Brrrr . . .

It's 37 degrees here, our heat is on for the first time this fall. Isabella is dressed in a warm outfit with a onesie underneath. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE onsies, I'm going to be really sad when she grows out of them. She also has her fluffy pink bunny slippers on. It's dreary and cold and I don't plan on going out today. I think I'll bake some muffins to warm up the kitchen. I've never liked fall that much, but it's really starting to grow on me.

This and That

We made a quick trip home to my parents for the weekend. My mom is much better, just really tired from everything. It was great to see my family!



Monte has been taking our computer with him for work. It's amazing how much I can get done now during Isabella's naps! I don't find myself missing it too much, just once in a while when I have a quick question, or want to know something that I would normally look up on the internet.



I've been spending quite a bit of my computer time looking up different play kitchens. I think that's what we're getting Isabella for Christmas.



Isabella has recently started playing "beauty shop". In case you're wondering how to play that, it consists of me sitting on the floor while she combs, brushes, and puts bows in my hair. It's wonderful, despite the occasional painful hair pulling, it's just like getting a massage. Today she did it for a whole hour, and I was practically comatose by the time she was done!



Now that she's almost two, we've been letting Isabella watch about 20 minutes of TV a day. Her favorites are Veggietales, My Little Angels, and Go Baby. My sister-in-law gave me some old Barney tapes this weekend, I might regret taking them.



Isabella has always really liked going to church, this weekend after Mass was over, she kept saying "fun in church". My mom laughed and said, "I'm sure that's what all kids think." :)



My sister-in-law gave me tons of apples from their 6 apple trees this weekend. I'm going to try making applesauce and canning it for the first time sometime soon. I have a feeling I'll be making lots of phone calls to my mom during the process.

Monte and I are really into watching The Cosby Show on TV Land right now. I forgot how much I liked that show.

Quite a Scare!

I am thankful tonight that the day turned out much better than it could have. I was gone all morning at Bible study, and when I got home my brother called. I saw on the caller ID that it was him, and was wondering why he would be calling me when he should be at work. He started out by saying he just wanted to let me know what was going on with our mom. Of course, I immediately thought the worst, as that is not how any conversation has ever started with either of my siblings. He went on to tell me that she got really sick, and had to come home from work this morning. When she got home (besides being extremely sick and vomiting) she didn't remember how she got home or where she was, she basicly didn't know and couldn't remember anything. So my dad took her into town, to the local hospital. The first thought of the medical staff was that she had had a stroke. And when I heard that, I completely lost it! They did a CT scan, but that showed that everything was okay. So they sent her by ambulance to a bigger hospital about an hour away. I've never felt so helpless, there was nothing I could do, being four hours away. I am SO thankful that my brother and sister-in-law live so close to my parents. I spent the rest of the day literally walking around the house praying, with the phone in my hand, waiting to receive updates from my brother. The worst was when Isabella was napping, there was plenty to do around the house, but I just couldn't do anything to keep myself occupied.
So it turns out that she has been REALLY sick for a few days. I talk to her at least once a day, and the past few days she just mentioned that she wasn't feeling very well, and then changed the subject. So what was her problem? She was EXTREMELY dehydrated from being so sick. She had lost so many electrolytes that it caused her to completely lose her memory, and be really confused. So they loaded her up with lots of IV fluids, and gave her shots of anti-nausea medication, and sent her home tonight with a prescription for more anti-nausea medication. She called me on the way home, I was so glad to hear from her. I felt like the mom, saying, "Do you have any idea how worried I've been!!" And being my mom, she changed the subject right away, and was asking all about my day by myself yesterday, asking how Monte was feeling, just like nothing ever happened. She didn't sound too good, and only after I asked, she told me she doesn't remember anything from 9:30 to 12:30 today. It's a miracle she made it home safely from school this morning. So it was quite the day, but I am so thankful that everything is going to be okay!

It's been a long time

22 months to be exact, since I've been home ALL day by myself. Monte had to work with his dad today (about 90 miles away). When his mom found out that he was coming, she suggested he bring Isabella with him so she could get some grandma time in! Thoughts raced through my head last night as to what I should do with my day. I had a short meeting at church this afternoon and religion class this evening, but other than that, the day was mine. So I got up like normal and got Isabella ready, she was a little confused, she kept saying "bye bye Daddy" thinking that she and I were going, because that's how it always is. They were on the road by 7:30, and I was back in bed by 8:00. :) I was a little disgusted with myself when I woke up 2 hours later, because I really wanted to get a lot accomplished with my day, but it also felt wonderful to sleep in! I had decided I wanted to paint today. I painted an accent wall in the hallway, and a partition between the dining room and living room. AND, my dad surprised me by calling to say he was in town, we got to have lunch together! My parents live 4 hours away, so it was quite the surpirse. My brother bought some farm equipment from someone in our area, so my dad and his friend came out to pick it up. He was disappointed he didn't get to see Isabella, and I really wished she was there to see him too. And that reminds me, since I'm on the subject of my dad, just how wonderful he is. When I had really bad post partum depression he drove FOUR hours one day to come take me out to lunch, then he sent me to the fitness center to work out for half an hour, because he knew I really liked to go, while he watched newborn Isabella. Then he drove FOUR hours back home! So in one day he spent 8 hours driving, so he could cheer up his daughter for a couple of hours. Great, and now I'm crying and totally homesick thinking about my dad . . .

So getting back to my day, it was good, it was quiet, it was really weird not having Isabella with me all day. A couple of times I caught myself trying to be quiet, because I thought she was sleeping. And I was SO glad to see her tonight!

Before: Very ugly, very 70's

After: Pay no attention to the struggling plant, I'm working on it. :)

Life in a Small Town

Our neighbor works at the post office, and today while Monte was mailing some letters, she told him about a conversation she had with someone from our town the other day. It seems this nice, older gentleman came into the post office to ask our neighbor about me. He told her that every morning Isabella and I walk past his house at 9:15, but he hadn't seen us for 3 weeks now. He was hoping that she could tell him I was okay, because he was really worried! How sweet is that?!

It seems that I'm totally out of my summer routine now, we're spending a lot more time inside, we've been gone, I had (and still do) a cold, and the weather has warmed back up now, but for a while it was really chilly. So those are my excuses. :) But I don't care what the weather is doing tomorrow (unless it's pouring rain) or how I'm feeling, I think I better go for a walk around 9:15!

Her latest obsession . . .

coloring. And don't show her the crayons she loved coloring with not all that long ago, oh no, according to her, those are "baby colors"! Now all she talks about are "big girl colors".

Oh, and I'm glad she loves to color, it gives me an excuse to color with her. :)

My big, brave girl