William Wednesday

Well, the highlight of the week for me has been watching the swinging pendulum. Translation: currently I outrank Austin in William's order of preference. I will bask in it, because I know it will be fleeting. But for now it feels pretty nice! I get the most cuddles, most hugs, he wants me to take him to school every day, he wants me every night at bed...ok, so it's added work, but I'm ok with that!

He's had a really good week. Last week at this time his teacher had sent a note home asking for a parent teacher conference to discuss his behavior. Being the goody two shoes I am, the thought of a note home from a teacher felt like the whole world crashing down. But, I was able to put that aside and just focus on fixing whatever this behavior issue may be. We couldn't schedule our meeting until Friday, so I called the teacher just to get an idea of what the problem was. Turns out our little ball of energy is always a ball of energy and has trouble calming down for things like circle time or other quiet activities. He does great in his math class and at church, so I don't think it's an attention issue - I think it's a focus and captivation issue. I don't think circle time interests him, for whatever reason, so his personal care is low. We have been working a lot this week with him on his 'jobs' at school. His jobs are to keep his pants clean, keep his hands to himself, listen, and stay calm and focused. We've been reinforcing it and the teachers help remind him - and so far he's been doing great.

This weekend was supposed to be a plan-free no-activities type weekend, but somehow that never pans out. Saturday morning/afternoon Austin and I had a relay committee workshop so William played with some of our friends from church. Then when I picked him up we went up to church to help set up for Sunday's service. We have never helped with setup, but he and I both really enjoyed it and it was amazing to see allthe  work that went into getting it ready for Sunday. (Our church is currently in a high school gym so set up as tear down happens each week. We are hoping to move into our own building in January!!!) William liked helping set up the baby room and he played with baby toys for an hour! Didn't know infant toys were still so captivating :) probably more so now than 3 years ago!

Saturday and Sunday Austin had work all day (besides his attendance at our relay meeting and church) so it was just me and William. Sunday we got some grocery shopping done and some packing. And looooooots of laundry. I had hoped to go get all of our family's Christmas presents to avoid shipping...but, time was not on my side. Guess I'll be paying for shipping later! Oh well.

William is very excited for our trip to Texas this weekend. We leave on Saturday and he has told me every morning since Sunday that it's time to go to the airport. We have a countdown sheet that he marks off every night, so I know he knows, he just wishes every day was THE day. But, before we know it we'll be catching a can at 4:30am to head down south! Look out deer and turkey, William is on his way!

Dear Gary Kubiak

Dear Gary,

I'm writing you a letter on my blog because...well, after 10 weeks of frustration I just can't hold it in anymore. (That bye week was glorious wasn't it?) I have no way of really reaching you, nor do I truly believe you need to hear what I have to say. So, my anonymous blog is all I need to vent and move on.

I'm positive you don't remember me, but we met back in the spring of 2011. You were watching your son's spring ball game at Colorado State and I was there visiting with a high school football player who was talking with the coaches. You stood silently as you watched the game, I assume to be one of the few you are able to see as a professional football coach. And yet, you didn't mind being interrupted by broncos fans and texans fans and people who really couldn't pinpoint how they knew you, but somehow they did. I was one of the people who interrupted your personal time to ask for a picture, and you kindly obliged. You were a very nice man, and we shared gig 'em's as fellow aggies before I went on my way.

I liked you. I liked you before that interaction as you had finally brought a spark to the Texans, and I liked you more after having met you. I liked you all the way up to yesterday, and I like you still.

But I gotta say - you've made it really, really hard.

I know that, as an average fan, I do not know what it takes to play professional sports, coach professional sports, or run a franchise of any sort - much less at that caliber. But I do know about job performance, and yesterday you had me baffled.

I am a tax accountant and I am quite certain that if I turned in 3 tax returns with the equivalent of a 'pick 6' in each one, I would be demoted in my role at work. I'm pretty sure after 2 I would have been on a performance plan. I don't think I would have had a chance to screw up a 4th. I'm also pretty sure that in my first year on the job if I made a mistake equivalent to one interception, I would not be replaced by someone who had done the former. And yet, that's exactly what happened in our QB position. When schaub was throwing points to the other team we were 'standing by our QB in a tough time' but as Keenum learns the game we abandon him when the heat starts to surmount. Where's the support now?

But back to me. My job is to file tax returns timely. Some are harder than others, and I do some to a better degree of excellence than others. It's the nature of life. But essentially, I have one job. If my success rate were the same as Randy Bullock's, I'm fairly certain I would no longer have a job.

Now, these aren't easy things for me to say. I think Matt Schaub did wonderful things for the Texans organization and I think he had a stellar year in 2011. Unfortunately, midway through last season I turned to my husband and said 'I think Matt hit his peak last week. I think that's it'. I supported him, I rooted for his success, and on October 6th I yelled loudly and proudly as he ran onto the field in San Francisco despite the harrassment by less than friendly fans. I was a Schaub supporter. As I am a Bullock supporter. He's an aggie - how could I not be??

But supporting someone doesn't mean you blindly think they're the best for the job. Maybe Case Keenum wasn't going to win the game yesterday, but when I saw Schaub go on the field my confidence (low as it already was) dwindled more. And maybe Case Keenum could never be a Super Bowl willing franchise quarterback, but I know the only way he has a shot is to have the support of his team and coaches behind him. 100%. Not a pouting Matt schaub on the sidelines (as he was during keenum's first start) and not the threat of losing his job when he's just barely earned it.

When I went to the game in San Francisco my eyes were opened to so many things that viewers at home just aren't able to see. A lot of pouting. A lot of missed reads by Schaub. A lot of predictable play calling. A lot of selfish behavior. A lot of dissention among what was once a tight cohesive team.

To sum it up, our most notable franchise player - who made a choice to stick with Houston when winning was but a distant dream - now says 'I'm in a contract, I don't have a choice' in reference to his status as a Texan.

Really? That's what it's come to? Someone, somewhere along the way, has driven Andre Johnson to feel that way about his ball club. And why?

With talent like Andre Johnson, DeAndre Hopkins, Garret Graham and Duane Brown to protect how can we go 2 for 14 on 3rd downs? 

With talent like JJ Watt, Antonio Smith, and almost the entire list of starters in the Bulls on Parade how do we possibly let other teams put up so many points? One of our defensive players once said that all we should ever expect of our offense is 14, maybe 17 points. Anything else proves to be a failure on the defense. Well - how did our stellar defense get to this?

Ben Tate said Houston fans are too wishy washy. Well, he can think what he wants. Fortunately for him, he didn't patiently sit through the agonizing years of 2002-2008 (or 2009? 2010?) as many of his fans did. I'm sure there are wishy washy fans, or bandwagon fans as I prefer to call them. All teams have them. They come out of the wood work when times are good and they're so quick to jump ship when the course is lost. I'm sure there are plenty. But let's be clear: voicing disappointment and frustration is not the same as jumping ship. If I (or the thousands of other Texans faithfuls) was going to abandon the Texans I would have a long time ago. I'd have been a patriots fan for their run at glory, then I would have left them the day tom Brady went down. I would have jumped over to the colts with how electrifying Peyton manning was, and now I'd be wearing orange and blue rooting for Peyton to bring the trophy back to the mile high city.

But I'm not. I'm a sucker for my boys in steel blue (though battle red is my favorite if we're talking uniforms). I'm a texans fan through good and bad, but that doesn't mean I have to pretend the bad doesn't eat away at my heart. No, I'm not wishy washy for being angry. I'm not wishy washy for thinking Schaub had not earned his spot back on the field. I'm not wishy washy for thinking it is absurd that Randy Bullock is still our kicker. I'm a passionate fan who loves her team. I'm a passionate fan who loves to see her team win.

I like you, coach. I am not one of the thousands chanting 'fire kubiak'. I'm not even one of the thousands hoping we go 2-14 to secure the #1 draft pick. I still have childlike faith that our boys can put their heads and hearts together and get us to an 8-8 season. But if that doesn't happen, I want you and the rest of the team to know that there is a difference in wishy washy fans and fans who passionately love the game. If we do go 2-14, and thousands get their wish as you are shown the door, and we do secure the #1 draft pick yet again, I will still be a proud Texan fan. No less proud than I was 4 months ago when all the talk was on a texans/falcons Super Bowl. No less proud, but a lot more frustrated. 

And coach - should that happen, should it come down to worst case scenario - please, please do what you can before you exit to make a spot in the locker room for Johnny Football. It's the least you could do.

Sincerely,

A fellow aggie, one of your loyal fans, and a Texan fan to the end.

Happy Veterans' Day

At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month we mark Remembrance Day.

A day for us to honor all who have served. I am always very proud of my military family and friends on veterans' day but especially think of those who sacrificed it all. I didn't even know what it meant for them to sacrifice it all until I saw Austin leave his wife and one year son behind, only praying he'd return safely. These men and women truly lay everything down to serve, and it is by God's grace that they may come home.

But this year Austin gave me a new perspective and appreciation. In our small group we've been studying the book of Philippians. Well, we missed all of chapter 1 but were there for the rest. Last week we had a synopsis week - we just went over it all again and we each talked about what spoke to us the most. It's still amazing to me how the words in the bible can mean something completely different to each reader.

Austin said what hit him the most was when Paul talked about being content in all things. In Philippians 4 he mentions that he knows what it means to have everything and he knows what it means to have nothing; he knows what it is to be hungry and he knows what it is to be full. Austin said that struck him so much because he, too, knows what it is to have nothing and to have everything.

He went on to share (yes...Austin...verbally shared. Amazing!) what it was like at times to go days without food or shelter or showers. He said he truly felt he had gone to hell and he had nothing. then the day he came home he suddenly had everything. In all of that he said he had to learn, for mere survival, how to be content despite the circumstances.

What a perspective. Not many people are able to truly see the two extremes and to understand where Paul was coming from, but our service men and women have seen it all and somehow managed to make it through with a servants' heart.

I hope you can take a minute to think of these people who have laid it all down and be thankful. We are fortunate enough to not know what it's like to go hungry, and yet our service members make the choice to step into that on our behalf. They are true heroes, and I'm so lucky to have four of them in my family.

Thank you Brian, Jesse, Chris and Austin for your selfless service. And thank you to the rest of the men and women who have made the same sacrifice.

The Medical Side

I haven't written as much about my 'condition' as I'd hoped to. (Sounds a bit dramatic when described that way don't you think?). But my goal when being translucent (isn't that a step away from transparent?) was to possibly help someone else who may find themselves in my shoes. Or maybe someone will know someone in my shoes and will remember reading some of my Debbie-downer posts and attempt to take a positive spin on them. Either way, I wanted to write today about the scientific side of what I'm going through.

So, I'll start 10 years ago. In 2003 I was a broke college student who read an ad in the school newspaper for a clinical research study for a new acne medicine. Not only did it potentially offer a solution to my long-endured acne trouble, but it also paid $500. All I had to do was have a blood test, take some pills for 3 months and report back.

But, my gravy train ran dry when my initial blood test showed an alarmingly high TSH level in my blood. TSH = thyroid stimulating hormone, and if the level is high it means your hormones are over producing in an effort to stimulate your thyroid, which means your thyroid is under-functioning. Diagnosis: hypothyroidism. Suddenly my severe and sudden weight gain, increased anxiety levels, trouble keeping my body cool (among other symptoms) all made sense.  And once I told people, I learned it is incredibly common for females on both sides of my family, which means I was practically doomed. I began taking synthroid daily, which I'll take the rest of my life, and spent almost 2 years closely monitoring progress to regulate the dosage. In roughly 2005 we settled on a dose and it wasn't increased again until I was pregnant with William. that dose lasted until a few weeks ago.

However, in the time of regulated medicine I went back to the doctor on numerous occasions complaining of my thyroid symptoms. I was gaining weight despite concentrated efforts to lose. My nails were brittle. My hair was falling out rapidly. I was always very hot or very cold, never comfortable. And yet, each time I went I heard back in a few days letting me know my levels were fine.

It was infuriating! I knew these things weren't right and yet my blood results indicated I was fine. I wasn't fine. Last December when my doctor said it was fine I insisted she take more blood and test more indicators (T4, T3, and another that slipped my mind) because I had read in a book sometimes TSH can be fine while these other thyroid hormones are not. So she did, and she found they were just as peachy as the TSH.

I threw my hands in the air in frustration and then quickly found myself in the thick of tax season. Impossible to focus on tiny health issues between January and April, I vowed to revisit the issue after April 15.

So, in April I was referred to my fertility doctor (who I adore) and before doing any testing he went over medical history with me. We discussed my thyroid and other health history and then he went into detail explaining what he anticipated would be the findings of the day: PCOS. He explained what an ovary looks like in a person with PCOS, he explained symptoms related to PCOS and went over treatments. A few minutes later when he did an ultrasound my ovary appeared on the screen and it looked identical to the picture he drew in his office. I was amazed.

I was more amazed, though, to find out that the symptoms I had always associated with my thyroid were also possible symptoms of PCOS. He speculated that I had PCOS that whole time and that it likely developed around the time my hypothyroidism developed. But, because my doctors and I were always so focused on my thyroid nobody seemed to notice the rebel ovaries down there. The majority of my complaints arose in times when I was not on birth control, and birth control is a way of regulating PCOS so it is theorized that when not on birth control my PCOS ramped up, causing my symptoms to flare while my thyroid remained constant.

While it was frustrating to know that my doctor may have been able to find the root of not only my weight gain but also my infertility last December, it was also so freeing to finally have an explanation and understanding of it all. Knowing is half the battle, and it felt so good to finally know.

I think I've mentioned that this only reinforces how much of a miracle William is. I already knew, but this just reminded me that God had a perfect plan for William. He knew the issues inside my body and he knew when he wanted William born. He orchestrated all of the events for the miracle of life to transpire, and it couldn't be more apparent to me. This also offers reassurance that God has his hand in all of this now as well, and His plan is pure and perfect and we will all stand in awe of his power grace in the end.

What a wonderful weekend

This post is 4 days in the making - oops.

We had a fabulous weekend! This is not to take anything away from my California friends - I love my friends here and We're very blessed in the people we've met through work/church/the neighborhood. But there's something about spending time with an old friend. One who has known you since before you were even dating your husband, someone who you've known since her daughter (now a full on teenager) was William's age. It's awesome.

Brittany had a tax conference in San Francisco last week so we had planned for her to stay through the weekend and we'd head up there after work on Friday. By the time we got there it was bedtime for all, but we wanted to be able to get up and moving Saturday morning rather than waste precious daylight driving up there.

Saturday we were complete tourists. We started our day by having breakfast at one of the recommended breakfast spots in Brittany's tourist magazine. One of the cool things about San Francisco is how old it is - the famous restaurants have been around for decades and they're so unique. After breakfast we spent half an hour trying to figure out how best to catch a trolley - apparently a popular thing on weekends! But we finally caught one and headed down to ghiradelli square.

I think I expected more from ghiradelli square - but hey, they had chocolate - what else could I really expect?

William and Austin had fun running around and playing in the square, so I guess that was a good bonus too.

Somehow by the time we finished there it was already lunch time. I felt like we had just eaten, but we were all hungry so I guess that trolley ride took it all out of us. We relied again on Brittany's tourist book from her hotel and found a restaurant that claimed to have the best Irish coffee in the world. How could we not challenge that?

We were skeptical as we read the reviews - how could it be the best? Isn't it all the same? But when we walked in we noticed not a single person was drinking anything besides the Irish coffee. So it had to be something special right?

It was a weird structure for a restaurant - they do not seat customers, you seat yourself which means there are a ton of vulchers lurking around the tables. Also, if there are empty seats at someone else's table, you just pop a squat and make new friends. So, the 4 of us paired up with a group of 3 and stole a 7 top when it opened. It was pretty fun!

After lunch we went back to the trolley (good thing we bought a day pass) and headed back to the hotel. I had aspirations of Brittany and I sneaking down to union square while William napped, but what happened was we all 4 fell asleep - and I'm pretty sure William fell asleep last! Saturday afternoon nap...is there anything better???

After we all slowly woke up we...you guessed it...hopped back on the trolley to go down to the fisherman's wharf for dinner. William's parents, God bless them, didn't plan well for the weather so the poor child needed a new hat and new jacket.

What a big little minion I have!!!

We had dinner at an upstairs restaurant and had the perfect seats for the surprise fireworks at 8:30. William was so excited!

So, the day flew by and it seemed to revolve around food, but it was one of the best days. It was so refreshing to see Brittany and have all day to just talk and do nothing significant - it was so needed, and I loved every minute.

William Wednesday

I should really quit being surprised by William's manipulative and argumentative skills. But he gets me every time!

First, we went to a friend's house Sunday for football. He took toys to play with and at one point asked if he could play in the backyard. I said yes but told him he had to stay on the concrete because there wasn't grass, only dirt, so I didn't want him to get too dirty before we left. He said 'ok mommy I will' and went and played. 10 minutes later I walked outside and had trouble even finding the concrete beneath the mound of sand he had scooped over:

I said 'William you're so dirty!' And he said 'I'm on the concrete mommy'. Yes, yes you are. And clearly I dressed you appropriately for the day. Guess I better start saving for Harvard Law.

Last night we went to our friends' house. It was our small group night but instead of continuing with week 9 of our study, our leader wanted to have dinner and game night. We had a lot of fun and William loved playing with their daughter Elizabeth. He talks about her a lot and loves to go to her house to play. Usually he stays there with her and the babysitter so he was very comfortable in the house. 

They have three beautiful harps in their living room. The first time I saw them I thought to myself, 'oh man William would destroy those things if they were in our house'. Well, about 1.5 hours into our night I realized there was some pretty, yet random, music coming from behind me. I turned around to see William playing the harp. My heart jumped into my throat ad all I saw was his college fund being cashed out to buy a new harp, or at least repair a broken one. I said, 'William please do not play with that. It's not a toy and I don't have enough money to replace it if it breaks'.  He turned to me and said, 'Elizabeth's grandma says we can play like this' and proceeded to show me how to play it.

Elizabeth's grandmother babysat the first night he was there and apparently his listening ears were functioning just fine that night.

But, in addition to being a true manipulator, he's also a boy after his mommy's heart. Or at least a boy who wants to tug on the strings of my heart. I think I've shared that he likes to pick leaves for me. Some days when I pick him up from school he has a leaf in his cubby that he picked for me during the day. Some moms get flowers, some get mud pies; I get leaves! And you better believe I love every one. Well, Sunday on our walk to church from the parking lot he must have loved me extra because I got 4! 

I was instructed to keep them in my purse, so of course I did. They are my little love letters from my boy. He plays me like a fiddle. Or maybe a harp.

William Wednesday

The Voice has a song stuck in my head, and if you just change one word it applies to William's week:
This boy is on fire! (but you have to read fire like fye-ya)

He's been SO funny this week.  I am going to attempt to remember all of the little things, with a little help from my texts I sent to Austin.  I'll start with this morning and work my way backwards until I just can't remember anymore.

I usually go turn his light on in his room around 6:00 then give him 15-20 minutes to slowly wake up while I finish getting ready.  Then I go back in and get him out of bed.  Only today, when I went back in he wasn't there.  I went downstairs to see if I could find him and he was standing on the bench by the counter, where he sometimes eats breakfast.  I asked what he was doing and he said, "I am just waiting".  I told him we should go potty, but he informed me he already had.  So I asked, "Did you go in your pants or in the toilet?"  "Oh, in the garage"  WHAT?!  I asked what he meant by that and he said, "come see mommy.  i had to peepee mommy!"

I spent the next 15 minutes rotating between fighting my internal laughter, and being angry that he PEED IN THE GARAGE.  Boys will be boys I guess!

Austin has been on duty platoon this week which means we've seen very little of him.  It also means William and I get lots of special time just for us.  Monday when I picked him up he said he wanted to have dinner from a restaurant, so we went to Papa Chanos, his choice.  When we got there he saw a rather heavyset man and said, "mommy, who is that man with the big baby in his tummy?"..........how do you teach that??????????

Monday he was really on fire because I think I sent Austin about 10 different funny stories.  After dinner we went to Target to get a few things and I think I laughed the entire time.  He saw a young man who had a shaved head and everytime we passed him he said, "hey pop!"  The man looked nothing like pop (Herb is pop, fyi) but I guess his bald head had William convinced.  The guy eventually started responding by saying hi back!  One of the things we were at Target to do was to get Pop a birthday card.  William found one that sings, "do a little dance, make a little love, get down tonight" and he started dancing in the cart.  He said we needed to buy it for pop, and then he said he needed a new speaker for his radio in his room (radio=my old iPod, which had a speaker that is now deceased) and when he got a new speaker he needed that song on it.  Um - inappropriate much???

I know there's more, but as it turns out they're all just little silly things that had me cracking up but are probably lost in translation here :)  

Other than that we've had a great week!  I am loving this almost-4 age.  He's so funny and smart, fun to hang out with - a real blast.  He has been talking a lot about all of the exciting things we have coming up.  We have a visitor coming in 2 weekends, another the very next weekend, and then just 3 more weeks until we get to go to "the fun place" (the hunting lease...where the peeing outside was born and apparently never died...)  The end of the year is near and, as always, it's going to shape up to be a busy one!  But I'm really excited to spend it with my big big boy.