My Daddy

It's been just over a year and a half since I lost my dad. With Fathers Day coming up, it just reminds me of him even more. I was going to look for cards for my hubby from me and little man, and my first thought was of what type of card I would get for my dad, only he's not here. Then I was walking through the store, and I saw many different presents I would have bought for him, only he's not here. He is never far from my thoughts. He was a great dad, the kind every kid wishes he had. Yes, he could be strict, but looking back he had reason. He could be embarrassing, but what teenager didn't feel this way at some point? He could be funny, and he made us all laugh. My dad loved to be on the go. He was our transportation for many years. When friend's parents didn't feel like driving us somewhere, we knew all we had to do is ask my dad and he would say yes. If we were a little low on money, and one of his kids wanted something, he would sacrifice so we could get it. He was a very unselfish man. He never wanted for much. He was a very simple man. Most days he would be wearing his cuffed jeans, a t-shirt and his sneakers. But when he dressed up, you never saw a more handsome man. One of my memories that I have as a little girl is the smell of my dad's cologne. It was never the expensive stuff for my dad...it was all about the Old Spice. And to this day when I smell it, I automatically think of him! Now that I have little man, I think of how much he would have loved to spend time with him. He actually joked with me over the years that if I ever had children, he would have to take them from me to take care of and I could come visit them on weekends! I alway knew he thought I would be more than capable of taking care of them, he was just excited by the prospect of grandchildren! And looking at little man, sometimes I think he looks alot like my dad...and that's good! I never knew how much I would miss him...but I miss him so much. So for everyone who has their daddy to celebrate this holiday with, go see your dad, call him, whatever, just tell him you love him and you're glad he is your dad!! I think, even though he's no longer here, my dad always knew how much he meant to me!

An Award

I got my first award from Melanie at Livin' with Me. It was created by Crystal at Memoirs of a Mommy Blog to honor the donor that saved her son Noah's life:

“The rules of this award are: SHARE THE LOVE!!! Share this award with all those blogs out there that you love. All the people who make you smile. All those that make you laugh. All those that make your day. All those that leave uplifting comments on your blog. **All I ask, is that you include a link to this post with the award and ask your recipient to do the same**
As you may have recently seen on my side bar, I have finally created a custom blog award!! I have wanted to do this for a long time but never came up with something that “fit”. I didn’t want just anything. It had to be something that meant something to me. And what could mean more than Sharing the Love by giving you pieces of my heart??
So I created this award in Honor Of The Donor That Saved Noah’s Life. I share this award with those of you whose love and friendship have enriched my life and made my world a better place.
I hope by passing this award around the blogging world we can all help raise awareness of the need for Organ Donation.”

Melanie is an old friend, and I'm honored that she thought of me for this award. As a mom of a child with CHD who has had open-heart surgery, I can't imagine what it would be like for him to have to go through a heart transplant also. What a brave mom Crystal is, and a beautiful little boy Noah is. Thanks Melanie!

Hard Work

I am oh so very exhausted tonight. It's late, I should be in bed...but I'm posting on my blog. Makes a ton of sense, doesn't it? Hubby and I spent all day working in the yard and doing little projects. Fun!!! A little while ago, hubby cleared the flower bed on the side of the house. It was overgrown with all sorts of trees, flowers, etc. I had no idea what I wanted to do with it. Well, we took a trip to Home Depot and I picked out a couple of shrubs and a spruce tree to plant there. What a project that turned out to be. We ended up taking another trip a little later to pick up a few more things. A friend had given me one hanging basket for the porch...so for balance, I had to buy another. I also planted flowers in the window boxes and in the flower bed with the holly bush. It was tough work, and I'm sure I'll feel it all day tomorrow at work!! There is still alot to do...what fun it is to own our own house!!! I'll update with more pictures once everything starts to grow!!!

I'm a bad blogger

I don't even know when the last time was I posted? Things have been really busy around here. I try to find a little time here and there to get on, but I'm not finding a big enough span to get anything substantial on here. Maybe sometime soon....I have some new pictures to post of little man, baby girl, and so on. Spring is...springing...and we're hoping to start making some summer plans!!! Hope all is well with everyone!

A trip to the zoo

This past Saturday we decided to take little man for his first trip to the zoo. We have a zoo locally, but I hadn't been in probably ten years. So like the good, researching mother I am, I went online and looked to see what they had there. It didn't seem too bad, and they it looked like they had a lot of animals to look at. Little man gets in for free until he's three, and we had a coupon for buy one, get one free admission for mommy and daddy. We only had to spend $6 for all three of us to go to the zoo...not bad. Well.....our zoo is not very exciting....and left me a little disappointed. What did we get to see? Well, 2 buffalo, 2 goat (who were quarantined), 2 reindeer, two animals I can't remember what they were, a handful of some monkey-type of animal and 2 sloths, 2 tigers, 1 leopard, an otter, 2 or 3 penguins, a wolf habitat...but didn't see one wolf, a variety of different birds, and the last animal was inside its "house" so we didn't get to see it. Now I know we're not from a huge city, but....I think we could do a little better. It only took us about an hour to get through the zoo...with the first half of that being spent walking up the hill to look at all the displays and the second half just basically walking back down the hill to the exit - no displays. It was a beautiful day though, and little man enjoyed being in his little buggy and watching everything and everybody. His favorite animal was the monkey things - they made him laugh when they jumped toward the window. I told my hubby we should plan on going to a bigger zoo next time, so maybe little man can see some of the bigger animals!


Just starting out...


Little man's favorite....kind of blurry through the glass


What's over there?


The beautiful, bald eagle


The leopard...trying to stay cool


Little man and hubby...on the way back down!!

Even though we were a little disappointed with the zoo, it was great to spend some time as a family!!! Who could ask for more than that?

To my child

I saw this posted on another web site, and it just really hit home with me. As we go through our daily lives, we sometimes worry about everything that needs to get done. What we really need to do is sit back and realize our kids are only young once and to appreciate them...I really needed to read this tonight!

Just for this day.

Just for this morning, I am going to smile whenever I see your face and laugh when I feel like crying.

Just for this morning, I will let you wake up softly, all rumpled in your flannel and I will hold you until you are ready.

Just for this morning, I will let you choose what you want to wear, and smile and say you're beautiful.

Just for this morning, I am going to step over the laundry, and pick you up and take you to the park to play.

Just for this morning, I am going to eat a huge breakfast, with bacon eggs, toast and waffles, and you don't have to eat any.

Just for this morning, I will leave the dishes in the sink, and let you teach me how to put that 100 piece puzzle together.

Just for this afternoon, I will unplug the telephone and keep the computer off, and sit with you in the garden blowing bubbles.

Just for this afternoon, I will not yell once, not even a tiny grumble when you scream and whine for the ice cream truck, and I will buy you one if he comes by.

Just for this afternoon, I won't worry about what you are going to be when you grow up or who you might have been before your diagnosis.

Just for this afternoon, I will let you help me bake cookies, and I won't stand over you trying to 'fix' things.

Just for this afternoon, I will let you put all kinds of barettes in myhair, and put lipstick on my face, and I will tell you how pretty you have made me look.

Just for this afternoon I will take you to McDonalds and buy us both a Happy Meal so you can have both toys.

Just for this evening, I will hold you in my arms and tell you a story about how you were born, and how much we love you.

Just for this evening, I will let you splash in the bathtub and not get angry when you throw water over your sister's head.

Just for this evening, I will let you stay up late while we sit on the porch swing and count all the stars.

Just for this evening, I will bring you glasses of water, and snuggle beside you for three hours and miss my favorite show on t.v.

Just for this evening, When I kneel down to pray, I will simply be grateful for all that I have and not ask for anything, except just one more day.

No portion of this poem may be reproduced without permission of the author. c. 1999 Sally Meyer

Momma Meme

My friend Melanie had this on her blog, so I thought it would be fun to play along.....

Momma Meme #1
Baby’s Name? Little man...hee hee hee
Male/Female? Male
Birthday? January 6th
Where was he/she born? Crouse Hospital
What time was he/she born? 8:14 am
Weight/length at birth? 7 lb. 11 oz., 19 in.
Age as you’re typing this survey: 33
Are you a paranoid mom…? Sometimes
Do you sterilize everything (like boil nipples or wash every toy)? I sterilized bottles, nipples, and pacifiers the first time I used them, but not after that.
Do you buy “sensitive skin” wipes because they’re “better” for baby’s skin? Actually, I buy them because I don't like really strong smells, and these are basically unscented
Do you worry that your baby will stop breathing in his/her sleep? I used to check him all the time when he was a newborn, not as much anymore
Do you freak out if they happen to doze off during tummy time? (SIDS!!) Little man was too busy screaming during tummy time to fall asleep.
Do you wash your baby’s clothing in Dreft or other baby detergent? I did for probably the first 6 months, then changed to a free & clear detergent and use it on all of our clothes
Do you refuse to dress baby in anything with buttons (choking hazard)? I've never thought about that...but not a lot of baby/kid clothes come with buttons
Do you watch (and critique) when someone else changes baby’s diaper? No, but when I change him after someone else has I kind of chuckle at how it is put on
Did you buy all of their furniture (crib, changing table, stroller) NEW? Yes, but we hadn't planned on it. Lost our crib in a flood. We ended up getting as gifts our crib, changing table, and stroller
Do you have to wash a pacifier that fell on the floor before giving to baby?In the beginning I did, now I can just wipe it off and it's fine
Do you worry about anyone else holding your baby? Sometimes certain people
When you leave baby with a sitter, is all you do worry about baby? I trust anyone who has watched him 100%...no need to worry
Do you jump out of bed the second baby starts fussing during the night? No, I wait a couple minutes to see if he can settle himself. If not, then I go see what's the matter.
Do you worry about making baby bleed when clipping his/her fingernails?Yes, the first time I tried to do it, I made his finger bleed....so now that's Dad's job!!!
Do you call your pediatrician at least once a week? No, since little man spent the first 3 weeks of his life in the hospital dealing with doctors, nurses, etc., I only call(ed) when I absolutely had to!
Do you cancel playdates because your baby has a runny nose and coughed once? How sad, we've never had a play date...but I have sent him to the babysitter with a runny nose.
Do you refuse to go shopping without a shopping cart cover?I have put him in the cart a couple times without the cover....but the majority of time I insist we use it!!!
If you have a cat, do you worry about toxoplasmosis? I don't worry....I have three cats.
Is your baby allowed anywhere near your pets?Yes, little man loves the cats....and will pretty much do anything to lay on top of them!!
Do you only feed your baby organic baby foods out of fear of preservatives?Um...yeah....sure.
Do you think you are or ever have been a paranoid new mom? Upon occasion
If you want to play along, feel free- just let me know so I can check out your answers.