Wild Child

Kindergarden=Bordem

2012-01-19T09:10:00.005-05:00

Ok, I have said it before, my kid is so smart. All moms say that. I am aware. I know some is genetic, some is school related, and some is just luck (and the fact the the good Lord knows we need a kid who can earn a scholarship). But seriously, she's smart. Yesterday as I was getting ready for work, she got out her bathtub letters and did this:

No help, not one bit. She has known how to spell her first name for about 6 months. I recently taught her how to spell our last name to the tune of "Bingo." Parents, let me tell you, putting lessons to song is the best way to teach your kids. It works with 2 year-olds and my big kids in 2nd grade. Music=learning folks. Thanks to her wonderful school, she's already working on handwriting each day. She knows her abcs, can identify all letters (upper and lowercase) and their sounds. We've been working in basics of spelling like d-o-g lately and she's doing quite well. She knows how to count to 30, can tell you shapes, colors, and knows that you can't get up from your bed until the clock says 6 (thank you to my mother for teaching her that-and getting her the cute pink clock!). Of course, she's a spitfire as well. Let's hope kindergarden can provide her with some sort of a challenge, otherwise I fear we may have trouble...

Speaking of trouble...this girl is getting married! Wahoo for you Kara!!!

Can't believe we've been friends since we were 9 (not quite kindergarden, but pretty close!) We went to a bridal show a few weekends ago (WOW! That was an experience considering I've been married for 9 years now!) From photographers, to cake, to bands, she has a lot of work to do, but I'm THRILLED to be able to be a part of it in September. It is such fun to think about getting all dolled up (although I'm going to have to do so SERIOUS dieting between now and then-no flabby arms in the dress!).

She's also providing this matron of honor with a girls weekend away in a few weeks. We're going DRESS SHOPPING!!!! Mommy gets a weekend away! What will I do with myself? Probably worry the whole time, but perhaps enough champagne will make things better...

I should also mention that my name is Lori and I'm addicted to Pinterest. Let me tell you, late at night, when the hubs is working on lessons or resumes and the kid is sleeping soundly, momma likes her some Pinterest.

Thanks to my cache of craft stuff, I've kept myself busy. Thank you Pinterest for the recipes, ideas, and sucking my time.

You are the best!

Is it Winter?

2012-01-01T12:47:00.015-05:00

Today is officially the start of a new year! Do you make resolutions? I can't. I just think the hoopla is sort of silly. I mean, who really keeps them anyway? Saying that makes me feel better about being fat and happy. And, apparently we are old and grump because we tried to go to bed last night at about 10 instead of living it up like two party animals. Such is our life.

But on with the stories! We had a fabulous and busy Christmas thanks to the generosity of many. All of us were well (CHRISTMAS MIRACLE IN AND OF ITSELF), Lucy was thrilled with her gifts (as were we), and we did survive New Year's Eve (although I'd like to have a little chat with the neighbors who shot off fireworks from 10 p.m. till 12:30 a.m.-they clearly do NOT have children.) It has been freakishly warm this winter so far, but I'm sure it won't stay pleasant forever. Bah humbug to that! Below is s smattering of pictures from our holidays. So many stories, such need for a nap, so this post will be brief!

We continued our journeys with Giuseppe the Elf. Why did I do this to myself during the insanity of the holidays? I will however, be the first to admit that I am no "Overachieving Elf Mom", unlike some others I know. In fact, many nights we'd be in bed and I'd remember we hadn't done anything with the stupid elf. AHHHHH! These two were about as creative as we got:

We also attempted cookies again. My mother wanted to do gingerbread men, but neglected to look through her cookie cutters to see if she had an actual gingerbread man cut out. She did not. It was a bit crazy, but in the end we made some stellar, free-handed and LARGE gingerbread men!

Santa also paid a visit to Lucy's school. He handed each kid a small token gift (and of course the children all thought the cheap, plastic trees were the best gift ever!) She also had a "Pajama Day" at school which thrilled her to no end. She was so excited to be able to just roll out of bed and go. Made for an easy morning for Bryan and I too.

Lucy and her Daddy decided the reggae station on Pandora was the best channel ever, and danced the night away one night. Some of these pictures are a must at her wedding, don't you think?

Aunt Leah also visited before her big move to AUSTRALIA! She and Lu did some toddler style yoga and had an all out good time the whole time she was here. Lucy seriously adores this chick.

Once the grandparents from Florida got here, the baking started! We made cookies for Santa (snickerdoodles, my, I mean, HIS favorite). We made chocolate pies too. We all ate, and ate, and ate. Lucy thinks she is quite the chef after all this baking now.

On Christmas Eve, she sprinkled magic reindeer food all over our yard and Mumsy and Grandy's yard (as Santa stops at TWO houses for Lucy-yes, I fully acknowledge she is spoiled). She was so excited about this, so I suppose it is a new tradition for us. Also on the eve, we went to my parents house with the Moores for our annual dinner and general holiday merriment. Good food, lots of laughter (and adult beverages), and lots of love was aplenty!

Christmas morning was hours and hours and hours of squeals and screams of joy (Lucy even got riled up too). She got everything she wanted, plus a nice pink convertible car that terrifies the life out of her. She'll get in, but man, don't ask her to drive it! So glad we spent money on that. After merriment at our house, we headed to my parents for Christmas with them. Lucy was delighted that the magic reindeer food really did its job. Perhaps her favorite gift is her set of pink scrubs and doctor kit. It is monogrammed with "Dr. Lucy" and she tells us she's going to be a pediatrician. This is a dream we are encouraging, of course. We've already requested a lovely home in the Caribbean when she begins to fully support us on her pediatrician's salary. We can't wait!

After Christmas was over, my mom's side of the family had a little pizza party and get together. Lucy was THRILLED to meet some of her 2nd cousins and play with them all night. She must have said the word "cousins" 974 times the night before, the night of, and still today she's talking about her "cousins." Thanks Beth and Todd for totally delighting our child's heart by sharing the "Hobbits" with her. They are her new favorite things!

So our journey into 2012 has begun. Bryan had a job interview and is waiting to hear back about it. If he doesn't get this position, he'll officially be "Substitute Teacher of the Century!" We will survive. Hopefully, as the band Counting Crows once said..."Maybe this year will be better than the last!"

Here's to good jobs, good health, and good cheer all year! Hope your 2012 is great!

Why Didn't I Think of That?!?!

2011-12-10T12:57:00.009-05:00

Being a teacher, I've known about the whole "Elf on the Shelf" phenomenon for a few years now. If you don't know what I'm talking about, go here: www.elfontheshelf.com. It is crazy! About half of my students have an elf in their home, and Lucy's school classroom has one too. Well, I figured she was too small for one this year, but a LOT of people were trying to change my mind. I'm not one that is easily swayed, but having a two-year-old that needs some positive reinforcement in her world sometimes, I figured we'd give this whole elf thing a go.

Seeing as how life has been a bit nutty lately, I'm sure you're not surprised at me being a day late and a dollar short on this one. You see, we're only 15 days from Christmas (and you're supposed to get your elf out more towards Thanksgiving I guess) and all the stores in town had the stupid things on backorder. THANKFULLY, my mother saved the day (not the first time she's done that lately) and found ONE at a locally owned toy store here in town. Praise the Lord! My kid didn't actually know she was missing out on this, but she was!!!

So I bought our family elf! It was a boy (didn't realize they came as girls-hmmm, maybe a twin for next year???) and he came in a great box kit with a delightful little picture book all about how to care for him. This idea is so stinking cute, and let me tell you, that woman who created it is probably a ZILLIONAIRE by now. WHY THE HECK DID I NOT THINK OF THAT?!?!? Once again, my dreams of being a zillionaire myself are crushed.

Anyway, I got the elf. Now, how to introduce him... A few days ago Lu got a silly band at school. I know I know, they're not for kids under three, but I am pretty sure that she won't strangle herself with one. She's pretty smart. Anyway, it broke and she was DEVASTATED. I am telling you there were MANY HUGE tears and screaming and flailing. It was not pretty. I told her that maybe if she was good and she asked Santa, he might be able to help her out. So she got herself all out of the tizzy she was in and we shouted out a message to old Saint Nick. So I figured when I picked her up yesterday, the elf could be sitting in the car with a package of silly bands waiting for her. GENIUS! She totally freaked out and was THRILLED with the whole deal.

When her dad got home, we read the book as a family and had to name this elf we were now in charge of. Now, I love Italian food, and Lucy does too. When I was pregnant, I sort of was obsessed with the name Giuseppe (if it were to be a boy)-pronounced JA-SEP-PEE for all you non-cultured readers. Bryan did not go for it ONE PERCENT, and I can't really blame him, as it doesn't flow too well with our last name. But again with the loopholes, I figured this elf might be my chance for a Giuseppe!!! Now, don't get me wrong, I threw out other ideas-Einstein, Edison, AND Giuseppe. Which one did she choose (TOTALLY ON HER OWN!)? GIUSEPPE!!!! I have never been more proud!

Now, the idea of this elf is that he (or she) goes back to the North Pole each night (using his or her flying magic) to report to Santa about a child's behavior. He reappears in the morning, but is usually in someplace crazy or up to some kind of mischief. This is all well and good, but creates homework for the parents each night. "What kind of crazy thing can we do with the elf?" is probably being asked millions of times over all around the world (thus making that woman a ZILLIONAIRE!). So last night, after Lucy had been quite good, we said goodnight to Big G and put her to bed. Now, the book states that the kids can't touch the elf or he'll lose his (oops, or her) magic. Thank goodness for this rule because my child would ABSOLUTELY want to sleep with this guy. (She currently sleeps with 5 rather large animals/dolls.) Anyway, great rule, thanks zillionaire woman for thinking that one up.

So last night, Bryan was working on his portfolio for school, and I was wondering what I could do with G. I had a thought and this was it:

Pretty clever and cute, right? Well, after I had that thought, took the picture and headed back upstairs, I pretty much had a small anxiety attack over the mess I had left in my kitchen. I mean, is it good for your countertops to have flour on them all night? Can that seep into them and ruin them? How was I going to clean this in the morning? If you know me, you know the list of irrational worry continued until I had to just clean it up and think of something less chaotic:

My poor child never even saw the mess on the counter. Probably for the best, as I'd hate to give her any ideas... So tonight the journey with G continues. I did print out a list of 101 things to do with your elf. Thank goodness I'm not the one blazing new ground with this little guy. More posts with pictures of our holiday adventures will follow this one I am sure.

As for other things...Bryan will have his exit interview with LMU on MONDAY-WAHOO!!!! He has applied to all the big school systems around, so now we wait. If only I'd invented that stupid elf we could be zillionaires living in the Caribbean! Oh well.

It snowed! It was just for a few minutes this past week, but it snowed! Lucy and I dashed out the front door and played in it. She was quite thrilled to be playing in the first flurries of the season.

She also had a blast with my mom last weekend making her first gingerbread house. It is a real nice piece of work. Nothing compared to the gingerbread house duplex my friend Kendra and I once built, but hey! She's only two. I'll give her time and she'll be giving Frank Lloyd Wright a run for his money (and yes I realize he's dead, but he's the only famous architect I can think of right now).

Other than this being the hardest 3 weeks of the year to be a teacher, we're surviving things ok. Many nights you can hear us belting Christmas songs at the top of our lungs, we're enjoying the decorations being up, and can't wait to see the look on Lucy's face when she sees all that Santa has for her on Christmas morning.

Merry ALMOST Christmas!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...Seattle

2011-12-04T12:53:00.013-05:00

I cannot believe it is December. Where did this year go? It is sort of cold here, but raining like CRAZY every week. I'm not talking small rain showers, I'm talking FLOODS for the past two weeks, and this week's forecast is no different. I feel like I live in SEATTLE. UGH. If it is December, and there's precipitation, can it please be snow? And really, I hate cold, so I would actually like a warm 72 degrees.

As you know if you read my last post, the house is decorated. Did that BEFORE Thanksgiving since I found my little loophole this year. And Thanksgiving...that was easy! We literally got a meal from Cracker Barrel and ate in our sweatpants.

Pretty table for such a casual affair, huh? We really were in sweatpants. It was incredible. We actually ended up spending the night at my parents' house (there was a bit o' merriment after several pitchers of sangria...). My mom, the genius she is, got Lucy this cardboard playhouse thingy. You've probably seen them, as they are in all the stores. Anyway, if you need a good 6-8 hour break, just get your kid one. Lucy was entertained ALL DAY LONG and it was MAGICAL. Mommy had lots of wine and was wearing her sweat pants-could life have been better?! Well, perhaps if I'd been on a beach in the Caribbean... but anyway, it ranked way up there.

After all our merriment, we made REAL Christmas cookies with Lucy.

See how proud she was?! We didn't take too many pictures, as there was lots of flour, sprinkles, dough, and well, they didn't look so great. I'm more from the school of "Nestle Tollhouse" where you just open the pack, plop 'em on a pan, and you're done. For some reason my mom and I thought she needed the experience of using real dough and cookie cutters. It was not something I'll do again any time soon.

After cookies were done and we all settled into bed, we woke the day after and went to the Fantasy of Trees. If you aren't from around here, it is a HUGE event that raises money for Children's Hospital (which we have donated to quite a lot this year ourselves:-) Anyway, local businesses, churches, schools, etc. decorate trees and gingerbread houses to be auctioned off. There are TONS of activities for kids to do, including SANTA and a CAROUSEL! Yay for Santa, and the carousel...well, if you've ever read my blogs, you know how this is about to go.

We had fun. Lu did every craft she could. She LOVED Santa! I got some great pictures-it is quite helpful that she's such a diva and loves to "pose." She psychotically loved the pink Christmas tree, and due to that love, she now has a small version of the one we saw in her room. She's quite proud of that too. Her grandmother convinced her to go on the carousel. She made it a half-lap around before the screaming started. After A LOT of coaxing, my genius (different, more sarcastic tone now) mother and I convinced her she was ok. you can't really see the fear in her eyes in the picture, but I assure you, that isn't a smile. SHE HATES THOSE THINGS. WHY DO WE KEEP TRYING?!?!?

After the Fantasy of Trees and our big holiday weekend, we've just been keeping quiet (and trying to stay dry). Nobody is sick, and yes, as I write this I am knocking on wood. Lucy hasn't actually been on antibiotics since her last dose on Halloween. It is unbelievable. That is why I am convinced I'll get a call from her school this week telling me she's barfed. Oh well. It has been a nice few weeks!

I've also found myself a new hobby. Bryan is ALWAYS studying (which I am glad he's doing so well and about to be DONE-YAY!) and mama needs something to do after 7:30 p.m. Yes, I know I could exercise. I do look 4 months pregnant, but in fact, am not. I have been obsessed with banners lately. You might have seen them in magazines, or maybe you have one. If you do, I was very jealous of you. If you have no clue, they look like this:

You can hang them seasonally, and they look great on mantles, on vaulted ceilings that aren't too high, on mirrors, in doorways, the list goes on and on. SO, I've been obsessing about them. I can't find them in stores, so I looked on etsy. If you don't know etsy, wow, it's a bit like pinterest. If you don't know pinterest, sorry, we can't be friends. BOTH VERY ADDICTING. I know ya'll already know we're dirt poor. I can't be buying stuff on etsy!!!! So after hours looking at stuff yesterday, I decided, much like the quotes on canvases, I CAN DO THAT! So, a quick trip to Michael's and I had me some stuff (being careful not to spend more than the cost of one etsy banner mind you). Four hours later, I had me FOUR banners.

They are terribly cute. I am terribly good. Maybe everyone is getting a banner for Christmas-hmm...

Organized Chaos and a Small Loophole

2011-11-20T20:09:00.003-05:00

So this past month could be described using any of the following adjectives: insane, chaotic, draining, exhausting, hellacious, wild, shall I keep going???

Things all started when Bryan's 32 year-old heart decided to go into a-fib one night when we were chilling out on the couch. Literally, he was lying there watching t.v. and I think I might have been blogging... Anyway, to make a long story short, after an evening in the ER, several tests (to the tune of about $2000) and a heart monitor later, doctors have determined that there is actually nothing wrong with his heart. Did I mention that I am the ONLY one with a job around here? That extra expense was not needed. Am I glad my husband's heart is fine, yes. Are we even more poor now, double big fat yes. Is he worth every penny, yes, yes, yes! Look at this guy! Captured him in a genuine "moment."

After that little stressful week, we had Halloween. Lucy was of course sick the week before. She had one of her famous "fever viruses" which meant 104 degree fever for over a week. So pleasant. She was also diagnosed with a sinus infection. Antibiotics AGAIN (please be reminded that we had her adenoids out to stop all the sinus infections in August and she has since had 3 infections-oh joy!). She seemed to finally be fever free one Sunday morning, but something was odd. Is a throat full of pus normal? Didn't think so. One very hurried trip to the Sunday "emergency only" pediatrician's office and she'd been diagnosed with the adenovirus (no relation to the adenoids). Pus throat, no appetite, fever, and blah were the symptoms. Lucky for us, the pus-filled throat was the END of the virus. She missed a week of school. Her grandparents and I took turns missing work. Not a great time.

Did I mention that I was in the middle of my evaluation cycle during all this? Not sure if you've heard, but it SUCKS. Read below if you don't believe how incredibly STUPID the process is: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/07/education/tennessees-rules-on-teacher-evaluations-bring-frustration.html?pagewanted=all

Anyway, we survived all that and made it to Halloween weekend. Lucy wanted to be Dorothy from "Wizard of Oz." Not sure why. I was REALLY encouraging her strongly to be this adorable garden gnome:

She wanted nothing to do with that idea. So Dorothy it was! She has NEVER seen the movie, nor will she on my watch. It scares the bejeezus out of me. So, we dressed Dorothy up on Halloween night. It was chilly. Dorothy did not want to be in a sweater, but we gave her no choice. She was geared up and ready! She even practiced her "ARE THOSE FLYING MONKEYS?!" face.

We were just going to go up and down our street, however, Dorothy had other plans. As we got the last house on our street, she says, "I want to go to one more house." We told her to go to the door and we'd go to ONE MORE HOUSE. As she rang the bell and had her basket (with Toto in it) FILLED with candy, she says to us, "I want to go to A LOT more houses!!!" The kid is a huge fan of this "holiday." So much so that she has a fit every afternoon over eating candy. I finally got smart and dumped it all. Told her she ate it all and it was so delicious. I am so screwed when I can't lie to her anymore.

We were enjoying life, and a beautiful fall. We got through Bryan's heart issues, Halloween, and his moving to a new school (Clinton High School) for the remainder of his student teaching this semester. A few little glitches in our world, but we had recovered nicely from it all. We'd gone to the park some, spent good family time together, and we were all HEALTHY!!!

Then came last Friday. My in-laws were coming for the long weekend (Veteran's Day) instead of Thanksgiving. We were going to spend 4 days with them hanging out, doing a few projects around the house, and getting some much needed time shopping too! So Friday rolled around and Lucy and I were preparing dinner. Bryan had just lit the grill, and we were expecting Herb and Susan at any moment. The phone rings, Bryan answers, and then life got really nuts.

H&S had been in a terrible car accident about 4 miles from our house. Some nice lady had seen them run off the road and HIT A TREE. She got to them, but couldn't get them out of the car, as they were quite pinned in. She called us and Bryan was out the door. After many phone calls and worry, Bryan informed me that his dad had been removed via the jaws of life and was on his way to UT medical center with some pretty bad injuries. Susan was going to another hospital, and I was at home with Lucy, grill flaming.

I doused the grill, pulled dinner out of the oven and waited. I decided to call my parents to see if they could keep Lucy while I went to the hospital to be with Susan. Well, it came as quite a shock to me to find out my mom and dad were already AT the hospital. My mom had apparently been having some heart palpitations for a few weeks, but had some major ones and felt "not right" earlier in the day. Dad decided they needed to go to the ER. OH. NICE.

So, my help was out. I had to just chill and try to decided what the heck to do with ALL PARENTS incapacitated. Husband at one hospital, all other parents at the other. Me with a 2 year-old. Finally after a few hours, they released my mom from the hospital. A million tests later, her heart was still screwing up, but they didn't know why. They doubled her regular heart meds, sent her home on bedrest, and told her to follow-up with a cardiologist. I realize I am not a doctor, but REALLY?! Send her home with her heart still going nuts?!?!? I was not pleased. I got a call that they had seen my mother-in-law, and she was doing ok (what divine providence that they took her to the same hospital my parents were at!) and waiting on x-rays. We still had no idea the condition of Bryan's dad, except that he was in SERIOUS pain. Bryan was with him though, and they doctors were trying to get him stable.

I took Lucy and got my mom at the hospital. My dad stayed with Susan. We weren't sure if she'd need to be kept overnight. I got mom settled at home, and Lucy in bed. Susan and my dad showed up a bit later with GREAT news that she had no breaks, just some bruises! "Ok," I told myself, "things are nuts, but that is SOME good news. BREATHE." Later that night, we found out that Herb had a punctured lung, and several broken ribs-thus all the pain. The pain meds they were giving him at the hospital were making him violently ill though. Can you imagine all those injuries and on top of it all puking your guts out? POOR MAN! Bryan stayed with him all night. Bryan also talked to the police, figured out where the car was, AND went to the car in the middle of the night to retrieve all his parents' possessions, registration, meds, etc. You could say it was a LOOOOONG night. I stayed at my parents house with mom, dad, Lucy, and Susan. Quite a slumber party, and a bit of "organized" chaos.

After many trips back and forth to UT hospital, Herb finally go to come home on Sunday afternoon. He was banged up, on lots of pain meds, but so glad to be at a HOME. We spent the week in a nice fog. I was (and still am) worried about my mom, and we were busy taking care of the other set of parents-trying to make sure they were comfortable, relaxed, and ok with being stranded 500 miles from home. Here are the cutie pies all rested up:

Lucy of course kept them quite entertained. You know Lucy, our resident surgeon/ballerina/cheerleader/cowgirl. Why make her choose a career path now, right?

Leah came up and took our stranded house guests half-way home yesterday. Thanks to some sweet family friends who met them in Birmingham, they got home about 6 last night. We LOVED having them here, but I think they were ready to get home. I cannot imagine being stranded somewhere and being sick and injured. NOT FUN. I think they were very good sports about it all. Now they get to look forward to buying a new car! They'll be back at Christmas, this time I bet they'll be real careful around mile 496 of 500.

OH! Did I mention I woke on Thursday and was unable to stand? YEP! The hits just kept on coming. I had vertigo so incredibly bad!!! Bryan made me call in to work, and he did as well. He drove me to the doctor to find out two things: 1. My blood pressure was a bit high and 2. I had tons of fluid behind my ear. The doc put me on something that knocked me out along with a bit of Zyrtec (God's nectar for allergy sufferers) . While I was there, they tried to give me a flu shot. HA! I DO NOT DO SHOTS (I did however do the flu last year and it wasn't 1% fun), so I asked for the mist. I should interject here that my husband, trying to show me how tough he was, got the shot. Yep, right there in front of me. Didn't he know I could've passed out?! Or barfed?! Or both (per my usual). Nope, he just HAD to show off. Anyway, they were so kind to give me the mist. You know, the mist. What they give small children who are afraid of shots. Yep, I got the mist. The problem with the mist is that it is live. It kind of sort of gives you some flu-like symptoms. No worries, nothing a little Afrin and some advil cold and flu can't fix!

When all calmed down, and our house was quiet again, I disturbed the balance by decorating for Christmas. Yep, exhausted me ALREADY decorated for Christmas!!!!! Bryan of course thought it would've been a good idea for me to chill, but NOPE! I needed some more organized chaos. You see, we are pretty much skipping our usual Thanksgiving soiree this year, and the rule is I can't put Christmas up until T'giving is over. But HA! I found the loophole! No Thanksgiving at our house=I CAN put up the decorations NOW!!!! HE HE HE HE!!!!!! So, as you can see, I'm done!

We also managed to have a little birthday celebration for my mom on Saturday night. Heart monitor and all, we partied like senior citizens!

Lucy and I also had some time in between all the insanity to make Christmas gifts for the grandparents. She LOVED being in the middle of my paints and canvases. To her, it was BIG TIME! We had a blast, and the canvases turned out to be soooooooo cute!

After all that craziness, we're sort of back to normal now. This afternoon we went to the zoo, had a quiet dinner, and Lucy got to bed on time. Should I knock on some wood????

Raising a Toddler

2011-11-15T20:06:00.002-05:00

1. DON'T ask, "Why did you do that?" Why did you bite that boy? Why did you hit your sister? Why is there spaghetti in your ear? Why am I asking you a question you can't possibly answer in any way that will make me feel better? Oh yes, because it's easier than accepting the idea that I am in charge of a tiny lunatic.

2. DON'T be surprised by the number of things that can end up in your toilet. This includes shoes, spatulas, cell phones, small animals, keys, and a whole eggplant that looks an awful lot like a human head to your middle-of-the-night eyes.

3. DON'T be surprised by the number of things that can NOT end up in your toilet.Number two, for example, can occasionally end up in your purse.

4. DON'T assume that repeating directions increases their likelihood of being followed. DON'T assume that repeating directions increases their likelihood of being followed

5. DON'T over-explain adult situations. "Sorry, honey. Mommy is just in a bad mood because she doesn't understand why she chose to make a living on the Internets. And taking out a second mortgage to fund your preschool appears not to have been the prudent thing to do. And wow, your sitter is expensive! That noise? Oh, that's just Daddy weeping through the wall."

6. DON'T say, "Let's wash your hair!" This is akin to saying, "Let's put this large needle in your eyeball." If you really feel like you have to warn your toddler about the upcoming sudsing, consider something relatively benign and tangentially related, like, "Let's put this large needle in your eyeball."

7. DON'T wear a short skirt to a toddler birthday party. You know that fantasy you have about being unintentionally violated by giddy elves? Yeah, me neither.

8. DON'T let a boy shorter than the toilet try to pee standing up. Too late for that? Try not yelling helpful tips like, "Point your penis up!" Too late for that? Wipe your chin.

9. DON'T ask if your toddler if he wants to do something you need him to do. This includes Do You Want To Wear A Jacket? Do You Want To Eat Something? Do You Want To Hug Grandma? Do You Want To Wash Your Hair? and Do You Want to Keep Me From Running Out The Door To Jamaica?

10. DON'T try to catch vomit in your hands. A) It doesn't work. B) You don't get points for trying. C) You get vomit in your hands.

(borrowed, but couldn't help but share!)

A Month in Pictures (and a few side notes from me)

2011-10-08T08:09:00.000-04:00

I cannot believe we are already in mid-ish October. Where in the heck is the fall going?! It has been such a stressful beginning to the school year. The new evaluation system has morale REALLY low in the schools. Things just aren't as enjoyable as they used to be. Plus, it has been a little hard for me to have a new bunch of kiddos after 2 years with my last class. Anyway, I'm trying to stay positive and get through all the muck that is staring me in the face. It is hard to be peppy and happy.

Bryan, who is VERY jazzed up about teaching, is staying positive though. He was never a part of the field of education before now, so I guess he has never know the "other side" of things. Anyway, in almost 12 years together, I have NEVER, EVER seen my hubby so happy. I am THRILLED he loves teaching so much.

Our schedule is pretty crazy these days. We spend all the time we can with Lucy in the afternoons and evenings, but after she goes to bed, we're both working (although, I do take the occasional evening to watch some trashy show on t.v.-WAHOO for the KARDASHIAN WEDDING!). We do try to make the most of our weekends, and have had some great times.

Thanks to Mimi for the duck costume. Lucy has worn it well. I thought we were going to get away with a FREE Halloween costume, but no luck. Lu is now making us call her DOROTHY (yes, from that horrific movie "The Wizard of Oz") and we have now (by we I mean my mom) purchased a Dorothy costume. So actually reading this I realize I am NOT actually out any money-sweet! Gotta love some Grandparents!

We're of course always dressing Lucy in her appropriate FALL IN TENNESSEE ON A SATURDAY garb. She now knows how to sing "Rocky Top" and will shout, "GOOOOOO VOLS!" when prompted. LOVE IT!

We're also helping Lucy tap into her inner cowgirl. I mean, don't all cowgirls wear pink boots and no pants? Please note my husband CRACKING up in the background. We seriously couldn't get her to wear pants this day. And our new motto around the house is, "Don't Poke the Bear." So she wore no pants. No harm, no foul.

A few weekends ago, Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies gave TEACHERS and their families FREE ADMISSION! FREE people! FREE! That is like, well, MONEY around here! So of course, we loaded up and drove to the mountains. Bryan and I both love aquariums, and had high hopes for Lucy enjoying it too. She really dug the large pumpkin decorations outside the place. She actually sort of cooperated for a RARE picture of us together too!

Thanks to my amazing camera, I got some great shots.

Lucy was quite fond of the penguins (I was too really. They were CUUUUUTE!), and she made it about 45 minutes before she said her typical, "I'm all done." Her FAVORITE part of the aquarium though...the person dressed as a pink shark (although she called it a dinosaur for some reason-too much Barney perhaps?). Good thing this gig was free. Perhaps in a few years she will appreciate the wildlife a bit more. Oh well! Please note that her DAD is with her and the strange person who agreed to dress like an idiot for the day, as I am still terrified of people in large headed costumes.

That same weekend, my roomie from college, Deborah (a.k.a Debster) and her husband Mark came to visit for a few days. They were on a nice little road trip back to FL after Mark's med school rotations. We had a BLAST, except I have NO pictures to prove that. I cannot believe I didn't snap ONE PHOTO! I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!

And perhaps the biggest news of all around here is that Lucy went on her first field trip this week! How is this happening?!?!? She is only 2 and a half! Her little class at school (the NEW, GOOD class) went to the Pumpkin Patch. I (being the paranoid person that I am) made my mom go with her (and really there was no arm twisting involved). I was a bit nervous about my BABY being on a bus (yes, with her carseat) and then out in a pumpkin patch with no parent or grandparent with her. It was the first time I realized how my own class of kids' parents must feel when we go on a field trip. Kind of nerve racking! Anyway, Lucy was so excited about riding on the bus and going on a trip with her little "PS1" class. See exhibit 1 below:

Mom said Lucy was very well behaved and had a great time. They went in a corn maze (she seemed a bit unsure of this-exhibit 2 below).

They saw some scarecrows, went on a hay ride, and of course picked a pumpkin!

Last but not least, the princess has been spending some time practicing being terribly cute. Her moods still swing, her fuse is still short, but what a doll!

Life

2011-09-10T06:31:00.006-04:00

We've been taking it easy for the past few weeks. Lucy seems to be healthy, although she hasn't slept all night in about a week (which generally means she's about to get sick...didn't I just say she was healthy?). We're all back in the swing of school, and have been somewhat back to our version of "normal." I'm still painting canvases for friends, which is so much fun and helps me relax. Bryan can be found pecking away at his computer keys most nights, working on lesson plans. Lucy is Lucy. She counted to 10 in Spanish the other night in front of her grandparents. They are now SURE that she's the genius we've been thinking she must be. We DID tell them that she could count that way-guess they just needed to hear it for themselves.

Lucy discovered popcorn.

It is quite a tasty treat you know. She WILL eat the entire bowl if you let her. She's so skinny, we let her.

She has also been obsessed with her rain boots and jumping in puddles (although since the rain passed, I think we're over it now).

Bryan had a birthday (the 12th one he's had since I've been around-WOW!). What says "Happy Birthday" more than a cupcake with a tea light?

Lucy's got her volunteer pride going full strong, as well as the old duck obsession.

She still loves the camera and performing (most recently, she gets up in front of the t.v. and "leads" us in "music.") HELLO BROADWAY! I did always want to visit NYC.

We went to Baby Ella's 1st birthday party. Lu decided she was a huge fan of birthday parties, especially blow outs like Amber and Michael did for Ella.

We have been wearing all our custom made clothes and loving how well they twirl! Thanks to Faith for her beautiful creations!

I suppose the latest drama you might care to hear about came in the form of Lucy's most recent class move-up in school. She was supposed to move up from the class from hell on September 1st. I call her last class that name as she HATED school this summer, told us her teacher spanked her, and NEVER, I TELL YOU NEVER, came home with art work, a data sheet, NOTHING. Now, she was only there about 10 or 15 days total. Between vacation, laziness, sickness, and surgery, she was definitely home a lot more than she was there. But let me tell you, when we took her, it was an all out battle. Her teacher was LESS than warm and fuzzy, and we didn't care for her at all. Lu was not eating, taking 2-3 and a half hour naps while she was there-she was LITERALLY acting like a person who was DEPRESSED. A 2 year old should not be acting that way. We didn't "squeak" about it much since we knew in the fall she'd move out of that class.

I will tell you we did let the directors know about the alleged spanking. We were not too thrilled about that. And if you know Lu, you know she comes home and tells it like it is. "I kicked Kyle on the playground today and got in time out." OR "Kendall bit me so I pulled her hair." Yes, she tells it all. So, even though she's two, when she tells me, "Ms. Lauren spanked me and I don't like school," you know my mama radar is going off the charts!

So all that being said, they posted the new class lists a few days before the big move up. Hmmm, Lucy is not being moved up with all her friends to the preschool class. Odd. She's moving up, but to another toddler class...WITH NONE OF HER PEERS SHE HAS BEEN WITH SINCE SHE WAS FIVE MONTSH OLD. Hmmmm. Aren't we paying these "Child Development Center" folks an entire mortgage payment each month? Why is my child being held back and I haven't been informed of any issue. Radar, back up and going crazy. So, of course I ask what is up. The asst. director tells me, "Well, we think this would be a good fit for Lucy. She will be the oldest (they moved kids up by birthdays) and can be a leader, blah blah. She had a tough time this summer, blah blah. We think she'll do great. Let's try it and see, blah blah." Now, being an educator, I know what it is like to have some crazy parent in your face, not respecting your decisions. We've NEVER had a problem with our childcare choice (before this summer) and I was willing to give it a go. Lucy is social, so even though she had NO FRIENDS in her class, I knew she'd make new ones. However, I let the AD know that I was concerned about her being in class with kids who were just turning two, as Lucy was wise beyond her years. She assured me she'd be fine. Ok lady. We'll just see about that.

Fast forward to two days after the move. Lucy seems to have a good lead teacher in her new TODDLER class. She is ok with school, but tells me she gets upset when she has to leave her old friends on the playground. I decide to hang out in her class for a bit when I am there to pick her up. WELL THAT WAS THE FINAL STRAW FOLKS! When the teacher is telling the kids to "Use your words" BECAUSE THEY ARE UNABLE TO SPEAK- we have a problem. The kids in her new class are BABIES! HELLO, Lucy has been speaking in full sentences for a YEAR and you're telling me she can now step up and be a leader with THESE kids? Hello, she has to be a leader because she can't COMMUNICATE with ANY of her new "peers." Things didn't get better when I got the curriculum and saw they were working on: Types of clothes, the color RED, and learning the ABCs. Um, check, check, and check OVER A YEAR AGO. You can imagine my disdain for the whole situation at this point. Not to mention that Lucy told Bryan her NEW teacher told her she was too little to go to the class with her friends. DING DING DING. That's the bell! Let's put those gloves on and get in the ring!

Do I even need to tell you what happened next? Let's just say a brief meeting with the Director and AD was all it took for Bryan to make them see CLEARLY that if they wanted to continue caring for our child AND calling themselves a "Child Development Center" they needed to get a clue. We did offer to pay them MUCH LESS if they were going to just place kids by age in a room where they could finger paint in their poop. (Ok, that might have been a bit extreme, but you don't mess with my kid). Lucy spent this week as a "TRIAL PERIOD" in the preschool class. (HA! You just keep telling yourself that little director lady. We all know Lucy's staying in the preschool class) Each day her NEW NEW teachers told us, "She is doing great." or "I have a gifted kid too." or "She is a perfect fit for this class." BIG FAT DUH.

This past week gave me real insight into parenting and the rest of her life. It was the first time I felt like my child was wronged, and I didn't like what it made me feel and turn in to. Yes, the diapers and midnight feedings were hard, but nobody told me about this part!

The moral of this story is that you don't mess with Lucy and her parents.

You will get the smack down.

A VERY Crafty Friend

2011-08-28T10:06:00.006-04:00

I got an email about a month ago from an old friend from college. She is a nurse who lives in NYC and has picked up sewing again in her spare time. She asked for Lucy's measurements so she could make some test garments and see if they were something she'd like to try to sell. Well, last week we received a package in the mail FULL of the most adorable clothes you've ever seen. PLUS, each one had a special, personalized tag on it. Faith seriously took a lot of time to make these outfits JUST FOR LUCY.

Lucy immediately fell in love with the apron. She's hardly taken it off since. I LOVE the vibrant colors of the fabrics, and how Faith mixed and matched different patterns and textures. Lucy wore the halter dress with the flower to a birthday party, and it was a HUGE hit! Plus, she loved twirling all around. She also wore the blue and white printed dress to church. SO CUTE!

Each garment fit her PERFECTLY, and all Faith needed was her chest, waist, and height. This girl is talented! If you are interested in some custom made frocks for your little princess, email her! She's FABULOUS! Her info is: fjsnyc@gmail.com

Back to School

2011-08-18T17:13:00.003-04:00

Adios summer! It was a good one, but man it went by FAST! The last post I was telling you about how wonderful Lucy did after her end of summer adenoid surgery. Um, I totally spoke too soon. That was the day after surgery, but let me tell you, we were in the hospital not 4 days later. Then, we were at the pediatrician 4 days after that. I will spare you most of the details, but basically there was some major swelling that cropped up (that only a small percentage-a.k.a. OF COURSE US-experience) and Lucy couldn't swallow, wasn't eating, drinking or peeing. Not fun. Neither were the 3 FAILED IVs and blood work that was attempted at Children's Hospital.

It was also not fun to get called from your child's school twice during your FIRST WEEK BACK AT WORK. Seriously, it is like Lucy has radar for that. "Oh, Mommy and Daddy are going back to work? I think I'll have some complications from surgery now." Seriously. It is just unreal. Lucy wasn't eating, crying all the time, and complaining of a headache all day at school. Thus the reason we went to the pediatrician 4 days after the hospital (which was 1 week after our visit for the head contusion which was one week after our visit when she wouldn't get well on vacation. MAJOR FUN). The pediatrician got to see all her collapsed veins and bruises, and added a finger prick to the list of medical procedures that had been performed on my child in the past month. According to EVERYONE, her blood work was fine, there was no reason for the headache, and she had lost a pound so she NEEDED to start eating...like yesterday.

Well, it turns out that the not eating and crying were just a ploy to get out of going to school. She is really hating her new class (which we move from in 8 days). She was not happy about being at school, not getting lovey dovey vibes from her teacher, and basically was just pissed that summer was over and she had to get up and go to school. Yes folks, we have a little manipulator on our hands! She made me sick with worry for days all because she wanted to stay home and just chill like we'd done all summer. LOVELY.

We are now in week two of the transition back to school. Bryan is student teaching at the high school, I am still teaching 2nd grade (and love my class!), and Lucy is back at school full time. She is still having a bit of a hard time adjusting, but a little surprise each afternoon IF she eats and doesn't cry ALL DAY seems to be helping. We're also feeding the kid lots of milkshakes and making the most of our time together at home in the afternoons.

Bryan and I are also on constant IV drips of coffee. Oh, did I not mention that Lucy hasn't slept through the night in 7 weeks now? It is such a treat to be awakened 4-5 times a night, especially now that we're both working. Ahhh, parenthood.

30 Months

2011-08-03T08:10:00.003-04:00

30 months=the amount of time in my child's life that passed before she barfed. Poor kid. Yesterday she had adenoidectomy and her no longer functioning ear tubes removed. It was a

L O N G day. We had to be at the surgery center at 7 a.m., having not fed or given a drink to Lucy. She of course woke asking for both. Oh well. That was just the beginning. This poor unsuspecting child had no idea what was in store for her.

If you know me at all, you know I hate medicine, doctors, basically, anything medical related. I am a doctor's worst nightmare. I ask a lot of questions, self diagnose perhaps too much thanks to the internet, worry, and if you are going to do a procedure...forget it! I am going to barf, pass out, or if you are lucky...both, right there in your exam room (once it was in the lobby :) Anyway, the thought of putting Lucy through another surgery and 2 weeks of medicine sort of freaked me out, especially since she'd had 2 other visits to the hospital in the past 2 weeks. However, after way too many sinus infections to remember, we KNEW we had to get the adenoids removed. The ear tubes have made her a new child, and we have high hopes for the lack of adenoids too.

So all that being said, we arrived at 7 a.m. and registered Lucy. She was cool. Then we went back to pre-op. She was not so cool. Too many nurses, beds, machines, etc. for her liking. It reminded her of the ER I think. Luckily I had some ammo in my Mary Poppins purse. I brought a new Barney animal to distract her, and later showed her the new Minnie outfit I got for her.

The Minnie outfit thrilled her, but we were at home and all procedures done when she saw it. Barney didn't help out the way I had hoped. As soon as Lucy saw the blood pressure cuff, it was all over. Luckily, with the help of some "happy juice," Lu relaxed and let the nursed do whatever they wished to her. We talked to the anesthesiologist who informed us she'd breathe gas for a bit, then switch to a tube since the doctor need to get in her mouth. He said she'd have an iv this time (different from the tube surgery before) as well. The doctor (John Little-who is AMAZING) came to speak with us and told us it would be about 20 minutes for all the surgery. We then said bye to our drunk kid, and waited...

Exactly 20 minutes later, they called for us. We spoke with Dr. Little who said everything was great. Lucy had a polyp on the right ear near where her tube was lodged. He assured us it was noting to worry about and that it had been removed. He had to do a paper patch on the right side which would require $90 antibiotic drops for the next 5 days. YIPEE. Anyone need a kidney? Also, her adenoids had been removed and all was well. She needed to CHILL for the next 5-7 days, eat soft foods, etc. They'd given her some antibiotics in the iv, but we'd need to do more for the next 10 days. SUPER.

Lucy woke from anesthesia almost immediately but was rather combative. She was screaming and trying to get out of the bed when we went back to see her. She was definitely out of her mind. She wouldn't really lay down and chill out, and when she discovered the heart monitor attached to her toe and the iv in her hand, whoa boy! It was not fun. They'd given her tylenol with codeine but she was far from passed out. We had just pulled into the garage from the hospital when she puked all over herself. Her first puke! N A S T Y. Poor thing didn't really know what had just happened. I hope she's not a barfer like me. Bryan can count on one hand how many times he's done it in his life. Me on the other hand, well, I can count on one hand how many times I barfed in the last YEAR.

She did finally fall asleep when we got home. She slept for a couple of hours and woke as her old self. We had to keep her calm, which if you know Lucy, isn't easy. She wanted to dance, ride her rocking horse like a "cowgirl," sing, and run. Please note that she is also wearing a purple "gwub" that the nurse gave her. Wore it all day!

Her Mimi and Papa sent her a package with red balloons (helping to fuel her obsession) and a Dora doll. She was thrilled! We also ate about 5 popsicles and several helpings of cheesy noodles. Please note the gwub is still on while eating the popsicle. Also, Bryan took advantage of popsicle time :-)

Dinner was breakfast, and Lucy ate a plate of scrambled eggs, laid her head on the table, and then asked to go to bed. It was 5:45. Eeek! I knew she'd either sleep for a couple of hours and wake raring to go, or sleep until about 3:45 a.m. Both scenarios were crappy for me. I of course slept with her, as my neuroses were at a heightened level post-surgery. Do you that kid slept for a SOLID 12 hours?!?! If anyone knows where I can get some anesthesia and a mask for each night, that would be great!

Today Lucy seems quite normal.

She was in time out by 8:00!

She's BAAAACK!

I Can Do THAT!

2011-08-01T08:44:00.006-04:00

I am a sucker for hand-painted canvases. I go to the Southern Market, and I am in hog heaven. We have one in our "playroom" (see below) called "How to Really Love a Child." My parents just bought one while we were at the beach called "The Joy of Grandparenting." They both came from www.gloryhaus.com. It has such cute stuff! However, we are poor, and spending $50 is going to be on gas and groceries, not cute canvases.

So, I just found a great deal on a cute little bed side table for Lucy's room (you might have read that post). I took the lamp off her chest of drawers and put it on the table, thus creating a bit of a "hole" over the chest of drawers. It has been driving me nuts, but we don't have the money for me to go buy something to fill it up. However, I am slightly crafty and I remembered that we had a blank canvas under the guest bed. I have good handwriting, after all, Samford made me take a class in it before I could get my teaching certificate! I am not the greatest artist, but I figured I was capable of making something suitable for Lu's wall.

Before she was born, I was looking into those words for walls decals. I was going to do a verse from the Bible on a wall in her room. However, it was quite expensive to custom order one, AND time just ran out. I did have a professional make some small canvas monogram paintings to match Lucy's bedding. She did such a great job! But I looked and looked at her work and knew I had it in me to do such cute things.

So I thought last night, why not just make a canvas with a verse on it? I went to Michaels and spent $6.72 on paint and a small brush set. Then, I dove in! I found a verse Bryan and I both really liked, sketched it out, taped up my canvas, and 5 hours later...a masterpiece!

Well, it might not technically be a masterpiece, but pretty darn good for my FIRST canvas NOT being painted in a class while I was drinking (see www.sipsnstrokes.com OR www.paintingwithatwist.com OR www.myspiritedart.com). I highly recommend THOSE types of classes. FUN! Anyway, here is the finished product in Lucy's bedroom. Now, if only I had time to make more.

Another First

2011-07-28T12:58:00.007-04:00

A formal definition for you:

con·tu·sion (n)

an injury to the body in which skin and bone are not broken, but damage is done to tissues under the skin, causing a bruise or bruises

My definition:

BIG ASS HEAD BUMP (n)-sorry mom.

a golf ball sized THING that pops up on your child's head when she runs and trips and slams it into the entertainment center.

Raise your hand if your kid has ever had one. Yep. Probably most of you. However, MY child had never had one...before 9:02 a.m. this morning. Let me tell you, that was terrifying. There we were, happily watching Dora when Lucy got a bit excited and ran towards the t.v. Then BOOM! She fell smack into the door of the entertainment center. Good thing we took all those baby proofing soft strips off the stupid thing about 6 months ago. Anyway, she fell, immediately started screaming her head off, and by the time Bryan jumped up to go get her, a golf ball (I know I exaggerate, but I am so not doing that here) sized bump was on the left side of her forehead. It might be the most terrifying thing that has happened to my child to date. We literally jumped in the car in about 7.2 seconds, sped to Children's Hospital (with the emergency flashers on mom!) and were with a doctor by 9:22.

Did I mention this is twice in 2 weeks Lu has been to the ER. She screamed the entire way, "I don't want to go the hospital!!!!!!!" We reassured her that she would not be poked or catheterized this time, and eventually she calmed down. Of course neurotic me was quizzing her the whole way there: "What is your full name? What did you eat for breakfast? Where did we go last week on vacation? Who am I? What color is my shirt?" She answered all perfectly which was sort of calming.

The doctors and nurses were so great. According to the doctor, an immediate bump and coherent thinking is great. She wasn't vomiting and didn't pass out. Also great. I think I knew all those things in the back of my mind, but it was sort of in my "teacher" mind and not in my "OH MY GOD THIS IS HAPPENING TO MY CHILD" mind. So the doctor pushed on the bump, checked Lucy out, gave her a popsicle, then declared as she went to the nurses station, "I'm taking that one home with me. She is adorable!" Duh lady. I kept asking what we needed to do-wake her every two hours, check pupils every 30 minutes, etc. She sort of looked at me like I was a nut job and was like, uh, no she will be fine. She doesn't know me like the rest of you. You can see her lovely CONTUSION below:

After all that trauma, we went to the mall. We've been telling Lucy that she can't go to Disney World unless she starts peeing in the potty. We told her that Mickey doesn't allow pull-ups or diapers. (You will recall we've been having some potty issues at home). Anyway, she's actually been fully potty trained (at school AND home) since we got back from vacation-wahooooo! Except now she keeps mentioning...Disney World. Bryan did warn me that using that as bribery would backfire. Guess this ONE time he might have been right. So since we are obviously in NO shape finacially to go to Disney World ANYTIME soon, we figured the Disney STORE in the mall might make her feel better AND act as a buffer since she won't be going to good old Orlando for a few more years.

The child LITERALLY squealed with delight as she walked into the store. I am talking full out squeal of joy. HILARIOUS. She picked the world's largest princess teapot set (see below) as her little present. She skipped around the store touching all the princess dresses, Minnie Mouse sparkly shoes, and Tinkerbell pajamas. It was so cute! But the HUGE teapot was all she wanted (fine by me as it was one of the cheapest things in that store-geez!) It has a million little teacups, spoons, saucers, etc. inside that I know will be lost all over my house. Oh well. We then got her a milkshake at Chick-fil-a AND a red balloon (which she has been dying for ever since she got addicted to the Barney musical video that opens with a bunch of people dressed in horrible dinosaur costumes holding red balloons).

All in all, it wasn't a bad day for her. She's napping now. I just sat and watched her for a long time, waiting for something awful to happen. Isn't that terrible? I am so neurotic. Bryan was finally like, "Honey, you need to relax." So here I am, blogging to feel better. It is sort of therapeutic.

By the way, do you spoil your kids when they have a traumatic situation like this, or are we the only ones?

Vacation 2011

2011-07-25T09:27:00.015-04:00

Well, we are home from two weeks of vacation. It was GLORIOUS! (as you can see from Lucy's expression above) Well, not all of it, but I now firmly believe that 2 weeks of vacation should be mandatory for everyone. I don't care if you just go to the motel 6 that is 25 miles down the road-GO!

Our little trek started off not so great. We woke ready to go and guess who had a fever? I know you are shocked that our little Lucy was ill, right? We decided to go ahead and go to Florida to Mimi and Papa's house. There weren't any doctors open here on a Sunday anyway. We would shoot her up with some ibuprofen and hope for the best.

The halfway point between here and there is Birmingham, which is where Bryan and I went to school (Samford). We decided to stop there and let Lucy run and play and stretch. Good call, as she was nuts after 4 hours in the car AND being sick. We stopped and had a little picnic at the campus. It was nice to be back there. We have some amazing memories of when we met and the years we spent there with some of the best friends/experiences of our lives. Lucy and her daddy took a walk down the same uneven sidewalks that he and I used to walk down. PRECIOUS!

We took some pictures and managed to get a semi-good family photo. It was so hot (we'd forgotten about THAT humidity.) After our little mini-break, we got back in the car and trudged onward. Thanks to Clifford, Lucy was able to nap a bit, but let's face it, a car is no place to nap comfortably.

When we were about 45 minutes from Mimi and Papa's house, Lucy sort of lost her mind, but I can't blame her. 9 hours is a LOOOOOONG time to be in a car. How many times can you tell a two-year old, "We're almost there!" before she stops believing you? It is approximately 27.

We were so very glad to be in Florida. Lucy had a fever, STILL, but we haven't seen Mimi and Papa near enough. We did however, have to find a doctor for Lucy. One walk in clinic later, she was on antibiotics for a red, irritated throat. She hadn't eaten well in several days, which made sense when we found out she had the sore throat. So there we were, fingers crossed that within 24 hours, we'd have a girl who felt better. Not so. Although, she wasn't so sick she couldn't dress up. Check out Tinkerbell doing the sprinkler.

Well, a couple of days passed, and Lucy still wasn't better. Fever still present, meds were being given every 3 hours, and Lucy had moments of perkiness. She is obsessed with airplanes and helicopters, which is perfect since her Papa works on them. During a moment of perkiness, we took her to the base where Papa works. He got to show her off, and show her some flying machines. She even got her picture taken with a REAL pilot!

The next morning, still riddled with fever, we took Lucy (drugged up) to the train depot. She loves trains (I guess all things transportation related) and she really liked the red caboose. She drove it and everything!

Still a bit worried about her fever, we took Lucy to a local pediatrician. I mean, she'd been on antibiotics for 4 days, and still had 103ish fever ALL THE TIME. I was really starting to worry. The pediatrician was really nice, and said her throat was still very red. He didn't want to do bloodwork since she was on antibiotics. He said that even if it were viral, she needed to stay on the meds. So, we left and hoped for the best. I would like to let you know that although Lu was quite perky at times, she was attached to my neck when she wasn't. Carrying a 27 pound kid (without a handy dandy kangaroo pouch) is not easy. In fact, I didn't pee all week without her. It was so lovely.

Lucy had been sick for 4 days now, no relief, still not eating, and still worrying me. We were having to wake up every 3-4 hours each night to give her meds, and we were exhausted. If you will remember, we had not been sleeping for the several weeks BEFORE vacation due to her lack of interest in sleeping in her bed. UGH. Lucky for us that day her fever broke! She woke from nap cool as a cucumber!!!!

Later that night Lucy got take her first boat ride!!!! We went to visit some great family friends who live on the water. They had a great paddleboat, and Lucy was primed and ready to go-Dora lifejacket and all!

She was a bit stiff in the lifejacket at first, but was able to manage a smile and wave! She did NOT want the little ride to end either. It was cute!

The next day, we decided to amp it up a bit. We went to the Navy boatdocks and rented a little motorboat and took Lucy on a ride down the Blackwater river. She was more comfortable in her little lifejacket this time, and had a blast (until she voiced, "I'm all done with the boat" about an hour into the trip). Oh well. We trudged on to Grandma's pool after the boatride. I think Lucy was afraid I was going to make her do "swimming lessons" so she wasn't too thrilled to be there. She did love to wear all the gear though! We also got her in an itsy-bitsy teeny- weeny, red polka-dot bikini. This bikini has been worn by generations of Moore women. It is so cute! I think part of her problem that day was that by the time we got back home, her fever was back. SUPER!

We kept Lucy chilled out and inside more that day. She seemed to perk up a bit by dinner time. Before we had dinner, she HAD to try to use the massive bubble she got at Toys-R-Us (Did I mention that her Mimi and Papa had taken her on a free for all there?) Anyway, the bubbles were great fun!

The next day, Lucy's fever was sort of ok. Not super high, but still hanging around. We decided that since she was somewhat perky, we'd take her fishing. Mimi had bought her a cute pink Dora fishing pole, and she still had that trendy Dora lifejacket to wear as well. We drove to a place called Bear Lake that was beautiful! We got Lucy all rigged up with her pole and worm, and VIOLA! She caught a fish within seconds of her pole going in the water! It was PERFECT-especially for a 2 year-old with a short attention span! She was so thrilled at her catch. Granted, it was not my dream 6 foot shark, but she did catch the biggest fish of the day!

Our trip to Mimi and Papa's had been full of stress and fun. We got to see many old friends, and meet some new ones as well. Lucy had many "firsts" while she was there, and although she was sick for a lot of the time, she was a trooper.

Our trip to Milton ended with a journey across the bay to the ER. Lucy's fever was still high, it had been a week, and still no changes. I was done. Bryan was done. We were going to a hospital and we were going to get answers. Poor Lucy had blood drawn, her throat swabbed, AND got a catheter since she wouldn't pee in a cup for a urine sample (Um, hello! What 2 year-old does that?). You can imagine how fun this all was. 4 hours later, all tests were clear and good. Lucy just had some type of virus that was hanging on FOREVER according to the doctor. Poor kid had been poked and prodded for NOTHING. At least we had some sort of definitive answer/diagnosis now.

After her little party at the ER, we loaded up the car and drove the 50 mile trek to Destin to meet my parents. It was a nasty, rainy day, but Mommy was ready to see some sand! Seriously, the beach is my most favorite place on earth. Too bad my hubby was raised there and isn't all that impressed with it. Anyway, you can imagine Lucy's mood. NOT a good one. To top it all off, when we were literally 15 miles away from our destination, we got stuck in a horrible traffic jam and it took us an HOUR AND A HALF to go those 15 miles. By this little trip, telling Lucy,"We're almost there" was no longer working. She was just pissed.

We made it eventually, just in time to throw some spaghetti down our throats and put Lucy to bed. Not exactly the wonderful reunion my parents were hoping for, but it was life. Lucy's fever broke AGAIN that night, and our fingers were crossed that she was finally well.

Our week in Destin was not as adventure filled as our week in Milton. Our big plans included parking our butts in the sand and watching the kid have fun.

Things turned out to be pretty good and relaxing last week. Lucy was back to her normal self by about Monday, and we had many good times on the beach. Our kid is definitely a beach bum like her Mommy. We found several more trains for Lucy to ride, and went to the harbor to look at what the local fishermen were catching. We got her a little blow up boat/raft thingy that she seemed so totally interested in when other kids were playing in theirs. However, it wasn't such a huge hit when she got in hers in the ocean. Oh well, $12 down the drain.

Bryan caught a little fish in the pink net for her one day. She was thrilled and watched "Dorothy" as she "took a nap" in her little bucket. Poor Dorothy. She met an untimely end. Lucy stayed pretty busy digging, swimming, throwing sand, talking to the folks on the beach, and eventually crashed on the beach for nap time. She definitely didn't mind getting sandy and some seaweed in her swimsuit. We also got some great family photos on the beach. Lucy was our little "pop" of color!

Lucy was mostly back to normal and eating by the end of the week, but still not SLEEPING. Doesn't she realize I go back to work in TWO WEEKS?!?!? Our ride home was uneventful, unlike last year's. You may recall the "Poop Explosion of 2010." That was not fun. This year, our biggest issue was that I was craving some brownies and there were none to be found. Not too bad I guess!

I'm Pooped (Part 2) Yet Still Crafty!

2011-07-06T09:35:00.005-04:00

Perhaps the true reason I am exhausted is that Lucy is in another one of her "phases." Bryan reminded me the other day that she has gone through many "phases" like this one, I just tend to block them out. Her latest phase is one in which she does not sleep too much at night. Yes, gone are the days of 12 hours of peace and quiet. Lucy now wakes up 3 or 4 times each night, and will NOT go back to sleep. She wants Bryan or I to stay in her room with her, and when we do, she still takes FOREVER to go back to sleep. She is also having lots of active dreams and nightmares (which the doctor reassures me is totally normal-super!)

My little independent spirit has become very clingy again too (I am reminded of months 9-11). She wants me to hold her all the time, and seems to be leery of a lot of things that in the past would not have bothered her. I think THIS part of the "phase" is normal, as she is now aware of fear and being afraid of different things. (Thus the reason swimming lessons are not so fun right now, despite my best efforts and the efforts of my sweet friend Katie.)

If you will remember, she has been in a toddler bed for about 6 months.

The transition was so easy! We had a couple of rough nights, but she didn't get out of bed until we got there, slept all night, and seemed to love it. However, about a month ago, all of that changed. Lu is having all these crazy nights, and I feel like I did when she was a newborn-kind of in a fog, and drinking lots of coffee. I NEED SLEEP!!!! Most people I think can probably do on 6-7 hours, but not me! I am a 8-9 hour girl, and I have some major deficits in that area.

So, not only am I NOT sleeping (I should interject that Bryan is not sleeping either, but hey, this blog is more about me than him ;-), but my body is also suffering due to this craziness. If you will notice in the picture above, Lucy's bed is a toddler bed. SO, when B or I go into her room we sit in the floor next to this bed and try to comfort her and let her know she can go back to sleep. Let's stop and take a minute to review what we know about the floor...1. It is hard, 2. It is NOT a great bed, 3. It has no soft sheets and cozy pillows.

So picture me, trying to sleep on the floor next to Lucy while rubbing her back or holding her hand all the while my body going numb. It is such a treat! Almost a month into it, we have had enough.

Enter even BIGGER big girl bed. We are done horribly hard floor, we are done.

If we have to sleep with Lucy, it won't be in our bed, and we won't be going numb anymore either. Let me say this ON THE RECORD...I don't want to enable my child to not be able to sleep by herself. However, when she's screaming her head off or has had a bad dream and is freaked out, I am not going to just let her scream. Please be reminded of the fact that when she was a baby and we were told to let her "cry it out" she cried it out for 3-4 hours (of course we did go in and comfort her during these HOURS, but the child is hard headed and doesn't give up after 15 minutes like most normal children do). So, we're going in her room , trying to comfort her the best we can, and are no longer going numb.

Now, on to the crafty part of this entry. When we put the new bigger big girl bed up, we realized Lucy needed some sort of end table. Well, please note we are poor. Really poor right now. (You can feel free to take a moment to cross fingers, say a prayer, poke a voo-doo doll, whatever floats your boat-in hopes that after finishing his student teaching in December, Bryan will FIND A TEACHING JOB!) So, how do I get a table that is cute and funky AND CHEAP? I scoured the town and found this table on clearance at Hobby Lobby:

Note that I am in the spray paint aisle. I loved the table as it was, very shabby chic. However, it didn't really fit Lucy's room. After 30 minutes in the backyard with a can of spray paint, we now have:

This very cute pink side table. It is the perfect size for Lucy's lamp, clock, and bedtime story- book Bible. So cute!

P.S. Lucy woke up at 1:00 last night, and I fell asleep in her bed almost instantly (as did Lucy). Woke up at 7! Success :)

I'm Pooped! (Part 1)

2011-07-05T20:14:00.008-04:00

It seems like we've been going non-stop for weeks now. Some lovely person pointed out that last week summer was halfway over. How is that possible?! I suppose all of our summer craziness has really proven that old adage to be true-"Time flies when you're having fun!" I actually can't believe how "stay-at-home mommy" I've been acting lately! Planning crafts and outings and playdates (which is a word that disgusts me, but everyone is using it, so...)-who am I?!?!?

We utilized our zoo passes again. We actually got a shot of Lucy and I that was decent!

We also saw this lovely guy.

We trekked out to Farragut in search of this "Splash Pad" and McFee Park we've heard so much about. This place is our new FAVORITE place to be.

Lucy is totally in love with the water and playground. It could use some more shade, but it really is an awesome place to go on a hot day.

We also had a lot of fun over the July 4th weekend. Lucy helped my mom cook one of my favorite childhood desserts (Strawberry Pretzel Surprise), and of course had to sample.

We went to a community picnic and did a few activities. The first picture below is Bryan whispering to my mother that Lucy will NOT do well on this merry-go-round thingy. The next picture is our child (and her Mumsy) on the ride. Please note Lucy's eyes. Also, please note how OVERLY excited my mother looks. She got a big fat "WE TOLD YOU SO" when it was all said and done.

We also made Lucy go down the world's largest inflatable slide (bet the same factory made our pool!). She went down with Bryan, but wasn't too thrilled about it all. How can my crazy child be so fearful of all these fun things?!?

We had our little picnic after all the crazy "rides" and even ran into my oldest friend and her husband and baby. Aren't they beautiful?

Lucy chilled out in her fireman's hat (backwards of course, as she can wear nothing as it should be). She danced for a bit to the blues band, but it was SOOOOOOO HOT!

The next day, the 4th, we went back to Farragut (if we were richer, we'd just move there) for the parade. Lucy psychotically loved it.

My dad and I took a lot of pictures. A lot, really.

We saw the Mayberry crew.

And one of my all-time favorite students and her family.

Also, we saw this person. Still very unsure of its gender.

Lucy wanted her picture taken with the cows.

And Wendy.

And Snow White.

And the pirate.

It was quite a day.

We hope your family had as much fun as Lucy did!

Never Say Never...

2011-07-01T07:58:00.002-04:00

I can still remember the first time I saw it. There was this mother with her very small child (maybe a year old) in the line in front of me at a consignment sale. The baby girl had no shoes on, a swimsuit and a little skirt over it and a hairband. She also had (wait for it...) painted toe nails!!! I was just appalled at how inappropriate it looked. I just sort of thought it looked a bit trashy. Am I too uptight?? She also had her ears pierced, which I decided I won't do until LUCY decides SHE wants holes punched in her ears forever and ever. I swore then and there that I was NOT going to paint my child's toes until she was at least 4 years old. I just don't think a sweet, innocent little girl needs her toes painted. I also don't agree with 12 year olds wearing shorts and pants with the word "JUICY" across the butt either, but that is a whole other issue.

So fast forward to now. We are having WWIII at our house (you may also hear me refer to it as "The War Over the Potty." If you've read my past blogs, you know this war has been going on for months now. Lucy goes to the potty all day long at school. She wears "big girl panties" and has not one accident. Then, we come home, and she full on refuses to go to the bathroom in the potty. I am talking arched back, screaming, fits and crying. (Lucy also gets very upset). It is awful. I keep getting LOTS of advice-just wait until she's ready, don't force it, read to her, distract her, blah blah. Let me tell you, if she is going all day at school, that little chick is more than ready. She and I are locked in a power struggle!

Well, it has been a rough week at our house. B and I are a bit stressed about life, money, etc. Lucy has not been sleeping well, and I think she's not a huge fan of her new class at school. She started swimming lessons which I think was stressful for her as well. All in all, it has sort of been a weird week. So yesterday I decided that I was going to offer some type of new reward, as M&Ms, jellybeans, etc. are not working. Enter nail polish. I painted my toes red for the 4th of July weekend, and Lucy loved them. As much as I didn't want to do it, I told her that if she went to the potty 3 times IN THE POTTY, I would paint her toenails. EEEK! Actually, I wasn't too scared because I really didn't think she'd do it.

I was wrong. She went 4 times. CRAP.

Gwubs

2011-06-15T14:18:00.007-04:00

What parent doesn't ask themselves from time to time, "Is this NORMAL behavior?" Our child is currently obsessed with gloves (or as she says, gwubs). I am not using the term "obsessed" lightly either. She has a real hand thing going on.

To make myself feel better (and calm my neuroses) I often remind myself that she sees her teachers at school and church wearing gloves whenever they change kids or serve food, so gwubs are a part of her life each day. Also, if the mood strikes, I'll put on a pair and go out and weed (which usually results in my being covered with poison ivy or some type of bite, but that is a whole other issue). I mean, it's not like she's never seen them before. However, she really has an odd fetish for the things. And in all honesty, it doesn't actually have to be a gwub that she puts on her hand, it can be her sock, an oven mit, a puppet, my sock, her dad's sock, anything that can be pulled up and over her little fingers will do. Please see exhibits A, B, C, and D below.

So I ask you, is this normal? I sure hope so!

P.S. There are often days when she adds a headband to the mix. She is one hot mess.

Profound Thoughts

2011-06-10T09:53:00.002-04:00

My child is brilliant. I know, yours is too. But really, she is. I won't bore you with all the details of how special she is, but I will share some of the funny stuff that comes out of her little mouth. My sister-in-law has a quote book that she carries with her all the time. Whenever something unbelievable or hilarious is said, she writes it down. We revisit some of the quotes sometimes, and laugh till we cry (especially if the subject is Bryan with wine and geography). Anyway, Lucy started saying some funny stuff, so I started a little quote book of my own for her. Here are some of her profound thoughts:

"Grandy is a boy. He loves me. Mommy is a....PETUNIA!"

"I not going to be crazy today."

"Are you happy to see me?"

"Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream...merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a pickle!"

"Daddy has toes!!!"

"Do you know Jesus? He is in my belly."

"All the boys love me."

"I teach big kids, not kids in diapers."

"Daddy, ladybugs are boys."

"The dryer made me all wet!"

"Thank you Jesus for the ducks."

"Get the bug bat!" (She was referring to the fly swatter :)

Pretty funny!

Saturday in the Park

2011-06-06T07:54:00.004-04:00

I always thought TN was north of the equator, but apparently, we're dead on. It has been in the mid 90's for weeks now. It is hot. It is miserable. It is hard to have a 2 year-old who LOVES being outside when you do not. However, we did venture out a bit over the weekend and managed to have some fun.

My parents kept Lu Friday night, so I got all ny-quiled up and slept all night. It was glorious! I went to get her on Saturday morning and boy, it was a day! She was a holy terror. We took her on a wagon ride around the neighborhood (at her request, because you KNOW I don't voluntarily go out in 95 degree heat). She was fine until we headed home and began screaming so loud and pitching a fit that I am sure you all heard. Seriously. Then we got out her Dora tricycle (which she still refuses to pedal) and all she wanted to do was ride up and down the street. She was told no, which did not go over well. That caused ANOTHER fit, so we brought her inside for some quality time in her "time-out" spot. That was special. After the afternoon from hell, we decided to take Lucy on a picnic. I know, I know-we took her on a picnic after she was a total horror. Mother of the year right here. But please, after the child was stuck at home ALL WEEK, we all needed to get out.

We went to "The Cove" which is one of my favorite places. It is next to the sailboat marina, has a great walking trail, swings, a great playground, and a small sandy beach where kids can play and swim. Usually when I've gone, its been quiet and peaceful. There are families and kids running around having fun. Saturday night there was quite a crowd there. I'm talking some true Tennessee folks. Don't get me wrong, I am a Tennessee to the core, but overalls at the beach! Really?

We found a great spot near the water for our picnic. We watched the boats, went on a ride in the wagon (yes, it had to come),looked at the ducks, attempted the swings (she still hates 'em!), looked at the ducks, saw the crazy locals at the beach, looked at the ducks, and finally started to melt, so we went home.

Lucy crashed HARD Saturday night, and do you know what? When she woke up Sunday, she was happy! SUCCESS!!!!

One LOOOOONG Weekend

2011-05-31T10:52:00.006-04:00

Well, I'm officially done with the school year! It hasn't hit me yet, but as soon as I walk out the door each day, the 95 degree heat slams me and I remember that it actually IS summer (although not officially until June 20th or something). It has been MISERABLY hot here. Of course, if you read a few posts ago, you are probably saying to yourself, "Why don't they just take a dip in the world's largest blow-up pool?" Well, we tried. We were so excited about getting in the pool Saturday afternoon. Bryan filled it up and we were all going to lounge to keep cool. We ran to the store to buy my new and amazing camera, got Lucy some ice cream, and then we were all set to swim!

Bryan had fired up the grill and Lucy and I were scooping out bugs that had died in the water. All was well until...the attack of the killer chiggers.

That's right folks, chiggers. Kind of sounds dirty doesn't it? I was watching Lu with her bug scoop and kept feeling like something was biting me. I went over to Bryan and asked him to look over me (poor guy, I'm not a great sight to see in a swimsuit) and he didn't see anything. So, I put down the camera (which is VERY hard for me to do) and Lucy and I hopped in the pool. As I was sitting there, I kept feeling little bites all over my arms and neck and shoulders. When I looked at the edge of the world's largest blow-up pool, I noticed...KILLER CHIGGERS EVERYWHERE! I am talking hundreds of the little critters. Now, if you know me at all you know that I HATE nature. These little creepy crawling CHIGGERS just served to reinforce the fact that the beach is really the only place I care to be outside. I digress... I knew if these little things were all over me, they were probably all over Lu as well. Sure enough, I looked her over and she had some on her too!

Needless to say, we scooped her up, all took showers, drained the world's largest blow-up pool, and were quite mad about the whole thing. I mean seriously, do you remember how much trouble that stupid pool has been? Now it has a CHIGGER infestation? Not only does the world's biggest blow-up pool have to stay on the patio when we're not using it, it now must stay there for us to swim as well. Please take a moment to picture ALL my furniture slammed up against the house and on one edge of the patio. It looks really special. Plus, it isn't symmetric, which once again if you know neurotic me at all, you know I lay in bed and am completely bothered by this.

Saturday night, after all the CHIGGER mayhem, Lucy was up from 12:30-3:30. Uh oh. We knew she must be getting sick. She was coughing and sneezing, and the nose was dripping. Super. At least I am out of school. We skipped church Sunday and just chilled out. Lucy REALLY wanted to go in the pool, but between the 95 degrees and air quality alert, we kept her in. Have you had to do that? Keep a 2 year-old in and calm during a nice, sunny day? It makes for a LOOOONG day. That night, Lu was up from 2:30-4:30. Momma likes her sleep, so by Monday, I was a bit delirious. Thank goodness for coffee.

Monday was Memorial Day. It was very low key for us. We did a few errands, but tried to keep Lucy inside as much as possible. Poor thing was not getting much better. She begged to swim, but we said no. We did let her eat a popsicle outside. She was thrilled!

My parents came over and Lucy and I donned our new, matching tie-dye (red, white and blue) t-shirts. We were pretty cute. There are, of course, no pictures of me, as the camera was attached to my eyeball all day.

We had a little cookout, read some books, and all went to bed EARLY.

Thank goodness Lu slept through the night-well, until 5:30 a.m. So I'm not sure that counts. We went to the pediatrician this morning. They aren't sure if she is having a major allergy attack, or has a little virus going around. I did NOT want to put her on antibiotics again, so I'm pleased with their suggestion to just keep up all her allergy meds. She really feels crummy though. We've been ordered to stay in and home from her school. Her moods are up and down and making a loooong weekend turn into a loooooong week.

So, we now have the world's biggest blow-up pool on our patio, filled with water, which my poor sick child can't even get in. Perhaps in a few more days it will be warm enough to feel like a hot tub. If Bryan and I aren't asleep at 7:30, we might enjoy it! For now, get out the scissors and glue! Hello indoor craft time :)

Cutters

2011-05-27T08:45:00.009-04:00

Lucy got her first haircut back in December. It was less emotional that I thought it would be. She didn't actually even realize I was cutting her hair at the time. When I did it, she was caught up in a rousing episode of Sesame Street. I finally had to bite the bullet and do it. I was tired of picking her up from school and her looking like a child who'd been abandoned by her parents (and hairbrush). She looked soooo adorable when all was said and done, and even more grown up. I counted haircut #1 as a success.

Haircut #2 came last week. She was starting to get that "abandoned child" look again. (See picture #1 below) So, I thought it was time to get out the scissors again. Now, I have no formal cosmotology training, but I did a pretty rad job with haircut #1. This time, however, I was not thinking. I waited until Lucy was tired and grumpy before I started. Not a great plan. I pulled her onto my lap on a stool and began to wet and cut. I thought it would be a lot like last time, but I was VERY wrong. She totally freaked out about the scissors (or CUTTERS as she called-or rather screamed-them). She kept screaming, "I don't want mommy to cut my hair!" and "Where are the cutters?!" She was squirming and screaming (definitely glad we weren't at some swanky salon while she was pulling this crap). I couldn't believe how upset she was about me trimming her hair. She really did NOT want a haircut, but after the first few chops, there was no turing back. Bryan was watching in horror as the battle raged on and finally put a stop to it.

So, not really knowing if all hair was even on all sides (and a small flesh wound on my finger later), we dumped Lucy in the bath and that was that. We put her to bed and I spent the next hour lying in bed stressing over whether or not my child was going to look like MORE of a crazy person the next day. When I picked her up from school, her head was a mass of curls! I knew she had some curl to her hair (between her Mimi and myself she had no hope of getting straight hair), but I had no clue it was going to be so curly! (See picture #2 below). Well, the mass of curls didn't help me figure out if we had to do battle with hair again, so...I got the chi after her and straightened the hair out. Turns out, a few screams, some blood, and one tired mommy later...I didn't do such a bad job! However, she was still ticked (as you can see from her face in picture #3!)

Just Call Me Ellie Mae...

2011-05-24T20:29:00.007-04:00

May has arrived (and almost departed) and things have been nuts. Bryan finally finished school, the weather has been insane, school is over as of TOMORROW at 11:15, and we are all T I R E D ! Last weekend was super insanely hot, so we decided to put out the new blow up pool (classy eh?) for Lucy. We got a sweet deal on it at my beloved TARGET, and it is rather large (much bigger than that hard plastic piece we had last summer)

So as I was saying, we thought we'd put it out for Lu on Sunday when it was about 92 degrees (please stop and imagine AUGUST!). I suppose I thought I was Superwoman and began trying to blow it up. Bryan told me I was insane (scroll down for pictures and you're sure to agree) and went to buy a pump. The pump absolutely TERRIFIED poor Lucy, and didn't actually do the trick. This thing was seriously large. We borrowed a pump from our neighbors (not sure why they have the heavy duty blow up a blimp pump, but thank goodness they did because we would still be blowing up that stupid pool!) and it finally did the trick. The only problem now was that the water from the hose was FREEZING and our kid was going nuts wanting to get in. She was sunsreened up, had on her floaties, sunglasses, hat, and swimsuit. She was ready to go, but we were not! Clearly, this was poor planning on our part, but hey, we're first time parents!

After about 900 trips inside with our spaghetti pot filled with hot water, we had the pool temp at a bearable 75ish. Lucy jumped right in like it was nothing. I almost died of hypothermia. Bryan joined us too, and as we sat there watching our little water baby, we realized two things: 1. Another 4 adults could have joined us in the pool-comfortably, and 2. Where the heck were we going to store this thing? It is literally the size of my car. Ooops. Guess we didn't think that through when we were giving each other a high-five in Target aisle exclaiming what a great deal this pool was.

Lu swam happily for about an hour. Storm clouds started rolling in, so we had to get her out. She didn't really protest, which was nice. If you remember, she threw full-out fits when we made her come in from the snow this winter. Anyway, bad weather was moving in, and we had NO PLAN for the pool. We tried to prop it up against the house, turn it upside down and put a hose on top, out in the dead spot with a tarp, but nothing seemed to work. Finally, we decided right-side up with a large sprinkler on the bottom would have to work (as flashes of lightning were striking nearby trees). So after it stormed a bit, I looked out back and the dang pool was flying into our neighbors yard. OOPS again! Bryan risked life and limb to retrieve the stupid thing and took it to the garage. Except it didn't fit. Well, it fit, but it was on top of my car.

Leaving for work yesterday involved me madly wresting a GINORMOUS pool and saying not so nice words the whole time. After a good 10 minutes (and getting sweaty BEFORE work) I got the stupid thing propped up against the back wall between two large airplanes my husband insists on keeping hung from the ceiling. However, he was not happy with that arrangement. So this is what we have come up with.

Oh God. We are the Clampetts. Help me now.

Two Cute!

2011-05-24T20:26:00.001-04:00

This is now my new favorite pictures! How cute are these two?

Dogwood Arts Festival Weekend

2011-05-04T18:31:00.003-04:00

This past weekend Bryan's parents visited from Florida. We wanted to do something different while they were here, so we went to the Dogwood Arts Festival "Chalk Walk" at Market Square. It was GREAT! They had never been to the square before, and we thought Lu would like the chalk walk. Let me tell you, those people do some amazing things with their chalk! This isn't your 1st grade teacher's blackboard...

We were there fairly early, so we can't tell you about who won, but it was a neat morning. We ate at Trio, a great restaurant if you don't know it. We came home and the boys smoked meat (Bryan's DELICIOUS ribs). Susan and I went landscape shopping, and also took Lucy to the "Cupcake Store" as she calls it. Susan had never been to a cupcake shop, but I think she was quite pleased! I think you'd have to be insane to NOT like the cupcake store. When I was pregnant, I was there no less than twice a week.

Anyway, Sunday we went to church and came home for a rousing afternoon of badminton. (Is that how you spell it? I realize I am a teacher, but that's not one I use often :) Bryan and I (well, actually mostly me) ROCKED, and won. Who knew I had such mad skills? No pictures of that, but I swear we are awesome.

Sick Day

2011-04-25T15:41:00.003-04:00

I am sure she doesn't feel as cute as she looks, but when she has a fever, we keep her in big t-shirts instead of her regular long pjs. This sick day she chose her daddy's old little league t-shirt. How precious is this?!

Also, I forgot to mention in my previous post that she is now speaking Spanish. Counting at least. In the tub last night she started picking up her toys and counting them in Spanish. Bryan interrupted with a random number and she followed with the correct one, in Spanish. I took German, so I had no clue what was happening. Not sure how she learned it, perhaps Dora?

Spring Has Sprung (some really kickin' allergies)

2011-04-25T08:28:00.008-04:00

Spring has arrived! The weather is beautiful, Lucy LOVES being outside, and she and her father are just plain miserable. Lucy and Bryan are both such outdoor lovers. If you know me at all, you know I am NOT 1% a lover of outdoors unless it involves me on a lounge chair with my feet in the sand. Since it got warm, all the two of them want to do is be outside. The only trouble with that is that after about 5 minutes outside, both of my nature lovers are coughing and sneezing. We did choose to live in this wonderful, allergen infested area I know. It beats tornadoes every week.

All that being said, in 6 weeks, Lu has been on 3 antibiotics for sinus infections. According to the pediatrician, sinus infections in children this young are rare (but you know us, we must be in the .04% that struggles). So, we got the ears fixed, and now we're probably on our way to having the adnoids taken out. I called the ENT as soon as they opened this morning and guess what?! He's booked until AUGUST. What the heck?! Do you think their practice might have accepted a few too many patients? I realize the group is FABULOUS but really? We have a meeting with the P.A. in a few weeks to consult about all this mess. The thought of my child going under "the knife" again makes me a bit neurotic (I know you are all shocked), but it will be worth it if we can get her to stop living on antibiotics.

We have had some fun outdoors though. We got zoo passes. Yes, we are dirt poor right now, but we figured a one time investment=free entertainment all summer and fall. Of course, it is OUTDOOR entertainment and will flare up both Lu and Bryan. Did I mention Bryan had sinus surgery last summer and is STILL struggling? Anyway, we went to the zoo recently and it was really fun.

We went early in the morning, and all the animals were out. Lucy was totally fascinated by everything. She kept saying "I need to hold them" and "I need one" when she saw the animals.

She requested "MONKEYS" the most, so we sat and watched the monkeys for a good long while.

She also is obsessed with snakes. If I didn't give birth to her, I'd swear she wasn't mine! She wanted us to take her picture with Buttercup, the 23 foot python. YIKES!

I suppose we'll be going back a lot this summer. Free entertainment is GREAT!

We've had random fun inside too. Lucy LOVES her rocking, singing, tacky horse, Lacey. Look at this madness!

She is having lots of fun at school too. They just did some art and charity work with the kids for a charity for elephants. Lucy made a very cute mask.

They had a fun egg hunt last week too. I picked up my child to find her arms covered in temporary tattoos. SOOOOO TACKY PEOPLE!

Do NOT cover my two year-old in fake tattoos. I scrubbed her poor arm in the bath that night! Bryan said I was a party pooper, but I am sorry, I refuse to pierce the ears and paint the nails of a two year-old child, let alone have her be covered in TATTOOS, fake or not!

We also had an egg hunt on Easter. There were NO tattoos involved in this one. We didn't make it to church, as we were up from 12 to 3:30 with Lucy who had a 103 degree fever we couldn't get down. That was fun. She woke feeling ok, but we didn't want to grace the other children in the nursery with her presence. We did make it to my parents house for a nice lunch and an egg hunt.

Lucy did pretty well, but crashed by 6:45 instead of her usual 8:00. It was a good think I went to bed when she did, as we were up again from 12 to 2 getting her fever down. Like I said a few posts ago, these are the things teens don't think about doing when they're having sex. If only they could see what all parenthood entaills...

The terrible twos seem to be at bay for the moment. You never know when they're going to rear their ugly head though. It is hysterical to me when I stop to think about the fact that I can keep 21 8 year-olds in TOTAL control all day and a two year-old can make me come apart at the seams in about 7 minutes. What is that all about? I know it is hard to believe that this little doll can make you want to pull all your hair out (on your way to the airport to hop on a plane to California and not come back for a good 10 days or so). But really, I had parents on my recent field trip say, "How do you do this all day?" and "I can't believe how good your kids are. They aren't this way at home." I know, I have magical powers. I wish the press that reports all the crap about teachers and how we're failing America and its youth could come to a classroom for just 2 hours and try to keep it all together. I can keep it together there sometimes much easier than I can at home. It is a gift to be able to teach and not lose your marbles.

Speaking of teaching, Bryan has one more class to take this summer, but has kept a perfect 4.0 in all of his classes this past year. He passed BOTH of his Praxis exams, and will be student teaching at Farragut High in the fall. It is hard to believe we've almost survived all the crazieness the past year has put us through. Thanks to the generosity of many, we have been able to afford food :) Perhaps our child will become rich and famous (and super well-balanced) and she can support her two parents that chose to be poor educators. Can you say medical school Lucy?

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

2011-04-08T19:12:00.003-04:00

Well, I seriously know why they call them the "terrible twos." This past Tuesday, I could have been the poster child for prozac. Somebody, something, something real bad, invaded my child's body and turned her into a HORRIBLE creature. Now, I will say the good Lord only allowed it to happen that one time this week, but that is PLENTY. Ever heard the term "Looks can be deceiving"? Well, this cute thing, was actually the devil in disguise.

We should have gotten a clue (isn't gotten a total southern word?!) when she told us that AND I QUOTE..."I kicked Cole and he cry at school today." Warning #1. Then at dinner, she smacked her daddy up the side of the head (another southern phrase-ha! look at me go!) when he bent over to talk to her about throwing food on the floor. WARNING #2 AND #3. The list goes on and on. Our night was NOT GOOD. We are in the thick of it folks. And yes, sometimes when she's crabby, we let her eat with sunglasses on. PICK YOUR BATTLES PEOPLE.

Top of the Mornin' to Ya!

2011-03-18T13:59:00.003-04:00

Just a few pics from St. Patty's Day 2011. Lucy woke up wired and ready to party. I guess TWO straight nights of 12 hours of sleep really DOES do a body good.

Hooray! We might have mastered the big girl bed :)

Spring Break 2011

2011-03-16T13:59:00.006-04:00

Spring Break baby! It is funny how it has a totally different connotation than it did 10 years ago! Spring break now means sleeping till 6:30 instead of 5:30, drinking coffee and actually getting to watch the ENTIRE Today show! It also means that on days Lucy goes to school, I can stay in my pajamas until I have to go pick her up. However, the best laid plans...

We decided that since it was a week off for me, we'd put Lucy in her "big girl bed" and see what happened. It was more emotional for me than I thought. Once again, I've come a long way in 10 years from beer on the beach to crying over my child's moving into a toddler bed. Anyway, night one went well. Lu slept all night, no issues. We even got a video monitor which is hilarious. We love to watch her now. How did our parents raise us without all this insanely wonderful technology?!?!?!

Night two wasn't so good. We were up from 12 to 2 a.m. Lucy also figured out how to open the door. We had considered ourselves lucky that she hadn't mastered that skill yet, but she got pissed enough to figure it out Monday night. Then there was last night-a.k.a Hell on Earth a.k.a. a MAJOR flashback to EVERY night for the first 5 months of my child's life.

Lucy has had a runny nose. She also started coughing last weekend. We attributed it to allergies, as her ENTIRE life, she's pretty much sneezed and coughed and had a runny nose. Plus, she'd spent a lot of time outside and we figured that had really irritated her poorly genetically designed sinuses. If you don't live in East Tennessee, consider yourself lucky. It is pretty much the worst place on earth to live if you are prone to have ANY allergy issues. Anyway, I digress...If you are a parent you know there is NOTHING to give a kid if they are under 6 to stop a cough. This is totally annoying and re-pisses me off every time Lu starts to cough. So she's been coughing. The one thing that seems to dry her up is Benadryl. It used to make her hyper, we tried it several months ago again, and it mellowed her out. So I've been giving that to her over the past few days. I gave her some at bedtime, and woke up to her hacking her poor head off at 1:30 when it had worn off. She wasn't awake, but coughing literally every 90 seconds (yes, I'm that neurotic that I counted).

So, as I'm lying in bed letting my neuroses get the best of me (you know, picturing her being admitted to Children's for a collapsed lung), I wake Bryan and we debate as to whether or not to give her meds. She'd been sleeping so well, and in her bed by herself!! Did we dare wake the beast? As more time passed and I was sure she was near death, I got the syringe, and gave her the big bad BENADRYL. It of course woke her, and she wanted me to hold her hand. I shhh-ed her and tried to get her to sleep, but to no avail. Finally at 3:45 I made Bryan come take over. She was awfully twitchy and loopy, and still not sleeping! I had just settled back into my cozy bed when he called me to her room and said, "I think she has a fever." Spectacular. Sure enough, low grade fever. We then gave Motrin (a totally amazing drug for our fever prone child), and put her in the bed with me (Bryan thought he was getting a reprieve). I was totally distraught, as we are really trying to focus on her being in her big girl bed ALONE this week, and now here she was in MY bed. At this point it is now 4:30 or so. She is singing, asking to watch Sesame Street, talking non-stop about parties and gymnastics and horses and Disney World (the list goes on and one). I realize Bryan has to do a lot today, including go to class tonight, but dang it! I MUST SLEEP! So, I kicked him off the couch and let him deal with Chatty McChatterson. I slept from 5 until 8, which gave me 8 hours of sleep (not awful, but as my good friend says, 8 hours of broken sleep is NOT the same as 8 solid hours). I called the pediatrician when I got my wits about me, and we were on our way at 8:45.

Needless to say, I did not get my coffee, or breakfast, or see ANY of the Today show. That is being a mom though. It is not always glamorous. It is in fact, very hard, most of the time. You never know if your are making the right decisions about things. You have a new set of worries with each new stage in your child's life. Take potty training...I'm about to LOSE MY MIND over it. Her teacher told me yesterday she needed to wear "big girl panties" to school now. HA! She hasn't peed or pooped in the potty for me in a WEEK! Also, has anyone ever bought a humidifier that doesn't totally suck? I mean, we probably could have bought a diamond encrusted one for the amount of money we've spent on crappy ones. These are the things that occupy my mind when I am awake in the middle of the night with my child who has become nocturnal. I would just love to let some sexually active teen into my brain for about 5 minutes. I guarantee that they'd be rethinking sex. Unless you are ready for all this craziness, you better just lock it all up!

So in case you were wondering, we now have meds for Lucy who has a sinus infection. She is also on Allegra and will be getting allergy tests soon if all this MESS does not clear up. We got the ears cleared up last year, but now we're having frequent sinus issues. The pharmacist at Walgreens knows me well. AND my child can pass ANY Walgreens and will shout, "WALGREENS MOMMY!" Not good. I took a peek at some humidifiers, but guess what? We've tried all the models Walgreens has to offer. No humidifier was purchased, but many drugs were. Here's my helpful hint to all of you who get your prescriptions filled at the trusty old Walgreens...take your screaming kid in with you, tell them you are waiting for the meds, and let your kid have another fit or two about some crap in the kid aisle, and all of a sudden that 15 to 20 minutes wait time becomes 6 minutes. Did I mention I love the terrible twos? AND PLEASE DO NOT COMMENT AND TELL ME THAT THREE IS NOT ANY BETTER. I'm not up for that news today.

Just a few more...

2011-02-25T19:35:00.005-05:00

Some more of my favorites from Lu's birthday week thanks to my dad. This kid is cute.

Human Extraction

2011-02-24T12:43:00.005-05:00

Pretty gory post title, huh? Got your attention though. It's true however. Two years ago today, there was a human extraction. Lucy Elizabeth Moore was delivered via-c-section two years ago today. It was 4:06 p.m. and our world changed forever! Lu weighed 7lbs 2 oz, was 21 inches long, and had HUGE hands and feet! She had a head of dark hair and beautiful blue eyes. She was (and still is) the most beautiful baby we'd ever seen.

I have to admit, the c-section thing was the way to go. My doctor had tried pitocin 2 weeks in a row, but to no avail. Lucy scoffed at it and was apparently quite comfortable in my belly. Finally we decided to just extract her and in about 15 minutes after my spinal was done, we had a little girl. I never got to feel a true contraction, or much pain. I was sort of cheated out of the whole "birthing" experience. IT ROCKED!

Today, two years later, the temperature and weather are EXACTLY the same. How crazy is that? Lucy has changed a bit though. Her stats are now 26 1/2 lbs, 34 3/4 inches long, and has finally grown into her hands and feet :) She is speaking in full sentences, can identify all but 5 letters in the alphabet, knows many letter-sounds, sleeps for 11-12 hours a night (sweet glory!)with "Mr. Mouse", eats like a pig (especially fruit and veggies), and is either 110% on, or passed out asleep. She loves books and puzzles, watching Sesame Street, playing outdoors, gymnastics class, and school. She says prayers every night with Bryan and I, and on the flip, has become very well acquainted with time out :) She pee-pees in the potty all day long at school, but refuses to at home (something we WILL remedy during spring break), thinks she is swimming when she lays down in the tub and kicks her feet, adores looking at pictures of herself (oops), and tells Bryan and I that she loves us at least once a day. I must brag that her developmental age, according to the doctor yesterday, is actually 3 years and one month. Sorry, shameless plug, but I had to brag! I don't know what she'll be when she grows up, but it is sure to be something! We love you Little Bit!

Enjoy the pictures we took during her party this past weekend. She's finally figured out how great these holidays and celebrations are and is so proud!

Winter Musings

2011-01-25T16:12:00.005-05:00

The winter is always hard for us. We like warm weather. We like being outside (me not too much, as you know, I don't do nature...but I'd like to at least be able to sit on my front porch!) Poor Bryan (a.k.a. Florida Boy) is freezing, and Lucy (the freak of nature) LOVES the cold weather and snow, but had a sinus infection when our last batch arrived, so she wasn't permitted outside. Bryan did manage to make a batch of snow cream for us to enjoy (his first and only batch ever). It was REALLY good! He was quite proud of himself.

You can't tell from the picture, but Lucy really did like it. This may be my new favorite of her!

So, basically, we've just be housebound. We've played a lot with Christmas presents (Lucy now refers to herself as, "Dr. Lucy," and we've all been a bit under the weather with sinus infections and colds. It still continues to snow weekly, and we're bracing for another snow tomorrow. I'm now looking into Caribbean real estate. Did I mention we're ready for warm weather?

Lucy is still constantly blowing our minds with the stuff she says and does. For instance, she is talking NON STOP in complete sentences. It is just so amazing to think that the little bitty baby we brought home YESTERDAY is now speaking. Sometimes she's not so cute, you know, when she's screaming "NO" and throwing a spoon, but other times she's adorable. Take the other night. We're saying her night prayers with her in bed. Bryan gets finished praying and she says, "I love you Daddy, I love you Mommy, I love you Mr. Mouse" (the stuffed mouse she sleeps with). I thought I was going to cry! Just out of nowhere, she says that. It was to die for! She's taking night prayers, food prayers, and random bathtub or whatever time prayers quite seriously. We hope that sticks!

Of course the next day I was stuck at home with her due to snow and things weren't quite so cute. I thought I was going to potty train her in a day. She pees in the potty all day at school, and poops in the potty for us at home, but won't do the opposite. Here is my line of thinking...She totally FREAKS OUT if her socks get twisted or her blanket has a wrinkle (that might be some of her dad's freaky genes). So I figure, I'll buy her some big girl panties, make a huge deal of it, let her wear some for a day, and by golly, she'll HATE being wet and pee covered, right? After 5 outfit changes, I firmly believe she must like the feeling of warm urine. Oh well. I've got a month until her birthday, maybe by then? I just totally thought we'd have potty training DONE with by now.

Speaking of birthdays, I just had my 20-10. I'm not actually able to mutter the word THIRTY too easily. Someone pointed out to me that I'm halfway to 60 now. Gee, thanks. I had a fabulous weekend celebrating. I did "Spirited Art" (painting while drinking class) with a couple of my best girlfriends on Friday night. We had a blast, but decided none of us are quite gallery ready. Saturday mom took Lucy and I shopping, and when I say that, I really mean I tried to shop while mom chased Lucy around stores. Not so much fun, but Bryan is back in school now, so no help from Daddy on the weekends anymore. We did sushi for dinner with my parents, and had cake at their house afterwards. Since we're too poor for Bryan to actually get me a REAL Tiffany's blue box filled with jewels, he got my cake to look like one-genuis! Sunday I thought I was going to dinner with my hubby, and we did, but he also surprised me with some of my best friends at a bar downtown. They dressed me up, made me eat cake, and we had a blast!

The night Bryan took me out, the flu hit. We got home and I had a fever and chills. It was not good. I woke up on my 20-10 birthday with the flu. Went to the doctor, got some Tamiflu, but am still down for the count. I've run a fever for days, haven't worked all week, and will most definitely listen to my mother next year and get the dang flu shot. Did I mention they have to swab your BRAIN to tell if you have the flu. It is awful. So I suppose I'm lucky to have celebrated my birthday the weekend BEFORE, as the day of, I didn't get out of bed.

I'm busy planning Lucy's SECOND birthday now. Remember last year? I had the extravaganza of the century planned. Too bad Lucy was sick as a dog and we had to cancel the whole thing. It was awful. I'm not doing that this year. She will have a small party. I will bake cupcakes. It will be cute. She wanted a monkey party, so a monkey party is what we will have. Fingers crossed we're all healthy and up for it this year!

Seriously?

2011-01-05T18:39:00.003-05:00

It is snowing AGAIN. School has not been cancelled yet, however, it is imminent. I would like to add that it is supposed to snow again Friday. Did I mention they are calling for 5 inches next week? Also, we are all sick with a cold/sinus yuck which=no playing outside for us. I am so pissed. I HATE WINTER!!!!!

P.S. Did you know Subway has a new footlong cheesburger? GROSS.

Christmas 2010 (a.k.a. The Year Lucy Got EVERYTHING)

2010-12-30T08:10:00.012-05:00

Apparently both sets of our parents are now hard of hearing. What do I mean? Well, we gave both sets a list of TWO things we wanted them to get Lucy for Christmas. We also took $100 and went shopping for her ourselves (that actually gets you a ton of gifts!). However, neither set of parents listened to us, and our child now has one of everything. In fact, she had so many gifts, she actually had her own tree in our house (Exhibit A below-Pre Santa)

Lucy's Christmas extravaganza actually started several days BEFORE Christmas thanks to some of our generous friends and her school. She was given several gifts and I was told to let her open them in advance. So she did. She loved every minute of it. I guess you could say her Christmas lasted an entire week. We should all be so lucky!

Of course when her Mimi and Papa arrived from FL, they had to let her open a gift BEFORE Christmas as well. In their defense, it was a plate for her cookies that she was going to leave out for Santa. She helped her Mimi bake snickerdoodles (my ALL TIME FAVORITE) and set them out for Santa on Christmas eve. It was pretty cute!

I guess you could say all of our "Christmas" events really officially began on Christmas Eve. My family (mom, dad, and GiGi) all hosted Christmas Eve dinner. Lucy got to be with her ENTIRE family (we're really not all that big :) and we had fun. Good food, wine, meat, shrimp, and of course...gifts! We had a blast. It was so cool to be able to see Lucy with TWO great grandmas! It is also such a blessing that we can all get together and get along. Although we did have a Clark W. Griswold moment when we got back home, police and all. That is another story for another blog though.

On Christmas morning, Lucy woke at 6:45 (late for her) and all of us, well most of us (ah hem Aunt Leah) were already awake. Grandma had been up since 2:45 with butterflies in her stomach! PLUS...it snowed! We had a REAL white Christmas! We did Christmas at our house first with Bryan's family. It was GREAT! Her daddy and Papa had put together her big gift, a wagon, the night before. She was beyond THRILLED when she saw it. I have to admit, Christmas was a ton of fun with a kid that believes in Santa and totally knows she's about to get 5,410 presents. I can't wait for the next 10 Christmases or so!!!! Some of her favorite gifts were of course the wagon, huge building blocks, a doctor kit (my dream) , golf clubs (her daddy's dream), a princess crown, sit and spin, sushi kit, new cutlery like big people use (only smaller in scale), and well, just about everything else she got. Can you say spoiled? Below are a few of my favorite moments.

After Christmas at our house, we bundled up and went to my mom and dad's house. My grandma was still there, and it was still snowing heavily. When we arrived, we went straight for presents. Lucy was still pretty much on a tissue paper tearing high. She was THRILLED when she saw her new kitchen. She's quite the chef-did you know that? Now, a week later, I can tell you that the kitchen has totally changed my world. She also asked Santa for a baby doll with BROWN hair. He delivered. By now, this kid was a professional present opener. She could not have been more happy. She also got a new table and chair set for our playroom so that my carpet will no longer have play dough ground into the fibers, and she can color on a hard surface. It rocks!

We had a great lunch with my family, then headed BACK to our house to do gifts with Bryan's parents, sister, and grandma (that's right, ONLY Lucy had opened gifts and it was already noon!) Lucy passed out in the back seat in about 3.2 seconds. She slept for 2 hours that afternoon. When she woke, she of course wanted to play with her new stuff, so that's what we did!

When we woke up the morning AFTER Christmas, it had snowed even more! Our FL family was quite delighted. In fact, my father-in-law kept going out on the front porch and taking it all. Finally after about 20 trips outside, he came in and declared he was going to make a snowman. Bryan was rather reluctant at first to join him (he doesn't care for the cold weather and it was 27 degrees), but they dug in and made quite a snowman. There were buckets, spray bottles, rakes, brooms, trowels, and more used in the making of this snowman. Lucy watched from the front door and REALLY wanted to go out. I finally caved (if you remember the last snow we had, there was a bit of a fit thrown when we made Lucy come in). Lucy was THRILLED, and was quite a little helper.

All in all, Lucy's second Christmas was quite a success!

I Should Have Been a Bear

2010-12-22T07:44:00.003-05:00

It's true. I should have been a bear. I HATE cold weather. I mean it. I despise it. And for the past month, it has been so cold that I am miserable. I think bears totally got it right with the whole hibernation thing. It is just now winter, actually, yesterday it officially started, but around here, the highs have been in the twenties. Umm, we would have moved to Michigan if we liked that kind of weather. Anyway, I digress...this blog is not actually about me.

Since we've had such INSANE weather (global warming, really?) we've also had SNOW! I do love the snow covered trees and roof tops whenever we get a nice dusting. It makes everything look like a giant Christmas card-just beautiful! However, last week we had a pretty good little snowstorm (3") and a nice little ice storm too. In fact, Mr. Jimmy Mac (our superintendent) actually closed schools for THREE WHOLE DAYS (which is slightly terrifying since we only have 5 snow days and we've already used 3 in DECEMBER!).

Anyway, snow day #1 was beautiful! However, it was BITTERLY cold. I'm talking 19 degrees. So Lucy was OBSESSED with the snow. She watched it fall all day Sunday and Monday morning. We promised her she could go out in it during the afternoon. We bundled her up after she woke from her nap-she was actually the only one of us with proper attire! She absolutely loved it! She kept running around screaming, "Snow!" It was too cute. We did have her mighty bundled up (she was very reminiscent of Randy, Ralphie's brother in "A Christmas Story"). She once fell down and kept screaming for her daddy because she couldn't get up. It was a bit funny. She played and ran and I froze and froze. She face planted several times, and when her hair got wet, I decided it was time to come in. I mean, hello! It was still only 19 degrees!!!!!!

Well, when we told Lucy it was time to go in, the fit started. She went dead weight on Bryan. She threw herself down and the feet started kicking. She was TICKED. I was TICKED too. I was FREEZING by now!!!! It is crazy the things you do for your kids. Needless to say, we finally got her in, but she screamed for a good 10 minutes when we got her stripped down and inside. Apparently she got this "I LOVE COLD WEATHER" gene from someone other than her father and I.

The next two snow days we have no pictures of. It was pretty miserable. We couldn't go anywhere, and you can only play with play-dough, watch Sesame Street, and read the same books over and over so much before you want to kill someone. Lucy wanted to go to school, I wanted to just GET OUT, and poor Bryan didn't know what to think of us girls all cooped up together. The good news is...it's supposed to snow again this weekend. GREAT!

First Haircut

2010-12-04T11:31:00.004-05:00

AHHH! I did it! I cut Lucy's hair. It actually wasn't NEARLY as traumatic as I thought it would be. Plus, I think I found a new thing I am good at. Who knew I could cut a child's hair in a TRENDY little cut?

I have actually been wanting to cut her hair for a long time. I would get almost worked up to do it, then remember her cute little pigtails. I'd stop myself. Plus, we don't so much have the money for me to go take her to get at $40 haircut. However, she was starting to look like Carol Brady. You know, from the Brady Bunch. She had this cute one length, bob-type look going on in the front, but a large Carol Brady curl thing happening in the back. It was getting to me. Also, every morning when she woke up, she looked like a crazy person. I think she sleeps on her head. AND every afternoon when I get to school, all the other kids look normal, but not Lucy. She's got hair everywhere (not for lack of us trying to keep it nice, she just refuses bows and/or ponytail holders right now), sometimes with paste, snot, paint, aquaphor, etc. all caked into it. She looks terrible, and I KNOW all those other mothers were talking about me.

So, Monday night, while Bryan was at class (I knew he'd freak), I cut it. I just got those craft scissors (not at all the right type to cut hair with) and I chopped that Carol Brady curl right off! I didn't cut perfectly straight (HELLO, I'm a TEACHER, not KEN PAVES), but in the end, it turned out SOOOOOOOOO cute. In fact, she looks like a little mini-me! I totally love it, and she looks so grown up now (not what I was going for, but I am THRILLED that she looks more like me :)

I did keep a curl.

I'll save it forever.

I do still have her umbilical cord chunk.

Fantasy of Trees 2010

2010-11-26T15:19:00.003-05:00

We had a blast at the Fantasy of Trees this year. Highlights for Lucy...seeing Santa (the line was rather long, so we just yelled and waved), playing on the "Choo Choo Chain", eating a hot dog, seeing the gingerbread houses, and watching the carousel. I say watching because she was THRILLED to stand in the line and get on a horse, but after about two go-rounds on that thing, we had a scrunched up face and were calling out, "MOMMY!" So...I took her off and held her for the remainder of the ride. Thank goodness that was free.

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-25T20:23:00.006-05:00

Lucy's Thanksgiving # 2 was a success!

Well, she (much like last year) did not actually eat much Thanksgiving food, but she didn't pitch a fit while we ate, so I'm counting it as a success. For those of you who know me, you aren't surprised by the fact that I did not cook dinner for the family. Thanks to Ingles, we had a lovely meal-Turkey breast, broccoli casserole, sweet potato casserole, dressing, and lots of pie. I forgot to cook the rolls and slaw. I don't know what is wrong with my brain lately, but it is not dialed into my inner "Betty Crocker". I think having a house husband for all these months has completely hindered my ability to do anything domestic. Not a super bad problem to have.

As for Lucy, she's got some sort of respiratory infection, so she's on a MAJOR antibiotic (first one in 6 months!). Her blow-out poop diapers have not been my dream come true, and she's not really eaten in days. In fact, her last good meal was in the Walgreens parking lot on Moday, and consisted of "chicken wuggets and pinch pies" (that is chicken nuggets and french fries for all you non-toddler speaking readers). Feel free to nominate me for mother of the year. But seriously, she's eating about 2 bites during each meal. I got a few bites of broccoli casserole in her today, along with a couple of bits of turkey. She enjoyed a little pumpkin pie, but we are just thankful for what we can get down her right now.

After we ate, I began my annual Christmas decorating. Bryan wouldn't let me begin until AFTER Thanksgiving, so pretty much as soon as the last dish was washed, I unloaded boxes. I must admit, for the past two years, I've not wanted to decorate much of anything. Two years ago I went into pre-term labor near Christmas, and last year, well, I was just TIRED. Lucy LOVED helping out, and E Ee-uh (Aunt Leah) took some AWESOME pictures.

Tomorrow we are heading to the Fantasy of Trees and will hopefully see SANTA CLAUS!!!! I can't wait...