Happy Halloween!

Good morning and Happy Halloween!

We are right in the thick of Women Rock and the UW fundraiser so I don't have time for a big update; I am hoping to do that on Sunday.  I am also still coming to grips with the fact that 2 weeks from today, I will have a ONE YEAR OLD.  How did that go by so fast?!

Have a great and safe Halloween! (Sully wasn't so sure about my hat.... LOL)



Courtney

Picture is worth a thousand words

Morning, and crappy Monday...

I am having a "just another Manic Monday" moment.  Robert, Sully and I are getting colds and I really wished I could have stayed in bed and slept all day.  Alas, I am here at my desk, gearing up for the week of insanity that lies ahead.  I have to go on Wednesday afternoon to collect the donations I have rounded up for the UW campaign.  I usually like this part, but with this cold, my ability to put on my "work/schmoozy" face is weaning. I have a community ed all on Thursday so I will be out of the office all day.  Generally I like this, but, once again, it is fake face time.

We had a great weekend this weekend. We went to Boo at the Zoo and Sully looked so cute in his monster costume! He loved all the attention and loved seeing all the animals.  The place was packed!  I made a Thanksgiving turkey dinner on Saturday.  I was craving turkey and green been casserole so it was wonderful.  I even made biscuits.  Sully and Robert gobbled it down.  Yesterday, my mom came into town and we went out for breakfast and did a little shopping.  We got these foam mats and made Sully a play area in our living room (photo below) and he LOVES it!  He loves that he doesn't slip anymore because the mats cover up the hard wood floors and he has full access to his toy box.  It is fantastic.  Then for Sully, I made a portabella beef stroganoff in the crock pot.  He chowed it down.  I really don't understand why people buy store bought baby food.  Yea, it is more time consuming, but it is so much better for them and it actually tastes good.  Sully James is a champion eater.  :-)

I am going to leave you will a few pics of Mr. Handsome... who, in just over 3 weeks, will be 1!  OMG!



Sully enjoying his new play area!



Being silly guy on Sunday morning.



Someone had too much fun at the zoo and was tired out. :-)



Helping Mama in the kitchen in the morning.

I can't believe my Stinky Monster is going to be 1.  Time surely flies. :-)

Courtney

Terrific Tuesday

Hello!  I am shocked at how much I have been able to blog this week!  Are you sick of me yet? :-)
Shall we cut the witty banter and get right to the meat and potatoes?  Here goes:



Citrines!  With Sully's birthday coming up, I have been consumed by looking at all things citrine.  I used to think it was kind of an ugly stone, but it is really growing on me.  I have found a couple pieces that I am probably going to need to get. :-)




Target and their Wish Lists!  I obviously knew about baby/wedding registries, but recently, a friend told me about this Wish List feature at Target and I am blown away!  A million people have asked us what Sully wants or needs for his birthday and I always blank out when put on the spot.  This way, I was able to go around with the scanner (which I love!) and take my time to think it through and pick out exactly what he will need!  It's amazing!




Sully got an early birthday gift from one of the attorneys I work for and it was four Janet and Allan Ahlberg books.  He got "The Jolly Postman" and "The Jolly Postman Christmas" in the stack.  Let me tell you, if your kids don't have these books, BUY THEM!  Amazon has them at a great price.  They are adorable and interactive and I am ticked that I never knew about these before.  I am going to have to make sure this is the gift I give at all baby showers now.  It's adorable.



The Leap Frog Learn N Groove Activity Table!  I think this is the one I want to get for Sully, but I am still on the fence.  Do any of you have activity tables?  Any one you recommend?  I do prefer this one to the Fisher Price one, but I am still unsure.

http://www.romneytaxplan.com/

Click the link, laugh your ass off, and you will know why it made my Things I Love post... ::OBAMA::

Last, but certainly not least, I love my 11 month old Stinky Monster.. even with manicotti on his face..  He is my heart.

Have a great Tuesday ladies!  And K, I am thinking of you and hoping everything goes well! :-)  It's YOUR time!

Courtney

October 15

Good morning ladies.  Not that anyone is this circle would go past this day without remembering everything we have been through, but today is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day.   I wish none of us had to go through everything we had.  I wish no babies were born sleeping.  I wish no one had to look down and see blood.  I wish none of the sadness was a reality. 

I could go on forever, but to be honest, this topic makes me incredibly depressed.  Don't get me wrong, IF and loss have made me the person I am today.  I feel I am stronger for it, but I am still suffering some severe anxiety issues and this makes it worse.  I still check on Sully multiple times a night and can't help but feel anxious all the time.  I am hoping this goes away, but I don't foresee that happening any time soon.  I pray every night for God to help me get the nervousness out of my heart, but even though what I have been through has shaped me, it has also made me cynical and worrisome.

I am extending a big hug and prayers to my friends that have been through what I have been through and to all the mamas whose babies were born sleeping.

"You'll never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only option."

While we will never forget, we have to remember that life goes on.  We can't dwell on the sadness.  Don't let the darkness overshadow the amazing light.

I don't even feel like I can form a complete thought today. 

Thinking of you all today.

Courtney

11 Months

That's right folks; I have an 11 month old. One month from now, Mr. Sullivan James will be a year old. I can't believe it. He's taking steps now when he holds our hands and speaking 2 and 3 word sentences. He eats like a champ and is the most easy going kid. I love him so much.
Happy 11 months, Monster!

Terrific Tuesday!

Hooray!  I managed to get back to a Terrific Tuesday post!  ::epic air high five::
I must admit, my enthusiasm is lacking today because I am so exhausted.  I think Sully is teething multiple chompers because he was a complete bear last night.  He didn't wanna eat dinner so he had a piece of bread, and a few bites of pears.  He just kept throwing himself back in his highchair and crying and whining. 
I got him ready for bed, which was a struggle in itself, and then he chugged an 8 ounce bottle and fell asleep shockingly well.  I had rubbed his gums with baby anbesol so I was hoping he would just sleep off the crabbiness.

Wrong - O.

He was up at 10:30pm and wanting to eat.  We fed him and he went back to sleep.  Then he woke up again at 1am.  I let him whine for about 15 minutes, and he went back to sleep.  Just as I was falling back to sleep, he woke up again at 2am and he was actually crying this time so I gave him a few minutes and then I went in and got him and he chugged yet another bottle.  Needless to say, I overslept this morning and now I am dragging tail.

Let's get right to it!




Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash... Don't worry, I have not abandoned my alliance to Diet Coke, but this stuff is so tasty!  It only comes out in the fall and it is so refreshing.  It also makes a fantastic mixer. :-)




This is Paul Thorn.  He is one of the best musicians ever. I can listen to his stuff all day.  His song "Things Left Undone" is beyond fantastic.  He also does a lot of funny songs that can just make you laugh hysterically.  "Joanie the Jehovah Witness Stripper" makes me pee my pants laughing.



The Fisher Price Click N' Learn remote has been a massive help. Sully has about a billion toys, but he constantly wants to play with our remotes.  I have looked at a couple remote type toys and even purchased a few, but he always loses interest in them.  When I saw this one, I noticed it has the rubber type buttons like an actual remote and for $9, it was worth a shot.  The verdict, Sully loves it!  I am also happy to report that as long as he has this, our remotes are safe.




The Fisher Price Laugh N' Laugh Paint Brush.  Sully got this from my in laws this weekend (this boy is spoiled rotten.)  It is pretty sweet.  It is very interactive and it teaches colors, shapes and numbers.  The brush part turns colors and then asks that you find something in your house that is that color.  Sully and I go on little hunts to find the colorful items.  He loves it. :-)




Ahh.. the good ole' Dollar Tree.  As I told you before, I am selling some baby clothes at the Munchkin Markets this Friday and all the clothes have to be pinned on to hangers.  I used some of Sully's hangers until I realized that I was selling 80 articles of clothing.  I really didn't want to go to Target and spend $4 a pack for a few hangers so I took a chance and went to the D.T. and lo and behold; they have child hangers!  They had a 6 pack for $1!  I bought them out and ended up spending $11 on hangers and all the clothes are done and I still have a few extras for Sully's clothes.




This is Sully Monster's Halloween costume.  I LOVE IT!  I tried for months to find a Sulley costume from Monster's Inc, but they only had them in big kids sizes.  :-(  I found this cute monster costume on Amazon and I think he is just going to be too cute!

Well, that's what I am loving right now!  Happy Tuesday ladies! :-)

There are just not enough hours in the day

The road to my blog is paved with good intentions... I feel like such a failure when it comes to keeping up with all my gals.  Last week was really tough and I am just starting to get back in my groove.  I do have some pretty awesome news though.
After I blogged to you all about my bill with Children's, I got a call back from Justin in the financial department.  His tone was weird and it took me a minute to realize he was kind of crying.  Of course I was all freaked out and then he told me:  Children's had reviewed our file and decided to FORGIVE the remaining balance on our account and we now owe NOTHING.  I am pretty sure I stayed silent for almost a full minute; then I burst into tears.  I told him how grateful I was and I must have thanked him a million and one times.  He said that he was happy he could help and he would send me an email receipt.
When I received the email from him, I was going to move it to my bills folder, when suddenly I was hit with a genius idea.  This guy works in an office and never gets to see the people he is helping.  Before I knew it, I had hit reply and I was sending Justin a personal thank you note.  I included pics of Sully was his surgeries and then pictures now of Sully, Robert and I as our happy, healthy family.  Shortly after I hit send, he emailed me back to tell me how glad he was that he was able to help us.  He said it was amazing to actually see the people he had just helped to take a huge weight off.  It really was an awesome moment.  I have said it before, but Children's hospital is just amazing.  I don't know where we would be without their expertise and support. How cool is that?

In other news, Sully is teething like a madman and he is kind of a bear.  I can't believe he will a year old next month.  It is crazy pants.  This past year has been the most intense of my life, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. 

I am a little behind on some stuff so I had to make this short, but here are some pictures of my buddy:



Eating a yummy egg yolk omelet. :-)




Say what?!




This is one of my favorite pics ever... he is driving the cart at CVS



Shovelin' in the snacks. :-)

Happy Monday Ladies!!