Happy Birthday, I think

This picture represents the last 48 hours at our house. (Not pictured: the humidifier, cough drops, Candy Land, and DVR'd episodes of Top Chef.)

Early Sunday morning (2am-ish) Kaitlyn woke up with a fever, we gave her some Tylenol, and she promptly gave it back to us - including some in our bed and in her hair. Awesome. Those are always the moments when I think, "Yep - I'm a mom."

The poor girl has had a fever of 102.5-103 ever since, and we all have terrible coughs. (Or "the coughs" as Kaitlyn says.)

On Sunday Mike went to Walmart because we were out of children's Tylenol and Motrin, and lo and behold, they were also out of it.

Well, let me ammend that statement slightly by saying that according to Mike, who called me while at Walmart and was very confused about what he was looking for, they were out of it. He did come home with some chewable Tylenol.

Anyway, my point is that it seems we aren't the only ones dealing with this sort of thing right now.

So, happy birthday to me. I stayed home with Kaitlyn yesterday and will stay home again this morning.

And really, what could be better than hanging out in your PJs with your favorite kid? I really want all of us to get better, but I'm also trying to count my blessings.


I'd say I'm pretty blessed. :-)

The cow, part 2

If you missed the first part of the story, you can read it here.

When Mike arrived home from work after my crazy cow conversation with Kaitlyn it was one of those moments where I said, "Here - take your daughter," as soon as he walked in the door. I really thought my head was going to explode from her incessant talking and questioning about the cow.

We finally moved on to other things that night, but little did I know that it would all start again the next morning while on the way to the sitter's house. I'll spare you the details - just imagine a conversation similar to the one I recounted in my first post.

After we went for a few rides on the conversation merry-go-round I said an exasperated prayer. Was this a spiritual issue? Had an irrational fear taken root in her mind? Or, was this the product of an over-dramatic imagination at work? Lord, give me wisdom!

I decided that prayer is always a good thing and told Kaitlyn that we were going to pray about it. And pray we did. If there were any evil spiritual forces at work in her mind, we prayed them right on out of that minivan.

After the prayer she sat in silence for a minute or two, then said, "Mom? Can we pray for the cow?"

Pray for the cow? Oy.

This reminded me of the last time my mom watched Kaitlyn during the day. Kaitlyn suddenly starting talking about a monster and attached herself to my mom with a death grip. She was tense and fearful, and clung to my mom until finally falling asleep.

When she woke up, she told my mom that Jesus had come and kicked that monster out. Then she wanted the monster to come sit with her at the table while she ate lunch. Seriously? First you are deathly afraid of the monster, and then you make friends and want to share your pudding with him? **sigh**

There has been more talk of monsters since these two incidents. I'm thinking this is simply a phase, but then again there is that thought of what if there are times when she is really afraid and I'm acting like it's no big deal?

This is the part of parenting that I didn't realize would be so hard. The fine line between what is harmless and should be ignored, versus what is harmful and needs to be dealt with. What if I think it is harmless and blow it off but it turns out to be a serious concern? What if I think it is harmful and I make a big deal out of it, when really it was harmless until I started meddling and trying to fix it and then it turns into something harmful?

Talk about a merry-go-round.

I was thinking about this tonight and realized that it's only the start of the parenting merry-go-round of what ifs and guilt trips. She's not even three - I have many years ahead of the "is this harmless or harmful?" debate. In the midst of the barrage of thoughts and possible future scenarios that flooded my mind I realized that I, using my own skill and logic, will never be able to handle this thing called parenting.

The next revelation that came to me was the importance of building my relationship with God. This is the only way I'll stay sane - knowing that the One who loves Kaitlyn more than I'll ever understand is leading me and guiding me. Knowing that I can't go everywhere she goes, but He will. Knowing that He will give me discernment, and that His power is made perfect in my weakness. Oh what peace there is in that!

For now I will take the monster issue one day at a time. I've heard other parents of preschoolers talk about their kids being obsessed with monsters so I'm not going to freak out about it. (We have enough drama in our house without me throwing more into the mix.)

Nevertheless, you can be sure that we will avoid taking Kaitlyn to Chick-Fil-A for a while.

Not good

It's not good when, at 2pm, you rediscover the sippy cup of milk (the cup without a spill-proof valve) that you carefully sat on your purse at 7:45am and then forgot.

The one that you grabbed on your way out the door in an effort to calm your toddler who was screaming for something to drink while you were rushing to get out of the house on time.

The one that this same toddler would thrust at you in the car, 20 minutes later, while whining and complaining because she was "all done" and didn't want to hold the cup anymore.

Yeah, that cup. The one that you sat down on your purse and thought, "I'll take care of that after I drop her off."

Note for next time: you won't remember to take care of it after you drop her off.

EDITED TO ADD: I forgot to actually write the important part, that yes, I grabbed my purse and carried it into my office without realizing the the cup was still there, and yes, it did spill all over the inside of my purse. Thankfully, I had just cleaned it out last night so there wasn't much damage to the contents - I just need to try and wash the purse so I don't end up carrying around a spoiled-milk-scented purse. Ick.

Things you never thought you'd have a reason to say out loud

"No, you don't need to hide your chicken under the couch cushion... if you're done, just tell me."

(Taken from a friend's facebook status.)

Riding in alligators, among other things

Last week I used my new-to-me bread machine for the first time. I bought it at a garage sale for $10, from a lady who said she bought it several years ago and only used it a few times. I asked if it was in OK condition, and she said, "Oh yes - it works fine. I stopped using it because we gave up carbs soon after I bought it."

(How many people have invested in expensive specialty appliances only to have them end up in the appliance graveyard in the back of the cupboard or the garage or the basement?)

I've been wondering if I might like having (and would actually USE) a bread machine, and $10 is an affordable risk, so I bought it.

On Thursday I finally used it and as I pulled the freshly baked honey wheat bread out I thought about my grandma. At her memorial service my aunt and uncle read through some memories she had written down several years ago. It was so interesting to hear about her life growing up and during the early years of her marriage.

She was born in 1918, and married my grandpa in 1938. (I think... maybe it was 1937? Or 1939?) They didn't have electricity for quite a while (that came in the late '40's or early '50's, I think?) and they didn't get indoor plumbing until the late '50's.

She had to go out to the pump in the yard, get her water, then haul it into the house. (And then take the dirty water back out.) She used a wood stove to cook on, and I think she had a hole dug into the ground to keep things cool.

As I sliced through my home baked bread, I thought about the effort it would have taken for grandma to make that same loaf, versus the effort it had taken me. What a difference.

It also made me think, "what am I doing with my extra time?" We have so many devices and appliances and conveniences that cut down on the time and effort required for every day living. Where am I putting that extra time and energy?

I'll be chewing on that question for a while.

Also, here is what my sister Monica read at grandma's service. It was a very nice service, one that truly honored my grandma's life and her dedication to serving the Lord.

Kaitlyn behaved beautifully for the two-day trip. We rode out with my mom, and of course, the portable DVD player. And Princess Gigi, who I have a love/hate relationship with, but I'll save that discussion for another day.

The only bad points for Kaitlyn were sleep (she went to bed late and woke up at 4:45am) and the fact that the one time she decided to have an attitude was as we walked into the actual memorial service. Nice timing, kiddo. Thankfully, her lack of sleep caught up to her midway through the service and she took a nap.

She amazed me by staying dry for the entire two days - even overnight and during the few small naps she had. Wow.

One cute story... When we got to the hotel, my niece Alyssa met us in the lobby and helped us get Kaitlyn and all the luggage upstairs to our room. We mentioned to Kaitlyn that we were going to ride in the elevator. "Have you ever ridden in an elevator?" my mom asked her. She just looked at my mom like she wasn't sure what to think about the situation.

We stepped into the elevator and she immediately wanted to be picked up. Again, she didn't look too sure about the whole thing.

We got off and were on our way down the hall when Kaitlyn said something about the alligator. "Alligator? What alligator?" we wondered.

And then it dawned on us.

I never thought about how similar the words "elevator" and "alligator" sound.

Conversation from Wednesday morning

Me: Hey - you put your shoes on all by yourself! Good job!

K: No, I didn't.

Me: [puzzled, since she is clearly wearing shoes, and I clearly did not help her put them on] You didn't?

K: No. [insert attitude here, along with what was possibly a roll of the eyes] These are not shoes. They're sandals.

Oh, well, excuse me. I guess this is practice for when she hits the pre-teen stage?

Important Discovery

Kaitlyn can lock/unlock the door.

Thankfully, this was discovered while I was in the room with her. She said, "Mommy, I locked the door!" I checked, and sure enough, she had locked it. Then I told her to unlock it, just to make sure she knew how to do that. She does, which is good news. Hopefully this means we won't have lock-herself-in-a-room-and-can't-get-out drama.

However.

The bad news is, she knows how to lock the door. And she's smart enough (and two enough) to think it would be funny to lock the garage door while Mommy steps out to the freezer for a second. Or to go into the bathroom, lock the door, and get into who-knows-what.

There are some milestones that leave you feeling extremely proud of your child. And then there are those that take your prayer life to a new level.

In sickness and in health

Today is our fifth anniversary. I intended to have some sort of lovey-dovey post, complete with wedding photos and a description of Mike's sweet gift.

However, our week has not gone as planned.

On Tuesday Mike and I started getting sick, and on Wednesday I stayed home from work. It was a run-of-the-mill cold, complete with clogged sinuses, a stuffy/runny nose, and body aches. I felt better on Thursday and went to work, but then yesterday I realized something funky was going on with my eye.

So, I took the afternoon off, went to the doctor, and confirmed that I have pink eye. Wonderful.

In the meantime, Mike and Kaitlyn both had varying levels of sinus congestion, but nothing that we were overly concerned about.

Until last night, around 9:45, when Kaitlyn woke up with a horrific cough. It was a barking, rasping cough that immediately sent me to the "What to Expect in the Toddler Years" book to look up the symptoms. According to the book, it was croup, and the recommendation was to call the doctor if this was our first encounter with it.

Since the only thing I associate with croup is the scene from "Anne of Green Gables" where Anne saves Diana's little sister from dying from croup by giving her ipecac, which immediately puts Anne back in Diana's mother's good graces and redeems her from the time she got Diana drunk on raspberry cordial, I thought that, yes, we did qualify for the "first encounter" recommendation of calling the doctor.

Ironically, the doctor on call was the same doctor who had seen me earlier in the day for my pink eye.

He gave me some general instructions and said the croup might last for one or two or three nights, but it wasn't anything to be super concerned about. "Oh, but, if she starts running a fever then you'll want to take her somewhere and have her looked at right away." Um, ok.

In an effort to cut the story short, I'll just say that from 10pm until 2am Mike and I caught a catnap or two in between trying to keep Kaitlyn comfortable and asleep. At 2am she woke up - she was WIDE awake - and we took her temp. 100.7*. Heeding the doctor's advice, we loaded up and went to the emergency room.

Because nothing says, "Happy Anniversary!" like a 2am trip to the ER. (A phrase soon to appear on a Hallmark card, I'm sure.)

My poor baby had to have her temp taken rectally, and she had a shot, and she had an eight-minute-long breathing treatment that was not favorably received and ended with us wrapping her in an impromptu straight-jacket made from a blanket.

In the midst of all this activity, the police walked by our room with someone in handcuffs and put him in the room next to us. So our lovely experience was mixed with sounds of shouting as the police and hospital staff tried to get basic medical history from a drunk guy. Celebrating your anniversary is all about the ambiance, right?

We arrived home at 3:45am, thinking Kaitlyn was so worn out that she would go right to sleep.

However, it hasn't really worked out that way. As I type, it is 10:45am and she has yet to go to sleep. She's as wide awake and as opinionated as ever. About 15 minutes ago she was running around without any pants, syrup stains on her shirt, a hair tie trying to hang on to the last remnant of a pony tail, she had one black, sparkly shoe on the wrong foot, and was on a serious mission to find the other sparkly shoe.

Then she wandered off down the hallway and turned on the lights in all the bedrooms.

Then she reenacted a scene from today's episode of "Handy Manny," in which she dropped things off the side of the couch, then hung over the edge to pick them up.

Now she has her play food out and is feeding her baby lunch. Baby is having a banana, a tangerine, spaghetti, tuna, ketchup, soup, green beans, and a croissant.

Needless to say, our plans for going out to dinner tonight to celebrate our anniversary have been postponed. I wish that our day had not included pink eye and a trip to the ER; I wish it HAD included sleep.

However, as Mike and I dealt with a sick little girl last night, I couldn't help but think that this is what marriage is all about. A strong marriage isn't built in the fluff moments when everything is going perfectly - it's built in the trenches, in middle-of-the-night crisis moments where your capacity for patience and kindness is put to the test. It's built in the moments when you snap at your husband out of fear and frustration, and he loves you anyway.

Five years ago I was incredibly excited to spend a week at Disney World with my new husband.

Today I'll be incredibly excited if I get to spend quality time with my bed.

And I wouldn't change a thing.

Happy anniversary, honey!

For future reference

Kaitlyn woke up this morning in a bad mood. And let me tell you, she was G-R-U-M-P-Y. Everything I said was responded to with an emphatic "NO!", complete with a pouty look and flailing hands.

I finally decided that her grumpiness wasn't going to ruin my morning, and had a little fun with it. Here is our conversation:

Me: Are you going to eat your cereal?

K: NO!

Me: You said you wanted cereal for breakfast. Why don't you eat some of it?

K: NO!

Me: Are you going to eat anything for breakfast?

K: NO!

Me: Are you going to date before you're 18?

K: NO!

Me: Are you going to smoke?

K: NO!

Me: Are you going to drink?

K: NO!

Me: Are you going to do drugs?

K: NO!

Me: Are you going to have sex before you're married?

K: NO!

Mike and I were cracking up!

It would have been great to get this on video, but at least I can blog about it. This was a great way to turn a potentially bad morning into a highly amusing one!

Maybe it will be the next Olympic sport

We went out to eat tonight, and of course we had to make a trip to the potty while at the restaurant.

So, Kaitlyn and I are in the stall, and she does her business, and I get her off the potty to help her wipe. I'm not sure why, but she finds the wiping part to be hilarious. She laughs - every time.

Tonight she was giggling, and it was that contagious type of giggle. There we were in the stall, both of us cracking up, but me trying to maintain my composure because I am, after all, the mom. Isn't potty training supposed to be serious business?

Meanwhile, in the midst of our giggling, more people have come into the bathroom. I wonder what they must have thought of us.

Me: Kaitlyn - stop it. [giggle] I have to wipe you.

K: [laughing hysterically]

Me: Kaitlyn! I mean it! [laughing] I have wipe you, and we have to change your pull-up.

K: [more hysterical laughter]

At this point she was doubled over in laughter.

You have to picture this - I'm squatting and trying to maintain my balance, while also fumbling with a diaper (I accidentally grabbed a diaper instead of a pull-up) and trying to put it on Kaitlyn. She is bent over, with her little bare butt in the air, giggling and squirming around.

What a sight!

That's when a tragedy occurred - she bumped her head on the floor, and then, of course, the dramatic laughter turned to dramatic crying.

The only thing more difficult than trying to put a diaper on a doubled-over, laughing two-year-old is trying to put a diaper on a standing up, clingy, crying two-year-old.

Do they give out gold medals for this type of thing? If so, I could possibly be the Michael Phelps of potty training. (Minus the tabloid photos and drug drama.)

I finally got the diaper on her when we moved to the next phase of the competition: hand washing. I somehow managed to balance her on my leg while washing both of our hands and trying desperately to avoid splashing water all over the lady at the sink beside me.

"Oh, that's too bad. The splashing will cost some points with the judges - that's an automatic deduction of .5. She does have good form though. Look at her stance with the leg! Now if she can just stick it out and execute the paper towel flawlessly, she might have a chance at a medal."

Pardon my little Olympic fantasy... anyway, where was I? Oh yes, the hand washing. We finished with the hand washing, and I was trying to get myself all put back together while dealing with a dramatic toddler at my feet, clinging to me and screaming, "UP! UP!" as if the other women in the restroom (or maybe the automatic flushing toilet) were going to assault her at any moment.

I picked her up and was halfway out the door when I remembered the full pull-up that I set on the toilet paper dispenser in the stall. Figuring that the next person might not appreciate the perils of an absent-minded mother who was distracted by a giggling (and then crying) toddler who was not wanting to cooperate with the potty training, I thought the nice thing to do would be to return to the stall, retrieve the pull-up, and throw it away.

By the time we made it out of the bathroom and found our way back to the table, I realized I was out of breath.

Out of breath, because of a trip to the bathroom.

Either I clearly need more exercise, or this mothering/potty training thing is harder than it looks.

(Or both.)

I've never been so excited about body functions

We have officially begun potty training. So far, it's going REALLY well.

Kaitlyn isn't the only one on a learning curve. Here are some things that Mommy is trying to learn:

• How to develop an internal homing device for tracking down store employees, so they can tell me where the bathroom is
• The ability to hoof it from one side of the store to the other in record time (because the bathroom is sure to be on the opposite end of the building from where we are at the time)
• To observe if the toilet is an automatic flush type, so I can prepare both of us for the possible shock of the flush as soon as Kaitlyn gets off the potty
  
• How to juggle Kaitlyn and my purse while trying to get both of our hands washed
• Remembering to ask Kaitlyn before leave the house/store/restaurant/etc. if she needs to go

It's amazing how new phases bring so many new things to learn! Another change is the immediacy of the need - before, when she needed her diaper changed, I could put it off for a few minutes if I needed to. Those days are long gone.

I have to say that I'm glad we put this off for a few months. Kaitlyn showed signs of being ready six months ago, but with us moving and all the other issues in our life, we didn't want to add something else. Plus, I read this post by Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer, and decided it was better to err on the side of waiting too long instead of starting too soon.

And, by the way, if you are a mom and are anywhere near the potty-training process, I highly encourage you to read Shannon's post. She has so many good tips, and she's potty trained four kids, so I think I can trust that she's learned a thing or two.

In other news... the President is coming to town tomorrow. His first trip as president, and he's coming to my hometown! Who would have thought?

The bad news is, he's coming because our county has the worst unemployment in the U.S. The RV industry has taken quite a hit, and there are so many businesses here related to RVs. But, this is delving into a whole other topic that I just don't have the energy to comment on at the moment.

So. Anyway, things around here will be all aflutter tomorrow. And, I'll be at home with Kaitlyn. Our sitter needed to take the day off to take care of a few things, which gave me a wonderful excuse to not have to go into work.

For your convenience, here is a quick recap of the topics covered in today's post:

1. Kaitlyn is doing wonderful on the potty.
2. Obama is coming to town tomorrow.
3. The RV industry needs a boost.
4. I have the day off tomorrow.

Can I get any more random?

At home

Today is the second day that I've been at home with a sick little girl. She doesn't seem to have anything major - up until this morning it was just a fever. At 5 a.m. she woke up, demanding some juice, so Mike gave her a little bit.

At 5:30 a.m., she promptly lost all of it.

I had been laying with her on the couch, but thankfully at 5:29 she declared that she wanted to lay by herself, so I got up. I was all too happy to avoid being thrown up on.

At this point she seems to be doing ok. All she wants to drink is milk, which I hate because that's not the best thing to drink when your tummy is on the fritz, but in the past our doctor has said to follow her lead and give her what she wants. I've been giving her little bits at a time, and she's kept it all down. She also has a normal temp again. Praise the Lord!

I did have a scare a few minutes ago, though. She declared that her tummy hurt and sort-of got "the look" - you know, the look that often precedes the mess. I grabbed the bucket that is now doomed to forever be "that" bucket and moved her blankies (yeah, she has TWO of them) out of the way. I asked her if she thought she was going to throw up. She got this look on her face (you know, the other look that says she's about to be a stinker) and fake sneezed into the bucket about five times.

I'm sure this orneryness (sp?) comes from her dad.

The good news about all of this is that I had a chance to get our taxes done yesterday, and pick up around the house, and make some really yummy soup for dinner. Today I want to get the rest of the house picked up, and put together a plan for this weekend, when I hope to make some meals ahead to freeze. (Thanks to our tax return, I think we are going to get a chest freezer. Woohoo!)

And, also thanks to our tax return, in about a week I will have the joy of paying off my student loan. BIG WOOHOOOOOOOOOO!

I'll sign off for now so I can watch The Jungle Book with my baby. She's laughing at it just like I did when I went to see it in the movie theatre with my mom, 25-or-so years ago. What a classic.

Oh - wait - I lied. If you think about it, please pray for my sister as she has her second chemo treatment today. She had a terrible time with her first one, so we are praying that this one will be much better. Also, my mom was supposed to have her last treament one week ago, but it got postponed because her blood count was too low. She was thankful to have more time to get her energy back, and in the past couple days has felt better than she has in seven months!! She'll have her last treatment one week from today - yay!!

Update

This is an update on two very important things.

First, my mammogram went well. My tech was incredibly nice, and while the whole process was a little uncomfortable (what with all the squishing and pulling), it wasn't the worst thing that's ever happened to me.

Second, I don't like the new Wiggles. I know you have all been waiting on pins and needles to find out what I think about their new format, and finally I am ready to share my opinion with you.

It's not so much that I don't like Sam (the new Wiggle), I just don't like the new format. It's just a bunch of songs that they sing while standing in front a green screen, and they change costumes and the background to fit the song. Can't we go back to the boat, and the car, and the beach, and the "Little Wiggles", and the Wiggle house, and the live concert shots?

I cannot believe I have so much of an opinion about this. I never thought I would spend so much time and energy comparing two versions of a children's show.

That's all. Off to finish the rest of my morning coffee... Have a happy weekend!

My sweet baby girl

Ok, so my sweet baby girl is not so much a baby anymore. But I still call her my baby, which I think is something most mothers do for quite some time.

(Which means I'm normal. At least on this count.)

Two weeks ago she turned two, and I am finally getting around to posting my official "I can't believe my baby turned two" post.

***************

Kaitlyn, when I was pregnant with you, I, like any mother-to-be, had visions of what my labor and delivery would be like. (And, by the way, those visions are usually NOT the way things go.)

One of the things I envisioned was the moment they would put my sweet baby girl in my arms, and I would kiss your head full of dark brown hair. Imagine my surprise when they showed me my towheaded baby!

I was shocked. If I hadn't been the only pregnant woman laying on the operating table in the room (you arrived via C-section), I seriously would have doubted that you were mine.


Where, in heaven's name, did that bleach blond hair come from??

I have since learned that both of your grandpas had blond hair when they were little, which explains where the recessive gene came from. The one thing I know is that it sure showed up on your little head with a vengeance!

While we were in the hospital you were the talk of the maternity ward. All the nurses would come in and say, "Oh, is this the blond baby we've heard so much about?" There were nurses who would stop in, even though we weren't assigned to them, just to see you and your hair.

The thing that made your hair remarkable is that you had so much of it. It was actually long.

When Daddy first called your Grandma in California to tell her about you, he said, "She has long blond hair." And Grandma said, "Oh, she does not! Babies don't have long hair."

When she finally saw a picture of you, she said, "Oh my goodness! She does have long hair!"


Your Dad and I were clueless and freaked out when we brought you home. We knew that we would be good parents - it's just that we weren't quite used to our new job description yet.

On our first night at home you would not stop crying. We didn't know what to do. Did your tummy hurt? Were you uncomfortable? Were you hungry? Were we doing something wrong? Did we need to call the doctor?

We made a frantic call to Aunt Monica.

"What do we do??????"

(Poor Aunt Monica.)

We eventually learned that you liked to cry. You didn't cry all the time, but you made your fair share of noise.

You also liked to be held in one particular way - you wanted to be on your stomach, but propped up so you could see what was going on. This was highly inconvenient. (But, just so you know, most of parenting is.)

You were always a social little person, and you still are. You enjoy people and want to be a part of whatever is going on. You are very aware of your surroundings.

The other week when I picked you up from Meagan's house, and as we got to the car I could faintly hear Meagan's phone start to ring. You looked at me and said, "Meagan's phone - ring." How did you notice that? How do you pick up on these things?

You also quickly pick up on songs and things on TV. When you started to sing along with the "Friends" theme song, I knew it was time to officially enforce a ban on any show that had questionable themes or language. (At least while you are awake.)

Your favorite TV show has always been Curious George. You love the episode where George has to take care of the animals on a farm, and you giggle like crazy at the end when he is driving around on the tractor, causing chaos.

It reminds me SO MUCH of how I used to laugh while watching "The Little Rascals". Someday I'll have to introduce you to Spanky, Alfalfa, and the rest of the gang and we can laugh our heads off together.

You take after me in a lot of other ways, too, and I underestimated how freaky that would be. For example, you are highly independent, but are easily frustrated when it can't be done the way you want it done, when you want it done.

I wonder if you will also be competitive.

(This, you would get from your Dad.)

(And maybe just a *teensy* bit from me.)

(Ok, maybe a little more than that.)

I'm a little biased, but I do think you are a smart little girl. You like to figure things out. I can already see that you are a good problem solver.

And you love books. Just last weekend I read "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" several times in a row, and then you turned around and "read" it to me. Of course you didn't read the words, but you retold the story and I was surprised at how many of the concepts and phrases you got right.

You have quite a sense of humor, little girl. You enjoy laughing - you laugh at TV shows, like I mentioned above, but you also love to be silly and to laugh at or with other people.

I'll never forget the first time you had a true belly laugh - it was when you were four months old, and we were at your great-grandpa's house for Christmas. You thought your cousin, Ethan, was hilarious. You had us all in stitches with your contagious laughter.

I don't quite know how to end this because I could go on and on about you. Since you were born you have been a constant source of joy for your Daddy and me, even in the midst of the frustrations. We are so happy that God has entrusted you to us, and we can't wait to see the plans He has for your life.

One thing I suspect is that God has created a passion in your little heart for prayer. You've always been very tuned in to prayer, and you love to pray. You once prayed for Daddy's hip when it was out of place, and the next morning he was 100% better.

One morning, while we were driving to Meagan's, you insisted that we pray for Aunt Monica and your two cousins. I later remembered that it was their first day of school, and found out from Aunt Monica that one of them had had a rough morning and had certainly needed some prayer.

Yes, I think God has given you a gift of prayer.

My prayer for you is that you will never lose your faith in the power of prayer, and that you will always have a tender heart that knows you can talk to your Heavenly Father about anything, at any time. I pray that your Daddy and I will have wisdom in raising you, and that we will be godly examples for you.

I love you sweetie pie! Happy (belated) second birthday!

Random thoughts, in list form

1. I love Aldi's. I've heard from several people (including BooMama) that shredded cheese is up to $4-5 for a two-cup bag. Yikes! I went to Aldi's today and their shredded cheese is $2.99 for a three-cup bag. Yay for Aldi's!!
   
   Other things worth mentioning - their milk is $2.29/gallon, and their generic cereal (which, in my opinion, is just as good as name brand) is $1.89 for a 14.5oz box of the generic honey combs. If you've never shopped at Aldi's but have one in your area, you really should check it out. (Just be sure to take a quarter for a shopping cart, and realize that you'll bag your own groceries and will either need to buy bags or take your own.)
   



2. I realized today that my life has been taken over by little girl's hair thingies. You know, hair clips, hair bands, barrettes, etc. I find them in the car, in my purse, in my pockets, and all over the house. This realization made me feel simultaneously content and old. (Odd, I know.) Content because it makes me feel so mom-like. And old because, well, it makes me feel so mom-like. Oh the irony!



3. Confession: I made chocolate chip cookies this weekend and I think I ate an entire dozen (or two) all by myself. I felt blah all day yesterday.



4. Do you know how nice it was to take all of the dishes I dirtied while making cookies and plop them into the dishwasher? I love it! I feel like a whole new woman in the kitchen. (Does that make me sound like an infomercial?) If only it would also wash away the calories. **sigh**
   



5. Do you also know how nice it was to pull into an attached garage yesterday after church, during the Ike monsoon? At our old house we would have had to concoct a strategy for getting everything and everyone from the car to the house, and it would have involved some form of running or dashing or, at the very least, speed walking. Maybe a hop and skip in there as well. Between the dishwasher and the garage, I feel like I'm living in the lap of luxury.



6. Regarding this lap of luxury, something I realized a few weeks ago is that I would not appreciate the luxuries of my new house if I hadn't experienced the frustrations of my old house. Having to live for a time without certain things makes us appreciate those things even more, once we do have them. This is a good reminder for me, and also a good truth to remember as I parent.
   
   Sometimes being a good parent means saying no, even when it is within my power to say yes.



7. It is shocking to look at Kaitlyn and love her so much, and realize that sometimes being a good parent means saying no, even when it is within my power to say yes, and wonder how often God feels that way about me.
   



8. Kaitlyn had her two-year check up last Friday. It was an eventful visit to the doctor because she was SO! LOUD! in the waiting room. By the time we were called back, everyone in the waiting room knew that the fish tank had blue fish, and that the batteries in the toys were dead. For fifteen minutes that's all she talked about - over and over and over and over again.
   
   Hopefully everyone in the room either understands what it's like to have a two-year-old, or they went home with a new-found appreciation that they don't have a two-year-old.



9. Kaitlyn is 36" tall and weighs 23 lbs, 2 oz. She is in the 95th percentile for her height, and the 50th percentile for weight. And yet, she is still in 18-month pants. (And 2T or 3T shirts.) Crazy.



10. Our cat, Emmy, has formed this strange love/hate relationship with Kaitlyn. She'll saunter over to where Kaitlyn is playing, and pretty much beg for Kaitlyn's attention. Then she complains and looks tortured the whole time that Kaitlyn pets her, but she won't go away. Weird.

A much better day (except for the hand, foot and mouth disease)

Today has been 500% better for my mom. Early this afternoon she was moved to the oncology floor, which has much nicer rooms and a more peaceful atmosphere.

The nurses are also able to be more focused, resulting in significantly better care for the patients.

One huge praise is that mom is now on a regulated morphine drip - she gets a small amount on a regular basis, but can increase it (up to a certain limit) as she needs to.

Another praise is that she has been able to do her breathing exercises more frequently. While she still has a ways to go before she gets to a normal level, she is currently at a level that they consider acceptable for her stage of recovery.

Going to the hospital tonight was a completely different experience - I could immediately see that she was better rested.

I met one of her doctors (she has three), and he was incredibly nice and had a wonderful bedside manner. My sisters mentioned that the other two doctors are just as nice. The three of them have a great reputation and my mom was told by one of the nurses that she has "the big guns" working on her side.

While I was at the hospital my mom was able to get out of bed (with the help of two nurses) and move to a chair, where she sat for a half hour. It was encouraging to see her making this kind of progress.

And now we move on to the frustrating part of the day...

At 9:30a.m. I got a call from Kaitlyn's sitter saying that she was once again running a temp.

**sigh**

I picked her up and took her to see the doctor, who informed me (very casually) that Kaitlyn has hand, foot and mouth disease.

Or is it foot, hand and mouth disease? Or mouth, hand and foot disease?

Whatever.

Anyway, I heard this and thought, excuse me? WHAT does my child have? Is it chronic? Will she be foaming at the mouth soon? Is this related to leprosy? Isn't this one of those things that she might have gotten from chickens or cows or some other form of livestock???

(My overactive imagination was working overtime.)

After quieting the many voices and questions in my head, what I actually said to the doctor was, "Um, what did you say she has?"

I found out that this is a fairly common thing for kids to get, and is a virus that simply must run its course. It got its name because blister-type sores can show up on the hands, feet, and in the mouth.

Kaitlyn doesn't have any sores on her hands or feet, but she does have one big sore on her tongue. :-( No wonder she doesn't want to eat anything!

The doctor said to treat it with Benadryl and Advil/Tylenol, and it should go away in a few days.

By the way, another fun happening today (said with just a hint of sarcasm) is that I tried to give Kaitlyn some Bendaryl and when I pointed the syringe in her mouth and squirted some in, it squirted right back out and sprayed my entire shirt.

Nice.

(I think I'm done whining.)

Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day, both for Kaitlyn and for my mom. Thanks to everyone who has been praying!!

My apologies to Michigan and Tennessee

Kaitlyn tried to eat Michigan and Tennessee yesterday.

And she put several of the New England states in her ears.

I have no idea which states she put up her nose, but I know there were at least two casualties on that front.

Needless to say, the small foam United States puzzle has gone to the top shelf in the closet for a vacation, and we aren't sure when it will return.

Before all of these casualties occurred I did get a great video of her repeating the names of the states, so I'll have to post that when we finally get an internet connection at home.

Speaking of the glorious internet connection, it should be installed on Tuesday. Woohoo! I never realized just how much I use the internet until now. In some ways, it's been nice to have a vacation from it, but in many other ways, it's just plain annoying!

Also, my mom, Priscilla, is scheduled to have surgery on Tuesday morning. She will have a complete hysterectomy and a small part of her colon will be removed, and then she'll be in the hospital for 7-10 days for recovery.

After she recovers from the surgery she will have six rounds of chemo, and we are expecting that she'll kick cancer's butt. :-D If you think about it, please say a prayer for her on Tuesday!

On a good note, my sister is coming home from California for a week and a half! Yippee! I wish my mom didn't have to have surgery, but this is a very nice side effect.

I'm trying to quickly post this during my last few minutes in the office, so I'm going to sign off for now. I hope to be back on Monday for a Menu Plan Monday post, but I'm not sure that will happen since we have a lot happening in the office on Monday. At least I'll be able to post from home on Tuesday!

Have a great weekend!

A comparison

This is a comparison of pre-8:32am Saturday accomplishments.

Pre-parenthood:
Nothing. Maybe we would have rolled out of bed by now.


Post-parenthood:
Eat breakfast.
Play with the barn.
Check Facebook.
Read a book. (Hippo-not-amus.)
Check email.
Read the paper. (Or at least parts of it.)
Play with the ABC puzzle. (And search for the missing W and G.)
Run down to the basement to see what needs to be packed.
Pack two boxes of dishes.
Stack the next round of dishes on the table to pack later.
Scrape the window.
Paint the window.
Try to lay down for five minutes to rest.
Watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
Write and post a blog.

EDITED TO ADD:
Apparently, I am also brain dead from all of this activity. I just remembered this isn't Saturday.

I also need to note that the above accomplishments are not all mine, in case it isn't obvious that Mike was a part of it all. :-)

Hair (a.k.a. "Hay-ur!")

Kaitlyn has a very special talent. If there is a piece of stray hair to be found, no matter how invisible to the naked eye, she will find it.

And she will immediately begin whining, "Hay-ur! Hay-ur!"

As if the hair is a spider crawling up her leg. Or like she has fallen into some really icky substance and she can't get it off of her.

It's quite a tragedy.

Sometimes we find the offending hair. Sometimes we pretend to find the hair. Yeah, it's a little sneaky, but it works.

Kaitlyn is also a master at finding kitty hair around the house. We have hardwood floors throughout most of the house, so the cat hair collects in these annoying little balls all over the place - especially on the stairs.

There are times when it takes her five entire minutes to come down the stairs because she has to stop at every ball of kitty hair and declare: "EMMY! HAY-UR!" Then she stoops down to pick it up, so she can give to me. And I always say,

I see it honey.

Leave it there.

It's ok - I promise. You can leave it there and mommy will sweep the stairs later.

Kaitlyn!

Leave.

the.

hair.

there!

Maybe I should turn that into a song, a la Phoebe Buffay. It could be "Smelly Cat, Part 2" (a.k.a. "Leave the Hair There!")

I'm going to stop myself before this post gets any weirder.

The new obsession at our house

Kaitlyn has become obsessed with prayer.

I suppose Mike and I should be thankful for this. The girl loves to pray, which hopefully is a testament to the fact that she sees us pray on a regular basis. In addition to praying before we eat, we say a quick prayer for each other as we get ready to walk out the door in the mornings and we also say a quick prayer if someone isn't feeling well.

(As I type this I realize that this would be a good time to introduce bedtime prayers to Kaitlyn... Maybe we'll work on that this week.)

Kaitlyn has said some really sweet prayers in the past few weeks - we can only understand a few words of the prayer, but none-the-less, it is cute to see her cover her face with her hands and talk to Jesus for a few moments.

She even said a prayer for Mike because his hip was bothering him - an ailment that has occured before and always takes several weeks to clear up - and the next morning his hip was 100% better. I think we have a little prayer warrior on our hands.

Imagine our surprise when, last Sunday morning, she prayed for George. As in, Curious George. She was watching him on TV and it was an episode where George was scared of the dark, so she prayed for him.

This is sweet and all, but it is starting to get violent. Literally.

Yesterday she was at Grandma's house, and was playing with her doll. Something happened to Baby and Kaitlyn was concerned for her, so she prayed for Baby. (Again, this is sweet, but keep reading.)

When she finished praying, she took Baby and with great purpose and intention, head-butted her. Then she prayed for Baby's head to feel better.

This violence towards Baby, followed up for praying for her to feel better, continued on until Grandma decided she'd had enough and took Baby away.

The saga continued last night while I was in the kitchen making dinner. Kaitlyn was standing at the baby gate making lots of noise. It was obvious that she was working really hard at whatever she was doing.

I looked up to see her standing on Baby, her face showing intense concentration. She had hold of the baby gate and was squatting down, using all of the force in her little body to try and squish her baby as much as possible.

I suspect she did this so that she could then pray for Baby to feel better.

This is yet another time when I wonder if this is a phase, or if we need to pursue some type of counseling. Will she translate this to other kids - hurting them so she can turn right around and pray for them to feel better?

Is this why I found a gray hair this morning?