It's Monday

Sitting at an work listening to a pilot complain about how he still has four hours left to go. They're going to Rapid City, SD. Four hours; boo hoo. You could have to drive like most of us unlucky ones. In a car it would take about nine and a half hours. They're going to Sturgis. It's a giant motorcycle rally. I don't know, I just don't get why you'd complain unless you hated planes and motorcycles. Then why go? Whatever.

I am real; are you?

I do not quite know what to think. I am back again. Back in Iowa, working at the same job I did about three or four years ago. But nothing about me is the same. I am a woman, a wife, and a mother. I planned a wedding in less than three weeks, went through a cancer battle with my mom, and I even endured a natural childbirth. I survived countless sleepless nights and my daughter's first two teeth. I was in the hospital for a week and have accrued thousands of dollars in medical bills. I am a different person in so many ways, ways I can't even describe. My heart is different and I am deeper. My heart is older, and it is scarred. But it is still beautiful.

I have learned that suffering, storms of life, and hurt is good. It is okay. It is real and true. Jesus suffered so many things when He died on the cross that we can not even begin to fathom. He is real. Paul suffered persecutions, pain, sickness; he was real. (2 Timothy 3:11-12) Christians are not exempt from suffering. We should embrace it. Embrace it because after the storm we find beauty and strength. If you do not go through tumultuous times in life, how can you help others? How can you really be real?

I Peter 1:6-9
In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls."

April Fool's

It was April 1 at 1am. Arabella's piercing cries jolted me out of my sleep. For whatever reason she was on a "nursing strike". She had only eated a small amount before going to sleep (which is completely abnormal). I had no other "express milk" in the fridge on back up. Her loud, sad cries just got worse. I had no other choice, she was hungry and she needed to eat, and she would not eat from me. Feeling defeated, I announce to Adam that, "You have to go to Wal-Mart to buy formula." He responded groggily that he had a blinding headache and couldn't go. I am wide awake by this time. I left an unhappy baby and tired husband at home and drove off in the Dakota with bad squeaky breaks. Thankfully I made it there safely. I had NO CLUE what kind of formula to buy because I'd never bought any before. I frantically tried to find the most "organic" kind available. The Wal-Mart employee (who also happened to work at a local hospital) informed me they have no organic formula. Of course not; that'd be too easy. She did tell me that I should call the hospital and ask for the maternity wing nurses. She even had the number memorized. I called them to get advice on what kind of formula to buy for a breasfed only baby. I got a unsympathetic nurse who said, "There was no organic formula when I had a baby..." Whatever. I thought nurses were supposed to help! All the formula I found had vegetable oil in it. Ew! Finally I just grabbed "Nestle's Good Start" off the shelf and ran to the check out lane.



I flung open the door at home only to find silence. Silence. She had fallen back to sleep! I had wasted all that time at stupid Wal-Mart for nothing. By this time there was NO WAY I could fall back to sleep. I think I finally calmed down enough to drift off around 3am. 4am she's crying again! I got her to eat a little from me, but not enough. I had to make the disguisting formula. Fortunatelly, she took only 2 oz of the stuff. And thank God the rest of the day she only got better with each nursing and ended up fine!



Adam called and said he was going to be late because he was putting new break pads and a roter on the truck. Yay! This day was looking up. I made a chicken dish in the oven and waited for him to come home. "I have something in my eye," he says when he got home. I thought nothing of it and got his dinner ready for him. Then he called me from upstairs to check out his eye. He had a little metal thing stuck in his iris! After trying several times and failing to remove the object we headed for the emergency room. Thankfully, we only had to wait for about 20 min! that's a miracle in itself! The doctor had to numb Adam's eye and stick a needle in it to remove the piece of metal. It was nerve wracking. Once the ordeal was over we went to the pharmacy to get an antibiotic eyedrop perscription. Once we got home Adam said now his left eye was starting to bother him. Low and behold he had ANOTHER piece of metal in his eye! Adam refused to go back to the ER. (It took about 2 days for the speck to work its way out).

What made this day worth all the hassle was the incident that happened that afternoon. I was blowing air on Arabella's tummy. She was smiling as big as could be...when all the sudden she let out the cutest little laugh!! It was the first time she'd ever done it. It was the cutest thing; and made all the craziness of the day disappear!

Thanksgiving

I did it! I just prepared an entire Thanksgiving feast myself! I thought it turned out pretty decent, considering I have never cooked a turkey before and so did my husband. I did cheat a little...I put the turkey in the crock pot. I know, I know it sounds pretty, well, gross. But it actually was tender and juicy and it fell off the bone, literally. (I also took the easy way out by making stove top stuffing.) All in all it was a tasty meal, if I do say so myself. But I can't take all the credit thankfully, Adam helped clean up afterwards.

This will be our first, and last, Thanksgiving with just the two of us. Sweet baby Krause (we'll announce her name as soon as she's born) will be here before we know it. In 10 days to be exact, if she comes when the doctor predicts. We definitely missed being with our families or even friends, for that matter, this year. But when you can't make a seven or nine hour drive home because you might have a baby on the side of the road you make your own Thanksgiving memories. I am very thankful we have each other to spend Thanksgiving with. Adam put up Christmas lights, while I made the dinner. Later we're going to see "Four Christmases" (with Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn). All in all it's been a fun, relaxing Thanksgiving. Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and family.

Soley Sentimental

Cribs, swings, strollers, and baby bathrobes, just how long is a newborn baby going to wear a bathrobe anyway? Babies R Us, Baby Depot, and even Target shout, "Buy from us; we have the best deals!" What do we new parents really need for a newborn? Good question! Let's start with the basic necessities: Baby Bargains by Denise and Alan Fields is a must read before any new parent contemplating on wether to buy a $700 crib. This book is packed full of useful information on how to find things for the best deal possible. What is really needed, and what isn't- like that bathrobe! (Unless you want a cute picture of her in it after her first bath, solely sentimental).

I am trying my very best to not get stressed about all the things I don't have for my newborn. I know God will provide. For the moment we have a crib, a carseat coming our way! Two essentials! And don't forget the closet full of diapers. As for a mattress pad, baby finger nail clippers, a diaper bag, a newborn baby tub seat...etc. Well, we will have to make due.

Ignoring Jiminy Cricket

I was contemplating this for awhile now. My husband even said, "Go for it". It was 8:30 on a Sunday night, when I decided it was time. Time to go brunette. I used the same hair color mixture I always use from Sally's Beauty Supply. I got the instructions years ago from my hair stylist and every time I followed them the color turned out perfect, just the right shade of a brownish, auburn. This time however, was completely different...

First, I have to say that I had this "gnawing in my gut feeling" not to do it. The "Jiminy Cricket" opposing my husband's "Go for it!" encouragement. Unfortunately, I ignored the little cricket. What happened next? I had the color all mixed in the bottle, I squeezed it onto my hair with the pointed lid. I noticed the color was coming out slower than normal, but I proceeded anyway. When, to my dismay, the pressure became so great from me squeezing the bottle...when all the sudden- BANG! The lid popped off! Brown, smelly hair color exploded all over the entire bathroom. It was so strong it made my eyes burn to the point of tears! It was on the door, the walls, the bathroom rug, my pretty shower curtain, and even the carpet outside the bathroom!

Jiminy wasn't whispering anymore, he was screaming, "I told you so! You shouldn't have done it!" After a feeble attempt to clean up the mess (thankfully my husband helped!) I waited the 45 min for the hair color to set. Unfortunately, with half the stuff all over the bathroom I didn't have quite enough color to smear all over my hair. What was the result? My hair turned out significantly darker than I had ever wanted. And to my dismay, there were chunky, bits of blonde peaking through. Moral of the story, don't ignore the little cricket. Thankfully, I have a friend who is a hair dresser. She told me how to fix the randomness of color on my head. Sadly, my bathroom now needs a makeover, a new rug, a new shower curtain, and the walls need a fresh coat of paint. What girls do for beauty!

Is it Just Pregnancy Hormones?

I went to the Shell gas station I swore I NEVER would go to again. But gas was only $2.49 there, so could you blame me? (It's sad when we think $2.49 is a great deal; remember the days when it was more than half that?) For starters the pump would not automatically stay running. I had to hold it. That was okay until the pump shut off every time I tried to make it pump faster, EVERY time. I had to barely push it to get the fuel to come out. I stood there and watched the numbers crawl along until it finally reached 7 gal, the pump stopped again, and I just gave up. It's full enough, I thought. Then the credit card machine proceeds to tell me 'See Attendant'. Great! I have to go inside this dingy little gas station where the same creepy little man works (he's the reason I swore, in the first place, to never come back). I get to the counter and sure enough- there he is. He's ignoring me while I'm standing there. I finally have to speak up to get his attention. I tell him the situation. Finally he gives me my receipt and mumbles something about the pump not working. He doesn't say thank you and neither do I.

In order to cool off I think a shake from McDonald's sounds good. Until I hear:

"Our ice cream machine is broken," McDonald's girl responds, rudely.

Arg! It's off to IHOP, they're next door, they may or may not serve ice cream. I don't know. I walk in. This really scary old lady with a droopy eye and braided hair looks at me and says,

"Call in?" as soon as I walk in the door.

I tell her no, and ask if they have shakes. She looks down at my preggo belly and says she will make me one. I sit down a wait for a few minutes. She comes back and says,

"We don't sell them anymore."

By this point I am exasperated. What does a pregnant chick with cravings have to do to get a shake on her lunch break?

I have one more option before I have to be back at work. Village Inn. Village Inn satisfied my craving of waffles-to-go, one afternoon. The lady behind the counter was extremely friendly, too. I walk in and ask the man if they have chocolate shakes. A yellow light and hallelujah chorus resounds as he tells me they do! Moral of the story, if you really want a shake be willing to go to three different places. It was all worth it. The shake was great; even if it was almost $4!

Until next time.