Actually Chamberlain SD..... Cedar Shores Resort....

I will be the one left on shore w/ the bebe. (-insert frown-)

HOpefully, someone will take a wee bit o' pity on me and help w/ Evelyn. I'm sure they will. This is the one weekend a year Mark's entire family gets together. W/ 2 siblings, spouses and their children.... all over 21... people are busy. So let the fun commence.

As for the fish.... fear me I say....
Be afraid... be vewy vewy afraid...........

See you next week w/ pics !!! That is what Evelyn is saying right now as she is having puppy playtime..kicking and swatting all sorts of things... =)

MOther's Day was a great day. Great weekend actually. We took off for Mn on Saturday morning. Spent the day w/ my Mom who was thrilled to have Evelyn for 2 days. We spent Saturday evening at my bestest childhood friends parent's home for dinner and hanging out. Was wonderful. Good family time, good friends and great conversation.

Sunday we went to church w/ my Mom and sisters and then we left her to eat dinner as she
can no longer have real food... and we went out to eat. Seemed taboo as it's mothers day and we went out without her but we have to eat too.... and IM A MOTHER TOO!! Whoa!

Back to the nursing home for visiting and Evie snuggles and pictures.... it was a fabulous day.

Here are a few pics of the weekend... Evelyn's getting to be a tad bit of a chunkster =)!






OOOoooooooOOOoOO for MOther's Day, Evelyn bought me this awesome huge mirror.... for my dining room for over the mission buffet I don't yet own. I must be getting one soon though or there is no reason for the mirror...=)



I don't have a dining room table either....so let's add that to the list too!

I love the mirror, it's unique...not northwoodsy yet outdoorsy..and kinda quirky elegant... yep yep.... that girl listens! To all of you MOm's out there.... have a special day. If you're not a MOm and you have one, make sure you think of some goodness from your past, call her, see her or smooch on her.

I know some people don't need a "hallmark holiday" to tell their MOm how they feel but since it's thrust upon us... why not anyway... =)

I am taking my sister out for dinner for MOther's DAy. She takes such good care of my MOm. Visiting her multiple times a day, taking her to her appointments, making sure the staff at the nursing home is doing an adequate job..etc.... She deserves some recognition on this mother's day... almost as if, she is mothering our mother.....

My MOm is no longer the "mom"... for at least a couple of years... she's offered no advice, answered no real questions... or concerns... and just been there... but not in the traditional MOm role. Makes it hard some days. Sometimes I just want to share my problems w/ my MOm... not just tell her what I did all week... but really talk de ep w/ her. I guess thats just not meant to be anymore. I know she still needs to feel like my MOm but it's hard when she can't reciprocate...

I do know, that when my oldest sister stopped at the nursing home, on her way to South Dakota for Evelyn's birth.... she said "KIss her for me".... and my sister said, "Who? The baby?" My MOm said, "No, Amy"......

See, s he still is my MOm and in there.... she just can't get it out....easily......


anyway, again..

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!! I am trying to have a better attitude about it all..... Mother's DAy and all. I rented a room at the locol HOliday Inn for Saturday night. We can go see MOm for 2 days. She can have 2 days of Evelyn time. I'm just trying to suck in as much MOm time as I can. I don't want to say, "I wish.....". No regrets... just enjoy what time we have... Say what I need to say and listen if she chooses to say anything.

On the note of saying anything. My mom has received a computer that we can program to speak for her. It has general phrases built in but it can also be programed to her specific needs. I am so thrilled for her... even though it is rather late. I hope she can get her hands to work for her and type... has great potential. Whhat a great mother's day gift.

Speaking of gifts... I bought my MOm clothes. What do you get someone in a nursing home? Stuff is stuff...... Jewelry as we have found, "disappears"..... at our 1/2 carat expense thank you..... so.... clothes it is. Evelyn bought her grandma a corsage...heheh since it's her first "grandmothers" mothers day. She bought her the willow tree angel of the grandma and child... and a tshirt... that is about as cute as can be. It says... "Im a super Grandma. Just ask Evelyn"......

We can't eat or bring treats anymore... so basically we just sit there and visit. Positive, think positive...AMY! Okay, no bellyaching... just positivity.

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day... I should have had the memory card out but I have 3 gigs of pics FULL.... so tomorrow I will go get them squared away....toootsuite!

EV has been sleeping a rock star 12 hours a night for the last few nights.... I hope tonight is the same... SHe is such a good baby... filled w/ happiness and smiles.... All things good. God really blessed us in the sense we are not young parents. He went easy on us this time.... wonder what he will bring next *wink wink*.....

Speaking of winking... I should go get some stuff done =) I hope your THursday is fabulous! TA ta ! I am so excited for MOther's Day this year. Dreading it too. It is glaringly obvious to me that my Mom is dying. She looked like someone else completely when I went to spend the weekend in MN last weekend. My eyes fill with tears as I write this because I know that this is my reality. My Mom looks so skinny, she doesn't speak anymore (not that she has been a conversationalist in the last few years) and doesn't really even respond when I try to converse with her. She only has eyes for Evelyn. We are trying to convince her to have a feeding tube put in but i'm not sure she will do it. It would give her a little more time w/ Evelyn and for that I'd be grateful but I think she feels it's the beginning of the end if she does it.

My Mom is our only parent left. Mark's Mom died in a car accident about 14 years ago and his dad died of a heart attack 2 years after that. My Dad died of cancer 14 years ago... so I am holding on tight.

I think because of my Mom's ugly disease, I am scared for her to die. Selfishly, I don't want to go through the hard times that come along w/ a terminal illness. But, I so don't want her to suffer. She has such a healthy strong heart and other organs... she could hang on for a long time...

Not even sure why im rambling about this.






I love those pictures.... one w/ crazy baby hair and another w/ her screaming her lungs out!!!! She turns a lovely shade of red when she's doing that.... funny how it used to scare me to death...now i go grab the camera =) hehe Not sure how the last 10 weeks have whizzed by...but they have. She smiles, she coo's...and "ahhhgooos"... and kicks and wails...and all is good.

10lbs 14 oz's a week ago. SHe's grown almost 2 inches. She's such a good baby. She is sleeping 9 hours at a stretch over night....... that in itself... is such a gift =)

Here are a couple of 2 month pics







Her hair is starting to lay down...it's getting long enough...almost 5 inches in some spots.... Oh, she just pooped herself.... I gotta a whiff..

Gotta jet, more another day...

!!!!!! Blessed~! so, here it is several weeks and no posts...

It's not like nothing exciting ever happens... it's just ... well, most likely it's only exciting to me. Yano what I mean. So let's see.

My whole life has changed. I can no longer be the selfish biotch I once was. Never would I have ever considered myself selfish but now, stepping far back, from the old me.... I can see plain as day... I was selfish.

Now, everything I do is centered around someone else. HOly cowpies, I am someones mother. It's all good though. Not complaining as much as stating it outloud... Like, if I actually say it to someone it might sink in a bit. Heh =)

Last weekend we headed south to NE on Saturday. Mark's aunt Marilyn has been sick w/ Ovarian cancer and well, I didn't want to wait til the funeral to see everyone. A 4 hour drive is not an excuse for the mumbling people do... at funerals......"blah blah blah..ive been busy.... life is full of commitments...blah blah blah..." So we went. Marilyn held Evelyn twice... and even in deaths grip, she was still so incredibly beautiful. Marilyn fought a long and courageous battle w/ cancer for 4 years and died this morning w/ her entire family around her. She was a strong woman who left a legacy of wonderfulness behind.... goood job Marilyn! Such a beautiful soul.

Last SUnday we headed to MN to see Grandma and the Aunties. Lots of kisses and Evelyn is smiling now so that was thrilling! Isn't it funny that something as simple as a babies' smile amazes me? It brings tears to my eyes tho... I helped create that thing that just smiled.... whoa....

Tuesday, we had family pictures and Evelyn's 2 month pictures. Nekie baby on a black pillow... TOOOO CUTE! can't wait to get them back....oh yeah...cannot wait.... !! She didn't smile once. Not one lil squeaker even.... but she still opened her tiny lil almond shaped eyes as big as possible and flashed her pretty blues.......

THursday night / Friday we were in a blizzard warning.... it's been in the 60s... and boom... blizzard... and sure enough....50 mile an hour winds and some 10 inches of snow = 5 foot drifts.... yoinks! We still have a drift at the end of the drive way that Mark needed his 4wheel drive for. He is on call this weekend so he used the snowblower to make a 5 foot dent in it...enough to get out to the hospital. Needless to say.... he's been at the hospital since 7 AM this morning... gosh I miss him.... Evelyn needs to see someone other than me =).... poor little girl.

Monday we are headed back to NE for the funeral Tuesday morning. I made the executive decision to go the night before and stay at a hotel.... instead of 8plus hours in a car TUesday. Atta girl AMy...

Let's see, wh at else is new. Oh .... I have no new pics to share.....which is pitiful. I need to change that I can tell... I will take care of that tomorrow....

More than anything... the last few weeks have been a time of change. I cannot even imagine going to work every day. The smiles... the almost giggles or coos... her figuring out how to play on her bouncer or on her puppy play time mat..... all in the last 2 weeks.... it's so amazing to watch them learn... they are sponges right now.

She is still wearing newborn clothes.. at 8 plus weeks. She is almost out of them thank goodness but eeeesh, I want desparately to put her in jeans and every pair of pants I try just falls right off her... She does however wear 1 diapers now... that was evident in a nanosecond... when to switch ...hehehe ... but .. welll... nuff said about poo


K... I better go spend some quality time w/ her before she heads to bed... Last night was her first night in her nursery. She spent the first 8 weeks in a pack n play in our room... since her room is way across the house... well, sh e did fine ( duh, of course ) .. I on the other hand cried myself to sleep thinking I wouldn't hear if she stopped breathing or ...well.. a million other worries....

We both lived to tell the tale...

More later! ToodLes!

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