Weekly Wrap

So its been an entire week. What have we been up to?


Night Away
My sweet sister and her husband (their blog is HERE) agreed to watch our boys for a night so Doug & I could get away. I have to give a huge thank you to them. Watching Benjamin with all his diabetic needs is no small job.
It was short trip(21 hours), but we had a good time & managed to cram in a lot of fun...movie, dinner at Red Lobster, swimming & hot tub, walk at Iowa State, some shopping, and a little hand holding {grin}. Love you Doug!


More Travel After returning home from our day away, Doug & I quickly repacked and headed out again to visit his parents and to attended his home church Sunday morning. The church was celebrating it's 65th anniversary.


Reading

And reading, and reading...

The boys would have us reading to them 24/7 if it was possible. They are just absorbing books like crazy. We have some from the library that I am afraid they are going to be very sad to have to return. Especially the Wiggle Waddle one!

Public Speaking

I had the privilege of sharing a short devotional at a baby shower last week. Speaking to adult woman is 100 times harder than 4th graders! Other than the shaky hands and the unexpected emotions, I think it went ok.

There is nothing like preparing a lesson on the importance of how we are raising our children, to up the conviction in your own life! I had a Sunday school teacher in junior high that would talk about how she was "stepping on her own toes" while she was teaching us. That is a good way to describe how I feel.

Denim Skirts

I have a new love of them. Long ones were a staple during my college days, but recently I purchased a knee length one. I think I have a new favorite thing. The are so comfortable and cool. I wore one with a t-shirt and flats to grocery shop earlier this week. My husband asked "what's the occasion" when he came home and saw me. I guess I need to "dress up" a denim skirt more often for him {grin}. What to you all think? Do you like them?

Teething

Grrrrr...not a big fan. Both boys have been fussier than usual & the nighttime wakings have been brutal the past few days. I can't wait for the 2 year molars to come through so we can be "done" with the whole teething thing and I can have my happy boys back (and a full night of rest!).

My Back Pain Saga

I know you have all been waiting with bated breath to hear the results of my MRI! {grin} This information is boring & I am just putting it here for my family so feel free to move on if you want to.

My official diagnosis is hemisacralization. The MRI combined with x-rays showed that I have a sixth lumbar vertebra (the average person has 5) and my last transverse process (a bony protrusion near the vertebra) is partially attached to my sacrum on one side. That has created a rudimentary joint where there shouldn't be one. The result is that the motion in this section of my spine is "off" (because I have a joint on one side and not the other) and that is the cause of my lower back pain. What that means for me... back pain will probably be an off & on again thing my whole life. Right now I am seeing slow improvement with chiropractic adjustment and deep stretching. If the day comes that I don't have improvement with chiropractic care, a steroid injection can be used to help with the pain. My responsibility is...stretching, keeping my core strong, staying at a good weight, and seeking chiropractic help as soon as I start to feel pain.

The good news is after 5 weeks of being unable to run, I went for a short 2 mile jog this morning and the pain was very minimal. Hurray!!!

Making Bread

I got to wondering recently if I could be saving some money by making my families bread. I try to be very wise in the type of bread we are eating, and I choose only real whole wheat/grain with minimal (I would prefer none) preservatives. However, that type of bread is not cheap. The boys eat a lot of bread (peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or grilled cheese anyone?) so we go through it quickly. I have a bread maker, and I think might be able to do this. If any of you reading this have a really yummy whole wheat/grain recipe for a bread machine I would love it if you could send it my way!

Toddler Boy Fun

Joseph continues to love his "special" outfits. Friday it was...army rain boots and a tractor necklace. He wore this quite a while.
Benjamin has been all about giving hugs this week and he has learned to give a real kiss. Sooooooo sweet. Benjamin can also climb the outside of our stairs now, much to his delight & my dismay!

Coming Fun

My boys will be 2 in only 5 days. Crazy!

We are going to be enjoying a little trip to Florida with my husband's family. Can't wait!