Monday, September 19, 2005

Long and busy Sunday

So much for winding down on the weekends. Yesterday was spent running and moving. We went to church at 11 (well, 15mins late...so 11:15) After church it was back home to do laundry, eat lunch and do homework. Then back out the door at 6:30 to go back the meeting hall. The ladies at church threw Danielle and I a baby shower!!!

OMGoodness! Danielle is now the best dressed baby in the world!

All her new sleepers
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3 sleepers came as a set with bib, hat, burp diaper...solid, striped, print
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Her outfits including sleep sack, sleep/blanket bag, nightgown, and 2 dresses
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Miscellaneous things...lots of blankets (white one at the left top of the chair is the SOFTEST flannel I've felt...made by a 14yo girl), GoGoRider baby carrier, lots of onsies and socks.
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I'm afraid that I'll never get some of the outfits on her before she gets too big. Hopefully having arranged them according to size will help make sure that doesn't happen.

Danielle was passed around and enjoyed by all. She faked us out by "sleeping" the whole time. Every once in a while we'd catch her peeking out from under her eyelids. :o) We had lots of yummy snacks, I didn't eat dinner before I left and was starving! I can't really track everything I ate so not sure how I did on my foodplan caloriewise. Oh well guess I can call it an off tracker day. Just wish I'd realized this in the MORNING! Yeah, like I've had on tracker days and deserve a day of gluttony right now.

Saturday, September 17, 2005

Stupid Pie!

OK...I spoke too soon. While typing the post below last night I was eating pie. Problem is.....I never checked the nutritional information on the box until AFTER I'd eaten them. Yes them. I'd had 1/16 of a small pie of Apple, Peach and Cherry pie. Then I ate Jake's 1/8th piece he didn't want. *blush* As I was going to get a piece of cherry pie that I REALLY wanted (reason I bought the clearance pies in the first place) I decided to look at the nutritional info. I didn't end up eating the piece of cherry pie. :o(

According to fitday I had eaten just under 900 cals in pie alone!!! Whodathunk? So much for following my diabetes diet. Unlike during my pregnancy it seems I'm going to really have to watch nighttime snacking. I knew it was a problem before I got pg. I thought I was done with it during my pg. Now it's back. Wouldn't you know it...when I got up this morning the rest of the pies were taunting me from their boxes. They didn't win...not totally. (it was only a teeny tiny nibble..really) LOL

Today has been busy but nonproductive. I've been online all day. First it was shopping for a dryer, then it was doing finances, now it's here. I even started playing with the webspace my ISP gives me. Don't ask me what I'm going to do with it...I have NO clue! I haven't even put my exercise dvds in the DVD player yet. LOL Tom just left to rescue Drew. Seems his car is broken down about 45mins away. The rest of the kids are bickering and/or driving me crazy trying to take Danielle from me...asking me a zillion times a day if they can hold her.

Now I'm sitting here, feeling hungry and not having any ideas as to what dinner will be. Oh yeah, Eileen got a 100 +bonus on her spelling test this week. She's off to a good start!

Friday, September 16, 2005

Just so I wouldn't relax TOO much

The radiologist had to drop a bit of news into my lap. The bump on the side of Carrie's knee is solid in nature. *heavy sigh* He asked if I'm sure she didn't have the bump there before she fell in June (what we said caused the bump in the first place). I told him I'm pretty sure. Of course this left me with unwanted thoughts running through the back of my mind. If it's truly from her fall then it's most likely a calcified hematoma (bruise). If it's not...it's a growth/tumor which doesn't necessarily have to be malignant. He called in the report to Dr G...we'll talk about it at Carrie's appt next Friday. The radiologist mentioned that the oncology clinic will want to know about and keep an eye on this also.

While talking to S, Carrie's Nurse Practioner at the KNOT clinic, she let me know that she's also been watching Carrie's liver function. Her liver function panel (bloodwork) has been slightly elevated for 1.5yrs. If it was still elevated next Jan. when we went back in we were going to move onto a new level of "watching" it. I never mentioned it to Dr G on Wed because there was already a lot of things I wanted to talk to him about. I think I'll mention it next Friday.

I'm trying to be at rest about all this and not let my mind run away on me. It's hard though...especially when I have the internet sitting at my fingertips. I know enough not to go looking too far, otherwise I'd become a basketcase.

We went to Walmart after the imaging center. I needed dishwasher detergent...yeah...$50+ later! LOL I remembered other things we needed while walking around. (really...we did need it, most of it anyways) Walking around WM is NOT a good thing to do when you're feeling a little shaken and need a quick pick me up. We ended up in my favorite section...small kitchen appliances and gadgets and there were neat things in the clearance section! I was a good girl and kept my hands to myself. I do have my eye on a nice blender. Next week is payday and I'll see if there's any left if I get groceries there.

Something I didn't REALLY need but really wanted is a scale. For some reason my digital one has lost a lot of it's numbers. After testing some out with Carrie as the weight, I bought the cheapest dial one there. I figure I can buy 3 of them for the price of a midpriced digital (like the broken one I have). We had a mass weigh-in when I got home.

For the first time in a loooong time (at least 7yrs) I am now under 200lbs!!!! I weighed 197!!!! As part of my new healthier me kick I'm going to try to report my weigh-ins on Mondays. I'd also like to get some measurements since I think I may want to concentrate on toning more then weightloss. I set a new goal weightloss goal for myself on my fitday PC program. I'm not looking to weigh 175 by Christmas (14wks away!) I'm not really sure I want to do this. I'm worried that I'll not make my goal and get too discouraged. I tried to stick to my diabetes diet today. The day got off to an iffy start with some micro popcorn tempting me after I already had eaten my breakfast allowance. I did good the rest of the day.

Oh cool! Drew had mentioned there were some dvds in his room. I knew one was a "generic" pilates/yoga. I just had Michelle go and bring them to me to evaluate again. There are 4 of The Firm ones in there!!! (Total sculpt plus Abs, Complete Aerobics & Weight training, Firm Abs, and Maximum Cardio Burn Plus Abs). I forgot that I'd gotten them. I think they'll suffice and may even take over my desire to buy the Winsor Pilates dvds. I'll have to view and try them out. One of things I'm not so hot on is that they are 40mins long compared to WP's 20min workouts. Also I don't have the Firm's Fannylifter (stair step), sculpting stick (which I've read isn't a good idea to use) or dumbbells. I'll have to improvise I guess. I'll report on them after I try them out.

Thursday, September 15, 2005

Being a little self centered for a while...

I'll include misc. news at the end too...just so it's TOTALLY not all about me. LOL

I've been wanting to start toward a healthier body. I told myself that I'd stick with my diabetic diet. Even if I'm not a type 2 diabetic...I'm on the brink of it and it's only a matter of time. So I may as well get into the thick of things now instead of after the fact. Well so much for that, it's almost 3wks and I've barely followed it, I've also barely tested my glucose levels. I do a fasting test EVERY mornign though...so it's not totally bad. From what I can see I'm at pre-diabetic levels with fastings from 102 to 127...a lot in the 1teens range. I'm not really sure what this dr will do. I know my GP would be agressive about it because as he says..."with your family history...it's best" My bloodpressure is also borderline even with me taking meds. I'm getting a lot of 140/90 readings. I'm nursing so can't take my old bp meds which did a fine job controlling things. I'm not sure I can be upped on what I'm taking now.

I've been wanting to step on a scale and missed the chance at the Ped's office yesterday. I'm really curious where my weight is. I feel like all I'm doing is eating and I'm still always hungry. I'm always like this after delivery. Just hope that it's not negatively affecting me right now. I'm feeling like I lost a significant amount. My jeans skirt is a lot looser on me then it was in December when I bought it. I'm just not sure if it's due to weight/inches lost or that I stretched it out a lot, wearing it while pg (it was my main skirt for my whole pg). My mom insists denim doesn't stretch that much but I'm not so sure about that POV. I know that I lost some inches...just not sure if it's the 3 my skirt waistband is hinting at.

The dr mentioned yesterday that Carrie needs to try to lose the weight in her gut area. He's not saying she's overweight and needs to diet (although sticking close to a diabetic diet would be a good idea for her)...she just has to watch what area the weight is distributed to. We've known that she was going to have to be more active then normal in order to stay in shape (her bone marrow transplant has messed up her metabolism) I've had my eye on Ebay for Walk away the Pounds (WATP) and Winsor Pilates (WP) videos/dvds. I asked Carrie if she'd be interested in doing them with me in the morning and she seemed encouraged to try it out. :o) I'm also hoping Michelle will be joining us. Next step is to actually BUY them!

The girls took a pic of me this weekend. I was laughing because when looking at it all I could see was my wide arms. I guess that's a good thing when the body part that bothers you most is your arms. Especially since it used to be my "pg looking even when not pg" belly. Here's the pic (don't mind the tired face). I'm also posting a picture from last Sept. I want to try on this outfit now but haven't gotten to it yet. (also have my one piece control panel undergarmet on in last year's pic)

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left...9/05 right...9/04

Hope to be able to post a pic next Sept with a HUGE difference to show.

MISC NEWS...

** Drew and Pat have jobs! They are going through a temp agency (all factories around here hire through them now). The job is at a box making factory making $9 an hour. The amount of hours and days they work isn't set in stone yet (have to call tomorrow) and will vary. They already called Pat today and asked him to work 11hrs. Problem was...he needed to be there in half an hour. He wasn't ready to walk out the door and it takes at least 20-30 mins to get there.

** I put Danielle on the dr's baby scale yesterday. She now weighs 8lbs even! Not too shabby. She still looks like she has nothing to her. LOL She's starting to be more intuned to those of us around here.

** Eileen seems to be ok about school...for now. She was iffy the first week. Tomorrow is her first spelling test. Unlike last year when she was in tears over it...she thinks this year it's a breeze. LOL Could it be because she's already BTDT ;o)

I'm sure there was more misc news I wanted to report on but can't think of it now. Have to get ready to go out the door for Carrie's x-rays.

Holy Heavy Eyelids Batman!

*inserts toothpicks* I'm dragging today. Yesterday proved to be one of those days when being a parent is exhausting, no matter how many kids you have. lol I'd decided to get my act together and make my OB appt. I'm suppose to go in 3wks PP so we could make some decisions about my blood pressure meds and whether there's a type 2 diabetes or no diabetes situation. I'm at a lost as to what I think he'll do about either. My appt is the 23rd.

Tues night I'd checked Carrie blood sugar after dinner and got 253! This led to me checking her fasting number yesterday morning...157...WAY to high! Since I was getting my act together about MY dr's appts, I decided to be on the ball about this with Carrie. I called Sue up at the KNOT (Kids not on Therapy) Clinic to see if she'd been keeping track of her A1c levels. She hadn't but had tested her urine for glucose. It's always been negative but to me that doesn't mean much since my MIL had glucose numbers in the 300-400 range and never threw glucose in her urine. She's also only tested her glucose blood levels which were borderline or a tad high (and she'd rationalized it to eating cookies at the clinic, etc). She suggested that I contact her ped and have him run some tests. So I called for an appt...hoping to get her in on the 23rd when I had my appt (have to conserve gas!). They had me bring her in at 4:30 that afternoon!

It took a while for us to be seen (usually does at that time of the day since the dr takes his own sweet time with each patient). He took FOREVER with us! I got a referral for a Dermatologist consult since she's at a high risk of skin cancer due to having Total Body Irradiation during her bone marrow transplant. He was checking her over and asked if "this" was what I was concerned about...pointing to a mole on her back. I said no, THIS is the spot that I've been watching for 3yrs. He says....Oh yeah that definitely would cause me more concern then the spot I originially saw. YIKES! So now I'm wondering just how much of a fielddays the Derm is going to have with her. He also said he wanted to get an xray of a bump she's had on her knee since June (fell down and hit it at the end of school). He's wondering if she has a bonechip in there. He took forever to try to get a good vein to take the blood for her glucose and A1C tests. Nothing looked good so he reluctantly attempted to draw it from her hand. She was being VERY stingy and he couldn't get more then 3ccs no matter what and how much he tried. She was a real trooper through the whole thing even though I know it hurt. She's being reseen on the 23rd after my dr appt. We finally got out of there at 7 and went right home.

I'd forgotten that Tom had a clambake to attend and wasn't coming right home. None of the kids took the incentive to cook since they thought...mom will be home in a few minutes. I hadn't given instructions on what to make since I thought we'd be home fairly quickly or Tom could figure something out. So I walk in the door at 7:25 and start to make dinner. While standing at the stove I see Carrie walking toward the fridge and then hear her scream. She's bleeding from her foot all over the floor. I grab a washcloth and have Drew carry her to the couch. She sliced her big toe open pretty deeply. Seems her foot came down on a half filled garbage bag that was sitting on the floor next to the fridge (when it's too full for the garbage can it then is taken out and sits around for a day or so so we can fill it further) She must have caught the edge of a 28oz can lid. I didn't see where the can lid sliced the garbage bag but it's the only thing that could have done that type of damage that easily. So here it is now at 7:40 and I'm planning on making a trip to the ER.

Liz volunteers to sit with Carrie,applying pressure to her toe and I get back to making dinner. It's 10mins to 8, the kids haven't eaten, some JUST started their homework and bedtime in coming up QUICKLY! I got ahold of Tom who is pulling out of the clambake parking lot. The bleeding has slowed down a lot but it's restarting as soon as you let up pressure or she moves her toe. I calm her down, we eat, I feed and change Danielle and try to direct the kids toward bed. By the time we finally get out the door (Michelle came to help out) and get to the hospital it's about 10. Carrie was triaged around 12:30 and we were called into an exam room about 2. She ended up with 3 stitches, I think he should have given her 4 but what do I know. We pulled into our driveway about 3am *yawn*

The dr's office called this morning. Carrie has an appt for her xray at 4 today (so much for trying to conserve gas), her derm appt is in Oct but is for 8:30am. There's NO way I can do that since I have to get kids on the bus at that time....so I'll have to reschedule. Oh yeah and Dr G put a note in to let you know...the blood drawn wasn't good enough to do a A1C (it clotted) so he'll redo it on the 23rd. He'll also remove Carrie's stitches on the 23rd. LOL It's less then 7hrs after she gets the put in and they man already has the removal all arranged. I love this guy!

Luckily Danielle cooperated both at the ER and once we got home. I tried to go back to bed once I got the older kids up for first trip. Luke decided to try to take advantage of it and stay in bed. Val realized what he was doing with 5mins left until the bus comes. I had to get up, put on my meany mask and make him go to school. I guess everyone is dragging a little...the first full week of school is always one of the hardest.

Friday, September 09, 2005

Happy due date to me!

I know...my pregnancy is done...OVER! *sniff sniff* Please let me have this one last sliver of pregnancy. Believe it or not, I miss being pregnant. I miss my belly, being able to give it a loving rub. I miss having the baby all to myself. To be able to feel her kick and move around and not have to share it with anyone. It was just her and I. The mystery of the unknown...what she was going to look like, how big she was going to be, what her temperament was going to be like. It's all out in the open now.

Don't get me wrong....I LOVE having Danielle in my life and in my arms. (when I get a chance to hold her in my arms that is lol) I'm so glad she's here, and I know that the last 2wks would have been hard and uncomfortable...especially if I was still on bedrest. She's the light of our life and everyone is still over the moon about her. I don't think there's been a baby who's been passed around so much in their short little life.

I often think about her delivery, how difficult it was to relax through it, but also how easy overall it was. It's fun to relive it now that I'm not in the midst of it. Funny how my brain has totally erased her being blue for so long from the experience.

Danielle is one of the best babies I've ever had. She's calm and quiet most of the time. I sometimes think she's TOO calm and quiet for my comfort. Yesterday she was up most of the day and slept all night! I tried to nurse her in the wee morning hours but she didn't stay latched on and fell right back to sleep. Of course I didn't sleep all night. I still had to wake up a zillion times to check to make sure she was safe and still breathing. Today she was semi sleepy but I think being in Walmart for hours had to do with that.

I've had to use not being able to hold Danielle against some of the kids. It's amazing how quickly they move when you tell them how long it'll be before they can hold her again if they don't move. Yesterday Eileen stayed home from school (YES! Already!). She claimed her arms and legs hurt her, after ibuprofen it was then that she a fever (she didn't) and was going to barf. I let her know if she stayed home from school she wouldn't be allowed to hold Danielle for the WHOLE day. She thought she could handle that...about 5pm she realized just how hard that was going to be. This morning the first thing out of her mouth was...Can I hold the baby! I didn't get to hold her ALL day yesterday! It was also her excuse to hold her for an extra long time. We've since talked and she's assured me she won't be staying home from school anymore. LOL

I'm nursing Danielle while typing this up. Olivia in the meantime is trying to pry her from my arms, insisting she's done! Guess I better stop typing so I can save Danielle from being shorted on her dinner. I'm still behind on Jake's and Carrie's birth stories...I'm hoping to get them out this weekend.

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

First day of school

2nd trips kids
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Olivia, Eileen and Jake

I felt bad this morning. I was so busy making sure everything was ok that I forgot it was Carrie's birthday! She had to remind me. Michelle made a cake and I'm making her some chinese dishes for dinner. Not sure exactly what yet, guess I should figure it out since I have to start it SOON!

As I thought would happen, Danielle decided she needed mommy when the 2nd trip kids were getting ready for school. Luckily Michelle was available to help me get their lunches ready. I had to chuckle at how long it took her to do it though. She's such a perfectionist.

It wasn't very quiet here. Pat, Drew and Michelle made sure of that. They even sucked me into a game of Halo 2 while Danielle was sleeping....when I should've been napping or working. I really have to kick their rears out the door to find a job!!! At least they are doing work around here to help out. Incase I was lonely, Tom called me a few times. :o)

It seems to have gone well for the kids. Olivia said she's made some friends but she can't remember their names. I assured her that her friends had forgotten her name also. LOL The big thing today was playing with the blocks. Eileen has mentioned a few new friends, some in class, some on the bus. MY pile of homework is impressive as always. My hand will be cramped by the time I'm done. As soon as they walked in the door they were all falling over each other to get to hold Danielle.


1st trip kids
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Carrie, Luke, Liz, and Val

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

The madness begins...

The madness known as the SCHOOLYEAR! Tomorrow is the first day of school for my kids. Tonight is the madness of trying to conform to a schedule, get and keep everything together and of course the all important...figuring out outfits. I have had school supply lists since the end of July. Wouldn't you know it, LAST NIGHT they got into them and now a few are lost! Grrrr! Today Olivia's teacher had a "meet the teacher" day. I had NO idea what time it started...I thought 1-2pm although D said their teacher was doing it 2-3pm. So I made the decision to go at 1:45. I figured we'd either hit the end of it or have to wait a few minutes for it to start. We hit the end.

Olivia is SO excited now!!! She was so big. The teacher gave her a clipboard with a list of things to find in the room. Each thing listed there had a Blue's Clue Pawprint on it, when she'd find it, she'd color in the pawprint on the paper. Was a good exercise to become familiar with the room. She looked so professional carrying the clipboard around. :o) On the way home she kept saying...I can't wait until tomorrow! Guess I don't have to worry about her balking when the bus pulls up. Let's just hope it lasts Her room is right across the hall from Eileen's. I made sure the teacher knew it. We also ran into Eileen's room so Olivia could see where Eileen would be sitting.

Right now the kids are searching for their supply lists so they can make sure they have everything they need. Then it's onto the outfits for the day. Not having a dryer I'll end up having to iron a few things tonight. The only thing we need to think about after that is lunches. After we were done at school today we stopped at Save-a-Lot for a few lunch supplies.

Olivia keeps coming up to me and telling me...Remember Momma..you HAVE to get me up in the morning. Don't forget to get me up! I told her I wasn't going to wake her up because I didn't want her to go. If I'd said that to Eileen before her first day of K or 1st grade she would have taken me up on it and stayed home! LOL

Oops...forgot they need showers. Need to kick some kids into the bathroom. I guess Olivia and Eileen can wait until morning. I need to find my camera and charge the batteries so I can take pics tomorrow morning. It's going to be interesting, Danielle seems to have an awake period during the prime time school getting ready time. I keep reminding myself that I've lived through this before with Carrie. I'm feeling a bit off today. I'm really crampy and had a bit more bleeding then I
ve had in the last few days. At least my shoulder and neck aren't bothering me anymore. Hopefully this new ickiness is short lived.

K, need to get to the ironing.

Sunday, September 04, 2005

She's official

Well partly official. We received Danielle's birth certificate in the mail yesterday. I wasn't expecting it so quickly. She'll be fully official once her social security card gets here. It's nice to know people will believe me she was born, now that I have the documentation. LOL

Today we're heading out to my uncle's house for the day. It's our annual Labor Day family clambake (my dad's siblings...he's one of 13 children, and their families). I think this has been going on for 39 or 40 years now....might even be more. It'll be fun to go and show off Danielle. It's suppose to be slightly cooler then normal, I hope it's not too chilly for her since we'll be outside all day and evening. The kids are excited even though they really know few people. They always seem to connect with a few of my cousin's kids or grandkids. Weird to think of my cousins as being grandparents, although technically it's not farfetched for me to be one myself. They already have their master egg and waterballoon toss strategy planned out (gentle and arcing throw) and are talking about exactly what they'll be eating (steamed clams, corn on the cobs, salt potatoes, coneys!!!...yummm!).

Need to get ready.

Saturday, September 03, 2005

I found it!!!

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Danielle has liked her hands since she was born. Today she found her thumb for the first time...and she's done it more then once.

Great news here!

Val talked to DA late last night. His mom called! EVERYONE is ok! I'm not sure where they are or how everything is for them. After I heard they were all OK I didn't ask for further details. I'm so happy for DA, he finally broke down crying when talking to his mom. He's been so brave.

Friday, September 02, 2005

Our first week

I've started this post a zillion times this week. Either my brain freezes up, I decide I'm too tired to type rationally, or Danielle is in my arms (forgot how hard it was to type with a squirmy newborn lol)

I'm always amazed that something so small can throw so many people for a complete loop. Danielle has made us all gaagaa around here. All day long I have someone clamoring to hold her and then squabbles about who's turn it is, how long someone's had her, etc. For the first time I've started to look forward to school starting (Sept 7th)...just so I can hold MY baby without being bothered. LOL

I've found that I was wrong, a 5yr age gap does NOT stop you from calling the baby the youngest kid's name. I often find myself having to stop and think before I say her name. Maybe I'll just change her name to Oldanielle for convenience's sake. ;o) I guess it's better then what the little kids call her....IT! It started with Jake asking if he could hold it. The funniest was last Saturday when they were climbing over each other to get a chance to hold her (we'd just gotten home). I heard someone call out....Can I play with it next?!?!

She's such a good baby...she hardly cries. I tried to get her crying on video, grabbed my camera and realized I had room on my video card for 11secs of video. She didn't cry long enough to use all 11secs. Me on the otherhand, the waterworks started Wed night, Thursday morning. I even started crying when Tom brought me a cup of coffee one morning. LOL It's not so bad though, I've had worse cases of the blues in the past. A new thing for me though is the shakes. Wed morning I woke up feeling really shakey. I checked my blood pressure and sugar...both weren't that great but not so bad as to make me feel weird. I continued all day. I was talking to D and told her how lousy I felt, she said it's happened to her and the dr said it was hormones. Makes sense I guess.

Other then an occasional random cry the only other complaint I have is that I have a pinched nerve or knotted muscle in my shoulder and neck...from holding Danielle all night I assume. It makes enjoying the time I do get to hold her difficult.I'm sitting here with a rice sock wrapped around my neck as I type. Poor Tom usually has me whining to him each night to try to knead the pain out.

My milk came in faster then I thought it would...I think it was Sunday. Danielle is nursing well. I was concerned that she wasn't nursing on the right side but I think it was just a matter of being too engorged for her to latch on properly. She doesn't do as well on the right side as the left (none of my kids do) but she's emptying it now, so that's good. I've come to realize that bodacious tatas make a big difference in how you appear. My belly hasn't looked this small in years! LOL Too bad they came with a price...OUCH!!! Just having the kids hug me was torture!

I'm starting to get back into the swing of things around here. The amazing thing is the desire to get back into it. Tom has had all week off and been doing a lot of work around here. It's gotten contagious. I wanted to get the laundryroom cleaned up and all the clothes sorted, washed and put away before school started. It's a HUGE job!!! Luckily Tom wants to get it done too...so we're all working on it. Unfortunately the dryer isn't cooperating. I guess we're going to have to buy a new one...hopefully next week. It just irks me that this dryer hasn't even lasted 2.5yrs! (bought it in March of 2003) I'm getting back into my wanting to do everything at once mode though. I want to bake (did make cookies and a few things for dinner), sew (machine is taunting me from the corner of the livingroom), and get things organized...typical beginning of school/fall starting type of activities.

I can't post without mentioning Katrina and the devastation she's inflicted on the south. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone effected by this terrible thing. I sit here and look at pictures online (no live news stations to watch...which is probably a blessing for me at this point) and think... What would I do? How would I take care of a newborn and 10 other kids in that sitation. It's not even a matter of being ignorant and staying in your home. It's a matter of not being able to do anything else but stay there....whether it be because of finances or just plain inablilty to do it. Even if we did get out and were safe...WHAT would we do then?

Michelle and Val have a friend DA who lives down the street. He moved up here last year from the area that was hit. He's living with his grandmother...his mother, other grandparents, sisters and her girls still live down there in the Gulfport area. Last he heard from them was Sunday morning when his sister called crying...she was in her car. It had broken down on the way out of town and she didn't know what she was going to do. His grandfather was in the hospital with pneumonia before the hurricane hit, he's not sure if he was still admitted when it hit. DA has NO idea if they got out or if they survived. As of last night they still hadn't heard from anyone. :o( Poor kid was so distraught last Sunday after his sister's phone call that he asked to come down here and spend the day. I felt helpless, even more so when I talked to his grandmother two days ago and she was describing what she's heard about her old neighborhood (Rt 10 area) and her friends' situations down there. :o(

It's been comforting to have Danielle to snuggle with during this time. It goes to show that even though there are terrible things going on in this world...there are also miracles and blessings. I have been lucky enough to be on the miracle end of life right now....for that I am grateful!