I am Sullivan's Mommy

In the last year I've been...

-pooped on
-peed on
-vomited on
-sucked on
-pumped
-bitten
-crawled up
-screamed and cried at
-through 24 hours of back labor
-scarred
-late
-to too many Dr. appointments
-through 5 clogged milk ducts
-producing about 2 gallons of milk a week
-trying not to speed with a cryer in the back
-doing gobs of laundry
-spening around $1000 on diapers
-changing about 90% of those diapers
-woken up every 1-2 hours every night (except for 8 uninterupted nights)
-lugging a whole person around



...I've never, ever heard my mother complain about being my mom. This dawned on me today....
How is this possible? Is she some kinda superwoman? What grace...

It is Mother's Day and Sullivan is a week away from being 1 year old. The above list is really not meant to be a list of complaints. Really. I'm just making note. ;)




But do you know what's really on my mind as Sully completes one year of life?


-Have I been the best mother that I could have been?
-Have I made all the right choices this year for his emotional well-being?
-Has he been eating all the right foods?
-Have I been praying the right prayers for him?
-Have I been praying enough for him?
-Should I have spent more time with him during his first 3 months instead of shoot weddings?
-I regret not fighting to hold him sooner after he was born (I didn't get to hold him for 4 hours after c-section). What affect will that have on him?
-I regret not demanding to sleep his first night in the nic-u with him and being by his side.
-I hope he doesn't feel trauma from when we went away for 6 days and left him with his grandparents (at 9 months).
-Have I read the right books?
-Have I chosen the right parenting style?
-I crave happiness for him.
-I plead for his health.
-I pray he'll have an awesome relationship with his Savior.
-I desperately hope I can give him the opportunities for a future filled with love, happiness, adventure, and success.
-I ache for him. I hope and pray I can be the mother that God designed me to be for Sullivan.



Being a mother has been an incredibly emotional and physical experience thus far. And it has only been one year. My perception of, appreciation, and love for my own mother has been changed dramatically.

Could you possibly comprehend how much I love being Sullivan's Mommy?


In the past year my baby boy has...


-smiled at me
-kissed me
-squeezed me
-cooed at me
-reached for me
-snuggled me
-rolled over, sat up, crawled, stood up, walked
-grown (gained 18 pounds!)
-called me "Mama"
-danced
-clapped
-leaned on my shoulder
-showed a love for mechanics, water, spoons, music, and books :)
-played with his puppy
-squealed
-given the goofiest, toothy grin
-woken up with smiles and kisses for me every morning (since he's been able)
-napped in my arms
-splashed in the tub
-believes his daddy is "Superman!"
-given me a new view on hope
-made my husband a good, proud Daddy
-made me a happy Momma
-given me reason, and made me want, to strive to be better
-changed our future
-needed me
-loved me
-blessed me
-changed my life.

It is very difficult to describe exactly how becoming a mother changes your entire life... what that feels like... what is so dramatically yet delicately, subtly different about you.

Ryan and I were just discussing what things have not changed since Sully was born. We are still the same people. Same goals, dreams, interests... But how we live our lives... that will never be the same.

So far So good.

Moving from vegetarian to vegan has been an easy move so far. Just cut out the cheese and butter -no problem. :) It's really not that hard. Of course I have my Earth Balance butter-like spread.


I'm going on a Woman's Retreat with my church this weekend where we'll be having 5 meals. I'm a tiny bit nervous about it (food-wise... I'm TOTALLY pumped about it otherwise. We're talking about prayer and I'm really excited about it.). It's just that I'm used to getting questions about vegetarianism and being gluten-free. I've never been asked about being vegan and I know I'll be sitting at a table of 6 women, 5 times... there's bound to be questions , there always is. And people always have opinions about it.

This is actually a really good thing! I really welcome questions. How else are we going to educate/be educated?

Maybe it's just the attention thing. I don't choose my diet to get attention but I'm bound to have all eyes on me at some point during the meal. And I wonder what people think about me.

I'm sure someone will think I'm crazy. Someone will think that I only do it for attention and that I really eat meat at home -when no one is looking (haha!). Someone will be super genuinely interested. Someone will think I have an eating disorder (hahaha!!!). Someone will feel bad for me. Someone will think that I am judging them as they eat. And someone will apologize for eating meat in front of me (I always get a kick out of that).

We'll see how the questions about veganism go... it'll be a new challenge for me. I wish I had Becky there with me to tag team on the questions. She's been vegan for 7 years. She's actually just taken up the gluten free diet as well.

Ha! We'll see how eating goes. That's the real challenge. I'll be bringing a lot of my own food though. I could never expect the camp cooks to be prepared for my diet. Last time I brought some of my own food and they were super accomidating and very nice. :)

It's a done deal.

I have declared veganism. "I am vegan!" As of yesterday evening. :)

I used a couple of weeks to really get used to the idea, stock up on just a few dairy-free products, and had my grand finale this weekend. I had two days of gluten. (Of which I have mixed feelings of excitement and disgust.)

[The reason for gluten and not cheese and eggs is that I really, really, really am not going to have any more wheat days -ever. (I have a wheat day every couple of months so that I have something to look forward to and don't give in on my glutenous cravings.) What would the point be of having a wheat day once I'm vegan? What's a pizza without the cheese?]

I indulged in a few faves -which left me feeling bloated, tired, headache-y, filled with "air," and quite plump:

Macaroni and Cheese
Veggie Corn Dogs
An entire foot long Veggie sub at Subway
Mozz Sticks
Buca (Eggplant and Penne Pasta)
Pizza


On Saturday night, I ate my last bite of pizza and said "I'm done." I felt nasty. And so ready for an exciting change in diet.

So yep, today I was a vegan. Ha! This is crazy.

Going Vegan

I've been a vegetarian for nine years.

It started as a presentation/report in a high-school health class. The topics were assigned randomly. So basically, vegetarianism was not something I sought out or was even interested in.

In my research I found so many benefits of eating a meat-free diet and learned about what eating meat for the rest of my life would do to my health. I couldn't ignore it and making the switch was actually really really easy. I started the very next day and haven't missed it.


I guess I've always been health-minded and pretty "aware" of what I eat. But last year when I found out I was pregnant food become super prominent in my thoughts and I was even more aware of my nutrition. I haven't been able to get becoming vegan out of my head ever since.


I'm so excited to just do it and feel better about it! I know there are things that
I will miss:
Butter
Espresso Coolers at Caribou
Whip and Drizzle! and Caribou
Everything Caribou... I really hope their soy drinks are tasty!
Cheese on my tacos
Sour Cream
Dairy Queen
Provolone on my veggie burgers.

and I know
I won't miss:
Milk -I haven't had a glass in ages. (Besides right after Sully was born -I craved it and it was really weird.)
Eggs -I sometimes can eat them, but if you think about it, dude, they're chicken periods. :-0



It's not like I won't get to eat the things that I want. There are some awesome substitutions out there! They just aren't as readily available and they are a bit pricier.


Ryan is all for it. I'm so lucky that my husband supports me in this! He agrees that it's healthier and all, he just isn't motivated to make any changes in his (already very healthy) diet. That's cool with me. :) (Maybe someday!?)

I'm going about the transition pretty slowly. Making immediate changes has worked well for me with vegetarianism and going gluten free, but I just bought bulk cheese (shredded cheddar and provolone slices) at Sam's Club. :) So I told myself that I'll just make changes until the cheese is gone and that'll be it! Vegan!



For the past week everything but the cheese has been vegan -oh, except for on Easter. I couldn't bare to tell my grandma that I was taking eggs and dairy out of my diet. She makes the best holiday meals... oh man, I don't want to have to tell her.

My new name. :)

Today I was telling Ryan that Sully has a new run of "words" he likes to say. "a-NaNa (NaNa-a-NaNa-NaNa...)" He's been saying this all day. Ryan realized pretty quickly that this was Sully's "Momma."

Isn't that great?! I finally have a name! I'm so happy! He's been saying DaDa for months. And then about a week ago Ryan had him saying "Book."

Dude! I'm seriously with this kid 24/7. I've been waiting for this for quite a while. How did a book get ahead of me?!

But it's all ok now. I've got my new name.

a-NaNa

Contest! Giveaway!

To celebrate my new website going live (woohoo!), I am holding a contest!

(I am so uber excited...)

Here's the dealio.

1. Visit my new photography website at http://www.blogger.com/www.kimkaslphotography.com.

2. Count the veils. (Good luck!) Don't try to count the number of actual of brides wearing veils... count the number of pictures that have a veil in them... make sense?

3. Click onto my photography blog in the bottom left corner of http://www.blogger.com/www.kimkaslphotography.com and click into the "Leave a Reply" comment box.

4. Tell me how many veils you counted. Be sure to include your name and email address so I can reach you if you are the lucky winner!


Wait! What what does the lucky winner... win?
An hour with me! And it's all about you!

A one hour photo-shoot anywhere in the Twin Cities Metro Area!
Engagement, Family, Children, Pets, or, of course, just You! Whatever you like. And you get all the pics on disk!

***Update!*** So counting the veils is a bit tough. :) How about this: Just post a comment on the website's blog for one entry and count the veils for two entries in the drawing! Sound good? Good Luck!♥
***Update***



So count the veils and leave your answer in a comment on my blog. I'll take all of the correct answers and put them in a drawing which will be held on Sunday, April 19 at midnight. The winner will be announced the following Monday

Get counting, commenting, and good luck!

www.kimkaslphotography.com

Kim Kasl Photography

My website is finally live and ready for action!
Check it out! Let me know what you think!


www.kimkaslphotography.com

Family Friendly Movie Theaters?

I know they exist!  I just can't find one.  

I know I read about one in MN a while back.  But yesterday I called that same theater and they had no idea what I was talking about. 

It was called Mommy Monday I think.  

The lights are dim -not off.

The volume is much lower -not scary.

There are diaper changing tables in the back.

There are other families with babies.  Everybody is making noise so no one gets upset if your little one is babbling away!

Is anyone familiar with this?  I would love to do this!  I want to find one in Minnesota.  If you know of one, tell me about it!  Please!

Photo Booth

A few things

to pray about.


1st. Stellan. He's in the hospital and he's just a little babe. Click this link to view his mom's blog and learn about his story.

2nd. Lianna and her D.H. Click this link to view her blog and contribute to her IVF fund/gigantic giveaway.

My son is half monkey, half racoon!

He can't walk around on his own yet, but he climbs EVERYTHING!

The least stable and most dangerous things are his favorite.

Lately, he has been very interested in the garbage can. As much as I would love to see him tip it over and spread it all over the kitchen floor... it is just too gross.

How can I stop this from happening. I'm not a fan of having the garbage can on the kitchen counter, but what other solution is there?

Someone has to have some experience and good advise on this!

A Picture of Perfection

The Kitchen is Clean.
Finally!

I cannot believe that it took me two whole days. (Of course I wasn't at it straight -I have a 10 month old who requires a lot of attention! The reason the kitchen was in the shape that it was in the first place!) I wish I had kept a tally of the number of sink-loads of dishes I washed. Thinking back -I think it was between 15 and 20! In the picture it doesn't look like it could possibly have been that bad -but it really was.

I am envious of the dishwasher owners of the world. When we buy a house a dishwasher is going to be high on my "must have" list. A dishwasher will solve all of my clean-kitchen problems. ;)

But for now...

No one is allowed in the kitchen.

The mess.

Accountability.
Just for one day.

Every night this week I've thought "Tomorrow I'm going to clean the kitchen! Ryan is going to come home and be so surprised and happy!"

And then the next night I think the very same thing.

So today is the day. I took pics of the ferocious mess and I'm letting the world see (well, the 4 or 5 people who might log onto my blog) BUT! I will redeem myself later today with a picture of perfection.

You just wait and see.

Can you guess what Sully is eating?

We tested it.




He ate it.






He... liked it?






Well, it was worth a try.



But what a fun mess!

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.


I did not lose my wallet. Actually I did not lose it a couple of weeks ago. This week I still did not find it. :(

I did not pull out Sully's newborn pictures and bug-bug-bug my husband about wanting another baby. Nope not me!

I did not let Sullivan spread 2 decks of playing cards, a deck of Uno cards, and some Apples to Apples cards all over the house. How messy~! Nope, not me!

I did not stay in the house all week (except for one desperate outing for a cup of coffee)! I'm always showered, ready for anything, and out and about.


What did you not do this week?

Sign up!

I just heard about free wireless amber alerts on the radio and signed up! You should too!

https://www.wirelessamberalerts.org/index.jsp


You enter up to five zip codes where you would like to be notified of an amber alert and your cell phone number. If there's an amber alert in your area, you're notified by text message. And since it's free, (everything is better free) why wouldn't you sign up!?

What a great way to be aware and come together when help is needed. Especially when it comes an abducted child.

Patients, waiting, and wanting.

Patients has been a big prayer of mine for a long time. And I know that God is not going to just "grant" me patients. He's much more likely to give me opportunities to be patient. Ugh. It's kinda like asking to be cursed, right!?

Well. I also have a thing with "wants." I don't like wanting things. For instance, I'll avoid shopping at a place I know I'll love or know is having a big sale because I don't want to want. I don't want to tempt myself. Especially when it's things I don't need.

Well lately (umm, the past 3 years?) I've REALLY been wanting a house. A home. Someplace where I can paint the walls, care to organize, clean, and decorate. I want to live in a community where I know I can invest time into that won't be wasted (find a church I won't be uprooted from in a year, meet other moms, join a gym, etc).

I've never liked forming relationships that I know won't last. For instance -when I was younger, at the end of a week at camp, when everyone was exchanging addresses, I was often alone. I hadn't formed any friendships. I really honestly didn't want to! I didn't want to be fake, and tell someone I'd write/call all the time or hear that I'd be missed so much. Ich - realistically these relationships are so totally forgotten with a week. I know I miss out on a LOT when I have this attitude. It's horrible of me. But I want to invest in something real. Something super meaningful and longlasting.

This means that... I never invest time in anything new. Everytime we sign a new lease on an apartment I just know that all the boxes will be packed right back up in 1 year. This is NOT a long enough time to settle in and get really comfortable. Some boxes often never get unpacked. I don't really care or try to get to know my new surroundings that well. I guess if I'll be leaving so soon, I don't want to have to be sad to go.

What I'm trying to get at is... for the past eight years I've felt like I've been patiently waiting and wanting. Haven't I been patient long enough!? I'm building... I have my education, I have an incredible husband, a perfect baby boy, and a good start on my career. I just want a place where I can put it all and I know it won't be changing on me in the next year. I'd like some more stability. I crave it.

Ryan has a little over a year until he finishes grad school and gets his masters. He is so awesome. So right now we just wait. I can't even look for a house until we know where he'll be working (especially with the economy).

I think the most frustrating part for me is that we've already started our family. I want to give Sullivan the stability that I'm longing for. And I really want our family to grow! But our situation is not ideal for another baby. It wasn't ideal for the first one either so... do we just say "bring on the insanity!" or do we wait? ( More patients, waiting, and wanting...)

Grr. I am so happy. I have been so incredibly blessed with what I have. Thats why I hate this wanting feeling. As if I'm not fulfilled. I wish I could just shake it off. I know in my heart that what I want is coming. God has awesome plans for us. What I need to do is just look around and enjoy His plan that I am living in presently. Looking ahead to the future is great, but not if that's what you're living for.

Soaking up the present. That is my new goal. I don't need to be patient. I have everything that I need for right now, right now. This will be my focus.

Gosh, I had know idea that this post was going play out and end like this!

We're back.

We are back -and we had a great time. The only bummer of the trip was missing Sullivan.

I blogged a tad on my laptop (without internet connection) and I'll get that on here soon. Right now I'm still trying to catch up with pictures, dishes, laundry, unpacking, and emails. I keep thinking of things I want to blog -but it'll have to wait a bit.

Sully has been a little needy -he wants to be held a lot (which I totally understand)- so it's been tough to get things done. But for now -we're back, safe, had a great time, and I am anxious to find routine again.

I feel so great!

I just have to share that Sully only woke me up twice last night to eat and get a diaper change. ! Twice! I got like 6 1/2 hours of sleep with only 2 interruptions! So now... Sully is taking his nap and I am not! YeeHaw! I'm using this nice special time to eat and blog. And I got a shower this morning.

Today Rocks.

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.


This week I did not stay up way too late and attempt to wax my legs and end up with a sticky icky mess and angry red bumps all over my legs. I also didn't run into the bedroom and get into bed to feed Sullivan with wax on my legs. Not me! I have better sense than that. And better timing.

I did not tell my husband that I caught a mouse under a bowl and laugh as I watched him maneuver it outside to throw it in the yard. I would never pull such a mean prank on my DH, especially in this uber-chilli weather! Not me!

When Sullivan woke up for the 7th time in one night (this time for a diaper change) and my sweet husband said, "You're doing a good job Kimmy" I did not say "Do you wanna do a good job? I think you should do a good job." Not me! I am not sassy and I let my husband sleep peacefully when he has to get up to work the next morning.

Sunshine!

Next week Ryan and I will be leaving for Puerto Vallarta! I booked a destination wedding there which I am SO INCREDIBLY EXCITED about!!! What better location is there for a wedding photographer than on the BEACH!?

Ryan and I have never vacationed "just the two of us." We've have been a lot of places together with family or school or college. This is going to be the Honeymoon! With some workin' on the side. :)

I've been packing for like 2 weeks already. A little bit because I need to, a lot a bit because it's all I can think about!

I'm totally bummed to leave Sullivan for 2 weeks. My mom will be taking time off work to have him the whole week (I'm so thankful to her!). My dad and Ryan's parents will be around to help out. I'm just going to miss him so much. Ugh. I really try not to think about that part. No matter what, it'll suck and I'll just have to deal with it. I know he'll be fine and happy.

I made Sullivan a DVD to watch. It has pictures of us (Me, Ryan, Sullivan, and Brinkley), video clips of Ryan and I singing songs with Sullivan -mostly ones he is familiar with, video of Ryan and I reading Sullivan's favorite stories, and a video of Sully, Ryan and Brinkley -Brinkley is doing her tricks and Sully is laughing. I turned out pretty awesome I think -for not having done anything like it before. I also put together a family picture album that he can play with. We've been going through it, pointing out who's who with him, for a few weeks now.


So, aside from missing out on big Sully kisses for a week (and dirty diapers, waking up every hour or so, laundry, and dishes) I am super pumped. I'll be returning with a tan, beautiful memories, refreshed energy, and probably about 6,000 pictures to sift though.

Laundry Adventure

Today Sullivan helped me with the laundry.

   Sully has been exploring things a bit more with his mouth.  Brinkley's toys were pretty much gross.  They are the dog's toys so I've never thought to wash them before today.

Brinkley was pretty concerned about the well being of her toys...  but Sully took good care of them. 

And then he tasted them -to make sure they were clean.

I think we'll hang out in the laundry basket more often.  ;)

Yummy

Sully doesn't eat a lot of food yet.  Today I gave him a slice of peach and some banana in this awesome mesh food thingy while he watched a little movie on www.hulu.com.  (It was called Boo -I think.)   This is what he thought of his yummy peach and banana: 

He continued to eat it for 20 minutes or so.  So it must not have been that bad! :)

You know you're a mom Thursday

You know you're a mom when:

-You call all the people you talk with most to tell them not to call you because your baby is finally sleeping. "Don't call me! I'll call you!"

-Your so excited to open up a new box of pamper diapers/wipes to get the "gifts to grow" codes. And you really hope you get enough points this time to get the $10 Starbucks card! (Too bad it's not Caribou though.)

-You haven't gotten a phone call all day and you suddenly realize the last time you saw the phone, it was in the baby's hands. Off the hook all day.

-When you go to the mall, you always go to the same one. Because it has the nicest nursing stations.

-The washing machine is being used to wash all the dog's toys. The baby keeps trying to chew them.

-You haven't carried your purse in months. You've consolidated all of your junk into one giant diaper bag.

-You find yourself calling your darling husband "Daddy." And it actually doesn't sounds quite as strange as you would have thought.

-Your facebook/myspace profile pic is not a picture of you... but of your baby.

Sully's Poll

The poll has ended. The results? A tie. 6 votes for a vegetarian diet and 6 votes against it. Hmmm. I'll break that tie! :) Thank you everyone for your comments! It really helps reassure that we're making a good decision.

No chicken mcnuggets for this kid. I hope he likes tofurky!

:)

No, no, no?

Sully just learned to shake his head "no." Sometimes it seams to actually mean "no" and other times -like this- he's just so happy to be shakin'! Can you tell he loves his Daddy? He loves to do the back and forth mimic thing with him! He's always looking at Ryan to make sure he's watching him.

25 Random Things

I was tagged to do this survey type thing on facebook and since I spent so much time on it I thought I should include it here. :)

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.


1. I love that this note is 25 things. I love the number 25. It's our "family number". My birthday, my sister's birthday, and my parents' anniversary all land on the 25th.

2. I have had all of my wisdom teeth taken out. 2 at a time. I was conscious during both procedures and it did NOT hurt. People have such a fear about getting their teeth pulled. Just relax!

3. I am always thirsty and on average drink a little under a gallon of water a day. (I know this because I really don't like city water and buy -and refill- gallon water jugs.)

4. I seem to be allergic to everything. The list includes: dust, mold, wheat, cats, dogs, hairspray, corn, ragweed, cigarette smoke, and grass. (I didn't just think this list up. I was tested and diagnosed. Milk and eggs were on list when I was younger.)

5. I have a BA Degree in Studio Art with emphasis in photography and digital imaging. If I had taken Psych Research Methods I would have a minor in Psychology.

6. I have laughed so hard that I threw up more times than I wish to count. (It's really embarrassing, and it totally freaks out everyone unfortunate enough to witness it.)

7. I have been a vegetarian for 9 years. It all started with a project that Adam Grise and I did in health class in high school. I remember drawing the slip of paper from Ms. Myers' (was that her name?) hands. "Vegetarian Diet vs. Regular Diet" I wish I had the oomph to be vegan. I just don't think I can take another thing out of my diet.

8. My sister, Becky, lives in Portland, Oregon and I miss her SO MUCH.

9. I LOVE my job. I work at weddings! What could be better?! I loved planning my own wedding and after witnessing so many big days I would love to become a wedding planner in like 15-20 years. Celebrity weddings? I think so! :) Maybe for me and Ryan's 25th wedding anniversary we can renew our vows, and threw a super monster "wedding" party! (You know, cuz I'll be rich from planning all the celebrity weddings!) ;)

10. I LOVE my job. I work at home! What could be better?! :) Being a mom is way more involved than I ever would have imagined, but I love it. I want more babies. :) I'm so glad that I am fortunate enough to get to stay home with Sullivan.

11. I'm thinking about homeschooling Sullivan. Something I never dreamed I would ever do. This definitely would not be for more than just his first few years of schooling. Maybe up to like 2nd or 3rd grade. It could be really exciting. I would love to see where his interests are and what he excels at and delve deep.

12. Apparently I'm a rule breaker. (Norm breaker maybe?) Sully co-sleeps with us, he is not vaccinated, he is fully intact, he is still breastfeeding (with no end in sight), and he'll be fed a vegetarian diet. Prior to his birth I had no intention of doing any of these things (besides toying with the vegetarian idea) but I've done a lot of researching, praying, listening to my own instincts, and refusing to blindly follow without asking questions. And there is a lot to learn.

13. I love the show wheel of fortune and really want to someday be a contestant! I watched it a lot with my grandpa when I was young. Sadly, we do not have a tv and every weekday at 6:30 I really wish we did. :(

14. I like entering contests. You can't win if you don't enter! I once won a $5000 diamond ring. (I do not gamble -I don't enter lotteries or do pull-tabs. Only free contests for me.) My goal is to win a car. I've been close. (Thanks Mo!)

15. In High School Stacy (Anderson) McDowell, Jill Larson, and I dressed in red saran wrap one day during spirit weak of my junior year. I can't believe we did that. Who's idea was that anyway!? And when your friend suggests something so insane, WHY would you say yes???

16. I love swimming. I was on the swim team in 8th grade but was told that to be on the team in High School, you had to be asked back. Never got asked so I assumed I wasn't good enough. Joined my senior year in college (very small -I joined during it's first year). I wasn't awesome but I really just wanted to swim. I'm not that competitive I just love to swim. (I had to quite 1/2 way through the season. I was getting migraines from the strain on my neck from turning my head to breathe -stupid. I had been in a car accident that hurt my neck earlier that year. Yada yada.)

17. In middle school I took Cassie Soukup and my 4-ish year old cousin, Allyssa for a 4 wheeler ride. We went up a hill that the little 4 wheeler was apparently not strong enough to climb with all 3 of us on it. It reared back (I may have braked a little bit), Cassie fell off, and we rolled right over her on our backward way down! Poor poor Cassie!

18. I have art displayed in the science department at the U of M in Morris. Irony. Two photographs titled Swish that I had shown in the senior art show.

19. I would love to have a darkroom someday. Possible retirement art hobby? This better happen someday or I'm saving my film camera for nothing.

20. When I was 12/13 -ish I was at a Hallmark shop checking out the Winnie the Pooh photo albums along the back wall when an old man came up behind me and grabbed a huge chunk of my bottom and then left. I was frozen, scared, and weak. What a horrible feeling. Later, I was mad that I hadn't reacted more strongly and actually wished it would happen again so I could go ape on whoever did that to me.

21. Growing up, my family went on 3 big vacations. Disney World, Disney World, and Cancun. All three were paid for with saved change.

22. In High School I got in huge trouble for spending the night at someone's graduation party rather than the friend's house where my parent's thought I was. Hugest regret in my life. Betrayed my parents' trust, didn't get to go on the marching band trip, etc, etc... But now I can see where it fell into place with God's plan for my life.

23. I always have to feel "even." When putting my socks on, the second one must be put on very quickly to ensure that the first sock was not on much longer than the first. (Same goes for removal.) My socks must be the same color, have the same amount of wear, and be hole-free. If I step on a crack, rug, shadow, or other off-colored turf with one foot, it feels "heavy" and I have to look ahead to find something to step on with the other foot (and on the same area of my foot) to "even" it out. I don't think about this struggle all the time but I am always unconsciously doing it. I know this because Ryan will try to throw me off just when he knows I'm about to make a crucial "evening-out" step. My body actually jumps to make that step rather than try to catch myself from tripping.

24. When I was around 5 I always complained of an itch between my big two and second toe and between my pointer and middle fingers on both hands and feet. My parents had me checked out at the Dr. -I don't think they came to a conclusion. I remember my dad getting so frustrated with my complaining, he always told me that it was all in my head. It STILL itches all the time and I still have no idea what it is. Also -the same "even" rules that are in #23 apply to the scratching. Has anyone experienced anything like this?

25. My husband, Ryan, and I have been together for eight years (5.5 dating, 2.5 married). We went to H.S. and college together. We've been on 1 cruise with both of our families. 1 cruise, 2 trips to St. Maartin, and 1 trip to Disney World with his family. 1 H.S. choir trip took us to Chicago. We spent a month in England on a college choir tour. In 18 days we will go on our first trip alone! We're going to Puerto Vallarta and I cannot wait!

I've been tagged!

My friend, Barbara, tagged me. Here are the rules: You must go to your documents folder (or wherever you store your photos) and go to your 6th picture folder, then go to the 6th picture in that folder and post it on your blog. Tell us a story about that picture.

Okay, so I have two photo programs I use (depending on what camera/occasion) so I'm doubling up.

The first. This is Brinkley, our 2 year old shih tzu. She likes to feel safe under chairs, beds, and couches. This is the desk chair and since we spend a lot of time there, she spends a lot of time there. Look at those puppy dog eyes!

Second. This is Stacy and Scott (aren't they a beautiful couple?!). Stacy has been my best girlfriend since 1st grade. This is one of their engagement pictures. We were all super busy that summer because our weddings were 3 weeks apart, so engagement pics taken the night before their wedding at the grooms dinner/picnic was the way to go. I chose my favorites, framed them and had them by the card box for them the next day. Cake!  ...Stacy and Scott are expecting blessed baby bliss this June!

Sully's Diet

Food is something I think about a lot.  I've been a vegetarian for almost 9 years and gluten-free for 2.  (Vegetarian by choice, gluten-free by allergy.)  People ask a lot of questions (which I totally don't mind -ask away) but the latest question hasn't been about my diet, it's been about Sullivan's.  "Is Sullivan going to be a vegetarian?" is the big one.  

I have so many thoughts on this I confuse myself.  I want to be open minded about it and say that maybe he'll have some meat every so often...  but I truly cannot picture myself putting a dead animal into my baby boy's mouth.  Ugh. There just seems to be nothing good about it.  

I am someone who doesn't make decisions about things like this until I've done a lot of research and reading.  Of course I know what there is to know about vegetarianism, it's knowing everything about a baby's health that gets me.  So I'll be doing some reading.  But I think that I've already made my decision to feed him a vegetarian diet, what I need to learn, or really just verify, is the healthiest way to go about it.

One thing that I'm concerned about is that Sullivan  feels good about it.  I don't want him to feel different from his peers.  I really don't want him to feel restricted either.  I think this will lye in our attitude toward the situation.  "We skip the meat because we make healthy choices." rather than "You're not allowed to eat meat."  I'm wondering how to handle it when he visits friends at their homes.  Do I call his friend's parents ahead of time?  Do I send veggie dogs with him?  Will their parent's grill him with questions like "Why doesn't your mommy let you eat hamburgers like us?"  These social situations are what worry me.  

I'm not going to give Sully all kinds of gory details about where meat comes from and freak him out.  Also, if he really wants to try some, or ends up eating meat somewhere, I won't go ballistic.  We'll have a conversation about what he thought about it, answer his questions, and move on from there.  

Does anyone have any thoughts on babies on a vegetarian diet? Or any advise?  I don't know anyone personally who has raised their baby(s) vegetarian but would love to hear from someone who has.  

I have a while to really learn about it.  He's 7 months old and I can't even get bananas past his clenched gums.  He's still nursing and that's all he cares to include in his diet right now apparently.