Friday, January 29, 2010

Friday Thoughts

My car is in the shop again. Driver side door lock needs to be replaced, struts are bad, and an oil change is needed. Oh joy. The up side is Mark and I drove together to work today and even stopped and got coffee together.

Looking forward to today being over. Not a healthy work environment this week. :( Ready to be done and relax at home.

We lost our first dodgeball game in OT last night...make that 4 or 5 OT losses, and won our second one. Nothing outstanding on my part this week, but Mark was a catching machine!

Having dinner and Wii battle with Nolan and Michelle tomorrow night...looking forward to it!

Sunday - home and garden show although I would like to go to the chocolate festival. Even though I'm not a huge chocolate fan I bet there would be something I would like there!

Overall looking forward to the weekend!

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Another Reminder

I found out yesterday that being angry to the point of hate takes a lot of energy!

I don't use the word hate very often or lightly. I don't think hate is a healthy emotion. I really can't think of a single person I hate or than many things that I hate. There is only one thing I can say I hate without any reservation and that is cancer.

I have spent 14 years volunteering with the American Cancer Society and have been reminded more than I would like how important the fight against cancer is. Every time a fellow volunteer was diagnosed or lost a family member it reminded me, every time my best friend goes to the Dr. only to have yet another diagnosis it reminds me, every time I go in for my follow up screening (which my last one should be in March and everything looks great - it never should have been a cancer scare in the first place, but we are playing it safe) I am reminded, every Relay For Life event I attend I am reminded of why it is vital to keep fighting this horrible disease and to keep raising money for life saving research and treatment. I was reminded again yesterday when I found out my aunt has cancer.

I will admit my first thought when I found out about my aunt was "this is not fair". I have given so much of my personal time, energy, money, heart and soul to the ACS and Relay For Life that a small part of me feels like my family should have a free pass, but the reality is cancer does not discriminate. It does not care who you are, how good of a person you are, how much money you have, how many people love and care about you...it just doesn't care. And, life is not fair especially when cancer is involved.

I was so angry when I got home yesterday that I wanted to hit something, I wanted to cause pain and scream and yell. I skipped my workout, didn't really want to talk to anyone, and was not very pleasant most of the evening. I finally called and talked to my aunt and that helped a lot. She is not having a pity party by any means. She is glad to know what is going on and why she has not been feeling well, and is ready to find out what the treatment options are and developing her treatment plan. She is going to fight cancer and put it in it's place.

I was able to calm down after talking to her and while I still hate cancer, I'm not angry like I was yesterday. By 9 last night I was so tired I could hardly keep my eyes open. I couldn't figure out why I was so tired and then I realized all that angry hate wore me out emotionally and mentally. It takes a lot of energy to be that angry for any length of time. I will never let go of my hate for cancer, but I will put the anger aside so that I can fight it smarter and more productively, and so I can be there for my aunt.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Adoption Site

Mark has created a website so that birth mothers can find out more about who we are. Check it out at markyeatman.com.

I think he has done a great job with it! With our profile we wanted to be so perfect and present the best yet most truthful image we could. I think the website gives potential birth mothers an opportunity to see how much we truly enjoy life and that we are not perfect and can be silly.

Going through all the photos to figure out which ones should go on the site was a great reminder of all the things we have done and time we have spent with family and friends. We have done some really cool things and seen some beautiful sights! It also reminded me of how much I love my husband. We have so much fun together, even if we are just "sitting around" at home.

Please let us know if you have any feedback, we are open to suggestions to make the site better.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Perfect Sunday

I love Football Sunday's! Especially the kind of Sunday's that I stay in PJ's all day, no shower/make-up/or hair doing, sit on the couch and watch football all day, eat and drink what I want when I want, and just chill.

It is even better when the team I want to win wins! It would only be better if it were the Steelers playing, but I really like the Colts and Peyton Manning is the best QB in the league and the most funny in TV commercials.

Now I hope the Saints can get it done and make it to the SB!

The icing on the cake for the day...we got our elk meat yesterday! Elk meat tacos for dinner tonight while watching the late game. It does not bet much better!

Friday, January 22, 2010

Winning Touchdown Moment

I had one of those moments last night at dodgeball. You know the moment when the game winning touchdown is scored in the last seconds of the super bowl and the team goes wild. Yes it was that good!

A little set up: Last week we decided the girls would shag balls, meaning we would retrieve them and have them ready for the guys who were throwing. As a result I ended up being the last person in for my team 4 games in a row. The fact is I can't throw hard enough accurately enough to get the guys on the other teams out, so I was thrown out all 4 times. I realized that if I were good at catching I could have gotten them out that way, so decided I need some practice, which brings us to last night.

Prior to our game starting I asked Jeff, one of my teammates, to help me practice catching. We have learned that catching to get the other team out is key in the league. So Jeff hurled ball after ball at me as hard as he could and I caught them, one after another. I finally stopped because I didn't want to wear out his arm prior to game time, I cut my hand during warm up and it was bleeding like mad, and I was feeling good about being able to catch.

During the first game I caught a few balls and got people out, and over all we played pretty well won a few matches, but ended up losing the game by one match. The next team we played is the number one team in the league, they have only lost one game and had beat us badly our first week.

It was a ruff game, the guys can throw, harder than any other team and the girls on their team were dangerous! They could throw and catch like crazy. But, amazingly we were up 2 matches to 1 and the game was going great until I find myself the last person left for my team and their two best throwers left for their team. I was not happy! Not sure how I did it but I hit one of the guys and got him out, which left it one on one. When it's one on one we are allowed to cross the center line and go after the last player, as I was the only one with a ball I went after him, threw and missed. So I started back peddling as fast as I could to get ready to dodge the ball he is going to throw at me. He throws...hard (still have a red mark where it hit me) and I catch it! Yes that is right I caught a ball thrown by the 2nd best thrower on their team and won that match for us! It was awesome! My team went crazy and ref told me it was the most amazing catch he has ever seen, and the look on the other guys face was priceless. He could not believe I caught the ball!

It was my shinning moment of the night. The best part was for the rest of the night he would go to throw at me and would stop and target someone else. He was not going to let me catch another one of his balls. Ultimately we ended up losing the game to them. They are fierce, but I still had my moment and felt on top of the world, or at least the dodgeball world, for a few minutes!

Thursday, January 21, 2010

5 Times

I realized this morning while I was on the phone with 911 that this is the 5th time in 5 years that we have had to call the police. That seems like a lot to me. I have only personally called 911 once in my life prior to buying this house!

It all started this morning with me waking up to someone yelling, "Help me, please someone help me" over and over and over. I woke Mark up and he told me to call 911 while he debated going outside to see what was going on. Dispatch said it was a good idea to just stay in the house and let the police handle it.

An hour later the responding officer calls to let me know he is outside the house and can't find anything out of place. I let him know that I had called an hour prior and had not heard the yelling for some time. He apologized for taking so long to respond...apparently there was a bomb threat and they are short staffed and didn't have an officer to send our direction.

Hopefully whoever needed the help got it and all is well. Mark's comment as he was falling back to sleep, "I want to live in the country". The only problem with that is that if you live far enough out 911 can't find your house when you need them to. Learned that as a child growing up in the country.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Goal Update

A few weeks ago I posted that I am participating in an 8 week challenge for the New Year. My challenge is to not get so irritated with Mark when I perceive him as talking to me like I’m a 2 year old. Since the challenge has started he has not made any “2 year old” comments directed at me, so I have yet to test how I’m actually doing, but I have still learned a lot!

I decided a good starting spot would be to read the 5 Love Languages and I am about ½ way through the book. What I have learned is that while we don’t have the typical “major” marital issues, I still have room for improvement. I say I because the only person I have 100% control over in life is me.

I think over the last 4 years of volunteering with Relay I got used to not having much time to spend with Mark and being away from home 3 or 4 nights a week. I don’t believe absence makes the heart grow fonder…I think it makes the heart grow independent! I can honestly say I’m not used to spending so much time at home or with Mark. While I love spending time with him and I love our home I started taking it for granted and started thinking about me and not us.

The 5 Love Languages has helped me to make mental lists of what I love about Mark and us and one of the things that struck me is I love the very quality about him that irritates me. He is so good at answering questions when kids want to know why or how. He knows how to give them a grown up answer in terms they can understand. It is one of the things that make me so excited to have a child with him. So why is it that it bothers me so much when he explains things to me? It’s not really fare for me to expect him to change such a core quality about himself when he is around me. The bottom line is I’m the one that needs to change, not him.

I have found that using the tools in the book has helped me remember the qualities about Mark that I fell in love with in the first place. While the book may help me with my goal for the 8 week challenge the bigger benefit is it is helping me realize why I love him and what kind of wife I want to be and that is only going to benefit our marriage.

I’m sure there will still be days that I get irritated at him and days that I’m not the best wife I could be (big secret…I’m not perfect) but I feel like I’m headed in the right direction at least.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Baby Shower and a Funeral

This weekend was an emotionally odd one for me. I spent Saturday afternoon at a Baby shower celebrating a new life entering this world. And then Sunday went to a funeral.

I didn't know Nadia, but Mark talked about her often and from what he told me I knew she was a special person. After the service today my heart is truly sad for all her friends, family, co-workers, and the world in general. The world needs people like Nadia in it and she left too soon.

I can't wait to meet Josh and Meka's new family member towards the end of March and I'm sad that I never had the chance to get to know Nadia. I think she was someone I would have been better for knowing.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Dodgie Style Won!

That's right folks we finally won a game. We tried out a new strategy last night...girls shagged (as in retrieving balls and giving them to the nailers) and guys were catchers and nailers (nailers have good aim and arm strength for throwing and catchers...well they catch balls the other team throws).

Having clear roles worked! We started the night with an overtime lose in our first game, but we kicked booty in the second game 5 or 7 (I forget) matches to 0! It was great to get a win finally.

Mark, Andy, me, Josh, Bob, Jeff, Kaleena, Dave after the win!

Waiting for the whistle to blow starting our first game.

Mark (Lebron James) Yeatman


A little ball play.
So glad it is Friday today. What a long week it has been. But, it was great to win and celebrate at the West End with some beer after the game.
The weekend ahead is full of life...celebrating a new life coming into the world at a friends baby shower on Saturday and remembering the life of an amazing woman at her funeral Sunday.



Thursday, January 14, 2010

Sky's First Package

I was excited to find 3 boxes waiting for Sky when I got home yesterday. My sister (jam) packed 3 boxes of clothing and items from when her and I were kids, dress-up dresses from when my Mom was younger, clothing from my nieces, princess outfits from my nieces, and blankets from when we were kids.

It was so fun to go through all the boxes and find outfits from when her and I were babies that are still in good enough shape for Sky to wear! Lot's of memories in that box with blankets, clothing and a doll from when we were kids. I can't wait to share all of the memories with Sky. With all the cloths from my nieces Sky will now need more closet space than what I have for myself! I'm not complaining though. My sister and nieces have excellent taste and even the "play" cloths are supper cute. I was excited to receive some of the very outfits I have admired on my nieces through the years! Sky is going to be one stylish little girl!

Currently everything is spread out on the nursery floor so Mark and I could look at everything. My next task is to put everything away in the closet according to size. My plan is to keep tops and bottoms on the same hanger so when I need an outfit I can grab one hanger and have everything I need (learned that tip from Michelle Beckham!). I have all the cloths hanging by size so that I can start with the NB stuff and work my way through all the outfits as she grows. The odds and ends jeans, sweats, shirts, zip-up's, pj's, and onesies are all folded and on the shelves in the closet again by size. Who knows if the organization will last once the sleep deprivation sets in, but I'm going to try and keep it organized so it is just as easy for Mark as it is for me to dress Sky for whatever the occasion is.

It made me smile to see the boxes address to Sky Yeatman. Soon, at least I hope it will be soon, Sky will find her way to her forever home.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Snakes

We have a snake in the house, but it didn't do what it was supposed to! Every 6-9 months the drains in one or both of the bathtubs backs up and we have had to call a plumber every time. After the 3rd time we finally got screens for both of the drains and that makes a huge difference in my bathtub, but apparently not Mark's. His bathtub has been backed up for a week now.

So, I suggested we get our own snake and snake the drain ourselves to save money. Yea right...it didn't do a dang thing. So yet again Mark called the plumber who came out this morning with what Mark said was an R2D2 looking thing that powered a snake the cleaned out the drain.

The diagnosis...the screens don't stop all the soap scum from getting through and we have old plumbing and it is going to back up now and then.

We can replace the plumbing in Mark's bathroom for around $1,300.00. (while it needs to be done it's not high on my list considering we are paying for an adoption!). Mark is planning a remodel on the bathroom at some point and before we put new flooring, bathtub, sink, counters etc. we will replace the plumbing.

I find it ironic that we will probably be done with the big remodel type projects right about the time we are ready to move into the next house. Mark is convinced we will just decide to stay in the current house, but I'm pretty sure space will be an issue...we are already out of it and don't even have the baby yet. And, Mark and I are not hoarders and don't keep things we don't use and/or need so creating more space through cleaning out is not going to work.

I am just thankful that non of our remodel projects have been because we needed to do them. (Except for when the kitchen flooded when we were on our hunnymoon. We had no choice the flooring and walls had to be replaced.) The house was newly remodeled when we moved in, so everything we are doing is personal taste and is not needed to make the house presentable.

Secretly I think Mark likes having projects...it gives him something to plan and work on and he likes that.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Baby Registry Fun

Michelle let me know that the shower invitations were being sent out today, so that means it was time for me to finish my registry. (I can't wait to see what the invitations look like! I gave Michelle complete control over the shower and only know the date, time, and location). I was holding off on the clothing because the turn over at Babies R Us is pretty fast so things I registered for 3 or 4 months ago would be gone by now.

I went in yesterday to finish the registry and had so much fun "shopping" for cute baby cloths, but I also felt a little bad. You see I can't stand trying to buy clothing off of peoples registries! It is nearly impossible to know if you are really getting the item that is listed on the registry unless you read all the bar codes. The registry description may say 0-3 month train, but how do I know for sure that I'm getting the right train outfit of the 4 that are hanging there (that is if you can find a train outfit at all!)? Only if I compare bar codes do I know. To avoid the hassle I usually make it a policy to just not buy clothing. In fact while I was completing my registry Sunday I picked up a shower gift for a girlfriends shower this coming Saturday and it was not clothing!

Despite knowing my friends and family are going to pull their hair out trying to find the exact pink dress, or cute leopard print leggings I had fun scanning all the cute little dresses, onesies, pajamas, shoes, hats, and booties! (There are a few outfits that I really hope I get and if I don't I am going to go get them myself!)

It was a little challenging though, because we have no idea when we will get a baby, so while all the spring/summer things are out we may get her in the dead middle of next winter. I tried to make sure everything I registered for can either be worn with a shirt under it, or a zip-up or sweater over it. There are a lot of sweaters, zip-ups, and solid colored short and long sleeve onesies on the registry so that I can layer if needed. Shoes tripped me up as well. Are crib shoes really needed? Is sticking with booties better? In my mind they don't really need shoes until they are walking, but then I see all these cute shoes in such small sizes and how do I pass them up? (I have been trying really hard to be practical and only register for things that I think we will really use and need. I can say that my girlfriends register is over twice as long as mine so I think I have done a good job sticking to the needed items and not the fun frivolous ones). I did end up picking a couple of really cute little shoes to go with a couple of the outfits I registered for.

The strangest thing of all is being the only non-pregnant person there registering. All these couples and cute pregnant ladies are scanning away and there I am not pregnant with no "when are you due and what hospital are you using" conversation to share. I felt like I was in one of those "what doesn't fit in this picture" settings.

It was still fun though and I love shopping without spending a dime!

Friday, January 8, 2010

Worn Out

I have this love hate relationship with dodgeball. Part of the reason I joined the team was so that I could get a different work out then what I normally do. Well with 3 or 4 girls and only 2 girls playing at a time I end up sitting out at least every other game, if not 2 games in a row. (Each match is 20 minutes and you play as many games as possible in 20 minutes. A game last however long it takes for one team to get all the other teams players out...usually about 3 to 4 minutes.) With all the sitting it does not end up being a very good work out...I hardly ever even work up a sweat. Since we had the late time slot last night I was able to do Zumba class and then go play dodgeball. I thought this would give me a good work out before dodgeball and then I could enjoy dodgeball and not be frustrated that I'm giving up a workout for nothing. Well...let me tell you getting up this morning was not easy. Not only am I sore, but my body is tired! I feel so worn out I can hardly stand it. Not sure that Zumba before dodgeball was the greatest idea.

We sported out team shirts last night with the custom Dodgie Style (yes that is the team name...one of the guys came up with it...go figure!) logo on the back...it looked so good that the organizers took our team photos with all of our backs to the camera! The took one with us all facing the camera as well, but they insisted on getting a photos of our backs! It was great. Too bad we have yet to win a match. We did play better last night though. Tied both our matches at the end of the 20 minutes and both went into 2 minute overtimes, both of witch we lost. Maybe next week we will win.

Today - I am going shopping tonight for some more workout cloths. I can't keep up with the wash between workouts and need at least enough tops and bottoms to get me through a whole week. I sweat way to much to wear anything two workouts in a row without washing! Ross and Marshall's here I come. They have the best cloths for way less and I refuse to pay a lot of money for clothing that I am going to the gym in. To all the gym Barbies it is not a fashion show! Who cares if you have designer workout gear or not...your just going to sweat in it anyway!

Just had to get that last little bit out.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Beautiful Start to the Morning

Driving in this morning the sunrise and Mt. Rainier were amazingly beautiful. The cotton candy pink clouds floating in a vibrant orange and pink sky were amazing and Mt. Rainier looked like a regal king in sharp contrast to all the color.

(At times like that I kick myself for not having my camera with me. I wanted a small camera to keep in my purse for just such occasions. My goal is to start carrying my camera with me all the time!)

I appreciated the beauty as I drove in. It was the perfect way to help me be peaceful on my in to what has become a toxic work environment the last few days. I’m sure in time things will be sorted out, but until then it is not easy to be in the office.

On an up note I am so loving my Zumba classes. The first few months were hard because I didn’t know the steps and couldn’t get the “flavor” down with all the hip action. But, now that I know the steps to the dances and songs, I have been able to focus on the flavor and taking it up to the next high energy level. As a result the workouts have been so much more intense. I can barely walk when class is over and am drenched in sweat after every class. I love feeling like I am getting a great work out and I really love knowing my body can keep up.
I decided I need to start up the “what I’m thankful for or excited about” piece of the blog again. It helps counteract the negativity from work and news that I feel like I’m bombarded with daily.
Today – I am really looking forward to dodgeball tonight and catching up with Shannon. She has been MIA the last few weeks and I know she will end up making me laugh and we will have fun throwing balls at other people.

Adoption – I read an article that talked about the importance of Mark and I being the only ones that hold the baby and care for her for the first month in order to help with bonding. It will help her become familiar with our smell, voices, and assure her that we will always be there for her every time she needs us. Somehow I think we will have a hard time selling that idea to the family. I don’t see them waiting a month to hold the new addition. It does make me hope that we are required to stay in state with her, provided we have to travel to another state, for at least 2 weeks…that will be a good start on the three of us bonding.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Tired...

I'm so tired of the killing and violence and memorial services. It breaks my heart that we have lost 5 officers in Pierce County in such a short time. For the second time I cried my way through a memorial service.

I hope that this is the end of it. I really do.

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Sick Husband

Yesterday night was a bad night for Mark for sure. Don't know if he ate something bad or had a tummy bug of some sort, but he was really sick. Almost went to the ER sick. Started getting sick at 4pm on the dot, and it just got worse and worse as the evening went on.

I ended up calling has Dad, it is nice having a Dr. in the family, and Gentry came over and brought something to help with the nausea and that was a life saver! Mark was up and down all night getting sick over and over...it was a long night for both of us. I knew he was starting to feel better when he made a joke about me being a better nurse if I was in a sexy nurses outfit. That was around 2ish this morning...him joking was a good indication that the nausea was at least under control.

Today, he has slept a lot and is still only eating jello and clear fluids.

Hopefully he will be back to 100% tomorrow.

Friday, January 1, 2010

New Years Eve

We had a wonderful NYE Party last night with Bob & Michelle and the girls, Josh & Meka & Devin. We played a crazy Wii dance game and a few other games. The funniest was the dance game, but my favorite was glow-in-the-dark pictionary with Grace's neon light up drawing thing. We had fun with that.

And because I am too lazy today to upload pics here is the link to Christmas and NYE.

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmarkyeatman.smugmug.com%2FHolidays%2FNewYears%2FNewYears2009%2F10821475_fDScj%2F1%2F754699041_7wXwJ&h=aa9c5aea765a57ee1585787166941b51

Oh...we have all our pictures and art hung back up from all the painting and carpeting. Now that the living room is back to normal and all the Christmas stuff is packed I will take some pics and post those sometime this weekend. This is the frist time our living room has been "normal" since the day after Thanksgiving!