BIG news

Happy and kind of sad at the same time.....

Keith and I came to a major decision in our lives. We are signing up for the military. Sort-of. Crazy huh? We've been throwing around the idea for a while but we really haven't told anyone about it. But we've recently been talking to a colleague that has been doing it and they absolutely rave about how cool it is and they've been recruiting us really hard. Why military? During times of war, medicine tends to make HUGE advances. Outside of war time, there aren't a lot of people getting thier legs chopped for no good reason so it becomes so much more difficult to do trials on new medical advances. But war time, sad as it is, makes medicine explode. There are tons of healthy, young people that are wounded and it makes it a perfect time to test new things. Like prosthetics.

That's where Keith comes in. He's going to be doing a special study (that's why I say sort-of military....it's for a military contractor but it's really pretty much the same thing) for three years where he'll be building prosthetic legs and feet for wounded soldiers. What a cool way to blend his surgical training with his mad woodworking skills. The only hard part is, it's probably going to be mostly in Germany. The main hospital for wounded soldiers in Iraq is in Germany and that's probably where they want Keith to be. Isn't that crazy!!! GERMANY!!! We've always wanted to live outside the US but we never really thought it would be a possibility at this point in our lives. So we are nervous and excited at the same time but we've decided that this is a super cool opportunity. We just can't pass it up.

We aren't quite sure what this might mean for our future chances in Price. We called the doc there yesterday and talked to him for quite a while. He still thinks we can make it work out somehow because, even though he really wants to retire, he still thinks he's too young to do it. So he thinks he might just keep working for a couple of years and we can see what happens. But we are keeping all our options open for now. With such a cool opportunity to research and develop prosthetics, Keith might not be all that interested in doing regular clinic care anyways. We'll see what happens. I know this seems way out of the blue because we really haven't been talking about it but this is an incredible opportunity. The pay is fantastic and--we might be in Germany! How cool is that! Ahhh!







April Fools.

Good riddance

I've never been a big fan of winter. Especially since moving to PA. Snow just doesn't have the same enchantment as it used to. Probably because in a big city, snow is just a nuisance. It turns cruddy black about 2 hours after it falls. And it's not like it makes for a pretty snow capped mountain view. There are no hills to speak of around here, much less mountains. Our views are of city skylines. Snow doesn't really add to the ambiance there. And after our trip to Utah filled with gorgeous spring weather, we were greeted in Philly with the remnants of a classic East Coast ice storm. Blech.

So naturally, I'm so happy to see winter leave. Even though spring officially started last Wednesday, yesterday was our first REAL t-shirt weather. I can't tell you how great that is! So, I don't want to jinx myself, but I'm thinking the snow is gone for good around here. So, I'll give you a peek at our last good storm. Adios winter. Don't let the door hit ya on the way out....

I'm.so.scared

I am literally crippled with fear. Flying. With a toddler. Alone. I don't know if I can do it. Maybe I'll show up in Utah as scheduled. But maybe when my alarm goes off at 5 am I'll just turn over and give up. I am DREADING this flight!

Don't get me wrong...I am well prepared for battle. I have a stocked bag of books and toys. And I literally have about 5000 calories in a massive assortment of snacks. But I happen to know that my flight is totally sold out. So I'll have Bennett on my lap. The entire 5 hours. I don't know if I'll survive.....that extra sleep is sounding like a really good idea.....

Bad Mother

Someone told me at church today that I'm a bad mother. In front of other people. As if I don't feel guilty enough without the public recognition.....

Maybe her opinion is based on an accumulation of observations of me and Bennett over the last year and a half. In that case, perhaps she is right. Otherwise, I'm taking her opinion with a massive boulder of salt. But still, who wants to be told in front of a crowd that they are a bad mother?

So Saturday I took Bennett with me to the Leadership Training broadcast at church (which, by the way, was really excellent). I had only expected that it would be an hour long and Bennett did GREAT in that first hour. He wasn't too noisy, he stayed right by me on the bench. He was a good kid. Then the second hour came. Needless to say, the control went out the window. A 19-month old does NOT sit still for much and even one hour was pushing it. But two? Ok, now maybe I'm a bad mother because I even thought that I could learn something at the meeting with Bennett in tow. Agreed, I'm a bad mom all the way--lesson learned by me! During the second hour, Bennett needed to push the limits and he wandered up to the front of the church and ran behind the choir seats. He really wasn't making any noise, but it was slightly distracting to see his spike of hair as he ran from one side of the bench to the next. If not for that straight up spike of hair, you wouldn't have really known that he was up there. So, big deal. I let him play. No one was speaking from the podium since it was a broadcast so he wasn't bugging anyone.

So, on Sunday, he gets in his mind that it's ok to go up there again. Bad idea. I realized my mistake. But, too late. He made a mad dash as soon as church started. I caught up to him and took him screaming out into the hall. After a while he settled down and we went back into the meeting. The little bugger escaped again and this time he made it. He wandered around on the stand and I finally coaxed him over to the side. Of course, he screamed like mad when I picked him up...more time in the hall.

Anyway, the organist had to tell me later that I should never have let him on the stand on Saturday because I was teaching him that it was ok to do it on Sunday. He could have been hurt, gotten his head stuck in the organ, something about calling the fire department, blah, blah. "Bad Mother" she said.

True, I am pretty stupid. And I often think I'm a bad mom. But, really??

The lady that said this was older and never had kids. So, basically I don't care what she thinks. Plus, she's a pretty wacky lady on a variety of levels. So when she said I'm a bad mother, I didn't say anything. But now I'm thinking--sweet. In her book I'm a bad mother. Which basically means that I'm doing things in a different way than she would.

Seriously, she's wacky. If she had kids, they no doubt would have been wacky. If she approved of my parenting method, then I would really be offended. So I'm a bad mom. (yawn) What's new? Bad and proud of it.

Lovin it

This is so stinkin great!!!! I am digging the stay at home life so far. Both days. : )

Seriously I haven't done all that much yet. I cleaned my house yesterday. It has been neglected for a few....years, actually. So I haven't done any major celebrating yet. But, I have to say how fun it was to have love breaks throughout the day. Bennett was generally happy playing while I was busy cleaning. But every now and then he would come over and need to hug for a minute then he would run off and play again. I think I can get used to this. : )

...plus a couple

They talked me into staying until at least the end of the week. A couple more days won't kill me, right? But tomorrow is Bennett's last day of daycare. That actually makes me really sad. I really love his teachers. They cried when I told them we were leaving. I love that they love my little man. Serious props go out to GOOD daycare workers and teachers who do so much for so little!!!! Did you know that the average doggie daycare worker makes more than a childcare worker in this country? And that, my friends, is injustice.

8.more.days

8 days. 8 WORK days, that is. I only have 8 more work days until I can kiss my career goodbye. Do you think it's too late to change my mind???

OK, I'm definitely not changing my mind. But I'm still pretty nervous about doing the mom thing full-time. What if I'm not good at it? What if my house becomes a complete wreck and I get all depressed because I never change out of my pajamas? What if I never teach Bennett the alphabet? What if I am bored out of my MIND????

Don't get me wrong. I'm super excited to stay home with Bennett. I gave my notice to my job in September(!) so this has been in the works for quite a while. But now it's so close. It's actually going to happen. This is my LAST full week of work. Then on the 31st I'm walking away. No more 1-hour commute. No more screaming, hungry, tired little guy in the back seat while being stuck in traffic. No more cramming every possible errand into Saturdays because there's no time during the week. No more getting home from a long, tiring day and thinking--"We have nothing to eat!" No more catching every friggin germ from the daycare.

I have high expectations of myself as a full-time mom. I want to take guitar lessons. I want to take a baby swim class with Bennett. I want to take him to the zoo and the park and the beach and tons of places that I've never had time to show him. I want to do art projects and playgroups and library story times. Oh, the list is soooo long!

But what if I never get out of my pajamas?

8 more days.

Christmas

Ok, so I'm a little slow at getting around to it....but Christmas was wonderful! Although, I could have done without Bennett breaking FOUR molars all at once! Thanks for that extra stupid little present, Santa... Poor baby.

He started getting sick on the Friday before Christmas--beginning with the puking episode on the way home from work in our new car. Then the fever came for a visit and we enjoyed the entire weekend with that unwanted guest. Sorta like uncle Eddie from Nat'l Lampoons Christmas vacation. Except that we didn't get radioactive waste dumped in our drain as a result. (Ha! I love that show!) Anyways, here's a few pics from OUR Christmas vacation....

This was at Bennett's Christmas party at his school. He looks awfully happy considering that he was spewing those cookies less than an hour later.... (sorry, gross visual?)

Bennett was just chillin, waiting for Santa...



Keith, whoops, I mean Bennett really enjoyed playing with his new toys!

We took the big airplane to the park down the street and played for a while. Or rather, Keith played and Bennett watched him until he fell asleep. Poor sick baby. Keith had to push me AND Bennett home in the stroller!

The Christmas Tree

Last weekend we did something I have always wanted to do....we chopped down our OWN Christmas tree. I don't know why cutting my own fresh tree has always had some mystical Christmas fantasy. But, nevertheless, it has always embodied some old fashioned Christmas spirit in my mind. So this year, we went for it. It wasn't like we went on a day long hike in the forest covering miles of ground before we found "the one" (as in the National Lampoons Christmas). Pennsylvania doesn't have tons of public land close to Philadelphia that would allow us to do that. Rather, we found a tree farm that had 11 acres of trees, all for the taking. They had tractor rides (we were way too tough for that), horse petting, free cocoa and cookies, and a 20 foot tall Santa to boot. It was like a Christmas festival compared to the tree shopping of my youth--a dimly lit cage of trees in the parking lot of Kings, every year.

We had a ton of fun and we found a really great tree. It's a bit on the short side because they charged us by the foot. But at least it's fresh. Putting lights on it the next day, I hardly had to sweep up any needles afterward! So, Christmas has arrived at our place. Santa is welcome to stop by anytime. :)

Utah

I'm finally getting around to the latest update on our recent trip to Utah. We had a GREAT time. Bennett really loved playing with his cousins! Just look at all those crazy kids..especially the crazy big one:


While we were there, Bennett got a new do. My brother, Steve, has always been the neighborhood barber and I got him to give Bennett a shave while we were there.

So unsuspecting...


Ahhh! What is this??


Torture..I'm gonna die...


Do they have locks of love for boys? There was a heaping dustpan full of hair when we were done. Where did this kid get all his hair??


Thanks for putting up with us Steve! One more pic I couldn't resist--Emily looks so cute here. Look at those eyes!! What a doll!


Thanks family! We had a blast!

Dr. Card

We got a house call the other night from the world famous Dr. Card. What a professional. Great bedside manner, very caring. Not to mention the excellent training he has. Graduated at the top of his class. Dr. Card is one of the best.


Just like a doctor, his pager went off right as we were sitting down to dinner. Typical--ARGH!!!


"Ok ma'am. Where is your pain?...Your toenails again?...On a scale of 1-10, how painful is it?"


Off to work! Dr. Card had to rush away to get his patient in for surgery. What a busy guy!


Happy Halloween!!!

It's official....

I'm the worst mom EVER!!! Seriously, I won the contest on this one.

First of all is the fact that the cupboards are bare at home. Seriously, Mother Hubbard lives with me. I gotta quit this job SOON so I can go grocery shopping more than once a month! Anyways, on Sunday I made a PB&J sandwich for Bennett and he happily enjoyed his grub. Later that day, Keith took out a piece of bread and as he was fixing his food, I realized that it was MOLDY!! I'm talking green fuzz all over the crust mold. Poor Bennett had a p-nut butter and MOLD sandwich. EWWWW! Then, the next day, I packed Bennett's lunch for school with the few leftovers in the fridge. When I picked him up from school, his teacher had written a note saying the yogurt I had brought for lunch was bad. It was 2 weeks expired and it smelled! How embarrasing!!! (sigh)

So I went to the grocery store last night and I am committed to giving Bennett only food that is mold free and that has enough chemicals and preservatives so that it has a shelf life of at least a decade. This ought to keep him healthy, right?

As bad as this all sounds, at least I won something. Worst mom EVER. Hooray.

It's been a long time

Sorry all y'all. It seems like I haven't posted for about a year. We've just been so lazy with our new camera and we never got them onto the computer. Plus, I didn't really have much to say without pictures. Actually, we have had a TON going on in the past month or so. But, blah blah, who really cares. Here's pics of the big boy instead!!!

The snaggle...He's got a couple more teeth now--thank goodness! I was really afraid that he would live up to the Waltbob name by having a snaggle tooth for the rest of his life.


Bennett's first ride


Can you believe this mess!!??




Walking!!! This picture was taken just after he decided that he had figured out walking. Funny kid--he took his first steps only a couple of days after his birthday but it took him another month and a half to really get moving. One minute he was pushing around his little truck then he stopped, shoved the truck out of his way, and walked straight to me halfway across the room. He hasn't really crawled since!


I love this little cutie...

Help

This blog entry isn't about the Big Boy today. It's about a little girl. A little girl that needs help. I can't stop thinking about this little one and I figured maybe I could reach out in some tiny way to all my blog followers (all both of you) to ask for your help.

I met Alexa Aigner only a couple of weeks ago but she has impacted my life so heavily in such a short time. Alexa is an adorable, sweet little 2-year old from Texas that has stage IV neuroblastoma--a very critically advanced stage of cancer. She is in Philadelphia for a last ditch effort to save her life.

Alexa was diagnosed in December and in only 8 short months has been with her family through an unimaginable roller coaster. Alexa has been through 6 rounds of intense chemo and her body has not responded to treatment and now CHOP is one of 2 childrens hospitals in the country that could offer any hope. She arrived in Philadelphia a couple of weeks ago with her parents but without knowing a single soul in town. Alexa's family are members of our church in Texas. I became aware of Alexa through her worried family--so concerned that they were all alone in this battle.

My heart is aching for this little family. I can't even begin to fathom what it must be like to watch your little baby suffer so horribly. Alexa's mom keeps a journal on her website (www.alexaaigner.com) where she frequently updates on Alexa's condition. I've been so torn up over little Alexa that I've read the whole thing, all the way back to January! I can't help but imagine if it were little Bennett in that situation. I honestly don't know how you would keep a brave face and keep going everyday. I desperately wish I could help them but all I can really do is pray.

So, I'm asking for your help. Include little Alexa in your prayers. If anyone needs them right now, she does. Help her hope for a miracle.

Back from the dead

Ignoring the blog again. Mostly because Keith and I have been so sick during the past week that we could hardly breathe. Poor Bennett got so ignored while we both laid around in bed! Keith and I both came down with some kind of stomach virus last Friday. We both lost tons of weight and couldn't eat. I ended up in the hospital on Sunday for IV fluids and basically couldn't get out of bed for days. Towards the end of last week, we both felt somewhat normal but it's still lingering every now and then. I've never been so sick in my life!! So miserable....

I'm posting a couple of pics from our recent Cape Ann trip. As I mentioned before, we dropped our camera in the water so we had no evidence of the trip. However, we were on a hike one day and saw a few people taking pictures. I offered to take a picture of the whole group and they offered to do the same for us. I told them about our camera and they felt sorry for us. They happened to be professional photographers and they took pictures of us and e-mailed them! Random acts of kindness still happen....