sick kiddo.

today i learned what it's like to be a "mom" while juggling a career ...

this morning haley texted me while getting ready, "i feel horrible."  we were running a little late, so i didn't see it at first.  i even dashed past her to the laundry room to snag a sweater and pants that had been tumbling in the dryer.  when i read her message, it was my turn to feel horrible.

i went in to check on her and take her temperature.  her stomach was achy, and she had a little bit of a headache, but no fever.  she's not allowed to miss anymore school since she's had to be out so much this school year.  we decided since she didn't have a fever, she would have to go in.  i felt terrible sending her and empathized with her as much as i could.  haley understood, so we headed about the day.  i encouraged her to eat a piece of toast, but she didn't feel like eating.  i suggested grabbing some saltine crackers out of the cafeteria once she got to school to carry with her to class.

i got a text message from haley at about 9:15 asking if she could go to incredible pizza with her friend nicole and a few other friends.  this gave me hope that she was feeling better.  unfortunately, when i asked how she was feeling, she said her head was stuffy and that her tummy still hurt.  i decided it was best for us to wait it out and see how she was feeling later in the day.

an hour and a half later i got another text message from haley.  she had thrown up.  in class.  and in mrs. metcalf's office (the assistant principal).  oi.  they weren't able to get a hold of my mom, and i knew there was little mom would be abe to do from muskogee anyway, so i instant messaged travis to see if he could get a ride home from matthew after work.  i had a short window to go get haley because my afternoon was filled with back to back calls beginning at 1:30.

i packed up my stuff and headed to catoosa.  it took a little over an hour from the time i got her text until the time i got to the school.  by this time, haley was in the principal's office and was looking pretty miserable.  i signed her out and headed to CVS to grab some ginger ale and speak to the pharmacist.  there has been a horrible stomach bug going around this year and i wanted to combat it from the beginning if we could.  unfortunately all they said was pedialite.  we walked out with our pedialite and ginger ale and headed across the street to subway to grab her some chicken noodle soup.  they didn't have any.  boo.

i snagged a sandwich and then headed up the street to schlotzsky's (andrea and jenny should love that).  thankfully they had chicken soup, so we grabbed a bowl and headed home.

when we got to the house, her temperature was higher than it was this morning, but it was still only 98.7.  haley tried to eat a little of her soup while i took care of the boys and wolfed down my sandwich.  i was already online replying to emails trying to take care of as much as i could before being on calls all afternoon.  she wasn't able to eat much of her soup, so we fixed her a glass of ginger ale, gave her some pepto, and tucked her into bed with a washcloth on her head and one on her throat.  didn't work.  right before i went back to get on my first call, i heard her get sick again.  poor baby.

she laid back down, i put the boys in to snuggle with her, and i headed back to my closet.  {have i ever mentioned that i have to take calls from my closet when working from home?  the boys bark too much and that's the quietest place i can find}.  my first call was supposed to last an hour and a half, but after i presented my 40 minute portion, i hopped off the line and went to check on her.  she was sound asleep and didn't even stir when the boys barked.   i let them out for a bit and stretched my legs while answering emails from my phone.

i wrapped up several other calls for the day and heard her stirring while i was on the last call.  she had been able to eat a little soup while i was working -- but when i checked her temperature, it had jumped to 101.2.  uh-oh.

now she's lying in bed.  i've become a germ freak and am spraying everything down with lysol and checking in on her every few minutes.

so, another new experience.  it was crunch time for a few minutes this morning. i had just finished some work, but had other work that needed to be done on a project that has to be completed this week and then i knew i had the afternoon calls and presentations.  i'm so grateful haley caught me when she did.  i would have felt horrible if she'd just been sitting and sitting waiting for me to come.

i felt like a whirlwind, and was so grateful when another call ended early this afternoon. 

now i have a trip to houston next week, and i'm sitting here hoping that if i'm going to get sick, that i get sick this weekend so i won't get sick while traveling.  what a weird thing to wish for.  vitamin c and lysol, here i come!

a lot can change in a month.

as the title of this post suggests, so many things have changed in our lives. when i last wrote, we had spent the weekend with haley, and then ended up bringing her to live with us on february 3rd.  this weekend it will be one month since she moved in.  so many has happened it's hard to believe it has only been four weeks.

i didn't really know how our lives would change by bringing a 17 year-old, high school sophomore girl into our home. (my last post said she's 16, but she's 17).   travis and i tried to anticipate -- doctors' appointments, parent-teacher conferences ... BOYS!!  -- but until you really dive into the daily grind, you don't really know what's it's going to be like.

for travis and me, our routine hasn't changed terribly.  we wake up around the same time we always did.  now instead of getting to work at 7:30, though, we get in closer to 8:00.  we drop haley off at school on our way to work.  kind of like with the pups, though, before we make a plan to do anything with our friends, we consider how that will impact haley, where she'll be, etc.

i do hate that haley has to get to school so early.  it has actually worked out well for the time-being, though.  having lost her grandma in november (who lived with her) and then her dad in january (i still can't comprehend this kind of loss), she has quite a bit of make-up work.  her english teacher meets with her each morning to help her get caught up.  the first week she and travis got all caught up on her french homework.  geometry has been the biggest struggle (as i'm typing this, i'm so grateful i don't have to worry about geometry homework!), but she has a teacher helping her over lunch to get caught up.  now she has an upcoming science fair project and two more papers in english before she's good to go.

her friend brittany and her friend millie have both been to the house, but we haven't gotten to meet a lot of her other friends.  as time goes on i'm sure we'll get to meet more of the people who have been so important to her over the years.

i'm so grateful that we have a strong support system in place as well -- family members who have helped pick haley up from school when friends weren't able to bring her home, friends and family who check in on us to see how the transition is going, and everyone who loves us (and has come to love haley even without meeting her). 

i'll post more about our activities in february including our date night with the loves, mom's birthday, valentine's day with the smiths, and houston travel.  cheers for now!

weekend with haley.

last friday night mom and haley came by the house just in time for dinner.  i had just whipped up a delicious pot of mac and cheese soup ... but i added broccoli to liven it up a bit.  the girls ate and watched a couple of shows with us, but then they headed to muskogee to stay the night at mom's.  they had talked about staying the night with us, but knew we had to head to muskogee the next morning to surprise steve on groundhog's day.  and i think haley was just craving some girl time with my mom.  being with her helps her feel closer to her dad.

they came back over on sunday afternoon.  mom hung out for a bit, but then had to head back to muskogee to work on homework and get ready for the week ahead.  travis and i spent time hanging out with haley.  she showed us the new outfits mom had gotten for her and the two new pairs of shoes.  very cute.

we grabbed lunch at the olive garden and drove around the area to help haley see what all was in the area as far as stores, the theater, etc.  she stayed and hung out with us until a little after 8:00 and then we took her back to her dad house so she could get ready for school for the week.

we had just gotten home and started getting ready for the week ourselves.  mom and i were on the phone catching up when she said haley was calling her and that she would call me back.  i went to the bathroom and when i came back i had a missed call from my mom.  i tried to call her back, but it went straight to voicemail.  turns out she was on the phone with travis.  she explained there was a lot of commotion going on at haley's house and that she was going to drive us from muskogee, but in the meantime, we needed to go get haley right then.

i called and let haley know we were on the way and to pack a bag and her school stuff.   her house is only about 10 minutes from our house, so it didn't take long for us to get there.  her sister courtney helped her carry out a few things, and they had a tearful goodbye.  all the while saying they knew this is for the best.  i felt so badly watching courtney walk back into the house that seemed to be causing such problems and heartache.

we got haley to the house and helped her bring in her things.  she wanted to know what my mom and michelle were talking about and when my mom was going to be at the house.  we had her take a shower to start getting ready for the week and to try to calm the situation.


i checked in with mom a few times, but it took her a while to get to catoosa, and then after that it took her a while to sort things out in catoosa.  she decided that haley wouldn't go back to the house again without one of us with her.  she and sierra packed up the rest of haley's clothes and shoes and loaded up as much as they could.

we've had miss haley ever since.  she had been nervous to move in with us {which is understandable.  she has already been through so much}, but that night when we dropped her at her house, she had already started packing things.  the plan would have been for her to move in with us this weekend, but everything happens for a reason, and we're all grateful that we've had her this week.

it was an eventful night and we didn't manage to get to bed until well after midnight.  i'm still not sure that haley was able to fall asleep right away.  i don't think i would have been able to had i been through what she's been through. 


the week has been a pretty smooth transition, not without it's challenges, but they've been minor and we're slowly settling in to new routines.
be thinking of our family as haley goes through this time of incredible transition.  as travis and i have become parents of sorts.  and as our household has grown to include a 16 year old. =)

time passing by.

wow.  time has always gone by so quickly, but it seems to go faster and faster all the time.it seems like levi was just celebrating his 30th birthday, and yet february 3rd has come and gone again. so hard to believe.i love my family so much.  i miss being a little younger and getting to spend more time with them.  happy birthday, cousin.  i love you.

groundhog day.

travis's dad loves groundhog day.  loves it.  more than christmas. more than thanksgiving. more than fourth of july.  there is no other holiday he loves more than groundhog day.

a week or two before the 2nd, the emailed all of us.  the suject line of the email read: it's coming.
when we opened up the email, there was a link with a message that read: get your groundhog stuff here.  

oh steve.

since he treats it like an actual, full-blown holiday, i decided to give seana a ring to see if she could create something fabulous for the big day.

as always, she delivered.  how cute is this little puxatawney phil?  you can't see in this picture {i took it with my iphone while it was still in the box}, but he has the cutest little buckteeth as well.

on friday night, steve called me.  when i answered the phone he started singing -- groundhog day is coming!  groundhog day is coming!

i told him, "i know!" but he continued to sing.  it was hilarious.  when he finished he told me i needed to sing it to the boy. 

we woke up saturday morning, waited for seana to deliver that adorable cake and then headed to muskogee.  did i mention it was a rum cake -- the perfect cake for an ol' pirate.

steve was so surprised when he saw the cake.  he just kept laughing and wouldn't quit smiling. he made me take his picture in front of the fireplace {where all the "official" pictures are taken in the lear house}.  i was so glad he was so surprised.  i'll have to post the pictures i took with my camera later. 

looks like he's brought us all around to celebrating february 2nd.

29. jan. 2013: falling asleep.

i can always, always, always fall asleep ... but you know what they say about saying "always" and "never."

i wasn't able to fall asleep on the 29th.  i kept tossing and turning.  i was completely restless.  my lamp was still on, and i had my hands and my chin on travis's chest.

travis was very sleepy and kept drifting in and out as i moved around.

he asked me, "are you going to go to sleep?"
my response?  "i'm adoring you."
him: "that's fine, but adore me quietly."

oh the joys of marriage.  ;)
just another reason i adore him. 

26. jan. 2013. date night with the dills.

travis and i decided we would go out with the dills.  i rushed around to get ready.  travis got home from muskogee with just enough time to run in, take a shower, and hop in the car to meet them at main street tavern for dinner. 

we had a quick dinner and the three of them grabbed a drink, and then we were off to the tulsa convention center.  it turns out, kyle's mom's boyfriend is the production manager for three doors down and daughtry. what??

we had VIP passes and got to sit in the sound "booth." he was afraid we wouldn't like because we wouldn't have seats.  are you kidding me?  we had one of the best "seats" in the house.

we snagged a couple of pictures while we were waiting to be escorted in to the concert.

we had such a fun time watching the guys get everything set up.  we met the main security guy -- who also works as drew barrymore's security (and a few other celebrities whose names have escaped me).  and we laughed at the camera guys who kept zooming in on certain people in the audience and sharing jokes among themselves.

we had a lot of fun once the show got started, too.  we could hear whenever the bands were talking behind the stage or when the lights were down.  i think our favorite songs were the mashups -- when daughtry would come out and sing with ben and vice versa.  in the end, i was really glad we went.

after the concert, we headed over to red dirt.  i  was getting tired at the concert (and it went a little longer than it was supposed to) so i was already fading before we got to red dirt.  then we ended up closing down red dirt!  i couldn't believe it.  kyle and laura ran into one of their friends and had a good time catching up with her and her friends. 

afterwards, everyone decided they were hungry.  we headed over to whataburger.  holy. moly.  that was an experience in and of itself.  there were SO many people there.  several of whom work at phillips 66 or conocophillips.  i couldn't believe we were running into people from work in broken arrow at that time of night! the place was a madhouse!  people were shouting back and forth across the restaurant.  someone who knew travis asked me how i knew him -- well, guy, turns out he's my husband.  i run into him from time to time.  =o)

i was completely sober {i hadn't had a single drink the entire evening} and it was really just too much for me.  travis and i both agreed we would never head back there anytime soon {and never at 2:30 in the morning}. 

we didn't get to bed until almost 4:00 a.m.  i'm not made for that kind of a night.  i still don't think i've recovered! 

26. jan. 2013. organizing for change.

sometimes i fall off the blogging bandwagon just because i won't have it in me.  i just won't feel like writing.  that has not bean the case the past few weeks.  i've had lots and lots to write about ... and very little time.

on the 26th i started the massive project of cleaning the office.   travis mentioned to me on monday or tuesday night that he thought we should try to get haley.  ever since my uncle david passed away, it's been unclear what would really happen with her.  my mom had promised uncle david to take care of haley if anything ever happened to him, but there are a lot of things on her plate right now and none of us thought it would be a healthy decision for her.

i called mom and let her know we would like to get haley.  throughout the rest of the week,  i started rearranging the guest bedroom and cleaning items out of the closet.  if haley was going to come live with us, i wanted everything to be set up and ready for her.

i had to reorganize the office closet to make room for items from the guest room.  something you should know about me when it comes to organizing - it always gets worse before it gets better.

 

i pulled everything that been haphazardly shoved into the office closet and had it out in the middle of the floor.  slowly but surely i set about finding a new home for everything.  i was also able to throw out and recycle scards of items.  i also moved both of the towers that you see in the picture from another part of the room, and i removed all the doors and hardware they had on them. 

i  also found some fun treasures while looking through things. 

sierra stopped by for a little bit and helped me organize some of my paper and invitations.  while we were working i got a phone call from travis.  our friends laura and kyle dill had gotten free tickets to the three doors down/daughtry concert.  

i was really torn between going and staying home because i had such a big mess on my hands and wanted to get as much put away as possible. 

i ended up getting as far as i could and then started getting ready.  sierra couldn't believe i even considered not going.  she thinks i'm nuts.  ;o)  here's the progress.  i will replace those bins because they're not really my style, but for now, function vs. fashion.

and the inside of the closet looks much better.