quote of day

Yesterday I had no quote of the day...but Suzy gave me some great material this morning.

After I had been tickeling Suzy's tummy.

Suzy: "Mommy do you have a tummy?"

Me: with a smile..."No, I don't have a tummy."

Suzy: "You have boobies. Big boobies. I have baby boobies"

Vest-a- what?????

This post is not for the very young or weak hearted. So there's your warning. Exit now if you opposed to intimate details. Some of you are looking for the X to get this blog off your screen to exit...and then others of you....well now I'm sure I've got some of your attention..and you can't wait to read on.

I've debated whether to share this or not...but decided this is my life and something going on in it. I think you can handle it...because we all have issues as some time or another right?

Several weeks ago I had some pain. Way down yonder. With going to the bathroom, burning, you get the point. Also with sex. (But we're married so it's o.k. to talk about....all right??) So I treated it as a yeast infection...but not having one for several years I wasn't sure it even was a yeast infection. But after an over the counter 3 day treatment nothing seemed to get better. Which lead me to making an appointment with my gynecologist. After lots of questions, prodding, some samples...determining I never did have a yeast infection and ruling out other possibilities it was diagnosed as Vestibulitis. Vest-a- what????? I've never heard such a word. There's not one thing that causes this. Some conclusions have been drawn back to chronic yeast infections, changes in detergent or soap, chronic bacterial infections, etc. none of which apply to me. Vestibulitis is a condition which causes redness and pain of the vestibule. Vestibulitis is an inflammation of this skin. So here I am. Asking the Dr. what can be done. He recommends one of 2 things for me...injections or surgery. He recommended starting with injections first for 2-3 weeks. I was thinking an injection maybe of some kind of miracle cream simply inserted. Oh no. These are the kind of injections in your you-who. With a needle. Into a place that already hurts. These injections are given one week apart, and cause spotting, and bruising. And no sex during this time. It is an injection of steroids to help heal the infected area. The whole time I am thinking...really does this have to be such a big deal?? I asked the Dr. if it can just heal or go away on it's own. In his experience no. It just gets worse. Oh frights sake. Here we go.

My first injection was last Wednesday. Let me just say. It. Was. Bad! Beyond bad. Anytime your talking needles getting close to your you-who...it's bad. Not one or two...but 4 shots people. I cried like a little girl. I'm not ashamed. I have no shame left. The next set comes this coming Wednesday. To say that I'm a little anxious about the morning's activities is an understatement. We are going with just 2 sets of injections..since we have a family vacation planned that we are leaving for this Thursday. I am hoping & praying it will heal this painful area. Because well the you-who is just a place I do not want to be sore anymore.

new cut

Here it is...my new cut. Short and sweet just like this post.

Do you think I made a mistake?

great friends and making new ones

This past weekend our church had their annual women's retreat. It was my first time ever going to a women's retreat, and it was beyond rewarding for me to be there. There are so many things you learn about your friends and people who you know from church but yet haven't formed a relationship with yet.

There were so many things that would have never come up on a Sunday morning conversation with these girls. Conversations that went further than "Hi, how are you doing? How was your week?" I loved getting to know these women on a different level.

Friday night was a blast. There were some line dancing lessons, that everyone age group got involved in. (wish I would've gotten pictures of that) There were lots of games and lots and lots of food.

Lots of curling up on the couches and late night talking and goofing off going on as well.

NOT sure what is being said here...but I can assure you it was very funny.

Some kind of eating contest someone borrowed my camera for.

This must have been around midnight. The excitement of a night out still going strong.

And the slap happy stage.

The next morning we had a worship time, and a sharing time. I think there were 5 women total that shared about a time in their life where things happened a totally different way then they would've thought it would have. Several months ago Jen who was planning the retreat asked me to share a time when things took a turn for me. I didn't think it would be that big of a deal since she was only asking for about 5 minutes of sharing. But holy cow..the closer this time drew...the more I regretted this decision. Not for the topic...I have no problem talking. But for the shear fear of getting in front of people. The fear of man (women) and what they would think. The fear if my point would come across they way I hoped. So by Saturday morning my stomach was in a knot. I just wanted to say.."Forget it. I changed my mind." But I knew that would cause a bigger deal than I wanted...getting lots of attention saying..."Heather, you can do it...It will be fine." And deep down I knew it would be fine. Donovan's aunt Gloria came through with a hug at just the right time and some encouragement and I was thankful for her prayers on my behalf. And it really was fine. I was so thankful I simply gave my talk sitting down in a big overstuffed chair...making for a very casual atmosphere. I was thinking if I would have to stand during my talk my knees would have knocked together like they do when I get nervous. I loved how the committee that planned this retreat created that atmosphere for that time. All the speakers spoke like this. We were just in one big circle all sitting in chairs and couches.
After some of the talks there was some time for journaling and personal reflection. Meeting in small groups and then later a craft time. :) I had to laugh when I saw that there would be a "craft time"-because I hadn't had a craft time since Jr. high. It was so fun though!

Here some of the girls are making small beaded key chains as a reminder that God is with us during times that seem like there is a gap of what you thought your life would be like and what it actually is. The girls in charge of the crafts made some really cool choices on the beads and the key chains turned out really cute.

I forgot to add the best part of the weekend, my friend Jen's sister came in from out of state to give massages. HELLO! It was only $15 for 30 minutes. It was so amazing. I had not had a massage for 3 years. I was due. It was the best I had ever had.

These are the girls I rode up to the camp with. Julie and Brooke.

My friend Rose, who does not know how to take a bad picture. Isn't she cute?? She has given me inspiration for an easier shorter cut....stayed tuned for a new hair do this week. Pictures to come.

think green-think spring

Have you ever had a morning that you wondered how on earth your going to get through the rest of the day?

Yesterday I remained pretty positive. The kids for the most part were on the couch sick, and had no energy to fight. Today I could tell they were feeling better. They were into each others hair....and had WAY to much energy. Both Isabella and Jack were still running fevers last night so I couldn't send them to school this morning. The fevers were gone by this morning, but the rule is that you have to be fever free for 24 hours to return to the classroom. So this morning seemed very overwhelming. I thought to myself...before this day gets any older I AM going to get my hair washed. And I AM going to put make up on. It took me until 10 a.m. but I got it done, despite the many interruptions. By 10 after 10 I was working on cooking some oatmeal for breakfast when my doorbell rang. The funny thing is I didn't even hear it ring...because it was so loud in the kitchen from all the fighting. The kids all ran to the door....to find my sweet friend Jen standing there with a smile and gift for me.

I have tears just thinking of how God meets all of our needs. I hadn't even prayed for encouragement, but it came. At just the right time.

Jen had read my post from yesterday, felt sorry for me- and just wanted to stop by with a fun magazine and a chocolate/caramel bar for me. God is so good. It was the perfect pick me up and bright spot in my day!

Another bright spot I should add .....was yesterday afternoon my mother in law brought over supper for us. Homemade chicken noodle soup and orange jello. It was a perfect supper. And it was so nice to have a break in my day and a little adult interaction.

So back to our day....

St. Patrick's day....got me thinking of green and thinking of how much I love green and spring.

Some geraniums from last summer, I had in the basement. That I'm trying to bring back to green.

ahhh...spring!!! It's an unseasonably warm today-71 degrees!!! I. LOVE. IT.

A christmas gift from my hubby...my favorite perfume ever...which happens to be green.

So while the kids were outside playing....I got a project done. It was so exciting! I had been wanting a new curtain for my bathroom.

I got inspired after reading this blog about not running out on a whim to spend $. Even if have cash (Which in theory I would have had $10 for new fabric) But that's how it goes...I have a great idea and $10 here and $10 there adds up. My husband has never come down on me for this...it's just something I think I personally need to work on. Her goal and mine is to start using the principle of choosing not to spend. So I went digging in my closet and came up with this.
My old duvet cover. I had used if for 3 years on our bed. While I loved the print and the color matched our bedroom paint perfectly....it was getting bleached from the face cleaner/lotion I use at night on my face. I would try to be careful..but it was starting to show where the duvet would touch my face while I slept. And really who wants covers that can't touch your face? So...about 6 months ago I replaced our duvet cover with white and had this duvet I had no idea what to do with...because of the discoloration at the top of the fabric.

Wah-lah. My new bathroom curtain. I'm so excited. First of all that I actually finished a project. And second of all I love how it turned out. Something new out of something old.

Quote of the day:

Last night at supper, while eating Grandma's chicken noodle soup.

Jack: "Mom, can I have something for supper a little more liquid-y?"

Isabella: "Jack, Soup is about as liquid as you can get."

Unfortunately for Jack he is not a fan of chicken noodle soup. However it's one of my favorites!!

Not exactly livin' the dream...

You know your child is sick when they go and lay down all by themself.

We have had sickness in our house for over a week now and quite honestly it's getting kinda old. A week and 1/2 ago Isabella had sore throat and fever, so I took her into the Dr. and she tested positive for strep. She got on a free antibiotic (thanks Meijer!) Two days later Jack started with the same symptoms. Thank you again to Meijer for the free antibiotic! Wednesday last week (3 days after Jack) William had the same things different day. Thank you to Meijer...again. And Suzy surprised us with getting a sinus infection. And me well I got the strep with a side of fever one day after William. So count them...5 antibiotics for this family of 6. With some kind of luck Donovan escaped the fun.

Isabella and Jack had finished their antibiotics and seemed like they were well over the last 5 days...until this morning. Jack woke up this morning at 3 a.m. with fever, headache, and cough. So Donovan got him set up on medication and a floor nest by our bed....and then 1 hour later had to get up to leave for Chicago where he is flying out of for a business meeting. For 3 days. OH joy. I then got up about 6:45 to get Isabella ready for school who I promptly put back to bed because she was running a fever and had dizzy spells with a headache...I guess just for fun. The worst part was I had babysitting lined up today so that I could meet this sweet friend for lunch & then shopping at the outlet mall. So cancel cancel cancel. What a bummer. Does this seem like a whining session? Yep. Sure enough it is.

But I remain thankful about these things:

*Donovan will only be gone 2 nights.
*The sun is shinning and it is beautiful outside.
*A friend gave me a ton of clothes to look through that she was going to take to the resale. Perfect sizes for 2 of my children and just the right things I needed for our spring break vacation. So really it's like a garage sale right in the convience of my own home.
*No one is throwing up.
*This weekend is our churches woman's retreat, complete with massages. It couldn't be coming at a better time!

Quote of the day:

On the way home from Goshen last week the kids begged to watch a movie.

Donovan: "No, you don't need to watch a movie. You've had enough screen time today."

William: "No fair. We never get to watch a movie in the van"

Donovan: "You know when I was a kid we didn't have DVD's, or CD's. We didn't watch movies let alone in a car. We didn't have a TV and we barely had a radio."
William: "Did you even have a house?"

Do you know who these little people are?

My Isabella Rose and Jack Donovan 5 years ago.

I have always been amazed at their friendship as brother and sister. It's something I never experienced growing up....a brother. They are such sweet friends, and usually get together very well. Jack has always followed in Isabella's footsteps.

My little Isabella that's not so little anymore was tested positive for strep yesterday. So she is recovering this weekend and all snuggled up on the couch today. And the best part? Her antibiotic was FREE from Meijer! I love free. Hope your having a great weekend.

The quote of the day:

Jack: "I'm a scientist."

Isabella: "Really ? What was your 1st experiment?"

Jack: "Leaving the toilet seat up."

Isabella: "Really? How did that go for you?"
Jack:"I got pricked by a porcupine and I got flushed down a toilet."

no use crying over spilt milk...well unless you paid over $3/gal

Here is Jack's attempt at an evening drink....

ending badly. I was kind of irritated but started laughing instead. Which results in the 6 year old thinking I was laughing at him, which made him cry. I was actually laughing WITH him. O0ps. He wasn't laughing. Here is happy pants after the milk spill.

In other exciting news....William lost his first tooth yesterday!!! My other 2 kids were in 1st grade when they lost their first tooth! We couldn't believe he lost his so young. Now he is worried if he keeps loosing them, how he will eat.

Today at lunch. They make me so happy. They also at times make me so mad. But today, it was just happiness!

Quote of the day:

Suzy (who is knocking on a locked bathroom door): "ISABELLA open the door. You will need help wiping your booty."

Isabella: "I do that myself Suzy!"
Suzy: "O.K."