I woke in a panic this morning, when I reached over, felt Garth still lying beside me, the clock glowering it’s green 5:26 numbers in my face. 

     “Babe, we’re so late!  Get up!” I whispered loudly. 

     “It’s Saturday…go back to sleep.”

Sweet. Peace.  The next 2.5 hours of sleep were altogether phenomenal as I relished each lazy moment.  And as I write at 8:28 p.m. I’m still completely consumed by my relaxing day (read: still in my pajamas!).  Even though it was really relaxing I still accomplished a few things today.

First, I declared victory over the crockpot today and whipped up a delicious pot roast.  About 2 weeks ago I tried an orange glazed slow cooker chicken recipe.  I interpreted the 8hrs 10 min total time as 8-10 hours of cook time and not 8 hours of cook time, 10 minutes of prep time.  So, the delicious meal that should have greeted us that evening, was nothing more than a stinky heap of charred chicken!  After several soakings (I even slow-cooked soapy water to loosen the exquisite charcoal crust I created), I FINALLY got it clean enough to use once more.

Once my pot roast was cooking, I fixed up the acorn squash as well.  I was thinking of pairing that with some thawed chicken I had in the fridge, but decided instead to puree it for my little man.  I know it sounds silly, but I was surprised at how easy it was to whip this up and 6-8 servings.  I’m searching some sites to find out more info about storage and usage of homemade baby food, but I’m thinking that it might be just as easy (and slightly cheaper) to cook up squash, steam some veggies or puree some fruits once a week.  If any of you have knowledge of this or good recipes, feel free to leave a comment!

Lastly, I spent some quality time tickling, teasing, and treating myself to an afternoon nap with my adorable munchkin!  He is getting to be so much fun I can hardly stand it.  He finds our dog thoroughly entertaining when he does super exciting things like….walk by, scratch, or sniff in our general direction.  Tonight as I was snuggling him to sleep, the wave of worry swept over me again.  I’m preparing for my first sans Calder trip in a couple of weeks.  I think the hardest thing is that it’s not just an overnight, or a couple of days.  I’ll be leaving Wednesday night and coming home Sunday!  Any words of encouragement you can offer are certainly welcome!

And I haven’t completely forgotten to post our Halloween pictures!  It’s just that we seemed to have misplaced our camera case, which has the computer cord in it!  Hopefully it will surface soon!

This is such a bittersweet moment in my day.  He’s sleeping so peacefully that I hate to wake him.  But then again, I love that I get to witness his adorable sweetness and first moments each morning. 

His kissably chubby cheeks are my favorite feature in this picture!

I’m new at BSM’s, but for more check out Picture This!

On our way to life group tonight, we received the phone call that Gpa and Gma were safe and sound back at home.  There seems to have been some differing opinions when it came to the reports on his tests.  I remember the same thing happening around this time last year when my dad was hospitalized after suffering from a stroke.  Regardless, I’m glad that he went, was checked out and will be following up with his family doctor on Tuesday.

I’ll be the first to admit that there came a time when family functions be they dinners, birthday parties, holidays, or reunions, held little appeal to me.  It was around that same time that I held a general disdain for most things that were widely accepted.  You guessed it – I was a teenager! 

Now, I relish these moments and savor the memories that we are building for my son (dreading the day when he too finds such gatherings pointless and perfunctory).  Yesterday, we had the pleasure of welcoming a new member of the family as Jason and Amy were married in a beautiful ceremony officiated by Uncle Chris….the groom’s dad.  Chris married G. and I as well and I’ll admit that memories of our big day floated back into my mind, but were quickly replaced by the present memories being created when his nervousness shone through.  I say that not to point out his jitters, but rather that it was so endearing and such a special time for them as a family.  Below are a couple photos from their big day.  Be sure to check out the Flickr badge for additional pics.

What a beautifully blushing bride!

Their first walk as husband and wife.

I was thinking of putting this in a separate post, but it truly fits within the scope of this title.  As we celebrated the union of this happy couple, some of our joy was put on hold as we received word that Grandpa Lin was feeling rather ill and there was concern that it might be something serious.  A handful of us left the reception early (after the hokey pokey, of course!) and gathered at Gma and Gpa’s house. 

After much convincing, Grandpa agreed to let us call the ambulance as he was still feeling extremely dizzy, was clammy to the touch and had poor coloring, not to mention the fact that he’d vomited several times.  The crew came and suggested they take him to the hospital for further examination.  Reluctantly, he agreed and as I write today, I’m so thankful he did.  After several blood tests, they discovered a significant drop in his hemoglobin levels which is indiciative of internal bleeding.  That’s the latest report I’ve received and have been faithfully praying about this throughout the day. 

Family.  Function.  Together they can mean fried chicken, silly games, goofy dances and an array of memories.  Separately, their deeper meaning comes to light.  Joined in happiness or sadness, the encouragement of loved ones can be just the motivating factor you need.  I’m thankful today for the family I’ve been given and I ask for your continued prayers.

I will admit that this whole realm of “motherdom” is new and exciting and terrifying and joyous….all at the same time.  I have constant questions and a variety of possible answers.  Reading, trying, revising, and trying again have become my new routine with my precious babe.  Part of that involves some of you brilliant bloggers who have helped me with possible solutions to my latest conundrums or offered assurance that I am not alone.

Here’s my question.  When it comes to parental requests in a daycare setting, what things should you let slide?  Upon our first meeting, I was assured that my instructions would be followed and I felt very confident about the situation, albeit temporary as my permanent daycare provider recently had a baby.  Lately, I’ve noticed little things that, I’ll admit, irk me and I don’t know if it’s a battle worth fighting or not.

What are the irksome things you ask?  Well for starters, she is not using the bottles I’ve sent for her to use.  I often get him home to find him in a different diaper than the brand I provide, and I found a different pacifier in the bassinet with him today when I picked him up, while his was sitting on the counter.  Another this, but one that I don’t feel is a huge issure, is the fact that he is pretty filthy each day when I pick him up.  I know that babies spit up, poop (in case you’ve forgotten), drool, and learn cool habits like buzzing their lips while you’re trying to feed them peas.  But to still have a crusty nose or carrots and cereal on his face 8 or 9 hours later seems weird.  If I know that we’re going anywhere immediately after I pick him up, I dress him in “comfy cozies” and plan to put him in his “spiffy” clothes when I pick him up. 

Are any of these things, concerns that you would bring up with your provider?  I think my hesitation with this is the fact that we’re only going to be with this provider for another 6-8 weeks and our permanent provider has a parenting style that more closely matches mine.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not questioning her ability to care for my child, or questioning that his needs (physical, mental, emotional and so forth) are being met.  I think the underlying issue for me, is the constant question of what other requests are being ignored? 

I’ve got my own thoughts about this, but would love to hear from some of you.  To those of you who simply read, please come out of hiding and leave a comment!