More Birthday Ideas and Memory Builders

Good Wednesday morning!

Two more Gallery Pics of Roxie... But wait! There's more.

Many of Roxie's friends turned out for the final home game before the tournament, and cheered the team to VICTORY! Thank you, girls.

But wait! There's even more! Turnip green soup and Mexican cornbread! You have to admit, like it or not, the turnip green soup is very colorful and pretty, isn't it? And you'll also have to admit, if you make it, the house smells wonderful and very fallish while it's cooking (because of the sausage, I think). Loved it! Very, very good soup. Mexican cornbread... LOVED IT, TOO! Try some today, please!

NOTE TO JOAN - Hi, Joan. I left you a response to your comment IN yesterday's comment section. Check it out, please.

NOTE TO MICHELLE - Hi, Michelle. I also left you a response to your comment IN yesterday's comment section. I need you to check it out, too, please.

Roxie's Birth Day Story - Part Three

I told you it was a very loooong pregnancy. I also told you there were two more incidences before Roxie's arrival. The first two had to do with Roxie, but the third was all me.

In July, two months after our UAB appointment, I began to feel more tired than normal. Now this is tricky, because I am, and have been as long as I can remember, always very, very tired. It's who I am. I have NEVER had insomnia. I sleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. (Don't hate me because I'm well-rested. I would say, "Don't hate me because I'm beautiful," but the sheet marks embedded in my face 24/7 take away from my natural prettiness.)

This was different. I even talked to my doctor about my exhaustion. He said, "Well, you're three months away from delivering a new baby, and you're taking care of two very active little boys. Of course you're tired."

No kidding, Sherlock. "I'm telling you. This is different. This is 'If you walk out of the room to get a chart, when you come back I'll be zonked out on this comfortable table with the stirrups and the paper sheet-tired.' This is 'If Barry Manilow were to walk in your waiting room, I would have to wave weakly from where I was sitting because I don't have the energy to get up and go meet him-tired.' This is SO MUCH MORE than 'running after two little boys with a watermelon strapped around my waist-tired.'"

He looked at me. Then he looked at my chart. "Well, when we tested your iron last month it was close to being borderline. Let's check that again."

Thank you, Sherlock! Another blood test. Another day of waiting by the phone. (Well, actually I was asleep on the couch, but mentally, I was pacing the floor). Finally, a phone call. "You are EXTREMELY anemic. I'm talking 'blood transfusion' anemic. I'm talking we've got to get your levels up and soon!"

All right. An explanation. And now a solution. "You're going to bottom out before your levels begin to rise." To this day, this does not make sense to me, but recently I talked to someone who said the same thing happened to her. You have to get worse before you get better.

"Well, I'm pretty much wiped out 20 out of 24 hours a day now. What are we talking about here?" I asked.

"You don't need to drive for a week because you could pass out behind the wheel. And if you go to sleep, and no one is able to wake you up, you'll need to call the paramedics."

Hmmm. I didn't like the sound of that. Mikie had to get up at 6:00 and leave for work around 7:00, so he could make sure I got up from my night-time sleep, but it would be up to the boys to make sure I got up after their naptime. But in my heart of hearts, I am a teacher! It was time for a little lesson.

"Austin. Do you know what to do if there is an emergency?" I asked.

"Call 9-1-1!" he responded correctly.

"That's right," I said. "Now, what is an emergency?"

"FIRE!" both of the boys said in one voice, both smiling ear-to-ear.

Okay. That was a little disturbing. "Well, yes. That is definitely an emergency. But I'm going to talk to you about something else that is an emergency. Mommy has something called 'anemia.' Can you say 'anemia?'"

"A-men-ia," they said.

"Close enough," I said in my best teacher voice. "Anemia means Mommy might go to sleep, and it would be very hard to wake me up. I'm okay, but I need a little help to wake up. This is only going to last for one week. So, if you come in Mommy's room (or see Mommy on the floor), if I don't wake up from my nap, you will need to call 9-1-1. Okay?"

Big grins. "All right!" they shouted with gusto. Okay. I was a little disturbed again.

"But you have to try to wake Mommy up. Do not see me taking a nap and just assume I need help from the paramedics. You have to try first. Promise?" I had visions of waking up and having three paramedics standing over my bed. (Not a bad vision, but not how you want the local paramedics spending their precious time either.)

Needless to say, we spent several minutes practicing "waking" me up, and the boys did a very good job. I felt we had the anemia-thing under control.

And in fact, seven days later when I went for another blood test, I had indeed bottomed-out. I had no where else to go but up. But the doctor said I had to be at a certain number (there are those numbers I don't understand again) before Roxie was born for it to be "safe delivery."

Now we were talking. A goal. And a specific "number" I was trying to reach in a certain number of days. You know. Like 75 Christmas cards this year. This I could do. In fact, I was born to do this.

Tomorrow, I'll tell you how Incident Number Three turned out, and we'll talk about our final complication before Roxie arrived. Sorry. This story is going to last all week. However, there is some good news. I don't start telling Josh's Birth Day Story until Monday, October 5, so there's a little break in there for the womb-weary!

Maybe next week we could talk about Disney! I absolutely LOVE Disney, and that would be a light, happy little story comparatively, wouldn't it? Okay. Hang with me two more days, and next week we'll talk about Disney! I promise.

Wednesday Wisdom

This is a quote from a young lady I've known for many, many years. She is my Josh's age (almost 16), and she is a beautiful, graceful, award-winning dancer. You might say, "dancing is her thing!" She said something that became the saying on the back of Roxie's dance t-shirt, and I just loved it. "Life is not a dress rehearsal, but a performance. And the best part of the performance is the encore." Well said, Victoria Niblett. Well said!

More Birthday Ideas

These are just a few more ideas from 15 Minute Family Traditions and Memories (many of which you have probably already heard of or thought about... but just in case!).

1. Birthday flag or banner - You've seen our Winnie the Pooh flag. That is an EASY and fun way to start the celebration.

2. A song at 9:02 a.m. - On June 8, a friend of ours was born at 9:02 a.m., and at the exact time each year her family sings "Happy Birthday" to her. Even today, though married and living in another state, she still looks forward to that traditional call.

3. Weekend celebration - Try to celebrate your children's birthdays at a hotel that has a pool, game room, and nearby restaurants.

4. Birthday outings - Birthdays are a great time to plan a trip to the park, a beach or the mountains. Or you might go boating or sailing. Use your imagination to create that most unusual birthday theme. Don't get in a rut of doing the same thing each year.

Memory Builders

A memory-builder doesn't have to be limited to one season of the year or a certain holiday. It can be any event that later becomes a happy memory -- a family ritual, a season, a tradition, or even the creation of a memorable event out of the ordinary day.

1. Having a "Bowl Game Party" each New Year's Day.

2. Going on a mission trip each summer on the church's work trip.

3. Helping feed the homeless at the Jimmie Hale Mission on Thanksgiving (or some other day that isn't a holiday).

4. Spending a week with your extended family once a year at the lake, the mountains or the beach.

As I've said before, this book is a good tool to get you thinking about ways to make memories with your own family. Take an idea and make it your own today!

Have a fun Wednesday. Supposedly, the rain will be diminishing in Alabama today. As always, anything can (and will) happen in Alabama! Tomorrow we'll have some Weekend Family Fun ideas, a fun date and a little more of Miss Roxie's Birth Day Story. I may even go into labor!

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Well-Rested and Enchanting Belinda