Things That Are Really Bugging Me These Days

• the heat - that just goes without saying
• the radio - why are all radio stations so annoying?  I can never seem to be able to find any good music on.  I'd often rather listen to Sadie's silly music.
• the price of gas.  And groceries.  And everything else.
• other drivers - aaahhhhh!!!!
• coming up with new things to cook for dinner - although I did come home from the grocery store today with a couple of ideas.
• headaches - why are they back?!

Wow, who sounds like a grouch today?  Yeah, me.  I had to get out in the heat today, but before I was able to go to Target and the grocery store I had to get gas.  After spending a fortune to fill up my car, I had to drive behind people who didn't take driver's ed.  I obviously came home with a headache.  However, there are....

Things That Really Make Me Happy These Days:

• the Funfetti cookies that are in the oven
• my home that has wonderful a/c 
• my husband who works so hard every single day
• this girl who I get to go pick up very soon - I miss her!

I caught her in a rare moment of seriousness before going to "camp" this morning.

Things may bug me, but....life is still great.  I have much to be thankful for.

The Westbrook Girls: A Day in Our Lives

For those of you who just love hearing the details of my day/life, this is for you.  I'm taking the idea from a couple of other blogs I have recently read.

Thursday, July 28

5:00 a.m. on the dot - Sadie wakes up.  And when Sadie wakes up, it's not a gradual thing.  It's more like HELLO WORLD, I AM AWAKE AND NEED ATTENTION!!  We let her cry for a few minutes before I took her a bottle (which used to be the magic cure for a baby waking up at the wrong time...USED TO be).

5:32 a.m. - Kris, she's been crying for 32 minutes straight (with the exception of the 2.5 minutes it took her to drink the bottle), please go get her and bring her to me.

After tossing and turning a while, she fell asleep.

6:47 - HELLO WORLD, I AM AWAKE (AGAIN) AND NEED ATTENTION!!

6:50 - I take her to the potty.  Half asleep, I sit on the floor in front of her and we look at books.  She takes care of her business, I put her big girl panties on her, and the day begins.

7:00 - Good Morning America on one television, Sprout on the other.

7:40ish - Get Kris off to work.

7:50 - put Sadie in her high chair while I make her breakfast

8:15 - I put a load of clothes into the wash, but shame on me, I should have immediately put Sadie on the potty.  I know better than to get distracted when she finishes eating.  Who had a big accident?  It wasn't me.

9:00 - I hear Sadie crying.  I find her standing IN a drawer underneath the television.  That could have been bad - she could have fallen out of the drawer, into the television, television could have fallen on her - aahhhhh!!!

9:30 - Sadie is tired, I put her in bed.  That didn't last.  I had to go bounce her to sleep.  She was out, I put her in bed, and she immediately stands up.  Why was I not surprised?

9:40 - I got her back to sleep, but I had to hold her.  I caught up on a recorded The Little Couple episode while she slept.

10:15 - Sadie wakes up, I take the clothes out of the washer.

I think we need to get out of the house - run a couple of errands, grab some lunch, go to the museum so that we'll be out of the house when the yard crew gets here.

11:30 - finally ready to leave the house - good grief, that only took half a day!

11:37 - get Sadie out of the car, run into a store to pick up a gift I had ordered, back to the car.  What a hassle to get her out for something that only took 60 seconds.  Had I known it was going to be so quick, I might have left her in the car since I was parked at the front door!

11:50 - we went to Michael's.  Sadie, sit down.  Sadie, you can't stand up in the cart.  Sadie, if you stand up again, I'm going to have to buckle you in and you know you hate that.  OK, time to buckle.  There is the whine/cry/scream I knew was coming.  Please don't attract attention, Sadie.  If you SIT, you can get in the big part of the cart.  She actually did well.

12:25 - Buffalo Grill - yum!  After standing in line while holding a wiggling baby and all that goes with a little one ready to eat, it was time to order.  Lunch went well, she was very well behaved and ate a lot!

1:00 - let's go.  I am carrying a to-go box of green beans, a to-go cup, Sadie's sippy cup, a bib, my sunglasses, my keys, and my child.  Sadie loses a shoe.  I squat down to pick it up and get bean juice all down my left leg.  AAAHHHH!  I try to clean myself off and get to the car.  How am I going to unlock my car and get the door open?

1:10 - (yeah, it took a while to get to the car after the green bean mess) Juggling 117 items in my arms, I get the door open, throw Sadie into her car seat, and spill coke all down my right leg - soaking my shorts, going into my shirt and purse.  It should dry soon, I'm still going to the museum.

1:16 - in the car, on the road, I am no longer in the mood to go to the museum, so we turn around and head back home.

1:30 - Sadie is already tired again, but I know if I put her in bed, the yard crew will show up and wake her.  So we go upstairs and play to keep her awake.

2:00 - oh, good, there's the yard crew....but they always eat their lunch in the truck before working on our yard....please, guys, get started so Sadie can go to sleep.

2:20 - GREAT, it's raining!  Praise the Lord.  The yard guys aren't working, but they're aren't going anywhere either.

2:40 - rain stops, the guys get to work.  Sadie has been unhappy for the past hour because she's so tired - she goes between crying and putting her head on my shoulder.

3:15 - I can't put her off any longer, I put her in bed with a bottle.  She drinks it and cries.  I don't blame her.  If I was as tired as she was and the noisy mowers were keeping me from sleeping, I wouldn't be happy either!

3:32 - The guys are finally gone, the crying has stopped, she's asleep!

3:40 - Maybe I can sit for a minute?  I doze off, my phone wakes me up.

4:20 - I hear a train in the distance blowing its horn.  I begin to pray.  Please, please, don't let it wake her up.  The horn stops, but the bell starts ringing.  It wasn't long until the crying began.  I pick her up, she puts her head on my shoulder and was very calm.

4:25 - I bring her downstairs, she's relaxed, I think she's dozing off.  The doorbell rings.  AAAHHHH!!!  (just a couple of days ago I took my "please do not ring the doorbell" sign off because it was faded.  Time to make a new sign.)  Needless to say, she's awake.

4:30 - potty time

We play, we fold clothes, we play some more.  I try to clean on the kitchen.

5:30 - we start getting ready to go to dinner.  It's chicken night at the club - our favorite!  We didn't have to leave until 6:30, but I knew we needed an early start on getting ready in case because I knew something would interrupt us at some point.

No, Sadie, you may not play with the fingernail polish.

6:15 - I'm sitting on the edge of the tub washing my feet, almost time to leave.  Sadie starts pointing at her stickers - she wants one.  You have to go to potty before you get a sticker, Sadie, you know that.  So she walks to her potty, lifts the lid, and sits down.  Here we go again.  I take her diaper off and we sit.  And read books.  And it's almost time for us to leave.  She didn't do anything.  No sticker.

6:25 - I go back to getting ready - I must hurry!

6:30 - oh my gosh, Sadie, I forgot to put clothes back on you.  She's running around naked.

7:00 - Time for dinner.  Thank goodness!

blah blah blah, blah blah blah.....

8:50 - She's in bed.  It's quiet.

10:29 - Why am I still awake when I have the opportunity to be asleep?!

I wonder what tomorrow will hold?

(for those of you who read to the end, congratulations.  And I'm sorry.)

Target, Oh How I Love (wait, scratch that)...Target, Oh How I Hate You

It happens every time.  What is it about Target that totally sucks me in and drains my pocketbook?  Seriously.  It doesn't happen at Wal-Mart.  But with Target, it happens every time.  And it makes me crazy.

Sadie is at "camp" today, leaving me a day to myself to get some things done.  I needed some Command hooks and dishwashing detergent.  Two items.  I should have been in and out of Target within ten minutes or so and shouldn't have spent more than ten dollars.  ha ha ha ha ha!  Their first marketing strategy is to put the wonderful dollar bins at the front door.  Not to mention that it's school supply time (which totally makes my heart race with excitement).  So, my trip to Target:

ooh, school supplies, I love school supplies!  Little board books for Sadie for one dollar?  Yes, please.  She needs more practice with her numbers and colors.

I have a couple of coupons that expire at the end of the month.  It's like throwing money away if you don't use them, so I might as well pick up a pack of diapers and wipes since I know I'll need them eventually.

Dog food, yeah, the dogs will be out by next week.  I'll go ahead and put that in the cart.

Wait a minute?  Seriously?  Two aisles of summer merchandise 50% off?  Score!  (although, I did show restraint here since I really have no need/room for brightly colored plastic tubs, beach towels, chairs, and ice chests)  I walked away with only two items which were only a dollar each.

I don't have anywhere I NEED to be right now, so I'll keep browsing.  It's kind of nice being able to stroll the aisles.

Wait a minute, what did I come in here for?  Command hooks, that's right.  And detergent.

A couple more little items, and I think I've done enough damage.

So, the lesson for today:  Only go to Target when Sadie is with me and it's close to nap time.  Then there will be no lingering and spending!

(Sorry, Kris!)

Germaphobe? Maybe.

Germs.  I don't like them.  I don't think I'm obsessed with defeating them, though.  But then again, in some ways, maybe I am.

When flying, I always wear pants because I do not want the skin of my legs to spend much time in contact with the seats.  How do I know who sat there before me?  I cannot get into bed at night before taking a shower.  I do not want to sleep with the germs I've collected throughout the day.  I really really hope that Sadie has no desire to play in places like Chuck E. Cheese, Chick-fil-a, etc.

However, I took Sadie to the Children's Museum yesterday and let her play.  And play.  And pick up toys that other kids had been playing with.  And yes, some of those toys went into her mouth.  Amazingly, though, I didn't stress too much.  I was very appreciative of the employee who was constantly cleaning the equipment.  Also, the toys were rotated about every 30-45 minutes.  Workers would come in with giant tubs, pick up ALL the toys in an area, and put out "fresh" toys.  Adults had to have their feet covered with those surgical foot covering things.  Granted, we came in and immediately changed clothes and disinfected our hands (as we did occasionally during the time we were there), but overall I wasn't grossed out.

Then there was this afternoon.  Just when I thought I might have had a breakthrough by letting Sadie play at the museum, we went to the eye doctor.  The waiting room was crowded.  Kids were on the floor playing with toys.  Toys that I never once saw being cleaned or exchanged.  I saw a couple of people with their feet in the seats.  I felt a tiny bit sick.  I came home and scrubbed my arms where they rested on the armrests.

Maybe something's wrong with me.  Or maybe it's a good thing I'm germ conscious.  Hey, I like that better - 'germ conscious' rather than 'germaphobe'.  I don't sound as much like a freak if I refer to myself that way.

So, the point of this post?  None whatsoever.  I am just thinking about how anxious I am to take a shower.

One Day.....

One day I'll have something interesting to write about.  Maybe.  Hopefully.

My Day "Off"

Sadie is enrolled in a little day camp at our church one day a week this summer.  It gives her an opportunity to socialize with children her own age and be away from me for a while (I'm sure she gets bored being with me 24/7), and it gives me an opportunity to get some things done that I don't normally get to do.  Like run errands.

So we get up this morning, I make breakfast for Sadie and daddy, I pack lunches, I pack bags, I get everyone out the door.  Well, sort of.  Sent Kris on his way easily enough, but as Sadie and I are getting ready to leave, I hear a squeal/cry.  She comes walking out of my bedroom, and she's soaking wet.  She had obviously been playing in the dogs' water bowl in my bathroom.  aaaahhhhh!!!   And she looked so cute in her little purple octopus shirt with plaid shorts.  We had to make a quick change and head to church!

Before coming back home, I made a stop at the grocery store.  Drop off groceries, grab a bite to eat, and out the door again.  Granted, my next stop was to get a pedicure.  A much-needed pedicure.  No, I don't spend all my days off luxuriously being pampered.  Today was an exception.  I needed to make a few stops before coming home to get some things done around the house.  However, I developed a splitting headache and came home before accomplishing all that was on my to-do list.  I thought that maybe I could lie down for a few minutes to give the Advil time to kick in, so I changed into comfy clothes, got my phone to set the alarm in case I dozed off, and saw that I had a message.....

Hi, Mrs. Westbrook, this is Miss --- from the Chicks class at church.  Has Sadie been to the doctor lately?  I think she has pinkeye.  Great.

Clothes back on, back into the heat, call the doc's office on my way to church, make an appointment.  Pick up Sadie, we have a little time before the appointment....maybe we can run into Target as long as she doesn't touch anyone and I sterilize the shopping cart before and after.  To the doc, yep, pink eye.  Lovely.  Antibiotic drops, 3x a day, 5 days.  Wow, perfect timing since Kris and I are leaving early Friday morning for a weekend away.  Sorry, TyTy, you're going to have to play doctor!

Next stop, Walgreens.  They said they didn't have the prescription.  Yes, the doctor sent it in.  I was there.  Hhhmmm....let me look again.  Oh yeah, there it is.  Forty minutes later (WAY too long to spend in Walgreens with a sleepy one year old!) the pharmacist said - ok, your two prescriptions are ready.  Two?  Yes, eye drops and lidocaine.  Lidocaine?  Yes, for her mouth.  What's wrong with her mouth?   The lesions.  Uhm, she has no lesions and I'm not giving her lidocaine, you can put that back!  So, we came home with eye drops.  And this, my friends, is what $83 looks like:

Back home, do the dishes that were left behind this morning, clean up the dog food that Sadie has played in, try to get Sadie to nap since she hasn't napped, try to do something to get my headache to go away, beg Kris to come home ASAP.

Aaaahhhhh.....there's nothing more relaxing than a day off!!  (but I wouldn't have it any other way - how thankful I am to be able to run around with my baby girl when needed!)

Worth the Wait

I used to consider myself a fairly patient person.  As I got older, though, my patience grew thin.  I was ready for life to begin.  I wanted to date and get married and start a family.  That's all I ever wanted.  However, it just wasn't happening as quickly as I wanted it to.

I graduated from college, started teaching, and would go home and sit alone each night.  Yes, I could have been proactive and tried to do something about it, but my personality isn't one to go out and mingle.  And since the majority of my friends were already occupied with boyfriends, husbands, and children, it's not like I had many people to go out with.  So, I waited.  And waited.  I was set up many times, had many interesting dates, and even met some great guys.  On the Not So Great Guys list, there was the one who told me at the end of the date that he was hungry.  He asked if I was also.  When I said no, he told me it was because I ate more than he did at dinner earlier in the evening.  Uhm, excuse me?  I was the one taking home leftovers, not him!  Then there was the one who reminded me of Lord Farquaad from Shrek.  Remember the scene where he rides up on a horse looking so valiant, but when he got off the horse he was really short?  Well, I met him at a restaurant, he was waiting for me on a bar stool.  He seemed fine when I first saw him....until he jumped off the stool and was a little runt.  Yeah, that's not going to work!  I could go on, but for the sake of your boredom, I won't.

It was actually my mom who told me to try online dating.  The first service I tried was eHarmony.  That has a national database, right?  OK, so what does it say about me when out of all the participants nationally, they could only match me with three people?  Sad, huh?  Only one of those three actually contacted me, and he was one weird dude.  We never met, but I had no desire to meet.

Then came the next dating site.  A few dates that didn't work out, and then....bingo!  I met Kris.  I knew I liked him on our very first date.  It wasn't long until I knew that he was THE one.  However, the timeline in his mind didn't exactly match mine.  So, I waited.  Well, I didn't have to wait too long.  We dated for a year before getting engaged.  And then six months later, we were married.  Tomorrow, we celebrate our fifth anniversary.  These past five years have been the very best ever!  He was definitely worth the wait.

So, what's next?  I didn't want to wait too long before having children, but I also wanted to enjoy married life for a bit too.  And obviously, God wanted me to enjoy it a while too.  Because when we felt we were ready, God felt otherwise.  So we waited.  And waited.  And went to doctors.  And more doctors.  Then it happened.  We were blessed with Sadie, who turned one last Saturday.  Believe me, she was definitely worth the wait.  What a treasure she is!

The point of all this......God always blesses.  In His time.  The things/people He chooses to give you are always worth the wait.  Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Galatians 6:9  That verse was my lifeline for several years.  I had to keep trusting that I would reap a harvest at the proper time (not necessarily MY time) if I didn't give up.  So, I waited.  And it was worth it!!