The Truth of the Matter

The truth is out: I'm having another baby! I have been EXTREMELY sick due to the pregnancy, therefore despite efforts to keep the news to ourselves, we have decided to go ahead and share the news to hopefully put many people at ease. Lots of family and a few friends were becoming quite concerned that my "illness" was lingering. And, as was the case when I was pregnant with Lola, morning (aka 24/7) sickness has moved in and decided to make itself at home. I learned I was pregnant the day before I left for NYC. I'm just over 8 weeks along and the new baby should be here around June 1. I've found myself almost on a daily basis in contact with my doctor and his OB nurse as well as a trip to urgent care for an IV, tried three different prescription medications, an over-the-counter med, combinations of vitamins, as well as homeopathic products all in the search of something that will help with the nausea/vomitting. (I know, that's gross.) Anyway, I am feeling a little better and am hopeful that this new medicine will do its job. However, it knocks me out....if it's not one thing it's another! We're excited about Baby #2, though! I just have to remind myself that in the end all of this is worth it :)

I'm Still Alive

Hello! It's been a few weeks since I last posted. I don't want my blog to become just another task to have to keep up with, so that's part of the reason I haven't posted. I was beginning to find myself stressing about "What am I going to blog about today?!" as if it were something I was being graded on. However, the truth of the matter is not much has been happening around here. Well, that's not entirely true, but at least nothing has been going on really worth blogging about.

However, for the sake of the few of you who are awaiting something new -- and are tired of seeing David Blaine -- here's a few favorite pics I've taken in the past month or so. Once again, nothing extraordinary, but at least something new.

Below: Bee & KJ horsing around while I tried to pack for NYC.

Below: Bobcat at his first 60th birthday dinner at a steakhouse in Pawnee. That cake was DELICIOUS. German Chocolate from Reasor's. Once again, Reasor's failed me not. I like this pic bc it shows Dad in the way that I always picture him first when he comes to mind.

Below: This is Lola after her second night of the traditional Osage In-Lon-Schka dances in Hominy. Lola & Gramby danced a few times this evening and at the point that KJ & I got there, she had had enough. It was back in June, it was hot, it was bathtime, she was tired. Yes, she was trying to attack me with a baby hanger. Man, were her little feet nasty once we took off her moccasins.

Puh-leeeeease

That's David Blaine above. We saw him one afternoon while we were in Central Park. He was supposed to be breaking some record for hanging upside down for like 3 days or so. It was called "Dive of Death." Well, as you can see, he's clearly not hanging upside down. In fact, for the hour we were wandering around, he actually spent only about 20 minutes total actually hanging upside down. The rest of the time he was stretching, moving around, having guys help him stretch, and this is him taking a break to pee and have a snack. He only had about 4 hours left at this point, and we didn't ever hear what happened to him as far as if he beat the record or not. I just thought it was kind of a shame that there was so much hype around him and he wasn't even upside down that much. I heard he was risking his eyesight to do this stunt, but surely, no more than he actually was upside down, he can still see!

Great Product

Friends, y'all know when I luv a product I can't help but share it. Here's one of my latest: Seventh Generation Lavendar & Mint dish soap. It works as well as any other dish soap I've used, but its scent is what I like the most about it. The mint is just awesome! It always makes my dishes and the area around my sink smell so fresh and clean and minty. Try it!

I know some of you enjoy labeling me as a "tree hugger" (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!) but it's just not true! The truth of the matter is, I'm not hard core about trying to live green, I just like to do little things here and there. And why not? Ever since Lola came along, I've learned sooo much about attempting to live a more green lifestyle. I buy organically when I can afford it and have made steps in my daily life that just simply reduce the amount of junk I leave behind. Those darn plastic bags are the worst!! (Thank heavens that Reasor's and Wal-Mart both provide large containers at their entrances where you can recycle your old plastic bags. Although I use fabric shopping bags most of the time, no matter what, I always end up with sacks from here and there. I let mine accumulate, then take them every month or so to their recycling box.) Recycling has become a bigger deal for our household as well, and it's just so simple to do! I want the next generation on to have pretty parks and fields to enjoy and for everything not to be all scummed up.

So, all that to say that swapping out my household cleaners is just another easy to step in protecting the air we breathe inside our home. Some studies have shown that the air inside our houses can be more polluted than what's outdoors! I guess there tends to be a lot of toxins and other gross stuff in common soaps, candles, carpet fibers, air fresheners, etc. So, Seventh Generation has many great products but this is my favorite. For other cleaning, I've made a mixture of vinegar and water to serve as my all-purpose cleaner around the house, and it REALLY does work as well as my old Windex or whatever all-purpose product I was using. (I was Windex-ing everything!) And, the best part of the vinegar/water solution is that it's so cheap! (And, no, the smell doesn't stick around. I know, I know..vinegar doesn't smell too great, but no longer than you can smell it, it doesn't make much difference.) And, did you know that vinegar is a powerful antibacterial product? It's got many, many great properties so that's why I feel confident in using it so much.