years with a dog with an attitude problem (I say dog there because that is not an option with cats). But you don’t always really have a choice, sometimes they pick you out.

Here’s the phrase that brought Diablo (the gigantic orange tabby) into my family: Crazy Mike turned to me and said, “Whichever one of these kittens you don’t take home is gonna die.”

During my sophomore year in college, I decided I was ready for my first four-legged pet. I hadn’t had much luck with hermit crabs and other assorted tragic critters, but I figured a kitten would be a good fit for my wacky bachelor lifestyle. But apparently it wasn’t the right ‘season’ for kittens. I had no idea cats had ‘seasons’, I figured they just got it on whenever the mood struck. So after much effort searching humane societies, shelters, etc, I found an ad in the paper offering kittens for twenty bucks. My friend Crazy Mike and I showed up at what may have been the most wretched apartment I’ve ever visited. The owners explained to us in choppy English that the momma cat had taken a turn for the worse and couldn’t walk anymore, leaving these four-week old kittens to fend for themselves.

One of the kittens was trying to nurse on the sickly momma cat who looked nearly dead in the corner of the room. This was the point where I realized that we were no longer kitten shopping; we were going to save one of these sad creatures from imminent doom. I got the lively little orange boy, who later ended up completely squandering my savings in vet bills before I got him healthy. Now he’s the gigantic nine-year-old lion of a cat who rules my household.

Here’s the phrase that brought Emily (my goofball Chihuahua) into my family: I told the shelter clerk, “I want the ugliest dog you got.”

About four years ago, I decided that Diablo could use a playmate. I was still single at the time and felt our little family duo could use a third critter. I have a soft spot for shelter animals… it’s like death row for ugly animals. Sure, the cute little pets who can do cute little tricks will find homes. But if you’re missing an eye or a leg or something, you might as well have a puppy priest come in and read your Puppy Last Rights. So I decided that I wanted the ugliest dog I could find, one that would definitely be getting the puppy electric chair soon, or however they do it these days. I saw intelligent little dogs who stood up and pawed at the cage when I walked by, I saw adorable chubby little pups that were so cute it actually hurt to look at them, I even saw one dog filling out tax forms for people.

But in the back corner of one cage, there was this miserable little Chihuahua/ terrier mix with her back to the crowd. She had already accepted that nobody was going to take her home and wasn’t interacting with people walking by. When I tried to talk to her, she turned her face to me, showed her teeth and growled. Her eyes weren’t mean, though, they were sad and scared. I knew she was the one. As I filled out the forms, the shelter clerk whispered to me: “good thing you came in today for this one.” That day, Emily rode home from the shelter curled on my lap with her face buried in my armpit. Nowadays she can be seen sprawled out on my couch or wiggling on her back in the backyard grass with her chubby belly in the air, eyes squinted, blissfully living up her second life.

Uplifting

I get the Upper Room daily devotional in e-mail every day.

The bible verses were about the time leading up to Jesus' birth and an uplifting little testimonial. But this part really spoke to me today.

Today's Scripture

There is hope for your future, says the Lord.
-Jeremiah 31:17 (NRSV)

Prayer
God of all miracles, help us to trust you when life is uncertain. Open our eyes to see your redemption unfolding. Thank you for allowing us to be part of it. Amen.
Thought for the Day

Where can I find good news in what makes me grumble?

Prayer Focus
Someone who needs a miracle

I need to remember to take one day at a time and to not give up when things get frustrating. MANY parts of my life need this reminder. I can be an uplifting blessing to the people around me. I was going to get on here and gripe today... but thank GOD for small miracles and uplifting messages. I want to cry... last night, I wanted to give up. Today, because of God's glorious reminders of grace and faithfulness, he reminds me that I can be a blessing.

for fun

I'm having a rough day, so I thought I'd post something fun. Hopefully it pastes okay.



Summary of Life
GREAT TRUTHS THAT LITTLE CHILDREN HAVE LEARNED:
1) No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats.
2) When your Mom is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair.
3) If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch the second person.
4) Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.
5) You can't trust dogs to watch your food.
6) Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.
7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time.
8) You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.
9) Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.
10) The best place to be when you're sad is Grand pa's lap.




GREAT TRUTHS THAT ADULTS HAVE LEARNED:
1) Raising teenagers is like nailing jelly to a tree.
2) Wrinkles don't hurt.
3) Families are like fudge.mostly sweet, with a few nuts.
4) Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
5) Laughing is good exercise. It's like jogging on the inside.
6) Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy.


GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT GROWING OLD
1) Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
2) Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.
3) When you fall down, you wonder what else you can do while you're down there.
4) You're getting old when you get the same sensation from a rocking chair that you once got from a roller coaster.
5) Its frustrating when you know all the answers but nobody bothers to ask you the questions.
6) Time may be a great healer, but it's a lousy beautician.
7) Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone.


THE FOUR STAGES OF LIFE:
1) You believe in Santa Claus.
2) You don't believe in Santa Claus.
3) You are Santa Claus.
4) You look like Santa Claus.


SUCCESS: ?
At age 4 success is.not piddling in your pants.
At age 12 success is.having friends.
At age 17 success is...having a drivers license.
At age 35 success is.having money.
At age 50 success is...having money.
At age 70 success is...having a drivers license.
At age 75 success is...having friends.
At age 80 success is...not piddling in your pants.


Well, the pictures didn't come with it... but that's okay. It's still funny.

Suggestions?

We're thinking of doing casseroles for Christmas day. We'll have family in and out of our house all day... So this way, we can stay out of the kitchen and have food available all day.

Suggestions?
Favorite Casserole recipes?
Comment or e-mail me at amykati@gmail.com!

Thanks!

Holiday Parties and Fun

Friday afternoon, I got off of work early and we headed down to Austin. Jeff's best friend, Adrian and his wife, Eva have a few big things going on and it's time to celebrate. Adrian just got his master's degree in Education Administration and Eva just finished her bachelors degree in Elementary Education... not to mention that Adrian's birthday was this past Thursday and Eva's is this coming Tuesday. So... big party ensues.

We stayed with Jeff's brother, Ben. Their mom lives with him and his fiancee right now, so we were also visiting Nana. Jules had a blast with all three of them (including Jamie, the fiancee). Saturday morning, Nana couldn't resist giving Jules one of her Christmas presents early. It's a cool wooden puzzle of animals. Jules loved it and was pretty good at it! Saturday evening, Jamie couldn't resist giving Jules one of her presents from her and Ben. It was a Cabbage Patch 25th Anniversary Doll that they thought looked like Jules' Mommy! Here's a fuzzy pictures of Elda Lani (the CP given name) and Jules. Pardon the quality of the pic. It's from my phone. My camera is acting up... plus I left it at my Mom's house tonight.

Jules and Nana hung out together Saturday evening while the rest of us went to Adrian and Eva's celebration. Jules got to go with us to the celebration dinner.

We ate at Juan in a Million this morning for breakfast. It's my second favorite breakfast place in Austin, but the most coveted. (IMO) I hear that they'll be featured on a Travel Channel show this week. I'm going to have to tivo it. After breakfast (at which Jules chowed down... the kid loves scrambled eggs and potatoes), we headed back to Fort Worth.

After some time to settle back in at home, and a good nap for Jules, my mom's family Christmas party was early this evening. As I said before, I left my camera at my mom's house, so hopefully (if I can get my camera to work) I can add pictures of all of the cute toddlers running around over there later. It was a blast to see all of the cousins. They loved running back and forth in my parents back yard and we all chowed on the many appetizers.

Jules banked at the party as well. The little kids exchanged names, and I'm sure that my cousin went over the $10 limit. Jules got a cool car that she DID NOT want to share. (We had a couple of sharing lessons tonight) and this Mickey Mouse that is almost as big as she is!


You can barely tell in these pictures, but there's barely a mark left on her lips(see post below). It's amazing how fast kids heal.

Another?

I'm considering starting another blog. I'd like to lose some weight, and think it would be a good accountability tactic. I've read a couple of other blogs lately where people use it to blog about their progress or detractions. One girl takes pictures of the food she eats and keeps track of her Weight Watchers POINTS that way.

I can track the exercise progress as well. Suggestions?

Poor Baby

She loves her rocking chair. We're always telling her to sit in it (she likes to sit on her knees) or not to rock so hard.

I was trying to start a fire in the fireplace, so I had my back to her and over she goes. Busted her lip real bad. She was bleeding all over the place. I feel HORRIBLE! She had to tell Daddy all about it. He said that was a good sign. Her lips were like balloons! I so hope they go down quickly.

Poppy

I forgot a couple of pictures earlier. The good thing about that is that now I can share pictures from our adventurous evening.

Jules was playing Hide and Seek or Peek-A-Boo with her toboggan.























Jeff's dad and Mema came over to hang out with Jules. Poppy wanted to make a gingerbread house with Jules and we considered looking at Christmas lights. We just didn't have time for Christmas lights, so Jules and Poppy had to settle for a SUGAR RUSH!!!! In this picture, she's licking frosting from her fingers... thanks Poppy!





Jules doesn't get to hang out with Poppy often, so it was anything goes. Mommy kept her mouth shut and went with the flow. (Wow... amazing)

Decorations and Such

Tuesday, Jeff and his brothers pulled the holiday stuff out of the attic.
Thursday, Jeff, my sister and I put the tree up. We have a huge tree, so that's a feat in itself. That was enough for us for that night.

Saturday, after Jules went to bed, I decorated the tree and Jeff got the lights going.

She's in her new (from a garage sale) rocking chair. She LOVES it!

One of the kids at church (Jeff does the music for the kids at church) gave Jules a tutu. It's really for a bigger kid, but Jules just had to try it Saturday morning.




I just had to share this picture. This is what happens when you take too long to snap a picture. (I was taking the picture with my phone.)


She sat with "Clause" (or as the rest of us say, Santa) at the Keller High School craft fair. She was a lot more excited than it looks here.


This is Jules and Daddy playing video games Sunday morning.

Daddy wishes that Jules was really playing!

Jeff led the Children's Choir at church this morning. They're asking him to lead it on a regular basis. He's hesitant, so we're praying about whether it's really for him or not.
During Practice before church:


During church:

A Lovely Thanksgiving Weekend

We had a fun time with the families.

First to Aunt Carrie's house (Jeff's dad's sister)
Jules got to see some cousins that she used to hang out with a lot, but hasn't seen in a couple of months. They had fun. Jules and Jordan:


She got to play with markers. Thank God for washable markers! Take a close look at her arms.


And this is Colton, Jules, Abby, and Jordan:


These two sleepy heads are taking a break between lunch #2 at my parents in North Richland Hills and Lunch #3 at Jeff's Aunt Vick's in Justin.


By the end of the day, Jules wasn't feeling so hot. It seems like a cold with a little tummy issue thrown in. She acts fine for a while, and then has these little times that you can tell she doesn't feel well. She's sleeping like a champ... good naps and 12 hours a night... so hopefully, that will help her get through it.

Friday, Aunt Meredith and I went for some early morning girl time... shopping. Jules got to have a good morning with Daddy.
After her morning nap, we went with Grammy and Gramps to see.... DISNEY ON ICE!
This was a test run to see how she reacted. We were fully prepared for her to not pay much attention and get bored. But she was entranced and loved EVERY minute of it. She wore her Mickey Mouse (or as she calls him "Mouse") shirt for the occassion. I didn't realize it before hand, but she even knows Pluto's name! I'm sure Mickey Mouse Clubhouse can be thanked for that. Anyway, here are a few snaps of the fun.









The Sweetie just woke up from her morning nap and still isn't feeling well. She's got the gross runny nose and way more dirty diapers than normal. How do the two combine? Plus, she's cuddling with Daddy right now. That NEVER happens! Cuddling for more than 30 seconds...
I'm very thankful that I can be home with her when she's feeling this way.

Thankful

To copy my friend, Susan:
I am so thankful for:



and of course:


BUT I am especially thankful for:


I haven't always been the best wife (hopefully, I'm getting better! :-D) and I thank you for your infinite patience and support. You are my best friend.

20 Months!?!?!?

Jules is 20 months old today. Hard to believe that we're a year and 2/3 into her life. She, of course, is amazing.

Some fun anecdotes:
She looks for the moon everytime we go outside.
It seems as though her two favorite foods are grapes and mac & cheese.
Halloween helped her discover candy... and it seems we're a little obsessed now.
And she's finally got hair! Although, ponytails, barettes and bows don't last.

I'm going to add a couple of pictures as soon as possible.

Thursday Drama

Okay... settle in for a long story.

Thursday evening, I picked Jules up from the sitters. I'm greeted with "I just broke Jules tooth - her back tooth." Automatically, I'm in STAY CALM mode. James brings me Jules (who happily yells "Momma" and goes to hug me), says he's just cleaned her up, and gives me a ziploc with the tooth inside it. He says they were doing flips and playing around and she knocked her head. Poor James is freaked out... super upset and worried about her.

I get Jules in the car - She promptly asks Grammy for grapes - and call Jeff. He starts calling around - Care Now, Cooks Childrens Emergency Room, leaves a message for his dentist. We have no idea what to do. My future brother in law has his dentist's cell number and gets in touch with him for us. They tell us to pull the tooth and if we can't do it ourselves, have it pulled. AAARRRGHHH! At this point, I'm freaking a little... stomach queasy just imagining a broken tooth in my baby's mouth. But she's acting completely normal.

We get home and finally (over an hour after I initially picked her up) look in her mouth. We see where she bit her tongue, but can't find a missing or broken tooth. It was surprisingly easy to get her to open her mouth wide. We look at our ziploc'ed tooth a little closer and realize that people molars have four ridges... this tooth only has two. Jeff calls James and asks him to look in his puppy's mouth. Yep.... it's the puppy's tooth!

Apparently, Jules bumped her head, started bleeding (from biting her tongue), and when James looked up, he saw a tooth laying on the chair... and assumed it was Jules' tooth. Both he and Ashley were SO relieved that she was okay... as of course were we. Now, it's just a funny story that we will enjoy telling for a long time.

A Little Politics

I just have to say that I am amazed at our country. It's remarkable that this country has gone through so much, yet 232 years later... is still whole and operating as was planned. (only one civil war...)

The glorious thing about our system is that if you don't agree with a couple of issues that a candidate/politician stands for... that's okay... because he has to fight with the other politicians to get his ideals into law. In addition to that, this financial crisis, this last month shows us that if you communicate with your legislators, they listen. They may change their mind two weeks later, but we need to keep communicating.

People who get so worked up and angry about one guy winning or losing... I just don't understand that. Last night really made me appreciate our system of government and what a strong system it is.

Trick Or Treat!

Jules went trick or treating for the first time tonight. Super fun...
She did really well. Lots of "Thank you" and "I like this."
If you ask her what a Lion says (she was a lion)... she'll tell you "Rooooar"
She's the best.


My dad bought this costume for her last year. It's a 2t and worked out perfectly. At the time, he told me to just let her use it as a sweatshirt. He got it on clearance, so he didn't mind. But when he saw her wearing it tonight, I could tell that he was super proud that he had bought it for her.

She wanted to eat every sucker that was given to her. At one point, there were three suckers open... one in each of our mouth. When she got the next tootsie pop, she handed it to Daddy to open. He did the switcheroo to give her the dum dum that she already had back. Uh, uh... not for this smartie girl. She got mad at him. He tried to pull it off several times. No Go. It was so funny!



Thursday evening, Jules and Jeff carved our pumpkin. Jules was seriously uninterested at first... but when it started developing a face... a little more interested.