Supper Time

I make fun of some old fashioned things... but I am a believer in others.

For instance, I like people who "court."
I think canning, quilting, and crocheting are cool.
I think the idea of coca-cola and television being a treat sounds magical. 
I like to see families spend time together.






















I think supper time should be at the kitchen table...

So, the Bumgarners are officially back in the swing of things. We are eating dinner together as a unit. For a while it was chaos. We couldn't all eat at the same time. But I think we can now. I am finding this tradition to be old fashioned. Families I go visit at work never eat together, many of them do not even have a dining room table... much less a nutritious meal.

But my life is destined to be different. In fact, I want it different. My grandmother made her family sit at the table...she served nutritious and delicious meals... she even made a quick bread each night to go with the meal. I think sitting at the table is a beautiful thing... a communion. It is also what I want for my family.  What I think makes my family strong, will make my family better, and what will make my family survive. I want to advocate to keep family dinner alive, in all households! ;)

Panoramic?

I've known Nicole since middle school... but we became best friends by first, getting into trouble. 1995 was a good year... that is all I will divulge.

Years passed... We spent the night at each others' houses, shared clothes, called boys, and dreamed about our futures. I didn't go anywhere without Nicole at my side. When I moved back from Germany in 2000, I spent my first night back at her house, and got snowed in! It was awesome! We rented Clueless and ate Subway, I think.

Nicole is my BFF.

I cried when her dog Schwartz died. I threatened the boys who broke her heart. I listened to her Mom, because she is my second mother. I made her threaten the boys who broke my heart. I got a Belk Card and a Credit Card because she had one. When her hair was long, so was mine. She taught me how to take photos of myself by turning the camera around - haha. Nicole was the first person to ride in my car, when I got my license. We enrolled in college classes at the same time and she was with me when I bought wine coolers when I turned 21. We lived together in college, I was her maid-of-honor, and she was the only friend at my wedding. We both lived in Marion for a while and we frequently met to run. Our jobs even crossed paths... because we both work with children.

Then she had Macy, and I was there... waiting and pacing with her Mom! 
I had Ava, and she came to visit, and cuddled Ava.
I held Brody when he was days old.
She held both of the twins, on their first day of life.
I saw Koby when he was less than 24 hours old, and touched his beautiful face. 

Our kids invite each other to their birthday parties. I enjoy these times more than anything I have ever done. Seriously.

Macy turned 5 this week... Standing outside of Nicole's house on Saturday, as we celebrated the big day, I heard Macy yell "Ava! Come here!" It made me reminisce of all the BRTs (be right there), Pepsi freezes, late night phone calls, hurricane stay at home days, watermelon striped shirt guys, blizzards in Boone, Big City Jazzes, drive-bys, pink and yellow decorations, pool days, taco making in bikinis, phi-snakes, El Chapala nights, ROXANNES, Britney-fests, NCAF club meetings, and undoubtedly the list goes on.

I was reminded that we are family... and I wasn't leaving without a picture of our crew. A picture we joked about for her entire pregnancy with Koby, child number 3. We were sure we would need a panoramic camera to capture the moment!

Panoramic? Maybe not... but Nicole and Carly loving six kids, absolutely! 

Infant Massage

We have only just begun infant massage but I have personally decided it should be a mandatory course taught before you leave the hospital with your baby.

It provides bonding time with your child; gives them security; is calming to Mommy; is a great time for language enrichment; is fun and easy... the list goes on. Here is Bumgarner Massage Class Day #2!

You start by greeting the baby with your hands!

Your hands should never leave their body... enjoy eye contact with the baby! 


 (As you can see, I have a customer waiting in my waiting area...)

The satisfied customer!

Another satisfied customer!

I am so lucky to get to share such awesome experiences with my children!

Kitty Winks

Have you ever gotten winked at by a cat? They look directly at you and then blink both eyes. My Dad told me those were kitty winks, and it meant "I love you" in kitty.  Being a speech pathologist, I know all about nonverbal communication; it supposedly comprises 80% of the communication people utilize in interactions while verbal communication is utilized only 20% of the time. You are probably thinking, "Where is she going with this?" Well, I'm tangentially getting there!
        
Terrence and I work all the time. Daily we get up before 6:00 a.m., he goes to work, works 10 hours, then returns home to cook, mow the lawn, and take care of three small children.
I get up, get three kids and myself ready, drop 3 kids off, work 8 hours, pick up three kids, come home, and take care of the three kids and two dogs. I often run a few miles in all this commotion (at least 4x a week).

By 8:30 or 9:00 p.m. we have the kids down. Although Elle is a straggler anymore - she loves Mommy, Daddy, and Elle hour. The dogs are usually passed out and we are ready for a glass of wine and television.

Given this schedule we have little time for each other.  We chat very little... But just a minute ago, I looked over at Terrence and he "kitty winked" at me.  It's the little things in life that make us happy...  and the little things that I am grateful for!


2002, 2007, 2009, 2012 - Great Years for us! (Plus all the time in between)

Our Ophthalmology Visit

Easton has been doing some things that were suggestive of potential farsightedness.  A colleague, my friend, who also happens to be a pediatrician suggested we consider going to a Pediatric Ophthalmologist. Of course, crazy me goes and calls one up in Asheville immediately after our discussion only to be told Easton couldn't be seen until December. I was heart broken! But, I told the receptionist over the phone to put me on a waiting list, in case of a cancellation, and I would be there for sure.  Well they called me yesterday.  I dropped everything and told them "Yes I will be there!"

Easton and I dropped off the girls and headed towards Asheville at 9:00 this morning.  We had an appointment time of 10:15.  From my house it takes 45 minutes to an hour to get to Asheville, 45 minutes if you drive like me 10 years ago and more like an hour if you drive like me these days. We had no trouble finding the office, but I did miss one turn and ended up in a rough section of town. It wasn't too bad, Easton and I are tough.  When we got to the office, I was amazed at how big the place was. Remember I am from the foothills of NC, we don't go all out down here! Of course, the receptionists were greeting you immediately at the front, and seriously couldn't be nicer, more helpful, or cheerful.  We paid our copay and headed to the waiting area. I barely sat down when a chipper and cute blonde said "Easton Bumgarner." She took Easton back to dilate his eyes. He laughed and cooed as she shined lights into his eyes.  She instructed us that it would take 30 minutes for his eyes to dilate and took us back to the waiting room. There I met so many interesting families and children.  One was a man and his daughter who was born prematurely (he never said how many weeks gestation) weighing 1 pound and 9 ounces.  She is a miracle child, now 5, and beautiful. I met a little boy who was turning two and appeared to have motor dyscoordination and severe speech delays. I met an elderly couple who had lived all over the world and celebrated tons of successes. I met a little boy who had the same wolf that Easton has. It was an interesting waiting room, and made me feel oddly secure.

Unfortunately, Easton decided to pee all over me after drinking the only bottle I had brought, and there was no nursing area. I did change him, but my dress had to dry... I only had one evaluation at work today, I don't think the family noticed my pee-pee dress! :) He seemed hungry after the hour we waited so I stood up and swayed with him. About thirty minutes later we were called back to see the Dr.  He diagnosed Easton with moderate hyperopia (+4.5), farsightedness, which was not typical for a child his age.  Some degree of farsightedness is, however.  He made a recommendation for follow up in 8-9 months.  The concern is inward turning of the eyes. We are to watch for that.  Vision could resolve on its own, he could require glasses, or I guess even a patch may be needed. We will take it though! Farsightedness is something I can live with, and I am pretty sure Easton can too. Whew! This has been a tough couple of weeks and this visit made my day!