Chloe's Hospital Stay: Day 4

My munchkin is still at the hospital, and I'm at work yet again. 

I don't even really have any updates. They took her IV off yesterday morning. She took her 'just in case' oxygen off last night for her bath and kept it off. They ended up having to put it back on later the same night. 

She was cranky when I got there last night, but after her bath, she perked up and acted happy and silly for awhile. I loved it. I had to leave to get boyfriend at work (I'm using his car so Mom has mine in case Chloe gets discharged) and she was asleep when I got back. 

This morning she was really cranky when I got there again. She's starting to sound more sad. Her cries aren't the same anymore. Her coughs are more frequent and sick sounding. If you asked me personally, it doesn't sound like she's getting better, but what do I know? 

The nurse came to take her blood right before I left. They cut her fingers and squeeze the blood into a tube. It's long, and painful and torture for Chloe. I didn't want to be the one to hold her while they did it, but Mom had left the room for a few minutes. 

Luckily she came back just in time, so I gave Chloe to her and left. If I had to listen to her cry while they took the blood one more time, I was going to lose it. 

I'm still pretty sad over it. 

This morning my 16 month old cried in my arms saying 'no no no' over and over again, knowing they were going to hurt her. It kills me. 

Here are a few pictures from last night and this morning: 

Hospital bath time

Finally, a silly face. It's been too long. 

She loved watching videos of my nephew on Mom's iPad

Gorgeous, silly girl

Picking at breakfast this morning. She didn't eat much of it. 

Some Details on Chloe's Hospital Stay

I'm back at work today. 

Lucky for me, Mom came to town to stay in the hospital with Chloe so I could work. I missed 9 hours last week, and so far 9 this week from Chloe being sick. My boss has been great about it, but I can't afford the loss in income. 

So I'm at work while my Mom is at the hospital with Chloe. She's spent two night there now. 

The longer version of the hospital story goes like this: 

Thursday: She woke up from her nap at daycare with a fever. I picked her up early and her temperature was up and down throughout the evening, but she slept through the night after 9:30. 

Friday: She seemed fine again in the morning, so off to daycare she went. She woke up from her nap with a fever again. The daycare mentioned her picking at her ear a lot, so I took her to the clinic for a 'just in case' checkup, to make sure it wasn't an ear infection. The doctor saw nothing. She had her last high fever Friday close to 11pm, but once it was gone she slept good again. 

Saturday: She was cranky, but acting normal otherwise, so we decided to go visit my mother to kill some time and distract her. No fevers all day. I thought we were finally on the mend. 

Sunday: We were back home, still no fevers, but she went into a coughing fit about 20 minutes into her nap. She threw up in her bed from the coughing, then again after I got her out of bed. She coughing was constant for over an hour before I decide to take her to the Emergency Room just to be checked out. 

The coughing subsided while we were there, but they heard something in one of her lungs. They did blood work and an x-ray on her, so I knew something was up. After being there more than two hours, shortly after 5pm I found out she was being admitted to the hospital overnight, and being hooked up to an IV. I couldn't stay in the room when they hooked up the IV. I would've lost it. 

As luck would have it, boyfriend left work early before he even knew we were at the hospital, so as soon as I found out Chloe was being admitted, he came right to the hospital. Having someone there made it less scary, so I didn't feel as much like I was going to cry. 

Things have been a blur since then. 

Her tests came back positive for the flu, plus Pneumonia. She had an IV in from Sunday until this morning. She had an oxygen tester strapped to her toe the whole time, and just had the oxygen nose piece put on her this morning because her oxygen levels were low. 

Besides being extra cranky, and terrified of all nurses, she doesn't seem too sick. She'll still play a little and say a few words. It's only when the fevers come back she she seems really sick. 

Last night she took another coughing fit that made her throw up a few times. It breaks my heart. 

She seems to be doing okay though, and hopefully she'll be home soon. In the meantime, I'm glad my Mom can stay with her so we won't go broke from having her in the hospital. And so I can sleep at home during the night. I feel really guilty doing it, but if I attempted to sleep at the hospital, I'd barely be functioning by now. 

This still all seems so strange and crazy to me. I go home and my baby isn't there. 

I'm not a fan of that at all. 

Wearing pjs, hospital style.

She was feeling better than she looks. 

All hooked up to the oxygen machine, not looking so good. 

Chloe is sick

So Chloe's been sick. What looked like just a cold turned out to be potentially pneumonia so she spent last night in the hospital hooked up to IV because she wasn't drinking much. She's a little cranky, but doesn't seem too sick so it's not as bad as it could be. We're still waiting for the doctor to check her and we still don't know when she can come home. Thankfully, I'm sure she'll be fine, but it's still no fun. Boyfriend has been with me since I found out she was being admitted, so that's helped a lot.

Ill keep you posted. Here's some fun hospital photos.

How creepy are hospital cribs?

Chloe was sick, and other random stuff

I wanted to write a good, interesting post, but then I remembered that I don't know how to do that anyway. Instead I share with you some random thoughts. 

- Chloe was sick last night with a pretty bad fever. I had to pick her up early from daycare. She was pretty sad looking for awhile. She seemed to snap out of it around 9:30 pm, after taking a few 'naps' in her crib, on the floor, in my arms. She was fine this morning so I shipped her off to daycare. If she survives daycare, we've got the whole weekend alone together to get better. 

- A week from today, Chloe, boyfriend and I are going away for the weekend to visit some of my friends, celebrate our anniversary away from home, maybe shop a little, and eat some Arby's. With Arby's being the most important, of course. 

- An upcoming weekend means cleaning time. My goals for this weekend are to organize the millions of toys we have, get caught up on laundry, and organize the coat closet. 

- We have a few large household items we need to buy, as well as loans to pay off, tires to buy, and things like eye exams and the dentist to pay for. Sometimes trying to figure out which is more important makes my head hurt. 

- This past week has been the coldest in awhile. I've been told today it's a little warmer. It doesn't feel like it. I sure could go for some summer sunshine right about now. 

Hope you have a great weekend! 

5 Great Wedding Ideas

I feel I should immediately point out that no, I'm not engaged. I'm not even close. But there's something about Pinterest that makes you want to plan a wedding. I think with Christmas recently passing, there have been a few engagements among my Pinterest friends, because a lot of wedding-related stuff has been creeping up on my home page and I've been pinning it for that day where I might actually plan one of my own. 

Here are a few pin that I've found particularly awesome and wanted to share. If you have some awesome wedding-related pins, post about them and leave your link in the comments! 

1. A Wedding Party Schedule

[ Blog:  Heart Love Weddings | Via: Pinterest ]

I love this idea because I was in a friend's wedding and we were constantly asking her where we had to be and when. The morning of the wedding, the boys were ready in their suits waiting for the photographers, but the photographers showed up where the girls were getting ready. It was an easy fix, but I like the idea of being super organized. 

2. Dancing Shoes

[ Blog: Grow Old Along with Me | Via: Pinterest ]

If you're like me and often end up on a dirty dance floor barefoot, you'll know exactly why I love this idea so much. I kept a pair in the back of a friend's truck. As soon as the fancy parts of the wedding were over, I lost the heels for my flip flops. My feet thanked me. 

3. RSVP Stuff

[ Credit: No idea. The pin didn't link back properly | Via: Pinterest ]

Funny and original. One other tip I learned was to number your RSVP cards. Just to help out with those people who reply 'yes' but don't actually give their name. I remember a friend being annoyed at this when she was wedding planning. 

4. Games

[ Via: Martha Stewart Weddings | Via: Pinterest ]

A fun way to pass the time for those who don't like to dance. Such a fun, unique idea. 

5. Fun Photos

Because there always has to be fun wedding photos taken. 

[ Credit: No source pinned | Via: Pinterest ]

Get the boys to pose how they think girls would, and girls to post how they think guys would. 

Do you have any fun wedding ideas to share?

I'm Wondering Wednesday

I'm Wondering Wednesday. This will be a new weekly thing. For as long as it lasts because, let's face it, I'm lazy. It's four questions. I answer them, your answer them, then link up your post below. That's pretty much it. 

1. What, in your opinion, is a non-mandatory high school class (not something like math or English) that came in handy the most in you life?
Keybording/typing classes. I took a few over the years and now that I work with computers, most tasks I do are very quick. I type around 70-80 words a minute. 

2. Tell us about your first kiss. 

I was 15, and it happened during a game of spin-the-bottle. (Do kids still play that?) It was with someone who was a friend at the time, someone I can say I have 'history' with, and I still talk to every now and then.

3. Do you drink the recommended amount of water daily?
Nope, not even close. I have coffee in the morning, and maybe some water in the afternoon at work. When I get home I sometimes have milk. And when boyfriend's home I just usually steal whatever he's drinking. 

4. Describe what you would consider a perfect moment. 
This morning - Chloe woke up before the alarm went off so I took her downstairs, put a little milk into her bottle, and held her while she drank and I watched tv.


Join me. Answer the questions in your own blog post, and link up:

Dear Baby Girl..

Dear Baby Girl, 

Have I told you lately how amazing you are? 

You have turned me into one of those annoying mothers who can't stop talking about how great you are. I can't help it. Every thing you do lately always seem to be hilarious or super cute. 

I love the way you like to dance. Even if a short tv theme song comes on, you shake your head while you can. 

I love it when I wake you up in the morning to get ready for daycare, and you almost immediately make a little squeak-like noise, jump up, grab your bottle then your blanket then reach for me to pick you up. Then, you sometimes even want to reach back in for your pig. You don't give yourself much time to fully wake up, so if I try to put you on the floor, your balance isn't great at first. But at least you're a better morning person than your mother. 

Blueberries everywhere!

I love that you're expanding your vocabulary. Even if one of those words is 'no'. The other two are 'what' and 'hi', and it's so funny to hear you say them. Especially 'hi', because you want to whisper it half the time. 

Your surprised face is still my favorite thing you do. Sadly, I don't have many pictures of it but boyfriend did get one good video of it. 

Surprised face looks a little like this

I like that you can show me your nose, but not really anything else. But you certainly can mimic well. If I ask where your tongue is, and stick mine out, you know exactly what to do. 

You also give great hugs and kisses now. You'll kiss almost anyone if you're in the mood. 

You make me so happy, you have no idea. I love going to get you up in the morning and sometimes I get sad once you're in bed. Now that I'm working and you're in daycare, I feel like our time together is always rushed, but it does make me appreciate it that much more. 

And seeing your happy face at the end of every work day is the highlight of my everyday. You're my little world, miss Chloe. I hope you stay this happy and funny forever. 

Two Important Dates in January

This weekend was a special one. It marked two the the most important dates in January for us.

The first one was Saturday. January 19. It means exactly nine months until my birthday, but that's not at all important. It was that date one year ago that I said "what the hell" and went to meet boyfriend for the first time. 

There was no love at first sight, no immediate attraction. It was more of a "He seems okay, a little weird. Maybe we could hang out again." Before I knew it, we were officially dating, and before he even said the words himself, I knew I was in love with him. 

It's been one full year, and we have not had one. single. fight. yet. 

We've had a few different moments where we were starting to get snappy at each other, and one of us said "I think we might have our first fight today." But nope, not yet. 

To 'celebrate' our one year of dating, we had supper, a few drinks, and had a night out. Just us. Except we ran into a couple of his friends at a bar. It was a good time. I enjoyed the next night more. 

Hangover day, January 20th, was Madi's second birthday, so we went to boyfriend's sister's house (an hour away) for a party. The  girls were so good. Slept on the way there and back, and were happy girls throughout the whole party. One of boyfriend's older cousins even commented on how happy they are and how we must be doing something right. 

Babies, on party day, January 20

Once we finally got the girls home and in bed, we had a quick supper of tacos then laid on the couch to watch some Raising Hope. As usual, he's so comfy that I started to fall asleep pretty quick, so I rolled over to get even more comfy and only woke up again when the episode was over. Best feeling in the world. Only to find out he slept through most of it too. 

So we were officially laying in bed by 9:30. We are so old. 

Silent Sunday: My two favorite people

He makes her look even smaller than she is.

10 Things I Did This Week

As I sit to write this post, I can't believe how quick a week flew by. Seems like I just wrote the last post. It must've been a boring week. Because I couldn't think of 10 things I did worth mentioning. 

1. I worked hard. I always work hard *shifty eyes*

2. I got an iPhone. I'm in love. 

3. I started to really get into the show 'Raising Hope' now that I'm done 'Being Erica'. 

4. I made a puzzle, and started my list of 50 must-see movies from my list of January goals. 

5. I got paid. Yeah, that's worth mentioning. I got extra money that I was supposed to get last month, so I'm happy about getting caught up again financially. 

6. Boyfriend got the time off, so we are officially going away the first weekend in February to visit some friends. 

7. Last Saturday me and Chloe went to the indoor play place, and got pizza for supper afterwards to share with boyfriend. 

8. Chloe gained an appetite. She ate a ton of spaghetti and Shepherd's Pie. 

9. I had a hard time getting out of bed each morning all week. 

10. I started trying to take photos of Chloe's outfits (and her general cuteness) each day, since she grows out of things so quick that she doesn't get to wear them much. 

7 "Up and Coming" Blogs

I don't usually participate in the 'rules' following an award. I'm always excited to be nominated and thought it, but usually I'm just lazy or I forget. This time around, I was nominated for the Liebster award, which I've been told is for bloggers with less than 200 followers. New or up and coming bloggers, I suppose. Thanks to Kim for nominating me. 

Basically the rules are post some random facts, answer some questions, nominate others for the award, and ask them new questions. Oh and tell them about the award. I like doing things in even numbers, so I'm not doing the 11 facts and questions like expect. I'm just doing 10! It's hard enough to find people to nominate. Most people are too popular and have a million followers, the rest don't show followers on their blog. 

Random Facts About Moi

1. Lately, I drink a large half coffee, half hot chocolate. Every morning. 

2. I work in an office at a hotel, booking meeting space and such. 

3. I completed college to become a legal secretary, and am letting the education go to waste. 

4. About 95% of my daughter's clothing is second hand. 

5. I spend a ton of my internet time browsing local buy and sell groups as well as parenting groups on Facebook. 

6. I'm almost always cold. Especially in the morning. Summer mornings, I often get up and put a sweater on for the first little while. 

7. One of boyfriend's (many) feminine qualities, is that we've discussed hypothetical weddings many times together. 

8. I plan on having (at least) one more child, but I require Chloe to be at least potty trained before then, if not longer. 

9. Potatoes are one of my favorite foods ever. 

10. I need a fun date idea for this coming Saturday night. It's a special occasion. 

Questions for Me

1. What is your favorite T.V. show?

I have many. How I Met Your Mother, Big Brother, Gossip Girl, Sex and the City, Dexter, Big Bang Theory, Being Erica, 90210, so many more. I review them from time to time on What I've Been Watching. 

2. How old is your blog?

Less than a year. My first post was May 13, 2012: Welcome to My Blog. 

3. What’s your favorite recipe that you make?

Lately, meatloaf. Recipe for that coming soon. 

4. Favorite mascara?

Covergirl Lash Exact

5. Favorite article of clothing?

A black dress of mine that I've worn to a couple of 'dressy' events, but haven't worn in a couple of years now. 

6. Do you watch sports? Which teams?

I don't anymore. I used to watch hockey back in high school, and the Montreal Canadiens will always have a place in my heart. 

7. What’s the last thing that made you laugh out loud?

I have no idea. Probably something on The Art of Trolling. 

8. Who was your favorite teacher?

I won't say her name, but she was my high school teacher. She taught French courses over the years including history and law, and regular French courses. She was the sweetest teacher ever. 

9. What’s your favorite quote?

[ via ]

10. What word best describes you?

Meh, I hate this kinds of questions. I really don't know. 

To you, I recommend:

1. Our Tiny Place - I cannot figure out how she has under 200 followers, because her blog is amazing, and more importantly, hilarious. 

2. A Life to Love and Live - One of my real life BFFs. 

3. Baby Sister's Blog - Not my baby sister, that's just her nickname. Her blog name is too long and Spanish to spell. 

4. Wrangling Chaos - A big favorite. She's kind of like a super mom, except she's so real and honest. 

5. The Diva is Learning Domestic - She hasn't blogged in over a month. She usually comes back. 

6. Blawnde's Blawg - She has a baby Chloe as well, who's just a little bit older than mine. 

7. BG Life and Design - She has more than 200 followers, but I don't care anymore. 

Ok, I'm bored and I give up. This award shizz is exhausting, and let's face it, most people won't pay attention to it anyway. 

Happy blogging, and have a good weekend! 

What I've Been Watching: Being Erica & United States of Tara

It's time for another edition of What I've Been Watching, the series where I tell you what I've been watching lately, and what I think about it. It doesn't get any better than this. 

[ via ]

House

House. He's a brilliant doctor, and he's rude, mean, sarcastic, and hilarious. 

I'm finally nearing the end of season 4, so there's still a lot for me to go through. It's taking me forever because while I enjoy the show, if I'm home with my daughter I prefer something mindless that I don't have to pay a lot of attention to. I'm with my daughter a lot. 

So maybe an update is in order if I ever finish the series. I bought the first few seasons years ago, so don't hold your breath on an update anytime soon. 

- Stars to be determined. [ House on imdb ]

[ via ]

Being Erica

This is now one of my favorite shows. It's Canadian (bonus!) It's about Erica (obviously!) who's going through a rough patch in her life until she meets her new therapist, Dr Tom. Dr Tom is special. She has a list of regrets, and one-by-one he sends her back in time to relive them and learn from them. 

It is a great show about self-discovery. It may have some cheesy moments, but it does teach you something every now in then. This show has managed to make me laugh and cry so many times, and always keeps me interested. 

The final season gets a little confusing, with all the present/future people, but you'll have to watch to understand. Well worth the watch. I'm just sad that there's only 4 seasons, and as I write this I'm a couple of episodes away from the end. 

- 5/5 stars. [Being Erica on imdb]

[ via ]

United States of Tara

To keep it simple, Tara is a wife and mother of two. She also has multiple personalities. She has three main ones: T, who is basically an annoying teen girl; Buck, who is basically a male redneck; Alice, who is a conservative housewife. She gains another one or two as the show goes on. 

This show sucked me in immediately, although it might not be for everyone. There's swearing, there's violence, there's sex scenes so intense that you don't want to watch this with.. well anyone you wouldn't want to watch sex scenes with. 

I'm on the last season, so my opinion might not be complete, but so far I love it. 

- 4/5 stars. [ United States of Tara on imdb ]

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Check out my last What I've Been Watching post, where I tell you what I think about 90210, Dexter, and How I Met Your Mother. 

Blurbs: New phone, birthdays, and random.

It's time for some blurbs (random snippets of thoughts and such), Wrangling Chaos style. 

- I got a new phone. It's been a long time coming. I got my Samsung Wave back in September 2010. I wanted an iPhone, but those were expensive and oh-so-popular that they had none in stock. The Wave went through technical difficulties charging when my mother spilled an entire bottle of formula on it, so when boyfriend paid a small fortune to upgrade early to an iPhone, he gave me his crappy Blackberry. I turned the old Wave on the other day and it actually works like a charm, despite being in the toy box for the past 6+ months. 

I got an iPhone. I paid a fifth of what boyfriend paid for his, for the exact same phone less than a year later. Cause I'm awesome. He tells me I'll soon be as addicted to my phone as he is to his. So now I'm making it my life goal to prove him wrong. Goal or not, I can survive a bathroom break without my phone, thank you  very much. 

As you can see, I've got all my addictions in one place now. Apps are my best friend now. The only paid one is Bloons Tower Defense 5. My favorite game. 

Ps, I got (and felt like a moron, but finally figured out) Instagram. So follow me for boring updates whenever. 

- That one 'blurb' was not supposed to be that long. My bad. 

- Lil M, also known as Madi, also known as boyfriend's daughter, turns 2 on Sunday. When I met her, she wasn't even one yet, and couldn't walk. Chloe couldn't even sit. 

- I've never said boyfriend's name in here yet. It's just habit now. I don't care if you know, but it makes me feel mysterious. Gotta find excitement where you can, right? 

- A cinnamon roll and half coffee/half hot chocolate are the highlight of my every morning. I tried to go without it this morning, and I got a headache and couldn't stop yawning. My brain is addicted to caffeine. Somewhere on my list of goals is to give up caffeine for a week. I don't doubt that I can do it, but I will miss it. My finances will thank me. Luckily, I'm still living off a coffee gift card from Christmas :)

- My blurbs are kind of boring, but at least I feel like I'm documenting life. 

- Tune in tomorrow for an episode of 'What I've Been Watching'. 

- Signing off, leaving you with a little bit of cuteness, stolen from boyfriend's phone....

My little C, a bit before Christmas

Lil M taking a high chair nap, also a bit before Christmas

I have a toddler, not a baby - 16 months old.

This kid of mine? So full of personality lately. She waddles around babbling all day. 

We had such a good weekend together that I miss her already, and I've only been at work for four hours. 

Some stats?

Age: 16 months on January 25. 

Weight and Length: She might be around 20lbs now. That's all I know, and I don't even know it. 

Diapers: Size 3s still fit good, and size 4 overnight diapers. If we don't use overnights, she wakes up soaked. 

Clothes: 12-18 month jeans (Old Navy, mostly), 6-12 month tops, some a little bigger. 12-18 month pjs. Size 4 in shoes. Size 3 still fits, but toes are too close to the edge. 

Sleep: From 7-7 basically. At home on weekends she takes super long naps around lunch. Both naps this weekend were about 3 hours long. 

Likes: 

- Mommy's toys - cell phone, laptop, any kind of remote or gaming controller.
- Taking plastic containers out of the cupboards.
- Shoes. If the closet is left open, she always goes in and grabs a pair.
- Taking the dvds off the shelf and throwing them on the floor.
- Mr and Mrs Potato Head.
- Climbing on the coffee table and couch.

Dislikes: 

- Sippy cups, but only because she'd rather her bottle.
- Getting her clothes/diaper changed.
- Being in a shopping cart for too long.

New things: 

- She waves 'bye' a lot, but that's not new.

- She blows kisses!

- She mimics a lot more now - sticking out her tongue, taking a sip of water then making the 'ah' sound. 

- She knows where her socks and hat go on her body, and can almost put them on herself. She can get the hat on sometimes. 

- Likes to dance and wiggle a bit more. 

- Climbs everything that she can. 

- Whines when she sees her bottle and wants it. 

- Passing stuff to people and saying 'tata'. 

- She's a little rough. Will stand up for herself by hitting/biting. Sometimes she'll hit for no reason at all. 

She likes food lately. It's about time. Foods she seems to love these days:
- Blueberries
- Cereal with milk
- Pasta and tomato sauce
- Potatoes
- Apple sauce
- Raisins
- Shepherd's Pie
- Cheese

Food's she's not much of a fan of:
- Muffins or cookies that are made with oatmeal and aren't sugar-filled
- Pickles
- Cantaloupe
- Toast with peanut butter and jam

She's just so much fun. All full of words and laughs and trouble. I still think she looks funny walking, and I love just watching her. She's such a Mama's girl - always needs to know that I'm nearby. She'll play alone, as long as she knows I'm close. She's my favorite.

And just for fun,
20 Ways Toddlers are Like Drunk People
and
Having a Toddler is Like Living in Poltergeist

My Goals for the Next 2.5 Years

I am taking part in the Day Zero Project. Which is 101  goals you would like to complete in 1001 days. I've started compiling my list of goals. I started my list on December 28, which 1001 days later brings me exactly to the date of Chloe's 4th birthday. I think that's a sign of something special. I won't be listing all the goals here, but I will be updating periodically with things I've done, and things I'd like to do soon. 

[ via ]

10 Things to Work On in January

1. Build a snowman
2. Compile my list of 50 must-see movies
3. Complete 1 Pinterest project (Goal is 10)
4. Put a little bit of money back into my savings
5. Be more positive
6. Learn to count to 10 in another language (Goal is 10)
7. Buy a sled
8. Start planning a game tournament
9. Do a jigsaw puzzle (started one January 9)
10. Create a photowall

I'll update at the end of January to see how much I've completed, and pick some goals to work on in February.

A Good Life...

[ via ]

10 Things I Did This Week

1. Got my broken car fixed, finally, after messing up the alignment on December 28.

2. Had a rough night where Chloe didn't want to sleep in her crib. It only lasted the one night.

3. Rediscovered my love of listening to music and making puzzles.

4. Decided to try to put more effort into blogging again. Anyone want to guest post? And also my Facebook page, so be a fan (please?) if you're not already. 

5. Hosted a giveaway where you can win milk for on-the-go! 

6. Got a little sad over my grandfather's situation. We've tried for a long time, and kind of still are, to fix it, but so far no results. 

7. Thought about the difficulties of parenting and disciplining when you're part of a blended family. 

8. Chloe got her first nosebleed (very minor) by trying to climb on the coffee table. She also almost killed herself by climbing on her toddler table and pushing against the wall until she was balancing standing on the table with her hands against the wall, with the table pushed about a foot away from the wall. I don't like toddlers. They try to give me heart attacks on the daily. 

9. Realized how badly I need to start packing better lunches for work. (As I sit here sipping coffee and eating a snack cake). 

10. Took some pictures of Chloe on a night where she was being extra silly. It's so much fun being her mom sometimes. I've also been excited about her (finally!) getting some noticeable hair. 

Giveaway: Cause who doesn't love milk?

I was contacted yesterday about doing a giveaway for Milk Unleashed, which is a type of milk that's safe at room temperature, and so perfect for when you're on the go. I was on the fence about it at first, but then as I poured my 4th glass of milk that day, I realized if there's anyone who should be interested in this milk stuff, it's me. 

Let's get right to the details, shall we? 

The prize you can win is a Milk Unleashed variety pack consisting of:

a) One liter of Shelf Safe Milk.

b) Three single serving shelf safe milks (white and chocolate).

c) Plus, one bonus prize, all mailed right to you!

All you have to do is:

a) Take the quiz in the app below, and post your results on the comments.

b) Be Canadian. 

I apologize, but they only ship to Canadian addresses :(

That's it! No following, tweeting or any of that crazy stuff. 

If you're nice, spread the word.

Everyone loves milk, right?

Babies love milk!

Contest ends January 18th, the winner will be chosen randomly, and I need your mailing address within 48 hours.

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When I'm missing you this much, I drive your truck

Every once in awhile you find a song that really hits home. I mean really.

The first time I heard this song, my brother actually sang some of it obnoxiously, asking if I'd ever heard the  song. I hadn't. It came on the radio a few days later, and I immediately recognized the song. I knew what it was about, and I knew it would make me cry. It wasn't until this past weekend that I actually got to listen to it. And as predicted, it made me cry. 

Watching the video and reading the comments may have made it worse. 

The song is about a man who drives his deceased brother's truck, to remember him and ease the pain. 

I relate to the song, and not because I know anyone close to me who's died and left something behind, but because I know someone who's a little bit older, and through circumstances out of his control, will have nothing left to leave behind by the time he goes. 

One of my favorite people in the world is my grandfather. He's my father figure, always will be. He had a stroke November 25, 2010. I don't like to post links from my previous blog, but this is the post I wrote a couple of days after the stroke.

Since then, an uncle of mine managed to get Power of Attorney, without any input from the rest of the family. My grandfather never had a Power of Attorney in his will, so we still don't understand how this has happened. 

For legal reasons, I will leave my personal opinion completely out of this, and only state what I know. 

My grandfather spent his first couple of months after the stroke in a seniors home, after which he moved in with his sister. He spent all of his free time doing work on his house, just down the street. I know with all my heart that he couldn't wait to move back to his home when it was ready, he just needed my uncle to help make the bathroom usable again.

My grandfather can communicate a little, but he can't understand a regular sentence without a lot of writing and explaining, and he can't speak it, unless reading. He is literally unable to speak for himself.

Almost immediately, both of my grandfather's vehicles have been sold, as well as his tractor, and wood has been sold from land he owns. 

A little under a year ago, this particular uncle's house burned down. I can still find the news article from March 2012, and I will quote it "The exact cause is undetermined due to the extent of damage." My uncle and his family now live in my grandfather's house, with no plans to rebuild after the fire.

My grandfather no longer has any intentions of moving back home. I know he's hurting over this. I see it in his eyes. I see it in his expressions when he makes me drive past the house and shakes his head sadly.

I don't know for sure what has happened to all of his possessions, most of which are antique furniture. I've been told that his furniture and possessions were sold or in storage. I've also heard from someone close to me that my grandfather took them to a junk yard where all his things were thrown out, and pictures were taken.

When my grandfather dies, other people will be living in his house, all his furniture and household items are gone, and all his vehicles have been sold. He has nothing but his clothing to leave behind.

I always took comfort in the fact that when he was gone, yes I'd be devastated, but his house would always be there as a comfort to me and my family. This house is my childhood home. I lived there for a year with my grandparents when I was 5. That house means the world to me. I always thought it would be there. I don't believe that anymore.

The ironic part of this story? Everything was willed to me.

So here is the song that breaks my heart, because when the most important person in my life goes, I'll have a ton of amazing memories but I'll never be able to 'drive his truck'. 

If you're a big cry baby like me, here are a few others that still make me cry almost every time:

Alyssa Lies - Jason Michael Carroll
Concrete Angel - Martina McBride
The Change - Garth Brooks
I'll Wait for You - Joe Nichols
I Loved her First - Heartland