Christmas 2 & 3 – Mostly Good, a little bad & one ugly

We celebrated Christmas #2 (our family Christmas at home) on the Wednesday night before Christmas, and it was a really sweet time. I was totally {pleasantly} surprised when Son gave me a GPS & a digital picture frame!! We had agreed not to spend much on each other this year, and I had picked out a new purse when we were in Texas that I bought as my Christmas, but apparently Son didn't stick to the rules {not that I really mind too much} J.

Beau with his new toy!

Collin opening one of his presents - like most babies the bows & wrapping paper were his favorite presents!

Son loaded pictures on the digital frame for me last night so I was able to enjoy it all day at work today…it was really nice when something stressful came up to be able to just take a mini time-out & scroll through the pictures to find a new favorite to display. Now I can't wait to get the GPS set-up in my car! I am going over to my friend Angela's house tonight for an Arbonne party that she is having, and even though I have been there a billion times I think I will try out the GPS to get there J

Christmas #3 (with Son's family in Pensacola) had a really rocky start {here comes the ugly} when we got a call about an hour outside of Pensacola that Son's dad's store had been robbed when he was closing up that day and that his dad was at the ER. The robber hit Son's dad with something (we have no idea what) and he ended up having to get about 30-stitches in his face – it was terrible! Needless to say we were praying for him the rest of the way there & we were so happy to see him when he got home that night! Seriously, what kind of person would so something like that – and on Christmas Eve of all times…the only explanation is that we live in a fallen, sinful world and there are crazy people out there. However, we all kept saying how we know that God was watching out for him because it could have been so much worse. We were just thankful that his injuries weren't any worse than they were.

After we {somewhat} got over the shock of that terrible event, we found out that Son's brother, Hao, with his wife Alex & son Gavin were not able to get a flight out of Colorado like they had planned (they had been there skiing all week). They were stranded there for a day {bad}, but finally made it home to Miami on Christmas Day. Unfortunately only Hao was able to make it to Pensacola the day after Christmas, but we were so glad that at least he was able to come.

On Christmas Day we enjoyed spending time with Son's sister Tram, Brian, and their son, Jaeden {this is the good}. They live in Hawaii & we just don't get to see them enough! I know that Collin & Jaeden would be good buddies if they lived closer together. We also got to spend time with Son's twin brother, Quoc, his wife Kim, and their daughter Lilo {also good}. I think Lilo is just about the sweetest baby in the whole world – but boy does she love her grandmother – any time that Son's mom tried to hold Collin, Lilo was very jealous – it was pretty cute to watch!

Before lunch time I started to work on making some cookies & some of the side dishes for the Christmas dinner when I started to feel sick…uh oh {here comes more of the bad}. Son had a 24-hour stomach virus last weekend, but Collin and I had been able to stay healthy so far – until Christmas Day. Let's just say that Son, Tram, and Kim all had to finish the cooking for me & I was pretty much confined to our bedroom upstairs & the bathroom all day Christmas Day & all the next morning…yuck! I missed Christmas dinner & wasn't able to watch the kids all open their Christmas gifts. The worst part was that once I started to feel a little better Brian was sick, and by the time we left to go home both Kim & Lilo were sick also…I feel so terrible that we brought it with us!!

Unfortunately since I was sick I really neglected the picture taking - but here is a great picture that I got the morning that we left - Tram, Me (Son's mom), Son, Collin & Hao.

So that is a wrap-up of all things Christmas – overall it was a great trip & we are still thankful that Son's dad is doing well!

Definitely a First Christmas that we will NEVER forget…

Collin's favorite toy

Seriously he will play with this thing forever! Looks like I need to wrap more presents so he can get another one...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas (again)!

Well, I have to admit that after celebrating our Christmas with my family week before last, I had started to feel like Christmas was over…that is until I went to Publix last night! (Yes, I am in love with a grocery store). Anyways, I was looking for jello for Son since he had a stomach bug this weekend, and right next to the jello was the cookie section, and in the cookie section was a package of the most wonderful Christmas cookies ever – Archway Bells & Stars!!!

These cookies bring back great memories – every year I knew that it was getting close to Christmas when my mom & I found that Brookshires had put out the Archway cookies. My mom always had wonderful homemade cookies, but for some reason these store bought goodies were always right up there with the homemade ones! My mom would let me decide which ones to buy (trees, bells, or stars) and they were always covered with Christmas red or green sprinkles…yummy!

I had given up trying to find these in Jacksonville, and figured that it was just another thing I was going to have to live without while in Florida. However, last night when I stumbled upon them I almost yelled with joy in the middle of aisle #7! Of course I had Collin with me – strapped on with our Ergo baby carrier – but when I tried to explain to him how amazingly awesome this discovery was he just didn’t seem to get it :)

I now have a renewed enthusiasm for Christmas (our second & third Christmas) which starts on Wednesday at our house, and then Friday at Son’s parents’ house – yea!!

Although I do have to admit that Archway has gotten a little cheap with the sprinkles, there weren't near as many sprinkles as I remember from the cookies we bought growing up (or compared to the pictures that I got from their website)...but they were still delicious!!

Also, needless to say I ate about half the box last night! But then I forgot to pack any in my lunch today – boo! Maybe I will have time to run to Publix at lunch today to get a box for the office…

Happy Monday!

Julie

Congratulations Becca & Warren!!

Yea!!! My little sister is getting married!! In honor of their engagement I have been searching the web for some great ideas to incorporate into their wedding & I think I found it! Check out this wedding video…

http://www.stupidvideos.com/video/song_dance/New_Wedding_Dance/

And don’t worry Becca, I would be more than happy to choreograph a personalized version for you & Warren!

Giant Christmas Posting

We had an AWESOME trip to Texas this past week - we were so busy that it could take me several pages to go over everything that we did, but here are a few of the highlights & several pictures to tell you about our First Christmas!!





My favorite parts of the trip:





1. Date night with my hubby! We saw a move - The Blind Side (I highly recommend it) and went to dinner at a new seafood restaurant in Tyler (Fish City Market - also very good!) Then we stopped by Brookshire's on the way home to pick up baby wipes :) - boy our dates nights sure have changed!!





2. Sewing with my mom - we always seem to have a project to work on & this time it was making stockings for me, Son & Collin. They turned out great & I just have to find somewhere to take them to have them monogrammed.





3. Eating at my favorite "Texas Only" places: Country Tavern Ribs, Schlotzky's Deli, and Luby's Cafeteria





4. Getting my hair done by Sue - she is the best!!





5. Seeing Collin with all of the family & friends that were able to spend time with him!

6. Seeing my parent's house decorated for Christmas! The lights were up on the house & my mom had literally every room decorated for the holiday - that was a great way to get us in the Christmas spirit early!

7. Son's favorite part of the trip = shooting at the gun range with my dad & visiting about every gun shop in Tyler!





And now for the pictures...feel free to just ignore if you are tired about hearing about how great Texas is or how much fun we had with my family!

Son & Collin in the airport waiting for our flight to Dallas - I came back from getting a Peppermint Mocha at Starbucks & Collin was sitting in his own chair waiting on the plane - what a big boy!

Collin opening his first Christmas gift - pj's from Jimbo & Dede!! Santa couldn't wait - Collin opened several presents before the official celebration...but that's probably a good thing because he had so many!!

The new Hartung Family tradition - matching pj's for the girls that we open Christmas Eve - here are me & Son with my sister, Becca, and her boyfriend Warren.

The girls in our jammies - me, Becca & mom :)

Jimbo & Dede with Collin - they were sweet enough to take Collin each morning at 6:30 when he woke up so that mom & dad could get a little more rest! My mom is probably going to kill me for posting a picture of her in her pj's, but I love this picture, so I am putting it up anyways! Plus, I think she looks great!

Me & mom working on our project - stockings for The Vuong Family!

Collin loved spending time with his great-grandparents Nana & Granddaddy!

We didn't have the baby bathtub with us & Collin is too big for the sink, but he was afraid of the big bathtub & cried every time we tried to put him in...so the only logical thing to do was but on my mom's bathing suit from like 1990 and get in with him. Ha ha!!

Collin was fascinated with Jimbo's glasses & his facial hair!

I don't know about you, but I really don't think Collin got enough for Christmas...poor baby! Good thing we have 2 more Christmas celebrations left! (wink, wink!)

Nana helped us out several nights feeding the baby - here he is trying squash for the first time. He wasn't too sure about it at first, but ended up eating the whole jar!

Collin loves his Auntie Becca!! She is the best baby nail clipper ever - thanks sissy!

Dede and her baby!

Half-naked baby in his Christmas pj bottoms!

The Vuong Family just relaxing!

Aunt Becky - she had the magic touch for getting Collin to sleep and putting him in the crib without waking him up...I wish she lived in Jacksonville!

Cousin Landon!!


Chef Jimbo making us a full breakfast each morning - we had homemade biscuits, bacon, eggs, etc...yummy!!

Aunt Becca & Warren after they gave Collin his Christmas presents - lots of adorable clothes!! They also sent him a really cute walker/scooter to our house that he can open on Christmas.
My sister's new house in Dallas (McKinney) - too cute!! I LOVE it!

Becca, Collin & I take a tour of their new house - the are supposed to close tomorrow, but we all know how that can go - say a little prayer that it goes smoothly!

Is it too soon to start planning the next trip? I looked online at Southwest today & found tickets for $64 each way...

Only 2 years late

So I finally got an iphone! I know, I know...I'm only like 2 years late. Huge post on our trip to Texas coming soon - as soon as I can sort through the 10,000 pictures we took!

Happy Monday!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Top 5 Gifts For New Moms & Our Three Christmases

Here at The Vuong Family we love Christmas sooo much that we are having 3 of them this year, that’s right, Three Christmases!! (and it has nothing to do with the Reese Witherspoon movie that is advertised on TV like every 5 minutes now…although that is a really cute movie, so if you haven’t seen it you should check it out – definitely with $1 at Blockbuster Express)

Anyways…our first Christmas celebration is this Saturday with my family in Tyler, TX. We always have Christmas Eve with the whole family (Grandparents, Aunt & Cousins), and then Christmas Morning with my parents & sister. We are doing our “Christmas Eve” on Saturday night & I am so looking forward to it!! Mainly I am looking forward to seeing Collin enjoy his first Christmas holiday with family!!

Our Second Christmas will be with just the 3 of us in Jacksonville. We haven’t made any plans yet, but I am imagining us sitting around the tree in the living room watching Collin “open” his presents from Santa & exchanging gifts with each other. Santa will be coming to the Vuong house a little early this year (I am thinking maybe 23rd) since we will be leaving on the 24th for our Third Christmas!

Our Third Christmas will be in Pensacola with Son’s family. We are so excited because the whole family will be there at the same time!! Son’s sister Tram and her son Jaeden will be in from Hawaii, and Son’s older brother, Hao, will be in from Miami with his wife, Alex, and son, Gavin. Son’s twin brother, Quoc lives in Pensacola so we will get to visit with him, Kim & Lilo also! I am really looking forward to having everyone together.

It is a little bitter sweet because this will be the first Christmas in 27 years that I am not in TX with my family, but Son, Collin & I are just being flexible with the holidays to make sure that we get to spend as much time with everyone as possible, and we really didn’t want to miss Tram & Hao and their families if we weren’t there for Christmas Day.

In honor of our First Christmas being just 2 days away, here is my list of Top 5 Christmas Gifts for New Moms:

5. Peterbrooke’s Chocolate Covered Popcorn (www.peterbrooke.com) – seriously I could eat like 10 pounds of this stuff it is SO GOOD!! This is a tradition in The Vuong Family & I know that I am guaranteed to get a bag of it either on my BDay, Mother’s Day, or any other occasion. And bonus for new moms – breastfeeding totally takes care of all the extra calories, so go ahead and eat the whole bag without the guilt! (No, I didn’t get any free chocolate for writing this, but maybe if I send them a link to my blog?? It could possibly work!!)

4. Ann Taylor Loft Gift Card (www.anntaylorloft.com) –because let’s just face it, your old clothes are probably never going to fit you quite the same any more, whether they are too small or too big, it’s just not the same. And if it is the same for you then I really don’t want to hear about it & you can donate your gift card to the rest of us who are practically having to but an entire new wardrobe.

3. Extra Affection / Attention – we all know that babies are ADORABLE, but carrying around the most adorable little bundle ever can sometimes make a new mom feel a little not-so-adorable, so go ahead and give her a few extra hugs & kisses when you see her!

2. A Spa Pedicure – seriously, I had not had a pedicure in 7 ½ months – there is just something wrong with that!! That is, until today when I got one at lunch - yea!!

1. Date Night with Hubby – thanks to Dede & Jimbo (my parents) I will be enjoying this gift at our First Christmas next week in TX!

As you can see, you don’t have to spend a lot of money to give that special new mom on your list the best gift ever!!

What, tomorrow is December??

I hope that everyone had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving!! I know that we were very busy, Son was working a lot, but we had a great time and ate lots of good food! And I cannot believe that tomorrow is December...seriously, where did 2009 go??

Here is a one of the highlights of our holiday last week – the Greenburg Turkey!!! (http://www.gobblegobble.com/) These are the best turkeys around & my parents were nice enough to ship one to us just in time for Thanksgiving! We had to get a picture of Collin with the bag because he was about the same size as the turkey – seriously it was huge! It was so yummy!!
After we ate on Thursday, we got out all the Christmas decorations & put up the tree. I think this is our new family tradition!! Growing up we always went to Austin for our family Thanksgiving and put the tree up when we got back to Tyler, but with Son working in retail he is soooo busy the day after Thanksgiving, so we put out tree up that day. We had fun getting everything out & Collin was content watching us put all of the ornaments on the tree. Here is Collin playing with some of the decorations & what the tree looked like when we were finished.


Of course that wore us all out and Collin crashed out on the floor with a belly full of “turkey milk”.

Friday Son had to be at work at 5am - I seriously don’t know how he does it!! He wanted a set of surround sound speakers that were on special for part of his Christmas present, so Collin & I got up and were there right after they opened at 6am to buy the speakers for Son. (**Note: Son told me not to worry about getting up early since he thought they would have plenty, but I was so worried about them selling out that we were there right at 6 – later that day when Son came home he told me that there were still 6 sets left! Oh well…if we hadn’t gotten up early they would have all been sold out!) After that we came home for a while until after Collin’s morning nap, and then we headed out again for more shopping. Collin is my little partner in crime! He loves shopping as long as he is in the stroller being pushed around. This probably won’t last much longer, so I am going to take advantage as long as I can before he realizes that shopping is for girls J

Saturday Collin & I stayed home most of the morning playing while Son went to work (of course, Beau had a great time playing too).

Saturday when Son got home we all headed down to St. Augustine for some outlet shopping! And then we went to the Night of Lights in downtown St. Augustine – it was a little chilly, but we had a great time. It was so pretty & we got some good pictures…



For some reason Collin decided to wake up at 4:30am on Saturday & Sunday morning! But thankfully Son was nice & got up with him on Sunday so I could sleep in a little. Son also made us pancakes for breakfast – yummy!! Collin looked like such a bog boy when we got him ready for church that we took a few more pictures.


Next up is our trip to TEXAS on Friday!!! I CANNOT WAIT!!

We're going to need some more tissues before the Holidays are over!

So last night I had just put Collin to bed and Son & I were watching House. This commercial comes on with a mom holding/rocking her baby next to the Christmas Tree in the middle of the night, the dad comes in and the mom says something like, “what are you doing up, it’s 2am”? The dad then plugs in the Christmas Tree and says something like “I know, but it’s baby’s first Christmas”.

Well, that’s all it took – I totally lost it…

I started thinking about how this will be Collin’s first Christmas, how blessed we are this year, and all of the things that I want to do with him this holiday season, and the tears were streaming down my face.

I think Son was totally confused, but he did his best to be understanding (without laughing too much)! I was actually laughing a little at myself too that a commercial could make me so emotional. Truth be told, I think that we are both really excited about Collin’s first Christmas.

I really tried to find the commercial online because I wanted to add a link here, but I couldn’t find it. I think it was like a Hallmark commercial or something, but by the time they actually advertised the company/product I was crying too hard! Unfortunately I really don’t watch much TV these days (except for House) so the chances of me seeing it again are pretty slim – if you happen to see it PLEASE let me know what company it is so that I can try to find it.

Have a great day!

Julie

Julie-ology

My friend Angela tagged me to do this as a note on Facebook, but I thought that I would add it to my blog also...so here's a bunch of random things about Mrs. Vuong :)

***********FOODOLOGY***************

What is your salad dressing of choice?
Tie between Buttermilk Ranch (my mom makes the best) & the Ginger dressing that you get a Japanese Steakhouses (which we happened to go to for lunch today (yummy!!)

What is your favorite sit-down restaurant?
This is a really hard one! I think if I had to pick one it would be Marker 32, a really nice local place here on the water - perfect for date night!

What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of?
Spinach Dip (A weird thing about me is that I absolutely HATE mayonnaise, but there are a few things with mayo in them that I just can't get enough of - spinach dip, my mom's spaghetti pasta salad & ranch dressing) Seriously, I have to like hold my nose when I make these recipes but after it's all mixed together I pretend that I forgot to add the mayo & eat it like there's no tomorrow!

What are your pizza toppings of choice? mushrooms & black olives (thin crust please)

What do you like to put on your toast? Cinnamon Sugar - I actually had this for breakfast today :)

***********TECHNOLOGY***************

How many televisions are in your house?
4 -- one in the living room, one in our bedroom, one in the guest bedroom, and one in the garage (above the treadmill that I haven't used in like 7 months - I need to get back on that thing!!)

What color cell phone do you have?
silver Q Phone - not the coolest thing around, but it's a work phone & I refuse to carry 2 cell phones around

***************BIOLOGY******************

Are you right-handed or left-handed? Right

Have you ever had anything removed from your body? Appendix...

What is the last heavy item you lifted? Collin - all 17lbs of him!

Have you ever been knocked unconscious? Nope

If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?
I don't think so

If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
I like my name now, but when I was young I went through a phase where I practically begged my mom to change my name to "Crystal". Not sure where that came from, but I am glad she put her foot down on that one! So therefore everything I owned was named Crystal (guenia pig, imaginary unicorn friend, etc.)

Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000?
For $1000 Absolutely!

************DUMBOLOGY******************

How many pairs of flip flops do you own? probably at least 5

Last time you had a run-in with the cops?
Haha...no comments from college friends please! Lately I think the only thing that happened was I got pulled over a few years ago for driving without my headlights on...crazy, I know! Although I don't think this qualifies as a run-in with the police, today I was backing out of the garage & broke my side view mirror on the side of the garage - ouch!

Last person you talked to? Son

Last person you hugged? Collin

**************FAVORITOLOGY****************

Season?
Summer!!

Holiday?
Any holiday I get to spend with family, but if I had to pick I would probably say Christmas.

Day of the week? Saturday, or any other day that I get to be home with Collin :)

Month?
April - Collin's BDay & our 4-Year Wedding Anniversary!

***********CURRENTOLOGY*****************

Missing someone? Family in Texas!!!!!

Mood? Happy & Content!

What are you listening to? Quiet (Collin & Son are both in bed asleep)

Watching? Nothing right now, but we just finished watching the replay of yesterday's FSU game.

Worry? Nope, we are in good hands!

***************RANDOMOLOGY*****************

First place you went this morning? church

What's the last movie you saw? Transformers 2 (I love blockbuster xpress from Publix)

Do you smile often? Yep, it's hard not to - God is so good!!

Sleeping Alone Tonight? No, thank goodness we are all home together!

***************OTHER-OLOGY*****************

Do you always answer your phone?
Usually - the only exception is 1 person from work who shall remain nameless but I seriously roll my eyes when their # pops up...and if you call and I don't answer don't call right back 5 minutes later, then 5 minutes after that...I check my voicemail & if it is an emergency I will call you back, otherwise I'll send you an email. (Okay, that sounded kind of mean but if you knew what it was like to talk to this person on the phone you would understand...)

If you could change your eye color what would it be?
I love my eyes (blue) and wouldn't ever want to change them!

What flavor do you add to your sonic drink?
Cherry

Do you own a digital camera?
Yes

Have you ever had a pet fish?
Yes, I loved having a fish tank in my room growing up!

Favorite Christmas song(s)?
Not sure...ask me again in a few weeks and maybe I can think of it

Can you do push ups?
I think a couple

Can you do a chin up?
There's no way!!

Does the future make you more nervous or excited?
Definitely excited!


Ever been in a car wreck?
I totalled my first car at 16, and had a terrible record for the next several years...I think I straightened my act out when I started having to pay for my own car insurance bill!

Do you have an accent?
Depends on who you ask...people here would say no, but I bet up north it would be a different story :)

What is the last song to make you cry?
Really anything about having a baby gets the tears going these days - probably most recently was "Letters From Home" - I think it's Stephen Curtis Chapman??

Plans tonight?
Shower & bed, as soon as I finish all of these questions!!.

Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom?
No, I've never felt like things were totally hopeless. There's always someone out there with bigger problems than your own & I like to keep things in perspective.

Name 3 things you bought yesterday.
Oh dear, Collin & I went on a marathon shopping spree yesterday, but most of it was Christmas presents so I can't list those. I did buy Collin some new clothes & I bought myself 1 shirt at Old Navy, and some new underwear for Son.

Have you ever been given roses?
I love roses & have received them several times from Son - he knows that I like the multi-color ones with pink, yellow...all red is so boring!

Current hate right now?
When Collin has a huge diaper explosion & ruins one of my favorite outfits of his...why can't he ever ruin something I don't absolutely love??

Met someone who changed your life?
Jesus Christ!

How will you bring in the New Year?
Not sure...hopefully we will be able to go back to Pensacola (we will be there the previous weekend for Christmas) & see Tram & Jaeden again before they have to go back to Hawaii, but it depends on Son's work schedule.

Do you have any tattoos/piercings?
Just my ears pierced - no tattoos

Okay...that's it for now. I think there were about 20 more questions but mommy is tired & needs to go to bed.

Hope everyone has a wonderful (SHORT) work week this week!! Woo hoo!!

Big Boy!

Here are a few of the pictures that we got last night for Collin's 7-Month birthday - looking at these makes me realize how big he is getting.

I think that he actually enjoyed his photo session this month & had a great time waving his arms around and "talking" to us while we took his picture & tried to get him to smile.

Such a sweetie!

Update & Happy 7-Months Collin

This morning finally came (it seemed like forever waiting to hear what the doctor would say) and then the answer was a very anti climactic “wait and see”. Basically I still have the infections, I need to continue the antibiotics & he will see me back in 2 weeks…2 WEEKS??? Seriously, I don’t know if I can make it!

I was relieved that he didn’t see overly concerned that I would be deaf the rest of my life, but I think that I will have to start carrying around a notepad for people to write me messages on.

I have already been stopped twice today in the hallway at work by someone asking me to please stop yelling…how embarrassing!! I guess that when I can’t hear what the other person is saying I raise my own voice too!!

In happier news...Collin is 7-Months old today!!!!! I can not believe it! Lately here is what he has been up to:

• He now says "da da" regularly - he also growls it & shrieks it at the top of his lungs!
• Yesterday he absolutely broke my heart when twice he started crying when I was holding him & Son left the room - isn't it supposed to be mommy that he cries for??
• Loves all toys that make noise / move / light up. His favorite is a Fisher Price zoo toy that I bought from a garage sale across the street for $1! It has little animals with wheels that move around the zoo & it sings silly songs abotu the animals - what a bargain!
• Eats cereal with fruit for breakfast & a veggie for dinner - I should probably let him start on the meats but I just can't bring myself to face the smell :)
• Was 16 lbs 5 ounces at doctor's appointment last week
• Goes to bed around 8pm (he tries to go to bed earlier but mommy tries to keep him up so he won't wake up at 4am)
• Refuses any formula when they try to give it to him at school (he would rather only drink 2 bottles of breastmilk during the day & wait for me to get home to nurse)
• Got the swine flu & regular flu shot - I know this is controversial, but with him being in school we prayed about it & felt that the benefits outweighed the risks

Now all I have to do is decide what he should wear for his 7-month pictures that I am going to take tonight...Collin's biggest problem is that he has so many cute outfits it takes forever for me to decide what he should wear each day :)

Happy Monday!!

Worst week ever!

I have just been sick...I mean the kind of sick where you would be REALLY HAPPY if the rapture happened like that exact second, sick! I never had ear infections growing up...but that really came back to bite me BIG TIME this week.

I had been sick with a cold last week, but had started to feel better. On Monday around lunch time I started to feel like my ears were full of water or needed to pop - it quickly got more & more painful until I was bawling my eyes out driving the after hours clinic that night after I put Collin to bed. Well, I finally got to the clinic and after enduring the terrible swine flu test that they said they give everyone they finally told me that I had a double ear infection, gave me a Z-Pack and sent em on my way.

I started the antibiotic that night and was maxing out on Tyleonl for the pain. It was so painful that I don't think I slept more than 30 minutes at a time. I thought that I just needed to give the medicine more time...but by Tuesday afternoon when it was actually getting worse, and not better I decided to call my regular doctor & they got me in Wednesday morning. Tuesday I couldn't eat much of anything and was having a really tough time keeping the medicine down as well. By this time my hearing was really affected also & I couldn't hear anythign unless it was right up next to my ear (like a cell phone). I was in so much pain that I couldn't even drive myself to the doctor Wednesday morning, so I called my BFF Annie & she took me - THANK YOU ANNIE!!!!

My doctor looked in my ears and said that the Z-PAck was not strong enough, so they gave me a different antibiotic, a med for the nausea, and a shot for the pain. Let me just say that I DO NOT LIKE NEEDLES - like I have a fear of them - but that was the best shot I ever got in my life. Annie took me to get the new prescriptions (and a Sprite) and then I went home and was finally able to sleep for like 4 hours - it was AWESOME!

Unfortunately that wore off, but I have been able to keep the pain under control with Ibuprofen better, but I still couldn't hear hardly anything - majorly not okay!! And I also started having to sleep with a towel over my pillow because of all the nasty draining that was going on...So I called the doctor again and they brought me back in this morning. Basically they said that it was beyond what they could handle, gave me a 3rd antibiotic to try & referred me to see an ENT (but they only gave me 5 days of the antibiotic because they wanted to make sure that I saw someone - that seems a little cruel, right?).

There were 2 ENT's in the same building so I just stopped by each office and found one that will see me Monday morning...I am sure everything will be fine but the thought of losing part of my hearing is very scary!!

Collin's First Group Play Date & The Reason We Ate Chinese Take-Out Last Night!

This past weekend Collin had one of his first official "play dates" with 3 of his best friends! We had a great time getting all the babies together while all the daddies were at the FSU or UF football games!

Our friends John & Jenn Walker came into town for the UF game with Ellie, and the rest of the guys went to Tallahassee for the FSU game.

Best Friends - unfortunately they don't have a choice in the matter :)

Okay mommies, this is getting old - I think 100 pictures is plenty!




The mommies :)

Hanging out at Target!


Saturday morning Collin & I had met Annie & her sisters for brunch @ Panera. Jenn, Ellie & Emily all met us afterwards & we did a little shopping at Jo Ann's, Target, Banana, and baby Gap!

Collin the superhero & daddy @ Mojo's Friday night - yummy!

And here's a little something that happened at the Vuong house last night...Collin had another ear infection so I had a late doctor's appointment with him & by the time we got to the pharmacy to get his prescription it was late. Son offered to make dinner since we would be home after him (such a great hubby!!)

Anyways, we were having Paula Dean's Shrimp Gumbo Casserole (I highly recommend this - it is awesome!) and I had the recipe laying out on the cabinet. If you have ever made one of Paula's recipes, she usually calls for some of her "house seasoning" to be added. The recipe for shrimp gumbo said (among other ingredients):

1 1/4 teaspoon house seasoning, recipe follows

Then, at the bottom of the page it had the recipe for the house seasoning:

1 cup salt

1/4 cup garlic powder

1/4 cup black pepper

When I got home the first thing Son said was that the gumbo sure had a lot of salt in it and that he didn't think that a cup of salt sounded right, but that is what the recipe called for so he put it in...haha!! I about died laughing!! If you look at the picture below you can see all of the pepper flakes (since he also added 1/4 cup pepper) so just think that there is 4x that much salt in there. Needless to say the gumbo was ruined, but we sure had a good time laughing about it!

So we ended up having Chinese last night...Happy Friday!

Mommy Guilt Trip

So yesterday we got Collin’s school pictures back…of course he was cute as always, but he had drooled all over his picture outfit and his teachers obviously didn’t notice that between the time I dropped him off (perfectly picture ready) until it was his turn to have his picture taken that his hair had gone totally crazy & needed some major help! Seriously, my baby looked like he had stuck his finger in an electrical outlet!

Anyways, I thought that we would get proofs to look at and place an order, but they sent us home with a huge package of pictures with only 2 poses that I guess they thought were the best they got. To purchase the package was around $70. You were supposed to take the package home, and then return all the pictures that you didn’t want.

Why would they print that many pictures? Obviously other parents feel the same way I do & are saddened by the thought of their little angel’s pictures being tossed in the trash can…but $70 bucks?? For pictures that aren’t even that good?? Besides, we had his pictures taken in Texas a few weeks before and they turned out fabulous, and I had just placed an order for about $80 worth of pictures from that.

But still, can I really let them throw away the pictures of my baby Collin?How could I not buy any of his school pictures? Even though he is drooling & has super crazy hair, he is still my gorgeous little man! Congratulations Lifetouch Preschool Portraits, you ultimately suckered me into buying some of the pictures (but I mustered up the will power to return about ½ of them – ha!)!!

Baby Einstein Refunds

Well, apparently there are people out there who actually believed that putting your child in front of the TV can make them smarter??

Don’t get me wrong, I own some of the Baby Einstein DVD’s, and Collin likes to watch them occasionally, but I never actually thought that sitting him in front of the TV would make him smarter. If however, you did feel misled you can get a refund for the videos that you purchased ($15.99 each for up to 4 videos). You can find out more info on the debate here: http://blogs.wsj.com/juggle/2009/10/26/baby-einstein-refund-and-the-allure-of-the-digital-babysitter/

We however, will be keeping our DVDs and taking them for what they are – a cartoon like any other…good for a few minutes of entertainment, but not a quick & easy way to a smarter baby!

Collin - The YouTube Star!

Well, maybe I'm the only one who has viewed his video, but he's a star to me...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrQsc6oVXLk

Happy Monday!

Who Am I...Now?

I usually just skim the Publix Baby Club magazine that we get in the mail periodically (who has time to sit and read these??) but there was an article that caught my attention in the latest issue. It was talking about how moms can be totally consumed with being caretakers of the family without ever taking the time to think about their own identity. It talked about how we can love what we do, but still have a need for a personal identity in addition to our role as “mom”.

Just by reading my blog you probably realize how everything I do revolves around my family. I wouldn’t have it any other way, but the article started me thinking about how being a mom doesn’t have to be all that I am – I can be a mom, a wife, and an individual all at the same time. There were some questions to answer that I thought I would share:

Three adjectives that describe me are…
1. Loving
2. Conservative
3. Indecisive :)

My greatest strengths are…
This is a tough one, but I think I have a strong work ethic and I think that I do a pretty good job of juggling household duties, family time, church activities, and a full-time job.

My most obvious weakness is…
Personally: This might be a surprise to some of my closest friends, but I really struggle with shyness when meeting new people or in large groups.
At Work: Not being aggressive / tough enough.

What I want most in the world is…
Right now, it’s to be the wife and mother that God wants me to be. That is something that I have to work hard at every day – opening myself up to the fact that what I think I need to do is not always the same as what God wants me to do.

If given the gift of a day with no responsibilities, I would…
1. Sleep in!
2. Get a pedicure
3. Work on Collin’s baby book / scrapbook
4. Sewing

If I received an “outstanding award” in 10 years, it would be for…
Outstanding Christian Woman (aka Proverbs 31 Woman)

The one thing I can do this week that will help me get that award is…
Spend more time in God’s Word & get back into the habit of a true daily quiet time. Not just reading the “Verse of the Day” or “Daily devotional” online while eating lunch (which is about as good as it gets lately), but actually sitting down with an open bible & and an open heart!

This was surprisingly really hard for me to come up with. I probably spent 30 minutes trying to think of the right adjectives. I think that these are great thought provoking questions for anyone, mom or not.

Recap of Recent Events

This past weekend we started out Saturday at a Fall Festival at Collin’s school. There weren’t many activities for a 6-month-old, but he had fun just riding around in his stroller & seeing his teachers. The weather was beautiful!

The Vuong Family at the Fall Festival

Saturday afternoon Son had to work, so Collin & I went to our class Sunday School Party by ourselves. Collin wore the most adorable frog prince outfit (thanks to “Aunt” Rachel at www.thehotpinkpolka-dot.com) and I dressed up as his princess…awwww!! Fortunately I as able to borrow the perfect princess dress from my friend Annie, which also happened to be the bridesmaid dress she wore in her aunt’s wedding when she was like 13! It was totally early 90’s – hot pink sparkly material with huge poofy sleeves. It was fun to get dressed up, but I was seriously hoping that we didn’t run into any of our non-costumed friends at the pumpkin patch we walked to…thankfully the coast was clear & I got to take the most adorable pictures of Collin in the pumpkins.

The Cutest Pumpkin I Found!

Sunday morning Son had to work again so Collin & I were late to church for practically the first time since Son & I have been married! I thought that Son had rubbed off on me and was turning me into a punctual person, but I found out this weekend that it only works when he is around…hehehe!


Here are some of the other things we have been up to lately...

6-Month Birthday Celebration

6-Month Pictures

Have a great day!!