the stay-cation

you know, the latest trend in travel is not to travel at all.  since jeremy and i are such trend-following people, we decided to join the ranks of those who are enjoying a vacation at home. 

harrison went to grammy & papa's house yesterday morning and we won't pick him up until tomorrow afternoon.  53 hours of uninterrupted, whatever-we-want-to-do time.  now that's a vacation. i must say, however, that it is always incredibly hard to drive away from him.  i know he is having the time of his life...and i really love my freedom (and our time alone as a couple)...but i miss him SO much.  it's crazy how a mommy's heart doesn't ever stop longing for her babies. 

jer and i have just been spending quality time together.  it's been wonderful.  especially for a girl who speaks that specific love language.  

there was one exception, however.  the fantasy football draft.  the good Lord knows i would be a VERY BAD wife if i dared to think he would choose me over the draft.  so, while he was "fantasizing" with the guys this afternoon (for 5.5 hours!), i did some much needed organizing.  

this pregnant girl loves clean closets and cupboards!  

so, here's my conviction (and my confusion):  where in the world does all this stuff come from?

i mean, jer and i are NOT pack rats.  we aren't even "keepsake-momento-keeping" people.  we are "get rid of it" people.  we make donations to the lupus foundation, arc, and goodwill REGULARLY.  so, how is it that we keep finding more to donate?

i really don't have an answer.  i'm at a loss.  all i can say is that my day of going through closets and cupboards has, once again, produced quite a load for the salvation army.  

i've got a professional wrestler on my hands

who would have thunk it?

that a 16-month old's brain is smart enough to know exactly how to twist, turn, arch, bend, scream, and kick...

so that it become humanly IMPOSSIBLE to strap him into his car seat.  

i'm never leaving the house again. 

correction:  harrison is never leaving the house again.  

sure, he may grow up to be a sheltered, hermit-like, mama's boy.  but that's a small sacrifice for peace.

retail therapy

today was a very rough day in the white house.  no details necessary. first, i'd rather not bore you.  second, i'd rather not relive all that's taken place - even if it is just through memory.  and, third, in the grand scheme of things, my little old day is not that big of a deal.  so, i'll not complain.  

what i will do is tell you that all the "roughness" caused me to do something a bit extreme.  

i bought a new trash can.

that cost $69.99. 

(if you know me well - actually, if you know my husband well - you can hear jer screaming, "70 dollars??!!  for a TRASH CAN???!!!")

but, look, i googled my new can, and it appears that i got a great deal!  now, if costco was actually selling the can for $99.99, i would have walked away.  but, $69.99, for such a stainless steel beauty, i'd be an idiot not to buy one.

at least that's what i told jer when he got home this evening.

i always knew this day would come...

but i never thought it would be so soon.  

my child is now a one-nap-a-day-er.  

Lord Jesus, sustain me.  i mean, do You not realize that i'm very pregnant?  and harrison is very active?  and heavy?  and, well.....

i need two naps a day!?!?!  

maybe You, with all your miraculous ways, could turn harrison into a bear for the next few months...and make him hibernate.  that would be really helpful.  thanks. 

or, maybe, You could just make his ONE nap a REALLY LONG nap.  cause, really, You're killin me with this hour-and-a-half-a-day stuff. 

or, maybe, You could send mary poppins to my house.  or nanny mcphee.  and while she is coaxing my child to lay down in peaceful rest, she could also clean my house from top to bottom.  with the wiggle of her little nose, of course.

or, maybe, You could just give me strength and mercy to make it through each day.  because i could use some sustaining grace right now.  

...but You already knew that.  

sometimes i speak before thinking

jer & i dropped harrison off at grammy & papa's house this afternoon because we are going to a concert tonight.  and the ability to sleep in tomorrow morning will be quite lovely.  on the way home from their house, we stopped at the furniture store.  we are finishing our basement so we need some new pieces to fill the space.  

something interesting happened while we were there.  of course we were approached by numerous sales people.  most walked away when we told them we were just looking.  one, however, seemed to hang around...waiting for his opportunity. 

so, tyler (that was his name), began into his spiel about why we should NOT buy a sleeper sofa. he suggested buying a regular sofa and, then, purchasing an air mattress for when guests come over.  never mind that this scenario really doesn't have anything to do with our furniture needs or wants.  what i was REALLY turned off by was this line:  "when i was in high school, my girlfriend was 90 pounds and i was 180 pounds.  when we would sleep on an air mattress it would tilt unevenly".  

okay...so...here's me...jaw on the floor...and i blurt out...loudly, "you were sleeping with your girlfriend when you were in high school??!!!"

tyler's face turned beet red.  and then he began to tell us about his life.  for the next 45 minutes. a part of his story included one of the most crude, disgusting, totally inappropriate jokes i've ever heard in my life.  

sidenote:  jer had completely tuned out tyler by this point.  he totally missed the nasty joke. when i, hesitantly, repeated it to him on the way home, he was absolutely appalled.  sometimes i wish i had the manly ability to tune everything out.

it was all pretty horrible, really.  i was ready to RUN in the opposite direction.  but i did my best to smile and be encouraging toward him.

after prying ourselves out of tyler's super human salesman grip, we left the store.  and we were, pretty much, silent the whole way home.  the situation just wasn't right, you know?  it was weird. 

so here's the thing.  i'm not dumb.  i know that LOTS of people have sex while they are in high school.  i was not one of them - for which i very thankful - but don't get me wrong, i have done many, many things that i should not have done.  i've made lots of wrong choices.  my intention was not to come across as judgmental toward tyler.  i don't want to be the girl who is appalled by someone's past.  i'm a believer in "all things can be made new" and "everyone deserves a second chance". 

after thinking about it, the thing that bothered me about what tyler said...the thing that made my jaw drop...was that he was so very casual about mentioning something that is so foreign to me.  for someone to simply "throw out there" (during a sales pitch, no less....and to strangers!) that kind of personal information...without forethought, without hesitation, without shame, without regret...it's just SO FAR from what i would do.

it showed me that my beliefs are not shared by everyone.  

it made me sad.  

in the end, though, i don't regret my little outburst.  i suppose, if nothing else, it's good for tyler to know that there are people in the world who don't think sex in high school is a "normal" thing.  

sigh.  there's many more thoughts i could spill out...but i'm tired of "digesting" the situation. and i need a nap before the show tonight.  

a new use for lysol?

in my 31 years of life i have cared for A LOT of children.  i started baby sitting when i was 11. my first baby sitting jobs paid $1.50 per hour...with the exception of one wealthy family that paid me a whopping $3.00 per hour!  as you can imagine, i never turned down a job from them. 

when i was 14 i started working at my church's day care center during the summer (limited hours).  i kept that job all throughout high school.  during my senior year, i went to school half a day and worked the other half.

in college, i began baby sitting for one of my favorite families in the whole world.  it's absolutely impossible to think that i started watching their oldest when she was only one.  now, BOTH their kids are in middle school!  and then, of course, i became a nanny for another amazing family.  the things i learned while watching their son are immeasurable.

what has been the benefit of all this life experience? 

well, for one, the fact that i've been a tax-paying citizen since the age of 14 means that if i became disabled, or died, tomorrow, jeremy and harrison would get a nice little monthly stipend from the federal government.  actually, if i died tomorrow, that's probably the only way they would see money from the feds.  because, clearly, if i live to a lovely old age there won't be any social security left to pass around. but, i digress. 

two...i have specific likes and dislikes regarding what we can name our children.  this is based, of course, on the sweet, precious kids i've met along the way.  and on the little rascals i've met along the way.  i will NEVER name a child preston.  sorry, if you like that name.  when i hear it, i get terrible flashbacks of a brown-haired, booger-nosed, whiny little boy...again, i digress.

three...it goes without saying that caring for other's children prepared me to care for my own. while baby sitting and nannying could never impress upon me the deep love and responsibility that comes with having a child, they surely taught me some of the "tricks of the trade". 

BUT...one thing all this life experience did not prepare me for...

i have never, in my 20 years of child care, seen a boy so heart broken because he wasn't allowed to play with a can of lysol disinfectant spray. 

it would be impossible to describe the tragedy of it all.

i mean, really, i must be the meanest, most un-fun mother in the whole wide world.  (another thing that baby sitting does not prepare you for).

can someone please tell me when my baby boy turned into a little man?

dress for less? i think not.

it seems that each week brings renewed UNhappiness with my wardrobe.  this morning i got fed up when i was outside playing with harrison and the majority of my time was spent pulling up, straightening, or stretching out my maternity shorts.  they were great a few weeks ago. they are not so great now.

i had heard a rumor that ross dress for less had a good maternity section.  i hadn't been there yet, and i was feeling adventurous, so harrison and i did a little shopping after lunch.  

what i discovered is that ross dress for less has the worst maternity section i've ever seen.  and, apparently, one must be non-english-speaking in order to shop there.  

what an adventure it was!

calling all cooks

okay, friends, now that i'm in my sixth month of pregnancy, i'm getting a bit...um, how shall we say...organized.  

yes, that's it.  i'm getting into a nesting, planning, can't stand that our garage is holding excessive cardboard boxes that need to be recycled, and can't deal with the coat closet that is overflowing with everything other than coats mode.  

so, one organizational thing that i'd like to do differently this time around...

i would love to load my freezer full of prepared meals.  yes, i still plan to accept meals from friends after baby boy II arrives.  however, i'd like to stockpile my supply so that i don't have to think about food for a long while.  for this, i need your help.  

i need some new recipes.  jeremy white thinks i lack "inspiration"  in the cooking area.  he's surprised that my constant watching of the foodnetwork has not resulted in better meals for his tummy.  so, in an effort not to disappoint my dear husband, and to be ultra-prepared for life with TWO kids, will you please send me some yummy recipes (that can easily be frozen)?  

one thing...i hate cheese.  so, if it's a casserole recipe, it must be able to be half-cheese and half-cheese-free.  : ) 

all recipes can be emailed to rwhite143@gmail.com

my husband's tummy (and my type-a hormones) thanks you!

***oh, and if you have experience with freezing prepared meals, i'd love any advice you can give.

a harrison update

it's high time i provided an update on the little mister.  so far, we've had his hearing checked, his vision checked, and an evaluation with a speech pathologist.  we are waiting on a phone call from the "early intervention" people (who work with the public schools and are not scheduling appointments until school is back in session). 

which, by the way, one of the districts here started school today.  is that insane or what? i may not be remembering correctly, but when i was growing up didn't school start AFTER labor day?that was so long ago, though, maybe i'm making that up. 

anyway....

his hearing and vision are just great.  our visit with linda, the speech pathologist, was last monday.  i loved her.  she did a great job of interacting with harrison...trying to get the best out of him.  he took to her immediately and the visit went very smoothly.  for which, i am so very thankful.  and, she has even called me at home - twice - to have extended discussions about harrison.  i have been really impressed with her.

harrison does have a significant language delay.  while he understands many "more complicated" things (such as, "go throw it in the trash"), he does not respond to very simple commands such as "come here" and "give that to me".  linda thinks this is a bit of stubbornness on harrison's part (and i concur), rather than a lack of understanding.  so, as far as what harrison comprehends, there is not a concern.  well, except i am taking this as an official forewarning that my sweet boy is going to be very strong willed.  oh joy. 

as far as what harrison can say...he's really behind.  but, the good thing is that linda does not believe the delay is due to a serious problem (like a brain issue, or lack of hearing).  she really thinks he is like many toddler boys - advanced in motor skills and slow in language.  again, i feel so grateful that there does not seem to be a "bigger" issue.  we are simply working with harrison at home (during our normal play time) to encourage speech.  

the best part of the evaluation was that linda did not think there was any reason to proceed with an autism evaluation.  in fact, she made the recommendation to our pediatrician that we postpone the autism check for six months.  and, even then, we only need it if harrison has regressed/lost skills/not progressed.  she mentioned that, had she not known there was an autism concern, she never would have questioned it.  obviously, this is a HUGE relief to us. once again, we feel so immensely thankful! 

however, even with all the great news, we are still being vigilant to watch our sweet boy.  we have taken him off all dairy (switched to soy) and we have him on a supplement that detoxifies his little body and brain...as well as provides omega 3's and 6's for healthy brain development. and there will be no more vaccinations.  (we can give them to him when he's older, if needed).  i am purposeful in how we play at home...making lots of noises for harrison to imitate, as well as working on his "pretend play".  all these things are simple, easy, and will only help him.

just like each of you do (if you have children), we love our child with an insurmountable love. we would do anything for him.  we are trusting God - who gave him to us - to provide for his every need.  and we are relying on God to give us wisdom and discernment as we raise him.

i would like to say many, many thanks to those of you who have prayed for us.  let me say this: we felt your prayers.  i, for one, was having quite a difficult time praying.  my prayer (through delirious tears) was, "Jesus, i can't do this.  i have no words.  help".  needless to say, i was relying on the prayers of the righteous to step in and intercede for us.  

all your comments and phone calls and emails were so encouraging.  thanks!  one person in particular sent me an email that put me back on my knees and gave me renewed hope and peace.  she said, "God knows everything about harrison and He decided that you were the perfect woman to raise harrison...and that harrison was the perfect boy for you to learn and grow from".  i needed to be reminded of that.  i needed to be CONVICTED of that.  and i needed to trust that. 

so...all in all, we feel deeply blessed to have taken a ride on this crazy "roller coaster of life" and survived.  i must say, though, i really prefer the nice, slow ferris wheel!  we would still greatly appreciate your prayers for continued progress in harrison's development.  i will continue to keep you informed!  

fun with grammy & papa

we are so fortunate to live close to jer's parents.  and we are even more fortunate that they love harrison so much! 

we started taking harrison to their house to spend the night as soon as he began sleeping through the night.  it was very hard to be away from him in those early days.  but we, purposefully, wanted to get harrison accustomed to sleeping there.  and, now, jer & i can enjoy a date night without any worry.

we have no doubt that harrison and baby white II will grow up with wonderful memories of grammy & papa's house!