A ~

I got your card today (our mailbox has been frozen shut.) I can't tell you everything that I need to right now. I promise to write back as soon as I can. I just wanted you to know that we got the card, and that I can't thank you enough for your gift to Weston. I would never turn any gift away, even a kidney. (By the way, same goes for me too. Any organ that I can spare is yours.)

When in doubt, remember... we've known each other half our lives, and I love you too, just as you are.

~ E.

Christmas and Birthday

I promise to post something fabulous about our Christmases and my (gasp!) 30th Birthday.
For now... just know that we still have the Jones Christmas in Cherokee this weekend.

Also... I always said that I was pooling birthday money for a memorable 30th birthday tennis bracelet. But... I am contemplating not getting the bracelet and instead getting a Wii Fit. Thoughts? Is it worth the money or should I go with the bling? let me know.

Post Script: I did get one piece of Bling this year... my parents (dad specifically) gave me a diamond tiara ring for my 30th birthday. This way I can be a Princess any day I want to. (tear!) good Dad!

gifts

This year I knew that we had to get our daycare providers a Christmas gift.

They love Weston almost as much as we do. They take care of him, teach him, kisses his owwies.

So, I needed to show them that they are loved too!

I was going to go with a gift certificate to their favorite restaurant, Jasmine Thai in Altoona.

Then I learned that 3 other parents had the same idea.

So I made them a Movie Night Bundle. Something for Kris and Todd and their daughter, Kaylie.

Jingle Bells?

Once upon a Midnight clear...

As Weston and I sat near,

There was a rustling...
what some might call a Jingling,

within our Christmas Tree.

**********

Since Weston was next to Mommy

there was no way that he was naughty.

He gave me a look as if to say,

"Hey! How come I don't get to play?"

**********

We crept around our glowing tree

looking for the source of the holiday clatter.

And what should we find was the matter?

(see below)

**********

Nola... our cat in disguise as the Griswald Christmas Chipmunk!

Superman Jones

Weston had a huge, very busy weekend. Late nights, early mornings and little to no naps.

He left all Christmas presents alone and under the tree.

He was especially adorable around all extended family.

He opened his Christmas present at the Dalton Christmas Party with the wonder and laughter that we all hope for our children.

He raced that car up and down his "Mommy-ami's" legs, arms, and tummy as if I were a NASCAR speedway! He kept going, "Broom! Broom!" (No clue where he picked up the car sounds.)

The best part of the weekend?

As we're getting ready for bed, I hand Weston his sippy cup and ask if he wants a drink. He takes the cup from me and replies, "Tan You, Mom." I about cried I was so thrilled.

Christmas pictures

Thanks to our friends, Jason and Rachel Taylor (photographer and creative assistant, respectively) from Taylormade for setting up this impromptu photo shoot in our living room. It was so much easier to do something like this at home. And since this is our last Christmas in our house, it was so nice to see everything look so pretty! Some of the pictures are a little dark, but most turned out nice.
To quote Jason, I made some "artsy," of course I did.

Our Tree... wouldn't guess it was our house!

My fave!
Weston loves the bulbs! Obviously I worked on this one.

Weston, old school portrait style, a little too bright (my fault!)

a little blurry, but the happy couple

our family

fun family picture! (my face looks huge!)

Weston and Mommy... love this one too.

our holiday card, thank you Walgreens!

he reads my blog (!!!!)

Scott, July 30, 2008, at Mercy waiting for Weston to be born, while I was blogging. He looks so Buff.

So... Scott reads my blog. Fairly regularly from the sounds of it. I've known about this for a few weeks (months?) now. I always seem to forget that he reads it until he makes a comment about it. And then I'm slightly embarrassed and a little giddy that he reads my writing.

To be completely honest, I like what I write to be read.

I used to think I would be a writer. That I would make my living as an editor or writer for a magazine, that my life would famous through the written word.

I'm not famous, nor is my life extraordinary.

My life is simply a life. A trial of ups and downs (you always hope more ups than downs.) But, I write. I blog about my existence and the existence of my family. I used to keep journals, private thoughts. I started when I was 9 years old and was dealing with the death of my beloved grandma. I put my emotions to paper. It seemed safer than letting them out. An act I would repeat for almost two decades. But then life got so busy that it was hard to keep up. The funny thing is... I always sort of hoped that they'd be read some day. Not by anyone in my immediate generation, but by someone someday. I remember thinking about that even as a child.
So, now I blog. I put my thoughts and feelings into words and I share them with the world (maybe 6 people total.) And my husband reads this. He enjoys reading what I write. He finds me humorous and intriguing enough to keep reading and to actually have conversations about my writings. (Why this astounds me, I have no clue. He did marry me after all.)

It thrills me to know that he reads what I write. I get excited at the thought of him seeing into my head. I positively burst if he's proud of me or impressed by me (I get almost the same feeling when my sister starts showing off my blog to her friends.)

I feel Validated.

I feel Loved.

I feel Powerful.

So, thank you to all who read my ramblings, you devoted travellers through the Land of Erin. It warms my soul to know that someone is out there.

A special thanks to my Husband - You now know how thrilled I am with your literary interest. :)

blizzard...

Snow Day!

Snowed into the house with Scott and Weston. I will post more, hopefully with pictures soon! 15+ inches of snow and drifts almost to my shoulders. Wow.

life changing event... well, sort of

So... it's Official! I'm a Type 2 Diabetic.
Basically this means that my body produces insulin, but it either doesn't produce enough or it doesn't know how to properly use what insulin is available. Basically meaning that no matter what I do or did, my body has a flaw and I need medicine daily to correct the error. Of course this means that I need to be much more aware of what I eat. And I will be on a medicine called Metformin every day, twice a day, for the foreseeable future. I need to go back to counting carbs with a vengeance. And fortunately, I get to increase my calorie count to 2000 calories a day, my post-pregnancy nutritionist said 1600 calories or less per day. That's so hard to do right now. But I don't have a choice.
Surprisingly, I am so sad. I feel like crying all the time. It's not like I haven't been in this situation before. The last time I actually cried. I was so upset. The doctors at Mercy (evil bitches that they are) made me feel so bad, and told me all the things that could have been wrong with my baby due to my high sugars. They scared me to death. I changed my entire life in 2 days. This time around, I have already made most of the changes, so what do I do now? I need to go grocery shopping for one. I need to find better ways to eat and to purge my kitchen of pasta. I need to find a way.... Dr. Nowak wants me to lose 2-3 pounds a month. At that rate, it will take me a year to lose the weight I have gained back since March. Ugh. I want to crawl into my bed and sleep. For a long, long, time.

time to get ready...

It's time to start decorating for Christmas. Everyone I know already seems to have their trees up and ornaments on and everything done. Our stuff is still in the garage. Oops. A little behind. I really need to get started. Since this is probably our last Christmas in this house, I feel like I should go all out. You know? The big tree, the wreaths, every little thing to make Weston want to pull something over onto his head. :) He was afraid to touch the tree at Mom and Dad's last weekend. He would talk to it, ask us questions about it, and point at it, but even when pushed to do it, he wouldn't touch it.

So... I am in the Christmas Spirit. I want to put up my tree and be happy about it. I want to decorate my house and pretend that everything is fine. In the Spirit of "Everything's Fine" I have put up my first tree at Onthank. It's not much. In fact, it's $5 worth of Happiness from the Target Dollar section, but I just love it. I actually want some tinsel or maybe a few more ornaments. I totally plan on raiding the Rubbermaids at home for more tree decorations. But still, it brightens most people's day when they see it. And it's totally bright and cheery, nothing for a home tree (too disco) but fabulous for work. I am trying to get into the mood! And I will asap. By the way, our garage is so cold right now (it's like 35 degrees outside) that I feel bad having Scott spending significant time out there in the dark cold since he doesn't get off work until after 7pm. But how else am I going to get my tree up? Volunteers to climb around my garage?

Welcome December

As this year draws to a close, so much has happened. I find myself reflecting on the monumental changes that have taken place in my baby. He has gone from this squishy, cuddly baby that can't even sit up by himself to a self-assured almost toddler who is asking all sorts of questions - "Wass dat?" and "Who dat?" specifically. I find myself missing that tiny little bundle of baby that would lay on me and find comfort. It's not that I miss having a little baby in general, I miss Baby Weston specifically.

Now... I am accepting that my baby is gone. But get this... I have a fabulous little boy instead. And watching him learn... it's just amazing. He's never been one for much tv, but about 2 weeks ago, I was vegging before dinner and I turned to Horton Hears a Who on HBO. I got caught up in the cuteness of it. All of a sudden, Weston just starts laughing, and I realize that he's actually laughing at Horton, that he's watching! It was adorable, and lasted about 5 minutes, but it was great to see that he "got it."

Last week was Thanksgiving, and we spent it with both families - sort of a bi-coastal holiday. Shannon came up to Cherokee with us, then we headed east to Clinton. In Cherokee we stayed at our favorite Super 8 Motel. We were having breakfast around 7am. Weston was sitting at the table like a big boy. When he was done, he stood up on his chair. Shannon immediately told him to sit on his bottom and pointed her finger at the chair to indicate sitting down. Weston turned around, looked at her, whipped out his finger and sort of told her to sit on her bottom, pointing down to her chair. It was high-larious! He totally mimicked her! She almost burst laughing.

So... some magic language button must have switched on inside Weston.

By Saturday evening, he was saying clear sentences! He copied Shannon's "Oh My God!" all night. (I have since amended this to "Oh My Goodness.") Sunday morning he woke up all congested, so I gave him his sippy of water. After 3 drinks he took a break, and Scott tried to take the cup, Weston held on tight and clearly stated, "Me not done!" I about died. It's been like this ever since. Shannon said, "You pee'd!" when changing a diaper, he responded with, "I pee'd!"

I love this age... it's amazing to see.

He woke up from a nap at daycare yesterday with a fever of 101.7. At the doctor this morning, it was 101.4. Dr. Gavin tells me (via cell phone since I had to be at work) that Weston has once again contracted Hand, Foot, & Mouth disease or herpangina. Same thing he had on his 1st Birthday. So, right now he's at home with Aunt Linda (my fabulous Aunt Linda who drove out from Cedar Rapids just to hold a sick baby. She is the best.) And he'll be at home again tomorrow. Hopefully back to daycare on Thursday. Cross your fingers! Apparently there are 3 strains of this illness, and Weston has now had 2. Hopefully he'll be immune to everything by the time he starts school. But still, it's going to be a long 4 more years.