3:00

•  Changed one two three diapers

5:00

• Slithered out of bed and started my day (after trying to ignore my alarm 3 times!) 

7:00

• dropped Calder off at daycare (no tears, just a really lengthy good-bye hug!!)

8:00 – 11:00

• “constructed” my new stool
• stared around my room trying to envision the layout that would work best
• sorted school supplies, which felt a little like Christmas morning for school-supply loving geeks such as myself!

11:00 – 11:15

• Drove to Beaner’s to meet with our fiancial advisor

11:15 – 1:00

• Arrived back at the school where our financial advisor was waiting because we had changed the meeting location
• Started Calder’s college savings
• Talked a lot about money (realized kids (and life in general) costs more than expected)

 1:00

• Called daycare to check-in (after having restrained myself most of the morning)
• Learned that he had 2 more poopy diapers and that the daycare provider thought it might be something more serious than teething, my diet, or stress. 

1:20

• Scheduled an appointment for Calder to be seen by the doc!
• Felt terrible that I hadn’t called the doctor or daycare earlier!

1:30

• Picked up Little Man and headed home for lunch and to let Xanther out

3:00

• Headed into Lansing to hit the Dollar Store, Teacher Store, and Babies R Us before Calder’s appointment.

5:15

• Stuck in a traffic jam on I-496.

5:25

• Avoided most severe part of traffic jam because we weren’t going downtown at rush hour. 
• Stopped at Dick’s Sporting Goods to check out kayak sales
• Left empty-handed (thankfully!)

5:30

• Arrived 20 minutes early for our appointment
• Fed Calder
• Were seen by the doctor much earlier than schedule (Hooray!)

6:15

• Left the office with a smiling, cooing, little baby who apparently has nothing wrong with him as he seems just fine.

6:30-7:30

• Shopped at Meijer for odds and ends, including two bookshelves for my room, which I’ll assemble tomorrow
• Looked longingly at the aisles of treats and tasty goodness that I wanted to devour, my lunch having long since worn off.

8:00

• Dropped off a few things at school and a friend’s house
• Sat in the backseat with a wailing child who was not the least bit amused by my antics!

8:30

• Finally arrived home
• Fed Calder
• Changed him
• Finished feeding him
• Changed him again (2 diapers this time!)
• Swaddled him so I could restock the diaper supply that has been quickly dwindling
• Emptied Diaper Genie
• Washed bottles and pump parts
• Made Dinner and Sat down!
• Watched my angel fall asleep on my handy-dandy video monitor! *Thanks, Mom!*

10:30

• Crawled upstairs, kissed my sweet child on the cheek, climbed into bed and thanked God for the countless blessings in my life!

So I doubt I have many readers who have missed me over the past few days, but I know I have certainly missed posting!  Garth and I had planned a camping trip to Higgins Lake a couple of months ago.  With Grandpa’s passing, we decided to head up a day early to spend time with family.  So we hurriedly got the Jeep loaded down (and by loaded, I’m talking couldn’t-see-out-the-back-packed-around-the-carseat loaded). 

We got the tent up with very little in the way of arguing and were able to spend most of the evening with family.  On Thursday morning, we got up and around in time to head back into Houghton Lake for the viewing and service.  There was a beautiful video and it was nice seeing the many familiar faces who came to pay their respects.  The service went very well…I was especially touched by the military portion.  We are truly blessed to have those in the armed forces perserving the freedoms we have come to accept as a daily part of life.

I wish I could report that camping went swimmingly as well, and while we did make the best of it, it certainly could have been better.  It was extremely chilly and windy most of the time.  That coupled with Calder’s sudden increase in messy diapers, crabbiness, and desire to do anything but sleep, we were a little stressed.  Our friends Kyle and Jenny and their son, Bryant, joined us for the weekend.  We did manage to get in two kayak rides and (of course) Saturday morning was beautiful.  We stopped at the camp store and bought some sweatshirts for our boys and headed out around 11 Saturday morning. 

A long ride home, loads of laundry and barely standing piles of random articles we took with us, still fill our table and counters.  Gavin and Shelly stopped by Saturday night and came back to spend the night tonight.  We’ve had a little bit more crabbiness from Calder, and lots more poo too!  We’re expecting to see some teeth sometime soon (maybe hoping is more accurate). 

I suppose that’s a fairly good recap of the weekend, and believe me I will be uploading pictures sometime soon.  However, tonight, I have to turn in early.  We’re “starting school” tomorrow so that we can get into the swing of things before it’s absolutely required!  I’m happy, but slightly nervous considering how early I’m going to have to get up in order to get around and ready to leave by 6:15!!!  So, I’m off to bed! 

I don’t think I mentioned it in any of my previous posts, but my Grandpa E. was scheduled to have surgery on Thursday of last week to repair damaged blood vessels and increase bloodflow to his lower body.  However, due to some miscommunication, the surgery was post-poned and took place on Monday evening instead.  He came through surgery just fine, however, suffered a heart attack early this morning after complaining of the severe pain. 

He was kept on life support for a brief time, until it appeared that he was going into cardiac arrest again, when the family made the decision to follow his wishes and let him pass peacefully.  As I write, a thousand thoughts are coursing through my head.  I think of all the things I will miss about him and all the things he will miss.  My heart goes out to my grandma, my dad, my aunts, uncles and the countless others who touched and were touched by Grandpa’s life.  My constant prayer is to see him again in heaven someday! 

Here are a couple of pictures of “Great” Grandpa Ewing and Calder.  We love you and miss you!!

I can’t believe he’s already five months old!  I don’t think I added it to my milestones post yet, but a week ago today, Calder started rolling over with greater enthusiasm.  We spent this afternoon with our friends Kyle, Jenny and Bryant and then headed home, where Calder promptly fell asleep – about a mile from the driveway!  After one last meal and a little snuggle time, he was zonked for the night. 

Now I need to be turning in too, so I can get up super early to get a little work done before Jenny and I head to Piece of Mine to do some photo mosaics!

Originally uploaded by cornwellamandal

On Saturday, we visited the Vietnam Memorial Moving Wall at the VFW National Home for Children. Having never traveled to Washington D.C. I appreciated the opportunity to experience it in this capacity at the very least. My aunt Julie works at the home and has kept us informed about the schedule of events surrounding the wall’s visit.

In fact, I got chills when I realized that the loud fighter jets I heard from my friend Emily’s house on Thursday afternoon, were the very same jets that tipped their wings in salute to those fallen soldiers at the opening ceremony that same afternoon.

It was so very powerful watching friends, families and veterans pay their respects. The flowers, angel pins and other momentos that lined the wall were smalls signs of remembrance for these men and women. With a brother in the military, this really made me think about the sacrifice these thousands of families made.