These Are a Few of My Favorite Things Party

Good Monday morning!

Where should I start? I would like to thank many of you for your e-mails, encouraging comments and kind words last week. I truly appreciate you taking the time to contact me. It was a relief when Friday's post was finished. I had thought it would be a release to "talk" about Josh, but I had a heaviness all week as I rehashed all the events of the past few years. One thing Josh's doctor reminded me when I talked to him was I am not the same person I was when this began... none of us are. Obtaining knowledge about the illness was a huge help. Admitting I was not ashamed was a huge help. Being able to let go of some of the bitterness and anger (not all... I'm a work in progress) was a huge help. Hearing from people I had never met before, as well as old friends and several sweet acquaintances, was a huge help.

If you are going through something similar, always feel free to contact me. I will be glad to lend an ear... even if you're a friend I haven't met yet. We would appreciate your continued prayers for Josh and our family. We hit some bumps in the road just last week. One other thing I've learned... "chronic" means "forever." It ain't over, folks.

I would also be more than happy to lift you up in prayer on a regular basis if you have a need. Just let me know!

I guess I'll get the Readership Count over with. I was at 32 hits a day (average) last we checked... but this past week I was at an all time high of 44 hits a day (average). That means the new goal is 50. EXCITING!

The Gallery this week includes (what else?) more baby pictures of Austin. (I'll be doing this for Josh and Roxie when their birthdays roll around.) There are several pictures from my nephew's Laser Tag Party, and several more from Austin's These Are a Few of My Favorite Things Party. There will be a detailed description below on how this party works.

I also included a picture of my Birthday Flag. I know we have technically "outgrown" Winnie the Pooh. Well, some of us have. But guess what... it's a tradition. When Mikie turns 48 in June, Winnie the Pooh will be waving in the breeze. Although I buy new seasonal flags when I find them on sale to replace the worn out flags, Winnie the Pooh will forever fly high in our family! It was a good weekend. We had lots of happy kids in our family and in our home this weekend.

The Showcase Pic this week is another "way back when" shot of Austin in honor of his 18th birthday. I have labeled this picture "Precious." No explanation needed.

Survivor - For those of you who don't know, the Faulkner Five didn't get to watch Survivor until Friday night, so it was the one show I didn't get to give my amazingly in depth thoughts on. So, here goes... I love blindsides. I love when cocky people get voted off. Love it, love it, love it. And Miss Candace was a troublemaker, no doubt about it. (The Alabama boy is going to take it home. I've just got a feeling!)

OBSERVATIONS AND QUESTIONS: If you have ever watched Survivor before, why on earth would you not wear the right clothes the first day you show up to travel? Everyone who has seen the show knows you are going to be in your travel clothes for 39 days. Why are there women wearing dresses?

I think if you wear a dress on Survivor, you should automatically be voted off... just for stupidity!

I think if you don't wear a decent bathing suit ("decent" meaning one that doesn't fall off if you have to run, swim or walk in it), you should automatically be voted off.

I think if you are over 53 years-old and wearing a bikini, you should automatically be voted off.

I think if you are a man and you don't wear a belt with your pants, you should automatically be voted off.

Of course, if we did everything my way, Survivor would be over in two weeks... or less, and what would be the fun in that?

March 10 Contest

On Tuesday, March 10, 2009, I will write my 100th post. In celebration of this post, I will be giving away a prize ON THAT DAY. (Not today.) All you have to do is leave a one-word comment on my blog (or on my e-mail). You can leave one of three words... SCRAPBOOK, FOOD, or MAGAZINE. These are three of my favorite things, and you would just leave the word that best describes your favorite thing of these three options.

If you leave the word "Scrapbook," (AND YOU WIN) I will be sending you scrapbook supplies. (I'll have a picture of the prize available the day of the contest.)

If you leave the word "Food," (AND YOU WIN) I will be sending you gift certificates to a popular restaurant.

If you leave the word "Magazine," (AND YOU WIN) I will be sending you two of my favorite magazines. (I will make sure you don't already have these particular magazines.)

I know, I know. These are not huge prizes, but free is free. There will be only one winner. I will pick the winner by dividing the total number of e-mails and comments on my blog by my favorite number. (I'll tell you what my favorite number is the day after the contest! I bet you didn't know I had a favorite number, did you?)

I'll go over the rules again a couple of days before March 10.

As promised, here is the story of the day the Faulkner Two became the Faulkner Three. Well, actually, I'm going to share a little of the weeks and months prior to that fateful day. (Don't worry... it's not going to be a pregnancy play-by-play. I know everyone has their own baby story, so I will keep it brief and to the point... HA! This may have to be a three-parter!)

Austin

How big is this baby?

I knew something wasn't quite right. I had quit work after the pigeon fell on my head (see Pigeons From Heaven - January 7, 2009 post), and Mike and I were living in Cullman. I was taking a few months off before finding another job. However, I had a feeling I might be expecting. So, I did the normal thing and bought a pregnancy test, only to be disappointed when it came back negative. Still feeling weird, I went another week and tried another pregnancy test. Negative. Another week passed and I actually went to my doctor and had a blood test. Negative. Another week... another pregnancy test... negative. One more week... another blood test... nega... OOPS! I mean POSITIVE! Yes. We were thrilled. When I asked the doctor why everything had been so negative, he told me I had a latent pregnancy hormone. It just didn't show up. "Okay, okay. How far along am I?" I asked.

"Well, by my calculations, you are ten weeks pregnant," he told me.

You would have to know me five seconds to realize I didn't take this well. I am really into experiencing "firsts." First date, first kiss (even if it's on someone's nose), first car, first apartment, first month's anniversary, FIRST TRIMESTER! "You mean I only have two more weeks in my first trimester? That's it?" I asked incredulous (good word).

"Well, actually from what I'm looking at... more like eight or nine more days."

"But, I didn't get to whine about being tired, or my pants getting tight. And I've missed ten weeks of eating for two. I can't make that up!" My doctor didn't understand my reasoning, so I just let it go.

Mike and I had a great time driving to our parents' homes and telling them, and then stopping to tell some friends along the way. It was a joyous occasion.

Then we made the decision to try to live on one salary (his), with the remainder of my pregnancy being our practice time for this. Not the wisest decision we've ever made. I had nothing to keep me occupied except food.

Living in a new town away from family and friends, not working outside of the home, and trying to catch up for the first trimester of not eating for two soon came back to haunt me. Every day at 3:00 sharp, I would head to Sneaky Pete's. Sam would have a hot dog smothered in sauerkraut and Sneaky Pete's sauce and a Coke ready and waiting. Of course, before I went for my 3:00 o'clock snack, I had eaten breakfast, lunch and a plastic bag of powdered doughnuts... every day. Boy, did Austin love and want those powdered doughnuts. (NOTE: Prior to pregnancy, I was very thin -- I have pictures. A little too thin actually, so I was not very concerned with weight gain. It is not smart to NOT be concerned with weight gain!)

As I began going to the doctor during my second trimester, I was amazed how fast the baby was growing. Four pounds one visit, five or six the next. One time I even gained seven pounds. Wow. This was going to be a huge baby. Toward the end of my second trimester, my doctor sat down and had a talk with me. "You are going to have to slow down on your eating."

"I'm really not eating any differently than before I became pregnant. What do you think the problem could be if my eating habits are exactly the same?"

"It's caloric," came the slightly sarcastic reply.

"Oh. See? I knew it had to be something medical. Is that like a gland thing or something? Will it go away after I have the baby?" I was ready, willing and able to take a pill or whatever to solve this "caloric" thing.

"It means too many calories," the nurse whispered to me.

"Oh. Well, in that case. I'll just have to cut back a little," I replied, very offended. I waddled out the door and drove to Sneaky Pete's. Sam was expecting me since I always scheduled my doctor's appointments at 2:00 so I wouldn't be late for our 3:00 hot dog.

"I'm not going to be able to come in tomorrow, Sam. I'm having to cut back to four days a week because of some 'caloric' problems." Sam nodded knowingly. Was I the only person who had never heard that word before?

What is it?

Mike and I had decided not to find out the sex of the baby. It absolutely didn't matter to us one way or another. So imagine Mikie's surprise on the day we went to the doctor for our first ultrasound (which could tell us the sex of the baby), and I had a complete come-apart in the car. "I have to know. I have to know today."

"What are you talking about? It was your idea to wait until the baby was born. The nursery is yellow with teddy bears. It doesn't matter if it's a boy or girl."

I then began to sob. "If I don't find out today, I will just DIE!! I have to know."

Mike was completely caught off guard, and quickly agreed to let us find out. We walked into the doctor's office, I had my ultrasound and when the doctor asked if we wanted to find out the sex, I didn't even hesitate. "YES. I have to know... right now!"

"Well, it's a boy," he told us.

A boy. Yes. I had always loved little boys. I was thrilled. Mike was still in shock over the "Exorcist" scene that had played out on the drive over where my head had spun completely around, but he was excited about having a son, too.

Now, all we had to do was name him, and wait one more little trimester until he arrived. Piece of cake. Speaking of cake, we had some that night to celebrate our little man.

Yep. I was right. This is definitely a two- or three-parter. We might as well talk about birthday parties for the rest of the post...

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things Party

Since 18 is a monumental age to be recognized, I wanted to do something special, but also something I could do for all three of the kids when they reached that age. I decided on a Favorite Things theme.

First, I made a list of all of Austin's favorite things from the time he was a very little boy until present: super heroes, dinosaurs, Auburn, Star Wars, pizza, paintball, barbecue ribs, 24, Starbucks, music, Transformers, band, creme sodas, etc. Then I spoke with all the family members who were buying gifts for him to make sure they each got him something that symbolized one of his favorite things.

Mike's parents, Josh and Roxie gave him a large CD player for his music. Melia gave him the Dark Knight DVD and a gift certificate to California Pizza Kitchen. Mike gave him an Auburn fleece. Aunt Bev and family gave him paintball supplies. Grandmother gave him a gift certificate for ribs. I gave him a 24 T-Shirt with Jack Bauer's picture on the back and some of his favorite orange creme sodas. I put all the gifts in a large laundry basket (which he will be using for laundry when he goes away to school).

I also bought him a dinosaur birthday cake. He had not had a dinosaur cake since he was four. We bought Star Wars plates and napkins, and Mike and I gave him a Transformers birthday card along with a Starbucks gift certificate.

I had one of his friends round up some of his band buddies to meet at Starbucks after his family birthday party. At 4:00, Melia drove Austin (Josh and Brad followed) to Starbucks where his band buddies were waiting to celebrate with him for a little while before church started back that evening. Get it? These Are a Few of My Favorite Things.

Of course the party is going to be totally different for every kid, but just think of the possibilities. It was not an expensive party. Everyone was more than willing to participate in buying things that Austin had loved all his life. Some gifts were useful, some were fun, some were silly... but all of them represented something from Austin's life. All 18 wonderful years.

It was fun, and it was a total surprise for Austin because he had no idea what to expect. All he knew was I had picked a "theme," and that worried him a great deal. But it turned out to be okay!

Have a great Monday. I'll be back tomorrow with the promised Sandra Lee recipe... but only one. I still want you to buy her magazine. (I've tried three of the recipes so far. Very good.)

I'll talk to you tomorrow!