Sunday, March 25, 2012

Missy and Alex

Friday morning a friend of mine from high-school flew into town for a visit.  Missy lives in Florida but her parents live just an hour from me, so she stopped in for a visit before heading out to see her parents. Our friend Alex also lives about an hour from me so she too came up for a visit.

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We really didn’t do much, just a lot of chatting about now and those old high-school days. We laughed a ton and marveled at how each of our lives has turned out. Tony was sweet and came home early so that we could go out to lunch without Harper, and we ended up at The Cheesecake Factory. We had the best lunch, but our portions were so huge not one of us could actually finish and we couldn’t even imagine ordering cheesecake! It was nice to sit and talk and just enjoy each others company though.

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Alex just got a new little puppy, a Chihuahua/Pug mix, named Abby and she brought her along. Holy crap she was adorable! You can’t really tell from the pictures I took how small she is, but she only weighed just over 2 1/2 pounds! We all just loved on her all day and flat wore the poor thing out!

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It was so incredible to visit with those two. It was fun to reminisce and hear all about how their lives are nowadays. I’m stoked that Missy plans to visit again in July when I have the baby, and I’m really hoping Alex will be able to come up too.

Finding the Odyssey

I guess it was time for a blog break this week. Sometimes, something has to give and this time it was the blog. I didn’t plan a break, but I honestly can’t even remember the last time I sat in front of my laptop for more than a couple of minutes!

Last Wednesday I headed out to Babies R Us to look at what they had to offer in the double stroller arena. I have to admit, I was pretty disappointed. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for exactly, but they only had maybe 6 choices. I decided pretty quickly that I didn’t like the side by side models as much as the front to back models just because they seem quite a bit more bulky when folded down. After looking through what they had to offer, I found that I liked the sit or stand option. I also found a particular stroller that I really liked called the Odyssey made by Graco, but wouldn’t you know that you can’t get them anywhere! Apparently everyone else looking for a double stroller liked it as much as I do because you can’t get them anywhere on the East coast! (I even asked my mom to call around her area and she said they didn’t have them in South Carolina, Georgia or Florida either! Crazy, no?)

I didn’t leave the store empty handed though. I went ahead and bought a mattress for the new crib as well as a diaper changing table that I had been eyeing. I wanted to get the changing table in white, but it was another discontinued item and the only one they had left was on the floor. So, I took the floor model home (with a hefty discount!) and the only thing I see wrong is a scratch on the top part. I’ll just cover it with a big pretty ribbon or something…you’ll never even know! My mother-in-law also picked up some adorable newborn clothes and a big box of newborn diapers, so I’m finally feeling like I’m off to a good start gathering up baby items. My bedroom is beginning to look very babyish, and that’s kind of exciting! :)

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Accident #2, The Story

Today was supposed to be the day I went to the MVA to drop off the old truck tags. It was also supposed to be a day of meandering through the baby clothes, picking up a couple more sweet little outfits for the new baby as well as finding some comfy sandals for Harper. But, things just didn’t quite work out that way.

I was on my way out to Columbia when my phone rang. Tony was calling me from work, which isn’t unusual, but when he asked if I had talked to Zoe, I knew immediately that something was up. He told me she had been trying to text me to tell me that she had been in a car accident. Again.

Her normal ride to school was running late this morning, so she asked a boy from our old neighborhood if he’d mind giving her a ride in to school. He obliged, and they were off. Zoe said she told the boy that she thought he was driving too fast (the roads were wet this morning), and that he slowed down, but only a little. They were attempting to change lanes when the driver ahead of them also attempted to change lanes, so he switched back, as did the other driver. At that point he lost control of his car and ran into the guardrail. Zoe said he hit one side and the car spun around hitting the other side and tail end, and then came to a stop with their tail end pointed towards the highway, nose to the guardrail.

No one stopped to help them. Not the lady who was driving ahead of them and had to have seen what happened, not a single person who was behind them. Zoe even said they saw a few cops drive by without a second glance. They called 911 and a police car was dispatched to the scene where he asked a few questions and then left. (Zoe said he asked her name and date of birth. That’s it.) I’m unclear as to what happened to the car, but I know that the boy called his mom and she picked him up from the scene. Stupidly, Zoe decided to call her original ride and asked her to pick her up and take her the rest of the way to school. She had hit her head on the window and felt pain when she turned her head too quickly, but still thought she was ok enough to head on to school. No calling me or her dad, but some other kid to get her to school. What the hell?

We’ve been through this “who do you call if you’re in trouble” thing a million times, but she clearly doesn’t get it. So, 2 1/2 hours after the incident, I get a call from Tony telling me about this. She’d gone on to school, albeit 2 hours late, and only then did she finally text me. My phone was in my bag and I was getting ready to leave the house so I didn’t even know about the text. I always put my phone in my bag before I leave because it’s much less tempting to use while I’m in the car if it’s a pain to get to.

I was half way to Columbia but I just took the closest exit and turned right around to get her from school. I had to see her and make sure she was okay. Texting just doesn’t do it for me. I was pretty calm and collected as I explained to the school receptionist and then school nurses as to why I was there. They couldn’t believe that she was even at school and that I was just finding out about the accident. When she finally got into the nurses office, I lost it. I guess I am able to stay strong for so long, and then when I see things are ok, that’s when the flood gates open. I was a little embarrassed to be sobbing in the nurses office with all the staff and “sick” kids looking on, but I just couldn’t control myself.

The nurses were very understanding, and let me have my moment. After that, I signed her out and pretty much decided that I’d have to take her to the ER to get her head checked out. I brought Harper home and my mother-in-law stayed with him while I brought her.

The doctor examined her and said she didn’t think there was any serious damage, and no concussion. She said we need to keep an eye on her and wake her every 2 hours tonight and quiz her on her name, day of the week and location just to make sure she’s coherent. We also have to monitor her walking and overall wellness for the next 24 hours, just to be sure all is well.

I can’t even put into words how grateful I am that this ended the way it did. This is Zoe’s second major car accident, and I’m not so sure I can take much more of this “excitement'”. I think it’s time she go back to riding the bus in the morning, and I think I’m going to have to ask her to only drive by herself for awhile too. I know accidents are going to happen and I can’t control everything Zoe does forever, but I also know that things could have turned out quite differently this morning. I’m just so incredibly thankful that she’s okay. She the only Zoe I’ve got, and I sure don’t want to lose her.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Our Terrarium

I bought a terrarium jar a few weeks ago at Michaels. It’s been sitting on my counter waiting for me to find the time to fill it, and today, I finally found the time. (I was actually searching high and low for activated charcoal, and finally did a search for it today and found that it was the same type of charcoal used in aquariums.)

Everyone was busy (Zoe with homework and Landon/Tony at soccer practice) so Harper and I decided to put it together. 

First, we put in our layer of rocks. Harper tossed the first few in, but after many reminders, he remembered to “put them in the jar very carefully”. He did great.

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The next step was to add the charcoal layer. It’s the black stuff you see on top of the rocks.

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Next, we mixed equal parts sand and soil. We’re using cacti, so the sand is important. If you aren’t using cacti, sand isn’t necessary. You need to put in about 2-3 inches of the soil, just enough to cover the plants roots.

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Harper was very enthusiastic about helping to mix the sand and soil, and I think the smell of the soil was a bit overwhelming to him because he kept sniffing it over and over! I’m not sure if he liked the smell or not though.

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The final step was to add our little plants. I picked up a cactus and two succulents, mainly because they’re easy to deal with. I loved the color of the cactus.

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I want to put some little figurine’s in the jar too, but haven’t found any I want to include yet. As of now, it’s finished and sitting in my library with the lid on. I’ll have to remember to get a picture of it tomorrow, as we were quite messy once we were finished playing in the dirt!

Faux Snow

IMG_1616Spring is everywhere I look now. Every tree down my street has the prettiest white blooms, and they are really striking, especially when you stand at the end of our cul-de-sac and look straight down to the end of the street.

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The trees almost appear snow covered, don’t you think? I did my best to get a shot without all the darn cars, but I swear no one uses their driveway for cars anymore. Or, they have so many cars that they have to use the driveway AND the street for parking.

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The only problem with all these blooming pear trees is their smell. They smell like crap. I mean, jammed subway on a 90 degree afternoon nasty. So, while I love to look at these trees in full bloom, I have to hold my breath or I damn near pass out.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Game On

Today began Landon’s outdoor soccer season. It seems to me that the season is beginning quite early, but I think that could be a good thing especially with the decent weather we’ve been having.

His team has been practicing since early February and it was time to put them on the field and see how they did.

Landon practices nearly every day at home, just because he likes it so much. He’s one of the two goalies for his team, and he’s just getting better and better every year. I think this is probably the first year he’s taken it seriously, and I guess at 10 years old you have to start taking your sports more seriously if you want to get better.

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Harper just thinks every single thing about his big brother is awesome, so he wanted to be in the net with him while he warmed up for the game.

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This boy has a mean punt on him! I wouldn’t wanna get kicked by that foot!

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They ended up losing this one 4-0, and two goals were scored on each goalie. (The second goal scored on Landon was his own teammate! Oops!) They are just going to have to keep practicing and hopefully this first game isn’t how the rest of the season will go.

*Just want to add that Landon had two goals scored on him, but he probably saved 10. One of his saves was made with a beautiful dive to the right…and he talked about it for hours after his game! He was so proud of that move and that he was able to predict which way the kid was going to shoot! He really is getting better every game, and we’re pretty proud of him!

Good Bye, Expedition

Friday night on our way home from dinner, our truck was making some funky noises, and Tony said he thought it was the brakes. So, Saturday morning we made a trip up to the Goodyear to have it looked at and sure enough, the brakes were going out. We went ahead and had them fixed, but I thought maybe we should go ahead and use the day to do a little car shopping.

We called his mom, and she happily came to watch the kids for us while we made a trip out to Carmax to see what they had available. I was 99% sure I wanted to get a mini-van, but was also 99% sure I was going to hate them. I just had this old image of what a mini-van was in my mind and I hated to think I’d be driving one. I told Tony I mostly wanted to see the Toyota Sienna and the Chrysler Town and Country because I’d heard good things about both of them. I wasn’t concerned about getting a used vehicle as the Expedition was purchased from Carmax and had been a great truck all these years. We ended up looking at several vans, and I was pretty sure I wanted to get a Town and Country until we looked at the last van and it was a Volkswagen Routan. I didn’t even know that VW made a mini-van, but I am so glad that we found out!

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So far, I am absolutely in love with this thing! Actually, we are all loving it. I’m totally planning to run errands in it tomorrow, and I’m just going to make up crap to do just so I can drive it a little. The kids favorite parts are the heated rear seats and the dual DVD players. My favorite parts are probably the navigation system and remote/power everything…and the leather is a definite bonus!

After driving the same truck for 10+ years it’s a nice change. I really didn’t expect a mini-van to be so awesome, but I was totally wrong. This just ain’t your momma’s mini-van! Know what I mean? Smile

St. Patty’s Day

I didn’t get around to posting yesterday because we ended up getting home late after a day of total chaos. I’ll write a whole post on that later though.

It is near impossible to get all three kids in the same spot at the same time these days and it was no easy task getting this picture! The older two sleep late and then when they’re finally up and dressed, Harper’s getting ready for his nap! I took this picture right after changing H’s diaper (hence the no pants!) and just had the kids gather in his room for a quick photo shoot.

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Those are some mighty fine looking kids if I do say so myself. They are definitely my lucky charms!

Friday, March 16, 2012

Five on Friday

  • I’ve written about how great our weather was all week, but today it came to a screeching halt. That warm 70+ weather is gone for now as it hovered in the mid 50’s today. It sucked. I’m hoping those warm temps don’t stay gone too long because we were certainly enjoying all that outside time.
  • Harper and I were able to get out everyday this week, and we spent much of our time at parks in the area. We went to “duck pond” park, “airplane park” and Crofton park and I think he enjoyed every second at each one. I’d like to get all the kids out to a park sometime for a picnic, it’s been a long time since we’ve done something like that.
  • I sorted through all of Harper’s baby clothes this week and took all of his spring/summer clothes to Once Upon a Child to see if they would buy any of it. They did buy 55 pieces, and I got $54.15 for what they took. I was happy with that but couldn’t believe how much was left over when I went to pick it up! Instead of bringing it home to figure out what to do with it, I took it straight to Goodwill. Hopefully someone who needs it will get it because everything in the boxes was in excellent condition. I actually hated getting rid of it like that, but my house just isn’t big enough to keep everything…
  • We all went to Zoe’s soccer game tonight and it certainly was an interesting game. Many of the girls on Zoe’s team are on a school field trip to NYC, so they only had 4 girls show up to play. The team they played came ready to win, and a few of the girls on that team also play for Zoe’s high school team, so they knew each other. The coach on the other team had one of his girls play with ours to even out the numbers, but she was useless and actually cried because she didn’t want to play on our team. I didn’t think it was a good idea in the first place because who wants to be against their own team, but to cry about it? Really. Anyways, the game went horribly for us, and the end score reflected our shortage of team members. At one point during the game one of their girls was getting cocky and pushy and allegedly pulled one of our girls’ hair, and our girl flat out took her down on the floor and started punching her. It was crazy. Then one of the other girls team mates took it upon herself to help her and ended up getting her butt kicked by our player too. It wasn’t pretty and tensions were pretty high in the soccer dome after that. There were some boys getting ready to play their game after ours and they were LOVING every second of it! They said even if we lost the game, our girl certainly won the fight. I swear.
  • Landon was voted student of the week and got the very special privilege of sitting up on the stage with a friend for lunchtime. He said it was a little awkward sitting up there while everyone else was down at the tables, but I think he enjoyed it. He also came home with a certificate for a free kids meal at Applebee’s, so I suppose we’ll be visiting them soon. I’m so proud of him for being student of the week and I just hope he’ll continue to be such a stellar student next year in middle school!

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Warm and Bright

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It was nearly 80 degree’s here today. When we got up this morning it was very cloudy and there was a slight chill in the air, but by 9:30am the clouds had moved out and the sun was shining warm and bright.

Harper and I had a few things to pick up at Target, but the rest of the day was free to play outside in the lovely weather.

We did the usual, jumping on the trampoline, sliding on the slide, and drawing with the sidewalk chalk. He ate a little picnic lunch out on the deck and then took a long 2 1/2 hour nap. The sun does that to him.

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Before dinner, we were outside watching Landon play basketball and football with some of the neighborhood kids. I brought Harper’s little red car outside so he could try moving it on his own, but he hasn’t quite figured it out yet.

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After dinner it was still light enough to go outside for a bit, so we all congregated on the front stoop for popsicles. Harper had just had a diaper change and it was pretty warm out so we let him go outside sans pants. He loved it!

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Even Zoe came out to join us! She was busy doing homework but wanted to take advantage of the weather too.

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Landon showed me lots and lots of tricks he could do with the basketball and even challenged me to a game of pig (in which I beat him and then he changed it to horse and I still beat him! :)).

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Ginger always wants to join us when we’re outside too, so she sniffed around the front yard and grabbed the bits of popsicle that fell and just kinda hung around my feet like she does in the house.

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Looks like we’ll be having another gorgeous weather day tomorrow! I’m really looking forward to it! Happy Tuesday!

Monday, March 12, 2012

19 Months

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  • At 19 months old, this dude is NOT a baby. He is wildly independent and knows what he wants…and he isn’t afraid to wag his finger in your face and tell you “mo-mo” if your ticking him off.
  • He loves to sit and mess with my iPhone or iPad any chance he gets and is able to flip through the screens in order to get to what he wants. His absolutely loves to watch videos that I’ve taken on either device, but mostly enjoys watching himself.

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  • One of his favorite things to do outside is jump on the trampoline. Today he played on there for nearly an hour and I had to finally tell him he was finished…and he cried until we got inside and he realized how dead tired he was. He jumps, spins, crawls and lies on his back to watch the airplanes go by. And his hair stands straight up with all the static electricity!
  • We have a small slide in our back yard and he will go up the steps and down the slide dozens of times without getting tired. He loves to climb through all the little openings and scare the crap out of me trying to maneuver his feet to get down the slide or steps.

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  • He still likes to read books every day, and has his favorites. He likes when I ask him where things are in the pictures of his books and is rarely stumped.
  • He also likes to do his puzzles on a daily basis. He dumps them all out and puts them all back, sometimes several times a day. He can’t quite get the pieces in their spots, but he knows each one and knows where they go. He just doesn’t have the patience to move them around until they fit.

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  • I think his favorite person in the house is Landon. He just can’t get enough of his attention and says his name clear as a bell. He mimic’s everything he sees his big brother do, and is always happy to see him get off the school bus in the afternoon. Don’t get me wrong, he loves his sss-sss (sissy) too, but there’s just nothing better than a 10 year old brother that plays with you and acts crazy to get you to laugh!
  • Harper’s last sign of baby-hood would have to be his binky. He just loves that thing. When he isn’t sick he only gets the binky during nap and bedtime. He doesn’t really ask for it any other time, unless he happens to see it. I try to take it first thing in the morning and put it where he won’t see it, and so far he’s done great. Soon enough he won’t need it anymore, but I’m not in a great big hurry. He still drags his blanket(s) around with him and only wants to sleep with his special two. I’m fine with that also. It’s sweet that he’s so attached to those blankie’s and I love how his face lights up when he’s ready for sleep and sees his blanket by his bed.

A Beautiful Morning

The weather is beautiful again today and Harper and I took full advantage of it this morning. Since the time change yesterday, Harper’s body is confused and he slept until 7:00am this morning. That means that I was able to get up on my own (ok, so that alarm woke me up) and take a shower before he was even out of bed. Absolute bliss! Because of that, I was able to get him up and ready and out the door much earlier (and easier) than usual.

We went to story time at the library, and he just loved it. He happily sat and listened to the books, and loved hearing the songs. They played a little music at one point and he was the only one who got up and danced…he’s just cool like that. They gave all the kids shakers and he was just a dancing, shaking fool!

Harper With The Shakers

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We left the library around 11am, and that meant we had plenty of time to hit the park before going home for lunch and a nap. We went to what we refer to as “duck park” because there is a really nice walking trail around a small lake and there are tons of geese, ducks and seagulls to watch. (Not sure why there were seagulls there, that was a first!) While we were there a man with a huge bag of dried corn came over and began to feed all the birds and Harper loved watching them all fly and swim over to get the food.

Enjoying Some Playground Time

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We eventually made out way over to the play area where he went up the stairs and down the slide dozens of times before we decided to head home for lunch. By the time we got home, he was so tired from all the morning activity that he had a mini meltdown before lunch. That’s pretty unusual for him, but I guess he was just so darn busy all morning that he NEEDED his nap and he NEEDED it right then!

I’m so ready for the weather to be warm like this everyday so that we can get outside more often. He just loves to be outside, and it sure is nice to spend some time out of the house without spending money!

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Who Screams For Ice Cream???

After dinner tonight we decided to make a trip out to Baskin Robbins for some ice cream. Something about the gorgeous 65 degree weather made us think like this: warm, spring weather + busy day = ice cream.

Ice cream has quickly become Harper’s dessert of choice. He likes vanilla and chocolate so far, but I usually stick with vanilla when we go out because it’s a definite love of his.

I took pictures of everyone’s ice cream choices because things change pretty quickly around here, so this is just what everyone likes now. Pretty much today. Who knows what flavors we’ll all prefer in another week!

Harper, Kid Cup, Small Scoop, Vanilla

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Landon, Single Scoop, Cake Cone, Vanilla

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Zoe, Oreo Sundae

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Tony, Single Scoop, Very Berry Strawberry, Sugar Cone

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Me, Single Scoop, Cake Cone, World Class Chocolate

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These are our typical choices when we go out. Tony will sometimes opt for world class chocolate or something with a caramel swirl, but more often than not, he sticks with a strawberry flavor.

Landon will switch things up every now and then and get a sherbet.

Harper will finish his vanilla and eat whatever anyone else hasn’t finished.

Zoe usually goes for a frosty/blizzard/sundae type thing, just different candy flavor in the mix.

I love a good chocolate but I’ve found one strawberry flavor that I like better than any other ice cream out there. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the name of it and hope that when it’s back at Baskin Robbins I’ll recognize it. I also love to get chocolate chip shakes every once in a blue moon…

Tummy Time

Tummy Time w Mr. Lion

Harper just loved that lion. It made a crinkly noise when he chewed on it, and was just the right size for him to get ahold of. He wasn’t the biggest fan of lying on his tummy, but it wasn’t as bad when he had his lion to look at.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

If You Have a Few Minutes...


Some of the stuff they do is pretty amazing. Gross, but amazing too. They would've been great in today's Cirque de Soleil show!!

Today

  • Today I got a manicure and pedicure. It was wonderful. The color I chose this time is called Flashbulb Fuchsia and it’s a nice change from the blue I had before.
  • Today was a big day in the scrapbooking world because the new Lucky 8 Punch was released. I went to the scrapbook store as soon as I could to get one, and I chose the blue one. At $39.99, they aren’t exactly cheap, but they are pretty darn cool.
  • Today all three of the guys in my house got much needed haircuts today. Harper cried through the beginning of his, but was still enough that the lady didn’t butcher his cut too badly. Landon and Tony are looking pretty good too. :)
  • Today my mother-in-law called me early this morning to tell me that she had a bout of food poisoning last night. We all went to dinner at TGI Friday’s and I guess she got something bad. I feel so sorry for her because I remember just how awful food poisoning is. She ended up feeling better this evening though and asked us over for dinner and to help her get her house back in order after all the work she’s had done.
  • Today Landon woke up at midnight last night complaining that his stomach hurt. Actually, he came into my room crying and I couldn’t get him to say anything, he scared me to death. But, after a little prodding he explained that he was having sharp pains in his stomach/sides. Tony ended up getting up also and he told me to go back to bed, which I promptly did. After a short bath, and some pain meds Landon felt a little better and finally went back to sleep around 2:30am.
  • Today Zoe’s schedule was 1pm-9pm. She had to work last night and she’s working tomorrow also. Last night they let her go early because they had so many people scheduled, but instead of coming home she texted to ask if she could go to dinner and a movie. I swear she never can see enough movies! They had Chipotle for dinner and went to see This Means War. She said she was so tired though that she ended up sleeping through the end of the movie, so I guess it couldn’t have been that good.
  • Today my sister texted me these lyrics: I’m high as a kite and I just might stop to check you out” “When I’m a walkin I strut my stuff and I’m so strung out” and I’ve had that darn song stuck in my head since. At least it’s that and not some damn Wiggles tune!
  • Today I finished a scrapbook page that I plan to post tomorrow. It’s amazing how much Harper has grown since the photo’s I scrapped were taken. Mind blowing, really.
  • Today was a good day. Hoping for another great day tomorrow.

Friday, March 9, 2012

Five on Friday

  • Harper is finally feeling better. It took one week, two doctor’s appointments and three doses of amoxicillin to get him better and I’m so glad that mess is over. It’s amazing how much a stupid ear infection hurts.
  • I’m tired of our crazy weather this week. One day it’s in the 70’s, the next it doesn’t even get out of the mid 50’s. If we aren’t going to get snow, can we just get on with spring? Please?
  • After being in the house all week with Harper, I couldn’t wait to get out today. We spent nearly half an hour just walking around the pet store looking at the birds, kittens and fish. He loved it! At one point I wasn’t looking where I was going (I was watching H dart away from me) and all of a sudden I heard a small crack under my foot. I knew before I even looked down that I had stepped on a fish…a dead fish, but still. We left right after that because I was totally grossed out.
  • We also stopped in Michaels (my real motivation for going out) for a few crafty things I’d been thinking of. As we were checking out the girl at the register commented that “it’s nice to see someone being sweet and caring with their child”. I thought it was such a nice comment and it makes me so happy when I think about it!
  • I saw this sign on Pinterest awhile ago: Very true... the absolute most important job.

and I think about it all the time. My mothering skills are always a work in progress! I’ve been a mother for nearly 17 1/2 years and I’m still learning. Motherhood can be tough, but my kids remind me every day how rewarding parenting is.

Monday, March 5, 2012

Little Dude’s Sick

Today started out as any normal Monday does. Got up (reluctantly), said bye to Zoe as she headed out, saw Landon off to the bus and then back home to find 1,000 ways to entertain Harper/clean up from the weekend craziness/enjoy my stint as a stay-at-home mom.

All was well until about 11am when Harper started crying for no reason. I asked him what was wrong, but he just looked at me with those sad eyes, so I just scooped him up on my lap and held him till he stopped. It was only a matter of minutes (like, 2. maybe.) and he was asleep in my arms.

I love to hold a sleeping baby, but I knew this meant he was sick.

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It was at that moment that I knew he was sick. Again. The poor guy has been running a fever off and on since Friday. He was fine during the day Friday, but when he woke up from his nap, he had a fever and was miserable. He slept pretty good that night and woke up with a low fever (99ish) but was pretty much fine the whole day. We even decided to go to my mother-in-laws for dinner since he’d been playing and acting normally all day. Sunday was even better. No fever at all, and happy all day.

So, I was a little surprised that he was running a fever again this morning. I decided since it had been a few days of this weirdness, I’d go ahead and get him in to see the doctor. The best appointment I could get was at 2:20 and that kind of sucked because that was during his regular nap time. It ended up not mattering anyways because he didn’t really nap. He fell asleep in my arms and when I put him in his bed, he immediately woke up and wanted me to hold him. I ended up giving him some Tylenol and bringing him back downstairs with me. I held him for the longest time while he slept, probably 45 minutes before I put him on the couch so that I could go get our stuff ready for our doctor appointment.

Crashed out on the couch. Not the norm.

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We got to the doc’s office around 2:10pm and after checking in, we sat in the waiting room with several other coughing, miserable kids until we were finally call back, around 2:30pm. The nurse checked his weight (26.2 lbs. slightly less than his 18 month check-up) and asked me a few questions and then told us the nurse practitioner would be right in. Thirty-five minutes later, the nurse practitioner finally paid us a visit.

After explaining all his symptoms (fever/runny nose/rubbing his neck and back) and the weekend’s history, she decided to do a throat culture to check for strep (Zoe had just had it the week before) as well as check his ears for infection. Getting a strep culture from an 18 month old is interesting, to say the least.  The rapid strep test came back negative, but we’ll have to wait until at least tomorrow to find out what the regular test results are. I’m hoping he does not have strep because I’ll feel so bad for not getting him to the doctor sooner. I’ve had strep a few times and that is just plain miserable!!

Hoping for a non-sick happy baby tomorrow! Keep your fingers crossed for me!

April Fools Pranks

The two little kids made me laugh yesterday morning.  I was upstairs getting things ready for school when I heard them talking about how ...