December 30, 2011

I'm thankful today for GREAT and when I say GREAT I mean GREAT!!! doctors. Today I went to my regular OB appointment hoping that my doctor would just take a peek to see if she could determine gender since we didn't get a clear picture because baby wasn't cooperating...we didn't quite get that, we got even better! I started talking with my doctor about the scan the day before and how it went fine but we couldn't determine gender and then we got off talking about how I felt this other doctor wasn't really giving me her expert medical advice on what I should be doing in this pregnancy. My doctor not only said she didn't like that and stop, she started looking to refer me out, even out of the Spectrum Health unit because she was so upset at the care and lack of follow ups. Then, I got a call in the afternoon about an appointment for an ultrasound...so we have a gender, but I won't share til tomorrow...sorry. We're VERY busy getting prepared for our gender reveal party with family and I can't wait to post on how that all goes...I'll probably write something about that first later tonight OR tomorrow morning and then post about the baby's gender in cyber world. For now, I've got food labels to make.


and here's a pic that we got from the first scan on Thursday...I'm already in love!

December 29, 2011

Today I am thankful for an absolutely PERFECT ultrasound! Praise the LORD! Though I couldn't share with you all anyways what Baby Studer's gender is until after January 1st, I can honestly say I don't know. Baby S wouldn't show us the goods. Everything was all squished down there and we couldn't get an accurate shot...so....hopefully tomorrow at my regular OB appointment the doc will take a quick sneak peek to see if she can determine our baby's gender...otherwise we'll just have to have a party just because and won't know the gender 100% til D-Day! Other than not finding out the gender the ultrasound was PERFECT! The ultrasound tech kept commenting on how great everything looked and then when we talked with the doctor, she ever went as far as saying as long as nothing else pops up that we wouldn't need a follow up ultrasound because baby looked spot on! YAY! and Praise the LORD for a healthy baby!

December 28, 2011

Today I'm thankful for God's safety and laughs. Today started out like a normal day with cleaning up after Christmas. I got the tree and decorations down, but then when I went to go bring them downstairs to put them away, Kyler wandered away from me and hopped on the treadmill by himself and turned the speed up to full blast! All I heard was a loud thud and then a HELP ME! I ran out to see Kyler laying flat on his belly and the next second as I was reaching to turn the treadmill off he flew off the back and hit his head. I was SURE we'd be seeing blood and using LOTS of bandages, but thankfully because of God's hand Kyler escaped with only a minor (and I mean VERY minor) bump on his upper lip. When I went upstairs to get Kyler a boo-boo buddy to put on his lip, I tried to explain to Nate what had happened and I couldn't help but to laugh at how I saw Kyler and him yelling help and the next thing I knew he was thrown back against the wall and escaped with only a small bump on his lip. I was laughing SO hard I almost peed my pants and I had tears in my eyes like I was crying. Don't get me wrong, it was VERY scary and I hope Kyler learned his lesson, but it was also pretty funny.
The next thing that happened that made me laugh uncontrollably today was a few minutes after giving Kyler the boo-boo buddy, he went in his room. We thought he was playing with his toys while we were cleaning the house some more for our party on Saturday, but when Nate went in his room to check on him, he said, "Erin you're gonna wanna go check on what Kyler is doing." I went in the room to find Kyler had gotten himself dressed to go shopping, except he put on his shirt backwards and he (OMG I am laughing uncontrollably now typing this...) couldn't find any pants to put on, so he put on another shirt around his legs like a skirt. When I walked in the room he threw his hands up and looked at me with this HUGE smile on his face and said "I did it all by myself mom!" You can bet I snapped a picture of his ensemble before taking the bottom shirt off his legs and putting pants on him. I let him keep the other shirt he put on by himself we just turned it around. I am SO thankful today for laughs! Tomorrow is a BIG day...we find out (hopefully) what baby Studer #2 is...but I won't be posting on here til January 1st...so check back then.

December 27, 2011

Today I'm thankful for time to clean my house...I know it seems so crazy and actually it WAS, but having the time to sit and go through things and pull things out that I no longer need really makes me appreciate what I do have. I know I have WAY too much! I'm working on it, but for now, the little time that I have to go through what I have and get rid of stuff is wonderful!

December 26, 2011

Today I am again thankful for grandparents that REALLY love Kyler. They enjoy seeing him when they can and WANT him to stay over longer. I really like the fact that even though Kyler is 2 hours away from his one set of grandparents, they make an effort to come over and visit him as well as try to check in with him throughout the weeks through Skype. I'm thankful Nate and I could stay an extra night on the other side of the state...even if it does mean we'll have to get up early and we won't get as much cleaned up in our house...we're making family happy and that's what the season is about too right?

December 25, 2011

Today I'm thankful for our Savior. All day I kept reminding myself that the day was NOT about me, it was about my Savior! We had a VERY busy day...one in which we started on one end of the state and ended up on the other side of the state. I got frustrated in between the 2 get togethers because I thought it was going to go one way, but then all of a sudden it wasn't and instead of getting so upset and angry, I just reminded myself it was about Jesus and HIS day and that I should be celebrating him with family and friends. I was able to look past the bitterness and just be flexible! That's something that is NOT easy for me to do! We made out alright...Kyler was a bit grumpy from the lack of sleep, but we dealt with it and so went Christmas 2011.

December 24, 2011

Today I'm thankful for Grandparents that LOVE Kyler. Kyler wanted to sleep by grandpa tonight and so we let him. It's not just any old grandparents that let a grandchild that rolls and tosses and turns sleep with them, let alone one who wakes up puking all over in bed and makes you change the sheets down to the mattress pad! Yeah, we had one of THOSE kids...thankfully it was very short lived and Kyler was up and at em on Christmas morning!

December 23, 2011

Today I'm thankful for our Savior and family traditions! We started our celebrations with Kyler today (a little early so we can go spend some time with family). We first made a Jesus cake...and Kyler actually helped. He put green food coloring in one of the cakes to make it a green cake, so we made a 2 layer cake 1 green layer and 1 white. He then helped me frost the cake when it had cooled and then we got to decorate it. We put a big J in the middle for Jesus and then Kyler sat and shook all the sprinkles on the cake that he could...and the ones that didn't manage to stick to the frosting, Kyler licked up! ha! After our cake making we sang happy birthday to Jesus and then we had a piece of the cake we made. It was REALLY sweet! After eating cake we went and opened 1 present each (pajamas from Santa!). Kyler was REALLY into "bad guys" and superheros this year so we went with a super hero theme for our pajamas. Kyler got Batman pjs, Nate got Superman, and I got Wonder Woman. We took a couple pictures in our new pjs and then it was story time. We took out Kyler's children's Bible and we read the story of Jesus birth. Kyler was actually quite calm after a couple reminders to listen to the story. After the story, we took and put Kyler to bed and Nate and I just relaxed and figured out what we would need in the morning for our big family breakfast/present opening. I hope Kyler enjoyed the start of our family traditions...although I'm pretty sure he did!

December 22, 2011

Today I'm thankful for play and things to be able to go and do with my family. Today since I had ALL my shopping done and accounted for (wrapped that is) and it was Nathan's first day on break, we took Ky man to the YMCA to go swimming. First we had to find Nate up on the workout floor. We got upstairs and Kyler wanted to run the track, so we went around one lap. After he did that, he wanted to run some more, but we decided to take him into the pool. It wasn't too crowded and I think he had some fun...as did Nate and I watching Kyler swim on his own with a life jacket. He was So into the independence that he didn't care one bit if he got water in his face and mouth. Today I'm thankful for fun things to do with my family while we're on break and resting!

December 21, 2011

Today I'm thankful for my son...he was a BIG handful today in finishing up our last Christmas purchases (some boxes from Hobby Lobby) and melted down in the store in front of EVERYONE! I did everything I could but could NOT entice him to come with me. I finally was finished doing what I needed to and I picked him up and we left the store with him screaming NO I need those Captain America socks! Someone else is gonna buy them. It was hard to pull myself away and not buy the socks, but we managed to get out of the store, and eventually made it home and calmed down. It's days like these that I need to remind myself how truly fortunate I am to have a son...even one who throws a tantrum over a pair of socks! I love you Ky man!

December 20, 2011

Oops again...forgot to post this yesterday. Guess I needed sleep more! Today I'm thankful for sleep. This morning Kyler woke up early (I think he's got a cold coming on! YUCK!) and then came and snuggled with me on the couch and we fell asleep for a few minutes. Then, this afternoon, Kyler REALLY needed a nap, but he was overwired or something because he just wouldn't fall asleep...so I did like I did when he was born, I laid down with him and guess who fell asleep with Kyler! ME! I was able to finish my first pinterest project (which I take a picture of soon!) and then I was able to go to bed relatively quickly last night too. I'm thankful for rest and the time I have off to be able to do those things...especially with my son!

December 19, 2011

Today I'm thankful I got all my Christmas shopping DONE! I'm ahead of schedule, will finish up wrapping the very last packages that were purchased today and then I'll be able to spend time helping out family with purchasing gifts or stocking stuffers for others. Plus, I will also be able to help my mom make Christmas cookies for different people and not be worried about when I will finish my Christmas shopping!

December 18, 2011

Today I'm thankful for a husband who cares. He took care entirely of Kyler this morning...woke him up, got him breakfast, got him dressed...and let me sleep not letting Kyler even come in to wake me up. What a guy. Then, he spent almost the entire day making a dinner that turned out to be not so fabulous but it was dinner and we were full after eating it. Then, after dinner Nathan took care of Kyler and played with him even though he was tired so that I could get a bunch of Christmas wrapping done. I was able to finish up just about every last package that needed wrapping! YAY!

December 17, 2011

Ooops...I've slacked off...I knew this would happen, but I've had these posts just waiting in my head, and I need to write them down. Today I was thankful for such a peaceful son. We took him to go see the music Wizard of Oz today and compared to some other children in the audience he was an angel. He didn't really talk much during the play and just sat VERY intently watching the characters on stage. It was a VERY fun afternoon to spend with family and I'm thankful that I have days like that to spend.

December 16, 2011

Today I'm thankful for my car. I heard over and over this past week on JQ99 their Christmas wishes in the morning on my way in to work. 3 out of the 5 stories that I listened to all had people wishing for a friend or loved one to get their car fixed and running for Christmas. A simple wish and yet I take my car for granted. My husband actually was looking out for me this year and we splurged on winter tires for the car since I'd be driving to and from Muskegon in this Michigan winter. I'm thankful that my husband cares about my safety and that I do have a vehicle that runs. Over and over the comments on the radio were that the person ended up walking to work because their car was out of commission. I got thinking and I don't know what I would do if my car stopped working...it would be pretty difficult to walk to work. Maybe I'd take Nathan's car and leave him asking people for rides, who knows...in any case, I'm thankful that I have my car and my independence and I can get to where I need to without many problems.

December 15, 2011

Today I'm thankful for administrative support. I often times don't speak up when I really should, only because I guess I'm afraid nothing will happen or people will look down on me for something, but today, I spoke my piece to our administrator at school. Had I NOT opened my mouth and said anything to him at all things would have just continued going down a path of disruption for my students. I can't have all these disruptions (especially with so many ADHD students!) in my classroom. Anyways, I opened my mouth with the administrator venting my frustration about a certain disruption and basically he told me he'd take care of it. I guess we will see tomorrow and after break if anything comes of it, but I feel better just getting it off my chest and letting him know that I'm there to teach, NOT to entertain other adults (especially ones who disrupt my classroom flow!).

December 14, 2011

Today I'm thankful for the quietness...as I was riding in my car this morning on my morning commute to Muskegon I had the radio off and Kyler had fallen asleep. I took the opportunity to really just sit and listen and contemplate all of life and what I was going to do for the day. I chose to be happy and told my students to keep me honest. I told my students I was NOT going to yell at them today and that when they heard me start to yell, they were supposed to simply say, Mrs. Studer, you're yelling. I don't think I did too bad, of course you could always ask my students! I am thankful for the quietness now as I know all to well things will change drastically when #2 enters the world...until then, I'm thankful for quietness to think and listen.

December 13, 2011

Today I'm thankful for things to celebrate! A good friend reminded me tonight that it's ok to celebrate the little things in life! I'm taking that to heart as I head off to bed tonight...I am thankful for an overall good day, an overall good evaluation at school, a night to finish up shopping and spend some time with family, coworkers, and this little baby inside! Today I'm thankful for all those little bumps and thumps on the inside as well as all the little bumps in my daily life!

December 12, 2011

Today I'm thankful for the hugs and kisses from loved ones to let me know that they care. Like I said in my last post I'm SUPER busy this week and need to get past the worrying...I think little hugs from Kyler or a quick I love you in the morning from Nate are God's way of letting me know that these are the things I should be worrying about...not whether or not I'll make it through the week and when I will get everything done. Tomorrow is a new day in itself and I have LOTS of things to get finished for tomorrow, so I better run for now...but I'm thankful today for simple reminders that others care!

December 11, 2011

Oops...just catching up from yesterday...Yesterday I was thankful (and it actually always brings a smile to my face when the light turns on!) for the message Pastor Steve brought to church. I don't know if I caught everything, but God really wanted me clued in to the fact that I need NOT worry cause worry is wasteful and useless. I have a HUGE week this week wrapping up before Christmas break at school, plus all of the parties and festivities at school and Kyler's daycare...I love the holiday but lots of times I get so wrapped up in making sure I have EVERYTHING right that I worry about things into the night and I don't REALLY enjoy the holiday the way I should. Yesterday's message just made my ears ring and I kept repeating over and over, it will get done and I need NOT worry about it so much. Today wasn't perfect, but I made it home after work and everyone survived! Thank-you Lord for the messages you open our ears to hear and also those speakers you bless us with!

December 10, 2011

Today I'm thankful for a date night with hubby. We are going to go see the Nutcracker together at the DeVos and Kyler is staying with Grandpa and Grandma. I'm thankful for the time with my husband doing something fun and also that we have someone that we trust to watch Kyler so we don't have to worry about him.

December 9, 2011

Oops, just updating from yesterday since I fell asleep within seconds of sitting down to write my post last night...I am thankful for new tires. Although I was a bit frustrated yesterday with how other people were driving (because it was the first snowfall of the year) I was thankful that I had brand new winter tires on my car and that hubby thought enough of me and my safety to purchase them for the car this year. They definitely were used yesterday with the mess that was on the roads!

December 8, 2011

Today I'm thankful for laughs...from me, from my son, from my husband, from my students...doesn't matter who, I just LOVE laughs and I had a good fill of them today. I could have used a few more in my afternoon, but I made it through the day. I love seeing someone's face light up when they find something funny or that they really like, and today I'm thankful that I was able to see a few of these laughs.

December 7, 2011

Today I'm thankful for my bed. What a LONG and exhausting day! Didn't get home til after 6 and I am ready to go to sleep. I don't feel good and I'm coming down with a cold, but I'm thankful for my bed to sleep in. Today in class one of my students was telling me his aunts couch made him itch more. I asked him more about it and why he was on his Aunt's couch and come to find out, he sleeps there...on the couch...itchiness and all. Thank-you Lord for a nice warm bed with covers (and no itchiness) to curl up in at night. And now....I'm hitting the hay...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

December 6, 2011

Today I'm thankful for my mom. She would give the world for me if she could and she hates talking to me when she has a worry or a concern. I can tell in her voice. Every morning before going in to work I talk with my mom on the cell phone. She gives me that sort of mini pep-talk that I need to get me through my day...and usually after I talk with her I don't feel as angry or upset as I did in starting the conversation with her. I look up to my mom and know she only wants the best for me. I know my relationship with my mom has not always been the best, but I hope and pray that God continues in my relationship with her and I hope to one day have that same sort of relationship with my own children.

December 5, 2011

Today I am thankful for my son. I stayed home today with him as he was sick yesterday and I thought he'd be better resting it out one day at home than to go back to daycare today...well, I ended up letting him sleep in (which he slept in til almost 9! HOLY MOLY!) and when he woke up he said he was hungry. He hadn't eaten much (not even a brownie yesterday at Grandma and Grandpa's house, so you know he was sick!:( boo!) and so I decided we needed to start on something light. I got him some toast and some water to drink. He ate all the toast and drank all the water and got down. He played around the house for a while while I did laundry (a MASSIVE heap that has piled up!) and got clothes folded. I then decided I wasn't going to just sit around doing nothing if he was feeling better, so I decided to head out to the store to get some more Christmas shopping done. We went to the dollar store and Target. I figured when we got to Target and Kyler was asking to eat popcorn that he was feeling better, so we got some popcorn and headed around the store to get what we needed. Even though Kyler threw a HUGE fit in the store because I wouldn't stop and look at what he wanted to (some Batman underwear or something) he calmed down after a while (and I think his fit was due to the fact that he was hungry!) so we quick stopped at daddy's work where dad gave Kyler a piece of chocolate. Kyler didn't take a nap today so he was EXTRA crabby tonight at bedtime, but I'm pretty sure he was feeling better. I'm just glad and thankful for the time I got to spend with my son today just the 2 of us!

December 4, 2011

Today, I'm thankful for rest. A day set aside to rest from our daily schedules, a day to rest and catch up, a day to worship. Sunday is the PERFECT day and I did indeed rest today. I absolutely LOVE worshiping with my church family and resting from my daily teaching. Teaching is definitely trying this year and Sundays worship at church rejuvenates me to get through another week of teaching. Sundays hype me up for the week. I wish I could relax and worship mid-week with my church family, but hopefully after the first of the year I will be able to at least do a little of this by joining the women's Bible study. I've got that to look forward to in the new year...and not to mention this little one still growing strong in my belly! Praise the LORD!

December 3, 2011

Today I am thankful for family. My day started out by going to a funeral...I saw a family lift each other up in ways that no one else can! I then realized that FAMILY is everything. My family (mom and dad) watched Kyler (and I'm sure spoiled him rotten) so that Nate and I could enjoy a night out together with other people from our church family...it was a great time tonight getting to know some new people as well as talk with some old friends from our church family, which we don't seem to do much of these days. I am thankful for family whether they come from our church or our immediate family, family helps each other out and is there through thick and thin!

December 2, 2011

Today I am thankful for Fridays/the weekend. I NEED A BREAK! and what a great weekend to have a break...it hardly seems like it with everything I have going on the next couple weeks, but I'm looking forward to spending some quality time with Nathan and Kyler will get to spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa. I also just need a break from my students. They can be so demanding sometimes. Fridays are a great end to a VERY busy week and a chance to just "chill". Tonight we will "chill" watching Nathan's soccer game--I hope Kyler cooperates and behaves while we "watch" Nathan play soccer....it will be over soon, and then we'll find something else to fill our time with I'm sure.

December 1, 2011

Today I am thankful for brakes. What? brakes? yes...the brakes you have on your car! Today 3 different times I was almost hit by other drivers. Crazy! The worst one by far however was the 2nd in coming home on US-131. I see only red brake lights in front of me, I ease on the brakes myself and all of a sudden I hear this screeching squeeling noise coming from behind me and a car driving up alongside me on the shoulder of the highway. It was enough to make my heart jump into my throat! but praise the LORD, I must have had some higher being around my car because not a scratch was made and I am safe!