Updates

First and foremost, IT’S A BOY!!!! We were both so shocked to hear this news because my doctor had done a sonogram a month ago, and he was 60% sure that it was a girl. So, we had our minds made up that it was a girl. I think I’m still in shock, and Joe is on Cloud 9. Seriously, I haven’t seen him this happy since the day Scarlett was born. Now I’ve got to get this house in order for his arrival. I’ve got about 4 months to get this accomplished.

I also wanted to share a few pictures from Joe’s fishing trip last weekend. Gavin took about 300 and these were some of my favorites.

Gavin with his 1st fish EVER!!

Joe & Randy showing off what they caught the first day

Peanut eyeing lunch

Peanut enjoying his sushi

Out on the lake

Peanut refusing to get out of the truck and ready to go home

Weekend Adventures

A little over 7 years ago, Joe and I decided that we needed another dog. Punkin was almost 5 years old and needed a playmate (or so we thought..). So, we took our Christmas money and bought Peanut, a miniature black and tan dachshund. Well, he was supposed to have been miniature, but he turned out to be a tweeny which is in between a full-size and miniature. Punkin wasn’t too happy about his new brother and let us know this immediately as he went straight for Peanut’s jugular. It took a few days, and Punkin learned to tolerate this new thing in his life. I guess he realized that it wasn’t going away.

Since then our life has been enriched with this little creature that keeps us very entertained. Seriously, that dog can make us laugh like no other. He does the craziest little things that keep us laughing non-stop. Don’t get me wrong, he has his really bad moments, but overall, he’s a good dog.

I had been planning to take Scarlett to Atlanta this past weekend. The plan was for us to go and for Joe to stay at home with the dogs. Well, Joe isn’t much for staying at home if I’m not going to be there. That’s just a perfect excuse for him to go fishing, hunting, or camping. He decided to go camping and fishing. This was fine, but what were we going to do with the dogs?

Joe had taken both dogs camping before and that didn’t turn out too well. Punkin somehow got loose and went on a mission. Joe ended up spending several hours (in the middle of the night) searching for Punkin. He had to find him as he knew I would kill him if anything happened to him. He did eventually find him at another campsite tied up and eating fried rice. Punkin had wondered upon a group of Vietnamese that were camping. We think they were trying to fatten him up a little more so that they could cook him up for dinner. They do eat Chihuahuas over there!! Anyway, they wanted Joe to pay them to get him back. I guess they were under the impression that they now owned my dog. Well, Joe just took him and left. I guess they realized that they were not going to win this battle. Joe was bigger than them, and he had the motivation of his pending death.

Peanut is pretty good on camp trips. All four of us went a few years back, and it was fine. Well, it was fine until the big thunderstorm came. The dogs were nervous wrecks and they peed in our tent since they were too scared to venture out. The main concern about Peanut was the fear of him jumping in the lake and swimming off. A year or so ago Joe took Peanut fishing at a creek near our house. Joe caught a fish, and Peanut was very excited about this. He wanted the fish for himself and jumped up at the fish (that was still on the hook) and bit a huge chunk out of its side. Peanut was tied up on a long leash at the time, but nothing was going to stop him from getting this fish. Joe unhooked it and threw it back in even though it was probably about to die. This didn’t stop Peanut. He got loose and jumped in the creek and began swimming after the fish. He even kept going under water as he didn’t want his “treat” to get away.

We usually board our dogs when we go out of town, but we are trying to cut way back on this. For any of you that have ever boarded a dog, you know how expensive it can become. So, Joe decided to take Peanut with him, and I was going to take Punkin with me.

The ride to Atlanta was fine. Punkin and Scarlett were both great. The problem was with me. Anyone reading this that has been pregnant knows that the bladder becomes extra small during this time. My babies also enjoy sitting on my bladder. I thought I was going to die I had to pee so bad! But, what could I do? It’s against the law to leave your child in the car, and I wasn’t about to set her on the floor of some random bathroom. So, I had to hold it. I now know that I cannot travel without an adult when I’ve got Scarlett (or the new baby) with me. Does anyone have any suggestions? I came close to stopping at the Omaha Police Station. Since it was against the law to leave her in the car, I thought maybe one of the police officers could watch her while I used their restroom. I decided against this since they might think I was completely insane. But, this was the best idea I could come up with at the time.

We had a great weekend even though Punkin decided to become very rebellious. He refused to eat his food. This was probably because my mother spoils him rotten with table scraps when we are there. I am very against this practice but finally let her feed him a blueberry muffin on Sunday morning. He also ate many dog treats. Of course, I forgot to bring any, but my friend Autumn had a choice of about 35 kinds at her house. She’s got 5 dogs, and they are all very spoiled!

Scarlett with her cousins, Flint, Maddie, & Mary Claire

Scarlett and Gran Jan playing the piano

Scarlett in my old baby bed as I was getting her ready for church


Scarlett and Punkin

The ride home was fine. Scarlett was great even though I was very worried about having to stop and feed her on the way. Any stop time would add to the time that I had to “hold it” and that would not have been good!!!

We were happy to get home. I had missed Joe and Peanut! I was also ready to hear all about their weekend. Joe didn’t have phone service, so we didn’t get a chance to talk over the two days we were away from each other.

Randy and Gavin went with him and Peanut. It was Gavin’s first trip camping or fishing, so I wanted to know all about it. Luckily, their trip was VERY successful. They caught about 60 fish!!! Peanut was really good too. Joe told me that he didn’t use a leash, and Peanut was just fine. He went out on the boat with them and was treated with 2 raw fish to eat. Of course, the trip wouldn’t have been complete without some sort of drama….

I guess Peanut really needed to go to the bathroom. Instead of just going outside (where he was), he went into Randy’s tent. This probably wouldn’t have been a big deal, but Randy didn’t notice Peanut’s pile of surprise when he went in his tent. He stepped right in it and proceed to step on everything that was in there. I guess it made a HUGE mess!

Peanut was also ready to come home. On Sunday he got in the truck and refused to get out. He was done and was ready to come home. So, he sat in the truck while they fished for a couple of more hours. Of course, I understand this. Camping for more than one night can really take a toll on you especially if there is no bathroom or shower.

We all survived our weekend and saved some money by including the dogs in our plans. They had fun and kept us entertained along the way.

By the way, this coming Wednesday is a really big day!!! It’s my birthday, we find out the sex of the new baby, and it’s the Lost season premiere! Stay tuned!

Crawling?

Going back to work after being off for about two weeks was a shock to my system. I wasn’t looking forward to getting back into everything after being off and relaxing over the holidays. But, it didn’t take long to get back into the swing of things. In my business there are busy and slow times. I am currently in my busy season. I’m not selling much and probably won’t for a couple of months, but I am working on lots of new projects. A project can take anywhere from six months to two years before it goes to order. This can be anything from a bubble bath to a high-end anti-aging night crème.

I read an article the other day about the Beauty/Skincare business and whether or not it was recession proof. Well, it’s probably one of the better industries to be in especially during times like these. As everyone starts cutting corners on their spending, many don’t skimp on their skincare or beauty regime. I talked to a friend of mine today that had just had a chemical peel. She also mentioned that she had cut back on a few of her other expenses like cable and Blockbuster online. I told her about the article and then asked her how much she had spent on her peel. It was $150. Her answer verified the story for me.

The work part of my world is busier than ever and so is the Scarlett part. She is changing so quickly and doing new things everyday. Friday she refused to take her morning nap. This was driving me insane as I needed to call customers and had to get myself ready for a meeting. While I was trying to rush around downstairs, I would check the monitor to see how upset she really was at not taking a nap. She didn’t want to sleep, but she was having fun clapping. It was fun to watch and even more fun to watch her continuously do this and perfect it.

One thing that Joe and I have talked about quite a bit this week is the fact that Scarlett isn’t crawling yet. We’re not worried, but we’re just wondering when it’s going to happen. I read my friend Natalie’s blog this week and saw that her daughter had just started crawling. She had a video that we watched too. We were quite impressed as she is about one month younger than Scarlett.

We finally got through this crazy week and were looking forward to a nice and relaxing weekend. We went to Chili’s for lunch on Saturday and then decided to go across the parking lot to Target. I have been on a furniture mission. I basically wanted a piece of furniture that looked good, but would also store toys in the living room. Usually Target has some pretty fun pieces right after the holidays. They did have a couple that I liked, but they weren’t exactly what I wanted. That’s ok. We did find a ball that cost us $2.50 that Scarlett loves. She laughed and laughed in the store as we bounced it. So, we had to buy it. We also took her up and down the toy aisles. I think she was pretty impressed with this part of the store.

We got back home right before Scarlett’s nap. I decided that I needed to go to North Park mall for a little bit, so I was out the door as soon as we got back. On my way to North Park, I remembered that El Paso Imports was on my way. So I planned to stop there on my way back to see if they had the piece of furniture I was looking for. Luckily, they did! Of course the place where I planned on putting it didn’t really work for either of us. We did find the perfect spot which forced us to rearrange a little in our living room. We didn’t make huge changes, but we decided today to move our coffee table out for at least the next couple of years. Scarlett has been pulling up on it and has hit her head on it a few times, so it had to go.

Now Scarlett is pulling up on the sofa and chairs and her new mirror/sing along toy. She actually stands! We are very impressed and think that she might just skip the whole crawling part. Only time will tell…..

Happy New Year!!

It’s hard to believe that 2008 has come and gone. What a year it’s been! At this time last year we had just found out that we were having a girl and were in the middle of doing major preparations around our home for her arrival. Scarlett arrived in April, and life hasn’t been the same since.

She turned 8 months old this month, and she is growing up and changing so quickly. She’s sitting up on her own now, has 2 teeth, and has outgrown her little baby tub. She has also eaten her first Cheerio thanks to her Aunt Sonet and Aunt Carly!

Joe and I welcomed 2009 the same way we have the past few years by staying at home. Neither of us has any desire to battle the crowd at some restaurant, party at some bar, or take the chance of running into a drunk driver. We also didn’t have a sitter, and I really don’t think a bar is the most appropriate place for someone in my condition! Anyway, we had a great New Year’s Eve and a super relaxing New Year’s Day. So, 2009 has been started off on the right foot!

We’ve actually been taking it pretty easy since Tuesday. We got home from Nebraska the night before, and of course, we had been going 100 mph since before then.

Our Christmas celebrations started the weekend before Christmas. My mom and Larry drove from Atlanta so that we could spend time together for the holidays. They arrived with a car full of presents and toys! We all quickly learned that Scarlett LOVES wrapping paper. We knew that she liked paper, but she really likes the Christmas paper. It was not a good idea to take the paper away from her that she was eating or playing with as she would start screaming. So, we just let her play with it until something else distracted her. One thing that she really loved was her brand new Radio Flyer wagon. Joe especially loves taking her on rides around the neighborhood with her little hat and sunglasses. These wagons have changed a lot over the years. This one has two seats with straps, so it has plenty of room for Scarlett’s new brother or sister to ride with her next year.

Scarlett in her new wagon

Mom pulling Scarlett with Larry videoing

Peanut isn't too thrilled with the wagon....

This is how Joe has her dressed for rides around the neighborhood! :)

Our second Christmas celebration was on Christmas Day. Scarlett’s first Christmas morning was THE BEST!! She really loves this new mirror/sing along thing that I found. She played herself into total exhaustion on Christmas morning, so she was very easy to put down for her morning nap. This was great as I still needed to get ready and work on lunch. My dad, uncle, and Pat joined us for Christmas lunch. I was a little worried about a couple of new recipes that I tried, but they turned out great! It was a very nice day.

Scarlett with her new bear


The music/sing along toy that she LOVES


Her new giraffe that she can ride


Surrounded by everything she loves..... paper!

Christmas dinner with Uncle Jim, Pat, Scarlett, Joe, and my dad

As soon as we were done with lunch and rested a bit, we started packing up for our trip to Nebraska. In the past we usually leave around 6:00am or so. We had to wait until after 8:00am this year as we had to drop our dogs off at the doggie hotel. We usually do this the day before, but they were closed on Christmas, so that wasn’t an option. The drive up wasn’t too bad. It took us about eleven hours, and Scarlett was really good. Joe and I were both worried about how she would react, but it turned out ok. I was afraid that Scarlett would be too tired to do much of anything once we got there, but she was ready to play! She got to meet her Aunt Sonet, Uncle, Rick, Uncle Jeff, and all her cousins – Dalton, Sadie, Elizabeth, and Tommy.

Her schedule was really out of whack because she didn’t sleep much at all that night. It’s been A LONG time since either of us has had to get up with her in the middle of the night. She usually sleeps for 12-13 hours, but not this night. We ended up surviving and ended up having the best day ever the next day.

Joe had been talking about taking us sledding. I had never been, so I thought it was a great idea. Joe’s sister Carly really thought ahead and brought a pair of Elizabeth’s old snow pants for Scarlett. We all bundled up and headed out to sled. Oh, I think I forgot to mention that there was a lot of snow on the ground when we arrived. I mean there was more snow than I have ever seen in my entire life. When I stepped out of the truck at Joe’s parents, I stepped in snow, and it came half way up my leg. It was insane! Of course, everyone up there didn’t think that was much at all.

Anyway, we arrived to go sledding, and there was a pretty good walk to this big hill. So, we started trudging through all this snow. People, if you’ve never walked in high snow, believe me, it’s not a piece of cake. It’s like having cinder blocks attached to the bottom of each foot. Joe carried Scarlett through which was smart as I would have probably dropped her.

After taking a closer look at the big hill, I decided that there was no way in hell I was going down that thing and neither was Scarlett. So, we did a very small sled run down the bottom part of the hill. Oh, the thing we sat on, the sled, is not called a sled up there. It’s a toboggan. That’s what we call a stocking hat or sweater type hat. Anyway, Scarlett and I got on a small toboggan, and then just sat on it and watched the others sled away.

After Joe had gone down the hill a few times, we decided it was time to take Scarlett back to his parents. Our nieces, Elizabeth and Sadie, decided to come back with us. I decided to get a picture of them with Scarlett on the sled. Then Joe told me to get on there with them for a picture. I did and then he offered to drag us back to the truck. This was lots of fun and so much better than trudging through all that snow! I just don’t understand why I wasn’t pulled along to get to the hill when we got there….

All strapped in and ready to go to Nebraska!

Aunt Carly and Scarlett

Dalton, Scarlett, and Aunt Sonet

Scarlett with her cousins, Elizabeth and Sadie

Me, Joe, and Scarlett all bundled up ready to go sledding!

Joe, Elizabeth, Sadie, Dalton, Tommy, and Carly coming down the BIG HILL.

Me, Elizabeth, Sadie, and Scarlett as we were being pulled back to the truck. Check out Sadie's big gloves!!!

Grandpa, Scarlett, and Gigi

We had a really nice visit and headed back home Monday morning. The drive home wasn’t nearly as nice as the drive there. Scarlett did not like the scenery or being strapped in or something. It took us twelve long hours to get home. As Joe and I unloaded the car, I put Scarlett in front of her new mirror/sing along toy. I have never seen her so happy to be playing. I think she was just enjoying the freedom of not being strapped down!

I was completely exhausted, but woke up at 4:00am on Tuesday. I couldn’t go back to sleep, so I got up a little before 5:00am and started taking down Christmas decorations. Since then we’ve just been doing things around the house, going out to eat for lunch, and just relaxing. I’ve got three more days of this and then it’s back to the real world.

I wish everyone a Happy New Year and hope it finds you all well!! I have a feeling that 2009 will be just as exciting at 2008….

Washington Post Article

I was just going through some of my e-mail messages... Not the ones from work, but my personal account. I currently have 183 that need to be read, deleted, forwarded, etc. Anyway, my mom had forwarded me this article from the Washington Post. I was going to just post the link, but I thought the entire article was worth posting here. "Carolyn" is a Dear Abby type writer.

TELL ME ABOUT IT ®
By Carolyn Hax Wednesday, May 23, 2007; Page C10

Carolyn: Best friend has child. Her: exhausted, busy, no time for self, no time for me, etc. Me (no kids): Wow. Sorry. What'd you do today? Her: Park, play group . . .

Okay. I've done Internet searches, I've talked to parents. I don't get it. What do stay-at-home moms do all day? Please no lists of library, grocery store, dry cleaners . . . I do all those things, too, and I don't do them EVERY DAY. I guess what I'm asking is: What is a typical day and why don't moms have time for a call or e-mail? I work and am away from home nine hours a day (plus a few late work events) and I manage to get it all done. I'm feeling like the kid is an excuse to relax and enjoy -- not a bad thing at all -- but if so, why won't my friend tell me the truth? Is this a peeing contest ("My life is so much harder than yours")? What's the deal? I've got friends with and without kids and all us child-free folks get the same story and have the same questions.

Tacoma, Wash.

Relax and enjoy. You're funny.

Or you're lying about having friends with kids.

Or you're taking them at their word that they actually have kids, because you haven't personally been in the same room with them.

Internet searches?

I keep wavering between giving you a straight answer and giving my forehead some keyboard. To claim you want to understand, while in the same breath implying that the only logical conclusions are that your mom-friends are either lying or competing with you, is disingenuous indeed.

So, since it's validation you seem to want, the real answer is what you get. In list form. When you have young kids, your typical day is: constant attention, from getting them out of bed, fed, clean, dressed; to keeping them out of harm's way; to answering their coos, cries, questions; to having two arms and carrying one kid, one set of car keys, and supplies for even the quickest trips, including the latest-to-be-declared-essential piece of molded plastic gear; to keeping them from unshelving books at the library; to enforcing rest times; to staying one step ahead of them lest they get too hungry, tired or bored, any one of which produces the kind of checkout-line screaming that gets the checkout line shaking its head.

It's needing 45 minutes to do what takes others 15.

It's constant vigilance, constant touch, constant use of your voice, constant relegation of your needs to the second tier.

It's constant scrutiny and second-guessing from family and friends, well-meaning and otherwise. It's resisting constant temptation to seek short-term relief at everyone's long-term expense.

It's doing all this while concurrently teaching virtually everything -- language, manners, safety, resourcefulness, discipline, curiosity, creativity. Empathy. Everything.

It's also a choice, yes. And a joy. But if you spent all day, every day, with this brand of joy, and then, when you got your first 10 minutes to yourself, wanted to be alone with your thoughts instead of calling a good friend, a good friend wouldn't judge you, complain about you to mutual friends, or marvel how much more productively she uses her time. Either make a sincere effort to understand or keep your snit to yourself.

Tis the Season

BUSY. That is the only word to describe the past two weeks. I think I’m at a point where I can actually take a deep breath and relax a little bit. There’s still lots to do before Christmas, but I think I’m going to make it!

Thanksgiving marked the first big event of the season. Nine times out of ten we spend Thanksgiving in Atlanta and have lunch at JoJo’s. This year was different. Jason and Christy had just had Jackson, so traveling was going to be a little much for them. And believe me, I completely understand this! So, we had Thanksgiving at our house as it was much closer for them. We had a pretty nice crowd of eleven. There was so much food, and I wish I had taken a picture of all of it before we started loading up our plates.

Scarlett & the Turkey

Mom, Lauren, Jackson, & JoJo

Jason, Larry, & Uncle Glen playing darts in the garage after lunch


Jackson & Scarlett

Scarlett wearing the Indian headdress

As soon as Thanksgiving was over, the Christmas decorations came out of the attic. I had to get this place decorated ASAP since Ed and Katherine’s Engagement Party was here the following weekend. In preparation for this, Scarlett went to stay at my mom’s Thursday through Sunday. This gave me a couple of days before the party to get things done and have a babysitter during the party. Joe and I missed her so much, but I think we needed a break.

Scarlett watching Joe put together the tree

Scarlett right before we took her to meet my mom

For the past year we have been planning to go eat at Del Frisco’s, our most favorite steakhouse. Every single time we’ve planned to go something has come up. One of us has either been sick or we didn’t have a sitter or whatever. Anyway, our night finally came. Of course when you have such high expectations for something, it never turns out the way you anticipated. We fought horrible traffic on the way there because of some stupid wreck and then I was served the WORST STEAK EVER!!! At $50 or so per plate, it should have tasted heavenly. Well, I had to stop myself from eating after hitting a piece of gristle. I couldn’t believe it. I eat steak about one time per year, and this is what I got! I didn’t send it back, but Joe did tell them that I didn’t like it. Luckily they didn’t charge us for it. I do think this was a random case for the restaurant. We haven’t banned them, but I do think we’ll be going somewhere else the next time we go out for steak.

Saturday night finally came, and the party was fabulous! I’m pretty darn sure that everyone had a great time!!

The food! And check out the decorations hanging from my chandelier. This would be compliments of my cousin Lauren.

The Hostesses: Shelly, Me, Autumn, & Evone

Me & Katherine

The late-nighters: Autumn, Evone, Ed, Katherine, Vance, & Tim

Me & Joe

We wrapped up our weekend by going to breakfast Sunday morning with Katherine, Ed, and Autumn. Then we headed to Sulphur Springs to meet my mom and pick up Scarlett. Of course Scarlett had fun with her Gran Jan and Papa Larry. They had fun too!

Did I forget to mention that two days before Thanksgiving it was decided that I was headed to the Boston area for a work presentation? So in the mist of planning Thanksgiving and the party, I was getting ready for a presentation and a trip out of town. Don’t think that I was upset about the trip because I wasn’t. I love this customer and was looking forward to seeing them. I was also planning on eating a big lobster upon my arrival. The cost of living is much higher on the East Coast, but you can get the best seafood for dirt cheap! It ended up being a quick trip, but it was a good one. My flight home got canceled, but that ended up being a great thing!! I arrived at the airport about three hours before the flight, so there was enough time to catch the earlier flight home. I got home late Wednesday afternoon and had some time to spend with Scarlett before she went to bed for the night.

The next morning Joe headed to Nebraska to pheasant hunt with Uncle Jim and Randy. So, Scarlett and I are now spending some time together, and we’re having FUN! I took her to meet Santa at the mall yesterday, and then we went to my company Christmas party later in the day. Santa was there too!! Scarlett is very laid back, so Santa didn’t bother her at all. I think we’re headed back to the mall today to try and make a dent in the Christmas list. There hasn’t been much time before now to get the Christmas shopping done.

Scarlett & Santa

For those of you thinking that I look like I’ve gained a bunch of weight from pictures above, you are correct. Joe and I are expecting Baby #2 in May!!! As always, there’s a lot going on at the Farner House.

Hopefully I’ll have time to blog again before Christmas. If not, Merry Christmas to you all!!!!

The Fan

There’s nothing like a feeling of accomplishment! Joe and I have been working hard around here this weekend on cleaning and finishing up several chores that have needed tending to for a long time. One thing on our to-do list was our living room fan. Fans aren’t really something that I look at a lot or even think much about. If they work, they’re pretty much fine with me. Well, the fan in our living room had to go! Here’s a picture of it:

When we bought this house the previous owner had replaced all of the fixtures in the house… door knobs, fans, blinds, sink hardware, appliances, even the toilets! He did everything EXCEPT for the living room fan. All of the NEW additions were in a stainless steel or brushed aluminum or something other than gold or brass. Our fan was sticking out like a big gold sore thumb that had four annoying spotlights. So, we bought a new fan.

Joe borrowed our neighbor’s ladder and started replacing it Saturday morning. I was a nervous wreck as he did this as the ladder was propped up against the ceiling. I’m not sure if this was the most proper way to be using the ladder, but Joe managed to do it without having any sort of accident.

Saturday was also pajama day! Since the day I brought Scarlett home from the hospital I have never left her in a sleeper all day. Well, it was time for an exception, and she didn’t seem to mind one little bit!