Category: update

My Car Started With Divine Power

I haven’t blogged since mid-Jan?? Sorry, all my loyal readers. I now have motivation and inspiration to do better. What’s up with us? Well….

I’m enjoying work. It’s been 2 months now, and it’s going well. I’m very blessed, to be working for a local business and only 8 hrs/week. It sure takes the stress off arranging childcare. I’m having fun and meeting all sorts of people. You learn lots too, just from observing people.

Jamayia’s eating better. Her appetite has greatly increased–yeah! Not only does she chew food, but she actually swallows it too!! I know!!! Improvements all around. She’s getting to be quite the ravenous little monkey, which is cool. I’m sure she’ll be slowly packing on the ounces too. Can you believe I’m starting to think about her birthday cake. Yes, her birthday’s in July, but she’s also allergic to milk. I want her to enjoy a fun birthday meal, dessert included. No point in blowing out candles on a dessert you can’t even ingest yourself.

Jonathon’s been mega busy with work. Thankfully he’s been keeping warm as he busses it to work day after day.

Speaking of warm–it so was NOT this past week. Okay, let me not lie. It was gorgeous on Sunday, just a few degrees below freezing point. But please tell me how we plummeted down to nearly -50 Celcius (including windchill factor)??? Brrrrrr…… Which brings me to today’s title.

Tuesday nite, I was heading out with the Sisters-in-love and Baby. (Yeah, I was planning for her to stay home with Daddy, but he got delayed at work). I pressed the button on the keychain to start the car, and saw lights come on in the car. When we went outside, though, the car was off. It’s supposed to run for 18 minutes automatically, and we certainly didn’t take that long to come out. I pressed the remote button again. It tried to start and stopped, start and stopped. Not good… I got in the car and manually tried to start it…had a few problems, but it eventually turned over and stayed on. We had no car troubles on our return trip home. That nite, I asked hubby to program it so that the car automatically starts when the temp reaches a certain point. He thought he did.

Wednesday morning, I tried to start the car. I saw lights and walked away from the window. Close to 1pm, I went to start it again, as I was heading out. This time, I stood watch at the window. Turns out that it would start for a whopping 2 seconds, then konk out. This meant I had to go outside and start it up myself. I bundle up and get in the car. I turned the key and was only getting silence. A couple times, I’d hear the engine try to turn over…but mostly silence. It was dead. Dead, like in the movies kind of dead. I looked around, but there was no knight in shining armour galloping through my back lane. I leaned back on my seat and said an honest prayer. “Lord, am I not supposed to go out today? It’s cool if I’m to stay home.” I tried the car again–it started!! Praise the Lord! Only He could come through like that. The car was so dead, that the odometer has reset itself, as well as all my preset radio stations.

I know you’re dying to ask if my car was plugged in. Short answer: no. The cord from our block heater is actually broken, so we’re not able to use it. Instead, we just program the car starter to automatically start at specific temperatures. We had no problems last winter. And Wednesday nite, Jonathon was sure to program the car correctly. We’ve had no problems since.

Yeah!

Go Ahead, Load Up The Calories

We had a dr’s appt today simply to check her weight. She’s gaining weight slower than the charts suggest and the Dr’s a bit concerned. I’m not overly concerned because Jamayia’s still playful and happy and progressing nicely, and her height’s fine. She just isn’t all that interested in solid foods still, but she’s slowly making progress. Turns out that she’s just under 18 lbs. The Dr. wanted to send her for blood work to check her iron levels because we haven’t given her any meat yet. Can’t you find iron in something other than meat?? We’re also not big meat eaters to begin with, so it’s not something that I readily have on hand at home, nor is it something that I personally feel she needs to be eating at a young age. If she’s not big into the simple things like fruit & veggies and pasta, then why harass her tummy with meat just yet? The Dr. did say that at this point, she can eat whatever she wants. I believe the exact words were “I’m okay with her having some yogurt or ice cream everyday. She just need the calories right now.” Wouldn’t you just love that kind of diet?

After a quick trip out and back in, we were off to the lab. I had the ugly task of pinning her down. The (what I assume is) student phlebotomist ushered me into a tiny room, where there’s no room for the stroller. Then she says that she’ll just stick it outside the room, but within eyeshot (hey—if you can say earshot, then eyeshot should be legit too). She explains that for Peds cases, you need 2 people in the room. Then the more experienced phlebotomist came in and the student shut the door. Um, hmm, how am I supposed to see the stroller now?? I was too annoyed to say anything outloud. It would’ve just come across as rude. No need to be rude before they’re about to stick a needle in my baby’s arm. We get set up. I was told to pin down Jamayia; the student was holding her arm straight and the other lady did the actual blood draw. Well, have I mentioned that my baby doesn’t like to be pinned down?? Yes, that was the screaming you heard—we had to hold her down. The actual needle stick seemed like child’s play after the pinning down.

But of course, no day of mine would be complete without more drama, right?? So, they find the vein and start. Of course baby’s Ms. Squirmy Wormy. Then the blood practically stopped flowing. And with her silly manipulations, the lady managed to let the needle slipped out the vein, and then the arm. Then she has the nerve to say to me that she told me to hold Jamayia. Praise God for His restraint because He spared her from a few degrees lesser than this momma’s wrath. Yes, I managed to keep my tongue silent and said nothing. Nothing! I knew I hadn’t let go of Jamayia’s legs & body and that what went on in her arm area was not my responsibility. No need to waste breath in self defense for something that I didn’t cause. I just let that water roll right off my back.

So, they proceeded to the other arm. It worked. But here’s another senseless thing. They collected such a small sample for all the tests they needed to run, that she was unsure of the amount she collected. Yes, she pulled out the needle, and went to check with a lab tech if the amount collected was enough. Um, hello?? If you pull out the needle, how are you gonna collect more? Am I the only one having issues with this lady here?????? Thankfully, my babe’s quite the trooper, and survived this all. Hopefully without any long lasting scars.

Her next appointment is November 15. LOL. Never did I think I’d be praying for someone to actually gain weight.

Bag Update

Remember this post?

Yeah, well, I mailed out my dear bag on May 27, with the expectation of a 10 business day expedited delivery. That’s what I paid for and that’s what the post office told me. Well, my bag finally got there…

…on June 18. Can you believe it? Yes, I do think that the post office needs to be notified about such things…

I miss my bag.

Parental Update

Well, you just had the full run down on Baby Girl. I hope you’re also wondering what’s up with her parents. Let’s see what I can tell you:

DADDY

  • Family–he’s enjoying being Hubby & Daddy. He’s having a blast with his ladies and loving us up. Baby Girl actually greets him each day when he gets home from work. It just warms his heart completely. Hubby is a fantastic Daddy and is doing a wonderful job. Our family is so blessed to have him.
  • Work–things are going well. He’s keeping busy and still learning lots. He’s been there for about 15 months now, and still enjoying every moment of it. He’s also glad to not have to spend a lot of time commuting there.
  • Church–He’s agreed to serve for the upcoming church year, in a leadership role. He took a break this past year, to regroup and relax. Things should be very interesting in this next year.

MOMMY

  • Family–I’m enjoying life with Hubby & Baby. It’s neat having our own little life…
  • Work–well, in case you missed it, I was laid off from my job last fall. So, as the Maternity Leave benefits wind down, we’ll see how we can juggle my staying home. Someone’s gotta raise Baby Girl–she’s not able to take care of herself on her own just yet.
  • Church–No major responsabilities just yet. I’m still waiting on phone calls. I’m also very glad for my high-speed internet connection and the fact that I can catch worship services online from places that have it all together…

COMBINED

  • House–it’s really time to start looking for a house. We’re just praying about this seriously. Right now, though, the market here is mad crazy. It ain’t right, some of the numbers I’m seeing people put down for a small piece of property. I’m just glad that God is in control, because it can easily become very discouraging.
  • Car–okay, so this is just a dream. The reality is that our car is a decent size and runs well and meets our needs. The dream is that I’d really like an SUV (ain’t really feeling the minivan thing). I like the ability to climb up into and climb down out of, rather than folding up to go in and unfolding myself to get out of a car. I’d also like my trunk back–the stroller takes up enuff room. When we were in Toronto, our car rental place (Enterprise), after seeing the amount of stuff we had to tote to our destination, upgraded us free to an SUV. It was a very sweet two weeks. I smiled the entire time. I’m thinking that was just a way of test driving and sealing the deal that SUV is the way to go….LOL.

Okay, that’s the major things for us, really. If I’m forgetting something, I’m sure some loyal reader will bring it to my attention.

Jamayia Updates

Here’s a rundown of what’s up with baby girl:

  • Teeth–she’s got 2 top teeth working their way into appearance. She’s again handling this like a champ. Praise the Lord!
  • Kisses–If I ask for a kiss, she’ll turn her head to face me and aim for my lips. She hasn’t figured out how to properly pucker for them yet, but that’s alright. She knows what they are, which is what counts. I feel so accomplished, that I was able to teach her something cool! A bigger bonus is that sometimes, she wants a kiss without any prompting, so she’ll turn her head and put on the sweetest face. I love it!
  • Climbing–This isn’t really a good thing. She loves to try and reach for things–usually the wrong things though. Like, she’s slowly decimating a couple of my plants. She loves to reach for the computer mouse. She’s constantly trying to climb the arm of the couch, and reach the computer desk for anything remotely enticing. She’s even realized that if you stand on your tippy toes, you can reach things better. **shakes head**
  • Solid Food–we’re slowly venturing into the world of solids. Let me just say off the bat that the diapers are just plain wrong at this stage of the game. She eats best when Daddy feeds her alone. If I try and feed her, she gets distracted by the lure of the boobs. **shrugs** What can I say–I give good stuff…LOL. She’s enjoying rice cereal. I’m trying to start her with veggies & fruits. So far, we’ve tried green beans–ugg. She doesn’t seem to care for them and actually makes faces. Next stop, applesauce.
  • Talking–No, she doesn’t say any real words just yet, but she’s certainly upping her vocabulary. She’s saying more pronounced sounds and babbling away more often now. Baby talk–it’s mad cute. She also shakes her head. Not sure why.
  • Hair Styling–no good progress here either. Her hair is super long. She still h-a-t-e-s having it combed and will scream bloody murder during the styling process. But once Mommy’s holding her, she’s all smiles and play.

Alrighty, I think that covers her pretty well. Now for updates on Mommy & Daddy.

Hello April

April has not started off with flurries. That’s right, not showers, but with flurries, and the slow growth of May flowers. For an allergy sufferer who’s a nursing mom this spring, I’m just praying that it’s a quick, sneezeless and sinus-pain free springtime.

Let’s see, what has happened so far this month? Jono’s basketball team won their division championships. Go Revolution! Debbie’s birthday was on Apr 2. Happy Birthday! I hope that this next year goes even better than the last. I look forward to more chit chats, more laughs, plenty jokes and great life lessons. And now we’re up to the Easter weekend. Yeah, first real holiday since Christmas time for Jono. I can’t wait until the province has a February holiday.

Baby’s doing well. Maybe I’ll post some pics later. She’s crawling like it’s no one’s business. She’s working on pulling herself up to standing. Hasn’t quite bothered with wanting to walk just yet. She’s quite fresh, though. Once she’s standing, she wants to let go and stand alone, though she’s clearly not ready for that yet. Ahh, the laughs. She’s also got two clearly visible bottom teeth. Those are some sharp little buggers.

Our nursing relationship continues well. Turns out that she’s allergic to her rice cereal, so no solids yet. (Do paper napkins count as solids??) She doesn’t bite me while she eats; only when she’s full and decides that my nipple makes a fun chew toy. But as long as you can’t hear me screaming, it’s all good. I’m onto my little Trickster. She acts as though her tremendously cute smile should dull all pain….and it almost does. I can’t wait until she’s a nursing mom and the razor sharp teeth dig into her. I’ll be there to smile and gloat. LOL.

Well, Dacia, that was my update.