38 week maternity visit

Today's visit did not go well. First rattle out of the box, I was told I have glucose in my sample, so they stuck me with a Glucometer.  Turns out it was only 82, so everything turned out to be fine, but that only the first drop (hardy, har, har!) in the bucket.  I almost passed out twice during the exam and then again several times later on when I was in the ultrasound room.  I never actually left consciousness, but the black and white dots showed up several times. It was so bad, they brought me juice and crackers and a cold rag.  Then, when they thought Heidi was breech, again, so they did an ultrasound, like I mentioned. The last time-at 34 weeks, she was not.  This time-the little stinker had turned herself right-side-up within the last 4 weeks. 

The Dr. said wwe had 3 choices. First, we could wait till labor started and try to turn her during labor from the inside-but that would have to happen (or be induced) within 2 or 3 days so she doesn't get too big to turn.  Second, we can try to turn her now, at the risk of triggering labor, breaking the sac or worse.  OR, we could just schedule a c-section.  Each choice equally distatesful in its own way, I chose the second option to try to turn the baby now, from the outside. I am not sure if any of you have ever had this done, but it was the most exquisitely painful experience I have ever had, short of actual labor.  What's worse, I came home and took a nap, and now, I'm even more sore.  The Dr. had to push so hard to get her to move (she was sweating by the end), every muscle in my midsection now feels like it's been through severe trauma.  I can barely walk.  I called out sick to work today in the hopes I will be able to take care of myself and Colton tomorrow alone and work a full shift tomorrow night too. I'm probably a big old wuss, but this is truly painful!  On the plus side, right after they turned her-before I got really sore-while they had me hooked up to the belly monitors for an hour, I got to sit in a recliner and read my book while having the nurses wait on me hand and foot, bring me juice and crackers and basically cater to me.  That was really nice!  :)  However, on a side note and to my credit, the Dr. said that some women can't tolerate it and abort the procedure halfway thru in favor of a c-section.  The good news is-they report she is now head down and still moving and healthy, and my water is still intact.  So far, I've had many pretty strong contractions, but the Dr. said it was from irritation and they should calm down.  If they don't-you could be in labor-keep us posted. I'm full term-38, almost 39 weeks, so it would be a blessing at this point.  :) 

From now till I deliver, I'm supposed to sit and stand, take it easy, and not lay flat-even to sleep- to ensure she doesn't stray from the head-down position.  It wasn't like I slept well before, and now I have to sit up (okay, only @ 30') to sleep-nice. I'm not on bedrest, but I'm not supposed to do anything strenuous that might keep her from settling into position.  The problem is, it hurts to sit and stand.  I'm also supposed to sit on my exercise ball or in a cross-legged position (not sit on the ball cross-legged-yikes!) to try to ease her down into position so she gets "stuck"- to quote the Dr. I'm so glad I don't have any other obligations. (Where's the sarcasm font when you need it??)

I know I should be happy that Heidi is healthy-if breech- and I am healthy and there are no major issues to contend with.  I made the mistake of saying, out loud, yesterday, that I had all my work paperwork in order, and I was down to just finishing my last shifts and organizing and allowed myself to relax a little bit.  Then today's appointment came to bite me.  Good grief.  Is it time to deliver yet?  I need some sweet tiny baby lovin' to get me thru the rest of this! 

Reflections on parenting

Most of you are familiar with my lists.  Most of my lists are funny, but I refuse to make any guarantees for this one.  Between late-term pregnancy symptoms, exhaustion, a two-year-old who is pushing the envelope really hard and mandatory overtime looming at my job for at least the next two weeks, humor has been hard to come by.  I am a little over 3 weeks from my due date, and it's a challenge to get out of bed at all.  This list is an attempt to find the smile I've lost.


1. There is an INSANE amount of paperwork involved in being a parent.  There are day care forms, forms for when they miss too many days, Dr.'s notes for your work when you miss for the kid, forms for maternity leave, forms for schedule changes-it never ends.

2. Food for a growing child is expensive!  My kid eats both us and the sitter out of house and home.

3. Cuddling is the best feeling ever.  I love cuddling with Colton. Today, he was a weird little moody yo-yo, swinging back and forth from super frantic to angry to whiney to cuddly to fun.  The cuddliness made up for the bad parts.

4. Two-year-olds are weird moody little yo-yo's.  They have on and off switches, but no dimmers and no filters.  It's positively exhausting.

5. My two-year-old creates more laundry in 1 day than I do in a week.  Yes, it helps that I work from home and don't get out much, but I still wear clothes.  Apparently, he can't keep 1 outfit clean per day.

6. Colton's powers of comprehension and vocabulary amaze me every second of every day.

7. Colton's imagination is so creative.  I love to listen to what he makes up.

8. Parenting involves an enormous amount of decision-making.  Do you make them eat, do you refuse to let them wear mismatched clothes, do you schedule playdates or let them veg? That doesn't even include the medical decisions-are they sick enough for a doctor visit or just wait it out, band-aid or stitches, flu or allergies, ear infection or just waxy ears, dry skin or ringworm, gangrene or just plain filthy?

9. Colton's compassion makes me swell up with pride.  If I stub my toe or bang my elbow, he'll ask if I'm okay and if I need a kiss.  Today, I was holding my belly, and he wanted to know if it hurt.  I said, "No, it's just heavy."  He came over to me and tried to hold it up for me. 

10. I am excited, overwhelmed, apprehensive and ecstatic all at the same time to think we're going to have another yo-yo to amaze and befuddle us, create more paperwork and laundry, double the grocery bill and cuddle with!

Renewed intentions, if I can find the energy to implement them

Hello, Friends! 

It has been a good long while since we've visited.  All of you, my followers, are my friends on Facebook, and lately, I've only had the energy to post about 20 words at a time, so a blog seemed unnecessary.  I will apologize up front for a rambling, unorganized blog post. 

I have entered my third trimester and have officially begun nesting.  Colton's room got it first.  The big boy bed we ordered for him is gracing someone else's home after UPS lost it, so it is not quite finished yet.  I waited until he was gone for the day to redistribute the baby toys to the baby's room and have a huge box of toys to give to Goodwill and another one of books to go to Half Price Books.  The baby's room is now officially a disaster due to all the things that got "reassigned" from Colton's room.  BUT, it's a step in the right direction.  The cleaning thing is a snowball waiting to roll out of control.  I have to clean out Colton's room for the bed because we need the crib for the baby.  I have to clean the baby's room (my office currently) to accept all his castoffs.  First, though, I have to clean our room to accept the stuff from my office.  I need a nap just thinking about it. 

The problem lies in the fact that I am stuck not prepping for the baby until the absolute last minute because I plan to work right up until I go into labor.  I can't move my office until I'm on maternity leave.  I guess the people who come visit for the birth will be moving my work equipment and furniture while I'm in the hospital.  :) 

Colton has started to use the toilet more frequently, but needs more direction.  Potty training is hard work for Mama.  I am so not interested in running to the toilet every hour or two, only to argue with a toddler who doesn't want to sit on it, even though he says he does.  Ugh. 

I have been better about my schedule and getting to bed on time, balancing naps and awake time.  Then the time change hit and screwed everything up.  Colton is having a hard time with it too.  He was a walking zombie this past week.  We don't have the luxury of gradually adjusting his schedule to accommodate the change because we have to work and take him to daycare. This week seems to be better, though, so we'll hope for continued improvement.  Although, I walked into his room this morning, and he said, "Mama, turn light off.  I want sleeps."  Poor kiddo! 

All this has added up to a very intimidating schedule, so much that I have a hard time just thinking about it.  There are days I am so overwhelmed that I have trouble getting out of bed-even though the stress keeps me from sleeping well.  I have done my best to keep up, but I have not done well managing my stress about it all.  I sincerely hope you have not been a victim of my stress and failure to manage it effectively.  If you have, please accept the humble apology of a hormonal, sleep-deprived, hugely pregnant woman with a full time job and a toddler. 

My intentions, as mentioned in the title, are to stress out less, and enjoy my time with my small family before we add our second blessing.  Colton is a joy to watch and interact with, and I love every second with him-even when he's pushed every one of my buttons that day.  If the house is not completely clean or ready for the baby and potty training is not finished by the time Heidi arrives, at least I know my son will know I love him and my husband and I will have happy memories of the time when it was just the 3 of us.  I'm keeping my eyes on the prize and living for today!  Everything else can wait.  Except a nap.  Nighty nite!

Chicago: Take 2

Recently, we returned from our second jaunt to Chicago.  I was unable to get off of work on Tuesday, and Clint's class started Wednesday.  For this reason, Clint drove to Chicago alone, and I flew up to meet him on Wednesday.  For any other normal person, this is simply a matter of logistics.  However, for me, it was a major, stress-inducing event.  I have not flown since April of 2001.  Needless to say, I was so nervous.  I booked my ticket without incident and proceeded to spend the next 2 hours on the TSA website researching requirements and restrictions.  Not only was my flight not direct (I had to change planes in Memphis), I was landing at O'Hare-only one of the largest air traffic hubs in North America.  I have not been so nervous since the day I gave birth to our son, and then I had pain to distract me.  Anyway, after arriving at the airport (generously conveyed by my friend Kristin), I had already checked in online, had no baggage to check and proceeded directly to the security line.  I waited only about 15 minutes till I was called to the conveyor.  I removed my shoes from my feet and laptop from my bag and followed them through the line.  Nothing could have been easier.  After redressing, I made my way to Book People and bought a couple of paperbacks to get me through the flight and the week.  Then I purchased a cup of coffee and a muffin from Austin Java and found my gate.  The plane was early, so I was glad I had plenty of time.  There were 2 empty seats on the plane, and I managed to procure a seat next to one of them. Score!  Once I arrived in Memphis, I ate a very good burger for lunch in the Sun City Cafe and boarded my plane with no drama.  I sat next to a very nice young man from Lubbock (he boarded in Memphis?!) who was visiting his girlfriend in Chicago.  I landed at O'Hare on time and called Clint to come get me.  He was very brave to fight rush hour Chicago traffic and then try to navigate O'Hare after that.  I was very impressed! (My HERO!)  I waited about an hour before Clinton arrived.  We ate mediocre sushi for dinner, found worse than mediocre ice cream for dessert and called it a night.

We spent the second night in the Westin Book Cadillac in downtown Detroit.  It was a BEAUTIFUL hotel and the staff was super friendly.  We passed the day driving up and down Woodward looking at all the cars participating in the Woodward Dream Cruise.  There were muscle cars, classic cars, kit cars, cars you wouldn't expect people would bother to save-much less restore, and so much more to enjoy.  It was a lot like South Congress during the Lone Star Round Up, but many more miles of cars. We did the same thing on Saturday.  Sunday, we headed for home as fast as possible.  We arrived home on Monday about 3pm, and at 6pm, it was back to work for me.  It was a great trip overall, but boy am I glad to be HOME!

The Chicago Incident 2011-a blog about our recent vacation

The Chicago Incident July 2011

Day 1 – 08 July 2011 

Today was spent packing and planning.  My mom and Carl arrived around noon to pick up Colton and the dogs and take them back to Fredericksburg.  Colton insisted on pizza for lunch, so I took everyone out to Mangia’s-might as well start everybody out on the right foot!  Colton was excited about going to Gooma’s and happily settled into his carseat when it was time to leave.  I stood on the porch waving as they drove out of sight.  I don’t know why; I couldn’t see them for the tears in my eyes.  I’d spent the previous two days counting the hours until I could have a break from his two-year-old attitude, but when the time finally came, it hurt to watch him go, knowing I wouldn’t see him for a whole week. 

The rest of the day was spent packing my own stuff and getting it ready to load in the car.  Clinton arrived home around six.  We loaded the car and were on the road by 6:15.  We had planned to make it to Chandler, OK to spend the night.  At 9pm, we stopped in Denton and ate dinner at DQ-second dinner for me because I ate before we left, but who’s counting?  Around midnight, we decided to call it a night and stopped just north of Ardmore, OK in Paul’s Valley.  The hotel we chose was Relax Inn.  It was $65/night, so we agreed.  However, I would have felt very guilty if we said no because we obviously woke up the owner when we rang the bell. The bed and shower were clean, and the A/C was cold, so we we passed out till morning. 

Day 2 – 09 July 2011

The next morning, we ate breakfast in a little diner across the street from the hotel.  It was decorated in the traditional ‘50’s style.  The food was plentiful as well as tasty.  After a good breakfast, we set out early on the road to Springfield, MO.  We drove all day following Route 66. 

We stopped along the way at little roadside attractions and marveled at the decaying beauty of eras past.  We drove past many roadside attractions, including the Blue Whale.  We failed to get a picture of this monstrosity, but suffice it to say, it was memorable.  We ate lunch in Claremore, OK at the NutHouse.  It was a cute little gift shop with a deli which served local cheeses and other local products.  I would like to re-visit it on our return trip.  It was that good. 

In Afton, OK, we stopped in a Route 66 museum.  The proprietors had purchased an old service station on Route 66 and turned it into a display of all things nostalgic.  We spent a considerable amount of time looking at the ‘artifacts’ and discussing their significance with the owners.  As it turns out, the owner of the male persuasion was a “car guy.”  He and Clinton got along famously, of course.  He took us into his personal museum of Packards.  One of which had travelled the entire 2400 miles of the Mother Road.  Also in his collection, a 1917 motorcoach, complete with beds, bathroom and kitchen with cooktop and ice box.  I was amazed-I didn’t know they made such things that early.  Once we had re-hydrated (there was limited air conditioning in the station), we were on the road again.  About a mile away from the museum, there is one of the oldest stretches of the original mother-road still in existence.  This particular stretch, called Ribbon Road, was unique because, due to monetary limitations at the time it was built, only 9’ of the center of the highway was paved.  The rest was gravel and dirt ‘shoulder’.  This old road crossed the interstate twice, and I was a little nervous about the bridges.  They held, and we now have an interesting adventure under our belt. 

Ribbon Road

neat railroad bridge over Rte 66

caption for metal bridge pic

see plaque for caption

Largest Rocker in MO

 It was time to move on to Carthage, Mo. 

After a slight, unintended detour along the way where we lost track of the signs denoting the historic highway, we arrived at our destination of Carthage, MO around 5:30pm.  Clinton had heard of a drive-in movie theater there and wanted to attend a movie. 

We’d been to one in Texas, and after a less than impressive experience I wasn’t too keen on repeating it, but Clinton was insistent so I relented.  We found ourselves with several hours till showtime, so we made our way into town to find some dinner.  A place called “Pancake Hut” stood out and we stopped there to eat.  Mostly, it was because they advertised free wi-fi and we needed to search for a hotel room for the night.  Turns out, that was about the only good part about it.  The food was pretty bad and the service wasn’t much better.  I guess that’s the price you pay for choosing local restaurants without knowing their reputations.  After asking for the internet password 3 times, the waitress finally brought it over.  I logged on and we booked a room at a hotel the couple in Afton recommended-The Best Western Rail Haven in Springfield, MO.  We had planned to sit for a little while and drink our tea and coffee and surf the web.  However, after we’d been there about 30 minutes, the waitress informed us they were closing in 10 minutes.  We finished up on the net and skedaddled.  It was 7pm on a Saturday night.  With nothing to do and nowhere to go, we decided to explore Carthage.  We drove around the tiny town for an hour before showtime.  At 8 pm, the drive-in box office opened, and we decided it was time to make our way to the theater. 

When we arrived at the drive-in, there was a line of cars long enough, we couldn’t see the entrance to the theater.  We waited about 30 minutes to get in, inching along the shoulder of the highway until we got the box office.  After finding a place to park and obtaining a soda, we explored a little bit of the theater.  The people there were seasoned drive-in goers.  They brought pillows, blankets, sleeping bags for the kids, camp chairs, everything you could possibly need to enjoy a movie outside or in your car.  There were older couples, families, high school friends and everybody in between.  The group of high schoolers behind us found themselves with nothing to do before the start of the movie, so they brought out their guitars and bongo and had a jam session while another group of teens bumped a volleyball around.  Still more people gathered on the grass where fathers played Frisbee and football with their children.  The playground at the front of the theater was also packed with squealing children and watchful parents.  I would like to mention: I did not see one child with a cell phone, Nintendo, iPod or DVD player to entertain them, and there were only a couple of adults on the phone.  It was beautiful to watch people interact with each other, instead of zone out with their personal electronic devices.  We watched Mr.Popper’s Penguins with undeserved attention and decided not to stay and watch Green Lantern.  It was 11pm and we still had an hour drive to Springfield to spend the night.  As we started the car, the “headlight out” warning light came on in the car.  We decided to try to find a replacement bulb ASAP as it was VERY dark and we had a long way to go.  When we entered the town less than 5 minutes later, in true Strosser style, we were introduced to the nicest young policeman who informed us our headlamp was out.  It would not be a Strosser vacation without meeting at least one police officer along the way via flashing-lights introduction. He issued us a warning and sent us on our way.  (Funny aside: after the other drive-in movie in Texas, we also got pulled over within 5 minutes of leaving the theater.  I don’t remember why anymore-I think we were speeding by accident-but we got a warning then too.  The officer took one look at the 3 month old baby in the back of our bright red SRT-4 with a large wing and apologized for shining his lights in the car and asked us if we needed directions to get home.)  After we got our warning this time, we drove across the street to find a bulb at the gas station.  Of course, there was none to be found there.  A random teenager in the station asked us what we got pulled over for.  Clint held up the bulb he’d since removed and told him.  The teen said, “You’re lucky.  The last time I got pulled over for a brake light, I got a $75 ticket.”  He and the clerk gave us directions to Wal-Mart where we could purchase our bulb, and we left.  The teen got into his black, 90’s model mustang with a modified (read: LOUD) exhaust, marveling at our “good luck” of getting a warning, instead of a ticket and drove away.  We replaced our bulb and finished the drive to Springfield without incident. 

The hotel we stayed in is on the list of registered historic places, and the man who took my reservation was extremely friendly and helpful.  The man who checked us in at 12:30 am was not friendly and looked old enough to be on the above-mentioned list himself.  The room was hot, the shower was not cleaned after the last guest, and the water temperature fluctuated wildly.  However, the sheets were clean, I had a pair of flip flops with me (TTU dorm showers were worse than this) and we were dead tired-too tired to complain, move, or ask that it be cleaned for us.  I had a dream about rattlesnakes coming out of the a/c intake, the cover of which wasn’t secured to the wall in a way that covered the entire hole, and woke up less than refreshed.  The breakfast and coffee they provided were tasty, and the morning staff was friendly.  We were on the road again around 8:30am.

Day 3 – 10 July 2011

We followed Route 66 out of Springfield and headed Northeast, into the rising sun.  We found ourselves mostly following the interstate on the access road.  However, it was still neat to think about the history of the road we were travelling.  Route 66 was designed to connect the Main Streets of the towns it went through, so it’s pretty winding sometimes.  The trajectory didn’t always make sense to us, but we managed to stay on it by following the signs.  We stopped for lunch at a scary-looking place in Waynesville, MO, called Country Café-although the outside sign only said “RESTAURANT”.  The paint was peeling on the outside and the tobacco was thick on the walls inside.  It was recommended in our guidebook so, although dubious, we thought we’d take a chance.  The burger was, in Clinton’s words, “a 9 on a scale of 1-10.”  That’s a compliment when coming from Clinton.  It was a very good burger in my opinion as well. 

We continued on Route 66, taking in the scenery and the sights of bygone opulence.  All in all, it was a very interesting drive.  Around St. Louis, MO, we hopped on the interstate and decided to book it into Chicago.  By this time, it was almost dark so visibility was going to be very limited anyway.  We were both tired and ready to find a bed.  We did stop for dinner at a place in Bloomington, IL, called Lucca’s, also recommended in the guide book.  We had the best thin pizza I think I’ve ever had.  We arrived at our final destination, The Wyndham Garden Hotel in Buffalo Grove, IL, without any detours or other incident about 11:30 pm.  The room was huge, well-appointed, clean and already cooled.  Both of us slept extremely well. 

I would like to apologize, but from this point forward, there are almost no pics because we didn't do any sight-seeing while we were in the 'burbs of Chicago and not much on the way home since we were pressed for time. 

Day 4 – 11 July 2011

We woke this morning to a thunderstorm of epic proportions.  The power in the hotel flickered on and off several times, and the rain was blowing at the window sideways.  It’s been so long since I’ve seen any measurable amount of rain, I was simply amazed.  After we got up and ready, we ate breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant.  They gave us coupons for one of us for breakfast, so I paid for mine.  I had an omlette made to order at the buffet line, fresh fruit, orange juice and coffee.  Clinton had a waffle, coffee and scrambled eggs-also made to order (not pre-made and left to turn green in a warming tray on the buffet line).  In the end, it was less than $10 for the two of us for breakfast, and it was the best breakfast I’ve had since leaving Austin.  Very nice.  Clinton left for school about 20 minutes till 9am.   I spent the day trolling on Facebook and watching TV.  Around 4:30pm, Clinton arrived back at the hotel.  We had planned to eat dinner at a local place, but traffic was really bad.  The thunderstorm had knocked out a good portion of the traffic signals, and there were police directing traffic at the major intersections, but it was a freeforall at the smaller ones.  Instead, we chose Fridays which was close to the hotel.  Afterward, traffic had let up, so we drove to a newly-renovated open air mall in Northbrook and saw Super 8 at the theater there.  It was a really good movie, but very emotionally charged.  I always seem to see emotionally charged movies when I’m pregnant and hormonal, so I ended up bawling during parts of the movie-embarrassing! 

Day 5 – 12 July 2011

Clinton had to be at school earlier than yesterday, so we ate breakfast at 7:30 am.  I came back and read for about an hour and took a 2 hour nap, until housekeeping showed up.  I ate PB&J in the hotel room for lunch and didn’t do much else all day until Clinton came back.  It’s so nice to relax and catch up on my sleep.  Travelling like we did on the first two days of the trip (stay one night and leave early) is hard for a pregnant woman.  I’m still exhausted and we’ve been here for two days now.  We ate at a local pizza place with some guys from Clint’s class.  The food and the company was awesome!    

Day 6 – 13 July 2011

Today, we ate breakfast at about 7:30 again.  The waiter seems VERY friendly to us.  It’s nice, but also kind of creepy.  I caught up on some promises I made to friends today and sent out birthday invitation emails for Colton’s party on Sunday.  After Clinton returned from school, we made a trip to the post office to mail the water bill and then drove to a local shopping center.  We visited Barnes & Noble’s and then ate dinner at the Cheesecake factory.  I have to say I was disappointed.  We paid $7 for a piece of cheesecake that was surpassed in quality by TGI Friday’s a couple of nights ago.  We turned in early since we knew we were in for a long day on Thursday. 

Day 7 – 14 July 2011 

Clint’s instructor started class early to facilitate an early release, so we ate breakfast around 7 am.  I returned to the room and packed our stuff.  Then I took a nap for about two hours.  I hauled it all downstairs so I could check out on time and proceeded to complete two crossword puzzles while I waited for Clinton to return.  He arrived at 3:30pm, and we were on the road at 3:45pm.  We made it to Cuba, MO to spend the night around 11:30pm.  We really wanted to spend the night in the oldest continuously operating motor court on Route 66.  However, after 3 unanswered and un-returned phone calls and 20 minutes spent waiting in the driveway, we were not able to reach anyone to help us.  What motel doesn’t take walk-ins?!  Anyway, we ended up at the Best Western Cuba.  It was clean and already cooled, and the proprietor was SUPER friendly, even at that time of night.  Too bad the air conditioner sounded like a DC-10.  It wasn’t all that bad, though.  Once you were able not to concentrate on it, it was easy to tune it out and treat it like white noise.  Maybe that just results from my background in teaching middle school band. 

Day 8 – 15 July 2011

Amazingly, there were cars in the parking lot the next morning that were not there when we checked in, and the SAME woman greeted us to check us out at 7am, just as friendly as the night before.  I’m sure she probably cooked the hot breakfast provided as well.  We chose to eat at a truck stop diner further down the interstate instead, though, because neither one of us was hungry right away.  The food was good and the waitress was wonderful.  The most drama we had in the day was that the guy in the booth behind us at breakfast skipped out on the check.  We offered to pick up his ticket and the waitress declined.  Drive, drive, drive is all we did today.  We made it through Kansas on Route 66, which our previous unexpected detour on day 2 kept us from completing.   

pretty overlook on Rte 66 in Kansas



'Mater in Kansas at a cute little gift shop

Otherwise we took the interstate and ate at standard restaurants.  We arrived home around 11:30pm and spent the night in our own bed.  A thunderstorm at 5:30am was the perfect topper.  We desperately needed the rain!

Day 9 – 16 July 2011

Up at 6:30am and on the road by 7:30 to Fredericksburg.  I ordered the cake and shopped for other party supplies before heading to my mom and Carl’s house to begin the party prep.  Clinton made it to Fbg around 10:30am to spend time at his parents’ house with his siblings.  Garrett and Charla came from Utah, and Betsy came in from Houston.  It was nice to have everyone in one place.  Colton and I met them that evening to Celebrate Garrett’s birthday with cake and ice cream.  Everybody had a great time! 

Day 10 – 17 July 2011

Today was Colton’s second birthday.  (Has it really been two years?!)  We celebrated in style at my mom and Carl’s house with Thomas the train décor and, of course, more cake and ice cream.  All of our family came to help us celebrate.  Colton got lots of awesome gifts and had a wonderful time.  He was asleep in the car on the way home before we were in Stonewall.  It was a great day for all! 

To summarize, we had a great trip to Chicago and back and made lots of good memories together.  It will be nice to return to some semblance of normalcy and get reacquainted with our son—and our bed-I’m exhausted!

NEWS RELEASE: New draft pick for Team Strosser

Austin, TX - Team Strosser has drafted its newest player, slated to join the team on January 30, 2012.  As of right now, with only 11 weeks of history to draw on, the player has no stats to speak of but has shown the potential to be MVP in the first game.  The player's gender and name are yet to be determined, likely on September 20, 2011 during the ultrasound scheduled for that day.  This addition will make a total of 4 players on Team Strosser.  More information on our newest team member will be reported as it comes available.

Observations from this past week

I am the master of lists, and this post is no exception, but I would like to share a few things that were brought home for me within the last week.

1.  I'll start with a touching story.  One of my friends posted on FB this week about being nice to people because you never know what battles they are fighting.  This was true for me at the grocery store.  I was speaking with the cashier at HEB on Tuesday about my son and working and life.  She mentioned she had been looking for an at home job so that she could be closer to care for her daughter who had an autoimmune disease and was unable to leave the house.  She then went on to say she took the job at HEB after her daughter passed away at 9 months old.  I sat in the car and cried for her after I left. 

2.  On a lighter note, I will not forget a towel when leaving the house ever again.  Black leather seats and summertime attire (i.e. shorts!) do not mix well.  OUCH!

3. Today, I was shopping for our cousin's high school graduation gift.  As I was checking out, I was conversing with the cashier.  She noticed what I was buying and commented on having a graduate in the family.  I confirmed and mentioned I hope I remember what was appropriate as I graduated ten years ago.   As I reached the car, I realized I did not graduate high school ten years ago.  I graduated from college ten years ago.  Sheesh I feel old now.  and forgetful.

4. Apparently, I engage random people in conversation everywhere I go. 

Well, that's all I have for now.  Maybe I wasn't as observant as I thought I was.  I just wanted to share a little bit of my life since it'd been a while since I've posted anything.  I hope you enjoyed it!