Quick update

I'll be getting ready to put Oliver down for a nap soon, but I just wanted to give a quick update.  We are all doing well.  Oliver was 18 mos old on Friday (sniff sniff) and had a ped. appt.  The dr was happy with everything, especially his speech/vocabulary, following directions, and how his feet are looking.  He said he has no doubt that our next orthopedic appt will be Oliver's last, just as we had hoped! Oliver weighs 25 lbs 7 oz (40%) and is 33" tall (80%).  He is very tall and skinny!!

Saturday Kirsten had an open house with her Pampered Chef stuff, another lady did Mary Kay make-up, and another Gold Canyon Candles.  I took a bunch of cookies and sold some and also took pics of my cakes.  It was a lot of fun! I had a lot of cookies left over, which I expected.  Jay took some to work today and at lunchtime some had sold so that was good.  A lot of people took business cards and contact info so it was a fun day!  (Check our my Blessed Cakes blog for pictures.)

Saturday night Jay's parents rented a few hotel rooms at a hotel here in town and we went and all the grandkids got to swim and play.  It was a lot of fun!  Its so cute to see Oliver playing with his cousins.  He loves playing with the "big boys." 

Alright, hopefully Oliver is ready for a  nap.  Its still a little early for him, but he seems tired. 

Vent...

I just need to vent about workmans comp in Indiana.  I just talked to my mom on the phone.  Last fall (maybe late summer?) she was getting off a ladder at work and twisted her knee.  The first doctor she saw had her do physical therapy, which didn't help.  The next dr she saw agreed that the physical therapy she was doing was not even helping the right area (nice, huh?).  He changed some of the exercises she was doing, but ultimately, she needed surgery.  I think the area that was torn was called the maniscus? Not sure.  She had the surgery last October.  Anyway, today she talks to workmans comp and they are DENYING her claim.  Denying it.  Saying that it wasn't an "accident."

I always thought workmans comp covered people who were hurt on the job.  I know lots of other people who have gotten coverage because of things that happened on the job.  Mom asked, "So if I was outside salting the sidewalks and slipped on the ice and broke my leg, you wouldn't cover that?"  and they said, "Well, yes, we would, because you would be doing your job."  I think Mom probably about went through the phone at the point when she said, "I WAS DOING MY JOB.  I WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ON A LADDER CLEANING WINDOWS IF I HAD NOT BEEN DOING MY JOB AT WORK."  The lady claimed it could have happened anywhere.  Soooo not the point!  It didnt happen anywhere; it happened at work.  And like Mom said, she would not have been on a ladder if she had not been at work, so really it could not have happened anywhere.

I feel so bad for her.  This is just wrong.  I have heard that Indiana workman's comp is one of the worst in the country to deal with and have the worst coverage.  This proves that. 

I pray that God corrects this injustice.  Its just not fair.

Funny stuff...

(hahahaha!)

Not much to update here.  I've been battling a cold the past couple of weeks that tends to come and go.  I dont sleep well at night (never have) so add a cold on top of that and its made for one tired mama...

We're headed to Mom's this weekend, as long as the weather holds out.  Maya Rose turns 2 on Sunday and we are supposed to make it down for her birthday party...but the weather will determine that.  I'm going to be so disappointed if we can't go!  I'm not doing her cake, just in case we can't make it down, but i did make some sugar cookies tonight that I'm going to decorate just in case we can go.  So check out my cake blog for some (hopefully!) pretty princess crowns and wands in a few days here.  When we were at Michael's on Monday I also found a cute tin that I'm going to fill with some decorated cookies for my cousin Vicky's birthday.  I should get to see her this weekend too, so even though her birthday isnt until March 3, I want to make sure she gets them.   (Vicky, do you read my blog?  lol just in case you do I wont put details of your cookies!)  Vicky is a few years older than me, and she just had her first baby last June.  Oliver is almost exactly 10 months older than baby Alex.  Vicky and I have always gotten along great, but with the age difference and the fact that we've never lived close, we never had a chance to really get to know each other as well as I would've always liked.  After she got pregnant we seemed to connect even more and now talk on a regular basis.  I'm excited to give her her cookie present :)  I love you, Vic! (just in case you do read this!)

And now for your regularly scheduled Oliver picture:

"Hi Mama!"

Dr. Phil

Let me start out by saying I'm not a big Dr. Phil fan.  I used to be...and then when I saw that he had become a spokesman for match.com...well, if you know me, you know why I hate match.com.

But the other day I was watching an episode and I actually completely agreed and appreciated what he was saying.  The episode was about a couple in Michigan who had used a surrogate to have a baby (turned out to be twins) and after the babies were born, the surrogate decided to keep the babies because she learned that the biological mother had a mental disorder.

Her disorder has vaguely been diagnosed as "psychosis."  She regularly sees a psychiatrist and has been on the same meds for many years, holds a stable job, and is in general, a stable person. The surrogate knew that she was seeing a psychiatrist but never asked why.

(Of course, there is always more to the story than what they show on TV.  But this was the situation they presented.)

There was a CBS correspondant on there defending the surrogate's parents' decision.  Basically saying that someone who had psychosis could not be trusted with a child.

I ABOUT FLIPPED OUT.

So did Dr. Phil.  He said that this was a dangerous approach to take.  Psychosis is so vague, so broad-spanning, and to state that those diagnosed with this were not fit to be parents was taking a huge leap backward in the advancement of public acceptance of mental illnesses.

I don't personally know anyone diagnosed with psychosis.  (Well, that I know of...you never know, right?) But my dad, mom, brother (my only sibling) and I have all been diagnosed with depression.  My mom and I have also been diagnosed with anxiety.

I was diagnosed with it in college.  I've been on medications since I was 21.  After Oliver was born, my depression took a huge plunge.  I didn't have the typical PPD symptoms...if anything they were opposite of what mothers with PPD normally experience.  I did not want to let Oliver out of my sight.  I rarely EVER put him down.  I held him through all of his naps, we co-slept, everything.  I completely see the positive side of spending that much time with your newborn anyway, and I will probably be like that with the rest of our children.  But with Oliver, my anxiety was so bad that something would happen if I wasn't right there.  I think a lot of it had to do with the pain he experienced with his feet.  I wanted him to know that I was there for him if he was in pain.  As his mother, I knew I could offer him comfort and security that no one else could.  Jay worked 2nd shift until Oliver was 8 months old, so Oliver and I went and did everything together.  I also had terrible guilt about not breastfeeding.

Was I a worse mother because I have depression and anxiety?  Absolutely not.

When Oliver was almost 3 months old I went to my OB/GYN, Dr. Davis, whom I love and he referred me to a psychiatrist whom I still see regularly.

Dr. Holmes helped me to get on some medications that have helped change my life.  I feel more stable and relaxed.  I don't feel an enormous guilt everytime I leave Oliver.  Shoot, for MONTHS I could count in hours how much I had been away from Oliver.  I could tell you exactly each time I had left him.  Now, I'm ok to go to dinner with Amanda, or even just run to the grocery.  Before, it was like physical pain for me to leave him, no matter who it was with.

I still don't leave Oliver often, and never overnight.  He has stayed overnight at my mom's without me only when we went to Brittany's wedding last summer.  If he had been younger (he was 9 mos then) I would have definitely taken him with us, but it was an evening wedding and he would not have lasted long, lol.  But when I do leave him I know that it is ok.

I was just appalled that someone would say on national television that they believe mothers with a mental disorder should not have children.  People are so ignorant.  They do not understand mental illnesses AT ALL.  I was a psych minor in college, and we learned once that as many as 80% of the American population has a mental illness, but that many of them will go undiagnosed because people do not want to seek help. (men in particular.)

When I was pregnant I did not take any anti-depressants or anti-anxiety meds.  I also didnt have a psychiatrist at that time, just my OB.  And I functioned just fine, which some people probably don't understand.  I CAN live without meds, but it is more difficult. 

I could go on and on and on.  But I think I have done my ranting for the day. :-D

and to end on a happier note...heres a picture of Oliver, happy even though our Colts lost the Superbowl :(

Randomness

So nothing very exciting has happened, but I feel like I should update just for the heck of it. :-)

Let's see...ohhh Oliver napped for 4 HOURS today!!!!!  Oliver doesn't sleep well on his own so I'm usually either napping with him or at least laying beside him (or in the room) while he naps.  I can't really complain, it gives us some snuggle time, and although I don't get any time to really get caught up on stuff during his naps, I dont really mind. :) :) :)  Plus, I don't sleep well at night so the nap during the day is a big help most days.  Anyway, I knew I would never sleep tonight if I slept very long this afternoon, so I got up and Oliver slept on his own for over an hour and a half of his nap.  YAY!!! I think we checked on him a hundred times during that hour and a half, but he was totally fine of course.  Finally, I heard a little "Mama?...Mama?" from upstairs.  His little voice is so sweet.  And he only stayed up about an hour later than normal for his bedtime, so that wasn't bad at all.

On a totally different note, I found several episodes of the TV series Jack and Bobby on our On Demand...I love that show!!!!  Jenny and I used to watch it all the time sophomore year of college.  I hadn't thought about that show in a long time.  So, I'm watching that as I write this, so I apologize for any (and all!) rambling!

Tomorrow is the Super Bowl!  We will all be decked out in our Colts gear, even Oliver although he for sure wont last to see who wins.

Alright, I'm going to finish this episode, do my nightly Bible reading, and then go to bed.  I need to do some baking, but I am choosing sleep tonight over baking. :-)


P.S. I'm writing a note to remind myself to write a post ranting about the Dr. Phil show I watched the other day.  I'm not a Dr. Phil fan (anyone surprised I'm not a fan of a match.com spokesman?!) but I actually did agree with him on this episode...and wanted to hurt the CBS consultant.  but more on that later, lol...

February!

(Oliver watching Mickey!)

I can't believe January is over already, but I have to say, I'm glad it is. For some reason January is always a drag for me. I think its because the holidays are over (did I mention that we still have stockings hanging up...oops.) and I always have big ambitions for the new year but not the motivation to do them. Its always so dang cold out, and especially with a little one, I don't like to get out in the cold and spend lots of days inside. Plus, February is a short month, and even though our March is usually still cold, there is hope for warm weather soon at that point!

And it seem silly, but I like the fact that the first day of the month starts on a Monday. :) It just seems like a total new start! lol

So I have set a few goals for myself for the month. I'm sure they will be works in progress.

1. Continue to read the chapter of Proverbs that corresponds with the day of the month with Oliver in the morning. Although he doesn't understand all that I am saying, I believe it is very important for him to see that the Bible is a very important book to our family. The only way I can expect for him to someday read the Bible as well is for him to see us reading it.

2. File paperwork/bills/etc. once a week instead of letting it all pile up. (Hmmm which means I also need to catch up on January...)

3. Get into God's word everyday. I know I already said we would be reading Proverbs but God has really laid on my heart to study his word every single day. As Oliver gets bigger and bigger I want him to be used to hearing us talk about God in every area of our lives, whether it be a quick prayer when we wake up in the morning for God to guide us throughout our day, or when I praise him for listening to Mommy or Daddy because God wants us to be obedient to our parents. My parents were wonderful, amazing parents. However, we didn't talk a lot about the Bible in relation to everyday life. In no way do I mean to speak anything against them, please don't read it as that. I just believe every generation has changes that they make with their own families, and thank goodness for that, change is good! I know growing up I always wanted a reason "why, why, why" when my parents told me I needed to do something. (Cleaning my room, Mom? Doing algebra homework, Dad? lol) I want Oliver to grow up having a Biblical basis for why I tell him to do things. Which means I need to really study because I am fairly new myself to really knowing the Bible.

I know there are more things I want to do, but those are my top 3 for now. Besides, I think Oliver needs a diaper change..lol :)

Holy Day!

WOW...what an amazing church service today. It marked the end of the 21-day fast that our church participated in along with nearly 1100 other churches worldwide. Not everyone fasted, and not everyone did the same fast. This year Jay and I didn't fast, although I learned a lot about it and am thinking about applying it as needed throughout the year. With medication I'm on I dont think it would be wise to do an absolute fast, as I usually feel sick if I don't eat at least a little something with my medicine. So I believe the Daniel fast will be something we participate in. Jay and I are so ready for a change in our lives in regard to his job that this may be what we need to do to focus our energy into praying for God's direction.

I am SO thankful that I was in service today (and not working in the nursery). As much as I love serving in the church, today was a service to remember. So many breakthroughs happened for people during the past 21 days. I really can't wrap my mind around all that has happened. It is only by the grace of God that people had breakthroughs, blessings, and pure MIRACLES occur. You could just FEEL the Holy Spirit in God's house today; it was so intense.

Tonight I watched the Duggar family special on the birth of their 19th baby, Josie Brooklyn. She was born at just 25(ish) weeks and was 1 lb 6 oz. She is so unbelievably tiny. I simply can't imagine! We went through so much with Olivers feet but I will forever be thankful that I had a wonderful birth experience and we were able to come home with our beautiful baby boy. My biggest fear was having him taken to the NICU and I couldnt bear the thought of having to leave him and come home without him. He had been part of me for 9 1/2 months and I was sick with the thought of ever having to come home from the hospital without him. God has truly touched the Duggar family and is putting  His protection around baby Josie. We continue to pray for the Duggars. I told Jay tonight when I first watched their show I thought they were crazy for having so many children but I found them fascinating. Now I DVR every episode of theirs and admire their faith. Sometimes I wish I was brave enough to just let God take control of how many children we have. But the thought of having another baby right now is so overwhelming! I want to get in a better place in our lives; pay off some of our debt (we are on our way!) and move to a bigger place. I'm not looking to move to a big house right away...I don't want to get into a mortgage that overwhelms us. But I want a place where we can have a backyard and more living space. I mean, Oliver hardly has room to run around as it is, much less if we had any baby stuff laying around! But back to the Duggars, they are an inspiration to how they raise their children, infusing God's word into their daily life. God bless their family...

Well...shoot.

Darn it all! Jay found out on Monday that there is a very good chance of him going back to second shift. He has been on first shift since the middle of April last year.

I hate his work. They treat their people like crap. They are changing his position so that it is based on seniority instead of being a position you interview for and everything, like when Jay got it.

I'm trying VERY HARD to be thankful that he has a job, to be thankful for all that we have in our lives. I just thought we were past this phase of our lives. Jay really wants out of that place anyway, so this may be God's way of encouraging him to look elsewhere. Who knows but God, right??

Maybe this will be a blessing in disguise. I know that God is watching out for us. This is just hard.

::Sigh::

Nigh-Night

I soooo need to go "nigh-night" as Oliver says, but instead I am blogging. I was just looking back at pictures in my blog from last year and its so hard to believe how little Oliver was just a year ago. Plus, how little hair he had! His hair has become so much of who he is, everyone comments on it and its just so funny to see my little "bald" baby...even though he never was bald and I always thought he had such pretty hair.

Tonight we went to Fort Wayne after Jay got off work. I wanted to get a couple things at the cake store, and we went to Cheddar's for dinner, and then stopped at Target. To say the least, going out with an almost 17-month-old is NOT easy! Maybe it was because it was at the end of the day, although usually he is still pretty good...today was just not a great day for us! He just wants to be on the go, so sitting in a high chair, or in a shopping cart, goes against everything he wants to be doing. I love this age so much but there are definite challenges!

For example, Oliver is starting to talk so much and its so sweet. This past weekend we were at my mom's house and she has this little Elmo Kitchen and it has a "microphone" you can talk into. Mom was talking into it saying "oliver, oliver" over and over and he went up and said "Oliver!" plain as day into it! It was the cutest ever!! He also LOVES to dance, especially to Handy Manny songs and his favorite, the Mickey Mouse Hot Dog song! its the cutest thing. He loves stomping his feet and turning in circles, bouncing his head, and shaking his little booty and clapping his hands. He is such a precious gift from God. Oh, how I adore him!!!

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

Oliver got to play in the snow for the first time the other day. He loved it!! The first day he just bounced around on his knees in it (lol) but by Day 2 he was allll about treading through it. I haven't played in the snow in so long but couldnt pass up the chance to let Oliver experience it. Oh, it was so fun!!

Good-bye 2009...

We had a wonderful Christmas and are ready for the new year! 2009 was great for us in many ways, and we are going into 2010 with high expectations. I remember this time last year knowing that 2009 would bring many great things for us, and God didnt disappoint! (He never does!) As we continue to learn to keep the Lord in the center of our lives, the blessings continue to come to our family. We can't wait to see how far we will have come by this time next year!

Oliver had a BLAST with Christmas this year. I didn't really expect him to get into it as much as he did, but he was ripping through presents like crazy and super-excited with all that was going on. I know next year will be even better. We are so blessed!!

Oliver's Visit With Santa

I'll have to upload the picture later, but let's just say he wanted nothing to do with him!!! LOL We went to see Santa at our church today and Oliver was not happy! Poor little guy, I have to admit it was funny though.

Jay had to work today, and my parents both came to Fort Wayne to do some Christmas shopping so Oliver and I met them for lunch. Then we went to Von Maur and picked up Oliver's new pediped flex shoes, they are awesome! He seems to grow out of shoes rather quickly but I get at least one good pair for each size he goes through. He had a good pair of Nikes that I really liked but those are too small, so these little brown shoes are adorable on him. By that time Jay was off work so he met us at Jefferson Pointe. Mom had already gone through the racks at Von Maur and picked out more stuff for Oliver :) Then she and Dad went to get a few things and Jay and I went to Childrens Place and got some stuff for Oliver. Mom walked by and saw us in line so they stopped back in and while we were waiting she picked out more things for Oliver. Haha, it cracks me up, she is such a wonderful grandmother and loves to buy him things. We then got some chocolates at DeBrands, I went and picked up Brent and Taylor's Christmas gifts (yay Jess! :) ) and by that time Oliver had fallen asleep so we just headed home. I still need to go back and go to the cake store sometime next week to get a few last minute things for the wedding cake I'm doing next weekend. I'm SO nervous about it!! I know it'll go great but I just want it to be perfect.

Ok, will upload pics later but am going to go put away some of Oliver's new things :)

MIRACLE!!

God is SO GOOD all the time!!!!!

We went to Oliver's foot dr for a check-up today. It has been two months since the dr said Oliver didnt need to wear his braces at night, and today was a check-up to make sure he didnt need to start wearing any brace at night.

The appt went FABULOUSLY! The dr didnt even say anything about a brace and said his feet look fantastic. We go back in 6 months and if things are still looking good (and we have no doubt that they will) that could be his last appt.

Many, many babies born with clubfoot wear braces and have therapy until they are 3 or 4 years old. God has given us a miracle with Oliver.

Oliver was having fun playing peek-a-boo at the end of the exam table :)

We are so, so blessed.

Thankfulness

Catching up on Today's Thankfulness list...I have this posted on our fridge.

Friday, Nov. 13th: Today I am thankful for the relationship I have with my mother. She is my best friend and I appreciate her even more now that I am a mother.

Sat, Nov. 14th: Today I am thankful for SUNSHINE!! Winters can get very dreary in Indiana but today was beautiful.

Sun, Nov. 15th: Today I am thankful for a wonderful church family that I can trust to watch Oliver in the nursery while Jay and I worship. It has taken me awhile to feel comfortable leaving him but I know that there are wonderful, caring people to watch him. Today I helped in the nursery (along with 2 other girls) and with 12 little lambs, I appreciate those helpers even more!!

Mon, Nov. 16th: Today I am thankful for my husband and the help he gives me with our loving yet stubborn little boy!!

Tues, Nov. 17th: Today I am thankful that Jay has a job to go to everyday. Its easy to get down about the job he has and think of everything we wish we had but don't, but if we stop and are STILL...we realize how thankful we are that he has a job to go to. Many people would trade us places in a heartbeat!

My Little Monkey

Oliver is getting bigger by the day, and is getting into anything and everything!! Today he was playing in his room while I got dressed. I went into his room to find him standing on the edge of a basket so he could see the kids playing outside.

And then when we came downstairs he figured out how to climb up onto the end tables! He is just now tall enough to pull himself up onto them from the floor without the help of any toys to boost himself up. Oh boy~

Oliver Loves Boxes!

So the boxes from Global Sugar Art came today with supplies for Jenni's wedding cake. Oliver woke up from his nap to see 2 big boxes and was so excited! I only got the one opened up while he was awake today because he used the bucket of fondant to sit on and the other box as his table :) he even took a book and sat at his "table" and read it.

Every day until Thanksgiving (and maybe even beyond that) I'm going to write one thing I'm thankful for and make it different everyday. Today I am thankful for a husband who shares my belief that me staying at home with our little guy is worth the sacrifices we have to make.

Still here!

Wow, its been a LONG time since I've posted. i dont know if anyone even still checks! I'd like to try to keep up on this again.

Oliver is getting SO BIG! He is really walking a lot now. We are so blessed with how wonderful his feet look. He is 14 months now and on the go constantly. I feel like once his eyes open in the morning its just GO GO GO! I love it but ohhh its exhausting.

Here's a recent picture of Mr. Oliver. He was helping me make our friend Kirsten's birthday cake. Cake decorating has become a recent hobby of mine and one that I will probably start a new blog about. :)

Lazy Saturday

Its a beautiful day here. My mom is here today visiting and will stay the night. I love having her here. Jay is out golfing, and Oliver is asleep upstairs with my mom. So I'm taking a litte bit to play on the internet!

Oliver was 9 months on Tuesday! Gosh, its soooo hard to believe. On Thursday we got his pics taken at Portrait Innovations. I wasn't as happy with those as I was with his 6 month pictures. The photographer just didn't seem as quick with taking pictures, meaning she kept trying to get him to look a certain place and wouldn't take a picture until he was doing what she wanted, even though sometimes he would have the cutest look on his face or whatever. Oh well, we still ended up getting 7 different poses, out of 106 pics they took!

Its such a change to look at his 6 month pictures and then his 9 months. He has grown so much and has gotten a LOT more hair! Its curly and crazy and I love it!

Oliver still doesn't have an interest in crawling. All he wants to do is stand! He has had his legs straight pretty much his entire life until a month ago when Dr. C said he only needed his braces at night. Last weekend he started taking steps when he was holding onto our hands. I can't wait to see him walk. Thank you to everyone who has made positive comments about Oliver standing. We have truly been blessed and every day we thank God for taking such good care of our baby! It is because of Him that Oliver is thriving.

Sunny Days

It has been absolutely gorgeous here the past couple of days. Yesterday Kirsten and I took the boys for a walk. She has a son, David, who is 10 mos older than Oliver. She is due anyday now with a baby girl, so we are walking as much as possible!! She and I both ended up sunburned...maybe we should do as good of a job protecting our own skin as we do on our babies! We took a realllllly long walk, and about a mile from home Oliver decided he had had ENOUGH of the stroller and wanted out. I tried to even walk beside it and talk to him, but nope. He had some big tears, so after 2 hours of walking, I picked him up and carried him and pushed the stroller another mile home. Oh my, it was probably quite the site! I meant to throw my Beco in the basket of the stroller in case this happened but forgot. I learned my lesson! :)

Oliver loves being outside, and I can't wait for all the fun things this summer. Jay will be off work until July 21 so we're going to make the most of this first summer we have together as a family of 3. :)

I will add a picture later when I'm on a computer that has recent pics.

MIA

wow, so its been over 3 months since I've blogged. Now its almost summertime, and because of the GM layoff, Jay will be home until July 21. So hopefully I can update some more about Oliver.

He is getting sooooo big! In fact, my little pumpkin is letting me know its time for some breakfast. :-) But here are some recent pictures.