more matter | less art

Sometimes I want to take my facebook news feed and throw it through a window.

It baffles me how many expectant moms (usually young ones) will post a status 6+ weeks before their due date that says something to the effect of “I am SO sick of being pregnant – I hope he/she will come early!”

All I can say is you have no idea how badly I want to throttle them. Whenever baby number 2 comes along (not for at least another year, so don’t hold your breath just yet ;] ), I pray to God he or she will bake for 40 or more weeks. I know it’s uncomfortable… my Asher belly was HUGE, even at 28 weeks – he was oversized for his age and I had waaaay more fluid than is typical. I don’t care, though. Four months in a NICU will change your outlook on a lot of things. Heartburn? Bring it. Swelling? Fine with me. It’s all worth it.

Having a baby prematurely? It’s no picnic, friends.

So yeah. I see these updates and they make me angry, because these girls are squandering away a beautiful time, and they have NO IDEA what it is they are hoping for.

For that I suppose I can grant them mercy… after I whack them with a clue-by-four.

I’m feeling a little better today. Not totally recovered, but enough to function fairly well without being super medicated. My throat is much better – it’s now more of a congestion battle.

Yesterday we had a great time at Grossmommy’s for Thanksgiving. There was good food, good family, and fun games. We go to Dad’s for Round 2 tomorrow. Hopefully my recuperation will continue. Unfortunately, Chad is now getting the crud, so our house as a whole probably has a few days of blah left.

I really want to put up the tree today, despite not feeling 100%… tradition and all. I have Pandora set to Christmas music; it’s helping to inspire.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and I have the worst sore throat I can recall. I’m okay when I just breathe, but when I swallow… OY.

I almost never get sick. I was just wondering the other day if I would even get a chance to use the NyQuil this winter (okay, I confess – cherry NyQuil is awesome, and it makes me want to be sick at least once a year… no, that is not normal; I’m a weirdo). As I said, tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Swallowing is excruciating. Despite my guilty pleasure for NyQuil, it is not nearly as strong as my guilty pleasure for justified excessive eating.

This is cruel irony.

My friends Shannon and Tara nominated me for a Lemonade Award. I’m honored, and gladly return the favor to them.

The Lemonade Award is given to bloggers who show a positive attitude, gratitude and a willingness to share their ideas, support and online friendship. In other words, people who make lemonade when they get lemons!

The rules of the award:

1. Put the Lemonade logo on your blog within your post
2. Nominate at least 10 blogs with great attitude or gratitude
3. Link the nominees within your post
4. Let the nominees know that they received this award by commenting on their blog
5. Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award

In the world of facebook, I don’t think I even have 10 blogging friends. Haha. I will do my best, however. Aside from the two ladies above:

Jen at The Adventures and Misadventures of Morrison Inc is an amazing inspiration. She lost her beautiful daughter Maggie to Trisomy 18 just over a year ago. Watching them pour out their love and pain during her short time on earth (and continuing today) was both heart wrenching and beautiful. She went through the most painful and dreaded experience any mother can imagine, yet remained strong for her husband and children.

Jessica at Loving Life as a Mom and Wife has become a great friend of mine. She is honest and reflective, and always uplifting and encouraging – and forever thankful to her heavenly Father. She and her family live in the world of food allergies but are always striving to find creative ways around them (like a gluten/egg/dairy free birthday cake!).

Renee at Life with my Special K’s is awesome. Her daughter Kennedy has Down Syndrome, but rather than letting a diagnosis limit and define their lives, they’re allowing it to expand it – they’re currently in the process of adopting a little Ukrainian girl with Down Syndrome and will be bringing her home in just a few days!

Beckie at Copley Crew is another inspiration. Her daughter Hannah has a rare disorder called autoimmune enteropathy in which the body’s own immune system attacks the intestinal wall and affects the way it absorbs food. I originally came across her blog on a Google hunt for the Zevex Enteralite Infinity super-mini backpack, and I have since become a silent follower of it. They’ve gone through countless tests and hospital visits, and they were without answers for a long time. She has persevered through it all, never giving up the search for an answer and the quest to improve her daughter’s health.

Emily at The Huamanis was one of Asher’s NICU nurses. She shares her insights and experiences on her blog, as well as her struggles with a severe nut allergy and recurring migraine headaches brought on by a thyroid problem. Emily has always been a great support to me, and I’m glad she shares herself and her wisdom so willingly with the world.

Mare at Vertically Challenged is a daughter of God, always seeking His will for her life. On her blog she shares about her faith, her boys, and her life – the good and the bad. It’s refreshing to read her thoughts on how God is working in her life, and how far He has brought her.

CFC Friends and Family:

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has introduced a new giving campaign. Through Facebook, you can vote for over 500,000 charities. CFC International is asking for your votes.

The 100 charities with the most votes will receive $25,000 and continue on to the 2nd round. $100,000 to $1,000,000 will be awarded in the 2nd round. First round voting ends December 11th. Please vote for CFC before then!

No updates for awhile. With as many different electronic communications tools as I use, it gets difficult deciding what goes where. Facebook is my tool of choice, simply because it’s quick and easy. I have a Twitter account, but I still haven’t figured out the big deal about that one. Then there’s the blog. I honestly like blogging the best, but it’s so much less interactive than fb that it hardly seems worth it to… talk to myself. I know people read this, but responses are a rare thing (I am just as guilty – I almost never comment on someone’s blog). When I post something on fb, I can have several responses within half an hour.

Alas.

As it turns out, it is not true that a pumpkin won’t rot on you as long as you don’t cut it. My poor pumpkin slowly deflated into a sad little tilt, and frankly, it was just way too gross to carve. Chad went to several different stores to try to find a replacement on Halloween, but our side of town was picked clean. Alas, no pumpkin for me this year.

I’m not sure why I opened with that. I don’t even have pictures yet of the two pumpkins we did get to carve. I need to do that soon, because these cut up pumpkins will most definitely rot in the near future.

I do have pictures of Asher in his super cute Elmo costume, though:

And his first ever Halloween loot!

That candy was actually from G.H.O.S.T., the trick or treating event put on by Austin Peay. We took him out on Halloween as well and said hi to several of our neighbors. It was a really fun evening, and even though Asher is of course too young to remember it, I’ll cherish the memory.

Pumpkins!

Headed to the patch

The Boyd Residence

Chad’s a goofball :p

But he’s a handsome one

The three of us

Chillin’ in the backpack

A pumpkin in the patch!

Oh hi

Rockstar hair

Too cool for school

Mommy and Asher

Daddy and Asher

Did I mention how handsome he is?

About to head into the corn maze

We made it out – only took 40 minutes!

Hey, it was BIG

We picked out three pumpkins that I didn’t get pics of yet. Hopefully I’ll post our carving adventure soon!

This afternoon we are headed to the Pumpkin Patch!

I’m thoroughly excited. This was somewhat of a tradition in my own childhood, and one that I consider worth passing on. At this stage of the game I’m not all about the high-energy patches that come complete with zoos and shows and hayrides – not because I’m against those things, but because Asher would not be super interested yet, and he would likely get scared (not to mention all of those exhibits tend to equal extra cost… I’ll gladly pay for something Asher will love, but not something that could very well make him wail in terror!). I just want to walk around a corn maze at my own pace and then pick out three perfect pumpkins to carve at home.

We’ve decided to go to Boyd’s this year. It’s relatively close, and it’s simple yet entertaining. Perhaps next year (or maybe the year after) we will go to a place like RiverView Mounds or Patterson Place Farm, but this year it’s Boyd’s.

Pictures to come!