Catching Up

Well it has been a few days, mostly because our internet has been down the last few days. Of course it goes down during the Thanksgiving holiday when we really want to use skype and see all of our family and friends. It is still not working great, but I can at least blog right now. So the last few days have been interesting. First I want to say that we had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and I am so thankful to have such a nice and loving husband, awesome son and amazing family and friends.
Thanksgiving started out great, with me going to the hairdresser. I was so excited because it had been way overdue, was was also a little hesitant because of a really bad experience while in Alicante, Spain a few years back. Good news is the hairdresser was a man, and did a great job. I took Jaxson with me and Evy watched him while he was doing my hair, and then I took him back when I was finished. He was an angel, everyone at the salon said how calm and good he was, I just laughed.  After getting my hair done Jax and I returned home to find Pat just where we left him:) On the couch dying of boredom. He said if this injury ever happened again, he would be done. He just can't handle just sitting. I feel bad for him, but he will be good to go in no time!
After hanging around the house for a little while longer a few of his teammates came to the house to visit, as well as an assistant coach and the trainer. everyone brought desserts which is terrible for me because one is better than the other and I can't stop eating them. We did bring one of the desserts to Kyle's house, which is where we had Thanksgiving dinner. I didn't prepare anything because on Monday I still thought we were coming home this week. Needless to say I was packing and the last thing I was thinking was preparing dinner. Lucky for us Pat's teammate Kyle and his girlfriend Megan had us and Deon (the other American) over for dinner. It was great, turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, basically everything. Jaxson loved his first thanksgiving dinner, especially the potatoes and stuffing. He couldn't get enough.
Friday I had my first driving experience in Greece. Now while it was scary and the drivers here are insane, I am kind of sad it took me this long to start driving. It's not that bad, and I probably blend right in with my terrible driving:) I drove Pat to therapy, and in my mind I thought it would be an hour, maybe an hour and a half. Well We left the house at 11:15am and got home at 3:30. Luckily once again, Jax was the man and was quiet and everyone loved him. One of the trainers came over to take a picture of him. Pat had a CPM machine delivered to the house today, which he has to use for 1 hour 3 times a day, which should make rehab quicker when we go. Other than that I have just been running after crazy man, and the last two days this boy has been WALKING. It's so cute, but every time we pull out the video camera he stops and just stands there. So frustrating. We are going to do a sneak attack with the video camera tomorrow so we can catch him in action. This boy has got some great balance!

Sleepy after surgery

Hanging out in the hospital looking at daddy

Happy Thanksgiving!

He is hungary

I miss everyone back home!

So sad he can't be in the US for his first Thanksgiving

Some of the yummy goodies Pat's teammates brought,
I couldn't resist I needed a bit of the chocolate, DELISH

Bored...but always in a good mood!

Body Scans

Why are people so stupid. Today, one of the busiest travel days of the year, people are going to be at the airports causing delays because they are protesting the scans. People, if you don't want to get a body scan, don't freaking fly. The airports are trying to make flying safer cause of a little thing a few years ago called 911, you know where terribly bad people flew planes into buildings taking sooo many lives and destroying the twin towers. STUPID PEOPLE I just cant take it!

All Better

Patrick's knee is put back together. Dr.Lavakos did the surgery this morning and it went well. He is now recovering and will stay over night because he has some drainage tubes still in place. Jax and I were at the hospital twice today, once in the morning before surgery and then after surgery. Pat looks good, just tired. We are going to go one more time tonight, and have one of the players that visits drive us back home. More details to come, and photos of the most adorable sweet patient these nurses will ever have:)

It's Go Time

So Patrick finally decided, and the winner is... he is going to have surgery here in Greece. He is very comfortable and confident in the doctor here, and is also looking forward to an aggressive rehab here until we get back home. I went upstairs to tell Evy and she was so happy and started clapping. She said she was so sad all today because last night I told her we were leaving this week.
Anyway I will update you tomorrow after his surgery. It is at 10 in the morning and should take no more than 2 hours. He stays the night at least one night. I actually envied him for a minute, he will get a good night sleep with pain meds and no Jaxson waking him up, hahaha.

Friendship

Last night was so fun! Jax was in a great mood and we went out to dinner with some friends, to a great Mexican restaurant. I know I have said this before, but one of the reasons I'm so sad to leave is because Jax is sooo loved here. They just can't get enough of him. I know all our friends and family are at home, and obviously no one can love him more, but I love seeing our friends here and even strangers loving him so much. Last night, everyone's attention was glued to Jax.
It just had me thinking, when Pat and I journey every year to a new country I never think about people coming in to our lives, and staying. But as our journey continues in new places and countries every year we have been so fortunate to meet fantastic people and friends. We will take the friendships we have made this year, and of course friendships we have made in the past, and have them forever. Hopefully by the end of Patrick's career we will have good friends from all over the world. The first year we became good friends with the Americans, from Dallas and Kansas. While living in Sevilla, everyone at home knew about Ericka from Dallas, we were always together and had sleep overs, so much fun I could laugh for hours with her. Also in Sevilla I met Mikki from Kansas was so nice and Margaret (Gosia) from Poland was also a friend immediately but unfortunately she had to go home for most of the season. Then we went to Alicante and met the Waleskowski's from Ohio. Great people, and they had one of the cutest kids ever Donovan. In Santiago, Xavi from Spain who was like an American. Pat and he could just talk and talk, they were great friends and his fiance Jess from California, one of the nicest girls you will ever meet. Then who could forget Aina from Bilboa, Spain, one of my favorite people in the world.  I had way too much fun with her in Tenerife, she will always be a dear friend, I just need to keep up with my Spanish so I can always communicate with her:) And of course here Evy and Mandy both from Greece are like family. They treat Jaxson like family and for that I will always be grateful! Here's a picture from last night. Great times!

The Greeks. Mandy, Laz, Christos and Evy

.

Still Undecided

Well...we are kind of in the same place we were a few days ago, except a little more educated. Pat has talked with multiple physicians and researched enough to know everything about this procedure. If anyone knows Pat even a little, you know the boy can research. Before he does anything he researches it (hahahha) so imagine surgery.  So as of now, he is still unsure what to do, have the surgery in Greece, or come back to the states and have it done. Only time will tell, so I'll let you know when the decision is made.

In other news, today has been an intense day. When it rains, it pours to say the least. we spent the evening at the doctors. Jax woke up this morning with a nasty cough, but throughout the day he didn't cough at all or have any other symptoms. Then, this evening while we were getting dinner together, he began with a coughing fit. It was terrible. I went out side immediately cause it was cool and I figured that would help. It was definitely croup, cause once you hear that cough you can't get it out of your head. It sounds awful. So we went to the doctors for one, because I was concerned, but also because its Friday and if it gets worse who knows what is open tomorrow. Certain hospitals are closed, as well as pharmacies along with the doctors office. So she told me which hospital and which pharmacy to go to, she also gave me her cell phone and said call her at any hour. So i feel much better now:) On a good note, Jaxson took his first steps today. It was exciting and he didn't fall on his face so that was a plus! I think he will be walking any day now. Good timing, I'll be taking care of Pat and following Jax around the house hoping he doesn't get hurt too bad.

What else...oh as for me it was a big day. I submitted my first nursing application. I am pretty excited for this job, if I get it. Hopefully they will overlook that I haven't worked in three years I would be a great asset to the team:)

Oh did I mention Jax is obsessed with climbing?!? and balls, and hide and seek. He is so much fun now, but i think i may be in the ER a few more times in the near future.

Clarification

I did just want to clarify that the number one reason I'm excited to come home is to meet Chloe. She is the cutest little thing I've ever seen and I am so excited to meet her, and so is Pat. I can't wait for Jax to meet her. Also can't wait to party it ip for alexs 21st birthday. Both are gonna be great!

Staying Positive

Well I know I need to look on the bright side, and realize that everything happens for a reason.  I am fully confident that whatever that reason is, will be something great, because Pat deserves to catch a break! So here are some things that keep me staying positive, when the sadness sets in.

Reason's why this doesn't suck:

1. We will be home for Christmas. Enough said.

2. Jaxson will have his 1st birthday at home with our family and friends.
3. Friends of ours wedding is in February, now we can go.
4. Did I mention we will be home for Christmas?!?
5. Our bed at home is amazing, and here, not so much.
6. Endless supply of babysitters whom we trust:)
7. Getting back to nursing...part-time hopefully.

Well thats it for now, but there will be more. Until then...thinking happy thoughts:)

Terrible News

So unexpected. Pat went to see the doctor and was told he tore his ACL. Terrible news. Not much to say. Surgery, rehab, rehab and more rehab. Feel so bad for him! We will obviously be home soon, not sure when. He will have his surgery here, probably this week.  More details to come...

Lazy, lazy day!

Well unfortunately things last night did not go as expected. During the last quarter of the game, Pat landed badly from jumping, and injured his knee. Looking at his face on t.v., I seriously thought it was a torn acl. A doctor came right over to him, and after examining him said he was pretty sure that was not the case, thank God! However, this morning when Pat woke up, he was still in pain. They took him for an MRI and we will get the results tomorrow afternoon. I am praying nothing is torn, and it is just a sprain, that would be the best case scenario.
Needless to say, we did not go out last night. We were both bummed, but obviously we were more concerned with his knee, and it was definitely smart for him to stay home and rest it.  Now that we have found a babysitter, there will be plenty of times in the future when we can go out. Evy and Mandy promised we would do bouzouki again soon!
Other than that, it has been a long and boring day. Jax and I have just been hanging out at home and playing. He can now climb up on the couch, so now he REALLY must be watched even closer. Here is a clip of him from a few weeks ago climbing.  You should see him now, he thinks he is spiderman. I have to get an updated video clip. It would be funny if it wasn't so scary. Oh.... and by the way, he doesn't have pants on because when he crawls on the ceramic floor, it make him slip, so I took them off. But usually I do dress him in pants and socks, haha

Excessive much?!?

Can I just say that I am sitting, writing this blog post while eating a piece of bread smothered with not only peanut butter but with nutella on top of the peanut butter. Its just just a little layer on top either. The peanut butter and nutella topping is dripping off I have so much of it. Pat got me addicted to this madness, and now I just can't stop. I've been trying to lose weight since Jax was born, not gain 10 lbs in one sitting. Sad, but I love it to much to give this up.
Anyway Im sitting at home, while Jaxson sleeps, as Pat is at his game. Crazy freaking fans in Greece I tell you. That's probably the one thing I REALLY dilike about Greece. Why can't the fans be civilized and act like adults? Rather, they act crazy, spitting and throwing things on the court and at the players, at times rioting. Not lying, when you go to a game at every entrance to the gym there are at least 4 police officers as well as multiple cops outside and all throughout the gym. Seriously there has to be something better for these police officers to do! Seriously, get your fans under control Greece. I can't go to the game against Olympiakos because last year their fans were completely out of hand, so the team was punished this season. They are not allowed to have any fans for the first 6 games. Well that stinks, because I really wanted to see the game, and the gym. Olympiakos is my brother in law, Dimitri's team.  I really wanted to get some pictures in there. Oh well, maybe another time.
Aside from the bad news of not going to the game, the awesome news is that Pat and I are going out tonight. Excited is an understatement! Anxious would also be a good choice of words. We will be going out at midnight, so Jax really won't be awake, but I'm so nervous to leave him with a non family member for the first time. Hopefully he will stay asleep for the entire time we are gone. If not, Irene (the babysitter) will call me and I will walk home, the whole half mile, and feed him back to sleep. Sounds like a good plan right? Well, we will see.  We are going out with some of the Greek players and wives. Evy and Mandy just invited Pat and I the other day. We are going to something called Bouzouki, its Greek dancing and singing, and we can even dance, haha. We will see a famous singer, Ramos, who is apparently great. Im so excited for tonight, hopefully I'll get a few pictures so I can show you the fun.

Growing up quickly

It's so exciting seeing Jax growing, not only physically, but everyday he does something new. Lately he has been loving his push toy. After he got stitches as I previously mentioned in another post, we went and bought Jax some toys. We bought the toys because for one we felt bad for him, but also because he didn't have many toys here. Pat and I didn't want to go out buying lots of things because not only can't we bring them home with us, but Christmas and his big 1st birthday are coming up so of course he will be getting some new toys in no time. One of the toys he likes most is this push toy. At first he wasn't sure how to get the hang of it, he couldn't control it so he would push it and fall. Now that he's played with it for a good period of time, he has this balance/walking thing down! He pushes it around, steers it and really enjoys playing with it. When he is done walking, he will usually squat, then sit and play. Oh and he already has the shaking his head no thing down. We are in for some trouble. Here's a little clip we got, its pretty cute.

Foodie Friday

So I figured once a week I'll show one of my favorite foods/drinks Ive had the past week. This week its nothing I have made or ordered, but its something Pat and I eat daily. Actually Jax has really taken a liking to it as well. I give him tastes of it and he just keeps coming back for more. This Friday I'm featuring Fage Total Greek yogurt with strawberry. Its the most delicious yogurt ever. There is something about mixing it yourself that is so much fun, it makes it even tastier. This is in the States, and its something my mom has loved for a while and always wanted me to taste, but I never tried it, I just thought greek yogurt was gross. However mixed with something sweet it is amazing. My favorite is strawberry, but it comes in a few flavors. I also like the blueberry and honey (but you can't add all the honey, its too much). There is also cherry and peach that I have seen but haven't tried yet. It's less expensive here than in the states, which is a plus since we eat it everyday! Try it out, you'll love it!

Too close for comfort

Today Jax and I had another great pilates session. Evy always comes downstairs to get us around 5:00, because she always drives. Pilates starts at 5:30, so we usually leave at 5:00. Jax happened to wake up from his nap at like 4:40, so he was in such a great mood the entire class. I was so happy because when he's in a good mood he doesn't hang on me the whole class. He crawls around, plays with all the equiptment, plays with all the other women in the class and sometimes just sits (for a few minutes) and watches us exercise. I was so proud of him for being such a good boy! When class was over, as we were just about to leave, the people from the class after us were coming in. There was a lady that came in, who we have seen once or twice before. She was probably in her 40s or 50s, so she obviously either has children or has been around enough children to know NOT to do this. She takes Jaxson's hand and starts kissing his palm, and then proceeds to do the whole "spit" thing in his palm as well. I was so grossed out. Lady, don't you know kids put their hands right in their mouths?!? Well I happened to have sanitizer in my hand, so i grabbed his and rubbed it down for like 30 seconds. For real, who does that?
At first I thought it was a greek thing, but when we got in the class Evy was like, "why would she do that"?!? Well I was wondering the same thing...people keep your spit to yourself. Thanks:)

Things I love about Greece...so far

1. Food
This comes to mind immediately. We go out once or twice a week and taste different Greek restaurants, and we always love everything we get. Now I do realize I need to learn the correct names of the food, however I only know my favorites by names that I give them. For instance once a week I always get chicken on a stick. I know there is a "real" name for this, but I'm not sure what it is and since I dont even know the Greek alphabet yet, I have little hope on how to look up the spelling even if I did know the name. One name that I do know tzatzik (i think thats how you spell it). It is probably my favorite Greek food. Its a greek sauce usually put on gyros, but i just love dipping pita bread in it while drinking a glass of wine. Its made of strained yogurt with cucumber, garlic and some other stuff in it. It's absolutely amazing, I will learn how to make it this year! Gyros are also really good here, of course with chicken, not poor little lamb, which Pat loves. Did I ever tell you they sell baby food here that comes in "vegetables with lamb and veal" mixed in, thats how much the Greeks love their lamb! FYI... Jax will not be eating that anytime soon. The greek salad is a staple in this household, whether we eat it out or I make it. The enormous piece of feta on top alone makes me love it, but the cucmbers, tomatoes and red onion are so tasty. On to the coffee. I am a big fan of it all. Coffee, freddos, espressos are all delicious; however, I am a freddoccino addict. When I go out to a cafe I always get one, my favorite is from a cafe at the marina. It can come with whip cream, so of course I always get it with. Its delicious and high in calories I'm sure, but I will never stop drinking them, ever! These are just a few of my favorite things, so many more delicious foods I'll tell you about later.


Jax is starring at the whip cream...he loves it!

2.People
The Greeks have been quite amazing to us, or should I say Jax haha. One thing about the people here is they LOVE children. Anywhere we go people just love him. They smile, pinch, squeeze, grab, hold and spit on Jaxson daily. Now when I say spit I guess I don't really mean spit. They make this noise and its like a spit with nothing coming out of their mouth. When I asked what the heck it is, they say because Jax is beautiful. I did ask, so you mean they wouldn't do it if he was ugly, and the people just laugh. So I really haven't gotten an answer, guess I'll never know. Ive met 2 amazing girls who treat Jax like family, Evy and Mandy. Jax loves them and always smiles when he sees them. We've been out many times with them. They always invite us to go to cafes, shopping, pilates everywhere anytime. They are awesome and I am looking forward to spending much more time with them throughout the season.




He even got candy from Evy for Halloween!

3. Language
And I dont mean the Greek language ha. Everyone speaks english. Now to be fair we never lived in a large city in Spain like we do here in Athens, but in Spain people rarely spoke english. As of yet, I don't think I have come across anyone who doesn't speak at least a little english. What a difference life is when you can communicate. For instance at the grocery store we can order turkey lunch meat and we know it will be turkey!
Well I think that's it for now, Ill continue my list another day, but bed is calling my name:)

A few things I have read over the past few days have really had me thinking. First let me just say i loved being pregnant and motherhood has been the most amazing gift I have been given! I'll begin with a post from someone on facebook. Can't think exactly what it said word for word, but basically it was a woman who was sick of the mom world and talking to other people about being a mom constantly, blah blah. Now while I understand she was probably frustrated at something, it was just an odd post. But having read it, I couldn't get it out of my mind. Now if you know me pretty well before I became a mom, you might have thought the facebook post came from me. However, motherhood has changed me like I could have never imagined. My whole life, every waking moment revolves around Jaxson, and I love every minute of it! Now don't get me wrong, I would love a babysitter over here in Greece so I could go out with my husband and have a nice quiet dinner, have some drinks, maybe go out to a club! But even when I do go out without Jax, my mind is on him. When people ask me about him or want to talk about him I absolutely love it. I love how much joy Jax has brought to Patrick and my life and how he has completed our family!
Which brings me to the second thing that I haven't been able to get out of my head. September 30th marked 30 years that China has had their 1 child per family law in effect, mandating abortions to any woman who is pregnant with their second child. In the article I read, a woman and her husband came up with enough money to pay the government so they could have a second child. Well everything was fine until her 8th month the government cracked down and revoked the agreement, forcing her to have an abortion. Reading this article sickened me, literally, I felt nauseated. Disgust, sadness and anger took over me. This Chinese woman stated that after her uterus was injected she could feel her baby struggle inside her and then nothing. Tears came to my eyes as I thought about what the Chinese government does to these poor women and unborn children.
Something needs to be done, this is murder! Please sign the petition addressed to president Obama on allgirlsallowed.org, which is an organization dedicated to raising awareness.
I signed the petition, please do the same.

All I want for Xmas...to go home!

It's beginning to look like christmas around here. Now while I understand Thanksgiving is coming up, which we are very excited for, they obviously don't celebrate turkey day in Greece. Oh how we will miss Thanksgiving morning in the US, watching football, eating delicious turkey and pumpkin pie! It's probably our favorite eating day of the year. I don't think I can get a can of pumpkin so I can't make pumpkin pie this year. Sadly, this year while packing everything to come to Greece food was put on the back burner because of the fabulous addition on Jaxson! I was way to worried about what to bring for him, that I didn't even bring peanut butter, crazy I know! I'll figure out something sweet and good though, to make up for it.
So to get back on topic, it does look like Christmas inside our house. There is this store that we pass everyday, it's right on the way to our apartment. Im always saying ohh lets stop there. It's a huge Christmas store that has been open since I've been here in September (probably open all year) and it has tons of (fake) trees outside with decorations galore. Finally, we stopped there to pick up a few things. We got some lights and ornaments, although we didnt get a fake tree cause Im holding out for a real one, I really hope they sell them here. There's just something about the smell of a real tree that puts me in the Christmas mood. Besides the tree, all we need is the Home Alone soundtrack and Mariah Carey Christmas cd and we are good to go! Only 44 days left, but who is really counting anyway:) Still praying we will be able to come home for Christmas, cause that would be the best gift ever!

A little traumatized

We just got back from taking Jax to the pediatricians office, just for a usual checkup. First let me say that Jax is normally an angel(this is said with zero sarcastic tone, for real!) when we go to the doctors. In the US every 3 months is the norm for checkups as infants. Jax goes in smiles, plays, lets the doctor check him out and all is well. At least until the vaccination shots come, and of course he gets upset and cries. Well here in Greece, you go see the doctor once a month and it just so happened that a few days after he got stitches he was due to see Dr. Sofia Papa something or other, haha. She is absolutely lovely, and Jax really like her last month. He let her hold him, play with him, listen to his heart and lungs, the whole deal without a uttering a peep. Today was much different.

Apparently Jax has been a bit traumatized from getting stitches. As soon as we went into the exam room, and he saw the bed/stretcher he freaked. He would not go near it, in fact he was screaming so loud you would think we were torturing him. He wouldn't even sit on the scale to be weighed. Now, normally I hate hearing him cry. As Im told from all my family that I completely baby him and he is totally spoiled. I did feel bad, but not that bad. His reaction was just so crazy, I was laughing cause I didnt know what else to do. Of course nothing was wrong with him, the second Pat or I picked him up, he stopped crying. Thank God he didn't need any vaccinations, because that would be the worst. We have to go back to the hospital in 2 days to get his finger looked at...should be very interesting!

In other news with the Carroll clan...Pat won his game last night. It was a big game against a team called Marousi. Pat had an awesome first half, looked so great out on the court! His shot was on, and his defense was fantastic. Sadly with less than 2 minutes of the start in the second half, the referee, who sucked (definitely an unbiased opinion ha) called 3 fouls on Pat within 2 minutes. He never got to go back in, so frustrating and annoyed off would be two words that come to mind. It's ok though, we won so all is well...for now. We play Olympiakos Saturday, so that will be exciting. Today is Pat's day off. Today Jax and I usually go to pilates, so I am trying to get Pat to go with us. A girlfriend of one of the other players has her own studio. It's fun and her mom usually watches Jax during the class so I can get my work out on! Here is a picture of Pat and his lucky charm before the game:)

Christmas came early:)

Let me first begin this with, I am in heaven eating a reeses peanut butter cup...ahhhhh. Living overseas is fun and exciting; however, there are many things about home we miss! The list could go on and on, but for times sake I'll keep it to a minimum. The obvious friends and family are the things we miss most. Coming in a close 3rd would definitely be food. Not meals, because certainly all the places we have lived/visited in Europe (France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Greece...) have had amazing cuisine. I'm talking snacks and junkfood, you know the stuff at night before bed that just hits the spot! For Pat and I Cheez-Its come to mind, as well as candy, cookies, pretzels and so on, well did we get all those and much much more!
Well Matt and Melanie have once again come to our rescue and gave us Christmas a month early. If we only had the will power to hold off opening it for just a bit longer, haha. So the package arrived yesterday and we were given it today. I dont think we've ever had bigger smiles. Jax was even so excited he went head first into the huge box looking for all his fun toys! There were dvd's, cars, bath toys, thanksgiving clothes, puff snacks, and so much more for Jax. For Pat an Ipod touch (which he hasn't stopped playing with since), sneakers, socks and more. And for me a Tory Burch purse and scarf...so exciting. Always wanted anything Tory Burch and now I have 2 things:)
Here is a picture, because we didn't have one, I think it would be a dream! There's nothing better than getting packages from home, when we are so far away. What a way to feel the love...all the way in Athens!

umm...umm...good!

The family and I started out on the right foot today! Cinnamon pancakes with nutella was the key to a great morning, and of course a lovely cup of coffee. Since we've been in Greece I've been saying every morning that I am going to make pancakes as soon as I find syrup. Well, long gone are the days of syrup and butter. When we tasted the perfectly ;) cooked warm pancakes, with creamy nutella spread melting on top, we knew we needed nothing else for a delicious start to the day!

Reverting back

It's pretty interesting watching Jaxson turn back into this tiny infant I once knew. Being 9 1/2 months old, Pat and I have watched him grow in not only weight and height, but become slightly more independent. Playing by himself for short periods of time, napping occasionally in his own crib, even drinking from a sippy cup, are some of his most impressive skills at this stage of his life. Well we have recently learned that as quickly as he is learning how to become a "big boy," he can just as easily forget.

Recently, as i have already blogged about, Jaxson had quite a week, having to get stitches, without Pat or I in the room with him. We also had to go back to the hospital to have it rechecked and the bandage changed. Since this incident Jaxson has never been more attached to us, or maybe I should say never been more attached to me. All he wants to do is be held, and breastfeed. Now granted he has always breast fed, but now it is a comfort measure. Anytime he gets scared, bored or tired he has one thing on his mind. He now is also very smart, so he will crawl up to me, stand up, pull at my shirt basically saying,"feed me!" I miss the infant stage, but here's to hoping he feels better sooner rather than later:)

TOYS TOYS TOYS

Well its something that I always said I would never do, and we did it. Its something as an ER nurse I would look at the patients parents and think to myself,"how pathetic." But bribery and gifts are not pathetic in my eyes anymore. Since getting stitches and being traumatized by getting them by himself (and Im not sure if we were or he was more traumatized), Pat and I have been thinking about what toys we were going to by him. NOw one little disclaimer is that when we looked around in the living room what we saw scared us! We didnt see lots of fun toys that Jax was playing with, we saw household items that he had turned into toys because he didnt have any:( We looked and we saw spoons, measuring cups, drinking cups, bowls, and the list goes on. Now granted the few toys that he did have, he really wanted nothing to do with. He enjoyed playing with non toy items much much more!

However, we decided that it was time to buy him his own toys, and so what if the thought came because he got hurt. After we went to the hospital for a follow up check of his finger, and to rebandage the stitches, we headed right for jumbo! Jumbo is the greek version of toys r us, so there was plenty of toys to choose from. We wound up getting a push toy for him, which he loves, his own cell phone that makes lots of noise, and a singing Xmas reindeer that he absolutely loves. Its the only thing that keeps his attention so well, when he pulls off his bandage it allows me to distract him long enough that I put a new one on! Now lets not get too crazy now, he still loves playing with non toy items, like the baby safe foam edge bumpers are kind of a big deal to him, he really enjoys chewing on those!

So now as a parent I have learned a few valuable lessons! Make sure you really get down on the child's level to baby proof the whole house, have fun toys to keep him occupied, and maybe most important bribery is not such a bad thing after all!

The pictures I posted were 1)the reindeer 2)driving from the hospital to the toy store and 3)the hospital we went to. A little scary looking, but had good nurses and doctors.

You know you're a basket wife when...

You know you're a basket wife when, while we were in the car today Pat said," This bus is setting a sweet screen so I could probably turn now!" A little later he was saying how a car set a nice pick. It's funny but I love when things like this come out of his mouth :)

Rough Day for Jacky boy!

Well Jax had a really rough day. This morning while crawling around, he came upon the corner of the ceramic baseboard, where apparently it was cracked. When he put his hand up on it, it just sliced his little finger. Saddest day! His left middle finger was just gushing blood, and I knew immediately it was gonna need a stitch or two... or three. Once we got to the public hospital, where George the manager of the team took us to, the doctor said yes he will need to get stitched. I didn't know what was worse the fact that he had to get stitches or the fact that their policy was to not allow any family in the room. I was pissed, but i wanted to get this over with, so I unhappily complied with the rules (a few tears later). After about 20 minutes of screaming, it was over, and we got our little angel back! I guess the doctor did not think Jax was such an angel because George (who was able to stay in the room because he was not family) said the doctor, which may I remind you we were at a children's hospital, said he never saw a child so pissed off. And when he talked to us he said (with a smirk), but completely serious, Jax is, "mean, mean mean!" Hahahaha thats our boy Jax, give them hell! He now has a sweet bandage on, which we have to go back to the hospital in 2 days to get changed, and get his finger checked, but nothing is holding him back. He has been crawling around, using his hand to pick things up, tries to feed himself, everything! It's been a long day, glad it is over, ready for what tomorrow will bring:)

Back to the Future!

Well we got our first win in the Greek league today, and it felt sooo good. Words cannot express what a relief it was to get this win. There is so much pressure in this basketball world to win and play well, so obviously a win means everything! From eating breakfast in the morning, to going for a walk in the afternoon to the bakery, to making lunch for Jax, Pat and I, to taking a shower, every waking moment on game day my stomach is in a knot! Once the game began, the knot continued and did not go away until the game was finished. My nerves got the best of me today, as usual, and I have a feeing that is not going anywhere anytime soon.

During the game, as I sat there anxiety ridden, in anticipation of what was to come, I began to think about how so many things have changed in the past few years as a "basket wife." As I traveled with Patrick to Spain our first year overseas, things were very different for me. My world was not as much consumed by basketball as it was living in a new city, or county for that matter. I had never lived away from home so indeed I was very homesick. I new that Patrick had pressure on him to do well, but I certainly did not know the extent of it. Nor did I understand that although you sign a contract, any team at anytime can release you as a player for any reason. I think Pat shielded and protected me from the stress of that, knowing that at the time I probably could not have handled that information. As the years have passed, many teams and contracts later, I couldn't understand this basketball world more. We need to win for everyone to be happy, so every game will be very important. However, I am also learning that with this knowledge, I will not let it run my life, and constantly be worried about what will happen "if". I know that God indeed does have a fantastic plan for my family and I. Everything always works out for the best, because He wants the best for us!