Monday, January 25, 2010

A Wedding Story


Let me tell you a little story...it begins in Shreveport, Louisiana on January 16, 2010.

There was a beautiful bride named Kristen


Who married Stephen, her true love,


Her dad walked her down the aisle
While the angels looked down from above.


The Bride and the Groom said "I DO"


While their parents watched full of pride,


Brothers, sisters and friends
All stood closely by their side.


The cutest little girl and boy
dressed up oh so sweet


The ring bearer's 4th appearance,
and he still made more than a peep. :-(


Tom and I had a task of our own,


To show Bossier a True GRAND MARCH!


Smiles and Laughs were heard,
as they ducked into the arch,


There was dancing,


There was Cake,


There were silly memories made.


There was toasting


There was throwing


There were little babies dozing.


Another Dornak cousin was welcomed in that night


And three lovely sisters were such a lovely sight!


It was a beautiful start, to a beautiful life,
for this newly married husband and wife!


I love you guys!! I'm so happy for you and honored to be part of your wedding day!

Three weeks...and all are healthy (finally)

I'm back! Back to what? Back to a small tidbit of sanity, a large amount of health, back in our lovely state of Texas, and back to creating more tasks to check off on my never-ending to-do list!

I can't believe it's been 3 weeks since my last post! What's been going on, you ask? (well, ask or not...you're about to get it!)

Week 1 of my blogging absence:
I can't even remember anymore!

Week 2 of my blogging absense:
We were preparing for my cousin's wedding in Shreveport. I'll give her wedding the blog post it deserves and leave it at that. However, on the family note, our little Aubree started throwing up Friday night at the rehearsal dinner. She threw up in her plate. Tom and I were stunned. "Where did that come from?" She threw up outside the rehearsal dinner. This was no fluke...time to go to the hotel. She threw up in my hands on the way to the hotel. "TOM! PULL OVER!" She threw up a few more times before falling asleep.
Saturday morning we cautiously gave her applesauce and pedialyte which stayed down. Hooray!

(This is Aubree's warning...yeah, nothing. Picture taken about 2 minutes before the "FUN" started.)

Brock and I headed for the church around 10:30 for pictures. The wedding started at 1:30. A LONG time for a 4 year old to be quiet/still/clean/behaved/cooperative! Tom, Aubree & the family arrived a little before the wedding. They joined me in the pew. Five minutes prior to the wedding processional, Aubree throws up in the pew...all over Tom's suit pant!!!!
Our ring bearer makes it down the aisle, but doesn't quite manage to cooperate with the rest of his duties.
We make it through Saturday night with a few unexpected wardrobe changes, but no other dramatic moments.
Sunday we head home. Around Waco, we stop for a bite to eat. We let Brock play. We get back in the car. He looks flushed and miserable! I yell for the empty coffee cup and catch a cup full of puke while in route on I-35. Nice! We pull over, change his shirt, and keep going. The poor child throws up NINE TIMES between Waco and San Antonio! He continues until about 11:00 that night.

Week 3 of my blogging absense:
Monday I stay home with him. Thanking God it seemed to skip Tom and I!
Tuesday I go to work. Around 10:30pm, it attacks me! I knew the routine by then and was throwing up nearly every hour for 12 hours. It was a horrible bug.
Wednesday around 5, I'm on the couch. Daycare calls. Aubree now has diarrhea! Will this ever end???
Thursday I'm home with Aubree.
Friday I'm finally back at work, and KNOCK ON WOOD, we seem to be healthy again!!!
Saturday was pictures of the kids and soccer registration.
Sunday was relaxing with the kids & the wii.

And that brings us to today!

Monday, January 4, 2010

Three Meatballs

Did anyone happen to catch the last one of my resolutions in my previous post? Well, my patience is definitely being put to the test. Here's a bit of my evening.

The following takes place, beginning at approximately 5:45pm on 1/4/10 in the Benich household...
Me: "Brock, what do you want for dinner? Easy Mac? Spaghetti and Meatballs?"
Brock: "poptarts"
Me: "That wasn't a choice. Do you want easy mac or spaghetti & meatballs?"
Brock: "spaghetti! Mom, I have to go potty. Put the spaghetti in the middle of the table so Sarge doesn't get it."
Me: (laughing) "ok"
---a few minutes later, Brock returns.---
Me: "Brock, sit down and eat your spaghetti"
Brock: "can I have ice cream if I eat all my spaghetti?" (with a huge grin on his face)
Dad: "yes, you can have ice cream...but you have to eat all your dinner"
---a few minutes later---
Me: "Brock, you need to eat"
Brock: "I don't want spaghetti and meatballs"
Me: "why?"
Brock: "I want chicken nuggets"
Me: "why don't you want spaghetti? you picked spaghetti"
Brock: "I want chicken nuggets"
Me: "you need to eat this much" (pulling a few noodles and three meatballs to the side)
Brock: "I don't like it"
Me: "You didn't try it."
Brock: "But I don't like it"
Me: "you need to eat your meatballs"
Brock: "I want chicken nuggets"
Me: "if you eat one meatball, I'll give you two chicken nuggets"
Brock: "I don't like it"
Me: "you can eat the meatball or go to your room"
Brock: "I don't want to" (starting to cry)
Me: "I'm going to count to 10, if you don't eat the meatball, you're going to bed. One............two.............threeeeeee.............fooooouuuuuurrrr.............fiiiiiiiiiiiiiive.............siiiiiiiiiiix.............sevennn.............eight.............niiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnneeeeeeeee.............(not able to drag this out much longer!).............tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!"
"Ok, you're going to bed."
Brock is crying harder by now. I pick him up, take him to his room, and without saying a word, start changing him into his pajamas. I tuck him into bed and he is sobbing and wants to go back.
Me: "Do you want to go eat your meatball?"
--no answer--
Me again: "Do you want to go eat your meatball?"
--small nod of the head--

Jumping into summary mode (the play by play would take forever!):

We went back to the kitchen, we sat down. He needed more milk. I got more milk. Again, we face the meatball which is probably downright cold (and probably disgusting) at this point. Again, we count to 10. And Again he doesn't eat it. Tom whips off his belt. Brock cries. I start (for the last time) to count. At 9 and nine tenths, Tom shoves the meatball in his mouth. He starts to squint in a disgusted look and then suddenly his face changes. Tom asked if it was good. He didn't answer, just kept chewing. Tom asked again. "Was that good?" Brock answers: "Yes". I then ask if I can please have a glass of wine!

As if it didn't end there, he wouldn't eat the remaining two meatballs so we substituted chicken nuggets. Two chicken nuggets, each in four pieces. Eight pieces on his plate. It took eight times of counting to five for those nuggets to disappear. Nearly an hour after we began, Brock went to take a bath. You can only guess that after his bath, we read books and put this boy to bed!

I suppose to learn patience, you must practice patience. Thank you Lord for giving me the opportunity to practice patience today. :-/


Side note #1: A stock photo was used for this post on an occasion when Brock actually ate his spaghetti.

Side note #2: After all that fuss...Aubree finished his plate of spaghetti & meatballs and wanted more meatballs.

Sunday, January 3, 2010

2010 - The Start of a New Decade

I've never been one to really celebrate New Years all that much. The typical fireworks around the neighborhood, a party if we're invited, and staying up until the clock strikes midnight to say Happy New Year is about all we ever do. This year I was lying in bed, listening to what sounded like a war zone go off in our neighborhood. A thought struck me. A decade was over...and what a Wondrous decade it was!

In the past ten years, I:
* Purchased my very first car - a 2001 Black Dodge Durango (2001)
* Graduated from Texas A&M University (2001)
* Started my first full-time job at USAA (2001)
* Married my wonderful husband! (2002)
* Experienced my FIRST EVER White Christmas in Texas!!! (2004)
* Bought our very first house (2004)
* Welcomed our little Brock Austin into the world - becoming a mommy for the first time! (2005)
* Became an aunt for the first time - to my niece Avery Claire (2007)
* Welcomed our little Aubree Paige into the world - and becoming a mother of two! (2008)
* Welcomed my first nephew into the world (2009)
* Traveled to a few new states (Georgia, South Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania)
* Traveled to Todos Santos/Cabo, Mexico!
* Went through both parents divorces (not exactly a highlight, but definitely significant)
* Bought more cameras, computers and phones than I care to admit.
* Started this blog so I can actually remember the next 10 years!

It doesn't seem possible that the next decade can hold as many monumental adventures, but let's hold on and see what's in store!

My resolution (attempts) for 2010...
LOVE
more

PRAY
more

LISTEN
harder

and

practice PATIENCE


Happy New Year to all!