Kelly in NC

Yipee! We passed our first building inspection today! That means they will waterproof the house, put in a french drain and then begin framing! It’s starting to move along!

I have made it through another weekend. That makes only 8 days of work until the summer. I must admit that the last three days have passed in a blur. We have been out and about every night this weekend and I am sure that Grayson will be glad to go to bed in his own bed tonight. Tim’s parents came in town for the long weekend and we have enjoyed spending time with them. Nagy will actually be staying in NC for a couple of weeks and we are looking forward to her visit to our house next week.
My brother and sister in law threw a terrific Memorial Day cookout last night. I am constantly amazed at the amount of family and friends that we have up here now (most of them were at the cookout). When Tim and I first moved here the only people we knew were my sister Renee’ and her husband. Now we have two more siblings and their husband/wives, my best friend Carri, and a multitude of people that we have met while living here. I really should get some kind of recruiting bonus from NC for the number of people that Tim and I have recruited to move here!
This morning, Tim, Grayson, and I went out to the house. The footers have been poured and now the foundation wall is going up. Tim says that the foundation should be finished this week, which means that framing can begin by the end of next week. It is hard for me to believe that we are really building a house. But it really is becoming a reality! Click Here to see a panoramic shot of the property from today.
Also, you can click on the photo of Grayson above to see a variety of photos from May. Included are photos of: Grayson 13 moths, Memorial Day cook out; Jack & Grayson, Leah’s Birthday party.

Grayson,
You are now 13 months old and to be honest, I think that May was the worst month of your life. It all started with your 1 year check up where you were given three shots. You screamed your little head off of course and were cranky for a good two days afterwards. (And to be honest, you still have a small knot at the site of one of the shots-so I think that you probably did have the right to feel a bit cranky!)
A few days after your immunizations, you then came down with a virus. You ran a temperature (off and on) for three days and really spent the entire time wanting to be held. I took you to the doctor who proclaimed that it was a virus in the Foot and Mouth Disease family and who also said that you were at the end of the virus and would be feeling better soon. About three days after getting over that virus, you then came down with a 2nd bug. I took you back to the doctor who after doing blood work declared that you were “just unlucky” and had “gotten 2 viruses right after the other”.
Yes, I would call that unlucky! It took you about three days to get over that sickness and then to make matters worse I fed you blackberries. Apparently you are allergic to blackberries and for four days you had a rash that covered your entire torso. So for three out of the last four weeks, you have not felt your best. You have whined and cried and otherwise pitched temper tantrums anytime you couldn’t get your way. Is it wrong for me to admit that at a few points during those three weeks I wondered if I really wanted to have more children?
I am glad to say that for the past week and a half you have been feeling better and your happy demeanor has returned. You are now back to entertaining yourself, sleeping through the night, and otherwise just brightening my day. Keep up this behavior and I promise that in three years we will discuss the possibility of a sibling. I guess that if I look hard enough I can find a bright side to the days when you were sick. Those days made me appreciate the “real” you 200 times more than usual!
While this month may have been difficult for you health wise, it hasn’t slowed you down on learning new things. You have learned how to walk much faster and are much more sure on your feet. You are now able to stand up all by yourself- without using another object to pull up. You have learned how to squat which you do constantly in order to examine rocks and sticks and any other item that may capture your attention. You now say “MaMa” when you want something to eat. (I pretend that you are trying to call my name since I am the one that feeds you the most- but to be honest you say it to Daddy and your teachers at school too.) You are officially on whole milk (no more formula) and have found another food that you love: pickles! We have discovered that you love the sandbox and you are getting better at playing “Peak-A-Boo.”
Grayson, I am glad that you are finally feeling better and I hope that next month will be an easier 31 days for you. I hope you know that I love you- even on your whiniest days. I promise to console you when you’re not well and to stay up with you when you can’t sleep at night. I promise to hold your hand and pat your back; to do anything and everything within my power to make you feel better. I promise to be the best mother possible- even on the days when you are not the easiest to love. You are my pride and joy and I love more and more each day.
With all my love,
Mama

So one day this week, one of my friends says:

Friend: Hey, did you get your hair cut?
Me: No, not since the last time you saw me. I’m actually in need of a cut.
Friend: Oh- well I like it. It looks like a Dorthy Hamill.

Ummm, is she referring the 1976 olympic gold medal winning ice skater-Dorthy Hamill? Yes, she was.
So here’s the question. Was this a compliment or not?

…and just when I thought that I had found a hair dresser that I really liked.

The time is flying by thank goodness! Only 3 more weeks of school and then I’ll be off for summer vacation. I can’t begin to explain how excited I am for the break…and if my weekend was any indication of what to expect, then this summer may be one of the best ever!
Tim went away on a guys camping trip over the weekend. That left me and Grayson to fend for ourselves..and man did we have a good time. On Friday night, we went over to my Sis-In-Law, Kate’s, house for sushi, sangria, a movie, and an attempt at taking photos of the boys. I say attempt because trying to get those two to sit still for more than 2 seconds is next to impossible. Here was the best photo we could capture:

Maybe we’ll have better luck next time.
On Saturday, we went shopping with Renee’, Ella, and Kellynn. Then that afternoon we went to my friend Angelle’s house for her daughter, Leah’s, birthday party. Grayson LOVED the sand box and I guess that we will have to purchase one of those now. After the party, we went home, ate dinner, took a bath, and once Grayson was asleep, I relaxed and started reading my book for Angelle’s blogging book club. The book “Snow Flower and the Secret Fan” is very interesting-but I am going to have to bust my butt to read it by the deadline on this Friday. For those of you who are interested, check out her site- next month’s book should be listed soon!
On Sunday, Gray and I just hung out at home. We went on a walk with Ozzy, played outside, and did a BUNCH of laundry. I had such a great time just hanging out with Grayson. He is finally back to acting like himself after all the viruses and allergic reactions he has had in the past two and half weeks. I got to soak in an entire weekend of smiles, laughs, and the newest: saying MaMa anytime he sees his favorite foods (bananas, grapes, carrots, bread). I am amazed daily at how much he is learning. It was fun to watch him interact with Jack and Ella-trying to communicate with them, stealing their pacis, chasing each other…obviously there are lots of fun times in store! I swear that I could sit and watch him all day and still be amused by the things he does…but I guess that is part of being a mother. You know thinking that you have the most amazing kid in the world! But, hey-I really think that I do!

Ever since Grayson began eating table food, his favorite of all foods has been fruit. Bananas, grapes, peaches, apples, kiwi, strawberry- you name it. He LOVES it! So when I went into the grocery store and saw blackberries on sale, I just had to buy some. Just as I expected, Grayson LOVED the blackberries. He ate every morsel I put on his tray. The next day he had a slight rash on his groin- and I just assumed that it was a side effect of the virus he had. About 5 days later (on Saturday morning) I decided to give him another helping of berries with his breakfast. Again, as expected he devoured them-and even cried for more. Within two hours of feeding him, he again broke out into a rash. This time the rash covered his entire torso, and even began creeping onto his face, arms, and legs! The rash lasted for four days- finally going away yesterday. Luckily, he did not have any other symptoms. It didn’t itch, and he could breathe fine. Kinda worried about what might happen to him the next time he eats blackberries. So, yes- the blackberries are for the birds-absolutely not for Grayson! Has any other mothers out there are alergic reactions with their kids?

Also click here to see Grayson’s 12 month photos and a picture taken on mother’s day- sorry but I edited the rash out of the photo!

Well, we have the permit, but we continue to be at a stand-still. No, this time it is not the county’s fault. It is ours. See this is the first time we have ever built a house. Yes, Tim builds houses all day long-but he has never had to “estimate” a house. It seems that when we selected our house plan and then kept “upgrading” it with the architect “utilizing all available spaces”, that Tim was not aware of how much all that extra space would add up. Needless to say that when we received the estimates for the foundation/brick and for the framing- our jaws hit the table. At first Tim didn’t seem too concerned. I believe our conversation went something like this:
T: So the estimates came back a bit higher than I expected.
Me: Oh yeah, how much more?
T: Well, I think that the house is going to cost us $50,000 more than I expected.
Me: Are you not concerned about this?
T: Well, I think we can do it.
Me: Are you kidding me? We can do it, but I’m not sure Grayson will ever have a brother or sister. Are you seriously not concerned about this?

For those of you who do not know Tim, he is a very money conscious person. He is the one who will call “Helluava Good” to tell them that his dip container was not very full- in hopes of getting free dip. He is the one who will spend hours and hours researching the best bargain on any major purchase. For him to act like spending an extra $50 thousand was not big deal, floored me. Of course, my questioning then sent him into a tailspin, complete with his inability to sleep that night.

After a consultation with Tim’s brother (who is really good at construction estimateing and said: Remember: More is always more! More space=more $.) we have spent the entire day redrawing our plan. We are reworking the entire second floor- changing roof lines and deleting a lot of the unfinished space. Tomorrow we meet with the architect again. Then it is back to waiting. Waiting for the new plans to be officially drawn and then engineered; waiting for the county to approve the new drawings.

On the positive side, at least we realized that we were over heads before we were really in over our heads. Yes, it will cost us more $ to have our plans redrawn and re-engineered- but it should cost us alot less than $50 grand and my marraige- which I am sure would have been on the line if we had gone through with our original design.

This construction thing isn’t an easy process- but it is definitly keeping us on our toes!

Well, today I had to take a sick day. Grayson started running a temperature at school yesterday. Since he had just gotten over a virus three days before and because he hadn’t been acting like himself the entire week, Tim and I went ahead and took him to the doctor. After an examination, a round of blood work, and my $15 co-pay, turns out he just has another virus. As the doctor said-he’s just unlucky this time and caught two in a row.
But I guess that we are not as unlucky as the last virus! He has not run a temperature all day and to be honest, this is the first time that I have seen the real Gray since he got his immunizations almost two weeks ago. I enjoyed hearing his laugh so much last night, that I even kept him up longer than normal. Today, we have had the best day. Playing, laughing, chasing each other around the couch and coffee table, exploring outside. I must admit that this is probably the best sick day I have ever taken. Truthfully, I think that he would have been ok at school today, but according to the Center for Disease Control, kids cannot return to school until they are fever free for 24 hours. So, thank you CDC. I really am grateful for having the day with my baby!
Also-good news! The county approved our septic and well permit. We signed papers and then faxed them back this afternoon. Now that those are approved, the contsruction permit should be finished on Monday. I said SHOULD! We all know how county governments can work!

~My friend Jacqueline just started a blog a few weeks ago. Of course because of everything that has been going on in the past few weeks, I neglected to send all of my (5) followers her way. Now, she has a crabby family member is complaining about “internet security” and she has been forced to make her blog private. She said that she would like to have people visit- so if you are interested, leave me a comment and I will send her your e-mail address. Then she’ll send you a personal invite so you can view her page. Am I the only one out there who HATES complainers?
~Is anyone else out there concerned about blogging and internet safety and if so-what are you doing to keep you family safe? I am sure that I should change a few things. Any suggestions?
~On Jaqueline’s blog a few days ago, she posted this really cool link, the Mom Sallary Wizard, that determines your worth as a mom. I was worth about $118,896 which I think is a bit low. But I think that the more kids you have the more you are worth. If I really got paid for being a mom, I would definitley pop out a few more and rake in the cash! I mean isn’t that what all those ladies standing in the welfare line are thinking? What are the rest of you worth?
~Tim and I are so frustrated with the county’s permitting department. We turned in our application for the building permit a week and a half ago and we still do not have a permit. Everytime Tim calls to check out it, it seems as if there is a new snag-yet not bothers to call and tell us. If Tim wasn’t calling to check on it, we would still just be sitting around here twitteling our thumbs. In the mean time we have cleared the lot and are paying interest on a construction loan that we cannot use. I HATE beurocracies! Just give us our permit people!!!!
~Grayson is finally starting to feel better. He continued to run a low-grade temperature off and on through out the weekend. The temperature has been gone since Sunday-but since I was concerned about why he would have a fever for three days, I took him to the pediatrician on Monday. Turns out he caught a virus that is in the same family as the foot and mouth virus. Wasn’t as severe as F & M- thank goodness but it has taken him a few days to return to normal.
~Of course what is normal??? My sweet baby has now turned into a temper-tantrum, fit -throwing toddler. I thought that tantrums were not suppose to start until 2 years old. WTF? I just want my sweet, loving baby back. Is He gone for good? I have my fingers crossed that this new “toddler” is only a side effect of the virus that is flowing through his veins. I am praying that he will be back to normal by the end of the week.
~Last but not least, the middle schoolers that I work with are having the “sex” talk this week. Since I am in charge of scheduling our presentations, I also have the pleasure of sitting in on these talks and supervising students. Wow do I learn some things! Here is my fun sex fact of the week: Did you know that 1 in 6 people have the Herpes (type 2) virus? Yikes! Every year when I sit through this talk I always think how glad I am to no longer be single and trying to navigate the boyfriend scene. Good luck to any of you who are out there trying to do it safely! I am amazed at all the STDs out there and by the incidence rates. It is down-right scary!

Hope everyone has a great week and hey, see I’m trying to get back into my weekly blogging mode! Send some props my way!

Yes, I know it has been a while since I blogged last. For those who have been waiting for Grayson’s monthly update, I have finally posted it. But believe me I have been trying to write it all week. It didn’t help that I had an assembly to get ready for (which was finished today and went very well, thank you). And the virus I caught on Tuesday night didn’ t help-since I was vomiting for over 17 hours. I swear I haven’t been that sick in 11 years. Anyhow, I am back to feeling like myslef again, thank goodness. My work stress is relieved (for a bit) and even though now Grayson has a temperature (not throwing up-so keep our fingers crossed) he went to bed on time. That gave me enough time to write his update and post it. Hope that everyone else out there is feeling better than I was and I will do my best to get back to my weekly goal of blogging! Enjoy!

Grayson,
Well, my sweet little boy, you are officially one year old. We celebrated your birthday on Sunday with the Grayson 365- a NASCAR themed party complete with Kyle Petty (or at least his life-size likeness) in attendance. Over 25 of our closest family and friends came over to visit. We ate bar-b-queue and ate a racecar shaped birthday cake; and of course opened the huge stack of presents that you received. I’d say you had a rather spectacular birthday!
You did surprise us when it came to eating your own birthday cake. You seemed a bit hesitant. Maybe it was the fiery candle on top (blown out before we gave it to you of course) or the fact that everyone was staring at you; but you definitely took your time at truly digging in to the celebratory dessert. Once you got the spoon in your hand the real mess began though. Then it was icing all over your face, hands, and arms…and maybe a little on Daddy too!
This month has brought all kinds of new changes. You now weigh 23 pounds, 6 ounces (6o%) and measure 31 inches tall (80%). You have two new bottom teeth- making a total of eight. Without realizing it at all, you got rid of the bottle and now drink only from the cup. (More about the cup below.) You are working on transitioning off formula and only onto whole milk. We still have one last can of formula to empty and since you have had some issues with constipation, I must admit that I continue to mix your formula with your milk. We also give you about two ounces of prune juice a day (watered down) which you seem to enjoy and it also keeps your pipes clean, so to speak. Yes-you enjoy that as well!
A few weeks ago, you spent your first weekend away from Mommy and Daddy. You didn’t seem to miss us much since you were visiting your cousins Ella and Kellynn and playing with their mountain of toys! I must admit that it was hard being away from you for three days and two nights. I teared-up when Aunt Renee drove you away and I thought about you constantly throughout the whole trip. When we picked you up on Sunday night, you were already asleep. When I opened the bedroom door you popped up your head, laid it down again, and then popped it up again for a double take. When you realized it was me, you quickly stood up and then began jumping up and down in your pack-n-play; urging me to scoop you up! And that is exactly what I did! I scooped you up, kissed you all over and then of course passed you off to Daddy for his turn!
It was actually during your stay at Aunt Renee’s that you officially gave up the bottle. Since you and Ella had to have everything the same (or else one of you would pitch a fit) Renee decided to give you matching cups instead of your night time bottles. Since Ella was ok with it- so were you and that my son was the end to the bottle! Thank you Aunt Renee’!
This month you celebrated you first Easter. MiMi and I took you to see the Easter Bunny. You were excited to see him while we stood in line, but once you sat on his lap- you looked at me as if to say “Hey, he’s not as interesting this close! Come back and get me so I can look at him from over there!” You didn’t cry…you just did not seem as amused as before you sat down. Also, to celebrate Easter you went to Uncle Kevin and Aunt Renee’s house to eat dinner and participate in your first Easter egg hunt. With a lot of help, you were able to find a few eggs, pick them up, and put them in the basket. You didn’t win any prizes this year…but next year all the cousins had better watch out! This year was only a practice round.
You officially learned to walk over the Easter weekend. Choosing your targets wisely, at first you would only move to soft, reliable objects that you could count on to break your fall if you accidentally tumbled. You would only move to the arms of either your Daddy or mine. Then you ventured to walk to the couch or table; until finally one week later you discovered that you could walk to anywhere you wanted! You have learned how to ease yourself to the floor to avoid a hard fall and have learned how to recover when loosing your balance. Yes, you have a few bumps and bruises to prove that you are a work in progress…but every one of those bruises is proof that you are learning.
It’s funny how proud of you I felt when you started to walk. That night I laid in bed and said to your father-“Isn’t he amazing?” Grayson, if you never accomplish anything more in life (which for both my and your sake I hope you do) I want you to know that I am not sure that I could ever be more proud of you as I was when I opened my arms and you ran, half-stumbled into my arms, laughing with each and every step. It is hard to explain “what” about that moment made me feel so proud, and most likely you will not understand this feeling until your own child runs into your arms. Perhaps it was seeing how proud you were of yourself in taking those steps; or maybe I felt so proud because I loved seeing your determination in figuring it out. It might have been because it was my first glimpse at seeing you as a little boy.
But I think that another part of it was because I was so glad that it was our arms to which you wanted to run. If your father and I teach you nothing else, I hope that you will always know that we have open arms for catching you. We promise to always pick you up, wipe away the tears, steady you back on your feet and send you back out there to accomplish your goals. My only hope is that you will always trust us to do that; to help you when you need it.
Please learn lessons from this first year. Continue to smile -it’s hard for anyone to dislike you when you have such a huge grin on your face. Keep your happy attitude. Everyone likes to hang out with someone who makes them laugh and someone who can see the good in the world. Never give up and of course, remember that Daddy and I are here for you; for anything and everything.
Happy Birthday Grayson! We love you 100 times more than last year!
Love Always,
Mommy

Photos from is party can be viewed by clicking on his picture above.