highlights of the 3 day weekend

Didn't take a single picture this weekend. I'm REALLY gonna have to work on that. The photographic evidence of our childrens' lives is going to be hard to come by if I have anything to do with it. Anywho - here are my recaps!

Highlights:

Floyd played a show at Paris Mountain State Park on Saturday night as part of the summer, "Music In The Woods" series. It was a lot of fun, as we sat with a bunch of other families in the amphitheatre in the woods to enjoy the show. And the rain showers held off until afterwards.

We enjoyed a low key Memorial Day cookout with friends yesterday. RM and I enjoyed watermelon, and Floyd showed no adverse reactions for the 'exposure' -- he kept a safe distance. We determined too that baked beans are a safe legume for Floyd to enjoy, and salad and hotdogs go over well for the whole family too. RM and his buddy Benjamin enjoyed a bath together, as well as riding on these "Dobbies".

Seriously - my kid is still convinced that all creatures great and small are, in fact, "Dobbies". With the exception of birds, bears, and fish. We ventured to Pets Smart for a fun outing to see dobbies, and I thought I could make the clear distinction between dogs, cats, guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, etc. No such luck. In his mind, all of the adoptable rodents we viewed were just simply varieties of "Dobbies".

Lowlights:

Ah, on the way to the show, LB and I enjoyed a rather eventful TIRE BLOW OUT. With three babies age 1, 1, and 2 months in the car. While our husbands were out of cell phone range. This episode involved me running across a parking lot at 32 weeks pregnant to solicit help from the Advance Auto staff. It was quite the spectacle.

fridayin'

At the office in jeans. Love it.

A 3 day weekend ahead with my family. So grateful.

Had a great OB appt this morning. Very easy.

Slept past 4:45am for the first time in 10 days.
AHHH Bed wedge.

Sweet baby boy is putting words together this week.
"Bye Bye Dobbie." "Hi Jimmy." "Nigh Nigh Mah-mee." "That Dobbie sa Woof!"

Psalm 8: This sums up how my heart is satisfied today.

Happy Anniversary Batts!

Three years ago today I got to go to one of the most fun, incredible wedding celebrations I will likely ever attend in my life. Rubina & Sam tied the knot in what was the most first class affair I have ever been a part of -- and we partied all night!! It was such a beautifully decadent way to take part in their joy with them, and an honor to be there! Congratulations guys.

ps - if anyone wants to watch their pretty incredible slide show of pictures, you won't be sorry. These are amazing.

life changing diagnosis, round two

Well, when RM was diagnosed with food allergies back in October (milk, eggs, peanut, tree nuts) I was a little taken aback, but I thought - okay, lots of people handle this with little kids. We have found dairy-free margarine, rice milk, and other options to make life a little more 'normal' seeming. I've even found easy baking substitutes for eggs like banana or applesauce.

The great irony is that Floyd started having allergic reactions in the last year. Mild at first, but more frequent and noticable. He drank soy milk and his throat started itching and his tongue started swelling. Same thing with almonds. And then last week, at one of our favorite ethnic restaurants, his entire head and face started itching, his eyes and cheeks swelling, he wasn't able to think clearly, and almost fell asleep on the way home. Bizarre. So we decided to go for the test. 61 pin pricks on his back later, here is what we found out. As you can see from the chart above, the reactive scale is 0-4, with 4 being the highest reaction you can have to a food source.

Suffice it to say, I am a little overwhelmed right now, and we have to go get another epi-pen. Just for kicks - go to your pantry and tell me how many boxes/cans you can find that don't contain one of these items. I think I am going to have to become a pioneer woman and make everything from scratch.

some days, it is just impossible to stay awake.

a little comparison - same milemarker - two baby bumps

wonderful wednesday pix from aunt nancy's world...

Having a blast on the playground - hopefully getting worn out enough for a good nap.

Playing quietly in O-man's room with G-Lou... Hurray for 'room time' Aunt Nance.

"Children Obey Your Parents" -- Parents... GET WISDOM.

i know i'm probably opening up a can when i solicit suggestions on the blog, but i've got a burning question. when RM was a newborn, i had wonderful, sound encouragement on promoting good sleeping and eating habits for my boy that have really given us quite the happy baby, who fortunately sleeps a ton for us. And despite the last 7 months of new territories with food allergies, we've seemed to weather it all without too much fuss.

now that RM is learning to exert his own little wills and desires a bit more, i'm starting to find some new challenges in guiding him. He has a wonderful, vibrant personality - and his teachers consistently tell us they don't want him to move up to the next class because he's just the most FUN to have around. He is Mr. Social.

the new patterns that I'm seeing that make me think, "What do I do with that?" are pretty simple really. Here are a couple of examples:

1. He doesn't want to hold my hand. He wants to walk alone. This is great in the park. This is not great when we are walking to the car through a parking lot. And in two months I'm not going to be able to quell the fit by picking him up - because my hands will be FULL with a newborn.

2. He has learned how to avoid a bite of unwanted food by contorting his face, shuddering, whining, and covering his mouth. I mean, I'm not trying to feed him gross food options... but the boy doesn't have enough options that he's not allergic to for him to start refusing the 'ok' items!

Anyway... I've been given some good reading suggestions, like Ginger Plowman's "Don't Make Me Count to Three" and I have found some good suggestions for disciplining toddlers on the Shepherding Press blog, but I am just wondering if any of you out there have any other encouragement. Sometimes it's just good to hear from other moms who I know are real. :)

views this weekend

happy mother's day

Floyd had to play three shows this weekend, so we celebrated Mother's Day together a little early this week. He made me this amazing dinner, bought me the beautiful yellow tulips, and gave me cards from both himself and RM.
I have to admit, the dinner was so tasty (pork tenderloin, BLUE CHEESE MASHED POTATOES, and a scrumptious salad) that I demanded leftovers the following night. And I might have asked him to even remake the mashed taters for a THIRD night in a row just because baby-girl and I liked them so much. MMMM.
And if you are judging me for the small glass of wine that I did enjoy, you might need to lighten up a bit. Hahahah. I totally cleared this with my doctor - she knows my ways.

happy 25th birthday!

Sweet little sister, happy birthday. Sorry the Toot tried to steal the spotlight on your day a few years back, but don't worry, you definitely hold your own - and share your day with grace. So here are a few things I love about Nanni that I thought I'd share on her day:

1. None of us other sisters could ever be so daringly Marijke-esque in their mothering techiques. It just works for you - and I love watching you be a mom.

2. Somehow you manage to look super swanky and trendy while on a budget. Does anyone know that Nanni found an amazing cocktail dress at the Salvation Army? She wears it like a runway model.

3. I love that during your short 'modeling career' you were selected to impersonate Barbie at the local toystores. I love that you were Rainforest Barbie one time, and wore the bodyart/fake tatoos like a star. And that you got pulled over by a Cop for speeding while in that costume.

4. You were always willing to listen to me, despite my overly bossy nature during our childhood. I can't believe I got the "front" seat in the bathtub with all the warm water everytime. I love that you didn't mind letting me get away with that crap.

5. I love that you wear cut off shorts and bright yellow whellies.

6. Thanks for letting me give you the most famous haircut you ever received as a kid. I love that you are still so scarred by that experience that you are determined to keep G-Lou's hair long.

7. I admire your ability to thrive off of a 15 minute power nap.

8. I'm glad that you are Aunt Nancy to RM. When he runs up to you and demands a hug when we see you, I thank our Father in heaven.

9. I love that when I missed you sharing a room with me after we got our own bedrooms, you willingly participated in moving the furniture without mom knowing in order to create a 'playroom' and a 'bedroom' for us both to share.

10. It makes my heart swell to know that you will have two daughters soon - sisters as close in age as we were, and that my daughter will get to be a part of their fun too.


We love you!

happy tenth anniversary!

A very happy anniversary wish to my sister Tootie and her terrific hubby. Can't believe that ten years ago we were all partying it up at the Woodfield Inn with y'all. Tootie, at least you're old enough to have a glass of wine in celebration now. Hee, hee.
You guys have had a pretty awesome journey for the past ten years - fun times at Whaley Mill in Columbia, livin la vida loco in Oklahoma, buying your cute little shoebox in Colorado, enduring a year apart during the Iraq deployment, expanding your cute little shoebox house, and producing some pretty unbelievable little ones that look like the cutest little clones I ever did see. I'm grateful for y'all and so happy y'all have this milestone today.

miscellaneous photos this week

While y'all might all be eagerly anticipating a photo of our boy hooked up to his torture device (a.k.a. nebulizer), unfortunately that moment has not quite been captured on camera yet. Here are a few from this week though.

As you can see, I am relinquishing my control over the spoon during dinner time. RM prefers to wear his spaghetti sauce all over his face and head, thereby guaranteeing himself a bathtime. Smart boy.


Just a sweet moment in the grass with "Da--yee" after a spring rain, while we were checking out the vegetable garden progress.


Hey "Mah-MEE" this grass is wet and I'm not so sure about it.


Sitting on the couch playing with the "Dobbie" from Uncle David that he loves so much.


Even with Orapred in his system, he manages to CRASH hard at bedtime. Praise the Lord. He's bonkers right up to the last moment of the day on this stuff.

last 24 hours...

Yesterday afternoon I finally get the appraiser on the phone. "Yes, um, I need an expedited appraisal since we have a closing scheduled next week." (Voice of Evelyn, pregnant woman trying not to sound like her nesting instinct is in overdrive).
"Okay, I can come today, or tomorrow morning..." (Nice appraiser lady, knowingly understanding my underlying request for immediate gradification).
"How about tomorrow at 3:30?" (Me again, knowing that Floyd needs tomorrow morning to clean out CRAP in our basement that has piled up over the last three years).
"Sounds great, i'll be there then."

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Insert two hours of me at pediatrician's office yesterday afternoon. Me telling nurse he's had a fever for 48 hours, cough... No i do not think it is H1N1 influenza, but I do want to know if these tubes are still okay... Her response: Yes his ears look great, but he's WHEEZING mom, couldn't you hear the rattling around in his lungs? Would you please sit here with him hooked up to the nebulizer machine for 15 minutes? And then can we give you some cream for this nasty rash in his diaper area you also neglected to mention? And don't you have time for breathing treatments at home 3 times a day?

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This morning, do the breathing treatment, boy refuses breakfast, fever still down, so he can go to school. (which he has been requesting for the last three days straight. Grocery store. "SKOOL?" Doctor's office. "SKOOL?" Walking outside to the mailbox. "SKOOL?" He loves that place.) Get him dressed, chuck dirty diaper out front door (to take around to trash when we do get in the car for "SKOOL".

Doorbell rings. 8:30am. Neither Floyd nor I is presentable... because of course I'm not ready. Send RM to front door? Just kidding. Go to door, it's the APPRAISER. 7 hours early. And she's standing directly above the stinky diaper. And next to the rug we had to drag out of the house because Jim Hargate got *sick* all over it.

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Clarified with Appraiser that she will need to come back at 3:30pm. Floyd is now at UHaul place to empty the contents of our basement into said truck. Rug is in the trash. Stinky diapers removed from front stoop. Hopefully when she returns later, we don't get docked for the amazing experience she had this morning.

Send Mr. Grills to Europe

This video might touch your heart even if you don't know the man honored here. You can read the newspaper coverage in this article for more of the story. And the local television coverage will inform you that this man has spent over three decades teaching Studio Art and Art History to hundreds of students who have come and gone through Riverside High School. But none of these media links will be able to provide you with a seat in Mr. Grills' AP Art History class.

Now I know I am an emotional pregnant woman right now, but it really does make my heart swell to remember the patience and care this man displayed while reigning in my boisterous class of high schoolers. I remember thinking that if I didn't get my act together, I'd never pass the AP exam. He made me want the personal responsibility in a way many teachers weren't able to reach me. And I passed that exam.

Years later I would run the Congressional Art Competition for our district, as a very young and naive new staffer. One of the greatest joys of that first year 'on the job' was Mr. Grills walking through the door with the entries from Riverside High School students. And I could tell he was proud of me. Not because I was doing something all that outstanding or terrific, but just because I was one of his students. That was all.

So if you cried during Mr. Holland's Opus - watch out. This story too might getcha.