A hair saga

I'll start out with a bang: I HATE my hair. I always have hated it and I still do. It's a burden that I'll have to endure the rest of my life.

My hair is THICK, COURSE, WAVY, CURLY and to put it mildly, has a mind of its own.

When I was girl, I had long hair and I hated it. I was a tomboy and it was always in my way, not to mention HOT.


I begged my mom to cut my hair and finally she relented. YAY. My hair was cut to the top of my shoulders. From there, my hair was a seesaw from the bottom of my ears to the top of my shoulders.



During my high school years, I had no idea HOW to make my hair presentable. I had no idea about hairstyles and picking one that would work with my difficult hair.

The summer of sophomore year in college, my brother suggested I get my hair cut like one of the US gymnasts of the Magnificent Seven - Amanda Borden. This would be a drastic change, but frustrated with my hair, I did it.



While not overly thrilled with short hair, my difficult hair was a little less difficult in some ways (it wasn't always in my face) but at the same time, it was more difficult as it's waviness was more difficult to manage and style. Yet, I kept my hair short for the next seven years.

Enter Eric.

I met my long hair, loving husband and from the moment we started dating, I started letting my hair grow. That was one of the hardest and most frustrating things I have ever done. So many times I wanted to quit and just revert to my short hair, but I kept persevering and one year later, my hair was down to my shoulder blades.

I discovered with my new long hair that it curled nicely with gel. It was impossible to straighten, but that didn't matter since it looked great in its natural state. I was thrilled!





Since then, I have kept my "longer" hair, occassionally getting it cut just above my shoulders, but never back to my short state.

However, since having my son, my hair lost some of it's curliness and is now just plain wavy. It doesn't lay or curl as it did before my pregnancy. But, on the positive side, it is much easier to straighten.

My hair also grew a minimum of a half an inch a month and was impossible to control during the long nine months of carrying my Espresso.

And now, eight months after giving birth to my Espresso, I have finally taken the time to have my hair cut in a specific style. I could feel my hair breathing a sigh of relief as it was pampered.

YAY! I'm so happy to be stylish Mommy for my Espresso instead feelilng like his frumpy ole' Mama!!

The year 2008 as seen by Ethan Matthew (my Espresso)

I started out this year all cozy warm in my Mommy’s belly. I had lots of room to move around and do flips and somersaults. One of my most favorite memories of being inside Mommy was listening to Mommy sing me songs and Daddy saying, “hello in there little boy. I can’t wait to meet you.” But I didn’t stay little. I grew and grew until I was getting too crowded in Mommy’s belly. One day, when Mommy was at the doctor’s office, I heard the doctor say that it was time for me to come out. Mommy’s body was sick with high blood pressure. I was anxious to meet Mommy and Daddy. I was hoping they would like me. And on April 11, 2008 (very early in the morning!), I met Mommy and Daddy and they were so happy to see me. Mommy held me and gave me kisses and so did Daddy. But Mommy was still a little sick because of her blood pressure and some medicine they gave her. Finally she was all better, and I knew they really liked me because they took me home with them - even though my head was floppy and wouldn’t stay up in the car seat.

Mommy and Daddy had a special place for me to sleep and warm clothes for me to wear. Daddy stayed home for 2 whole weeks to be with me before he had to return to something called “work.” When Mommy and Daddy moved here, Daddy worked for the Navy, but he recently changed jobs to work for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA). Daddy’s so smart. But Mommy doesn’t work. She stays home with me and we have so much fun together. When the weather was warm, me and Mommy went on walks every day. I loved looking at the mountains, the trees, the lake and sometimes I even saw some turtles go “plop” in the lake as we walked by.

I couldn’t do many things when I was just a little baby, but I’m not a little baby any more. I can sit up, roll over, get up on my hands and knees, jump really hard and long in my jumperoo, hold my own bottle and say dadda and mama. Mommy says that I’m working on something called teeth, but I don’t have any yet.

We’ve had lots of visitors at our house this year - my Pops and Nana; Grandma & Grandpa Spate; Uncle Seth; Uncle Nate & Auntie Tara and ALL my cousins: Jonathan, Emily, Elizabeth and Esther; my adopted Uncle Theron and Mommy and Daddy’s good friend, Miss Tammy McKinley.

In August, me, Mommy and Daddy made a trip to Virginia. It was my first time on an airplane. I did just what my Mommy and Daddy wanted me to do - look around, drink from my bottle and sleep. In Fredericksburg, we visited Kenmore and Ferry Farm and I met a lot of nice people - Mr. Rob & Mrs. Jackie Hix and their two boys: Noah & Daniel; Mr. Nathan & Mrs. Deidre Morrow and their children: Jacob, Rebekah & Isaac; Mr. Mike & Mrs. Jennifer Sayre; Mr. & Mrs. Keller; Mr. Brad & Mrs. Jennifer Church and their nice children: Megan, Lilly, Luke & Joel. Luke and Joel made me laugh! We also took a trip to Virginia Beach and I met my Grammy & Poppy T. I think there are lots of nice people in Virginia and I can’t wait to see them all again. I think Mommy and Daddy really miss them, and that makes me a little sad.

When we got back from our trip to Virginia, Mommy had to go see an ear doctor (ENT). She said she was having a hard time hearing & understanding Daddy . The ENT said Mommy’s bones in her middle ear had gotten really, really hard and she had something called Otosclerosis. The ENT said Mommy had only two ways to make her ears better: hearing aides or surgery. Daddy, because he is something called an Engineer, wanted to talk to more doctors. So Mommy had to wait to make a decision, even though her ears make her very frustrated. Mommy is a brave Mommy and she is going to have surgery so she can hear better. But it is going to take 6 months or more because she has to wait that long between each ear. She needs to hurry up because I’m going to be talking her ears off in hers and Daddy’s language very soon! Mommy will have her first surgery after Christmas in January.

I keep hearing about this thing called Christmas - and it seems to be a big deal! There are all of these things wrapped in this crinkly, colorful paper under this tree Mommy and Daddy brought inside and covered in lights and sparkly ornaments. But I think it really has something to do with another baby born a long time ago - somebody called Jesus. Mommy and Daddy say Christmas is Jesus’ birthday. I hope He has a good birthday. Happy Birthday Jesus and a Merry Christmas to everyone.



Eric, Priscilla & Ethan
Isaiah 9:6

Getting back into the swing of things

It's amazing how life can just sneak up on you and before you know it, a month or two has passed. That's what seems to have happen to me these past couple months. I have no idea where the time went, but it passed, and passed quickly.

We've been so busy here, from Dr. apts, to travelling to visit friends and family, to company for Thanksgiving and hosting the SS Christmas party. It's been a whirlwind! And now with Christmas coming, it's harder to find time to sit down and blog. One thing I've learned about blogging, if you miss a few days, it's easy to just let a few more slip by and before you know it, you've got so much catching up to do in your blog world. Since all my readers mostly know what's going on in my life, I don't have to catch you up on too much.

The biggest thing to catch people up on is that I have scheduled my surgery for my ears! YAY! I'm so excited! Jan 9 is the glorious day. I'll have my right ear operated on first as that is the worst of the two. I can't tell you how excited I am to finally be able to hear, at least in one ear. It's been, at times, a living nightmare for me and probably for my hubby too. I have missed so much I sometimes feel as though I'm just off in my own little world somewhere. So yes...I'm excited to get back in the world with everyone else. 24 days and counting! Whoop! Whoop!!

I hope to be more consistent with the blog. Maybe I should set up a reminder on my 'puter! Haha....Any way...I'm back!!

ear update

Here is the official "ear" update. Sorry it's taken me a few days to get it out. With Thanksgiving and Christmas decorating it's been a little busy in the Cole household.

We met with two ear surgeon's in Nashville, one on Tuesday and the other on Wednesday. Both confirmed the diagnosis of Otosclerosis.

The one doctor on Tuesday offered some more information that we had not known. A little side note on him, when he was doing his residency at John Hopkins in the 70's, he was Werner von Braun's (the former German scientist during WWII who came to the US and helped us get into space) attending physician when von Braun died. We learned from him that what we thought was the cause of my hearing condition (caused by pregnancy hormones) is just a theory. The other possible theory is a possible link to measles. Since I've never had measles and I have been pregnant, the pregnancy theory fits for us, but as I stated, that is still just a theory. A family history is considered a link, but since no one in my family has been diagnosed with Otosclerosis or wears hearing aides (except due to old age) it's still a mystery as to why I have Otosclerosis. Another strange thing about my case is that this usually developed in women in their mid-twenties. I just turned 30 this year so that is a mystery as well. We also learned from him that there is a drug I can take that would kill the active part of Otosclerosis. It would not improve my hearing, but it would keep it from getting worse. The one thing that is imperative about this drug is before I could take it is I would need to be done having children. Something about the drug stays in your body and can cause birth defects. So this drug is not really an option for us since we'ver not really discussed any future children. I had also thought that if I did get pregnant again, my hearing would continue to deteriorate as it did when I was pregnant with Ethan. This doctor said that the bones in my right ear (the worst of the two) are about as hard as they can get, so I would not have any additional hearing loss. My left ear still could see some hearing loss as it is not as bad as my right ear, but it's not far behind my right ear. I guess it's good news that my hearing won't get substantially worse, but it's bad enough right now that I can't make out (clearly) people speaking if they do not speak up or are more than 5 feet away. Which then leaves us two options, as before, hearing aides or surgery. Both doctors have a success rate of 94% which is higher than the national average of 90% and the success rate of the doctor in Huntsville.

Our appointment on Wednesday was a major frustration. We were told to arrive early because I would having another hearing test. After the long wait and the hearing test, it was over 2 hours before I saw the ear surgeon. Ethan was trooper during Tuesday's appointment and most the Wednesday's appointment, but after being awake 1.5 hours after his usual morning nap, he was getting testy. This surgeon did not provide us with any additional information as did the doctor on Tuesday. He did have a few tips of his fingers missing which made us wonder HOW he does he make precise cuts in a surgery.

We are now in the pricing stage. Hopefully, by today or tomorrow, I will have the prices for the one doctor we met with on Tuesday in Nashville and the one here in Huntsville and also all facility costs of both places. After that, we'll schedule. Both the Nasvhille doctor and the Hunstville doctor said it would be about 3-4 weeks before a surgery. That's good to know that I won't have to wait too long. We had wanted to get one done before Ethan was mobile. While he's not crawling yet, he will be soon. For the first few days and in the following weeks of the surgery, I will really need to avoid and limit any lifting. We're leaning towards Ethan & I staying with Eric's parents so I can have someone "lift" Ethan for me. He's getting to be a heavy little boy!!

Needless to say, I'm ready to hear again!!!

Thanks to every one for praying!

color over content and character

We have a new President. Our first black President. We're supposed to be happy because of the historic milestone of this event, but honestly, how can you, if you still have retained your wits about you this election.

If Obama was elected solely on his socialistic, Marxist ideals, that's one thing, but I do not believe Obama was elected on what he believes, but rather on his skin color. What bothers me more than anything in this election, is how people turned a blind eye to Obama's character in regards to his associates (Ayers, Rev. Wright, Rashid Khalidi) and his openness to "spread the wealth around" and tax people who make less, I mean more, than $250K. Instead, people saw a suave, black man and jumped on the bandwagon to make history, and in doing so, forgot all morals and principles.

Wasn't it MLK who said we should judge a man by the content of their character, not by the color of their skin?

wrong number

We've all gotten and dialed the "wrong number." But what is usually a rare occurrence, is the norm at our house - receiving them that is. There is a doctors office in town that has the last 4 digits of our phone number and the first three digits are the same except the last digit. Ours is 533. The doctors office is 535.

We receive, on average, 5 "wrong numbers" a week. After assessing that I do not know the phone number and/or person calling from the caller ID, I sometimes answer and other times I just let the answering machine get it. I figure that the person calling will soon figure it out they called the wrong number once they hear my voice on the answering machine. If I do answer, I make sure that the person calling is corrected on their mistake and I hope and pray they will not repeat their careless error. After I correct the person calling, I immediately get, "You must get this a lot." Yeah. A LOT!

I've thought about calling the doctors office to please ask them to make sure their clients dial the right number, but it's really not their fault is it. I can see how people do dial the wrong number, but the frequency in which receive them makes me think that people are downright off in space half the time.

All the wrong numbers are really not too much a nuisance, except for the one day we had 7. It's more of a mild annoyance. I am thankful for caller ID so I can "screen" the wrong numbers. If I was answering all the wrong numbers, that would be a MAJOR annoyance!

voter guide

In just one week, America will choose a new President. If you are unsure of where the candidates stand, you can go to this website, http://www.frcaction.org/ , and click on the voter guide link.

And...be sure to get out and vote next Tuesday! If you don't, don't complain, and don't leave your choice to someone else.

choice or conviction

Continuing on with my conscience vs. compelled voting analysis, there are people who will vote for a candidate by choice rather than conviction. The 2008 election will be seen as an historic election - we will either elect the first black President or the first women vice-president.

After listening to hours of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck and Neil Bortz, I have heard that there are those who are CHOOSING to vote for a candidate simply because they want to be in on possible "history making." Those people have thrown out CONVICTIONS and principles and have CHOSEN to vote in order to be popular.

There are also those who are blinded by race. They are going to vote either for their race or against a race.

How sad we as a democratic nation have become when we vote to be popular over what we may believe. And how sad, to simply choose to vote for a candidate of the same race as you.

conscience or compelled

The right to vote is one of the fundamental rights in our society. It's our duty as citizens to get out and vote, EVERY time there is an election.

I also believe that each individual should be informed on the candidates which should result in an individual voting their conscience. Did you catch the "should?" This election, I can't vote my conscience, at least not 100% of it. I like Palin, but dislike McCain; however, McCain is the lesser of two evils. It's unfortunate that we are bound by the monopoly of a two party system giving us only two viable candidates.

I am COMPELLED to vote for McCain even though my CONSCIENCE does not like or approve of many of the policies he has backed in the past. I KNOW that an Obama Presidency would weaken, if not destroy, the basic foundations our country and weaken our standing in the world.

I have friends who plan to vote their conscience. I also know their consciences do not fall in line with McCain or Obama. But consider this, every vote NOT for McCain is a vote FOR Obama. Do you really want a socialistic President who will "spread the wealth around," or a President who has sat under a pastor spewing hate for America and is friends with terrorists?

I believe if you do not want our country to be weakened to it's very core, you will find yourself COMPELLED to vote for McCain. He's not perfect. But let's be honest, has there ever been a candidate you have agreed with 100%?

My Punkin

Last year, my cup of Joe and I visited a local pumpkin patch. We had just moved to the area and it was something for us to do to get acquainted with the locals and the area. I was 3 months pregnant with our little Espresso and we bought a daddy pumpkin, mommy pumpkin and a pumpkin for our little baby.

We returned this weekend, with our Espresso - I've been calling him my little punkin lately. We, hubby and I, had a lot more fun that our pumpkin, but it was rather sentimental for us returning with our little boy. We helped him pick out his pumpkin all the while pretending HE really picked it out. I just can't wait for him to be old enough to really pick out his own pumpkin and helping him carve his Jack O'Lantern. Oh...so much to look forward too!

Waiting for teeth!

Our little Espresso has been drooling like a dog since he was 2 months old. He's been gnawing and been uncharacteristically fussy since month 4. We are now in month 6 and I'm waiting for teeth! I WANT TO SEE THEM. I've never wanted something SO BAD. And why? I guess I want all the drooling, all the gnawing and all the fussing to mean something. I know it means something, BUT I want to see the results! I keep saying, "2 weeks. We'll see something in 2 weeks." After saying that for 2 months, I guess I should start saying "2 months!"

I know it can't be long, but I'm so impatient.

Brainwashing

I'm a Packer fan. Being born and bred in Wisconsin in a football loving family, it's rather hard NOT to be a Packer fan.

So...naturally, I want to pass on my love of the Packers to my son, right? I have begun brainwashing my little Espresso into being a Packer fan. I have no help from Daddy who could care less about football, so it's all up to me. And thankfully, since Daddy does not have a favorite team, I have a clear road to brainwash our boy into being a Packer fan.

How I'm doing so far?

What NASA has done for us.

NASA is celebrating 50 years. (Happy Birthday NASA!) Space launches are not big news any more. In fact, can we name the last shuttle launch? Hmmm... However, they still send astronauts into space and we know the main reason they go into space is for research, testing and to learn more about our solar system. Little did WE know that there has been so much more that these trips have provided for us in our every day lives. As printed in the Huntsville Times, here are just a few:

- Air-cushioned running shoes - Using NASA space helmet technology, a former NASA engineer pitched a shoe to Nike with hollow soles filled with shock-absorbing technology. You know it as Nike-Air.

- Better cosmetics - Estee Lauder used similar image-enhancing techniques to better analyze cosmetics. The result? More subtle and effective makeup.

- The infrared ear thermometer - Modern moms have no idea how hard it was to get little Cody's temp just a few decades ago. instead of sticking a thermometer heaven knows where and trying to hold it there, today they touch an infrared thermometer to the ear and get a reading.

- Artificial limb technology - NASA funding, combined with NASA innovations in robotics and shock absorption, have now given us prostheses with the look and feel of skin outside and artificial muscles systems underneath

- Solar panels - Green living got easier because NASA in the 1980's grew silicon crystals in a lab that can convert sunlight into electricity Today's solar panels use the same technology.

- Home blood pressure kits - NASA needed a way to monitor the effects of lift off on an astronauts blood pressure. The kids developed for that formed the basis for the personal kids seen everywhere today.

- Better baby food - Commercial baby formula now contains a nutrient enrichment that dates back to NASA-funded research into the potential of algae as a recycling agent. The products life's DHA and life's ARA, which came from this research, are now in 90% of all commercial baby formulas.

- Better sunglasses - As the Belfast Telegraph noted, the special carbon coating NASA invented to protect astronauts helmets from space particle scratches is now a standard feature of modern shades. A modified form has since been used by many manufacturers including Ray-Ban, since 1980.

- Better golf balls - Wilson, the worlds largest golf-ball manufacturer, claims its balls fly farther than other because the company used aerodynamic research developed by NASA to change the dimple pattern.


THANK YOU NASA

Freaking out

I'm not one given to freaking out, but this election has me worried in many ways. Putting aside my conservative beliefs, its my opinion that McCain would be a better President because of this overall service to this country and experience (which does count for something). But with most elections, it is usually "close" between the Republicans and Democrats, so there is no need to freak out because come election day, anything can happen. However, this election year, the media has twisted and distorted the truth that would make you believe McCain has no prayer on earth to be elected. But that is not the case. This election will be close such as the last two have been.

I know McCain is not the dream candidate for Republicans. I have friends, good friends, who have told me that they plan to vote for someone other than McCain and Obama. While I respect their decisions, I cannot help but think that every vote not for McCain is a vote for Obama. There are only two viable candidates and if a vote is cast for someone other than McCain, it's one less person voting against Obama and Obama as President would be far worse than McCain as President. I'm not a McCain fan, but I see that I have no choice but to support McCain, because I'm freaked out by Obama.

And why the freaking out? In no particular order:

1. The cult-like following of Obama. There are followers of candidates every year that get "excited" about their candidate and go down right plum crazy with enthusiasm. I think that's great. But never in our history has a candidate, like Obama, been elevated to a God, Messiah level.
Recently, there was a video showing students dressed in army fatigue pants marching and chanting "Alpha. Omega. Alpha. Omega." While I have no idea what they are conveying with the "Alpha Omega" chant, it does make me wonder if they are looking to Obama as their savior, leader, messiah. Jesus, the TRUE Messiah, said he was the Alpha and Omega. These students also began to pronounce that it was Barack who inspired them to the next lawyer, engineer etc. I'm all for inspiration, but most people who inspire do not cause students to march around chanting mantra's. That's what socialist dictators demand from their followers.

Also, children in California are singing ballads about Obama and how he will change the world and make it a better place. I find this very eerie. Many people probably do not know this, but children in Germany were forced to sing similar songs about Hitler. It's called brainwashing and brainwashing children whose brains aren't fully capable of discerning right from wrong. Mr. Obama, while not inciting this personally, has created a cult. Thinking off the top of my head, I don't believe George Washington has a song written about him and his fearless leadership.

These two examples above are what socialist, communist and totalitarian leaders invoke on the people to keep their power.


2. The downright fawning and fascination the media has with Obama. The media (MSNBC, CNN, ABC, CBS) salivates over Obama's words as if it a new gospel to save all mankind from the ills of this world. A negative tone is rarely taken in opinion about him nor is criticism directed toward him in a harsh manor. They do some just to make it look like they are being fair. More than in any other election, the media wants their candidate, Obama, to be elected President. This is partly because they hate Bush and hate that they have narrowly lost the past two elections. Listen to the comments and remarks made about each candidate. You will see that when McCain is being talked about the media will either end their statements with a negative remark or question to leave doubt in your mind.

3. The quick rise of a man who has little or no experience. What has Obama done? He talks about change, but where is the proof of that change? He can say all he wants, but the talk and the walk do not coincide with one another. It should SCARE us that Obama has been able to get to the point of running for President with little or no qualifications whatsoever and that he has a shot at winning. This goes back to my first point. He is being treated like he is more than what he is. He has done nothing, but wants everything. His quick rise takes my mind back to Revelation and the rise of the anti-Christ. Out of no where he'll come and people will be flocking to him as if he's the savior. I find is scary that so many have become cult-like followers of Obama and know little or nothing about him. Oh, except that he wants change. He also wants power. He sees the power within his grasp and he wants it. But...he has done nothing to warrant or deserve power. If a man has little experience handling power, that man easily begins to abuse the power.

4. Obama has dangerous friends and associates. We've all heard the rantings of Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Need I really say more on that? For Obama to sit in a church where the preacher preaches hate against his own country, is beyond me. I don't by the fact that Obama never heard this rhetoric from Wright. A man like the Rev. Jeremiah Wright does not isolate these statements one Sunday out of the year. That much hate spewing from his mouth indicates that it's been their a long time and that he is filled with hate.
And let's not forget William Ayers - a known terrorist with whom Obama claimed to know and have an association with, even though Obama claims he didn't know he was a terrorist. Sorry. That doesn't fly Mr. Obama. If you want people to believe you didn't know, come out and denounce him, but you won't.
Mr. Obama, you are guilty by association. I wonder how many other "questionable" friends you have.


If elected, Obama will set about changing our country, but it will be change that will have a dramatic and devastating affect. It's more than his policies. He will appoint leftist, activist judges who will strip the meaning of our constitution and makes laws based upon international law. I believe this would set in place a foundation for our liberties to be slowly taken away and Christians, ours will be the first go.

As the mother of a 6 month old, I am afraid of the future of our country if Obama is elected. That's not to say McCain will make it perfect, but he won't set our country down a course of ulitmate destruction. I want my son to enjoy the opportunities and life I have enjoyed being an American.

All I can ask of you, is that you do your homework on each candidate. I'm not specifically talking about policies, I'm talking about the character of each man. Character does count. Character affects how a man will lead and his judgment.

LONG WEEK

It's been a long week. (I'm referring to last Monday night through today). Last week, I got to experience my sons first cold. It was not a joyous or pleasant experience by any means. Tuesday night was the worst night by far. Our poor boy was so stuffy, he was having difficulty breathing. Now you and I know that you compensate by breathing through your mouth, but an almost 6 month baby does not know that yet. I spent most of Tuesday night rocking and singing my boy to sleep or attempting to keep him asleep. I sang every hymn that I could remember. In the GardenI and Victory in Jesus were two songs that seemed to do the trick and my little espresso would calm too. And when I wrote "all night" I meant all night. My hubby and I were going to take shifts, but every time I gave our boy to his daddy, our little boy carried on as if someone were trying to give cut off his toes. This made my cup of joe (hubby) quite upset because he wanted to calm and soothe his little boy. I was able to get a few hours of sleep, but nothing significant.

To make matters worse, our little espresso (boy) thought he'd share is cold with his daddy. Instead of just a little boy with a cold and I had a BIG BOY with a cold too. It's nice to have a little help with a sick baby because they are that more demanding on your time and use up so much more of energy, but with my cup of joe sick as well, I was drained by Thursday.

Thankfully by Thursday, any fever our little espresso was having was long gone and we just had to deal with congestion. Of course, saline drops and aspirating were prescribed. As with most babies, our espresso absolutely HATED having his nose suctioned with an aspirator. However, by Saturday, it was if he knew what we were doing (trying to help) and he stopped fussing and crying whenever we put saline up his nose and then suctioned all the goop out.

We also gave our espresso lots and lots of steamy showers. We would sit in the shower with him and crank up the water as hot as it would go to create steam. That was rather fun, until the last time when it was my turn to give the steamy shower and my little espresso peed all over me. That was gross. At least I was in the shower and could easily cleanse myself.

Today, I think we have rounded the corner. Cup of joe and espresso are back to their normal selves. It's so good to see my happy espresso jump for joy in his jumperoo or wave his arms frantically as I pass by wanting to be picked up.

All I can say is, "here's to happy, cold-free babies!"

Enjoyed a mommy moment today

Today, I really enjoyed being a mommy. My little Espresso, normally full of energy from the moment he wakes up, wasn't all smiles and giggles today. He was extremely fussy, had a fever and was very irritable. While I enjoy my happy, smiley, energetic boy, it is rare that our little boy lets us hold and cuddle him if we are in a seated position. Any time we try holding him, while we are seated, he squirms his way out of our loving arms, only to find himself laying flat on the couch or about to fall out of chair. He does like to be held, but only if we are standing and moving. I know I'll have a lot to keep up with once our Espresso is in high gear.

But today was different when our boy woke up with a fever. Today, he wanted his mommy instead of his jumperoo. I was able to rock my fussy, little boy, without him squirming away from me, into a calm, relaxed state. It was so wonderful. He put his head on my chest and rested so peacefully for 20 minutes. It was heaven! After calming him , I continued to hold him and sang a hodgepodge of songs from Amazing Grace to Polly Wolly Doodle All the Day before he fell asleep. Oh...it was just about heaven being able to cuddle my sweet boy.

I think I would wish for a fever every day just to get a chance to just cuddle with my boy.

Vocabulary lesson

I listen to Rush Limbaugh daily. He's my main source of news and my main source to keep my sanity from all the liberal infested media. He made an excellent point today in regards to the bail out package, which at that time, had not yet been voted down. There are many people in this country who go about their daily business, work hard, pay their bills etc. And there are others who are looking for a free lunch, a handout, an easy step up and they look to the government to provide all of the above. The latter is NOT the governments responsibility.

As Rush did, let me quote from the the Preamble of the Constitution. I would assume most of us has to memorize that in school. Well, it's high time we brushed off our American history books.

The Preamable: We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

I think there is one phrase, as Rush pointed out, that needs to be cleared up. People assume it's the government's job to give them the "American dream." Too many Americans believe they are entitled to certain things (a house, a nice car, a job) simply because they live in America. Sorry to burst your bubble, but no where in our Constitution does it say the government's job is to hand things to you on a silver platter or entitle you to anything besides protection and upholding the law.

The one phrase that gets misconstrued is "promote the general Welfare." Promote does not mean ensure. The word promote means to encourage, advocate, assist aid, boost, develop, stimulate. It does not mean ensure: make certain of, see to it, confirm, establish.

Our government's job is to PROVIDE that every American has the opportunity to PROMOTE, what they believe, is the best way of life for them. It is not to ENSURE that every American have what their neighbor has or ENSURE an equal style of living for all Americans.

Words have meanings and we have brains (and dictionaries) to know and understand the meaning of those words. Instead of listening a politicians interpretation of the Constitution, why don't we all have a sit down and read what our government is and is not supposed to do. I think we'd all be better off that way instead of taking someone's word for it.

Oh...and if the language of our Constitution or the Founders is too nebulous for you, I'm sure they still sell dictionaries at Barnes & Noble.

Friday night debate

Like millions of Americans, I tuned into the debate Friday night between Senators McCain & Obama. I think the Presidential debates are so misnamed. They don't debate. All the do is tell their side of things, not attempt to prove why the other side is wrong. Oh, they do some of that, but if you've taken a debate class, as I have, what they did Friday night was NOT a debate.

I also think it's completely pointless to have debates. I would say the majority of Americans know or have a good idea WHO they are going to vote for come November. If you're undecided, well...my guess is that you have not been following what has been going on for the past year. Where the candidates stand is no secret. All that information has been hashed over and over for a year.

Since I a McCain "supporter," I naturally saw McCain as the winner just like Obama supporters saw Obama as the winner. (So, once again, the purpose of a debate? Persuade uniformed voters who've been in la-la land the past year? )

I've read some assessments of the debate and while I agree with some, it's all a matter of opinion, and that opinion is based on who you are supporting.

I do think McCain came across as condescending at times, but how could he not? Here he is, a SENIOR senator who has YEARS of service to his country and tons of experience, having to listen to some junior, and I mean really junior, senator who has done squat in his 3 years in the Senate, tell him he's wrong and all the "mistakes" he's made in the Senate. If you do nothing, it's hard not to make mistakes or vote the wrong way. Which is why I think Obama doesn't want to be in Washington to work on this bail out plan. He doesn't want vote the wrong way. (That's my take on it all).

I did not see this written in an follow-up columns on the debate, but I was getting annoyed with Obama constantly interrupting McCain. Talk about rude and not respecting someones time. Wait your turn, Messiah - sorry had to throw that in. Obama also gave some very haughty and arrogant looks over at McCain. Oohh...you could see Obama seething inside being slammed with facts that Obama had to twist to lessen the blow.

To me, the difference was so clear on liberal vs conservative - even though I don't see McCain as a true conservative.

I know it's impossible to get a straight answer out of a politician and I know politicians are great a mincing and changing the meaning of words, and while both sides did that, it was Obama who constantly was saying "let me tell you what I mean..." or "let me explain what I meant by that..." or "I didn't say that, let me tell you what I said...". When you are constantly doing this, to me, that indicates someone is changing their tune or trying to make what they said sound less stringent or less offensive.

It still boggles my mind that someone with hardly any experience thinks he can run for President - Obama. When he votes "present" simply to avoid making a decision, where does that show leadership? When he says "call me if you need me" in regards to the bail out plan in Washington, that tells me he thinks more of himself than he does his country. I would like to remind Senator Obama, you were elected a Senator from Illinois. You've not been elected President of the United States - yet. At least give the appearance that you are doing your job - the Senate job, and I'm not talking about flying in for one meeting. Get yourself on the Senate floor. You could really show leadership if you weren't so absorbed in running for President. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that McCain, who went back to DC to work on the bail out plan, DOES put country first.

Ok, I had to get that out. Back to the debate... It was completely pointless. Yeah, it's part of our history to have them, but I would REALLY love to see a REAL debate between these two with graphs, charts and lessons of history proving why what one candidate said is COMPLETELY wrong. That way, it could be proven that Conservatism is and always will be better for people than Liberalism, unless you're a slacker who wants everything done for you.

But until that day, every Presidential debate is just this is what I say and this is what you say...

For all you chocoholics!

I received this recipe in an e-mail from my cousin. For whatever reason, I decided to try it. If you ever have a craving for chocolate, but don't want to go through the process of making and then baking a cake, this is a great simple, small recipe to indulge your chocolate craving.
5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE
4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
a small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again. Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.

EAT! (this can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous).

And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world? Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!

What's your blend?

I'll be the first to admit that coffee is disgusting. However, coffee loaded with flavored creamers and sugar is very tasty! Most of my friends drink coffee this way - doctored up to cover the bitter taste. Are there still people who drink coffee black? And if there are, they are probably senior citizens who rely on that morning cup o'joe to keep them kicking one more day. It makes me wonder who first brewed the first cup of coffee and the thought occurred to them that this would be something GOOD to drink. After all, it's just bean juice - very tasty bean juice with a 1/4 cup of vanilla caramel creamer added.

I've also wondered how and why coffee became SO popular in this country. If we have any origins as a country, England would be tops in the category. England is known for its huge consumption of tea. They made the afternoon tea time a mainstay in their society. So why are we not huge tea drinkers? Yes, we drink tea - sweet tea in the South - but in comparison to coffee, coffee based products outsell any tea. While I cannot prove this, I think our coffee loving society had its birth at the Boston Tea Party. We all know the story, a bunch of "Indians" boarded a British ship, and dumped the tea overboard. That begun a boycott of British tea, and while some began drinking Dutch tea, I think that opened the door for coffee. Look where we are some 232 years later! We'll pay for an overpriced coffee based drink at Starbucks.

I'm very much appreciative of those "Indians" who dumped the tea overboard in 1773. I would be missing so much every morning. I look forward to my coffee, with creamer, every morning and rely on it's perkiness to perk me up. Unfortunately , I am the only one in our household who enjoy the morning brew.

With so many brews out there and so many different ways you can get your favorite coffee drink at Starbucks, I am convinced that people could concoct their own brew/blend to fit their personality. I'm a latte - sweet, light and refreshing with just enough coffee flavor for a boost. My hubby, if he did like coffee, would be a black cup o'joe - consistent, strong and bold. My little boy, who will hopefully like coffee along with him Mommy, is a little espresso - a burst of energy and giggles!

So w/out further ado, let me introduce you to the Treillis Coffee House family:

Cup o'joe standing in the rugged state of Alaska.


Caramel latte in her favorite spot in Fredericksburg


Our little espresso and his teddy, Chester

Forced vote

I do not care for either Presidential candidate. Both support or have supported bills/legislation/ideas/causes that I do not support or align with my world view. There are other Presidential candidates that I align more with my beliefs, but have no chance in winning the Presidency. So this leaves me in a quandary. Do I vote for someone that has no prayer of becoming President or do I vote for one of the two mainstream candidates in hopes that the lesser of two evils will be elected President.

Does anyone else out there feel this way?

Here's where I stand. Obama will never have my vote. Apart from his social & fiscal policies that I absolutely disagree with, his lack of experience, questionable associates and an inability to prove leadership, in my mind, make him unqualified to lead this country.

I've never been a fan of McCain. His support of McCain/Feingold and McCain/Kennedy, infringements upon our freedom of speech, make me take note that if he can support to limit one of our freedoms, which one of our freedoms next will be limited or even worse, stripped away. He's a bit of a hot head and known as a maverick . However, his policies are not completely socialistic and I can find certain areas where we do agree. What makes McCain more like able is his vp choice - Sarah Palin. While Palin is known for her strong conservative stance, she has yet to prove herself on a bigger stage with the pressures from the left bearing down on her. I love Sarah Palin, so far, but only time will tell if conservatives can hail her as a Margaret Thatcher.

To sum up where I stand, I am more anti-Obama than I am pro-McCain, which therefore makes me vote McCain. I believe this election will be very important as to which direction America goes. If we believe in American exceptionalism, in American greatness and we want this nation to be a better place for our children, a vote for Obama would weaken the foundation our country was built upon and force government more and more in our lives. He would weaken America with his policies, apologize to the world for every past, present and future action, and tax EVERY American to the core.

I can't throw away my vote to another candidate I may agree more with because a President Obama would have dire consequences on this nation.

Can you repeat that?

Can you repeat that? I've been saying that A LOT lately. At first I thought I was losing my mind (and my hearing) because I could simply not hear or clearly understand the spoken word unless spoken to a very high volume. One evening, after asking my busband, who was standing 5 feet away from me, repeat himself 3 times, I knew it was time to see an ENT.

I thought I had some permanent hearing loss from all the ear infections I suffered as a child so I prepared myself to accept that hearing aides may be in my future. However, after a hearing test, my ear drums checked as fine as well as my sensory nerves. So what in the world was causing me to miss so much?

The doctor diagnosed me with Otosclerosis. It sounds much more serious than what it actually is. To sum it all up, the bones of my middle ear have fused together preventing the sound vibrations to pass through to my inner ear. The Stapes bone, also known as the Stirrup bone, vibrates as sound is passed through which then results in the inner ear transmitting the sounds to the brain to be processed into words and sounds (Amazing, huh). After a hearing test was completed, I was told that I had a 45% hearing loss in my right ear and 35% hearing loss in my left ear. No wonder I couldn't hear or understand things!

So when did this Otosclerosis start? We asked the doctor that questions, but there is really no way to determine when it started or if I had it all along. There are disagreements among doctors as to whether Otosclerosis is hereditary. Some believe it is but if it is, it generally skips 1 to 2 generations, so it makes it hard to link as hereditary. Most doctors believe that Otosclerosis begins to develop in your mid-twenties, but most people with Otosclerosis do not notice much of a change in their hearing until they are older and in which they simply opt for hearing aides, thinking their hearing is failing due to old age.

I saw a drastic change in my hearing once we moved into our new home in Alabama. I thought the house, with it's wood floors and high ceilings, were causing and "echo" affect making it hard for me to hear. We now know the house was not the issue. When we moved into this house, I was 3 months pregnant. Throughout my pregnancy and immediately after our son's birth, I noticed my hearing deteriorating. We learned from the ENT that the hormonones in a woman's body when pregnant will make the Otosclerosis much worse. Once again, I was thankful I was not losing my mind, but there was a reason my hearing dropped so rapidly.

I have three options to treat Otosclerosis: !) do nothing 2) hearing aides 3) surgery. Number 1 is not even an option, so that leaves 2 & 3. We have learned in our research that when choosing a surgeon to operate on your ear, you want to chose a surgeon who has done this on a frequent basis. As with all surgeries, something can go wrong, but if it went wrong in my case, I could lose all hearing. (Thankfully they do one ear at a time, so if you did lose your hearing in one ear, you'd still have the other ear to hear some) We've seen a local surgeon who has done hundreds of these surgeries, but we are still not convinced that he is who we want to go with, if I do have the surgery. As things are currently, I have to be in the same room with our son (if awake) otherwise I cannot hear him. When he's taking a nap, if I do not have on the monitor, I cannot hear him crying until he is yelling at the top of his lungs. As of today, we are still locating other surgeons who may have done this type of surgery, a stapendotomy, a few more times.

When visiting with the local surgeon, he had me try on hearing aides and I could not believe how much I was missing. I actually had to tell my husband not to talk so LOUD! I'm not opposed to wearing aides. They are so small these days you can hardly tell someone is wearing them, BUT, it's just something else that needs time and attention and upkeep.

I told my hubby that if we do have the surgery, it needs to be done asap. I need to be able to leave our son in a room, even for just a few seconds, and hear him at the same time. Once our son is mobile, if he's awake, I will be trapped in the same room with him because I would be too afraid to step out knowing I could not hear if something happened or was about to happen. Also with the surgery, I am to avoid picking up anything heavy and all bending over. Hmm...that's rather hard to avoid with a baby and once our son is mobile, it will be even more difficult. Recovery of your hearing may take up to 6 months, in which our son would be a year old.

If I had the surgery done locally, I could have my right ear done this year. I could always put off my left ear for awhile, if everything went well with surgery on my right. There are lots of if's!

Whatever we do, surgery or hearing aides, I can't wait for my hubby to say "can you hear me now?" and I can answer YES!!!!!!!!!!!

Welcome to the coffee house

Welcome to my coffee house. It's not actually a coffee house, but a room I was allowed to decorate as I pleased. I created the Cafe de Treillis. It's not completely decorated as I would like, but that's not keeping me from enjoying my retreat. And since I have created my coffee house/cafe, I thought it only proper to do what you do at coffee houses & cafe's - Talk about politics, religion, express opinions and life in general. This election, being a mommy and life in general will give me enough to talk about. So, pull up a chair and grab a cup of joe!