I'm here, I just not HERE....

So I started another blog in the hopes of keeping a journal for myself. I am so terrible at keeping a journal, I do great for like a week and then life goes and gets all busy, I get lazy, we have no pens in the house, etc. So I heard about a picture a day blog and thought "I can do this!" Take one picture a day to represent your day, your life, etc. As I started keeping up with that one, it got a little more redundant to keep this one going as well. I am going to keep this one for WFMW at Rocks in my dryer and other reasons, but if you want to see what is happening with us KC Bryans, check out:

www.everydayinoz.blogspot.com

Take care!

I think I see the dust settling...

Hello out there in computer land, it's your long lost friend, dusting myself off and getting back into blogging mode again. I am pretty excited that I have been able to keep up with my photo blog so even during those weeks when thing are hectic, I still have a visual of what is happening in our little world. I'd like to say that I was off doing exciting things like taking a vacation, traveling the world, or potty training Monkey before he turns one, but alas, I have just been busy managing, arranging, and rearranging my life. Quick breakdown of big events missed over the last month or so:

• The Hubs came down with a monster case of pneumonia and was hospitalized for a week. He was running temps of 104 and it took 2 days to bring them down. Our first Saturday night with a baby sitter was spent in the ICU, watching TV and sleeping in a recliner, but he was a trooper. He is finally feeling better and is back to work.
  
• Monkey is now waving, playing peek-a-boo, saying "Dada," is getting teeth #7 and #8, and walking all over the place with his push toy...not quite on his own yet :). We had to lower his bed after he found his way out of the crib and onto the floor. He is also a big fan of toothbrushes ad likes to take them everywhere :).
  
• Monkey had his first overnight trip away from home to stay with his grandparents... and putting him in the car and seeing him leave was one of the hardest things I've ever done! The rational side of my brain knew everything was going to be fine, but that pesky emotional side just keeping butting in...
• As of October, I will be coming off of weekend option at work, which has been a very big, complex, scary decision. Working weekends has been great, giving me 5 days a week at home with Monkey, but it doesn't allow for much family time with the three of us together. Monkey was getting lots of time with me and lots of time with the Hubs, but very little time with the three of us together. So it was with a few reservations and great worry that I started looking for a daycare. Luckily, since I work 12 hour shifts, I would still be home with Monkey 4 days a week and my bosses were willing to work with me about my schedule and so I will be working the same three days every week. Monkey started at his daycare last week and I can honestly say I cried more than he did. He was oblivious when me and the Hubs left, but cried when he saw the other kiddos crying (one burst into tears at the site of the Hubs, the teacher reassured him it was because he missed his dad and not because the Hubs was scary looking!). There is a lot of guilt that comes along with taking Monkey to daycare but I realize he is in a great place that is very well structured and he is with kiddos his own age, which is doing a lot for him as far as socialization. Once again, if I could just get that rational part o my brain to communicate better with the emotional side :).
  
• Monkey's 1st birthday is coming up and to help us celebrate my parents are flying in, my in-laws, Monkey's Great Grandma, and our good friends Erin and Ben are driving in to help us celebrate this weekend!
  

It's good to be back, thank you for your continued support and blog patronage !

It's lovely, I'll take it!

If you are ever having one of those days when you feel your house is a mess, you've found a leak in the basement or a crack in the drywall, then head over to It's Lovely, I'll take it! to feel better about your situation. I promise you will at least smile and probably laugh out loud at least twice, especially if you read "How I Spent my Summer" by the Chair" (click here). Hope you are having a great day and go ahead and give your house/apartment/trailer a little love and appreciation for not being listed here.

Mommy needs a time out

There is no doubt I love being a mother, but every so often, even Mommy needs a time out. Monkey has been sick, teething, and generally not thinking too highly of sleeping, napping, or eating right now. On top of that, poor Hubs is also sick and I sprained my already stress fractured foot, buying myself five more weeks in my lovely orthopedic walking boot. I had a perfect evening of hanging out in the steamy shower with Monkey to clear up his congestion, then the Hubs fed him so I could enjoy a nice long shower (hands down the cheapest form of relaxation in my opinion), and I got to feed and tuck Monkey in. After that I was off on my time out, complete with a an ice cold Pepsi, a quick stop by Walmart, and a little drive with my windows down, singing Joshua Radin's "Sky" and "Lovely Tonight" loud and off key. I think a lot of us feel guilty at times asking for the things we need, but I know that I was probably a much more pleasant person by the time I got home and although I was only gone for about an hour, it was precious time I needed to refuel. So, to me, time out isn't always a bad thing :).

Thanking my lucky stars

Today Monkey had an appointment with a neurologist about the size of noggin. During Monkey's 6 month check up his pediatrician was concerned because his noggin was measuring off the charts (just housing a big brain, right :)?). To be on the safe side, she ordered him to have an ultrasound through his soft spot since it was still open. The ultrasound reading was unclear, which meant on to a CT scan. I kept Monkey up all morning and kept him entertained since he couldn't eat or drink to avoid having to be sedated and he slept through it like a champ. We got a call from our pediatrician that night that the radiologist had read his CT and everything looked fine. Big sigh of relief...until the next morning. The radiologist said that she'd gone home and thought more about his scan, had another radiologist look at it and although they didn't see anything like a tumor or mass, they felt an MRI was needed to be 100% sure. In a way I was grateful that this person took a second look if they were unsure, but our sense of relief was gone. We were told Monkey would have to wait 3 weeks for his MRI. I would look at him often, take a deep breath, and remind myself that he would be fine. He came into this world almost two months early and has been catching up ever since. But the cloud of worry and the "what ifs" wouldn't be gone until we knew for sure. The day of Monkey's MRI, I drove home feeling postitive that we would get the reading and everything would be fine and finally we could put it behind us. However, we received a phone call from our pediatrician (whom we just love) saying that the MRI showed that Monkey either had slight excess fluid around his brain (no big deal) or brain atrophy, or shrinking (a very big deal). I finally gave myself about an hour to cry. I cried out of frustration , fear, and worry...and then I cried for the parents who get life changing results from this instead of unclear ones. So we packed Monkey up early this morning and took him to his appointment. They checked all of his developmental milestones, they asked questions and took notes, and they left to review the MRI again. And finally they came back and told me what I knew in my heart when we started this process months ago: "Your son is fine, he is right on time for his age...he just has a big head." A big noggin, just like his Daddy, that's all. And for the first time in months, I feel like I can breath again. I offered up a little prayer, packed up my sniffling, blue eyed boy, and realized that Monkey truly is my heart walking around outside my body :).

Warning!

Thanks to Bill Engvall's "Warning Signs," I am always on the lookout for interesting warnings on products. Today I noticed that on the back of a container of Clorox wipes it says "Do not use for intimate cleaning or diaper wipes." Umm, ouch??

Greetings from the gimp

I haven't been blogging lately for your safety...really, the ramblings of a sleep deprived woman would tend to be a little hard to understand, might lack humor, and would inevitably contain a paragraphs of nothing but "qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq" from where I dozed off with my fingers on the keyboard. Since I am a little better rested, I thought I would hop in the old blogging saddle again :).

Monkey has decided that sleeping through the night no longer fits his agenda. Poor baby, it's not because he wants to get up and play at 3 .m., but more likely because multiple teeth have decided to peek through at the same time, including the one in between his little gap tooth smile. But he is a good sport during the day, despite his lack of sleep. He is crawling all over the place, pulling himself to stand on everything that looks stable, as well as giving high fives and the occasional wave. I can't believe it but we are starting to plan his first birthday (just a quiet little shin-dig with family at this point I think)!

I currently sporting one of the hottest looks in fashion right now: a knee high orthopedic boot! Yes, I think there is someplace in the market for "Bling my Orthopedic Device" on reality television. Hopefully I won't be wearing my new shoe for too long, but if so, I am thinking of ways to bling it up a little with a little spray paint and some big gaudy jewels. The weird thing is I worked a 12 hours shift Friday and felt fine. I headed to work Saturday for another 12 hour shift and by then end of the night I couldn't hardly bear weight on it all. The ER doc thinks it's a stress fracture. In the mean time, I am trying to come up with a much better story for the cause of my injury. So far I have "So I hear yelling and I broke the door down with my foot..."

I am also loving the new season of Project Runway! I love how Suede talks about himself in the third person, after a day of doing that myself I can see why he likes it :). I also think that Suede's real name is Steve. I started a Facebook group (yes, I am a Facebook junkie) for my small group of friends who also dig it and reaing their thoughts has been hilarious. I am off to bed now, keeping my fingers crossed that the growing teeth take a break tonight and let me and the Monkey get some sleep. Sweet dreams!

Lazy days of summer...

Yesterday as I was returning home from running errands, I was struck with the thought that summer is already half over. At what point did time start moving so quickly? Remember when we were kids and days seemed to last forever and summer felt more like 6 months long? Now I have my own little human calender marking off the months for me (has it really been 10 months since Monkey made his big debut?), and I am shocked how quickly time is going by. I remembered my favorite summer, the year before my sophomore year of high school. I was too young to work yet and so my day was spent volunteering at the nursing home or doing chores in the morning and floating around the pool all afternoon. So I realized it was when my schedule became hectic, a balance of work, school, activities, and tasks that time started to pick up. Time slowly picked up momentum through college and now that I am balancing being a wife, a mother, a nurse, and other things, it's humming along like a freight train. But these activities are what make my life meaningful and exciting, so I am grateful for that. I am also grateful that every once in while, God reminds me to stop in my tracks, take it all in, and live in awe of the moment, be it exciting or mundane. I hope your summer is treating you well and just for today, it slows down a little bit for you :).

A day in the life...

I got this little survey from my friend Laura's blog, A Blessed Life:

Outside My Window...it's a beautiful, sunny day and my lawn is begging to be landscaped, hopefully we will be getting started in September!
***
I am thinking ...about Monkey's MRI and trying to be confident that everything will be alright.
***
I am thankful for ...being married to a man who may not be perfect, but is perfect for me; the miracle of Monkey and the simple, overwhelming joy he brings me each day; the fact that I have a roof over my head and food in my belly every day; the wonderful group of friends and family I've been blessed with, I am a very lucky girl.
***
From the kitchen ...the kitchen is clean! After I am done with this, I am going to go mop the floor. A clean kitchen makes for a happy Stephanie.
***
I am wearing ... black knit Capri pants, a teal blue short sleeve shirt with a little pocket, and my very favorite LL Bean slippers.
***
I am creating ... our home! I am getting pictures up on the walls, finding furniture and accessories, and admiring each new little thing that makes our house feel cozy. I am also trying to create memories for us and traditions for our family :).
***
I am going ...to be productive today. The Hubs and I seem to alternate days of motivation to get house stuff done. Last night he did so much and I had no motivation, today we've swapped. It's difficult not having weekends together for both of us to work on a project at the same time.
***
I am reading ...Mainly all I am reading right now is Monkey's books to him and the occasional People magazine and blog. I have some books lined up that I'd like to read.
***
I am hoping ....that everything will be alright :)!
***
I am hearing ...Baby lullabies playing over the monitor while Monkey takes his nap.
***
Around the house ...Planning the landscape project for September, getting the basement set up by finding a desk, hanging some pictures, etc.
***
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week ...Swim date with Jenny and Davis tomorrow, dermatologist appointment for me and Monkey, walking to the park this evening, and working this weekend. We are just packed full of excitement!

Tag, you're it!

IDK, my BFF Clinton

Before I begin, if today's title needs translating for you, click here for the commercial I am referencing....I am only fluent in texting acronyms because I am lucky enough to have an 18 year sister that keep me hip and cool, or at least she tries :). Today I was watching a rerun of "What Not to Wear" on TLC and I decided that if I could pick a BFF for the day, it would be Clinton Kelly. This is such an ironic choice because I have no clue when it comes to fashion, but I think is Clinton could bash my style, throw away my clothes, kick me in the knee, steal my wallet, and yet I would still just want to hug that man. I want to be able to vent my frustrations about being a 6'0 tall, apple shaped, plus size girl in this world and have him explain to me why plus size clothes makers think that if you are plus size, you possess the world's shortest torso and the worlds largest thighs. Oh well, after hearing the complaints of my slimmer counterparts and seeing more episodes of WNTW than I can count, I know I am not alone in my frustration. So I will not give up on fashion and resort wearing this or this. I will keeping trying, I'll listen to "Big Girls (You are Beautiful)" by Mika when one of my shirts gets dried and winds up half as long and twice as wide, and I will keep secretly hoping that maybe Clinton will show up here in Oz and offer to be my BFF and fashion guru for the day :).

Who would you pick as your BFF for the day?

WFMW - My favorite kitchen things...

Two little gadgets I couldn't live without right now are the teething feeder and the Pampered Chef steamer. The teether is perfect for my 9 month old who is gnawing on anything he can get his little hands on. The plastic ring and mesh bag unscrew and you can put in fresh fruit or veggies and let them chew away (with supervision of course). I like being able to give Monkey something besides plastic teethers and processed baby food. They do do just fine in the dishwasher and I got two for about $4. The Pampered Chef steamer is my go to gadget for veggies, fresh or frozen. You can toss the veggies in with some salt and pepper, cook for about 5 minutes and you are good to go. It is also great for reheating leftover hamburgers, barbecue etc. It retains the moisture when it's warming it up and you'd never guess it was leftovers. It was $10 and well worth the money for me :).
These little gadgets worked for me, check out other great stuff at Works For Me Wednesday at Rocks In My Dryer!

Some drama and bad dancing...

The festivities of the 4th of July holiday and my slightly wacky work schedule lately has prevented me from being a good little blogger...well, that and sometimes I sit here and stare at my screen and think "How can I make the fact that all I accomplished today was vacuuming, making dinner, and fooding Monkey with 75% accuracy interesting??" Sensing that our life was a little low on drama, Monkey woke me up with a loud scream at about 3 a.m. last night. The next 9 hours were full of very little sleeping, some snuggling, LOTS of crying, and more bodily fluids than I care to talk about. So at noon we packed up and headed to the Urgent Care and learned he had two issues: a viral flu bug and constipation (which, to keep it G-rated, I would have sworn was impossible given what I had seen the night before). So one X-ray and minimally invasive procedure later, I was heading home with a much happier, still feverish Monkey. It made me realize how spoiled I am with a happy baby, I didn't get my first smile of the day until this afternoon and by then I really needed it :).

Todays new slang term is "time suck," which is used to describe sites that you sit and read or play when you know you should be sleeping, using the restroom, doing something MUCH more constructive, etc. My current time suck is iTunes. Inspired by "Top 100 hits of the 90's" on VH1, I found a few songs I had forgotten about to download (just try to sit still while listening to "Groove Is In The Heart" By Dee Lite!). I keep my iShuffle plugged into speakers in the kitchen and had a big realization yesterday: I have to enjoy this small window of time when Monkey actually enjoys my singing and laughs at my dancing, because soon he will embarrassed by both :).

Hope your week is drama free and full of sweet dance moves!

Tag, you're it!

Just some fun....

10 Years Ago:
I was a freshman in college, having a blast as a student athletic trainer, living in the dorms, and enjoying typical rowdy college behavior. Sure, people bash on the whole JuCo thing, but I can honestly say that those were two of the funnest years of my life :).

Things on my to do list today:
-Pack for our trip this weekend!
-Mop the floor, it's been the victim of flying baby food
-Study for my CPN (Certified Pediatric Nurse) exam while Monkey is napping
-Get a picture of the day for our picture blog
-Run to the store

If I suddenly became a billionaire:
Pay off student loans for us and our siblings, send our parents on vacation, take another cruise, build a new house, and make big donation to Children's Mercy (Hrmm...Bryan Tower has a nice ring to it!). I'd also like to start scholarships in honor of a few friends and family.

Three of my bad habits:
1. Biting my nails when I'm nervous
2. Being slow to call/e-mail people back
3. Speeding...not all the time, mainly on my way to work without Monkey in the car :)

Five jobs I have had:
Town East Square/Castelton Square Customer Service Desk
Bank Teller
Flint Hills Lanes Snack Shack Goddess
Nursing home CNA (Nurse's Aide)
Pediatric RN, Relief Charge Nurse

Five things people don't know about me:
1. I'm a little OCD about certain things, I will check my curling iron 4 times before I leave the house, I have to have towels folded a certain way, etc.
2. I like most kinds of music but I am sucker for oldies (1950-1960's)
3. If I had the chance to move anywhere in the world, I would probably still stay in the Midwest
4. I'm scared of heights
5. I'm bound and determined to see all 50 states

You've been tagged!

I need to be watered...

Monkey and I headed to our local pool today and I realized that the days of a pool with just a diving board are becoming a thing of the past. When I was little, we'd beg my my mom to drive us to the neighboring town 20 minutes away because they had an awesome waterslide. You stand there for 15 minutes, inching your way up the flaming hot metal staircase just for that 30 second ride, and then climb the ladder and get back in line again, The pool we went to today had at least 5 slides, a lazy river, a big tower that doused you with buckets of water...basically what you'd only see if you went to a water park back in my day. Since I am a total water loving fish, I was in heaven. Of course, Monkey and I were relegated to the kiddy pool, which with it's synchronized fountains was definitely not boring. But I have decided that some people take yearly trips to Vegas or go skiing in Colorado, but my ideal yearly vacation spot would definitely be more of the sun, sand, and surf persuasion. Give me lots of sunscreen, a boogie board, a shady place to rest when I need a break and I am in heaven. So for a brief moment today, I imagined I was on a beach somewhere, soaking in the sun, and the roar of the pool crowd was replaced by crashing waves. If I can't be on the beach, our pool will suffice, but I need to be watered (beach watered) next year :)!

Todays new word is...

Bagglers. Bagglers are the heap of French fries that wind up at the bottom of the bag when you get fast food. Similar to the etiquette of calling "shotgun" to get dibs on the front seat, the first person to call "Bagglers" gets the displaced fries at the bottom of the bag. And that, ladies and gentleman, is your fun fact of the day.

Wonderfully random misc.

I am currently singing along with "Build Me Up Buttercup" by The Foundations, feel free to sing along...

As I was fooding Monkey this weekend, his mouth full of carrots or prunes or another stain inducing puree, he paused and then had the biggest sneeze I have ever heard/seen come out of the little guy and instantly, the floor, the table, the baby, and I were covered in a fine mist of whatever Monkey was eating. I am tempted to write in to Resolve carpet cleaner and let them know that I think this is a much more realistic situation for their next commercial, plus it is a lot more realistic than their commercials with a mother who yells from the kitchen "That's okay!" when her child spills grape juice on the pristine white carpet (she may have said "That's okay," but you know she was thinking "can't I have anything nice?"). I didn't figure they would go for my other suggestion, which occurred when I approached our Christmas tree with a glass of wine only to see our cat project himself out of the middle of the tree. My wine glass got tossed in the air in the chaos and as the Hubs was helping me clean up the carpet, he wasn't saying "that's okay." He did show his forgiveness by getting me a new glass of wine...in a cup with a lid and straw :).

We had a great weekend, our friends Joel and Angela came to visit and had never been to Legends, one of our favorite places in KC, so we got to give them the tour. We did some shopping, got some wine, had a great dinner, and played arcade games at Dave & Busters. The Hubs was happy to have someone who enjoyed playing games that involve killing space aliens and flying virtual helicopters and I had someone who'd play the less violent, skillful games like Skeeball with me. Monkey had so much to watch and see, which kept him entertained, plus he got his first taste of ice cream. Monkey had his 9 month well child check today and I set up his appt for his 1 year appointment and that hit me like a ton of bricks. Has it really been 9 months? I know I have enjoyed each day, but it is amazing how fast they have come and gone. Monkey is so close to crawling, has just sprouted his first tooth with a second one getting ready to cut through, and on Thursday he said "Mama," well, more like mamamamamamamamama, but I will take it :). Thanks for peeking in on us, have a great week!

I am the luckiest...

Six years ago in March, my friend told me would really like to fix me up on a blind date with her brother in law and after a few days of thinking it over (and a phone call to another friend of mine who was from the same tiny town as my "would be date" who assured he me he was "exactly your type,"), I said I would. Five years ago in May, my blind date turned boyfriend took me to the centerpiece of the KC Plaza, the J.C. Nichols fountain, and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him, and I said I will. Four years ago today, doors opened up and I heard the Trumpet Voluntary and saw almost everyone I treasured in my life in the same place at the same time. And then I saw that wonderful man from my blind date at the end of the aisle...and I said I do. I won't bore you with sentimentality, but I have to say that from our first date and phone call (and the 7 hour marathons that followed), I was in awe of two things: 1) The Hubs simply fascinated me. I loved the 20 different paths our conversations would take and how he was a bottomless wealth of useless information. 2) Prior to The Hubs, I always felt self conscious of certain personality traits I felt I need to play up or play down about myself. With him, I was just myself...wonderfully, comfortably, not always glamorously myself. And he loved me that way. I remember thinking, "How do I know if he's the one?" and one day it hit me as I was driving to see him: No matter what happens in my life, good or bad, he is the one I want by my side. And as we danced to our first song as husband and wife, these were the lyrics that played and remain forever in my memory of my Hubs and that wonderful day:

"Where was I before the day, when I first saw your lovely face?
Now I see it every day, and I know that I am the luckiest."

Learning with the Bryans

Okay, children, gather round the glow of the magical computer screen and be prepared to learn the meaning of two new words and a discipline strategy. They (whomever they are) say you should learn one new thing each day...since you are learning 3 things today, I give you my full permission to read this posting then go to bed or lounge around for three straight days...I'm sure "they" would approve also. Okay, put on your remembering caps, here we go:

Burgle (burrrrrr-gul): To take or "permanently borrow" a possession from your spouse. This would include money found on the counter emptied from ones pockets, ones favorite football shirt being used as one's spouse's favorite sleeping attire, etc. ex: "Please don't burgle the money I left on the counter, I need for coffee to start my pulse in the morning."

Fooding (foo-dings): The act of feeding someone who is distracted or has just learned how to spit, spray, or smoosh the food back at the person doing the feeding (usually used in reference to infants or inebriated friends). "The fooding isn't going well, I think Monkey has only ingested 4% of the two containers I have attempted to food him."

When I was growing up and my brother, sister, or I were not being perfect angels (this happened twice...maybe three times), my dad would look at us sternly and say "Do you want a mushishik?" For the life of me, I have searched the net to find the right spelling, but it was a Lithuanian or Polish word for spanking. Now this made my father look great because he certainly didn't sounds like he was threatening us, all people knew was that none of us wanted a mushishik and we seemed much more reserved and somber after it was offered to us. The only time mushishik backfired was when it was offered to my then 2 year old sister who replied from the back seat, "No Daddy, no monkey s**t." My dad is not made of stone, I swear I think it is the only time I have ever heard that man giggle :).

Thank you for learning with the Bryans, now go enjoy your three days off!

Father's Day

May I begin by saying that one of the best songs for this day is "Gracie" by Ben Folds and although it's from a father to his daughter, I listened to it every day as I drove back and forth to the NICU to see Monkey. It's a pretty good sentiment for any parent to their child, check it out here.

I am in awe of the whole parenting thing in general, but I love how The Hubs brings something to my son's life that is completely different than what I do. Granted we both contribute love, teaching, and songs with silly lyrics usually involving his name and personality traits, but there is just a different dynamic between mothers and fathers. I love that The Hubs and Monkey have their own little routine on the weekends while I am at work and that when we went to Indy, it was the first time The Hubs had been away from Monkey since he came home from the NICU... and how rough that was on him. And it makes me realize that part of what makes The Hubs a great father is the example he had from his father. And part of the reason I chose such a great guy to spend my life and raise my kiddos with is because I had such a great dad. Physically speaking, you can't get more opposite than my father and The Hub's father :). But I am so incredibly grateful that we both were raised by fathers who took a lot of interest and pride in being a dad.

Happy Father's Day!

WFMW: From diaper bag to purse

A woman can never have enough purses and I seem to follow that rule. I have a my
"you'd never guess I was a mom" purse, my gianganto purse that doubles as a diaper bag (awesome deal from Target for $14.99), and my work bag I take when I work on weekends. I get a little tired of switching the essentials (wallet, keys, phone, etc) from bag to bag and only a few times of missing one of these things lead me to my solution:

I bought an inexpensive black make-up bag from Target that I throw all of my essentials into and that way when I switch bags, I just have to grab that and put it in the new bag. It also works if you are hauling the diaper bag and just running into a store, you can grab the make up bag and take it in with you.

For other great tips, check out Works for Me Wednesday at Rocks in My Dryer!