Soap Box of the Day...

Could someone please tell me why this is OK on Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, but on Facebook it is pornographic material? I think someone has their priorities a little screwed up (and it's not Mr. Rogers).

happy sniffles...

OK. So I know that when I'm all hormonal and growing another human being I can cry over toilet paper commercials, but I'm fairly sure this awesome story would have made me bawl even if I wasn't on a baby hormone high.

Quick update...

saying goodbye at the end of R&R

My cousin Julie is officially a "MRS." now! Congrats to her and her Handsome new hubby Jeff! Yay for wedding bells!

My cousin Rachael, who's son Carrick I requested prayer for awhile back, has her beautiful and healthy boy home with her where he belongs now! Thanks so much for your prayers!

My husband was home for R&R in February and tomorrow marks the start of month 12 for this deployment. We are on the downhill slide now! YAY!

OH... and in November we will be adding an R&R souvenir to the family!

Yup... He is strutting around with his chest all puffed out... SO PROUD he "knocked me up" over R&R. Yay, for babies! (Last one for us though, four is a good round number.)

Feeling a little emotional tonight...

Rant of the day OR Obama to remove MD's rights...

Abort73 Graphics / Abort73 Shirts

THIS is officially the first major thing to thoroughly piss me off about the current administration.

Removing the RIGHT of health care workers to refuse to participate in the murder of an unborn child for religious or ethical reasons... That would be like forcing an Orthodox Jew to eat pork or forcing a radical Muslim into a bikini (only worse because to those of us who believe a child is a child even before birth... IT WOULD FORCE SOMEONE TO MURDER ANOTHER HUMAN BEING)!

It seems to be socially unacceptable to force a person to actively participate in activities they do not believe in... unless of course, that person believes that an unborn child is an individual (different DNA than it's mother) and (worse than that) might even be a Christian!

OH SHAME!

Why should it no longer be OK to tell someone that you will not personally help them kill their baby?! There will ALWAYS be "Dr.s" who will be happy to assist in that particular procedure - let's face it:

Abortion is big business in America.

Yet another reason to love boobs...

I have always liked Salma Hayek as an actress and, as an added bonus, I think she is incredibly beautiful. (If I was a guy or not straight and blissfully married, I would SO put her on my people to do list...)

After reading an article on ParentDish about a beautiful and wonderful gift she gave to a mother and her starving child during a UNICEF visit to Sierra Leone in September 2008, Salma Hayek has officially moved to the very top of my favorite celebrities list.

When Wedding Cakes Go WRONG...

And, in honor of my cousin Julie's upcoming wedding I would like to share some wedding cakes posted on Cake Wrecks. To remind her Mom that there ARE worse things out there than a western themed wedding, and to make everyone else gasp/smile and/or giggle while frantically calling their baker to make sure they have a "backup cake" ready in case the original is delivered in less than expected condition.

NICU Flashbacks & Requested Prayers...

Me holding Samantha in NICU 4 1/2 weeks after her birth.

Tonight my heart is broken for my cousin Rachael and her husband Corey. Rachael gave birth to the couple's first child on Wednesday night... two months early. Little Carrick is in NICU, breathing on his own, and from my cousin's brief email description, seems to be a fighter.

Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers, they are going to need it.

I can't help but have flash backs to when Samantha was born two months early. I remember so vividly the feeling that, somehow, I had failed my child. I felt betrayed by my own body and angry that there was nothing I could do to make things better. I was terrified of loosing my daughter before I ever really had the chance to know her and I wanted to find a way to protect her from all of the pain that comes along with an extended NICU stay.

Mostly I just felt helpless and confused.

How and why could this happen to us? What could I have done differently to make her enter the world healthy and full term? How did my WHOLE WORLD suddenly shift to dramatically revolve around this tiny piece of me? How is it possible to love someone so small SO much more than I have ever loved anyone, including myself?

My heart is broken for my cousin, not because I think her son will not survive, quite the opposite. My heart is broken because I have been in her shoes, and I know how it feels to be a mother who must watch her child fight for every step, knowing there is nothing you can do except watch, wait, and pray that God will pull you through.

When You Change Careers, Do It RIGHT! LOL!

A gynecologist had become very fed up with malpractice insurance and HMO paperwork and was feeling burned out. Hoping to try another career where skillful hands would be beneficial, he decided to become a mechanic. He went to the local technical college, signed up for classes, attended diligently, and learned all he could.

When the time for the practical exam approached, the gynecologist prepared carefully for weeks and completed the exam with tremendous skill. When the results came back, he was surprised to find that he had obtained a score of 150%. Fearing an error, he called the instructor, saying, "I don't want to appear ungrateful for such an outstanding result, but I wonder if there is an error in the grade." The instructor said:

"During the exam, you took the engine apart perfectly, which was worth 50% of the total mark. "You put the engine back together again perfectly, which is also worth 50% of the mark." This equaled an A. After a pause, the instructor added:

"I gave you an extra 50% because you did it all through the

muffler, which I've never seen done in my entire career."

When You Change Careers, Do It RIGHT! LOL!

Vent of the day...

So, I am EXHAUSTED! I want to blog, but I'm just not sure I have the energy tonight... So, you guys get a very brief update:

Samantha has been hospitalized well over a thousand miles from me (which, in case you are wondering, sucks big green monkey nuts). She ran fever all weekend long and her O2 sats were... well, less than great at the clinic this morning. She has BOTH the Flu (and Yes, she did get a Flu shot this year) AND Scarlet Fever. Leave it to Sam to get horribly ill right after Mommy leaves town... (grumble, grumble)

Meanwhile...

Dad's incision from his "let's chop out 75% of your liver to get all the cancer" procedure has opened up enough that you can see the internal stitches. He went to the ER and they think he has another infection and are dosing him up on broad spectrum antibiotics while they wait for the culture to grow something shnazzy (and by shnazzy I mean "ewwwwww! gross!)...

And HALFWAY across the freaking country...

I am worried about Sam & my Dad and feeling utterly helpless and useless knowing there is NOTHING I can do to help. My Mom is going to run herself into the ground trying to take care of Sam and worry about my Dad too.

And without someone there to bug the royal CRAP out of my Dad (Yes, I KNOW you are reading this, and you KNOW how hard headed you are!), he likes to ignore/blow off/live in total denial of anything that makes him feel slightly off. Dad is the kind of guy who wouldn't mention heart attack level chest pain to anyone until you noticed him holding his chest and turning blue... And EVEN THEN he would do his best to convince you that "it doesn't really hurt that bad..."

STUBBORN MALE. Exhibit #1 - My Daddy.
(I just point this out because I'm so worried he will ignore something significant that will come back and bite him in the rear later...)

Please pray for Samantha and my Dad... and DEFINITELY pray for Mom. She gets to deal with Dad's stubborn nature AND all of the *SARCASM* "brilliant" medical professionals in that area*SARCASM*! Yes, extra prayers for Mom.

And for your daily dose of giggle, you should go check out Cake Wrecks explanation of why you should never order a cake over the phone . It made me fall off my yoga ball...