Monkeys

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Just a quick update on the monkeys...

Josie is two and a half months old now. We went for her check-up last week and she weighed 11 lbs and 7 oz and was in the 75th percentile in height! She's going to be tall!! She is so cute and she's really all smiles when she's not miserable from all the reflux.

Caroline is so smart. I know I say that all the time but she really is. The other day we were saying the ABC's and she said "B is for BOOTY". Only my child!

Life is pretty good. So far, no dead ends!

Enjoy the pictures! Love to all... Pin It

sheep...

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It's been a crazy day. Crazy woman = crazy day, everyday. I'm pooped from fighting Ci Ci to take a nap and from the general crazy-ness that is my life... not that I don't enjoy every second of it! And I guess I should be thankful that my life is crazy in a normal way now, instead of crazy in the way it used to be.... that's confusing, even to me...

Anyway, this morning I started thinking about sheep. You know, baaaa.... sheep. Except really I was thinking about people who are "sheepish" or "sheeply" or whatever you want to call them. I was wondering why and how people follow so easily, so blindly, without question. And I though, well, come on Ali, Jesus said he was our shepherd and that we were his sheep (right?). So, I thought there surely must be something to be said for sheep. Maybe they're really bright animals and I just don't know it. I mean, I'm not a farmer.... we've got some chickens... but I'm not a farmer. Maybe, I kept thinking, sheep are smarter than they get credit for.

So I did some research. And sheep are STUPID. Apparently in 2006 over 600 sheep died after one sheep in the flock lead the other 599 sheep off a cliff. That's right, every one of them followed that stupid sheep right off the edge of a cliff. I just can't fathom. I mean maybe if you were sheep #2 you might follow right over. But what if you were sheep #570, or #599, or #600? Wouldn't you kind of stop and say to yourself "hummm, those guys just fell and didn't come back. Maybe I should just hang here for awhile".

And I couldn't figure out why Jesus kept saying he was our shepherd. Maybe it's because we're pretty stupid. I know we all like to pretend that we're all soooo smart and that we've got it all figured out. But come on people! We know that there are some pretty dumb fools out there (I will occasionally include myself in the dumb fool group). So I kept reading. And apparently some sheep are a little smarter than old #1 who lead all his family and friends into oblivion. And usually these are the leader sheep. But occasionally some moron sheep steps in and goofs it all up for the rest. Enter shepherd. The responsibility of the shepherd is to protect the sheep. Sometimes, to protect them from themselves. According to wikipedia "The shepherd supervises the migration of the flock". I thought that was interesting. The migration....

It is interesting to me that we are sheep after all. I guess sometimes we think we're the shepherd. But we're sheep. Some may be a little smarter than others, some may have a little more sense than to lead the others off the cliff. And some may not have that much sense after all. I'm sure if you asked #1 sheep, right before he stepped over the edge, he would have said that he was a genius. I wonder how may of the others thought he was as smart? They all followed right behind, didn't they?

I wonder if I would have followed #1 off that ledge? I hope The Shepherd is there to stop me if I ever try.


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I see crazy people...

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Just after Chris and I started dating he took me to see a fortune teller (I believe she called herself a 'medium') for my birthday. I won't even go into why he took me to see this lady, this was just the first in a series of bad gifts Chris has given me. Anyway, she said lots of stuff, most of which I can't even remember but I remember one thing in particular that continues to be true. She told me, and I quote "You are a beacon on light and you attract dark souls". I kid you not, she said this. Now I don't know about the whole "beacon of light" thing but I definitely agree that crazy people seek me out. Now she didn't say 'crazy people' but come on, we all know what she meant by 'dark souls'.

I'm telling you, they follow me! You put me in a room full of people and I swear that by the time I leave I will know the story of every fruitcake in the room. It's like I'm walking around wearing a "come here crazy people" sign. And I somehow always end up being friends/ friendly with these people. I am the DRIVER of the crazy train. And I can't get off. I can't help myself. Introduce me to a perfectly sane person and an utter nut-job and I guarantee that I'll have befriended the nut-job. What is wrong with me? They find me everywhere! Walmart, the grocery store, everywhere. Sometimes I go into stores avoiding making eye contact so that no one will stop me to tell me some insane story of how they're going home to be with Jesus this afternoon right after they cure cancer.

I just can't take anymore. I'm turning off the light. This beacon is closed. Pin It

Time flies when you're birthing babies

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Wow. It's almost shameful that Josie is now SEVEN weeks old and I'm just now blogging again. We welcomed Anna Josephine Payne to our family on June 11th. She had some complications and stayed in the NICU for 6 days. Six long, long days. She was born with fluid on her lungs and then we got stuck in the NICU vaccume. That's actually what my OB called it, "the NICU Vaccume". I have never been so happy to pull into our driveway. She is doing great now. She is a chubby little monkey and is so sweet. She has started really smiling and cooing and it is so sweet. Caroline has really done so well. She's had her moments but only once has she said "I don't like her". That was a bad day. Most days she's thrilled to hold her and kiss her and tell everyone else how to kiss her and hold her and "be easy with Baby Josie". She's a little mama.

This month and a half has flown by. It was so crazy to have her whisked away and to not be able to room in with her. Actually it was horrible, crazy isn't the right word. I have a new found respect for people who spend months with their little babies in the NICU. Soon I'll have to post about our attempt to break Josie out of the NICU and the very loud arguement we had with the hospital peditrician. The picture of that nurse feeding her like that is only one of the reasons I went nuts. The main reason being that when Chris and I showed up to see Josie at 3 AM she had a feeding tube up her nose! I literally went bonkers. Needless to say, every doctor, nurse, orderly, and receptionist avoided looking me in the eye from that morning on. I think I nearly made one really young nurse pee her pants. I can laugh now.... not so much then.

Things are going really well. The Fortress did close two weeks before Josie was born. I still talk to most of the guys. They are adjusting. I'm staying with the girls (look at me, saying "the girls"). It's really fun. CiCi was so excited that I wasn't going to work anymore. She would stop strangers in the grocery store and say "My mommy doesn't go to work now, she stays with ME!" So sweet. I don't plan on ever being a Social Worker again. I may eat those words, but I hope not. I still think Social Workers ROCK, I just don't want to rock anymore!

More posts coming soon... I swear! Love to you all...

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