National Thank You Card Day!

Now that we have all survived the holiday cheer don't forget the simple thank you card! I love that today, December 26, is dedicated as such - National Thank You Card Day.

As a kid I remember my mom making my sister and me write and send thank you notes to everyone that was generous enough to give us a gift. Honestly, it was a drag back then because I didn't understand the point. I knew it was the right thing to do, but I just wanted to play with my Barbie's and race car! Yes, I was both girlie girl and tom boy.

Now that I am older and feel the need to thank everyone for their generosity I intend to "make" my kids sit down for the afternoon and write their thank you's. As everyone knows, I am a procrastinator by heart, so it may not be as prompt as I want it to be. BUT
we will get it done!

Don't forget to spread the gratitude for this holiday season!

H1N1 Experience

Many of us have had the not so lucky experience with the H1N1 flu virus. I happen to be one of those people. When the media broke news with this potential threat last spring I was not very concerned, until they kept harping on the fact that it was a pandemic. I've been wavering from one side of the spectrum to the other. People die from the regular flu all the time, what is so different from this one that makes it a pandemic? I still don't have a concrete answer for that question, other than the fact that the virus is a bit more stronger.

Now that I've experienced it myself. I don't think it is that bad. I understand that it can easily get out of control especially for those that have other complications, but I do know I have been much sicker with the regular flu about 8 years ago. I thought I was on my death bed.

H1N1 brought on a nasty cough, a relentless fever of about 101.9 for about 3 days, chills and sweats. Keep in mind I caught this early and was fortunate enough to be able to afford to go to the doctor and also pay for the tamiflu which my insurance did not cover! I do believe the tamiflu helped tremendously. I wore a mask for 4 days to protect my family from the virus. It is still early to tell if it worked, but so far no one has contracted it yet. I am worried if my kids get this because they are so young. There isn't much I can do about it at this point.

You might ask about the vaccination, did I get one? The answer to that is not no, but HELL no. I never have had the flu vaccination let alone the new, rarely tested, H1N1 vaccination. I wonder how many people who have gotten the vaccination and have still gotten the flu. hmmm I haven't seen any studies on this yet and I probably won't unless I go searching for them.

So far this is my experience with the H1N1 flu. For the record Jared slept next to me every night I was sick and he insisted I not wear the mask because it freaked him out. He has not gotten sick yet, knock on wood! Hopefully this will be my last day in bed...

Movie Theatre Popcorn

Who doesn't like movie theatre popcorn? Every once in a while Jared will ask me to go to the movie theatre to see a new release. He'll ask me what movie I want to see and in all honestly I don't care as long as I get my popcorn. There is nothing better than movie theatre popcorn and an extra large coke!

I love it enough that when I watch a movie at home I make a point to go to the movie theatre to buy popcorn with butter and occasionally the white cheddar topping. In fact I did this over the weekend, Sunday. I waited until 1:30 pm and I'm glad I held out as long as I did because they were closed. Apparently they don't open until 20 minutes before the first showing.... who knew!I had to ask the ticket lady if I could come in and buy popcorn!

I used to be embarrassed going and just buying popcorn and no movie, but now I don't care - it's just my thing I do.

Who's a lover of movie theatre popcorn!

Vasectomy Experience

Recently Jared and I decided that we did not want any more kids. We have been going back and forth wondering if we should try for another in later years, but decided against it once we traveled to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving. The travel was hard enough with well behaved children we couldn't imagine if they acted up and REALLY couldn't imagine a third in tow.

December 22 was the scheduled day for Jared's vasectomy. He hinted to me that he would like me in the room with him and I casually dodged the question each time it was brought up. Deep down I thought the doctor would not let me in the room and how odd it would be if I was. The day came and it turned out that the doc didn't mind if I was in the room. So off I went.

**caution do not read on if you are offended easily**

Jared was really nervous (rightfully so). The doc prescribed him a few Valium to try to relax him. I think the Valium did the trick because he was chatty Kathy during the entire procedure. Lets back up a bit.... This is the experience from my perspective.

The nurse took us back to the operating room and instructed Jared to strip from the waste down. For those of you who know Jared he is not one to be shy about anatomy, in fact he has probably streaked more times than I care to count. So he began to undress and was showing off his shave job to me so proud like. He shaved EVERYTHING! The doc came in and started telling us what to expect and how long the procedure would last. He undraped Jared and exposed his precious jewels. This part of the procedure was the most uncomfortable for me because it was weird to see another man touching Jared's stuff. The experience was disturbing for me even though it was a medical procedure. Watching him rub the iodine all over this area very thoroughly was uncomfortable. Once this part was over it was smooth sailing (for me).

I expected a lot of blood, but honestly there wasn't that much. Watching the doc insert the needle to numb this area was painful for Jared, but I tried to keep our conversation up so he had the chance to think of something else other than the obvious. The incision (hole) was small and the actual tube looked like a small piece of spaghetti noodle about a 1/4 of an inch long. The entire procedure lasted about 45 minutes.

Jared is expected to make a full recovery and bounce back hornier than ever I'm sure!

Target's Return Policy is Ubsurd!

I love shopping at target. The store always has things I want to buy; baby clothes, baby toys, nick knacks for the house, etc...

Since I have had to return a baby monitor that was given to me as a gift I have decided I am boycotting this store until they change their policy. By the time I was finished with the "customer service agent' I was so angry I almost told her where the sun doesn't shine.

This is how it started. I walked up to the counter and explained nicely that I already have a monitor and would like to return this item for store credit. She 'nicely' explained to me that if I didn't have a receipt there was nothing she could do because it had been so long since the original purchase and my baby registry expired so there wasn't proof that it was bought from Target.

While this girl was explaining this to me all I could think about was that if I went to Walmart they would exchange it with almost no questions. That is customer service. It's not that I was asking for a full cash refund, only a store credit. This girl would not budge and the line behind me was growing longer and longer.

I was so mad by the time I left I vowed not to ever shop at Target again. Until I hear that they have changed their return policy I am not a Target consumer.

Birthday Celebration!

Jared's birthday was last Wednesday (Nov. 19) and we went out to dinner and drinks with our close friends and family. It wasn't a formal celebration, just a last minute get together with those who could make it.

Mom and Dad, Mike D., Marne & Paul, John & his date Wanda. We all met at The Elks. I know, I know nothing classy, but that's kind of our place to hang out with friends. We have a lot of memories there.

This was the first time I had truly gone out since Audrey was born. I had a few drinks and actually had a good time. Normally I stress about the nightly feedings and early morning wake ups! I guess there is something to say about good company.

Thanks for all that came. You made it a great night for both Jared and me!

Swinging at the Park

Every day on the drive home from picking up Audrey at daycare we pass by the Bloomington park. It is a nice park and I've wanted to stop there for a while to let Audrey play. Today I took the opportunity and she loved it!

I put her in the little kid swing and she thought that was the coolest thing. She grinned from ear to ear showing off her 4 teeth! There were 2 other boys swinging too and she kept looking over at them to get their attention. She is a people person just like her dad.

Audrey slid down the slide twice but didn't think that was as cool as the swing. All she wanted to do was either put bark in her mouth or swing. Needless to say we didn't stay too long because her attention span is one of a 16 month old.