Thursday, March 27, 2014

The Light after the Dark.

Yesterday a co-worker said this to me: This might sound random and weird, but I’m so thankful that I work with you. You’re someone who is so positive and outgoing and easy to work worth. Some people are just downers but not you and for that I'm grateful.

While this was nice to hear it really confirmed that whoever that person was last fall is gone. The real Stephanie is back…and hopefully she’ll stick around for good. But it also made me reflect back on that difficult time in my life and how I got through it.

Last fall when I was going through everything there were two songs that helped pulled me through. Two songs that reminded me that what was going on wasn’t me and that I would get through it.
The first was was Roar by Katy Perry. Ironically it would come on the radio every time I left my counselors office. It became my anthem and I would take the long way home just so I could listen to the whole song…on full blast with tears running down my face. It made me feel strong enough to force whatever dark shadow was over me and make it go away. I know it sounds cheesy, but that song gave me strength. Even now when I hear that song I am reminded of that hard time in my life and that I did pull out of it!

The second song I heard only once at church after I had started feeling better. We went to the evening service which is the youth mass. The girl in the choir with the voice of an angel sang Empty and Beautiful by Matt Maher and as I listened to the words she was singing I fought back the tears knowing that I was going to get through this and God would always be at my side. Afterward, not knowing what song it was, I searched online and found it and every now and then I’ll give it a listen and just know everything will be as it should be.

Music has always had a way to speak to me; whether it be to cheer me up or fall in love. These two songs, despite representing a dark time in my life, are a part of my soundtrack. I will be forever grateful to the artists for writing them and helping through that difficult time.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Ten things on Tuesday

1. My shuffle board team won 3 games in one night! We basically doubled our record. It was a big deal for us…and I guess winning is more fun then loosing…who knew!

2. Adam has decided to join Ultimate League this spring after taking a few years off. I’m glad he’s getting out and doing stuff with the guys and getting some exercise.

3. At some point last week Charlie started say uh uh and shaking her head. No idea who at daycare taught her this…but you ask her a question she’ll let you know right away…she doesn’t want to do it! Great.

4. Adam’s Aunt Diane and Uncle Barry stopped by late Friday for a quick visit.  They live in IL and were visiting family…so it was nice they could see us and spend some time with Charlie, who loved Uncle Barry’s beard!

5.  Saturday I got to go on my first Charlie shopping spree! I realized she didn’t have but 2 pairs of shorts and hardly any summer clothes. Since she has gotten so many hand me downs and gifts I haven’t really had a reason to go shopping for her…man it was fun!

6. Charlie loves the alphabet. I found her reading her abc book in her room and you could just tell she was trying to say her alphabet and pointing at the letters. Also if you sing the ABC song she breaks out into smiles and dance! LOVES It! Thank you Ms. Jones!!

7. Charlie's vocabulary is slowly growing. On top of Ball (her 1st real word) she says apple (which doesn’t mean apple, she thinks they’re a ball and will throw them) bru bru for Bruiser the dog. Uh oh if she drops something and most recently bye bye…said to me as I was leaving for work. My heart exploded.

8. My mom and dad arrived Sunday for a 1 week visit. We headed straight to the beach and have been busy everyday since! Charlie loves having them here.

9. Grandpa taught Charlie yes and to nod her head. It’s not as common as uh uh…but it’s a start in the right direction!! Thanks DAD!

10. Last week we found out that Adam was a victim of tax fraud. Somebody tried to file taxes using his info…luckily they IRS flagged it (That’s how we found out…they sent us paper work saying they were reviewing our return…which we hadn’t filed yet!) So while Adam was at work I worked at getting things in order to make sure no more harm would be done…and we could still get our return!  Not fun…but better then finding out too late that someone got our return!

Monday, March 24, 2014

Mommy Monday-The Frog

Charlie is now almost 16 months. (crap how did that happen!?!) Since she was in the hospital and wouldn’t stop crying that first night (or was it the 2nd??) she has used a pacifier to sooth.

2013-01-08 18.07.22 And it has been a life saver. (It’s kept us well rested and sane!) At some point during her first few months we purchased a wubanub.

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It’s a pacifier with a stuffed frog on it and it has been THE pacifier. Once it was left someplace….and I drove back over our tracks to find it. (it was left in the pew at church) Phew! I also found places around town where I could get another one incase of an “emergency”. (Seedlings & Nordstrom's) And it’s not like she wouldn’t take the other pacifiers w/o the "frog” it just made our life easier and it was easier for her to control and hold.

2013-11-29 16.50.32boat w mom

Well flash forward to the one year check up…give up bottles…wean the night cap…give up the paci. Bottles-Check. Night cap-getting there. Froggy-since one year, only at night time. Ms. Jones took hers away for naps  over a month ago (for some reason she’d use which ever paci at daycare).  And now it’s that time for us to cut the frog. Our plan all along was to keep the frog for her to hold and cut off the pacifier. Then she started teething again and was fussy…then we had company…so we decided the week my parents where in town was when we’d do it.

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Well there here…and I don’t know if I can do it.

So here’s my question: Is it horrible if we let her keep it? I’m so worried that if I “castrate” the frog it will be WWIII and I’ll regret it. I know she’s getting dependent on it…and that’s why I think it’s time. But then my mother said she’d never, in 35years of teaching, had a kid come to kindergarten with a pacifier. But then Ms. Jones keeps telling me it needs to go away. There’s a younger baby there now and she has one, so Charlie wants one too again. Luckily Ms. Jones doesn’t budge-she’s like the baby whisper/Judge Judy; sticks to her guns and makes you know it’s going to be ok.

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To be honest I think Adam and I are more afraid of what it’s going to do to us than Charlie. It makes life so easy. She goes to bed like no other child I’ve ever seen. It’s nuts. So if she no longer has that nub to suck, will that all change??? Will we survive? Should we not mess with a good thing??? Tonight will be the big decision: to snip or not to snip?

Deep down I know it’s time to rip off the band aid…

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What do you think?

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Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Humpday Photo Dump

We had a good week…and Adam got a few good pictures on his phone…but I don’t have access to them. So here’s what I got:

This is our friend Sonia and her dog Birdie. He greeted Charlie the French way… 2014-03-12 19.25.40Charlie trying her hand at Shuffle Board2014-03-12 19.59.37My girl always needs a snack when she gets home…2014-03-13 17.34.51Sometimes two…this is her new love…cheese.2014-03-13 17.45.35

Always the good eater!2014-03-13 19.10.00

Daycare was closed thur/fri for spring break so Ms. Meg (one of my past parents from Dance) watched Charlie. Charlie picked out her own shoes…and I think this was the only hat Meg could find. All she needs is a shopping cart full of cans and she’s all ready for Nebraska Ave!IMG_0902

She’s getting better with her spoons! And still LOVES yogurt.2014-03-15 10.56.16

Saturday we had a play date with Adeline…so of course Tara and I took them to the bar!2014-03-15 15.11.47

When we got home Charlie’s new potty arrived…2014-03-15 20.17.18Somehow she knew just how they worked! if only she’d go in them.2014-03-15 20.17.45

Sunday Adam wanted to go to the Renaissance Festival..where people dress like this…2014-03-16 14.42.17Adam has a tradition of buying a wooden mug each year…2014-03-16 14.46.24

Charlie got her first…2014-03-16 14.55.16

And the main reason I don’t like the Renaissance Festival…2014-03-16 17.29.15

I went through my bin of fabric and realized I had a lot more non baby fabric then I remember, so I decided to donate it to my Haiti Project.2014-03-17 18.11.06

Charlie really is living up to her Monkey nick name…girl LOVES bananas…even after she’s had dinner!2014-03-17 18.29.03

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Talents for Haiti

UPDATE: Pictures

Biblical Definition
Talent: [Old English talente, from Latin talenta, pl of talentum sum of money, from Greek talanton unit of money or weight; in Medieval Latin the sense was extended to ability through the influence of the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14--30)]
Modern Definition
Talent: a special natural ability or aptitude
This year for our Lenten almsgiving our Church, Corpus Christi, is asking us to use our talents to raise money for our sister parish, St. Michael the Archangel in Dilaire, Haiti. The goal is to focus on education and to add one classroom to the existing school.  So how does this work? The Funds for Haiti group gave out seed money to those who wished to participate.  With this seed money you were asked to use your talents to multiple your seed money by using your god given talents. I have chosen to partake in this and was given $40 to fund my talent.
For those of you who don’t know, I like to sew.  In the past I have made and sold bags, so I thought this would be a good time for me to resurrect those bags and use my talent for a good cause.  Sine fabric is expensive I am donating fabrics that I have accumulated over the years and hoping to only use my seed money to purchase the notions needed (i.e. buttons, closures…)
I will be making two styles of bags. One is purse sized and the other tote. Since I am using fabric I already own chances are there will only be one of each, so these bags will be one of a kind…or as the French say couture. As I complete each bag I will post photos here and in an album titled Talents for Haiti on Facebook.
Large tote on top, purse size on bottom.ScreenShot016
Corpus Christi will be holding a Talents Bazaar on April 27th from 8am to 3pm. Myself and other parishioners will be there selling their talents, feel free to attend! If you cannot attend and would like to purchase a bag from me please let me know and I will send the one you like your way! Or if you would just like to make a monetary donation, that is welcomed as well.
ALL (100%) of the money will go directly to the Education fund at St. Michael’s in Haiti.
Thank you for your support in this endeavor and in this season of selfless giving.  This project will run until June 8th, when I will turn in my talents. If you have any questions about this project or would like to get involved, please let me know! And feel free to share with friends and pass this on :)
Thank you, Stephanie
Steph3@hotmail.com
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Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Hump Day Photodump!

Happy Wednesday. It’s rainy and dreary here today. So here are some picture to brighten up this gloomy day.

Our Ash Wednesday Picnic 2014-03-05 16.42.47

 

Jill and my favorite Barbie accessory is back!2014-03-06 17.17.51

 

Fish on Friday…a new experience…2014-03-07 18.15.19

Fisherman's stew2014-03-07 18.16.00

 

Finishing up my Cake Sampler2014-03-07 21.10.21

My little style diva2014-03-08 11.57.02

Having Lunch with the Dr.2014-03-08 14.57.562014-03-08 15.32.37

15 month picture time!2014-03-09 18.01.16

Mall fun…the boat was her favorite.2014-03-09 15.55.59

Trying to feed the ducks.2014-03-09 18.29.242014-03-09 18.31.19

It’s Hockey Time!2014-03-10 18.19.342014-03-10 19.27.242014-03-10 19.51.51

Future Accountant…2014-03-11 14.06.32Or Contractor2014-03-11 14.08.43

Spending the day with daddy.IMG_20140311_085816