Tropical Storm Hannah

Living on the coast certainly has its advantages and disadvantages....one of the latter is hurricanes and tropical storms. Tropical Storm Hanna just came through the Charleston area last week and it was much much much milder than I thought we would see. It helped that it didn't restrengthen to a hurricane, that landfall was north of here, and that higher winds were to the east. We got rain and a little wind and that was it. I've been through worse thunderstorms here and in Virginia. We didn't loose power here and only had one palm frond come off so we feel very blessed.

Wal-Mart, etc. were bustling with water, paper towel and toilet paper sales earlier in the week. It was crazy. I found myself in the moment and bought some of all three even though we had plenty. It really made me think of the scripture, "if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear."

Ian did great during the ordeal--we talked to him about the wind, etc. He was more concerned about it getting dark outside before night time. He did love (and is still loving) having his slide inside as we moved all of our patio stuff indoors or to the garage.

We are hoping that we manage to avoid other encounters with tropical storms and hurricanes this season. When we were looking to move here, I actually researched the likelihood of a landfall in the Charleston area even :)

More on the next post......

Hokies loose....

Brett and I were blessed to go to the VT/ECU football game this weekend in Charlotte. It was so much fun! Tailgated prior to the game and then went to the game. Our seats were in sun for only about 30 minutes of the game and that fact went in my grateful journal thatI keep. We had lathered up in sunscreen though and were glad that we did. We drank lots of water and tried to keep cool mental images in mind to help.

The game was great atmosphere but kind of lacked in the actual execution of things. The Hokies just didn't look sharp on any front this game. It was the first one so I'm hoping things will come together more for my alma mater. It was kind of embarassing at some points. I've got pictures on my phone that I'll hopefully get uploaded.

As for other news, I'm nesting seriously at this point. "pat" arrives next month and I have a list of all sorts of things that need to be done before she arrives. Brett is being so patient with me. Ian gives my tummy kisses which just melt my heart! Pat is active active active and I am ready to have a waistline and non-kicked ribs.

Ian hopefully will be starting preschool soon and we are excited for that. He is way into Thomas the Train and just earned Herold the Helicopter for making good sunbeam choices (for the most part) for a week. He keeps getting scraped knees from falls, etc. which are always an emotional moment for him.

I started a facebook page...who knew you could find so many people and that they could find you? I didn't.

I'm ready for the fall season of TV to start and am sad that LOST won't be starting a new season this fall.

Happy Labor Day and as usual more on the next post....

Me and my cheapness

So I get up this AM to go to a grand opening of a Bi-Lo grocery store to be one of the first 100 in line at 8am for a $50 gift card. Ian and I are up then so I figured why not. We get there about 7:58 knowing we would not be the first in line but we were like the 400th in line no lie. It was a line the size of one when Best Buy puts their laptops on sale for $100 laptops on Black Friday.....my goodness. People in line were even saying it was like the day after thanksgiving.....all for a free $50 gift card. We didn't even get in the doors of the store until 8:30. Once we got inside, Ian of course wanted to be in a huge cart with the turning wheels...yeah I already can't maneuver those on a good day with like 20 people in the store, let alone 500 in the store. The things I do for Ian!

I took pictures with my phone and when I download them I'll post a few. So I was curious as to when people got there so I asked one of the brass there at the store about it and was told 4am--no lie, 4am. Police were out directing traffic on the main road, etc. I fit through the tiniest of spots in the Explorer to park. There weren't any great deals--I only bought 1 5lb bag of sugar for $1. We did get some free food tastes though.

One funny thing that did happen is some lady in front of me asked a nicely dressed woman if she worked at Bi-Lo and it turned out she was the Mayor--soooooooooo hilarious! The mayor of course handled it very well and did the obligatory hand shaking, etc.

The only thing that I was planning and counting on from the experience that didn't happen is for Ian and I to be in line close to getting our lofty gift card andthe cry of "I have to go potty" to escape from Ian's lips. Thank goodness that didn't happen. Needless to say we are not trying for the promos tomorrow or Friday as I have come to my senses and realized it is NOT worth it. Oh the things I do in my frugal ways......hope those reading this are chuckling at and with me.

Summer Fun

Summer is slowly fading away. I recently visited "home"--that would be Virginia and was again chastised to update more frequently so here is an update on my life in Charleston.

Ian continues to hold steady on his liver transplant wait. He loves the transplant team doctor and wants to go see him all the time at the butterfly hospital--aka CHOA. The transplant floor is decorated with all types and colors of butterflies and it is a hit with Ian. They have a big map display where the butterflies appear and move around it and it is his favorite. He still isn't ready to hold out his own arm for labs but what three year old kid would be? He knows what labs are at this point. He has graduated to a chewable multivitamin now--a big kid. He is also potty trained which is huge and earned a train table for doing so. Yeah Thomas the Train! He loves his big boy underwear too and keeps Thomas (and Percy, and James, etc.) dry and clean.

Baby "pat" is due in about 8 weeks. She is very active at night and keeps me up sometimes--getting me ready for the night feedings I think. I am starting to nest with getting the nursery set up and ready and am loving the pink and purple dresses, bows, tights, etc.

I just finished reading the last book in teh twilight series and it was wonderful. More sci-fi, intamcy, and language than the previous books. It had a few twists I wasn't ready for too. I thought Meyer did a great job finishing the story and am anxious for the movie of Twilight to come out in December.

I'll sign out with my usual....more on the next post.

Major Updates.....

So I am a blogging slacker having not updated this since March. In my defense, life has been absolutely crazy for my family and I the last few months. My husband accepted a job in South Carolina (Charleston) and moved. I am also pregnant expecting a little girl in October. So far 2008 has been great!

Our move was fairly smooth and we feel so blessed that we sold our house so quickly, found a new house that is awesome in South Carolina, and had everything in between come together. We only had one real casuality from the move--plastic trash cans fell from the moving truck and shattered. I have pictures of things but haven't downloaded them from my camera yet to upload. I shed many tears leaving friends, family, and home of 28 years....every time I thought I was done, I would start again. Kleenex should partner with Mayflower in my opinion.

I became naturalized in June and celebrated my first 4th of July as a citizen! It was wondeful. I hope to get a passport soon--not that I have any pending trips coming or anything. I used my naturalization paperwork to get my SC license :)

Ian is still holding steady--PELD is a 10 again. We head to CHOA in 2 weeks for a clinic visit. He loves the "butterfly" hospital and Dr. Romero. We have a new specialist here at MUSC and meet with him in September.

Boxes and unpacking awaits me so I will end with my classic....more on the next post.....

A weekend away

So I've been told I need to update my blog more frequently....will work on that :) This past weekend I spent the weekend away in Floyd, VA in a mountain cabin with friends. It was wonderful and a much needed get away. We went to the Friday night jamboree (my first time) and it was a bit squishy and compact but well worth a few moments of claustrophobia. If you haven't been, it is something to go to! I'm sad to say it was my first time going and I have been in the area for 28 years now. It was great not having to worry about diapers, dosing meds, or battling food with Ian. I definitely hope that the road trip continues for a 3rd annual outing next year. If you want to see pictures of the weekend, you can check out http://themckinleyfamily.blogspot.com/ or http://turnerpharm.blogspot.com/ and read more about the trip. I have wonderful friends!!!!

As for Ian, his PELD is now a 12 up two points from last time but doesn't really do much for his position on the list. This last set of labs was much less traumatic due to nurse judy at the hospital--she was great! Ian is quick though and pulled out the first needle faster than I could even grab his arm. I'm not one for lots of bribery, but for labs, yeah I bribe him to sit and be good. Ian is so into trains--Thomas, Gordon, Percy! He cries every time we return the train books to the library even though we check out new books each time. Naps have been a bit of a battle since the time change but I am hoping that we have turned a corner here.

More on the next post.....

Elaine

Turning 30....

So I turn 30 in a day. Ahhhhh!!! I am dreading it really. I've always thought of myself as young but not when I am 30. I also thought life would be a bit different than it is for me. Doesn't hurt to dream though. Both my sisters are coming into town to help me celebrate so I'm excited. I get the most delicious birthday cake--oreo cake. It has real whipped cream as part of the frosting and is soooooo yummy and loaded with fat but so worth it!!!

Ian's PELD is a 10 again. He keeps hovering in a flip-flopping mode around these low numbers. Last lab experience was brutal--six lab techs had to hold a kicking, flailing, screaming child down on a cot. This has NEVER happened before. I was in tears myself at the end and called Brett to give him the heads up that he was on duty the next time for lab draws. Ian calmed down pretty quickly after the ordeal was over. He bruised again on his arm and got a Thomas the Train sticker out of it---except it is Gordon instead of Thomas to Ian--we go along with that to keep the peace. He is big on Gordon :)

Today, I told Ian that we were going some place special--Grandma's--and had him guess where. With complete child innocence and a huge grin, he looked at me and his first response was, special chicken which translated means McDonalds chicken nuggets....he has succombed to the marketing at such a young age already.

I am trying desparately to toilet train Ian without pressure. Any time I ask him if he wants to go he says no then proceeds to use his diaper clearly giving cues as to what he is doing. We had a good stretch at Christmas time where I thought we were making progress but alas, nope. My next idea is to have him help me train his Bob the Builder doll......who knows. We can't find any Bob underware though so Bob may have to Build or Fix some :)

Hearing all the political buzz out there right now makes me want to vote in November. I passed my naturalization test and am just waiting to be sworn in at this point. So exciting. Don't plan to register with a party, but am a republican supporter at heart. I tend to look at key issues and side with the person that lines up with where I fall on those issues. So for me, stem cell research and Iraq are a key issues. So are the economy, and abortion. I'm interested to see who makes the Democratic final ticket.

More on the next post.