The House of Doo

The House of Doo

Thursday, December 27, 2012

The Doolittle Christmas

Well, we survived another Christmas season.  Most of you who know me well know that I am a total Grinch.  I do not enjoy Christmas at all.  I hate decorating, I hate going from place to place, I hate spending so much money on gifts, I hate not knowing if the gift receiver will like the gift, I hate the music, and on and on.  HOWEVER, this year has been very enjoyable.  We drew names for Ryan's family, then bought gifts for only the "kids" with my stepfamily.  It cut down on the cost a lot and that takes away some of the stress.  Actually, Ryan's family was in Florida this year, so we missed all of them a lot.  It did give us one less place to go though.  Not that we don't enjoy going, because we always do and always have fun, but it is also stressful having to schedule all of the get-togethers and make sure we spend plenty of time with each family.  That is hard!  I have missed seeing Ryan's family though, they're always good for laughs. :)  The only commitments we had this year were going to my Dad and Judy's house on Christmas Eve, to open gifts and eat with my stepfamily, then lunch and gifts with my Dad's side of the family.  We had a great time as usual and ate way too much on Christmas Eve.  Go figure!  Colt got lots of new toys and books and even got his very first tablet!  It is called a Meep! and he loves it.  Ryan and I opened our gifts that night after Colt went to bed.  He got me a new Kavu purse, some beautiful scarves, the Phillip Phillips cd, and Season 1 of the Golden Girls. He also snuck a necklace and those beautiful wooden spoons from my WAR party!  He had my friend "buy" them, but they were really for me.  Sneaky. I got him some new shirts, the Hatfields and McCoys tv miniseries on DVD, and a Duck Dynasty shirt.  He outdid me for sure.  :/

Christmas morning, Colt got up and with very sleepy eyes saw his gifts.  He got a new Little Tikes table, lots of new Melissa & Doug puzzles, Play-doh, books, a football, and a new guitar.  He loves music and was recently VERY interested in a friend's guitar, so we bought him a little toddler version.  It even has Lightning McQueen on it, so it's especially great!  In his stocking were some little John Deere tractors (also an obsession) and John Deere socks. He seemed very happy with this gifts.

Christmas Day we went to my Pawpaw's house for lunch, just as we have done for my entire life.  It will never be the same without my grandmother there, but it is getting easier.  My aunt Diane has taken over and done a great job, especially for someone who "doesn't cook."  ;)  My Nana would be proud of her.  Ryan got a very nice LL Bean gift card, I got some Lancome makeup (my favorite to wear, but never buy!) and my first piece of Le Creuset cookwear.

The bad part of the holiday was that the entire time, Colt was sick.  Sunday, after church he was acting a bit weird, but we just figured he was tired.  We went to lunch with my dad and Judy and friend, Julie, to Cracker Barrel.  He let Ryan hold him while we waited for a table and kept acting like he was going to go to sleep.  Well, he finally did and slept fitfully the entire time we ate.  Ryan started to comment on how warm he felt.  We hurried home, knowing something was up (he never sleeps in public!) and took his temp.  It was 104.  I was obviously concerned with the number, but moreso about the way he was acting.  He was completely lethargic.  We called the doctor, they told us to alternate between Tylenol and Motrin just like usual and to go to Urgent Care at the children's hospital as soon as it opened at 6.  We got his fever down a good bit, so we waited to see what was going to happen.  The fever never really went away, but went down.  Finally around 9:45, we decided to take him because I was struggling with putting him to bed with a fever.  At that time, it was 101.4.  By the time we got seen at the Urgent Care less than an hour later it was up again to 103.3.  They thought he had strep because of the condition of his throat, but he didn't.  They said it was a virus and sent us home with a child whose fever at that point was well over 104.  This is a really long story, so we'll skip to the party where for 3 whole days, he had a fever we couldn't control.  I finally took him to our pediatrician yesterday, on day 4, even though we finally broke the fever, he was snotty and coughing.  Ugh.  They tested him for the flu and checked his blood for infections.  Both were okay, so it was a virus.  Dr. Smith said there was a bad virus going around that mimics the flu, so that seemed to be what he had.  So.  Colt really did well going through the festivities even though he felt bad.  The Tylenol and Motrin kept him in pretty good spirits.  :) 

Anyway, this Christmas was much simpler and very enjoyable.  Being excited about Colt and his reaction helped a lot.  I am going to try really hard to not turn him into a Grinch too!  I hope everyone had a great Christmas!  :)

I'll leave you with some pictures to try to sum up our last few days.  :)

Colt and his cousin Tanner.  Best buddies.

Playing piano at Pawpaw's house.

Entertaining himself at the doctor's office.

Colt and his cousins, Tucker and Tanner.

Playing with an old rotary phone.

My new gift!

Dad, Pawpaw, me, and Colt.  Four generations.

Christmas morning! :)
 
 

Thursday, December 20, 2012

A recipe!

Today, Ryan is home with Colt again and I am at work.  That is a strange feeling, as it is usually the opposite.  Tuesday, Ryan said Colt was really good and only unwrapped part of one present.  Ha.  That's the first one, so I consider this Christmas season a success so far. ;)  This morning, Ryan wanted to take Colt to the mall to do a bit of shopping.  It is a nasty, rainy, cold day and Colt was terribly grumpy this morning and refused to eat breakfast for him.  I tried to tell him that it was going to be a disaster, but he was undeterred.  Figures.  Ryan remembered the stroller was in my car, so they came by to get it.  As soon as they walked into the office, I knew he was going to regret taking the trip to the mall.  Colt didn't even acknowledge me, just wanted to play with the calculator and run the tapes on it.  I barely got a kiss.  Anyway, they went to the mall where Colt cried every time Ryan turned the stroller to go into a store.  Ha.  He was THAT kid.  Needless to say, they didn't get anything done and went home.  Colt is cutting his two year molars and has been great, until yesterday.  He's on his third one though, so I think he's done well to make it through two molars and we didn't even know anything was up.  I hate teething, I hope it's over soon.  Poor kid just isn't himself.
Even when grumpy, he's cute. ;) I've got to say something about this toboggan, it is a YOUTH MEDIUM.  Not a child or even toddler size.  YOUTH.  He's 2. With a huge head.  Huge brain, perhaps?  ;)

Yesterday was speech therapy day.  Have I mentioned how much we love our speech therapist?  She is great and very patient with Colt.  Yesterday was a rough session.  He wasn't very cooperative at the beginning, but he warmed up.  First of all, he woke up crying around 5:30 yesterday morning, so I went to console him and he went willingly back to bed.  I watched him on the monitor and he slept about 10 minutes, when he jerked up and started screaming.  It was like something was scaring him.  Anyway, I went in a few times but he just wasn't sleeping well.  I finally got him up and we laid on the couch.  He then slept about 45 more minutes on my chest.  He woke up grumpy so, like I said, speech therapy was hard.  After about 10 minutes of trying to warm him up, he finally gave in. We worked on mimicking Jaime again and Colt did great.  He made the P, M, N, D, and G sounds.  Always ending in the "ah" sound.  "Pa," "Ma," "Ga," etc.  He isn't really making any other vowel sounds, so that is our homework this week.  We're going to try for Es and Os, like "Me" and "Go" and the like.  Still no real words, but new sounds.  Any type of progress is exciting to me.  He got tired of the sounds very quickly yesterday and just wanted to play in his room with Jaime.  He showed her all of his books, so they read a bit.  It wasn't a total waste of an hour. 

My snuggle buddy early yesterday morning

Doesn't he just look grumpy??  Yikes!!
 
I made my famous (at our house anyway ;)) meatloaf for dinner last night.  This is Ryan's all time favorite meal that I make.  I am telling you, this meatloaf is awesome.  I like meatloaf pretty well, but all others seem dry and dense to me after eating this one.  I'm pretty sure it will rock your world.  The secret is Rotel.  Also, Ritz crackers instead of bread or breadcrumbs or whatever.  The Rotel gives it a kick, but doesn't make it spicy.  You could use the mild kind if you were afraid.  Okay, here you go:

My favorite meatloaf

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb of ground beef
1 egg
1 can of Rotel, undrained
1 sleeve of Ritz crackers, crushed
1 teaspoon onion flakes
1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Mix all the ingredients together until evenly mixed.  Pack into a meatloaf pan.
3. Bake in the oven for around 1 hour, until no longer pink inside.  Top with ketchup, if you wish.

The end.  That's it.  Simple, right?  Delicious too!  We served it with homemade mashed potatoes (duh!) and roasted zucchini.  Colt will fight you for that roasted zucchini, so dinner was a hit last night. Try it.  Let me know what you think. :) 

Well, I suppose the next blog post will be after Christmas.  Until then, I hope everyone has a great weekend and a lovely Christmas. 

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

No title for this blog.

It's Update Day again.  What a busy weekend it has been. 

As we all know, Friday was a tragic, horrifying day in American history.  26 precious lives were stolen away from their loved ones, by a crazy, angry, coward.  I watched the news in horror with tears streaming down my face, as most of the country did too.  I literally hurt for them.  I left work early to finish up some Christmas shopping that day.  As I drove through the traffic and walked the aisles of the big stores, I felt guilty, guilty, for going on about my life while others' lives would never be the same again.  They would never feel the joy of shopping for their precious children again.  I cannot even begin to imagine the depth of their anguish.  I shopped quickly, rushing to pick up Colt from his Mimi.  I can't imagine never being able to see that precious face again.  Ryan was doing some work that evening and I put him to bed alone.  He woke up crying a little after he went to sleep and I rushed in there quickly, when another night, I may have let him cry a bit first.  He cried twice that night, almost inconsolable and I felt like he could feel the hurt in the world too.  I held him, whispering "Shh...it's okay, Mommy's here..." over and over, the whole time crying with him for the mommies and daddies who couldn't console their babies that night.  A situation like this would have hurt me before becoming a parent, but since then, knowing the depth of the love of a mother, this rocked me to the core.  I don't know what else to say about this, aside from I am broken.  Those pictures and faces of those that didn't make it are forever etched on my heart.  Rest in the arms of your Maker, sweet babies. 

*Wipe tears...* 

Okay, Saturday was spent preparing for the Women At Risk, International handmade goods sale we had after church on Sunday.  My dear friend, Lindsey, came over to "shop" because she didn't think she could make it to the party (though she did and was a huge help!) and to help me make food to serve.  We made huge batches of pasta salad and she made a big batch of spinach dip.  The rest of the day was spent trying to keep Colt out of all the stuff I had around the house for the party. 


Sunday was the WAR party!  Everybody came all at once, in a huge rush.  I was so busy doing the "checkout" that I didn't really even get to look around much.  My friends, Kristin, Julie, and Lauren also worked their tails off helping people.  We manged to raise $1580.21 for the victims of sex trafficking.  That is enough to support 1 woman in a safehouse for 6 months or 6 women for 1 month!  That's huge!!!  So a great big THANK YOU to all who came to shop.  Another big THANK YOU to my friends, for it couldn't have been done without them and their hard work.  Today, I taped up all the boxes, fixed up the checks and sent it back to Michigan. 
Bye bye, boxes!
 
 
Last night, we were invited to a Cookie Exchange.  Most of you know, I am not a Christmas-y person and I wouldn't have gone if it weren't for the people throwing it.  I adore them, so I wanted to go.  Honestly though, I completely forgot about that because I was working on the WAR stuff.  I remembered yesterday morning about 10 that I was supposed to have 3 dozen cookies baked for this party.  Yikes!  Colt and I made a run to the grocery store for supplies and walked out with over $100 worth of stuff.  HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN????  Anyway, we set out to make Candy Cane Cake Batter cookies.  They were kind of like sugar cookies with those Candy Cane Hershey's Kisses melted in the center.  They sounded amazing!  They were not amazing, but they were good.  I hoped they would be fluffier and gooey-er (?) but they were kind of flat and a little crunchy.  They were probably gooey when they came out of the oven, but they only made 3 dozen, so I was afraid to try one.  I'd add the recipe, but it really wasn't worth sharing.  Sigh.  Oh well.  I'm not that much of a baker anyway. 
I had a helper.  He loved the flour, hated the dough. 
 
I caught Colt and Roxie snuggling yesterday. ;)
 
I have been meaning to post a picture of the playground in our backyard for a while now.  It has been almost finished for about 2 months.  There are just a couple of finishing touches that need to be made, but I am not sure they'll ever get finished.  Here is the latest picture and Colt about to go down the slide.  The box at the bottom of the slide needs some adjustments made to it.  My dad suggested filling it with sand, but for some reason Ryan and Jody put wood on it.  It isn't really working out.  Ha. 
 
To the left of this is the swing part.  It is HUGE. The dogs look excited, right?
 
Today, Ryan took a vacation day to stay home with Colt while I work.  This is the first time really that Ryan has been with him alone ALL DAY.  He's doing it again on Thursday.  I hope after this he understands why I am so very exhausted at the end of the day.  My son is a joy to be around, most all of the time, BUT he has way more energy than I do and he never stops.  You cannot take your eyes off of him, like most toddlers I am sure.  We'll see how this goes. ;) 
 
So.  That is pretty much what is going on with the Doolittle family this week.  If anything changes, you know I will update.  ;)  Hope you all have a great week!






Friday, December 14, 2012

Ramblings.

We made it to Friday!  Hooray!  It is a big weekend for us.  We are having our Women At Risk, International party on Sunday.  This is the same type of get-together I went to about 6 weeks ago and learned the devastating statistics about sex trafficking, you might remember me mentioning.  I have talked about it quite a bit since.  If you are free on Sunday from 12-ish to 2-ish, even if only for a drop-in and shop, please come by Chattanooga Valley Baptist Church THIS SUNDAY! You don't have to come to church to come to the party, but if you want to do so, we would love to have you.  You can come as you are, I will most likely be in jeans, so don't feel like you have to dress up to come.  I got six huge boxes full of beautiful things in the mail.  There is jewelry and tons of it.  There are scarves, handblown glass ornaments, purses, home decor, and more.  Everything is handmade by the women and children/teens rescued from sex trafficking.  This organization rescues them and houses them in a safehouse.  While in the safehouse, they are fed, educated, taught about the Bible (I think this is optional, though I need to check that out for sure), and taught a trade to help them find a way to support themselves without getting back into their previous situation.  For every $250 raised, a woman is housed for an entire month in a safehouse.  All of the things I mentioned are included.  Some of the women are Americans who were sold into slavery as children.  They have been gone so long, they don't know where to return to.  That breaks my heart into a million pieces. I cannot imagine.  So, please, stop by if you can.  The gifts are beautiful, just in time for Christmas, very reasonably priced, and support an amazing cause. 

Okay, I think I made my point. ;) 

We had our speech therapy session on Wednesday.  It went very well.  Jaime (our speech therapist) and I sat down in the floor with Colt and she started to try to get him to mimic her.  She started with the "m" sound, which he does well and paired the "m" sound with the sign for "more."  Everytime he would sign "more" (we were working a puzzle, he wanted more pieces), he had to add the "m" sound to go along with the sign.  It took him about 2 minutes to get down, and then he began doing it on his own without her prompting him.  She was amazed (or acted like it anyway;)) and said that was all she had planned to do that day because it usually takes much longer.  I had a proud mommy moment right then.  Eventually, the plan is to add little by little to the "m" sound to eventually get him to say "more" while also signing.  Genius, right?  It seemed so simple at the time.  This week our homework is to keep practicing that sound, and also add the "b" sound, and "p" sound.  I hear the "b" occasionally, but haven't heard "p" yet.  Jaime told me repeatedly how proud of us she was and that she was impressed with how quickly Colt picks things up.  Yay!  I am so proud of my smart little boy!

We had our ice company Christmas party at Chop House last night.  The food was incredible as always and the company was entertaining as always.  We are lucky to have such incredible people working here.  Sure. we all argue like a family, but honestly, these people are very much my family.  A few of them have worked here since I was born.  I grew up here, with these people.  They have been around during my childhood, been to my graduations, wedding, and my adult life up to this point.  They were right by our sides when my Nana passed away.  I'll never forget seeing the tears stream down their faces at her funeral, just like they were on our faces.  They are family.  Now, Colt is here to experience them and love them like we do.  I am proud to work for my family, I am proud of our business, I am proud that it is run with such dignity and honesty, and I am excited to see how far it will go.  Thank you, Lord, for blessing us and our company so.

That is what was on my mind today.  I hope everyone has a good and safe weekend. :)

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Special Needs or Just Special?

I have hesitated to post about this because I am sure someone will say that I am wrong, but I am going to post anyway. 

A while back, it was suggested that we take Colt to a pediatric neurologist and also a pediatric development specialist to see if there is a reason he is so far behind.  I spoke to our pediatrician and he agreed that it was a good idea.  We made the appointments, which are in February and March, because the neurologist is so busy and there is only one pediatric development specialist in Chattanooga at this time (we're going to call her a PDS because I am already tired of typing all that!)  I mentioned this to a health professional working with Colt and she told me that I should get a second opinion on whatever this particular PDS said.  I just kind of laughed and said "okay."  Fast forward about 2 months later, which was about 2 weeks ago, and it got brought up to someone else working closely with Colt.  A professional that I trust.  She suggested that we cancel the PDS appointment with our doctor here.  Basically, this is what she said off the record.  "This doctor WILL diagnose Colt as autistic.  She diagnoses every single child I have ever sent over there with autism.  Colt is not autistic (also what our pediatrician said) and she will say that he is.  You don't want him to have that label attached to him when he enters school, because they will put him in classes or with children who are and he won't fit in.  If they label him as autistic, he will NEVER lose that label.  Labels are good when they fit, but he will not fit but he'll never get out from under it." 

So.  We will not be going to see her in March.  We can always reschedule it in a year or two if there is still a problem, but for now, we're not going.  We are, however, still going to the neurologist.  Children with severe speech delay and multiple eye surgeries sometimes do have a neurological problem that links the two problems.  Dr. Peterson, Colt's eye surgeon, has told us from the start that his eye problem is really a brain problem, which is why the surgeries weren't working.  The last one "worked" because it made it hard or almost impossible for his brain to move them the wrong ways. 

Being around Colt alone, I honestly didn't realize quite how far behind he is.  Last week, we went to the playground to play and swing and get away from the house.  There was also a little boy there with his mom, but he was much smaller than Colt, though that isn't odd. ;)  Anyway, the boys were swinging side-by-side so I asked the mom how old he was.  He was a year old, about 4 months shy of 2.  So about 6 months younger than Colt.  When the boys got out to play and run around, it was super evident how far ahead of Colt he was.  He chattered and talked and climbed the steps and slid down the slides and jumped and ran.  Colt is VERY cautious in an environment like that.  That day, it just hit me really hard.  I know a lot of it is his eyes and the fact that he lived his first two years with almost no depth perception, but it's still hard to watch him in comparison.  I want to fix it.  I want to catch him up and make him be able to do what the other boys do.  I know he will get there, I know this.  When I got our paperwork in the mail the other day from our speech therapy group, it had Colt listed as "special needs."  That bothered me for some reason because I don't think of him that way.  Maybe he is, maybe he isn't. 

Honestly, to me, he is just special. 

Friday, December 7, 2012

No paci, snot, and kindness.

A rare two days in a row blog post!  Whoa!

Just thought I would update on Day 2 of no pacifier for Colt.  Kim said he yelled for about 10 minutes at nap time yesterday, so I was kind of wondering what was going on.  Surely he wasn't giving in that easily!  I was anxious to put him to bed last night to see what would happen.  The first night, he started crying the second he saw that his pacis were not in the bed.  He has slept with 3 for as long as I can remember.  He has one for his mouth and one for each hand.  Anyway, when we put him to bed last night, he started looking for them, but didn't cry.  We got completely out of the room and sat for about 2 minutes, then he started yelling.  No tears this time, just angry.  I can handle angry, but tears are harder.  He yelled for about 8 minutes!  He gave up yelling and I watched him on the video monitor, rolling around trying to get comfortable but the fact that he was awake and not yelling felt like a huge victory.  He went to sleep soon after and slept all night.  No lie, that first day was almost unbearable, but the second was a breeze in comparison.  I want to celebrate, but have this horrible fear it's not over yet.  There is no way we are that lucky, right?  We shall see!  I was proud of him last night.  :) 

Like I said yesterday, I have been paranoid about all this flu business.  This is about to get a little gross, so feel free to stop reading this paragraph now.  ;)  Anyway, the past two mornings and evenings, Colt has had some really thick gross boogies.  I just knew he was getting sick.  The thing is, he has no fever and his nose isn't running.  When he "talks" he sounds kind of congested, but like it is way up in his sinuses, you know?  So the point of this is, can 2 year olds get sinus infections?  Does anyone know?  Our pediatrician told us a while back, that babies don't develop sinuses until they are older, but my allergist disagreed.  What can you do about thick yuckiness up in their sinuses?  He can't blow it out, and we're doing the saline/snot sucker combo with only a little luck.  Suggestions welcome. :)  Again, sorry for the grossness.

Moving on.  My high school football team is playing tonight in the final round of the state playoffs.  If they win tonight, they play for the state championship at the Georgia Dome.  They do have the home field advantage and huge community support.  I really hope they can pull it off.  This is the same team that was attacked by the Freedom From Religion Foundation for praying before games and feeding the team in churches in the community.  That whole mess lit a fire in this community and within that team.  Maybe God's behind it, or maybe they're just a really awesome team.  Either way, I am proud to be a Ridgeland Panther.  Beat some Marist tail, boys! 

Tomorrow, I am having lunch with one of my best and oldest friends, Julie.  She came up with a wonderful idea of having a day of Random Acts of Kindness.  We hoped to do it before Christmas, but that may not work out.  My/our other best friend/s, Lindsey and Lauren are going to participate too, but I think they both have plans tomorrow.  Anyway, we're going to have lunch and plan out our Random Acts of Kindness day.  We're compiling a list of things to do and I would love to hear any ideas you may have.  The day before Thanksgiving, someone bought our family's dinner at O'Charley's. When we found out, we, in turn, bought another family's dinner.  That's what you are supposed to do, right?  Pass it on!  I am so excited about Julie's idea and can't wait to share it with you all.  Not to brag, but to hope it gives you all a bit of inspiration too!  Anyone else want to help?  Or do your own day?  Could be fun!  :)

I do realize I asked for suggestions on two completely different things...Getting rid of snot and Random Acts of Kindness. HA.  Today I'll leave you with a picture of last night's sunset.  I took it while driving (don't judge!) but definitely waited until I got home to Instagram it.  ;)  Enjoy!

Thursday, December 6, 2012

New one.

It has been over a week since my last blog post.  I have slacked a bit and I feel like there is so much to update.  Now that I am sitting down to write about it, I am sure my mind will blank.  ;)

First off...BIG NEWS!!!  We went to Colt's eye surgeon on Friday and he said that Colt's eyes are perfect!  They were expecting to either do another surgery this year or to wait until he is 4 years old, but with the way they are now, he'll never have another surgery again!  As long as they do not change again.  There is always a chance that they can start to drift but it isn't likely.  We are thrilled with how gorgeous his eyes look! 

Charlie Chaplin?

I'll skip the boring parts and go right to the part where we took Colt's paci away.  Yesterday, the speech therapist found out he still had it (of course he still has it, he's only just turned two!!) and said he needed to stop.  Blah, blah, blah, something about how sucking a paci causes a kid's mouth muscles to not form/work correctly.  That sounds like a load of malarky to me, but whatever.  I guess it'll be easier to take it away now than it will be when he's older and bigger.  Our two options were to take it away cold turkey or to cut a hole in the end so it doesn't work and he won't want it anymore.  The latter is out because he chews holes in his pacis all the time and it doesn't phase him.  I went through the house, angry the entire time, snatching up pacis and collecting them.  Colt has them hidden in the house EVERYWHERE, but I tried my hardest to find all of them.  I found 15.  Ha.  Anyway, yesterday he screamed bloody murder for an hour and ten minutes at nap time because he didn't have his paci.  He threw everything out of his bed into the floor and just flat out cried.  It was the longest hour of my life, I think.  I was seriously hating people.  Then last night at bedtime, Ryan was gone to the farm so I got to put him to bed without it again with no one there.  I put him in the bed, screaming, and went to my room and cried.  He cried and screamed for 40 minutes and eventually laid down and went to sleep.  It can be done, but my gosh, it was hard.  I was kind of anticipating a long night of him waking up and crying because he didn't have it, but he slept until I had to go wake him up at 7:40.  He slept well, but when I woke him up, he had a really yucky nose and a cough.  Boo.  I've been a bit paranoid about this flu going around, so hopefully it isn't anything like that.  I hated leaving him to come to work today, but I am not going to lie, I am happy I don't have to put him down for a nap today. 

So.  Sorry that was so long.

I finished my Advocare 24 Day Challenge last Wednesday.  My official weight loss during those 24 days was 8 lbs.  I was hoping for more, but it did motivate me a bit to keep it up.  It feels good to see the numbers on the scale go down.The day after I stopped taking the Advocare, the numbers started going back up and I got pretty discouraged.  I gained back 4 lbs of it within 2 days of stopping.  I have since lost them and am back at the 8 lbs.  Not really sure what that was all about, but I am hoping to move on past 8 to about 40.  HAHA.  I am definitely eating better and feeling better.  I can tell that I have lost weight when I look in the mirror, but I don't think it's enough for anyone else to tell yet.  That will take a bit more.  I've got to throw some exercise in or I'll never make it.  My biggest accomplishment so far is that I have not had so much as a sip of sweet tea in a month.  A MONTH.   That is amazing for me, trust me.  ;) 

I also have a date and location for my Women At Risk, International awareness/jewelry party.  It will be a week from Sunday, on December 16 at my church, Chattanooga Valley Baptist in Flintstone.  The party will begin immediately after church at 12:15, as I am hoping to get more people since they'll already be at church.  If you are interested in looking through the stuff but can't make it to the party, please let me know.  I got an email saying they sent me 6 boxes today!  I can't wait to see what will be in these!  If you can make it, please do!  I want to make a difference and this is the only way I know how right now! 

I feel like there is so much more to post, but I should probably shut up.  I'll leave you with a picture of my cute boy enjoying his favorite activity...swinging!  Thanks for reading! :)

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Weekly catch-up. :)

Well, again it has been a week since my last post!  It has been a busy week with Thanksgiving and all, so I'll try to sum it up quickly.

Our Thanksgiving day was spent in Rome with my mom's side of the family. I love those crazy people dearly and I look forward to Thanksgiving every year because of them.  I don't get to see them often, even though they only live an hour and a half or so away.  That's sad.  My fault, I must say.  We laughed a lot and the food was amazing, as usual.  I took a cheat day on my 24 Day Challenge, but didn't over-do it.  I am proud of myself.  I even held myself to ONE Oreo truffle.  If you have ever had one of those, you know how hard that is.  It was so worth it.  I was so happy to see them and to share my sweet boy with them.  He was sweet and funny, like always, but he had a lapse in cuteness right in the middle of dinner.  If you know him well, you know he pukes a lot.  I have no idea why, but at least twice a week, he throws up while he's eating.  He gets choked and gags VERY easily and it always ends in catching his puke in my hands.  It is NOT CUTE.  I forgot to ask his doctor about it at the two-year check-up, but honestly, I think he's just easily gagged.  Ha.  Apparently, I was a pukey child too, due to my allergies and excessive mucous.  Yummy, right?  :)  Not the traits I was hoping Colt would inherit.  Other than that little hiccup, Thanksgiving was great. :) 
Colt and his cousin, Zach.

I worked on Black Friday, but got off around 1:30.  I went to Academy, Dick's, and Target and it wasn't nearly the nightmare I imagined.  Granted, I didn't find any great deals, but I wasn't really in search of anything in particular so it was okay.  That night, Ryan and his best friend, Jody, went to my grandfather's property in Alabama to spend the night and get up early to deer hunt.  Colt and I had the house to ourselves.  We got wild and watched Mickey's Once Upon A Christmas.  ;)  Cute movie with a good message.  It's old school Mickey, not Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  The good Mickey.I loved our snuggle time and he slept all night for me, like a champ.
Our snuggle time.  We love each other.

Saturday, Lauren came to hang out since our husbands were together and we took Colt for his first haircut.  I had heard good things about a place called Pigtails & Crewcuts, so we decided to check it out.  We opened the door and Cars is playing on the tvs by the chairs.  Colt's absolute favorite movie.  A sign?  ;)  Anyway, they let him pick which chair he liked.  He chose the firetruck with a bell he could ring.  They put the cape on and he immediately pulled it off.  That was not happening.  So, he went without and after that, all was well.  He tried to see what the stylist was doing a couple of times, but otherwise, he was very content to watch Cars and ring the firetruck's bell.  They took pictures for us, emailed them to me while we were there, printed off a couple, saved Colt's hair, and printed off a "First Haircut" certificate for him.  It was an amazing experience, especially since I was prepared for eye doctor-like meltdowns. ;)  His hair isn't too short, but cut off his curls (tear!), and trimmed up around his ears and forehead.  He looks so handsome. 



His precious curls are gone!!

We even got a trip to Hobby Lobby out of him afterwards!  Lauren and I shouldn't go to Hobby Lobby together. It gets expensive.  We got to watch the Dawgs beat the snot out of Georgia Tech and that afternoon, Ryan, Colt, and I decorated the Christmas tree.  Colt was not impressed.  He watched the Mickey movie again to occupy him while we decorated.  I've got to admit, our tree looks good this year.  It's usually a little Charlie Brown-ish, but I am happy with it this time!  Maybe the Christmas spirit is helping me put more effort into our tree. ;)


Sunday was church day, then lunch at Cracker Barrel, then naps, church again, then visited with my Pawpaw.  :) 

Yesterday, Colt and I got up and went to the mall and did a little shopping.  He was really good and patient, so I took him to the little play area inside the mall and let him burn off some energy.  We had Subway in the food court, then went to Barnes and Noble.  I love the smell of that store.  If there was a bookstore scented candle, I think I'd buy it.  ;)  He took a good nap when we got home, so I guess I did my job of wearing him out.  Last night we went downtown to Sugar's Ribs and listened to a friend play an acoustic show.  Colt loved it!  It wasn't loud, just Chris and his guitar.  Colt fussed for his guitar some, so Chris let him pluck the strings a few times.  That made me a little nervous.  Even after that, we were home and Colt was in the bed by 8:45.  What a day!  It was a great day.  :)
Playing at the mall.


Tomorrow, we have speech therapy.  I am curious to see what she'll do with Colt then.

Colt is doing great with his signs.  He has mastered the ones we learned last week, and he's even begun to string them together.  "Please more bites!"  I bought a book at B&N called the Baby Signing Bible.  I want to learn more!  He learned those so quickly, I think we need to challenge him a bit more.  At Sugar's last night, Colt would point at Chris's guitar and immediately do the sign for "please."  It was so cute.  :)  He's doing great! 

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

More!

I posted about this on Facebook, but I'll share it here too.  I am sure most of my readers are on my Facebook though. 

Yesterday, we had our first actual speech therapy session.  I was wrong before, we do get an hour with our therapist.  She comes to our home every Wednesday, except this week because of the holiday.  Her name is Jamie and I really like her.  Colt seems to like her too, so I am thankful for that.  She started teaching us some signs to use with Colt, so he will at least have some form of communication until he can verbalize.  We are working on "more," "please," "all done," and "bite."  He has mastered "more" and almost "please."  The other two not quite yet, but we'll get there.  I am just thrilled to have a way to communicate, even just a tiny bit! I am attaching a little 10 second video of him signing "more" last night, while asking for more pudding.  ;)  Sorry for the crappy quality, it was a cell phone video in the dark living room. :) 

More!!

Yay, Colt!  :) 

Our speech therapist said she honestly thinks Colt is "too smart for his own good."  She says she thinks he has figured out how to get anything he wants without speaking, so therefore he hasn't learned.  Pretty much what we suspected.  ;)  We'll see what happens!  I feel like he is so close! 

Attitude Changer.

Okay.  Well, today I am really struggling with my new birthday year and my good attitude.  That didn't take long.  I got really let down this weekend and it's hit me harder than it probably should have.  I am trying not to have that "I should have known better" attitude, but that's what I think every time I think about what happened.  Sigh.  This morning, I got some pretty discouraging news about some potential health insurance and I'm not going to lie, if we get that, I am not sure how we are going to make it.  SO.  Instead of sinking down into my disappointment, I am going to make a list of some things I am thankful for today, because honestly, I know things can always be much, MUCH worse.  With pictures (you know I am obsessed), here goes:

Obviously, I am thankful for this beautiful child.  I am obsessed with taking his picture, because I know he will only be this age for so long.  I want to remember as much as possible.  Every single detail.  I am thankful he is so happy.  I am thankful he loves music as much as I do!  I am thankful he likes to dance, clothed or naked.  I am thankful he is healthy.  I am thankful he is so very smart and charming.  I am just plain thankful for this boy.  He warms my heart on the coldest days.

I am thankful for God's beautiful creations, especially mountains.  I am wholeheartedly a mountain girl, particularly in the fall and winter.

I am thankful for sleep!  Also for a child who likes to sleep too.  ;)

I am again thankful for this boy, but also thankful he wakes up in such a wonderful mood.  Even with bedhead.  ;)

I am thankful for good music.  Any kind, just happened to have a picture of the Mumford album.

I am thankful for time spent in my grandparents' house.  It is not the same since my Nana passed away, but it will always be home to me.  Colt loved the piano.  Do you see the "ghost" by my elbow? 

I am thankful for flowers!  Especially for flowers given by friends.  :)

I am thankful for baby feet.  Beautiful, chubby, perfect baby feet.

I'm thankful for our furbabies.  I am thankful for the joy, snuggles, and fun they bring.

I am thankful for checkers, fireplaces, and rocking chairs at Cracker Barrel.  ;)


I am thankful for this hard-working man. I am thankful for the father that he is to our son. I am also thankful for UGA football and an aunt who doesn't mind sharing her tickets with us. ;)

I am thankful for fall leaves!  They're my favorite!

I am thankful for these two amazing friends.  I am thankful they put up with me and all the crap that comes with me.  I am thankful that they listen way more than they should.  I am thankful for their hugs, endless invites to dinner, and funny texts when I need them.  I am thankful we made it through so many years of school and living together in college.  Whew.  Having friends that have been around for over 20 years is pretty impressive for a 29 year old, don't you think?  I am a lucky, lucky girl.

I am thankful for this man.  I am thankful for a dad who stuck around as a single parent, when it was probably easier to leave.  I am thankful for the Christian example he is for me and my family.  I am thankful for his never-ending patience with me.  I am thankful for his (and Judy's!) generosity, for helping us provide the surgeries needed for our son, without leaving us thousands of dollars in debt.  I am thankful for their willingness to help, always.  I am thankful that my dad taught me what kind of man to marry and for setting my standards high from the start.  I have the best dad in the world, no doubt.

I am thankful to call this beautiful city "home."  Chattanooga is such a fun, family-friendly, artsy, creative, thriving city.  We are so blessed! 
 
 
Alright.  I feel better.  There are sooooo many more things that I am thankful for, but if I were to list them all, this post would be a mile long.  You'd definitely not read the entire thing.  I hope you did.  Feel free to share things you are thankful for too.  I'd love to hear them.  

Thursday, November 15, 2012

The big 2-9.

Well, it's my birthday.  I am 29 today.  One last year in my twenties.  This past week or so, I have had a bit of a revelation.  I want this year to be a big one.  A different one.  I am hoping for big changes, even if it is only in the way I look at things and at my life.  I am notorious for talking a big game, then slacking off so I am hopeful that this blog will help to hold me accountable.  Please, hold me accountable.  My few faithful readers, I will need your help and encouragement. 

I want this year to be about others.  I want to quit looking in and focus on looking out.  I want to serve others.  I want to be a friend.  I want to be a doer.  I want to change the world even just a tiny bit, for the better.  I want to take care of me, so that I can better take care of others.  I want to watch what I eat and exercise, so I can chase my very active two year old all over the neighborhood and not just cheer him on from a chair on the sidelines.  I want to move forward with this human trafficking stuff that is weighing so heavily on my heart.  I want to have a positive attitude and lose the bad one I have had for so many years.  I have been praying daily that God will help me to have a better attitude and think before I react.  I've never been good at that.  ;) 

I want to volunteer at the community kitchen.  I want to simplify my home and get rid of unnecessary STUFF that so many others could benefit from, instead of it just cluttering up our space.  I will put down my phone less and hug my baby boy more.  I want him to see me as a good example and not one that only cares about myself.  Something has got to change.  I'm hoping this is the year. 

So.  Here we go.  Wish me luck!

Snuggling my wiggly boy.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Time for a change...

It is time for my weekly Tuesday update. The week was fairly boring, but the weekend was markedly better.  I have been in need of some new glasses for a while now and I finally asked Dad and Judy for a new pair for my birthday.  I got them Friday afternoon and I love them.  I found out that I have an astigmatism, so they put that into my prescription and I can see so much better!!  Thanks, Dad and Judy!  Friday evening, Ryan, Colt, and I went to eat at Mojo Burrito (my absolute favorite!!) with our friends Jody and Lauren.  After we ate, Lauren and I went to a "party" of sorts at my friend Kristin's house.  She threw it to benefit Women at Risk, International.  There were tons of handmade jewelry, handbags, scarves, blown glass ornaments, books, bookmarks, friendship bracelets, etc.  The stuff was beautiful, but their stories were life-changing.  The goods were handmade by women who had been rescued from sex slavery.  The money made goes to this organization to help rescue women and keep up their "safe houses."  There was a DVD full of information and heartbreaking pictures and statistics.  Kristin had stories and cards with pictures of children on them that are forever burned into my mind.  Did you know that human trafficking happens in America??  It does.  As a matter of fact, 300 children, CHILDREN, are sold in Atlanta in ONE MONTH.  Did you know that??  I sure didn't.  I have been living in a bubble for far too long.  Kristin said something that changed my outlook on this.  Now that I know all of this, I am responsible to  DO SOMETHING.  Anything.  Lauren and I signed up to throw a party to help raise money and I certainly can't wait to do that.  I still feel like I need to do more.  Those could be our children.  That could be Colt.  Because of the "homosexual movement" little boys are wanted too.  These children are most often kidnapped, so don't think it couldn't be your child.  Wouldn't you want to do something, ANYTHING, that could possibly prevent that???  I haven't slept well since learning all of this, and I could go on and on, but I won't.  Just know this won't be the last you hear about this from me.  It is time for a life change.  I need more purpose. 

Saturday, Ryan, Colt, and I went to Walmart to get stuff for our Operation Christmas Child boxes.  We had two boxes, a boy and a girl aged 10-14.  We had a blast!  We spent more than we should have probably, but every Sunday at church they've been showing a video of those precious children opening their boxes and I boohoo every week.  We were in Walmart for over an hour and a half and Colt was so well-behaved.  We struggle sometimes at home, but in public he is a great kid.  Knock on wood.  ;)  We ended up buying too much stuff for our boxes because we couldn't get them closed!  Guess Colt will have a couple of stocking stuffers.  ;)  I look forward to doing that every year and involving Colt more and more each time.  That afternoon, I cleaned out a closet, cleaned out my car, washed it, and Armorall-ed it!  Ryan even got the garage cleaned out.  I am working on simplifying our life (and getting rid of all the crap!), slowly but surely.  That evening, our friends Kristin and Darren came over to watch the Georgia game.  It wasn't much of a game, but I'm okay with that. :)  It was such a good day.

Sunday, we had church and then a chili supper to benefit the youth group.  That evening, we got to get back into our Sunday night dinners with my parents at Cracker Barrel.  I love that place. :)

Yesterday, it was rainy and cold.  I was so very thankful to have the day off with my sweet boy.  I got a lot of laundry and house cleaning done, but we also managed to get in 3 movies (Toy Story, Cars, and Finding Nemo) and lots of snuggling.  I love those days.  We had absolutely nothing to do outside of the house and it was refreshing. 

Tomorrow is our first speech therapy session and it is only about 30 minutes long.  I am curious to see how much they think they can get done with a VERY active two year old, but they are the experts.  They obviously know something I don't. 

Update on Colt's eyes:  I have been meaning to post this for days!  Over the past week or so, we have really noticed how wonderful Colt's eyes look!  I swear they get better every day!  Granted, they are not perfect and I think he will have surgery again in a couple of years, but for now, they are beautiful.  BEAUTIFUL.  I am thrilled.  See??

Also, we think we have a lefty on our hands. ;)

Advocare/diet update:  Today is Day 9 and I am down 4 lbs.  I am happy with that.  I am even more happy with the way I feel.  I have more energy and I feel "cleaner" if that makes any sense.  I struggle with craving things like mexican food and the hardest part is not drinking sweet tea or coffee, but I do appreciate the way I feel eating more vegetables, lean protein, and fruits.  I'll let you know how the rest of it goes! 
New glasses.  Ridiculous face.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Still no good at blog titles...

It's Election Day!  I hope you all fulfill your civic duty and go vote today.  I don't just love either presidential candidate, but I prayed on my way to work this morning that the right man would get the job.  It's all in God's hands anyway.  I really hate politics, so that's all I will say about that.

The Doolittles had a good weekend.  Friday, I got an unexpected off day, so I got to spend the day with my sweet boy.  I made my Nana's cinnamon toast for breakfast and Colt ate 3 of our 5 pieces and "mmmmm"-ed all the way through it.  I know that made Nana smile up in Heaven.  That was always my favorite breakfast at her house.  We came by the ice company to pick up our paychecks and see Dad, then headed out to Target.  I returned the 4 packages of Oreos leftover from the Mickey cupcakes and got enough back to buy Colt a few cute shirts and broke even.  ;)  Woot.  We then had a lunch date at Shogun.  That is his favorite place!  He loves the vegetables and rice and doesn't cry when they make the fire in front of you.  He ate like a champ and picked the zucchini out of my plate!  That's my favorite too, good thing he's cute.  He made friends with all of the people at our table.  As usual, they were all impressed that a toddler would eat the salad with ginger dressing and all of his veggies.  I am thankful he is such a good eater.  That makes me proud.  :) 

Sweet face :)

Saturday, we took him to his Mimi's house and Ryan and I made a day trip to Pigeon Forge to hang out with some friends. Kristin and I went to a spa and I got a manicure and she got a pedicure, then went shopping.  We went to the Apple Barn and the outlets for a little bit.  I made my first ever venture inside a Harry & David's.  I am in love, needless to say.  An endless supply of dips, soup mixes, salsa (yes!!), and snacks.  WITH SAMPLES.  Shut up.  I bought a really tasty pepper and onion relish that I can't wait to use!  We left the boys (Ryan and Darren) to grocery shop, cook, and watch football at the cabin.  We had steaks, baked potatoes, and salad for dinner and watched Georgia kick some Ole Miss tail, then headed home to get our boy.  I hate leaving him on my off days, but since I got an unexpected one on Friday, it was okay.  We had a great time with Darren and Kristin and I can't wait to hang out again.
Beautiful mountains!
 

Sunday, we went to church, the church I grew up in and left for a while.  That will always be home to me, but I have struggled to find my place there as I have gotten older.  There really was nothing for people in the college age/twenties along the line of Sunday School or anything else.  We left before we got married and before Colt, going somewhere else for about 2 1/2 years, then decided that wasn't the right place for us either.  Since we left our other church, we have been lazy about looking for churches and just kind of "settled" going back to our original church.  There's a lot of "church" in there, huh?  Anywho...  The preacher left and we have a new "interim preacher"  until they find a permanent.  He is AMAZING.  He is young (-ish!), hilarious, and doesn't sugarcoat.  I love him!  It has been a long time since I looked forward to going to church and that makes me sad.  There are more and more young people there every week, so that's great.  I am hopeful that the permanent guy is as good. 

Yesterday, I started the Advocare 24 Day Challenge.  It is kind of a weight-loss jump start to changing your habits.  I'll update on here as we go along, rather than Facebook.  The first 10 days are a cleanse phase and for 6 of those days, you have to drink a fiber type drink.  Poor Ryan.  Hahahahhaha.  Seriously though, that stuff is NASTY.  It isn't the taste, it's the texture and I really hate that.  Oh well, 2 out of 6 down.  I can do this.  I can do this.  I can do this.  There is an energy-type drink but it doesn't have caffeine and it is awesome!  It is the good energy, not the shaky, jittery kind.  Yesterday, I drank mine before lunch and while Colt napped, I planted 28 pansies!  I usually nap too.  ;)  My brother-in-law has lost 34 lbs on the Advocare stuff, but not in the 24 days.  Boy, that would be unhealthy.  Anyway...here's hoping I can lose some weight! 

Thursday, November 1, 2012

My future Bulldawg.

Most of you have probably seen all of this on Facebook, but I'll post anyway so I have it to look back on in the future.  Yesterday, we saw Colt's pediatrician, Dr. Smith, for his two year check-up.  He weighed in at a whopping 38 lbs and measured 39 inches tall.  He has always been big, usually off the growth chart, though I think once he ranked in the 99th percentile in size.  This time, he was well over an inch off the growth chart.  For those of you who haven't seen the chart, the whole chart is only about 3 inches total, so being an entire inch OFF the chart is a big deal.  Dr. Smith said your average 3 year old measures around 38 inches tall, and Colt has surpassed that by an entire inch, being only 3 days into 2 years old.  Amazing.  Dr. Smith said that it was honestly "a bit abnormal" and he would be concerned if Colt were not proportional.  Thank goodness he is!  ;)  We definitely have a lineman on our hands.  As long as he's a Bulldawg, I am cool with it.  Ha! 

We also had the Terrible Twos discipline/parenting pep talk.  I love our pediatrician.  He is blunt and honest.  He did warn me that Threes are worse, but I am trying not to focus on that.  Colt has already shown a side of himself that I didn't know existed.  It really started a few days before his birthday and I wondered if the Terrible Twos were real, but I can already tell you they are for sure. He fusses over things that have never phased him before.  He refuses to let me change his diaper by squeezing his knees together.  Have you ever tried to change a diaper on a kid with his knees pinched together?  Whew.  It's exhausting.  I have never had to pray that God help me handle Colt without getting angry or frustrated until the past week.  There will be two more years of this??  YIKES!  Dr. Smith talked to me about "Time-out" and how Colt is at the age where he begins to understand it.  I guess we'll begin practicing that.  Sigh.  He also talked me through the "No Means No" business.  He said "If you say 'no' then later give in, you will never, EVER win again."  Who knew parenting was going to be so hard??  ;)

Throughout our speech evaluations, speech delay and developmental delays, we have been asked a million questions about Colt and I can always tell what they are getting at...they're trying to figure out if he is autistic or not.  The speech therapist/teacher/nurse all told me they didn't think he was, but to hear our pediatrician say it yesterday made my day.  He said Colt is entirely too social, has great eye contact and is too inquisitive to be autistic.  Honestly, I used to worry that maybe he was because he went through a phase where he was terribly sound sensitive.  Now that his eyes are much better, his sound sensitivity is almost gone.  That explained that.  After that got better, I really didn't think he had a problem, but I was hoping I wasn't just in denial.  We have a neighbor whose grandson is severely autistic, but they are in denial and won't acknowledge it, therefore he is not getting the help and treatment he needs and I didn't want to be that way.  My heart hurts for that boy. 

Well, we are less than two months from Christmas.  Those of you who know me, know I am a terrible Grinch.  I HATE Christmas.  I hate Christmas music, I hate buying gifts simply because I worry so much about whether or not it is the right gift or not, I hate having to try to figure out how to get to everyone's house to see everyone when I just want to spend the day in my pjs in the comfort of my own home.  I hated it as a kid too.  Maybe coming from divorced parents, having to figure out how to go see all 4 of my families in the span of a day or two?  BUT.....This year, I can ALMOST feel a little bit of Christmas spirit.  ALMOST.  Gasp!!!  ;)  Maybe it's Colt.  Maybe it's the fact that I know we need to start our own traditions as a family and not worry about seeing everyone.  I don't know, but I am excited to try to enjoy the season with Colt and Ryan (who loves Christmas!) and celebrate what it really means to us.  Either way, maybe this year will be better.  Here's hoping.  I think I will pull out Colt's copy of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" to try to enhance the Almost-Christmas spirit. ;)

My Little Mini-Me.  This is a Jessica face, hands down.
 
In the past 6 weeks, we have had 10 doctor's appointments.  We don't have another one until November 30.  29 days!  Woohoo!  I am looking forward to our days off together with no appointments.  We are free to do what we please for the whole month.  Yay! :)