It's Go Time!

So we are officially one week away from heading to Muskegon! I'm so excited and cannot wait to look at homes! There is one house we really love and I'm trying not to get too excited about the possibility of it not being what we think it is now. I always do this, I tell myself not to get too set on something and get my hopes up, but that never works. Doesn't everyone want to live in a pink house?



I've made lists for weeks of what I need to pack, but have forced myself not to put one thing into the suitcase before next Tuesday, because "ALL WE NEED TO TAKE IS NECESSITIES, AND IF YOU CAN PACK IT A WEEK OUT, THEN YOU MUST NOT REALLY NEED IT TO SURVIVE!!" Some mantra! I always over pack, so this time, I'm going to try to surprise Tom by not packing then entire house into our Trailblazer.

I've tried to get everything done ahead of time, but my lists keep growing. We took the SUV to be serviced so it would be ready for the 20 million trips back and forth from Michigan, so that was over $1000! We've stocked up on some snacks for the car ride and burned some new DVD's to keep the Who-poo entertained for the 14 hour trip. The Evites for the next two SAA play dates are ready to go and I'm almost finished with the SAA Newsletter for April- hooray! We have family pictures this weekend, so we will have pictures of Grant around his second b-day and pictures without me looking like a bloated fish! Oh those days are approaching soon! All I have left to do is go to two Dr's appointments, take all of Tom's dry cleaning, go sign up for my epidural, pay some bills, go to a laser tag party(hubby needs some fun), clean the car out, then pack and load it back full of junk! What a work out!

I'm so excited, I hope next Thursday gets here quickly because I can't wait to see the town that we will be living in for the next 4 years. Now I may not be this excited once I actually see it, but that's another post!

Happy Birthday Baby Boy!

I cannot believe that my little man turned 2 today! It just seems like yesterday that you were just a little bundle of fluff all wrapped up in a little blanket. I remember the day we brought you home, it was beautiful outside, like 75 degrees, and you were so cute and happy! You looked so tiny in that huge car seat and I was so worried about letting you ride in the back alone. You looked so helpless and I couldn't stop staring at your adorable face.



You've grown so fast and have learned so much. You are my little cuddle bug and I hope that you always have time for Mommy. I love the way you climb up on the bed and we watch cartoons together, the way you say please "pweash", the way you love anything with wheels, and love to cuddle with the dogs. We joke that you might be a doggy doctor or dentist when you grow up because you are always inspecting them and checking their teeth. You are the cutest giggler and amaze me how quickly you can pick up on new things. Like the morning of your party, you learned how to use the scissors for the first time, (totally by accident) and have never looked back.



I know your future is bright and that you can achieve anything you put your mind to. You are a beautiful little soul and have the sweetest spirit, just like your Daddy. I pray that God gives us the wisdom to help you become the great, godly man that you are meant to be and that with every year we remember how blessed we are to have you in our lives! We love you so much, Happy Birthday!

The Bizarro World!

For those of you who watch Seinfeld, you know what I'm talking about. I woke up this morning to some frightfully cold weather, shocking! Wasn't it just last week when it was 80 degrees outside? I remember getting a sunburn after laying outside during Grant's nap time (I thought the sun might help me feel better) and going for a fun scooter ride with the hubby while Nana was watching the Who-poo! But, now it's like I've been transported to the "Frozen Tundra" 2 1/2 weeks early. It's snowing here in Jenks, strange, I guess that's Oklahoma for you. Oh, well, maybe God is helping me transition. I've been trying to find a winter coat on clearance, thinking I would need it for next year's frosty season in Muskegon, who knew I would need it this week!

Thrifty and Nifty!

So I have to thank Dion for having cool blogs listed on her blog. I have always used coupons but I'm really enjoying using them to the fullest these days. Because of some great sites, today I bought 3 bars of soap and a bag of cat food for $0.38 total!!! (I could have gotten up to 11 bars of soap today and the cat food for that price, but Wal-Mart was running low on my purchases, so I'll head to the other Wally World later) Hooray, and as soon as they get CVS built or I move to Muskegon, whichever comes first, I will be racking in the deals there. It's hard not to find a deal and just go get it, I really have to focus on, "do I need this"or "is it a deal if we've never used it before, but it's only 9 cents today?" There are some really great deals out there but I need to be careful not to go to extremes.

I also thought today, "what a great way to help others!!!" There are many items that I could get for free with coupons and other savings and could donate those to the shelter, I know there are many out there right now that are in much worse shape than we will ever be and it's nice to help out. Last Sunday the sermon was about living within your means and living a Godly life. The message was to share! What a basic concept, something we teach our little ones, but how often is that the last thing on our minds?

Being in nesting mode anyway and having all our things in storage, so I can't go through, organize or clean anything for the new peanut, I have been looking for a project. My husband rolls his eyes at this because he knows he will soon be included in my fun! Aren't things more fun when you do them together? hehe I decided-I WANT TO SHARE- so I open the closets and drawers in our rooms and started purging. I have many clothes that I will never fit again, never have a place to wear, or sadly won't be needing again(unless I get to go back to my dorm days) and I start pitching. Poor Tom is always the reaper of my crazy ideas, so I hate to say more of his stuff left the closet than mine......I love getting rid of other people's stuff!

Then, a few days later it was a "great time" to box up any extras that we don't NEED for the next month before we leave to head north. 10 boxes later, poor Tom has helped me pack and wrap and carry the too full boxes out the garage.....come on moving truck! I think about all the stuff in storage, ahhhhhhhh, oh my. All that stuff that we have lived without for more than a year and have felt almost a freedom from. Don't get me wrong, I love my furniture and cooking things, but I think about some of the things I put into those boxes last February and am almost ashamed that I had all that in my townhouse and then spent time boxing, transporting and storing it. Yuck, what a burden....I can't wait to get to Muskegon, open those boxes, and SHARE!!! As I read about the economy and people losing their jobs and children dying because their family couldn't afford to keep the heat on, I think about how truly blessed we've been, all the stuff we don't need, and how I can help others! I urge you to find a way this week to pass on the blessing.

In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive. Acts 20:35
He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.Luke 3:11

The Stepford Wife

So here is something super important that has been on my mind for a while. I want to know, when am I going to feel and look like a grown up? hehe Ok, so it's not really important at all!

I always ask Tommy, "Do I look like an adult?", "Does this outfit look like something a doctor's wife would wear?", "Are you really going to wear that? You're going to be a DOCTOR!". Maybe my problem is that I have this stereotypical picture in my head (that I've had since I started dating Tom). I'm an old movie buff and when I see living as a doctor's wife I see Doris Day and James Garner in the "Thrill of it All" - perfect hair, make-up, outfit. Husband in his spare time wearing his suit or smoking jacket around the house. Nanny taking care of the children and maid cleaning and cooking for our family! Me being involved in the community with different organizations, balls, and social functions and those around me in awe of how I keep it all together and of Tom's career. (Truly, this is my dream!)
Ok, someone slap me back into reality.

But really, I feel it is important to be professional looking and be involved in the career that my husband has chosen. I've lived in the "fishbowl" for quite a while now, I was very involved with leadership in college, and was constantly lectured in group meetings about how important everything I did was. Obviously, most people weren't listening and I was one of the only RA's that didn't get in trouble for drinking or doing drugs with students living on our floors. Anyway......I still believe it is important, not to be materialistic, but to look and act, more importantly, appropriately for the job, life, and respect that you want.

This weekend we ran into a 3rd year resident that I had never met before and I was shocked when Tom said that he was a doctor. He looked like a 17 year old, hoodlum, that had just rolled out of bed in his jammies, and thrown a hat on, backwards, might I add. But, I just thought, as a patient, if I saw my doctor out in public looking like that, would I still have faith in his abilities? Would I question his judgement on medical advice since his judgement on looking and acting professional was very lacking? I don't know, hopefully, I won't ever see my doctor looking like that and have to find out and certainly I won't be letting my hubby dress like that so any of his patients have to struggle with that dilemma.

So, I guess what I really want to know is, what should a cute soon-to-be doctor wear in his spare time? My husband wears jeans and Old Navy solid tees most of his time off, but cleans up super nice when we have a event that calls for a more dressed up look, and more importantly can put together an outfit on his own that makes himself look dashing. I certainly know that I could spruce up my wardrobe, some income will be nice in July, but try to look as nice as I can for different occasions and even to run to Wal-Mart.

Hopefully, we are doing our part to keep the "Doctor Stigma" alive and in a fashionable place. I'm going to get my pearls now to put on before I head to the bedroom for naptime. Hopefully Doris and James would be proud!

Will Someone Please Kill Me Now!

You Might Be From Michigan If.......

If you consider it a sport to gather your food by drilling through18 inches of ice and sitting there all day hoping that the food will swim by, you might live in Michigan

If you're proud that your region makes the national news 96 nights each year because Pelston is the coldest spot in the nation, you might live in Michigan.

If your local Dairy Queen is closed from November through March, you might live in Michigan.

If you instinctively walk like a penguin for five months out of the year, you might live in Michigan.

If someone in a store offers you assistance, and they don't work there, you might live in Michigan.

If your dad's suntan stops at a line curving around the middle of his forehead, you might live in Michigan.

If you have worn shorts and a coat at the same time, you might live in Michigan.

If your town has an equal number of bars and churches, you might live in Michigan.

If you have had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number, you might live in Michigan.

You know you're a true MICHIGANDER when...
1. "Vacation" means going up north on I-75.
2. You measure distance in hours.
3. You know several people who have hit a deer more than once.
4. You often switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day.
5. You can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard, without flinching.
6. You see people wearing fall formal wear = camouflage at social events (including weddings).
7. You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked.
8. You carry jumper cables in your car and your girlfriend knows how to use them.
9. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.
10. Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.
11. You know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction.
12. You can identify a southern or eastern accent.
13. Your idea of creative landscaping is a deer 'bow target' next to your blue spruce.
14. You were unaware that there is a legal drinking age.
15. Down South to you means Ohio
16. A Muskrat is something you can eat.
17. Your neighbor throws a party to celebrate his new pole barn,
18. You go out to fishfry every Friday.
19. Your 4th of July picnic was moved indoors due to frost.
20. You have more miles on your snow blower than your car.
21. You find 0 degrees "a little chilly."
22. You drink pop and bake with soda.
23. Your doctor tells you to drink Vernors and you know it's not medicine.
24. You know what a Yooper is.
25. You think owning a Honda is UnAmerican.
26. You know that UP is a place not a direction
27. You know it's possible to live in a thumb.
28. You understand that when visiting Detroit, the best thing to wear is a Kevlar vest.

Growing up!

I can't believe how big Grant has gotten lately and how many wonderful things he can do. I gave him a haircut yesterday and he looks even older now, how I dread it. I think how time has flown by and how little he was when we first brought him home. I just finally took 800 picture off my camera from our 4 month trip around the US and it's funny to see how he has grown and changed. He got a new pair of jean, finally since the old ones looked like capri pants, and had on this little golf shirt today and looked so big. He was walking around the house, eating fried chicken, watching Cars, and saying cute things like, "I got you", "Up Mommy", and "No Brody" (to the cat trying to steal his chicken), and I can't believe that he will be 2 years old in a couple of weeks, 2 YEARS OLD!!!!



I went to the store today to start looking for birthday party stuff, Cars stuff of course, and got invitations, plates, cups, and napkins.......I hate character and cartoon themed things, so letting go to make my Who-poo happy was hard, but I know when he sees it all, he will go crazy!!! I just have to figure out if I'm going to make a cake, pay for someone to make one, or what. Last years cake was a fiasco. I had drawn it out myself and taken it to the bakery to have them make it for me weeks in advance and called a couple days before time to make sure they had the order. I was assured that it would be ready. Well, when I went to pick it up, there was no cake order anywhere, but luckily I had made a copy of the jungle picture I had drawn and was able to give it to them. It turned out terrible, to say the least, because the lady that normally makes the cakes was off on a Saturday and someone else made it. I should have just made it myself like I have before, so this year I'm very scared about what to do. All my decorating stuff is packed away so I would have to buy new tips and bags and I don't really have the energy to do it, but it might be worth it. If anyone knows anyone who does cute cakes for cheap, please let me know!



Here's a picture of my Lil' Stinker!

Family Matters

I appolgize for this long post, but I've been needing to vent and today was finally was my breaking point.

Ok, so I'm pretty sure I'm officially out of blood. I went to the lab today after my neurologist's appointment to "donate" more blood for testing purposes and I think I almost hopped out of the chair when she carried in 9 vials/tubes!!! If I wasn't anemic already, I'm sure I am now. While a very nice lady, she was somewhat strange. I asked her if she enjoyed her job, she ecstatically proclaimed that she loooooovvvved sticking people and just smiled like a kid in a candy store! I was a little freaked out at this point. So I said, "I guess you have to have a stomach for that kind of thing, my husband came home from the first day of medical school and said 'I got to peel skin off a dead guy's back today!!!' that made me sick to my stomach!" She said, "THAT'S SO AWESOME!" and stood there waiting for me to say more.......let's just say I was happy to get the heck out of Dodge, ASAP!

Afterward my fun appointment, I ran into my hubby's cousin, who is a doctor, in the hall at the clinic, awkward. Some of her comments today really stirred my blood, due to family issues that have been going on for quite a while. For those of you who don't know, things are very strained with my hubby's family. It has really hit hard on him recently and I can't imagine what it must be like. His family has made some very bad decisions lately, and their choices have torn the family apart. With graduation coming up, and his family basically turning on him for standing up, doing the right thing, and protecting his family, reality has set in that no one will be attending his graduation from his side. Also, today was sentencing day for Tom's brother and sister-in-law, and as much as we are both happy that they are finally getting their just desserts, it weighs heavy that they have made these terrible choices with their lives and that other people have been hurt by them. I can't imagine what he must be going through....what must it feel like to have your own mother choose a druggy couple (and now convicted rapists) over you who have done nothing with your life but good? How can a grandmother act like she doesn't even have grandson and never even ask to see him? I've always been mad at them for their attitudes and choices, but poor Tom is just crushed with this burden.

A little history......A week before Tom got his acceptance letter to med school, his dad, another doctor, had a terrible stroke and ended up passing away a few days letter. He had always looked to his dad as a role model and his dad protected the kids from seeing what was really happening in the family. With his death, the family started to unravel. Tom's mom (Carole) allowed the druggies(David and Peterli) to come into the family on a regular basis and welcomed in their 2 children, both born without David or Peterli being married. Carol forced them to get married, thinking this would solve everything. All this caused was both of them to come around more frequently and bully money out of Carole, assault Tom when he stood up to them, and give them somewhere to dump their kids for free. Eventually, DHS took the kids away and Tom, myself, and Carole had shared custody of a 4 yr old and a 14 day old. (how can someone just dump a newborn?)When we found out she was still paying for their drugs and alcohol and they were still coming around, even though DHS took away parental rights, we told her we couldn't be around that. With us expecting our first child and them already being brought up on charges for assault on Tom, we were concerned that I would get hurt. We contacted DHS and let them know the situation and then had to back away. Because Carole is a doctor, DHS seems to think she can do no wrong, even though currently she is being investigated by the IRS for 3 years of tax evasion and has been a terrible alcoholic since I met Tom and cannot officailly adopt the kids, because she can't pass the physical. (man we sound like bumpkins) To make matters worse, if you don't agree with the family, they basically stop talking to you, so instead of Carole, David, and Peterli being the outcasts, we are, for taking the high road. One example, Tom was given a new car from his parents when he graduated college, but when we took a stand, the car was taken away from us. (thats why Tom rides a scooter to work) Then the icing on the cake, David and Peterli decided to kidnap a minor, rape her, make a video and do other terrible things to this child and have now been convicted of all these and other crimes and have been sentenced to hopefully forever in prison, but we won't find out until tomorrow the offical decision. We are desparately trying to get DHS to listen to us and to get the kids back and hope that Carole will get the help that she needs so badly, before the poor kids have to be taken away and given to strangers and before Carole loses her license to practice. There are days when I'm so bitter about how things have unfolded and how God could let those poor children go through this and how He could let this terrible burden be put on Tom, but then I remember that He has a huge plan for all of us and I just need to be patient and wait for things to be revealed. Please pray for our family and especially Tom, that his heart will stay strong through these times and that he will be able enjoy his graduation, he has worked so hard for this!

A Time for Thanks

This Valentine's Day, love is in the air at the Howard house! I started realizing how blessed I've been with men that love me. Everything is going great with this pregnancy and our little peanut is growing bigger every day. Who-poo is getting so big and does and says the sweetest things that always shock me, he seemed so little not very long ago. He got some great gifts for V-Day....Cars, the movie, an adorable lion balloon, a super cute puppy that sings and dances and a bunch of cards.....someone is getting spoiled. My Bunny has been able to spend alot of time with us lately and I'm getting very spoiled with him helping out around the house since I'm not able to do many things, thanks honey! I am so lucky to have been given such a kind and compassionate husband. I received some beautiful tulips from him today, just what I wanted! I'm not sure if flowers live in the "frozen tundra" but I hope to plant them at our new home in May.

If you know me well, you know that I am a huuuuuuge planner, meaning I make lists and notes, and do research for even the smallest things.....what that translates into was a Valentine's day trip to Home Depot for paint samples, design guides, and creative ideas. Poor Tom, he always humors me so well! We haven't even been qualified for a loan yet, but man, I'll have every room in that house planned, painted, and decorated in my mind by.....tomorrow! hehe If he would bring me boxes, I would pack up everything we own by the end of the week. I'm not a patient person so this could be a long 3 months.....please pray that I don't kill Tom in the process.

I hope everyone is getting to spend this day or at least this evening with the ones they love and will take some time to thank the Lord for them.

Sick Days

So I have been sick for about a year now. It started last March after a really bad cold/flu bug and then I never really recovered. I'm tired all the time, achy, have muscle problems and have terrible pains in my joints. I have had so many tests run, sooooo much blood drawn, that I'm not sure I have anything left to give. Every test has come back fine, so I am heading to the neurologist next Tuesday to get a consult and most likely get an MRI done. Fun stuff!! I really hope that they can figure this out soon because I am a very active fun loving person and I spend most of my time sitting where ever we are, watching the action from a distance.... its getting really old. On top of all that fun, I've had a terrible GI bug that knocked me into bed for 4 days and poor Tom had to take care of Grant, who was also terribly sick with bronchitis. Tom stayed home from work Monday and Tuesday to help me out because, literally Grant or I could barely even lift our arms to feed ourselves, (not that I was eating anything for those 4 days)! I'm really not looking forward to residency when Tom is just gone and I'm totally on my own with 2 kids!!!!!! Reality check! Oh and did I mention, we'll be alone in Muskegon, MI!!!! AHHHHH