Check out this page of the Parker Reese Foundation's new website as well as the rest.  Good stuff going on there.  If you want to help CDH families, this is a great place to give. 

 

I had a fabulous weekend away, Nashville is an awesome town!  Trying to back in the swing of things, we'll see if that happens!  Did you know Thanksgiving is next week?  How in the hell did that happen?  Seriously, my kids are going to be in college if I keep blinking, ugh. 

This is what my husband made me for my birthday dinner

Super yummy lump crab cakes with spinach, mmmmmmmmmmm!

 

This was after our fabulous double date night and a pedicure the day before, a solo shopping trip, and a Kindle coming in the mail this week.  Not too mention the 2 hour nap I got to take today and the girls' weekend I'm leaving for on Thursday with my highschool buddy Cathy!  It's been a superfantabulous birthday.  Best in lots of years.  Thanks everyone who called or sent facebook love!  Did I tell you I had 3 different cake selections?  Audrey's fabulous nurse brought me my favorite Celebrity Bakery strawberry cake on Friday, we had cake at Ethan's end-of-season baseball party and Nate brought home a slice of Sunday Cake for dessert after our crab cake dinner.  I don't think I'll be weighing in this week!  Honey, thanks for the awesome birthday, I love you!

 

I leave you with Ethan's practice run for his oral book report.  It's a little lengthy and you have to know a few things, but it's worth the 3 minutes...

Set up: 

1.  He had to dress like a character in the book 

2.  We were practicing outside because his costume was hot and we thought the littles would stay inside and not interupt

3.  Ethan is the pooper scooper in at our house 
Book Report / Poop report from jenn miller on Vimeo

. 

Seriously?  For whatever reason we haven't had such an evening with the Crowes since Jason was an infant or I was pregnant with him, I'm not sure which.  Anyway, good fun tonight.  We spent some time remininiscing about the plentiful nights we had pre kiddos as well as the first meeting for the members of our foursome.  1992 was when Stace and I met; good God we are old!   Several trips, two weddings, 5 kiddos, and 16 years later; and who still occupies your best friends slot on the org chart?  Priceless baby, pricesless!  Happy Birthday to me (in 19 minutes)!

Right there at  baseball field #2 at Warren Park in Frisco, Texas lies a piece of my heart.  My sweet son's devastation at yet another strike out coupled with his valiant effort to stifle his tears and his declaration that he "didn't do ONE thing to help his team, NOT ONE!"  tore a piece of my heart out.  Seeing his heart break was just so hard to take tonight.  He recovered pretty well eventually, especially after daddy repeated nearly exactly what one of the coaches told him, but ugh, it sucked.  No one prepares you for the "so and so said they wouldn't be my friend today", "I don't want them to laugh at me again", "why did Granny and Phoebe have to die?" , etc etc etc.  I HATE it when their hearts hurt, I just hate it.   I'm grateful, so grateful that their heartbreaks are minor in the big scheme of things.  That perspctive usually tempers my reaction to their hurts but tonight the genuine sadness/disappointment on Ethan's face just killed me. 

 

Just checking because I'm BEAT, super beat.  Last night I had ALL. THREE. kids out way past bedtime on a school night on my own because apparently 7/8 year-old baseball end-of-year tournament is like the World Series and no game may end in a tie. As in a 7:30pm game (already too late if you ask me!) went until 9:10 because we couldn't get past 0 - 0.  We finally pulled it out in the end and won 1 - 0 but the price I paid last night and then tonight with crabby kids who had to go to soccer practice?  Not sure if it was worth it.  And the prize?  We get to have another 7:30pm game tomorrow night!  Did I mention Ethan has his first oral book report due Friday and he has to dress up like the main character for his 2 - 4 minute oral presentation that he will get marked down for if he reads (doesn't memorize). lordy, lordy!  I need a live-in husband to do this!  Thank goodness he's coming home tomorrow night in time for the aforementioned game or I may turn into a zombie by Friday.   My sister in law who is doing this alone everyday and working full time is a superstar, a superstar!

 

Last night's television was sure something to come home to though.  Please tell me you watched the speeches last night.  McCain's was pure grace and Obama's had me in tears. Watching him speak was historical and epic.  No matter your politics, you had to be moved by that speech.  If you haven't watched it, find it now and do it, I promise it's worth it.  

I'm so excited for our country!  GOBAMA!

I voted last week but loved the buzz of today, even picked up my free cupcake here for doing my civic duty.  I hope you did too (vote, I mean that's great if you got the cupcake too, but voting was the real mission!)

but...guess who's going to lose her g-button VERY soon?  Girlfriend is over 25 pounds and hasn't had a tube feed in a whole month.  NOTHING in her button except two nasty doses of hardcore laxative.  I'm too excited about her gains to lament over our never-ending "my poopy hurts" so we'll save that for another day.

 

I never thought I would be ready to ditch her tube as it provides such a safety net but here I am, totally ready to pull it.  When her GI set Jan 5th as a pull date, I said "NO WAY will that happen in the middle of cold and flu and season, she'll probably already be down 2 pounds just from the trial off" (yes, I had my sunshine and optimism hat on that day, bite me).  Her doc even went so far as to tell Audrey, "don't let mommy put any food in your button, just medicine".  I would have fired him but he's been around since day 75ish and apparently knows both of our personalities well enough to know how well that tactic would work, punk.    She's been flying, sneaking food even one day when dinner wasn't ready on time!  She takes all her meds orally too, even a 10 day course of antibiotics a few weeks ago.  So she's even been a bit sick this month (just a cold/sinus infection, only about 15 breathing treatments total) and still gained weight, yay!  Her nutritionist was floored today, even pushed to see how she does this month and then pull before Xmas, what a gift that will be.  If it doesn't happen, I'm totally blaming this blog entry. 

 

Here's the Dorito sneaking, she's such a mess.

 

  
Audrey Sneaks Doritos from jenn miller on Vimeo.

Our super second-grader has had a banner Fall.  Some fun highlights...

 

He's had lots of fun reentering baseball this year but struggled some through a hitting slump.  Nate's been taking him to the batting cages and park frequently in effort to bolster his confidence and skills.  That and offering multitudes of rewards for hit (I wish we were above bribery here but I prefer to call it positive reinforcement and get over it because it works).  Well, it works for behavior and such, not so much for getting hits in baseball.  First there was the game that Nate told him he could get an xbox game back early that had been taken away.  BUT, if he didn't hit and he cried about it than it would be taken away longer.  I'm throwing Nate under the bus here because I did not sanction that one and protected my sweet boy when the tears started to fall after the strike out (which was the last out with bases loaded--- I wanted to cry too!).  We went back to simple incentives after that--lunch out after game, movie night, etc.  Still no hits.  Then, poor E tells us a few weeks ago, "When I get up to bat, I can't stop shivering and it's totally not even cold".  Oh.  Well son, that would be nervous shaking your doing.  NICE!  Our poor baby is so freaked about hitting, that he's shaking at the plate.  We are stellar parents, stellar.  Nate gives him the "it's no big deal" speech and "we love you no matter what" one too.  We told him no rewards for a hit, just the satisfaction of doing it.  Of course he gets a hit that next game and for the icing on the cake, he pitched that game for the first time too and no one hit off him!  He struck one out and the other two couldn't hit off their coach's 1 or 2 pitches!  I don't remember seeing him smile bigger than he did that game, it was precious.  Enjoy.

..  
Ethan gets the game ball from jenn miller on Vimeo.
ethan hits a double! from jenn miller on Vimeo.

 

The next one is school and I'm afraid my pictures didn't turn out that well and the video isn't that cute either but...we have a "Rhodes Scholar" here in the Miller household!   At the end of the 9 weeks award ceremony this past Friday, Ethan was given an award for "excelling in all subject areas".  So proud!  Now if he would just stop growing, he'd be perfect.  I really love this age, just love it.  He's big enough to take care of lots of things on his own but will still cuddle with me and talk with me about everything.  I know I'll miss that terribly in just a few years.  Not to mention the scary big world getting a hold of him.  Just last week I let him ride his bike to a friend's house whom I don't know very well for the VERY first time (and last for now!).  Ethan was uber responsible about calling when he got there and being home on time (45 minutes after he left!) but when he shared how different the rules are at this friend's house and how they really weren't supervised at all, my skin was crawling.  Please let him stay this honest and willing to share, PLEASE! 

 

Finally, a fun thing he shared last week after his school presidential election...

"So, who did you vote for Ethan?" 

"The guy with the brown face, what's his name again?" 

"Barack Obama?" 

"Yes"

"Why him?  Because mommy and daddy are voting for him?"

"No, because he looks like the guy in Men in Black and I like him way better than the old guy"

 

There you have it folks, vote for Obama, he looks like Will Smith!  Oh, and he's the better candidate. 

Anyone still reading?  Sorry for the lapse, I really have no real reason other than once I was behind, it just snowballed and seemed like too much to catch up on.  That, and a few stories I follow kept me glued to them.  I have lots saved up to share.  Tonight, however, to get back in the swing of things, I'm just going ot start with Halloween.  I hope everyone had a super fun one.  The Miller kids had a blast while mom and dad enjoyed lots o diet margaritas, therefore, having a blast as well!