Netti POT

OK still feeling crappy. Yes it has been FOREVER!!! Owen is doing great. Actually playing with daddy right now. I am still coughing a little, I have a stiff neck and my head feels like a big balloon. But I am taking an antibiotic and some cough medicine and pain meds..so eventually they will all do their job...not to mention time. Thank GOD for Laura Hoogenboom. I seriously had a mental break down on her the other day. I was so upset. My family doctor prescribed me an antibiotic that Owen should not have through my milk. I was so upset that she did that. I called Laura asking for a suggestion for a new doctor, because I am NOT going to go back to this lady, and I ended up crying because I swear my stress level has been so high lately and I have felt crummy. So thank you Laura for being a shoulder to cry on when I needed one!!!!! As for the Netti Pot Sara, your gonna have to show me how to use this thing, it looks like it would be easy but I feel like I jumped in a lake and water shot straight up my nose and nothing is coming out the other side, SO WHERE IS IT GOING??? AHHHHHH! I'm a little freaked out.
I went to my friend Deb Kantner on Saturday to get a raindrop massage. OH JOY!! It was spectacular!! I did start feeling better immediately after I got it. I want to get another one but she is going to be out of town for a few weeks so I will have to wait.

Wes and I are going to start a budget here soon. I am going to start working on it today. I am inspired by Sara, and think that Wes and I can easily pay off our loans if we get or priorities straightened out. I think we can do this. Not to mention I am going to start working some Fridays until the weather gets nice enough to take Owen to the park and do things with him like that.

Cute thing Owen did this weekend. He was playing with a little basket and kept putting it on his head. Also he knows that certain toys make music so he will start dancing before he even gets them to play the music because he knows it is coming. It is so cute. His smile keeps getting bigger and brighter..even when he is not feeling well. My little guy is such a trooper. I am so in love with him. He has been the enegizer bunny today though..he keeps going and going and going . I would love for him to take a nap so I could lay down with him. It would be nice.

What did I do to deserve such bad Karma?

WOW, I have been sick now since Thursday. It started out as the shivers, uncontrollable, and then dizziness, tiredness, unable to think and was very very cold. I ended up going to Medpoint at Martins and they said I have acute bronchitis/pneumonia. I got on a prescription to help out with that. Then Monday took Owen to the doctor and he has a bilateral ear infection (meaning both ears are infected) she said they were oozing with puss. NICE!!! So Owen is also on an antibiotic. Not to mention I can not stop coughing for the life of me. So my doctor called me in another script for a cough suppressant. And the cherry on top is I have a very upset belly and now a cold sore to boot!!! LOVELY times!!!

So I am sitting here trying to motivate myself to get around and get dressed so I can go get my script and gas and then the Odoggy. I miss my little man so much. I know he is not feeling good right now either and I feel like such a lousy mom sending him off to daycare while I stay home. But I am afraid of him getting what I have..and I think that would be much worse then him being at daycare.

So Wes picked me out a new wedding ring and we bought it on Sunday. It was on sale for half the price and it is very pretty and it should not scratch Owen so I should not have to take them off. It takes three weeks to get it sized. I am so excited to have a ring again. Now watch we will find my original wedding rings now..they will somehow magically appear in a place that I have checked 1000 times. Has that ever happened to you?

OK enough boo hooing about not feeling good. Wes has been a huge help. I have cried numerous times because I am feeling so useless. But I have to be getting better every day!!! And so is Owen. It just sucks that I have to find a way to choke meds down him again for 10 days. OYE VEY!!!

PS due to this illness my milk supply has diminished tremendously. It makes me sad to think that this may be the time to ween the little guy. If I can not get my supply back up in the next few days I may have to start considering it.

How things are going?

Well I am not feeling any better and I am pretty sure Owen is not either. He is drinking a lot and nursing a lot so that is good. We are both coughing up a lung. I still have chills and heat flashes. It comes and goes. Everything taste like plastics. He keeps choking on his snot. Its pretty sad. I called the doctor and they said if he keeps doing that call them Monday. Luckily I will be off work Monday cuz I think I am going to call both my doctor and his on Monday. I believe part of my issue is sinuses..I am feeling so dizzy and light headed. I am not really sure it is the flu we have. But better safe than sorry to talk to the doctor. I just read on Dr. Sears that normal healthy people will get over the flu with no problems. I really love Dr. Sears he is so great.


Well not much else. Just been hanging out at home relaxing.

Owens HIVES

Happy Valentines Day

Yesterday was good, Wes sent me a singing telegraph at work. It was so cute. I think my face turned as red as a tomato. I got him some chocolate factory. I had to leave work about an hour early. I was miserable. Still feeling pretty rotten. I think I got what Owen has been suffering with over the past week. He had me up last night at midnight choking on his own phlegm. Let me tell its no fun dealing with that when your not sick but throw sore muscles, a cough and weakness on top of getting up and taking care of a sick child, and you seriously want to crawl in a hole for a week.

So I still have not found my wedding rings. Though I am still paranoid that Owen ate them, and I know there is absolutely no logic in that. I do not think a 7 1/2 moth old could choke down two size 9 rings in a minute that I left him alone. I do remember him chewing on a red block too and he was still chewing on it when I went back into the living room to get him. Not to mention Wes was in there laying on the couch, I would hope he would have heard Owen choking down a ring..or two. Yes I am super paranoid. I may have issues with it until I find them, if I ever find them. It really makes me so sad. How could I be so careless???

Owen is still sleeping right now. Since he has been sick he has developed the habit of sleeping right on top of me. Its cute for about half the night and then the other half I get hot and sweaty and yucky feeling. I hope he stops doing that when he gets over this cold. Which I feel like will never end. GOOD thing the hives are gone though. I am so happy about that I could cry.

Got our taxes done and still have not mailed them in. Either I have been sick or Owen has been sick. Also just realized that I have not given Sasha a heart worm pill in four to five months. Called the vet and they said that they will mail us some and to make sure they check her in May when she gets her shots. I just can not remember everything these days.

Well not much else going on at this time.

Owen and his mommy!! OMG SO CUTE

100 Year-old Tortoise acts as Mom to Baby Hippo

A baby hippopotamus that survived the tsunami waves on the Kenyan coast has formed a strong bond with a giant male century-old tortoise in an animal facility in the port city of Mombassa , officials said The hippopotamus, nicknamed Owen and weighing about 300 kilograms (650 pounds), was swept down Sabaki River into the Indian Ocean, then forced back to shore when tsunami waves struck the Kenyan coast on December 26, before wildlife rangers rescued him.

It is incredible. A-less-than-a-year-old hippo has adopted a male tortoise, about a century old, and the tortoise seems to be very happy with being a 'mother'," ecologist Paula Kahumbu, who is in charge of Lafarge Park , told AFP.

After it was swept away and lost its mother, the hippo was traumatized. It had to look for something to be a surrogate mother. Fortunately , it landed on the tortoise and established a strong bond. They swim, eat and sleep together," the ecologist added. "The hippo follows the tortoise exactly the way it followed its mother. somebody approaches the tortoise, the hippo becomes aggressive, as if protecting its biological mother," Kahumbu added.

The hippo is a young baby, he was left at a very tender age and by nature, hippos are social animals that like to stay with their mothers for four years," he explained.

Owen with Mrs. Trisha

NO SOUTHERN BOUND TRIP FOR US

It is as if Owens little body knows we are suppose to take a long trip and he does an instant reject by getting sick..OK so I doubt that is truly the case and it is a bit ironic that EVERY time we plan a trip down to visit my grandmother he gets sick. This has happened consistently since last summer when we first originally planned on going to visit. I know my grandma tried to get us down there and I tried to go, shoot this time we were packed and ready. The poor little guy broke out in hives all over his body. They are huge red welts covering his belly, face, legs, but and on his hands and feet. Poor little guy. It started out as a few bumps and I thought they were bug bites and four hours later he was covered. I feel so bad for him and helpless because there is not much you can do but wait for them to go away. It said they can last up to a week. He must also have a cold because he is running a pretty consistent fever at 101-102 degrees. He is actually not being too fussy a little more today then yesterday. Trying to get him to take his medication is a royal pain in the butt. He refuses it and I have to trick him into opening his mouth and squirt it down. He is taking benedryl to help with the itch from the hives and motrin for the fever. Poor little guy is not going to sleep very well and he is jerking in his sleep. I hope he is better by Monday but if not then I will stay home with him. He sure is starting to catch all sorts of things since he has been to daycare. Poor baby.

The picture above is when they first started. Its much worse now.

Today is the day

We are going to head down to Southern Indiana today, leaving around 10 or so. Not looking forward to the drive but excited about seeing my grandma. Wish grandpa was there too..

I have a headache from H E double hockey sticks. Yes it sucks. Every time the weather changes I get a freakin headache. Not to mention I feel dehydrated. The cause of the headache could be weather and thirst. Owen is still nursing but more and I just get and remain so thirsty. I am going to go get a massage before the trip, hopefully that will relax me and help me out a little bit.

Not a whole lot going on besides the trip. Owen is still walking with a walker toy. He did finally say da da. COOL.

Well will write more later,

OH YEAH were gonna stop in Indy and have dinner with Sara on our trip home. That should be fun.

My handsome grandpa and mom

My Papaw died today

My grandfather and Owens great grand father passed away today. It is so sad, he never got to physically meet Owen. I feel so bad, mostly it is my fault. I was always too busy or Owen was sick or something was going on and I put of a trip too many times. I feel like such a big jerk!!!! There will be no funeral so no last good bye. I got to talk to him on Saturday..good thing. Since I can not say good bye to him physically I am going to write a letter to him and hope that his spirit will hear my words:

Dear Grandpa,

I first off want to apologize for making excuses for not coming to visit this past summer. I should have just got over my issues and come down to visit you. Please forgive me. I had wished that you would have gotten to meet Owen. Since you shared a name I thought it would be a cool thing to get your picture taken together, you would love him!!!!. By the way, when we picked out the name Owen we had no idea it was your middle name, and once I told my mom that was the name I was considering she told me it was your middle name, that really stuck in my mind when we named Owen. I am so honored that the two of you share a name and I know he will be a wonderful man, just like you were, he will make you proud. Every summer when I see the flowers bloom, I will think of you. When I see a forest or a crossword puzzle I will be glad , in that moment, that you were my grandfather. When I smell cut wood, I will cherish all those memories of you doing construction in our house. You will not be forgotten and I will make sure Owen knows you and loves you as much as I do. I have and will continue to shed many tears for our loss of your being, but I will know deep in my heart that we will meet again in heaven. In the mean time, hope your having fun with lamb chop, and I will see you when I get there.

Love you always,

Your grand daughter Julie

Owen is too funny..

Friday (02/01/08) I went to pick up Owen from daycare. He was so excited to see me, of course. I actually got there before Trisha left for the day. As I was getting his bedding off and putting the clean bedding on he was playing in another baby's drawer right beside me and Trisha was getting ready to leave. Trisha got to the door and looked down at Owen and he looked up at her. They just looked at each other for a few seconds and then Owen smiled really big at her and pointed up at me. Everyone was like that is soooo cute, he gave Trisha the ok to leave because mommy was there to pick him up. OMG it was so cute. Then when I got him home I was playing with him and I stood him up and he stood there for a few seconds. So I got the bright idea of putting him on a baby walker toy and sure enough he took off on it, walking like a champ. He was so proud of himself, his eyes just glistened.

Saturday we went to music class and Owen was being very very vocal, and banging on the instruments and keeping a beat with the shakers. I could tell that Paulina was proud of him. She gave us an African music CD to borrow so Owen can listen to something with a lot of beat.

Today were going to go get our taxes done. I am so excited. I am just curious to see how much we will get back this year claiming marriage and Owen. Well not much else happening. Just can not believe that were getting our taxes done again....my time does fly.

Oh yeah, next weekend were going to visit my grandma and pa in Southern Indiana. Were gonna leave late on Friday and back home late on Saturday in hopes that baby will sleep all the way home. Or at least most of the way. But my grandpa fell and broke his hip a few weeks ago and he is not doing too good. He is refusing to eat or drink fluids. So the doctors are thinking he may not make it much longer. I want him to at least meet Owen before he passes. He is my grandpa Carl Owen.. so I think it would be cool for Owen to get a picture of his great grandfather, especially since they share a name.


Signing off for now,

What is all this snow about?

Seriously, what is all this snow about. I was going to go to work today but half way there decided no way and turned around. Luckily for me I have Fridays off so going in is by choice. So instead I left Owen at daycare and came home to clean the house. I managed to shovel half of the driveway, clean both bathrooms, our bedroom, and vacuum the entire house, along with straightening up the living room and I am sore and tired. I have decided that I can not go on. LOL!!! I will have to do the two other rooms, laundry, clean the humidifier and toys along with the kitchen tomorrow and Sunday. Then the next Friday I take off I am going to search high and low for those darn wedding rings. I am positive they are in this house somewhere. It is just a matter of where my mommy brain put them!!! But I do think I am going to work the next two Fridays. I really wanted to this Friday. I want the money to pay off some debt. Not to mention child care is going to cost us almost $10,000 dollars a year. But he is really starting to like it there. He plays with the little kidos. They are all so freakin cute. He really loves Ms. Trisha. She is a pretty girl. I have a picture of her and him and will post it soon. He is also starting to warm up to Ms. Diane. He likes doing the projects and love the watch bubbles. I really feel now that I am not missing out on his life but enriching it. Kudos to stay at home moms, that is a wonderful thing to do! But I really feel like I have gained so much by taking him to daycare. Just in three short weeks I have seen many many finger paintings, and paint brush paintings he has done. I watch him interact with the other babies and he is so sweet and gentle with them, he has friends. I have gained two important relationships with two wonderful women, Trisha and Diane and gained friends in the process. And I still get to see the cool things that he does developmentally. Such as: he likes to put things in baskets and dump them out, he also took a step from a toy over to me the other day all by himself. I also LOVE how happy he is to see me at the end of the day. And I love that I can give him my love 100% and all those other things that I did not get to have when I was little.

What dreams are made of