bugs! lkasjflasjdflkajsfd!!!

lkasjdflkasjdlfalsjdf!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We've got bugs! Big freakin bugs!

I found two dead a month ago and thought no big deal. They're dead. I left them for Andy.

I found another live one last week. One live one yesterday and another LIVE one today!

You guys...you don't even understand. Bugs make me wants to cry.

I hate bugs. But I have major, major issues.

I can't kill them.

I'm not even a tree-hugger-type who doesn't want you to kill the bug. I want the bug gone...like, two seconds ago...but I physically can't bring myself to step on it. The crunch sound and the aftermath with the yellow bug guts and the detached arms and legs makes me want to vomit.

I wish I was stronger. I really do.

Yesterday Andy and I almost got a divorce over a bug. I asked him so kindly while he was changing the babies diaper...ANDY! HURRY...Big Freaking BUG...by my feet...in the Kitchen...HURRY!!! Please HURRY!!!

I decided to set up a boobie-trap and capture the bug until Andy came.

He majorly pissed me off because 1. He didn't hurry 2. When he finally came into the kitchen he REFUSED to kill the bug...and said that he wanted to see if I could kill the bug as a test. He wants to see me do it so he could be positive that if he's gone I would be able to successfully kill the bug. Jerk.

The next ten minutes consisted of...
some pleading...Please baby, please kill it for me!
some begging...What do you want? I'll do anything! Don't make me do this!
some demanding...No, Andy, seriously, you're killing the bug...do not walk out of this room!

He wouldn't do it. So I scooped the bug up in a baby food container and started to carry it to the back door, the whole time saying...I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you. 1/2 of the I hate you's were for Andy and the other 1/2 were for the bug. The bug slipped out from my boobie-trap a few feet from the door and landed on my foot. I screamed!! Then I started to cry. Then Andy told me I was acting like a 5-year-old and I should step back from the situation and take a good look at myself. He grabbed a shoe. Smashed it all to heck. Tossed the remains outside and went into the other room.

I get it guys. It was just a bug and it may have seemed like I was over reacting. BUT c'mon. All I really wanted was for the Man of the House to do the manly things while he's at home. I'm home alone enough doing everything on my own. Why try to make an example out of a bug? Just kill it for your wife. Can I get an Amen? I acted mad for a while and when he came back into the Kitchen he started talking about something he found on the Internet and was totally over our little tiffy. I still wanted to dwell on it for a bit more and stay mad. How do men get over things so easily?

Anyhow. Brace yourselves for the following pictures. The 1st picture is the bug from yesterday right after I boobie-trapped it. The 2nd picture is the bug I captured today. SEE ANDY??? I didn't let it get away. But don't be surprised if it's under your pillow case when you get home in the morning.

p.s. Please someone tell me this is NOT a cockroach. If it is. I might just die.

p.p.s. I hate bugs

not not

So we've been not 'not' trying for baby #2 for two months now and I have some really exciting news..!!!!

We just saved a ton of money by switching to Geico.

[crickets]

Sympathy laughs. I know.

Anyhow. I'm not pregnant. And I haven't been able to figure out why. I practically sneezed and got pregnant with Colt. It was that easy. Well my friends, after a huge brainstorming session with myself about five minutes ago I realized that there were two major things missing from the equation...

1. I haven't been taking my prenatal pills

2. The absence of sex

I just started taking my pills and I'll have to remind Andy about the sex part.

He forgets really easily.

This last week I've been spotting [which happened when I was first pregnant with Colt] and I've been feeling like crap just about every day too. I think it might be the prenatal pills. Ek. Such a stomach ache...those things are so potent. I took a pregnancy test the other day just to see if maybe there was a plus sign. Truth be told I wasn't anxious about finding out that I couldn't wait a few more weeks to take the test...I just really wanted a margarita from Hacienda so I thought I'd take extra precautions. Not sure if a margarita would have intoxicated my child this early on...at like the uniting-of-the-cells stage of pregnancy but whatever. It made me feel better about it while I sipped away. It was so good. Slurp.

Probably should head to bed. I've got a big day ahead of me. COMCAST IS COMING!!!! Know what that means?? MY DREAM WILL COME TRUE!!! Know how? DVR!!! I was supposed to have my DVR like...a week ago but they lost our order! Jerks. Good thing my rough n' tough husband laid down the law and we got a free installation upgrade. Uh huh. He's got tattoos too.

You better be nice to me.

This is for you Mom...

date night

Andy is a full time fire fighter, a paramedic student, a small business owner [Andy's Lawn Care. whoot whoot], a daddy and my lova. Which means he's really busy. Sometimes too busy. But his crazy work schedule is what allows me to be the happiest I've ever been and kick it with Colt 24/7. On Monday he asked if I wanted to go out to dinner on Friday with him. Yes! He called his mom and she babysat for us.

I'd like to call our dinner...'date night' instead. Yep. We had a date night. I'm pretty sure that makes us sound more in love.

We went to Hacienda. For those of you who don't live near a Hacienda I'm so so sorry. It could possibly be one of the best non-authentic Mexican restaurants in the world. You get free chips and salsa...and only 1000 calories per basket of chips. No, we didn't have three baskets...only two. You do the math.

After our romantic mexican fiesta we did the next most romantic thing people do on date night...grocery shop. I don't know what it is about grocery shopping but it honestly makes me really happy. That was one of the things I was most excited about after getting married...next to sex of course, was grocery shopping. I love picking out my own food and pushing the cart around. And when we check out Andy and I play the Price is Right and guess the total. One of the high lights of our trip was when we were in the dairy isle and I asked - "Hey, remember that time we bought the off brand version of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter and we laughed so hard because they called it...This Isn't Butter, Is It?" Andy said he remembered and we both laughed. It's the small things in life.

I left one little part of the evening out which was...you guessed it...our trip to Target. I don't like to re-live/remember/or talk about any trip I ever make to Target. Ya see...Target and I used to be in love. But then I met Dave [ramsey] and I had to end my relationship with Target. So, when we stopped by Target today...I didn't make any eye contact. I didn't want it to be awkward for either of us so I just kept on walking to exactly what I needed and got out of there as fast as I could. I had so many happy memories with Target. Anyway...the breakup is all apart of our "PLAN" which I'll be posting about in the near future. So stay tuned.

Between the salty chips and the dairy isle...I'd say the best part was getting to hold Andy's hand.
I like date nights.

such a junkie

I hear admitting you have a problem is the 1st step to recovery.

Hi my name is Mo and I'm a reality TV addict.

My weekly fix: American Idol, Biggest Looser, Dancing with the Stars and Celebrity Apprentice. You would think that would be the end of my list...but NO...I also watched The Bachelor this season [Kaley, you get the blame for that one] and I enjoy So You Think You Can Dance during the summers. Outside reality t.v...I'm a lover of Regis and Kelly, The Office, Ellen and anything Food Network [except Barefoot Contessa...she puts me to sleep. In another life I want Paula Dean to be my grandma.]

You might think I have no life and the personality of a dead hippo...but I promise you that almost all of this goes down in the evening which I consider time for me to do whatever I want. It's my life and I'll turn my brain into mush if I want to. [sing it] I spend my mornings with Jesus and the rest of the day goes to my son and to channel 901. Which is a music station. See? I listen to music during the day.

Anyhow. Here I am trying to justify why I'm such a junkie...when all I really wanted to do was share my thoughts on American Idol. Am I the only junkie out there? Say it isn't so.

Here we go...

Scottie is awesome. He's not my favorite...and I don't think he'll win but I'm more and more amazed at what he does and he's blind! Tonight they did a Motown tribute and he did a little dance number with everyone else and didn't miss a move. Ahh. What a sweet guy. I'd like to take this opportunity and thank Jesus for my eye sight. Scott is awesome and such an inspiration but it makes me think how much we take for granted...like the ability to see the color of this world and our children's faces! What a gift.

I had a dream yesterday that I was married to Anoop :)
And...I'm pretty sure Paula is on crack. See the mustache?

I don't really understand the judges ability to save contestants this season either. Would someone like to explain that to me? Tonight the 'save' was a mess. Paula was dancing the whole time and when it came down to say if they were going to save Michael or not they hadn't even started talking about it. They were clearly not anonymous but Simon spoke up and sent him home anyway. That Simon...such a meanie.

So...after seeing this weeks performances...I don't vote, never have...but if I did, my votes would go to Danny, Anoop and Adam. That chick with the red hair is good too...but I think a boy is taking it this year.

Until next time my dear friends, So Long.

he might just fly away

Krystle [my sister-in-law/friend/Colt's Aunt/Andy's sister] just finished up her student teaching and in honor of her great accomplishment we ate lots of food. She got flowers from her Momma and there were even some balloons. Colt said congrats! by drooling all over her. See the dark gray part of his shirt? Yep. DROOL.

I'm pretty sure if Colt's diaper wasn't full he would have totally floated away. He's such a light weight.

i got nothing

Typically when people have nothing to say they don't blog. In my case...I'm going to update you all and blog about the fact that I have nothing to say.

In honor of the lack of interesting things going on in my life these days...I'll give you a few bullets. If you're busy you can stop reading now and get on with your life. No hurt feelings. I promise.

-I woke up at 7 [that's an hour early for me] to have a quick breakfast and to clean my house. The dust bunnies have declared war and one of their strategies is to multiply at a rate unknown to man.

-As I stumbled into my bathroom with my eyes closed this am, feeling around for the light switch I was pleasantly surprised to see how fantastic my hair looked for just rolling out of bed. No hair brush required. Every hair was laying perfectly in place. I even had some good body going on. Good hair...nothing like it.

-I ate a small bowl of Cheerios and an english muffin with butter for breakfast...Oh and coffee. I drink it black. Straight up and on the rocks. Not kidding. I put ice in my coffee. Not because I want an iced coffee, but because I need to drink it as fast as humanly possible so that people don't start stoning me for being such a boring lump of clay. I'm only 1/2 way finished with my cup this morning...hence the low quality subject matter of this post.

-Since I'd like to start the day on the right foot I should tell you I didn't really get up to clean. That would be a lie. I heard Colt screaming from his room which made me get up. [He rolls over on his tummy sometimes and gets his legs stuck in between the spokes of his bed.] On my way back to my dark, warm bedroom I saw a death threat from one of the dust bunnies and knew then and there it was getting ugly. So I stayed up to clean. I'm blogging instead...and soon Colt will be up. I might not get to it. Darn. If I don't make it back in a week or so send a search party. Tell the authorities I'm inside the large dust ball.

Ok. I hear my son cooing. I'm slamming the coffee...gonna go look at myself in the bathroom mirror just one more time and decide that today is a fantastic day. You should do the same. I'm pretty sure it's a decision.

a list of jargon

Things that don't really excite me.
1. Lawsuits against doctors.
2. Natasha Richardson's death. Anybody realize that's exactly what my Dad had? Scary.
3. Carnies.
4. Sleeping with out my husband. I would be lying if I didn't say that I've grabbed Colt and brought him to bed with me in the middle of the night just because I was lonely.
5. Doing laundry.

Things that excite me.
1. Amber's Shower.
2. Shannon's coming home.
3. I'm getting DVR!!! After this DVR has been installed I can honestly say that all my dreams have come true. sigh.
4. 1 Corinthians 2:9
5. Hot tea.
6. Breakfast with God.
7. Colt's ability to wiggle.
8. Naps.
9. Cool baby names.
10. Doing the laundry with my boy.

colette?

Yesterday, after having dinner with Missy, I found one of my cousins head bands and tried it on Colt. Just to see what he'd look like as a girl. Pretty cute, Eh?

and so it begins...

Apparently Colt knows how do roll multiple times one after another. Last night for the first time he rolled once and then once again...but I thought it was an accident. This morning I heard a clunk which sounded like a head hitting the hardwood...and can you believe it...the little porker made it to the hardwood. I can no longer say...he just sits there and plays all day! He is on a mission.

[please excuse the mess that used to be my put together living room. there was an accident after Colt was born...fisher price and playskool exploded leaving the pieces of themselves just about everywhere. we just recently removed the yellow tape.]

--------------------

UPDATE: As soon as I posted this blog I looked down and saw this...One more leg kick and we would have been under the bed folks. Better put the gate up going down to the basement!

big pimpin style

This is how we roll...

Thanks G'ma and G'pa Breden!

knee pads

Lead by example? Or is it teach by example?

Whatever it is my knees ache like a 90 year old granny from showing Colt how to crawl. He can push his arm up and every once in a while he'll get his knee cap under his fat leg but typically he just lays there on his big o belly and flails his arms and legs around at lighting speed in hopes of going somewhere. I'm hoping the more I crawl the more he'll get it.

So far all I've gotten out of the deal is achy knees. I even spent a solid 15 mins on my on the ground the other day...I went and let the dog out on my knees...I went to the kitchen and went in a circle in my living room probably thirty times in a row. Are you picturing it? Don't know if it taught him anything but he was laughing at me. Which fueled me to smile back and keep crawling. Anything to please a my people.


Think we could get matching ones?

i'm so stinkin Kreativ

OR at least my friend Jess thinks so...

I've often seen on fancy important bloggers blogs that they have a place where they list their awards. Sort of like a trophy case. My trophy case...empty. Until now. Jess thinks I'm Kreativ.

In all honesty, I pretty much blog outta my rear everyday because what interesting thing would a stay-at-home mom have to say...especially one who has heart-to-hearts with a 6 month and has [on more than one occasion] not left the house in an entire week. A week is seven days people. I embrace every part of the title STAY AT HOME mom. But I'm nonetheless honored and will proudly start my trophy case.

Here are the rules of the game: List 7 things you love and then pass the award on to 7 people..tagging them and letting them know they won! You can copy the picture of the award and put it on your sideboard letting the whole wide world know you are KREATIV!

I love many things. Here are seven.

1. Jesus Christ. Have you ever heard of the...draw a straight line with a crooked stick thing? Yep...right here. That's me. God has taken my imperfections and made them perfect in him. I never let a blessing go by without recognizing it and giving thanks. Life is too short to just observe the goodness around you with out praising the source.

2. Andy Breden. Oh wow. I love him so much. More than I thought was humanly possible.

3. Colt Breden. I love Colt. Just a few seconds ago I heard some banging [note the time...1:26am...I'm home alone] and I thought for sure someone was beating on my back door. FREAKED...I walked around only to notice that it was Colt wide awake...raking his fingers along the spokes of his bed. As soon as I'm done with this blog I'm going to go get him up and bring him into mommas bed and he can snuggle with me. Ahhh Yea : )

4. Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream

5. My family. They're absolutely amazing and totally irreplaceable. AND would you believe every single family member of mine lives in the same town. We're up each other's butts and nothing is a secret but we wouldn't have it any other way.

6. My friends. I love you guys so much...you know who you are.

7. My house. I really do love my house. It's totally me. Totally hip. It's cracker box-ish...but I've made it mine and since I never leave it, I guess I should be glad it made the list.

Now I'm tagging...drum roll please...
1. Jen
2. Shannon
3. Nobody You Know
4. Ali
5. Chels
6. Ambs
7. Mandy

poor remax

you had me at ding dong.
really???
is that the best you can do?
cheeseballs.

i think i see someone

Today Colt found his reflection in his high chair tray. Everyday this kid steals more of my heart.

tents & cardboard boxes

I'm into tents these days. What's sad is my son doesn't appreciate a good tent right now. I'm hopeful that one day him and I...maybe his father...and possibly our dog will have the most fun a family can have using our imaginations in a tent!

Our goal as parents is to go back to the olden days and play outside. Make tents. Save a big cardboard box and make a fire truck. Fish. Sidewalk Chalk it up. Capture the flag. Obstacle courses. Hide and go seek. Long summers of tee ball. Less TV. Less Internet. Less Gunk.

We're pretty good about setting goals and sticking to them. Except for exercising of course. We [I!] still haven't figured out how to exercise the easy way. It's always so hard. I'll be sure to post when I do though.

Being good parents is such a huge deal to us. We're constantly reading parenting magazines...observing families at the grocery store and having conversations of lets make sure we do this with our kids and lets not do that. I don't really agree with that so lets do this instead. I feel like they're really important conversations to have. We were pretty good kids growing up and don't live with regret but would still like to see our kids do things differently. Unfortunately or fortunately, I don't think you find out if you were successful at the whole parenting thing until they're grown but we're crossing our fingers.

check it out

While watching the nightly news with Brian Williams they did a story on a food drive that my church helped out with. Made me proud. It's great being apart of a church that loves boldly. It was way cool to see Mark's (our pastors) interview on national television. We grew up with his kids and he is like a 2nd Dad to us. He married Andy and I and has been instrumental in our walk with Christ.
Anyhow.
I like good news!
Check it out.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

what's the catch?

Last night...for some reason I felt like being extra nice to Andy and offered to give him a back rub. Typically my back rubs are one handed, with one eye open, as I start to drool and drift into my own dreamland. I usually fall asleep during the back rub, wake up apologizing and wondering how long I was out for. But last night I felt extra generous.

He was already passed out on the couch watching Fox News so I woke him up and pretty much said...This is a one time offer. I'm willing to give you a two handed back rub...while sitting up at full attention...with massage oil...for more that two minutes. AND would you believe he said NO?!? Confused...I said again...This is a one time offer. He finally said Yes but asked what the catch was. Apparently my love isn't enough, there is some sort of catch. I assured him there was no catch I just felt like doing something nice.

So last night from 11:30-11:45pm Andy got a awesome back rub and I earned some wife points. At one point I said [just because I like to hear the response] You are one lucky man. And he said...Yes I am! Grin.

I'm usually the one that gets up and does the morning routine, morning feeding everyday with the baby...but not this morning! Andy woke up as the baby started to fuss and told me to keep sleeping because in return for the back rub I could sleep in and he would take care of everything : ) Ahhh...what a gift! Would you believe that I spelt until 11:30? Believe it baby.

So the lesson for today is do something nice and unexpected for your special someone. Do something that you know they would love and do it without a 'catch'. In return you'll have a greater appreciation and love for each other. I'm no therapist but it works!

no air

UFC is constantly on our TV here at home. When Andy gets some free time he likes to choke me out by his awesome fight moves. I totally suck at fighting back. My old defense is to throw my log legs around. I usually tap out after a few minutes of fight back. Lately, my defense has been the old strangle move. No way do I actually strangle him I just pretend. Every time I go in I say, "Tell me how I'm supposed to breath with no air..." - you know from that Chris Brown song...'No Air' the lyrics are fitting for the strangle move. We really shouldn't joke about what CB did but we would be lieing if we didn't say it made us laugh.

I usually don't care or pay attention to what happens in the pop world. But I'm pretty sad about what happened to Rhianna. I used to this CB had it going on. I used to like his music. I sure don't anymore. He's a wife beater.

I had a dream last night that Rhianna was my friend. In my dream I told her that Jesus loved her more than Chris Brown ever could. I told her she was worth more. That's all I remember.

It's really sad to think that she is younger than me and has been in a majorly abusive relationship. It makes me think that those relationships are probably more common than I think. Bummer. I don't wish that for anyone.

rainy sunday

Today its raining cats and dogs. We stayed in and took naps together...I didn't recover well from loosing that extra hour of sleep all thanks to DLS time. Andy is at the station today so Colt and I have been blasting CMT music videos and working on our posture. He can almost sit up all by himself. My cousin Meg is home for spring break so she came to get her Colt fix. Spencer came over today too. We've had a fun day and it's only 4:00pm! Meg just went home to take a nap and Spencer is crashed on my couch as we speak. It's a day made for naps...I'm telling ya!

Tonight we plan to roll around on the floor together, watch the Food Network Challenge @ 8 and Celebrity Apprentice @ 9. It's one of those days when I can't wait for Andy to come home. The single mom thing is not my cup of tea.

Colt had nanerpus for breakfast. Anyone see that Denny's commercial when they cut up the banana and make it look like an octopus sitting on top of a stack of pancakes? Well, ever since Andy and I saw that commercial Bananas comes out as...Nanerpus. We just can't help it.

Colt getting loved by his Meg. She brought him over a ton of new clothes she bought for him the other day because...they were on sale! Can we say spoiled???

Then in honor of Michael Scott we 'tented our pants'.

And Colt tried to eat his Uncles face. Scruffy and a bit salty.

Spence came up with new ways to use the boppy. He was snoring 2 mins into the nap.

And truly...I swear we start our health kick tomorrow. Until then...there is a cherry cheese cake in the freezer for Andy. It was a gift from my friend Emily. You can't toss a gift. I said Monday! I don't lie.

Happy Napping!

true love

I left Andy the last Hershey Kiss and the last Reeses Peanut Butter Cup in the freezer tonight. We keep them in the freezer because that makes them extra spectacular. When he gets home tomorrow he'll see the gift of my truest love.

I love that there is a Healthy Choice behind the candy.

We're so healthily unhealthy.

Scarface

Check out this wicked cool scar.So I'm sitting in the ICU and just got an update. Dad gets to go home tomorrow! Whee!?! His neurosurgeon said that Dad's 'gray matter' has bounced back quicker than expected and so tomorrow he gets to go home. He is only in the ICU now because the room he was supposed to get transferred to was full. A few weeks of light movement and rest and he's good to go!

God is crazy cool.

1/2 a year old

Colt turned 6 months old this week. At his appointment today he weight in at a healthy 22.5 lbs and was 28" long. It was sad to see him get upset again after the immunizations took place. The two front teeth are enough to make him whine all day anyway. He was like a flopping fish outta water on that dr's table too. Such a little wiggle worm. Andy's was there to do the hard part. Force his little-fat-hunka-burning-love legs down on the table so he couldn't move and then allow the nurse to insert a needle 4 times in a row. Not just one shot...but 4. I pretend I'm not there and as soon as the band aides are on I smother my child with momma love. Him and the dog are napping together right now. Such a sweet sight.

Dad is doing well today. We're about to head up the ICU in a minute to visit him. I didn't make it up there yesterday and I feel so out of touch. I guess yesterday, with the assistance of a nurse or two, Dad was about to actually stand up and walk to the rest room. I'm guessing he can sit up in bed now too. He is supposed to be moved from ICU on Friday. Which is tomorrow. Where has this week gone?? Yesterday he had a pretty bad headache. They gave him some pain killers and released the pump connected to the tubes a little bit. I guess the suction on the tubes was a big strong. Not only are they pulling blood out from the tubes but also spinal fluid. If the spinal fluid is taken out too quickly it can cause a pretty nasty headache. He's been feeling better since the adjustments were made. Today they took the tubes totally out. Which is a great sign. I think they're still waiting on the results from this mornings cat scan. If the tubes are out that's a good sign though.

The sun is actually out today here in Indiana and everyone is happy. We drove with the window down today. That is one of my most favorite things! As much as I love being snowed in and the fireplace popping I'm ready for Spring. Yes, Kaley, I said it. I'm done with snow.

Copper got to play Frisbee outside today. She was quite winded when we were done. So out of shape!

I've been rocking a few pounding headaches and eating chocolate like it's my job. I need Jillian Michaels to come kick my butt. Monday I start my health kick again. I have to mentally prepare myself...it never comes easily for me.

Whelp. That's all I got.
Peace and Love my friends.

baldness

My brother went under the knife too. His razor knife that is...and joined Dad in his baldness adventure. Spence has a very large dome. I say that with nothing but love in my heart. It's like an orange on a toothpick.

What's funny about this picture is you can't see the other side of Dad's head. They only shaved the top of his head and the right side where they did the surgery. If you're standing on the other side you would see the worlds best 'bowl cut'. And if you peek around to the back of his head he's got some fancy mullet action going on. Hotness in the hospital. That's how he rolls.

Dad is doing good today. The cat scan from this morning revealed that his brain or 'grey matter' as Dad keeps calling it has shifted almost 75% back to center. That is a great! On Monday he could only lay at a 0-15 degree incline and today he went all the way up to a 30 degree incline. The hope is tomorrow he can pull a 45er. He really wants to sit up. The plan is to stay in the ICU until Friday with the hopes of possibly being sent home on Sunday. I'm thinking that's a best case scenario but he's heading in that direction.

Yesterday I went to the Third Day website and left a message for their Management Team. I pretty much told what happened to Dad and mention what a big fan he is. I said it would be great if they could write him an e-mail or something...sort of like a celebrity pick-me-up. Those happen everyday, right? Dad was mumbling a third day song through anesthesia in recovery yesterday. He is a nut. Anyhow. It was a shot in the dark but I thought it would be an awesome surprise for Dad if Third Day pulled through on that one. I'm waiting to see if they respond...but I haven't told Dad anything just in case it works out. So Shhh.

I feel bad for because he hasn't gotten one second of sleep since getting to the hospital Monday morning. I would be a zombie by now. He fumbled on a few things today and couldn't remember some things that he normally would have remembered. We're not worried though. His brain isn't fully back to work and he's running on zero sleep...that can't be good for recovery either. Hopefully he sleeps well tonight. Mom was going to see if they could give him a sleeping pill but they weren't sure if they would be able to do that or not.

Mom said he's been going nuts at the hospital trying to find a good picture of Colt to show to the nurses. He loves to show off his grandbaby. Another one of his quests is to try to make his neurosurgeon laugh. Dr. Smith is a really nice guy with great bedside manor but he's quiet and to the point. If you've been around Dad you know it doesn't take long before he makes you laugh. It's funny that Dad keeps talking about getting his Dr to laugh though. It's like his next big challenge.

A few quick bullets:
-My 36 day strike is over. Everyone is back to work if ya know what I'm saying. We're going to start trying though. And I didn't even have to twist Andy's arm! Muh ha ha.

-Colt's snot is disappearing from his nose and his smile is appearing where his frown used to be! Yay!

-I had subway for breakfast and lunch today. Andy said he's going to start calling me Jared. It's turning into a problem people. It's only $5 for an entire foot long? That's a whole 12" of hoagy deliciousness. Did you know that?

That's all for now my friends. Everyone is sleeping so soundly at my house right now. It's so quiet that the tapping of the keyboard is interfering with the beautiful sound of silence.

thank you Jesus

I never would have thought shortly after I posted yesterdays blog my mom would call me with the news I heard. It changed me.

Four weeks ago my Dad slipped and fell at work trying to move pallet. He went to the ER and had a cat scan to reveal a mild concussion. He was released to go back to work the very next day.

Last Monday he went to the doctor complaining about a severe head ache. They said it was a side effect from the concussion and only time would take the head ache away. All day Saturday and Sunday he slept and held his head complaining about pressure. His pain tolerance is unbelievable so it's hard to tell if he's actually in pain or not. He was acting funny and not making much sense all the time, but my Dad goofs around all the time...you can't always take him seriously.

Then this morning when the alarm went off [which he set himself] he asked why my brother was going to church so early in the morning. My mom told him it was Monday. He didn't know. He couldn't remember what he did on Sunday. He doesn't remember talking to the doctor on the phone. He couldn't remember anything he had done all day. Mom got him in the car and took him straight to the E.R. By the time he was at the hospital he couldn't even recall his address.

He ended up having two emergency surgeries today. One was to put a screen in one of his veins to capture blood clots from traveling from his body to his lungs. His other, only a few short hours later was brain surgery. They drilled holes in his skull in hope to drain a 12" long x 1" deep hematoma on the right side of his brain. The hematoma had grown so large it pushed his brain an inch off center causing the pressure and his brain to swell.

He is being monitored at the ICU at Memorial for the next 3-4 days. He'll then be transferred for another few days in a different ward and undergo physical therapy to make sure he gets all his motor skills back. The neurosurgeon says he'll be off work for at least a month but depending on how the next few days go in the ICU, he should fully recover.

Thank you to all my friends out there who have been praying for us.

My Dad was at such peace. Before he was wheeled back for the surgery he looked at my mom, Spencer and I and said ...I know and love Jesus Christ. If anything happens in there...just know that I'm in better hands. I'm not afraid of dying because I know where I'm going if I do.

Mom told him if he gets to the point during surgery and he has the choice of coming back to us...or going...he should choose to come back. Because we need him and there are more grandchildren that want to meet him one day...but if it's to the point where he needs to go...we would understand and he should go.

Mom and Spencer were being strong. Tears were pouring down my face. That is a conversation you imagine having with your father when he is 95 years old and on his death bed...but not now...not like this.

Dad's surgery was a success. There was a 50/50 chance that drilling the holes wouldn't be enough. If that were the case they would have had to cut a piece of his skull out and remove the hematoma and let the brain expand that way. Luckily that wasn't the case and he's being monitored but I think hopefully most of the blood will be able to be drained out.

My Dad is amazing. He is like a father to others. He loves everyone. He is jolly. He is hilarious. He resembles Jesus. He would die for me. He would give his last breath for my child. He is selfless. He is Third Days biggest fan. He cares for the less fortunate. He is an example of hard work. He is giving. He has a joyful spirit. He has a sense of humor that won't die. He loves his wife. He loves his church. He is the one and only.

This picture of Colt and my dad was burned in my thoughts and prayers this afternoon. It was all I could think about. One day I pray my son will cherish this picture of him and his grandpa as much as I do.

Please continue to pray for these next days in the ICU. Please pray the blood will be thin enough to drain completely and no further operations will need to take place. Pray that the source of the bleeding [which is unknown] has clotted up and isn't continuing to bleed. Pray for my mom and my little brother.

God knew on the day my dad was born that we would be here today. He knew that he would be scared and that we would be fully relying on our faith. He knew that within hours, people from New Jersey to Florida...from Wisconsin to Kansas would be in prayer for my Dad.

Thank you Jesus.

hmmmm...

A few things on my mind...

1. Today is day 36 and still no period. My tests keep saying negative...which makes me kinda sad. We weren't even trying and now I'm in baby mode again. It's addictive. Andy says I'm getting really personal and I say, I'm an open book. Read me. It's my blog. Not Facebook.

2. Andy threw his back out a few weeks ago and while he was at the dr getting muscle relaxers our friend Nic asked, 'Did ya put your hands on him and pray about it?' and I didn't...but should have. So the last few nights Colt has been up sick, crying and having trouble breathing. Guess what I did? I prayed. Guess what he did? His snot went away and he stayed asleep until 9:00am. God is pretty cool like that. Thanks for the reminder Nic.

3. I feel as if I'm going to be emotional today. While watching the today show I wanted to tear up over something not tear worthy. Maybe my 36 day strike is almost over. Where is the chocolate?

4. I'm noticing how much I talk about Andy. I'm not going to stop or apologize. He is my best friend and my lova.

5. Tonight my friend from HS Courtney is coming over to watch The Bachelor finale with me. She was going to bring subway for dinner. Yesterday I bought two identical foot longs [5 dollar foot long...sing it] and I have a foot and a half left in the fridge. I'm having a subway crisis. I can't get enough.

6. Aren't I a good blogger these days? I mean, the content is of moderate quality but at least I'm blogging. This is my 102 post. That's a record in the blog world I'm sure.

good news and bad news

The good news... Colt can balance a rubber duckie on his head.

The bad news...On top of our cold and ear infection, we're now cutting two teeth.

[This picture was take on New Years Eve. Colt had had two much bubbly, it was way past his bed time and he had confetti on his head. But this pictures perfectly resembles how he feels right now]