tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20029007345070577742024-03-19T06:34:40.757-05:00MonicaBerry's Innisms and EverythingMonicaBerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05803776210896095378noreply@blogger.comBlogger188125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2002900734507057774.post-5790041697616237232014-05-26T10:02:00.000-05:002014-05-26T10:02:36.736-05:00I haven't posted in nearly a year! I want to write down a dream I had. <br><br>
WARNING!<br><br>
Violence, gore and magic are all in this dream.<br>
It started out bad, but ended badass!<br><br>
So, I was some sort of magic-user, who fought (mostly undead) witches and warlocks who used black magic. I had a whole group of supporters with me. We had followed some clues, used some magic and found our way to the evil-doers underground lair ["from whence there shall be no return!" except I have the background knowledge that I've already been there twice before and emerged victorious.] and the baddies also have a large group of followers. Various fights break out physically and magically. As the leader, I'm immune to most all of the magic attacks, but I'm pretty much my real self physically and thus scared $#!+less about actually being attacked. This is the bad part of the dream, along with some of the tense moments leading up as we tried to follow the clues and such to get here. <br>
Then, I spot him: the warlock leader (though everyone, male and female, were "witches" in the dream) He looked like a big 19th century business man. Big in social stature, physical stature and girth. We are, apparently, immune to each others' magic, so when I catch his eye with my glare he laughs. Surely this little slip of a girl can't overcome his mass! <br>
I attack. I jump and climb onto his shoulders and start strangling him. We grapple. I claw at him with my fingernails, and then I manage to get a punch in to his throat. I've managed to keep him mostly on the defensive and now he's fighting to breath. I continue to focus on his neck. I get him down to the floor and see a guy next to me who I assume is on my team. I offer to let him deal the death-blow. He smiles and holds out his fist, then dangles a charm that says "uninjured." <br>
I curse. He's on the other team. He's threatening to heal his leader to the point that he's "uninjured." This could be the end of me. Do I risk removing my strangle-hold on the leader to fight off this guy? Or do I try to finish the leader before the charm can take effect? <br>
I opt for a little of both. I was kind of sitting on the leader guy with my left hand pushing his chin up and the other right where his clavicles meet to expose his neck. I move my knee up where my right hand was and back-hand smack the charm out of the other guy's hand. I get lucky and it flies away and shatters. I bring my hand back in for the death blow and just keep going until the guy is beheaded. The other guy balks and flees at some point. <br>
I stand and lift the head and look around. Fighting ceases. <br>
A tall, skinny, hawkish woman who is(was) their second in command tells me something like "next time, you will not win!" <br>
I've dropped the head and I practically dance over to her holding up my thumb and first two fingers, "Three! I'm three-for-three b!+@#! I AM victorious!" and I begin to leave with my followers. <br>
This is where my hubby came in and woke me up to see why I was sleeping so late (I'd been up half the night for no discernible reason)and start his laundry. Back to the mundane. MonicaBerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05803776210896095378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2002900734507057774.post-62009586567943659212013-07-22T07:36:00.000-05:002013-07-22T07:36:15.501-05:00Anniversary Weekend Part 2Sunday, the 7th was our actual anniversary. <br>
I failed at actually finishing this post in a timely manner... <br><br>
After our rough night at the hotel, we skipped our original plan of me going to church with my friends Tammy & our sons. It worked out to give us plenty of time to have a leisurely breakfast (& even some lunch - our leftovers from Sat) & pack up for check-out. We didn't get our revised plans all hammered out before check-out, however. Paul & I left & went to Tammy's house a little before she originally expected to be getting home. She thought she had extra time & did some grocery shopping. So, we drove around the corner & shopped at a Walgreens & then headed back when Tammy said she was done. <br>
We exchanged some gifts and visited at her house for a bit.
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It was a lot hotter than forecasted, but the kids enjoyed it a lot and it was nice to visit.
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The kids were enjoying their gifts on the way home after the farm.
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<br>
They didn't do as well on the way home as on the way down. They both fell asleep after we stopped for our fancy anniversary dinner at Subway in East St. Louis... :P <br>
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Kevin ended up fussing & crying most of the rest of the way home. We stopped at my mom's place & he was happy to get out & visit grandma & grandpa, but he still cried most of the last hour home.
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Amber slept through most of it. After she did wake up, I was able to keep her from freaking out by pointing out the lightning bugs outside. We had what could have been a rather magical moment admiring them - if it weren't for Kevin screaming through it. It was a rough drive, but we made it home without anything tragic happening.
MonicaBerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05803776210896095378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2002900734507057774.post-4774442238341289192013-07-08T09:47:00.001-05:002013-07-08T09:47:11.986-05:00Anniversary WeekendMy wonderful hubby & I shared our sixth anniversary yesterday. <br>
Did you do the math? No? I wouldn't have either. We were married 7/7/07!<br>
At the last minute practically, we made plans to go to St. Louis to visit my sister and a friend who's like a sister/aunt to me. I was originally planning a trip for me & the kids, but when our anniversary weekend ended up being the best weekend for everyone, hubby joined in too. I don't know what I was thinking when I thought I could have made that trip without him. It was hard enough with both of us and both kids! <br>
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Traveling down there was fine. Kevin slept about half the way & was surprisingly content the rest of the way. We made the whole trip in one shot! Even when traffic was slow in the city, we did pretty much keep moving & got there without any kiddo meltdowns. <br>
We met up with my sister at her boyfriend's mom's house. She and her bf joined us & directed us to their favorite restaurant: Zia's. Amber was rather crabby at the restaurant, but the food & company were great. Thankfully, the lady sitting nearest Amber didn't seem too bothered by her antics. She kept telling me how cute she was. :) <br>
Then, we went back to the house & hung out for a bit. Everyone but Amber was ready for a nap. Sis' boyfriend spent much of this time looking around his house for things that might entertain a 3yo. He had a good hit with crayons and paper, but that only lasted a few minutes.
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He found a board game, but she wasn't old enough & just played with the pieces a bit. He found a soccer ball and they rolled it around a bit. Then we decided we were ready for the amazing cupcakes my sister had been talking about for the whole visit. We decided to drive separately. Paul & I had no idea that the place was Jilly's (a 2x winner on the TV show Cupcake Wars) nor that it was waaaay on the other side of town! At least Amber got a quick nap in on the way there. We went in and enjoyed some ginormous fancy cupcakes. They were pretty much dinner for us, and even then Paul & I could each only eat about half of ours with help from Amber! <br>
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After that, we said our goodbyes and headed off to the hotel. Kevin got tired of being in the carseat & became inconsolable. We stopped once & fed & changed him. After that, the GPS app Paul was using on his phone went crazy. It refused to recognize that we'd gotten back on the highway & kept giving us directions from nearby streets back to the highway. The map wouldn't update. It seemed to think we were driving backwards at times (It'd tell us to turn left at a street that was only on our right.)We barely avoided panicking, but we eventually got it sorted out & made it to our hotel. <br>
Turns out, the hotel had some good points and some iffy features. They were pet-friendly. There were at least a couple different dogs in the hotel. This wouldn't be such a big deal if there weren't also some... people... setting off fireworks. <br>
This was the first time all four of us had stayed together in a hotel. It wasn't a two-room suite like we like to get when traveling with the kids, just a room with two queen-sized beds & a crib. An actual crib: most places just have a Pack 'n' Play. <br>
So, we haven't actually had Amber at a hotel in quiet a while. She's stayed with grandparents the last few times we stayed at a hotel. She's got her new "grown-up" bed at home; but it's a trundle bed she's sleeping on. No box springs, it's only about a foot off the floor, as was her toddler bed when converted from a crib. So, this was also the first time we'd attempted having her sleep on a tall bed. <br>
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It took her almost no time at all to fall out & hit her head on the night stand! We didn't even realize at first how bad it was. It sounded like she had gotten hurt, but we didn't see any bruises or anything. I got a washcloth wet with cool water and went to apply it to her forehead where I thought I saw a little bruise & she said (between sniffles) that her owwie wasn't there. She lifted her head off of Paul's chest then and then we saw the big goose-egg! Poor kiddo. At least she didn't show any signs of a concussion. <br>
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This picture is from later the next day, when the bruise wasn't so swollen. <br>
We had her sleep between us the rest of the night. She did pretty well. Kevin woke up a few times and needed binky-retrieval services. Amber got up earlier than Paul or I was ready for and they kept alternating. She'd start to settle down again and he'd wake up and vice-versa. <br><br>
With that, I think I'll pause for now, and finish my tale later. :) MonicaBerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05803776210896095378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2002900734507057774.post-82802889760738379652013-06-18T12:22:00.000-05:002013-06-18T12:22:23.860-05:00Diaper DutyWhy didn't I think of this sooner?? I'm always trying to keep little hands out of diaper mess... & I figured out that I can just fold them up in the bottom of the onesie! It's a temporary fix, but lasts long enough for me to get the worst of it. ;)
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzOq4terCMADnRTHtUixMzv0Kj74S2dTGliDCCnZ4BD_h9cCcfkf_or2KdLh8jKPrArbJgwNfrrAeSJmdxF8a31y4N12cwcSWSRzByzeB3HG84Sn0QYZCu49HYPESjlAfZ73MOBAYTBwEn/s1600/P6180465.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzOq4terCMADnRTHtUixMzv0Kj74S2dTGliDCCnZ4BD_h9cCcfkf_or2KdLh8jKPrArbJgwNfrrAeSJmdxF8a31y4N12cwcSWSRzByzeB3HG84Sn0QYZCu49HYPESjlAfZ73MOBAYTBwEn/s320/P6180465.JPG" /></a></div>MonicaBerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05803776210896095378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2002900734507057774.post-57615094789822644352013-05-30T15:16:00.000-05:002013-05-30T15:16:00.182-05:00Birthmark or What?So, close to a month ago, an oddly-shaped red splotch showed up on Kevin's belly. I thought maybe we'd accidentally pinched him snapping a cloth diaper or something, but I watched the spot, put a little baby lotion on it & after two weeks, called his dr. She said to try putting Aquaphor on it for a few days & come in if it didn't clear up. I did, it didn't, so we went in & saw her. She deemed it something akin to a birthmark. Late-bloomer. It doesn't seem to bother him at all, so I felt relieved. <br>
Then, he got these red lines on his legs that were clearly from the diapers... I later narrowed it down to the overnight diapers we were using. <br>
So, we went to the cloth diaper store and showed them to the lady that owns it & got some new diapers to use overnight. After taking a few days to pre-wash them, we finally tried them. They're ginormous! It's so hard to get the covers over them! They're hemp & he can still soak them through. They're supposed to get more absorbent after more washings, and we can add inserts... <br>
But, at any rate, the marks on his legs do seem to be getting better. The splotch on his belly, however, remains unchanged. *shrug*
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGaeo5HVUsO9Pq1eYc6PHCCyILDVaSN1oSi99Oip92Gju92r6HWRb4Foy08PhhBmJw44LT1E7GVvsFzoji3353fn_Arui2HaR3z_TckwNA_95Fy9r57Z4RavKmkfplndBhiow9nOkm7lCo/s1600/P5189496.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGaeo5HVUsO9Pq1eYc6PHCCyILDVaSN1oSi99Oip92Gju92r6HWRb4Foy08PhhBmJw44LT1E7GVvsFzoji3353fn_Arui2HaR3z_TckwNA_95Fy9r57Z4RavKmkfplndBhiow9nOkm7lCo/s320/P5189496.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghO4WhL0Kk8MeIgrczVp6pn29UGde__X8Nu1b8xYecEbJRsGPbtRTiNu59uTzdosBC-EOH0xlov-u1PYDvEDMdJPGlOS4Z28rCYCY0CwVYUQZgbjysQiJloPrHmsMIZ6CSwVgsLveaJcA6/s1600/P5189499.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghO4WhL0Kk8MeIgrczVp6pn29UGde__X8Nu1b8xYecEbJRsGPbtRTiNu59uTzdosBC-EOH0xlov-u1PYDvEDMdJPGlOS4Z28rCYCY0CwVYUQZgbjysQiJloPrHmsMIZ6CSwVgsLveaJcA6/s320/P5189499.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0xjKgyEXH9z8KKoG2oERM6bge9grEIBMuFy45ldsVZlvy-tOe1Pny8iafQS7A3hABJByLFC4AcQBxJlJ9n9y2CWrtmq1c1jZ5aKwAVKGJ67M_jta5sbfBKIuSdNC46ElgRntFmO8p6ECE/s1600/P5189500.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0xjKgyEXH9z8KKoG2oERM6bge9grEIBMuFy45ldsVZlvy-tOe1Pny8iafQS7A3hABJByLFC4AcQBxJlJ9n9y2CWrtmq1c1jZ5aKwAVKGJ67M_jta5sbfBKIuSdNC46ElgRntFmO8p6ECE/s320/P5189500.JPG" /></a>MonicaBerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05803776210896095378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2002900734507057774.post-89521314545042352832013-05-26T13:44:00.001-05:002013-05-26T13:44:47.665-05:00Gardening, ducks, jewelry & moreBeen busy here lately. Yesterday we hosted our big Gardening Party! <br>
Yeah, not a fancy party in the garden, and down & dirty gathering to garden! I don't know how he did it, but my hubby actually convinced quite a few of our friends that pizza & fellowship were worth the back-breaking work of tilling and landscaping & tree-planting (other planting is yet to come) a roughly 35'x20' area of our yard on a dreary Saturday. I had to run & get some last-minute things we'd forgotten or put off buying until that day & it ended up taking me long enough that I missed out on all the fun outside. I made it back just in time to track one last set of muddy footprints into the house & fix up some fruit & salad to go with the pizza. <br>
I'm so amazed at how nice everyone was to come & help us and what good, quick work they made of the project! I think it looks pretty great! I was hoping to get out there today and actually plant the seeds and sedum, but it's been raining again. At least it's washing the mud off our patio. ;) <br>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy8g-CZdTFJz4H3WJNKNg0jZhY5SYFZ_jFc7DDhoTM-W_n77oN16E1JjU3cCmDpwZDcrRe3XlcVxrkCKIcBgZf01no67nIBjZ5gq6bUXdRvJZVBb-xDtgkKft-Q6oQrxSGKKXWKED8I7aj/s1600/P5259524.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy8g-CZdTFJz4H3WJNKNg0jZhY5SYFZ_jFc7DDhoTM-W_n77oN16E1JjU3cCmDpwZDcrRe3XlcVxrkCKIcBgZf01no67nIBjZ5gq6bUXdRvJZVBb-xDtgkKft-Q6oQrxSGKKXWKED8I7aj/s320/P5259524.JPG" /></a>
That's my hubby showing me what all they had gotten done. See the little plum tree in the back? :D <br>
There's a little mini-fence up now & we're going to run chicken-wire around the sides to try to keep the bunnies out. We're also planting marigolds outside the big fence. Apparently, bunnies don't like them & will steer clear. <br><br>
So, backing up a bit, in preparation for yesterday, and just because it needed to be done, Paul was trying to mow Thursday night when I started to feel icky. No usual symptoms of being sick, I just had a massive headache and then I had chills, so I checked my temp. It was 102! I ran out & told Paul, but he wanted to get the mowing done since we had more prep to do on Friday. I tried to tough it out, but Kevin kept crying and crying. That's totally unlike him & it certainly wasn't helping the headache. When I tried to change his diaper I realized my hands were numb & I was having a hard time fumbling with the cloth diaper & concentrating... I tried to put the waterproof cover on without an actual cloth diaper on him! So, I grabbed a disposable and went back out & told Paul, the yard will have to wait, I can't handle the kids by myself. I called the on-call dr. and described my symptoms. He asked some questions & basically said, "that's weird. It sounds like something viral. Get some rest & come in in the morning." <br>
Thankfully, I improved overnight & my temp was in the 99-100 range the next day (even without Tylenol) and I saw the dr. I had talked to. He said he wanted to make sure it wasn't meningitis, but he didn't want to sample spinal fluid unless it was really necessary. Since I was improving, he didn't think it was necessary. He said it was just some weird virus & I'd have to ride it out. My temp was back to normal Saturday, so I wasn't too worried, but it certainly was weird! <br>
Friday, I hired the neighbor's 19yo daughter to mow the rest of the yard for us. Her grandpa ended up helping her and doing the trimming even! <br>
When she came around the South side of the house with the mower, she startled & was startled by a duck who flew out from under our "chimney" vent! She looked & discovered the duck had a nest with at least a half-dozen eggs (we later counted at least 10!) under there! <br>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc6BKDoRJPB9GEZbkDxx1YJoiG8EoUqYfasO5PAm5wFcRZichinIboyMZKJxxBbrZe4bMg3YO42H21K2juWiyu10u_74KGVQUY6aDTx8qN5wtNKZAliRmIcBtCJECLPEkqy7xnSj31KrFD/s1600/DSC09314.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc6BKDoRJPB9GEZbkDxx1YJoiG8EoUqYfasO5PAm5wFcRZichinIboyMZKJxxBbrZe4bMg3YO42H21K2juWiyu10u_74KGVQUY6aDTx8qN5wtNKZAliRmIcBtCJECLPEkqy7xnSj31KrFD/s320/DSC09314.JPG" /></a>
We're quite surprised & baffled by our new resident. There aren't any ponds nearby! The only idea anyone had that she was out there was that I had heard some noises outside the fireplace (while I was sitting inside) that I'm guessing were from her.<br>
While our friends were working, I peeked & found that mama duck had returned to her well-hidden nest and her eggs.<br>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj3RIVJVl4EGlQymEaw1qY0iuAZnOJgx6Jkoz0Ni0xecdHltV-TqX9oOgD3IR1Pd9nZihMZi8MhSsqJYoO9w6GK4v3XeJqJsWbBbPyLc3Ya3-Dog1Pxo80Y5vQqItnq_7G8pq_tCk2DVlu/s1600/P5259526.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj3RIVJVl4EGlQymEaw1qY0iuAZnOJgx6Jkoz0Ni0xecdHltV-TqX9oOgD3IR1Pd9nZihMZi8MhSsqJYoO9w6GK4v3XeJqJsWbBbPyLc3Ya3-Dog1Pxo80Y5vQqItnq_7G8pq_tCk2DVlu/s320/P5259526.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYUebi_ac2gbupzTAHdl4H4ESLNuyur7cdIIuGovtdeitsX1d3aepQjX_3y-_Tfrk0GmgsC9kJvOD9wXtfaajwpd3LGb35xIIpe3s4W9xtEyUIaA36wr8mW49T_NzZAKDl8l0Y3QvBFTRH/s1600/P5259540.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYUebi_ac2gbupzTAHdl4H4ESLNuyur7cdIIuGovtdeitsX1d3aepQjX_3y-_Tfrk0GmgsC9kJvOD9wXtfaajwpd3LGb35xIIpe3s4W9xtEyUIaA36wr8mW49T_NzZAKDl8l0Y3QvBFTRH/s320/P5259540.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiajcB1WaLnYU5MlV20NoMCW378EiWsWDGHByCVfh9oRMpV7tBMMcRzj44vh8TJw96QzEQf1D4wojrNBH5M0lFtE4NaLEca2Jfev_CAftXSLcdwCCTJl2pVr_46vmQnS50GHa8vdf5rCuTt/s1600/P5259541.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiajcB1WaLnYU5MlV20NoMCW378EiWsWDGHByCVfh9oRMpV7tBMMcRzj44vh8TJw96QzEQf1D4wojrNBH5M0lFtE4NaLEca2Jfev_CAftXSLcdwCCTJl2pVr_46vmQnS50GHa8vdf5rCuTt/s320/P5259541.JPG" /></a>
Oh, & for reference, this is what the nest is under:
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxM6AqkXYl9l0NBc8Kyw3ibexWXRAF9SxLPKPI2yTq7wAeTEF1aphOzjO22eb9RpXtKo8dQ92KbV_xNQifiXlZUdCBPJMVVUkyfdGJmTRv1eh6tSo-c3_j1J_1WkfP5KnOHeKLO9_xGWWK/s1600/DSC09322+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxM6AqkXYl9l0NBc8Kyw3ibexWXRAF9SxLPKPI2yTq7wAeTEF1aphOzjO22eb9RpXtKo8dQ92KbV_xNQifiXlZUdCBPJMVVUkyfdGJmTRv1eh6tSo-c3_j1J_1WkfP5KnOHeKLO9_xGWWK/s320/DSC09322+-+Copy.JPG" /></a>
Can you see it under there? <br>
<br>Meanwhile, my wonderful mother has been hard at work photographing my jewelry & updating <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Innisms-Unique-handmade-jewelry-creations-by-Monica-Innis/184412486433?sk=photos_albums">my facebook page! </a> I still need to finish some of the descriptions, but I'm excited to be making progress with her help. :D <br>
Most of these are pieces I have been meaning to post & am glad to be getting out there now! I have one more new piece to post soon. <br>
Here's a crappy picture with my leg as a necklace stand! Pay no attention to my mess in the background please!
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg_TiTeO9ON_UqoL4CiE9gKh8G8qGPEDX6JmwX1T4r7nEYlTyAzeUu46tOtTpBD6-JpeGHuGD7qQCWozaQTrfTICg2izgQCevlChjubId3nZf4leLotzR7f14DTm0Q_KhlZHnhY_258dhL/s1600/DSC08844.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg_TiTeO9ON_UqoL4CiE9gKh8G8qGPEDX6JmwX1T4r7nEYlTyAzeUu46tOtTpBD6-JpeGHuGD7qQCWozaQTrfTICg2izgQCevlChjubId3nZf4leLotzR7f14DTm0Q_KhlZHnhY_258dhL/s320/DSC08844.JPG" /></a>
Getting in on the whole ombré trend...<br><br>
I also got some other art projects done & started with the kids, inspired by this: http://pinterest.com/pin/211176670000214352/ <br>
Mine are just on paper so far & not so cool, but they're cuter (to me) because they're my kids' hand- & footprints! ;) <br> MonicaBerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05803776210896095378noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2002900734507057774.post-75073529907684848132013-05-20T19:42:00.001-05:002013-05-20T19:42:13.669-05:00Feeling thoughtfulAs in, full of thoughts! <br>
I have lots on my mind this evening and I'm not sure where to start, but I do want to write more in general. <br>
One thing I've been thinking about a lot, but not really acting on, is <a href="http://www.documentingdelight.com/2013/05/08/simple-living-why/">this blog post and all that it's talking about</a>. I think we do a lot better than most Americans when it comes to expenses & finances in general. We don't have much debt; we buy, borrow & inherited lots of used things; we use coupons for grocery & other shopping & take advantage of deals where we can. We are gardening, using cloth diapers and I'm breastfeeding. All of those have financial and other benefits. They aren't without their costs, though. Mainly: time. <br>
Sometimes I read things like the blog post linked above and I think of how much less we <i>could</i> be spending (money) on various things. My hubby points out the time trade-off for many of these things. The cloth diapers, for example, mean that diaper changes take a little longer and laundry takes a little longer. Since I'm a stay-at-home-mom, we decided the time investment was worth the financial pay-off. Hubby isn't all gung-ho for them, but is happy to be saving money. <br>
That's where I am on a lot of things. There are few issues I take a very strong stance on, the rest of the time I'm trying to find a balance. <br>
We're still doing many of the things we're doing rather selfishly, to save money, and not as good stewards of this nation or planet; though that is a happy side-effect of much of it. Sometimes I see or hear/read something that gets me really motivated to change in one way or another, like the blog post linked above, but I go back to wanting a moderate amount of little luxuries as well. <br>
If this blog post seems a little wishy-washy and haphazard... that's just because that's the way my brain works... or doesn't, depending on your perspective. ;) <br>
MonicaBerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05803776210896095378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2002900734507057774.post-88328039605841399772013-05-08T14:12:00.000-05:002013-05-09T09:42:31.931-05:00Clutter bustingWell, I got all the stuff dropped off for the garage sale. There's a few things I could have added, but maybe we'll have our own garage sale after lil' K has outgrown some more clothes. Not in the pics below, but donated to the garage sale were another pair of black dress shoes, pet grooming kit, a bag full of bottles & binkies & such, a couple little novelty picture frames and a seat-belt adjuster thing... <br>
I was SO happy when the lady in charge said we didn't have to price the clothing individually! That was what I was really dreading, so the rest wasn't so bad. I had no idea what to put on the bag of bottles & stuff, so I just put "make an offer." Pricing the rest wasn't too bad. <br>
Then I took the kiddos to Steak 'n' Shake. Amber bounced around in her seat like a ping pong ball! I'm glad we got her in a set that wasn't adjacent to anyone else, the people behind me got to hear a near constant stream of "Amber, sit down, sit up, get back in your seat, get off the floor, sit up and eat..." and so on... Ugh. <br>
Trying to get both kiddos to nap now so I can fold the laundry and get coupons ready for Paul to go shopping. <bR>
Edit: I did a little extra clutter-busting. My friend came to visit & mentioned that she was collecting Box Tops for Education for something, so I gave her all ours (since we've been collecting for a while & some were expired/expiring & Amber's still not in school)and since she works at the library that's having a donation collection for a book sale, I gave her a bunch of books that we were trying to sell. So, I don't have a pic of the box tops, but I can post a pic of the books later. <br>
Edit: Books (Now or soon available at the B public library, except for "Broken Prey," which my FIL took.)
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikO5oCql12oe69xPxKpG8ncdRu48qSxKStpxPe2tdkPXJdebnWqWMfkeBEH-93cb0k18sSHj_svfsh-sUTySf1_HoYvYH2-PZ6Zvl75rsaHjvgjKWv8SG4vJt0sk8x4MXuJ9N6eP9BxHaY/s1600/PB056923-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikO5oCql12oe69xPxKpG8ncdRu48qSxKStpxPe2tdkPXJdebnWqWMfkeBEH-93cb0k18sSHj_svfsh-sUTySf1_HoYvYH2-PZ6Zvl75rsaHjvgjKWv8SG4vJt0sk8x4MXuJ9N6eP9BxHaY/s320/PB056923-2.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrMezmKFIzGLBEBsjSRz1RXqLbSD3kyKGZuKSmC1E9vSVny2U0Fu7Gebhz2wXud78t6wtTgYdpTfSGYAPLm9iiekVkbs85gUnJLv_nLrofUVA3khuIJs_RSk7nkYGyXdT5OteG5rOrQm1T/s1600/PB056924-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrMezmKFIzGLBEBsjSRz1RXqLbSD3kyKGZuKSmC1E9vSVny2U0Fu7Gebhz2wXud78t6wtTgYdpTfSGYAPLm9iiekVkbs85gUnJLv_nLrofUVA3khuIJs_RSk7nkYGyXdT5OteG5rOrQm1T/s320/PB056924-2.JPG" /></a>
MonicaBerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05803776210896095378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2002900734507057774.post-28512471053931844742013-05-06T15:45:00.003-05:002013-05-06T16:24:01.292-05:00Blarg! How do you price for garage sales?The moms' group I'm in is having a group garage sale this weekend, and we'll be donating our items & all the profit will go to pay for the groups expenses. We have to price all our own stuff though. I HATE pricing stuff... & this is why we have to price our own stuff, everyone hates pricing stuff & nobody wants to get stuck pricing ALL of it. I understand... that said, do you have any tips on how you price things? A few of us would like to do some blanket pricing, like "everything in this box is $1" but I'm afraid if it's not consistent, it might be an issue. Plus, since I personally won't be profiting from any of the stuff, I don't really care how it's priced. Paul's Ok with us not profiting personally, he's just happy to get some clutter out of the house. <br>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY2Q9WdW7y1CVxYiuUO9eqqB7CGzWoT-onE00WF7-PZ5Xadt16a4SnNsC6HSHdV2bbXcpRhYtdwBfV45z7Tr8F8Ms_oTsoB1MJXYfTvH348e4FFqKzX0wa0uHDytbrnQxcHhCj7DZs1XBV/s1600/DSC08909-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY2Q9WdW7y1CVxYiuUO9eqqB7CGzWoT-onE00WF7-PZ5Xadt16a4SnNsC6HSHdV2bbXcpRhYtdwBfV45z7Tr8F8Ms_oTsoB1MJXYfTvH348e4FFqKzX0wa0uHDytbrnQxcHhCj7DZs1XBV/s320/DSC08909-2.JPG" /></a><br>
So, that's the basket of clothes I'm donating that I mentioned in my earlier post about the decluttering challenge. I'll try to photograph some of the other things & if you're interested, email me at frau_innis (at) yahoo (dot) com. <br>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjy4r-X-N24DEDyiBvD7ZfVy0HkMJ6ufCmks9W77JrePnTfz2wEs3gGqblXZA_tc6lnOHm58BGQ1DL4p7AdUsvzu4E6gOtntk5G5UzXOikWkLnLSgPjnUFIqH2E6Vvu6oYgL3kD9pXj6-4/s1600/P5069360-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjy4r-X-N24DEDyiBvD7ZfVy0HkMJ6ufCmks9W77JrePnTfz2wEs3gGqblXZA_tc6lnOHm58BGQ1DL4p7AdUsvzu4E6gOtntk5G5UzXOikWkLnLSgPjnUFIqH2E6Vvu6oYgL3kD9pXj6-4/s320/P5069360-2.JPG" /></a><br>
Shoes - women's 7.5 or 7<br>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu1UplgDM30ZC3Izi3xAo6q8xqU0Q4-jy8ZBtPdARV_aYXTvKw2yNja78ug2dNn5OW23UbVi_DM7NTVKxTkAtB0apTq4UffEatCCh_2jvI6FPP-0fgIbPCVbtqKdFkmifsZEl7t6Jz9_7G/s1600/P5069362-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu1UplgDM30ZC3Izi3xAo6q8xqU0Q4-jy8ZBtPdARV_aYXTvKw2yNja78ug2dNn5OW23UbVi_DM7NTVKxTkAtB0apTq4UffEatCCh_2jvI6FPP-0fgIbPCVbtqKdFkmifsZEl7t6Jz9_7G/s320/P5069362-2.JPG" /></a><br>
Both boxes contain the lights pictured on the top one.<br>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxNvtxUTEl70lcRw23AE_t5X6lf_PbHYr7IxzTuzqKLpOPpmcl5IF_465R_ZHBgEhgoo-o70Rk-oD76lkoWkoCamxgSX0-8KBljT6CLWLHlN3YwMC5PG5fuR8IRlJqM9-HudpMxjKh-GF8/s1600/P5069364-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxNvtxUTEl70lcRw23AE_t5X6lf_PbHYr7IxzTuzqKLpOPpmcl5IF_465R_ZHBgEhgoo-o70Rk-oD76lkoWkoCamxgSX0-8KBljT6CLWLHlN3YwMC5PG5fuR8IRlJqM9-HudpMxjKh-GF8/s320/P5069364-2.JPG" /></a><br>
(Ugh! It rotated my pic!) Both boxes contain what's pictured - practically unused in both cases!<br>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0rd-fPXj00W8LiCWNxNRT6GiOTKWtptWbOVcefFI7ngbzRKu6PngeCMh6op0YBYRugaDm_ossEjmPg0cUsCSkUei6dS4B5Xr-zqJehbpCz5R9COkv1OgsZtiGKByjL6qyfatF8RXd0BER/s1600/P5069365-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0rd-fPXj00W8LiCWNxNRT6GiOTKWtptWbOVcefFI7ngbzRKu6PngeCMh6op0YBYRugaDm_ossEjmPg0cUsCSkUei6dS4B5Xr-zqJehbpCz5R9COkv1OgsZtiGKByjL6qyfatF8RXd0BER/s320/P5069365-2.JPG" /></a><br>
A whole box of unused furnace filters - we accidentally got the wrong size & couldn't or didn't want to bother with returning them. <br>MonicaBerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05803776210896095378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2002900734507057774.post-52300715009261813552013-05-01T20:23:00.001-05:002013-05-01T20:24:08.387-05:00Day 1 - Clutter Busting ChallengeSo, I'm wanting to follow along with MoneySavingMom.com's <a href="http://moneysavingmom.com/2013/05/clutter-busting-challenge-day-1-we-got-rid-of-32-things.html">Clutter Busting Challenge</a> and I have more than 7 thing ready to go already... in fact I got rid of a few things a few days ago, but brought in at least as many in return, so that hardly counts. <br>
A friend was getting rid of clothes & I wanted to as well, so we traded. Two of the shirts she had from someone else were too big for me & she's a seamstress by trade, so she's altering them for me & I'm going to alter a necklace for her & let her raid my fabric stash. :D<br>
Argh, I can't upload my pic right now. Anyway, imagine a laundry basket full of clothes that I'm going to donate to a group fundraising garage sale. <br>
It was supposed to be this weekend, but the lady who was going to host it had a death in the family, so it's post-poned. I'm relieved, actually. I could use the extra time to get ready. <br>
I'll check in tomorrow with some of the other things I've set aside for the garage sale.MonicaBerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05803776210896095378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2002900734507057774.post-7374986990819236042013-04-20T19:10:00.000-05:002013-04-20T19:10:02.400-05:00Just a Little UpdateJust noticed I'd missed a comment on my last post & it'd been over a month ago, so I thought I'd check in! <br>
My kids are still growing like crazy, especially my son! He's about 14lbs now & not yet 3 months old! Nights are starting to go better, generally, as he tends to sleep through the night. :)<br>
My mom's been doing great with her new business venture: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pjsplace4u?fref=ts">PJ's Place</a>. So, I asked if she'd be willing to help me out with my jewelry. She said yes & she's been photographing the pieces I've had done for a while and been meaning to list on <a href="http://www.innisms.etsy.com">my Etsy page</a>. She's going to help with the actual listing and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Innisms-Unique-handmade-jewelry-creations-by-Monica-Innis/184412486433">my facebook page</a>. <br><br>
So, I've noticed a major trend on Pinterest & other sites... everybody's into <a href="http://www.yourdictionary.com/ombr-e">Ombré!</a> <br>
So, I had a little fun on Thursday when I realized I had a LOT of different brown/tan nail polishes. I've always liked kinda different colors, but I didn't realize I'd acquired so many browns... so I managed to paint my nails this way... pardon my messy edges. <br>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWtrXVavAeop3WNet0kMIwlhJ7RL-0bCDH-C0xRdi6YHb2k-e1DZxntpRbA1k75s5-34EhgsUMFZS8mTWWnLgGkw02jKyT2Bc-3l8zc_KtlsjdFUdXcjjda2WAXaLhoUtZIBbkfBA6AoWn/s1600/DSC08806.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWtrXVavAeop3WNet0kMIwlhJ7RL-0bCDH-C0xRdi6YHb2k-e1DZxntpRbA1k75s5-34EhgsUMFZS8mTWWnLgGkw02jKyT2Bc-3l8zc_KtlsjdFUdXcjjda2WAXaLhoUtZIBbkfBA6AoWn/s320/DSC08806.JPG" /></a>
<br><Br>
I've also been working on a new ombré necklace. Right now it's half-finished. It'll be four matching strands (with a clasp) when it's finished: <br>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ZKgsvk1kSDoyZ1lUMqb8ToqY5fddO-FVsTA1lTKofYpAqTd3LBuC6n_rtomXlRPDO07GNY0_7IK93hLz7bczO93nnBfAC9EAMoSUrpJLDKXV12Ld9VJsZsROGi3tCLKWEUDN_n-7xIy7/s1600/DSC08841.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ZKgsvk1kSDoyZ1lUMqb8ToqY5fddO-FVsTA1lTKofYpAqTd3LBuC6n_rtomXlRPDO07GNY0_7IK93hLz7bczO93nnBfAC9EAMoSUrpJLDKXV12Ld9VJsZsROGi3tCLKWEUDN_n-7xIy7/s320/DSC08841.JPG" /></a>MonicaBerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05803776210896095378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2002900734507057774.post-30289828397024407482013-03-14T11:06:00.000-05:002013-03-14T11:06:07.756-05:00Central IL Etsians & my Family UpdateI've stepped down, so I'm no longer Team Captain of the Central IL Etsians. I (finally) had another team member step up & volunteer so I could focus on my growing little family. :D <br>
I'm so happy! I feel such relief! I've been feeling so guilty for neglecting the group & not helping make it all that it could be. I'm hoping our new leader will be up to the task, and I believe she will be! <br><br>
In other news, little Kevin is growing like a weed! Both of my kids are. They're both getting into size 3s... him in 3month clothes (while only 6 weeks old!) and she in 3T (shirts anyway, pants are still too long - and she's been 3 since the end of last year)... <br>
He's a good baby & she's a good helper. I'm tired a lot trying to keep up with them... and trying to get some time to myself. I was "bad" again last night & stayed up too late finishing a book. Of course, that meant it was one of those nights that he didn't sleep as well as usual. I don't think I slept more than 2hrs at a time. Bleh. Most nights he puts in a 6hr stretch, or at least four... and he did put in a 3-4hr stretch at the beginning, but I was reading. Then, late in the morning he did another longer stretch, but I had to go help Amber.<br>MonicaBerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05803776210896095378noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2002900734507057774.post-25591971388801236242013-01-29T13:54:00.000-06:002013-01-29T13:54:20.601-06:00Baby Kevin has arrived!I had my baby boy yesterday (1/28) at 8:41am after about 5hrs of labor. He was 21ins long & just 1oz shy of being 9lbs even! <br>
Despite being nearly 2lbs heavier, his delivery was a lot easier than his sister's! :) <br>
So far, he's a great baby & I'm doing quite well. :D <br>
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MonicaBerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05803776210896095378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2002900734507057774.post-4116284791887229382013-01-10T10:03:00.003-06:002013-04-29T08:00:08.867-05:00Baby Gracie Update SO, I can't remember if I shared on here, but I'm going to put it out there for the few of you who don't follow me on facebook.<br>
One of my 1st cousins got pregnant about the same time I did. Her official due date was the day after mine. She was excited to find out that she was having a girl this time. She has a little boy a bit older than Amber. She was not excited, however, to find out not all was well with her little girl. She went to two specialists & they both agreed, the little girl has poly-cystic kidney disease. Her kidneys are twice the size they're supposed to be. She's guaranteed to need a kidney transplant at some point in her life, whether it's pretty much immediately or if she'll make it to her teen or adult years before she needs it remains to be seen. <br>
The immediate concern is that the over-large kidneys wouldn't allow her lungs to develop properly. <br>
She was delivered today (15 days early) via planned C-section (due to the complications) and was born breathing, but stopped & was intubated. We're waiting to hear more. <br>
For those of you who are so inclined, prayers & good thoughts are greatly appreciated!!<br><br>
No news on my little boy, but I have been extra-extra grateful for his apparent health & vitality. <br><br>
Gracie Update - She is on the ventilator. They said it would be days before they will know something. They have spent the last hour running tests and we will just have to hang tight for answers. Jenn and Brent were on their way in to meet their daughter a few minutes ago.<br><br>
Another cousin, Gracie's aunt, posted this about an hour ago(6:40ish): "Just saw the most beautiful baby girl. She opened her eyes, she acted annoyed with the ventilator tube and she was furrowing her eyebrows and trying to use that little tongue to push out her tube. With that spunky attitude, she is bound to be a fighter! Keep praying-I need to be able to hold that little girl in my arms. The hardest thing ever was only being able to look."<br><Br>
Gracie's mom just posted a pic of her (7:50ish) & said "Grace's first breath took ours away ♥ she looks just like her daddy and brother ♥ " <br><br>
An update from last night from Gracie's dad: "Ok one more quick update before this night comes to a close. Unfortunately we do not know a whole lot of information at this time. She was born at 8:36 this morning, she was screaming pretty good. She wore out after a few minutes so they decided to go ahead and put her on a breathing machine. She is still on the breathing machine at this time. Not much has changed at this point. They're going to run all kinds of tests in the morning. Everything is still very much pins and needles hour by hour. They're still trying to get her breathing figured out. We do know she is a fighter as she gets very fiesty and has pulled out an IV already. So once again thanks again to everyone for the visits and messages and prayers and support. The nurses couldn't believe how many visitors she has had. Jenn and I are so overcome with all the support we have received. If you have anymore prayers left though we will still take them."<br><br>
1/12/13- Update from Gracie's dad: Not much to update today. She has not gotten better but also has not gotten worse. She is still using the ventilator quite a bit but they have turned down the amount of breaths it is taking for her. The doctors cannot really give us any type of prognosis at this point as all we can really do is wait and hope she gets stronger and that her organs are healthy enough to get her through. We have a monster of a fight ahead of us and again cannot express enough how grateful we are for all the messages, prayers and visits. Jenn is doing very well. She is up and moving around on her own. Thanks again everyone it really does mean the world to us.<br><BR>
2:30pm - Gracie is doing much better than they had expected... She has taken over a lot of her breathing and tomorrow they expect to take out both tubes for the air pockets! They keep adjusting the ventilator down so that she can do more of the work!
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~7pm - From Gracie's mom: "Tomorrow is going to be a bitter/sweet day...getting to finally leave this hospital and uncomfy bed, but having to leave our little girl behind....we know she is in AMAZING hands though!!! We got all checked in at the Ronald McDonald House, so we are thankful we can be right across the street, and not 45+ mins away from Grace.
Dr said that Gracie is moving in a positive direction!!! I am just praying I can finally hold my baby girl tomorrow or at least sometime soon, I wanna kiss that face of hers ♥"<br>
~10pm- From Gracie's dad: "Today seems to have been a pretty positive day. The Dr.s are still slowly turning down the ventilator. She has two chest tubes that hopefully they are going to take out tomorrow. Which means Jenn and I will finally be able to hold our little girl. The Dr. said she seems to be moving in a positive direction. So we have a little momentum to build off of. Jenn looks to be discharged tomorrow. We have checked in at the Ronald Mcdonald house and will be staying there for a while. Still fighting still praying. Thanks again to everyone. You will never know how much the support means to us."<br><br>
1/13/13 - From Gracie's dad: "Today's Dr. Update: Spoke with the Dr. this morning. He actually said she looks great. Which coming from him is a pretty awesome statement as he does not beat around or sugar coat things. They just finished taking both of her chest tubes out. She is still on the ventilator but it is way down from where we started as well as she is ok with room level oxygen now. Jenn and I have an appointment at noon to get to hold her for the first time. Pretty excited for that. The Dr. is also hoping to try taking the ventilator out tomorrow. Amazing things are happening. Jenn should be discharged sometime today. Again and again I cannot thank everyone for all the support we have received."<br><BR>
Later - From Gracie's Dad, Brent: "Trying to get some laundry done. Finally got to hold my baby girl this evening. Jenn got the first try earlier today, but I got to stare into her eyes all evening during my turn. We're all settled at the Ronald Mcdonald house now. Dr. said if her numbers stay stable they will try taking out the ventilator. Which is exciting and scary all at once. Hopefully we can keep this good momentum train a rolling. "<br><br>
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Jenn wrote, "First family photo, and NO we are not missing anyone, Grant [Big brother] is behind Brent! hahah He was shy" <br><br>
1-14-13 - Update from Aunt Chrissy: "Look who is testing out being tube free!"
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In response to a friend asking how every thing is going, Jenn says, "really good...brents holding her now!! Staceys moms is our nurse today!!!b love her!! they still have a few concerns with kidneys..but the specialist comes wed!! she is holding her own and they are taking the top off the bed and if she can stand that with out help she can move to open crib!!!" <br><br>
From Brent: "Todays official update: I believe today is the first time I have ever cried tears of joy. We walked into the NICU to see our baby girl with no ventilation tube. Nothing in her now except an IV which they hope to take out tomorrow. Got to hold her again this morning and I can tell I am already her favorite. Tomorrow Dr hopes to take the IV out and begin regular feeding. Maybe even put her in an open crib. Right now she just has the roof off of her little house. It is amazing how far we have come in such a short time. We are not out of the woods yet but have made an amazing improvement. Again and again and again I cannot thank everyone enough for all the prayers and support and help we have received. We are surrounded by awesome people."<br><br>
1/17/13 - Gracie was checked by the kidney specialist yesterday, Brent's brief update said "Dr said graces kidneys are fine for now. Will have to monitor the closely tho. She ate good this evening and got moved to a big girl crib. We are moving right along"<br>
:D<br><BR>
Oh my goodness! It doesn't get much better than this! Gracie's other aunt, Becky, posted this:
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1/17/13 - From Brent; "Not much to report today. No news is good news right now. Grace ate well all day. She has been running hi blood pressure which is pretty common with the disease. So Dr will be looking into treating that. Still hasnt mentioned going home yet but hopefully soon. Still moving in a positive direction. Pretty lucky to have no setbacks so far. Day by day. We shall see what tomorrow brings."<br><BR>
1/18/13 - From Brent: "another not much to report day. still trying to work on eating. she is getting better but her little body just gets tired and wants to go back to sleep. dr wants her to be eating more per feeding before we can get out of here. we shall see what tomorrow brings."<br><br>
1/27/13 - Baby Gracie needs your prayers again. I'm not sure what's going on, just that she's "taken a step backwards" & is still in the NICU.
Meanwhile... Kevin is apparently not interested in sharing his B-day with Grandma P., despite my efforts. :/ <br><br>
From Brent: "Haven't updated for a while so figured I better. Unfortunately the last couple days have not been our best. On Friday they decided to go ahead and put a feeding tube In her. She was getting to exhausted from bottle feeding lost some color and had no energy. Over the next day she started to lose interest in feeding at all and became very lethargic. She also started having trouble maintaining proper oxygen levels. So she now has a small flow of oxygen. She looked much better today but still seemed to have difficulty catching her breath. After some tests the dr decided her heart was not functioning properly to which the cardiologist wanted her transferred to St. Louis. The dr here convinced him that was not yet necessary as he felt her intermittent blood pressure was causing the heart problem and wanted to start meds for that to which her kidney specialist did not want to start in fear of the effect to the kidneys. Long story short we are trying the Blood pressure med and praying that fixes the heart problem but doesn't hurt the kidneys to much. She also is back on an iv and no longer feeding with milk. just getting nutrients from the iv. And that's where we sit at this very moment. All prayers will definitely be appreciated."<br><br>
From Jenn's comment on one of her pics last night (1/28/13)- we were starting to get worried she went from eating and acting fine to not eating and needing oxygen..but sunday night the dr faught for her to get an eco of the heart and thank god he did...bc they found out her heart was getting overworked..so starting blood pressure meds to see if that helps...so fingers crossed it does!! She looked sooo good today compared to yesterday!<br><br>
Took me a bit to catch up on that, because (as you can see from my other post, I was busy on Monday having my own baby! ;) <br><br>
2/1/13 - From Gracie's aunt Chrissy, in response to a Q about how she was doing - "Back on a feeding tube and a little oxygen....she's on bp [blood pressure medicine because it was straining her heart and she was getting too tired to eat, etc....so no talk of going home yet, and we are now past the three week mark " <br><br>
Later that evening, from Brent - "Still doing battle at the NICU here in springfield. Things seem to be progressing in a positive direction at the moment. Back to regular feeding some from the bottle some from a feeding tube. Hopefully she will get stronger and build her lungs up and be able to breathe a little easier. She is back to being a pretty responsive baby and has her sassy attitude back. She also just got new twin neighbors as her old neighbor got to go home. Learned some pretty interesting info from her genetic test as well apparently she has 3 variants that have never been discovered. So now lucky Jenn and I get free blood tests to find out more. Yipeeeeeee! Thanks to everyone for all the support it means more than you will ever know. Please feel free to come visit anytime as we are here all the time and enjoy visiting. Maybe someday we will get out of here :)" <br><br>
2/2/13 - I got really worried for a second reading Jenn's status, but I think it's a good thing overall. ;)<br>
She says- "VERY sad day for this mamma :(...my baby girl is almost to big for newborn clothes and she has not even been home to wear what is there...guess its time to stock up on bigger sizes"<br><br><br><br>
2/3/13 - From Jenn - "What a great morning with my baby girl! Let the boys have the morning to sleep in, came to see Grace and she was feeding tube free!! Also, fed her and she had that bottle done in less than ten mins and after she stayed awake the whole time to bond with mamma! My baby girl is back and better than ever!!!"<br><br>
2/10/13 - After exactly one month in the NICU, baby Gracie is coming home! :D
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My aunt, baby Gracie's grandma, made <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDZCxNZLky0&feature=youtu.be">a video for her</a>. :) [Edit: I'm not sure who made it... as I see other family members post each one has a diff credit. I think it was Brent's step-mom.]<br>
MonicaBerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05803776210896095378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2002900734507057774.post-65575464632833775932013-01-02T14:09:00.000-06:002013-01-02T14:09:13.193-06:00Still around & getting ready...Well, signs are pointing towards baby boy making his appearance any time now! I finally got my bag packed for the hospital, minus a few things I use regularly & don't/can't have a spare of. I feel much better having done at least that much. I had some contractions last night that, despite not being painful, were strong enough to wake me up last night, so I was starting to panic that I wasn't ready! The house is still not really ready, but at least I have my bag packed! ;) <br>
We had a nice holiday season, visited both families, celebrated Amber's birthday. Can't believe I have an actual THREE year old now! Glad her brother waited & didn't "steal" her birthday, either. ;) Especially since we were 3-4hrs away from home most of the day! No more big trips for us now! <br>
I'm planning to share some of the gifts I made for people for Christmas soon. Right now, I'm going to work on some up-coming birthday gifts! ;) <br>
MonicaBerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05803776210896095378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2002900734507057774.post-71612851092723741732012-12-15T06:17:00.000-06:002012-12-15T06:17:00.733-06:00Pinterest in PracticeI found this DIY project on Pinterest to <a href="http://thebroodinghen.blogspot.com/2012/11/hardware-store-bath-toys.html">make your own hardware store bath toys</a> and thought it looked like a fun, fairly easy project that Amber would love. <br>
Well, it wasn't as easy as I'd hoped, but between my hubby & I, we managed it! <br>
My tips; when drilling, don't go too fast; the friction can melt the plastic & get it stuck to the bit & totally gum up the works. [I have a pic of the bit stuck in a piece of pipe after it got pulled right out of the drill! it's on my phone, though & I don't have a smartphone, so I need to find the adapter for my micro SD card to transfer pics to my computer...]It takes a while to get the hole started, but once the bit gets in there, it doesn't take as long to go all the way through. <br>
Getting the suction cups in the holes is really hard! I couldn't do it. My hubby cut himself twice & ended up getting out the drill & widening some of the holes in order to accomplish this. He found it helpful to hold the drill at an angle & move it around so that he created a tapered hole funneling into the center. We were also using a flat-head screwdriver for leverage like in the picture, but I'm not sure how exactly it works as I was busy keeping Amber away from the project. <br>
So, here's a few of the pieces we made:
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We're having Amber's B-day party (early) today, so here's hoping our gift is a hit! ;) MonicaBerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05803776210896095378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2002900734507057774.post-37253036082934699732012-11-28T15:03:00.000-06:002012-11-28T15:03:56.945-06:00Jewelry UpdateAs I promised with my cyber Monday sale ('like' <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Innisms-Unique-handmade-jewelry-creations-by-Monica-Innis/184412486433?ref=hl">my facebook page</a> to get the coupon code!), I've been listing new pieces in <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/Innisms?ref=si_shop">my Etsy Shop: Innisms</a>, including one of my favorites. I waited to list this one, trying to come up with a better, more creative name for it, but decided to just put it out there anyway!
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I've been excited about the birthstones & other natural stones I got recently. I'm hoping to buy some more, but I need to sell some to be able to afford another purchase. <br>
I made this one with real garnet chips (her birthstone, January) & Baltic amber as a thank-you for taking care of our daughter, Amber, while we were on vacation:
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Here's another piece with natural stone that I made a while ago for one of my craft swaps:
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MonicaBerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05803776210896095378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2002900734507057774.post-67956597299334541442012-11-26T08:00:00.003-06:002012-11-26T08:00:48.911-06:00Cyber MondayIf you haven't already liked my facebook page for my Etsy site, now's your chance to get a coupon code for 30% off everything in my shop for Cyber Monday! <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Innisms-Unique-handmade-jewelry-creations-by-Monica-Innis/184412486433?ref=hl">LINK</a>MonicaBerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05803776210896095378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2002900734507057774.post-51589555442220816192012-11-24T22:07:00.001-06:002012-11-24T22:07:14.037-06:00Thanksgiving & Lake Geneva TripI'm on vacation right now w/hubby. Along with some other circumstances, Amber's going to be staying FIVE nights with my mom & step-dad. We've never been apart more than three nights, if that. I teared-up a bit Thanksgiving night when they left. <br>
I've taken very few pics on the trip so far, just been trying to enjoy some time, just hubby & me. Maybe I'll take more later, but I have plenty to catch up on. <br><br>
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Here's Amber working on our leaf project I mentioned in the last post. <br><br>
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We've noticed lately that she always does this when she's thinking & concentrating on something & sometimes just licks her lips incessantly. During a Skype session with Paul's mom, she noticed it & commented that it was just like when she was a kid. Apparently the habit skipped a generation. :P <br><br>
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My finished projects & one of Amber's paintings.<br><br>
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Our mutual project. :) <br><br>
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Tables are all set! Amber helped. ;) <br><br>
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Amber's ready to eat! <br><br>
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Paul cutting the turkey! <br><br>
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Amber playing under the table after dinner & the family reacting to her.<br><br>
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My mom's selling these scarves & had me & Paul's cousin modeling them for <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pjsplace4u?ref=ts&fref=ts">her facebook page</a>. <br><br>
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Lake Geneva at sunset last night.<br><br>
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We haven't had the greatest service at our hotel... I called last night when there was a stink bug flying around our room. While I was on the phone with the front desk, Paul caught it in the ice bucket & they said they'd send housekeeping right up. This picture was taken about 20hrs later... we put it in the hall. We haven't been brave enough to see if the bug's still in there, but it doesn't look like it's moved much. <br><br>
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I made earrings for myself. That's something I haven't done in a while because my ears are so sensitive to metals. These posts are titanium, so here's hoping! *fingers crossed*<br><br>
Also hoping our neighbors are quieter tonight. :/ <br>
MonicaBerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05803776210896095378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2002900734507057774.post-24284872172229259232012-11-20T17:00:00.001-06:002012-11-20T17:00:39.162-06:00ProgressWell, we've made a lot of progress, though not quite as much as I'd hoped (against hope) to make by this point. <br>
Yesterday, we moved a ton of stuff out of the living & dining rooms. There's still a pile of ads on the couch & some random stuff on the coffee table w/my computer. There's a pile of receipts & random stuff on one end table & a few misc. things & old newspapers that need shredded for composting on the dining room table. Some progress was made on the kitchen counters & the basket of randomness was sorted out. We need to sort through our growing collection of incomplete sippy cups & decide whether to pitch or hold on to them and get them off the counter. <br>
We've had a rather crazy day so far, but I think I prefer it that way... it's kept me from dwelling on the fact that, had he not passed away over 5yrs ago, today would have been my dad's 60th birthday. <br>
not a day goes by that I don't think about him & what everything from May 23rd, 2007 onward would have been like had he not passed. Our wedding, where we'd live (we were able to buy the house because of my inheritance), what education & career decisions I/we might have made differently, our kids. I had been really looking forward to seeing him as a grandpa. -Ok, I need to think about other things before I break down...<br><br>
So, what's happened so far today? <br>
I clogged & overflowed a toilet. Go me. BUT! I also unclogged it & dried up the floor in the bathroom and even managed to get most everything that could be water-damaged out of there before it happened & it wasn't the nasty stuff that overflowed... So, yay for small victories. <br>
Right after I got done dealing with that, I was trying to get dressed when the carpet cleaners showed up. I just yelled out my window "Just a minute!" and finished getting myself dressed before I went down. Then we had the fun of moving the rest of the furniture and getting the carpets cleaned on the main floor. They're almost all dry now & look SO much better! Hope we can keep them this way at least until Thursday! <br>
While we were waiting for them to dry, I took Amber for a walk down to the park & watched her play for a while there. Met a nice lady & her 19mo old son there. Noticed he had on a cloth diaper, so I asked her a bit about that. Still have to win Paul over on that one. <br>
On the way back, we collected some leaves & I did some art projects with Amber (pics later, if I remember) with them. We did crayon rubbings of the leaves & then painted over those with water-colors. She didn't quite get the idea of creating a washed out background with the paint. She just wanted to paint a picture, so we did one big one together & then I did a couple little ones on my own while she did three paintings of her own. <br>
Edit: In the middle of writing this, my friend who helps clean my house came over, so I went & did some more work trying to find the kitchen counters & table for her, so the art proj. stuff is all cleaned up now. <br>
After the art projects we took a little down time & I let her watch her new favorite show, Poppy Cat. Then we ran to meet up with this lady who sold me her used Mei Tei baby carrier. :D I went in Target & got myself some more eggnog & some fruit snacks so I could get cash back (& those items, of course) & pay her cash. I wanted to get the half-gallon eggnog, but they only had two & they both expire on Friday! Not a chance I want to take while pregnant TYVM. :P<br>
Then we went to Gordman's. I'd gone on Saturday with my friends & had found a 20% off one item coupon that I let my friend use. So, I went to print another one today & the entire Gordman's website was down. I'd noticed you could also get a coupon like that by signing up for their e-mails, but that wouldn't work either. So, when I got to the store I asked about it & was basically told the first one was a fraud (It sure didn't look like it & it worked fine for my friend!!) and that the e-mail one only gets you 15% off one item. Ugh... so they had me fill out the paper form for the e-mail & wrote on it that I could get 15% off one item. Amber got her stuffed monkey she was pitching a fit over on Saturday (with her money - earned for accident-free days) and I found the maternity clearance section & was able to get a couple more tank-tops for layering! :) <br>
We got back over an hour later than Amber's usual nap time, but she did fine & is sleeping soundly now. As I mentioned above, my friend came to help clean the house & has been working on the bathrooms. She gets an extra hour tonight to help us get everything in order. :D <br>
MonicaBerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05803776210896095378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2002900734507057774.post-23771432786423570752012-11-18T11:10:00.002-06:002012-11-18T11:10:18.194-06:00New Challenge!Yeah, I need to get the house ready for Thanksgiving... the basement is not a priority right now. <br>
I did my laundry yesterday & got most of it put away today (a few sweaters were still damp.) and helped hubby with his a bit. <br>
One of my friends who lives out of town (just out of state, actually) is visiting this weekend, so I hung out with her & another of our friends the last two evenings. <br>
We've gotten most of the trash & recycling taken out. I clipped & sorted coupons this morning. <br>
I also finished a jewelry Christmas present. I can't wait to share it online! I'm excited with how it came out. I got a good start on another one yesterday. Hoping to finish it today & get my jewelry stuff put away... though I have some other ideas. Anyway... <br>
I did find the missing library book, but haven't gotten it returned yet. Our grace period ended yesterday, so we're starting to rack(sp?) up the dimes we'll owe. :/ <br>
I don't think there's much else to report. <br>MonicaBerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05803776210896095378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2002900734507057774.post-20538928406591866482012-11-16T13:06:00.003-06:002012-11-16T13:06:38.613-06:00Day 15 (post)UpdateI don't have many successes to report for yesterday, but I do have some. I didn't read the chapter, I didn't do much towards the challenge and I didn't get many more toys picked up, but I did get some put away. I did do a load of Amber's laundry & get it all folded & put away, and I did have a pretty good reason for having such an off day.
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As if sleeping weren't challenging enough these days... I woke up around three & managed to get back to sleep before too long, but knowing that hubby's alarm was going to go off at 4:30 didn't help. So, then his alarm went off & we hear a "ker-thunk!"<br>
"What was that?" I asked... Paul put on his glasses (& I think his coat) & peeked out the window & didn't see anything. I had a feeling I heard it from the other direction, though. I said "I think Amber fell out of bed."<br>
So, he went downstairs & we didn't hear any more. I texted him & asked if everything was alright. Just as I got his reply of "yes" Amber started crying for Daddy. He was already in the basement, so I went & got her. Sure enough, she'd fallen out of bed. I later found out that Paul had seen her climb back in & lay back down, so not sure what the delayed reaction was about, but at any rate, I brought her back to our bed & laid down with her. She was sweet & cuddly & showing signs of actually going back to sleep when one of the cats came up & laid down on top of her. She thought this was hilarious & giggled, but laid still. Then the other cat joined us & everything went downhill. <br>
The cats started playing/fighting and found a plastic bag. I kept trying to chase them off and I kept thinking they were going to let up. I texted Paul & told him they were going nuts, but got no reply. I debated about asking him to get them & lock them back in the basement, but they seemed to be calming down. It took a bit to get Amber settled again (& her brother kept going nuts en utero[sp?], too!), but she was calming down & they started up again! <br>
Then, around 6, she announced that she was hungry, so I gave up & texted Paul that "it [was] going to be a loong f-in day." He came upstairs & met us (I think before he got that last text.) and one thing led to another & I just broke down crying. I was so exhausted! <br>
I stayed that way most of the morning, other than a quick visit from the carpet cleaners for measuring I just tried to doze while Amber played. Thankfully, a friend was able to join us for lunch & played w/Amber a bit outside. I was surprised we made it to 2:00! Then we both napped... I for one hour & she for three! <br>
So, most of what little productivity I had was in the evening. <br>
I didn't sleep that great last night, either. I got enough sleep cumulatively, but I woke up frequently & had a lot of anxiety-ridden dreams. <br>
Today Amber had an all-out fit after we got home from moms' group. Thankfully, little boy took his nap w/no trouble & she eventually started eating her food. <br>
MonicaBerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05803776210896095378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2002900734507057774.post-78615275417027084462012-11-14T16:49:00.002-06:002012-11-14T16:49:12.777-06:00Day 14 UpdateToday's chapter talks about avoiding excuses, planning ahead and, more specifically, finding the best time of day to be productive. <br>
I already know my best time of day to work on these projects is during Amber's nap time. It's hard to get much done any other time. I'm not a morning person. It's good for me when I do have something to get me up, dressed & going in the morning, but this challenge isn't that. Not for me. This is about getting the house together. So, I can focus well, without distractions, during nap time. No kiddo, no TV, and I go down to the basement so I'm away from my computer and all the distractions it represents. :) <br>
It's just a matter of getting her to sleep, losing a half hour of that time if I need a shower (like today) and getting off the computer! <br>
I'm happy to report, however, that I did get my shower & I did work some more on the desk - which I'm counting for my challenge now. ;) <br>
i cleaned out one of the big file drawers that was stuffed full of CDs & cassette tapes. I got all of them & their cases & whatnot into one box. I can't actually close it, but that's ok... it's just temporary... hopefully. <br>
I got some of the toys cleaned up. There's a ways to go yet, but at least we made more progress than what Amber has messed up since! <br>
I did also go bead shopping online. I didn't get anything yet, but I picked out a bunch of stuff I need/want. <br>
I think I'll have to earn some money to justify spending any more on beading though. So, now I'm motivated to list some of the pieces I'd made a while ago & just didn't get on my Etsy site. <br><br>
Earlier today I got a deal for carpet cleaning & got that all scheduled for next week. :D <br>
I also got on the Icovia website & played around with layout options for the craft room when we move the guest room furniture down there. Here's a couple more ideas(click on them to get a larger view):<br>
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Now I have plans to meet up with my friend & her babies(twins) for dinner & a trip to the library. :) <br>
Paul & Amber are looking all over for the library books. I think we've found all but one now. <br>
MonicaBerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05803776210896095378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2002900734507057774.post-61316141131251750602012-11-13T16:08:00.001-06:002012-11-13T16:30:47.842-06:00Days 12 & 13 UpdatesWell, I've caught up on the reading & photographed a few more records. Discovered one had a near mint condition poster included with it... the whole set might actually be worth something! Yay! <br>
I didn't really do the tasks I'd assigned myself... which is kind of ironic, since day 12's chapter is all about focus. <br>
I'm bad at this part of it. When I do actually get in a productive or creative mood, my head tends to swirl with all the things I'm suddenly excited to do again! Then I'll jump from project to project & a lot of times this leads to a lot of unfinished projects. Which is what Crystal's encouraging us to avoid. <br>
On the other hand, sometimes I'll get stuck and switching to something else will refresh me & let me come back ready to tackle the original task later. I finished two necklaces, one of which was rather complicated, in two days & started on a pair of earrings. Well, yesterday I finished one of those earrings & I don't think I like how it came out... so they sit there waiting for me to make up my mind.<br>
On the more productive front, I've also stagnated a bit... as you've seen if you've been following my writings here. I want to get the end goal in sight, but I can't really envision it working until we're able to replace the flooring... which probably won't happen until we get Christmas money. <br>
So, I'm not as inspired/motivated by my mega-project. <br>
My Grand goals plan, though... Well, I've played around with the room layouts some more & talked with my hubby some more & we're both excited to make that happen. <br>
So, while kiddo's with Grandma today, I was struggling to decide what to do with my "free" time after my appointments this morning. So, I texted my hubby & asked him what he'd like to see me get done. <br>
He said he'd like to see the grand plan start to come together & he figures the first step is to clear out my giant desk in the office so we can see about getting rid of it. <br>
So, my new task was to work on that. I think I made a good deal of progress today. I went through the bag of random office supplies that was on top of it & all the pens in the drawer & threw away the ones that didn't work & sorted the ones that did. I took all such office supplies & put them in our storage closet. <br>
We(I) also have coin collections, paper money collections & stamp collections (most of the latter two I inherited from my dad) that we'd been trying to keep in the lock-box until we discovered they wouldn't all fit. So, I put all of them in a shoebox and put it in storage for now. Now the lockbox just has important papers & can be locked again! :D <br>
I cleared out all the top drawers of the desk & much of the top surface. What's left are a bunch of random electronics & components(most of which I have no idea what they're for or what to do with them) and the stuff in the big drawers. The one on the left is full of CDs & cassette tapes. That'll be dealt with (at least temporarily) easy enough if we can find a good box about the right size. The other side has some really random stuff. There are a couple of boxes that, at least according to the box outsides, contain the old 5.5in floppy discs (that were actually floppy) and I saw the manual for my photo editing program, titles to the cars (maybe those should be in the lockbox??) and so on... random! <br>
At any rate, I don't feel too bad about deviating from the <b>Mega Project</b> plan because it's all part of the same goal, I was productive & it'll make hubby happy! :D <br><br>
Oh, I almost forgot, I had my therapy appointment with my psychologist today & was telling her about the challenge & mentioned the accountability partner thing and she raised her hand like "ooh ooh me!" lol. I told her about how my bestie, Andrea, has been my accountability partner since 2nd grade when we'd talk on the phone while cleaning our rooms. It did keep me from hiding in my closet with whatever book I'd found or just sitting down & playing with the toys I'd unearthed, but it did not always keep me on task. Likewise, I have been similarly lenient with my half of the bargain through the years as well. ;) <br>
So, I asked my counselor, "Seriously? Daily check-ins?" [I'm doing well to afford appointments every other week with insurance covering most of it!] and she said I could e-mail her! I've been hesitant to e-mail much to her as I'm not sure what's allowed... what needs to be done in session or whatever... but sure, I'll take all the support I can get! <br>
She suggested I make a new rule for myself that I make this a "success blog" & only post an entry when I've accomplished my daily goals. <br>
Me being me, I'm already exploring the grey areas, such as "well, I didn't stick with my original plan, but I was productive!" <br>
I do think it's fair though if I go back & re-vamp the plan again... just harder to make that part of my half-finished 21 day challenge. I think as long as I find something to focus on & make progress overall, we'll be happy though. ;) <br>
MonicaBerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05803776210896095378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2002900734507057774.post-18977629768967907822012-11-12T10:11:00.000-06:002012-11-12T10:11:16.427-06:00Days 10-12 Pre-UpdateIf that title makes sense... I have to catch-up and move on to day 12. Last night I did read chapter 10 & got a preview of chapter 11 on <a href="http://www.servingjoyfully.com/2012/11/12/discipline-day-10-11-catch-up/">this blog</a>. Both deal with finding yourself an accountability partner. <br>
My best friend & I were already trying to be accountability partners for each other, but we're both kinda softies when it comes to that. My hubby generally is, too. I didn't really ask him to be an accountability partner, but I have talked to him about the challenge. I wish I had more of a following on my blog, but I know the way to do that is to reach out & follow other blogs more closely... & if you've read this or know me at all, you know that I struggle with the computer time-sink, so I'm hesitant to add anything more to what I feel obligated to do on the computer! :P <br>
Today I'm babysitting, and lucky that the kiddos are playing nicely at the moment. ;) Sometime within the next hour, little boy will, hopefully, go down for his nap & then I'll get Amber & I lunch & work on getting her packed up for tonight. When little boy wakes up, we'll get him lunch & then his dad'll pick him up around 2, just in time for Amber's nap. Then I can try to get back on track with my challenge. <br>
Today, I plan to do some general cleaning up, keep photographing records & start sorting through the books on one of the bookshelves if I still have time. Since I'm skipping a couple steps & tomorrow was my official day to start on the bookshelves, I'll be back on track. <br>
Tonight I'm planning to go to a babywearing meeting. I didn't have much luck with it when Amber was littler. I got a ring sling & a "free" fabric sling. The ring of the ring sling always dug into my shoulder. I think I'd need one with a smaller ring. I actually like the plain fabric sling, but it doesn't work for a very little baby. I think I might like a mei tei carrier. I'm hoping some of the other participants will let me try out what they have & the presenter can help me maybe get the ring sling more comfortable or, if not, maybe I can find someone who'll be willing to buy it. <br>
My hubby'll be taking Amber to go stay the night with my mom. I have a couple appointments tomorrow, but no kiddo to take care of, so hopefully I can be extra productive! ;) <br>
I'm also hoping for some time to continue working on my jewelry projects & play a little Minecraft. :D <br>MonicaBerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05803776210896095378noreply@blogger.com0