And he's up

I just commented to Steven on Saturday that it wouldn't be long before I went in to get Grady from a nap and he would be standing in his crib. I'm not joking when I tell you that he did it that very morning?! He is constantly on the move now, usually heading towards something evidently very appealing and dangerous like the fireplace, the DVD player, the metal/wicker side tables or his personal favorite, the wall sockets (yes, they are all covered). He is starting to "talk" a whole lot more and will even mimic certain noises back at you. I am continously impressed with how well Elle does with him. She can make him laugh more than we can. She really is generous with all the toys and tries to put up things that "aren't safe for Grady". I'm not naive to think this will always be the case with the two of them, so I am enjoying this time and praying they will love each other, look out for one another, and really be great friends.

Back to Life

We made it back from Savannah and are slowly returning to our day-to-day groove here. We had such a great time that the days seemed to fly by.

Some of the highlights were:

1) I got Mom and Maddie hooked on Lost. We watched the entire first season and were cruising through season two when we had to leave. I think we watched at least two episodes every night.

2) Grady is now crawling and trying to pull up. While I am thrilled he has reached this milestone, this also means that now I don't even have ONE second to leave him unattended while he is awake. My pre-schooler friendly house is not remotely "baby-proof". Guess I have some work to do.

3) Mom's house is beautiful and her neighborhood is equally beautiful. The azaleas, jasmine, and wisteria were all blooming (I'm not mentioning the pollen or the pesky sand gnats because I'm focusing on the "highlights"). There were gorgeous blue jays, cardinals, sparrows, and wood peckers busy in her backyard. It made me want a screened-in porch one of these days.

4) All of our Easter festivities were special. We dyed eggs, hunted eggs, had too much candy and a delicious feast for Easter lunch/dinner. They have a separate service for the youth at Mom and Maddie's church and we were able to go with Maddie to "her" church. Elle thought Maddie's church was "too loud" but she loved the crazy lights they had.

5)We shopped at Publix. Elle loved driving the shopping cart and I loved the store. Yes, it's more expensive than Wal-Mart, but it was worth the extra cash for the joy it brought me. The simple pleasures, right?

And now the normalcy of life resumes. As much as I love being a stay-at-home mom, the monotony of the days do tend to bring about a bit of insanity every now and then. That's why I love to have something new or exciting or different on the horizon to look forward to. And looming in the not to distance future is a weekend trip to Atlanta for the Aquarium and a Bon Jovi concert. That's right, I said Bon Jovi concert. You gotta do what you gotta do to shake things up.

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.