OK, I will start by apologizing that this news is so late. Last weekend Greer injured her foot/leg/something. We went to Urgent Care, and they were unable to find a break. So we waited...and waited...and still she wasn't walking on it. Today I took her to see a pediatrician in Mullins (thanks to Aunt Ash and Uncle P for the help). He had some x-rays taken, but so far there is no evidence of a break. He will probably call me back in a little while, but before lunch he and I decided our next step would be calling Moore Orthopedics in Lexington (thanks Aunt Meghan) and asking them for a follow-up appointment.
She really is pretty happy. She is a little more moody when her Motrin wears off, and she refuses to do much walking on her foot. Momma and Daddy just need to make sure that their baby is all right. We wouldn't want to ruin her chances of being a professional athlete this early.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Discipline Help...please
Today Greer decided she would take a step forward in disobedience and hit me. Thankfully, she only weighs 1/5 of my body weight, BUT I would like help extinguishing this behavior so that it will not continue. When she did it today, I told her that it was not nice to hit people. Then, I put her in her crib alone. When she stopped crying, I went back in her room and told her that I would not allow her to hit me, and then we read a book together, so that she knew I loved her. I am not really sure when it is appropriate to start spanking. I have read so many different opinions. Most of the things I have read are very general, too. I did read this great article on Family Life that I thought I would pass on. Strong-Willed Child will be my next read!http://www.familylife.com/site/apps/nl/content3.asp?c=dnJHKLNnFoG&b=3584679&ct=4638723
Happy Anniversary Chad!
Thank you for 8 wonderful years! I look forward to many more as your wife and best friend! We have persevered through many different changes, but I am so thankful for the opportunity we have had over the past 15 months to be parents together. We have learned to care more deeply for each other as we care for Greer.
I will miss you tonight while you are on the road. It is kinda fitting with how the past year has been! I appreciate your forethought to plan a vacation in Atlanta to reflect on our marriage and spend time together last week. As for tonight, have you given any thought to having dinner delivered to our door? Just kidding! I guess I haven't had to cook the last few nights. You always plan ahead!
I will miss you tonight while you are on the road. It is kinda fitting with how the past year has been! I appreciate your forethought to plan a vacation in Atlanta to reflect on our marriage and spend time together last week. As for tonight, have you given any thought to having dinner delivered to our door? Just kidding! I guess I haven't had to cook the last few nights. You always plan ahead!
Saturday, September 6, 2008
My E-mail to the Governor
In case Gov. Sanaford isn't allowed to read his own e-mail, I decided to post the e-mail here for him to read. You might find it funny as well. Pray for an end to the bureaucracy!
Governor Sanford,
I recently moved back to my home state of South Carolina after living in North Carolina for 3 years. I experienced the normal trepidation this week as I prepared to transfer my license tags to SC. I had pulled together every form of personal ID for that great challenge. Today (Saturday, September 6)was to be the big day, but after getting up at 7 AM and getting my 15-month-old daughter ready, the office was closed for "office maintenance." I was devestated as I thought of the lack of respect for the residents of South Carolina. We pay taxes to employ those that work at the DMV, and they did not have enough courtesy to put a note on the DMV website. Even though I have been living in another state, I have followed many of the changes that you have been making in South Carolina and the Department of Motor Vehicles. While I appreciate the strides you have made, I hope that you will sincerely consider pushing for a more professional and customer-focused work environment. In my opinion, a government agency doesn't have to more closely resemble a communist country than an American business. Thank you for your time and your work on behalf of the state of South Carolina.
Governor Sanford,
I recently moved back to my home state of South Carolina after living in North Carolina for 3 years. I experienced the normal trepidation this week as I prepared to transfer my license tags to SC. I had pulled together every form of personal ID for that great challenge. Today (Saturday, September 6)was to be the big day, but after getting up at 7 AM and getting my 15-month-old daughter ready, the office was closed for "office maintenance." I was devestated as I thought of the lack of respect for the residents of South Carolina. We pay taxes to employ those that work at the DMV, and they did not have enough courtesy to put a note on the DMV website. Even though I have been living in another state, I have followed many of the changes that you have been making in South Carolina and the Department of Motor Vehicles. While I appreciate the strides you have made, I hope that you will sincerely consider pushing for a more professional and customer-focused work environment. In my opinion, a government agency doesn't have to more closely resemble a communist country than an American business. Thank you for your time and your work on behalf of the state of South Carolina.
Friday, September 5, 2008
SC is reminding me way too much of Slovakia
I am glad that my life amuses someone other than me. In fact I think it is helping me find the humor in things that frustrate me. Case in point...
As you have read we just moved back to SC. Let's start with our residence...an apartment that cost way too much considering I have asked the staff to fix some problems and we still have a toilet that runs and a light bulb hanging out of the fan with no cover on it. These both seem like easy things to solve, but then again I must have moved to a communist country. Last week my car was hit with a plastic gate that guards the exit to our apartment. It is on a sensor, but it did not work for me. The staff told me not to worry the paint would come off of my van. Never mind the gate not actually working or it hitting another car.
Next...our new residence. I could go all day on this one, but I will spare you. We are building a house through KB Homes. We signed the paperwork 7 weeks ago, and chose our customizations 4 weeks ago. There is nothing on our lot, no one had called for the last 6 weeks, and we are paying rent until our house is done! Chad called on our way to Atlanta, and they explained that someone would call to schedule our preconstruction meeting. Never happened, so my brilliant husband called their VP of Sales. We later recieved 2 calls. Turns out someone listed our NC phone number in the files (even though we never gave it to them), and they couldn't reach us there. Capitalism at its best! So we have a meeting on Monday, and they still seem to think that after 2 months of no progress that the house can be finished in 4-6 more months.
OK, I saved the best for last. Tomorrow Chad and I are going to the DMV. I have pulled every form of personal identification I can find in expectation for this fine meeting. This time I have a secret weapon...Greer. You see she is just too cute! They have to help me. Even though, as much as I would like to have the name Reagan Fowler Tidd on my drivers license, I know this cannot be done in my home state. Funny I had it in WV and NC, but I already fought this battle when I lived in Mullins.
Yesterday I went to pay our car taxes. In SC you have to go to the Auditor's office to get the assessment of your property, then you go to the Treasurer's office to pay them. Stupid! NC and WV both condensed this process to the DMV. (Mark Sanford, I hope you are reading this.) The Auditor told me that I had to have ID stating that I lived in SC before she could assess the value of my cars. Which meant that I would have to go to the DMV to change my license and come back and then go back to the DMV to get my tags. Then Greer got to her...she told me that I could provide her with proof of an address change, which I had. Then I just had to change Chad's SC license to our new address, which could be done on the computer next door. Within 30 minutes I left the county office, a lot poorer, but I left with all the information I needed to go and get tags for our cars tomorrow. There is hope in the fine state of SC!
But somehow the frustration of it all makes me wish that I didn't speak the language and that we had some sort of excuse like "30 years under communist regime". For now, I will just chalk it up to a government that is way too big to trust me to want and try to be a responsible citizen and businesses that think they can have their cake and eat it, too even in a recessed economy. I wish we could all return to a time when a free market economy provided an incentive to do your job well. Oh well, guess that is just way too much economics talk from someone who hasn't taken a class on the subject since high school.
As you have read we just moved back to SC. Let's start with our residence...an apartment that cost way too much considering I have asked the staff to fix some problems and we still have a toilet that runs and a light bulb hanging out of the fan with no cover on it. These both seem like easy things to solve, but then again I must have moved to a communist country. Last week my car was hit with a plastic gate that guards the exit to our apartment. It is on a sensor, but it did not work for me. The staff told me not to worry the paint would come off of my van. Never mind the gate not actually working or it hitting another car.
Next...our new residence. I could go all day on this one, but I will spare you. We are building a house through KB Homes. We signed the paperwork 7 weeks ago, and chose our customizations 4 weeks ago. There is nothing on our lot, no one had called for the last 6 weeks, and we are paying rent until our house is done! Chad called on our way to Atlanta, and they explained that someone would call to schedule our preconstruction meeting. Never happened, so my brilliant husband called their VP of Sales. We later recieved 2 calls. Turns out someone listed our NC phone number in the files (even though we never gave it to them), and they couldn't reach us there. Capitalism at its best! So we have a meeting on Monday, and they still seem to think that after 2 months of no progress that the house can be finished in 4-6 more months.
OK, I saved the best for last. Tomorrow Chad and I are going to the DMV. I have pulled every form of personal identification I can find in expectation for this fine meeting. This time I have a secret weapon...Greer. You see she is just too cute! They have to help me. Even though, as much as I would like to have the name Reagan Fowler Tidd on my drivers license, I know this cannot be done in my home state. Funny I had it in WV and NC, but I already fought this battle when I lived in Mullins.
Yesterday I went to pay our car taxes. In SC you have to go to the Auditor's office to get the assessment of your property, then you go to the Treasurer's office to pay them. Stupid! NC and WV both condensed this process to the DMV. (Mark Sanford, I hope you are reading this.) The Auditor told me that I had to have ID stating that I lived in SC before she could assess the value of my cars. Which meant that I would have to go to the DMV to change my license and come back and then go back to the DMV to get my tags. Then Greer got to her...she told me that I could provide her with proof of an address change, which I had. Then I just had to change Chad's SC license to our new address, which could be done on the computer next door. Within 30 minutes I left the county office, a lot poorer, but I left with all the information I needed to go and get tags for our cars tomorrow. There is hope in the fine state of SC!
But somehow the frustration of it all makes me wish that I didn't speak the language and that we had some sort of excuse like "30 years under communist regime". For now, I will just chalk it up to a government that is way too big to trust me to want and try to be a responsible citizen and businesses that think they can have their cake and eat it, too even in a recessed economy. I wish we could all return to a time when a free market economy provided an incentive to do your job well. Oh well, guess that is just way too much economics talk from someone who hasn't taken a class on the subject since high school.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Same Thing, New Eyes
I thought that I would write a little about the new opportunities I have had over the last couple of days. My wonderful husband took me to Atlanta to see what was quite possibly the worst showing of the Clemson Tigers in my memory. I will try to make sure that ugly display does not overshadow the beauty of the pregame activities.
OK, back to the new. Chad and I has so much fun alone for a few days in Atlanta. There is so much to do, and we made the most of all the restaurants and local flare. Sometimes in life I find myself just observing the people around me and all of a sudden I feel a fire in my chest and the blinders I was wearing come off. Really, the account that I am getting ready to describe started out like it had the previous times.
I was sitting in the stands of the Georgia Dome enjoying the worst "game food" that I have ever eaten. We were in a little mix of Clemson and Alabama fans. Over to our right was the Clemson band pumping out team pride better than I have EVER heard before (Great Job Clemson Band!), and I looked down at the field and something new happened. I imagined myself as the parent of a freshman football player that had been dreaming of this day AND it was finally here. Team pride is a term that we all throw around, but I find that the pride is in an image. It is very generic, and selfish. The pride that I am talking about is in a person. A child. Your child.
It is how we felt watching Michael Phelps' mom at the Olympics. I couldn't help it. I wanted to find one of the proudest dads in the whole stadium. Ever heard of Mark Richt? He is the Georgia football coach, but his son had the intelligence to go to Clemson. :) Mark, a former QB himself, was there to watch his son, Jon, a walk-on QB at Clemson, sit the bench. The love of a parent really has nothing to do with performance. It has everthing to do with perseverance. To see our kids have a goal and achieve it- that is pride. It doesn't matter if the goal is walking, using spoon, or becoming a college football player.
Just one of the little joys of parenthood. I am just so proud to share it with so many parents all over the world. Oh, that the Lord of the universe would make me into the kind of parent that reveals His love and His pride in those he created to the whole created world.
OK, back to the new. Chad and I has so much fun alone for a few days in Atlanta. There is so much to do, and we made the most of all the restaurants and local flare. Sometimes in life I find myself just observing the people around me and all of a sudden I feel a fire in my chest and the blinders I was wearing come off. Really, the account that I am getting ready to describe started out like it had the previous times.
I was sitting in the stands of the Georgia Dome enjoying the worst "game food" that I have ever eaten. We were in a little mix of Clemson and Alabama fans. Over to our right was the Clemson band pumping out team pride better than I have EVER heard before (Great Job Clemson Band!), and I looked down at the field and something new happened. I imagined myself as the parent of a freshman football player that had been dreaming of this day AND it was finally here. Team pride is a term that we all throw around, but I find that the pride is in an image. It is very generic, and selfish. The pride that I am talking about is in a person. A child. Your child.
It is how we felt watching Michael Phelps' mom at the Olympics. I couldn't help it. I wanted to find one of the proudest dads in the whole stadium. Ever heard of Mark Richt? He is the Georgia football coach, but his son had the intelligence to go to Clemson. :) Mark, a former QB himself, was there to watch his son, Jon, a walk-on QB at Clemson, sit the bench. The love of a parent really has nothing to do with performance. It has everthing to do with perseverance. To see our kids have a goal and achieve it- that is pride. It doesn't matter if the goal is walking, using spoon, or becoming a college football player.
Just one of the little joys of parenthood. I am just so proud to share it with so many parents all over the world. Oh, that the Lord of the universe would make me into the kind of parent that reveals His love and His pride in those he created to the whole created world.
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