Leaving on a Jet Plane

I've taken two plane trips with Elle before Grady was born. Today we are embarking on new and a little bit scary territory. The kids and I are flying to my mom's this afternoon. The flight is just a little over an hour. I'm feeling confident that we will make it without making too many passengers angry. I'm also confident that I will be covered in spit-up and slobber which is why I'm wearing white. We'll be at my mom's for 12 days. Steven is coming over for an extended Easter weekend and then we'll all drive back together. The kids are mostly over their sicknesses (although I thought I was going to have to take Elle back to the doctor this AM to check her ears?!) with just the lingering cough and stuffiness. I would have NEVER attempted this when Elle was just 6 months old, but I'm an old pro at the "mom" thing now right? HA! It's much easier to fly with 2 than to drive 6 hours with 2, so thanks mom for the tickets! Savannah here we come!

Germs, Germs Go Away

This is what they look like most days when they are happy, healthy and feeling good. This, however, is not how they have looked the past week. Elle is at the end (I hope) of a respiratory infection that has sinced passed on to Grady. We are a house full of runny noses, hacking coughs, watery eyes, tired bodies and sleepy heads. I have been to the pediatrician three times in three weeks. The phone nurse at the office and I are best friends. Countless trips to Wal-Mart for medicine and we still can't seem to shake these germs. Just trying to remember what time I gave what kid what medicine and when and who gets what next is about to make my brain do backflips. We're hanging in there by God's sufficient grace and I do realize what a blessing good health is and that when I am weak then He is strong. We'd be blessed if you'd pray for our family to be well again (and for supernatural Mommy powers).

Everything but the kitchen sink

That is to say, we have running water in every faucet except for the kitchen sink. The pressure has steadily been declining and as I started to wash some dishes Saturday night, the water was literally dripping out of the faucet. Then the drips stopped and there was nothing. It's amazing how many times we went to the sink to turn it on yesterday mostly from habit, but maybe with just a tiny bit of hope that the flood gates would open again. Two days in to our kitchen sink strike, I'm realizing just how much I took for granted that I have running water in the kitchen. Hopefully we can get a plumber out today or tomorrow. For now, I am washing bottles in the kids' bathroom sink and carting pitchers of water from the bathroom in to the kitchen to rinse off dishes. And we're using a lot of paper products (sorry Earth).


On a brighter note, we had an excellent weekend with excellent weather. Yesterday we spent the entire afternoon outside. Steven and Elle went on a bike ride with our neighbor and his daughter, Elle flew a kite for the first time (although I think Steven secretly enjoyed it more), and I even went running for the first time in over a year. We are all definitely ready for spring!

Stress-induced explosion

The kids and I have been sick for about a week. Nothing major, but just enough to be a little extra fussy, cranky, whiny and go through several boxes of kleenex. On top of that, it was a very busy week with Grady's doctor's appointment, Elle's dental appointment, and I had an appointment too. I guess it wasn't quite enough because on Wednesday morning I wake up and my face has exploded. Steven gets these massive fever blisters/cold sores (or whatever you want to call them) every now and then but I have never had one. As I wake up on Wednesday morning, my nose is itching just a bit, probably because I've blown it about 95 times in the past few days, so I scratch it. And then the explosion occured. The little patch of skin just below my right nostril on my upper lip was on fire. It progressively got worse all day. If you've gotten these things then you know what I'm talking about. It itched and buzzed and vibrated and hurt and irritated. My dear old husband has some tried and true remedies for making these things go away fast. That night I turn to him for help. Being the semi-medical person I am, I generally like to dispose of medications when they have expired. I'm willing to use it if it's an emergency (like this) say if it's only been a couple of months or even a year. The tube of medicine my dear husband brings out expired in 1999. At this point, I am a little discouraged that my upper lip will be disfigured indefinitely. I am able to use the other medicine (on which I could find no expiration date) and it seemed to help some. To add to the excitement, the lymph node on the right side under my jaw is now so huge you can actually see it bulging under my chin. So today, two days in to the explosion, I have a dime-sized incredibly icky red crusty scab on my face and a big swollen lymph node chin. As much as I'd like to post a picture, I think I will leave it to your imaginations.

"Gubble Bum" toothpaste

Elle had her very first trip to the dentist on Wednesday. She did awesome! The hygenist would come out and call a kid back. Every time, Elle would say, "Is it my turn yet?". As soon as the lady came out and called her, she ran (literally) back there. They take them back by themselves and after they do the exam, call the parents back. She loved it and has wanted to brush her teeth after every meal and in between. The best was she got some bubble gum toothpaste, but it has turned in to "Gubble Bum". She just goes around repeating that with a big smile on her face. The ladies there were very sweet and even sent Elle a letter in the mail today. It definitely couldn't have gone any better and I hope our future trips are just as pleasant. This is a picture of the polaroid they took of Elle. I have to add that Grady was with us and he did wonderful too. He even got his own toothbrush just for being so cute.

6 Months

I took Grady to the doctor for his 6 month check-up yesterday. He weighed in at 15 pounds 6 ounces and measured 26 3/4 inches. The doctor says he's doing great. He's started eating cereal every morning. I made some sweet potatoes yesterday with my new food processor so he'll be starting those soon (as soon as his seat comes that I ordered from Wal-Mart?!). He is getting up on all fours and mostly lunges forward and does face plants, but it makes him happy. He's sitting for very, very brief periods before he topples over. We've started the weaning process from nursing to the bottle. And like the laid back thing he is, this has not been a problem at all. He doesn't care what bottle, what temperature, who gives it to him, nothing. He has affectionately been nicknamed "Gradikins" as well as "Spud Bud". I love to hear Elle call him these names. It's hard to believe it's already been six months...

The Key to Avoiding Parent Burnout

I'm reading this book called The Mother of All Toddler Books. In a section labeled, "Avoiding Parent Burnout" the following suggestion was given:

Find creative ways to recharge your batteries. Alyson, a 37-year-old mother of two, has found that acting zany helps her to get through those less-than-wonderful days as a parent.

What? Did you just say that what I need to get through those hard days is to "act zany"? No wonder I've been having a little trouble lately. I haven't been acting zany. Problems solved. The book really does have some great stuff in it, but I thought this was a little bit hilarious.