Angels

Wow, it has been a week! It seems that every week gets crazier and crazier! I was sent two angels this week.

Grandma Grove came to visit last Wednesday and stayed for a week. She was such a big help. I need to list my favorite things...

1. Every snowy morning, she was out early scooping my driveway.

2. Watched Sophia for some long days while I was at work.

3. Helped make the nurse calls to sister Christie for some advise how to mask my flu symptoms.

4. Pushed me to complete the sewing of Heidie's stylized bow for her wedding dress & work on Heidie & Shu's scrap book.

5. Did not complain an ounce about the working men fixing my bathroom floor and painting the trim.

Now, I would like to list some classic Joan Grove moments.....

1. We had started an assembly line for Heidie's wedding dress bow. I sewed the bias strips bows and she would press them. Well, GG brought down the Linen Temperature Iron onto the fine/delicate organza bow and melted our hard work away. Now, GG has a 1960's Home Economic Teaching Degree. She will need to go back to University of Northern Iowa for some refresher classes.

2. Every chance she got, she flipped the wrong light switch in the dining room and powered down everything.

3. GG went shopping at Macy's and brought home 4 bed pillows. She packed two in her suitcase and carried two in the plane.

4. Then her flight did not leave on Tuesday and she re-appeared like Groundhogs day. Poor GG had to spend the entire day in the Airport. I just felt horrible and worried. She reassured me, that she enjoyed reading her "Eat, Pray, Love" book all day. She is so generous and never complains.

My 2nd Angel that appeared is Sister in Law Janalee Mourn. She arrived from her business trip in Illinois. Janalee is from Houston, Texas and she came to visit her family in Athens.

I have not mentioned it on this blog, but I am planning an Easter Egg Hunt for the family readiness group next saturday. There are 150 families in Jerry's unit. So, needless to say I have had a lot on my plate. I have been worried about filling the Easter eggs with goodies. Not to mention my supplies had not arrived. However, when we got home there was a box from Oriental Trading with all the supplies and eggs. Below is a photo of Janalee busy filling 480 Easter eggs with goodies. I can't tell you the stress that was lifted from my chest after she completed this task. Thank you Janalee.

Valentines Day

I love Valentine's Day! I have always loved the holiday, pre Jerry days. I think it was the excitement and idea of finding "Movie" type love. Sophia and I were defiantly not forgotten or lonely on the holiday. In fact, with Sophia's sickness I almost missed the holiday until I found a package on Wednesday night from Anthropology on my back porch. Jerry had sent me a lovely purse he picked out from the web site. Thanks Hun!

Valentines day, was a whirlwind. I was praying and hoping Sophia was feeling better when she went to Jackson & Tricia's home. Thankfully, Tricia was up for the challenge and gave Sophia all the TLC she desired. I can't believe how good she is at balancing love for both Jackson and Sophia. Thanks Tricia!

Sophia received a lovely Teddy Bear & Tulip Bouquet from her #1 Valentine her dad. Above is photos of her with the bouquet. I received a Valentines bouquet from Jerry at work. The attached photos is from today, so they are looking a little rough. The paper flower box is from a very creative co-worker Kim Shellock.

In the evening, John, Laura and Maria Bova called for us to come over for a Spaghetti Dinner from Smiths. Yummy! Sophia took a turn for the better and played with Maria. John and Laura watched the two girls, while I got the opportunity to pack for the weekend in Iowa. Thanks Bova's for a great night and sharing the holiday with us.

When I returned back from my weekend in Iowa, I had a dozen red roses from my neighbors Barb & Larry Cassell. The attached card said Thank you Jerry, Sophia and Tiffanie for your sacrifice for our country. I was so touched! The goodness that has been so graciously blessed on us is undescriable. A thank you note, can never be enough.

P.S. I am trying to keep this note positive, but I do need to put a quick thank you out to neighbor Rosie who at the last moment watched Sophia on Wednesday night after I had run out of TLC for Sophia.

P.P.S. I have been waiting for this out of the world present for Jerry that has been delayed since early January. So poor Jerry only got a box full of his mail, tax documents and a Valentines Card. I promise, once we get this out of the world gift, it will be worth the wait.

Humble

All, I can say is last week was very humbling. With Sophia's unexplainable crying, lack of sleep, and shot nerves I have truly been pulled down from my Super Military Wife Single Mom Pedestal to reality.

After a good Valentines Dinner with the Bova's, I thought Sophia was on the mend. I was feeling confident that our flight home to Iowa was going to be easy peasie. I was quickly brought down to reality, when Sophia cried for 2 hours straight on the plane. I sat in the bathroom for over 1 hour, trying to calm her down. There was nothing I could do to make her happy. I could go on and on about the flight, but what for...

THANK GOD! Grandma and Grandpa Grove were at the airport to take Sophia. I had actually ran out of any reserve and rationed tank of TLC. I am not happy with myself on how I handled the stressful situations. I lost focus, was not able to think rationally. Again, I could beat myself up but do you really want to read about that???

The weekend quickly turned into a Fabulous Time. My older sister's family drove from Missouri to be with us for the day. Mom, Christie, Heidie and I went to the Heuer's home for Heidie's Wedding Shower. We later had a grand pizza party get together with Uncle & Aunt Bill & Lois Grove, Dave, Carrie, Peter, Maria and Dave's parents. Below are some photos from the weekend.

Sophia quickly grabbing on Granda Grove's earing. She is fast.
Heidie, Christie, Cousin Carrie and myself on Saturday night for the "Grove" pizza party.
Grandpa & Grandma Grove with grandchildren Sophia, Reece & Ryan.

Old friend Peggy Murray. We grew up together on Dupont Circle and have remained good family friends since age 3.

Chris and Suzie Heuer (Hosts of the Shower). Our families grew up together at Broadway Methodist Church.

Heidie, smiling and showing off the beautiful china plate that the delicious food was served on. I love this photo. She looks so happy!

Sister Christie, Mom, Heidie & Me. Can you believe the color combos we had on??? They match so close.

Christie and Marilyn Maddox. We also met Marilyn at Broadway Methodist Church. Marilyn and I share a B-day.

Myself with Linda Allen. We met the Allen's at the old neighborhood. Linda has a new grandaughter Kiera who was born in early January to Trisha & Jim Schlick. Tricia and I were BFF as kids.

Aunt Chrissie with Sophia and her daughter Ryan. (I was not allowed to hold Sophia all weekend long, to get a break). After her performance on the plane, I needed to build up some TLC fuel.

Grandpa Grove with Sophia and Shu/Heidie's Dog Taylor.

Serving Coffee at the shower. Don't I look like a lady from the 1950's who has 3 children, stays at home, cooks all the meals for the family, does the laundry, puts make up on daily, and loves every minute of it.

Mom with good friend Lee Cooper. The Grove Girl's are looking forward to getting to know Lee better.

The table at the Shower. I love this photo, with the sun peaking through and adorning the plates and utensils with bright rays. The beauty of the photo sums up the special day for Heidie.

I often wonder if people are reading the blog, but this weekend I kept talking with people who said... We love reading your blog. You crack me up, keep them coming and that makes me just giddy! So thank you for reading the blog, I hope I bring you laughs and very few tears.

I need to end this note with a couple random thank yous!! They will never reach the people, but I want to tell you about their kindness.

Lady on the plane to Omaha (outside the bathroom, we stayed in for an hour). Thanks for holding Sophia and wearing the gold African animal necklas that kept Sophia from crying for about 20 minutes.

Gentleman on the plane back to Columbus who kept myself and Sophia entertained with stories of his life and who carried our bags and attempted to help us run to our gate to catch our next flight. Too bad, we were too late.

***The best fact is Sophia is feeling great! Back to her old self. Hurah! My TLC tank is getting back to full.

What a weekend!

Sophia reading Valentines card from Johnny.

Older sister Christie Howard left her 6 month old daughter Ryan & 3 1/2 year old Reece in St. Joe, Missouri to come take care of her middle sister so un-selfishly. Saturday night we had a girls night at the house with the theme of making "No Sew" Blankets and Mexican food. The delicious food was catered by none other than friend Sharon Evanich. A group of Clintonville girls came to the house to catch up and make blankets for love ones. Thanks ladies for a fun night!

Sunday, I hired this great baby sitter that I met at the Mommy Mixer who came and watched Sophia for a few hours. Christie and I rushed out of the house and did some serious shopping w/out Sophia. Now, I would like to say we shopped for make-up, tried on fabulous clothing....but that is a lie. One quick stop into Target to buy valentine’s card, One long trip into babies r us for diapers, formula and registry shopping for a friend, and one really really long visit at the Cord Camera scrap booking store. Since, I know my little sister does not read the blog... I can say that we are building her a Scrapbook for a wedding gift. We were really strategic and organized when shopping for her items. It was so much fun. Wow, that scrap booking hobby is quite an art form. I don't think we will win the Blue Ribbon at the State Fair, but we had a lot of fun. It was so nice to sit down and build the pages. Mandatory Fun I say....

As I mentioned above my sister Christie has 2 kids who unfortunately have chronic ear infections. She knows how to identify them and help cope with the tears. Not to mention she is also a nurse. I had noticed that Sophia was brushing her ears with her hands and was quite fussy. So, Monday afternoon, my sister took Sophia into the Dr. for a check up. He said all was clear, just a soar throat, and gave her round 2 of the flu shot. As soon as I got home from work... Sophia was wound for sound. We could do nothing to make her feel better. She just cried and cried and cried some more. We finally put her in the bath tub for about an hour which seemed to calm her down. When she got out of the bath tub she was back at it again. We then buckled her in her car seat and braved the snowy weather with hopes of Sophia falling to sleep. She fell asleep lightly in the car after 10 minutes of driving.

Christie and I found the drive therapeutic as well and decided to keep driving. We had a deep conversation, touching on finances, being working moms, the constant desire to always be better and never just happy with our educational level, my OCD, our baby weight around or stomachs, and so much more. It was probably the best hour we spent together. A good sisterly bond.

So your wondering.... Is Sophia feeling better. The answer is No. Today is Wednesday, and I was fearful I was going to be on the Nightly News for neglecting a very sick baby, I called off for the day and went back to the Doctor. Sophia was a Doll at the Doctor. Hiding all her pain and flirted with the Doctors. They thought the fever and brushing of her ears is the teething. She has 3 teeth on top, 2 teeth on the bottom alreadybusting through the skin. Another tooth on top and two more on the bottom just around the corner. She is in PAIN! Instead of the Tylenol, I am giving her a good dose of Motrin. This should help with the pain, and also allowed me to write this Blog entry as she is out C O L D. THANK GOD!!!!!! She is testing my mothering ability and patience. I must admit, I lost my cool a couple times. Thank god my sister was here to help. A little angel! I would not of been able to do these days alone. Christie returned home yesterday. She was ready to see her family.

My dad, is not one of many words.... So when he speaks, I try to really listen. I remember this summer, when I was visiting my parents for just a few days w/out Jerry. I was tired, emotional, in complete shock, and wondering if I could stuff Sophia back where she was for last 10 months. He had taken me out to dinner and I was experiencing my afternoon cries and I said to him.... She has turned my life upside down, what did I do, I can't do this... So his words of wisdom were.......

Tiffanie, this is why God made it so two people make a child, because it makes it easier when two people can take care of the child. Ahhha.

I have complete admiration for single parents. I am going to make it this year, but I don't want to do this single parent thing again.

So, enough harping...

I need to brag on and on about my Fantastic Neighbors & Thank Them!

Gina & John helped watch Sophia on Saturday. In that short 2 hours I was gone.... I went to the bank, dropped off dry-cleaning, got gas in the car, and picked up Christie from the airport. Few! Lot's accomplished!

Abby & Carene came over on Fat Tuesday, to let me taste their Sticky Buns. YUMMMMMMMY! We also got in a hill workout on Monday while Pete, Abby & Gracie watched Sophia.

Tricia & Jackson Arthur came to the house yesterday to watch Sophia and let her sleep in her own bed. Tricia so graciously gave Sophia some much needed TLC. This was so helpful! Tricia, also brought me some fantastic soup.

When I arrived home last night, my neighbor John Bova was shoveling my driveway and had dropped off some Snowday soup....

I am sooooo blessed. I don't have enough words to express my thanks!

Sophia is up, and not crying. Hurah!

I bet you are thinking... Wow, Tiffanie does not mention Jerry in the blog. You are probably thinking, the photos are nice of Sophia and all, but what is Jerry up to. You may have noticed that I cleaned up my blog, deleting any photos of Jerry.

Well....There was a family member who is in a similar situation as ours that was disturbed and threatened in a serious way. We have been asked to ensure no information is leaked through Blogs, My Space, etc. etc. They are asking us not to be an easy pray. Which..... I appreciate the warning. I truly believe that people are good, don't mean harm, it just goes to show how "Half Full" I always look at things. As my co-worker said to me.... Don't be so naive Tiffanie...

So, it's very hard to write a blog to keep family members & friends informed on what's going on this year. I will be as vague as possible, and hope you can read my hieroglyphics.

Jerry and I talk everyday. It's mostly a quick update on Sophia during the day and a late good night call at 11pm. He had another shot this week, which made his arm very soar and blister. This shot will be repeated over the next few months to ensure proper immunization.

They have been gone for five weeks. He says each day they joke that it is "Ground Hogs Day". His favorite times of the day are Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. Each morning, they take a walk with their gear on to build up their tolerance.

Jerry continues to work towards his Masters Degree taking an on-line statistics class. Some of his very limited free time, he watches the CD collection of the Entourage (HBO Show). He is doing good and continues to stay positive. Sophia and I will be visiting him the middle of March. We are looking forward to seeing each other. I am afraid it will start the grieving process from the beginning. I am just starting to get over the mad phase.

Sophia in a new Italian T-shirt. It is from our dear friends Paula and Jim Wheelock who love to travel, especially to Italy. We met around 8 years ago at A&F. Paula and Jim's romance blossomed and they moved to San Diego shortly after. Sophia and I will be flying to San Diego in May to visit them before they head off to Dublin, Ireland for Jim's job. Thank you Jim and Paula for the lovely T-shirt for Sophia. I will get busy booking our flight.

Our good friends who we use to run with a few days a week Trisha and Paul Zelenack invited Sophia and I over for a pizza party on Friday night. Later in the evening, they broke the sad news, they will be moving from Clintonville to Grove City for a larger home, better school district, etc. Paul and Tricia are expecting their 2nd girl in May. Trisha and Paul met in the Army 12 years ago. They are a great support, and friends. We will miss having them so close.

Sophia going for a walk with my girlfriend Sharon. Sophia was not feeling the best (she has a cold) and I asked Sharon to come over and watch her for the day. We did not want to get her b-friend Jackson sick. Apparently Sophia's diaper had leaked under Sharon's supervision. Well our Nanny (Sabrina) got to the house and gave Sophia a bath, and she said Sophia's diaper was on backwards. Is that not toooooo funny! When I told Sharon, she could not stop laughing. She said...."How could I tell". Thank you Sharon for watching Sophia for the day.

Few!

Wow, it has been a whirwind since Grandma Grove left. Thursday night, Sophia and I were invited to Jackson's home for dinner. Tricia and Scott are such gracious hosts and cooked us a wonderful meal. Thank you Arthur family for a nice evening.

Friday night, I was in a funk and feeling kind of low. I had probably the hardest week at work since I returned from maternity leave. We have an intern in our department who is reporting to me. I spent a lot of time going back and forth.... Should I just have her measure, put samples away do all the pee on stuff or should I have her do more of the challenging things like writing comments, building tech packs, etc. In the end..... I decided to go with option two. I wanted her to feel challenged and really understand what it's like to be a technical designer. She was very anxious to get busy and after each project was corrected I carefully combed over her work....... Only to correct everything she did.... Talk about feeling like a teacher who is a failure. Was I not explaining it correctly? What was I doing wrong? I completly understand it's a learning process and a job I have been doing over 11 years, so how can I expect her to pick up the skill in one week. I guess I was ambitious : )...

Saturday, Sophia and I were up at the crack of dawn for Baby Yoga and a family filled day. We drove to Sugar Grove to watch cousin Tyler play basketball and later drive down to Grandma and Grandpa Mourns home in Athens. Jerry's father looks fabulous! He is continuing his chemo treatments and always very positive. Jerry's brother Michael and his family had a very scary night (the week of Martin Luther King Holiday). Their wood burning stove caught on fire and caused fire & smoke damage to their home. Thankfully, Sylvia's angel woke her up at 1:30am to discover the fire and get the family & pets out of the home. Sylivia and Tyler are staying at her sister's home, Michael is on the road staying in his truck, the pets are scattered around amongst family, and everyone is fine and ready to get back into their home. They were hoping to be back in the home by Tuesday. However, they will be living in the home while repairs are made to the damaged part of the home.

Sunday, Sophia and Boyfriend Johnny had a supervised date. Later that evening Best Friend Maria Bova came over to chit chat about Johnny's good looks and analize the date.

Sophia reading the mail tonight. She is really starting to reach for anything and everything.


BFF Maria Bova and Mom Laura.

Sophia reading to Maria Chapter 1 of the book "He's not that into you".

Dinah & Johnny resting. Dinah and I met probably 10 years ago at Jimmy Rawlins Dance Studio. We had lost touch for about a year until we met up again by surprise at the doctors office waiting to have our babes a couple weeks apart.

Date # 3.



Grandma, Grandpa & Scrappy Mourn

Sophia and aunt Jennifer clowning around.

Tyler making the first 2 points on the score board.

Aunt Sylvia, friend Taylor and Sylvia's cousin Greg in the stadium at the game.

Sophia happy one morning last week. Also in her new 18 month pj's.

Boof.... Ranhhhh!