Running on Empty

So hard to believe that it's been about 5 months since the last post. What in the world have I been doing? OH yeah, homeschooling. Juggling church, Awana, choir, library meetings, Mt St Laundry, soccer, life.
But my newest experiment in the life of me has been doing something I never, ever thought I would do. Interesting, isn't it? How many times have the lives of the unsuspecting taken a 90 degree turn from these experiments?

It all started out with a friend. The more activities we do, the more moms I meet. Some moms are really neat, the kind that you wish you could be when you grow up. The kind that have it all together, or at least brush their hair every day and wear shoes that match. Some moms are the crazy overbearing, scary kind. Some are so discombobulated they make me feel like I should be getting some kind of trophy for remembering my kids' names. And a select few are Friend Material. For me, finding moms made of this special fabric are few and far between. I think I have 2 or 3 right now, to be honest. Maybe a few more than that if I actually spent some real time with some moms at church.

One of these moms, however, was into all sorts of stuff that filled me with awe. She homeschooled her son, then 5. She was into all this organic and 'crunchy' stuff and didn't feed her kids refined anything. No sugar, white flour, etc. And her kids drank water. Without crying or being promised video game time afterwards. Wow! And she was completely unfazed by my kids' food allergies and even made them special brownies out of almond flour. They didn't exactly turn out, but we laughed our heads off at the treacle-like glue sticking our teeth together. I was too overjoyed at the taste of actual chocolate to complain.

Since then, this dear friend has moved to another state, but praise the Lord for technology. We email some and Facebook often. And when I decided to amp up my workouts a bit, she paved the way down the road of running by doing a half-marathon.
She fussed about her short, stubby legs and her slow run time, but the woman has a 13.1 sticker on her car. She RAN 13.1 miles in miserably cold, rainy weather. Even when I scoffed at running, a year or so ago, she was encouraging. She loved it. She felt great. There were endorphins. She was addicted to feeling this good. Try it. You'll love it.

Run?! Me? WHY?!!!

I am not an athletic type of girl. Believe me. It has always been thus. This is why I like books. I was in band. I had a disastrous middle school basketball career and I still have no idea how to play the game. Really. But the uniform was...uh, not neat. It was polyester and the girls on the other teams (and my own team) were scary. It only took me 20 years or so to figure out that I liked the practices and the drills, but not the game.

So I got on my treadmill and tried to run. *The first 2 and a half months were, let's face it, not fun. Constant interruptions (kids, dog, phone calls), I can't run fast and read at the same time, there was nothing good on tv, etc. There was no way I could run outside and leave my kids to wreak havoc on the house and each other. Treadmill it is. So my friend encouraged me to try a 5k. It's only 3 miles, she said. You can do it! You'll love it so much you'll be running them all the time. You'll want to run more and do longer races.

Ok then, I thought. I can be like those weight loss stories where the lady loses 50 pounds and runs this impressive feats of athletic prowess (a short-lived fantasy). So I ran every other day or so. (*see above)

There was a 5k in my town, a little podunk town, for our annual Loyalty Day (Loyalty to what? I always wanted to know.). It was sometime in May. Hm. I could do that. Tell me again why someone needs to pay someone to run? I have to pay $15 for registration to kill myself running on a badly paved road and all I get is this t-shirt? Okay. All right. Fine. But after that, that's it. I'm done. I'll tell everyone I tried it and that will be it, because I hate running! It's why God invented bicycles and rollerblades and cars!

Later on, I was at a gardening meeting and got into a conversation about running (because misery loves company?) and someone mentioned a run in town (the actual Town where we go grocery shopping, not the one I live in). "So-and-so is a runner. I used to run with her all the time. She's in our homeschool group, do you know her?" I did know her; she goes to my church and is in the choir with me. I had never really spoken to her. She is tall and thin and beautiful and looks like a runner. She sings beautifully and uses mushroom compost in her garden. Sigh. Wow.

So the next choir practice, I screwed up my courage and mentioned that her name had come up in a conversation with (insert name of previous running partner). Later in the conversation, she mentioned the run in town and that she wanted to run in it. "You should do it," she said. "It's weekend after next." Uh. That was the weekend before my town's run. How in the world was I supposed to be ready a week early?!
I signed up for it anyway. I also signed my family up for something called a Family Fun Run.
So I ran my first 5k and it was miserable! By the time I got to the turnaround I was ready to sock the measurer in the eye, because whoever measured this race was a liar. It wasn't this far on the treadmill! The second half was long and hot and the kid in front of me started throwing up repeatedly and shriek/sobbing noisily. I remember thinking "too late to change your mind." Yuck!

Granted, there was some pretty scenery and a scary bridge made of mostly mesh metal where you could see the water below you (urp). Not to mention the inclines (looking back, those weren't really hills, though they felt like it at the time). I rolled over the finish line ready to give up the ghost, sweaty, nasty and chafing.


I also loved the look on my husband's face when he saw me and gave me a hug. "We weren't expecting you for another 5 or 10 minutes!" Oh, balm to my winded, heaving soul. He changed his tune when he realized I hadn't been joking about the Family Fun Run and he actually had to run a mile with our 3 year old. (They ended up walking, with the kid on his shoulders while I actually ran with my oldest.)

The next weekend was the race in my town. I got up at dawn's early light (okay, fine it was 7:30, but everyone else was sleeping) and walked a couple of streets to where our run started. It was another interesting run. I felt like I did better this time, but on a flat country road with nothing but pasture on either side, your mind plays tricks. Wavy heat coming up from the pavement can make the end of the road seem like you're never going to get there. I tripped in a pot hole. I got busy watching horses running in a meadow and almost ran off the road. I counted the phone poles I had to pass to get to the end of the road. And then I got there and had to turn the corner and run still more before I got to the finish line.

I got a really good deal on this one. Due to the smallness of my town and the race, there weren't that many people there. So even though I finished almost 10 minutes after the first person, I was the first female to cross the finish line, so I got a plaque and a medal (for my age group) and some prize money that paid for my 2 races and the one I wanted to do the next week. The look on my husband's face when I waltzed through the door with all that loot was very satisfying. Oh yeah. More balm to my soul.


The next weekend was a Wellness Festival and my husband and youngest opted out of the Family Fun Run. This run was the worst by far. It was cold and windy and I ended up wearing a pair of cotton house-capris because I don't own any cold weather running gear except a fleece pullover. Because I run on a treadmill, that's why. And this run had HILLS. The kind where you look up at the top and the runners above/ahead of you are tiny and you can hear yourself wheezing. I also found out that all those running articles on Running Downhill weren't a joke. I could picture myself tripping and rolling to the bottom so clearly.
This was another race that Would Never End. The last length was uphill. Whose idea was that? My husband texted me "take off your sweater and put it around waist." HUH? Well, one of those great things about having running tights or yoga pants to wear is they don't show sweat like gray cotton. I feel bad for the people running behind ME! Having to stare at someone's sweaty butt-crack could be an incentive for passing someone, but not much encouragement if you can't. Oh, mortification. There will be no picture for this one. We can say it was too cold.
Then I decided to take a break from runs. It was expensive to keep running and I had accomplished my goal. I had run not one, but 3 5k's and even accomplished my secret wish to medal in my age group. I had improved my time to a respectable 28 minutes and change. And I was sore! My knee was hurting and I had a sore heel.
I waited a week and when I felt better, I got back on the treadmill. I realized I felt better when I was doing some sort of exercise. Then one day I wondered how I would feel if I ran 5 miles. What was 10k? Oh, add 2 5ks together. Okay. Well, I got a phone call after I hit the 5 mile mark and had to walk the last 1.2 miles of my 10k, but I still did it.
My friend from out of state congratulated me on Facebook. She said she'd be in Tulsa in October running a 15k (about 10 miles). "You should do it with me!" she said. "You did 10k, so what's another 5?" Uh...so I looked online for a training schedule for a 15k and it doesn't look so bad. Now my 'easy' run is 3 miles. Yes, this is me. When did 5k get to be the easy run? I'll let you know how it goes in October. Either way, I'm kind of amazed that I am still running. Why would ANYONE want to run 10 miles, much less 13.1? OH yeah, the t-shirt, the ball cap, the sticker. Because anyone who puts themselves through all this, physically and mentally, deserves something tangible. Especially if they never got their endorphins.

Fudgie

Ian and I try to read almost every night before bed. I would like to say that it is because I am such a model parent and blah blah, but really it is for several reasons. One reason, though not the most important, is that I get to reread the kiddy stories that I've carted around for years and years. Another reason is that it gives Ian a chance to settle down after romping all over the house horsing around with Daddy. It's good for the sweat to dry off before bedtime. I also love it when something tickles him and he just grabs his middle and laughs his head off. There's not much better than that. And it's hard to predict what will set him off, other than body parts or body functions. He is 5, after all.
My HC of course, thinks I just like to hear my own voice. But nobody listens to him when he gets in those moods. ;)
We have read Stuart Little (he liked the first half, but lost interest in the last couple chapters) and several Bobbsey Twins books (now he has a renewed longing to go to the circus...and I think I caught him saying "Swell!" once). We've also read all of the Junie B Jones Kindergarten books. We're going to wait a bit to start First Grade. But for some reason, I decided to try him on Judy Blume. So we started "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing." Fudgie is now his favorite topic of conversation. At the chapter about Fudgie's 3rd birthday party, he laughed so hard he rolled off the bed and into my lap (I was sitting next to the bed in a kiddy chair). He still mentions it from time to time, the funny parts. Tonight we are reading the last two chapters. We'll see how that goes, but I think "Superfudge" is in our future. I can't wait until he gets older and we can start Chronicles of Narnia. But in the meantime, any suggestions or favorites? Try to keep in mind that we are PBS kids and don't even like the Disney movies with death and sadness (Lion King? Bambi? Fox and Hound?) That's curbed a few that I've thought of. Thanks!

Happy Birthday Ian!

Today is Ian's birthday. He is 5. My HC and I are still reeling from the fact that he can no longer be considered a baby, a toddler, or a preschooler. He is now officially a little boy. Sigh. Tomorrow is Erin's birthday. She will be 2. She is definitely not a baby anymore. Sigh. Our home computer is still dead, so I am at the library. No pictures, obviously, since the library computer doesn't download or anything, but I figured I could at least update our lives. My HC is excited about his new job. He'll be starting it at the beginning of August. He will be receiving all new equipment and a pretty jazzy take-home car. We are very thankful and psyched about how everything is going. He's going to Wagoner next week to try on his uniforms, collect some of his equipment (hopefully the take-home car?) and meet some more people. He'll still be working at the Ranger office on the weekends until things get a little more settled in the job transition department, but he is happy with it, so I guess I am too.
In the meantime, we have a lot to do getting Erin's joint birthday present (from Gramma and Papaw and Great Granna and Great Papaw and from us). It's one of those play kitchens with the dishes and stuff. We got it from Toys R Us yesterday and my HC and I will be assembling it tonight. Uh...one of those spouse-bonding things, since I am an instructions fanatic and my HC is a slap-it-where-you-think-it-goes type assembler. In August, Gramma and Papaw will come to visit and we are very excited about that. It's something else to count down to, now that the birthdays are upon us. :)
Now I need to scoot because the kids have trashed the library's blocks and puzzles and I have pickles to can and a cake to bake. And it's almost lunchtime, at least from the rate Erin is screeching "Nak!" (snack)
So thanks to everyone who has checked and not found anything new for a while. We feel just as out of touch without our computer. And how in the world is anyone supposed to know the weather?! (that was sarcastic)
So Happy Birthday to my munchkin/urchin/punks. How did time go by so fast?

Tails of Four Skunks

As told to me by my HC.

I was driving along, going from one campsite to another and saw two little baby raccoons in the road. I got out to make sure they were okay to to make sure they got across all right. I got close enough to see that they were healthy little babies. I leaned over them and got hissed at. They started to get a murderous gleam in their eyes and eyeballing me like I would make a good snack, so I backed off some and watched them get across the road.





I went on a little farther and saw a Mama skunk and four little baby skunks crossing the road. They were so tiny, they could have fit in my hand. I stopped the truck and stayed in it (did you really think I was going to get out?) and watched them. The Mama skunk went off somewhere and it was just the baby skunks sitting there. I sat there watching. They were so cute. Then they all put their noses together and stuck their tails all up straight in the air. They looked like the points on a compass. Evidently, they were willing to spray EVERYthing in all directions. I guess they didn't like my truck. I backed up a little and stopped again. Then they all ran towards me, and immediately stuck their 4 little noses together, stuck their tails up and waited. I backed up again and they chased after me and assumed the position. I don't know where the Mama skunk was during all this, probably right outside my truck door with HER tail up.
I've never been chased by baby skunks before; I've never even heard of them doing that. And I don't know that I would have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself.
But it worked; I picked another road.

*I would like to add that my HC didn't take any pictures, he was too busy backing up in his truck. I got these off Google Image for illustration. ;)

Dripping

Yesterday it was over 100 degrees here. Everything was dripping. It was the day that we had decided to put off the inevitable and drive to the recycling plant to deliver our cargo of soda cans that we've been saving since last winter. It was 30-something cents per pound. We got about $15 for the lot, so we were pretty happy. We went to Sonic and got some lunch. We had set the bug bomb off at home to rid ourselves of the pesky black ants that had become too much of a nuisance to ignore or spray any longer. So we couldn't go home for another hour and a half, so we decided to drive over to the nearby State Park, since we'd never been. Having spent all our money at Sonic, we had to scrabble for change in the car for the $3 entrance fee. It was so hot outside, we weren't interested in the playground, which we could see rippling in the heat. What to do? Oh, Dripping Springs on a hiking trail with natural falls, which at 77' was the highest waterfall in the area. It was next to the park's 'formal gardens' so we started there. You can see from the red faces that we were keen to get in the shade. We went to the overlook and saw the falls, and the suspension bridge (eek). It was supposedly 88 steps down to the base of the waterfall and was recommended to wear hiking shoes (Ian was wearing flip flops). We weren't going to go down there, but Ian's pleading won out. Everyone grabbed a hand and we walked down. It was a bit steep, but it was all paved steps with rails, so it wasn't bad at all. The falls were gorgeous. The boardwalk was railed off with lots of benches, so you couldn't actually touch the water, but the cool spray from
the falls was enticing enough so that we stayed there long enough to cool off some. On the way back up, my HC and I remarked simultaneously: "That was worth the $3."
Then we went home and got in the pool.

Turtle Trouble

Besides this being the last full week of the library program, I was also holding onto the last threads of sanity when my HC told me that he had found us a new pet at work one night. "Excuse me?" I said into the phone. "I think there's some static. Did I just hear you say something about a puppy?"
"No," he said. "It's not really a puppy. It's a kitten."
"!!!" I said (My HC is allergic, hello! And we have two large dogs. I am not one who believes that cats should be allowed inside... In college, my roomie had a cat and the large, solid, smell of the litter box actually made me contemplate sleeping in my car a few times. No thanks!)
"No, it's not really a cat."
"????"
"It's really a turtle. A little baby turtle."
"And?" Clearly there was a catch.
"It's a little snapping turtle. I found it in a puddle."
"What about our fish? It will eat them! We've had them for years."
"It's tiny. We can get it minnows or something."
I haven't even seen minnows since I was a girl in Florida. It is hard to see how we will supply a growing turtle who would probably like small fingers to eat even more.
So the turtle came home.

Then chaos erupted.
This turtle should be named Houdini. We lost it twice the first two hours we were awake. It was still in the tank, just contemplating its escape. And wedging itself up between the tank lid and the lightbulb so no one could see it.
We got back from the library.
"The turtle's gone," Ian announced on the way to his room. Clearly unfazed, he kept going.
"Whaaaaa?" I said, rushing to the tank.
Yup. Gone.
Thus began the search.
An hour and something later, my HC and I had torn apart the house searching and resigned ourselves to olfactory location sometime in the next week.
Then my HC decided to dig one more time in the corner behind the desk. He got a nip for his efforts, but he found the turtle.
The turtle's floating log was taken out of the tank. Now he is reduced to sitting on top of the air bubble stands, but he's doing well.
[shakes head] Sigh.

Rain On Our Parade

Today, we were very excited. We have been planning on going to the river all week. Ian had his follow-up with the allergist in Tahlequah and then my HC was going to show us a good spot on the river to play and swim and picnic. We were a bit late for our appointment and it's a bit of a drive, complete with sharp curves, s-bend roads and a hairpin turn up and down mountains to get there. The posted speed limit is 65 for most of the way, though there are "suggested" speed limits of 35 in spots. My HC thought it was very important to get there on time and proceeded to show us exactly what our Jeep could do at 55 around those curves. Most everything fell from one side of the Jeep to the other, then back again. When we got there, I peeled my hand off of the handle above the window and unclenched my bottom from the seat. Ian reluctantly unfastened his seat belt and hobbled down to the ground. Erin was just glad to get out of the car. It took a few minutes for the green tinge to leave her face. (We made it there on time and he never went over the posted speed limit, so I could hardly fuss about it, could I? At least, that was the argument my HC presented to my terrified whimpers.)

Well, we found out Ian's results. If you remember the previous post about Erin, there's a scale for the severity of an allergy. A level 3 is an alert level.
He scored a 2 for Brewer's Yeast, Coconut and Corn. (sigh, but not such a huge deal)
He scored a 3 for Cheese, Eggs, Wheat and Soybeans. (Grrr! Soy?!)
He scored a 4 for Milk. So now we are completely on Rice Milk and I cancelled our WIC today. We can buy our own Juicy Juice and Rice Krispies.
He had no reaction at all to environmental allergens. So that was good.
We are still processing the whole soy thing. So far, we are swapping our vegetable oil for canola oil. The doc told us to drink o.j. with calcium and added vitamins, keep taking our vitamin supplements and try to eat a lot of green leafy vegetables.
so there.
As if to echo our sobering reality, we exited the office to a dark grey sky and strong winds. We went to Wal-mart to pick up more rice milk and a rotisserie chicken, since Ian couldn't eat the sandwich I packed with wheat bread and cheese (Erin doesn't care for sandwiches; she had cut up chicken in her baggie). We decided to go to the river anyway. We stopped for gas and pulled onto the road to the bridge we had decided to visit. We were immediately enveloped in a curtain of hail that smacked and bounced against our Jeep. My HC spun us around and we took shelter under the overhang at the gas station we had just left. The hail left and a heavy downpour took its place. We proceeded to the bridge, but it was raining/lightning/thundering too hard to get out of the car. We ate some beef jerky and watched. We decided to go explore under a double bridge not far from that same gas station. This picture is one I took while under the bridge. You can see how dark the storm was. Ian thought it was night time. The rain stopped enough for us to get out and throw some rocks in the water. We got back in the car, as the temperature had dropped to the low 60s. The kids pretended to drive.



Erin's turn.


Ian's turn.


Everyone's turn.


"Dad! Ian's hogging the steering wheel! Make him move!"


After a while, the rain slacked off some and we played a little more. We threw some more rocks in. We ate some chicken. Erin was cold and wanted to be held. We were all cold! We decided to go home.


Erin took a nap, Ian immediately changed into some sweats and played video games.




Now we are watching Nemo and the sun is shining outside.

Nice Cold Air

Finally (!!), my HC deemed it hot enough outside to put in the ACs in the kids' rooms. Woo hoo! Erin was very happy about this, since she's the one that has been sweating through her naps and waking up wet and red-faced. Ian has been sleeping in his underoos and finds it very inconvenient now that he actually has to wear pjs. Both were bundled up under their blankets last night. We also put the pool up yesterday, since Ian's been asking since February. It all started with a puddle. I had emptied out the dogs' water bucket and it made a puddle. Erin made a beeline and plopped right down next to it. She played happily until Ian found it and entered feet first. Mud was everywhere! Of course, they were both thrilled and played like the little piglets they are for a good hour. Thus the pictures. :)
While they did that, I was looking for the sprinkler in the shed. I didn't find it, but my HC decided that it was time to get the pool out. Yay!
Of course the water was still way too cold today, but Ian got in anyway. He gasped and chattered and insisted that it wasn't too cold to swim. After a bit, the wind started blowing and he came inside so he could be bundled up into his comforter and play some video games. (the ac in his room was on and it was cold to him...sheesh)
Meanwhile, our new fun thing is signing up for Netflix. We have a good ole video/tanning place in our wee town. The proprietors are very nice people, but they have the monopoly. You get movies until 5pm the next day and pay $3. The really old ones are $1 and they let us have the kiddie ones for 5 days. After a good salespitch from my mom, who does hers and my grandparents' Netflix accounts, we decided to take the plunge. Of course, this lead to quite a bit of time picking movies out for our queue. Isn't it ironic that after all that time, 3/4 of our picks are kid's movies? Hm. We just like to say that the ones we want to watch aren't on dvd yet. Yeah, that's right. We didn't REALLY want to watch Madagascar 2 or Bedtime Stories. Nah.
With great reluctance, my HC headed back to work for another week of fun on the river. The kids and I are trying to remember what day it is here at home. I am trying to remember the right way to load the dishwasher since it is my least favorite chore and I have short-term memory loss when it comes to that sort of thing.
The sad thing is that you can't do quite the same thing with laundry. If you run out of plates or glasses, there are always the paper ones to fall back on.
Not so with underwear. Pity.

The First Week

Last Monday was the last day of school. It was also the middle of my HC's first week at his new job. He really likes it, but the 45 minute commute is pretty rough. So he's gone for 12 hours, sometimes more, depending on required overtime, like a call at the last minute. But he did see a moose. I didn't believe him at first, but then he whipped out the camera phone. It was blurry, sort of like those pictures of Sasquatch. You can sort of tell what it is if someone tells you first, but the "moose" looked like a cross between a deer and a horse. He promises that it really was and said it was a female and he suspected a newborn in the bushes, but being someone who enjoyed life, he decided to observe from a distance. What a smart guy.
Erin had another virus that kept us from doing her entire allergy testing. My HC also had to go back to the doc for another physical, since a letter was required. Then it was back to the allergist on Wednesday for Erin's followup and Ian's blood tests. Ian was a trooper and did great. All the nurses said how well he did. I guess they get a lot of screaming and hysterics. He cried a little, but the stickers and sucker and post-visit Hot Wheel from Walmart worked its magic. We find out the results at our next visit. Erin is on her no milk/wheat/egg diet for 6 months. At the end of that, she might go on a rotation type diet where she can have one item every 4 days. Taken in small doses, she may build a resistance to it. He also cautioned us to be aware of the development of more allergies, like rice and potatoes. I refuse to think about that. If we have to do without much more, we'll be stick figures.
As it is, we got a cookbook called "Sophie-Safe Cooking" by Emily Hendrix. She grinds up oats in a chopper and makes her own oat flour. Then you can make muffins and pancakes and cornbread. Every recipe in this cookbook has been great so far, though we are still adjusting to the texture of oat flour. The porcupine meatballs are a raving favorite so far. And the apple muffins. The cookbook is "A Collection of Family Friendly Recipes that are Free of Milk, Eggs, Wheat, Soy, Peanuts, Tree Nuts, Fish and Shellfish." Perfect for us and such a gift from God! Try going for 2weeks with no carbs and you'll get it.
On Wednesday, we came home from the allergist in Tahlequah and went on The Great Road Trip of 2009. My HC had been summoned to Little Rock, AR to do the PT portion of the hiring process for the Arkansas State Police. They're like Troopers in other states, but they get to do more than just traffic. He had to report at 8am and do a jump, sit ups, pushups, a sprint and a 1.5 mile run. He passed with flying colors, though he does admit to having difficulty with the 24 situps. And he was pretty sore the next day. :)
Immediately following the run, they had to go inside to do a written test. We find out in about 4 weeks if he passed. If he does, it moves on to the next phase: Background Check. Then they contact everyone you've ever known (according to my HC) and ask them questions. He is nervous about this part.
ASP is hoping to be able to form an August academy. If not, the academy won't be until January (Aaah!). :(
It was a long drive home. It took about 4 hours, though who knows for sure since we stopped so often. There are gorgeous rest stops in Arkansas, though, for the record.
One even had a creek that we played in. And did I mention the Cracker Barrel at almost EVERY exit?! Oh yeah.
Living in Arkansas won't be so bad at ALL.
Friday we recovered. No one wanted to go anywhere.
Saturday was a workday and Ian had a party to go to; the fire chief's son turned 6 and had his party at the fire station. You should always have a healthy respect for invitations that say "Prepare to Get Wet". Water balloons and I'm not sure, but there may have been a fire hose involved.
I'm not sure because we dropped Ian off and stayed home to clean it because we had a showing!!!
And later that day, we had an offer. It was 10K below the asking price and with a lot of extra demands that we were supposed to pay for.
Today we counter-offered. We'll see how it goes. If it is successful, they want a June 30 closing date. Wa-hoo.
It's been a busy week.
Next week is the library program.
I regret that I don't have the blurry picture of the moose to share. Maybe I can convince my HC to email it to me. hehehe.

Slugs and Flashing

Yesterday morning was greeted with a loud scream of alarm from Ian. Since this is a normal occurrence, it didn't merit much of a response. Then came the thumping of feet down the hall. "Mommy, come look in the toilet!" My mind instantly flashed back to high school, when similar requests were made by Jeff Foxworthy with questionable results. I shook these disturbing pictures out of my mind and followed Ian into the bathroom. "Hurry Mommy, I gotta go!" I looked in the toilet. Nothing but pale blue water. Guess it's time to replace the breath mint in the toilet tank. "No, no. Look!" Ian got down on his knees and peered into the toilet. He motioned me down. I gingerly knelt next to him. He got eyelevel with the toilet seat and pointed again. "There." Then he jumped up and ran for the safety of the doorway. Uh....I had just seen a byline for an article where a man sat on the toilet and got bitten by a snake....on the unmentionables. I backed up a bit and kept looking. Well, I'm sure you already guessed. It was a little slug. It had taken residence under the rim.
The cold and wet had left them with no choice but to come inside and pester us. I had found and disposed of 4 the night before, but this one was sneaky. I'm sure he was grateful, ultimately, considering the nature of his hiding place. I chucked him outside and Ian relaxed enough to do his business. Though I have noticed him thoroughly checking out the toilet every time before he uses it.
Erin has been sick again, but not from allergies, that we know of. Just lots of diarrhea and fever and some ear pulling. I put off the egg allergy testing until tomorrow to give her tummy a chance to get better. The fever is almost gone now, at least.


Anyway, I've been encouraging Ian to play with Erin a bit more, since they mostly just do their own thing in the same room, but are finding their interests merging some. Erin likes to watch the trains when Ian puts the track together. Ian is concerned that she will grab one and run off or mess up his tracks. It's true, she does do that, but so did he, up until about 6 months ago. You'd think he'd remember.
Anyway, I was painting the hallway during bathtime (it's 2 feet away, don't freak out) and it was time for tub cleanup and getting out. I heard some crazy baby laughter. Big belly laughs. I think she started getting hoarse after a while. It went on for a bit and I peeked my head around so as not to disturb them and watched. Ian had wrapped his towel around himself and was doing a jump/spin open-the-towel "Da-Daaaaaaah!" Erin thought this was hysterically brilliant. She actually started holding her belly before I reminded him what he was supposed to be doing. You never know what will set her off, but everyone has fun doing it.
I just never figured my sweet munchie would get such a kick out of flashers.


To change gears a bit, my HC's last day at the local police department was Friday. He started his new job yesterday. Now he's a State Ranger. So I guess it's not accurate to call him my Hot Cop (HC) anymore. I guess he's really my Hot Ranger, but I'm too lazy to change it. They call them River Cops around here, so I guess I can technically keep the label. So he's enjoying the state-wide jurisdiction and the new job. He's not really enjoying the commute, but at least it's a pretty drive. And me? The hardest thing for me to remember is the packing of suppers. Whoops. I miss him being able to stop in for supper, but the lowering of stress levels is worth a whole lot more.

Liking It

Now that we have sort of reached an understanding with the new trial diet, we are finding out a lot of new things. My HC is finding out the most. Now that Erin is her beautiful healthy best, things are changing. As is normal, when most kids are babies they want Mommy, or whoever their primary caregiver happens to be (I have utmost respect for you no matter your age or gender; we are all after the same thing here). And when most kids don't feel good, they want the same person. In our house, it's me. Continuously.
Ian is getting to the point where he doesn't care who changes the sheets when he wets the bed or gets him another glass of milk. But Mommy is still the kisser of boo boos (for another couple of months, anyway). Erin is discovering this fact as well. Last night, it went like this.
I'm not sure if it's the normal course of things or not, since she's been sick for so long, but Erin tends to get up at least once a night because she is thirsty. She's always thirsty; she's part camel. And she takes after me. I get up a couple of times a night to get a drink or visit the bathroom and check on the kids. Usually my HC is awake and doing his after work wind-down and computer fix (Mobster, anyone?), so there's the added bonus of saying hi and how long have you been doing Mobster and come to bed already. (!!) Last night I was tired. My little chickie is up with the sun, which comes out 6-oh-something here. Last night she got up like usual. She fussed half-heartedly for a bit. Then started calling. "Maaaaaaaaaaa-meeeeeeeeeeee!!" After a while of no corresponding footsteps signalling my arrival, she tried something new and hit paydirt.
"Daaaaaaaaaaa-deeeeeeeee!" Daddy was on the computer and probably pounding keys loud enough to broadcast his presence. It didn't take many repetitions to have him bounding into her room to save the day (uh, night). Well, Daddy = playtime. She instantly went into a monologue. He got her some milk and walked with her for a bit. She wanted to talk and play and see what everyone was doing. Eventually, she got dumped into bed with me. She was cold!! Last night was chilly, somewhere in the low 50s and damp. I dozed off and on with her laying next to me, still talking to Daddy, who we could see from the bed, tapping away again at the computer. (as a side note, did he really thing she'd just go to sleep?)
After a while, I got tired of being kicked with little toes, warmer now, and got up to put things right. She got some more milk and then we changed a diaper. I turned her heater up and straightened her pillow and blanket and found Elmo. I walked with her for about 2 seconds and poof! Back in dreamland, back under the covers. Still, Daddy is mystified. But not intrigued enough to log off...
Erin was still sleeping today when it was time to get Ian from school, so I left Daddy home to monitor and went to get Ian. When I got home, they'd practically formed their own secret club, with handshakes and everything. Daddy had put shoes on her and taken her to play on the carport (which Mommy doesn't do; Mommy prefers the security of the fence.). They had colored pretty pictures with the sidewalk chalk. They had played on the playground and Daddy had pushed Erin on the swings just the way she likes it (this is one of the few things that Mommy cannot do; Daddy rubs it in, the oinker). They were happy to see me, but I have a sneaking suspicion it had more to do with the drinks I brought them from Sonic.
At suppertime, squealing, shrieks, giggles and wordy explanations heralded Daddy's stay at the table. At bedtime, she somehow managed to kick the wall, sing to herself and twiddle her thumbs until 10. She tried calling for Mommy and Daddy, but Mommy didn't go in until 10, when Castle was over.
I went in. The bed was mussed, the cup was empty and the diaper was full. I picked her up and went to get more milk. It was so predictable. Erin leaned out of my arms to peek around the corners. "Daddy? Daddy???" "
"Daddy's at work," I whispered.
"Shhh," she replied. "Daddy? Seeeep? Daddy?"
"No, Daddy's at work," I said again. "But Ian is sleeping."
The whisper was comical. "Daaaaaaa-deeeeee!"
I got her milk and she looked out the kitchen door, presumable for the cop car to be parked there. It wasn't. She looked disappointed. I guess she hadn't stayed awake long enough after all. Shucks!
She got her milk and a dry diaper and her bed all fixed. I walked a bit and she fell asleep. But that's okay. In a couple more hours, she has the chance to try again. And some things work every time.

Another Worst Fear

There are several things on a Parent's Worst Fears list and I checked another one off today.
Some of the list that comes to mind are things like your child getting burned on the stove, bitten by an animal, falling off of a high surface (like the top of the piano) or drinking water out of the toilet (you just think that could never happen to you, but I assure you, it or something similar will come to pass eventually). Ones I've already checked off include: watching your child struggle to breathe, having to be hospitalized with an IV while they look at you in pained confusion. Today's was finding an open and empty bottle of Children's Tylenol in Erin's hand. I had been in the bathroom and my HC was sleeping off another late and stressful night at work. I don't know how she got that child-proof cap off when it takes me 3 or 4 muttering, frustrating minutes to manage it, but she ate the rest of the bottle. I woke my HC up and we read the bottle. We deduced that she had ingested 3 or 4 doses (thank the Lord that the bottle was almost empty!). After a frantic call to my mom, I hauled Erin into the bathroom to induce vomiting and my HC raced off to the pharmacy to find some ipecac.
Did I mention that the power was out?
Erin sputtered, gagged and screeched. I had a few sympathy heaves. After a lot of phlegm and a little bit of tylenol colored spit, I had mercy and stopped to wait for my HC's return. I wiped Erin's nose and face. She calmed down eventually and fell asleep sitting on my lap in the bathroom. My HC came in. Ipecac is not manufactured anymore due to the ephedrine in it. Ephedrine is used to make meth. He had called EMS. EMS called Poison Control. I talked to the EMT, who asked me how many miligrams were in a dose, Erin's weight and how many doses that I estimate she had taken. He continued talking to poison control.
When he called back, it was with good news. She had ingested around 600 mg and the overdose level for her weight was 1,000 mg. Even if I had gotten it wrong by a couple of tablets, she was still safe. I was advised not to give her any more tylenol for the rest of the day (duh! we were out anyway) to give her liver a chance to process it all. I was also advised to monitor her closely just in case, but assured that she should be okay, but EMS was there in case we needed them. God bless that man! He has come to our rescue several times. When I am worried about Erin's asthma, we have gone to the EMS building several times for them to check her pulse/O2 levels. They have always done it with a smile and soothing concern.

Meanwhile, Erin slept off the bad effects of her ordeal (and my torture) for the next couple of hours and woke up quite refreshed.

My HC and I collapsed in the living room. It took a while for my shaking to subside, though I will admit to some tears of relief and thankfulness to God.

It was rainy and cold today, but we roused ourselves later in the afternoon to see the Loyalty Day parade, of which 2/3 was squawking, blaring emergency vehicles.

It also happened to be Burnout night, where every broken, rusty car with a smoker's cough muffler pays $5 to burn out on one of the main roads into town. This lasts for hours and the burnout marks on the road are measured. Trophies are handed out to the winners (those with the longest mark). People come with lawn chairs to sit on the side of the road and watch this diverting entertainment. The rest of us stay holed up in our houses, trying to avoid the burnt rubber smoke, the disturbing cacophony of revving engines and displays of juvenile testosterone at every stop sign, including the one in front of our house.
Did I mention that our road is part of the Turn around route and the Detour? Yes. It is.

I have to admit that I am glad this day is over. Now we have 10 days left of no wheat/egg/milk before we test for triggers. My mom found this cookbook online developed by a resourceful AllergyMom that has recipes without the 8 or 9 common allergens. Who knew oat flour had SO many uses? Who knew anything about oat flour at all? Who honestly knew that McDonald's french fries have wheat and milk in them?! Huh?! HUH?!

But now the kids are in bed, Erin having conked out on the second step into her room. Ian is enjoying his weekend bedtime ritual of movie in bed while playing with Hot Wheels. It's Peter Pan tonight. I just know I'll get that "Following the Leader" song stuck in my head, though anything is better than "K-9 Krunchies". My HC sings that one when he wants me to scream and pull my hair out. I will most likely regret making that public.

It has been the absolute worst 2 weeks in my life. Surely the bottom must be reached at some point and the climb return upward? I can only pray.
And hum. Tee dum, tee dee...Following the leader, the leader, the leader...

Saving Mommy

Well, Ian got better. Then on Friday night it hit Erin. She threw up plenty, though she never had the other end of it. I was just fine and dandy and so was my HC. Then after all day of the other end, everything I had ever eaten decided it wanted to make an upward appearance. And of course it wanted to happen about an hour before it was time for my HC to go to work. He was sleeping through most of it.
And everyone else? Well, they wanted to watch.
I think Erin was trying to hold my hair back at one point and Ian was just standing in the doorway with an EW! look on his face. I had keep Erin from getting too close and after I almost knocked her down (I thought I was finished), I had Ian go wake Daddy up. Of course, Ian came right back. "Daddy won't wake up," he complained. It was clearly not a good time for me to do it. I hobbled into the bedroom and scrabbled at his leg until his bleary eye cracked open. Thank God he went into alert mode right away. He entertained the kids while I had some more trips to the bathroom. He called in to go on a later shift, which gave him 2 more hours at home. He fixed supper while I lay on the couch like a dead thing.
I almost cried when he went to work, I felt so awful. But one thing saved me from utter despair.
It was Elmo.
Elmo bubbles to be exact.
Gramma and Papaw got Erin a little Elmo bubble blower for her birthday last year. Since bubbles are seasonal in our neck of the woods (?!!!), we eagerly snapped up a bottle as soon as we saw our brand. Almost every day we have been filling Elmo up and turning him on for some bubble frolic.
Unfortunately, our lame camera is not transferring pictures to the computer, so you'll just have to visualize. If I can get my HC to sit and help me, we'll figure out what's wrong with it. Until then, I am thanking God for Elmo and the distraction he afforded while I was so disgustingly sick.
Today I feel better, just TIRED and my stomach feels like something you want to poke at with a stick, wrinkle your nose and leave on the edge of a ditch.
To Ian's great disappointment, he will be going back to school tomorrow.
That's okay. As long as Elmo has batteries, the world is a friendly place.

First Haircut

We've been sick a lot this past winter. Erin has been sick all except for about a week, and that's adding the days together. With all the runny noses and smearing and drool from teething and other messes, there have been a lot of unidentified masses in her hair, especially the part that gets in her face. We do a barrette or a pony tail almost every day, but at night, her hair gets in her face. It really aggravates her, and you can tell from all the impatient swipes to get it out of her eyes and accompanying huffs and noises. Gramma has suggested several times that we cut the poor thing's hair so she can get it out of her face.
After having to pry out a dried boogie last night and almost just cutting it out, I asked my HC again and he FINALLY gave the go ahead. He might change his mind after he sees it...


Ian said it looked beautiful. I say that it's really hard to cut a one year old's hair, especially around the face and ESPECIALLY when it's curly! It's growing on me. But she does remind me of a picture of my mom and her sisters when they were little mites. Now she looks more like Gramma than ever! Don't worry, I saved a little bit of curl for the Memory Box. Now I have to wonder, what am I going to do with all these barrettes??

Zoooooooooo.

We went to the Tulsa Zoo yesterday. It took us a while to get there, some vomit, some whining and crying. In short, we had a great time, though it was crowded. The elephants were the favorite.
















That's me and my HC in the Rainforest exhibit.

















Ian got to ride the camel; it didn't spit.



















Doesn't he make a great little monkey??

















The giant tortoises were cool too, even though he didn't get to ride a real one.
















The train ride was a nice bit of air conditioning. Erin liked that part. I liked the 'sitting down' part. It wasn't long enough to me.
























This morning, it was back to normal. We're nice and sunburned and ready for...video games.


















And maybe still a little worn out.
















This is Ian on the rock formation that all the kids were climbing. I think he liked the view.

Done! Almost.

Today was supposed to be the finishing day for Le Grande Playhouse. We were almost finished. We started to put the ladder together and then noticed that there were no ladder rungs. Anywhere. We hadn't really paid too much attention to the metal parts, since there were piles of wood of varying lengths lying everywhere. Then there were no ladder rungs. I went inside to call the number on the front of the manual. The service rep was very nice and agreed to send it to us. I sighed. He asked for our address and I gave it to him. I said our town's name and he said, "Oh, that's great. Our office is in Siloam Springs! You can just come and pick up your parts and it will be a lot quicker." Yay! So we loaded up the car and drove to get our ladder parts. We got home and put it together. We had some drama putting the slide on because we wanted it to start farther back on the playhouse so no one would fall out before the high sides began. But we figured it out and then tried to put the roof on and the little window screen while both of the kids weaved through and around and over and under to go up the ladder, through the playhouse and down the slide as fast as possible. We finished and then sat back to watch.


Erin had to go in for a much needed nap, so she's not in these pictures, but rest assured, she loves the slide and can get up and down the ladder like a champ (believe it. I watched her go up time and time again and even change her mind and come back down).



What do you think? I think they like it.










For an added bonus, we opened the swing beam package and found several missing parts. Like swings. And the trapeze bar. And the swing chains. And a couple other things. We are on a first name basis with the sales reps now. Sigh. Now we can get rid of the rusty, squeaky old swingset and enjoy our new one. :)

Makeover Home and Yard Edition

For ye who are interested in the new mini-makeover the house got, here you go:


















The little border at the top was a huge thing for me, as I am not fond of clinging to a shaky ladder while Berry tried to climb it after me.















This is a bit of the leftovers of the Ice Storm of 09. The entire town has these huge piles of branches, sticks and bits of trees piled on the side of the road, waiting for someone to come with a chipper.















Buddy and Berry were very curious as to why I was standing in the middle of the street taking pictures of them. They were too cute to pass up.
















Meanwhile, Ian has been eagerly awaiting something else. From morning 'til night, ever since Nana and PopPop left.

















"We get my new playground today??"


















Finally, the day came and the heavy boxes were brought home. Then the fun began. Oh yeah, The Sorting of The Boards. It's almost ceremonial. And it was 35 degrees outside. But we got them all sorted into piles and marked with taped on sticky-notes. Those aren't all of the board piles. I kinda forgot to take pictures at first.

















But by Saturday afternoon, we had made a dent and had created a masterpiece. Ian began to get skeptical. He kept looking at the picture on the box and staring really hard at the poles.

















By Sunday afternoon, everyone was happy to be outside supervising.

















But I'm not sure. Erin might have been more of a distraction than a help, but she sure was happy to be in the middle of it all...


















This could be a picture of my HC hard at work, or it could be a very illuminating picture as to the present location of the tape measure and the drill bits....(ahem, Erin!)


















Finally, we were getting somewhere! Even Ian could see that it was not a cruel trick. There really was a playhouse in there somewhere.




















By afternoon, we were this far. My HC had to get ready for work at 4 and the rest of us were banned from going into the yard. For obvious reasons.

A big thanks to Nana and PopPop for helping us make our cool playground possible!