Pregnancy Nose

Most women who have had children know that pregnancy is not as glamourous as people would like you to think.

I don't remember my "pregnancy nose" being this bad last time around. When I say pregnancy nose- I not only mean the overwhelmingly strong sense of smell that sets in the day I get knocked up but the constant drip and stuffy nose and the ever widening bridge of my nose! I wish I thought that this got better as the pregnancy progressed but somehow I don't think that was the case.
So I guess I will continue to be grossed out by smells that never bothered me before, toss and turn at night to try to get one side or the other of my nose unclogged, and try to find some concealer that will make my nose look smaller.

Random Randomness

We found out last month that we are expecting our next little Rebbec in June! Hopefully this pregnancy goes a little smoother than G's did.So far so good. I have had a few food aversions (tuna, hotdogs to name a couple) and lots of the sinus issues I had with Graham but no big issues! so Yay! We are expecting to have the cerclage surgery the week of Christmas or the week after. They will watch me closely for a week after and it means a week of bedrest but hopefully if everything goes well- No bed rest after that! I already had to quit babysitting and have to often have help with lifting Graham and I'm only 8 1/2 weeks along. I really miss not seeing Lana, Dax and Wylie daily.

As some of you know, My dad had a stroke in October and has pretty much recovered fully since then. I am excited that he and my brother Will are going to be here for two weeks at Christmas. It's been too long since I've seen them and since they have seen the little ones.

Graham had a great follow up appt after his tubes and Dr. Russell thinks this should do the trick and hopefully no more ear infections. We did decide to get him evalutated for his sensory needs. We should hear something the beginning of next week to set it all up. IN the meantime the kid is talking us in circles, he becomes more and more opinionated each day, speaks in full sentences and has a cute sense of humor. HE has started whispering things and one of his favorite past times is to hide under the random blankets around the house and whisper to whomever will hide with him, apparently he also sees "stars" under there! He often tells us "Mom (or Dad) on Floor! Hide! Blankies!" He reads books to us and to himself and is picking up on some of the words to his favorite Kindermusik and non Kindermusik songs and asks mom to sing them lots at home. We also have a new game in the car- we talk about the different vehicles on the road as we are going places just this week he told he he sees "chocolate cars and trucks". I adore the little booger so much. And yes, he is still hooked on Boogers too!

As I shared on Facebook tonight we asked him "Graham did u poop?" "No I farted" "Are you lying" "No I not Lion RAWR!!!" He is such a hoot to listen to!

And today marks exactly ONE MONTH til Mary Bethy comes home! I cannot wait. I miss her like CRAZZZZZYYYY!

PTL!!!

I always wondered what this abbreviation meant. It will now be a favorite of mine. PRAISE THE LORD!
I owe Him lots of praise this week (as well as every week). My dad, Mark suffered a stroke yesterday morning. My mom and aunt were still in Florida (leaving that morning), after a quick weekend visit with my brother Will, when Will called them at dad's request. They called the ambulance. The stroke was on his left side of his brain, so it affected the right side of his body. He had trouble walking and speaking by the time they reached the hospital. But has since recovered some of that strength back slowly. Today I was able to understand everything he said on the phone, something my brother had reported you couldn't do yesterday. The doctors will most likely release him tomorrow or the next day and expect him to make a full recovery. PTL!!! Continued prayers are needed for his quick recovery, that he may find a way to afford his medications and keep on them, and possibly get medical insurance so that he can continue to visit doctors when needed and stay healthy. I also pray that he can still come home for the holidays as we haven't seen him in over a year now and really miss him.

Skyping

I think perhaps Skype is one of the greatest inventions ever. I did not know how I was going to survive my sister in laws stay in England- let alone how Graham was... Skype has allowed us to talk to her for FREE like she is in our living room on the couch next to us! I know it makes her less homesick and it sure helps me (and Graham) not miss her as much.


Update- Graham will be getting tubes in his ears on November 2nd. Prayers needed that this will be a solution to our problems.

Farms, Editing, England and Ears

This weekend was a nice family weekend. We had Friday night date night and even had an overnight babysitter for the little man. Saturday we picked him up and hung out on the couch all day watching movies. Sunday we took grandma and went to Rader's Family Farm (pumpkin patch). It was so much fun, Graham and I went back on Monday with some cousins, Wylie, Mary Liz and Tommy. Mary Beth helped supervise. :) I sat down with the computer last night and tried my hand at editing some of the great pictures from the Farm Outing. (having an issue with uploading them however) This was mostly so I had some for Mary Beth before she leaves us to go student teach in England for TWO WHOLE MONTHS!!! We are going to miss her dearly but we know it will be a great learning experience for her! And we will see her December 19th!
On a side note today we had the two week checkup to make sure Graham's month long ear infection was finally gone. Over the past month I have also noticed a pretty extreme reaction/sensitivity to loud, high pitched noises which had also begun to concern me. Dr. Bandy gave us a referral to the ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) Specialist. We go Monday. Pray we get some answers and solutions finally!

We LOVE Kindermusik!!!

It was never a question as to whether or not I would stay at home when we had children. My mom worked very little when we were younger and my husband's mother was a stay at home mom as well. But, as a stay at home mom who also babysits, I am always looking for ways for Graham and I to have Mommy and Me time. I sometimes feel guilty for always making him share his toys, his house, his food and his MOMMA! So when summer was over and I got the opportunity to cut back to 3 days a week of babysitting, leaving 2 whole days for just Graham and I- I was excited! What kinds of fun things could we do together to fill our days? After all the #1 reason I don't work outside of the home is for Grahammy! Graham came out loving music. His dad and I are music junkies. Martin played piano as a child and young adult and has self taught a little guitar. I was always involved in chorus in school and loved performing in musicals as well. It was a given that our child would know about music and be exposed from it from in utero on! Yes, I was one of those mom's who put headphones on my big pregnant belly and read books to the baby in there. I never got huge into the research about it but always had the attitude of "what could it hurt?". Graham now enjoys all sorts of music and has been dancing since he could stand and singing since before he could talk. I had heard about Kindermusik from parents at the schools I worked in before getting pregnant as I had heard from mom's in the neighborhood- it was a great way to let kids express themselves and have fun while learning through music! Intrigued from the beginning I knew when I had kids I would give it a try. I am an Occupational Therapist still at heart even though my license has lapsed and it's been 2 1/2 years since I have worked as one. I LOVE learning about our sensory systems and how they work, and I have a kiddo who is very sensory orientated. Kindermusik was definitely only going to further explore his sensory system and help him learn through it. I have to admit I was nervous and had no idea what to expect on the first day. But Katie Henderson (Mrs. Kindermusik) is absolutely amazing and the BEST! She intuitively knows how to involve each and every child in there and coaches the parents on how to involve their children as well. Graham was very well behaved on the first day and participated beyond my expectations. He instantly fell in love with Mrs. Henderson and wanted to be by her a lot and even gave her a kiss and hug on the way out. The first day was all about learning the routines, getting to know one another and trying out new things. Some of the kids had been there before and were experienced. I was beaming with pride after leaving that first day because had I not known Graham I would have thought he was an "experienced" kiddo himself. The second week didn't go as smoothly but he still did GREAT! We are starting to learn about high and low and I love having something to carry through with at home. The take home CD is AWESOME! Although I am getting a little tired of "the carpenter's hammer" (his and Lana's favorite). ;) I kind of feel like it tailored to Graham specifically because we talk about all things around the house. Anyone who knows my kid, knows this is HIS THING anyway. He is obsessed about talking about the smells, sights, sounds, textures and tastes around home and has always been "hypersensitive" to them. Once again definitely a sensory kiddo... We were already using much of the vocabulary we are learning about in class in our home. I am so thrilled to have it all reinforced at Kindermusik. I am PSYCHED to continue our semester in Kindermusik and I know it won't be our last class. It is something for both Grahammy and Mom to look forward to each week! I am in LOVE! There is a video of Graham demonstarting his singing skills as well as some pictures of him and his "beloved Kindermusik bag" when leaving for class today.

The World's Fair comes to town. AKA- 63 rd annual CORN FEST!!!

Growing up in NC I never knew the true meaning of this Carnival my cousins spoke of. Sure, they had lots of corn and beans up yonder in Illinois, but what in the world did they need a 3 day long Festival to celebrate the Corn for? I had never heard of a Tobacco Festival after all...

I don't remember attending my first Corn Festival until I moved here my sophomore year of high school. It came round a few weeks after school started and right about the time the farmers started harvesting. I remember being so excited to walk around holding hands with my boyfriend of the week and sneaking smokes in the alley behind Topsey's (the local bar). We walked the drag (two blocks of Front Street), round the side street thru the park and back again, millions of times in those 3 days. We rode rides and tried to see who would barf on whose shoes first. We ate and drank "Carney" food: corndogs, funnel cakes, and lemon shake ups. We snuck into the bar to beg our friend's dad for more money to play games and win more cheap stuffed animals. We talked to everyone we knew. We lived for those 3 fun packed days.

In college, I always came back for at least one night, but then I would rarely ride rides. I would avoid people I hadn't seen since graduation day. I sang in the community choir a couple of years in a row and participated in their Thursday night show. I really didn't "dig" it so much anymore.

Five years after high school, I started dating my now husband and we decided to make it "official" to our classmates the week of corn fest. That had been one of my favorite memories until this year. The next year we had been married a few months and were expecting our first child. I was pretty sick that week. Last year, G was 8 months old and we didn't stay out long when we went up because he was still napping the day away and couldn't enjoy the food.
This year our precious little boy is 20 months old and the life of the party! I would say that this year is definitely the first year he could appreciate it.

THE FOOD
We were so excited to take him up Thursday night (1st night) to our favorite food truck the Smiley Cuban Food truck. We have talked about those sandwiches all year! We are proud to report that G loves it as much as mommy and daddy! We ate there once every day of the Corn Fest! We also had to make daily stops at the Bob's ice cream truck and we shared several different kinds of ice cream. While enjoying our ice cream today- Graham spotted a mother and daughter eating "walking tacos" and he had to have one!!! So of course- what Grahammy wants- Grahammy gets! He loved it of course! He also helped his Grandma Kate eat her nachos as well. We also had a new favorite this year- flavored lemon shake ups- they had cherry and strawberry- both delicious!

THE RIDES
Graham wasn't too sure about the rides this year. But momma was excited and got him an arm band which could be used on Thursday or Friday night. We opted for Friday night, only to find out that most of the Carnies required the parents to also have an arm band to ride with the kids... BULL HONKEY if u ask me! But we got one and shared it between the two of us. First we rode the carousel.. BLAH, BLAH.. HE didn't care. Next we rode the choo choo- which is not designed for even someone of my short stature to ride. Oh and did I mention I couldn't get him off after the first go round so we rode a second time. Then mommy had had enough. It was daddy's turn! So Daddy took him down the really big slide twice. Those stairs are steep and there was no way momma trusted herself with that precious cargo going up them with little ones pushing me! He was happy with that and it was getting dark so we got away with only 5 rides total- and yes, it paid for the arm band!

THE MUSIC
In the park, there is something going on each evening. It's always a nice break away from the loud music, crowded street, and puked covered kids and sidewalks uptown. They have a little mini king and queen contest that always proves to be adorable! Graham will be old enough in two more years to enter him. OH AND I WILL! Thursday night is always the kids show choir camps and then the community choir following that. I had two cousins performing this year and we only stayed for that short part but in that amount of time Graham managed to entertain many people. One older gentleman behind us said to me " I can't even watch my grand kid on stage because your son is stealing the show". We laughed and nodded and continued to watch Graham go round and round and round in circles dancing like a WILD MAN! At one point he headed towards the stage like he was going to join them up there and show them how little guys do it! Friday night was a country band and he had a bigger space to dance and once again all eyes on MY KID instead of the poor "Cattle Bandits" who were on stage. Saturday night, we didn't think he would make it until the show started at 8 but boy oh boy did he! It was a band doing Classic Rock- it was loud, obnoxious, screechy type of head banging music that we would normally not listen to ourselves, let alone play for our little boy. But he loved it and his MOMMA taught him to head bang and he poked his little lips out and made the most hilarious face while doing it. There were people literally standing up out of their chairs and pointing and showing people around them- the cute little Blondie, I call my own little Graham Cracker.
ONE PROUD, ADORING MOMMA this weekend!

THE PEOPLE

Being that both of my parents grew up here and their parents grew up here- I am related to half the town. Being that I graduated from this small town HS- I see tons of people I went to school with. So of course we can't walk ten steps without having to stop to say hello to someone. I see distant cousins I don't' see all year long otherwise. I see classmates from school I don't see all year long otherwise. It's especially nice now that a lot of us are married and having kids. We get to compare ages, etc. I absolutely LOVE every minute of showing off my two favorite boys!
Here is where I will tell you one of the best reasons for living in a small town. The honest, good, kind hearted people. We are forgetful people apart, my husband and I, put us together and we lose all sense of everything. We lost two lawn chairs to the Corn Fest last year and were sure we did again this year. I realized last night as we were falling asleep we had forgotten to take them out of the park on Thursday night and wouldn't you know it, they were still there when we went to check before the parade today! I was AMAZED!

THE PARADE
I have already mentioned how many people I am related to but have I mentioned how cute my kid is? People get out of their vehicles and go completely out of their way to make sure he gets buttloads of candy! Yes, it is a good ol fashioned AWESOME parade and everyone throws candy still. And it's a nice small town where every one looks out for one anothers kids when they rush out to the street to get the candy that didn't quite make it that far. We sit in my brother's yard which is in the first two blocks on the parade route and we made out this year with two giant ziploc bags full of candy. And that was just us. My brother and his kids, my mom and her husband, my brother Joe and his friend, my aunt and uncle, a friend and his son ALL MADE OUT LIKE BANDITS too! We will have candy for a few days at least! ;)


Now that we have "set our roots" and bought a house in El Paso, I think our little guy will grow up one of those kids that exclaims in his 40's "I have never missed a single Corn Fest". And I'm darn proud to be the Momma of that boy, cuz tonight, I think El Paso is a pretty special place to live!