The Dailies (or semi-dailies)

Win a Home Goods gift card!

2009-10-13T11:20:00.002-05:00

Home Goods (HappySighAsIWishIHadSomeValidExcuseToBuyMuranoGlassPieces) and BlogHer have teamed up with 8 bloggers to give away 8 $100 Home Goods gift cards!

Take the HomeGoods StyleScope Quiz, then visit the 8 blogs that are sponsoring the giveaways.

Here are my results, which are kind of accurate:

Hilary, you are a Global Casual

Your home is warm and inviting, and expresses your curiosity and zest for life. You have wide-ranging interests, and an appreciation for many different cultures and ways of life. You bring a sense of the far-flung world into your home through its décor through unique or artisan-made treasures. Objects in your home tend to reflect your personality, your passions, your values, and your eclectic interests. This gives your home a sense of intrigue and comfort.

You value creativity. You are stylish and fun loving, and can be an inspiration to others. You have a natural sense of drama, and you know you have to be willing to take risks—whether with colors, finishes, furniture choices, or ideas—for your home to stand out. Your home can be happy and lively and the place all of your friends want to be.

Oh, how I wish I had more time/money/freedom to decorate my house...but it's just not a priority for me. Through some of the blogs I've been following, I am learning to make the things around me look beautiful and thereby make me happier, but right now it isn't more important than my family and my business. Of course, I love it when I can do a project with my family. That's really fun!

Works For Me Wednesday ~ Fancy-Schmancy Art

2009-09-30T20:42:00.003-05:00

We love Saxton Freymann's carved food illustrations and thought his mini wall calendar would be perfect art to hang in the kitchen.

We finally found these cheap frames from IKEA to fit the square calendar pages (only a little trimming was required). The great part is that there are mini wall calendars available for just about every subject imaginable, from kittens to Impressionist art. What an easy and inexpensive way to get great art into your home! For larger prints, just scoop up a regular-sized calendar — they can even be secondhand!

Works For Me Wednesday ~ Conquer the Dish Monster

2009-09-23T21:10:00.003-05:00

We finally did it. After I don't know how long since I was inspired by a story in a magazine, we finally pared-down our dishes.

We don't have a dishwasher [cue violin music]. Our entire four-person family has had some sort of a cold/infection/nastiness for the last 9 days (rendering us unable to stand long enough to do them), so our dishes were absolutely disgraceful. Like, to the point where the bottom ones had stuff growing in them. Ew. Unfortunately, this is not the first time it's gotten to that point. For those of you with dishwashers, perhaps your problem is getting your kids *coughHUSBANDcough* to put their dirty dishes in there instead of dumping them in the sink.

Anyway, fortunately, my husband recovered first (yay!) and spent over an hour tackling the leaning tower of filth on Monday while I wasted away on the couch. After getting most of the dishes clean, we decided to pare them down. We didn't want to get rid of all of our matched dishes, and some things held sentimental value, but it seemed absolutely ridiculous for two adults and a toddler to dirty so many dishes. We were also sick of all the melamine "kid" tableware that couldn't tolerate hot food or microwaving (all our other dishes are stoneware).

We divided the dishes into three categories — usable, guest, and other — and divided our kitchen dish cabinets the same way, from the bottom up.

USABLE
For the "usable" dishes, we pulled out two dinner plates, two small plates, two large bowls (for soup or salad), two cereal bowls (for cereal), and two tiny bowls (for ice cream), plus a small stoneware plate, small bowl, and tiny bowl for our toddler. So each of us has one set of dishes — all we could possibly need for a meal. These all went on the lowest (most reachable) of the three shelves in the upper kitchen cabinet. The same goes for cups and mugs; each adult got one tall glass, one juice glass, and one mug. Our toddler got two sippy cups and a mug. These items are all we're allowed to use for ourselves, period. If we forget to wash our bowls after using them, we have to wash them before we can use bowls again — even if we're in a hurry or don't feel like it or something. No getting one off a different shelf "just this once" or anything. Aside from the fact that this will get us in the habit of doing the dishes regularly, it's also great to know that we'll never have huge mounds of dishes again!

GUEST
The rest of the matching glasses, plates, and bowls went on the next shelf up, the "guest" shelf. On the rare occasion that we have company over, our guests will be "allowed" to use the other items that match what we already use regularly. In the case of mugs (who doesn't accumulate those?), we only put two on the guest shelf. For guest "sippys," we kept all the restaurant kids' cups with plastic lids and straws. I shudder when I think of someone else's kid chewing on the spout of one of our sippys.

OTHER
The bowls that none of us like to use got put in the "other" category, as did the cups that my husband hates to wash because his hand doesn't fit all the way inside. :) The "kidware" and the sippys that we hate went there, too, all up on the highest shelf in the cabinet. The theory is, if we can go weeks or months without using those things (or in the case of the hated sippys, if our son never asks for them), it's probably safe to get rid of them. The items we rarely use (sports bottles, travel mugs) went up there too, but that's because we don't need to have them readily-accessible.

It isn't really pretty and neat to look at, since the upper shelves are more crammed than the "usable" shelf, but it's so AWESOME in the functionality department. It's so easy to see three or four dirty dishes sitting there from lunch and just wash them, as opposed to seeing three or four dirty dishes sitting there and then thinking, "Whew! I'm glad I don't have to do dishes yet — we've still got four of those plates left to use for dinner!" and letting them pile up to unmanageable levels. Plus, bonus: when we do get rid of some of the "other" stuff, we'll have more storage space!

In the original magazine story that inspired this change, the large family packed up their other dishes and had each family member personalize a bowl, a plate, and a mug (maybe it was at a paint-your-own-stoneware place?). If your bowl was dirty, it stayed dirty until you washed it (or bribed a sibling to wash it). If you wanted your bowl for soup and for ice cream at the same meal, you washed it between uses. That eliminated the "not me" monster in addition to the mounds of dirty dishes. There was no getting around it if it was your bowl left in the sink!

More Library Craft Pics and More Etc.

2009-09-18T14:14:00.006-05:00

Here are those pics I promised of the Scrabble tile pendants we made at the library. My cutouts are from "Mod Floral Pink" scrapbook paper by Vera Bradley. Once I realized that the bails would be glued on (and thus, render the pendants non-reversible), I used blank tiles for my second and third pendants. 'Cause I'm anal like that.

What a horrid photo. You can tell I'm not my husband.

You can see where I tried to add more Aleene's Paper Glaze after I realized it hadn't reached the bottom. I didn't bother with a close-up of the third tile, which became a disaster after I leaned over it carefully, checking for bubbles to pop, and dropped the straight pin flat in the middle of the semi-congealed Paper Glaze. Yeah, you can't fix something like that. At least when I wear it as a pendant, no one will be close enough to notice. (Or as I tell my clients, "If someone is that close, they don't care what it looks like.")

Here's the one "lettered" tile I used. Did you happen to notice my Lego-decimated manicure? Yes, I thought you might've.

We were laying down for Caspian's nap today (he's been asking me to cuddle with him for naps and right after he wakes up), and he started stroking my face with the back of his hand and fingers. This isn't so odd, since he often caresses my arm or whatever he can reach when he's falling asleep. My sweet boy. So anyway, he was stroking my face when he decided to stick his fingers up my nose. My sweet boy. After I asked him not to do that (and he giggled — stinker), he started to settle down, his eyes got half-lidded, and he started running the back of his hand and fingers across my mouth, over and over. I tensed, waiting for those fingers to jam up my nose again, when he whispered, "I love you." My sweet boy.

My achy miserableness of the past few days is "just another mono flare-up", says my doctor. Sigh. When I went in on Wednesday, he even said, "I hope it is strep, just so we can do something about it"...but no. Rest and fluids is all I can do. Fluids are no problem (120+ oz of water yesterday, for example), but the rest? Ah, rest. I remember you. From college, right? Want to know something interesting about mono? My doctor says that 90% of people get mono for about 6 weeks and then never get it again for the rest of their lives. The other 10% gets what's called "chronic mono". I've had it for approximately 6 months now. Woo-hoo. Well, I may be miserable and tired, but at least I'm not contagious to my clients. You can bet I'll answer "Great!" to anyone who asks how I am (as MK said, "If you don't think you're great, nobody else will either").

Speaking of mono, guess what I did today? Used a neti pot! Well, not really. I used a peri bottle (which I brought home from the hospital) as a neti pot. Hey, it worked great! I used 3/8tsp. table salt and dissolved it in a little hot water, then added lukewarm water to make 8oz. Apparently, it only stings if you use too little salt and it's not the same salinity as your nasal passages. Effective, but weird. I didn't like it when it ran into my mouth, but it sure was nice to breathe through both nostrils for the first time in three days. If you don't have $15 for an official neti pot and you don't have a leftover peri bottle, you can try a turkey baster or a sport squirt water bottle or a teapot. Just don't use rock salt.

Library Craft, Etc.

2009-09-14T21:12:00.000-05:00

Even though we're already using cloth diapers and wipes, we're looking for more ways to save money (and inadvertently go green in the process — bonus). I started using a crystal deodorant yesterday, and we're going to stop using disposable paper towels and napkins in favor of more dishtowels and cloth napkins (16 for $2.97 at Salvation Army). I really, really want to try soap nuts, too.

If you have a baby, you need to get Magic Stick, period. Go. Buy it. Wow. No, I'm serious — go.

I found this site recently, which has a LOT of printables (including coloring books). Yay!

As promised, here are the library crafts we made on Saturday. The pop can pull-tab bracelets are made just like these, only with fabric strips (folded like binding tape) instead of leather. One lady there made it long enough for a belt, and another did a headband with a flower! I think I might try spray painting the tabs and using ribbon instead of fabric, next time. My mom made hers like the ones on that site, with all the tabs "facing" the same direction; I did one-up-one-down instead, and it made a scalloped edge (cool). We sewed snaps on as closures and covered the snap top with a button. Trés chic, non?

The other craft was cutting out (Vera Bradley) scrapbook paper pieces, ModPodging them onto Scrabble tiles, and supergluing silver Aanraku bails on the back to make pendants. We also topped them with Aleene's Paper Glaze, to give them a snazzy "glass" finish. The bails covered up part of the back, so I used blank tiles for mine. I must get Paper Glaze! Wow. No pics yet, because the glaze is still milky-translucent.

Please PLEASE check out my Beauty Blog for details on a ONE-DAY ONLY sale for Tuesday, 9/15!

More Tie Dye (and Other Updates)

2009-09-13T19:30:00.011-05:00

I got to go back and hang out with Deb Thursday for some more tie-dye-and-talk time. Yay!

Who says rainbows can't be for boys?

This is a flower. The two leaves were an afterthought, which is why they're so small.

This was an experiment. I hand-gathered the snaky line, just to see if it was possible, then decided to make it an art piece. It's titled Infiltration, and it's a war between warm and cool colors. A few "agents" from each side have infiltrated the other side. Oooh, artsy.

This was also an experiment. It involved a snowflake fold, chopsticks, and binder clips. I'm particularly proud of the gradient.

After Charlie checked out his previously-dyed blood shirt, he realized that they had given him the wrong size. So he dyed his other blood shirt just like it (only he decided to make the starburst originate from a different point on the back of the shirt, just to see if he could).

I also made a second attempt at a butterfly, and reeeeeeally love this one! I spread it out when I dyed the background so it wouldn't be symmetrical. I even got a little black "tail" at the bottom of each wing (and I loooove the b&w "bits" around each wing, too).

A month after his first (and only) potty poo, Caspian did it again tonight! Shocking. Awesome and shocking. He's working on his speech as well — saying "L" instead of "Y" (like "love" instead of "yuv"). It's so cute: he really over-enunciates it, to show that he's trying. :) He is crazy intelligent. Vocabulary, logic, observations...everything. What an amazing kid.

We had a great family play date down at the park by the creek a week or two ago. Caspian and Charlie explored and threw pebbles in the creek, while Perrin and I played on a blanket. The city was there mowing and trimming, but it didn't affect us. We did leave when they started spraying, though. :P The funny thing about this picture is that it represents how little personal space Perrin will probably grow up to have! He gets kissed and smooshed all the time.

A few days ago, Caspian said he didn't want lunch, then he said he wanted a hand for lunch. Yes, a hand. So I asked him, "If I got you a hand for lunch, would you eat it?" He looked really surprised, but said yes...so I cut one out of a tortilla! He thought it was awesome. He kept saying, "Just three fingers left!...Just two fingers left!"

Perrin is so alert and intelligent and HAPPY and teething — oh my, the drool. He has also established his own bedtime every night. Around 8:30 or 9, he nurses (whether he needs to eat or not) just to go to sleep — then he sleeps all night! He's Mr. Wants-to-Sit-Up, too, but when he's tired, he just relaxes into you.

I finally got to do my nails during naptime on Thursday, and they were gorgeous...until we had family play time that night. Yes, I sacrificed my manicure to the Lego gods — I am officially a Mom of Boys™. We did make a pretty rockin' split-level house, though, by connecting our three
green boards with flat blocks. There's a couch (with "drink"), three arm chairs, a coffee table, two stand lamps, and a bed. Caspian added the fence in front "to keep the dog in" but ended up parking his cars there instead. Considering our severely limited Lego inventory, I think it looks darn awesome!

Caspian came up with this "man on stilts" all by himself.

Final crafting news for the night: I finally got to go one of our local library's monthly craft days! Even better, my mom went with me! It was awesome. We made pop tabs into bracelets and turned Scrabble tiles into pendants. I'll post pics later. There are enough pics in this post already!

How to Tie Dye Stuff

2009-09-08T16:01:00.005-05:00

(Thanks to the incomparable Deb for teaching us about tie dye "way back when" and for providing supplies...and her house! LOL)

Get anything white you can find in your house and launder it.
Now that you've done some laundry, you'll feel less guilty about using your entire afternoon for some crafting. (ha ha ha, so witty)
Decide which white things would look better in color (anything with that inexplicable yellow stain whites get is a great candidate) and tie them up. Use rubber bands, chopsticks, needle and dental floss, knot the fabric, twist, fold, etc. — use your imagination! Swirls and gathers are more easily accomplished when the cloth is wet, so it'll cling to the work surface as you go. This is a safe time to wear your sleeping baby, if you so desire.
Give your toddler a sword so he doesn't get dye on him later. (We actually planned to let him dye, but Legos and playing outside trumped his desire to participate. He just chose colors instead.)
Soak anything but silk in a soda ash bath for at least 20 minutes (plastic tubs with lids work great). Soak silk in white vinegar for 30 minutes (gallon ziplocks work fine, just turn over periodically). This will help the dye to adhere better.
Lay out "crap towels" and don "crap clothes" and latex gloves — preferably using a new glove set for each piece.
Working one piece at a time, squeeze out excess liquid (soda ash or vinegar) and dye! Squirt bottles (not spray) are easy to control and allows for some really neat design options. We were told that dye spread more easily in silk and that blue didn't stick, but we didn't find either one to be true. (It's "safe" to wear your baby on this step only if you have long arms and a docile baby.)
For anything but silk, wrap the dyed piece completely in plastic wrap and put in a gallon ziplock (you can put multiple pieces in one bag). For silk, put each piece in its own gallon ziplock, squeeze the air out, and seal it.
If the towel is saturated through, toss it in the "used" pile and get a new one; otherwise, fold it inside out until you find a clean spread to use for the next piece. Toss towels in the dryer to set dye so you can use the towel again for another piece.
Repeat steps 6-8 until you've run out of white things to dye. For anything but silk, seal up the gallon ziplocks and leave them alone for up to a day — the longer, the better. For silk, put the sealed ziplocks in the microwave on high for 45 seconds. Wait until any bubbling subsides then do another 45 seconds. Wait again, then do 30 seconds. Leave the bags in the microwave until they cool off — they will be boiling hot! After the silk has cooled, remove the pieces and follow the steps below.
Since it's the next day (or later in the day, for silk), put "crap clothes" on again.
Remove one dyed piece from the ziplock and discard the plastic wrap.
Rinse the piece under cold running water (in a tub or deep sink) as you squeeze. Start with the lightest color up highest, so the darker dye doesn't run into the light areas. Squeeze and rinse constantly until water runs somewhat clear.
Remove or cut off rubber bands and continue rinse&squeeze-ing until water runs clear. Open piece as you go to allow clean water to get into all the folds and crannies. Squeeze excess water out.
Lay out each piece on a clean "crap towel" as you finish it. If space is at a premium, you can layer a new "crap towel" on top of the pieces laying on the first towel, then top it with more pieces.
When you're finished (or you've done a lot), put pieces in washing machine on the hottest water the fabric can stand. Wash with detergent as usual, with extra rinses thrown in wherever possible.
Peek during the final rinse's swishy part. If there's a lot of dye still coming out, run it all through again (no soap necessary this time).
Toss dryables in the dryer; hang dry non-dryables.

Be prepared — the first (few?) time(s) you wear your pieces, dye will rub off on you (which is kind of cute when it's a diaper on a baby's newly-blue bum). DO NOT pair these pieces with your favorite khaki pants or white tank top until they've been washed severalseveralseveral times.

silk pillowcases

Charlie's old hankies made new

Charlie's blood donation shirt, made-over

heart cape/wall-hanging (attach cape closure at top or sew it into a rod pocket)

butterfly cape/wall-hanging (gathered the butterfly with dental floss) (I'm thinking about doing something to create a body and antennae...)

forest play cloth (doubles as alien planet play cloth) with space for a winding road

dark/night and day/light play cloths

Caspian's shirt

Perrin's and Caspian's polos (a tie dye polo says, "I like be formal, but I'm here to party") (the missing dye on the collar really irks me)

Perrin's shortalls

secret project hint #1

secret project hint #2

secret project hint #3

Okay, I'm going to start an Etsy store, and I was thinking about selling my cape/wall-hangings, among other tie dye items and sundry things. What do you all think?? Here are two more (the original ideas) that I made specifically as capes, for Caspian and a friend (for Christmas). They are deliberately Batman-colored.

Click the picture set below for a larger view of Caspian's cape test. It passed the color test (in picture 4, unbidden, he cried, "I'm Batman!") and the fun test (he refused to take it off all afternoon). It is modeled with briefs, in true Superhero tradition (no tights, sorry).

My goal now is to figure out what kind of closure to use...

All images, concepts, and designs are ©KatrinkaJane 2009

How to Make-Over a Glass Lazy Susan, part 3

2009-09-04T17:27:00.008-05:00

Decide you're not going to let that st*pid paint get the best of you. You'll use cutouts from that hydrangea paper on something, but not this blasted lazy susan.
Try removing the fruity "paint" with acetone nail polish remover (husband's idea). FAIL
Try removing the fruity "paint" with a pink-handled razor blade. FAIL
Accidentally scratch paint you actually want on there, when removing lazy susan from sink. FAIL
Check out mineral spirits and paint thinner at Wal-Mart. Budget FAIL
Find the perfect all-purpose spray-on primer at Michael's. WIN
Forget 40% off coupon, necessitating return trip. FAIL
Realize that you can now justify a return trip to Lexington on Monday, thereby creating an excuse to get free Chick-Fil-A sandwiches. WIN
In the meantime, do another project!

How to Make Your Own Dry-Erase Calendar

Find or buy an oblong frame.
Remove the "innards" (mat, background paper, etc.) and paint the frame, if desired (AKA "if you remember before fastening it all back together and writing this tutorial"). While it's drying, clean the glass on both sides with Windex. Don't let your cat sit on it.
Decide on a layout and dimensions for your calendar (my glass was 18"x34", and my margins were 1.25", so my calendar was 15.5"x31.5"; each column was 4.5" wide, the days of the week row was 2" tall, the main space was 10.5" tall, and the "next week" row was 3" tall; I arbitrarily drew the header for the "next week" row).
Take a Sharpie, a ruler or yard stick, and (if you're lucky) a large ruled cutting board and mark out the lines and words you want as default on your calendar on the wrong side of the glass.
If you severely screw up, use some acetone nail polish remover on a Q-Tip to "erase" your mistakes (or, if you're lucky enough to be drawing on a removable protective plastic film, just smudge it off).
When your toddler wakes up from his nap, take a break for a day or two because your project is "on top of the road, mommy".
Turn the glass over and carefully trace over all of your lines and words with a Sharpie. Consider using different marker widths (I used a Fine Point, a Chisel Tip, and a Magnum 44). Do any designs or decorations you want permanently on the calendar (leave it decorationless if you want to customize it monthly or seasonally).
If, hypothetically, you hate any impromptu decorations you try to do with dry erase markers, be sure to scrub them off with a dry paper towel. While the term "dry erase" may seem misleading, it actually won't come off when you use something wet, like, oh, nail polish remover. I'm just sayin'.
Check for Sharpie flubs and fix them with acetone nail polish remover on a Q-Tip.
Ask your supervisor if he thinks your project is acceptable.
Turn the glass back over and (if applicable) remove the protective film. If you want to erase your guidelines from step 4, do it now using acetone nail polish remover (don't get any on the back).
Realize that, contrary to the test patch and general common sense, the dry erase marker used for decorating did, in fact, rub off some of the Sharpie.
Fix it on the "right" side of the glass.
Fill in your week's activities, with accompanying pictures for your toddler's benefit.
Get really excited when your toddler recognizes your sketch of a Batman mask (to signify that he's going to play with a friend, who has one) — WIN. Realize that your reflection is showing up in your pictures — FAIL. Feel relieved that you're clothed — WIN.

We really needed a large weekly calendar to start using for family things, and to help teach Caspian about the days of the week (and make it less confusing when we say, "We're doing ___ on Tuesday"). Imagine my happiness when I saw this entry for this contest! We even had a suitable frame sitting around unused (albeit with plexiglass instead of real glass, but it passed the marker test). I'd originally purchased it to make a gift for my college French professor, but that never happened.

The great thing about this project is that you can customize your dream calendar (time span, labels, dates/days, etc.). Now I just have to figure out what to do with the leftover mat. Any ideas? It's pretty flimsy, but it's white on both sides (one matte, one shiny). I keep wanting to cut out each individual "frame"...but for what...?

This is another neat weekly calendar idea, especially to use for older children! Can't you just see each child's cube stacked on top of or laid next to each other on top of a little shelf above your family's regular calendar?

"Works for Me Wednesday" - Organizing

2009-09-02T09:54:00.003-05:00

Organizing: My Kitchen Pantry

I recently got fed up with my plastic food storage cabinet and my free-standing pantries. We couldn't see what we had, and there was never enough room for what we wanted to put in there. I took two days to take everything out of all three cabinets, lay it out on the kitchen table, re-organize it by category, and then put it back in and labeled the shelves with my Dymo.

The countertop-sized appliances (panini maker, George Foreman grill, Henrietta Hen, etc.) went on the shelves in the cabinet under the microwave, where the plastic food storage had been. The appliances are all large enough to be visible without having to move stuff around, and the cabinet isn't the easiest to look into at a glance — a perfect match.

The plastic food storage got weeded out (hallelujah). Identical stackable pieces got stacked together with all their nesting lids on top. Everything else got its lid put on top of it (to save matching time later) and stacked according to shape/size. Most-used medium-size containers got put on a lower shelf in the pantry, while large ones got stacked on top of the tall pantry (tiny ones got thrown into a basket on top of the pantry).

The categories that needed to be visible (canned goods, sweet snacks, savory snacks, crackers) because we keep forgetting what we have and buying more (or letting them go stale) got put on eye-level shelves. The categories that aren't used often or don't need to be visible because we always know they're there (breakfast, baking, chips, etc.) got put on high or low shelves.

All candy/tiny snacks got sorted into the plastic-storage-I-wanted-to-keep-but-never-used-for-leftovers, so it could be stacked for efficiency and ease of browsing...and so all our candy doesn't end up smelling like mint (which, if you've ever stored all your Christmas candy in one jar or bag before, you know will happen). Even new bags of M&Ms get dumped into their own container. Ahh, order.

Every shelf got labeled so my new order can be maintained by grocery-put-awayers.

It feels great to have all that stuff finally purged and organized, but heck, any day you get to use a label maker is a good day! LOL

2009-09-01T16:16:00.003-05:00

How to Make-Over a Glass Lazy Susan, part 2

Avoid additional painting for two days because you're paralyzed by the thought of "screwing up".
Conclude that the first 5.1 coats weren't opaque enough to cover the fruit from every angle (especially when light shines behind it...which it won't if it's set on the table, but...). Consider découpaging instead of painting more.
Ask husband's opinion (he votes "découpage"); get grapes from fridge for sustenance.
Research technique online and find the website for "The National Guild of Decoupeurs" (who knew?). Read through their FAQ, then head to Craftown.com instead.
Look through "Découpage-able" drawer (yes, it's labeled that way) for inspiration.
Find a great poem on an old wedding card, but no background materials.
Realize in a flash that you have three humongo storage tubs of gift wrap to plunder! Research "découpaging gift wrap" and find Durwin Rice's site. Get distracted there, then check out Mod Podge online.
Wonder if cellophane is découpage-able.
Settle on some lovely hydrangea-covered wrapping paper that you've been hoarding. The date on the paper says MCMXCIX. How ironic — it was probably on a wedding gift!
Unfold the paper and realize that it probably was not on a wedding gift. Sigh.

Okay, blogoshere — what should I do? Can I still use this paper, in patches? How can I do that without it looking weird? Should I find something else I can just cut the full circle out of? Should I try painting again, instead? Would thicker coats of paint be good? Aaaggghh!

Separate question: have you had any success in printing things on an inkjet (quotes from old wedding cards, for example) and then découpaging them onto something without the text smearing and bleeding? I could hand-paint the quote instead, but [shudder].

Last question: do you have any idea what kind of determination it takes to reach for the Function and Alt keys with your pinned-down hand just so you can type an accented character while NAK? :p LOL

2009-08-31T09:40:00.003-05:00

Here is my before-and-after for the Roadkill Rescue party by infarrantly creative:

"Wait," you say, "that isn't even finished! How lame!"

Well, savvy reader, there are two important tidbits which must be considered at this point. First, I will replace the "after" picture with the real "after" when the project is actually finished. Second, the contest didn't stipulate that the project had to be in hands-off finished mode in order to qualify. So, just in case life happens (HA!) and I don't get to paint more on my lazy susan today, I will still have a before-and-after to submit for the contest. After all, the new silver lazy susan already fits our style better than the fruity one did. Thank you, fruity-lazy-susan-giver, for providing me with a project to do! What an AWESOME gift!!! (seriously, no joke)

What? You think I should post another set of before-and-after makeover pictures that still fits the contest rules, just in case? Okay!

Ha! Yes, this makeover (on myself) technically fits all the stipulated rules of the contest. And hey, it's what I do! While I don't get to refinish furniture or refab yard sale finds on a regular basis, I do get to exercise a little creativity in making-over damaged skin and poor color choices. And it helps other women in the process — what a joy!

2009-08-29T20:04:00.012-05:00

How to Make-Over a Glass Lazy Susan, part 1

Clean the styrofoam bits off the surface and rub with alcohol.
Freak out about paint choices.
Attempt to scuff surface with fine sandpaper.
Do another alcohol rub.
Get sandpaper grit all over forearms while leaning to reach keyboard to type steps 1-5.
Put on Thoroughly Modern Millie soundtrack.
Bite the bullet and mix Plaid Apple Barrel Colors Craft Paint in Pure Silver with DecoArt Multi-Purpose Sealer, then apply with a sponge brush.
Repeat step 7, only more so.
Enjoy the streaky effect.
Wonder how flexible the "Let dry 1 hour" instruction is.
Take 5 minutes to type steps 6-10, then touch the paint to see if it's dry.
Attempt to fix fingerprint with brush; decide surface is dry enough for a second coat anyway.
Make a mental note to do all future painting projects on a rotating stand.
Wonder why paint won't stick to this one st*pid spot.
Wonder if continually spinning the lazy susan as in the picture in step 13 would aid the drying process.
Resist urge to touch second coat.
Paint coat three with happily-opaque results.
Realize you're leaning over your project to reach the keyboard; put on painting shirt.
Mix more paint-n-sealer.
Appreciate the freedom to wipe a drip of sealer right on your shirt...then hope it doesn't seep through onto nursing bra.
Paint coat four.
Debate what to paint on finished surface: swirls using dabs of paint and a static brush on a rotating surface? Taped-off geometric shapes? Freehand painted designs? A quote?
Wonder whether just to use more sealer on top of finished piece or Anita's Water Clean-Up Polyurethane.
Paint coat five. Resist urge to pour paint on top of surface and just spread it around.
Hear baby wake up and cry. Push chair back to leave office. Hear toddler comfort baby with a shouted, "Perrin-Perrin-bo-berrin! Banana-fana-fo-ferrin!"
Dip sleeve in paint on edge of surface by typing from new, pushed-back position.
Attempt to fix dipped area.
Fix attempted fix from step 27.
Try to clean-up paint on edges by spinning the lazy susan against the brush, thereby creating a raised edge of paint on top of surface.
Try wiping off new raised edge; spoil entire surface edge; fix new ickies with coat 5.1.
Discover paint underneath surface of lazy susan (AKA stabilizing place to put fingers).
Leave office to check on baby, show silver fingertips to toddler, and get mini dark chocolate Reese's cup. Close door to prevent kitty participation.
Realize it has been the length of Monsters Inc. plus both shorts. Forgo chocolate and nurse baby.

End of Day One. Stay tuned!

2009-08-29T19:29:00.005-05:00

Oooohhhh! I am SO excited!!!

One of the blogs I follow is so freaking awesome. It's called infarrantly creative, and it's by a red-haired Christian crafter! I log on to my Google Reader every day, just hoping she has posted something else — she's that awesome. Reading her blog is kind of like going to my happy place; I totally live vicariously through her über-crafty life.

So anyway, she's having a contest for her birthday (Monday) for her readers to "make-over" something they've found or received for free. I wanted to do it so badly, but I just couldn't justify spending the time when my house needs serious attention (not to mention my children and my business...oh, and my husband). However, Charlie and I decided that I could take 1 or 2 hours tonight to do it anyway, to juice up my creative-happiness so I'll have energy for the long tasks ahead. LOL

I even found something we'd received for Christmas 2008 that I'd intended to makeover, but never have (see ¶2). Pictures to come!

2009-07-25T19:17:00.008-05:00

Click here for a SERIOUSLY FUNNY post about breastfeeding and society's standards of "offensive". Everyone please please check it out — especially if you think it should never be done in public! :)

Speaking of BFing in public, I am so grateful for KY state breastfeeding law. That helped make it a lot less stressful for me to do my job (as a nursing mom) when I had to feed Perrin during traffic school this afternoon (12-3:45). Not only did I have the reassurance that I was doing exactly what I was supposed to be doing, I had freedom from fear of retribution. That's exactly what laws should do — protect citizens. None of the 43 class attendees cared anyway, which is awesome...not that they could even tell I was doing anything other than holding my baby. LOL I gave the instructor a heads-up before the class, but Perrin ended up wanting to eat exactly during one of our breaks, so the timing was a non-issue. I am so proud of our state, especially in light of what other states grudgingly provide to protect their nursing moms. In fact, KY recently passed an addendum to the law detailing the fines should someone "interfere with a mother breastfeeding her child" — $500 for the first offense and $1,000 for subsequent offenses! GO, KENTUCKY!!!

Caspian just astonishes me, every day, with his precociousness. He came up to me tonight and chanted, "All for one and one for all! We are the three Musketeers!" Then he looked into my eyes and stroked my arm as he asked, "Remember that song, Mommy? Do you remember that?"

He also looooves playing with my pink Mary Kay Cadillac business card holder (which I earned as a prize). He asks to play with it every time he's in my office: "Excuse me, ma'am — can I hold your Mary Kay car, ma'am...please?" Seriously, he says it just like that, every time.

Last Saturday, I told him we'd get to see a REAL pink Mary Kay car at our unit potluck at my director's house. He was ridiculous excited at that prospect. When we arrived, the garage was open enough for him to see the bottom of the car (a pearl pink Cadillac SRX), and he thought that was the coolest thing ever. However, being almost 3, he immediately got distracted by people, food, and cornhole. I'd totally forgotten about the whole car thing, but when we got in our minivan to leave, he got pretty upset (like, crying) when we left without getting to sit in the Caddy. Yes, my son cried because he didn't get to ride in the pink Mary Kay car. *sigh* Yesterday, I asked him if he wanted to do anything special for his birthday this Sunday, and out of nowhere he exclaimed, "I want to sit in the REAL pink Mary Kay car!" LOL He'll be thrilled when we get to the expo at Seminar next week and he gets to sit in all the MK cars! Can't wait to give him a ride in our family's own "REAL pink Mary Kay car" someday.

2009-07-24T14:37:00.004-05:00

We made the trip to Levi Jackson State Park in London, KY on Tuesday to meet with the Cole Family for a joint 3rd-birthday cookout for our toddlers (who share a birthday). I can't believe Caspian will be 3 on Sunday. The park and the visit were sooooo awesome! First off, we L-O-V-E the Cole family. Second, Ed Cole snagged us a picnic shelter that had real bathrooms and a playground. Third, the food was really, really good. Fourth, the weather was perfect. Fifth, we L-O-V-E the Cole family. We all had a blast, and the London exit off 75 has pretty much every business that we'd need should we decide to stay overnight there some time. London is exactly halfway between Wilmore and Knoxville, so it's now our official meeting place. We're even going to visit the World Chicken Festival in September! It's going to be so exciting getting to create these family memories together in the years to come.

Because I'm too tired to reorder them, here are the photos in reverse-alphabetical order according to their file names (which is how they uploaded):

Caspian enjoyed sliding at the state park playground

His hair enjoyed the static it created.

Caspian wore his birthday apron to help crush crackers for tuna cakes.

Dueling Potties! This was not even staged, folks. Two toddlers, one birthday. Two potties, one brand. Two snacks, one fruit. Heck, even their clothes matched! LOL

We got a chocolate truffle cake from Wal-Mart for their birthday cake (heck, $8 for a Bill Knapps replacement cake? no-brainer). Caspian and Charlie shared a piece, but Caspian turned it around and ate all the icing off the end when Charlie left to change Perrin's diaper.

Beautiful Becky Cole holds my Perrin.

Perrin's 3-month well-baby checkup was this morning. He weighs 15lb 11oz and is 24.5" tall! The doctor proclaimed him "perfect" and said he's doing so well, we don't need to come back until 6 months. Perrin loves to sing along with me when I sing to him. He's so full of joy and expresses opinions on everything. I think his teeth are starting to bother him, as he bit me while nursing for the first time on Monday and he chews his hands even when he's not hungry (which causes the drool factor to go up).

Caspian pooped in his potty for the FIRST TIME EVER yesterday! How odd to think that it's the first time in his life he didn't do it in his pants. Anyway, we had quite a few runaround days last week, and his potty training totally regressed since he's only comfortable using his own little potty (not big strange toilets). Yesterday was a "naked day" so he could get used to sitting on the potty again when the urge hit. We'll get there!

2009-07-16T19:52:00.005-05:00

Check out Caspian's new profile pic, on the right! It doesn't show off his hair, but at least he's smiling. Okay, he's not actually smiling...I asked him to say "Batman" and took a picture. But it looks like a smile, right? He actually has no clue who Batman is, but he got a Batman-with-sword action figure from my grandparents for his upcoming birthday and LOVES it. I mean, it holds a sword, mom.

He also got a sweet apron (which he wore to help with dinner tonight) and a rockin' cowboy outfit:

You totally want this outfit for yourself in grownup size, don't you? The chaps go really well with his Cars training pants. It came with a map, chaps, a "real working canteen!", a vest-with-a-badge, a hat, a bandanna, and two arm cuff things. The first picture is him standing so I can take a picture. The second picture is what happened after I asked him "Do you have a belt buckle?" (lean over to look at belt buckle) and "Would you please stand up straight so I can see your belt buckle?" (stand up high on tiptoes and concentrate so hard on doing it "straight" that his eyes bug out). How mom am I that when I look at that second pic all I want to do is kiss his little tummy and the sweet little crook of his elbow?

I finally put some real posts on my Beauty Blog again. Well, I started them. They'll be posted later, because I have to go make dinner now. It would help if someone (anyone!) would post a skin care or cosmetics question on there! http://beautyblog.kyredhead.com

2009-07-14T12:14:00.007-05:00

Before we start this picture extravaganza, I'd like to draw your attention to Perrin's updated picture in the right sidebar. RED eyebrows! :)

On a recent trip back from SC for Charlie's grandma's funeral, we made a leg-stretching stop at one of those obnoxious rest stop fireworks stores. It had a bunch of fun stuff for kids outside (naturally), so Caspian wanted his picture taken as he played.

Perrin was so worn out after all that sitting-in-a-carseat-and-being-carried that even nursing was taxing.

Perrin has developed nice kung-fu moves, though.

Boxing was his thing back when he was a week and a half old.

(Joey Tribbiani) "How YOU doin'?"

love these continuous mode shots (he was just bobbing and lip-smacking, but it looks like I caught a surprised moment)

...maybe not all of them are so great (double rude, son)

Milestone #2 for the week: he sat up today! Well, sat over-and-up! Click for a bigger view.

2009-07-14T08:20:00.004-05:00

I finally dumped my cell phone! (I mean, I downloaded the pics to my computer.) It was mostly Cake Wreck submissions, but here are some others:

Caspian "shooting dinosaurs" at Wal-Mart (we never put in money)

Caspian the photographer instructs his model to "look surprised"

Caspian the photographer shoots his pregnant mommy on the sly

the Sharpie Wall at Office Depot **drool**
for Hilary, this is like Monica and the notebook (2:45-3:00)

Perrin wanted my thumb edge to stay in his mouth, so he grabbed my hand :)

Guess who rolled over yesterday? My baby! We were at the dermatologist's office, and I laid him on the paper-covered table so I could change clothes, and the little stinker got bored of talking to me, turned away, and flung himself over to the right! Fortunately, that was the wall side (plus, I grabbed him on instinct before he would've fallen anyway — go Mommy Reflexes™). Last night, whenever Charlie laid him down , he tried rolling off, too.

Perrin Chats & Smiles

Caspian is doing well with potty training here at home, but to date has refused going outside the house on a strange toilet (and still doesn't go #2 in the potty at all). Last night was almost a test of other-pottyness, as he actually said that he wanted to go sit on the potty, but the restroom was flooded with an inch of water. We ran another errand and came home, and he still had all 3 flags on his pull-up! Yay!

His big thing right now is asking for food after we brush his teeth for bed. The first time, I asked if his mouth wanted food or if his tummy was hungry. He said his tummy was hungry (and we'd had a weirdly-timed dinner), so we gave him some cheese or something and brushed his teeth again. We explained that he needs to tell us when he's hungry so we can give him food, but eating time is over once we brush teeth for the night. Now, however, it's a nightly occurrence. Instead of just asking for food, he says, "My tummy is hungry!" Let me tell you, it broke my heart having my child on the verge of tears last night, begging me for food. (cue violins) BUT, last night he repeatedly refused offers of food, both for and after dinner, so my sympathies did not come into play. Once we got into bed to read a book, he didn't bring it up even once.

Speaking of which, it's amazing what is in-born in children. What kind of cosmic joke is it that children naturlly ask for a drink of water once they're in bed? Neither Charlie nor I get a drink before bed, and we don't keep water by the bed, yet about 4-5 months ago Caspian started asking for a drink of water once we're in bed! Funny.

I'm trying to get on a better schedule, so we're going to try meal planning. I'm not used to cooking actual dishes for dinner (just á là carte), so this is very daunting. Also, our freezer space is nil. We'll be starting slow on this one! LOL Now, if only I had some Seven-Layer Bars to sustain me... :)

One positive step toward this whole "cooking" thing is that my KitchenAid is usable! It's been sitting in the car (for six months) and on the kitchen floor (for seven months) since Christmas 2007. We took it to my mom's to help with family dinner, and it started leaking oil. First, we didn't get around to looking up KitchenAid repair places, then we had no money, then we forgot, then we kept forgetting, then I found out we'd have to pay to ship it for repairs, then we forgot about it again, then Charlie looked up the problem on the internet and found out that the tiny amount of oil leakage is common and doesn't matter!

Off to search Craig's List for a chest freezer!

another giveaway

2009-07-11T21:56:00.001-05:00

2009-07-10T19:17:00.006-05:00

First, a plethora of pictures.

trying to sit up

frothing spit bubbles (time to eat!)

middle-of-the-night migration

the tools it took to get our first coconut drained, open, and scraped (concrete front porch not pictured) (yes, that is my Higginbotham hammer)

what turned out NOT to be a clump of hair in the tub drain

why we spent our tax refund on a king-sized bed

Daddy learns to multi-task

brotherly bonding in a SC motel

Despite the fact that I'm not wearing a skirt, Caspian is adamant to hide inside.

2mo Perrin grins at Daddy

Perrin, 11w5d (he graced his special outfit with a rare spit-up moments before) (I had to change his outfit before bed because his thighs just wouldn't fit in this one anymore.)

Okay, onto the news.

We're on day 4 of potty training Caspian. Perrin is already 15 pounds, and the little chunkmeister has outgrown our Little Sandies infant diapers...which means he needs to use the Motherease One-Size diapers...which means Caspian can't, as we don't have enough for two children to use them (unless we wash a load of diapers every day)...which means Caspian is getting potty-trained! LOL

He was ready, anyway. He's very interested in potty books and talking about the potty, and he is aware of when he's going to "go". On Tuesday, we bought him some Cars training pants that have little designs on the front which disappear when they get wet. There are 3 on each pair, so we let him wear the same pair as long as he can keep at least one design. He has done AMAZINGLY. He lost one design yesterday and one the day before. We have potty time as soon as he wakes up, before and after each meal, and before bed. He knows that if he feels like he's about to pee, he's supposed to run to the potty, pull down his training pants, and sit on the potty. He has only had three accidents in the last four days — all willfully, to see what would happen. Now, he loves making it to the potty on time. He even got up from bed two nights ago and from his nap yesterday (both before he'd fallen asleep) because he knew he had to go. What a big boy!

The only obstacle we have to overcome now is that Caspian doesn't want to poop in the potty. We don't know why, and he knows when it's coming (and retreats to the corner to hide), so we're hoping he gets over it soon. We promised to buy him big boy underwear as soon as he starts pooping in the potty.

TIDBITS:

Caspian has started telling me how much he misses me when I'm gone "at work" for a few hours. That's pretty wonderful.
He acts out his favorite book and movie scenes, complete with emotions and vocal inflection.
Once every few weeks, he decides to sleep in his own bed.
Sometimes he shouts, "Babe!" when he wants me, because that's what Charlie calls when he needs me. Yeah, we nip that in the bud.
We think he's starting to read, because he's sounding out words he finds. One a walk, for example, he saw the word "WATER" on a water main mini-manhole. He pointed to it and said, "wuh-ah-tuh-ǝ-err...water!"

Perrin is so flirty. He'll look you right in the eye and talk and smile forever! He coos along when I sing to him, and definitely uses non-verbal communication via facial expression. When you sit and talk with him, he tries to repeat you.
He never complains/cries unless something is wrong.
He is so gorgeous. He has a dimple in each cheek. Sometimes he laces his fingers together (like he's praying), and it's so adorable. And, yes, he's another curly redhead.
He holds his head up, and he's trying so hard to sit up by himself.
He has 5 fat rolls on each arm.
He's slept through the night for a couple weeks now, PRAISE GOD.

Charlie enjoys working at home SO much. It is so much easier to parent the way we want when we're both home.
I'm already 100% back in my pre-pregnancy clothes (and about a ½ size smaller).
Having mono for the last two months has made it difficult for me to jumpstart off maternity leave the way I need to. Prayers (and referrals) are appreciated!
If you are running out of your regular brand of sunscreen, moisturizer, face wash, shave gel, body lotion, mascara, etc. — or would just like to try something new — please give Mary Kay a try. My business is our family's financial support! MK has a 100% satisfaction guarantee, and free shipping is cheaper/easier for you than driving to the store. :) Shop on my website 24 hours a day!

I love my boys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are so immensely, incredibly blessed.

Speaking of blessed, we were approved for EBT, so we can "afford" to buy any food we want! All we need now is to find someone with a chest freezer they don't want anymore so we can save some of this bounty for when we really need it! If you know anyone in central KY who wants to get rid of a chest freezer, please let us know!

We spent the 4th of July playing with Ginny and her boys, then at RJ Corman's, then watching fireworks in the rain from the playground next door. Pics to come...

I finally broke down and bought 2 pairs of LANACare Wool Nursing Pads. Using disposable breast pads was grossing me out so much, I couldn't take it anymore. They're $7 a box, too, so at a box a month for the next 2 years, they're also costly. The wool pads should last that entire time, and beyond! They feel soooo wonderful and soft. And best of all, they're large enough to fill the entire bra cup, so no more fumbling with a crumpled breast pad when I'm trying to re-hook my cups! Two thumbs way up.

C ~ "I want two crunchy pastas and two cold broccolis, one big, and one small." (He likes to eat dry rotini and frozen broccoli.) He ate his entire serving of broccoli tonight still frozen. He still very much prefers cold or lukewarm food, in general.

Oh, yeah. We had our 9-year wedding anniversary a couple of weeks ago. And Caspian turns 3 in two weeks!

2009-06-26T07:23:00.001-05:00

Click the picture to visit Cloth Diaper Blog and enter the contest by next Friday morning!

2009-06-17T19:30:00.002-05:00

Last night, when I put Caspian's dinner in front of him, he said, "Oh, wow, this looks great! Thank you for my dinner, mommy!" Our jaws dropped. LOL He also is sitting on the potty more (without prompting), and has now peed in it three times! It's very exciting at our house.

Perrin gained over 5lbs in his first 6 weeks and is chunking up nicely. He has four fat "indents" on each arm: wrist, elbow, between the two, and above the elbow. He looooves his mommy and smiles when I come into his field of vision. He also spends time talking with (and hitting) the dangling giraffe rattles on his bouncy seat.

Thanks to my awesome clients and friends, I achieved Star Consultant status this past quarter — my ninth! THANK YOU, LADIES!

My next big challenge is two-fold: booking 8 hostesses for the next two weeks AND giving away 8 of the new Tinted Lip Balms with SPF15. Want one? It only requires 30-40 minutes of phone time (or sit-down-for-coffee time) to let me share some information about what I do — no obligations other than giving your honest feedback. Anyone who participates not only receives a FREE lip goody but also is automatically eligible to receive unlimited "Talent Scout" gift certificates! As always, referrals are appreciated. Who do you know who likes to give her opinion? Would enjoy getting something free? Might appreciate an opportunity like what I do? Comment or call or e-mail me!

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

2 Big Pieces of News!

2009-06-12T09:18:00.004-05:00

1. Perrin slept through the night last night for the first time!!! We went to bed around 11pm and woke at 7:30am — praise the Lord!!!

2. I need YOUR HELP to qualify as a Star Consultant by Monday!!!

Don't waste time and gas shopping at the store — let me ship your mascara, moisturizer, lipstick, perfume, body wash, eye shadow, or Father's Day gift to you for FREE!

Star Consultants are those who have sold $3,600 in a quarter, and I am only $300 away!

If you are running low on your regular brand of ANYTHING, I challenge you to give Mary Kay a try. We have a 100% satisfaction guarantee for a reason — you won't be disappointed at how long this stuff lasts OR at how well it works!

Call or shop on my website for FREE shipping and a FREE gift: http://www.marykay.com/kyredhead

Click here to see the new products that will come out Monday, available for paid preorder NOW. Write any of these products in the "Comment" section when you check out, and it'll get added to your order.

Call or e-mail me personally with questions! Spread the word! Every referral helps!

P.S. I'd love to thank you for your help with a summer makeover or pedicure — my treat. :)

GCDH Giveaways

2009-05-01T13:15:00.001-05:00

The Great Cloth Diaper Hunt is on again!

Check back to this post for updates on contests and giveaways you can enter during May!

1. Cute Caboose's Great Cloth Diaper Giveaway

2009-04-27T08:12:00.004-05:00

I'm doing much better now that we figured out that Perrin switched days and nights, so I'm napping with him from 4-7 or 8. I'm going to try to keep my blog updated now, and Charlie's working on putting together my birth video (both R- and PG-rated versions). I tried running light errands with the family on Saturday, and that was a VERY BAD idea. It took me almost two days to recover back to where I had been, prior to. Having people bring us food has been the biggest blessing (well, that and having people take Caspian when Charlie's at work). It relieves so much stress to know that we can open the fridge 24 hours a day (nursing hours) and find already-cooked food, ready to be eaten. Plus, baked goods are THE BEST grabbable, gosh-I'm-starving food for nursing moms: zucchini bread, pumpkin bread, chocolate bread, lentil bread, muffins, cookies...

I need to get some nursing clothes and at least one new bra. After nursing for over two years last time, I know now that it'll be a good investment. The trouble is finding my size...and for less than $50 a shirt! Nursing wear is mega expensive.

Anyone have a dishwasher they want to get rid of?

I'm so enamored of my new sweet boy. He looks just like Caspian, only with hair. There are so many poses and facial expressions I could do a side-by-side comparison of. He's definitely his own person, though. His voice is different; he's mellow but opinionated...he's just right to hold his own with his feisty brother. I was worried about loving him for who he was but the fact that it was "real" set in after a day or two, and I have no problem staring at him and kissing him all the time. He is very alert during his awake times, and looks around at everything. He likes it when I sing, and he's trying his darnedest to strengthen his neck.

Guess what happened last week? Well, I'm going to try to fill that in at some point, but what I was referring to was a visit from my Kate!!! She surprised us by driving down from northern Indiana with her kids to visit! She even used her mad photo skills to take some beautiful pics of 4-day-old Perrin. Whenever she posts them on her photography website or sends us digitals, I will link immediately so you can see them all.

It's definitely a test, trying to parent two. My fuse is pretty short right now, and I struggle with being patient and not losing my temper. Caspian is acclimating very well, given the circumstances. His acting-out has been very mild and pretty much limited to disobedience -- nothing against Perrin, praise God. We've been trying to keep Caspian's nap routine the same, with mixed success. Part of that problem is the fact that I need the bed to sleep with Perrin in the afternoon as well. I need to get the nursery cleaned out so we can put a twin bed in there for his naps. Sigh. To have the strength to stand long enough to wash my face, much less clean.

One scary thing happened this morning. I had finished Perrin's 6am feed and decided to stretch a little in bed before laying down. I stretched my arms and legs in opposite directions and felt two of my ab muscles separate. Seriously. It was so gross and it hurt and I wanted to panic. I had no idea that could happen, and un-extending didn't put them back. I was about to wake up Charlie to pass off the baby so I could stand up and try to scrunch standing up, but I decided to pray instead. Thank goodness I made that choice, because then I felt them go back together. Seriously. Our God is an awesome God! Hallelujah!

I had subscribed to this blog on my RSS feed reader, but it makes me so angry I had to take it off. Please, please, please check it out. I'm serious. Especially if you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant. Ever.

2009-04-22T07:10:00.004-05:00

For the record, no, I don't want to be up/awake/in the living room right now. All night, Perrin would wake to nurse, I'd sit up and feed him, then I'd fall asleep sitting up. I'd wake up, sore from nodding/leaning, realize that his diaper needed to be changed and that I had to use the restroom myself, and wake up Charlie. They'd go wait in the nursery while I used the facilities, then I'd come change the diaper (amidst much protest against nakedness and wiping)...at which time Perrin would realize he was hungry. Sigh. Occasionally I'd try to go back to sleep instead of checking his diaper, but he never stayed asleep long laying down. As soon as this meconium passes, you can bet I won't be doing nighttime diaper duty. I'm not even supposed to be getting out of bed except to use the restroom, but I have to get my own food, change diapers, and carry Perrin to the living room so we can sit up. Awake. My body is so tired...

Labor + Sleep Deprivation + Breastfeeding + Constant Overexertion = not good for my recovery
That's one reason why we weren't discharged from the hospital until late yesterday (pulled out of the parking lot at 5:49pm). I overexerted myself by standing up to help change a really involved diaper and was dizzy the rest of the day. I did every other diaper, too, but this one was really messy and took a long time. I could feel myself going past the threshold, but we couldn't leave him sitting in that stuff. Laying down and eating didn't make it go away entirely, so the nurse even drew my blood to run labs before I left to make sure nothing else was wrong. The Percocet could've exacerbated the dizziness, so I'm just on ibuprofen for pain now. It is not sufficient.

I let Charlie sleep both nights in the hospital, including sleeping-in, so he would be rested enough to help me now when I need it most, but he's still sleeping...just like everyone else in this house but me. I haven't slept more than 30 or 40 minutes at a time for four days. I feel like crying. How dumb is that?

On a much more positive note, here are some more pics (albeit unsharpened). Click to see a larger version of each picture.

Perrin smiled at mommy and did The Fraser Eyebrow™ within seconds of each other, at two days old.

Daddy wasn't the first unsuspecting victim of a Perrin punch — Alyson Merrell got two in the face.

He already tries to look around at everything and prefers to sleep upright.

The first thing Caspian wanted to do was to cuddle on Mommy's arm.

The second thing he wanted to do was kiss his brother.

"Yes, you may!"

Neither the first, nor the last...by a long shot.

Caspian Holding Perrin

2009-04-20T18:58:00.006-05:00

Caspian just met Perrin for the first time a few minutes prior to this, and gave him kisses without any prompting!

2009-04-20T12:59:00.002-05:00

Perrin David Fiskeaux
born Sunday, April 19, 2009 at 5:49pm
7 lbs 8 oz
19.75" long

More to come…

2009-04-18T10:18:00.002-05:00

Sharp vertical pain plus pressure "low down," both when I got up to use the bathroom at 6:30am and when I officially got up after sleeping in, at 8:30am. Forgot to mention, too — I "dropped" Wednesday afternoon.

Whole wheat chocolate chip pancakes (no syrup) made for a good breakfast while sitting on my ball. Can't stand sitting in solid chairs anymore.

CANNOT find our most important box of baby clothes!!! Found the 0-12 mo outerwear and 0-12 mo pants and 0-12 mo sleepers, but not ONESIES for crying out loud. How am I supposed to dress this child?!? It's 72 degrees outside!

Caspian has started giving spontaneous hugs and saying, "I love you!" and "I love you all the time!" Happy sigh.

He strings multiple sentences together and uses everyday phrases that sound so grown-up coming from him, like, "I have an idea — let's read a book!" His grasp of cause-and-effect is really neat, too.

He loves to scare and be scared, but the cats run away, which makes them a more fun target. We're working on that.

Our rule is that Caspian isn't allowed to lock a door unless mommy or daddy asks him to, even if we're in the room with him. He always pretends to lock the door when he shuts us in the office together ("I locked it pretend!") by twinkling his fingers over it and saying, "Zjoob zjoob zjah!"

2009-04-17T22:04:00.005-05:00

Tried making peanut butter balls with Caspian this morning. He enjoyed measuring, pouring, and taste-testing ingredients, but NOT the mixing. Turns out he's like his daddy in that he doesn't like his hands being messy. He dug his hands in eagerly, then freaked out. :) Loved the end result, though.

Had labor-related low back pain last night and tonight. Some during the day and definite ctx throughout, but I haven't timed anything because they don't seem regular. I went for a family walk to the playground before dinner, then took a warm bath with Caspian when we got back. On the way home, I pushed the stroller while the guys walked. I must have been going a little slow up the hill, because Caspian started pushing with me and said, "You can do it, mommy!"

at the playground

"Mo-om, he's pointing at me!"

drum lessons

hugs & kisses

swinging like a monkey at the top of the slide (click to see up-close)

We have a game night scheduled for tomorrow, so maybe that'll relax me enough to go into actual labor. Plus Charlie makes whole wheat-chocolate chip pancakes every Saturday morning, which is a bonus. :) Technically 6 days to go, but fingers crossed for this weekend!

Prayers are appreciated, especially for no tearing...

2009-04-15T15:26:00.002-05:00

Quick progress report: 2-3 cm dilated, 50-60% effaced (she said she over-estimated last time), and still -2 station. Last Wednesday I was 1cm. This baby won't last another 9 days in here, I don't think! :) We're aiming for this weekend. Prayers and food are appreciated! LOL

2009-04-14T13:51:00.003-05:00

Giveaway!

Visit Marissa's photo blogsite for a chance to win a Lexington-area photo session!

PLEASE be sure to put in your comment that I referred you!

2009-04-14T08:04:00.006-05:00

Okay, okay. So I know it's been awhile...like, since February 1st.

I have been meaning to catch up on blog posts, but Facebook is so much easier! I promise to try to transfer all the stuff from the last few months so it's accessible to non-FBers. Meanwhile, here's a Dailies exclusive story:

Last night, I was really nauseated when I laid down for bed. I wasn't sure if I needed to eat a snack, take Pepto, just go to sleep, or what. Any time something like this happens now, I wonder if my body is "purifying" itself for labor. (note to self: NOT YET, PLEASE!) Anyway, I went to sleep and had a very vivid dream, only the end of which I remember. I was substitute teaching and went out into the hallway for something and my water broke — gallons of water and ribbons bright red blood everywhere (yes, I know there shouldn't be red blood in my "water" but it was a dream, alright?). All I could think about was that my next prenatal appointment was that day, and I wondered if I should tell my midwife or not, since I wasn't ready to go into labor yet. I woke up in a panic and tried to make sense of the fact that my water had broken. I was really crampy, too! I couldn't reconcile whether or not it was a dream or reality, so I asked somebody and they said it had actually happened. I was wondering if the cramps meant I was in labor or not when I woke up for real.

Nice, huh?

CASPIAN STUFF:

He loves reading "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom", Babar and Madeline stories, "The Droodles Storybook of Proverbs", Maisy the mouse books, books about babies and being a big brother, and Peter Rabbit.
He loves playing music, especially doing percussion (everywhere), jamming on the keyboard (especially switching "voices" and adding pre-recorded backbeats), and using my recorder.
He got his first self-inflicted paper cut yesterday, reading. It really confused him.
He had his first authorized piece of candy (a Kiss) on Easter. Speaking of, wait 'til you see this video of Caspian sharing the Easter story!
Everything is now a lightsaber. A friend of his had some duplicate Star Wars "Galactic Heroes" figures which he gave to Caspian, who didn't know anything about Star Wars. Now he knows all their names, has seen relevant scenes in the original films (courtesy of grandma), and the first part of Episode IV (courtesy of daddy). We're trying really, really hard to get him out of the violent mindset this has encouraged. I don't mind the constant swordfighting (as he calls it), just when he says, "Kill! Kill everybody!" We're trying to teach him to "stun" instead.
He is very opinionated about his clothes now. Some days he insists on khaki pants or a tie-dye shirt, etc.
His favorite things to watch are classic Disney animated films, Pixar films, and VeggieTales.

PICTURES:

Best friend Becky, her husband Ed, and their daughter Amelia (Caspian's birthday buddy) visited scenic Wilmore last month. Becky also did an amazing maternity shoot with us while she was here. We've seen a few of the shots but can't wait to see more of the pictures she took!!!

Caspian's board game addiction has decreased lately, but this was at its peak. Bonus points to Kate and Crystal if they remember which one this is! (no cheating, mom)

our cuddlebug wakes up daddy from a nap

April 5, after our church Easter egg hunt

We're planning another natural childbirth with a midwife and a doula at the hospital. I want to avoid back labor if I can, this time, so I spend a lot of time on hands and knees (the birthing ball really helps and is a comfy seat, too). Caspian likes to use his ball with me.

My awesome friend Tracy got her aunt to do a henna tattoo on my belly! This is the dark brown paste, but it flaked off and left an orange-hued tattoo which faded to freckle-brown.

Caspian is authorized to perch atop his baby brother for the last time until they're at least 8 or 9.

If you want more, join Facebook or just be patient...

2009-02-01T09:31:00.003-05:00

Caspian asked for "boo" again last Sunday: "Mommy, I want boo, please! Not switch boos, just boo. Not the other boo." (That means right side only; not left, not both.) After I confirmed (out of shock) like 5 times and got ready, he said, "No boo!" and ran off to play. Stinker.

We survived the ice/snow storms this week. It was great having Charlie home some mornings (and one whole day). Praise God, we only lost power in little blips here and there — nothing major.

My prenatal appointment got bumped to Friday because of the ice/snow. "Ugh" for glucose tests. I failed it, so I have to go next week and sit in the office for 3 hours after fasting all night while they do a make-up test. My MW said some people always seem to fail the first test when they're actually fine, which is what happened to me last pregnancy, too. Perrin's heartbeat was 140, and he measured perfectly on schedule. I gained four pounds this month. Now I'm down to the every-two-weeks appointments!

A Sample Conversation From Just Now:
[from hallway] No, no!
[coming into office] Mommy, flies. [pronounced "fwys"]
What? Fries? Fuzz? [trying to figure out what he might have said/seen]
FLIES! [still "fwys"] There are some flies flying around in the hallway.
Oh, FLIES? Did you catch 'em?
No, I didn't...catch 'em. I don't catch flies.

I took the 43 Things Personality Quiz and found out

I'm a Lifelong Learning Extroverted Builder

0.59% of the 81,503 people who have taken this quiz are like me.

2009-01-22T12:51:00.004-05:00

HAPPY THIRD TRIMESTER TO ME (as of yesterday)!!!

90 days (or 12 weeks and 6 days) to go until Perrin's EDD. That is so...unbelievable.

I gave Caspian some applesauce (which he loves) for lunch yesterday, and he said, "No, mommy. I'd like some real fruit from the store." (He meant whole, raw fruit.) LOL

Yesterday Caspian discovered an old wooden Disney puzzzle I'd put up for when he was older, and he mastered it right away! He likes to start with the middle pieces and work his way out, too, like he's challenging himself. Speaking of which, he also did it — without hesitation — with the puzzle base upside-down this afternoon (so, no outline for guidance). I'd love to get him some more jigsaw puzzles, now that he's beyond the peg-piece-into-a-single-shape-outline type. He could probably handle a 12-piece at this point, I think, since the seven-piece was a lark to him after just a few tries. Here's his upside-down puzzle play:

2009-01-21T14:06:00.009-05:00

And now, a special offer (idea borrowed from Deb):
The first five people to respond to this post with a posted comment about this offer will get something made by me! My choice. For you. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

I make no guarantees that you will like what I make.
What I create will be just for you.
It'll be done this calendar year.
You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a story. I may draw or paint something. I may bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure! However, I do promise that it will be more than just a handmade card!
I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.
I have to know you — no stranger blog-stalkers allowed.
No, the baby I'm currently "making" is not up for grabs. Sicko.

THE CATCH: you HAVE TO put this in your blog/online journal/Facebook as well. We can all make stuff!

Lately we've been working on curbing Caspian's auto-toddler response of "Nonononono!" when we start to do something he doesn't like. We ask him to "use other words to tell us what he wants" instead. Praise God, it's been working well! Now, 3 times out of 4, he'll just tell us "Please don't pick me up" or "I want to do it myself" instead of "Nonononono!"

We're going through our board games to try to weed out the ones we don't like much. One of the games we "test-played" recently is called Lie Detector, which has a cool non-electronic "polygraph" that tells whether a clue-giver's clue is true or false. Each clue-giver's card has their picture on it, and they're labeled by occupation. Caspian is entranced by this game (it's got cards with different people, a polygraph that makes noise, a "pen" that pokes in holes, and a peg board for keeping score). He was testing different cards in the polygraph and asking me what they were. Some of the occupations were unfamiliar to him, as evidenced by this exchange:
"Mommy, what's that?" (holds up card)
(reading card aloud) a psychic reader
"What means psychic reader, mommy?" :)

Speaking of asking questions, Caspian totally cracks us up with his inflections. He's realized that we tend to raise our speaking pitch at the end of a question and tries to emulate it now. Sometimes he'll start out in a normal tone of voice and then speak the last word in falsetto while he raises his eyebrows, and other times he'll speak most of the question in his question voice. Something like, "Daddy, want some cookies TOO?" I have got to get it on video, as description hardly does him justice.

We got to play in the leftover snow this morning — I've already taken 267 photos today! The playground next door looked like a winter wonderland, but the camera batteries died before we discovered the kitty footprints. Caspian took this opportunity to use his garden fork for the first time, to dig through the snow and debris. He doesn't have any snow gear, per se, so I put a pair of my earmarked-for-puppets socks over his shoes and pant legs. It worked really well! After we came in, we had cocoa...although his was more milk than cocoa, which makes me think using a couple drops of Hershey's wouldn't be a bad way to get him to drink more milk... There were so many "must-see" photos that I created a Multiply album instead of trying to upload them here. Here's a teaser for you!

2009-01-19T19:01:00.002-05:00

This is so funny, I just had to post again.

Caspian woke up from his nap hungry and asked for a snack, but I told him it was almost dinner time. He looked over to where my cell phone was sitting, saw the "M" and said, "M for McDonald's" (he saw the big decorative "M" on the wall at McDonald's last week). I explained that it was for Motorola in this case, which is a phone brand not a restaurant. Then he replied, "I want to eat at a restaurant for dinner!" LOL He said not at McDonald's, but at a restaurant "where the man cooks food." After a few more clarifying questions, I established that he meant Nagasaki Inn, where we ate at a hibachi table last month.

2009-01-19T13:40:00.009-05:00

Oh. My. Goodness.

I don't know which spurred my "had me at hello" moment, the picture or the title: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies.

And it's all from mixes!

Here's a copy of the Betty Cocker recipe plus the ganache recipe from the Bakerella blog (who took the pics).

You can hate/thank me later.

Here's my newest belly pic, at 26 weeks, 3 days:

Asbury finally fixed their pool, so I get to start water aerobics tonight! Hooray! That also means I get to use my maternity bathing suit for the first time since I bought it in 2006. My midwife wrote me a prescription for "water aerobics and/or yoga and/or massage as needed for lower back pain" so our HSA will cover the costs. Praise God!!!!!!!!!

I don't know if I mentioned it or not, but I decided to do a Project 365 like Kate. Unfortunately, I didn't decide to do it until January 9th or so, and I didn't take any pics at all on the 5th or 6th, so I can't go back and fudge it for the new year. It's a lot of fun capturing everyday moments that might not otherwise get photographed. Here are some of the photos I didn't use:

"toddler crack" (AKA bubbles) at library storytime

Caspian's 1st Mr. Potato Head experiment pitiful-with-a-hurt-knee banana-eater
(he twisted his knee in his sleep and it hurt for days; he started playing with Betsy again because he felt so pitiful) leaf collecting at Asbury in November
Where's the "m"? There! After I ruffled his feathers, I realized Caspian's rooster fro needed a trim.Caspian steels himself for his first trim by Mommy.
At least nothing started bleeding.
He lets me hold him when he first wakes up. (I'm 6 months preggers, here.) He rolled over into the void I'd left in the Snoogle. Here's my Project 365 Photo Album!

2009-01-15T10:26:00.002-05:00

This is from the Cake Wrecks blog.

Just for fun, I asked Caspian what animal this was. He thought about it for a little bit, then said, "It's dirty." It looks dirty? "Yeah." But what animal is it? After looking a little longer, he said, "I've never seen that." ROFLOL

Wanna go on a diet? Just look at the second cake in this post.

It's not Christmas anymore, but the third cake in this post is so funny.

Lastly, here's one for Duncan.

On Monday, inexplicably, Caspian completely switched over from saying "yes" to saying "yeah." I had never heard him say it, and he just woke up like that! He's so funny.

One of my favorite "spots" is the little divot on the back of Caspian's neck — right where his baby rat-tail ends. It's just a little indentation, but it is so kissable and strokeable! Sigh.

After his final diaper change of the night tonight, when he was just wearing his onesie, Caspian proclaimed, "I am not dressed anymore. I am half naked!" He is so amazing. Speaking of grown-up talk, he was carrying an empty laundry basket from his room and started to bring it into the office where I was. I told him, "That goes in the laundry room." He turned and headed down the hall with a resigned "O-kaaaay." LOL

2009-01-11T23:50:00.007-05:00

I feel guilty because a certain unnamed photographer who owns a minivan keeps harassing me for not posting more belly shots. Well, I feel guilty because I don't have as many of Perrin-bump as I do of Caspian-bump. Anyway, here is Perrin-bump on Saturday (yesterday) at 25 weeks, 2 days (6 months) along. (Click for a bigger picture.)

We were in Georgetown at a Mary Kay training event put on by National Sales Director Linda Toupin (third from left). I only bother buttoning the top button of my Red Jacket now, as it is not a maternity jacket. It's a little difficult to see where the bump is, since my black dress melds into Devyani's navy jacket, but at least it's a picture, right?

And for the record, HAH! Not only were the other belly pictures in my December 2nd post, you actually commented on it, Mrs. Minivanographer. At least you remind me to post. Thank you!

Oh, yeah. I saw Perrin kick from the outside for the first time last Saturday (January 3). It was pretty neat.

BONUS FUN: If you want to feel much, muuuuuch better about what you named your child, please visit this website. Some people are just sick.

2009-01-07T17:58:00.000-05:00

This is really disturbing!

Barring a reprieve, regulations set to take effect next month could force thousands of clothing retailers and thrift stores to throw away trunkloads of children's clothing.

The law, aimed at keeping lead-filled merchandise away from children, mandates that all products sold for those age 12 and younger -- including clothing -- be tested for lead and phthalates, which are chemicals used to make plastics more pliable. Those that haven't been tested will be considered hazardous, regardless of whether they actually contain lead.

"They'll all have to go to the landfill," said Adele Meyer, executive director of the National Assn. of Resale and Thrift Shops.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-thrift2-2009jan02,0,2083247.story (for the rest of this article)

The CPSC has preliminarily approved changes that exempt 100% cotton and wood goods, but the current wording/impact of this bill still borders on the ridiculous. Think "no more Once Upon A Child" and "no more buying kids' clothes and toys at Goodwill" as of February 10.

Go to this link to have automatic e-mails sent to your local legislators: http://www.rallycongress.com/make-second-hand-kids-clothes-legal-/

PASS IT ON!!!

2009-01-06T14:33:00.000-05:00

Had my 24½-week checkup today. I gained 3 pounds in the last month (incidentally, I weigh now what I did when I got pregnant with Caspian), and Perrin's heartbeat is 154. She didn't even have to coax him into holding still — it was there, strong, as soon as she put the wand on my tummy! My next appointment is in 3 weeks, then I start my 2-week appointments! Glucose test next time. I did get a prescription for water aerobics, massage, and yoga "as needed for back pain" so my insurance will cover it. Praise God!

Couldn't figure out what Caspian was trying to tell me yesterday morning until he demonstrated — "I'm chuckling, mommy." When I didn't get it after a while, he went "Huh huh huh — chuckling!"

2009-01-04T22:26:00.000-05:00

The September/October 2008 issue of Today's Christian Woman magazine featured an article (about using your spiritual gifts) which reminded me of my Mary Kay career. I'm sure these three excerpts will strike a chord with you as well:

When God empowers you to serve others through your spiritual gifts and you've found the places where God wants you to use them, you're more alive and fulfilled than during any other pursuit. You might even have fun!

When Mary Kay found me, I never really thought about serving or enriching others at all, but God has really expanded my heart through my Mary Kay experiences, to the point where I finally do think about making others feel important. It's amazing how He has woven potential for the use of so many spiritual gifts into this incredible opportunity (teaching, leading, giving, hospitality, administration, tongues, faith, healing, mercy, etc.). The next few sentences in the article contained some really interesting surprises!

The word passion is defined as "a powerful emotion." Its synonym is enthusiasm. The word enthusiasm comes from the Greek phrase en theos, "with God." So, if you're enthusiastically pursuing a passion that God has put in your heart, you're doing it with God.

What a great reminder of how He guides us in our lives — and how ALL good things come from Him! The article goes on to say,

Frederick Buechner put it this way: "The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet." To search for this kind of passion isn't a selfish quest for fulfillment; rather, it's looking for the exact thing God designed you to do.

May the God of all goodness grant YOU an encounter with passion this week!

2009-01-02T09:17:00.000-05:00

Here are some random time-wasters for you. Enjoy your day!

Interesting medical use for honey!

Just for the record, I was reading in Genesis a few days before Perrin's gender ultrasound — more specifically, about Rachel and Leah. As I read the last word of verse 29:32, Perrin kicked for the first time that morning: "...gave birth to a son." Very funny, God.

Here's the full story of how they did it!

Here's one more must-read.

HAPPY 22nd BIRTHDAY TO MY MOMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-01-01T18:16:00.011-05:00

Just in case you haven't heard, we revealed Merbaby's real name at Christmas. Are you ready...?

Perrin

(No, we haven't decided on a middle name, yet.) Perrin is another favorite literary character, this time from The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. There are way more "Perrins" in the world than we realized, too, including Spock's dad's second human wife. I guess Star Trek gravitates toward Charlie despite my refusal to consider "Jean-Luc" as a baby name. LOL We decided to tell early this time because we figured everyone was resigned to the fact that we were going to choose a name we liked, regardless of anyone else's preferences. Plus Caspian talks about Perrin all the time, and we knew it was only a matter of time before someone heard.

For the Fiskeauxs, we put a notecard in the tree that said, "For Whomever Runs Out of Presents First" on the outside, and "You get to see Caspian's new trick!" on the inside. Caspian's new trick was that he had memorized all of our first names. I'll post the video as soon as I get a chance. He gets a kick out of the fact that Charlie and I have names besides Mommy and Daddy.

At the Fraser's house, we could be a little more cryptic since they'd read The Wheel of Time series. We put three notecards in the tree, and anyone could take a notecard instead of a present on his/her turn. All that was on the back of each notecard (numbered 1, 2, and 3 on the front) was a picture:

On subsequent turns, people could ask for clues, so eventually they ended up with "_ _ _ _ _" for card 1, "_ _ _ _" for card 2, and "_ _ _ _" for card 3. We played hangman (without the hanging part) to fill in the blanks, so they ended up with "wheel," "time," and "wolf". After that, they got no more clues — they just had to figure out what the point of the whole thing was, as a group. Eventually, they guessed that we were naming Merbaby "Perrin" and were really excited.

A slip-up was likely to happen on Christmas, too, since we did a homemade Christmas this year and some of the gifts involved pictures of Perrin (which might prompt Caspian to tell). We made framed name mats that spelled "GRAND" for both sets of grandparents and put pictures inside showing the grandkids. Several other friends and family received Raktajineaux Snickerdoodle Latte Mix. Years ago, Charlie received some storebought snickerdoodle latte mix as a gift, but the company went out of business. He painstakingly recreated the recipe himself, and we packaged some up for gifts this year. We decided to make it look "real," so we made up a brand name and a label and everything. Raktajino is Klingon coffee, so we Fiskeauxed it by changing the "o" to "eaux" (and added a tagline of "Almost As Good As Prune Juice!" as a nod to its Klingon heritage).

2008-12-23T12:39:00.002-05:00

I decided to make an outline of the baby's 4-D shot so Caspian could see it better. I was showing it to him this morning, and we decided to add some hair to make the angle more recognizable. Of course, then Caspian said, "Give him a mustache and a beard!"

2008-12-21T23:31:00.002-05:00

Vote in our baby name poll, located on the right side of the blog homepage!

Vote today!

Vote now!

Vote vote vote!

2008-12-21T23:25:00.003-05:00

It's 9° here, with a windchill of -9°. (That's -12.7 and -22.7 for anyone in Celsiusland.) Charlie almost had a conniption fit when he had to pump gas. We said a quick prayer for all the homeless in our area, because tonight doesn't look very survivable.

Our small town has "Wilmore Old-Fashioned Christmas" every year, where they block off main street with fire trucks and all the businesses open for socializing, free food, and live holiday music (even the post office and city hall). This year, Charlie's office did free Christmas portraits for anyone who wanted them! We weren't planning to do it, but we were there for clean-up time and decided to sit down anyway. Caspian was so tired, he pitched a fit...until they handed him a jingle bell.

Click here to see our first family "Christmas card" ever:

2008-12-09T23:26:00.001-05:00

Drum roll please................
.............................................
.............................................
.............................................
......................it's a BOY!

We are excited the more we think about it. God really knows what He's doing. Our littlest man is 13 oz and the u/s results were perfect, except for the fact that the little stinker would hardly hold still for anything (all the pics are fuzzy). The only bad thing is since I've been sick for the last month and haven't been up to much of anything activity-wise, I gained nine pounds when I should've gained five. The midwife didn't harp about it because my eating habits are fine, it's just my darn sedentary lifestyle of the last four weeks. Of course, since being pregnant makes you tired, having a toddler makes you tired, being sick makes you tired, and not sleeping past 4am makes you tired, I don't have a lot of energy to do anything. I need to figure something out that will get me moving but that doesn't require energy. Any suggestions?

Oh, yes — Caspian is still sick. His cough is hideous, and he's very clingy but still bouncing around like a monkey. He won't nap unless he falls asleep in the car, so he's pretty by the end of the evening. I've gotten steadily worse, myself, and now Charlie is starting to get a tickle of it.

2008-12-06T06:14:00.003-05:00

Couldn't sleep. CuddleMan needed me on my right, but I reeeeeeeally wanted to lie on my left, so...couldn't sleep. Now I've been up for two hours and I'm starting to get hungry. PLEASE PRAY for him, you guys. He's got his first ear infection ever (saw ped on Thursday), and he is miserable. His cough is what worries me most. He's on an antibiotic and children's Tylenol, but his cough is horrid. It's dry, but it sounds like his lungs are going to strip away (deep and barky).

I'm only awake right now because he woke up coughing at 4:20am and I couldn't get back to sleep. What can I do for my pitiful little man? The ped told me Robitussin for the cough and decongestant for stuffiness, but HELLO, I'm not going to do that.

I've already scoured the internet for various ideas, but I'd like to know what actually worked for you and your toddler/baby. He has eczema, so we weren't sure if Vick's Vapo-Rub or Johnson's Vapor Bath would be okay for him...

Here's what I found that seems viable:

warm bath (with essential oil or vapor bath)
licorice tea with honey
3-4 TB olive oil with 2 drops essential oil, rub on chest and back, wear tight shirt
humidifier (with essential oil)
breastfeeding
Vick's Vapo-Rub on soles of feet/chest/back
hot drink with honey
apples

We already run a humidifier in the bedroom 24/7, but he didn't take a nap yesterday at all. Poor, exhausted little man...

2008-12-02T21:45:00.003-05:00

Does anyone know a book or movie or TV show that has a scene where someone cups someone else's face in his hands and says, "Tell me a story!" while looking deep into her eyes? Caspian just started doing that a day or so ago, but he always does it the same, like he's quoting something...?

We're pretty sure Caspian has an imaginary friend named "Tey-tah," who is red. Sometimes Teytah is an elephant, too, but it's always red. A lot of times, he'll ask to visit Teytah or go to Teytah's house, or he'll mention what Teytah's doing. Sometimes we'll ask where Teytah is, and it'll be sitting on Caspian's potty or hiding under a chair or hanging out on an empty patch of floor. It took us forever to decide that Teytah is imaginary, after running through every conceivable real-life person whose name sounded like "Teytah" (Caspian was very insistant and always consistent in his pronounciation). Occasionally, there's also another "person" named "Taddy," but Taddy is nowhere near as omnipresent as Teytah.

A month or so ago, Caspian started a new aspect of play with his "pirates" (what he calls his assortment of Fisher-Price figures, which includes pirates, dinosaurs and cavemen, circus, and vacationers). He started having the baby blue dinosaur ask the mommy blue dinosaur to nurse! The weird thing is, the mommy says "no" most of the time.

His current choice of skill development is jumping, which he will be more than happy to show you if you ask. He'd turned over the little Rubbermaid-type box in which we keep his "pirates" and was jumping off of it over and over (always barefoot and holding one of my hands). He landed wrong on one jump and started crying and limping, but he was over it after a few minutes. He climbed back on the box and announced, "No hurt self anymore" repeatedly as he executed his next jump.

He loves telling people they're doing a good job (including himself, if you don't do it when he thinks he's performed especially well — see "jumping" above). For example, we were blowing into his pinwheel and he said, "Good job blowing, mommy!"

Part of his nighttime routine is reading a story in bed. It always used to be Goodnight, Moon, but he's been rotating a variety of books for the last few months. One night last week, we were getting ready for bed and he kept insisting, "Maggot rice! Maggot rice!" He never varied what he said, but we could not understand what he wanted! We tried interpreting it as "magic rice," too, but he never seemed satisfied. Finally, I realized he was saying "Margaret Wise," as in Margaret Wise Brown, the author of Goodnight, Moon! We laughed sooo hard.

He loves to read and recite. We were reading a Sesame Street Golden Book, "The Together Book," and (on a whim) I asked him which word on the cover was "book". He pointed immediately to the right word. When I asked how he knew that was the word "book," he said "B". My smart monkey. He'll read books aloud to himself and spontaneously recite poems or songs (ABCs, Little Miss Muffett, Row Your Boat, etc.) all the time, although his OBSESSION is the VeggieTales theme song. Who knows why, but he has latched onto that song! We only have the first two VeggieTunes CDs, and he asks for VeggieTales every time we get in the car. Sigh. Usually, he specifically requests the theme song. He even sings the "bmp, bmp, bmp" for the tuba intro. It's pretty funny when he switches to falsetto for Junior Asparagus' parts. We have to sing "The Bunny Song" to get him to brush his teeth, too. I love hearing him sing that one, especially the part where Mr. Nezzer is reprimanding the backup singers as they're singing (Caspian does both parts). He even sings "bun-neh" instead of "bunny," just like Mr. Nezzer.

Last weekend after dinner, I asked Charlie if we were going to eat the J-E-L-L-O he'd made (I spelled it so Caspian wouldn't be disappointed if Charlie said "no"). Caspian cried out, "You want Jell-o!" (he is "you" to himself, since that's how we refer to him). So much for spelling secret words.

Merbaby is a KICKER! For the last two weeks or so, we have enjoyed "Happy Hour" — a kickfest that starts around 7pm and goes until about 10. I LOVE having that constant reassurance. Funny story, though. I got to take a nap the day after Thanksgiving (thank you, Charlie), and when the boys came to wake me up, Charlie leaned down and said, "Hi, baby" in a deep voice right into my belly. He must have startled the baby awake, because as soon as the first syllable came out, Merbaby kicked HARD and suddenly. S/he has only done really hard kicks one other time, and that was on Saturday evening at my parent's house. We weren't doing anything special, but after some normal kicking, s/he gave four walloping thuds right into my belly over the course of 5 or 6 minutes! I don't know if the kicks were just in a weird place or if they really were harder, but man, it almost took the wind out of me.

13w 2d and 17w 5d bellyshots

I had only gained 2 pounds at my last check-up (between 10/14 and 11/13). The heartbeat was 147 this time, and that stinker doesn't like to hold still very long for the tech. I'll be 20 weeks on Thursday, and our big u/s is next Tuesday. ing for another exhibitionist!

My biggest pregnancy symptom right now (other than getting kicked around) is not sleeping. Grrrr. My knees and hips ache and I can't get comfortable. After a few fitful hours, my REM sleep ends sometime in the early morning, and then I try to deny it off and on until I give up and get up. It had been holding steady around 5:30 or 6, but it ended at 4:30 and 3:30 on Sunday and Monday. It's hard to have a lot of energy, but I'm trying for Caspian's sake.

There is one other pregnancy symptom I'd forgotten from last time that may be uniquely Hilary: a tanking game mojo. I am what one might call a board/card game nazi, but when I get pregnant, apparently all my gaming prowess goes toward nourishing my baby. For example, I placed dead-last in 3 separate rounds of a WORD GAME we played with friends on Saturday. If you know me, you know that is a big deal!

The final pose is my hands-down favorite moment of all time.

2008-11-18T17:10:00.002-05:00

(In case you're wondering about Charlie's skintone, I think we all know he has a farmer's tan.)

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

2008-11-09T10:39:00.002-05:00

I have been flat out since Tuesday night with a sinus infection AND an ear infection. Charlie took off work Wednesday afternoon and Thursday because I couldn't handle being vertical with a toddler.

Our external hard-drive is offline, so I don't have any pics of Halloween or Caspian's very first haircut (10/29), but here are some others:

What it's like in our bed:

The only two men I ever want to see naked:

Caspian's first photo shoot (thanks to our camera's flip-out viewer window):

2008-10-22T09:12:00.002-05:00

Attention, anyone who is busy or hates wasting gas/time waiting in line or in traffic: Shipping and gift wrap are always free, so let me know if I can help you get a jumpstart on your Christmas shopping (or a "thank you" for your Thanksgiving hostess).

Speaking of MK shipping, I have the most ironic story. A friend's two year-old got into her mascara and smeared it all over her face, so she had me send her a new one. Well, last Monday morning, I laid out her items on the bed and went into the office to get a shipping envelope. In that short interval, Caspian opened the replacement mascara and smeared it all over his face! I made sure he didn't get anywhere near the new replacement tube. He's not nearly as distressed in that second picture as he looks. I think he was mid-sentence when I snapped it.

We started Caspian an Amazon wishlist, but haven't thought about what we're getting him ourselves. Maybe puppets — my hands are so sore (no joke) from all the "talk hand, please" in our house. Why, oh why did I ever show him that hands can talk? The only thing not on the wish list is a play kitchen. There are so many to choose from!

I'm feeling better now that Charlie has reminded me that sleeping is important. We've been taking walks almost every day, which also feels great. I'm starting on my autumn round of seasonal update facials/makeovers, and some clients have even started their Christmas shopping! It's so much fun getting to play "personal shopper" — shopping for other people and giftwrapping has always been my favorite part of gift-giving.

Charlie and I are trying to eat out free as often as we can this week. His birthday is on Sunday, so we both have a bunch of e-mail coupons.

Caspian is still brilliant and gorgeous. He "reads" so many books, and I love play-acting with him. Two year-old creativity is such a blast. Don't you just love conversations with 2yos? They are so much fun!!! I feel so blessed to have him in my life. He is so exceptional. I can't believe we get to have "another one"!

2008-10-14T22:24:00.004-05:00

We had our 12½ week visit today, and heard a gorgeous 153 bpm heartbeat. Next appointment with the midwife is 9/13. A lot of the nausea and tiredness are gone, but man, it's tough being pregnant and having a toddler! I'm also in physical therapy for my back, so prayers would be appreciated!

Caspian is thrilled to be a big brother. We pray for the baby and he sings to it and kisses it.

He loves taking apart the vaccuum attachments — especially the two long hose extenders. He pretends they're a violin and bow and "plays" them. Or sticks them together and rides them like a toy horse. Or uses them as a rifle to shoot bad guys.

On the MK front, I was accepted into a program called Top Gun, which is an elite leadership training series. Only 10 consultants in our national area got accepted! Every week, I drive 3 hours each way to Dayton, OH to attend training at my national director's house. It's pretty rigorous, so it's only for people who are really ready to move up. We have assignments each week that help us get used to moving in the fast lane, and if we don't complete our assignments for the week, we have to drop out. I do not plan to drop out, even if getting it done kills me. If anybody wants a free eye shadow or ½-price item for giving me their opinion, just e-mail me! It would help a LOT! (Know what would help even more a lot? Letting me treat you and a couple friends to some pampering this month! You know you need it.)

I'll turn 30 on Saturday, and Charlie will turn 30 on the 26th. We're not panicking or anything, but it's kind of surreal to ponder.

Don't Read This...It's Disgusting

2008-09-25T03:01:00.005-05:00

Well, it's 4am, and I'm finally going back to bed.

I've been switching to the couch halfway through the night every night because of my back, so when I heard Caspian crying around 3, I assumed it was because I was gone. Instead of going in to take care of it, I decided to see how Charlie handled it. 10 or 15 minutes went past, and they had migrated into the bathroom, still awake. I was a little miffed that he hadn't just told Caspian where I was and explained why and maybe snuck in to "make sure" I was there...but I was letting him do it his way. Then I heard Caspian cry in a weird way I didn't recognize, so I got up.

I didn't recognize it because he's never had to use the puke cry before.

Oh, yes. While I was laying awake on the couch, letting Charlie fend for himself, Caspian had actually puked himself awake in bed. Poor Charlie. (But thank goodness we were sleep-sharing, or we might have woken up to a puke-crusted toddler.) Caspian had puked once on Charlie in bed, once on his own legs in bed, once on the bathroom floor, and several times into the bathroom trash can. He was so confused and totally distraught. That was the cry I heard.

In addition, Charlie was stuck on the toilet while Caspian threw up nearby. They apparently had contracted food poisoning from bad pizza (which I hadn't eaten, praise God). I sat on the floor an held Caspian while he heaved (mostly clear liquid, now). When he was finished, I got him to drink some water and eat two bites of saltine cracker. Which he then deposited back onto the bedroom floor. And the bathroom floor. And into the trash can.

I changed the sheets and his clothes, mopped up the floor, started a load of pukey laundry, and got them settled back into bed. Caspian was distraught for "boo", which doesn't surprise me, since he was so upset. I was hesitant to put anything else in his stomach, but he was going to make himself sick crying otherwise. A few minutes in — while he was asleep — he heaved and bubbled up again. I flipped him upright so he could "use" the towel we'd spread on the bed, and sure enough, out came more. Mostly mucous. Ew. That was new. Caspian was, of course, completely unsettled, having woken from serene sleep by being flipped around and then throwing up again.

After cleaning up a second round in bed, I held Caspian and rocked and sang and stroked his back. He was out and limp before Charlie could change the Boppy cover. I laid him down on the new towel, and he and Charlie are now blissfully asleep in bed. I decided to record this very first puke session for posterity while I waited for the first laundry load to finish. And now for round number two...

2008-09-22T21:48:00.002-05:00

For those of you who are stalking this blog and haven't yet been informed by a real person: we're expecting!

Yes, it was planned (but the exact timing is God's.)
Our due date is April 23, 2009.
No, we won't know the gender until Christmas.
Yes, we hope it's a girl.
No, we'll still be thrilled if God wants us to have a boy. (Or as Charlie puts it, "If it's a boy, we'll just know that God wants us to have three kids.")
Yes, I've been tired and nauseated.
Yes, I'm already showing a little.
Yes, Caspian is over the moon about it.

From the creative team that brought you Tidbit, we present...Merbaby!

2008-08-19T23:22:00.003-05:00

We're cleaning out our storage room, and I found this doodle in one of the boxes (click to see close-ups). I was 15 when I did it. The top shows our family in the house across from the Luce Center (notice the garage/dojo and Stu's and my attic room). In this picture, we have (L-R) Duncan, Dad, Me, Stuart, Mom, and Eric, plus praying mantises and cats Simone and Maggie. Notice Duncan's long hair and his and Eric's muscles.

The back apparently depicts each of us in our "trademark" (to me, when I was 15) activities. Duncan working out (sweating) and doing martial arts (confident); Dad driving for Airborne Express (neutral) and drawing a cartoon (happy); Mom using the computer (happy) and singing/being with children (really happy); Me listening to music while reading with a cat (hey, I don't just enjoy one or two things) and singing/doing art/fashion design/being with children; Eric singing and writing (in a journal?) while sitting on his couch; and Stuart playing baseball (focused) and laying on the couch with the remote, watching TV (also focused).

Caspian leads prayer now! He says, "Jesus...thank you for food...love Jesus!...amen!"

He was playing on our electric keyboard tonight and specifically asked that the instrumentation be changed to "trumpet" then "guitar"...craziness! He is so freakin' smart, it blows my mind.

Our attempt to curb his "hit people" phase seems to be going well, by the grace of God. He still talks about Star Trek, but hasn't seen any for a couple of weeks. However, he did name his Cabbage Patch doll (at grandma's) "Kahn." Seriously.

I am so proud of him. He is very, very consistent about saying "Yes, please" and "No, thank you" all the time. What a blessing he is!

Recently, he's been practicing his "surprised" face, as well as "mad" and "sad" and "happy." He cracked me up on Monday, when he ran down the hall at my mom's, toward the mirror, came to a screeching halt, and gaped in surprise (hand gesture included). He always adds, "Surprise!" aloud just in case you didn't get which emotion he was demonstrating.

New obsession: potty books (Once Upon A Potty and 1, 2, 3, Pee!). Oh. My. Goodness. If he were only as willing to sit on the toilet as he was to talk about it...whew. He even tells us when he's about to go; he just won't sit on the toilet. We have got to get him a training potty...

2008-08-13T11:42:00.004-05:00

Caspian had his 2 year check-up on Monday. He was 33½" tall and 27½ lbs. The four things we're going to start working on are self-dress, somersaulting, pedaling, and potty books. Caspian knows how to get his clothes on and off, he just isn't coordinated enough to do it. I've started letting him do more and try to do it alone first. He frequently "v"s on the bed (up on hands and feet, tush in the air, head down), but I don't let him push past "v" because it's always on the edge of the bed. We did some practice somersaults down the center of the bed this morning, and he cracked up. He doesn't have any pedaling opportunities, but maybe we'll find something at Goodwill or OUAC. He's mentioned going on the potty before, but he freaks out if we try to follow up on his request. He's very aware of his p*n*s and knows that boys have them (and this morning asked "mommy pee?" since I'm not a boy and don't have one — oh, my). His ped said we can start reading potty books to get him used to the idea of going on the toilet.

Star Trek is officially off limits at our house now. Caspian goes around shooting people with a "phaser" (stick, phone, finger, etc.) all the time. We explained that it's not okay to shoot people, unless they're "bad guys" but he's too young to grasp that. In the last couple of days, too, he's starting saying, "Hit people." That was the last straw for me. That is not the sweet, gentle boy I know. We agreed to completely censor everything he watches, even when we'd really like to watch Battlestar Galactica over dinner. Thank goodness for the Olympics — something for the whole family! Caspian is fascinated by gymnastics and swimming.

One of his newest occupations is driving his car. I was letting him play in an empty MK shipping box while I put away laundry, and he said it was his car. He was making car noises (below) and trying to put a key in the side of the box.

I cut a hole for the key to stick in, drew some console features, and gave him a round lid to use as a steering wheel (turning SO fast, below). The funniest thing was that after I was done, he said, "A C!" He kept saying it, so I drew an air vent and knob and labeled it "A/C"...and he was happy. He takes a drive at least once every afternoon now. See my laundry? :)

He's memorizing more and more books — most recently, Color Crunch. I let him finish the ends of rhyming lines or say a single line on a page.

He got to see Uncle Stuart again on Monday. Whenever we see a plane while we're playing on the playground, Caspian says, "Plane! Stuart. Fly plane. Happy [to] see ya!" We have no idea where he came up with "happy to see ya," but he says it every time he thinks of seeing Stuart.

2008-08-09T12:27:00.001-05:00

I finally posted my Seminar pictures, but they haven't been captioned yet. Speaking of Mary Kay, this past week was my 7th $1,000 week! It always seems to happen when I have three classes in one week....

For 08-08-08, the Cre8tive Group had a big Chinese/Olympic-themed celebration. We even had our own competitive events with prizes: the triathlon, the saltine contest (first to eat 6 in under a minute), and the cinnamon contest (eat a heaping tablespoon at once, no time limit). The triathlon consisted of corn hole (below), Wii Summer Olympics hammer throw, and an obstacle course. The obstacle course was shooting a basketball basket, running to the jungle gym, climbing across the monkey bars, sliding down the slide, doing four spins on a dizzy bat, running back through cones, and shooting another basket. Charlie and I had the top two scores on the hammer throw, and we both got admirable times on the obstacle course. Two people (at least) fell off the monkey bars — one of whom scored some hairline fractures in her arm. The Cre8tive Group's cake for the event ended up on the Cake Wrecks blog, which is awesome (if you want to laugh until you cry, you only have to read Cake Wrecks' May blog posts). All in all, it was a very fun night. Thanks, Chad!

2008-07-30T08:25:00.005-05:00

As if we needed another time-waster...wanna be a piece of IKEA furniture? You get different results with different capitalizations, too!

Swedish Furniture Name Generator

And it's "blog-a-DEE-ya," if you were wondering.

They also have an Action Hero Name Generator, blogged Wolf Action, Treasure Hunter.

Freebie formal picture, from my Mary Kay Seminar awards banquet! Isn't my hubby a hottie? Rhetorical question.

2008-07-26T22:31:00.007-05:00

Well, it's done. He's two.

First thing this morning, Charlie trained him to answer "two" when asked how old he is. He also tried getting him to show "two" with his fingers, but that didn't work as well.

His very first gift was a light-up Spiderman outfit from his Great-Grandparents Fraser. Boy was he surprised when it lit up!

He loves showing us how strong he is! That always makes for the funniest picture, because he sucks in his gut and shrugs up his shoulders. He looks emaciated!

He only had two requests for his birthday: cake and Star Trek. More specifically, he wanted to wear his Star Trek outfit. Ever since he and Daddy had their Trek-a-thon during my absence, Caspian has been obsessed. He asks to watch it first thing every single morning! He pulls his outfit out of the dirty laundry every day, asking to wear it, so we washed it last night.

You would not believe how difficult it is to find cake at a restaurant nowadays. It used to be that everyone served a free piece of cake on your birthday (there were two that immediately leaped to mind). When I called one such restaurant today, however, here was the conversation I had:

"Hello, I have a quick question about your dessert menu."
"Okay..."
"Do you serve cake?"
"Ummm...yes! We have brownies and cheesecake, so, yes."
"...?"

So, not only could I not find free cake, I could not find any cake. And Caspian wanted cake — as in cake. With icing. And cake in it. Praise God for O'Charley's, who not only serves cake on their regular dessert menu, but who was willing to give us a free piece of it instead of the standard free piece of caramel pie. And it was triple chocolate cake. And it actually tasted as rich and yummy as it looked. Woo-hoo!

Before the cake came, he enjoyed rolls, broccoli, and macaroni & cheese — three of his favorites!

We got video of him eating his cake, too. He was pretty excited about it.

After dinner, we took him to see Wall-E, since we had a movie gift card. He watched most of it standing up or trying to sit on his booster seat on the floor (not very effective), but he really enjoyed it!

Yesterday he said his first honest-to-goodness sentence: "Mommy, help me...please!"

Here's my loving little kissy man. Our favorite thing is when he grabs your face for a kiss!

Sometime today I told him, "You're wonderful. Do you know that?" "Mm-hm." "Do you know how wonderful?" "Two!" was his answer. LOL

He also spent time with his grandparents for dinner and cupcakes on Monday. He got a toy microwave and play food from Grandma Bonnie & Grandpa Kirk, and Horton Hatches an Egg with a plush Horton from Grandma & Grandpa Fiskeaux. He was so excited! He LOVES pretending to cook, and he LOVES elephants (the trunk is even poseable).

2008-07-22T08:49:00.004-05:00

I finally got back from Seminar late Sunday night, and it was incredible! I have a ton of pictures and videos and stories to share, so keep your eyes peeled for updates. Here is a quick picture of the main arena (click to enlarge it).

Charlie helped Caspian learn a few new phrases, too — phrases he'd used enough that they became part of his vocabulary while I was gone: "clean up," "chocoate bread," and "Star Trek." Does that tell you what kind of week they had?

Some of you have asked for gift ideas for Caspian's birthday. He loves letters and numbers and colors (anything related to learning or reading). We never mind gently-used secondhand clothes and toys, either! (And the fewer electronic sound effects and noises, the better.) Since it's only his 2nd birthday, he doesn't really know about birthday presents yet ("cake" is his current focus), but for anyone who would like to get something for our little man, here are some things that have been on our needs/wants list.

books, puzzles, and clothes are a given...or even a gift card to Once Upon A Child

diaper covers ~ up to four Med-Lg Mothease Air-Flow Snap Covers (here or here). We recently had to get rid of 3 of his 4 covers due to leakage. They lasted two years in a small rotation, so we definitely got use out of them! "Med-Lg" is actually the size between medium and large...go figure.

standing art easel (like this) ~ Caspian loves art, but we don't really have a good place for him to do art activities at his own height. We've been looking for one of these — they have chalkboard, dry erase, and a roll of paper in the middle to flip over for painting or coloring!

LeapFrog Fridge Phonics (here) ~ He loved playing with a friend's single-letter set of these, but he knows the entire alphabet already. This goes a step further, to three-letter words. (And yes, this is an exception to the electronic-sounds thing.)

standing play kitchen ~ His other love is pretending to cook. Whenever he's at church or a friend's house, he heads straight for the play kitchen (usually to make eggs or tea).

tricycle or Little Tykes Cozy Coupe ~ Now that his limbs are getting more coordinated, we thought he would enjoy something he could ride in the driveway and on the sidewalk. Some tricycles come with detachable handles for the parent to start out pushing.

diaper wet bags ~ up to three medium SMJAE (here) (patterns 011, 50, 54). We also had to get rid of 2 of his 3 wet bags due to leakage (again, they lasted two years in a very small rotation).

cloth wipes ~ SMJAE has good ones (here or here) (gender neutral, floral sensation). We switched to cloth wipes for most diaper changes a few months ago, but we always run out of wipes before it's time to wash a load of diapers.

2008-06-29T22:27:00.003-05:00

Okay, all you would-be medical people out there...what's wrong with my mouth?

For the last two or three days, I've woken up with a slightly sore throat that fades over the day, plus a sensitive tongue. It's kind of like the feeling you get when you've drunk your coffee too early and it burns your mouth (hypersensitive) or like when you've used too much Oragel (numb)? Today, however, my sore throat has not gone away all day, plus my taste buds are really prominent. They got more bumpy as the day went on (as you can see on the front of my tongue), and a visible ridge of bumps along both sides of my tongue sticks out higher than the rest of the taste buds. The right side of my tongue/mouth hurts more. The pictures don't really show just how high up the tastebuds are sticking. It's really weird.

Any clue, anyone?

2008-06-25T21:20:00.004-05:00

Caspian is so awesome. Every day, he whips out a new word or concept. Last week he started praying at random times, on his own. He tells me he's going to pray, then what he's going to pray for. It's so cute. He does it every morning, too, when I'm getting ready in the bathroom. He'll climb up the stepstool, get a drink in a Dixie cup, announce "pray," set the cup on the top step, sit on the bottom step with his feet inside the stool, and pray for his water (and Grandpa, lately)! Oh, what a blessing he is!

He discovered money today! We were reading his toddler Bible, and his favorite pictures are from the prodigal son — especially where the son is holding a goblet in one hand and a bag of money in the other. I explained again that it was money and that you use it to buy things, and this time he repeated "money" (so cute, BTW). To show him some real money, I took all the change from my wallet and put it into his empty sock so he could hold it like the prodigal son held his bag. He thought that was the coolest thing ever. Then we dumped the change into a shallow tin and spent about 30 minutes sorting the different kinds of change back and forth between the lid and the tin. He said penny, quarter, dime, nickel, head, and house (building). We counted how many we had of each kind, put them in piles, poured them like water, and shuffled our fingers in them. Money is officially his new favorite toy (I know, I know — I've opened the floodgates). We played with it again tonight, and he keeps trying to get my wallet out to play with it some more. He would not accept poker chips as a substitute, either. Darn.

He got his second spanking ever this morning. :( He's been pulling out a power cord from the electrical socket in the living room recently, and the seriousness of it isn't getting through to him. This morning when he yanked it again, I gave him a swat on his behind. He was so shocked and surprised that he howled for quite a while. He didn't see that it was me, so he just associated the discomfort with touching the cord and the socket. (woo hoo!) We talked about it, and he decided that they were "No, no — eyes!" which means he's not allowed to touch them, just look with his eyes. Thumbs up!

I tried explaining about his birthday this morning, since we have a month to go. When I mentioned birthday, the immediate connection he made was "cake". I explained about his birthday cake, and asked what kind of cake he wanted (yellow and chocolate). Then I showed him the calendar, today's date, and his birthday. We circled his birthday with highlighters and pronounced it to be cake day. He understood that we had no cake today and that the special day was the day we will have cake, but all day, he wanted cake anyway! To get around the incongruity, he kept trying to circle today's date with the highlighters! He'd drag a chair over, climb up, grab a highlighter, and try to mark on today's square. It was pretty funny.

His big new color is teal and he's finally started verbalizing "orange" (as "ng"). Almost every morning, he asks to call Grandpa Kirk. His preferred greeting has switched to "Hi!" and when he starts in on giving "five," literally everyone in his sight line gets asked. He's getting pretty good at hitting balls with his plastic golf club (today we worked on a two-handed swing) — and he made the connection between that and Wii golf.

Marker session #2, with daddy:

2008-06-23T12:24:00.005-05:00

Let me back up. Last Tuesday there was a Mary Kay event in Lexington to wrap up the final quarter of the Seminar year. Of all the people in attendance, I was shocked (truly) to be recognized as having the highest retail sales for the entire quarter! I got flowers and a tiara and it was totally unexpected. That event was also the first time I got to wear my red jacket in public, too. One other first, that not all of you will appreciate: it was my first time back in an underwire since sometime in my first trimester (early spring 2006). Talk about weird! That night I also experimented with not wearing a sleep bra — it worked! Ahhhhh...

On Thursday, my Red Jacket Debut was awesome! My friends/family/guests completely filled half of the seats at the Pampering Center. It was so incredible to have those who came, come to support me. I smiled so hard throughout the whole thing, my scalp hurt!

My dad took this picture outside the training center:

Caspian is turning into a parrot. He will almost always repeat the main word/phrase of whatever your statement is. He's also getting into concepts. For example, whenever we're about to get in the car or take a bite of food, he asks, "Hot?" No. "Cold?" No. "Warm!" Yes. "[just] Right!" (like in Goldilocks). His other big thing is happy or sad (and "cry"). He just cracks me up all the time. He is so awesome. He's so brilliant! And sweet! And funny! And gorgeous! And kindhearted! And strong! And WONDERFUL! I love him.

One more milestone: on Saturday night, we were all sitting in the living room together when Caspian suddenly insisted that he wanted to go through the gate into the other part of the house, and that he wanted both Charlie and me to go too...? We kept asking him where he wanted to go and why, but he just kept insisting that we all go. Finally he said he wanted us to go to the potty. We were so clueless, we kept trying to narrow it down (you want mommy to go potty? you want daddy to go potty? we don't have to go potty, sweetheart...). Turned out that Caspian wanted us to take him to the potty! We only realized this after he started pushing there in the living room and it was too late. Can you say, "Duh," first-timers?

Here's a little "blast from the past" for you!

Car Finale

2008-06-19T15:48:00.004-05:00

God provides, that's for sure. We ended up switching service providers and replaced the entire engine in our car. Mercifully, God allowed some people to minister to us in a great way by loaning us the money to pay for it. Glory to God!

Tonight will be my Mary Kay RED JACKET DEBUT!!!!! Exactly two years and three months after I joined this incredible company, my team promoted me into this position of leadership and responsibility. No offense to the other MKers out there, but I really do have the greatest team on the face of the earth. They are amazing ladies, all of them. Our goal by the end of the month is to be an official Team, and I've been ordered to get into DIQ right away (by some of my sassy team members). I'm taking them up on that challenge!

How did I spend the afternoon? Letting Caspian play naked in the bathtub with washable markers for the first time. Thankfully, they're also non-toxic...

Gosh, I love my life. I'm so grateful and so thankful for the opportunities and flexibility Mary Kay has provided for our family. Thank you, Lord!

UPDATE: Prayer Request for the Car

2008-06-09T13:59:00.003-05:00

We heard back from Toyota today. They replaced the pipes and cleaned everything out, then took it for a test drive. There is an unexplained rattling and the car won't maintain oil pressure. They cannot figure out what is causing these problems, so we have two options. We can either start replacing random parts until we find out what's wrong (expensive) or we can replace the entire engine (expensive). They found us a used engine that only has 83K miles on it for $4500. We don't even have the $900 for the first set of repairs, much less an additional $4500 (or more). Our mechanic is a man we trust to be thorough, so if they can't find the problem's source at the Toyota dealership, we believe them.

Please pray to heal our car, that we choose the right option, and that Charlie gains peace and comfort. This new blow has him reeling.

Guess I'd better hurry up and earn my MK car, huh? ;p

Here are a couple things to take your mind off Satan's attacks:

Caspian told me he drew the letter "u". On the right is the first set of "writing" he did, then he moved his stylus over to the center, drew two specific lines, and said "U!"

Here are the two lines he drew, in case you couldn't see them:

BACON TOMATO CUPS
8 slices bacon, crisply cooked
1 medium tomato
1/2 small onion
3 ounces shredded Swiss cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon basil
10 ounce can refrigerated flaky biscuits (with layers that separate)

Preheat oven 375° F. Chop bacon, tomato, and onion. Mix all ingredients except biscuits into 2 quart batter bowl. Separate each biscuit into 3 thinner biscuits. Spritz muffin pans (or mini muffin pans) with cooking spray (like Pam) and lay each biscuit over a cup and shape using miniature-tart shaper. Fill cups with bacon mixture. Bake 10-12 minutes until golden.

This is a Pampered Chef recipe. Literally every PC recipe I've ever made has been amazingly delicious. Here's a catchall website with all the recipes: http://www.joycesfinecooking.com/pamperedchefs.htm http://www.jfcrecipes.com/pampered_chef.htm

Prayer Request for Our Car!

2008-06-02T14:54:00.003-05:00

Early last week, the knob that adjusts the driver's side seat (raise and lower) dislodged. It could still spin, but it didn't engage. Fortunately, the seat was then stuck in the "up" position, so I could still see out (poor Charlie couldn't see stoplights, though, since he was hitting the ceiling). At the end of last week, the A/C started cutting out. It would be on for 30 minutes, then gone until the car had a chance to sit again, then on for 10, then gone, etc. We figured we'd take it in to get looked at sometime this week, since we're supposed to drive to South Carolina this weekend (and see good friends in Knoxville on the way).

As we were driving home yesterday afternoon, the "check engine" light came on. Once we got home, I went inside to get some things together while Charlie sat in the car with (a sleeping) Caspian. Fifteen minutes later, I came back outside and smelled burning oil. The car had started making weird rattling noises, too, so Charlie turned it off. He looked under the hood, then back at the heat gauge — off-the-charts hot. After waiting 10 minutes, he tried restarting the car. It died immediately on every attempt. This morning (after sitting all night) it started on the first try, but the service guy from Toyota said not to drive it.

At noon today, someone towed our car to Toyota. We got the following diagnosis: towing = $60; replace broken seat-adjuster knob = $16; because of a pin-sized hole in the radiator pipe, all the engine coolant had leaked out, causing the overheating = $775 for replacement pipe; all that overheating gunked up the throttle = $58 to flush. But that's not all. Only after all that work will they be able to figure out why the A/C stopped working and if other parts of the engine were damaged by the overheating. Whew.

Good thing God's in charge, huh?

Thanks for praying!

P.S. The interesting thing is, the last time I had a $1,000 Mary Kay week (as I did this past week), we suddenly needed $900 of car repairs. Hmmm...spiritual attack, anyone?

Here's a pick-me-up for your Monday: Caspian's first time holding a ladybug. Well, technically, a it's a ladybug carcass. It was dead on the sidewalk and he proudly carried it home. :)

2008-05-19T14:29:00.000-05:00

Last night, I was up from 2am to 4:30am.

Not of my own choice.

It all started when Caspian woke up and wanted to BF. Fine. 30 minutes later, he woke out of a milk-induced sleep to sob, "Mama! Mama!" and to beat my breast, trying to push it away from himself. I cooed, "I'm here; mommy's here," and tried to get him to latch back on. He'd nurse for a few seconds, then do it all over again, adding a tortured, "No! No!"

I don't know if he was having a bad dream or if he suddenly decided it didn't taste right or what. Regardless, he finally woke up fully. Grrrr. It was all downhill from there. Throughout this ordeal, I repeatedly explained that it was nighttime, which was the time to sleep. No dice.

He decided he wanted to get down off the bed. "Where do you want to go?" I asked. "Daaah-puh" he replied. Double take. "What did you say?" "Daaah-puh" (grin). "You want a diaper change?" Nod. Woah — first time he's asked! I obliged, then carried his limp (but awake) self back into the bedroom. After swaying with him for a while, I tried laying him down...nope! Wide awake. "Down!" (plaintively). He wanted to go to the living room. Sigh.

When we got into the living room, I told him his toys were asleep, just like daddy. He tried reading books, but I pointed out that it was too dark. I asked if he saw how dark it was, and he did, so I explained that when it was dark outside that meant it was night, and night is when it's time to be asleep. For some inexplicable reason, that clicked (maybe because he saw that it was dark outside just like inside). At this point, it was 4am.

We walked back into the bedroom, climbed on the bed, and settled in...except that he noticed lights. It started with the tiny flashing red light on the smoke detector. It bothered him so much, he started whimpering and pointing, "That! That!" I explained that it wasn't a bad light and it was okay. Then he noticed the flashing red light on the VCR, so I turned it off. Then he noticed the green light on the baby monitor, so I turned it off. Then he noticed the red "lights" of our alarm clock, which I did not turn off. After all that, he was pretty satisfied, so he BFed again and finally fell asleep. When I "came to" he had already detached and was lolled to the side. I laid him down and finally lay down myself. 4:30am. Ugh.

2008-05-13T01:11:00.005-05:00

Bare bones update!

Caspian...

can name/find the 10 basic colors

knows most of the alphabet and the letters' sounds

can identify eight or nine major shapes

has started saying "hmmm" when he's thinking hard about something

put himself in "time out" once (after disobeying)

made his first accidental 911 call over vacation

L-O-V-E-S to do art

dances whenever ending credit music comes on

says "uh oh" when an alarm or siren sounds

is addicted to Super Why!

will eat anything except (so far) green olives and hamburger pizza

enjoys dipping food (in salt, pepper, mustard, ranch, ketchup, salsa...)

reads all the time

has an infectious laugh

gets cloth wipes now (except for poopy diapers)

climbs like a crazy man

still has a curly red faux-hawk

recently discovered the joy of bouncy toys (like this)

experienced his first "play group" on Friday (he was the oldest one there)

opened a closed door by himself last week

constantly amazes us with what he comprehends

Hilary...

hasn't slept through the night in months :p

started boxing every other day (yay, Wii)

finished her 5th $1,000 MK week in April

L-O-V-E-S spending every day with her fabulous son

actually lost weight on vacation

can't wait to go on a grownup date again

is participating in the Great Cloth Diaper Hunt this month

got to visit an online buddy group friend in Tennessee (Thanks for the pic, Becky!)

eagerly awaits the new wetbag from her Co-Op, as the old bags are all leaking

Charlie...

is a hottie

needs to hurry up and start posting on his blog

2008-03-26T13:54:00.002-05:00

Praise God, there's nothing wrong with Caspian's plumbing. Thank you all for praying for his VCUG. The catheter was not popular, but Caspian was so brave! He was over it pretty quickly once they took it out. All together, we were at the hospital complex for almost 5 hours. Ugh.

This Friday night will be Caspian's and my first overnight apart, ever! I'll be at a Mary Kay conference in Louisville from Friday afternoon through Saturday evening. Hopefully going a day without breastfeeding won't dry me up the rest of the way. We really want Caspian to decide when he weans...

Caspian's current favorites:
* "Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes" ~ For motions, he usually jumps straight from "head" to "toes", then throws in "eyes" and "ears" when we get to that part.
* elephants ~ Caspian sees them in everything — dinosaur posters, trees, looking out the car window... Old MacDonald always has at least three on his farm.
* Teletubbies ~ He asks for them constantly ("duh-beh-deh-beh"), and they're not on until 12:30. (In fact, just now, he sat straight up in bed, called out "Teletubbies!" and went back to sleep.)
* balls ~ Whenever he throws a ball, he gives a mighty shout! He is so tough.
* climbing ~ Doesn't matter where or when or what, he will climb it.
* asking for Grandpa Kirk ~ It sounds like "PUH-pah," and always breathy. Right now Grandma Bonnie is "arf arf" (for Maisie).
* Music Machine CD ~ And it has to be forwarded right to the point where the actual Music Machine kicks in (track 2, 0:35). He asks for it by giving a little rumble to mimic the machine (sounds like a harumphing old man). Having Mommy sing the entire "Patience" song is also popular.
* baths ~ He asks for baths at random times throughout the day.
* "No" ~ He says it for both affirmative and negative, even though he can shake his head both ways. He sounds SO funny when he says it, too.
* applesauce, chicken, spinach, (any) beans, broccoli ~ Could be offered any time of the day, and he will eat them.

One of my clients is having me do her wedding makeup, and our first consultation was yesterday. It hit me about four-fifths of the way through what an awesome responsibility it is! Talk about pressure! It's really exciting and fun, though, because I actually get to do it on her myself.

In case you forgot, in December, the automatic sliding door on our minivan malfunctioned and closed on my left forearm. I've been in a brace ever since, and finally saw an orthopaedist this month. He had me start twice-weekly physical therapy, but my insurance company just sent a letter saying I couldn't do more than 5 visits because they didn't see the medical necessity (which means no more after tomorrow). I have to appeal, because I can't function like this — especially with a toddler! Please pray for them to see the light.

Our new laptops came today! ((wiggle, wiggle)) I'm waiting for Charlie to come home before I open the box. Thank you, Mary Kay tax refund! Today my "w" key started sticking on my old laptop (like the 1 and 2), so the timing is good.

Easter 2008 (Thank you, Aunt Steph & Uncle Stu, for Caspian's Easter outfit!)

2008-03-18T22:52:00.003-05:00

Last night was one of my favorite moments as a parent. After Caspian's bath, when Charlie and I had him on the bed for lotion and PJs, Caspian reached up, placed his hands on either side of my face, and pulled my head down for a kiss!!!! My precious, darling boy. He even held onto my face for a little while, staring into my eyes. Talk about making everything worth it...

On the Mary Kay front, I have two big pieces of news. The old piece of news is that I keep a (semi-regular) beauty blog: http://beautyblog.kyredhead.com. Feel free to post questions on it! The newish piece of news is that I have gained three team members since February! Each of them really excites me as a leader, and I can't wait to see how they grow in their businesses.

If you like cool stuff, be sure to check out our new magnetic compact system!

2008-03-14T22:44:00.002-05:00

Caspian got to play in snow for the first time last Saturday when we got six inches! He would have been content for us to leave him out there forever. He carried around the same snowball almost the entire time (and ate a good chunk of it). Of course, then it was 70 degrees on Wednesday of this week, and we played in the park next door for an hour and a half. Caspian threw quite the tantrum when we took him inside.

He was pretty traumatized this morning when he tried to climb out of bed facing outward (instead of lying on his tummy) and fell flat on his back. He cried and cried, but I didn't realize how badly he got scared until naptime. He was reclining on the Boppy, so when I eased it away to use it, his head and shoulders lay flat on the bed. When he realized he was laying flat on his back, he started wailing!? He just associated laying flat on his back with pain and fear, poor thing. He fell asleep nursing almost immediately and napped for four hours straight!

The orthopaedic surgeon I saw for my arm last week wanted to prescribe some pain meds, but I told him I was still breastfeeding. Caspian was with me, and the doctor asked how old he was. When I told him "19 months," do you know what his response was? He said, "Oh — well he could still be nursing for a while, then." I totally did not expect him to be so cool!

My little brother (an Air Force captain) flew into Lexington Thursday, so we got to go see him at the air strip. My mom is always calling Caspian, "Stuart", but Stuart usually isn't there to complain. Well, when we were standing in front of Stu's plane taking pictures, mom said to Caspian, "Where's the plane, Stuart?" The real Stuart was like, "Ummm...I know this one — it's right there! Yesss!" We all burst out laughing, so Caspian thought it was a hoot.

Hey, if anybody likes tea, I'm having a tea party in April. There's this Christian company called Let's Do Tea that focuses on making others feel good through tea. We'll have fresh scones and get to sample at least three different varieties of tea while learning about hospitality, properties of tea, and how to make the perfect cup of tea. But this isn't your grandma's tea! They have over 100 free trade flavors made with natural ingredients, like Caramel Rooibos, Strawberry Cream, Chocolate Mint, and Piña Colada. The chocolate mint one tastes like a Thin Mint, but the only fat/calories come from the milk you add. The caramel one smelled and tasted like caramel, too. Mmmm...yummy! If you just want to sample some of their delicious wares, they have loose tea, make-your-own-tea-bag sacklets, tea cup and pot sets, and all sorts of tea-related goodies. You can ask questions or place orders through Carrie Peterson at Let's Do Tea dot com, and I'll even get credit if you order through April 11 (and mention my name)!

Everyone please pray for us, if you will. Caspian goes in for a VCUG at 1 on Tuesday, 3/25. Pray that he is free from complications and isn't traumatized too much by the procedure. Pray for Charlie and me, that we'll be strong (emotionally) and alert to his needs. Pray for the techs, that they'll get the catheter inserted correctly the first time, and with proper treatment of Caspian's intactness. Pray that Caspian doesn't have a reaction to the dye (he's got pretty bad eczema).

2008-02-04T13:45:00.001-05:00

Sorry for the lapse! Caspian was sick for a week, then I joined him on Friday. Mr. Faucet-Nose and I are still fighting it (mostly because Caspian nurses a LOT more when he's sick and also doesn't sleep...which means I don't either). Last night, though, God be praised, we slept for 7½ hours then 2½ hours! Caspian cupped my chin in his sleep, which was wonderful.

Right before I got sick, we finally got to use Caspian's Christmas present from Aunt Steph and Uncle Stu: a gift card to Once Upon a Child. We figured it was about time, since all of Caspian's pants are fast becoming capris. Here is Caspian showing his gratitude for his present (technically only half his present, as we saved the rest for future use).

After just one time having quesadillas for dinner, the next time he saw them Caspian said "dee-ya!" WOW! He also says "uh oh" and "boat" and "duck". He signs "socks" and "shoes" and "cereal" and "elephant" and "excuse me" now. We're trying to teach him "wet" and "poopy" so he can alert us to diaper status.

My blog is ticking me off a little. Whenever there's a table in the HTML code, the blog automatically puts a bazillion spaces above it (see below). There's no way to remove them in the code, either. Grrr...

Here are the major presidential candidate's current financial situations, courtesy of the FEC. Isn't it interesting to see the difference between how much cash they have and how much debt they have? Yay, American freedom of information!
CANDIDATE NAME	DIST	NET RECEIPTS	NET DISB	CASH	DEBT	THROUGH
CLINTON, HILLARY RODHAM	PRES	$118,301,658	$80,353,784	$37,947,874	$4,987,425	12/31/2007
GIULIANI, RUDOLPH W.	PRES	$60,238,856	$48,476,576	$12,776,812	$1,166,509	12/31/2007
HUCKABEE, MIKE	PRES	$9,003,808	$7,107,362	$1,896,445	$97,676	12/31/2007
MCCAIN, JOHN S	PRES	$40,383,022	$37,907,049	$2,948,427	$4,516,030	12/31/2007
OBAMA, BARACK	PRES	$103,802,535	$85,176,287	$18,626,248	$792,681	12/31/2007
PAUL, RON	PRES	$28,219,349	$20,379,929	$7,839,420	$0	12/31/2007
ROMNEY, MITT	PRES	$90,076,401	$87,644,953	$2,431,447	$35,350,000	12/31/2007

If you're curious about how any other candidates are faring, you can check their public records on the FEC's website! Just choose "U.S. President" and any other criteria you want.

2008-01-21T22:54:00.000-05:00

I had my first post-college girls' night out on Saturday night with two of my Mary Kay customers (who have turned into friends), while both of their husbands are in Brazil for a week. We went to The Mad Potter (which is a paint-your-own-pottery place), then to dinner at Cheddar's, and then back to one lady's house for games (Fluxx and Paired Up — both new to me and FUN). The pottery thing was awesome! We were there for almost four hours, but the time just flew by. Now we're all addicted. It'd be great for family bonding, because all you do is sit there and chat while you paint. It was actually Family Fun Night while we were there, and they had free pizza and played Christian radio. One friend painted a Post-It holder and a water bowl for her cats, the other friend made a serving platter with some 3-D flowers on it, and I decorated a surprise TBA in the future. We get to pick them up in 5-7 days after they're glazed and fired. I highly recommend going. I didn't get home from "girls' night" until 1:15 in the morning! It was such a blast.

trying on mommy's shoes (look at those eyebrows!)

In the spirit of sharing "cheese" faces, here's Caspian's fake smile. I call this his "anime face" because his eyes look like little half moons.

Caspian started repeating "uh oh" this afternoon. He also has a new fascination with babies. He keeps signing and saying "baby" over and over...and watch out if he actually sees a baby! Much to my chagrin, he was so fascinated by the Teletubbies that I didn't turn it off. He is sooo the target audience (plus they look like babies)! When I checked on him between washing and rinsing dishes, he was sitting on a "seat" that he'd created for himself out of his activity cube and the arm of the couch.

He did "up" and "down" with the Teletubbies (with his body and arms) and tried to help in the sequence where one Teletubby was looking for another Teletubby. Dipsy would say, "Where's Po?" and Po would pop up in the background, giggling and waving, and Caspian would point frantically, trying to help! Then Po would duck back down before Dipsy could see her, and Caspian would shrug his "all gone" sign.

I made one of my mom's staple recipes the other night for dinner, which went really well with a modified version of Rachael Ray's green beans. Both fit the category of "quick, cheap, and easy" — requirements if I'm cooking something! The chicken recipe is great because all you do is mix everything, dump it in a pan, and forget about it. Not only do you not have to monitor it, you're actually not supposed to uncover it until it's done. It's nice just to have to open the oven when you're ready for dinner — like using a crock pot (only this requires less notice to prepare).
No-Peek Chicken
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1 can water1 box Uncle Ben's Original Long Grain & Wild Rice (not instant)
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 envelope Lipton's Onion Soup Mix
*If you want to feed more people or just enjoy having plenty of side dish, double everything except the chicken and the Onion Soup Mix.
1. Combine Cream of Chicken, Cream of Mushroom, and water and mix until smooth.
2. Add Rice and seasoning packet (included in Rice box) and blend well.
3. Pour mixture into 9x13 pan and arrange chicken thighs in a single layer covering the top.
4. Sprinkle Onion Soup Mix over chicken.
5. Cover pan with foil and bake at 300 for 2½ hours. It will stay warm for quite a while out of the oven as long as it stays covered in foil. Do not lift the foil until serving time.
Oven Roasted Green Beans
1½ pounds raw string beans, trimmed
olive oil
salt & pepper
1. Place beans in a gallon ziplock, along with a liberal dousing of olive oil.
2. Shake until beans are well-coated.
3. Arrange beans in one layer on a cookie sheet (I used a PC stone) and season well.
4. Bake at 450 for 5 minutes, then shake pan (or turn over beans). Bake for 7-10 more minutes (longer on a stone), or until beans are at desired tenderness. Season again during cooking if needed (eat a test bean to check for tenderness and seasoning). Beans will caramelize (in dark patches) and turn shriveled...but they taste really good.

2008-01-18T10:29:00.000-05:00

new favorite photo:

(Think his pinky's missing? It's curved into my eye socket!)

Add Caspian to the new tooth club! I don't know which is which , but he's got all eight front (top and bottom), plus two more on his left and a new one just poking through on the bottom right.

In order for me to get dishes done sometimes, Caspian has to help. During one recent session, he occupied himself by turning the toaster on and off (Fin supervised). When I realized it was going to get too hot to touch if he left it on for a while, I told him so; now he says/signs "hot" when he sees it.

Charlie's sister is the administrative assistant for the director of food services at Asbury, so Charlie, Caspian, and I have lunch with her once a week in the cafeteria. Whenever we go, it overlaps the beginning of Caspian's nap time. He gets so worked up around all those college students (not to mention his "girlfriends"=the kitchen staff) that he usually conks out as soon as we get home. Yesterday he fell asleep after only BFing on one side — and he slept for 3½ hours! It was crazy. When Charlie came home from work, he was still asleep.

This afternoon when we were cuddling on the couch, he reached up and placed his hands on either side of my face. I could've stayed like that forever. My precious little man!

enjoying a sandwich, courtesy of Daddy

He's also started being more definite about what he wants. When I was reluctant to get up one morning, he wrapped his arms around my arm and tried to pull me up! Even better: when he's stitting on my lap and I have my arm around him, he'll push and pull and reposition my arms until they're where he wants them to be, then hold my arms in place. Sigh.

One of our regular games is car chase (when Caspian wants to play, he makes a car noise). He has two soft Tonka cars whose wheels move, and his buddy, Toby, straddles one pretty well. I'll take Toby, sit him on a car, and chase Caspian in a circle around and around where I'm sitting on the floor. Sometimes Caspian laps Toby, so Toby has to turn around and "run away" in the other direction.

2008-01-17T21:33:00.000-05:00

Whenever Caspian sees flowers now, he sniffs — even from far away! When we were in Michael's last night, he just went crazy around all those artificial flowers everywhere.

I was too lazy to put on both our coats just to get the mail the other day, so I just wrapped us up in a sweater together. Caspian liked looking at us in the camera's viewfinder.

I have officially started crocheting, in order that someday I might make Caspian some custom wool longies. I bought the Klutz crochet book, since it seemed the least intimidating. Of course, I also bought five or six wool sweaters from Goodwill to "recycle" but haven't gotten up the nerve to cut them apart yet...primarily because we don't have a pair of longies that fit him the way I want that we can use as a pattern. His Babyology wool tends to pouch in front and back, like this:

YAY! We get to take a family vacation to Atlanta in April, and Charlie just found out that we get to go to New Orleans beforehand! He's going to a professional conference for the few days before our Atlanta trip, so Caspian and I are going to go with him and hang out at the hotel instead of having him fly back and forth right before our trip. I'm too scared to take Caspian around by myself during the conference days, but we should really enjoy a little time to see the sights in the evenings.

Some friends and I were discussing "loveys" that their kids have to have for bedtime. I'm pretty sure that Charlie is Caspian's lovey. Unless he's super tired or falls asleep BFing before bed, he will not go to sleep until Charlie gets in bed with us.

Caspian just started saying "Eeyore." My mom has a cup with Eeyore, Pooh, and Tigger on it, and he just fixated on Eeyore for some reason. It's so exciting to hear him try to say real words! "Boat" is another new one. He also impressed me yesterday with his mental vocabulary. He got out his Happy Baby ABCs book and I'd ask him where the ___ was (frog, leaf, vacuum cleaner, tomato, etc.)...and he'd flip right to it and point! Vacuum cleaner is always "brrrr" (although I don't know how he'd know, since we never do it). He even seemed to know immediately whether the item I asked about was in the front or back of the book and went forward or backward from the page we were on, without hesitation!

We're pretty sure Caspian had a growth spurt this week. I swear he was taller when he woke up on Sunday than when he went to bed.

This is how I woke up on Tuesday. Without sitting up, I could only see that his right foot was on top of me. I decided to lift his foot off by picking up his pants leg, but I was so groggy, I kept fumbling at his cuff and wondering why it was scalloped...turns out it was the toes of his left foot!

Caspian had a bad nightmare on Tuesday night. He woke up sobbing so hard and wouldn't stop no matter what. When he latched on, he'd calm down just fine until he drifted back off to sleep — at which point he'd start crying again. I've had that kind of nightmare that wakes you up in horror, but when you finally fall asleep again it picks right back up where you left off. I tried rocking him, holding him, talking to him, praying over him...finally we had to go in and change his diaper to get him to wake up fully and break the cycle. I think his nightmare had something to do with the kitchen, because all he wanted to do after he woke up was take us in there and show us certain things before going back to bed.

2008-01-16T17:23:00.000-05:00

Caspian started signing "baby" today. At first I thought he was talking about my wrist brace (since he was stroking his forearm), but then he was consitently grasping one arm with the other and swinging them back and forth, which is the sign for "baby."

This is from one of those e-mails. Some of these are dorky or sappy, but a few of them are worth mulling over...

Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment if you
can. Relax; pick them up later after you've rested.
1 Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.
2 Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.
3 Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.
4 Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their Maker.
5 If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
6 If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.
7 It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.
8 Never buy a car you can't push.
9 Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.
10 Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.
11 Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.
12 The second mouse gets the cheese.
13 When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
14 Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.
15 You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.
16 Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
17 We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.
18 A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

2008-01-11T00:41:00.000-05:00

It's seriously funny how we try to get Caspian to do/say his newest trick/word over and over (and of course he stops doing it as soon as we get the camera)...yet it gets really tedious when he asks us to read the same board book 87 times in a row. LOL

I would love to night wean Caspian. He doesn't nurse every night, but it feels like most nights, KWIM? The problem is, when he sits up in bed and signs for "boo," nothing will put him back to sleep except nursing; not rocking, not cuddling, not paci...

Caspian has slept through lunch for two days now, and when he wakes up, he has no interest in eating — just playing. Most of the time when he's hungry, he signs "food", but it didn't happen (and I asked several times, even taking him in to his chair in the kitchen). Although he did repeat "banana," "apple," and "egg" over and over after waking up this morning (even though he wanted cereal for breakfast ).

They featured these clear, customizable drawer dividers on Martha Stewart today. How neat are those? I would L-O-V-E to get some for my inventory drawers...

Caspian's newest pleasure is climbing up onto a kitchen chair. It has one rung at the bottom, which is enough to boost him up so his knee can reach the seat. He feels like such a big man up on that grown-up chair!

I started a Beauty Blog, if you need one more thing to do online. :) Feel free to post comments and questions!

Major (bad) adrenaline rush tonight. We were taking turns playing Wii (so the other could watch Caspian), and it was my turn to bowl. I took a step back to start my swing — and I ran into and literally stepped on my own son because Charlie had let him walk right up behind me! It was really scary, because I had lost my balance from knocking him down while perched on one leg, and I had to choose between stepping on him and falling down on top of him. Not good choices! I flailed vainly, twisting to find purchase on bare floor instead of Caspian-covered floor. I ended up not falling, but he was knocked flat on his back, and I stepped (lightly) on him twice. He was sobbing (more out of extreme shock than injury) and I was furious. Grrr...

Caspian has been scratching at his tushy cheek for weeks now. We put hydrocortisone on it, but his little fingers reach straight for it whenever his diaper comes off. It's hard to tell what is scratch marks and what is rash/whatever. It fluctuates between nothing and this:

Any clue what it is? Sorry about the fuzzy picture. It's hard to get a clear close-up of a squirmy toddler's behind when you are the one holding said toddler...

76% Tom Tancredo
73% Mike Huckabee
68% Ron Paul
65% John McCain
64% Mitt Romney
64% Fred Thompson
55% Bill Richardson
49% Rudy Giuliani
44% Chris Dodd
43% Barack Obama
42% Hillary Clinton
41% John Edwards
33% Mike Gravel
32% Joe Biden
26% Dennis Kucinich

2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz

2008-01-09T15:24:00.000-05:00

Caspian asked for apple at breakfast this morning, and it was the first time I'd heard him make both sounds for it ("ayh"+"puh"). We're really enjoying hearing "real" words come out of Caspian's mouth finally...but boy, am I grateful for signing! Charlie just remarked yesterday how frustrated we all would be if we didn't sign with Caspian but he still didn't really talk at this point.

We posted a new video yesterday of Caspian jamming to a Psalty song. If you listen hard at some points, you can hear him keening along.

We went to Goodwill yesterday to get some wool sweaters to recycle into longies (jackpot! ). When we passed the electronics section, Caspian picked up a computer mouse whose cord was looped up and rubber-banded. For the entire rest of our trip, he carried the mouse around the store with his wrist through the cord loop, swishing the mouse...like a Wii remote.

We had Caspian in wool yesterday, and when Charlie put him in his jammies, he forgot to use the PUL cover I'd left sitting out. Thank goodness he added a hemp fleece doubler! Caspian's PJs still stunk, but at least nothing leaked out...

I got 71% on the SciFi Sounds Quiz, but I did purely guess at about 8 or 9 questions.

These only works if you have a LiveJournal username (they fill in your team with your friends list). Many of my "right" answers weren't given as choices, but ya gotta work with what ya got...

Superhero Team Quiz

LiveJournal Username

Your Primary Super Power

Cape?

Identitiy

Origin

Location of Head Quarters

Primary Costume/Uniform Colors

Why are you a Superhero?

Your Superheroic Codename

The veteran grim member of the team

roina_arwen

The sexist and crass but annoyingly effective one

minikin

The bright-eyed novice or sidekick

taliajenea

The teammate that will eventually go evil or insan

taliajenea

The inept yet determined/reoccurring supervillain

taliajenea

The sinister Arch-Villain and team's greatest foe

minikin

The perky civilian that keeps getting kidnapped

taliajenea

How often does your team actually 'save the day'?

41%

This Fun Quiz created by Shannon at BlogQuiz.Net

2008-01-07T14:15:00.001-05:00

Another Burlington Coat Factory find is sort of from his great-grandparents Higginbotham. We put their Christmas money for him toward a little chair of his own. But of course, we couldn't just get him any old chair...

I caught Caspian mid-blink in this pic, but I wanted to show the dragon's tail and wings.

The first thing he did when we walked into the living room this morning was make a fist, swish it back and forth (as if he were holding a sword), and point to the Wii remotes. Same thing again after his nap. All that because Charlie taught him how to "play" tennis and golf on the Wii! Caspian even has his own Mii. For golf, you just have to hold down a large button and swish your Wii-mote. Charlie actually played doubles tennis with him too, since you only have to swing your Wii-mote like a racket when the ball flies by. I told Caspian he had to wait until Daddy got home to play.

Right now, Caspian is walking around the living room holding a throw pillow in front of his face. He keeps deliberately running into things and tumbling over. Goofy boy!

-------------------------------------

We played in the park for an hour today — in sandals! It was 70 degrees outside. Crazy! Caspian woke up early when Charlie left for work, took a shortened nap, skipped lunch, and then ran around outside for an hour. For the last 15-20 minutes, he was practically comotose in a swing. He didn't move, didn't look up...and he even started nodding off! Whenever I tried to stop him and take him out, he clutched tightly to the swing and tried rocking himself back and forth. When I finally got him to agree to get down (presumably to go home), he just wanted to run around some more and wouldn't hold my hand to walk home. Eventually I just picked him up and headed off, expecting a struggle, but instead he clutched his arms around my neck and held me all the way home.

2008-01-05T17:25:00.000-05:00

Paci has now become "bah bah bah". We were trying to get him to start saying at least the initial consonant sounds of familiar words, and paci used to be "puh puh puh puh". Then we tried getting him to say "păh" for the first syllable of "paci," and it became "bah bah bah" instead.

Caspian said "baby" today, clear as day. Charlie and I were looking at pictures of a friend's new baby during lunch, and Caspian looked over and said, "beh-beh" in a low voice. Charlie and I looked at him in astonishment and asked, "What did you say?" "Beh-beh," he repeated, looking at the picture. Amazed, I asked, "Did you just say 'baby'?" The little stinker grinned at me and said, "dat." Now he's all about babies. He sees them everywhere and has to point them out with a "beh-beh."

Yesterday for lunch, Caspian and I had spinach and leftover lasagna. I let him use his own fork, so he got a nice bath afterwards. I don't know whether I like the eyebrow or the nostril better. At one point, the clumps on his bib formed a very flattering goatee.

2008-01-02T14:43:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to my mommy!!!

I spent an hour and a half doing dishes yesterday (an accumulation of 2 weeks with me in a wrist brace), so Caspian had a very busy morning. First he played in the living room (where all his toys are) while we listened to Psalty music. Then he wanted to be in the kitchen too, so he emptied out one of the pots-and-pans cabinets. After tiring of that, I showed him that his new pop beads could be sorted into said pots and pans. Later, I revealed to him that the magnets from the fridge could be stuck to the metal baby gate (which he thought was the funniest thing he'd ever seen). 10 minutes later, I showed him that they also stuck to the other metal baby gate. He followed that by emptying out the plasticware cabinet entirely, and finally climbed up on a chair to help me. By "help" I mean scoop water onto the countertop and stick soapy utensils in his mouth. He thought it was very novel, however, and it lasted for 15-20 minutes. He finally got down and played for a while more, but when I went through the gate to the hallway to retreive some errant magnets, he tried to head off down to the bedroom. I took him with me back into the kitchen to clean up his toys and he dry-cried so hard his face literally turned purple — you know, that soundless, tearless, open-mouthed wail that lasts for 10 full seconds? Poor guy was so tired, he just wanted to go have some "boo" and take a nap. I soothed and cuddled him and explained that we had to pick up his toys first, but that I would help him do it. He was a little draggy and sniffly, but he did it anyway. Good boy!

His big obsession is with music. When there's a really good song on (or at least one he likes), Caspian "conducts" and/or does his bouncy dance (plant feet, bend elbows, clench fists, bounce at the knees). Much to my chagrin and embarrassment, he did an even more elaborate and expressive wiggle/bounce dance to the country music that was playing in a store we visited last week. Sigh. Last night, he regaled us with several original tunes on our electronic piano. He is so intent when he's playing and sometimes will dance to his own tunes if he likes them well enough. He also enjoys changing the "voice" of the notes to different instruments, like harpsichord, drum, horns, etc. Most of the time he alternates mashing his hands down on the keys, but last night he experimented with holding down chords (sometimes crooning along) and with scrunching his fingers over the keys (as if his stationary hands were clawing at them). We'll have to upload the video sometime.

Please pray for our college friends and their new daughter:

We would appreciate the prayers of the community for our six-week-old granddaughter, Mirabel, who has been in the pediatric ward since the evening of Dec. 31. Mirabel is suffering with RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), which is especially dangerous to children under one year of age. She has been receiving breathing treatments and oxygen; but, as of this afternoon her condition had become slightly worse. If she declines further, she will be transferred and placed on a respirator. Aside from coveting prayers for Mirabel, we would also ask prayers for her parents, Chris and Kimberly, who need added strength during this difficult time.

2008-01-01T12:34:00.000-05:00

On New Year's Eve, Caspian and I got to hang out briefly at a friend's house on our way home from Wal-Mart, but we spent most of the late evening playing the Wii. Despite the fact that our entire family was convinced the computer was programmed not to allow it, I scored the very first turkey (three strikes in a row) in Wii bowling! It was very exciting.

Random fluff catch-up from fall/winter 2007!

Where are my pants, grandma!?

(his dark blue sock is covering his right hand, if you're wondering where it went)

flannel man!

1st time wearing his new mittens

shopping with grandma and grandpa

One night, Charlie was trying to wear Caspian out before bedtime, so he chased him all over the house. Caspian lured Charlie into the kitchen and stood waiting for him next to the table. As Charlie approached, Caspian tossed a toy into the cats' food area, so Charlie bent over to retrieve it — and Caspian took off running in the opposite direction! The little scamp. Every time Caspian passed the room where I was, he'd run in and grab me (like I was "safe").

One of our biggest "finds" in December was at Burlington Coat Factory. We picked up a 2-in-1 Harness Buddy cum monkey backpack. It is the best thing, ever. The chest and waist straps are the monkey's arms and legs, and the clip-on tail is the leash for the parent to hold. Caspian enjoyed just wearing it around the house, but it was a lifesaver at Joseph-Beth. He could stroll along wherever he liked, while we held onto the hand loop at the end of the monkey's tail. He is already "over" the stroller, so we needed an alternative for when carrying him isn't practical. We keep it in the car now, so it's always handy.

(We tried to get Caspian to hold still AND look up at the camera so we could take a picture of him in it, so I asked "Where's your tummy?")

2007-12-27T10:35:00.000-05:00

Fraser family Christmas was awesome. Stu and Steph and Duncan all got to come home this year. As usual, we all wore pajamas all day long, and the kids woke mom and dad in the traditional manner — by running in and jumping on their bed, screaming. All the hoopla eventually got to some of the more fragile family members.

Caspian discovered that Aunt Stephanie, of course, was the best food book reader.

Most of the time, however, the grown kids played with our new Wii. We mostly stuck to tennis (which made it more fun to watch the flailing IRL players) and bowling (which resulted in fewer injuries). I cracked Charlie's elbow once in tennis, and dad clocked one of the boys...twice. The next morning, we were soooo sore from our sweaty workout! Eventually we even got mom involved, which was a mistake considering she played competitive tennis. Steph and I even prepared traditional bowling alley food (mozzarella sticks, pizza, nachos, and jalepeño poppers) for our bowling marathon one night!

Friday for lunch we all went to Tomo for sushi. I got a double helping of eel (naturally) with miso soup. Caspian so impressed Uncle Duncan with his prowess in straw-bubble-blowing, that Duncan shared his miso with him (he also ate tempura, rice, and noodles from various other family members).

While at Tomo, he showed off his entire complement of eating signs:

more, thank you, all done...

...and, although there were none: cookie.

Also over the holiday, Caspian picked up a new "sign" from Grandma Bonnie: "Praise Jesus!"

2007-12-24T20:31:00.000-05:00

Christmas Eve eve (AKA 12/23)

Everyone in the Fiskeaux and Fraser families went to the Christmas Eve service at the Wilmore Free Methodist Church, and Caspian stayed with us in the service. He was so good! Most of the time, he played with the candles and candle holders with his grandmas. One man mentioned the "little baby Jesus" in his prayer, and in the midst of the solomn silence that followed...Caspian burst out laughing! I was sitting next to an old high school friend who nudged me when it happened (like, "That's your son!"), and we both started giggling.

Caspian enjoyed having the run of the church's long aisles (especially since Aunt Stephanie was trailing behind).

Later, Caspian gave his first address from the pulpit.

Afterwards, we went back to the Fiskeauxs for the family gift exchange.

Caspian later put his new Water Symphony dolphin set to the test...

...and "found" the star!

Mommy got new boots from Daddy. Yay, Daddy!

2007-12-19T23:23:00.000-05:00

This is a cool t-shirt.

Super-Cool Holiday Performance!

Charlie l-o-v-e-s Ron Paul (he gets so animated when he talks about him, I jokingly refer to RP Charlie's boyfriend). Since most people don't know anything about Ron Paul, Charlie regularly sends out e-mails with links to good articles and YouTube clips. I don't always get the chance to visit the links in all of Charlie's Ron Paul e-mails, though. :) One of the articles he referenced in his last e-mail, however, was actually interesting and very succinctly written! It also contained a lot of information I didn't know. It was good enough that I felt compelled to share it with you!

Who Are These Kooks?
By Chuck Baldwin
December 18, 2007
This column is archived at http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c20...
According to the Associated Press, "Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul's supporters raised over $6 million Sunday to boost the 10-term congressman's campaign for the White House."
The AP report also said, "The [Paul] campaign's previous fundraiser brought in $4.2 million."
According to the Paul campaign website, "In a 24-hour period on December 16, the campaign raised $6.026 million dollars, surpassing the one-day record of $5.7 million held by John Kerry.
"During the day, over 58,000 people contributed to Dr. Paul's campaign, including 24,940 first-time donors. Over 118,000 Americans have donated to the campaign in the fourth quarter.
"The $6 million one-day total means the campaign has raised over $18 million this quarter, far exceeding its goal of $12 million."
Now, if one listens to most of the political pundits in the major media, Ron Paul is some kind of "kook," and his supporters are also a bunch of "kooks." So, the question must be asked, Just who are these kooks that are supporting him, and why are they giving Ron Paul all this money?
First, let's take a look at this "kook" who is receiving all this money. Ron Paul was born the third son of Howard and Margaret Paul, and was brought up with a work ethic in which one worked six days a week and went to church on Sunday. His first job was at age 5 helping his uncle wash bottles. He worked all the way through his youth mowing lawns, delivering newspapers, working in a drug store, delivering furniture and laundry, etc.
In high school, Ron was a track star, winning state as a junior in the 220-yard dash and running 2nd in the 440. His time in the 100-yard dash was 9.8. That's pretty good. I was never able to break 10-flat in the 100. Although, I bet I could have beaten him in the 50-yard dash. He also wrestled in high school. Coincidentally, so did I. But here Ron leaves me: he was president of the student council and an honor student. I never accomplished that. I was just glad to get promoted to the next grade. Even as a senior statesman, Ron Paul keeps himself in terrific shape. Have you seen him lately? He still maintains a rigorous exercise regimen.
Ron's two brothers are both ministers, and he became a medical doctor. He graduated from Duke University School of Medicine. When the Cuban Missile Crisis arose, Ron became a flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force. He also served in the Air National Guard.
As an OB/GYN physician, Dr. Paul has delivered more than 4,000 babies, and he and his wife, Carol, have been married for more than 50 years. They have 5 children, 18 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild. Ron Paul is currently in his 10th term as a congressman from Texas.
As a congressman, Ron Paul has never taken a government-paid junket. He is not accepting a government pension. He returns a portion of his office budget every year to the taxpayers. As a member of Congress, he has never voted a raise for himself. Do you know any other member of Congress that can make such a claim? Of course you don't, because Ron Paul is truly one-of-a-kind.
Former President Ronald Reagan said this about Ron Paul, "Ron Paul is one of the outstanding leaders fighting for a stronger national defense. As a former Air Force officer, he knows well the needs of our armed forces, and he always puts them first. We need to keep him fighting for our country."
Perhaps this helps explain why many of the "kooks" supporting Ron Paul are active-duty military personnel. In fact, Ron Paul has received more campaign contributions from active-duty military personnel than any other Presidential candidate from either party.
But who are the other "kooks" supporting Ron Paul? What kind of people give more than $18 million in a quarter-year to a Presidential candidate that is almost universally ignored by the mainstream press? What kind of people give record contributions to a Presidential candidate that is lampooned by his fellow Republican Presidential contenders?
For example, Mike Huckabee recently said he could support any of the other Republican Presidential contenders (including Rudy Giuliani), except Ron Paul. That means, Mike Huckabee would rather support a pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage, pro-gun control liberal such as Giuliani than support the pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, pro-Second Amendment candidacy of Ron Paul. Why is that?
Furthermore, why are the entire major media and establishment Republican machine either ignoring or lampooning a distinguished Air Force veteran, medical doctor, and ten-term Congressman? What is it about Ron Paul that the elite are so afraid of?
Here is something else: while Ron Paul's contributions have exploded, Mike Huckabee is all but broke! How can that be? How can a political "front-runner" be out of money, while a man who "doesn't have a chance" is breaking fundraising records?
So, who are these "kooks" who are sending Ron Paul so much money? And just why are they sending him so much money? I will tell you who they are, because I am one of them. They are rank-and-file, tax-paying citizens who are sick and tired of out-of-control federal spending and deficits. They have had it with an arrogant federal government that runs roughshod over both the Constitution and the liberties of the American people. They are people who have had enough of the IRS, the BATFE, and a thousand other federal agencies that have "erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance." (Declaration of Independence)
They are people who see through the phony, disingenuous federal politicians who only want to fleece the American citizenry for the purpose of building their own personal fortunes. They have had it with the Military-Industrial complex that desires to build international empires at the expense of the blood and sacrifice of the American people. They have had it with David Rockefeller and his Council on Foreign Relations. They have had it with the arrogance of George W. Bush and Nancy Pelosi.
They are sick and tired of paying outlandish taxes for a public education system that produces high school graduates who cannot read and write. They are sick and tired of working for 30 years to pay off a mortgage, only then to be forced to pay extortion money (a.k.a. property taxes) for the rest of their lives to the feudal state. They are sick and tired of the government telling them what they can and cannot do with their own property. They are sick and tired of watching people with food stamps buy T-bone steaks and expensive Nike tennis shoes while they are forced to buy fatty hamburger and cheap sneakers.
They are sick and tired of watching their manufacturing jobs go to China and India. They have had it with money-hungry businessmen who hire illegal Mexicans at slave labor wages. They have had it with labor unions promoting politicians who support NAFTA, CAFTA, and the FTAA. They are sick and tired of being bled dry at the gas pump.
They have had it with this phony "war on terrorism" that sends trillions of dollars to nations throughout the Middle East, but refuses to close our own borders to illegal immigration. They have had it with the "war on drugs" and the "war on terror" being used as excuses to trample people's freedoms. They have it with Vicente Fox and Felipe Calderon. They have had it with Bush's North American Union. They have had it with Joel Osteen and Rick Warren. In short, they have just had it!
They also know that a vote for any other Presidential candidate is a vote for more of the same. Democrat or Republican: it is more of the same. Ron Paul, and Ron Paul alone, will bring a revolution of freedom and independence to America. Believe me, the Ron Paul revolution is bigger than Ron Paul. This is the beginning of a
movement.
No matter what ultimately happens to Ron Paul's candidacy, the fight to return America to its roots of freedom and independence has started. The fire is lit. There is no putting it out. There will be other Ron Pauls, other campaigns, other spokesmen, other fundraising. The people supporting Ron Paul will not be silenced; they will not be ignored; they will not be intimidated. In truth, Ron Paul's campaign may just be the beginning of the end of the elitist, globalist, stranglehold over America.
As one who is also fed up with the globalist goons that dominate the two major parties, I join the Ron Paul revolution and vow to fight for the rest of my life for the freedom and independence of these United States. This means I will never again support a business-as-usual, millionaires-club, globalist toady from either party ever again! I will only support candidates who are fully committed to restoring
constitutional government. If that makes me a kook, so be it.
(c) Chuck Baldwin
Please visit Chuck's web site at http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/.

2007-12-18T23:19:00.000-05:00

Fluff update!

switching hats with Grandpa Kirk at Wilmore Old-Fashioned Christmas

He loves getting drinks from our kitty-discipline squirt bottles. Charlie took this picture when Caspian figured out how to squirt himself (which he did in his own face, on purpose, several times).

We love our family bed!

right after Charlie's work Christmas dinner (us) & right after a big drink of water (Caspian)

my sick boy, cuddling with Grandma Bonnie last week

...not too sick to notice the forbidden glasses, though.

Charlie left his too-big sweatshirt in the living room yesterday, and when it was spread out it looked like a Caspian-sized bearskin rug. The fact that Caspian willingly laid on it the way I wanted is an indication of how tired he was.

2007-12-18T15:13:00.000-05:00

Yeah, yeah — I know. I have a good excuse, though. Last week I was sick...then Caspian and I were both sick...then I was still sick but Caspian's fever broke...in time for two new teeth to come in. He was sooooo cranky and off-schedule, it was awful — he woke up from every nap crying, poor baby.

Sunday was really crazy, and that didn't help either. Charlie got a GPS for a Christmas bonus, so we returned it to Best Buy for store credit, hoping to get a Wii. We found out they were releasing their Wii stock on Sunday morning, so we went super-early, but the claim tickets were all gone. Somebody mentioned that Toys 'R Us next door had some, so we went over and got the last one! We decided to check back at Best Buy when they released the unclaimed Wiis at noon and scored another one to sell on eBay! Between our two Wii-ventures, we went to the Urgent Treatment Center (because the automatic sliding door on our minivan closed on my arm Saturday night ) and church. On Sunday afternoon, I went to a cookie-baking party at a customer/friend's house (she provides the staples and the equipment, you bring your recipe and any specialty ingredients), and it was such a fun getaway! I'd forgotten how nice it was to hang out with adult women. I left home as soon as Caspian fell asleep at 3:30, then Charlie laid down with him and they slept until 7:30! Not surprising considering what an early and long day he'd had. He definitely had a growth spurt this week, too. Charlie thinks he's an inch or two taller!

I just made these flourless cookies last night. We were pouring over recipes as possibilies for a potluck on Thursday, and Charlie was going crazy...so I made some as a practice run.
Easy Peanut Butter Presses
(Pampered Chef, plus a little Hilary)
1 c. sugar
1 c. peanut butter
1 egg
* ½ c. or 1 c. mini chocolate chips *
* 2 T peanuts, chopped *
Combine egg and sugar, then mix in peanut butter until completely blended. If you're Hilary, add ½ c. mini chocolate chips. Use a cookie press to form the cookies (or if you're Hilary, level scoops with a melon baller sprayed with Pam). Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes until set and light golden brown. After cookies have cooled, melt ½ c. chocolate chips in the microwave and drizzle chocolate over them. Top with chopped peanuts, if desired.

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2007-12-09T15:54:00.001-05:00

Caspian and I both have icky colds/sinus infections. I'm constantly wiping both our noses. The cool thing that came out of this, though, is that he's started blowing his nose when I put a tissue up to it. I can usually only get one blow per go, but it's helping a little. Yesterday, though, he was leaning up against the couch when I tried to get him to do it...and instead of blowing into the tissue, he pushed into his pants! It was hard not to laugh and break his concentration, but there he was, bent over the couch with a tissue to his face, pushing and grunting!

The night before last, Caspian was in one of his "I'm too wired to sleep" moods. We were starting to get a little fed up with his stalling tactics, as it was after midnight and we were all in bed already. First he wanted "boo," then 80 drinks of water...but then he kept asking to pray, over and over. How do you say "no" to that? He doesn't know the sign for "pray" (we hadn't taught it), but he knows it involves "holding hands and closing eyes and bowing heads" (which is what we say after "It's time to pray!"), so he signs "read" then flips and flops his hands and fingers around each other when he wants to pray. Whenever we get to the "Amen," he grunts "unh unh" just after. That night, he just kept signing "more, more!" when we'd finish. It really makes you think, "Umm, do we realize what we're being asked to do here?" What a blessing! After about 7 or 8, though, we were falling asleep. At that point, I told Caspian it was his turn to lead the prayer!

He is getting so tall! Things that were safe just last week are now getting pulled down left and right! It's hard to get frustrated because I'm so proud of him. Speaking of proud, he finally started signing "please" on his own last week! He's combining it with the signs for whatever he wants, which is also exciting.

Lately he's been saying "nah nah nah nah" at seemingly-random times, and it's been driving us crazy trying to figure out what he's saying. It sounds the same as "banana" ("nah NAH nah"), except the inflection is totally different. Last night, we think we figured out it means "no no no" (great). Charlie took him into the bedroom, and Caspian didn't want to go. He said "nah nah nah nah" and shook his head "no".

I didn't write this, but I did tweak it a little:

An atheist was walking through the woods. "What majestic trees!" "What powerful rivers!" "What beautiful animals!" he said to himself. As he walked alongside the river, he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. He turned and saw a 7-foot grizzly bear charge towards him!

He ran as fast as he could up the path. He looked over his shoulder & saw that the bear was closing in on him. He looked over his shoulder again, & the bear was even closer. He tripped & fell on the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up, but the bear was right on top of him, reaching for him with his left paw & raising his right paw to strike him.

At that instant the Atheist cried out, "Oh my God!"

Time Stopped. The bear froze. The forest was silent.

As a bright light shone upon the man, a Voice came out of the sky, "You deny my existence for all these years, teach others I don't exist and even credit creation to cosmic accident. Do you expect me to help you out of this predicament? Am I to count you as a believer?"

The atheist looked directly into the light. "It would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask you to treat me as a believer now." He continued in desperation, "...but perhaps you could make the BEAR a Christian?"

"Very Well," said the voice. The light went out. The sounds of the forest resumed. Hopefully, the atheist looked up at the bear.

The bear brought his paws together, bowed his head, and spoke: "Lord bless this food, which I am about to receive from thy bounty through Christ our Lord. Amen."

That ranks right up there with the old lady and the groceries story. :D
Here's another one I didn't write:

"ONE LESS: My DD will be one less girl to be injected w/ a substance of questionable value and unknown safety w/o her informed consent!"

2007-12-06T23:46:00.000-05:00

Non-Crappy Starring You! eCards on JibJab

2007-12-06T14:49:00.000-05:00

Enter to win a $250 shopping spree from Along For the Ride, your source for baby-wearing fashion finds!

You have until midnight December 31 to tell them which baby carrier is on your wish list this year. Maybe it's the Moby Wrap that Caspian enjoyed so much...?

2007-12-01T14:54:00.000-05:00

Boy, I'm glad the Diaper Hunt is only twice a year! I did order some yummy stuff from Blue House Soaps, though. It all looks delicious...and I'm not even a bath & body type girl! If you want to order, put my name in the comments as a referral, pleeeeeease!

Caspian is signing "thank you" now whenever I say it to him, so I guess that's a start. Of course, he doesn't quite have the one finger down; it's the same guesture as when he blows kisses (open palm to mouth). I've said "thank you" to him the most, recently, whenever he doesn't bite me as he de-latches. Ouch. Praise God, it got through to him that I didn't like it!

On Thanksgiving, Caspian got his first whipped cream "shot" from mommy (and you can really see his little red curly baby 'fro).

Belated Halloween Photos! We dressed him as "Prince Caspian" — aka putting him in a cape and homemade crown (craft foam stapled to a baby beanie, then duct-taped). He actually won second place in the Wilmore costume contest for the hotly-contested 3-and-under age group! Did his winning smile and shameless waving sway the judges? We'll never know. The highlights of his night were the balloon he got from a local political candidate and the glow stick from the Free Methodist youth group, but he also really enjoyed striding around with a cape flowing out behind.

Bonus Photos!

Getting water out of his ear after a bath. Think he's tired?

The day after mommy tried some of her defrizzer on his hair. Flat? Weird! Bring back the curls!

Fun in the park next door!

2007-11-28T18:14:00.000-05:00

When Caspian tries to sign "please" (with prompting), he goes through "more," "book," "all done," and then random hand flailing. I'm looking for a good DVD signing series for this age, maybe to get with Christmas money.

When listing his verbal vocabulary, I forgot to mention the ever-present "banana" and post-prayer "amen" (which sounds kind of like a fake sneeze, to be honest). Charlie was teaching him to bray like a horse last night, too. Instead of "neigh" they were shaking their heads and going "brrrr" with their lips. It was pretty funny.

When we went next door to the park today, Caspian kept going "blech!" whenever he walked by pieces of trash. (I know, I know -- we should've picked them up.) There's also a bench in the park that is made up of a bunch of little holes, and he enjoyed picking up handfuls of mulch and leaves and poking them through the holes.

I've read this a million times, but I always laugh at one particular line:

Excerpts from a Dog's Diary
8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing!
9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!
9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!
10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!
12:00 pm - Lunch! My favorite thing!
1:00 pm - Played in the yard! My favorite thing!
3:00 pm - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!
5:00 pm - Milk bones! My favorite thing!
7:00 pm - Got to play ball! My favorite thing!
8:00 pm - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!
11:00 pm - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!

Excerpts from a Cat's Diary
Day 983 of my captivity.
My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength. The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet.
Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates what I am capable of. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a "good little hunter" I am. Bastards!
There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of "allergies." I must learn what this means, and how to use it to my advantage.
Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow --but at the top of the stairs.
I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches.The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released - and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded. The bird has got to be an informant. I observe him communicate with the guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe. For now...

By the time I get to the line about the dog being "obviously retarded," I lose it!

The Dailies (or semi-dailies)

Win a Home Goods gift card!

Hilary, you are a Global Casual

Works For Me Wednesday ~ Fancy-Schmancy Art

Works For Me Wednesday ~ Conquer the Dish Monster

More Library Craft Pics and More Etc.

Library Craft, Etc.

More Tie Dye (and Other Updates)

How to Tie Dye Stuff

How to Make-Over a Glass Lazy Susan, part 3

"Works for Me Wednesday" - Organizing

another giveaway

2 Big Pieces of News!

GCDH Giveaways

Caspian Holding Perrin

The final pose is my hands-down favorite moment of all time.

Don't Read This...It's Disgusting

Car Finale

UPDATE: Prayer Request for the Car

Prayer Request for Our Car!