31 Things :: Story 2 - Morning

I’m not a morning person. Never have been, and I’m guessing I never will be. If I had my way I would stay up until 2am and sleep until 10am. But alas, the world does not revolve around me and my alarm clock buzzes every morning at 7:30am. I hit the snooze at least once and most mornings I drag my butt out of bed at 7:39am.

Some mornings Sean crawls into bed with us, and this morning was no different. “Let’s snuggle, Mommy.” Who can resist snuggling? Depending on when he crawls into bed, we can snuggle for a while but this morning he didn’t wake up until 7:35am so it was only for a few minutes.

Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I either have a live class lecture or office hours online at 8am. And Tuesdays and Thursdays Sean has preschool at 8:30am. So every day we must get up and get moving. And yes, I always set my alarm for 7:30am because we don’t need much time to get ready and eat breakfast. I would rather be sleeping and I don’t shower in the morning (remember the stinky part?).

Lately we’ve been trying to get Sean to sleep later in the morning and not crawl into our bed at an ungodly early hour. We’ve told him he has to stay in his room. Sounds like a fine and dandy plan but at 6:45am when he’s talking directly into his monitor “Mommmmmy!” sounding eerily like Darth Vadar over and over and over again... not so fine. A change in strategy is required.

After dragging our butts out of bed I get Sean’s clothes & toothbrush ready for him. He goes potty,
brushes his teeth and dresses himself. Meanwhile, I’m doing the same thing. He’s pretty pokey and I usually have to tell him over and over again -- “potty, brush your teeth, and get dressed” about ten times.

Meanwhile I start making breakfast. This morning it was scrambled eggs with a bit of sharp cheddar, salt & pepper along with breakfast sausage (Jones brand which is gluten and nitrate free - yummy!). Other mornings Sean might have instant oatmeal or “crunchy” cereal (Cinnamon Toast Crunch) and I’ll make a protein shake (strawberry, blueberry or chocolate depending on my mood) for myself. And a banana to go just about every morning.

And then we’re off to start our day! Sleepy eyes and all.

31 Things :: Story 1 - Jewelry

I’ve never been much of a bling girl, at most wearing a ring or two and maybe a necklace. Being a work at home mom with a 4 year old, there are many days when I don’t even have time to take a shower and putting on jewelry just feels wrong when you’re stinky and dirty. However, I make a conscious effort to put on at least my wedding ring because I want to remind myself often what a lucky girl I am to be married to my best friend.

This month we’re celebrating our ten year wedding anniversary. I remember when we went looking at rings before we got engaged. It was at Persin & Robbin in downtown Arlington Heights with Cliff, an old family friend of Jeff’s. We looked at many rings, but I was drawn to this one. I loved the princess cut diamond, and how it floated above the band of diamonds. The one we saw in the store was white gold, but I really wanted yellow gold because I wasn’t much of a “silver” jewelry girl at the time and figured the yellow gold would be more timeless.

The engagement ring was custom made. The band in yellow gold with a channel of diamonds, and the princess cut diamond floats above in a white gold setting. The wedding band was tricky to design since the setting on the engagement ring jutted out, and I didn’t want the two to be soldered together. I wanted the option to be able to wear the wedding band on its own (as my mom said, “I can’t see you changing poopy diapers with that diamond!”). They did a fantastic job – the rings looks fabulous together, but equally gorgeous on their own.

Ten years ago this month Jeff placed this wedding ring on my finger – engraved with the word “Forever” – and we became one. Our priest told us that day that marriage is a miracle in progress, and those words couldn’t have been more appropriate.  Together we’ve faced job loss, depression, illness, death of loved ones, pregnancy loss and infertility. Each obstacle was difficult to face individually but we always knew the other was there, and with the grace of God we found the strength to overcome and move forward together.  Our marriage is definitely a miracle in progress and just like this wedding band, I’m excited to see what God has in store for us around the bend.

I’m proud to wear this ring everyday (even when I’m stinky!), and count my marriage as one of the greatest blessings in my life.

31 Things

I had read about this online workshop through Big Picture Scarapbooking taught by Ali Edwards called 31 things. The description said, "31 Things is about capturing life right now but will be much more in-depth on a single daily subject." I thought, "hmmm that sounds interesting but I don't have time". Then it kept gnawing at me, so I signed up the day before the workshop started. Heck, if I can document every day in the month of December I can write everyday during the spring.

Everyday I will receive an email that prompts me to document one story from my everyday life. The class materials allow you to make a 12x12" album, but I decided to go smaller with a 6x9" photo book from Blurb. I want to keep the 12x12 photo book size for the big family vacations, and other big special events. The 6x9" feels more personal and intimate to me which is what these stories are all about.

I've decided to share my stories and pages here on my blog for a few reasons. One, my family & friends will probably be interested in my stories since I'm guessing they'll be mentioned in quite a few of them. And two, some of you may be inspired to join the class and/or take on a similar type of project for yourself. There may be a few stories that I decide to keep personal, but I'm not sure yet until they are actually written.

Here's my title page... the first story is coming your way tomorrow.

I know, the anticipation is killing you :-)

Lord, I Give You My Womb - Take 2

Our new year started on chipper note, and things were looking up. Sean’s birthday party was a blast. I started a new life-changing diet and lost 20 pounds in 8 weeks. And we chose an adoption agency, forked over the cash, and started the home study paperwork, training, etc.  We were moving onward and update. It felt good to start a new chapter in our family building. And then God threw us a curve ball.

In the middle of February I started to feel really fatigued, my breasts were unusually tender, and I waited and waited… and waited for my period to start. Friday Feb 24 we woke up to tons of snow, and Jeff decided to work from home. I was one week late, and finally decided to pee on a stick. It was positive. I actually had to go dig the box out of the garbage to make sure I was reading it right. I told Jeff… took a moment to hug him and cry just a little, and then ran off to the fertility center to have a blood test. My HCG was 168. Definitely pregnant.

Looking back now two months later it’s hard to express what our feelings were at the time. The best words I can think of are excited but hesitant and very, very nervous. Both of us were amazed we were able to conceive on our own – that had never happened before. Yet we both knew the situation was tenuous. I’m 42 and we know scientifically that we don't produce very good embryos even when I was much younger. Part of me was also admittedly a little pissed off. We had finally taken the leap into adoption, and now this. Once again God had to smack me in the head to remind me that I’m not the one in control. That weekend we talked a lot about “what ifs”, and waited until Monday to test again.

Monday HCG = 252. Not looking good. It should have at least doubled.

Wednesday HCG = 283. Really not good.

It wasn’t a viable pregnancy. Bummer. We knew our chances were slim, but ready for a miracle. We prayed for an answer either way, and that prayer was answered. While we were at peace with the outcome, it was frustrating trying to figure out how this fit into God’s plan for us but sure that the answer will reveal itself eventually. We still firmly believe God has wonderful things in store for our family. And heck, we were happy not to have to delay our adoption plans.

The next hurdle we faced was my HCG was still rising which meant I was at risk for an ectopic pregnancy, and we had to continue to monitor my levels. The HCG continued to creep up, and ultrasound revealed nothing in my uterus. It was confirmed to be ectopic. Ugh. The doctor’s office suddenly became frantic, and immediately prescribed me medicine that would dissolve the growing cells so that we wouldn’t run into a potentially life threatening situation of a ruptured fallopian tupe.

I was going with the flow… all's well that ends well. I was proud of myself for being so strong. But then I got the shot and started to bleed & cramp, and suddenly the tears & sobbing hit me hard. It hurt (a lot), and the emotional pain caught me off guard. I'm sure hormones didn’t help matters. I was at peace, but definitely grieving. It took me about five days to get through the dense fog. And honestly, I’m still not back to where I was but I’m working through it and well on my way.

So, when I said “Lord, I give you my womb” I never thought in a million years that all this would happen. Whoa! It just goes to show that when you think you have things figured out and under control, you really don’t.

Lord, once again I give you my womb (and my child). Your will be done.

Winnie the Pooh Party ... Sean Turns 4!

The big Winnie the Pooh party! Ever since Halloween Sean talked about several different party themes. The front runners were Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Star Wars and Winnie the Pooh. I thought for sure he would settle on Star Wars, but nope... the classic won! Needless to say I was thrilled. What momma doesn't want her 4 year old boy not to grow up?

 

We went cheap on the invites, and sent them via email. I found some cool graphics on Google Images that were posters for the Winnie the Pooh movie (2011), and dropped in the wording in the middle. Love it.

 

And what was so cool about this party is we have SO MUCH Winnie the Pooh stuff in our house. Sean's nursery was Pooh themed, and he has honestly loved Pooh & his friends his whole short life. He now owns all of the Pooh characters in plush (thank you Grandma Shelly for Kanga! She was the last one we were missing). And he's collected all of the Pooh pez. And I didn't even capture all of the little plastic Pooh characters we had thrown about the house.

Our bathroom was transformed into Pooh's "Thotful Spot". The framed photos are in our bathroom, and normally feature black & white photos from Ireland. Instead, I downloaded scenes from the Winnie the Pooh movie from Google Images, printed them out and placed them in the frames. I love them so much I think they are going to stay for a while.

The front door featured a faux wooden sign pointing in the direction of the "100 Aker Wood", and I transformed our family room into the Hundred Acre Wood. The trees were quickly created from a big roll of painter's craft paper, and a couple sheets of green poster board. We did have to put one staple into each tree to keep it from falling. Painters tape just wouldn't do the trick. The banner was homemade, and I love how it fit perfectly between the trees just like the banners do on Winnie the Pooh (honestly did not measure! God was kind to me). The pictures on the wall above the banner are normally snapshots I've taken, but again I downloaded movie posters and added some of my favorite Winnie the Pooh quotes. I also printed photos of Sean with Winnie the Pooh & friends down at Walt Disney World. He has met them in person on several occasions, so it was only fitting.

 

The week before his party I worked a little bit every day getting everything prepared and cleaned. It really went so smoothly, and everything literally fell into place. That is until the night before the party and I settled in to make these cake pops. I was originally going to make these Pooh ones, and glad I didn't because I would have certainly hurt someone in the process. I decided on these bee cake pops I found through Pinterest. Yes, they are super cute. And yes, they were super yummy (I ate at least half of them myself). But honestly, just like his dinosaur cake last year -- they were a pain in the neck! At least half of them were ruined because they fell off the stick as I was coating them in the candy. I made Jeff promise to stop me from trying to make these again. Never. Again.

 

The treat bags were a cinch. Brown craft gift bags, and I printed out another movie poster and added each kid's name. My Godson Luke is modeling the Pooh ears I picked up from Party City. And the kids loved playing pin the tail on Eyeore. This was a download from the Family Fun website.

The plush birthday Winnie the Pooh is actually Luke & Mackenzie's. Grammy/Grampy & Jeff and I bought this for them for their first birthday down in Walt Disney World. The perfect centerpiece to the food table.

I got a number of appetizer ideas off Pinterest, including Piglets in a blanket, Veggies from Rabbit's Garden, and Tigger's Tail Mix. They were a huge hit! Sean's cake is hard to see in this photo, but it is uber adorable. No, I didn't make it (remember, I promised I never would again!). It's from the Jewel, and I can't get over how perfect it was!

The best part of the day? All our family & friends. This is me and my mom & sibs... from left to right: John, me, Mom, Mike & Kari.



Hannah didn't disappoint on the cute factor!



Sean wasn't too thrilled about taking photos with everyone. He is a horrible model right now.
Starting at the top, going left to right: Uncle Mikey...Aunt Sue & Uncle Frank...Aunt Kari & Hannah (Kevin is missing!), Second Row: Grammy & Grammy...Grandma Shelly...Uncle Todd & Aunt Kim
Third Row: Christopher... Drake (Sean's friend), Reed & Christine... Uncle Johnny, Marisa & Corey.



Big Greninger Family... Kevin is in this picture! And yes, I am wearing a Tigger shirt. Sean wore a Piglet shirt, and Jeff was Pooh!





Big Hipelius Family



The day was magical. Truly. Honestly. Everything came together without an ounce of stress, and Sean loved it all. My little boy is four years old. Hard to believe.

“If you live to be 100, I hope I live to be 100 minus 1 day, so I never have to live without you.” -- Winnie the Pooh

Photo of the Day... Party!

It was loads of fun. More pics and details and stories to come...

Happy Birthday, Sean!!

I am so darn blessed! My little guy turned 4 today... hard to believe, time sure does fly by. Everyone tells you that but when they are itty bitty you can't quite grasp it.

Today I can.

Feels like yesterday we were racing to the hospital when my water broke, freaking out when the doctor said "emergency C-section", and hearing his sweet cry for the first time. God is awesome because he sent us this amazing little man. He's growing up so so fast.

Happy Birthday, buddy. I love you.