Saturday, February 28, 2009

Independence! My baby has just begun to crawl and turn over. He's 11 months. He's never really needed to before. I realized months ago that sometimes in the middle of the night, he wanted to turn over because he was uncomfortable. So I would turn him over after he woke up and he continued to sleep. With this new found independence, now when he wakes up, he starts crawling around or just turning over. Luckily, I have babyproofed the area. Last night, when he woke up, he made no noise. Apparently, he woke up, closed the door all the way and moved around a bit. I woke up at 3:46am to use the bathroom and found this cute image.

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Thursday, February 26, 2009

It's Survivor night! I love watching Survivor. Not so much because it's a fun reality show but because it always means I'm getting together with people I love. We used to go to a friend's house and cook/eat dinner and then watch it together. After I started having kids again, their nighttime schedule didn't mesh with our plans so we started staying home instead. Then, my brother and his son started coming over and we started the ritual over again. I think I'll make chili later...

Friday, February 20, 2009

I'm no Betty Crocker! I'm barely an average cook. I haven't really taken a lot of interest over the years to become really great at cooking. Now, baking is another story...as evident by my extra pounds and my love of 'licking the bowl.' I love to eat someone else's cooking. I like to sit and watch them cook too. I love that people can just add this or that to make food better, like an artist.

I've noticed lately that I look forward to going to a nearby grocery store because it has an area where someone actually cooks something (and hands out samples.) They do it in such a way that if you like it, they give you the recipe and everything you need for that dish is sitting right there as well (you don't have to backtrack and find ingredients.) I've now enjoyed at least three different dishes and would have never thought to make them had it not been me sampling them first. Today's dish was southwest chili which included chicken and black beans. It was yummy! Of course, I'm going to be trying it out probably tomorrow evening at home.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

My preschooler has been coughing for about three weeks now. Not too bad, that is, until yesterday. All day long, he coughed and coughed! I finally got the right recipe together to get him better...because for this cough, medication, cool mist humidifier and triaminic vapor fan. After 12 hours, in his room all evening and night, I woke up to hearing nothing. I even laid with him for over an hour between 1 and 230am last night listening to him cough. It was so quiet that I actually walked in to make sure he was breathing. What a sigh of relief. It was nice to hear him not suffer anymore.

Meanwhile, the baby went from grumpy to sick. I ended up calling the nurse at our pediatrician to give his symptoms and ask about a rash that had been on his back a couple of weeks. It didn't seem to concern me, per se, but I figured that I ought to kill two birds with one stone by asking questions. They suggested I go ahead and come on in. It ended up being a type of excema and hopefully it'll go away after the dry winter. Poor thing also had an ear infection. I had no idea. No wonder he wasn't himself. He, who usually wakes up smiley and happy, had just a half smile this morning.

What's that, yep, it's my voice cracking as it feels like I'm getting a sore throat. Joy.

Monday, February 16, 2009

I helped my husband cut down our neighbor's branches off of her tree (they were huge pecan limbs hanging off) because they had been damaged since Hurricane Ike. My husband has about 4 chain saws (maybe more?) and my neighbor had just moved in about 6 months ago or more and lives there with her pre-teen daughter. We spent all morning there cutting limbs into small pieces to pick up and attaching lines to make sure they fell in the right spot (I helped on that part but did a lot of watching overall.) It was nice to help out someone who really needed it. She offered to pay but it was what neighbors do for each other. We did accept the dozen cupcakes she brought over yesterday though. Mmm...

Thursday, February 12, 2009

You know that smell that brings you back to a specific memory! Well, Early this morning, while I was laying down nursing my baby, I smelled 'my dad' on my shirt. Dad died in 1994 and he was a hard worker. Even after a long day's work at his job, he often worked outside in the garden and had a certain 'smell.' It wasn't body odor, per se, but a smell/scent of hard work and fresh air. I had smelled it once before while I was at the zoo years ago. It was a warm day and while walking through a corridor, I smelled him. I stopped in my tracks and to try to catch it again. I walked back and forth and finally realized that it was me. I had sweated in such a way, combined with my shirt and detergent that it smelled just like him. And again, last night, I smelled it again. It was such a comforting smell because I loved my dad and it was a wonderful treat to be able to smell a smell that brought me back such vivid memories of him.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

I'm just so sad today. Moreso than yesterday when we had to euthanize our sick dog. She had been battling tumors in her sinus cavity and subsequent infections surrounding the area. She was a trooper though. Without going through a lot of detail, I know it must have been uncomfortable for months. We would have gone on until it became too much for her but then she stopped eating. It seems odd to just call her a dog, she was a member of our family for 9 or 10 years. She had her routine in the mornings (something I really missed this morning) and was such a great companion. While I am not a dog person, I think sometime in the last decade, I became one..... My eyes water just writing this... I think I'll watch a dvd or do something so I don't have to think of her right now. I miss Fatty.

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Saturday, February 07, 2009

I went on a trip today and hit the jackpot! I found the cemetery where many of my dad's ancestors were buried. I found my grandfathers, great grandfather(and great grandmother's) grave along with great aunts and uncles. A few others are probably related but I'm not sure yet. I took pictures for further examination and just because I was so psyched that I actually found them!!! Gotta love the internet!!! I would still be in the dark about my father's whole branch of the family tree without all the resources from the web. I am really enjoying this researching stuff!

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Friday, February 06, 2009

I snore!! I didn't know that I did (well, when I'm really tired and sleeping on my back, I do.) Apparently, I do more than that (and when I'm on my side) and even woke the baby up. Maybe that explains his frequent wakings in the middle of the night?!? So, I bought some breathe-right strips and tried them (last night was the second night) and we actually slept late - he only woke up about 3 times! Perhaps that was the problem all along, and it wasn't the baby after all! Ugh!! I've lost so many hours of sleep not knowing that I was the cause of his wakings?!? I am keeping my fingers crossed that his brain forgets to wake up at all hours of the night and goes with his tummy and sleeps deeper (and hopefully he'll transition to not waking at all!!) This is such a revelation!

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Thursday, February 05, 2009

Batman lives with me now! He wears his Batman costume all day long (and today, he even went with the baby and I to Target, my mother-in-law's doctor appointment and the grocery store.) He helped open doors, waved at his fans and enjoyed his popularity. Right now, he is wearing his pajamas (along with his Batman gloves and belt...only because I said he couldn't sleep in it all.) It's great to be 4!!

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