MIA

So I know that I have been pretty absent for a while now.  I haven't even posted new pictures on the family site.  There isn't really much that I can say except, I just never thought it would come to this.  Oh I don't know where to begin or if I want to begin.  Don't worry everything is fine between Jasey and myself and the family is great.
I am always such a positive person and even this, I know, will pass and we will make it through.  Though, after today it's become so much harder to continue being optimistic.  I don't want to sit here and wallow, which I'm not doing, but dang it how can those freaking people be so...grrrrrrr!
The bright sides are shining in my face, I know they are there and I'm sure that knowledge is what is keeping me sane and focused at the moment, along with not wanting to stress Jasey out anymore then he is already.
I will explain in the future, but for now just know that it has been a very stressful couple months for us.  Things are happening, good and not so good.  We are hoping that it will start to work out soon.
Encouragement and happy thoughts are greatly appreciated along with your understanding about my lack of cheeriness.
In the words of Monty Python "Always look on the bright side of life"
Goodness knows I'm trying.

scary nights...

When you first announce you are pregnant, people are more then willing to tell you about the terrible morning sickness they had that lasted for months.  Thank you for the well wishes Mr. and Mrs. Stranger.

Then as you get bigger, the general public views you as a Good Luck Buddah who is just dying to have it's belly rubbed and more people start telling you about the horrible fifty-seven hour long labor they went through.  Thanks for that Mrs. Inappropriate Timing.

Of course, when the little one makes it's grand entrance you think that all of the random stranger comments will cease...and then you go to the grocery store for the first time with your new baby and run into that crazy old lady that feels like she has every right to touch your child's face and hands.  Uhhh, not so fast Mrs. Germ Spreading Granny.

The list goes on and on about what people will do and say to you when you are prego or have a little baby.    So, why is it that in all of these random ramblings by people I don't know did no one happen to mention one of the scariest (non-life threatening) events that could take place with my toddler?  It's not uncommon, but I'd never heard a thing about them, until after AJ had one and I researched them.

Night Terrors.

AJ had just turned 2 and the whole family had a very eventful day together.  AJ fell asleep early and had been down for a few hours.  Jasey and I were starting to call it a night, too.  Then out of no where AJ started screaming and crying.  Jasey got there first and said that AJ was standing on his bed staring at the wall screaming his head off.  He would kind of respond to us when we asked him a question, mostly by saying 'No!' and crying harder.  Then he started crying for mommy, so I stepped up and tried to calm him down and asking if he wanted some juice, he yelled 'No!' and then cried for mommy again...'I'm right here kiddo.'

Then we realized that he wasn't looking at us, he was looking past us, right through us.  He was completely glazed over, still screaming and by this time crying so hard that he couldn't breath.  I left him with Jasey and went and got some juice and the phone.  I was half way through dialing my mom, when I hung up and started to call the pediatricians office.  Halfway through that number I realized that it would be at least a half hour before they called me back and I was afraid that he was going to have a seizure or something.  I kept telling myself that he was OK, that he would calm down soon, that we were his parents and we could handle it.  Then I thought that I would never forgive myself if something happened to him and that if I was scared enough to think about it then it wasn't a silly thing to do and I grabbed the phone and started to dial 9-1-1.

I never finished dialing.  Just like that he stopped crying.  He was hiccuping and cuddling with Jasey and was even holding onto his juice cup.  He was responding to our questions with real answers and was looking at us right in the eyes.  I was still a bit in shock but totally relieved that he was OK.  Then the question of 'what in the heck just happened?' crept into our minds.  After settling him in to bed I immediately went downstairs and got on the computer.  I don't even remember what I googled but in the end came up with night terrors.

AJ has had a handful more since then, though none as scary as the first, I guess since I knew what it was this time around.  A few of the shorter ones were actually a bit on the amusing side.  One he was standing at the gate to his room just screaming 'NO!   NO!   NO!' right to my face, I just turned around and walked away.  The latest one he was standing on his headboard, behind his blinds and appeared to be attempting to climb out of his bedroom window.  But, by far, my favorite (is it bad that I have a favorite night terror) was during a nap time one day.  He had been asleep for a little while and I went in to check on him and cover him up.  As I was adjusting him he opened his eyes, reached up and grabbed the hair on the top of my head and started growling 'MOOOMMYYYY, MOOOMMYYY', and then let go and instantly feel back asleep.  It was very creepy, but it gave me a good giggle.

So now you have been forewarned about a scary thing called Night Terrors.  It's along the same lines of sleep walking.  It can happen if your child has missed a nap or is extremely tired.  It usually happens a couple hours after they have fallen asleep, when they are completing one sleep cycle and entering the next, they kind of get stuck between the two.  Do not attempt to wake, talk to or touch them, believe me I know this is hard and goes against all mothering instincts, but doing any of those things can prolong and worsen the situation.  The best things to do is try and make sure they are well rested throughout the day.  Check on them a couple hours after they have gone to sleep, adjust them to kind of make them stir but not wake them up.  If they do have a terror just watch them to make sure they don't hurt themselves since they may thrash or try to climb.

Hopefully if you ever have to deal with night terrors, this will prepare you a little bit and you won't be on the verge of calling 911 like I was!

Now I do realize that this post may bring me into line with the 'people' mentioned in the beginning, but since it was to make you aware of what may come, rather than scaring you poop-less or trying to touch you without your permission, I feel that this was more constructive rather then invasive.

The Green Bag Lady...

I started following a blog a couple years ago and have since become totally obsessed with it.  Theresa, the woman fronting this blog is awesome!  She has dubbed herself the Green Bag Lady.  A few years back she started making reusable shopping bags for herself, family and friends.  It has since turned into a weekend ritual for a group of ladies (and a few guys) known as the 'bagettes'.  Cute, right?!  When I started following, GBL had given away over 2000 bags, it is now over 10,000, woohoo!!  I checked in everyday to see what was going on and entered a giveaway, and I won bag!!!  Bag number 2945, seen here in AJ's 18 month old grasp  :)

           

I love to sew and I was very excited once I watched her video on how to make them, it was so easy!  Mom had given me a bunch of old fabric that she had and I immediately started sewing my little heart out, I made so many that I decided to for-go holiday cards and instead gave over 50 bags to family and friends.  Here is a picture of all the bags that got sent out.
             

I don't know how Theresa and the bagettes do it because I loved each bag that I made and wanted to keep everyone of them!  Jasey makes fun of me because I do have quite the stash of bags in my car!

I have given away other bags to random people that I meet in the local green market or at the grocery store.  I have also recently given bags to new friends and their families.  My aunt gave out about 10 of them to her music group and I am always making little bags to give gifts in, instead of buying paper gift wrapping of course!  (I now wish that I had taken the time to document each of them, but oh well!)  I also have a bag of bags of all different sizes in my car so that at any given moment I am prepared to share with an unsuspecting passerby!    

                  

After winning my bag, I entered a few other freebies and have also entered some friends and family in giveaways for GBL bags.  I have become a GBL junkie!!!  I mean, come on, if I use the term Green Bag Lady so much that I have become accustomed to shortening it to GBL, I think it's safe to say I'm a junkie :)  These are the registered GBL bags, I gathered them all to take a picture, I'll give you a rundown starting from the left.  Ryan is # 8343, Jasey is #9170, AJ is # 9785, Andrea is #2945 and Jackie is # 3169, the blue fabric on the bottom is from the latest giveaway called Sew Mama Sew, where winners also receive a precut bag to sew and share with a friend, I sadly have not yet sewn it, but I will soon and will find the perfect person to pass it on to!

                  

As I mentioned I also entered other freebies, there are four additional bags in the pic below, which are from those freebies.  I won the two bags on the left first, they are produce bags and have little ties to cinch up the bag so your apples don't go rolling around, trying to escape.  The green one actually has a small branch from our last christmas tree in it, which I keep in the car as a potpourri satchel.  The pink one is a gift bag and the last one is a mini-bag made by one of the bagettes with some larger scraps.  See...GBL junkie, thats me.  But wait we aren't done... 

I entered an Earthday giveaway, which I got some of you to also enter (I'm still waiting on pics!)  And because you all are so awesome and mentioned my name, I won a small prize pack!  Here is the fabric that Theresa kindly sent me, I told you she was awesome!!!  The gingham and polka dot fabric is oil cloth, I am using some to top my craft table (a nifty idea from the GBL herself) I will be sure to make a few bags with some of the other material, maybe for a little giveaway myself.  And I'm not sure about the rest...any ideas?

During the Earthday giveaway, Theresa linked all her blog followers over to a whole slew of organic fabric makers that were doing a bit of a giveaway themselves.  I went to each of the 12 participating companies and entered their individual contests.  What do you know, the lovely ladies at Cloud 9 Fabrics picked me and sent me 3 fat quarters of my choice of designs from their Beyond The Sea collection!  Here were my choices...Coral Weed, Sea Urchin and Sandpiper.  They are soft and bright and just oh so lovely!  

I'm glad I was able to share another of my favorite blogs with you and hope to share more in the future!  Now I have to go get my booty in gear and start sewing some more! 

                                     

3 Years...

I can hardly believe that AJ turned three this past Sunday. It's not an 'Oh my, where did the time go?' wonderment, or an 'I'm getting so old!' thought either. It's simply just a shock. He is no longer a little baby. He isn't even a toddler anymore. He is a little boy!!!

He had an early start to his birthday on the 14th, when the four of us drove up to Titusville to spend the day and watch the Shuttle Atlantis launch. For the next week and a half AJ asked me 10 times daily if it was his birthday and if he could have candles on his cake. I showed him the calendar, what day his birthday was and that it would be here soon.

The day before his birthday, we went to Jasey's moms house to celebrate with her. A yummy dinner, cake and gifts. It was wonderful and AJ was very excited that his birthday was finally here. Though I think he was a little suspicious because he knew that the day I had pointed to on the calendar that day wasn't the same day that I had told him his birthday was on, little smarty pants.

The next morning we headed to Calypso Bay, a little, kids water park. A few friends, who have kids around the same ages joined us at the park. A few hours of splashing, sliding and playing and the kids were pretty tuckered out, as well as the parents (a few of the parents were pretty sunburned too) AJ passed out in the car, just what we were hoping for.

My mom met us at our house and later a couple friends came over so the boys could play. AJ opened gifts and, of course, there was more cake.

A homemade, shuttle shaped cake! Since AJ has been so into rocket ships and enjoyed watching the shuttle launch so much I wanted to have a special cake for him. It was the first shaped cake I'd ever made and I had so much fun doing it!

He asked again this morning if we were going to have cake and a party for him, I guess I need to start planning for next year, any suggestions?

Meet the Fam...

So far you've only met my little family of four. I figured it was time for you to meet the people in my family that came before my husband and children. Though, considering that my mom has 7 siblings, I have 13 cousins and there are already 10+ kids in the next generation, it would take way to long to introduce you to everyone. So I am going to tell you about the two people that mean the most to me. My mother and my brother, of course!

This is Marshall, my big brother, by 3 and a half years. Growing up, I was the annoying little sister and he was the big brother I looked up to. He beat me up and made fun of me, I whined and complained. We joined forces and drove our parents crazy. I had a crush on one of his friends. I wanted to do everything just like him so that he would be proud of and like me. I loved him, he was my big brother. Now that we are adults we don't talk all the time, though I wish we did. I would love to call him everyday just to say 'Hi'. (Though, I would feel like that annoying little sister again)

LIfe is never boring with a person like Marshall around.

After graduating from high school, he moved to Atlanta to attend Georgia Tech, because he is a computer and math genius. A couple days before he left I was sitting in the living room at home when he turned on the stereo in his room and blasted a They Might Be Giants album. He wandered out of his room and stopped right in front of me, just looking at me for a second. Next thing I know he starts jumping around and dancing in the middle of the living room, with a big smile on his face. I cracked up laughing! Mom came into the room to see what I was laughing at, he stopped and just looked at mom but I couldn't stop laughing. Two more times this happened, he would dance until mom popped her head around the corner to see what was going on and he would stop. That is one of my favorite memories of him, and in a way I think it might have been his way of saying 'I love you and I'll miss you'

There are so many things about him that I love. His intelligence, reasoning and explanations always make me think, listen and want to hear more. I don't always follow what he is telling me and am grateful when he takes the time to re-explain something that I didn't understand the first time.

He is easily the funniest person that I know. It's not your everyday 'HaHa' or 'silly' funny, he isn't a stand-up comic kinda person, nor is he throwing out one liners all the time. He is all of that in one, mixed with a mind that never quits...only better.

While our relationship may have been pretty typical, Marshall was not. He was an interesting person to grow up with and I know that a lot of who I am now is because of him, all in a good way. :)

He is dating a wonderful woman, Deri. She brings out the best parts of Marshall and he always has a smile on his face when she is around. They fit together perfectly and she quickly stepped into our huge family and caught all of their hearts too. I can't wait to see what the future brings for the two of them. Maybe a few nieces and nephews for me...?

(here are Marshall and Deri with AJ and Ryan)

My mom, quite simply, I love that woman. She is my best friend and I never give her the recognition she deserves. She was always there when I was little. She drove on field trips and was a classroom mom. She religiously took me to dance classes and busted her butt backstage at every recital for 12 years. She was always in the stands at football games to watch me cheer and always at dance conventions to cheer for me. 
 (here she is at my wedding dancing with Troy, a groomsman)

We've done some wacky stuff over the years, dancing in the middle of an intersection while stopped at a red light. Discovering a new planet in our own living room and making friends with the 'Walnutians'. We've taken road trips and re-wired bathroom lights. We've laughed till we cried and cried till we laughed.
 (here we are playing in a tree that fell in her backyard during a hurricane)

In the last few years she has become something more then my mom and my friend. I got married and she became a confidant. She listens when I need to talk and gives advice when I don't know what to do. 
 (at my bachelorette party)

Then I had children, and she became Momah. She is always there and I can always rely on her when I am at my wits end. All I have to do is call and she knows by the sound of my voice that I am slowly going crazy. Just telling her "I can't take it" calms me down. She is always willing to lend a hand whether it's watching the kids so I can grocery shop or just stopping by so I can see another adult in my day. I am so grateful for her and everything that she does for us.

So there you have it, the two people in my life that have been there the longest. They have helped to mold me in to the 'special' person that I am today. I hope that they know how much they mean to me.

I LOVE YOU!!!!

Shuttle Atlantis

Friday, Jasey took the day off of work (an amazing event in it's self), the four of us hopped in the car and drove to Titusville to watch the final launching of the Shuttle Atlantis. The timing for it was perfect, AJ is really into rocket ships and his birthday is a little over a week away. We figured a little trip to see a real life rocket would be a fun pre-birthday surprise. You can see the launch pad between Jasey and me. We were 12 miles away and had a great view.

We got to Titusville about 3 hours before the launch, our only plan was to find a place along the 5 mile stretch of road running along the river to set up camp and wait for the main event. We found a great spot right on the water under a couple palm trees so we had some shade for Ryan, it was perfect! Although, AJ discovered why it is not smart to run your hands up and down a palm tree trunk, poor guy got splinters in both hands. :(

It was great spot and we were surrounded by lots of other people, from different states and a few from different countries, that had come to watch the shuttle.

Our perfect spot also happened to be right next to a restaurant. We had stopped and grabbed lunch on our way so we didn't need food but as an added bonus this restaurant was serving margaritas for $2.50 and a server was even coming out into the crowd and taking margarita orders! Jasey and I decided to partake in the tequila and lime concoctions. Yummy!

AJ had a special treat too, a huge chocolate milk all to himself while we settled in and got ready for the final countdown. We really did have an absolutely perfect view.

Ryan was very excited. She actually did great all day and ended up falling asleep not long before the launch, though the rumbling woke her up so she technically didn't miss it.

AJ was starting to get a little antsy and we had to keep reminding him that we were about to see a rocket ship, then everyone started counting. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6...as soon as he heard the crowd he climbed up in daddy's lap and looked out over the water, he knew what was coming.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1...We have lift off

It was amazing to see and and not as loud as we were expecting. Though, that worked out well since we didn't know how Ryan would react to the noise. AJ, despite being tired, having splinters in his hands and getting bit by an unidentified insect, had a great time and was very excited that he got to see a "rocket ship blast off to the moon in outer space" Since being home he has watched the launch no less then 20 times on the computer, over and over and over again.

It was a first for both Jasey and myself and we've already talked about going again, we would love to see a launch when it's dark. Maybe one of the last two, scheduled later this year, will be at night or in the early morning.

I know AJ is still young but I hope that this is something that he remembers when he is older. It was definitely a great day and a fun family trip. We are so glad we went!

Also, AJ and Ryan will have pictures to prove that they were there! Including this one that shows what a great time that AJ had :)