Elvis Has Left The Building

Well, a few weeks ago we came to a crossroads with Elvis--our four door, little, blue Mazda.  We needed to make a decision.  Elvis got sick again and we had to determine if continually fixing it and the amount of fixing the car was worth continuing to keep the car.  We needed to make a decision as we got word of the three possibilities of Elvis' current ailments at the time, which included two  possibilities that were pointing to a future catastrophic engine failure.

I had a day trip out of town that weekend, and after remembering how many times I have had to either find another ride or pray that Elvis would just make it to a location in one piece even a half hour away, decisions had to be made.  We especially needed to make the decision as us having a larger family needing more seating meant that whomever parent stayed home with the kiddos as the other one ventured out, meant we had no choice but to leave the better and healthier vehicle at home with the remaining parent and for the kiddos in order to get around to various activities and such.  That continual realization meant that the other parent would have to take the older, sickly vehicle on road trips.

So when Scot called me up with the news about the Mazda's condition, we made a decision that it was time for Elvis to go.  We were excited with our new choice of vehicle but I have to say when the dealership drove the little Mazda away, tears filled my eyes and I got a huge lump in my throat.  Now part of this could have been a factor contributed by my current pregnancy, and the fact that Little Man ran to the dealership doors crying for the Mazda's return (though his tears may have been simply because he thought that his daddy was driving away with out him), but I thought about the 10+ years of memory we had with that car and the places it forged with us.  However, what struck me the most was the fact that I simply didn't get the opportunity to say my good-byes (yes, silly I know but it is true) to a tool that God had used to teach me more about how to be more Christ-like in love, grace and mercy.  The things that have happened with and to that car and how God used those experiences to mold me into a better Christian is what meant most to me as I have already shared some of those stories with you.  And I think it is okay that I cried.  When I look at pictures of that car from now on, I will remember that little, old, blue Mazda and the stories she and I could tell.  Farewell Mazda...sniff sniff sniff...sadly "Elvis has left the building" and may that car continue to "shake, rattle and roll" somewhere even if it is just in my heart and memories. 

Our Home Office

Whelp, for now I am back on the subject of how to use what you have and how to make what you have work while being blessed by God's provisions for what you have at the same time.  As you all have gathered by now because I have no less driven the point home (Ha! Ha! Love my choice of words!) over and over again, our current house is rather small, especially for our future family of six--well at least that is what some people choose to believe.  As you all may have gathered, our family size and the size of this house may not really allow for a home office.

We have a three bedroom house.  There is a master bedroom for Scot and I, one room for the girls and one room for the boys; therefore, there isn't a room that we can dedicate to a home office and with smaller living spaces for a dining room, a kitchen and a living room, making a small area in such rooms were simply not an option for us even back when we were about to have our second child.  We wanted Precious (my new nickname for our 2nd daughter for this blog) to have a nursery of her own, which was our current office; therefore, we had to find a solution.

Our solution was to get rid of our desk top computer and replace it with a brand new laptop.  So we went out and did just that and bought a new laptop and got rid of our old desk top computer.  Now you are probably thinking what happened to other items that are often needed and are used with a home office, such as a printer and a desk. 

Well, we got rid of the desk...well actually no we did not.  We actually moved the desk out of the office into a corner of our master bedroom for me to use as a place to scrapbook.  Yes, I enjoy scrap booking a great deal and I usually work on an album or two once or twice a week at least.  But when it comes to an office desk, we don't have one anymore.  We got a black laptop bag to carry and store a few items besides just the laptop itself.  When we have mail come into the house, we sort it immediately that day so there is not a pile of mail needing a desk to sit upon.  We get rid of any unwanted mail, we place our bills in one specific location and coupons in another location in the hutch; therefore, the need for a desk for such items is eliminated.

As for the printer and printer paper as well as ink cartridges, we have them stored in the linen/hallway closet upstairs while we store our laptop case in another closet.  So when we need to use any of these "home office" items, we simply pull them out of their assigned locations and remain clutter free.  But essentially our home office consists of a laptop, a laptop bag and a little bit of closet space!  It works for us on so many levels!

No Sedation

Well in this post, I am switching gears quite a bit compared to my previous posts.  I am taking a break from talking about our house, projects and current kitchen renovation (which is about 80% done at this point) in order to update you on our eldest son. I thought that it was a good time to update you all on Little Man in regards to his G.I. and urinary reflux (kidney functions). 

First, we are truly blessed that Little Man has been successfully weened from Prevacid! Excluding one dose needed a few weeks ago, he has been off the medicine for several weeks now.  He has had no problem eating and such since being weened from the meds.  He did come down with a G.I. bug at the beginning of this summer that took him a while to rebound from, but that seems to be how his body will handle such illnesses so that seems to be the norm for him.  He also has become an extremely picky eater since that virus, but he is healthy and eating just the same.

As far as his kidney functions go, he will be having his next renal scan on September 12th at 1:30PM and we will be given the results at his appointment with his urologist the following day.  Little Man is a strong-willed as well as a physically strong two-year-old toddler.  We were hoping that we would be able to have him sedated for this upcoming test, due to how things went the last go round and the tears and such that were shed.  Unfortunately, the local hospitals in our area for which Little Man's urologist has access to, have denied such requests and have refused performing such tests on children that include sedation.  The closest hospital that was able and willing to provide sedation, was an hour away from our location; therefore, we did decline and decided to continue to use the same hospital and staff that we have grown familiar with for now.  We would love prayers in regards to how we will help ease Little Man's anxieties over the test, and how we will be able to keep him quite and contained for the 55 minute test, not including the prep time that is also associated with such a procedure.

My OBGYN has also been keeping an eye out for A Mac, as she said that sometimes conditions like Little Man's kidneys, can be hereditary.  As of the last ultra sound, his kidneys were functioning well!  We will look again on our final ultra sound as A Mac's birth draws closer.

White Noise

So for some reason at this time, my blog seems to be turning into learning how to wait patiently for what you desire and learning how to be blessed by what you currently have; and to be grateful too, especially when it comes to our small house and our desire to have a larger one some day sooner rather than later, but as other things have taken shape this week like poor, poor Elvis (aka Mazda) having to be taken for an unexpected trip to the car doctors and not knowing if our shake, rattle and roller is going to be able to recover this time or not, which may force us to dig into our purses a little bit for newer transportation, is showing us that God has a different plan for us still. 

I do know that compared to other countries, our house would be a mansion, including the current chaos that our kitchen renovation has caused and the inconveniences it has caused me.  What seems horrid to me, like not having a working dishwasher or a working kitchen sink and a mess everywhere in a small house, would seem like nothing to others as they would be at least blessed to have plumbing and the capability of using various other faucets with in the home to accomplish a given task.  As I periodically discussed with other women from my church this weekend while at a scrap booking event, often times the woes of our lives here in this country are that of "first-world" problems and in retrospect they may not even be real problems at all to other people around the globe.  Anyways... going off on a big opening tangent aren't I? 

Let's get to the real root of why I am writing today.  Like I had just previously mentioned, my current theme of this blog at this time has morphed into learning to be blessed with what you have and to deal with what has been provided you; and right now, that is currently our house, the little shoe, and perhaps poor ol' Elvis.  Anyways, so I thought as we learn how to make things work for our growing family while taking care of our various financial obligations, I'd pass things on to my readers.  So today's topic is a brief idea of something that we do.

All three of our bedrooms are on the top floor, with one small linen closet and a bathroom that includes a small laundry closet.  It is a small hallway that also includes an open stairwell feature, which looks great but carries various noises more easily.  So with having our bedrooms on such close proximity to each other and the designed features that are associated, one could hear other noises a bit more easier than in other houses; therefore, what we have done is add white noise to nap times and bedtimes.  Each room has at least one fan.  I have two fans in my room currently, but that is because I am pregnant and I get hot easily.  The girls have two fans in their room only because Skye needed one for her top bunk because she got hot, and so we got her a clip on one for her top bunk.

Anyways, we turn on those fans and we sleep well!  I have had children cry out in the middle of the night and even turn on lights while their roommate is sleeping and they sleep right through the noise and ruckus!  We have had kids wet the bed and get sick and have been forced to change sheets with out another kid waking up.  Little Man's room is right beside the girls' room and he likes to sleep with his door wide open because he just can't miss a thing and has to feel a part of the family all of the time even as he sleeps.  We have nights when he has screamed and pitched quite a fit for various reasons and the girls have never been bothered by him.

So with the help of white noise, like fans, we get a good sleep.  It helps the noises of a small house like when Scot and I laugh or watch a movie after the kids go to sleep.  We don't have to whisper in fear that the noise will carry upstairs and wake up the kids.  Just a suggestion for anyone who may need it, especially if you are in a small house.