My day of babysitting

So this morning I was scheduled to watch Dana and Bryan's kiddos. It was just going to be me and Carissa for most of the day so I picked up my niece, Abby, bright and early and made it to the Meyer's at 7:30 AM... that's stinkin' early. We spent the day doing some pretty entertaining things.

First of all, 3 year olds are HILARIOUS without even trying!

We went to McDonalds in Piqua for lunch and they got to spend some time on the indoor playplace. They LOVED going through the tunnels and down the slides.

She did NOT stick the landing on the above picture.

Neither did she : )

They were lovin' up on Ronald even though he gave them the most LAME Happy Meal toys ever. It was some creepy looking alien man. Of course these three year old girls could see past the scaley skin and overall creepiness and I overheard this conversation on our way home:

"Momma, I want to cross the street" -Carissa, clutching monster man

"Honey, you have to hold my hand and look both ways" -Abby in a goofy "adult" voice, also holding her ugly thing.

It was so funny listening to their play!

This dry winter air made for some lovely hair-do's on these girls.

They ended up being pretty good buddies by the end of their day and their shared love of princesses definitly didn't hurt.

After Caeleb got home from school, we played with Play-Doh and we had so much fun that I decided to have Caeleb and Carissa back for the night : ) At my house, we played magic bubble and they had a blast (and my counters got pretty darn clean)! Caeleb was really good at it! Check out that HUGE bubble he blew through his fingers.

Carissa even cought one of the bubbles although it took everything that she had not to pop it before I could take the picture!

Betcha can't do that!
We were all pretty tired by the end of the night, but UNO, snacks, and some made up games were in store before they left around 11:30. I don't know if they fell asleep in the car or not, but Gibby and I hit the bed pretty darn fast! It confirms the fact that I LOVE having kids around (especially when you can send them home at the end of the night!)

Blog Dread

definition of "Dread"- to be reluctant or frightened to do something because it is unpleasant, upsetting, or annoying.

Blogging is really none of these things, but I have been avoiding it like the plague. I do NOTHING worth blogging about, honestly. I sub, I sit, I read, I walk my dog, I sleep, I stare, I eat, I sleep, I eat, I sleep : )

This past week was spent doing a lot of these things but in a more blog-worthy venue.

Of course you've heard of our time spent in the hospital in Columbus. If not, here's the recap:

THURSDAY: Jace had an awful, terrible, ouchie throat for a few days and in getting it checked out, they found that his white blood cell count was down to next to nothing! He was unable to fight infection on his own so off we went to the OSU Medical Center for them to pump him full of fluids and antibiotics. Carol and I stopped at home, packed up a few things, and made it to Columbus around midnight. We had to wear a mask anytime that we were in the room and that got old pretty quickly. That night was spent attempting to sleep while nurses and doctors popped in every couple of hours. Sleep was difficult, but thank goodness we had a double room to ourselves and I snuck into the extra bed (only to bolt out anytime I heard the door creak open)

FRIDAY: More IV, more sleep attempts, mask breathing, nothing too exciting. Carol and I hung tight and tried our best to keep Jace's spirits up throughout all of the blood draws, sore throat, and his annoyance of having to repeat himself to every person who walked in. He was unable to even swallow water without wincing! They continued to bring him these rediculous trays of food throughout our stay with things that he could not swallow. That was definitly the most frustrating part of our stay. Bring the man some soup!! I began texting people who I knew lived in Columbus around 4 o'clock and BEGGING for a place to shower. Jace's fantastic cousin Kara called me back and offered me not only a shower, but a place to stay where I didn't have to wear a mask/drool catcher all night long! Thanks again Kara! I was so lucky to have you this weekend! I wish I would have taken more pictures of our time together, but I did grab this one of my other favorite weekend roomie, Peanut : ) She helped satisfy my doggie-itis.. (aka I missed Gibby!) Thank goodness my mom was able to take care of her while we were gone!

SATURDAY: More of the same. Kara took me to some of her favorite spots around Columbus on Saturday and it was so great to have some girl time to help me forget how much I missed being home. I felt slightly guilty spending time away from the hospital and actually enjoying myself while Jace was STUCK, but he's a good man and was glad that I got out for awhile. Our room had the most AmAzInG view of the stadium. It was so neat to watch the stands of the "shoe" fill up before the big OSU/Iowa game. GO BUCKS! Way to pull through!

SUNDAY: Kara and I went to church, a coffee shop, and fantastic bookstore on Sunday morning and then buzzed over to the hospital where we were joined by Carol, Dana, and Alex. By this time, he had been moved into a tiny, stinky, single room with very little seating but we managed to squeeze in. Kara went back to her home and husband in Ironton that evening and offered her place to me again, but I felt it was time to tough it out in the hospital again. That evening, after everyone left, Jace and I passed the time with cards and television. We rested on the hope of going home the next day until the doctor came in and let us know that it would most likely be Tuesday. The stress of the weekend hit me at about 1 am when his beeping IV machine woke me from a decent sleep in an awful recliner. I lost it and sobbed/bawled/sniffled in my mask which was begging to be thrown across the room at this point. Poor Jace didn't know what to do. He's sitting in a hospital bed with an IV in his arm and patting my hand with the other and all I can say is "I SNIFF want SNIFF to go SNIFF home!" Pretty rediculous.

MONDAY: We were given the fantastic news that the masks could come off and were even able to go for a nice walk around campus! Jace was so glad to get some fresh air and stretch his legs. We walked to Urban Outfitters (a fun, hippyish store) and picked up a Where's Waldo book collection which kept us busy and hunting for our little striped friend for hours : ) I also left for a bit to see Alex's home away from home. It made me miss college living for about .2 seconds. I got over that pretty quick! haha.

TUESDAY: We woke up around 8 and his fever was gone for the second full day so we were pretty sure we were going to go home soon! The doctor came in around 11 and although he was reluctant to send us home because they still had no idea what Jace had and had no explaination for his crazy white blood cells, he told us that they would start the exit paperwork! We were both so happy to be going home to our home and dog that the wait for the paperwork to be completed was torture! Luckily they finished early and we FINALLY got to head home!

You should have seen Gibby when she saw us. She ran from Jace to me and back about 10 times. She was as happy to see us as we were to be home again. It's good to be loved : ) Oh, AND we came home to cards and a FaNtAsTiC banner hanging on our wall welcoming us home from Beth and the kids! : P

NOW: His temp has been normal and he went back to work on Wednesday night! I can't wait to spend some time with him this weekend and recoup from our crazy week. Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers! We have an amazing support system and are THANKFUL for each and everyone of you. Speaking of thankful..... bring on that pumpkin pie!!

Ohh La La, I can See!!

Wow, Lasik is amazing. I totally, 100% recommend it as well as the doctor that I went to. I am so amazed by how well I can see less than 12 hours after my 10 minute surgery!

Let me lay out how my entire Lasik experience played out.

Wednesday, September 23:
I called to set an appointment with Dr. Brian Stahl to see if I was a candidate for Lasik. They told me that they could see me the following week as long as I did not put my contacts in for the week. Eek! My old glasses are ugly!

Wednesday September 30: I made it the entire week without too many points and giggles from others staring at my goofy glasses. I went into Dr. Stahl's office and my initial appointment began with the routine eye exam where they checked my prescription. They took a few pictures of my eyes (inside and out) that looked pretty crazy! They also did a test on my tears where they stuck two little strips of paper to my lower eyelid and everytime I blinked I could see them shake, weird and slightly ouchie after a few minutes. They also put in some drops that dilated my pupils and made my close up vision really blurry. I couldn't dial my cell phone or read anything for a few hours. Dr. Stahl came in to talk to me about my options and said I was an excellent candidate for Lasik. "Your eyes look very healthy!" I puffed up with pride and avoided telling him that prior to my week on glasses, I had been sleeping in the same contacts for months!

I went to schedule my Lasik and the conversation went like this...
lady- "When would you like to schedule your surgery?"
me- "Sometime in October if that's possible."
lady- "Okay, how about October 1st, tomorrow?"
me- "GULP! oooookay" My dilated eyes were bugging out of my head in surprise and instant nerves.

As I was leaving, a receptionist called out "I hope you have sunglasses!" I didn't realize why she said this until I stepped outside and my dilated pupils sucked in the sunlight. YOUCH! I was okay to drive with my glasses on and sunglasses on top of those! Then I went to class at UD and showed off my crazy pupils like a circus freak.
Once I got home, I had to put lots of drops in all evening and I slept terrible (more because I was afraid to miss my alarm and not make it to my appointment than because of nerves)!

Thursday October 1st:
I had to be down at his office by 9:3o. We waited for awhile and then I was brought back to a room where they put different drops and cleansers into and around my eyes. My best friend Danielle works there and I was lucky enough to have her prepping me for the surgery! She told me all about what to expect and talked my nerves away. I actually wasn't nervous much at all until they brought me into the room for the surgery and had me lay down. Danielle was there to hold my hand as we went through the procedure. I won't go through too many of the details because it sounds pretty gross, but all I had was some drops that numbed my eyes and I could see the entire thing going on! It was a crazy experience to see them coming at my eyes with different tools and having my eyelids pulled back so I couldn't blink no matter how much I wanted to. It didn't hurt AT ALL and it only lasted 10-15 minutes! There was a bit of pressure at one point and that's it. After the surgery, I had to wear these crazy goggles for the rest of the day and my eyes stung (like getting shampoo in them) for awhile. I took my MANDATORY nap (don't have to tell me twice!) and woke up with no pain and awesome vision!

Right now it is about 12 hours after my surgery and I can see great! I can't get over the fact that I don't have to squint to see things! If you are considering this at all.... DO IT!! I will give you all the info you need!
Dr. Stahl just called me to check on me : ) How many doctors do you know that will do that??
The picture says: A friend is someone who reaches for your hand, but touches your heart.
I feel so lucky to have had my best friend their to let me squeeze the life out of her fingers! Love you D!

Funny Stuff

I got this email and really can't claim that I wrote these, but I absolutly relate to all of them and I bet you do too! I literally LAUGHED OUT LOUD to quite a few :) The text in red is my thoughts on it. Have fun!

-Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong. I'm never wrong, but I see this in Jace's eyes alot : )
-I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they've invented the lighter? This one just made me laugh.
-I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger. I think this every day!! All those times when I fought tooth and nail not to have to go to sleep... now it's my favorite thing!
-There is a great need for sarcasm font. I hate chocolate. See?! I was being sarcastic, but you'd never know it!
-I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts. Absolutely
-How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet? You don't. You ball it up and throw it in the linen closet. Trick question I guess.
-I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in. I don't know how many times I've had my fingers turn purple from the bag handles twisting around them while I try to shut the door with my butt and open the house door with my elbow.
- I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger. I'm bored, time for a snack!
- Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying. This is the fill in the bubble tests that are graded by a computer. It is very scary! C. C. C. oh no! I better go back and change one! They certainly wouldn't put 3 C's in a row!
- Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart". just funny
- How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said? I think it depends on who you are talking to.... if it's a 3 year old... NEVER say what! Just say " Uh huh" or "Wow" or "yeah"
- I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers! I am usually the one the breaks down and lets them in. Don't use this to your advantage next time we are stuck in some traffic together!
-What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other? hmmmm
- While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart. What a great game! Princess was always leaving those darn peels for me to spin out on... I never liked her.
- MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood. I think this everytime that I use it!
- I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water. Before Mom and Dad put a shower upstairs, their only shower was in the basement and you had to be IN it to reach the knobs. I mastered turning the knob and bursting out the shower in the time it took for the water to travel up the pipes. Not only did I have to dodge the icy blast, but I also always had to have my eyes on the lookout for spiders!
-Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever. Besides, if I wash them, they are too tight to wear until I suck in to button them and do a bunch of goofy squats and lunges to put my cheeks back in their place! Not true for sweatpants... those always fit : )
-I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired. Amen
-If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible. Haha! Get it? 'Cause they're both hard to find!
-Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem.... *shiver* This is what I dread about wedding showers!
-I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to. Me too!
- "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever. For me it means ruined, because I rarely check the tag.
-I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? D@mmit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away? Haha!
- I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste. So true
-Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles... funny
-Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is. or I check my wrist only to see it's half past a freckle : )
-I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call. No, not you...... *cough cough*
-Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it. I don't even know what to do with mine.
-Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding a front row parking spot, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey, but I'd bet my a$s everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time... I should have a gold ribbon in this! Jace could attest to that. My alarm is up on the dresser and as soon as it goes off, I bounce up, whack the snooze, lay back down and am back asleep within seconds. This morning I did it for 45 minutes! Whoops!

Can you relate to any of these???

Eating my words....

"Gibby will never sleep in our bed. She has a perfectly good bed next to ours." Chomp, Chomp, Chomp. I must say those aren't the most delicious words I've ever eaten.

It started with me feeling quite alone on the bed when Jace would work nights and plunking her lightly on the foot of the bed. She would stay for about 10 minutes, hop off, and lay on her own bed. It was just right. Then one morning I awoke to find her still on the bed. "Isn't that cute?!" and "Wow! She can jump up on the bed all by herself! Good Girl!" Just take a look at the little diagram I have created about what that night has evolved into.

Lovely.

She literally slept in the V of my legs last night.

(like my Microsoft Paint skills?? I won't say how long this took)

Who could say no to this face?!

Not Me! It's hard to tell but she has the longest eyelashes ever! I never knew dogs had eyelashes. Her's are long and swoop glamorously outward. They are slightly darker than her fur and you can kind of see them here. All she has to do is bat those beauties and I give in to her every whim : ) More table scraps honey? A walk? How about a good lick from the toilet? hehe

That's all I have for today.. I'm a little low on interesting happenings lately!

Eleanor Koenig is here...

and she is a beauty!! Congrats to my dear Leah and her husband, Adam! I seriously love these two and am so happy to get to meet the little bundle soon! I wish I had a picture to share with you, but I don't yet. But, I DO have a picture of her lovely momma and handsome dad, only about 9 months ago ; )