AnnaBee Makes Three

Words

2012-01-17T16:49:00.001-06:00

In theory, I love the idea of recording special daily moments in a notebook.

In practice, it doesn't work. I don't want to stop life in its tracks to go write something down, missing whatever precious moment is occurring in the process. When evening comes and she is in bed, I tend to not remember the moment as clearly, or I forget it altogether. There are just so many. The moments themselves wash over me, but the emotions they evoke linger in me always. Gratitude for having the privilege daily to watch her grow, deep pride as she acquires new skills and makes new discoveries, overwhelming awe and wonderment... these are what I'm left with at the end of the day, the week, the month, this stage, this age. In addition to exhaustion, which I receive joyfully.

most days.

And I think it is better this way, at least, more meaningful, to remember the emotions rather than the events themselves. It's not going to matter much that she departed from being held and took her first independent stroll around Sears this last week (after all, all children will at one point prefer to get down)--- it matters so much more the confidence and exuberance she emanated, and how much joy I experienced seeing her do so.

Since I'm thinking of them now, here are the words and onomatopoeias popping out of her mouth (the list by no means complete):

tat (cat)

prmm-prmm (car)

ang-oo (thank you)

bpoo (blue)

bpoo-coo (Blue's Clues)

mmmmmmmmmm (used in excellent context!)

ba (ball)

dad or dad-dad-dad

mamamama or maaaahhhm-meeeee

pr-pr-pr and sometimes upr (up)

yes (very clearly! Still no 'no', just head shaking. I'll take this as long as I can)

buh (book)

ree (read)

roooooar! (lion)

boo (boot)

shhh (shoe)

proo (poop)

ha (hat)

iss (kiss)

haai! (hi)

bahy (bye bye)

fuh (foot)

iss biss ("The Itsy Bitsy Spider")

OHMneeOHMneeOHMenee (yummy yummy yummy... and it's pretty much the most adorable word I've ever heard)

pol (apple)

onj (orange)

ought (hot)

ny ny ny (night night)

Ah-lees or Lees (her name :))

Little Things

2011-12-15T18:43:00.001-06:00

Cream Cheese Fiasco update

2011-12-07T21:03:00.001-06:00

The rash is worse and her sleep is remaining a disaster. Wake-ups occurred every hour overnight, she was up for the day too early, and getting her to finally nap took hours. Thankfully, she accepted a second nap this evening and enjoyed Daddy-time. Bracing self for bedtime this evening, and feeling deep remorse for foolishly testing dairy on her--- no way was 6 weeks long enough, and I think I knew better. I wonder what is going on inside of her that dairy affects sleep this way. She doesn't appear to be uncomfortable, she's just--- wired. Like she's caffeinated.

She's saying "thank you" ("kang-goo") and "yup" (clear as day). She's consistently signing "all done"; but would still rather face-plant, whine, and pull at my shirt for "milk". That one's taking awhile!

Cream Cheese Fail

2011-12-06T22:58:00.001-06:00

We experimented with adding a little dairy back into Anna's diet to see how her body responds (she has been without it for 6+ weeks due to a mild casein sensitivity). Yesterday, I gave her a small section of my bagel with a paper thin layer of cream cheese. The day continued as normal, but today we encountered the revolt. Sleep evaded her, she acted tormented by the mere suggestion of napping. When a nap did come, it wasn't long enough to be restful. She woke up crabby, clingy, and volatile. Later in the day we attempted a second nap, and that one plain didn't happen. By dinner time she sported the telltale rash over her bum. She conked out tonight from pure exhaustion, but is waking every hour, and sleeping restlessly in between her frequent wakings.

Oh we've been here before. Happily back to a dairy-free existence she goes.

Stashing

2011-12-06T15:01:00.002-06:00

I finding odd things in odd places lately. Yesterday there were dice, puzzles pieces, and a wooden ball in one of my large kitchen pitchers. Today, it's Brussel sprouts and laundered wipes in our end table drawer, and grapes in our diaper tote.

Merry Christmas, A!

2011-12-06T07:31:00.001-06:00

$35 + shipping, circa 1970, complete set!

The seller we bought it from on Etsy also has two sets of Sesame Street Little People, which includes Gordon and Susan (African-American characters), Big Bird, Bert, and Ernie. I'm really hoping he can give me a reduced price for these. They'd be great stocking stuffers :)

Our Weekend

2011-12-05T14:22:00.004-06:00

This last weekend was full and lovely. To start, Stephen enjoy a conventional weekend off for once. These are rare occurrences, and perfect opportunities to catch up with our loved ones.

Friday night, our nephew L and his girlfriend C were in town from Iowa for a concert. They had dinner with Stephen while I took care of Anna's bedtime. L and C were planning on sleeping over after their concert, but the threat of bad weather convinced them it was best to make a late night drive home. I can imagine it was a very sleepy and long drive, but it is better than a drive in a Midwest winter storm.

Saturday morning, the three of us lounged around the house and enjoyed each other's company. No housework, no bills, no laundry, no commitments-- nothing but us. The snow started falling around 11 AM. Awesomeness.

Shortly after noon, Mom showed up from KC. Her drive was rainy until she she was merely a couple miles from our house. She very literally blinked, and the landscape transformed from brown and soggy to white and wintry. An inch of snow was already on the ground. Big wet snowflakes were dropping from the sky. She texted me at that moment to tell me "WOW!!"... meanwhile, it had been snowing at our place for well over an hour. I guess the cold front decided to plant its butt over our apartment and save moving eastward for later that afternoon. Just unreal :)

The B's join us and my mom for a late Mexican lunch. We are a crazy bunch with our two little movers, as usual!

Inspired by our first significant snowfall of the year, I picked up snowpants and boots for Anna at a local children's thrift store, hurried home, and started the dressing process.

She was a much better sport about it than Randy

She didn't mind the snow, really, but she spent the five minutes outside very quiet and still. Observing.

We tasted the snow. cold. crisp. crunchy.

We felt the snowflakes fall on our faces and on our hands. icy kisses :)

and warm kisses

mommy can't be the photographer for too long :-)

Anna was exhilarated and happy upon coming inside after her first tactile experience with wintry weather. I was reminded of my own childhood, and how it felt to come inside after playing hard in the snow--- the sweaty clammy chilled skin, rosy cheeks, and welcome comfiness of warm dry clothes that allowed free movement. We made chili that night, put the babe to bed, and tried to enjoy a movie (The Tree of Life). We really tried. Several times. It was a no go. We watched The Lazarus Project instead. It was the perfect mixture of intensity and corniness to satisfy us.

The next morning, Mom spent time with Anna so Stephen and I could go out on a "date" (the second since she was born). Us wild things, we had breakfast at Hy Vee (oooh, the usually illicit biscuits and gravy!) then shopped for candles, whoo-hoo! We really did enjoy and appreciate the alone time out, though we kept thinking how weird it was that we didn't have Anna with us.

When Mom headed home to KC at lunchtime, we did too! My grandma turned 78 years old on the first, and our whole family was getting together for supper at a super yummy Chinese buffet. We've never been able to make these special gatherings with living four hours away and Stephen's unpredictable work schedule- but the stars aligned this weekend :)

We arrived in KC a few hours before the dinner started, so we visited our long-time friends L and K. Ah, every time we see them, the desire to move back to KC intensifies. We love L and K (and their furbabies!!).

The dinner was fabulous. My grandma was floored to see we were there, I loved her reaction. It made the drive so worth it. Anna loved seeing all of her family, and with time accepted the stream of invitations to be held. She was a trooper, and so was a my family for being patient and respectful of her. It is challenging to strike that steady balance between respecting the boundaries of your child (who cannot speak for herself yet), and acknowledging the very well-intended desires of family members to nurture their relationships with her. Helping Anna successfully manage her emotions, ensuring her autonomy is respected, and encouraging opportunities for her to connect with loved ones are all very important to us. To keep the overstimulation at bay at a gathering like this was extremely difficult, if not impossible. But Anna did great and thoroughly enjoyed the kisses and hugs and tickles and laughter and FOOD, and most everyone got to have some time with her. I really wish we had pictures, it was such an enjoyable evening seeing everyone and watching the love between them and Anna.

Once on the road, she felt compelled to release a series of hollers and whoops and twitches to expend all of that built up excitement. Singing her some Smashing Pumpkins and Dixie Chicks sent her to sleep soundly until we arrived in Nebraska. :-) Bedtime eventually came at 1:30. Even though we slept an extra couple hours this morning, she insisted on going back to bed a couple hours later. And she's STILL asleep. :-)

2011-12-02T13:52:00.002-06:00

Dear God help us, we are getting out the fingerpaint for the first time...

Naptime Rocker Musings

2011-12-01T10:58:00.001-06:00

The boy is down for an early nap, and the girl is winding down for hers by sorting toys into the holes of her whack 'em set. With the lights off, the shades drawn, paci in mouth, and our white noise fans going she'll be ready soon. I was getting ready to hop out of my rocker to get our pot roast going for tonight (hanging with he B's), but here comes A toddling toward me dragging "Eco People on the Go". She stopped at the couch to read it to herself, but surely she'll inch her way toward me to hear my rendition of the book. It's actually one I don't mind reading since it goes fast and is upbeat, talking about the various ways people get around. It has flaps for the kids to open too, always a hit! But it takes an odd tree-hugger turn. We go from talking about biking, hiking, and strolling, to "plant a tree, or two, or three- one for you, one for me". I'm all for planting trees, this world needs more of them, but shouldn't that topic get a book of its own? It's like the author tried to jam pack as much "green" as she could into one children's book. And "ECO people on the go"? Why not just "People on the go"? I wasn't aware that only ecologically-aware people roll, stroll, bike, hike, and share a ride.

The rest of the tree trimming pics

2011-11-30T22:57:00.000-06:00

As I was tweaking the settings on our camera for our family picture, it caught some seriously heart-melting moments.

One of many takes

That evening, Anna took her time winding down before coming to me for her night-night milk.

I <3 these moments

Knittel Christmas Tree 2011

2011-11-30T17:02:00.001-06:00

Putting beads *back* on the tree is serious business.

We are very fortunate that cup of coffee A dipped her hand in and spilled wasn't actually HOT. My reaction was somewhere between horror at what could've been, and ...pride? I mean, the girl repeatedly stuck her hand in the mess and gave it licks. She likes coffee.

ETA: the coffee horror was completely utterly outdone just now. Seconds after she was stripped for her bath the girl peed (ho hum, that's a toddler for you). Then she stomped in it. Then she knelt down to *lick* it with my panicking "NO!" just barely interfering. Ohhhh Ann...

Christmas Tree Trimming 2011- Part 1

2011-11-29T23:43:00.003-06:00

prancing around with her snackie in hand (her first taste of summer sausage)

We bought a new tree this year. It is a foot taller than our last tree. When it came time to attach the star, I asked how we're going to do it. We then proceeded to stare blankly at each other. Hmmm. We eventually decided it was appropriate to find a sturdy object on which to boost Stephen's height. Even after the added foot to his height, it was a difficult task to place the star.

See? Yeah. Hopefully the little one will pick up star-placing skills from somewhere else, because she isn't getting them here.

... meanwhile, she finds the beads

Oh, the beads! How awesome is life.

This girl's faces crack me up!

... more pics to come of our tree-trimming adventure tomorrow. I'm beat!

2011-11-28T20:16:00.001-06:00

I'm posting on my iPhone, and I'm not certain how well this will work. I chose a couple pictures to post, yet they aren't showing up here in this box, but at the bottom as attachments. I'll be interested to see how blogger formats this entry.

If I can get it to work for me, updating here from my phone would be awesome. Though my last attempt failed (miserably), I'm trying desperately to get away from the drive-by tendencies of Facebook. I post there out of habit and major convenience. Yet, it's not convenient at all when you choose to look back on past entries. You spend an hour of your life clicking "see more posts" until your eyes are glazed over. Facebook's lack of archive capability is just one of its major drawbacks. I'm fed up with the ever-changing privacy issues. It's a bother more than not.

So here we are!

Anna is almost thirteen months old and time is whipping by like crazy. Tomorrow we trim the tree and commence Christmas movie watching, with snacks and togetherness time. Anna will be participating this year. Newly-walking and tactile-geared, I wonder what her participation will look like.

The pictures here are from tonight. I was preparing Fiesta Chicken and Rice when Anna took her usual stance at the hem of my nightgown. :)

Mid-day Thoughts

2011-08-16T14:53:00.000-05:00

Our kitchen floor is either disgusting or sparkling clean, this completely dependent on time of day. Prior to a kiddo, our floor remained "kind of dirty" for months [read: years] at a time.
AnnaBee has taken the role of the resilient annoying little sister to J. At this age, it's adorable. She yanks his bink out of his mouth repeatedly, and grins wide with amusement as if she KNOWS it pesters the heck out of him. He doesn't yet know to retaliate (any day now), but it's obvious he's peeved. This morning, J ~~hugged~~ tackled her to the floor. She thought it was crazy funny and grabbed hold of him with unrelinquishing fists and wrestled him to the ground, her size on her side. She was laughing. He was not. * She reminds me of my little sister.
Separation anxiety is hitting the house hard. We are discovering this anxiety is of the equal-opportunity sort, which is surprising and unique. This morning she burst into tears when Aunt K left the apartment after dropping J off. She cries when Daddy leaves the room on a daily basis, and all. the. time. with me. We dug the Maya Wrap out of her closet so I can keep her close when possible, but sometimes it just isn't feasible like when I need to dunk a poopy dipe in the toilet. Good-byes are hard :(
We invested in an annual pass to the Omaha Zoo!

AnnaBee's first trip to the zoo Saturday 8/13, pictured w/ J

How come nobody told me I had crazy hair that day? Or is this a normal thing...?

ma familia

she's a thumb-sucker these days <3

*For the record, I don't interfere unless someone is hurt, or bound to be. I like the babies to work things out themselves, if possible. Rough-housing is a healthy thing.

We introduced plain yogurt...

2011-07-24T01:06:00.004-05:00

... and it screwed with her (we suspect).

We started the yogurt Sunday. At the time, there were no signs that it clashed with her. She ate it four days in a row, and then the tummy troubles started. It could very well be a coincidental intestinal virus. Whatever is it is, runny diapers have been the case since Wednesday; and we've been fighting a fever in 99.6-101 range. Her body temperature is just high enough to cause her grief. She's providing plenty of wet diapers, and she remains peppy so I don't think there's any reason to run to a doctor just yet; but I am concerned that she hasn't rounded the corner on this thing even though we are going on five days.

Today she got in one good nap, then struggled the rest of the day. Four different attempts she drifted off to sleep "for the night", only to be wailing for me twenty minutes later. Daddy doesn't cut it, she needs Mama. She has been my little shadow all day, and definitely communicated clearly when she felt there was too much distance between us (by me stepping in the bathroom to pee or running to her room to grab a fresh dipey). So we're in newborn mode. Whatever it takes. She fell asleep on my chest during the latest attempt to sleep, skin freakishly frigid and sticky with her breaking fever. She hasn't snuggled up with me like that for so long. It was bliss, even if we were uncomfortably glued together.

Poor sweetpea :(

afternoon nap on Friday

The first post of this month... this season, even.

2011-07-20T00:40:00.007-05:00

Good evening, faithful and assumedly lonely readers. (Are there any of you left?) We humbly apologize for failing to provide reading material for months on end.

Admittedly, 'providing reading material' has been rather low priority on the overlong to-do list. The good news is that naps and late-nights are now wide open for leisure activities, and the house has recovered from new baby ballistics and is... uhm... livable (#andtheworldrejoices). Blogging is back in the Top Fifty Ways to Spend My Me-Time... dutifully after folding laundry, washing diapers, picking up cheerios from the carpet, writing my senators, and watching episode after episode of American Pickers on Netflix with the hubs. Naturally.

I also want to get away from using Facebook for all my updating. During AnnaBee's infancy, posting a measly status or picture was all my time allowed. With baby now doing this thing called "sleeping stretches", I have time to extract those adult thoughts rattling in my head (amongst the day's "babababa"s and "dadadada"s) and tap them into a relatively meaningful piece of prose. One can hardly do that in 420 characters. In addition, Facebook doesn't have an archive function, and I am weary of clicking "See Older Posts" on my Facebook profile to try to update AnnaBee's baby calendar once a month. Tired indeed.

In the near future, expect to see the appearance of this blog morph and transform. I'd like to make it more "us", whatever that looks like. Also, we are no longer using our real names. Baby is AnnaBee. I am Me (until I'm not). DH is... to be determined. We were discussing possible nicknames for him earlier this evening. I volunteered that we call him Skittles (an old nickname); but that sounded rather satchelesque*, and he didn't particularly like that.

*Satch-el-esque | sa-ch-el- ESK | adj. in the style of satchel ownership AKA resembling metrosexualism. Derived from the quote "It's not a purse, it's a satchel. [It's where I keep my Skittles.]"

Hands

2011-03-04T00:04:00.003-06:00

hands.

stretching wide good morning

dripping slimy teething

jumping firecracker! excited to eat

caressing gently flat nursing

grasping clumsy discovering

clasping tight sour fists

sweating clammy cool unsettled

holding mama's hand sleeping (stay with me)

folding peaceful good night.

your hands are beautiful

2011-03-01T23:32:00.002-06:00

Paul Arnold--born March 1, 1949 in Igloo, SD to Arnold and Maxine. Paul passed away May 8, 2004. I hadn't seen him since March or so and was due to see him that very day.

Every once in a while I find it valuable for me to write a little about my father. I suppose it helps me with the continual grieving process of which I'm going through--maybe it helps me to feel as though he's not forgotten. I often wonder if he'd be proud of where I am and where I've been--the choices I've made and how I've changed over the last nearly seven years since his death. I wonder if there'd be a particular day of the week we'd talk more than others (Sundays sound as though they'd make a good catch-up-with-your-dad kind of day). When we talked--I'm sure we'd discuss things big and small. Everything from theology to news from the technology world. Although an odd question--I wonder if he would have gotten a smart phone. I wonder if his insightfulness would have allowed me to make some choices differently or helped Meghan and me decide one thing or another. I wonder how often he and Mom would come to visit and what those visits would consist of. I ask myself how special it would have been for Annelise to be baptized and later confirmed by him. I wonder what the 'special connection' that Dad would have had with her--he seemed to have one with each of the grandkids.

I think I've typed and deleted a conclusion to this blog post 6-7 times. It seems as though I get started and then I just fall off. I run out of things to say or have some weird (irrational) fear that I'll sound corny or dorky so I'll just end it like this:

Dad, I miss you!

Full answers to "How is she _________ ?"

2011-01-16T22:22:00.003-06:00

It seems anytime there is conversation about a child under 2, two questions are asked about the child without. fail.

How is s/he eating?

How is s/he sleeping?

What I tell most people about Annelise is my short answer:

Great. She is doing both without issue, and according to what is appropriate for her age and level of development. She is thriving, both in growth and development.

I say any more than that and I risk treading the tumultuous waters of mommy-war-dom. Afterall... should it really matter to others HOW we do things? All that needs to be said is she's healthy. So I generally detest these questions, but do answer them simply and dutifully.

But I do want to take this opportunity while Annelise is sound asleep

(in my arms, as I simultaneously type two-handed [it's an learned artform])

to REALLY answer these questions for once (and for all?), and to share a few of my own thoughts (probably more than you want to know).

Because, why not? I like to write and I like to record what going on for my own use; but most of all, I like to voice my own perspectives in my own space and maybe shed some light on where we're coming from for those 1 or 2 people who were remotely curious.

So how is she sleeping?

On her side or back in our bed at night (yes, we bedshare [safely... {see Dr. McKenna's research}]), and in our arms for naps. At night she sleeps up to 5 hours at a time, mostly 2-3 hours. She nurses for 5-10 minutes and goes right back to sleep. With her nursing sessions, she sleeps from 11pm/1am- 10am/noon.

During the day, she'll nap in my arms for 1-3 hours.

We have not used our co-sleeper or crib yet. They are both up and ready to go if/when she needs them. In her early days, we tried laying her in the cosleeper, but she'd be out only 20 minutes, 45 minutes tops. Not good quality sleep. So we tried putting her in bed with me, and it was pure magic! From that point on, she slept with us, where ever "we" were. If she is put down, she wakes. Sleeping in the swing is touch and go. Most of the time she'd rather not be in it. Sometimes she'll tolerate it long enough to catch a few zzzz's, but rarely a full refreshing nap.

Our sleeping arrangements are working beautifully for us. Bedsharing at night is giving wonderful sleep to all, and cuddle-sleeping during the day is giving me bonding time and her, quality sleep time. She doesn't sleep through the night... no.... but I have no expectations that she will or "should" at any point in the future. Her needs don't stop through the night time, just like ours don't (how many times have you woken up your spouse because you needed cuddle time or to talk? or you got out of bed to relieve your bladder or grab a bite to eat? Maybe laid awake thinking?)

Yes, my arms are often tied up with my sleeping beauty resting peacefully in them, but I remind myself it won't always be this way...

We do try to employ slings/wraps whenever possible so I can lessen the pile of laundry in our bedroom and prepare meals; but the ones we have right now don't suit her personality well. She likes to observe the world around her, not be restricted by binding cloth. So, as with the swing... they're touch and go. We're waiting on an Ergo that should be arriving by mail Tuesday... hopefully we all fall in love! I am not comfortable with "sleep training", "cry-it-out", or really any methods insistent on conforming our daughter's habits to meet our expectations or convenience. We do hold her practically 23 hours a day, and we don't believe we are doing her any harm--- only LOTS of good. We pick her up and soothe her when she cries. We don't ignore her fussing. We believe her limited vocalizations are her attempts to communicate with us. Therefore, we act. We communicate back. We respond.

Ok, enough with the long-winded explanation about her sleep. Do I dare ask how she is eating?

Glad you asked :) Annelise is exclusively breastfed. I feed her whenever she wants, for any reason, wherever we are, whatever we're doing (unless she's buckled in her carseat. I'm not experienced enough to dairy cow her in a moving vehicle). Right now, that is about every 30 minutes-3 hours during the day for 10-15 minutes at a time, and every 2-5 hours at night for 5-10 minutes at a time. When she's tired/fussy/ill, it is more often. Thankfully (very very very thankfully!), it is going extremely well with few bumps along the way. We both love it and she is growing beautifully (at her 2 month checkup--- 12# 8 oz!)

The earliest days of nursing were extremely challenging. The first 3 nights, a bottle full of formula kept popping into my mind as I attempted to get her to latch on for literally hours each night. Lots of tears and stress ensued. She rapidly lost weight (lowest: 6# 3 oz). Once we got home, everything "clicked". By her fifth day, Annelise surpassed her birthweight and was at 7# 6 oz. From then on, it worked. We still dealt with improper latch issues and the resulting sore nipples, but we worked through it with time. We coasted through a few clogged ducts and mastitis with little disruption. I've really grown to love, cherish, and look forward to our nursing sessions.

We introduced the pacifier at 2.5 weeks, once we got the hang of nursing and my milk supply was established. Reluctant to have anything in her mouth other than skin, she at first didn't know what to do with it; but very quickly, she grasped the concept and enjoyed her "Paci" everywhere that nursing for comfort wasn't possible (the moving car, while her doctor looked her over). Gradually, Paci became more and more involved our daily activities--- something that I'm not completely cheerful about. Frankly, I'm jealous of that piece of silicone!!----But I am living with it because it is her choice form of comfort. Yes, Annelise prefers Paci for comfort, and nursing just for food *sigh* boy do I relish those rare occasions she lets me comfort nurse her :)

I do not believe a child should be weaned when they hit a certain age or a certain milestone; therefore, I will nurse Annelise for as long as she wants. Children will self-wean, just usually not on their parents' time-schedule :-). I would really like to carry her over through age 2 (both the WHO and AAP recommend this and there are sooo many benefits), but we'll see how it goes. This isn't a popular route in our culture, but I honestly believe this is healthiest. We will introduce solids to Annelise sometime after she turns 6 months, depending on when she shows signs of readiness. We like the concept of "baby-led weaning" (that is, letting the child feed themselves actual table food, rather than spoon-feeding purees). We will not do baby cereal, for health reasons.

*So this is us right now. (Just want to emphasize US) While prior to parenting I had basic ideas and research in place, we generally do what works for our girl--- what gives her the best possible sleep, the best possible nutrition. Maybe these will change in the near future. Maybe not. Maybe our next child will have very different needs. What I've learned thus far is that you have to be flexible and responsive to the needs of your child, which means sometimes employing means you wouldn't otherwise consider (bedsharing certainly wasn't our intention!). Certainly, if your child gets his or her best sleep in their room in their crib--- then that's where he or she should be. Likewise with feeding. While breastmilk has unsurpassable benefits, little lives have been saved by infant formula when breastmilk was not available. Different strokes for different folks. What works for me may not work for you, and vice versa.

Annelise is...

2010-12-11T21:22:00.003-06:00

Annelise is...

... 1 month and 6 days old (or, 5 weeks and 1 day!)

... waking 2-3 times a night to eat. Often, these are short feedings since she stockpiles in the evenings.

... smiling in response to us! She likes "chin choppers" and kisses on the face. She bit me while nursing this morning, causing me to cry out suddenly in pain. Her reaction to my outburst: a big ol' grin!

... very much loved by her kitties. They often join us in bed for family cuddles; and give

Lise gentle kisses on her head, and affectionate head butts. :)

... just getting over her first cold. Saline drops and the 'snot sucker' are not her favs.

... putting on the chunk. I adore every new crease and am amazed with each outgrown outfit (and is it hard to pack away those little clothes!). Her last weigh-in at 2 weeks clocked her at 7 lbs 4 oz. She's certainly well over 8 lbs now, I'm sure.

... alert and observant, craning her neck to check out her surroundings. Lately, she gazes at the Christmas tree.

... going to be stringing words together any day now! Ok, not really... but she is itching to "talk". She loves to sit tummy-to-tummy with us, as we hold her face toward ours. We have our best conversations this way!

... known for her "OHHH!" face

... holding her head up very well, for several seconds at a time.

... SO well loved!!

A Late Announcement

2010-12-02T15:33:00.005-06:00

Yup, I'm no longer pregnant... and haven't been for nearly a month. Wow, where does the time go?!

We went in for induction the evening of November 3, had a c-section November 5, and came home November 8 with a beautiful baby GIRL!

ANNELISE KAYTE

born November 5, 2010

at 12:29 am

7 lbs 1.5 oz, 20 inches

Tomorrow, Annelise will be four weeks old. In some ways, it feels like we just came home with her, as we are still trying to get in the swing of this whole parenthood thing. In other ways, she's been with us forever and it's weird to think it has ONLY been four weeks. She is sooo well loved by the two of us, and our family and friends. I can't wait to watch her grow.

2 days overdue

2010-10-30T10:45:00.003-05:00

Still here, still pregnant.

A massage is on this morning's to-do list. We're strongly hoping it brings on labor.

If I'm still preggo midweek, I will be induced. We'd go in Wednesday night for a cervical-softening agent, then start pitocin Thursday morning. Induction is, by far, not our preferred route. As such, we are doing whatever we can---within reason--- to get me to go into labor and have this baby on my own.

Hopefully our next post is a birth announcement :-)

Like father, like fetus.

2010-09-17T22:15:00.004-05:00

I felt the first tiny kicks on a Friday in late June, at just over 22 weeks pregnant. I was visiting my mom that weekend, and she was able to feel those first flutters just above my belly button. At home in Omaha working, Stephen he was unable to be present for that milestone.

Since that weekend, I have been trying with futility to get Daddy in on the action. However, Erfurt was still so small then that it took a great deal of patience to feel anything on the outside; and most of the time, these kicks occurred for a couple of seconds, and not again for hours. So no such luck. By 28 weeks, those tiny infrequent kicks had evolved into belly-rocking jabs. I'd call Stephen over, thinking "surely he'll feel these!", but our faces would slowly fall as we'd sit in continued silence, his hand on my belly, waiting, waiting, waiting...

Stephen joked that Erfurt must hate him. We both knew that couldn't be further from the truth; but still, we were a bit discouraged. Feeling the baby move is usually the first chance daddies-to-be have to experience the reality of fatherhood.

As time zoomed forward and my belly grew further outward, we began seeing the humor in Erfurt's consistent Daddy-evasions. You see, Stephen has a nimble and wacky sense of humor. If you didn't catch it the first time, you're out of luck. Often, I'd ask him to "do that again" so as to prolong or relive the laughter. 99% of the time, he refuses. "I don't perform".

Like father, like fetus.

My OB has commented during 3 different check-ups that our baby is a trickster and always gives her a run for her money. It is now routine to take several minutes to pick up Erfurt's heartbeat. He (or she) is either darting away from the doppler, or curled up in the most awkward positions. We even had to resort to an ultrasound once because he (or she) was being such a stinker.

So Daddy's vain attempts to feel the baby have turned into bonding moments nevertheless. Each venture only confirmed all the more that this kid has personality!

Two nights ago, I was watching a movie in bed, and the child was going nuts. It felt like he (or she) was going to punch himself (or herself) out my ribs. If I can stay perfectly quiet and make sure Stephen doesn't talk, surely he'll get to feel it this time, right? I slowly reached for my phone and texted Stephen to come in the room but DON'T TALK. Well, he followed orders, but the kid was still. Darn, stumped again! I guess my slow reach for my phone let him (or her) know something was up...

But we are happy to say tonight, exactly 12 weeks from the initial quickening, Stephen was able to finally catch Erfurt in action! We had to trick him (or her) by me maintaining a consistent breath rate and refraining from all movement. I discreetly beckoned Stephen over to my side of the couch with my index finger; silently, he scooted over. I lightly placed his hand just under my ribs.

Bump. "Was that it??" I nodded my head, grinning.

Bump bump bump. "That too?" YES!

Then Erfurt gave an emphatic kick that visibly rocked my belly. "Whoa that was weird!!"

Gotcha, Erf!

33 weeks and counting down!

2010-09-11T19:03:00.005-05:00

According to my tickers plastered all over the internet, we have 47 days to go until our due date.

I like that number. It is much smaller than 250. :-)

The Knittels are deep in baby-preparation. We are trying not to leave socks on the living room floor and underwear in the bathroom. Dishes are done immediately after meals, our fridge only houses non-expired food items from now on, and our pantry is (slowly) getting organized. Stephen made a massive batch of beef jerky that should get us through our short hospital stay, weeks of baby bootcamp, Christmas, and 2011 in its entirety. I've prepared a few soups and stews for our freezer. We obliterated the mountain of laundry in our bedroom. All clothes are clean, and either folded or hung up. Erfurt's room is organized to satisfaction. Our first load of baby laundry (NB & 0-3 whites) whirls in the washer as I type.

The kitties completed sniffing all baby items by mid-August, but remain curious about the co-sleeper that took up residence next to our bed this last week. They believe with certainty Erfurt's first bed is theirs to test out. Naturally.

We still have a few little things to accomplish in the weeks ahead, but we are confident a newborn wouldn't get lost in this apartment should it choose to arrive early.

Erfurt him-/herself is very obviously growing. Movement is not be as frequent as it was when swimming in utero was a daily activity for our little fetus, but now a single kick or jab reverberates throughout my whole belly. I do experience the typical discomforts of late pregnancy, but still nothing that compels me to wish the pregnancy over. I even wonder if I'll get to that point. I truly love being pregnant, and am even a little sad that this phase will be behind us in a few short weeks (as an even better one begins).

On my honor...

2010-09-08T02:17:00.002-05:00

I promise I'm going to update this blog very soon. Really.

Stay tuned!

Gifts

2010-03-22T00:33:00.010-05:00

We are still several weeks away from starting physical preparations for this baby, but in the meantime, we are being blessed by family. Here are a few of our early gifts:

I received this insightful book last weekend from Uncle John, Aunt Carol, and Cousin Roniah

From Aunt Kristen, a zoo animals unisuit w/ bib and a bath set; so sweet!

This weekend, we received by mail this beautiful, handmade baby quilt lovingly crafted by Stephen's Aunt Peggy. It's so soft and already very cherished!

THANK YOU!!!

In response to the inquiries about the baby's nickname: Stephen's nickname in utero was "Erfurt", so we thought it would be fun to carry on the namesake. It wasn't until after the fact that we learned Stephen's dad was also called "Erfurt" as a bun in the oven. We have no idea how Grandpa and Grandma Knittel came up with this name; little did they know that "Erfurt" would stick around generation after generation. The usual nicknames-"Peanut", "Bean", "Gummy Bear"- never really appealed to me, but you tend to want to call your kid SOMETHING to avoid references to him or her as an "it". I love that our baby has a special name right off the bat!

We're back-- with one more in tow!!

2010-03-17T00:14:00.012-05:00

Valentine's Day we received the best news of our life. We are finally, gratefully, blissfully PREGNANT!

I'm writing this to provide a background on how we came to receive this blessed gift, for this pregnancy was long sought after. The journey here has been bumpy and certainly no fun. We've spent five years hoping for a surprise, but receiving disappointment month after month, year after year. For "not trying but not preventing", I became VERY well-acquainted with negative pregnancy tests. I do believe I held up quite strong in spite of it all, due to my faith.

I was diagnosed with PCOS in 2006 with longish and/or missing cycles, but only [very] recently did we come to accept something was truly physiologically amiss. Ideally, I wanted this baby to come without any thought on our part, but the more time skipped away, the more we warmed up to seeking help. I had been ovulating unmedicated for nearly a year (due to weight loss), but still no baby. I felt something more had to be going on.

In October, we started our first cycle of Clomid 50 mg with my OBGYN-- no success.

We repeated the protocol in November--- again, no success.

November/December we consulted with a group of Reproductive Endocrinologists (I'll use "RE" for short) at the wonderful Heartland Reproductive Center here in Omaha. We underwent a battery of tests, including bloodwork for each of us, a hysterosalpingogram for me (ouch.) and a semen analysis for him (blush.) Things with me looked as they should, but Stephen had an interesting issue with "the troops". Their number was exponentially massive (>1 billion --- when "normal" is 20-60 million), but only a straggling few (8%) were in good shape. The screwed up boys were blocking the way for our good-looking stragglers. Apparently, crowding was our problem all along. (I googled the heck out of this, btw, and couldn't find a case like it!)

January, we started our first protocol with the RE. I took Clomid 5o mg again. I visited the clinic for a series of ultrasounds to make sure my follicle was growing as it should (it was!). At the beginning of February, I gave myself a shot of hCG to ensure the egg's release was nice and strong. The following day, I went in for an intrauterine insemination (IUI), lovingly called "the turkey baster method". The RE "cleaned" the troops before the insemination so ONLY the good guys would get through. It was easy and painless-not a big deal in the slightest. I was actually shocked at how fuss-less the procedure turned out to be, less significant than a pap.

Two weeks later, I returned home from visiting my sister in Colorado Springs, accompanied by car-sickness-prone-nausea, sore breasts, and a weird knot sensation in my abdomen. Stephen prodded me to test-- even though it was late at night--- and so I did. For him. For laughs. And, boy, did we laugh when we saw that second line! We couldn't stop laughing! Test after test, that second line appeared. On the 15th we read the word "Pregnant" on a digital test and our world hasn't been the same since.

6 weeks - a tiny speck of baby at barely 3 cm

7 weeks and almost a whole cm long, with beautiful beating heart!

"Erfurt" is expected to arrive October 28, and is perfect as can be, currently the size of a raspberry. We are approaching 8 weeks Thursday- very smooth sailing so far with mild symptoms. I do need a nap most days, and smells tend to be a bother. Some days I eat like a pig; other days I would happily do without food, if not for growing a person. It's hard to believe we have only a month left of the first trimester!

*We have a new widget on our blog's right sidebar - watch Erfurt grow!

2009 in Review by Facebook

2009-12-21T01:55:00.004-06:00

In the spirit and tradition of the season-- and in tune with our culture's online communication phenomenon--- I will now attempt to sum up 2009 using each month's first Facebook status. This should be interesting.

~January~

"Meghan Knittel got her sister hooked on tv-crack, AKA Lost"

Why, yes she did, all in one week during Christmas break. In fact, every new Lost episode from this status forward was viewed along with her sister through the invention that is iChat. Keep in mind, sister was only mildly interested to begin with. Meg manipulated. Meg proselytized. Meg won.

~February~

"Meghan Knittel is excited to read her new books"

Wait, she received new books? Which books were these? Apparently she read these books she was so excited about only to have her memory promptly obliviated- or, she didn't read them at all. Maybe the new books were forgotten as soon as the fated status was entered. Mysterious.

~March~

"Meghan Knittel had way too much fun making babies online"

Since she and he were having difficulty with this task in real life, Meg resorted to creating cyber-morphed hatchlings derived from the couple's front-facing photographs. After hours of silly fun, the proposed kids still didn't look right. Maybe there's a reason procreation isn't their strong suit. If several hours made a misshapen monster, imagine what 15 minutes of passion might do in real life??!

~April~

"Chocolate shakes make the tum feel better"

Ah, yes, one of the first Metformin nausea episodes. 'Tis true that thick icy chocolate counters the impulse to hurl- especially when it is the faux variety from McDonald's.

~May~

"must. stay. awake."

It would have behooved her to go to bed rather than punctuate like that.

~June~

"Meghan Knittel is installing the newest version of her enduring vice! Sims 3 is in stores NOW, people!"

...and it still is for those of you who did not get the message six months ago.

~July~

"Meghan Knittel wishes her fat cat was a dog so she can him to Petsmart for a sniff-everything fest. Howard would love that."

Howard would also love 39 meals a day and drinking tuna juice from the faucet, but neither are going to happen any time soon.

~August~

"Meghan Knittel is getting stuff in line for school and scheduling eye appointments for us both!"

The ensuing appointment was the first to occur in five years of wedded life {sad}. Her glasses retired after six years of faithful and partially inadequate service. On the bright side, the new lenses arrived in time for a fresh semester of eye straining.

~September~

"Meghan Knittel is soooooooo thirsty."

Fluid deprivation pre-cholecystectomy is about as enjoyable as eating sand and peanut butter, then washing it down with the Pacific.

~October~

"By this time tomorrow, I'll be hanging out with E and S, and in theory, have all my homework done"

The weekend commencement of their collective maturation involved excessive Sarah Silverman, donning a Husker corn head publicly, and opting for pizza after M, E, and St declared sushi "alright" (AKA: GROSS).

~November~

"Meghan Knittel just read a text out loud that she shouldn't have. I feel so bad for 'that old lady.' It's all Elia's fault!"

Things learned: 1) Don't read text messages out loud in mixed company 2) If you do, adamantly blame it on the sender and make her feel as guilty as possible 3) "That old lady" actually has a name, wow!

~December~

"Happy Birthday, Grandma"

Five kids, ten grandkids, and five great-grandkids later, she is 76. Grandma's awaiting knee surgery, but she's still as feisty as ever!

Random thoughts for this last day in November

2009-11-30T12:33:00.003-06:00

Homemade iced coffee rocks.
Today we celebrate our VERY FIRST first anniversary living in a single domestic structure.
Happy Birthday, Aunt Sashie!

New Post in the Alpha Blog

2009-11-08T23:21:00.001-06:00

There is a new post in Meghan's Alpha-1 blog.

Click here to go to it.

Bulleted update

2009-10-10T03:04:00.008-05:00

I have a load of studying to do, so, naturally, I am taking this time to update the blog.

Amazingly enough, we will live here beyond a year. Stephen accepted a position as a float manager, acting as a district-manager-in-training. It's a step in the right direction, and I am beaming with pride for all he has accomplished thus far in his career. He will help out in a circuit of stores. It involves lots of driving, and because of that we...
... retired our newlywed '04 Ford Focus, which was pretty far gone for its age, unfortunately. We will always remember rotten potatoes, the way trash seemed to grow out of the floorboards, toating my young boys, and our many, many a road trips. Its replacement is an '07 Honda Accord. This newer car is dynomite, and perfect for Mr. Stephen's transportation needs.

BTW, what color is this car?

We have a consultation with a Reproductive Endocrinologist Nov. 3. Depending on the state of my ovaries, we might be doing a round of Clomid this month with my OBGYN as we wait. We didn't expect to be at this point until sometime after 2010, but an interesting series of events occurred that led us to start now. We are hopeful and excited, but our fervor is tempered with years of no success. That's a good thing, I think. We are certainly not assuming anything. All we can do is wait and see what the future holds, and try to take good care of ourselves in the meantime.
School is good- not much to report. I am definitely more involved in my Med. Terminology course than the other two. Classtime is well-structured, and the homework we receive are excellent learning tools. I can't say the same for the other two classes.
The kitties are good. Howie is still fat and Zoe is still a tweet-tart.

HMMM, that's about it! Onto homework. Which means, a bathroom break, grabbing a snack, stepping outside to take a few more pictures of our wintry weather, maybe putting in a movie, and THEN considering cracking open my books. By then, I'll be really tired though...

Can we just skip Halloween?

2009-10-10T02:57:00.006-05:00

Fall is a brief visitor in Nebraska. :-)

End of One Era, Beginning of Another

2009-10-02T08:05:00.004-05:00

Well, I have to say, it's been a fun ride over the last two and a half years learning how to be a successful leader in our business. I've relocated my family three times in this time period and I have to say, it's paid off big time. Financially to an extent, but more so as an opportunity to grow. I've learned how to be away from family (both mine and Meghan's) and create our own life. I've learned how to (fairly successfully) lead people and how to run a business. I've learned about networking and the importance of it. I've seen a lot of good people come and go, and learned that life moves on. I've learned that I'm a capable worker and appreciated. I've learned that businesses move quickly and in order to not get thrown off, you have to brace yourself and react quickly. I've learned that this ISN'T for everyone, and that doesn't have to make me upset. I've learned LOTS---probably more than I care to take the time to mention. Additionally, I feel as though my marriage has actually strengthened since we've moved. Meghan and I's relationship is amazing--I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Now it's time to start a new venture. No, I don't have to leave this organization to do so, I'm able to keep my benefits and simply change my role. I'm very excited to see what I'll be in 12 months. I'm hopeful that I'll learn have learned a lot more and changed for the better. Change truly does energize me (even if it does stress out my wife)!

Stephen

Whole Foods purchases

2009-09-23T03:23:00.009-05:00

While Stephen was out west visiting family this last weekend, I spent a few lovely hours with a friends browsing the wonderful goods at Whole Foods Market. If you've never heard of that place, google it and go to the one nearest you (or come visit us!). If I had it my way, all groceries stores would be like this. They specialize in whole, organic food and products, emphasizing production and handling that is environmentally responsible. I will stop myself from blabbering on and on about it, but yeah... go check one out!

Here are some of the fun purchases I walked away with:

As an experiment, I tried this vegan, aluminum-free deodorant called Desert Essence: Dry By Nature Deodorant. I was shocked to find out it works better than my mainstay Secret: Platinum Protection. The smell is mild too, not heavily perfumed. We have a winner!

With winter around the corner, I picked up this lotion to keep our handsies feeling lovely: Kiss My Face: Olive & Aloe Ultra Moisturizer. This stuff is great. Not greasy (which is my complaint with most everything else), and has a totally light, non-feminine scent. Good for girls and guys.

Freshly ground on-site peanut butter. This was the first time that I tried natural peanut butter. Initially, I was quite taken aback because it lacked the sweetness I have grown accustomed to with Jif and Peter Pan, but it soon became spoon-friendly. I decided it is the perfect consistency. Not smooth, not chunky, but gritty. MMMMMMM.

I couldn't pass up the bulk dark chocolate covered espresso beans. These little buddies were expensive, though, at $7/lb! Luckily, a small handful of 15 satisfied my curiosity. Two or three at a time is more than enough. They're an effective mid-night jolt for studying!

In addition, I picked up a couple boxes of Raspberry Leaf Tea, an incense burner and two packages of incense, and a bag of bulk whole wheat flour, since we were out anyway. I totally wish this place was closer to home because I'd happily spend more money there...

New Post

2009-09-18T02:40:00.001-05:00

There's a new post in the Alpha blog.

Unknowns, but Peace

2009-09-15T22:07:00.005-05:00

Fall 2009, in this household, is the Season of Unknowns.

Last week, Stephen learned that he had forty-some days to find a position within Verizon or walk away with the ample severance package. This news did not catch us completely off-guard, but it did jostle our reality a bit. We were expecting Verizon to hand him a position, not leave Stephen to his own devices. On the upside, Stephen's devices in the past have proven advantageous; still, we are better off keeping over-confidence beyond arm's reach, and embracing humility and faith in the meantime.

He has responded to two acquisitions so far within Verizon, both "floating manager" positions that may be based out of Omaha (no moving required). We hope he receives a call or two sometime after the 22nd.

On my front, we are waiting patiently, but anxiously for appointments that will give us more information about my manifestation of Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency. I've come to a wall in my research; the Internet and books can only tell me so much about what may, or may not, be on the horizon. Thankfully, we have been able to lay our concerns to rest for the time being, and live our normal lives without the distraction of "what ifs".

Apart from our Unknowns, life is chugging along peacefully and happily. Stephen successfully completed his first six-week class, and will be starting a new one shortly, God-willing. I'm enjoying my coursework, especially Medical Terminology. My homework load is substantial, but not overbearing.

My body has healed from my surgery, and I have regained my normal routine. I can eat everything (so far...) without upset, except for pepperoni. I'll have to give it whirl again; maybe by now my body will tolerate it. Unfortunately, my successful recovery means I can no longer weasel my way out of weekly litter-box sanitation without implementing premeditated sly manipulation. Not that I'd ever consider that, of course.

Stephen is leaving Thursday for a solo trip to visit family in Wyoming until Tuesday, and I'm heading to KC for a short visit this weekend. In two weekends, my Aunt Ramona and my siblings are coming. Very much looking forward!

Autumn is practically here, blowing in bright colored leaves, gray chilly days, soups, pumpkins, apples and spice, earlier darkness, Halloween, and baked goods. I can't wait to bust out my fall music selections/soundtracks.

AAD Blog

2009-09-07T18:36:00.004-05:00

Meg has a new blog discussing her experiences with Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency.

www.alphameghan.blogspot.com

TMI Surgery Pictures

2009-09-03T13:16:00.004-05:00

Four incisions. Three bordering my upper right quadrant of my torso, and one just above my bell button.

My OR team took this picture for my mom. The last conversation I remember as I laid on the table was the nurses asking my surgeon if it was ok for my mom to see my gallbladder. "No way" The picture they took instead is close second to coolness.

48 Hours Post-Gallbladder Removal/A1AT

2009-09-03T12:39:00.009-05:00

My surgery went well. The nursed described my gallbladder as "yucky", so I feel vindicated. I was home on our oversized living room chair merely three and half hours later. I have been sleeping a lot, but sentient enough to do did a bit of homework. Other than feeling stiff and sore, I'm doing great. I was allowed to take a shower today; it felt sooo good getting surgery gunk off me; there's nothing like sleeping in your own grunge for several days, blek. My torso is still yellow from the iodine, but at least my pits are clean! Mom came up for my first night. She was an incredible help to me and to Stephen. With her mommy-touch, she made a pot of homemade chicken noodle soup, did a few loads of laundry, helped keep the dishes up, and even helped to get onto the cats when they were naughty (which they were quite frequently yesterday morning).

A few of you may know, but most don't, that when I was a toddler, I was found to have a liver enzyme deficiency called Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency. I was sick fairly often at that age, and one those times when I was sick, my pediatrician palpated my liver and found it to be enlarged. They ran some blood tests, and I came back positive for Alpha-1 (which, btw, was completely unrelated to my childhood illnesses). It was a freak thing that probably would have gone undetected until I was much, much older and manifesting symptoms. While I was seeing my PCP last week, I asked to be screened for Alpha-1 again; the results came back today, and yes, I am still positive for it (unsurprisingly; this is a genetic disorder). This particular enzyme is responsible for protecting my lungs, among other organs; any problems I have with it will likely be respiratory. Oct. 30 I go in for a Pulmonary Function Test, and then a week later I will see my pulmonary specialist and come up with a plan. It isn't anything that is serious right now; I may go my whole life and not have trouble with it. On the other hand, I could develop emphysema, COPD, or worst case scenario, need a liver or lung transplants ... so I feel it is important to monitor this as I age. You can read about Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency here.

A Little Miracle

2009-08-30T21:55:00.003-05:00

For whatever reason I can eat real food now without having disastrous bathroom consequences! I was able to down pizza last night, and I had a small steak, potato, salad, and roll this evening, with normal stuff on everything.

I see it as God making it possible for me to a eat a real meal or two before surgery, because Lord knows I was missing my food!!! Thank you, God, I appreciate it so much!

11 pounds down

2009-08-27T16:11:00.003-05:00

I'm losing weight, but not by my own will. Thank you, gallbladder, for giving my body no choice but to whittle my diet down to fruit, veggies, and fish for nine days... oh, and cream of wheat, chicken broth, and a box and half of Zesta saltines, lest my digestive system turn on me!

Unexplained nausea started two Saturdays ago. The following Tuesday evening, The Pain began. Not horrible pain by any means, but I knew what was going on, because it happened three years ago. GRR. We took a trip to the ER, I was given Percocet and Zofran, and shooed away "Come back if it gets worse! WE'LL call YOU *today* to schedule an ultrasound".

Two days went by, lots of phone tagging ensued (me calling "You're it!", but nobody chasing me, a very one-sided and unproductive game). Four days later, I had my ultrasound. Monday, I was told "well... everything looks normal". YEAH RIGHT. Tuesday, I saw my PCP ("Yep, it's you're gallbladder") and yesterday, I met my surgeon, who said "Would you like a HIDA scan or surgery?" Give me surgery, oh please oh please!!!

TMI: While I was tossed around from doctor to doctor for the last week, my pain and nausea have maintained, and my toilet contents have been everything BUT normal. Every color, every consistency, quick and slow, painful and not.... I've probably had it. Things are closest to normal if I completely leave out fat. I used less than a tablespoon of olive oil on my baked salmon last night... bad idea. I went through nearly a whole roll of toilet paper. YIPES!

My cholecystectomy is scheduled for Sept. 1, next Tuesday. It's not a wonderful time to be out of commission for a few days, but it's the best time until Thanksgiving. I'll miss two of my classes on my first week of school; Stephen's week is super busy with work stuff already, and we'll miss out on getting together with the Knittels over Labor Day weekend. On the upside, my mom will be here for a couple days and I won't have classes again for a week!

Goodbye Nebraska City, Hello _________.

2009-08-14T22:13:00.004-05:00

Stephen received news a couple Mondays ago that his store will be closing at the beginning of October. While we understood this was a possibility, it was not exactly foreseen, so we were shocked. Though the news was difficult to hear, we are confident and optimistic about the change ahead for Stephen; he has been assured that he will have a position with the company, just in another store. For now, we sit back and see what opportunities arise for him. If you have any more questions about his store closing, feel free to shoot us a message on Facebook or through email.

In other news, we are both in school this semester. Verizon is paying for Stephen to work on his PRSM (Professional Retail Sales & Management) certification through Bellevue University. If he chooses, he can go beyond certification and get his bachelor's degree, which Verizon will also pay for. Pretty cool! He starts a new class every six weeks. I have decided to go into medical coding and billing, and am currently registered as a full-time student through the community college here in Omaha. I have three classes (13.5 credit hours) this semester: Medical Terminology (not an online class, Aunt Peggy!), Introduction to Medical Law and Ethics, and Introduction to Health Management.

Little Picture Post-- From Way Back to Now

2009-08-04T23:04:00.012-05:00

I haven't posted pictures for awhile so I figured I'd do that as well as fill in some holes. I admit, I've failed as our family photographer for the last several months, but memories were made nonetheless.

In March, I met my little nephew Memphis Gene (son of my step-sister, Emily!). A big cutie pie!

My friend Rachel, at her baby shower in April. Her little guy, Tanner Lathan, was born June 3 and looks just like her!

At the end of May, we camped out with Kim and Chris.

June was filled with lots of visits to Shadow Lake for fishing!

July, at an Omaha Royals game.

The end of July, eating at The Cheesecake Factory for the very first time with an old and a new friend.

There you have it. A succinct, but pathetically incomplete pictorial synopsis of the last six months. :-P

Writer's Block

2009-07-21T18:55:00.007-05:00

Wow, it's literally been months since I've written anything here. Time really flies! I've been meaning to type up some sort of update here for awhile, but have failed to do so. Not to worry, this was merely a strong case of writer's block; we do still exist up here in Nebraska!

The last three months have been happily filled visiting with friends and family, and these visits have been interspersed with Stephen's out of town training journeys. To those we've been able to see so far, we are so thankful that our schedules allowed that time! As the merge between Alltel and Verizon draws to full fruition this fall, Stephen's schedule is expected to fly all over the place, so these visits couldn't have come at a better time.

The visits have also brought a much-welcomed light to our corner of the world. In early May, we received what we thought was a positive pregnancy test, paired with intense and unmistakable pregnancy symptoms. However, blood-work revealed there was not a pregnancy. Either I was pregnant but abruptly miscarried, or we misread the test and my symptoms were just a stronger brand of the PCOS crazies. My doctor did not offer an explanation when she called me with my results, and I was too shell-shocked to inquire at the time. Now, months later, I feel little closure and my heart feels as if all its emotions have been wiped blank. This is the reason I have not updated for so long. It has recently taken up a significant portion of my thought-life, but it is also a very sensitive topic, which is why I debated for months before deciding to post this (I feel removed enough now to share). We are in the process of finding a reproductive endocrinologist to get ourselves checked out and make sure everything works as it should, and in the meantime, hopefully receive some closure with a verdict concerning what happened in May. We've been able to lean heavily on family for encouragement, optimism, and distraction, though most of the time this support as been unknowingly given. We simply thank you for loving both of us ceaselessly!!

Paul – A Gentle Man and a Gentle Life

2009-06-02T23:22:00.002-05:00

So, I realize that I've never posted on here before; typically I leave this up to my dear wife but, tonight I stumbled across an interesting document that I thought I would share with everyone. It's something my aunt spoke at my dad's visitation. I've often thought about it, but hadn't actually read it in a while. Last month it was 5 years. I really miss him a lot and think about him all the time.

_________________________________________________________________

Paul – A Gentle Man and a Gentle Life

Our family has gathered here tonight to celebrate the life of Paul – to remember his 54 years of love…and humor…and wisdom…and quirkiness.

Paul touched each of us here in a special way…I’ll share with you some of the ways I know he did that.

Mom, he was your firstborn, and he loved you as dearly as you loved him. He was a gentle child – he loved to be read to, and to read. He was the young boy who befriended the fledgling bird – and didn’t want to fight the kid who punched him -- though Dad thought he needed to learn how to fight. (In those ways, Paul was really more Deibert than Knittel.) He was the young man who felt the call to the ministry, despite the fact that that such a calling took him hundreds of miles away from you. But, although he grew up and moved 700 miles out of your nest, he never was far away from you in thought. You will remember his calls (often made when he was home alone so he could have you to himself), his entertaining emails (the Iditarod will never be the same…), and his yearly visits – and, oh how you wished they could be more often.

Elaine, he was the love of your life – and you were the love of his life. I remember when he was first dating you, he used to call me and tell me about this amazing woman he was falling in love with (but he didn’t tell me you had your hair in curlers the night you met). You are an amazing woman – and you and Paul together were even more amazing. Your sense of humor is a perfect complement to his…and we have all benefited (or suffered) from the combination. We are so thankful that God brought you together, and that Paul brought you to us. He loved you entirely, and gave you all of himself – his messiness, his gentleness, his patience, his impatience, his love of fishing, his computer fascination, his devotion to you and your children, and his commitment to his pastoral life. And amazingly, you accepted it all. I couldn’t have picked a better match for him.

Janine – you are his oldest child – and he loved you dearly. You were the first kid he taught to fish, and skip rocks, and enjoy long car trips from Iowa and Missouri to visit grandparents in Texas, South Dakota, or Nebraska. You were his first teenager – you tried his patience, but won his heart. And he opened his heart to love Chris, the man you love. That’s another special skill Paul had – he unconditionally widened his circle to include every new family member.

Kristen – you are his middle child – and he loved you dearly. From the first Christmas gift you deposited in his lap, to the replica of his little green trike you gave him -- you had him hooked. He taught you all the things he taught Janine, and also taught you to play pinochle – but swears he didn’t teach you to bid like that! And he opened his heart to love Duane, the man you love.

Stephen – you are his youngest child – and he loved you dearly. I think you were the first baby he ever held (for longer than it took to baptize one), and he couldn’t get enough of that. Your mother and your sisters hardly had the opportunity to hold you. By the time you came along, he was better at teaching kids to fish and skip rocks, and he had developed his skill at making long car trips fun by crafting “scavenger hunt lists” of things for you to find along the way (and I know, your sisters were older and they always won). But you had the advantage of having Paul’s influence in your life from day one – and I see so much of Paul in you. You are also a gentle man….with Paul’s sense of humor (and that coupled with the sense of humor from your Mother makes you particularly dangerous!). And Paul opened his heart to love Megan, the woman you love.

Ila Fay, Elise, Linda & Jerry – you are his in-laws – and he loved each of you dearly too. He showed you his love for Elaine, your daughter and sister – and came to love your Texas food – he told me about marvelous things from your kitchen Ila Fay. And he opened his heart to love those you love.

John, my husband – you are his other in-law – and he loved you dearly. He shared your interest in computers, and cherished time spent with you. He liked nothing better than hanging around with you while you worked. He marveled at all you know about computers and computing. He didn’t get to see your new business – but I’m guessing he’ll oversee it from time to time. And he opened his heart to bless our marriage and baptize our daughter Beth.

I had mentioned before how Paul widened his circle to include every new family member – and we have lots of new members. I wasn’t sure what order to put them in, so forgive me there was a better way.

Chris – you are the husband of his oldest child – and he loved you dearly. Perhaps not from the first night he heard your voice in the midst of a flood, but he was very proud of your maturity and spoke often of how good you are in your role of husband and father – and he certainly prized your automotive skill.

Jessica – you are his first grandchild, and only granddaughter – and he loved you dearly. What a joy you were to Paul! From the moment he laid eyes on tiny little you, he took his job of grandfathering very seriously. It was for you that he first started “hiding” things in his shirt pocket for you to find each time he saw you. And he loved the opportunity to baby-sit you – I think that he and your grandmother had to argue sometimes about who got to go play with you, and who had to stay in Chillicothe and work!

Andrew – you are his first grandson – and he loved you dearly. From the scary moments in the Iowa City hospital, to the time he taught you to shape dumplings, you had a special place in his heart…so special that he even convinced Santa Claus to leave your stocking at his house in Chillicothe last Christmas. And he loved your Dad, Jonathan, dearly too.

Caleb – you are his second grandson – and he loved you dearly. You have challenged him in interesting ways. I have heard stories about how your nature sometimes runs contrary to Paul’s gentle, easy ways – he says you know how to push people’s buttons – particularly your mother’s! And your grandpa Paul’s pockets were full of things for you to find too.

Duane – you are his middle child’s husband – and he loved you dearly. Though a bit uncertain about the beginnings, Paul told me he finds you to be a good, solid, man – and a good match for Kristen. And he opened his heart to love your sons.

Landon and Logan – you are his “bonus” grandchildren – and he loved you dearly. He was excited to tell me all about the two of you, and was delighted to add you to his flock of grandkids last year. He regularly emailed pictures of the two of you to us so we in Wyoming could get to know you too. He loved to think up schemes to include you (and everyone else) in Super Bowls and World Series – and he crafted great GPS hunts for you in Chillicothe.

Adam – you are his newest and littlest grandson – and he loved you dearly. You haven’t been around long enough to know what a special grandpa he was – but your mom and dad will tell you how much he enjoyed you. Paul told me that you were first crawling when he saw you just a few weeks ago. He emailed pictures of you to Wyoming too.

Megan – you are soon to be the wife of his youngest child – and he loved you dearly. He was proud to show you off to us last summer – and I may be wrong, but I think Paul was the ONLY person in this family who didn’t say you ought to wait another year before you get married! He told me that Stephen has said for a long time that you are the “right one.” He wanted you to be part of his clan sooner rather than later.

Beth – who isn’t here – you are his only niece – and he loved you dearly. He loved watching you and Stephen grow close together during the past summers – and particularly liked playing Pinochle against the two of you. He also enjoyed the Trivial Pursuit matches you always wanted us to play. Your great windsock heist last summer particularly amused him.

As for me – I am his little sister – and I know he loved me dearly, and I certainly loved him. In my growing up years I never heard stories about any sibling rivalry when I arrived – instead I heard stories of how he entertained me (falling and cutting his lip in the process one time), and how he stood by my crib and told me he was sorry I was crying. Mom of course asked him what he had done to make me cry, and Paul assured her he had done nothing, but was just so sorry I was crying. And he continued through all the years since to be my gentle, caring brother – always there for me when I needed him. I will miss sitting on my front porch talking with him in August (because that’s when we always did that).

So there you have it – but a glimpse of how Paul touched each of us. We all love him – we all miss him terribly – and we all must stay connected. I hope you will all consider coming to Wyoming in upcoming Augusts. He would want it that way.

Paul was a gentle man who led a gentle life. He saw Christ in every person he met. He loved God, and he loved us. We had to give him up – but he and Arnold will be watching over us all.

God bless you Paul…we loved you dearly.

Off and On again

2009-05-01T17:10:00.003-05:00

I stumbled off the diet train shortly after my birthday, after all sorts of goodies and carbs crumpled my will, but I still managed to lose weight for a couples weeks due to the Metformin (well... the nausea associated with Metformin). I was down a total of 30 pounds when the Metformin decided to halt my grace period, and I gained 1/3 of my weight back. RATS.

It took two weeks of heeing and hawing and a motivational lecture by my aunt to get me back on, but here I am... in a week's time, down six pounds from what I gained. Next week, I'll be where I left off at the 30 pound mark.

We think Stephen is still losing weight too, though this is happening more by chance and circumstance rather than will. Old pants slip off the hips without a snag, and the new smaller size fits very comfortably.

M 26.4

Tax Day is not taxing so far

2009-04-15T14:51:00.010-05:00

Finally getting buds on the trees here!

A sun-bathing Howard

Zoe's not too happy she has to stay in, but safety first. She is just too gutsy.

Tomatoes, bell peppers and cucumbers

Indoor herbs getting some afternoon sun, and Howie getting a few whiffs. He loves my parsley and rosemary.

Like I said, she's not happy she has to stay in.

April 3

2009-04-03T16:14:00.005-05:00

Wow its been way too long since I posted.

Let's see. Well, it's April now, but you sure wouldn't know it by looking at the forecast. We are supposed to get more snow and icky stuff Sunday. We do have some green blades poking through the earth, though they are scant. Today is lovely. Cool, but warm enough to have windows open.

Stephen and I are planning a mini-getaway this weekend, just to get out of the house and do something together. We won't meander far from home; we'll probably just priceline a hotel in Omaha and doing some shopping (Stephen has requested more work shirts).

My friend Rachel is having her baby shower tomorrow afternoon, so I got to peruse through Target's baby section. So fun!! It's so crazy that my childhood friends and I are as old as we are.

Dad, Tricia, and Erika's visit was very nice, and I hope we get to do it again soon. Dad seemed to like our furkids enough to give them a pet and a scritch here and there. He was presented wit his first fondue experience ever, and thought it was pretty cool. Throughout the whole meal, he'd say "You know what would be good...." LOL. By the way, don't go see "Watchmen". BAD, BAD, BAD movie. Ranks up there with "Mars Attacks".

I had a good 25th. Stephen took the day off and chilled out with me. We were going to pick up a bookshelf from World Market, but then ended up picking out new bedding. We and the kitties are sleeping pretty under a duvet-enveloped down comforter, and new sheets. We spent a good two hours on the porch that evening watching the ominous motion of the sky and listening to the weatherpeople warn "Go to your basements!" The storms and wind were incredible; my eyes stung and my face was gritty with dirt. Hilarity is watching a little itty bitty bird try to fly against 60mph winds to get to his nest above our window. Was it bad to laugh? Toward the end of the storm, as rain pelted us, we hopped in our little Focus and located a Mexican restaurant.

The weekend after my 25th, I drove to KC to spend time with Mom, Stan, and the sibs. Friday Mom and I spent a good chunk of time wandering through Michaels. Our mission was to get ribbon, but by the end of the trip we were contemplating painting a bookshelf--- how the progression happened is a long story. Later that afternoon Hollie, Erika, and I prom dress shopped at the Great Mall of the Great Plains-- a building I dub the Empty Mall of the Empty Plains. It was a crazy, super fast trip in Group U.S.A, but Hollie managed to find her perfect dress, and Erika set eyes on the one she eventually picked up [yesterday]-- a lovely yellow dress that her big sissy had her try on. Saturday, it snowed humongous flakes, but Stan shoveled us out of the driveway and insisted we eat Mexican anyway (I'm seeing a pattern with Mexican food and the weather). Later we played "The Game of Things", but learned you have to play it with the right people (IE: not my brother, bless his heart). Sunday, I met my little 2 month old (step) nephew Memphis and immediately fell in love.

Monday, I started a medication called Metformin to manage a small insulin resistance issue. It's some potent stuff! Nausea has been the word of the week, and really the only thing that helps it is chocolate shakes. Yesterday morning, my nurse called to inform me my bloodwork shows I have hypothyroidism, and so I have yet another pill to add to the mix. I've never had so many pills to pop daily in my life.

That about sums up the last part of March. Wednesday, my lame attempt at a joke was that we have roaches in our apartment. HAR. HAR. April Fool's! So bad, I know.

Please keep Stephen's sister Kristen in your prayers because she's struggling with some medical issues right now and is searching for resolution. I won't go into details here, but it is weighing on all of us. Thank you!

Post #100 [Girl stuff]

2009-03-20T15:25:00.005-05:00

The ultrasound and fasting glucose test was this morning. Turned out I didn't have to drink something nasty sweet after all-- I felt a smidge like a dummy. :D I guess I got it confused with some other test.

I was ecstatic to find out from the ultrasound that my girl parts have improved greatly since my last ultrasound 2 (3?) years ago. My left ovary shows a few little cysts, but my right ovary looks clear, completely healthy, and appears to be doing what it should. Both ovaries are normal sized; they were very enlarged last time. I was so thrilled I nearly cried! Just to know my body is finally, FINALLY doing what it should is an incredible encouragement to keep going and a huge whoosh of relief. I have an appointment to go over my results with my GYN on March 30, and see what we need to do, if anything.

Groceries are still in their bags in our entryway, so I better get going. Beautiful, bright yellow daffodils were on sale at Hy-Vee and I bought some to put on our table. Oh yeah, today's the first day of spring. How appropriate!

M 22.2

S ?? as usual :-D

Family time and appointments

2009-03-18T23:03:00.004-05:00

This afternoon I had the fun annual exam every woman looks forward to. My new gynecologist is wonderful and she makes me want to stay here forever. We spent the majority of my appointment talking about my PCOS and what we need to do now. She was a bit perplexed that the doctor who diagnosed me three years ago didn't run a battery of tests, but just looked at me and labeled me. Friday morning I'm going in for a fasting glucose tolerance test (to see if I am insulin resistant), an ultrasound (to look for cysts on my ovaries), and a cholesterol check (often there are issues in PCOS women). My blood pressure is excellent, and she was very impressed that I am able to lose weight as easily as I am, because most PCOSers have issues there too. All in all, very good! Oh, she wants me off the Tretinoin my dermatologist prescribed since it isn't a good thing to take in case of pregnancy. I am so relieved because that stuff was making a mess out of my face.

I saw the dermatologist yesterday and was informed that thing on my elbow was a type of inflammation with a really really long name. It may or may not go away (he thought it probably won't), but it is harmless. Yaay. I have yet another cream to try starting next week, just to see if it will disappear.

Our visit with Stephen's sister and family was a blast. It was a little crazy at times having a house-full in our little two bedroom apartment, but it was always fun. The adults went out for appetizers and trivia at BWW. "The Game of Things" was a favorite past-time, and we enjoyed a slow, relaxing dinner of fondue. Kristen made an amazing Jello cake that I couldn't get enough of. Agh, I love Jello cake! We gave a Logan a little helicopter like Stephen's for his birthday; he and Stephen flew their little gadgets around a bit Sunday and drove us nuts.

Dad, Tricia, and Erika are coming up Friday. We're planning on having fondue with them too. We might see a movie or go check out a state park if it is nice out (I hope it is... let's see....YES! Dashboard says it will be in the upper 50s-low 60s!) I'm really looking forward to this visit!

Creamy Veggie Fondue

2009-03-16T22:03:00.001-05:00

1/4 C Milk
1/4 C White wine (we prefer Sauvigon Blanc)
1 8 oz. block Cheddar cheese, shredded
1 8 oz. block Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1 package cream cheese, softened
1/4 C chopped green onions
1/4 C frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 t ground dry mustard
1 t ground cayenne pepper
1 t garlic powder
1 t coursely ground black pepper
lemon juice

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan over low heat, heat white wine first. Then, add shredded cheeses and melt, stirring frequently. Add cream cheese, and cook until mixture is smooth and melted, about 10 minutes. Add milk, stirring frequently. Add liberal amounts of lemon juice to ease stringiness, if needed. Heating the wine, adding the cheeses, and THEN adding the milk prevents the milk from curdling.

2. Stir in green onions, spinach, and spices. Continue cooking until all ingredients are well-blended, about 10 minutes.

3. Transfer to fondue pot to keep warm.

Dipping suggestions:
French bread, 1 inch cubes
Broccoli
Bell peppers pieces
Baby Carrots
Celery pieces
Cauliflower
Ritz crackers
Tortilla chips

Stephen's helicopter

2009-03-14T19:05:00.010-05:00

Split Pea Soup

2009-03-13T17:06:00.002-05:00

3 qts. water
10 oz. canadian bacon, chopped
1 lb. (16 oz pkg) dry split peas
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
3 carrots, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
3 c. canned tomatoes
1/4 tsp. cumin seasoning
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
1 med. onion, chopped

Throw it all in a crock pot on low. Simmer for 6-8 hours.

I loved it-- very hearty and healthy. I think I'll add a little bit of shredded cabbage next time. Stephen wasn't thrilled because the soup is tomato based. Ah well, can't please everyone. :D

Week 10

2009-03-13T16:56:00.001-05:00

M: 22.8

S: ??

Stephen texted me from work

2009-03-13T16:51:00.004-05:00

Bug control is his specialty

My little guy is a big guy!

2009-03-11T19:22:00.004-05:00

I used to watch this little guy when he was a baby. Now he is turning three in a few months!

March and LO-LO is 19!!

2009-03-11T18:02:00.009-05:00

March is a bit more packed than usual. Each weekend we have someone coming into town for a visit, and then there's my birthday in thirteen days. Stephen's sister Kristen and her family are coming in this Sunday through Tuesday. My dad and stepmom are coming in next Friday-Sunday, and then my mom and stepdad are coming the next weekend.

I started a hot yoga class yesterday, and went again today. It's 90 minutes of sweat-'til-you're-wrinkled slooooooww poses in a 105 degree, 40% humidity room. For those 90 minutes, it's excruciating-- your limbs tremble, sweat drips off every pore and soaks your mat, you feel like you're going to fall over dead, but afterward you feel amazing. It's called "Bikram yoga" if you're in a Googling mind. I plan to go as much as possible, at least until my 20 days for $20 is up

. :D BTW, I burn 1823 calories each session! (approximately).

Stephen is still tooting along at work. I wish I had more to say other than he's really doing well at his job, and doesn't leave much to be desired. His boss is impressed, I'm impressed. He will have many opportunities in the future. He likes what he does. Nothing new, but still wonderful!!!

HAPPY 19 LOGAN!!!!!!!!!

For your birthday, I present you with these:

Yummy gummy goodness that does not put your loved ones at risk of willful asphyxiation ;-)

Enjoy!!

F to the R to the E to the E

2009-03-06T12:12:00.003-06:00

Because the Papillion Alltel store is buddy buddy with management of the new Buffalo Wild Wings, Stephen and I were treated to a FREE 3-course meal last night. The experience was divine. We were the first to put our mouths on their forks (so shiny. so scratch-free.) Stephen was the first winner of their trivia game. I think we even received our food first on the bar-side of the restaurant. Free food tastes fantastic anyway, but our wings were perfectly dripping in sauce. SO YUMMY!

S: 14

M: 21.2

Catch-up picture post

2009-03-05T13:22:00.011-06:00

Two weekends ago, our good friends Luke and Kim came up for a visit. We had the most excellent time, and I think they did too; it was much needed on both ends. Luke made his bean dip, we played Guitar Hero, shopped, saw Paul Blart: Mall Cop (very funny, but I suppose you have to be in the right mood for it. Thankfully I was!), played "The Game of Things" for hours, sang karaoke, and drank a little. Stephen introduced Luke to whiskey sours, and by the end of the weekend, whiskey sours and Luke were well-acquainted.

Last Wednesday, Stephen had the day off for a doctor's appt, but was feeling a bit on the ill side, so he skipped. Instead we shopped for a bird feeder, new work clothes, enjoyed the GORGEOUS weather and ate out Chinese. Yeah, it didn't make sense to me either, but it was fun!

For the last 18-24 months, I've had a red, raised, irregular patch on my elbow. It doesn't itch, burn, hurt, or otherwise cause me discomfort. In fact, I forget about it until someone says, "Hey what's that thing on your elbow". I showed it to our family doctor, and she referred me to a dermatologist, who I showed it to Tuesday. He thinks it is something called "pigmented purpura", completely harmless, but ordered a biopsy anyway. I am proud to say I handled the procedure gracefully, and I did not cry. **yaay** (I hate needles... blood... cutting... ) We will find out the results at the very latest St. Patrick's Day when my sutures are removed, sooner if it is something "unexpected or serious". I'm generally not too concerned about this case specifically, but I am somewhat uneasy about the fact that I am fair and have had many, many blistering sunburns as a kid, despite being lathered with sunblock.

This last picture was taken last night at Ruby Tuesdays. Garden Bar+Lost=Happy Meghan.

In other news, a new concoction was invented by Kniethe & Co called "G-Whisk", and I am looking into joining a yoga school. This month will be happily busy with my birthday and visits by Kristen/family, Dad and Tricia, and maybe Mom and Stan. Next month is Easter (crazy.) w/ my side, and we are heading down to see Mark and Candy, but we haven't decided on a date yet.

LOL FUN!! Future Little Knittels would look like:

2009-03-02T02:05:00.006-06:00

Ok, now I'm going to bed. :-)

Less of us, more of birds

2009-03-01T15:41:00.007-06:00

Old Navy had some great buys, so I got a lot of shopping done for myself for this spring/summer. I discovered I am down 1 shirt size! My pants/jeans are getting looser, and I even have a pair of jeans that I should've stopped wearing long ago because they sag from the butt down. Not quite ready to buy smaller ones just yet, though. Stephen tried on the pants and shirts we bought for work last Wednesday, and found out he is down a pant size! Pant shopping has been so hard for him in the past, bless his heart, because he has rather short legs. Now we can find his size pretty much wherever we go. This is great! A little costly, but so much fun, and more encouragement to keep going.

The birdhouse has attracted a multitude of feathery, plump friends over the last few days. Yesterday morning, they left tracks in the snow all around the feeder, and this morning both Howie and Zoe were hunkered down as close to the floor as possible, watching, waiting, absolutely enthralled with the new visitors on the other side of the sliding glass door.

Today is our 5th engagement anniversary. Today is also the day Stephen's dad would have turned 59.

Week 8

2009-02-27T18:03:00.001-06:00

S: ??

M: 17.8

Taste of Spring

2009-02-26T13:20:00.004-06:00

Yesterday was absolutely gorgeous as spring fever swept the house. Stephen had the day off, our windows and blinds were wide open, and the house was clean. It was wondrously relaxing, but productive.

After sitting in the parking lot for five days the Trailblazer is now registered and legal to drive.

The kitties have taken in avid interest in the feathery plump twittery creatures that visit our balcony, so we bought a bird feeder to ensure continued feline entertainment.

After grocery shopping, I sat out on our balcony with our lap-accessible entertainment device and a tubby orange kitty busy sniffing every. inch. of the balcony. After he finished investigating with his olfactory, he plopped down and dozed in the warm glimmer of sunshine. Meanwhile, Stephen was within the house raptly participating in a conference call for work while playing Battlefield. :D

Then we sorted through Stephen's clothes. Some to Goodwill, lots to throw away (socks/undies mainly), and few odds and ends to keep for a time when there is "less" of Stephen. We do alright buying new clothes when we need them, but somehow the new clothes became additions rather than replacements.

Veriz-ell institutes a new dress code next Monday, so we spent a chunk of yesterday evening in Kohl's trying to color-coordinate ties with dress shirts. At this point we are rather inexperienced, though Stephen can at least tie his own tie.

The day was capped off with a cozy fire, a new episode of Lost, and new purple butterfly jammie bottoms that were in my usual size, but a little too big.

New Cell Phone

2009-02-22T21:29:00.002-06:00

Meghan has a new cell phone. If you'd like to have the number, please leave a comment and we'll give it to you.

Steve & Meg + 8

2009-02-17T11:24:00.005-06:00

Did you know there is actually a blog called "stephenandmeghan.blogspot.com"? I googled our first names, and this blog was part of the search results. The names are spelled correctly and everything. I wish I would have thought of it first. Weird, there is another couple strolling around the world named Stephen and Meghan.

Well, of course there is.

Monday morning I had a vibrant dream that I had moved in with Jon and Kate to be 24/7 help. With all my efforts added to theirs, we got everything done by 7pm, and Kate was shocked and riddled with glee. She had no idea what to do with herself now that the house was clean and all eight kids were bathed and ready for bed. She thanked me profusely. They decided on board games about the time I woke up.

Visiting Family and Feeling Young

2009-02-10T17:15:00.004-06:00

I've been in Kansas City for the 4th annual hang-with-cousin-Kristi-while-parents-go-somewhere-exotic-for-the-anniversary week and will stay until Sunday. I am a little sad to know this will probably be the last one since Kristi will be in college next year; I will be more than shocked if I am called upon to do this once more. It's been an excellent opportunity to visit family. I miss it so much being several hours away. One of these days we'll be living here again, and I'll get to see everybody more often.

Elaine's surprise birthday party was Saturday (whew! We can finally let the cat out of the bag!) and it was a blast. Elaine was all smiles, and I got some great shots with my camera, as well as video of her grand entrance. You can tell she was truly touched and had an awesome time, and for that I am very happy!!

Sunday Stephen and I hung out with my dad and Tricia for a few hours, and did our Christmas exchange. Tricia made some soup and Dad shared his habanero red pepper flakes with me-- they made my ears burn and my nose run, so you could say it was pretty much the best stuff ever. He was supposed to send some home with me, but we forgot, so hopefully he can pass some off to me at lunch tomorrow.

Ang and I pigged out at B.D.'s Mongolian Grill (on good stuff though), then we visited with Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma's been very sick with the shingles this past week... so sick that she hasn't eaten or felt like chatting it up on the phone. This is very unlike her; even in her worst puny days she has a hearty appetite and invites phone calls. Thankfully she is coming around today, but still looked ragged, uncomfortable, and quite aged. She has some painful sores next to her left eye, so Grandpa has to apply some drops to keep bacteria from entering her eyes. It was so touching how tender he was with her. They bicker back and forth like old married folks do, but they really love each other, and it shows how much they care when one is sick. Grandpa has been very concerned and taking care of Grandma like a champ. I've never seen her so sick, even with her severe bouts of pneaumonia. I don't like seeing her (or him) so sick... it gets me thinking about how much time they may have left, and I usually end up bawling ... and I don't need to think about that yet.

I miss my husband and the cats. They feel so far away, in another world, in another time. When I spend time with my family, I feel like I am a teenager again, and forget that I have been married for nearly five years (REALLY??? five YEARS??). It isn't that I don't think of Stephen...I do miss him all the time.. but he's just not here, so I am in a way reliving my childhood/teen years. I don't get to see my extended family too much anymore except for holidays. One of these days, we will be creating new memories where I DO feel married, because both branches of my family will be present, and the grey between adolescence and adulthood will thin and the two major sections of my life will finally meld together into one. I explained to Kristi that I really don't feel 24/25 at all. I've felt 18 for half a decade, and it wasn't until this last year that I finally felt 20-21ish. LOL. I guess that is good.

New Life Today!

2009-02-04T07:16:00.003-06:00

My stepsister Emily gave birth to her son Memphis at 5:42 this morning! WHOO-HOO! I am so excited and I can't wait to see pictures. The Blackley grandchildren throng is growing! He is on O2, but otherwise doing well, so keep him in your prayers.

Moments after finding out about Memphis, I learned that some good friends of ours are expecting in October!! WHOO-HOO!!!!

It's February.

2009-02-02T22:30:00.003-06:00

Tonight while I was putting away groceries, Stephen cupped my cheeks and said "Aww, your face looks like it did when we were dating"
My eyes misted over. "It really does?!"
"Yeah really!"
Best moment of the day x 77.

Since I had nothing ready for dinner and I needed to pick up some groceries any way, we ate supper at Ruby Tuesday and engaged ourselves in one of our long talks about the future. My plans continue to go back and forth like they have for years (some things never change...), but after talking it out some more, we are both in favor of me pursuing my music education privately for the time being, but finishing my bachelor's in English. I can enroll right away without having to prep anything and more concrete opportunities will be available after completing my degree (such as editing/proofreading/etc). I still desire a formal music education, but this is something I would be perfectly fine doing much further into the future (maybe even post-kids). Until then, I can practice, take lessons, learn all I can on my own, and hopefully join an orchestra or band.

Friday I leave for KC for a whole week to be with my cousin while her parents are out of town. Laundry awaits [boy, does it await...]; I have last minute Christmas projects to finish (why yes, I am aware it's it's February), and a little bit of cooking to do in order to provide Stephen and myself with a nutritional safety net for next week.

Stephen is trucking along and doing exceptional at work, and I continue to be amazed and proud of him. I think once his store is no longer called "Alltel" he will be wearing ties everyday.

It's still flippin cold outside. I donned flipflops tonight and regretted it. Yeah, I KNOW, it's February!

As of last Friday:
S 15.2
M 12.0

Windzdae

2009-01-28T15:42:00.006-06:00

Stephen: "It's really warm outside! 33 degrees! We should open up the windows!"

He's home from work since he's going in Saturday. Playing Battlefield. I love it when he's home and enjoying himself!

I'm getting ready to head off to the grocery store. Lost is tonight! My sister and I talked about having iChat going while we watch tonight's episode, but I don't know if that is still the plan.

Mom sent me a link discussing freelance writing/editing/proofreading opportunities. I'm looking into this further, since it appears ideal for me. Good way to get my writing out there, build a reputation, make some money, and still remain flexible and available for other things.

Weekend plans

2009-01-24T00:48:00.006-06:00

Stephen is working tomorrow since he took Wednesday off. He's taking the new car, just for fun. We took it for a spin this evening; it felt so much like when we were dating in the old Ford "Exploder". We haven't taken any pictures of the new wheels yet since it snowed today. Snapshots will be posted at some point for those of you who want to see. I'm heading to Whole Foods with Chris and Kim in the morning, then doing laundry. Oh joy (about the laundry). We weighed in again today. I am disconcerted to learn I actually gained 2/10 of a pound this week. ??!! Stephen's is melting off, as predicted; I am so proud of him! But, WTheck? I am absolutely shocked I didn't lose a thing, especially when I compare what I ate to what Stephen ate... then again, we have vastly different metabolisms. Apparently my system is WAY more sensitive. I will be manipulating a few variables in the coming days to eek out better results next week.

S 12.2
M 7.4

A good find and a bad find

2009-01-22T04:46:00.007-06:00

Stephen skipped out on work yesterday to spend the day with me car-hunting. After five hours of wading through cars along Ft. Crook Road, we were shown a 2005 Chevy Trailblazer, charcoal color, that had just arrived on the lot to be shown the next morning, and was not yet detailed. We decided it shall join our 4 1/2 year old battered creampuff tomorrow and be our camping/vacation/in-town vehicle. ;-) We also stumbled across a 2003 Chevy Trailblazer EXT that we kept in our back pocket a long time, and was a real consideration because of its price, but in the end the 2005 was newer, cheaper, and suited our needs a little bit better- though the roominess and extra seating of the EXT would have been really awesome. We also test drove a 2006 Saturn Vue, which we did like, but the price wasn't where it needed to be to hook us. So that is that; we have two cars again!

I made Mom's beef and barley soup last night for supper. As I was enjoying a hearty bowl and watching the premiere of Lost, I sipped on an ice cold glass milk. The meal was great, but the milk, well... it had a unique aftertaste. I couldn't quite place it. I took several whiffs, but the odor was wholesome... I thought, maybe it tastes this way because it is skim? In spite of these thoughts, I continued to enjoy the milk, until I had downed more than 3/4 of the glass. It was at this point that I convinced myself it was necessary to actually peer down into my beverage recepticle. Little white floaty thingys drifted atop the surface, and these little white floaty thingys clung to glass where the milk was absent.

Chunks of milk.

NAAAAAAAASSSSTTTTY.

It was later discovered that the milk was not spoiled after all (shouldn't have been... was a brand new gallon), but it was the kind you "shake" before pouring to disperse its "cream top". It says so on the label. Who ever heard of milk that you needed to shake before drinking??? That is just... wrong. I really don't want to drink it, but I would feel convicted pouring that whole stinkin' gallon down the sink. It was not cheap. Would you drink chunky milk knowing it was not spoiled? Would you be able to reconcile the two without the inclination to urp?

Macs, soup, an oath

2009-01-20T17:41:00.003-06:00

Today was the Big Day for our country. One president said farewell, another took the oath. From these eyes Obama is neither here or there; they are (and have been) poised his way, ready to witness his administration so I can finally decide what kind of man he really is.

I dvr'd the inauguration so I can watch it later this evening. I happened to sleep through today (what a sorry excuse to miss it live!), but I've just been exhausted lately. Slept some of last night, woke up for a couple hours, and then slept hard like I was sick until just an hour ago.

Plans changed this last weekend. Luke and Kim did not come up due to some family health issues, so instead we went down to KC to help Mom and Stan pick out and play with their new Macbook. Mom is hopelessly in love, and squealed every time a cool feature was discovered. She made a lovely beef barley soup, and it did not lack many compliments!

We did get to have lunch with Luke and Kim on the way back home. Stephen and I were waiting in the restaurant lobby for them. As soon as they came into view, a surge of happiness went through me. I missed them a lot! Lunch was wonderful and long!

Beef Barley Soup

2009-01-18T22:13:00.007-06:00

(6 cans) 3 cans of beef broth

(2 cans) 1 can of chicken broth

(2 C) 1 C water

(1 C) 1/2 C pearl barley

1 bayleaf

simmer ~ 30 min

While broth is simmering, add 2# cut up beef to 1-2 T canola oil, diced onion, 3 finely diced cloves of garlic, pepper, sea salt; in a frying pan, brown at med heat; drain.

(6-10) 5 carrots, sliced

(3-4) 2 stalks celery, sliced small

Add meat to broth & veggies; large pinch of thyme; simmer until desired tenderness.

Week One

2009-01-16T00:23:00.003-06:00

S 7.5

M 7.6

No more monkeys jumping on the bed.

2009-01-15T22:46:00.005-06:00

It is icy cold outside, -4 right now. Yikes! Stephen actually had to wear a jacket today and the car coughed and sputtered before it started. Our windows must not be well insulated because we had ice on the inside of our sill. Howie and Zoe spent some time at our bedroom window this morning, but did not take advantage of the perfect popsicle. If I was a cat, I would sure take a few licks!

We arrived at the clinic ten minutes early and went to the window to receive our paper work. The receptionist informed us our appt was yesterday. I was not a happy camper. I had double-checked twice over the phone when I made the appt, and I was very very careful to write down the right day. It was the clinic's fault, not mine, but I had to control my boiling consternation because there was no point arguing whose fault it was. They were more than gracious to make room for us, so it worked out fine in the end.

So Stephen's bp is still a bit high, but much lower than it was! Yes! He is on water pills and will go back in 6 weeks to see where he's at.

The doc took a look at the red rash on my elbow and was baffled. She promptly wrote a referral to an area dermatologist and believes a biopsy is in order.

I gave a urine sample for the pt, and it was negative, so I have a week's worth of Provera to get me going again. I took the first pill tonight, but began having second thoughts... it just didn't sit quite right in me. The ladies on this PCOS board that I frequent are wonderful to talk to about the emotions, processes, and problems with this disease, and when I shared this month's cycle, they recommended I wait. Even though the chance is slim, I still might be pregnant due to a late ovulation and the stick hasn't picked it up yet. So... I'm waiting another week or so and retesting. It feels a bit excessive and silly, but I'd much rather be safe than sorry. **sigh** my body is quite frustrating at times.

Luke and Kim will be coming over tomorrow night for a weekend visit! I am so excited to see them, it has been so long!! Stephen mentioned something about us going and seeing Mall Cop (is that what it's called??) with what's-his-face--- Kevin James. Maybe we'll even pull Guitar Hero out too, for old times sake. We've had problems with the toilet in the guest bathroom slowly regurgitating its contents after a flush, so our maintenance guy came by today and snaked it... we'll find out this weekend if the problem is resolved! ;-)

Appointments and health goals

2009-01-13T05:19:00.004-06:00

Stephen and I have physicals Thursday morning with a Dr. Rothlisberger. Kim recommended her to us. It will be a relief to finally get Stephen's bp issues under control, get my skin checked out, and get advice/support for our weight loss adventure. I am 13 days late and took 3 hpts; they are all negative but I am hoping we will have time Thursday morning to do a blood test just be absolutely sure. If I am late, it is 3 or 4 days at the max, so weeks is rather unusual for me.

My next task is to find a good gynecologist in the area. I really hate to close my eyes and drop my finger in the yellow pages, but it appears that is what I'll have to do for lack of recommendations. I need my annual exam, but I also want tailored advice on how I can handle my PCOS most efficiently, (hopefully without meds) We aren't necessarily looking to get pregnant, though that would be great; I just want to get healthy and working right inside and out, and I don't want a bunch of chemicals and hormones pumped into my body to do this.

Tomorrow I'm making a trip to the grocery store. We wiped out our fresh fruit supply and our veggies are quite low ***CLAPS HANDS*** go us! I made a yummy minestrone soup last night, and it was quite delish. Well... I thought so. I get the feeling Stephen is desperately missing cheeseburgers, but he is doing awesome in spite of his cravings!

Restocking

2009-01-10T00:33:00.015-06:00

What was left after getting rid of the "bad" stuff. :-o

The food we freecycled

The only not-so-good stuff we kept (but it is pushed way in the back of the pantry!)

Everything we threw away. Shame.

After tonight's (last night's?) big grocery run in the snow by myself with a slow and chatty teen cashier and bagger.

I need some sort of multi-tiered countertop wire/wood basket for my potatoes, onions, and other produce.

The new changes were instituted for our first meal. We had a big grilled chicken salad piled with lots of veggies, and fresh cherries and boiled new potatoes on the side. I made a salad dressing that was interesting and good in its own way, with poppy seeds, dijon mustard, light mayo, milk, Splenda, salt and pepper. We have a ton of nuts, beans, and seeds around here which we are both excited about. Stephen is a nut-freak, and beans are literally the perfect food.

Though I am excited about the changes I feel out of my element because we have many new ingredients (at least to our household) that I don't know how to use just yet. It doesn't flow naturally to bake with wheat germ or flaxseeds. I love red cabbage, but what do I do with it beside chop it in salads or boil it? It'll all come in time I'm sure. I can't wait to experiment, though poor Stephen is at my mercy. >:}

New Year, New Leaf, New Life

2009-01-09T03:45:00.004-06:00

I joined an online support forum for PCOSers a few days ago, and have spent many hours browsing the forum and researching PCOS diets and natural remedies. I finally found a diet that suits our needs, not just for our short-term need to drop pounds, but to maintain balanced and healthy bodies for life: the Glycemic Index diet. We are using Rick Gallop's book Living the G.I. Diet as a guide, and will probably use an Insulin Resistance diet book in conjunction (insulin resistance is quite common in women with PCOS). The glycemic index is commonly associated with diabetics, this is true, but the foundation of the plan really is common sense nutrition when you think about... eat tons of fruit and veggies, lean protein, whole grains, and bypass sugar, and saturated and trans-fats. That's about all it is.

We are really excited, though kind of apprehensive/nervous. We've attempted lifestyle changes in the past and they fell through. However, unlike the last few times, we are both eager to change and are committed to helping the other, as well being committed individually. It will take about 14 months for me to get to my target weight (which shows how much I have to lose with out giving out a number :o!) By my 26th birthday, I should be there. Stephen will be weighed and measured this morning, so stay tuned for his goal date. :-)

Edit 1/9/08 5:15pm: We measured Stephen this morning and figured he will probably be at his ideal weight by New Year's 2010, though this is assuming weight will practically melt off him like it has in the past.

;-)

Sidebar rant: cell phones

2009-01-06T23:48:00.006-06:00

I'm rather quiet and thoughtful (as in "prone to think/analyze", not thoughtful as in "caring" [though Stephen insists that I am-- whatever]). Being such, I tend to notice patterns of speech and rhythms of conversations. For example, I can often predict my husband's response to any given stimulus. He is by nature silly, spontaneous, and quite literal in his speech, but knowing this even his spontaneity is predictable simply by determining the most spontaneous, literal, silliest response to any given stimulus. I say: I'm sitting on the computer. He responds: it is usually not a good idea to sit ON the computer, how about sit on a chair instead. Not the most creative example, but see what I mean?

So tonight Chris, Kim, and Stephen are chatting away, and I am sitting back and observing the flow of conversation, and it occurred to me, not for the first time, that conversations can't help but revert back to cell phones. I'm not kidding you, pretty much anytime we are in a casual conversation environment, cell phones are brought up... what they look like, how durable they are, what features they have, what model people will get next, ringtones, text messaging plans, the list goes on infinitely. Not only are cell phones brought up, but they are always out, accessible, displayed in hand, and even used during the conversation. Even when we are talking about something completely different (in tonight's instance, dirty feet and showering) the conversation is interrupted to say something about a cell phone. Seriously, sit back and observe conversations if you don't believe me.

It is interesting that cell phones are such a raving conversation piece. I mean, we don't sit around and talk about the latest tvs or MP3 players as often or as passionately as we do cell phones. Is this a manifestation of our archaic need for a security item? It is ironic, because cell phones are communication devices supposedly meant to make our lives easier and to help us keep in touch with our business contacts and loved ones... it is a means to communicate information of all types. I wonder how much of the time we use our cell phones to talk about our cell phones? For employees of the cell phone industry, who must communicate information about cell phones to do fulfill their job requirements, using cell phones to talk about cell phones is sensible and necessary, but for the rest of us? Why do we spend so much conversation time talking about the very item we are using to talk to people? Do we not have much else to talk about? (Just putting the question out there... I am not accusing people of having dull lives)

Do cell phones really make life easier? We have to remember to keep them charged and to take them with us when we venture out the front door. We have to pay for them and the time racked up with them against our ear. We have to be mindful of what time, day, and place we use our cell phone, if God forbid we do not get good reception or we have to pay even more money. And, it breaks. It is dropped in toilets, ran over by cars, stuck in places they shouldn't. Sometimes the phone isn't put together right and it doesn't work at all... and then you have to take out time and gas money to visit your local provider to find out why. I mean really, is it worth all these complication to be accessible to the world at any place and time? And... do we even want to be accessible 24/7?

I realize this rant (which I know I said I wouldn't do on this blog, but oh well) appears anti-everything my husband works for, and this is certainly not meant to undermine the cellular industry (we appreciate them, by all means!!). I just find this seemingly trivial quite perplexing, and I believe it points to an underlying cultural ideological thread that is... less than ideal. I'm sure we've all heard it said that we are at one of the loneliest times in our history, even though we have in our fingertips unprecedented boundless communication devices. If we can virtually speak to anyone, anywhere, then why are we so lonely? My hunch is, we know and have access to our means of communication, but we are ignorant/ill-equipped on how to communicate at the most fundamental level. We can talk all day about cell phones, computers, cars, who has this, and I want that, but really, these items are often filler conversation, substitutions for more substantial meaningful topics that are just too icky-gooey-messy to get into; that require too much elbow grease and vulnerability to get from heart to lips. Just a hunch.

Alfredo-yo

2009-01-06T22:58:00.004-06:00

Kim and Chris had us over this evening for fettuccine alfredo. Homemade noodles and everything, yum! We watched their wedding video, and it occurred to me that I should make a DVD out of our many VHS-C wedding tapes, since I'll have that equipment out anyway to work on Kristi and Erika's graduation DVDs. Yeah, I still haven't started on those.

Mom, can you and/or Erika start rounding up photos and video so I can take it home next time we come down?

Another holiday season came and went

2009-01-05T22:43:00.004-06:00

The Knittels just jumped off the euphoric cliff and are splat back in drab winter. Blek. Onward up the slow, slow ascent to Holidays 2009.

I think this year the Christmas excitement climaxed prematurely, about the time I was sprinkling candy pieces on fresh-from-the microwave almond bark. As for the actual "event" it just didn't feel like Christmas. Ah well. It was still very enjoyable to see family.

Stephen and I met my parentals in Mound City to do the Erika-exchange and pizza last Sunday, and embarked on one of the most enjoyable weeks of the whole year. Nothing in life is all that interesting/wonderful/satisfying unless you have the right people to do it with, and one of my "people" is my sister. She makes everything great. Yeah, we didn't get out too often or do anything super-special, but just having her around and getting to share my and Stephen's little corner of the world with her really made my year. We don't have that time much anymore, so this was really special.

Stan and Mom came out Wednesday and we had a little New Year's celebration right here in our apartment. I made shrimp boil and attempted my yummy cheese fondue that turned out less than perfect. Mom brought homemade lefsa. We played Jenga and laughed at Mom's expressions and "oh-no!"'s and then played Buzzword. By this time, the hour hand was nearing its zenith and we were less than enthused. We rung in the New Year by taking a picture at about 11:58, grabbing our cheapy party favors and pathetically blew them from our 2nd story balcony. We then came back in and took another picture at 12:01ish. Soon after, we settled on the couch and watched some show about torture machines over the ages. When the three older ones shuffled off to bed, my sister and I dug in and watched Lost until the wee hours of the morning, a ritual we practiced every night following her initial hazing with episode 1.01. I must say that I am extremely pleased with my careful strategizing. I made a scoffer into believer... I knew it was possible to convert her when she confessed that she wished she was able to watch Lost when it came out in 2004. HEHE. My work here is done.

So my sister was supposed to go home Thursday, but we all agreed two more days were in order. However, Saturday Jack Frost wizzed all over the roads, so she had to stay until Sunday. My sister was cool with that and so was I... one more night! I exchanged my sister for an empty car yesterday afternoon and came home glum and teary. It all sunk in... the holidays are over and so is my sister's visit. The house was tree-less, light-less, garland-less (thanks to my awesome hubby!). My sister's clutter of belongings left a void, and so did her footy-pajama'd self. :-( Today she texted me to let me know she was watching Lost. I watched the same episode she was to feel somewhat closer to her. It was better than nothing, but not the same.

Knittel Christmas Pics

2008-12-27T01:21:00.011-06:00

Christmas morning with the platter Janine gave me.

(ignore my hair please; just rolled out of bed)

Adam gets Uncle Chris time!

I love these kids.

A failed attempt at a "nice" photo. They insisted on including the toy guns.

**blows kiss**

I got to see my brother-in-law smashed to the gills for the first time last night... but so entertaining! However, Janine was not enthused.

He just downed a shot of Maker's Mark.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-27T01:00:00.003-06:00

I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday; we did!

We spent Christmas in Richmond at Janine's (Stephen's oldest sister). It was relaxing; we spent a lot of time just hanging out, eating, and drinking. Last night gave new meaning to the lyric "red, red, wine, you make me feel so fine..." ... Stephen had to help me up the stairs come bedtime, and it was no easy task that's for sure! :-o!

When we got home today, the house stank to high heaven. The kitties' bathroom door was closed the whole time we were gone, not permitting kitty access. The poor little furkids improvised the best they could, and used the rug in our other bathroom as well as the tub for their 2's. I applaud their choices, for the rug is cheap and easy to replace, and the tub is easily clean-able. Bless their hearts, I felt so bad for them. However, I wondered about their 1's, because I did not smell or see pee-pee anywhere. Did they hold it in the whole time?? I believed so, until I sat down on the spare bed to organize our files, and smelled IT. Yes, indeedy, the 1's were not held in, but were released on their kitty blanket on the recliner next to the bed. I soaked the chair in enzyme cleaner and their blanket will be going through the wash. I sure hope the smell is ousted before my sister has to sleep in there Sunday. If they whiz there again, the chair is going bye-bye.

Picture post (of Christmas, not kitty mess!) to come!

our Christmas and headaches

2008-12-22T23:00:00.002-06:00

Stephen and I did our Christmas this evening. He received two sweaters and two long-sleeved collared shirts from me. He gave me Lost Season 3 on DVD and is making an appt for someone to come out and tune my piano. :-) I am watching the bonus material on the DVD right now.

I've felt a little under the weather lately, with a headache that is about 2 weeks old, and just will not go away. Some days are better than others, but today's was particularly bad, so Stephen let me take a dose of his vicodin. It is definitely doing the trick, but now my eyes are getting heavy. This is definitely a concern for a doctor. I can't decide if I should go in and have it checked out ASAP, or wait until after the new year when I go in for a physical. While today's was pretty bad, most days I am able to go through my daily routine without issue. I am 98% certain it is because of my stress/anxiety issues. Those who know me well know I can be sort of an obsessive worrywart, and I think this is manifesting itself physically.

Seven swans a-swimming

2008-12-18T20:03:00.004-06:00

I can't believe Christmas is a week away. December is going SO fast.

I am spending the evening finishing up my chocolate truffles, baking the last of the banana bread, and mixing the last few batches of hot cocoa. Hopefully I'll get to those Christmas cards. I had a heck of a time finding "Jesus" cards at Target. The closest they would come would be "peace on earth, goodwill toward men" but would not cite the bible verse. They were very pretty though. I ended up finding nice ones at Walmart. I make an effort to send cards with a Jesus-centered message, just to briefly remind my friends and family who should be in the center of all this shopping, gifting, baking, glitz, and bustling-- not us. ;-) Like the other 364 days of the year, it is never about what we do, but who God is. I don't really like the phrase "Jesus is the reason for the season" because Jesus is the reason for every season.

The crunch and beauty of the snow, glazed smoothness of the ice, crisp and invigorating fresh scent of the the winter air remind me that Christmas is a time when we celebrate a Saviour is born, but also a time to celebrate that everything in the world, in nature, in my life, exalts the beauty and love of God.

The celebration we call Christmas originated from pagan winter celebrations that have gone on for centuries (such as Roman Saturnalia and Scandanavian Yule) that were flavored Christian. Traditions, such as erecting a tree in the home (Germany) and gift-giving (Roman Saturnalia) have were a part of these pagan celebrations, but as a Christian, my celebration does not stop here; my appreciation for these traditions arises to a different level. I admire the beauty of our Christmas tree propped in our sliding glass door. Viewed from outside, I am enamored with the blazing twinkle of the lights. It is beautiful. The star on top, and the gradual expanse of the branches from top to bottom is symbolic to me. Each ornament, representative to some aspect of our lives, all culminates under the single Star. Behind, next to, and in front of each ornament is the glow of lights. Our lives our illuminated by the Light, we and everything in our lives is under the watchful love and mercy of the Star. Giving starts with the Star; we are able to give because he gave to us. Gift-giving also is of special significance. I am called to give all 365 days a year, but through the Christmas season I am reminded of this call as I contemplate what our Christmas gift to each of our family members should be, and as I carefully wrap each gift to look beautiful. Christmas is not just giving and receiving presents, nor is it about doing this because Jesus gave us a gift (though this is a wonderful start!). Christmas is a time to celebrate the life and love we are freely given by God the Father, to celebrate and appreciate this world we have received, the tradition we've received from our ancestors (whether pagan or Christian) and practice each year, and reflect on the impact of God's great mercy in our lives.

Grades

2008-12-17T13:39:00.000-06:00

Grades posted today. I graduated with a 4.0.

Stephen's b-day dinner

2008-12-16T21:15:00.001-06:00

Pretty much everything was odd. For starters, the wind gusted 30-40 mph in teen degree weather. Freaking cold (briskly walking from Old Navy to our parked car gave me a brain freeze!). We were asked 3 (4?) times if this was our first time eating at Texas Roadhouse. There were many birthdays, so we'd have to pause our conversation to give way to incoherent birthday announcements and raucous YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-HAWWWW!'s (by the 2nd or 3rd birthday, we were rethinking our evil plan to subject Stephen to this craziness)

Our server delivered my diet soda unto Stephen's lap. This happened directly after we informed her it was his birthday (hint: humiliate him!... but not that way). And, the said shirt was merely an hour old, a birthday gift from me. Twice during supper, a server (2 different ones) came to our table with food we didn't order. And finally, Stephen got up on a saddle and swung a napkin around his head, while patrons gawked and my eyes lit up... then again, that is not unusual.

Good times.

3-6 inches

2008-12-16T17:07:00.001-06:00

It's snowing!

Stephen's 26th: videos

2008-12-16T15:26:00.011-06:00

eating his birthday tic tacs before commencing gift unwrapping

wee-tard Stephen pretending to blow on the wrong cupcake

26 years ago today

2008-12-14T01:47:00.002-06:00

Stephen was born! 26 sounds so old. Not in a graying, wrinkled, crippled kind a way; 26 is very much "adult", which is weird because he and I are both still trying to get a grip on this "adult" thing. I suppose the pursuit of adulthood will be a lifelong venture, eh?

We went to his work's Christmas party last night, which was all put on by his boss. Drinks, appetizers, and food were all on him- nice! It was neat meeting his boss finally, he's an incredibly nice guy- the party was a wonderful gesture. We left as we were finishing up our meals; the noise (we were in a bar), the cigarette smoke, and the crowd (I'm get very nervous in crowds) were really getting to me, plus my two drinks caused my head to feel like it was going roll off my shoulders, kind of a bad deal when said head was already afflicted with a recurrent bout of skull-pounding pain (this has gone on all week, I feel like I am getting sick) I was so relieved to get home to our quiet house (and I think Stephen was too)! We are not big party people.

We went to bed fairly soon after getting home, and I was hoping to sleep through the night, but [alas] I am up wide awake. I would enjoy my owl-tendencies much more if my husband was likewise. I think I'll go ahead and get his cupcakes made (homemade German chocolate!) so when I get up [this afternoon :/] I can ice them. Tonight we are meeting up with Chris and Kim at Texas Roadhouse to celebrate the day of Stephen's birth.

I used parentheses a lot in this post (I must be in a parenthetical mood).

What I'm doing right now:

2008-12-12T00:35:00.004-06:00

Watching The Bells of St. Mary's and this:

Sleeping Babes (see previous post)

2008-12-11T22:12:00.005-06:00

We love it when our kids get along

2008-12-11T21:54:00.005-06:00

Howie and Zoe rarely hang out together for lengthy spans of time, but this evening they cuddled close, asleep, on the couch for the longest time. When Zoe woke up, she bathed Howie. He totally soaked it all up, with his face buried into her body, and a paw dangling in the air in ecstasy. They were so adorable that I left the dinner table to get video (unfortunately, it is not wanting to upload!)

Tonight

2008-12-11T00:03:00.006-06:00

Furniture and addressing a most concerning issue

2008-12-09T14:05:00.005-06:00

We have our furniture! It finally feels like a home here.

Zoe seems quite afraid of the new additions to our living room and dining area... she's hiding in the guest bedroom. Howie, however, thinks it's pretty cool. He's being a good boy so far, staying off our new table.

Kim noticed an inequality in number between Howie and Zoe pics on this blog. It is an issue I am well aware of. The gads of Howie pics indicate nothing more than his availability. What can I say, my little girl is usually off by herself doing her own thing. As is the case with the most beautiful things in life, she is a tad difficult to capture on camera. ;-)

Italian Stuffed Shells

2008-12-09T13:44:00.004-06:00

1 pckg jumbo-size shell pasta

1 pckg shredded mozzarella cheese

1 lb ground hamburger OR ground turkey

1 jar of spaghetti sauce

1 box frozen spinach, thawed, and thoroughly drained dry OR 1 bag of fresh spinach, chopped

1 large tub cottage cheese

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400.

1. Brown hamburger/turkey, drain, add spaghetti sauce, set aside

2. Boil pasta for 1/2 of the time directed on pasta package. Do not cook all the way-- it will finish cooking in the oven. Drain thoroughly and quickly toss in olive oil or they will stick together and tear.

3. Mix in a medium bowl parm. cheese, cottage cheese, a handful of moz. cheese, spinach, garlic, and a few dashes of salt and pepper.

4. Stuff pasta with filling (approx. 2 tablespoons a shell)... don't be afraid to overstuff! Place stuffed shells open-side up in a 9x13 baking dish.

5. Pour spaghetti sauce over entire dish, and then sprinkle with remaining moz. cheese.

6. Cover in foil, bake approx. 20 min. Uncover, 10 min.

I made these for the first time last night, with Stephen, Kim, and Chris as my victims- er, guinea pigs- er, testers. It came out a bit watery because I cooked the pasta for the full time and did not drain everything thoroughly enough... but, we used a slotted spoon to serve them up, and they were fantastic! The ingredients are inspired by my Aunt Angie's lasagna. Let me know if any of your revisions work better than what I have here... I only explained how I did it last night, not what necessarily works the best.

Apartment Pics

2008-12-09T12:12:00.019-06:00

KITCHEN

DINING ROOM

GUEST BEDROOM/OFFICE

OUR BEDROOM

LIVING ROOM

Whatta Cutie

2008-12-08T10:23:00.003-06:00

Christmas-izing

2008-12-08T00:23:00.013-06:00

The tree is up, as well as my village. I am rather upset with myself for the sloppy way I packed away my porcelain village pieces a few years ago; I had to whip out the glue gun, and my little ski resort was not repairable.

The kitties are in the Christmas spirit, as you can see by these pictures. ;-) So

far they are "respecting" the tree, but my expectations are rather low. Howie had a blast with the big empty tree box. He'd jump in and dash to the tub, jump in, then dash back to the tree box. LOL Zoe kicked around a small branch that had fallen off the tree

as if it was a soccer ball. Needless to say the furballs had a

blast.

As we were finishing up, Kim and Chris came over for our traditional viewing of "Christmas Time in South Park" and we all

pigged out on summer sausage, cheddar cheese, Ritz crackers and peanut M&Ms. YUM!

Missing: Kitchenware

2008-12-05T23:58:00.003-06:00

I occurred to me as I was falling asleep that I have not seen our fondue pot- this is in addition to the crock pot and the stock pot. Ugh. I called our old landlords today to see if they were willing to ship the latter to us, and they were not too thrilled... they took down our address and phone number anyway, but did not say if they would or not. If the fondue pot is there as well, I wonder what else we left behind?? I'd sure hate to waste a day driving back to Pella, but I'd hate to have to replace everything even more. I knew I should've "double-checked" the kitchen. ***palmhead***

If we could just decide how this will be resolved, it would be no big deal. Instead, its all up in the air, and I'm concerned we will just forget about it. I wouldn't care if the missing items were merely a drawer full of wooden spoons or some stale cereal... but these are things that we actually use and are pricey. In fact, we need the stock pot for our shrimp boil New Years Eve....