Welcome Carissa!

Brad and Amy welcomed my newest niece last night.

Carissa Kate arrived via c-section at 6:50pm on Wednesday, 2/27/2008.
She weighed 7 lbs. 13oz. and is 20 inches long.

Welcome to the world baby Carissa!

Natural Processes of Aging

It's funny, isn't it - when we are young, birthdays take forever to get here, and we certainly look forward to them - whereas now, I just feel old. Maggie had certainly been looking forward to her birthday forever before it got here last week. We've had three celebrations so far, and the biggie - the one with her friends will be here this weekend.

For the big day, Jerry took off so we could have all day to concentrate on Maggie (although she had school, so he and I also ran around looking at houses and having the car serviced.) We started out by loading up in the car and heading to the donut shop, where we picked up 31 donuts with sprinkles and delivered the birthday girl and donuts to her classroom, where she shared them with her classmates. After the girls got home and did their homework we headed to the restaurant of the birthday girl's choice - Cici's Pizza. Then we headed home for the yellow cake with chocolate frosting that Maggie had requested. Since it was a plain cake, we used special candles that spelled "Happy Birthday!". This caused a funny moment when Nana and Granddaddy called. Maggie was telling Nana about the cake, and Nana asked, "How many candles were on your cake?" And we all answered - "Fourteen!" There was a long pause before we explained that we lit only the correct number. Here's our birthday girl:

Our next event on the birthday list turned out to be a bit different that we planned it. This past weekend we took the 100+ boxes of Girl Scout cookies that we sold to people in DFW and headed down the road. Both Grandma and Nana decided that since we were there, they wanted to have a small party for Miss Maggie, so the Saturday Plan was:

1. Have a party at GGma's with cousin Korbin
2. Zip to Granbury to deliver cookies to Mimi and Pepaw
3. Back to Nana's where we'd have another party with our friends the White's and Moudy's in attendance.

However, what happened was:

1. Arrive at GGma's and get the table set for the party
2. Spend two hours at the Harris Methodist Emergency Room for my racing heart that wouldn't slow down
3. Back to Nana's where we had another party with our friends the White's and the Moudy's in attendance.

Definitely not what I'd had in mind when I started my day.

It was very odd. Mom and I had just set the table, and I was throwing away the packaging from the paper goods, and my heart just started going very fast - like I'd just run up several flights of stairs. I sat down, but it didn't slow down, so Mom and Grandma had me lie down on the bed and they called my Aunt Mary (a RN.) They were on their way, and when they got there a few minutes later, it still hadn't slowed down, so Mary sent us on to the ER. When we got there it was still going pretty fast, and they called me in very quickly. It was zooming along at 148 beats per minute, so they hooked me up to an EKG machine, and took a bunch of blood, and a chest x-ray, but then it stopped as quickly as it started. All of my test came back normal, so they gave me a diagnosis of SVT and a beta-blocker to keep everything on an even keel, told me I wasn't going to die today, but that I needed to go see my regular doctor in a timely manner for follow up.

We headed back to GGma's, and Mimi met us there since I was in no shape to drive to Granbury, and we did cake and ice cream. The girls had a good time playing with their cousin Korbin, and didn't seem too concerned about my little episode. Maggie had come in when I was laying down and asked why I was lying down, and I told her that my heart was beating very fast and put her hand on my chest. She said, "Wow, that's fast," and skipped off to play.

After cake and ice cream we headed back to Nana and Granddaddy's house for our third and final party. I was a bit fatigued - after all, my heart had just run a 5K even if I hadn't, but Nana took care of everything and I took it easy. It was good for the girls to play with their old friends. We had a good time chatting with everyone. Here's our group:

That's Sammy, Miranda, Gracie, Olivia, Maggie and Elliot on the couch.

One of the cards Maggie got on a gift was one that played music - the "Once Upon A Dream" waltz from Sleeping Beauty. She kept opening it and dancing around the room, so I grabbed her and did a waltz, with her holding her dress in true princess fashion. Elliot wanted a turn with the princess, so I showed him how to put his hand on her waist, and they waltzed around the kitchen. It was too cute. When it was time to say good-bye though, and everyone was giving out hugs, Maggie dragged Elliot around the corner to give him his hug goodbye. I was peeking through the kitchen pass-through to see what this was about, and I asked her later why she needed to go to the other room. She said she wanted PRIVACY! I explained that she was not at the age where she would need privacy with a boy - that doesn't happen until you are 30 at least!!!

The next morning we got up and headed back to Oklahoma. When we got home I got a stern look, a "How dare you!" and an "I don't like it" from Jerry - as if I did it on purpose or liked it! I spent the entire day Monday calling doctors offices and finally found one that took new patients and was willing to see me quickly - this Thursday in fact. I'm telling you, this part of getting older is a real drag!

We did go to Maggie's well-child appointment today, where, when asked about eating nutritious food, Maggie told the doctor that "I like sugar!" and informed the doctor that she didn't brush her teeth last night. Yea. Once again, the position of mother of the year is up for grabs. She is officially 48 pounds and 49 inches tall.

Also on the medical front, my sister saw her doctor this morning and was in labor, so baby niece Simcik should be here any minute! Can't wait to meet her!

Another Tooth Bites the Big One

Well, it's a little sooner than we expected, but Maggie has lost her second front tooth already, thanks to her sister. Here's the happy pair, although it didn't start out all smiles. . .

I was on the phone with my sister, saying good-bye when I saw Maggie dart through my peripheral vision. Nothing too unusual about that, but as I was hanging up, I heard her start shrieking hysterically from her bathroom. I high-tailed it in there, and she was holding up a Kleenex covered in blood from her mouth. I figured she must have hit her mouth on something and her loose tooth was bleeding - it happens, but no, the tooth was completely gone and Maggie was crying about Gracie's shoe hitting her in the mouth. We rinsed out her mouth and got a piece of gauze to press on her gum, and I headed into the office, where the incident occurred. Gracie looked up at me and said in a matter of fact way, "I said I was sorry!" And I said, "I'm sure you were - where's Maggie's tooth?" She looked at me like I was nuts and said, "In her mouth." I said, "No, you knocked it out - we need to look for it." Then Gracie started getting upset about hurting her sister. In between comforting her, I found the tooth and headed back to the bathroom, where Maggie was ready to admire her gap. I asked her if it hurt less when Gracie kicked her or when Daddy pulled the tooth, and she said it hurt less when Gracie kicked her - but she didn't seem to sure she wanted to use that as a method of future tooth extraction!

Maggie Loses a Tooth

Happy Valentine's Day! Smooches!

Well, yesterday when Maggie got home from school, her upper left central incisor was sticking out from her face at about a 45 degree angle. She looked a bit odd, and I was concerned that the tooth behind it was pushing it forward, so we decided that it was time to pull it. I got the floss wrapped around the base of the tooth with no problem, but I just couldn't do it - I couldn't get up the nerve to pull the floss, and hence, the tooth.

I'm such a wuss, I couldn't even pull my own teeth as a child, just ask my mom. She used to say, "I'll just use one finger" to wiggle it, but when she pulled one of my molars by wedging her fingernail under it and yanking down, I would no longer allow her even "one finger" access! I'd just let them get so loose they would drop out on their own. Now that I'm the mommy and see the looming orthodontia bills in the future, I'm more proactive, but I still prefer to let Jerry do the actual pulling.

At bedtime we did the pulling - Maggie on the counter, Jerry at her side, me offering moral and photodocumentary support. One good yank and it was all but over. Jerry pulled it, and it took a couple of seconds for her to register the "ouch" factor, but when she saw the blood on the Kleenex, she got upset - just for a moment. We used some gauze to stop the bleeding, and then she spent the next several moments admiring the gap in her smile where the tooth used to be.

The tooth was placed carefully under the pillow, and this morning, in its place were two whole dollars!!! What wealth! In my day, a tooth was worth a quarter - no more, no less. Ah, the good old days. Maggie is thrilled and can't wait to show off her new smile to her teacher.

Groan. . .

Well, I'm here. Or, should I say, what's left of me is here. We have been enduring what seems to be unending bad health in the Foster household. At least for me, it seems unending. We started out a few weekends ago, with Maggie having a simple fever. . . or so it seemed!

Since then we have been riding the roller coaster of flu, fever, and sinus infections. Ironically enough the only person to not get the flu was Jerry, the only person who didn't get a flu shot. The day after I came down with it there was a report on the news that the most prevalant strain of flu these days wasn't included in the flu shot. NO, Really!!!!

I think it's an occupational hazard, being a mother. Your child is sick, and all they want is for their mommy to hold them and cuddle them and make them feel better - what are we supposed to do? It's sacrifice yourself to the germs, wash hands often and hope for the best. Unfortunantely, the germ gods were not smiling on me these past two weeks. I got the flu, even though the pediatrician had given us all Tamiflu to hopefully prevent it - it was too late for me. Then I had to follow that up with a sinus infection. I'm slowly re-surfacing to reality.

Unfortunately, reality didn't take a break while I was trying to. I totally forgot in all the illness, that I was supposed to look at a house this morning with my realtor. She comes strolling up the walk as I am buried in a pile of used kleenex on the couch, still in my pajamas. (Groan.) Then, I finally get around to trying to make arrangements for Maggie's birthday party, and can you believe that the rest of the world didn't wait for me to get better and schedule my party before they rushed in and booked theirs? Some people! Now her party is not even in the right month, and it's on a Sunday afternoon, which isn't so bad, except it's close to the dismissal of church. I hope people still come. Oh well - what are you going to do, right?

Well, speaking of things to do, I'm behind on everything, so I've gotta run (okay - make that crawl) - hope everyone else has a healthy week!

The Hazards of Setting Goals

Well - yesterday was not a good day for me. I wanted it to be, but alas, 'twas not to be.

First of all, let me reveal to you a few of my goals:

• to eat better and
• to exercise at least 90 minutes per week.

Both noble and good goals, to be sure. Let's delve a little bit into WHY I set these goals for my self. I mean, the blunt reason is because I have put on a few pounds lately. Part of the reason for this is because when we were in Farmington, at an altitude of approximately 5300 feet, my digestive system was affected in a not so pleasant way. After dropping 20 - 25 pounds I was diagnosed with IBS - which I obviously had all along, but only acutely affected me when we moved to high altitude because gas expands exponentially the farther up you go. Now that we are back at a relatively low altitude, I've eaten more because, quite frankly, it doesn't physically hurt to do so. This has resulted in me putting on about 15 of those pounds back on. Therefore, the above mentioned goals have been set.

The first goal, eating better, has entailed cutting out between meal snacking and excessive sugary foods and serving more vegetables. Believe it or not, the vegetables are the hardest to implement in this family. (Shocking, I know.) I keep putting them on the table, but it's oh so helpful when I put something new on the table, and before anyone has even sat down to try it, Jerry walks up and says something to the effect of, "Broccoli with cheese sauce! Nasty!!!!" while making accompanying gagging noises. I have sworn to him that the next time he does this, he will be stabbed with whatever utensil I can lay my hands on first.

The second goal is what has me in a funk at the moment. I've been trying to be good. I actually dusted off the old Post-Partum Buns, Abs and Thighs video and worked my complaining muscles. Monday I went walking, even though Oklahoma's signature 30 MPH wind was blowing. Of course, I stiffened up afterwards, but I didn't realize how much until yesterday, on my way into the mall, when I managed to catch my lagging foot on some uneven pavement, and down I went. Oh, and not gracefully either. I tried to catch myself, but ended up going down on my knees, ripping a big hole in my pants, and then my forward momentum took me all the way down - I had my right hand wrapped around my cell phone, so I scraped all the skin off both the palm and knuckles of that hand. Luckily for me, I did not hit my head or break a bone - just suffered a wounded ego.

As if the hole in my pants weren't evidence enough of my clumsiness, as I was telling Jerry about the whole incident that evening, I accidentally flung a Tupperware lid across the kitchen as I was putting up dishes, landing it ever so precisely in the chicken stir-fry I was cooking. Now that's talent! Anyway, Jerry supposed that I might have a genetic pre-disposition to clumsiness, and you only have to read this blog to consider that it might be true. But, in true Jerry fashion, he said that he thought it would be better to be fat and happy than to continue to be thin with the awful discomfort I had in Farmington. I'm glad he thinks, that, but I am still going to strive to be 10 pounds lighter in Oklahoma. . . for now.

Zoom, zoom!

Wow - what happened to January? I guess this year isn't going to slow down for me either!

Let's see what's happening with us. . .

The beginning of the year is always a goal-setting time for me. I usually make ten New Year's Resolutions - some of them are serious, like getting 90 minutes of exercise a week, and some of them are fun, like making sure I get at least one manicure a quarter. I have found though, that moving tends to derail my accomplishments as far as my goals are concerned, whether they are serious or fun. As usual I put in a goal to complete 365 scrapbook pages this year. I think this is the fourth year I've made that goal, but I've only hit it once. This past year I finished 280 even though it was a moving year. I still think that's pretty good. I think that I might do my 2007 album as a digital album. If so, I will probably be able to use some of my layouts on my blog - that will be cool!

Jerry and I also made some "us" goals this year. He usually isn't into making New Year's Resolutions, but he made some for himself and with me this year. Alot of them are about getting us settled - finding a house, finding a church home, and so forth.

The big event for us in January is Jerry's birthday. The last three years that has entailed a trip to Red Lobster and doing our best to do absolutely nothing - because that's what Jerry usually likes to do best on his birthday. He always takes the day off though, and since the girls were in school this year we went and saw an early showing of "The Bucket List". That evening he shocked us all when he chose to forgo his usual crab fest and instead chose an Italian place that we had not yet tried. When we got home the girls had a surprise for him - they had baked a birthday cake for him in the easy-bake oven that they got for Christmas. It was their first effort, and it took some doing, but they cooperated and did it all by themselves with very minimal help from mom.

I did finally get in the swing of things now that our insurance has changed for the beginning of the year and Maggie's birthday is around the corner. I spent one whole day on the phone making appointments and catching up on things. The girls went to the dentist for their checkup - no cavities! And Gracie went to an ENT checkup to make sure all her tonsils/adenoids/ear tubes were looking good - they were. Next up is Maggie's well-child visit. When I called to make it, I was expecting to have to schedule pretty far out because we usually do, and also because her pediatrician is working part-time now after the birth of her baby, but they could see us in a couple of weeks - not months. That was a nice change.

It's also that time of year again - seems like we just go from fundraiser to fundraiser, but the girls have been hitting the pavement to sell Girl Scout Cookies. We had one nice week during the selling season, but it's been pretty cold and windy, and this year we have two girls selling, so we haven't exactly been as productive this year. Still, I think we did okay. Thanks to all who supported us!

The girls got their report cards this month - marking the official halfway point of school. Both girls did pretty well on their report cards. Gracie seems to be making some good progress on her reading skills, but at this point we are still leaning towards holding her back at the end of the year. She's just so much littler than everyone else. We went to a birthday party for one of her classmates a couple of weekends ago - he was turning 8! When we go to the classroom, she just looks so much littler than the other kids. I was re-reading the book, Dare to Discipline, by James Dobson, and he goes into why some kids don't succeed in school. Gracie falls into the "Late Bloomer" category for sure, and he said that eventually that type of child will physically mature and be able to keep up, but if their self-esteem is too wounded from being the smallest and slowest, it'll be too late. The thing about Gracie is that I don't know if I would call her a true "Late Bloomer" - Gracie is academically now right about where Maggie was at the end of Kindergarten - but she's the same age as Maggie was at the end of Kindergarten just because of where their birthdays fall during the school year. I just think holding her back is the right thing to do because we don't want her to struggle for the first half of each year. She'll end up hating school, and that's stress none of us needs.

Well, we've already made our first trip to Texas this year. Jerry's folks got a new computer, so we headed down and helped them set it up. Mary Jo, the girls and I went to the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame on Saturday. They have a bucking bronc exhibit that the girls and I took a whirl on:

Gracie's Ride:

Maggie's Ride:

Suzy's Ride:

As you can see, we had a good time.

While we were in Fort Worth I took the opportunity to go see my Grandmother, Amy Sr., who fell last week and fractured her pelvis. I went to the hospital and took her some Fun Size snickers - her favorite. Amy Sr. has had some minor dementia, but I'm never really sure how bad it is, since I don't see her very often. This was one of the few times I've seen her lately one-on-one, so we got to chat a bit. She asked me where we were living now, what the girls names were when I gave her some pictures, what Jerry did and the usual questions, but she threw me for a loop when she asked me where Jane was - since Aunt Jane died three years ago. I wasn't sure exactly how to answer, since I thought she was aware enough to know that Jane was gone. If she wasn't, how would you like to have that told to you and have it be the first time again and again? That just seems cruel. Still, I thought she was more aware than that, so I said, "Well, Amy Sr., Aunt Jane passed away about 3 years ago." She looked at me and said, "No, I mean your sister, Jane, Jamie?" and looked like she was trying to come up with a new name, so I just said, "Oh, Amy! She's in Houston!" And continued on with the conversation. After about 45 minutes and lunch she was drifting off, so I left, but my visit certainly gave me plenty to think about.

Well, I guess that catches me up! Although I didn't put blogging regularly in my goals, I'll try to be more punctual. I told Amy that I need to reserve blogging time after my BSF lecture. They tend to make me very philosophical. When I wait so long between blogs, it tends to be more informational and less introspective than I want them to be. Until next time!

Who me, Anxious?

Currently I'm reading a book called Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow. Tonight while we were relaxing with our nightly DVD sitcom wind-down, I mentioned to Jerry that I'm going to need to purchase a copy of this book (currently I have a copy checked out from the library) so that I can mark it up, dog-ear the pages and have it handy to re-read. Jerry asked, "So what do you have to be anxious about?"


"Well, according to this book, nothing!" was my cheeky reply.


Jerry didn't give up though, and as we were laying down for bed he asked me what types of things I was anxious about. We started talking, and eventually, around 11:45 we ended our discussion and he fell asleep in a matter of minutes. Now, of course, I'm up and can't get to sleep, having brought to the forefront of my mind all the worries that I try not to worry about. Most of the time I don't dwell on them, but right now I sure am.


I guess my main concern is that we still feel so unsettled, even though Jerry has now been at his job over seven months. We still haven't found a church home, still haven't found a house to buy and I still haven't made one single friend I would feel comfortable calling up just to chat. I worry about how the kids, especially Gracie, are doing in school. I just worry about starting to settle in to find out that we will be uprooted again, and it paralyzes me. Right now it's just one day at a time - and perhaps that is the lesson I am supposed to be learning - to live one day at a time. Perhaps someday I will conquer the urge to pick up my worries after I hand them to the Lord, but for now I think I will go re-read Matthew 6:25-34 and Philippians 4:6-8.

Back to Business

I've been trying to find time to post to the blog, and, as usual, it keeps falling to the bottom of the priority list (kinda like cleaning the house!)

We had a great holiday, with a bit much traveling. One of the great things about being closer to family is that we can see them all during the holidays. One of the lousy things about being closer to family is that we can see them all during the holidays. Sometimes the traveling can get to me, but the kids had a great time seeing all the grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. . .

Our first stop was two nights at Grandma and Papaw's house, a welcome refuge from the wintry weather we had to drive through to get there. The first night Dustin, Crystal and Gabriel were there as well as Amy, Brad and Will. The kids all quickly jumped into a game of "Dogpile on Uncle Dusty!"

The next night we got to visit will all my Mom's family. The girls were especially pleased that Cousin Korbin was there. Originally he was not going to get to come because he was going to be in Houston with the other side of the family. That plan fell through though, and although I'm sure his other side of the family was sad, the girls (and grownups too) were thrilled that we got to visit.

Then it was on the road again to Granddaddy and Nana's house. When we woke up in the morning and went downstairs, SANTA had been there! The girls were amazed that somehow he knew what things they had seen as Disney World that they really wanted. Maggie exclaimed, "Santa does watch us, even in NOVEMBER!" Gracie was so enamored of Tinkerbell's house that Santa brought, we could hardly get her to even look at anything else. We had to put away the toys pretty quickly though, because we had to be over at Bub and Sally's for lunch at 12:00. When we got there at 12:30, there was no food - a mix up with the caterer. The food was supposed to be served at 1:00, but for some reason the caterer thought Sally said 3:00. That meant several hours of watching kids among numerous fragile collectibles until the food got there. It wasn't so bad for us - the girls are older now, and not as rambunctious, but Will just turned two - rambunctious is his middle name! We all took turns chasing after and distracting him - but he's such a sweet boy, we didn't mind. Now there is certainly lots more I could say about this gathering, seeing as I come from an eccentric (read: insane) family, but I won't. We'll just move on to our next gathering, which was just a few blocks down the road at Jerry's parent's. We pulled up and found that all of Jerry's uncles were also there - a nice surprise. The girls were thrilled to see Uncle Aaron again, and wasted no time getting him to play with them. After a non-traditional Christmas dinner of Chicken and Dumplings, we headed back to warm beds at Dad and Terri's.

The next day was a fairly slow day. The kids played, and we relaxed until evening, when the Culps and Amy Sr. arrived for a prime rib dinner. It was a good visit, and everyone was cheerful, although I know we were all missing Suzanne and Jane. Since we hadn't come home for Christmas last year, this was my first family gathering without them, and it was poignant gathering for us all, I think.

The next morning we headed back to the Foster's Sr. household to spend a full day with Aaron before he headed back to California. He's pretty much game for anything with the girls. He even made a perler bead creation with them in the afternoon!

I got a message that evening that my mom had taken a tumble in a parking lot resulting in a twisted ankle and a good bump on the head that required some time in the ER that afternoon, so the next morning the girls and I took her some get-well soon flowers before we headed into town to get their hair cut.

The next day I got my hair cut and then we headed back to Dad and Terri's. Amy and Brad had left, but it was still a full house since Terri's family - her nieces, nephews and her brother Terri (no - I'm not making that up!) had all come for a visit. We brought our stuff in, sorted it, and then carried a great deal of it back out to Jerry's car, since he left to go back to Oklahoma and work the next day. The girls and I stayed on to visit some friends - we got to see the Moudy's, Whites, and stopped to say bye to GGma before we packed it in and headed home.

You know, I am always amazed at how good it feels to be home - you know, sleep in your own bed and all, but I left the house a bit messy trying to beat the snowstorm getting out of town, and coming back to piles of boxes and presents that all need to be put away is no fun, especially when you feel crammed into your accommodations already. We tried to remedy that by getting the Christmas stuff put back into the storage shed, but the urge to find a house is growning steadily. I hope some new stuff comes on the market soon!

Well, I had better go and get along to the next thing on the list - you guessed it - clean the house!

Where has the year gone?

Well, the year, productively speaking, is over. The girls get out of school in less than an hour, and the Christmas vacation begins. By the time it ends, it will be a new year.

I finished all my Christmas preparations, aside from a few shipping snafus, earlier this week. All the gifts are bought, presents wrapped, cookies baked, and carols sung. Now, you'll just have to take my word for this, because I have not taken one single picture of this holiday season. So, here's a variation on the old bear in the woods question - if there's not a page about it in the scrapbook, did it really happen? Like I said, you'll just have to take my word for it.

All rambling comments aside though, this year has gone by in a flash. I think we all know that as you get older, time goes by faster. Then there's the whole old job/new job/moving factor. That adds some speed too. Each year I think maybe we'll have a boring year that will move slower, but it never happens. I guess it never will until the inevitable happens and we move into eternity. That happened for a family member this week. My Great-Aunt Charlotte passed away. Although she had lived a long life, it is always a sad occasion when you lose a family member. It seems though that this is happening more frequently lately, partly because (again) we are getting older, and also because our families seem to be genetically predisposed to long lives, so we are just now losing our "great" generation. I know it's inevitable, yet I just can't bring myself to think about losing those I love. As a card that my roommate in college gave me when I had to have my appendix out said, "You realize this comes as a great shock to those of us who thought you were invincible."

Well, I don't really have anything else of consequence to say, I just didn't want you guys to think I'd dropped off the face of the earth during this blessed holiday season. Enjoy your Christmas, and be safe!