BALL!!!!

Abram said his first real word today(except for dada, he has been doing that for awhile). He has been very fond of his blue ball that he got for his first birthday from Uncle Brian and Aunt Michelle. He has been able to go get the ball when asked for awhile. However, I was quite surprised when Abram walked up to me with a small ball and said "bawwlll". Since then we have been talking about the ball constantly. Right now he is saying "bawwll bawwll bawwll" because his is stuck under the table. Abram is finally learning English!! I was wondering if he ever would...

Grrrr

I am sooooo mad right now! I don't often splurge on myself. However, I thought now that I am working full time again it was time to get a good haircut and start coloring (highlighting) it again. I spent an insane amount of time and a decent amount of money to get a really crappy cut and color. You can't tell the color is any different and the cut is NOT WHAT I ASKED FOR. I am not talking "wanted to look like the model in the picture via the haircut". I am talking...asked for her to cut my hair one way, came out with a different length and style than I asked for. I know she got what I was looking for because she asked questions that concurred with the style I desired. So, now I have a football helmet head with really expensive non-highlights. This just sealed my decision to return to the hairstylist that I had prior to getting married. It costs a bit more but at least I will be happy with the outcome.

I am off to wash this blob head and see if I can get some kind of shape other than football out of it.

Calling all blog addresses

I somehow deleted all my blog followings. If you have a blog could you reply in a comment with your address so I can get those back up? I am in blog withdrawl!

Thank you!

Sometimes

Sometimes people who you thought were good people make really horrible choices and change your view of them.

Sometimes waiters and waitresses can be too attentive.

Retreat

I have had a stressful couple days. One of my clients "fired" me...she was unsatisfied with the way that I was working with her family and decided they would be better without my services. There is a lot of history to this person and everyone involved agrees it is not my fault. However, it still feels pretty bad. So, I am dealing with this and saying goodbye to the family. Yesterday, I went into Barnes and Noble to get some coffee and wallow a bit. As soon as I walked in the smell of new books and coffee hit me and I felt peace. I had forgotten what a retreat the bookstore is to me. Maybe its thousands of pieces of literature on such a variety of topics that it helps to put my problems and worries into perspective. Maybe it is the wealth of knowledge at my fingertips that provides a calm. All I know is right now as I sit in this bookstore I get a little retreat from my life and worries...and I get a nice cup of coffee.

Sad but Happy too

Today when I brought Abram to daycare I was snuggling him before I turned him over. He started wriggling to get out of my arms and cried to get to Jodi. My heart broke as I watched my baby want to be with someone other than me (or Barry or my dad who are the only other people he will at times prefer over me). I got into my car called Barry and cried. I am really really really glad that he likes it there so much but it makes me hate working and having my baby with someone else during much of the day. I am feeling very sorry for myself today.

Hello Mini, Goodbye TV

Last night I purchased a new mini laptop that I will be using for work. It is fantastic and so small and cute! It has a 10" screen and and almost full sized keyboard. It will allow me to take notes during an in-home session so I can be more organized and actually get paid for the paperwork portion of my job! And the best part is it can be a tax write off since it's going to work with me.

However, the budgeters that we are needed to offset the cost of the computer so...goodbye dish and DVR. Barry called to cancel today and it was shut off immediately. We are both in a little shock over this. I don't know what I will do next time I need to go to the bathroom during a show and can't pause it! Although since most of my shows are on while I am at work I will more than likely not have to worry about this scenario. I am excited about the extra time I will have but will miss the unwinding that TV provided.

So, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, and Secret Life of the American Teenager I bid you farewell!

How Abram met his new friend, Penguin

On Saturday Abram turned one year old. He had a wonderful party with many friends and family helping him celebrate his first birthday. Unfortunately, his birthday took a turn for the worse and we ended up back where it all started one year ago that day, Methodist Hospital. On Friday we noticed that Abram was developing another cold, we were sad that he was going to be sick on his birthday but we didn't see anything unusual. Saturday he wasn't his usual self and after hearing two of our friends who are nurses express concern (along with my dad's urging) we called the nurseline to get an opinion on bringing him in to urgent care. He was wheezing and had labored breathing. We decided to take him into a pediatric clinic and he was seen by a doctor there. The doctor took a quick look at him hooked him up to a nebulizer and said that she needed to call an ambulance to transfer him to the emergency department to monitor his oxygen saturation. I immediately started crying while little Abram sat on my lab with Barry holding the neb mask up to his face. I have never been so scared in my life! But we knew he was safe now...I just kept thinking about what could have happened if we hadn't brought him in. So, the ambulance came, they strapped me to the gurney and I held Abram for the ride over. He had oxygen and his third neb. on the way over to Methodist hospital. In the emergency department they did a swab for influenza and RSV and they both were negative. Abram got his first xray that showed "cloudy" spots on his left lung. So, they started treating for pneumonia...or they tried to anyways. They needed to start an IV and draw some blood but they could not find a vein. 4 different teams tried to get it and no one could. It was horrible having to hold him down and listen to him scream as various people dug needles into his skin. The Dr. was pretty insistent that they get the IV in but after about 2 hours of trying we asked what else could be done. They gave an antibiotic shot and an oral steriod. As soon as that got in his system he was doing so much better. We were admitted to the peds floor and they tried one more time to get the IV in. At this point in was about 2am and we were exhausted. Abram cried but he barely had enough energy to fight. She couldn't get it and we were able to sleep after another nebulizer. Overnight his O2 stats were really good and when the doctor came by in the morning he checked him out and said that he was cleared to leave. We came home with our penguin friend who gives Abram his nebulizer every 4 hours and an antibiotic to clear any traces of pneumonia. We are off to see the doctor early Monday morning for a check up.

I do have to say through it all the doctor and nursing staff at Methodist were wonderful. They thought Abram was the cutest baby and made sure to feel extra sorry for him spending his first birthday in the hospital. My favorite person was the paramedic that rode over in the ambulance with us. She was fabulous and really helped me understand that babies can be looking normal one minute and be in high distress the next (and I shouldn't beat myself up about not knowing to bring him in sooner). Abram did so great, he was the first baby the xray technician worked with that didn't cry during the chest scan. He took his medicine well and only really was upset during the poking process and who would blame him for that!

Not many babies get an ambulance ride on their first birthday. I am sure it will be a story he will ask to hear over and over, "tell me about my first birthday when we rode in the ambulance mommy!"

Daycare

"why did you do that to my hair?"

Abram started at his in-home daycare this week. We had gone a few times to visit and let Abram play with the other kids prior to Monday. Leaving him was really hard even though we had been using babysitters for the last month anyways. He looked at me with a look the said "where are you going without me!?!?!" and did the cry so hard no sound comes out cry. However, he had stopped crying by the time I was putting my shoes on (out of view). Today at drop of he gave a couple half hearted whines and turned to his friends and toys, done crying before I was even out of the room. Chalk this one up to one of those very sad and very happy moments. I am so glad he is liking it there and it feels comfortable for him. I am very sad he forgot about his mama so easily!!!