13 Things I found while Cleaning Under the Couch this Week

I haven't done a Thursday Thirteen in a long time. I'm not sure it even officially exists anymore. This seemed to lend itself to a TT post, though, so I'll carry on the tradition anyway.

13 things I found while cleaning in or under the couch this week:

1. Oreo Cookie (still fresh!)
2. One Little People Shepherd
3. One Little People Mechanic
4. Little red mouse (cat toy)
5. Countless crumbs from cheezits, cereal, etc...
6. 2 Rubber bands
7. Diego dominoes and checkers
8. Various legos
9. Ponytail holder
10. Superman bandaid
11. Toy airplane
12. Petrified worm carcass
13. About $15 in change. I fished out all I could reach, but the couch still jingles. I think one of the kids must have emptied their piggy bank into the couch. H (2 1/2 yo) confessed to it, but she'll confess to pretty much anything. On the other hand, it does seem like the sort of thing she would do. Interestingly, her bank is much fuller than J's currently - not that I think she'd be above emptying his into the couch! We'll probably never know!

Is this the same kid?

Day 1

4 months

First Christmas

This Christmas

J has pretty much looked like just a little bigger version of himself as he's grown over the years. H, on the other hand, keeps looking like a totally different child to me. I see her old photos flash up on my screen saver and think, "Wow! Did she really used to look like that?"

She started out as a medium-sized dark haired newborn - progressed into a chubby, dark haired baby - and now is a slender, blonde toddler. The only things that have stayed constant are those beautiful blue eyes and her adorable dimple.

This week at CVS and Kroger

I braved the weather to visit CVS for a few items. They didn't have everything I planned to get in stock, but it was still worth the trip.

• Garnier Fructis Shampoo
• 1 pack Orbit gum
• 2 packages of medicated item I tend to need toward the end of pregnancy (Trying to spare you too much information. You're welcome.)
• Candy bar (needed a filler item to use my whole Extra Buck coupon)

Used 3 manufacturer's coupons for shampoo and unnamed medicated items.
Used one Extra Care Buck coupon
Paid $0.24 out of pocket.
Got $4 ECB back.
Made hubby happy by bringing him a candy bar.

I also got 16 rolls of toilet paper free at Kroger (on sale for $.99 for a 4 pack, and I used 4 $0.50 off coupons, which my store doubles.) And milk was only $2.34 per gallon this week - the cheapest I've seen it in these parts since last spring!

Words of Encouragement?

I was playing Legos with J this afternoon. I admit, he's much better at it than I am. He does love the company, though. I was making an addition to the house he was building (per his request) when I made one whole wall cave in.

He reassured me, "Don't worry, Mommy, someday you'll learn to be a big helper..."

Then, under his breath added, "...Hopefully soon."


Meanwhile, H was playing in the next room. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that she kept coming into our room, going into the corner, then running back into the other room. I decided I'd better check it out. When she noticed I was watching her, she covered her mouth and tried to run. I was sure she had herself a stash or candy or some other snack hidden there.

No such luck.

She had 3 lumps of old hardened play doh which she was snacking on.

I've trying to detox them from their sugar overload over the holidays, and this is what she turned to instead?!

Ultrasound

Yesterday was the big day when we found out what Baby #3 is. We made it a family affair with Grandma, Papa, and the kids all coming along to share the experience. It was almost like being at a theater with everyone watching on the big screen.

H was less than impressed, I'm sorry to say. We had explained to her that we were going to see the baby. J is experienced enough to understand what "seeing the baby" on ultrasound meant. I obviously hadn't prepared H adequately, however. When it was all done and we were ready to leave, she started crying, "But I want to see the baby! I didn't get to see the baby!" She wasn't at all convinced that that was what we had just done. She was pretty amused by the "jelly" they'd put on Mommy's tummy, though. She talked about that for much of the rest of the night.

I've heard many women just have a "sense" about what their baby's sex is. My sense is apparently 180 degrees out of whack. I'm now 0-3 for predicting this. They say this one is a boy.

J had initially wanted a brother. He was pretty disappointed the first time around when H turned out to be a girl. He had a melt down one day, crying, "Why did God give her to me! I don't want her! Take her back!"

He had a change of heart about this one recently when a couple of things started sinking in. The first is that we don't have enough bedrooms for baby to have one of his or her own. When he realized a brother probably meant sharing his room, he was pretty eager for Papa to start working on adding on an addition to the house.

J also has issues with getting rid of anything. (God help his future wife! He's quite the packrat.) I normally have to sneak things out of his room when he's not around if I need to get rid of them. I made the mistake recently of letting him come in the room while I was putting away some of his outgrown clothes. When he saw an old pair of his favorite PJ's, he pleaded to have them back out. I explained that they were much too small and would tear if he kept wearing them. Then if we had a baby boy, he wouldn't be able to wear them one day. From then on, it was settled. J wanted baby to be a girl so he could wear his "Dig, Fix, Build Jammies" until they tore. H, of course wanted the baby to be a girl all along. They were both chanting, "Girl, girl, girl" all the way to the appointment. Despite that, they didn't seem to be too disappointed when we got the news it was a boy after all.

Baby Jones waving hello.

The Billboard Saga continues

This is probably the last time I'll be mentioning "the billboard" (no promises, of course). Apparently the font is so small that even people who know an Ellie fighting a brain tumor are confused about who is really on the sign. I learned this through Ellie W's caring bridge site today.

The billboard, it turns out, is actually an ad for St. Jude Children's Hospital and the child is Ellie Bouchard. She's been their poster child recently and has been featured in an ad with Jennifer Aniston and interviewed on Larry King's show. Like the other Ellie, she's also darling and is fighting bravely. Happily for her though, Ellie B's tumor has a much better prognosis.

Wouldn't it all be so much simpler if they'd just make a billboard you can read? But then, I guess I never would have heard of Ellie W. And probably neither would you. Now that we do know, go over and read her post for today. They could really use your prayers.

Ellie

Ellie and her sister Christmas eve 2007

Ok, so I didn't exactly get the information the way a billboard normally communicates, but indirectly it worked. I complained about seeing the sign with Ellie's picture on it, but not being able to make out anything other than her name and the fact that she had a brain tumor. Someone who knows Ellie stumbled across the post and gave me the details. I thought I'd share them with you.

Ellie Thanksgiving 2008

Ellie is a beautiful 5 year old girl. She has a little sister and a new baby brother. Ellie loves to have fun and play with her cousins and do the usual 5 year old things. But Ellie has an inoperable tumor in her brain stem. She was diagnosed in April of last year. The usual survival rate for her tumor type is 5-10%, and most children live less than a year after their diagnosis. Since May, this sweet little girl has been going through treatments to try to shrink or kill the tumor. There has been some progress. It initially shrunk about 30% and has been remaining stable.

I grieve for her and her family. Five is supposed to be a happy, care-free age. Five year olds are not supposed to know what cancer and radiation and chemotherapy are, let alone experience them. While we were celebrating H's 2nd birthday, Ellie was having her first radiation treatment. While we were thoroughly enjoying our Christmas celebration, Ellie's family was wondering how many more they would have with her.

Go visit her websites here and here to learn more, shed a few tears for them, and hold them up in your prayers. It would take a miracle to cure her, but God is a God of miracles. The family's medical bills must be astronomical. If you're able, you can go here to donate something to help them. You can sign up for emails when her journal is updated by clicking the box under the heading "journal" on her Caringbridge site.

The Lord bless you and keep you, Ellie!