Pregnancy Update, Daycare Kids, Baby Shower

Ashley is about 38 weeks pregnant now. A couple weeks ago, it was discovered that the baby is frank breech. They've checked her every week and the baby has remained in frank breech position. Ashley has an appointment this week and then another next Thursday. If the baby is still breech, they will do a C-section that Friday, September 11th. We're praying the baby turns and a C-section won't be necessary.

 

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Ashley works at our church daycare in the room for 3-4 year olds. Lydia is one of the daycare kids. (In the room for 2-3 year olds. There's a half door that separates the 2-3 year old room from the 3-4 year old room.) I usually clean the church sanctuary on Thursdays (I clean the rest of the building on Saturdays) and when I'm done, I'll go to the daycare room Ashley works in to see them. Lydia is always excited to see me. She'll usually excitedly say, "Mema!" and come running to me with a big smile on her face. 

 

The other kids are usually happy to see me, too. They'll smile and a couple of them will hug me. A couple weeks ago, they were drawing and coloring on construction paper and a few of them asked me to write their names on their papers. One of the boys (I can't remember his name) came up to me and said, "You look like a princess." Which cracked me up. He probably thought that because of the pink dress I was wearing - Talbots madras print sleeveless shirt dress; I was wearing a white knit shrug over it.

 

Sunday the 23rd, after service, I was talking with Tykeisha (she's in her 30s; I've known her most of her life) and she complimented my dress. (A green chiffon Jessica Howard with white flowers.) I said, "Oh, thank you." Then she said, "You always look like a princess in your pretty dresses and your pretty updo." That made me laugh a little. Especially after the little daycare boy had told me I look like a princess the previous Thursday.

 

Anyway, I didn't go into the daycare this past Thursday because I had gotten there a little later than usual and most of them left when I was almost finished. Not long after I'd gotten there, Ashley texted me to ask if I was coming to the church and I told her, "I'm here now." Then she texted me back that Lydia said she wanted to see Mema. They came into the sanctuary when I was almost done. Lydia kept hugging me while Ashley and I talked. Sean got there around 5:30 to pick them up and bring them home. He usually hangs around for awhile talking to me, but he was really tired that day and didn't stay long.

 

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August 15th, two of Ashley's friends held a baby shower for her at the church. She got a lot of clothes for the baby, a few boxes of diapers, and other things like wipes, baby shampoo, Desitin, lotion, bath tub, etc. 

 

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Songs purchased for my iPod since my last entry:

 

Chains We Wore by Warr Acres

Withholding Nothing by William McDowell 

 

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This and That, March Through June

In March, Lydia was finally able to get tubes put in her ears. We were all nervous about the surgery, but it went well. And no ear infections since getting tubes.

 

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Sean's 29th birthday was April 9th. We bought him a new suit. (He wears suits to church.) There's a store in Greensboro that sells good brand suits for discounted prices. Sean tried on a few before choosing one. I think it was Calvin Klein, but I really don't remember.

 

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Kelly's friend/my "second daughter" Rene had her second child in April. A little girl named Atalaya Hadassah. (Her oldest is a boy named Anthony. I think he'll be 3 this year.) She is so adorable!

 

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I brought Effie to the vet a month or two ago for a check-up, including one or two shots. She's healthy, but the vet would like for her to lose a pound. She already seems pretty little to me (I think she's 8 or 9 pounds), but maybe that's because all of our other cats were/are bigger.

 

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Charlie had to go to Indiana and Illinois the week of May 18th. He doesn't usually work on cranes on the rare occasions that he travels for work. He just has to basically do customer/client relations. He really doesn't enjoy that at all.

 

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The week of May 25th, Charlie went with Sean, Ashley, and Lydia (in his truck; they drove their car) to the Outer Banks. He asked Kelly and I several times if we wanted to go and we couldn't. We were both expecting to start that week and we don't have anyone to take care of our cats while we're gone. 

 

Years ago, we'd have my mom do it, but she didn't come over often enough to let our dogs out, fill bowls, clean out litter boxes, etc. So we don't ask her anymore. After we quit asking her, we had Rene house sit/pet sit, but she got married in 2019 and has two little ones now.

 

The only way we could go is if Sean and Ashley don't go and can take care of our cats for us. When they're out of town, Kelly and I take care of their cats.

 

Anyway, they had a good time. There was some rain for a couple days, but they did mostly indoor stuff on those days. Like going to the aquarium. Charlie and Sean were able to do a little fishing. And they all went to a couple lighthouses, the Elizabethan Gardens (Charlie wasn't feeling good when they went there, so he stayed in his room), etc.

 

Kelly and I enjoyed our week at home (except for AF) and really didn't miss not going to the coast.

 

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June 3rd, Kelly and I went to The Depot antique mall in Concord. That place is huge! We were there for about four hours. We had to hurry towards the end since they were about to close, so we didn't see everything. They have a lot of neat stuff. My favorite booth was filled with weapons, helmets, and other military items from WWI, WWII, the 1800s, etc. It was so cool!

 

After leaving the antique mall, we got something to eat (I don't remember the name of the place; the food was okay) and on our way home, we stopped at the North Carolina Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which is at a rest stop.

 

 There was a man there with a very friendly pit bull. He (the dog) came running towards us, off leash, tail wagging, tongue out. The man hollered at us, "It's okay. He's friendly." The dog started to walk away and then I made the pss-pss-pss noise and he excitedly came back to me and started to jump up on me. So, it works for dogs, too. lol He was a sweet dog.

 

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Saturday, June 13th, Kelly and I went to an antique store here in Greensboro. It was bigger than I expected and, again, we ran out of time before we could see everything. They had some nice stuff, but their prices were higher than the antique mall in Concord.

 

The reason I'm going to antique stores is because I want/need a larger, better quality trunk (real wood!) to keep our bedding in. (We don't have a linen closet.) Not only do I need one a little bigger, but I expect that Lydia and her baby sister at some point may want to sit or stand on the one I have and that one is made of thin, cheap material. It would likely cave in under their weight.

 

There are a couple thrift stores and a few more antique stores I'd like to check out. I've also done online searches. Hopefully I'll find one soon.

 

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I had a doctor's appointment on June 17th. A regular check-up. I was going to get the shingles shot and tetanus shot at that appointment, as well as have blood work done, but after getting the shingles shot (which hurt like crazy! - it bruised and has now turned yellow), I told them no more needles for the day. I almost fainted and the nurse had me lie down. She fanned me with papers in her hand for a few minutes. Then I moved to a chair and she brought me a small bottle of water. I felt better after a little bit.

 

I went back to the doctor this past Tuesday the 23rd to get my blood work done. I went to Rack Room after that and got some new tan sandals (I've needed new sandals for years) and then got a cute pink top and shorts for Lydia at Belk for half off. 

 

Oh, my blood pressure is a little high, so I'm having to check that a couple times a day at home. 

 

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There's been almost no movies worth watching for several years now, but I've watched two really good ones so far this year - Remarkably Bright Creatures on Netflix and Project Hail Mary on Amazon Prime. Both made me cry a lot. If I had known how much I would love PHM, I would've gone to the theater to see it in IMAX. One of the best movies I've ever watched.

 

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Songs purchased for my iPod since late March:

 

The Warrior is a Child by Twyla Paris

We Want Revival by Red Worship

Ask Me Why by David Jennings

Take Control by UPCI Music (featuring Draylin Young & Rayne Libby)

Show Me Your Face/Yahweh by Red Worship

Show Me Your Face Medley by Indiana Bible College

Making a Way For Me/Waymaker by Indiana Bible College

Nothing Else by Indiana Bible College

Everything For Me by J.J. Hairston

For Christ Alone by 2819 Worship

 

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I will post about dress purchases in a separate entry. 

 

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This and That, November Through March

Sean, Ashley, and Lydia went to the Outer Banks in early October. I always worry when they take a trip, but they had a great time.

 

I think this was at Bodie Island Lighthouse.

 

At the Roanoke Island Aquarium.

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I'm not going to go into a lot of detail because of how much time has passed and because I don't remember most of the details lol, but we had a great Thanksgiving (desserts were pumpkin pie and apple pie), Anniversary (31 years), and Christmas (desserts were pumpkin pie again, key lime pie for Charlie, and homemade chocolate chip cookies). I don't remember what gifts were given. Lydia had a great time though. She loved the talking, singing tea set we got her.

 

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December 27th, Sean called me so that I could hear what Lydia calls me. (She hadn't called me anything prior to that.) He and Ashley were showing Lydia pictures of me and saying, "Who's that?" Lydia said, "Mema". It melted my heart to hear her say that with her sweet voice. She gets excited when she sees me and says, "Mema!" And when Sean's talking to me on speaker phone and she hears me she says, "Is that Mema?" Charlie is "Papa."

 

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On January 9th, I had to bring Loki to the vet because of blood in his poop. Thankfully it wasn't anything serious. He had a full anal gland, which the vet took care of. 

 

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Saturday, January 24th, it was forecasted that we would get a bunch of ice with very cold temperatures, and probably have power outages. We didn't get as much ice as was expected and we didn't lose power, but it was very cold (single digits and teens at night and in the mornings; 20s during the day). 

 

Sean, Ashley, and Lydia came to stay with us (they live about a mile or so from us) in case they lost power. I had bought a lot of food for all six of us (I had to go to five different stores to get everything we needed because people were buying up everything; I went to Walmart, Food Lion, Dollar General, Lowes Foods, and Harris Teeter) and ended up spending over $600! But at least I didn't have to worry about us going hungry.

 

We have a generator, so I cooked up a few meals ahead of time that we could heat up and have a hot meal each night for supper.

 

We got ice and sleet that Saturday evening and Sunday morning, which meant the roads were iced over. Sean, Ashley, and Lydia left sooner than we felt like they should have (Sunday afternoon) because Sean was going to try to go to work that Monday. They made it home safely, but Sean wasn't able to go to work.

 

This was taken on January 27th.

 

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Saturday, January 31st (and I think into Sunday, February 1st), we got 13 inches of snow. The biggest snow we've had in awhile. Again, I had go to three or four different stores to get what we needed because of people clearing the shelves, but I didn't spend nearly as much that time.

 

 

 

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Some time in January, Sean and Ashley told us that they're expecting another baby. On February 28th, we found out that it's a girl! She's due in September.

 

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My 53rd birthday was February 7th, Kelly's 26th birthday was February 8th, Charlie's 57th birthday was February 21st, and Lydia's 2nd birthday was March 11th.

 

Lydia is such a sweet, smart, funny, sassy, adorable little girl! She is a joy to our family and friends. She loves cats, dogs, horses, buses (yes, buses), dinosaurs, and frogs. She knows her ABCs, colors, can count to 10, knows some words in sign language, and is learning to count to 10 in Spanish. 

 

She's at that adorable age where she can't say many words correctly and has such a cute voice. Fish is feesh, car is caw, bus almost ends with a lisp, she can't say the R in horse (well, she can't pronounce the R in any words; Ls are also difficult), Kelly is Keggy or Keh-yee, dragon is gaggon, frog almost sounds like the F word. She says our cat Effie's name really well, but can't quite get Loki.

 

Anyway, I could go on, but I'll stop now. :-)

 

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Tomorrow (technically today), March 21st, is Sean and Ashley's 6th wedding anniversary! 

 

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Lydia is supposed to get tubes for her ears this Monday. She gets an ear infection nearly every month (except for the summer) and had two in one month last year. They've had to reschedule the surgery several times because if she gets sick (like a cold or anything that causes congestion), they can't do the surgery. As of today, she's not sick. Here's hoping and praying she stays well. 

 

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Baby Shower, Milo, Welcome Baby!, African Ancestry

Wednesday, March 6th, we found out that Ashley had a condition called cholestasis. This is uncomfortable for the mother (itching), but can be dangerous for the baby. Cholestasis can cause up to 60% of preterm deliveries, up to 33% of fetal distress, and up to 2% of babies die in the womb. So her doctor decided they would induce her at 37 weeks on March 22nd. They put her on medication to help with the cholestasis. They were also going to do ultrasounds once or twice a week and monitor the baby. Cholestasis usually goes away on its own after the baby is born.

 

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Friday, March 8th was a busy day. Milo had an ultrasound done of his liver, I ordered the cake for the baby shower (strawberry buttercream from Maxie B's), got groceries, bought gifts for Sean/Ashley/Lydia for the baby shower, and made chocolate chip cookies for the shower.

 

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Saturday, March 9th, was the baby shower. I picked up the cake from the bakery about an hour before the shower, brought it to the church, and waited for the shower to start. I had a few people helping me with decorating and food. (Rene, Kaley, Jennifer, and Kristin.) I couldn't have done it all myself. Plus, I'm not a party person, so it's not my area of expertise. They did a great job.

The shower started at 2:00. It was a lovely time of conversation, food (cake was delicious!), and gifts.

 

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Monday, March 11th, Ashley's water broke before dawn. Sean called me after 5:00 AM to tell me. Ashley called her doctor and he or she told her to go to the hospital. Ashley was 1 centimeter dilated. I told Sean it would take all day for the baby to be born. I waited for Charlie to get home from work and then we went to the hospital. We got there shortly before 6:00 PM.

They gave Ashley an epidural when she was about 3-4 centimeters dilated (I think around 4 or 5 PM). By about 6:45 PM, she was 6 centimeters dilated. She was fully dilated around 7:35-7:40 and began pushing shortly after that.

Lydia Jane was born close to 9:30 PM. 6 lbs. 5.9 oz., 20 inches long. She came out sideways and was very blue, but breathing and was crying soon after that.

Because Ashley was 35 weeks pregnant, Lydia had to go to the NICU and is still there. She had a breathing tube until the morning or afternoon after she was born. She also had a feeding tube for the first couple days and then they removed it, but they had to put it back in (through her nose this time; it was in her mouth before) the next day because she wasn't getting enough food from the bottle. She still isn't eating enough (though she has finally started gaining weight), so she still has the feeding tube.

I've been to the hospital a few times to see her and hold her. (I would go every day, if I could.) She is so sweet and so cute! She's so much smaller in person than she looks in pictures. Such a sweet, tiny face. She makes such cute noises, sometimes sticks out her tongue when she stretches (so freaking cute!), and loves to hold Sean's thumb. Right now, it looks like she has Sean's eyes, Ashley's nose, and mostly Sean's face shape, but I think she may have Ashley's jaw.

I love that little girl so much! People have asked me what I want to be called and I told them "grandma" is fine (I don't think I'm the Gigi/Nana/Meme/Nona/whatever type), but whatever she chooses to call me is also fine.

So weird being a grandma. I don't feel old enough to be a grandma. But, at 51, obviously I am. lol

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We got Milo's ultrasound results back this past Monday. Pretty much what they told us when we had an ultrasound done a few years ago. Liver is shrunken and nodular. Probably fibrosis. (I think that's what she said.) He's 13 years old, so we're not going to have a biopsy done. He's still not wanting to eat his hepatic food, but the vet said that the most important thing now is his comfort and quality of life - whatever he wants to eat and continue medications. He acts like his normal self still - loud, playful, happy, crazy, annoying. lol

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A few years ago when my aunt Wanda (my mom's oldest sister; passed away last January) had her DNA done, it showed a small amount of African - south central hunter gatherers (Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, Angola, Zambia, and Tanzania). Last night, I was doing some things at Ancestry and went to the DNA section and then "matches". Aunt Wanda is my second closest match and I decided to click on her and check her ethnicity. (I had never thought to check hers each time there was an update.) It now says 2% Cameroon, Congo, and Western Bantu Peoples for her African ancestry.

So that area of Africa is where the African ancestors that are in my family tree came from. This is on my mom's mom's side of the family. To be more specific, my maternal grandma's mother's mother's mother's side of the family. (My great-grandma Lessie, great-great-grandma Nelie Britt, 3x-grandma Penelope Ivey's ancestors.) It's cool to know a little more specifically where they were from.

Loss, Birthdays, Park, and Sick Milo

On January 21st, my aunt Nelie passed away. She was 90 years old. She was my maternal grandma's youngest sibling and the last surviving of her siblings. My grandma passed away in 2003 at the age of 78. The other siblings were James (1915-1968), Horace (1917-1972), Lester (1919-1994), Pauline (1923-2004), and Ruth (1928-1997).

 

 

Aunt Nelie is the one with the doll. Behind her is her mother Lessie. Beside her is her sister Ruth. Behind Ruth is my grandma/Nelie and Ruth's sister Doris.

Aunt Nelie and her husband Richard.

 

Left to right: James, Nelie, Lester, Grandma (in the back), Pauline, Horace, and Ruth.

I hadn't seen my aunt Nelie in many years, but it was sad to lose the last of my grandma's siblings. That generation of our family is gone and now we can't talk to them about times past and things they lived through and experienced. 

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On February 1st, the baby wasn't moving as much as she normally does, so Ashley went to her doctor. He or she then told Ashley to go to the hospital. Charlie and I arrived at the hospital awhile after they did. We were there for an hour or two while they monitored the baby. Thankfully, all was fine. They said she was probably sitting on/leaning against the umbilical cord and/or playing with it.

After leaving the hospital, we went to Texas Roadhouse for supper. I got the herb crusted chicken. It was delicious.

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My birthday was February 7th. I'm 51 years old now. I was 35 when I started writing in this blog. Hard to believe. For my birthday, I made a chocolate blueberry cake. It didn't turn out exactly how I wanted (not enough of a sweet blueberry flavor in it), but it was still good.

Charlie gave me money to shop with. I mostly ordered skirts. A few black denim skirts (two Lauren Ralph Lauren, one Land's End), a brown pencil skirt (Lauren Ralph Lauren), a green, flowy silk skirt (Calvin Klein), a green corduroy skirt (St. John's Bay), white denim skirt (Lauren Ralph Lauren), and a green Tahari cardigan. (My favorite color is green. :-) Red is a close second.) All for low prices off of eBay and Poshmark.

 

Kelly's birthday was February 8th. She's 24 years old now. She wanted strawberry pie instead of her usual cookies and cream ice cream cake this year. She doesn't like actual cake, except cheesecake.

 

Charlie's birthday was February 21st. He's now 55 years old. I made him one of his favorite meals - fried pork chops, macaroni and tomatoes, corn, and great northern beans. The cake he wanted this year was lemon cake (instead of yellow with chocolate frosting) - I put buttercream frosting on top.

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I had to renew my license by my birthday this year. Last time I got it renewed, I was able to do it online. This year I had to go to the DMV to renew it. I had to read the top line of some letters and get my picture taken (probably the worst picture that's ever been taken of me in my entire life). I went a day or two before my birthday and was there for about an hour or maybe a little longer. It felt even longer than that. :-/

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On my birthday, Kelly and I went to the dam at Company Mill Preserve and to Hagan-Stone Park. The temperature wasn't bad (about 51 or 52 degrees), but for some reason I was about to freeze. I wished that I had gloves with me, a thicker coat, and had worn boots instead of tennis shoes. I did finally warm up, but it took longer than I thought it would.

 

The gap in the dam wall is to the left of this picture.

Dam wall gap. Kelly took this picture for me while I stood in agony after falling. lol

 

Anyway, we went to the dam at Company Mill first. I took some pictures and short videos and then noticed a small open area in the wall to the left of the dam. I told Kelly I wanted to get up there. We found a stone wall about 3-4 feet tall and decided to climb up. There were gaps that made good footholds. Kelly got up quickly and then I tried to get up. Actually, the getting to the top wasn't hard. But I asked for Kelly's hand and when I got to the top (pretty quickly), I somehow fell and came down hard on a big, sharp, white rock that was stuck in the ground - right below my right knee. It hurt so bad I thought I was going to throw up. It took a couple minutes for the nausea to pass. The place where I hurt my leg quickly bruised and swelled up. It stuck out as far as my knee. I joked that it looked like I had two knees on my right leg.

When we decided that we were ready to move on, I said that I probably couldn't jump back down those 3-4 feet with my leg hurting like it was. So I found a very narrow, overgrown path that lead away from the lake and dam and back to the path. If only I'd seen that path before trying to climb the wall, but it was pretty well hidden.

We then got back in the car (because the walk to the next area we wanted to go to was about 2.5 miles away) and drove over to Hagan-Stone Park a few miles away and made the walk over to that side of Company Mill where the creek is. Such a pretty, peaceful spot. We saw a couple deer take off in the woods when we got to the creek. I didn't try to take a picture since I knew that with all the trees and them moving you probably wouldn't be able to see the deer in the picture.

 

 

 

It's been almost a month and my leg is still bruised and I can't put pressure on it without it hurting.

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About 2-3 weeks ago, we started having a hard time getting Milo to eat. If I added something new to his food (he's supposed to be eating prescription food for his liver - hepatic), like rice or corn, he would get excited about his food and eat most of it. But after 2 or 3 days, he would stop eating it and I'd have to find something else to add to his food. Eventually he was eating almost nothing. He had a regular appointment (yearly check up) on February 21st and I told them about him not eating. He had lost nearly a pound in those couple weeks. Nearly every test (blood, urine, feces) came back normal and his heart sounded good. The only thing that came back not so good was his liver values are elevated more than last year (he has liver disease), but not so much that he's in liver failure or so bad that he would stop eating. So we don't know why he wasn't eating.

Charlie started giving him boiled chicken tenders about a week ago and he's loved that, but I really wish he'd start eating his dog food again. Protein isn't good for his liver.

Last Saturday, he seemed kind of lethargic most of the day and hadn't had much energy in the weeks that he wasn't eating much (naturally), but he's back to full energy now - barking, running, playing.

He's supposed to have an ultrasound done this Friday so they can see his liver.

Milo turned 13 this past September. I think Jack Russell's typically live 12-15 years, so we know he probably doesn't have much time left. I'm praying he'll be with us for at least another year though. I saw my husband's eyes fill with tears a couple times when things were looking really bad for Milo. Not only am I not ready to lose Milo (not that you're ever ready to lose a pet), but I don't want Charlie to lose him. He loves Milo so much. That's his buddy.

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Other than the clothing items I bought with my birthday money, here are purchases I've made since my last blog entry.

Talbot's dress. Bought from someone on Poshmark. (This is her picture.) Originally $149. I paid $45.87 after shipping and tax.

L.L. Bean dress. Bought from someone on Poshmark. (This is her picture.) Originally around $100, I think. I paid $35.20 after shipping and tax.

Long Overdue Post

On June 19th, my computer started messing up - turning off and on, and off and on, and off and on, etc. I haven't been able to use it since then. I've put off taking it to get repaired because I'm afraid it might cost a lot and we've had some other expenses to take care of. (Of course, it could also not cost as much as I'm afraid it will cost.) Anyway, it's been sitting in my office (which has become more of a storage room than anything) since then. I've been afraid that my blog would get deleted (unlikely, since my first blogspot blog still exists) and since Charlie brought a laptop home from work, he's letting me use it to check and update my blog.

A lot has happened since June. I've tried to keep notes on my phone. I'm going to try to keep this as short as I can, but that could be difficult.

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Sean had training with FedEx from July 31st to August 4th, started working for them August 7th (deliveries), and was fired the next day because he said the job was hard and wasn't sure he could handle it. (Long story there involving 2-3 different people training him, each with their own method.) A couple weeks after that, he was diagnosed with acute bronchitis, mild intermittent asthma, and something else. He had started getting sick a few days before getting fired. He thinks that may have made the job harder because he was feeling weak and coughing.

Sean began searching for a new job soon after getting fired. He applied many places. It was frustrating when jobs that said "little to no experience necessary" or said they would train would then tell him that he didn't have enough experience. :-/ Ashley works, but doesn't make enough to cover everything. My mom gave Sean money every week (I didn't know this for awhile; I didn't know they were struggling that much because they didn't say anything to us) to help with food, gas, tires, etc.

Finally, at the end of October, he was hired by Napa to work in parts. (A warehouse or distribution center.) He started on October 30th. He should be getting health insurance through his job and a raise by the end of January. He seems to like his job so far.

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On August 4th, Sean and Ashley told us that they're having a baby. Due April 12th - 3 days after Sean's birthday. They've since found out it's a girl. 

Still feels weird that I'm going to be a grandma. I don't feel like a grandma. lol

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Sometime in July, my brother married Shari. She's originally from Canada and has two kids from a previous relationship. A girl (Sofia) and a boy (Remi). Del and Shari are trying to get partial or full custody of Del's son Drake from his previous marriage. A long story I don't want to get into, but I'll just say that his ex is being difficult. Apparently, even her lawyer is frustrated by her tantrums/defiance. There's a court date in January, I think, and they want me and Mom to be there.

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On August 15th, a bad storm hit our area. I was outside with Milo waiting for him to potty when I saw dark, angry-looking clouds coming our way. I let Milo in and then went back outside to record it, not realizing how bad it would get. After a few minutes, the wind picked up and got so bad that I quickly went inside and closed the door. The wind had already blown the bird feeder off one of our trees and the look and sound of the wind was so scary I thought a tornado was about to hit. 

Kelly looked out the window and saw that both of our trees had cracked in half and fallen. One of the trees fell on my car. I handed Milo to her and told her to get in the bathtub. I ran around for a few seconds trying to find Loki, but I couldn't find him and ran into the bathroom and closed the door. I was shaking so bad and terrified that the roof was going to get blown off.

When the wind finally stopped, I went outside and recorded the damage. I was crying, not so much from the damage to my car, but I think from the panic and fear I had felt. I was afraid my car had been completely smashed in, but it wasn't. The windshield was busted, a small dent on top of the car, a couple dents on the front above the driver side tire, back wiper broke off, scratches all over the top and sides. (Of course, I couldn't see all of this until the tree had been removed.)

After I finished recording, I called Charlie and told him what happened. He came home with a chainsaw and he and a few of our neighbors got to work. We got it the worst in our neighborhood. About 4 or 5 of the homes on our street (all in a row with our house) lost a tree. No one's home or car was damaged. 

Pleasant Garden, and a few places between our neighborhood and Pleasant Garden, had quite a bit of damage as well. The meteorologists said that it was a down burst with some rotation and the wind speed of an F-1 or F-2 (can't remember which) tornado. It was so scary!

Our trees have been completely cut down, with just stumps remaining. Charlie said he's going to get rid of them, but he hasn't yet. Our yard looks so weird with no trees.

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My friend Phyllis (called "Sis") died on September 3rd. We first became friends online in March 1999. She was quite a bit older than me (early to mid 70s) and had had a stroke. While in the hospital, she had a heart attack and they couldn't save her. I'm glad I was able to visit her in the hospital before she passed. I cried quite a bit when she passed. Especially for her husband Steve. 

Sis and Steve were originally from Minnesota and moved here in the summer of 2020. (After having lived in NY and VA.) When Steve retired, they decided to move here after visiting and loving the location and our church. Steve didn't stay fully retired for long though. He teaches music at NC A&T and is also in a local orchestra.

I sometimes forget that she's gone and then I remember and feel sad. I miss seeing her at church and sometimes feel sad seeing Steve there without her. 

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Kelly's friend Rene (aka, my "second daughter") and her husband had a baby on September 18th, 19th, or 20th. (Can't remember which. lol) A boy they named Anthony. He is so freaking cute!

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On October 3rd, Charlie brought my car to a repair shop. (Took long enough for the insurance!) Our insurance company decided it was totaled and we picked the car back up on October 6th. They sent us a check (we used part of it to pay off a couple doctor bills) and Charlie is slowly fixing the car himself. The windshield and back wiper have been replaced and Charlie is in the process of getting rid of dents and scratches and preparing it for paint. Not sure how much longer it's going to be. My car looks rough! lol Sanded, stuff put on it where it's been sanded, many of the pieces that can't be painted have been removed.

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Kelly went to her first therapy appointment on October 4th. She wasn't able to make her second one in November and the next available appointment wasn't until January 4th. So, she'll go back on that date. Hopefully, they can figure out what's going on with her.

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Charlie, Kelly, and I (and Milo) went to the mountains on October 18th. The color was gorgeous! We went a different route this time instead of our usual. Instead of 40-W to 52-N to Fancy Gap to the Parkway and then head south to Boone, we took 40-W to near Mt. Mitchell, went to Mt. Mitchell, then got on the Parkway. We were going to take the Parkway to almost the Linn Cove Viaduct and then take a different road to Boone, but somehow we got turned around and ended up heading back south and didn't realize until we were near Asheville. lol

So Kelly and I went back to the mountains on October 23rd. We got on the Parkway near Mt. Mitchell and I made sure we went north this time. lol We went to overlooks we had never been to before and loved it. We got off before the Linn Cove Viaduct, went into Blowing Rock, went to Shoppes on the Parkway to get cherry cordials at Kilwin's, drove into Boone to eat supper at Dan'l Boone Inn Restaurant (the mashed potatoes were delicious!), and then came home.

Sean and Ashley went to the mountains on October 28th.

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I think that's all of the main things that have happened. There have been clothing purchases since May, but it may be easier to add pictures from my computer. If I even bother. I'd also like to post pictures of our mountain trip, storm damage, and maybe ultrasound of Sean and Ashley's baby.

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*~*Nocturnal Queen*~*

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Drake is Here!

My brother's son, Drake Edward, was born this morning. He weighs 9 lbs. 9 oz. and is 22½ inches long. My mom, Kelly and I (Sean was in Raleigh visiting cousins) went to the hospital today to see him. He's so cute! He has a head full of hair, pretty blue eyes, the cutest nose and big hands. I enjoyed holding him and took a couple pictures of him, which I shared with friends and family at Facebook.

We went to Cracker Barrell for an early supper after leaving the hospital. Kelly and I had breakfast for supper. :-)

We're planning on going back to the hospital tomorrow.

White Christmas and a Baby

Our tree and the "fireplace" on Christmas Eve.

Kelly with her new Barbie car and opening a snow-themed Moxie doll.

Sean with his new nerf gun. There were a lot of foam darts flying around on Christmas.

I took a lot of pictures on Christmas day, but only a few turned out clear enough and light enough to share. Most were so dark that even editing them didn't help.

Christmas presents from Kelly to me. A note/picture and some plastic animals - a cat, an antelope, a meerkat and a raccoon.

It started snowing early Christmas afternoon and continued on into Sunday. We ended up with about 4-6 inches. This was the first white Christmas I've ever had.

Taken the day after Christmas.

Christmas was nice. I had the house clean and looking festive, cooked a good Christmas dinner, wore a pretty red sweater with a black skirt, it was snowing, the four of us were together and the kids were happy with their gifts, as they always are.

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Kelly and I spent most of yesterday watching TV. Our dog Pippin was sick (in a very gross way) and I spent the first hour or so of my day cleaning up after him. I had to wash his blankets (which were in his carrier where he'd spent the night) and his bed, clean out his carrier and give him a bath. Then I fixed him some rice (recommended by the vet a couple years ago when he'd gotten sick like this before) and a little beef broth (I'm out of the recommended chicken broth) to help calm his stomach. I didn't even attempt to give him Pepto Bismol this time. He just spits it out. What made him sick? The turkey skin my husband had fed him. *sigh* Toy poodles and their sensitive stomachs.

Anyway, one of the shows Kelly and I watched was Gene Simmons' Family Jewels. We watched a few episodes of that. In one of the episodes, Gene and his not-wife Shannon were in Amsterdam for a KISS concert, I think. A boy who lives in Amsterdam wrote a letter to Gene wanting to meet him and talk to him, which Gene agreed to.

The boy (Steve?), whose grandfather is a holocaust survivor, brought Gene and Shannon to the Anne Frank house. (I've been reading Anne Frank's Diary to Kelly.) Gene's mother is a holocaust survivor, something she never talks about, and Gene is very sensitive about that. He broke down crying when they walked into the Anne Frank museum and saw the pictures of Anne Frank. Anne Frank and Gene Simmons' mother were about the same age when they were captured by the Nazis. I started crying even before I saw Gene Simmons crying. (I think reading Anne Frank's diary made me more sensitive to seeing her pictures in the museum. It made it more real.) Seeing other people's tears always makes me cry, so when I saw him crying, I started crying even more. I knew Kelly was looking at me, but she didn't say anything and neither did I. I had to struggle to compose myself, well after the show broke for commercials.

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And now for some exciting news. My brother Del and his wife Jennifer are at the hospital as I type this awaiting the birth of their first child together (she has an 8 or 9 year old son from a first relationship) - a boy named Drake. I'm so excited! Del called me shortly before 11 PM letting me know that Jennifer's water had broke and that they were fixin' to go to the hospital. I broke down crying on the phone and couldn't speak. lol I told him a few weeks ago that I would probably cry, and I did. When he was hanging up and said, "Good-bye. I love you.", I couldn't speak back to him and just hung up. lol

The problem is though, I can't get out of my driveway. It's sloped and is covered with ice and snow. If I tried to get out I'd probably slide all the way down and crash into the curb and mailbox of our across-the-street neighbors. My mom's going to try to come get me later today so that we can go to the hospital. If she can't, Del said he'd come get us. Hopefully the snow and ice will be melted from my driveway and our street by the time we decide to leave. We're going to try after noon in the hopes that things will be melted or melting by then.

I can't wait to see Drake and hold him! I'll probably cry again.