Merry Christmas

One of the things I love about the Christmas season is the radio station that plays continuous Christmas music. Not just because I like Christmas music, but because the Gospel is being preached loud and clear and they don't even know it. I always think to myself while I am listening to a "real" Christmas song that there must be someone out there who is listening and searching for the truth and it hits them as they hear the words to O Holy Night or Joy to the World. At least that is my prayer. What other time of year would you hear the Barenaked Ladies singing about how Jesus Christ is the Savior and came to save the world from Satan's power? I love it.
In other news, Oliver is sick. This is his first real sickness. He is "throwing and going" as my mother would say. Yesterday was worse than today. It's amazing what motherhood does to you. As he was throwing up green peas, I found myself putting my hand out to catch the vomit. Then I thought "Ugh, why did I just do that?" Then, as he was doing it again lastnight, I put my hand out again and actually caught a handfull. It was gross, but you gotta do what you gotta do. (Mostly I was trying to spare our down comforter from the spew.) Let's just hope this all runs its course and is done before Christmas.
Meryy Christmas to all!

Sorry

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately. I do have alot to say, but unfortunately not enough time to blog about it. Joel is on lay off for the month (which is an entire blog in itself), and so he dominates the computer from the time he wakes up until the time he goes to sleep. We are at my parents' house at the moment. I promise I will blog as soon as I can get the chance to sit and think and type without a hubby and a baby waiting over my shoulder!

Pictures!

Here's a picture from the reunion. Eric Juhola, me and Janice. I think I'll post some more pictures while I have access to DSL!



And here are some of Oliver. Getting big!

I Went...

So, I did it, I went to the reunion. I'm glad I did. We didn't stay long, but long enough to catch up with some fellow classmates and realize that not alot has changed with some people since high school. The skinny-little-you-know-whats are still just that, and still didn't bother to look in our direction. Quite a few of us are married, not as much with kids. The bar that we had the reunion at was not really conducive to talking to or hearing anyone else. The music was SO loud you had to scream to make yourself heard. That made it hard to really get beyond "So, what are you doing?" It was nice to see Eric Juhola, my elementary school and junior high buddy. (and my first love, if you must know.) There was also this girl who introduced me to her boyfriend, who looked strangely like a girlfriend. Name was Julien so that didn't help.
All in all it was a pretty good time. Not ready to do it again anytime soon...good thing I have another 5 years to gear up for this next one.
Also, not seeing some of these people for ten years made me really appreciate the friends from high school that I do see regularly. I'm glad we have not lost touch. I'm glad our children know each other and will be friends too! I'm glad I don't have to ask what they have been up to for ten years and only have enough time to get the condensed version. I'm glad we are friends.

Seems Like a Lifetime

Ten year high school reunion this coming weekend. To go or not to go? I'm torn. Part of me really wants to go and just see what everyone is like now and part of me does not care at all to see most of these people who hardly acknowledged my existence in high school. (Unless they needed an answer on a test or homework!) It really does seem like a lifetime has passed since high school. Will I feel this way about my ten year college reunion? Like I am a completely different person? I don't know. Right now I would give anything to have a college reunion, I miss those people dearly, even the ones I haven't seen since graduation. But the people I care about from high school I see now anyway. (All two of them!) What do you think?

Wasted

I just wasted an hour and a half - almost Oliver's whole naptime/my time to get things done, putzing around on the internet. Why do I do this? When I finally snap out of it and start getting things done, ie housework, I inevitably hear little whimpers coming from Oliver's room. He is whimpering not only because he is awake, but because his mommy just wasted her whole morning.

A Good Weekend

It was! It started out by Joel doing the dishes for me on Friday night. That was such a treat. I was able to put Oliver to bed and then just relax myself instead of moving on to the next job. Yay for a thoughtful hubby.
Then, on Saturday night we had a date night while Grammie had Oliver. We went to see the Wallace and Grommit movie and then went to Friendly's. We liked the movie and we had a good laugh about Friendly's. Every time we go there, no matter which one we go to, the service is terrible! We always vow never to go there again, but always end up there, wondering why again. This time, it took forever for anyone to even acknowledge that we were there, then our food took forever to come out. It was so bad, that the waitress gave us half off our entire bill without us even saying anything. She was going to give us free ice cream too, but by then we were too full and it was too late. Anyway, we had a good time and it was nice to be together, just the two of us.

Weather and Heartbeats

Man, the weather here is crazy. Saturday it was snowing and the past three days have been almost 70 degrees! Not that I am complaining, but make up your mind! It was very nice weather for trick-or-treating. We had a good time and Oliver was the cutest little pepper I've ever seen.
I heard the new baby's heartbeat today. It was strong and fast and very reassuring. This pregnancy is becoming more and more real to me now. It is hard to imagine that I will love another one as much as I love Oliver, but I know I will.
In other news, Joel has a new critter. This one was not free and he did not find it in someone's yard. This one was expensive and had to be ordered from the internet. It is a gecko and I think it is weird looking. It came today - my mom had to come over while I went to the doctor so that she could be here to sign for it. I don't know how this thing survived the trip. I was expecting it to arrive in a box with many holes in it for air, but no, it was sealed tight in a regular box, all taped up tight. Then, when I opened it, the box was also packed with newspaper. The gecko was in a little styrofoam cup, which did have holes in it. How did it breathe? I don't get it. It is now settled into its cage and hiding in it's little house. I'm sure it will never come out. Fun pet...

T.V. Alternative

There are two t.v. shows that I would love to have on DVD. One is The Wonder Years. Does this exist? And if not, then why not? That was the best show ever on t.v. in my opinion. Everyone was rooting for Kevin and Winnie. Everything about this show was good, the cast, the music, the clothes, the storylines.
The other show is Family Ties. For some reason I have been thinking about that show alot lately. BUT, I cannot think of the theme song. The only part I can remember is the "sha-na-na-na" part. But, I also get it confused with the theme from Growing Pains... "As long as we've got each other, we've got the world spinning right in our hands...." How did the Family Ties one go? Please help, it is driving me crazy!

Special Guest Stars

Couple things... first of all, Sarah Curry, my college roommate and fellow
mom-to-be-again, sent me this article about her husband, Jesse. Check it out and pray for Jesse , Sarah and family while you are at it. (Oh yeah, and applaud my ability to successfully make a link.)
Also, my friend, Jennifer, sent me this funny e-mail about baby names:

This weekend I watched a VH1 special on celebrity baby names, it was so funny I had to write the names down. Girl Names...HeavenGod'iss Love StoneReign BeauStoryDreamTu MorrowPumaPoppy HoneyDaisy BooSaffron SaharaTalullah PineTrue Isabella SummerOceanFifi TrixiebellePixie Peaches HoneyblossomDixie DotBoy Names...BanjoJermagestyPirateKydDenimDieselSevenScience (middle name)Hopper JackSonnetRebelRacerRocketRougeCashPilot Inspektor

What are these people thinking? Do they think that because they are famous thier children will be immune to mockery and people saying "Your name is what?" I am all for unique names, but this is too much.

Cinderella

Catching up on some much needed housework today. I really hate doing the dishes. I have not done them in a few days so they are piled up and somewhat stinky. I don't know what I hate more, piled up stinky dishes or washing the piled up stinky dishes.
I also made the bed this week. I NEVER make the bed. It seems like a pointless effort to me. It just gets messed up again every night. Granted, it is more comfortable to go to sleep in a freshly made, tucked in bed, but then you have to do it all over again the next day. Fruitless...
I also have to fold laundry today which I find strangely relaxing.
I think stay-at-home moms should get paid by someone, the governement or something. We are helping to make our children better members of society and preparing our men to work their hardest.

Throes of the First Trimester

Oh yeah, it's all coming back to me now..the nausea, the absolute exhaustion, the grumpiness. It's a wonder people keep on having babies. I really feel as if I have been run over by a truck every single day. Poor Joel hasn't had many decent meals this week or any decent anything else if you know what I mean.
I am seven weeks along and am due May 20th, 2006. Exactly one year and five days after Oliver's due date. This time around is so different. I don't want to say that it is not as exciting, but I guess the novelty has worn off. With Oliver we made these grand announcements and planned it all out how we would tell people. Now we're like, "Oh yeah, we're pregnant again." Poor child, we really do love you. I go for an ultrasound on Tuesday. Can't wait to see the little bean with a heartbeat.
The best reaction we have gotten is from my nephew who is a freshman at Eastern University. When I told him he said, "Becka...you little slut!"
In other news, Oliver is going to be a chili pepper for Halloween. Wish I knew how to post pictures...

Little Big Brother

Well, we found out last week that little Oliver is going to be a big brother!! A bit of a surprise, but still a blessing. I'm a bit overwhelmed at the thought of two babies - Oliver will only be 1 when the new one arrives!
More to write, but the big bro demands to be fed!

Randy

My husband is a collector of stray animals. Not the usual puppies and kitties, though. He brings home frogs, snakes and just yesterday an injured butterfly. It is a very beautiful monarch with big orange and black wings, but it cannot fly and apparently it likes Joel. He said it hung out in his work truck all day yesterday and even sat on his hand the whole time he was driving home. So, he gets home and decides that Randy the butterfly (don't ask me how he came up with the name - the frogs are always named after the street that they are found on) gets to roam free around our apartment. I am so not cool with this and I insist on a cage. After much debate, "But he can't even fly!" I win and he is put into one of the old frog tanks. Only after Joel has researched what and how to feed it and succeeded in feeding it some sugar water. I have to admit, it was pretty cool to watch it eat. But, I could only picture myself getting up in the middle of the night to get a drink and stepping on the stupid thing or having it crawl onto Oliver and get put right into his mouth, where everything else winds up. So now we have three tanks set up in our little living room - two giant (and nasty looking) marine toads, a Fowler's toad, named Einstein, and Randy the butterfly.
Life would be so boring without my darling husband!

Trust Deficiency

I think I have a lack of trust. No, actually, I know I do. There are so many things that I need to trust God about and instead I worry. Or, I try to tell God what He should do with the situation and in the next sentence I'm telling Him that I trust Him completely. I'm such a hypocrite. Finances and having another baby, those are the two biggies. "Lord, I trust you to plan our family and give us what we need in your timing. Oh and by the way, please don't let me be pregnant." Where is the trust?

Wanna hear something funny? Lastnight while I was cleaning up from dinner, Joel took Oliver in our room and was trying to put him to sleep. I heard loud, screechy singing coming from the room so went to check on them and Joel was singing "Eternal Flame" by the Bangles while rubbing Oliver's belly.
He was asleep in five minutes!

The Notebook

I found a notebook to use for my blogging ideas. I am also going to use it to jot down ideas for Christmas. I always think of great things to put on my list and then when someone asks I completely forget. I also see things to buy for people and forget those too. So, maybe I'm turning over a new leaf with this notebook thing. I've decided I really like lists. I am most productive when I have a list of things to do. No list, nothing gets done. I've tried making lists for Joel so that I don't have to remind/nag him to do stuff, but they're not so effective for him.
The notebook I am using used to be our (please control your laughter) bird journal. When we lived by the pond we had alot of birds at our bird feeder and we kept track of the different kinds we saw. I guess I liked lists then too. My niece, Emilee, was looking at the journal and said we are weird. I guess we are weird, but what else is there to do when you don't watch t.v.?

I wish I was able to post pictures successfully on this Blog. I have tried and tried, to no avail. I might try to download the Bloogerbot software and see if that works. Downloading takes so long though...maybe I should put DSL service on my wish list.

A Lull

I think I need to keep a list by my bed of things I want to Blog about. I always think of things as I am drifting off to sleep or feeding Oliver. When it comes time for me to sit down and write, there's nothing. The Blog in my head is really interesting though.
I need to do some major house cleaning today, but I have no desire. We are still not totally unpacked so I find my self cleaning around stuff which bugs me. "Why don't you unpack, then?" you might ask. Well, I'll tell you...(get ready for a rant!) All of the stuff that is packed still and in boxes and piles around the apt. are things that Joel needs to take care of. Computer stuff, frog tanks - 3 of those- the actual frogs themselves who have not been fed in a month, books, his bike...shall I continue? If I try to unpack and put away these things he comes home and moves them all back into the middle of the room so he can "organize" them and he says "I told you I would do this". But WHEN, I ask, WHEN?

I miss you...t.v.

Only sometimes though. I mostly miss t.v. when there is a crisis going on such as this hurricane. I feel like I need to be glued to the tv to see what is going on. I think that is kind of strange. Why are we so drawn to other people's suffering? I certainly don't want to watch so that I can laugh and say "Stinks for them." Is it morbid curiosity or wanting to feel compassion for these people by being in the know about their situation? Any ideas?

Also, this hurricane thing put our apartment flood into perspective for me. Instead of saying poor me, I am now grateful for only 3 inches of water, minimal loss and a nicer apartment.

In other news, Oliver has started eating baby food and rice cereal now. Milestones are so bittersweet. I am thrilled that he is growing up and we can have fun with different foods, but also I am sad that he is no longer dependent solely on me for sustenance. I guess this is the never-ending struggle of a parent. Wanting your child to grow and develop, but not wanting to let go. The other down side of the food is the change in the poop (See, I told you...). No longer little, sweet-smelling, cute baby poops...now they are stinky, yucky poops that Joel and I will fight over who has to change. (It's always me, by the way) Though, he has only pooped twice since we started the food. Is this normal?

Enjoy?

So, I was at the grocery store today and along comes this man - mid- fifties, somewhat overweight, hair disheveled, very grubby looking - wearing paint-covered clothes and knee socks pulled up to said knees and a shirt that says "ENJOY". What exactly am I supposed to be enjoying about this picture?

Speaking of not enjoying things, Oliver had to get shots yesterday. I have decided there is not a worse feeling in the world than helplessly looking on while your precious one is in pain. He has this way of looking at me like, "Why are you just standing there? Make this stop!!!" I would much rather be the one in pain than have to watch him in pain. Other than the shots the appointment went well. He is average height and weight and head circumference. Wouldn't it be funny if adults had to get their head circumferences measured? "Well, sir, your head is a bit large for most 40 year olds." Strange. I wonder why babies get it measured.

An Introduction

Ahhh... a new Blog. So much potential for fun, so much potential for disaster. Let's hope the fun prevails.
On this Blog you will find stories from my life...about being a wife, mom, daughter, friend, etc. The title of my Blog is Too Much Information due to my tendency to "overshare" about things; the color and consistency of my son's poop, or my own for that matter, things about my husband that he wouldn't appreciate the world knowing, you know, that kind of stuff. Enjoy!