Meet the Glidewells

Mom Update

2010-12-14T16:43:00.001-05:00

As of yesterday morning my mom is #3 on the transplant list. The doctors were able to get her a higher score for her liver, which moved her up the list. The #2 person on the list is waiting for a liver and a kidney, so my mom may actually get her liver sooner.

As this news arrived we are all overwhelmed with the reality that this transplant is going to happen. Everyone has been so encouraging, and this is what we have been praying for. Because of that, it's strange that we are mainly feeling overwhelmed and scared. A transplant is a HUGE deal. And, I think we were all hoping that Christmas this year would fall low on the drama list for us.

The transplant could happen any day. Until then, please pray for peace for my mom as she awaits a very scary thing. Pray that she and my dad will not be overwhelmed by To Do Lists and What Ifs.

Random Transplant Facts:
- Piedmont Hospital does an average of 85 transplants a year. (That's more than one a week!)
- After a transplant the patient is usually in the ICU on a breathing machine with several tubes and drains for 3 days.
- Piedmont Hospital has a 93% first year survival rate for transplant recipients.

It's Been Awhile!

2010-12-10T16:44:00.002-05:00

It's been awhile since I've blogged. Um, more like almost 10 months. Once you stop posting, it's hard to get started again. I'm sitting on my couch watching Say Yes To The Dress. Why do we watch this stuff? (I'm assuming others do too!) I'm counting down the minutes to when my kids will wake up, knowing that the days of both kids napping are almost over.

Let's see...Updates...

Parker is obsessed with superheroes, especially Batman, and Disney princesses. Interesting.

He dresses himself, takes medicine without throwing a fit, helped decorate the tree (really helped), and can actually be reasoned with. Basically, he's growing up. It's pretty cool.

Abigail is spunky, sassy, and confident. She always walks with a purpose, loves anything that sparkles, is picky about which skinny jeans she gets to wear, has Eric completely wrapped around her little finger and explained to Santa today how to get into our house and drop off her 2 presents that she has to have.

Eric is truly amazing. He makes it look simple to juggle work, kids and a high maintenance wife.

Here are the kids' school pictures this year. I love them!

Update

2010-02-16T21:21:00.002-05:00

We are hanging in there. Seriously, hanging in there. The food and visits and my mom have kept us going. Thanks!!

We are now just waiting for next Friday, February 26. We will go for a doctor's visit and either get the cast removed or be told that she has to wear it for 4 more weeks. I told Eric last night that I can hang in there for another week and a half, but that I WILL have a meltdown if we are told that the cast can't come off.

Please pray for fast healing!

The kids are doing well. Abigail seems to not even realize that she has a cast on. The only problem is that she's getting really bored. Parker is a little attention hungry from all of this. He's said a couple times that he wants a cast too. Dear God, No! :)

The Weekend

2010-02-07T20:30:00.003-05:00

The good news is that Abigail is getting back to her normal personality. She doesn't seem to be in pain at all anymore. She's trying to move around some on her own. She's getting used to the crazy harness for the car, and enjoying being held all the time. The hard thing is that she is getting frustrated with not being able to walk. And, it's hard to entertain her all the time.

The hard news is that we went to the doctor on Friday for a check up. They told us that she will definitely be in the cast for 4 weeks, but possibly for 6-8 weeks. We go back to the doctor February 26. Once she gets her cast off, she will have to learn to crawl and walk again. This will probably take a couple weeks. She will have a limp for about 3-4 months, but possibly for a year. That was hard news to hear.

I had some sort of stomach bug this weekend. Nice, huh! We're all exhausted in every way. My mom has been amazing! She's been here almost everyday. And, she'll continue to be here so that I can go back to work. She and Abigail have formed quite a bond.

Thanks for all the food, prayers, and visits. I think Parker is enjoying this time! He's had tons of friends stop by, and more play dates than ever before. Keep it coming!

Today

2010-02-03T21:49:00.002-05:00

This is a picture of Abigail with a new toy. She loved it! She had 3 wet diapers today! It was only 1 yesterday. So, we've moved up! Yay! Today was a rough day because she was discontent. I also had to take her to the doctor because she has a sinus infection. Not fun! I'll try to take a picture of the harness she has to use in the car. Thank you for your prayers. She drank 2 cups of juice today, and ate a few bites of food. Yay! Now if we can just get some sleep! We go to the doctor for a X-ray on Friday. We'll know more at that point as to how she's healing. Thanks for everything!!

Abigail

2010-02-02T22:03:00.003-05:00

Thank you all for your prayers for Abigail! Thank you for the food, the visits, and the emails. It's been so encouraging to have so many friends during this time.

Many of you have asked over facebook or email about what happened.

Saturday morning Eric was letting me sleep in. He was taking the kids downstairs to play. He tripped on something and fell down the stairs while holding Abigail. The fall woke me up. I rushed downstairs and saw them all on the ground. Eric was pretty banged up. Abigail was having a hard time breathing and was obviously hurt.

When we got her to the hospital we originally thought that she had broken ribs or something wrong with her lungs because she kept gasping for air. But, now we think she was just in shock.

The doctors first thought that she would need surgery and be in a full spica cast for 8 weeks with physical therapy to follow. We were moved to a regular hospital room to wait for the procedure to be on Sunday morning.

So, we were incredibly relieved and thankful when they brought her back from the O.R. on Sunday with less than half the cast we were expecting, and only a 3 week period of being in the cast.

It's been a rough 4 days. Abigail is normally very active and independent, so she's having a really hard time adjusting to the cast. We've been able to rig the highchair for her to sit in and borrowed a wagon from work to ride her around the house. She's started sleeping in her crib again at night and for her naps. My mom has also been here during the day with me, which has been so helpful. I don't think I could do it alone.

My biggest concern now is that we can't get her to eat or drink much. She only had one wet diaper today. So, please continue to pray for her appetite and thirst. I really don't want her to end up in the hospital again.

Please continue to stop by. She loves having visitors. Be prepared to hold her and read her a book if you come over. :)

I guess it's still Halloween

2009-11-28T21:25:00.002-05:00

We had Eric's family over for Thanksgiving dinner. I was "bragging" on my child, impressed that he knew what Thanksgiving was. Here was the conversation..

Me: Parker, tell Nana what today is.

Parker: It's Tanks (thanks) Day!

Me: Tell Nana what you're thankful for.

Parker: I'm tankful for Hawoween! (Halloween)

I was putting him to bed the other night. Here's the conversation:

Me: Do you want to pray or do you want me to pray?

Parker: I want to pway.

Me: Okay. First let's thank God for everything he made.

Parker: Deaw (dear) God, Tank you for punkins, for ghosts, for costumes, for twick or tweeting, for candles in punkins. Amen. This is my hawoween pwayer!

And, today we went to get a Christmas tree. We picked a tree from a local farmer's market. At the checkout... there were pumpkins. The lady gave him a pumpkin. All he talked about on the way home was his pumpkin.

Dear God, Can we please move past Halloween?!

Lately

2009-11-11T20:35:00.003-05:00

Today we lost a shoe out the window. Well, Parker threw his shoe out the window while we were driving to work. Parker also went to school barefoot. He later threw up all over that bare foot.

Today Abigail screamed for a ball the entire time we were in Target. The entire time. Target torments me at Christmastime with the balls everywhere. It must be their secret ploy to get us parents to buy a ridiculous amount of balls for our children.

Today Parker sang a song to me about Christmas. A song I've never heard before. And, it made me cry.

Today Abigail looked at me and said, "Shooooo." That's, "I love you" in her little language. And, it made me cry.

How can I be so extremely frustrated with my children and extremely in love with them at the same time?

Now I'm sitting back, drinking a glass of wine, writing on my blog. Eric's across the street at small group, which usually happens at our house. They're talking about parenting. Haha! It makes me laugh. I've missed 4 days of work in the last week because my kids have been sick. It makes me realize that I need to miss a day of work when they are well.

What? I have a blog?

2009-09-26T22:48:00.003-04:00

It's been awhile. A long while. Let's just say that I went back to work, and I've spent the last couple months trying to juggle the work/home/mom thing. I think I'm finally getting back into a groove now. I guess you could call it a "groove." Not sure that's the right term.

It's definitely hard to wake up early and get to work everyday. It's hard to get dressed up everyday. I don't have to dress that well, but my workout clothes don't cut it. It's hard to ride in rush hour with my kids, although Parker has somehow made me excited, too, about the river and the trains that we pass everyday. I don't get to the gym everyday anymore, but when I am there I seem to be able to "disappear" into the treadmill.

One of my favorite things about working is that I get to see hundreds of preschoolers dancing and singing to God every week. But, by far, my favorite thing is that my job is teaching me how to be a better parent to my children. I love that! And, I've been inspired. I love being inspired.

For the kid update...

Parker can still see! I'm thankful for that everyday! He is almost completely potty trained- thanks to Buzz Lightyear bribes and lots of oreos. He loves daycare and playing games on my new iphone.

Abigail is walking. Running! She is an emotional wonderful little girl. Her personality is really starting to show. She says, "Hi!" to everyone she sees. She really loves reading books now.

I really am going to try to start blogging again.

Beach Beach BEACH!

2009-07-28T20:22:00.004-04:00

We spent last week in Hilton Head. We LOVE that place.

Abigail did not like the life vest.

Abigail loved the beach.

Parker loved flying his kite and catching crabs.

Abigail scoots everywhere. These are the tracks she made in the sand as she scooted towards the water.

Out and About

2009-07-20T16:36:00.003-04:00

We had a chance to ride the train at Atlantic Station on Saturday. Check out these pics from my dad's phone...

Parker Conducting

2009-07-19T21:36:00.001-04:00

Parker loves to pretend to be a music conductor. Check out this video.

Recent Pictures

2009-07-10T15:21:00.005-04:00

Parker is obsessed with my dad's iphone. I think my dad's pretty obsessed too. What's up with men and their phones?

My new favorite thing with my kids is that Parker is really into the planets. The best part of it is that instead of calling it "Uranus" he calls it "My anus." Haha! He has no idea. Next time you see him ask him to name the planets for you.

P is also into the whole potty training thing. Whenever we're in public (or at home) if someone uses the bathroom he likes to announce it to everyone. The biggest problem with this is that he assumes that everyone has pooped when they come out of the bathroom. For instance, I came out of the bathroom in Moe's by Eric's office the other day (It was full of business people.) and Parker started screaming, "Mommy did it! Mommy made a BIG poop." Nice. I told him that I just peed. He started screaming again, "Mommy did it! Mommy peepeed in the potty. Mommy has potty power!" Like I've said before... I've lost all cool points. Gone.

Happy Birthday, Little P!

2009-06-23T19:56:00.002-04:00

Today is Parker's third birthday. I sit here and think, "How in the world do I have a 3 year old?" But, then I think back to the night he was born and that seems like decades ago. I haven't given a Parker update in a long time. So, here are his 3 year old favorites:

He still sleeps a good 3-4 hours in the afternoon.
He loves TV and videos. I love them too, because they work as bribes.
Chicken nuggets, chicken nuggets, chicken nuggets
His favorite songs are anything by Todd Fields.
He can name and identify all of the planets, lower and uppercase letters, and about 20 musical instruments.
He's learning to use the potty. He went twice today!!! Yay!!!
He has to get out of the house everyday. He starts asking to get in the car if we haven't gone anywhere by 11am.
He's still afraid of new shoes, unless they're crocs. Then he becomes obsessed.
He likes to pick out his own shirts, but still can't put them on himself.
He's obsessed with the villains in TV shows and videos. There's a song that says, "Hell could come against us". He now points and screams, "It's Hell!" to be funny. Not so funny in public.
He also likes to act like he needs help when we are in parking decks. He starts screaming, "Hello? Is anybody there? Help! I need help!" You should see all the soccer moms run.
He doesn't say, "I love you" quite as much, but when he does say it, I know he really means it.

We love our little boy!

More Party Pictures

2009-06-22T14:40:00.003-04:00

Parker's Birthday Party

2009-06-22T14:30:00.002-04:00

Parker had his 3 year old birthday party on Saturday. We had a blast! Here are some of my favorite pictures...

Airport Fun

2009-06-12T16:06:00.002-04:00

Yesterday we went to the Dekalb Peachtree Airport. They have picnic tables and a playground right on the runway. It was great!! Parker especially loved watching the airplanes and all of the helicopters fly by. I guess several local news stations launch their helicopters from there as well. It was a lot of fun. We will definitely be going back. Here are some pics...

Backyard Fun

2009-06-07T13:47:00.002-04:00

Ode to the baby pool. I love the baby pool. Instant fun in the backyard. I think I'll have one forever. (Unless we can someday get a real pool.) I have no problem putting on a swimsuit and getting a tan in a baby pool. We have 3 different baby pools. We didn't buy them all. But, we have them. It's amazing what joy 6 inches of water can bring.

Abigail's Party

2009-04-20T12:05:00.007-04:00

We had all of our Atlanta family over yesterday to celebrate Abigail's birthday.

This is Abigail's new birthday outfit.

The cake:

This is Abigail and her cousin Tabitha playing with a new toy.

Abigail played with the cake more than she ate the cake.

Happy Birthday, Abigail!

2009-04-15T22:23:00.003-04:00

Happy Birthday, little girl! Today is Abigail's birthday. I can't even believe how much light one little girl has brought into my life. I love the way she crinkles her nose when she smiles, the way she smiles every time I smile at her, the way she searches for my necklace whether I'm wearing one or not, the way her eyes light up when she looks in the mirror, the way she watches the dogs and her brother with a sense of wonder, the way she tries to sing along with music in the car, the way she talks to me like I fully understand every word she's saying, and the way she tucks her head under my chin when I rock her to sleep. I can't imagine my life without her. I love you, Abigail! Happy Birthday!

Abigail the day she was born:

Three Months:

Six Months:

Nine Months:

Twelve Months:

The Perfect Family Picture

2009-04-12T20:46:00.001-04:00

Didn't happen today...

Easter Egg Hunt

2009-04-12T20:39:00.005-04:00

We had an Easter egg hunt in our backyard this afternoon. Abigail took it very seriously, and Parker didn't quite get into it like we thought. But, it was still fun.

Easter Morning Pictures

2009-04-12T20:15:00.006-04:00

Abigail in her Easter outfit. We had it made by Debbie at Little Noel. I love it! I'll try to post more up close pictures later. The patchwork on the pants is my favorite. Debbie is also making Abigail's birthday outfit.

We took pictures outside of church this morning. This one is my favorite of my dad and the kids.

I'm now convinced that we will never get that "perfect" family picture.

The kids were having a great time.

Abigail's First Haircut

2009-04-12T20:08:00.003-04:00

Parker really needed a haircut. And, those of y'all that know me well, know that Parker doesn't do haircuts. In fact, he FREAKS out to the extreme with a haircut. I decided that while there I should go ahead and get Abigail's trimmed to be all the same length. I got pictures of Abigail. I didn't get any of Parker- he wouldn't have appreciated that. Abigail, on the other hand, seems to already know that getting a haircut is like heaven, and sparkles in the hair make every day a better day...

My grandmother was in town for the haircuts too. We LOVED having her visit us for a few days.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

2009-04-12T20:04:00.002-04:00

My dad's birthday was Thursday. He's getting old. Haha! I ended up having to blow out the candles for him. Haha! Happy Birthday, Dad! I can't wait to spend the next 40 years with you!

The Y Lady and The Treadmill

2009-04-03T22:32:00.002-04:00

This could be my favorite story of the year...

I loaded up the kids tonight and headed to the YMCA for a workout. I had no idea the pure giddiness joy that was going to come from the event that I was about to encounter.

I had been on an elliptical with headphones in my ears for about 30 minutes when I heard this loud screaming/ screeching noise. My first thought was, "Holy crap! Gotta get the kids. Something's wrong here." Then I turned around to see what was going on.

There was a woman, I would guess in her 50's, who had tripped on her treadmill. The problem was that she didn't let go. She was hanging on to the hand grips on the sides of the treadmill, her legs had slipped. So, picture this... she's hanging on, her feet dangling off the edge of the treadmill, screaming as loud as she could, and the treadmill was still going.

Then, all of a sudden... Whoosh!... The treadmill sucks her pants right off. Now, she's hanging on, screaming, feet dangling, no pants, just white silky granny panties.

The whole gym had stopped.

I've never seen anything like this happen before. Finally, someone was able to stop the treadmill, and someone helped her find her pants and get them back on.

Once I realized she was okay, I became very tickled. You know, the kind where you're trying so hard not to laugh that you start having tears form in your eyes. I tried to resume exercising, but I couldn't. I had no strength, all my strength was going to trying not to laugh.

Yes, I am one of those people who laugh when the guy trips, falls off the bike, etc. It's funny. It's really really funny. (I also laugh at myself when things like this happen to me. It's funny.)

I will never, ever, forget the pants being sucked off the woman hanging onto the treadmill screaming at the Y.

Blah, blah. blog

2009-03-31T20:13:00.006-04:00

I'm kicking myself as I start to write because my memory card is in my computer not in my camera. You see, Eric is trying to do head stands right now. Hysterical. This is life in the suburbs baby!

It's funny because I feel like so much has happened since I last wrote. But, I don't know what to write about. I, personally, seem to spend most of my free-thinking time (this is the time when I'm not engaged in anything else. Sadly it usually occurs in the car, or at the Y, or when I'm rocking a child, or laying with a child) trying to figure out what HUGE thing God wants me to do next. I'm kind of in this place where I'm missing working, traveling/living overseas, and wondering if the 2 kids/ 2 dogs suburban life is what God wants for me. I mean I know the 2 kids is what God wants. But, what does He want me to be doing? I don't know. I may be doing it right now. But, something in me wants a little more. Hmmm....

As for the updates for the family, here ya go...

Parker now screams, "Faster! We go faster!" every time we get on the interstate. He's not content until we pass about 5 cars. Nice.
Parker is afraid of his poop. Terrified. I have no idea what to do. I will pay someone to potty train my child. Seriously.
Abigail will be one year old in 2 weeks!
Abigail is not crawling or walking. But, she does this silly butt scoot thing.
Abigail cut 5 teeth during the last two weeks.
Parker is solely motivated by TV. TV is a reward. TV is taken away when he gets in trouble. Time outs don't work. Nothing works, but TV.
Eric can, in fact, do a headstand. For, um, 3 seconds.
Eric's Wii fit age is now 35.
Eric is going to KILL me when he reads this.
The yard has been taken care of for the first time in a year. Yup, a year. Thanks Brenda and Darrell! It took 5 guys 7 hours to fix the yard.
I now weigh less than I have in, count it, 3 1/2 years! Go stay-at-home-SUV-driving-want-to-be-cute-tennis-mom me!
Parker can see with his new glasses. He has some pretty large bifocals, but his prescription should get less and less as he grows. He still has some white blood cell build up on his right lens. We'll go back in 2 months to have it evaluated again.
Eric's work moved to Atlantic Station. It's a great location.

For some pics...

Abigail is obsessed with the dogs. I couldn't get a good picture of her looking at the camera because the dogs were in the room. But, here are a couple for fun...

Here's the truck load of yard trash that was taken away from our house. I'll post a picture of the yard when the rain is gone. Oh yeah, raise the roof for the rain! Lake this summer anyone?

I told Parker he could watch some TV if he smiled for the camera. Bribes. Hmm.

Update in Pictures

2009-03-19T20:58:00.003-04:00

We were able to branch out of the house late Friday. Abigail came home that day too. The whooping cough was nasty. Parker still has a little cough, but it's not nearly as bad. I spent DAYS sanitizing EVERYTHING that he touched. Now, I need a maid to come and do my regular housework because I'm exhausted!

Parker pretty much refuses to eat veggies or anything somewhat healthy. I baked these blueberry lemon muffins from the Deceptively Delicious cookbook. Get this... there's 1/3 of a squash in each muffin, yogurt, and flax seed. He loved it!

I've also decided, because Parker keeps getting in trouble at school, that he's watching too much TV. In my quest to entertain him we've been very busy this week with painting, stickers, play do, puzzles, EVERYTHING. Got any ideas? This is P showing Abigail how to use some of the craft supplies.

Abigail is trying to move around. She's close to crawling, and will now stand for a few seconds with my help. She will not be walking on her birthday. Her favorite thing, other than grandma, is to sit at the table and participate in whatever project Parker is working on.

Parker doesn't like getting his picture taken right now. This is the best I could get. But, he has his new glasses prescription. These are loaner frames while we wait for his to come in. I HATE that he has to wear bifocals, but he can see. He noticed all the tiny rocks in the asphalt, the leaves on the trees, and keeps asking me to tell him what everything is. I'm really glad he can see. I can tell that his world is coming alive again.

Quarentine

2009-03-11T13:03:00.004-04:00

Parker is currently on his 5th hour of TV today. Well, we've had little breaks. But, the good news is that the coughing is less, he ate a grilled cheese and kept it down, and he's back to standing right in front of the TV. Antibiotics are amazing. The bad news is that he still smells like puke from yesterday, and nap time is approaching- which seems to be difficult these days.

I haven't posted any pics lately. So, here are some of the past week or so...

Parker yesterday...

Parker today...

Abigail is almost 1, and she now has 6 teeth!

Fun in last week's snow...

Pray for Little P again please

2009-03-10T20:55:00.002-04:00

I'm in a little daze right now. Parker was diagnosed with the croup on Saturday. That's not a huge deal. He gets it a few times a year. He seemed to be getting better until last night. He woke up with a different cough around 1am and didn't stop coughing. Literally, didn't stop. This morning around 10am he had a 103.6 fever. So, I took him back to the doctor.

The doctor immediately told me that he needed to run more tests on him, and that he was going to send us to the hospital because he suspected pneumonia. We got to the hospital around noon. The people at the hospital greeted us with a mask for Parker to wear. (Of course, I wore one too so that he would feel okay about it.) We were moved to a different waiting area where we waited for....3 hours! Luckily during hour #2 Parker passed out on my and slept until we were shown a room.

Things were a little strange once we got to a room. I was told that neither of us could leave the room. Then the doctor came in to evaluate Parker and I looked on his shirt at it said, "FEMA: Federal Emergency Medical Assistant." They started asking me all these questions about vaccines, where we've been lately, etc.

Anyways, LOOONG story short. After many hours in the hospital we are home. They are not exactly sure what Parker has, but they think that it is pertussis: whooping cough. It's highly contagious and he's pretty sick. The good news is that we caught it early. Antibiotics should clear it in a few days. The bad news is that he's really sick, and it's very dangerous for babies, like Abigail. So, pray for Parker to heal quickly. Pray for Abigail to stay healthy, and for my mom as she takes Abigail tomorrow for a couple days to keep her out of the germs in our house.

I'm refusing to believe that the way things have been at our house the last month are "normal". So, please pray for normalcy to return to our house. Thanks!

Parker's Prayer

2009-03-01T21:02:00.003-05:00

Last night I was rocking Parker, and I asked him if he wanted to pray. This was his prayer...

"Dear Jesus,

Thank you for Monsters, The Wonder Pets, outer space, and hermit crabs.

Amen"

An Update- At Last

2009-02-23T12:37:00.005-05:00

It's been a wild weekend.

Parker: The appointment on Friday went well. Parker let the doctor do a full examination, which can only be attributed to being an act of God. Parker's left eye looks great. His right eye still has the white blood cells, so we have to continue to treat it with a stronger steroid. Both eyes are more farsighted from the implants than what we had anticipated. But, hopefully, as he grows it will correct itself. Parker also broke his glasses this weekend. So, Eric went to walmart and bought some adult glasses for $10 to put on for now so that he doesn't have to wear the patch all day. The tape from the patch at night is already hurting his face, so we leave the tape on all day too. I'll put a picture below. He looks quite funny.

Me: I did something strange to my back. It started last Wednesday and has gotten worse. I ended up in the ER on Saturday. They were concerned about a possible blood clot in my lungs. They ran an initial test which came back slightly elevated, but not as elevated as they would expect. That's the story of my life: slightly off. I had an option of running another test, but the amount of radiation would have been extremely dangerous if I ever wanted to have more children. I don't think I do, but I wasn't ready to make that decision in the ER while totally drugged up on pain killers. So, we didn't do the test. I'm now on a combo of percocet and valium. Nice. Actually, it still doesn't kill all the pain. It just makes me tired so that I sleep through it.

Anyways, I probably won't update very much until all of this is over. It kinda hurts to type. But, Parker is doing well. I'm so thankful and relieved. I can't even believe that the drama with his eyes is almost over. Thank you all for your prayers and meals. Once again, we wouldn't have made it without you. And, give my mom a big hug if you run into her somewhere because she's been here almost everyday for a week now taking care of my kids for us.

We're Home

2009-02-19T17:12:00.003-05:00

So, about 2 minutes, literally 2 minutes, after my last post the nurses wheeled Parker back into the room. Apparently when he woke up he started screaming at them. They tried to give him a sippy cup and his doll and he just threw them at the nurses. Then, he hit a nurse. So, he got to "recover" in our room. The nurse that brought him back seemed very traumatized by the ordeal and seemed to want us to give Parker a time out or something for acting that way. Whatever. He's two. He has no clue what's going on, and he's scared.

He wouldn't calm down, even with us. So, we went ahead and loaded him in the car to come home to a familiar environment. He took a long nap. (He and Eric. :)) He's awake now and isn't fighting the patch on his eye. We're pretty tired and hope to go to bed early tonight.

On another note, I was in terrible back pain yesterday and today, to the point that I can't even hold my own kids and it hurts to breathe. So, while the boys napped I went to the doctor. I've sprained my back. Nice. Now I'm doped up like my son.

Thanks for your prayers. I'll write again after our doctor appointment in the morning.

Here's Parker playing in the waiting room.

Parker before surgery.

Parker angry at home. :) Can't say that I blame him.

Update #2

2009-02-19T10:55:00.002-05:00

The doctor just came in. They finished earlier than expected. The surgery went well on his left eye. We should see him in 30 minutes.

The right eye apparently has some white blood cells sticking to the lense. We have to increase the steriods in that eye to fight it off. I'm glad they were able to see that. Pray that the right eye will heal correctly.

Update

2009-02-19T10:44:00.002-05:00

We got a call in our room at 10:00am saying that they had a really hard time getting Parker to calm down. So, we're running a little behind schedule. They estimated that they'll be finished with the surgery around 11:30am.

I'm currently sitting here trying to distract myself from everything. I'm trying to decide if I'm going to complain about our experience today. When we got here the nurse came in to check Parker's vitals. She was flustered by my two-year old not wanting to be checked. So, she kept handing me the instruments, asking me to take his blood pressure and pulse, etc. Then, she'd get upset and correct me when I didn't do it right. I don't know how to check someone's blood pressure and oxygen levels... Ah!...Then the anesthesiologist came in to explain to us that Parker would be getting the gas to put him under and not an IV. I asked about the IV. She told me that they only do IV's when they do surgery. Yep. She had no clue that Parker was getting surgery today. Then, they couldn't get Parker to take all of his sedative, so he was crazy.

Anyways, I'll update later.

In Surgery

2009-02-19T09:23:00.002-05:00

They just took him back to surgery at 9:15. Our surgery was pushed back when we got here. The morning was a bit rougher than what I expected. Parker did really well in the waiting room. However, when we went through the double doors to the surgery center he started to scream. He remembered.

So, hopefully we will be hearing from the doctor around 11:15am or so. He'll then be moved to the recovery room for about 30 minutes to one hour until he's stable enough to come back to our room. I'll post when we hear that it all went well. I'll post some pictures later today from home.

Thanks for your prayers. Keep praying. :)

Surgery Tomorrow

2009-02-18T11:55:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow is the day. I can't believe it's here already. I'm overwhelmed with knowing that my little P will be able to see clearly after tomorrow. Please pray for his surgery and recovery process. I keep telling him that we're going back to the hospital to fix his left eye. He just says, "I can't!" And, then runs away. I guess I'd be saying the same thing.

We have to be at the hospital at 6am. The surgery is scheduled at 8am. First, the doctor will evaluate his right eye. They can make adjustments to his left implant based on the recovery and results of the right eye. Then, they will take out the left cataract, and put in an implant. The surgery should take about 2 1/2 hours. We'll probably be able to leave the hospital around or shortly after lunchtime. We'll then have to wait until Friday morning to see the actual results of the surgery

I'll update the blog as things occur. Thank you so much for your prayers!

Valentines and Sprains

2009-02-16T20:50:00.003-05:00

This is my view from the couch. I sprained my left ankle on Friday while trying to weave through the mess in our laundry room. Then, I sprained my right ankle Sunday while carrying a mirror down our front steps.

My mom stayed with me all day to take care of the kids while I watched the large ankle. My dad came over too, after work, and had a little snuggle with Parker.

Parker loves to "hold" Abigail.

It usually turns into this... Yes. They are both laughing...

Eric gave me roses for Valentine's Day. In the roses were dates that he's planned through May.

The Next Surgery

2009-02-13T15:45:00.002-05:00

Parker's surgery for his left eye is scheduled for Thursday morning at 8am. I'm glad it's earlier in the day than last time. Of course, I'm as nervous as can be about Thursday after the surgery. He doesn't have any idea that this is coming up again. I can't wait for my little boy to be able to see clearly again!

Life...

2009-02-09T15:53:00.003-05:00

I can't even tell you how great it's been to have nothing to blog about. Parker's doing really well. Life has seemed normal lately. For an update:

Parker has discovered the red fire alarm at school. So far, I've caught him each time before he pulls it. Where did he learn that? Seriously? I'm nervous.
Abigail has 4 teeth now.
I signed a model release for Abigail for The Picture People. I'll let you know if/when her picture appears at the mall.

Parker has a little girlfriend at school named Miller, or "Miwwa" as he says it.

We paid off my car!

All Is Well

2009-01-25T21:41:00.003-05:00

Parker's appointment on Friday was really good. He's cleared to play again! Yeah! We're down to only 4 drops a day. We'll be doing that for at least another month. And, better yet, we don't have to see the doctor again until his next surgery. A HUGE weight has been lifted! So, tomorrow we will start to wade through the mess that our house has become so that we can be "normal" for a few weeks before we do this again.

On a funny note... While I was out today I got a voicemail from Eric and Parker that had them telling me that Parker peed in the potty. That's the good news. The bad news is that Eric let Parker take the "pee bucket" (as he calls it) out of the kid potty and sit in Eric's lap with the "pee bucket" between his legs. Such a guy! I'm laughing so hard right now. Girls? Moms? Would you ever take the bucket out and let your kid sit in your lap to pee? Anyways, potty training is the next thing on the list. Looks like it's off to a weird start. But, hats off to my husband. He got Parker to pee in the potty today. Hmm.

One Week

2009-01-22T16:57:00.003-05:00

It's been one week since the surgery. Maybe one day I'll have something else to write about.

Those of you who know me well, know that I am the type of person that HAS to get out of the house everyday. This week has been hard for me. I think it's been hard for Parker too. He keeps asking to go play with friends. We had a great visit from my friend Vicki and her daughter yesterday. Then, today I decided to take the kids to the aquarium because it would be a "safe" place to play. Parker ended up tripping and hitting his head, which resulted in an afternoon full of doctors, nurses, long phone calls, and a tired 2 year old. I've always had a problem with patience. I guess I should have waited to take him out. BUT, tomorrow we go for a checkup. Hopefully everything will be fine and we will be cleared to do more.

Parker and Haley relax with a little bit of Wonder Pets.

Parker's nice head wound.

Abigail eating a frozen waffle. Gotta love teething time!

Abigail's first riding toy.

Overwhelmed

2009-01-19T18:35:00.003-05:00

We are overwhelmed with gratitude for everything that all of you are doing for us. We haven't had to cook a meal yet. We've been loaded with phone calls, emails. cards. etc. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Parker is doing really well. He didn't put up a fight today when I tried to put the patch on his eye. The bribe of the day for drops is M&M's. He gets 2 M&M's when he gets a drop. He even asked for a drop a few minutes ago. He's wilder than ever. I attribute it to being able to see for the first time in months. He's just excited. But, with his excitement comes stress for me. I love seeing him happy, but it's extremely difficult to keep him calm. The rules from the doctor are no running, climbing, jumping, bending, pushing, or pulling. Yeah, right.

With looking after Parker and Abigail there really isn't time to cook. And, we're still trying to keep him away from germs of eating out. So, all that to say, you all have been a HUGE blessing. I'm totally humbled by how God has used you all to take care of us.

Drops, Patches, and a New Bed

2009-01-17T20:21:00.003-05:00

I'm sitting here drinking my glass of red wine, watching my son in the monitor go to sleep. It's been a long couple of days. Eric finally discovered that if we gave drops to the babydoll that P would take them easier himself. P actually gives the babydoll drops sometimes too. Cookies and lollipops help too. I think P is doing extremely well. He wears his glasses all day, and he only wears the patch for naps and bedtime. He's not a fan of the recovery routine, but he's hanging in there.

We decided that he needed something fun and new. He wants so badly to "go pway and find fwiends" as he would say. So, we bought him a "big boy" bed. We've been thinking about it for a long time. We've been putting it together off and on since lunch. Tonight when I finally finished putting on the sheets and comforter Eric told Parker that he could go see his new bed. He jumped up, ran to the stairs, and came bursting into the room. He literally squealed with delight. He's so excited, I don't know when he'll actually fall asleep. He needed something fun. He needed something to take his mind of the drops and patch. And, I guess I needed it too.

Enjoy the pictures...

Parker and his baby ready for bed

Eric enjoys the new bed with Parker

P climbing on his bed

The Day After

2009-01-16T13:22:00.003-05:00

Parker woke up in a great mood. He watched Little Einsteins just like normal. I told him that we were going to get in the car and go see the eye doctor again. He said, "We can't go to the doctor. We can't." He kept saying it as we drove to the doctor's office. The appointment went well. We got to see pictures and a video of the surgery. Parker cried every time the doctor looked at him. But, he could see. We're not really sure to what extent. His eye should continue to gain vision and heal for the next month. I do know that it did something because after the appointment, Parker kept rubbing his left eye (not the one that's been corrected) and saying that his eye was dirty. So, I think he can now tell that the cataract is messing up his vision in his left eye, making it look "dirty". And, that means his right eye is better.

We just started our drops routine. 12 a day and they cannot be at the same time. It's really hard. I hate making my son scream. And, it physically takes 2 of us to do it. I'm nervous about next week when Eric goes back to work.

I think we're doing okay. We are so happy and relieved that the surgery was successful. Eric and I didn't sleep last night because we had to watch Parker and make sure he didn't rub his eye or take his patch off. I'm emotional today. It's probably a combination of being tired and being overwhelmed at the recovery process. I think I was focusing so much on the surgery that I didn't realize all that would come after. So, if I don't return calls today, that's why. On the other hand, when Parker isn't getting drops or having to put the patch on, he's as happy as can be.

Thanks for all of your prayers. We feel them and we need them. The surgery for his left eye is now scheduled for February 19.

Here are some pictures from our adventures:

In recovery.

Last night at home, eating green pancakes again.

In the car this morning. All smiles about some chicken minis.

The drops.

Home

2009-01-15T19:21:00.003-05:00

So, 5pm to 6pm could possibly be the worst hour of my life. Parker had a really hard time waking up from the anesthesia. He immediately started trying to pull off his patch and take out his IV. He's calmed down a lot now. We just got home. He's eating green pancakes and goldfish and watching Monsters Inc.

I only have one picture right now from Eric's phone. I'll upload more later tonight when I'm on my awake shift. It's been such a long day. But, I'm glad to be home and to see my little boy asking for his favorites.

Thank you for your prayers! We'll know more tomorrow. I'll let you know when we know.

Recovery!

2009-01-15T16:25:00.002-05:00

We just saw the doctor. The surgery is over. It went very well. They actually videotaped it. Parker is in recovery right now. We hope to see him in about 30 minutes. I'll send another email later tonight. Thanks for your prayers!

We will go see the doctor again at 9am. We'll know more about the results at that time. Pray little pain and a lot of sleep for Parker until then.

In Surgery

2009-01-15T14:28:00.003-05:00

So, they just took Parker back for surgery. It's 2:30pm. The taking away of him was horrible. He was crying, reaching for us. The sedative didn't work as well as we thought it would. :) We should get an update in about 1.5 hours, but the surgery will last about 2.5 hours. He'll then be in recovery for 45 minutes until we get to see him. So, we are hoping for around 5:30pm to see him. Thanks for your prayers. Keep praying! It's been a LONG day.

This morning was rough. It's hard to keep a 2 year old under control when he's tired and hasn't eaten. I think we'll know more about what to do to help him next month when we're back. I'm a little overwhelmed right now that we are doing this again next month.

Here are some pics from the morning...

Parker got to wear his doctor costume to the hospital.

Parker HATED the gown. So, we didn't push it.

We finally realized that there were little cars on the floor, which worked as a good bribe for the gown.

The wagon was fun too.

The sedative kicked in.

New Surgery Time

2009-01-15T06:23:00.002-05:00

The hospital called at 5:30am to bump up our surgery time. We now have to be at the hospital at 10:30am. I don't remember what time they said the surgery will actually be. Seriously, don't remember. It was 5:30am.

It's now 6:25am. Why is it that men can fall right back asleep after hearing that a surgery on their child is sooner than planned? I obviously can't. That's why I'm playing with the blog at 6:30am.

Several people have asked me how we know that Parker can't see. Well, for instance, yesterday he was in my dad's office. My dad has this huge movie poster of Braveheart in his office. It's the one of Mel Gibson looking all...well...brave. Parker looked up at it and said, "Look! A Violin!" Dead giveaway.

So, I'm thinking the surgery is around 12:30pm or something. I'll update when I get a chance from the hospital. Thanks for praying!

The Night Before Surgery

2009-01-14T21:38:00.003-05:00

Tonight was Parker's night. He got to pick what he wore, ate, and played. We started the evening with Monsters Inc. and popcorn. We then moved into no clothes and green pancakes for dinner. Popsicles were for dessert. Then we laid in the guest bedroom, turned off the lights, and played with flashlights until 9pm.

I told Parker today that he was going to the hospital tomorrow. This was the conversation:

Sandi: Parker, tomorrow you're going to a new place called, "The hospital." We're going to see your eye doctor there. We're all going to be wearing funny costumes and you're going to have to put something over your face. When you wake up, you'll feel a little sick, and you'll have a pirates patch on your eye. But, after a little while your eye is going to be fixed! You're going to be able to see!

Parker: Will de be fish at de pital?

Sandi: I don't know, honey. When we get there we can ask about fish. We'll go see them if they have them.

Parker: Okay, mommy. I tink is good. Okay, mommy. I so poud (proud) of you.

We got Parker a little surgeon's costume that we're going to let him wear tomorrow to the hospital. Should be interesting...

Green pancakes, no clothes

Abigail ate pancakes too

Such a guy!

This Week

2009-01-13T15:07:00.003-05:00

This week we are gearing up for Parker's surgery. I feel kind of like a robot, checking off my list. I'm totally exhausted. I really haven't had that much to do, but every little thing seems overwhelming right now.

We will go to Egleston at noon on Thursday. The surgery is tentatively scheduled for 3pm. We probably will not be home until late Thursday night. They will patch Parker's eye immediately following the surgery. We will have to wait until we see the doctor Friday morning before we will know if Parker can see and to what extent he can see. My birthday is Friday. All I want this year is to watch them take Parker's patch off and tell me that he can see.

I'll try to update the blog throughout the day Thursday and Friday to keep everyone updated. So many of you have asked what you can do to help us right now. Thanks for even offering! Meals and phone calls would be the best. We'll be couped up in the house for awhile so that we can decrease the risk of Parker getting an infection. Please do not bring over big toys for Parker. We are overloaded from Christmas! If you want to bring him something, a balloon or something small would be fine. It's strange to think that we'll be doing all of this again in a month.

Here are some pictures from our week so far. We had to check "haircut" off the list. See why....?

The new do... much better.
My pigtail queen.

Back to the Blog World

2009-01-08T11:41:00.002-05:00

It's been a long 3 weeks since the last post. And, our camera erased our Christmas pictures. So, I don't have any pictures, but here's an update:

Abigail:

Abigail knew exactly what to do with Christmas presents. She squealed and squealed as she tore into her gifts on Christmas Day.
She now waves and claps.
She says Hey, Hi, Mama, Dada, and byebye.
She does the "army man" crawl.
She does that little girl high pitched squeal thing all day long. What's up with that?

Parker

He got to ride a pony in Hilton Head last week. He wanted off the pony and looked at Eric and said, "this is serious!" That's his new favorite phrase. Everything is now serious in our house.
He's blind as a bat. He can't see who he's talking to or the food on his plate. He calls everyone the wrong name.
He actually gasped when he opened a present and saw that it was a soccer ball.
Everyday he asks me if we can "go find friends" for him to play with.

Family

Our dogs decided to go on a vacation without us for 3 days. They ran off on December 23, and were returned to us by a nice lady 2 miles away on December 26. One day I'm going to write a children's book called, "The Adventures of Rocky and Rambo."
We went to Hilton Head Island for a week. We loved riding the bikes as a family and playing on the beach.

We are now gearing up for Parker's first surgery next week. I'm getting pretty nervous about it. I'm glad it's still a week away.

Sneaky P

2008-12-17T15:28:00.004-05:00

Random things have gone missing lately. Today I was talking on the phone to my sister and saw something in our Christmas tree. I kept looking. Here's what I found...

Abigail's play phone

The long lost pacifier

The puzzle piece

The Chick-fil-a straw from my favorite diet coke

These items went missing about a week ago, if not longer. :)

The Surgery

2008-12-17T14:52:00.002-05:00

We visited the doctor at Emory yesterday. Parker did such a good job in the office. They were able to get him to do more, and get a better idea of exactly how bad the cataracts are. Parker will need to have surgery. We'll have the first surgery on January 15. The next surgery will be about a month later.

I'm still nervous about the surgery, but I am confident that we have found the right doctor. I can't even believe how much God has taken care of P during all of this. One of the biggest surprises is that when we got to Emory, they had already received a call from the doctor in Philadelphia. I can't believe he took the time and effort to call for us to make sure that we were taken care of. I was completely honored. I feel like God is showing favor on us. Every night I pray for Parker that God will grow him "in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man." Through this whole process (a quick process) I'm so amazed at how much good there is in the world. And, I know that good comes from above. I never thought we'd get the help we needed, and get to spend so much time with the doctors who are considered to be the best. We're moving forward confident that God is in control and that he loves our little P's eyes more than we do.

Abigail or Boo?

2008-12-15T14:00:00.002-05:00

Parker thinks that Boo on Monsters Inc. is Abigail. I guess I can see it.

I don't know what it is about this picture. I like it!

a rat, a BB, and Eric

2008-12-14T23:43:00.004-05:00

Eric just shot a rat on his first shot with a bb gun.

I was laying in bed and kept hearing something. I thought it was an animal in our wall. Then, I realized that it could be an animal outside trapped on our screened in porch. Eric hates having to get up to "check on" things for me. But, he got up. We went to look outside, and I saw the nasty thing crawling up and down the wall. Eric went to get his bb gun. He hasn't shot it since I've known him.

One shot. Boom! The nasty thing fell from on top of the door to the porch. This is Eric enjoying his kill.

One more shot just to make sure he's dead.

The nasty nasty rat.

The Best

2008-12-10T12:49:00.002-05:00

It's actually happened! I've been emailing with the best Pediatric Cataract Specialist in the country. He's a doctor in Philadelphia. He recommended that we see a doctor at Emory, one that Eric already got us an appointment with. So, Tuesday we see that doctor. If we are unhappy with the appointment, the doctor in Philly said that he will see Parker. I think we're on the right track now. Thanks to everyone who helped and prayed!

Now for some recent pics...

Parker made his first gingerbread house with Nana. We finished it last night.

Abigail now has pigtails!

Fighter

2008-12-09T14:28:00.003-05:00

I keep playing that Christina Aguilera song, "Fighter," in the back of my mind. I'm fighting for my son. I refuse to be a passive mom who just sits back and watches her son go through craziness with his eyes. My house is a mess, I haven't cooked in days, and the TV has been playing children's shows nonstop. Why? Because I am on a quest to get the absolute BEST doctor for my child. I've called foundations, doctors, friends, friends of friends, uncles of friends, surgeons, the list goes on and on. I'm following every lead. I have no idea where my journey will take us.

Yesterday was a hard day. My friend, Vicki, got to hear me in the heat of the frustration. Today has been better. I feel like I have some roads to go down. All this to say... moms out there, be proactive and be aggressive for your kids. A friend of mine reminded me last night that wisdom and discernment comes from God. I really believe that as moms we are called to use what God has given us and to fight for our families. I'll let you know where we end up.

The Scoop

2008-12-03T18:01:00.002-05:00

So, here's the scoop on little P. On Thursday, January 8, he will go under general anesthesia so that the doctor can get a better look at the cataracts. If the cataracts are bad enough the doctor will go ahead and preform the surgery on one eye at that time. After removing the cataract the doctor will put an implant in P's eyes. We will go back a week later for him to do the surgery on the other eye.

What we know: P has cataracts in both eyes that are directly in his line of vision. The only way to get cataracts to go away is to remove them. Removing cataracts is a fairly simple procedure in adults, but is much more complex in a child. (If you're curious, give me a call. It's too difficult for me to explain in writing.) The doctor needs to look closer at the cataracts to see if they are bad enough to undergo the surgery, or if they are mild enough to be left alone for awhile. If we don't get the surgery now, the cataracts will get worse, and will eventually need to be taken out anyways. As with any surgery, there are risks involved.

I'm sure any parent can understand that it's hard to choose a surgery that could cause your child to go blind, etc. But, at the same time, P is slowly losing his vision in both eyes from the cataracts. Our choice seems to be more a choice of timing. Eric and I are both in "information overload" right now. And, at the same time, we're trying to gather as much info as possible before the surgery decision on January 8.

Please pray that we can make a wise and informed choice about the surgery and the doctors involved. Pray also that P's vision will not get worse before January 8. (We've seen a decrease in his vision just in the last week.)

Parker P

2008-12-02T15:37:00.003-05:00

For some reason we've always called Parker, "Parker P." I was looking through old pictures of him last night, and came across his 7 month picture. It stuck out to me because Abigail is 7 months old.

We found out today that Parker does have cataracts in both eyes. It looks like surgery is eventually going to happen if not soon. It's too much information, and too new of information for me to write about right now.

For now, enjoy the 7 month picture. :)

Bowling

2008-11-24T21:06:00.002-05:00

We went bowling with my parents and the kids. It was really fun, but very tiring at the same time. It literally took all 4 adults to keep the situation under somewhat control. Parker loved it.

Couldn't resist adding this one. Hey, grandpa!

Lately

2008-11-24T20:57:00.003-05:00

These are some old pictures. But, I had to show them. We went to a farm to run in the corn maze, etc. Parker cried and cried that he wanted to be a cowboy. So, here's my little cowboy.

We also got to ride on a tractor and pet the camels. Yes, camels.

Halloween. We had an angel and a pirate. Parker was confused. He kept running up to doors saying, "Chucky Cheese!" After correcting him (several times) it became, "Trick or trees!" Needless to say, he had a blast.

The Glasses

2008-11-08T20:42:00.003-05:00

The glasses arrived yesterday just before lunchtime. As we were walking out of the doctor's office, Parker wearing his new glasses, he kept watch his feet as he walked. He stopped several times to look around at the building, the floor, people, etc. He kept saying, "Mommy, where are we? Mommy, what's dat?" Tonight we looked at the stars for the first time. He counted 3 of them, which was pretty close to accurate.

I definitely think I'm having a harder time with this than he is. I had a "moment" this morning simply because I don't like seeing him have to wear glasses, and because I miss seeing his big brown eyes. But, he seems fine. He asks to take them off sometimes. I can usually distract him, or the Halloween candy comes in handy for bribes.

Anyways, here are some pictures of his first 2 days with glasses, and, of course, an extra shot of Abigail thrown in there too. Thank you all for your sweet messages.

Parker's Brown Eyes

2008-11-06T08:58:00.003-05:00

We've had quite an emotional ride the last few days. I'll start from the beginning.

Parker has always squinted, a little. The last month or so we've been noticing it a lot more. He's lost interest in books, drawing, and learning letters. I noticed that he can't see airplanes in the sky or stars at night. He does see the moon, which he loves to point out. Monday I called our pediatrician to get a referral. Later that day Parker's preschool teachers told me that they thought he needed glasses. I called the eye doctor and got him an appt. for Wednesday.

The eye doctor. His name is Dr. Levine. He's a household name in our family because he was my brother's doctor. My brother had cataracts in both eyes when he was 3. He had surgery after surgery, cataract after cataract, etc. My brother was Dr. Levine's poster child. The funny thing is that everyone in that office new who I was because I am Robbie Strickland's sister.

The appointment. We first got Parker's eyes dilated. I don't know if you've ever had this done before. I don't like it. It makes me feel really sick. They put drops in your eyes that open up your pupils so that they can see clearly. The assistant first checked Parker's eyes. She told me that he is severely nearsighted. His number is 600. I'm not sure what that means, but it's pretty bad. But, then she said, "And, there's something wrong with his eyes." What do you mean there's something wrong? "When I look into his eyes, there's something there. Something isn't normal. The doctor will know more. But, I want you to know that there's something wrong. Wait here and the doctor will see you soon." That was the hardest part of my day. I had no idea what was going on. I couldn't imagine my little boy going blind, etc.

The diagnosis. We don't know everything yet. We have to go back in a month for Dr. Levine and another doctor to check Parker's progress. Dr. Levine said that there are spots on Parker's eyes. Sometimes these spots just go away on their own, but sometimes it's the beginning signs of cataracts. Given that cataracts are likely hereditary and that Parker's vision has been getting worse, Doc said that they will probably turn into full-blown cataracts. It's hard to know that my little boy's vision is getting worse and worse at the age of 2!

What's next? Parker will start wearing glasses for his nearsightedness. They should arrive sometime today. We will go back in a month to reevaluate his eyes. At that point, if he has cataracts, will start the process. I'm not sure what that process will be yet. I know it's not the same as it was 30 years ago when my brother had this same problem.

I know that there are worse things out there. I know that I have friends who have had worse things happen to their children. And, I'm thankful for modern technology. But, I'm having a really hard time with the fact that my son's life is going to be different now. I know he'll be fine. But, I don't want this for him. I don't want him to be limited because of his eyes. I don't want him to wear glasses or something for the rest of his life. So, I need a few days to grieve. And, in a month I may need that again, or even more. I do know that it's going to be okay and that God is in control. And, in a couple days it probably won't be that big of a deal to me. But, for now, it's hard.

I'll post pictures as soon as the glasses arrive.

Abigail's Photo Shoot

2008-10-24T20:58:00.004-04:00

I just can't get over how much my little girl has changed. She looked like a sumo wrestler when she was born. I stare at her all the time now. She sat on her own today for 5 minutes, she's trying to crawl, and she eats solid food. She amazes me. I snapped some pictures of her while Parker was taking a nap.

Field Trip

2008-10-24T20:53:00.003-04:00

Yesterday we went to the GA Aquarium again with my brother and his family. Parker was very disappointed that the penguins are gone. Abigail loved the little fish and cried when the big fish would swim by. Let me know if any of you ever want to go. We go quite often.

Here are some of my favorite pics from the day.

Cousins

2008-10-24T20:47:00.004-04:00

We actually had all of the cousins in our house this month. All three of us kids had baby girls within 3 months of each other. The best part is that Tabitha and Cali look like twins. Tabitha is actually adopted.
Here are the three girls. One of these things is not like the others...

We never did get that perfect picture with all 5 cousins. We tried...

Fashion For A Cure

2008-10-24T20:36:00.003-04:00

Saturday evening we went to Fashion for a Cure with our friends, Tina and Sam Dula. Tina's foundation, Myles-A-Part, was the recipient of the donations given. We had a great time! The best part, other than Tina's speech and watching her receive the check, was watching the guys endure the fashion show. Needless to say, they all excused themselves after about 3 minutes, and ended up at the bar in the lobby watching the game.

Here we are at the pre-gala party where the photographer of Jezebel Magazine referred to Eric and I as the "variety" of the evening.

Tina and Sam Dula

Eric and Sam hanging out. (i.e. standing in the back where they could see the big screen that was showing the game.)

The guys watching the fashion show. :)

The Principal's Office

2008-10-17T19:32:00.003-04:00

Today I got the call. The dreaded call. My son had been sent to the office at preschool, and I needed to go pick him up. Apparently he had been hitting, taking toys, throwing toys, and wouldn't listen to the teachers or calm down. School starts at 9:30am. The call came at 10:15am. Only 45 minutes!

As I look back on the morning. I remember screaming the word "orange" as loud as we could in the car because today was orange day at school. I remember tickling him fiercely as I took him out of the car seat. And, I remember racing him into the classroom. He won. I guess my actions didn't help get him into the calm mood required at the school. The best part? Look what it says on his shirt that he wore to school today...

Six Months Old

2008-10-16T21:26:00.003-04:00

Newborn

Two months old
4 months old

My Crappy Day

2008-10-13T10:11:00.004-04:00

Today is not my crappy day, Friday was.

7:00am Both kids woke up.

8:30am I heard the dogs barking in their crate in the garage. (Eric usually puts them out on his way to work.)

8:35am I leave the kids unattended upstairs to go let the dogs into the backyard. I opened the door to the garage and immediately knew something was wrong. The stink was intense. I walked over to the cage to find that one of them had pooped all over the cage. I said a few not-so-nice words to myself and went to let them out. My dog, rambo, always runs, so I reached down to grab his collar. While holding onto him, the dogs began to shake. You know, the way dogs shake off water. Except in this case, it was poop. Poop shaking everywhere. Needless to say, I let go of Rambo. He ran. I called for him. He still ran.

8:40am I put Rocky on the screened-in porch, left the year gate open, and called for Rambo.

8:42am I checked on Rocky who had pooped and thrown up on our screened in porch. I let Rocky into the yar and shut the gate.

8:45am I remembered my two unattended kids upstairs. They were fine.

8:50am The first neighbor called to complain about my dog, the poopy dog, running around in their backyard and on the golf course. I explained that I'd be out to catch him soon, but it was difficult with two kids, etc. She told me I needed to come out NOW.

9:00am Me running down the street with a leash, chasing Rambo, pushing a double stroller.

9:10am Another neighbor tries to help me.

9:15am Another neighbor decides that my dog running through her yard is the end of her world and she comes out of her house to SCREAM at me. Can you believe I let my dog go in her yard? I'm such a malicious mother of two kids who has nothing else to do.

9:20am Rambo is finally in the backyard. I leave the house to take Parker to school.

9:30am I get Parker out of the car. Start to walk him into school, and I realize that he has no shoes on.

9:31am Back on the road.

9:45am Finally get Parker to school.

10:00am I enjoy a diet coke and HGTV on the couch.

Anyone want a dog?

Boston, The Zoo, and Cali

2008-09-26T14:24:00.002-04:00

This is my favorite picture from Boston. We took a Duck tour on evening after Eric finished work. He was oddly obsessed with the Duck tour, fascinated by the bus turning into a boat.

We've been to the doctor 5 times in the last 3 weeks. Parker's ear infection, Parker's virus, Abigail's thigh rub that didn't turn out to be thigh rub at all, Abigail to the ER in Dallas for a virus, and Parker's virus that settled into his hip joint causing him to not be able to walk. Oh yes, the medical bills are high this year. Here's a picture of Abigail in the ER in Dallas. It was traumatic, but she looked cute in her baby hospital gown.

This is a picture of Abigail with her 2 month old cousin, Cali. Cali and Abbi played so well together. So well, in fact, that Cali had to go to the ER last night for a virus. This picture shows you the size of my little girl.

Yesterday we went to the zoo where we spent most of the time looking at the flamingos. Parker thought they were big pink ducks.

Pictures and The Oven Man

2008-09-09T15:30:00.002-04:00

The oven man just left. This was the conversation:

Sandi: Hi! Let me show you the problem.
Oven Man (OM): Okay
Sandi: The oven will beep that it's ready at say, 400 degrees, I'll stick my food in and it won't cook. But, it will cook in the bottom oven, so I know it's the top ov
OM: Stop, stop, stop.
Sandi: But
OM: Stop. Did you wait for 3 beeps?
Sandi: What?
OM: Did you wait for 3 beeps? The first beep tells you that you can stick your food in, but the oven really isn't ready. You have to wait for the 3rd beep.
Sandi: What?
OM: The oven isn't ready until the 3rd beep.
Sandi: I've never heard 3 beeps and I've been using this oven for 6 months. The oven is broken.
OM: The problem is that you didn't wait for 3 beeps.
Sandi: Do you eat biscuits?
OM: What?
Sandi: Do you eat biscuits?
OM: Yes.
Sandi: The oven beeped. I put the biscuits in. After 35 minutes they still weren't cooked. I turned on the bottom oven. They were cooked in the bottom after 10 minutes.
OM: Maybe your oven's broken. You want me to look at it?

@#%^$@!%$@$%#%@#$%@#$%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyways. Here's P his first day of school. We went out for ice cream when I picked him up.

Abigail eating rice cereal.

The Past Two Weeks

2008-09-09T14:38:00.002-04:00

I haven't felt like blogging lately. Do you ever get bummed over the blog world thing? I know I'm right there with everyone else. I love reading other people's blogs. I especially love it for like my cousins, family, overseas friends and people that it's hard to keep up with otherwise. I don't like, however, that it takes the place of real friendships, phone calls, and the personal touch of life. I look back on the last year and I've noticed that the people I'm growing closer to are not the ones whose blogs I read, but the ones who I call and make an effort to see. Am I old fashioned? I feel good when I see the ticker number on my blog go up. But, I feel loved and special when a friend gives me a call. I'm not writing this to get a bunch of phone calls. (I'm laughing right now just thinking about it.) It's just the thing that's been on my mind lately. So, for those of you I don't talk to much.... Here's a glimpse of the Glidewell life lately...

Abigail is now trying to eat solids.
Parker is in a "no eating" phase unless it's something like french fries, cookies, or ice cream.
Parker started preschool!
We had fleas. Had. Hopefully, had, not have still.
I cleaned the basement, 5 times, only because we had fleas.
Parker learned that Abigail will suck on his big toe in the car when I'm not looking.
Parker also realized that he can get out of his bed.
I realized that some days I have to put Parker back in his bed 16 times before he falls asleep. And even then, triaminic nighttime was used.
Abigail likes the exersaucer.
Abigail's hair can fit into pigtails.
Eric had a work thing in Boston.
I went with Eric to Boston. I played. He worked.
The fish tank turned green.
Our renter moved out of our old house. Anyone want a house downtown?
We made it to September!

Pictures to follow later. I need to let the oven man in. Oh yeah, and the oven broke!

Life's a Beach

2008-08-19T21:01:00.003-04:00

I've had some great times on beaches before. I'll never forget watching the sunset on the Mediterranean Sea in Israel and in Italy. I'll never forget walking on the beaches in Malaysia and Thailand. But, those do not even compare to seeing my son play on the beach for the first time ever. He could not contain himself he was so excited. Everyday he would cry when it was time to leave the beach. He would keep saying, "back to beach, back to water, sand castle, waves, pelicans, hocker (helicopter), back to beach..." I don't have very good pictures of our week in Hilton Head. But, here are a few that turned out okay.

Parker's first sandcastle.

The family at Harbour Town

Cuter every day

The Grocery Store

2008-08-18T16:13:00.002-04:00

On days like today I realize that life will never be the same again. I remember the carefree days of college grocery shopping that consisted of cereal, smoothies, or whatever I was in the mood for that day. The food would last weeks for me. I'd run into some friends, stop and chat for awhile. It was all round a joyous event for someone overly extroverted like myself.

Fast forward thirteen years. (Thirteen years?!)

I drive into the parking lot and immediately look to see if the "stork sighting, new mothers" space is available. I am not ashamed to still park there even though I'm not pregnant and I do not have a newborn anymore. The minivan mom usually gives me one of those "no you didn't" looks, but quickly takes it back when she sees me struggling with my SUV of a double stroller. I get the kids situated in their seats in the stroller and start my walk into the store.

Parker immediately starts yelling, "cookie, cookie, chocolate chip, sprinkles, cookie, cookie...". I walk in the store, look for the disinfecting wipes, grab a basket (that will hopefully hold all of my groceries for the week), and proceed to the cookie counter.

The lady always gives me two cookies. I'm not sure if it's because I have that look of desperation on my face or if she actually believes that Abigail needs a cookie too.

The first half of the store is usually pretty tame. We walk through the aisles and check off the list. Oh yes, and God forbid I ever forget the list. Lists are a necessity after popping out two babies. Parker eats cookie #1 and usually cookie #2, except for the small piece I break off for myself.

Then comes the second half of the store. The cookies are eaten, and the little arms look like "go go gadget arms". (Remember that show?) I swear Parker's arms are 6 feet long. This is where the game begins. He grabs. I grab back. Abigail screams. Paci in Abbi's mouth. He grabs the breakable bottle. I try to grab the bottle, but it goes on the floor and breaks. I look around. Hmm? Goldfish. I open the goldfish we haven't yet bought. All is quiet again.

And the pattern continues until checkout.

At checkout... Parker screams as I put the almost empty goldfish bag on the counter to be scanned. He stops screaming after it's scanned. Abigail screams when the cashier says, "hello." She doesn't like cashiers. My arm looks like I have a disease because I carried one week's groceries in a basket on my arm- you know the pink impressions. Parker puts Abigail's paci in his mouth. The bag boy tells me that Parker's too old to eat a pacifier and takes the pacifier out of my son's mouth while proceeding to tell me about a guy he knows who still uses a pacifier at night to sleep at the age of 31. I grab the paci, stick it in my pocket, and hope that I'll remember that it's a dirty one before I give it back to a child on the ride home.

Anyone want to go shopping?

Pictures

2008-08-08T22:41:00.002-04:00

Abigail is getting so big!

Parker brings me the camera almost everyday and wants me to take his picture.

Abigail's room is finally complete! Well, I still have to put pictures in the frames...

I'm Incorporating Myself

2008-07-31T20:58:00.001-04:00

For tax purposes I'm going to incorporate myself for my contract work. What should I name my company? Any ideas?

Our Weekend

2008-07-28T11:25:00.003-04:00

Eric got to cash in on the birthday present I gave him. Sunday night he swam with the fish at the Georgia Aquarium. This is him with a whale shark swimming by him. The whole experience was fabulous for him and for us. It's worth the money. The kids and I got a "behind the scenes" tour for free while Eric got ready for the dive. We also got to tour the aquarium after closing hours, see how the tanks work, see the nurseries where they care for the fish, and the classrooms where they train the employees. We LOVED it!
Parker graduated to a toddler bed this weekend. The first night I found him asleep on the floor in the corner of his room with his blanket. Last night he fell out of the bed twice without waking up. Notice Nemo now sleeps with him.

Parker and Abigail enjoy watching Nemo together. Parker is becoming quite protective of his little sister.

What? Abigail is actually sleeping?

Hi!

2008-07-25T09:50:00.002-04:00

Wow! Things have been busy around our house lately. A lot has happened since I last posted.

My little sister, Abbie, had her baby, Cali.
Abigail laughs now.
Parker speaks in complete sentences.
Parker knows all uppercase letters, half of the lowercase, and counts to 22.
We wake up on average 4 times a night between the two kids. Stop the madness!
I still haven't cleaned the basement/ downstairs. Ever.
My aunt, uncle, and cousin from NM came for a week. Fun!
The Laser Show no longer plays "God Bless The USA".
2 more pairs of pants fit!
My kids' naps officially do not match. I'm home all day. Come over!
Eric has bushy hair.
Abigail reached out and grabbed an object yesterday.
Rocky ate another chipmunk.

That's about it. I'll post pictures later.

Life

2008-07-07T13:50:00.004-04:00

Our internet has been out for awhile. I'll update you with pictures...

Parker's favorite thing is to play "night night" with Abigail.

I made my first cake with fondant icing for Eric's party. It looked great, but didn't taste very well. Let me know if you have any tricks for making that icing taste good.

Who's enjoying the baby toys?

My little blue-eyed baby.

Happy Birthday, Eric!

2008-06-24T20:29:00.003-04:00

Eric is a whopping 28 today! Born in the 80's. I'm so glad I robbed the cradle! Best decision I ever made. Here are some of my favorite pics of Eric.... Some have other people in them. I don't know how to take them out. :)

Eric: The Dad

Eric: The Sunburned, Shaved Head, Thailand Beach Bum

Eric: The Gulf Shores Beach Bum

Eric: The Man Whose Wife Is Still In Love With Him After 5 Years Of Marriage

Happy Birthday, Parker!

2008-06-23T16:34:00.003-04:00

Our little boy is 2 years old today! I love Parker so much it makes my heart ache just to think about it. He absolutely lights up my world.

I actually MADE his birthday cake this year from scratch, the whole thing!

Eric helps Parker blow out the candles at his birthday party on Saturday. After everyone sang, "Happy Birthday," Parker yelled, "Again!"

We started off his day today with his favorite "Little Einsteins" TV show. He held his toy Rocket as we watched.

Then we headed off to the aquarium, Parker's favorite place, to look at the fish and eat lunch.

3:34pm

2008-06-17T15:34:00.002-04:00

Both of my kids have been asleep at the same time for 30 minutes! This moment goes down in history!

Lost All Cool Points

2008-06-17T14:42:00.003-04:00

I was out at lunch with my friend, Vicki, yesterday at one of my favorite restaurants. As I was playing "Ring Around The Rosy" with Parker and Vicki's daughter, Haley, trying to keep them out of the blob of Abigail's spitup on the ground, Vicki looked at me and said, "we've now lost all cool points." Not that I was ever really into being cool, but she was right. It made me laugh, and it made me tired.

Things I took for granted before I had kids:

1. Quiet lunches with a friend.

2. Using the bathroom with the door closed.

3. Not having to wait in line to use the handicap bathroom. (It's the only one the stroller will fit into.)

4. Tipping 15% (Instead of 20% to cover the mess on the floor.)

5. Listening to the radio in the car.

6. Boobs that serve no practical function.

7. Sleep.

8. Movies- in the theater.

9. Carrying one purse.

10. Vacuuming once a week.

I wonder what I'll look back on 5 years from now and realize that I'm taking for granted.

Parker and Haley..

My Dad

2008-06-15T22:48:00.003-04:00

I love my dad. He's going to kill me for putting this picture of him on the blog. But, he'll secretly love it. Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

Happy Father's Day, Babe!

2008-06-15T22:32:00.002-04:00

I really truly believe that my husband is the world's greatest dad. Seriously, I really truly believe that all of you other girls out there can't possibly have it as good as I do. I'm not writing that to be a snot. I hope that you think the same thing of your husband. :)

Why is Eric the best? I'll list some of the reasons. Eric gets up at night to feed Abigail, prefers to have a kid with him when he runs errands, calls if he's going to be late from work, still tells me that I'm beautiful even though I have the double baby belly, gets that twinkle in his eye when he looks at the kids, changes the poopy diapers, sings The Itsy Bitsy Spider with hand motions just to make Parker smile, and already talks about how hard it's going to be to watch Abigail get married. I really could go on and on.

Back In The Saddle Again

2008-06-10T13:33:00.005-04:00

So, maybe I'm not back in the "saddle", but I am back in the "two kids screaming, goldfish everywhere, stash of pacifiers on hand at all times, stroller that fills the entire trunk, thank God for the DVD player SUV."

Parker will be two years old in two weeks. Abigail is 8 weeks old today.

Why have I been absent from the blog world? Let me tell you...

When Abigail was 4 weeks old I realized that I'd been taking pain killers for 4 weeks straight because the pain from my C-section hadn't gone away. So, I called my doctor. I went in to see the midwife. I was diagnosed with postpartum depression.

When Abigail was 5 weeks old I went back to see the midwife because I couldn't shake my 103 fever and I had horrible aches and chills. I was diagnosed with the flu.

Two days later I could barely even walk. Eric took me to the hospital. I was extremely dehydrated, had blood pressure of 81 over 39, and I barely even knew what was going on. It turns out I did not have postpartum depression or the flu. I had an infection that we think started in the hospital when I had Abigail. Imagine having an infection for 6 weeks. It was bad.

So, now, she's 8 weeks old. I am finally off all pain killers and meds. I actually have energy for the first time in months! And, I'm getting to know my daughter. I'm so happy to be able to contribute to my family again.

Thank you everyone who came over and helped with the kids, brought meals, and gave us support. It's been a long 2 months.

For those of you who are around Eric, please take him a cup of coffee at work or give him a pat on the back, or send him an encouraging email. He has literally held our family together. He's worked his butt off to keep us floating. Thanks, babe! I love you!

Here are some pics to give y'all an update on the kids...

Almost a 2 year old!

Parker's new art gallery.

A nice afternoon at home.

Our little girl is growing up already!

Eight Arms

2008-05-09T15:17:00.005-04:00

I need eight arms, or ten, or twelve. I also need about 300 hours of sleep, and that's even after my awesome husband has been sleeping in the living room to tend to the baby at night. I'm a mess. :)

Yesterday...

At about 1:30pm I sat down on the couch next to Abigail to pump. (Sorry guys, but it's a part of the deal.) I put the movie "Cars" on for Parker to entertain him. As I was pumping I noticed Parker leaning on the glass door on our entertainment center. I threatened him with time out then reached over to try to console Abigail's crying. Just at that moment, I heard a crash and looked up to see P laying in a pile of broken glass. The door to the entertainment center had shattered from his weight.

I dropped everything, and ran over to pick him up out of the glass. (Oh yes, he also didn't have a shirt on because he decided to lick the peanut butter and jelly out of his sandwich for lunch. ) He had blood all over him. I reached over and found two breastfeeding pads (Sorry again, guys.) to wipe off the blood. After a quick bath he ended up with only a few scrapes. I cried.
Then, 3 hours later I actually got to sit down to pump again after cleaning up the glass.

I love my family. I love my kids. I really love my husband. But, I need eight arms. (Or thumbs on my feet would work too.)

Our now ghetto entertainment center.

"Rocket" is the only thing that keeps P occupied during feeding time.

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures!

2008-04-28T11:09:00.003-04:00

Things have been a little busy around here lately. :) We've gone from three adults in the house at all times, to two adults (thanks to our moms!), and starting Wednesday to just me at home. Thanks to everyone for the meals, gifts, and encouraging phone calls. Our heads are above water because of you! I also need to take a minute to say that I have the most unbelievable husband EVER! Seriously, he amazes me with how easily he handles the craziness of a new baby. I tend to get worked up over the little things. He reminds me to leave the details to God. I'm falling more in love with him everyday.
Here are some of my new favorite pics.

Eric holds Abigail and works from home.

Parker gives Abbi a kiss!

From Sydney to Abigail

2008-04-18T13:49:00.002-04:00

I just read all of your comments. You weren't imagining things. We were going to name her Sydney. Here's the deal. A couple weeks ago I decided that we needed to come up with a couple more options. 1.) I don't like "Syd" for a nickname. 2.) I always felt like I had to pronounce "Sydney" very clearly. So, we came up with a short list that we were going to pick from. We thought we would have the name by the time she came into the world. So, on Tuesday, we were shocked and had no clue what to call her. People kept coming into the recovery room asking what her name was.

Our short list:
Sydney
Abigail
Addison
Codi

While in the recovery room, I turned to Eric and asked him what he thought she looked like. He said, "I think she's an Abigail." I totally agreed. That's how she got her name.

Update from the Hospital

2008-04-18T13:09:00.007-04:00

Hey, everyone! As I sit here in the hospital bed I'm still in shock that our little girl is already here. The past couple days have been a total blur. Abigail is doing very well. She has slept continuously since yesterday at 6am except when we wake her to eat. Wow! Let's see how long this lasts! She didn't seem to happy to be out in the world at first. But, I think she's really enjoying being held by daddy right now.

Eric is doing well also. He's seriously the best husband ever. I cannot even believe how good he is at being a dad. Amazing!

I'm slowly healing. I felt great yesterday and apparently did a little too much. The pain pills are my best friends today. :)

We'll be going home from the hospital tomorrow. Thank you all for your calls, comments, etc. We can't wait to introduce you to our daughter! Please feel free to stop by.

Here are a couple more pics. I'll try to post more later.

The night nurses (my favorite people in the whole world right now) made Abigail a little pink bow for her hat.

She's starting to look just like Parker looked at this age. (Just smaller.)

Grandpa loves his little granddaughter.

Parker keeps patting her head saying, "Abbi Baby, Abbi Baby".

Abigail Dawn Glidewell

2008-04-15T23:58:00.006-04:00

Abigail Dawn Glidewell was born at 7:30 pm on April 15, 2008! (By the way, have you filed your taxes?) Abbi weighed 7 lbs 5 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long when she was born. Sandi is doing great. She looks fantastic, and is moving around pretty well. She hopes to have her mile time back down to 4:30 by the weekend.

Enjoy the pictures.

we're having our baby!

2008-04-15T17:36:00.000-04:00

I'm having contractions, and my blood pressure is strange. So, we're having a c-section tonight at 7:15pm. We'll update everyone in the morning.

12 days

2008-04-13T20:46:00.002-04:00

Today I took a 3 1/2 hour nap.

Last night I peed 9 times.

Yesterday I realized that I was resting my diet coke on my belly.

Last week I stopped at 2 green lights.

Everyday for the past week I've had an episode of stuttering- the real thing, can't make my mouth keep going with what my head is saying.

The cankles have expanded to the feet. What is that? Ceet?

Eric on TV

2008-04-11T20:51:00.002-04:00

Our friends, The Dulas, have started an organization called Myles-A-Part to help families with autistic children. As Eric and I have gotten to know more about their story and the rise in autism, I've become very passionate about the subject. Please check out the Myles-A-Part website to learn more.

Our local news did a story on Myles-A-Part last night. I'll post the link below. (I still don't know how to put videos on this.) I was quite proud seeing my good friends, and a cameo by my husband, on the news.

http://www.11alive.com/video/player.aspx?sid=114285&aid=91960

Blast from the past

2008-04-11T12:59:00.003-04:00

I was talking with an old friend about our time in China. I thought I'd share some funny pics with the blog world, which didn't exist back then.

This is my trip to the Chinese hospital when I had a hookworm. Oh yes, I actually had it for 6 months. They called in all the nurses on the floor to come examine my foot.

My parents, aunt and uncle, and grandma came to visit. This is the women of my family on the Great Wall. My grandma was the oldest person on the wall that day. She was awesome!

Eric singing to an English class at the university. Oh yes, he has many talents!

Eric, Tripp (Eric's roommate), and I with some Chinese friends. Peace!

The Last Two Weeks Of...

2008-04-09T15:19:00.003-04:00

I've decided to embrace the last two weeks of being a parent of only one child. I'm dedicating these next two weeks to having fun with my boy. It's been really hard for me the last few days to think of having to split my time between two kids. I know it'll be great, I've heard other moms talk about having the same feelings going into child #2. What will we do? We'll make our way to the zoo, aquarium, park, maybe Monkey Joe's. (Although last week when we went I thought I was going to give the staff there a heart attack by jumping on those floats 9 months pregnant. Yeah, this baby's not coming out on her own.) So, if any of you want to join the fun, come on over.

Parker loves the aquarium. The first time we took him was very eventful. At that point in his life he liked to scream "die, die, die" at things. I don't know where he got it. But, that was his phrase. Nice huh! He also liked to point out things and instead of saying "you" it would come out "jew". So, as you could imagine my horror as he stood at the big fish wall pointing and screaming "Die" "jew", "die" "jew". Holy crap!

We now like to go in the middle of the day and take a picnic to eat while we watch the fish. He still screams at the aquarium, but it's now a nice scream of, "I yuv fish!"

Holy Baby!

2008-03-31T13:29:00.003-04:00

My friend, Katie, and my mom threw a shower for me on Saturday. It was so much fun! Seriously, I looked around the room at one point and couldn't believe the people that came. It wasn't about getting presents. I looked around and saw a strong support system. I know that sounds cheesy. But, I really felt blessed.

I feel like I've been trying to keep my head above water lately. It's been really difficult to venture away from working to being a stay at home mom, to moving while pregnant, to figuring out the toddler parenting thing and a second baby on the way. I've felt overwhelmed a lot lately. But, I've also felt really blessed. I saw that in front of my eyes on Saturday. It's a great feeling to know that you're not alone in the world. (Dramatic, huh!) But, seriously, I hope that I'm as good of a friend to all of you as you have been to me.

Reality also hit me on Saturday. I cannot believe that we are having this baby in 3 1/2 weeks! Holy baby! We are scheduled to have a c-section on Thursday, April 24. But, if I were to go into labor early we are going to try for a VBAC. Eric keeps praying that I'll go into labor early. It pisses me off. For some reason I feel like God hears his prayers more than mine. I guess it's a battle between Eric and I. Who does God like more? Just kidding. Sort of.

Here's a snippet of my to do list for the next three weeks:
- pack hospital bag, Parker's bag, and Eric's bag
- clean the car seat and install
- fix the driveway and stairs (well, call people to do it)
- kill the dogs (don't worry, I won't)
- new tires for the car
- remember not to breastfeed in front of EVERYONE who comes to the hospital (pain killers really screw up your judgement)
- hide the prepreggo clothes so that I don't cry when I try to get in them the day I come home
- find a double stroller that will let me shop in the mall

Easter Fun

2008-03-24T14:42:00.004-04:00

As you all know, we now live in "Mayberry". Our neighborhood had an Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday. There were over 100 people there. It was our first neighborhood event. Very fun! It was also P's first time hunting for eggs. Here are a couple pics.

Then on Sunday we had some of our family over for lunch. This is uncle Kevin helping P hunt for eggs in our backyard.

Sunday night P helped daddy put together a new table and chairs for the playroom.