Morning Poetry

Sophia and I composed a little poem to describe our mornings.

Ode To Yogurt Delights

Yogurt, yogurt everywhere.

Yogurt, yogurt in my hair.

I'll smear yogurt on my jammies.

Yummy yogurt, fed by mommies.

I'll fling yogurt, I don't care,

On the table and on the chair.

And with the dogs, I love to share.

Yogurt, yogurt everywhere.

(Just remember that this was written by a 10 month old so don't mind the mistakes!!)

The Case Against Columbus Day

Christopher Columbus is celebrated year after year after year.  Why?  Did he do a huge service for mankind with some great humanitarian effort?  Did he cure a disease?  Did he discover something new?  Did he risk his own life to save others?  Did he lead a country to greatness?  No, he did not.  He did absolutely none of these things.  He brought shiploads of greedy Europeans to a new world to establish new trading routes and ravish a land that was already populated.  His only motivation was greed for money and power.  Look at how he treated the "savages", aka the NATIVE Americans.  Why does our country continue to bless his name annually?  Are we trying to say that the ends justify the means in the situation?  The atrocity of the Native Americans was okay because now we have the country known as the USA?  Don't get me wrong, I love my country and I feel so privileged to be an American.  I just really wish we would commemorate someone a bit more worthy, someone whose accomplishments were truly altruistic.  In honor of all of those who gave true sacrifice for our country, I choose to forget old pompous Chris and remember instead our soldiers who fight for freedom, and all others who took a stand for the sake of others.  Here's to you Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglas, Geronimo, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Florence Nightingale, Jonas Salk, Susan B Anthony, Horace Mann, Jane Addams, Booker T Washington, and countless others who truly shaped our country into the home of the free and the brave.

Love

I just have to say that I love, love, love, love, love my little Sophia Belle.  She is the greatest blessing of all time!!!!

Olney Homecoming!

This week was Olney's Homecoming.  We had a lot of fun at the parade and the game.  Sophia was so lucky, she received two beautiful mums from friends.  It was also extra special because Aaron was finally able to go to a game with us.  We had a blast getting to hang out as a family in our community.  (I also had a blast at the silent auction table! Lol.)

Olney EMS leads the way for the parade.

Here comes the band...

Kate and her buddy.

The pre-schoolers.

The cheerleaders and our mascot.

Decked out for the pep rally.

Chloe is a great mum model :)

Future BFF's

Ready for some football.

Ready to chew on this shiny stuff.

You know you live in the country when livestock ear tags are featured in the silent auction!!

My Pretty Little Baby

Slide show of Sophia's first five months!
(Future ones will improve...)

More Pep Rally Fun

The princess arrives in her carriage...

Our headband doubles as ear plugs.

Favorite neighbors :)

What to do when the pep rally gets boring.

Olney friends :)

Go Olney Cubs!

It's pep rally time!  Sophia experienced her first pep rally today and it was a first for me as well.  I had never attended a "small town" pep rally before.  I haven't been to one at all since my own high school days more than ten years ago.  I surprised myself as my excitement grew exponentially the closer we got to the school.  (Trina and I live close enough to walk.)  It was so great to see the whole community come together and show not just school pride, but community pride as well.  They had everyone from pre-k thru high school there, and people like me who don't even have a student.  It was awesome.  Sophia did a great job being a little cheerleader.  We're totally pumped about some football tonight!

Go Cubs!  Stomp those Tolar Rattlers!

New Goal to Live By

"Let no one ever come to you without leaving better."
Mother Teresa

The Gringo Invasion

Gringo is our cat.  We got him from a shelter, and he happens to be to be the very best cat that has ever existed.  Aaron and I actually compete for his affection because we think (no, we know) he is sooo awesome.  Despite all of this feline adoration, we were slightly apprehensive about how the addition of Sophia would go over.  Would he try to sleep in her crib?  Would he accidently smother her? Would he become territorial?  Would he do any of those awful things cats do when they suddenly don't get the attention they want anymore?  The answer to those questions is a wonderful NO.  Our little "Gringy" still gets to cuddle as much as he wants and has decided to take ownership of whatever he wants.  Not only has he taken to Sophia (or really her stuff), but he has heroically saved us from many mouse intruders over the last few months.  Now the dogs, that is an entirely different story...  

He didn't even move when I wheeled the stroller around!

Perfect for catching some sun.

Not sure how this is comfortable.

Not even Baby Einstein will keep him out!

A Midsummer Night's Sweet Dream

Tuesday night, my friend Holly and I hosted a dessert party at her house.  It was a great opportunity to see friends, and even meet a few new ones.  We made six different types of bon bons (or cake balls), mini pecan pies, cheesecakes, cupcakes, a checkerboard cake, magic bars, mini pineapple upside down cakes, magic bars, and chocolate covered strawberries - and that's just what made it to the table!  We both love making desserts and Holly is so talented when it comes to decorating (a skill that I lack completely).  We had a nice turnout and hopefully everyone had a great time!

The Return of the Blog

Now that Sophia and I are settling into a routine, I hope to get into a blogging routine. I love reading my friend Sara's blogs and can only hope mine will be fun and moving and educational like hers. (**Thanks Sara for being my Blog inspiration!**) More to come soon...

Above: The reason I am delinquent in blogging. Lol.

Labor & Delivery

As with all soon-to-be moms, I am really getting nervous about my baby's upcoming entry into the world. I've been debating natural vs. epidural, birth plans, etc. It is so easy to get wrapped up in minute details but the bottom line is that birth is a natural process and when the time comes, I have faith that my body will know what to do despite all my "plans". That and the faith that this will NOT be my experience:

It's A GIRL!!

So December 1st was the big day to find out the gender of our little baby and I was counting down the minutes. It also happened to be the first appointment with the perinatal specialist. This means I had to schedule my perinatal appointment and my regular OB appointment immediately afterward (long day!!!). Being the impatient person I am at times, I made my first appointment for early in the morning so I could find out pink or blue as early as possible. We also happened to schedule the delivery of our bedroom furniture the very same day. This means we had to wake up at 5:30am in order to move our mattress and dresser out of the way before we started our 2 hour trek to the doctor's office. By the time we arrived at 9am it already felt like a long day, and it was about to get a lot longer...

I sign in only to have the receptionist inform me that my appointment was not until Thursday. I asked her to double check because I am very organized with my calendar and knew I did not get the big day wrong. Sure enough, I was "originally" scheduled for that morning but they took it upon themselves to reschedule me and not even give me a courtesy phone call to let me know. Once I explained the 2 hour drive and back-to-back appointments, they agreed to "work me in". How nice of them. Next came the verification of my insurance. Since I am now doing COBRA and it is still in paperwork limbo, they could not verify I have any coverage. Once again I basically had to beg them to see me and promised it would be covered. By now, I'm pretty sure the receptionist is shooting daggers at me through her very irritated eyes. Next comes the obligatory urine sample. I should be a pro by now. Unfortunately, I instead drop my full cup right into the toilet. Now I have to produce a whole new sample and retrieve the sinking cup. Gross. Once I get that awful business taken care of, I proceed to scrub up to my elbows only to find there are no paper towels to dry myself off. If it wasn't such an exciting day I probably would have called it quits right then. Instead, we had a lovely 2 hour wait before I was finally called back. (A mere 30 minutes before my next appointment was scheduled to start!) Now it was showtime, literally. I waited patiently for the sonographer to get past the heart and brain and get to the big revelation... crossed legs and no visibility of girl or boy parts! I was determined to not leave the office until I knew what I was having. We poked my belly to make her move and checked out the situation again. This time the legs were uncrossed but my little girl was being modest and covered herself with her hand this time. Finally the doctor came in and took another peek and we were able to confirm that she is a girl.

Though exhausted, our adrenaline was pumping. We decided to register and enjoy some shopping while in Fort Worth. After a rough start, it turned out to be a great day.

(This is the bedding we picked out for our little princess.)

The Big Move...

Well we have now been in Olney for almost one month already! I can't even believe it. Although, it already feels more like home than our last residence ever did. I know I've been so bad about updating the blog so here come several entries to catch you up...

The day of the big move turned out to be actually wonderful. The weather was great, the movers were awesome (Firefighter's Finest - I highly recommend them), and we were greeted by the best neighbors ever. We were almost unproductive because of all the chit-chatting we were doing. Thanks to neighbors and the warm welcome of the Junior Altruistic Club, we didn't have to visit the grocery store or lift a finger in the kitchen for about a week! We had so much food, drinks, and dessert brought to us that I had to have people over to help eat some of it. Every day new people were coming over to introduce themselves and bring fresh baked goodies.

Believe it or not, my social calendar seems to be busier here than it ever was in Fort Worth. I've been to a Pampered Chef party, several lunches, a Christmas Open House, caroling, and done some entertaining in our new house. I don't need to leave to town very often, and when I do it is very easy to get to Graham or Wichita Falls. (Although I did get a little surprised when I went to a grocery store in Graham and saw a lady walk in with real spurs!)

We also made the newspaper again because they actually hosted a reception one Sunday afternoon so people could meet the new doctor in town. It was a lot of fun and we met so many more friendly people that were genuinely happy to see us there.

(For more house pics, click http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=135331&id=563207400&l=6f7e67e2a4)

Our NICU

Here is a great video that Cook Children's produced about the unit where I work.

House Pics

We toured our future home again this week and got a few good pictures to share. The current living room furniture is theirs but the dining table and kitchen appliances will stay. The exterior needs some minor sprucing up but you should get a pretty good idea of the appearance.

Magnolia Tree

Front of House

Dining Room

Kitchen

Living Room

Handmade stuff

Sorry for the long break in my blogging!!! We have been so busy! First of all, we made it official - we are moving to Olney in November! We are so excited. Second, I have been studying Billing and Coding with my friend Trina so we can do inpatient billing for our husbands. Third, I have been working hard on my sewing and quilting skills so I can be somewhat independent and crafty when I am far from the rest of civilization. (Ha, Ha) Thank you so much to the wonderful ladies at Cabbage Rose who have taught me so much!!! Here are some recent projects I finished:

This is the "Darned Cute Bag" by Bunny Hill:

These are some Kitty Pillows from Amy Butler's pattern:

This is the "Uptown Bag" from Amy Butler's Madison Pattern

Quilting - So Fun

I have officially completed my second quilt top!

Dirty Laundry

Wow, what a great day I had yesterday!  It always amazes me how you can live in a city for years and still discover fun surprises that have been right in front of you.  I ate lunch at this little place called Lili's and it was so delicious.  I had a yummy grilled portobello mushroom and a greek wedge salad.  Next my girlfriends and I went shopping at The Shoe Gypsy, Francesca's, and Dirty Laundry, three awesome stores that have been under-utilized in my life.  

With that being said, it also added to my anxiety about potentially leaving our home in about 6 months.  I think Aaron and I are very close to making our decision about a job.  This is very exciting but at the same time it just makes it more "real".  Hopefully this big city girl will love the life of a small town country girl....

(More details to come when things are official!)  

Swine Flu...

So I recently re-activated my status as a volunteer for the Medical Reserve Corps.  I really enjoyed my work with them before and I hope I will be able to do lots more exciting stuff.  My last assignment was to work as a nurse in one of the Hurricane Katrina shelters.  It was very interesting.  This week should be pretty interesting as well, but not in the same way.  Wednesday morning I will be at the health department making phone calls to the people currently considered as "probable" cases of swine flu to see who they have been in contact with.  Wish me luck!