Not-so-Pretty Mama

So, I'm not feeling so pretty today and here's why.....

• Three of the last five nights Landon has woken up at night and come to sleep in our bed = Tired Mama
• In the last two weeks the earliest I've gotten to bed is 11pm because of holiday schedules and trying to get everything done before Jillian gets here = Tired Mama
• I'm 9 months pregnant which means I wake up several times a night to pee = Tired Mama
• I'm 9 months pregnant and my body is attempting to start labor.  I've had strong and uncomfortable contractions the last two nights (ALL night) and several other nights in the last two weeks = Tired and uncomfortable Mama
• It's winter and I have no tan and my skin is dry.  I hate wearing make up. = Ugly-skin/complexion Mama
• I'm close to being in labor so my body has started retaining water = Puffy Mama
• I'm prone to dark circles under my eyes, and pregnancy enhances this coloration and being tired makes it even worse = ugly complexion Mama
• The MAJOR contributor to me feeling not-so-pretty ..... Landon flails and thrashes while he's asleep. I was woken up to Landon's head crashing into my eye socket yesterday morning.  I now have a BLACK EYE!!!!!  = beaten-up Mama

So here's the recap >> 
4 Tired Mama + 2 Ugly Complexion Mama + 1 Puffy Mama + 1 Beaten-Up Mama = Not-So-Pretty Mama!

[I tried to take a pic of the black eye but it didn't turn out very well in the pic/lighting.]

Christmas with Papa & Grammy (Sunday)

Our Christmas marathon 2010 ended at our house this year celebrating with Josh's dad and step mom (Papa and Grammy).  We had a yummy brunch and a lot of fun watching all the cousins play together.

Here is Landon and Esther Grace.  The first to get up in the morning.  They must have been watching tv because both are in constant motion most of the time.

The opening of the presents.

All the grandkids received a suitcase and backpack with their names on them!  Landon was SO excited about his "Baa Paa" (back pack) he had to put it on right away! 

Papa and Grammy and the kids. 

Standing - Charlie, Jonah, Sarah

Sitting - Landon, Esther Grace, Ava

Our final attempt at a family pic.  I had just woken up from a nap....so many Christmases and hosting the final one at my house was fun but exhausting. 

Our house covered in Christmas snow!

Sunday at our house with Papa and Grammy was a great ending to our celebrations and gatherings.  Next year will likely be even more lively with Papa and Grammy as the family is expecting 3 more babies to be here by July!



Christmas Day 2010

We didn't spend much money on Christmas gifts this year so our Christmas morning at home wasn't the most drawn out or elaborate Christmas morning.  In fact, this 1 minute video captures all that it entailed!  (Sorry it's sideways, not sure why but it is and have no idea how to rotate it.)

We then went to my parents' house.  We celebrated Josh's birthday, ate brunch, and then opened presents.  It was right in the middle of nap time so the longer it went, the more .... uhm ..... "moody" Landon got!  But he enjoyed opening presents and helping throw the trash away.  Here are a few highlights...

The traditional gift of ridiculous hats.  All 3 boys got one this year. 

Landon got an Elmo DVD.  He was so excited he took right over to the DVD player and attempted to get things started so he could watch it.

An attempt at a family Christmas shot.  Landon was falling asleep and I look horrible in most of the shots, so this is the best looking one. 

Atlanta had a white Christmas!  This is just the beginning of it.  This is my parents' front yard.  There's about half an inch in this picture, we ended up with about 3 inches.

Eventually we ended the day at Grandmamma & Granddaddy Keelings' house.  They have a really cool tradition of made-gifts.  They draw names each Christmas and have a whole year to make a gift for the person they draw; however, it is also family tradition to wait until Christmas Eve to finish the gift :)  The family is outrageously gifted and the gifts astound me each year.  Here is the display of the gifts made this year.

A few things to point out.... Josh made the dartboard cabinet on the left.  His cousin Elijah (a freshman at UGA) decided to attempt art for the first time and made the abstract painting of God that is sitting on the easel.  He put a finish on the painting that makes it reflective so when you're looking into the painting you see your own reflection.....as we are made in God's image.  It's such a cool painting I'd totally buy a print of it.  His cousin Ben (a high school senior) made the easel the painting is sitting on.  It's his first major project working with wood.  The cradle on the right was made by Josh's Uncle Rick for Josh (for Jillian!).  I'm so excited about a new family heirloom!

Landon had been begging to play in the snow and needed to get some energy out so they went out to play.  He really enjoyed eating the snow, although was not a fan of the incidental grass blades.

Christmas Day 2010 (and Josh's 27th birthday) went well and the weather made for some beautiful pictures and anxious driving. 

Christmas with Grandma (Thursday)

Christmas for us involves A LOT of family and several family gatherings.  This year we started on Thursday night at Josh's mom's house.

The evening started with decorating cookies and cupcakes for Jesus' birthday.  The older cousins had a GREAT time with this.  I tried with Landon, but he was just so excited to have cookies in front of him that I barely got to put icing on a cookie before he ate it.  It definitely didn't help that he refused to eat lunch that day and was STARVING when we got to decorating cookies.....the start of our very unhealthy Christmas holiday eating.

The decorated cupcakes and cookies that managed to not be eaten before dinner.

Then there was decorating the windows with window markers.  Landon still puts everything in his mouth so I opted for him to stay inside and watch the older cousins draw.  That's Esther Grace inside with him (just 5 months younger).

 Landon really wanted to go outside and draw so Josh took him out.  But as soon as they got outside Landon wanted to jump in the pool.  He settled on playing with the pool broom/brush and forgot about drawing on the windows.

 Landon wanted to help Grandma and Daddy make the place cards for the table. 

 We then went outside to take a picture and leave food for the Reindeer.  For some unknown reason Landon didn't want to sit with the cousins and wasn't happy that Daddy was helping him sit. 

Grandma helped everyone sprinkle the Reindeer food (oatmeal and glitter).  The older kids thought it was great fun.  Landon thought it was quite yummy.  That's him on the left picking up to eat what the older ones had sprinkled on the ground. 

We then ate dinner....prime rib and salads and potatoes.  It was SO good!  But, we decided that next year the kids get to eat before us, maybe just a corn dog or something and will then be sent to watch a movie so we can eat our adult meal with more peace and conversation and less yelling and begging, etc.  5 kids under the age of 5 made quite a hectic meal!

Grandma being such an amazing Grandma arranged for Santa to come to the house that night!  What a treat!  Landon knows Santa says "ho ho ho" but doesn't get anything past that.  He was quite excited because the other cousins were excited though. 



Landon sitting with Santa....he sat willingly but never cracked a smile.  He really wasn't too sure about the whole thing.

Our family pic with Santa.  Again, Landon is quite curious but not really sure.  He just couldn't look at the camera because Santa was too interesting/confusing or something. 

*side note* Santa tried to get me to sit on his leg for the picture....is he crazy?!  A 9 month pregnant lady sitting on one leg?!  I have a hard enough time getting up off a chair or couch, never mind an old man's leg!  It would have been one of the more awkward moments of Christmas for sure....although having him invite me to sit on his lap sure felt awkward.

Santa having conversation with Sarah and Jonah while Landon checks out what's in the bag Santa brought. 

Our first Christmas gathering for 2010 went super well and was a lot of fun.  Landon ate 3 cookies and a few bites of broccoli and steak that night.  He had a lot of fun playing with his cousins, didn't break anything at Grandma's and didn't get injured.  It was a great start to our Christmas marathon!

Recent Events

Here's a post about some events over the last few weeks that I want to document for my own memory.  I think they're pretty cute stories.

I went to change a poopy diaper and there were a few bright blue spots in the poop.  He had been at my mom's the night before so I called to see what this about.  She told me it was a blue crayon he REALLY enjoyed.  Enjoyed so much that he bit her when she tried to get it out of his mouth.

I was in the kitchen cleaning dishes at the sink and heard him saying "color" out in the living room.  But I knew he didn't have any crayons (they're in a drawer with a safety lock) so I didn't worry about it.  He's been pretending a lot and experimenting with different words while he plays, so I thought that's all it was.  Turns out a green wooden block was just as capable of drawing on the wall as crayon....but not as capable of being wiped off with ease.

He's figured out standing on his bike gives him the perfect height to reach light switches and that he can almost reach the blinds cord.  He hasn't figured out how to keep it from moving or flying out from underneath him while he's standing on it; but this hasn't stopped him from standing on it.

(keep in mind, he can't say the "sss" sound so it usually comes out as an "H" sound)
While driving I heard him saying "bye hun."  He was VERY annoyed when saying this.  When I looked in the rear view at him, the sun was shining in his face and it was very bright. He was so annoyed with the "hun" and having to squint that he was telling it "bye" to try to get it to go away.  So cute!

Another story about the "hun."  While eating breakfast the sun came through the windows in our kitchen.  Again, shown right into his face.  This time he could move and get out of the way.  He said "hi hun" and waved while squinting. 

And, this has been going on for several months, but need to post it to make sure I remember it for the long term.....  When he is told "no" or is reprimanded, many times he throws himself on the ground or hits something and then claims "boo boo" and tries to get sympathy from me.  Such drama!

Pregnant Reflections on Christmas

Every year I try to focus on the "reason for the season."  I try to reflect and ponder the whole idea of Christmas, the whole idea that God became man.  I usually think about Jesus and what His being born means for us all. 

This year I find myself in a unique position-- being 9 months pregnant and expecting a baby any day now, near the day we celebrate our Lord's birth.  This brings me to think about Mary's experience of the first Christmas.  I've reflected on Mary's experience of being pregnant with Jesus, and her giving birth in a stable, etc.  I've thought about how scared I would be in her situation-- a very young girl, no midwife or mother to help with the birth, birthing in stable in an unfamiliar city.  I've thought how uncomfortable I am sitting on my leather couches watching tv with a baby rolling around inside of my body.....and how uncomfortable Mary must have been riding a donkey for days with baby Jesus inside her body. 

Being so close to delivery, being so pregnant so near to Christmas, has brought a different light and understanding to this most sacred holiday!

Christmas is ABSOLUTELY about Jesus.  It is absolutely about God's gift to the world in becoming man, and His ultimate sacrifice and gift of the crucifixtion and resurrection.  BUT, Christmas doesn't involve JUST Jesus and God.  It involves a young girl named Mary, who cooperated with God, to bring this gift of His son-their son- into the world.  It involves a man named Joseph, who listened to God and trusted God, and provided Godly leadership in the Holy Family. 

The nativity scene, and the whole journey to Christmas, show us the shining example of the Holy Family.  A couple submitting and surrendering to God.  A woman trusting God and her husband.  A man protecting and providing for his wife with God's counsel and guidance.  A baby, born to parents who love him, each other, and God. 

While I'm sure a bit of a scary day (as is the birth day for any new parent), the Holy Family rejoiced and celebrated.  Joy filled the stable over the birth of a new life, a life that would provide a way for all to have eternal life.  They didn't know the challenges and tragedies that would follow, but they knew the joy and hope of Jesus that night.

God did not simply enter this world as a man but as a helpless infant.  He entered this world not with armies or followers, but with a mother and father.  Jesus entered this world into a family.  His birth bridged the gap between the earthly family of believers and the heavenly family of angels and saints.  Christmas is about Jesus's birth, it's about family, it's about the infinite love of God our Father.

I pray that my experience of birth this season is filled with as much hope and joy as Mary's experience.  That Josh and I's experience and journey towards Jillian's birth mirrors the shining example of the holy family.  I pray that God provides us with as much protection and guidance and grace as He provided Mary and Joseph, helping us bring a new life into this world with love, hope, health, and safety.

Thoughts from 19 months ago

Another email I found that I felt I needed to share on the blog.  This was sent the day after Landon's due date (labor started 3 days after this email).

Okay, so I'm at home with only thank you notes to write.  Bored out of my mind cause tv sucks.  

So, here are the thoughts for the morning......

- how can I still be tired?  i actually slept last night.  I'll feel lazy if I go back to bed this early. I'll take a nap in a little while.

-  I feel sick-ish again today. like my body is wanting to go into labor, but doesn't have the right combination to open that lock yet.  I like that analogy......labor is a combination lock.....unfortunately it took me a whole week to figure out how to open my locker in 7th grade, so it may take awhile for my body to figure this one out.

-  Kristi has a baby today!!  so happy for them!  I wouldn't be bored if I had a baby today.

- wish there was someone I could hang out with today, but my friends have jobs.....but my keys are in Josh's truck, so can't leave anyway....good, didn't want to take off the men's x-large gym shorts I'm wearing to put on underwear anyway.

- how is it possible for my body to produce this much pee every 30 minutes?!

- I'm hungry and have no desire to eat...that's weird

- I just felt uncomfortable yesterday, today I don't feel good, not quite sick, but not well either.  ugh.

- VH1 is actually playing music videos.  cool.  hopefully they'll play until the  Price is Right starts.

- crap, if he waits much longer he won't fit into the clothes I've washed for him, or the Newborn diapers I have for him.  Heck, he might not even fit through my pelvis, which means I'll be recovering from surgery while you all clean, paint and organize my new house.......you all better start praying that he comes soon for your own good! ha!  oh, this thought makes me laugh!  ha!

Email from June 22nd 2010

Remembered an email I sent this summer and felt I should share it on my blog.....

So, today is the first day in a long time I've not worked and not had to run errands.  Plan was to get some stuff done around the house and play and maybe even take a walk with Landon!!!  But of course plans rarely work out so here's been my day so far, thought you all might get a kick out of it....

- 3 outfits soaked with pee

- 2 poops

- wrestled him 3 separate times to give him 3 different medicines

- tried to bite my boob and left slobber all over my shirt

- listened to him cry because I wouldn't let him play with my phone, turn on the    tv, drink from my water bottle, or eat some of Daddy's fruity pebbles

- he took only a 30 minute nap

- he discovered things roll down the stairs if he can put them thru the gate

- I found an unidentifiable item in his mouth he found on the floor

AND it's only 12:30pm!!!!

*sigh*

Allison

Mothers, Children, and Odd Smells

I'd heard that pregnant women have a very sensitive sense of smell.  I could smell Josh's shoes from 10ft away (and they're really not that stinky) when I was pregnant with Landon.  I can sometimes smell Landon's poopy diapers from another room now that I'm pregnant with Jillian. But no one ever mentioned that mothers have an odd sense of smell when it comes to their children.  I had heard that in research studies mom's could smell the clothes of babies and tell which one their own newborn had been wearing.  But no one ever said anything about this sensitive or odd smelling ability continuing into motherhood.  So, as I post this, I'm not sure if it's that I'm odd, or that motherhood produces a superhuman smelling quality.....

My first experience with this mommy-sense-o-smell thing was in the hospital with Landon. We had sent him to the nursery so we could get a few hours of sleep. In the middle of the night they brought him to me so I could feed him.  As I held him, I couldn't smell him.  I had just put on lotion on my hands and they had given him a bath.  I couldn't smell him, and because it was dim in the room, it was difficult to see all his features. I honestly had a moment of panic that they had brought me the wrong baby or switched him with another baby in the nursery -- all somewhat hormone/lack of sleep induced irrational panic, but sheer panic none-the-less.  I couldn't smell him and it was horribly difficult to feel sure this was MY baby. 

Then, as we progressed into parenthood and figuring out all that entails, we often had discussions surrounding Landon's bowel movements.  I had always thought my friend Allen Austin was so weird for constantly talking about his child's poop, but suddenly Josh and I were in nightly conversations about Landon's poop.  We were telling other people all about his pooping. Suddenly, Allen wasn't so weird, but I realized that my friends without kids probably thought I was.  Anyway, as Josh and I would discuss Landon's poop, the topic of smell came up.  For the first 5 months Landon was strictly breastfed and breastfed babies' poops don't smell as bad or as strongly as formula-fed babies or babies who have started eating  baby food.  Josh commented on how Landon's poops did smell, but not too badly.  I commented that they smelled like "BUTTERED POPCORN" to me.  Josh looked at me like I was crazy!  I even told my mother-in-law and she told me I was crazy too!  But I SWEAR to you, his early poops smelled like Buttered Popcorn.  I don't know if other mothers have had this odd experience of their child's poop smelling like appealing food rather than intestinal excrement.  I don't know if this is just the weird mommy-sense-o-smell thing or if I'm really odd.

Most recently Landon smells like SYRUP to me.  At first, I thought it was because we were eating waffles or pancakes in the morning, but we haven't been eating syrup at breakfast for about 2 weeks now.  Today and yesterday Josh fed him a nutrigrain bar and an egg for breakfast.  When Landon came upstairs after eating to say good morning to me, all I could smell was syrup.  As if he had bathed in it.  What's the deal?!

Buttered popcorn poop and a syrup-reeking child can be justified in that these smells are attributed to MY child.  No matter how odd they sound, or how odd the whole thing makes me, it's still something between mother and child that can be justified as such.  HOWEVER, last week I had a weird smell thing with someone else's baby.... 
Last week some friends came over with their babies.  My friend Jessica has a 2 month old named Charlie.  Charlie has reflux and is on medication and a "sensitive" formula because of the reflux.  I held Charlie for a little while, smelling her sweet-smelling head (although it doesn't smell as sugary as my syrup-smelling 18 month old).  She began to cry and squirm so I changed her position and put her over my shoulder. Sure enough, she spit up all over my shoulder.  Later that afternoon, after my friends had left, I kept smelling babies, and an occasional whiff of spit up.  I thought I was going crazy, my pregnancy-sense-o-smell thing was making me smell babies!  But then I realized I hadn't changed my shirt so I was smelling Charlie and her spit up on my shirt.  Here's the weird part---the spit up was a PLEASING smell.  So pleasing that I didn't change my shirt because I wanted to keep smelling babies.  What?!  Spit up from someone else's baby smelled good?!  This makes no sense!  Even my own child's spit up would smell sour to me. 

Someone, please, make sense of this for me!  Is it pregnancy and it's weird effects on our sense of smell?  Is it motherhood and I might as well get used to it?  How do these examples make logical sense?!

Who Needs Toys?

I've always heard the cliche that toddlers like the box the toy came in, better than the toy.  Landon prefers to explore and push boundaries more than he prefers to play with toys. He also enjoys playing with things such as trash and household items more than toys. 

I've documented some of these preferences with pictures....

Have I mentioned he likes to climb things?

I gave him this tin box thinking it would be fun for him to use like a drum. He had other things in mind.

He got very frustrated that he couldn't use all three things at the same time.

Have I mentioned he likes to explore? This was the last time he explored the plant stand.

He really likes looking through tupperware, especially the colored lids.

A helmet Nana made for him.

At first the clothing that's on the floor was in the cooler. He then decided to try it out for himself.

A video of him when he's not quite 9 months old. At this point he also liked playing with empty milk cartons and empty formula cannisters.

At this point, he has started playing with toys; especially balls and anything that can be used like a bat or golf club.  Cars are occassionally played with and puzzle pieces are often used as projectiles.

Maybe by the time Jillian is moving into the "who needs toys" stage Landon will have moved more towards playing with toys?!

Thanksgiving 2010

We celebrated Thanksgiving 4 times in 3 days.  We always enjoy seeing all our extended family and eating all the good food!  I went to the doctor the Monday after Thanksgiving for a routine check up. I had the biggest jump in weight (between 5 & 7 pounds in two weeks) so far this pregnancy. I apparently REALLY enjoyed the food! :)

Here are some of the highlights....

Sparwath's Thanksgiving (Thursday afternoon)

Salt Pillars created by too many years and too little use in my Nana's nice salt shakers.

Josh doing the dishes.

 Aven's Thanksgiving (Thursday evening)

Playing football with cousin Jackson.

DiFiore's Thanksgiving (Saturday evening)

 Landon is dancing with cousin Lily.  You can't really hear the music because it's coming from my sister's iTouch but she was playing Ace of Base for them.

Landon finally tired. Sitting with Marjorie (my cousin's wife) who he flirted with from the second she walked in the door.

Keeling's Thanksgiving (Friday evening)

I forgot the camera this night so we have no pictures or video.  But the highlight for me was Grandmama's Turkey soup.  Landon's highlight was learning the word "Tackle" from Uncle Rick, Ben, and "Woe-wah" (Noah).  Again, football was the highlight of Landon's night!

Sanity's View of Pregnancy

When I am not overwhelmed by horomones, when I'm not suffering from lack of sleep, when I'm able to walk more like a person than a penguin, I generally have a sane view of pregnancy.  As I approach the last few weeks of my second pregnancy I'm having some not-so-sane views of pregnancy.  So, I thought I would post some of my sane thoughts & feelings about this whole thing before the onslaught of posts from my pregnancy-induced insanity begin.

I believe that pregnancy is a wonderful gift and an absolute honor.  To allow God to use my body to create another object of His love, another person to glorify His name, another person to help build His Kingdom .... it really just leaves me speechless to think of the immense responsibility and grace that comes with cooperating with Him in this way.

I believe that life starts at conception, at the joining of the sperm and the egg.  I believe that God breathes life into a new human at this very moment.  I believe that God literally enters a woman's body to create and breath life into a unique expression of His image.  I am in awe that God so greatly desires to share His divine love that He has entered my body twice to create two unique expressions of His image.  Two images that without my cooperation, without my sacrifice, would not exist.  I am in awe of this incredible act, of this incredible idea - God has breathed life into a new human inside my womb.  I am thankful for the trust, the gift and the journey He has blessed me with.

While I was pregnant with Landon, a friend pointed out that I had two guardian angels with me at all times while pregnant.  [This was when my relationship with Landon's guardian angel started to take hold :) ].  While pregnant I have two souls in my body.  And as a Eucharist-loving-Catholic, I believe by participating in the Mass and consuming the Eucharist, I am able to share Christ with my child before he/she even takes a breath in this world.  --ALL so stinkin' COOL!!--

While I find pregnancy to be a great honor and a great gift, I also know it comes with great sacrifice.  Body aches, horomones that trigger nausea and headaches, avoiding certain foods, stretch marks, heart burn, insomnia, exhaustion, swelling, and the dreaded "pregnancy nose."  And then there's labor and the pain, and in all honesty - trauma!  The Father donates ONE cell, the Mother supplies the rest -- the oxygen, the nutrition, the space.  But it's all worth it! To cooperate with God to bring an absolute miracle into the world. To participate in what only a woman's body was designed and created to do.  It is all worth it, it is all an honor.

So, as the future posts come regarding preganncy, and there is sarcasm, negativity, and complaining involved, please remember this post and my SANE view of pregnancy!

Brownie "Spread"

 [A post by Josh]

Alright, so I am stealing Allison's computer to be able to post my latest "Aven" moment. [no offense to the Avens, you know I love you all] 

Most of you probably don't know, but brownies are my favorite dessert of all time.  To the point that when Allison and I got married, I did not want a Groom's cake.  All I wanted was a large tier of stacked moist, gooey, half baked, brownies.  So with that said... the other night Allison and I decided to treat ourselves with homemade ice cream and a box of brownies.

We started the night off with cooking dinner, nothing fancy, just the usual... rice and chicken.  Allison usually cooks dinner, but this night she only cooked the rice (this will come into play later).  After we finished eating dinner I got excited about the brownies, so I went ahead and started preparing the dessert.  Allison is not fan of baking at all so she gladly stepped aside to let me work my masterpiece.  I think she would rather clean the entire house while being 9 months pregnant than to bake anything.  I on the other hand rather enjoy baking.  Maybe it's because I treat myself to samples of the dough before actually baking it (to make sure it tastes right of course). 

So now that I have set the stage for the evening and my love for brownies and enjoyment in baking, let me fill you in on how I discovered how to make "BROWNIE SPREAD."  That's right, it may be the newest product you see in the stores.  It started off like any normal baking of brownies from the box.  I opened the bag and poured the powdered mix into the bowl.  I then grabbed an egg, cracked it and threw the shell away.  Next, I needed to recall the amount of water to use so I quickly glanced at the box, filled the measuring cup to 1-1/4 cup full of water and poured it in.  That's right, over a cup of water for brownies.

Now you may be asking, "Why would you pour that much water into the mix for brownies?"  This is where I bring Allison back into the picture.  When she finished cooking the rice, the empty box was still on the kitchen counter.  When I quickly glanced over to see how much water was needed, apparently I looked at the wrong box.  Now, you tell me if the rice box looks anything like the brownie box.

Not the same size, color, or food for that matter. 

Oh, and the fact that it says "Rice Range Top Directions" should have been my first clue that something was not right.

But no,  I was so anxious to get these brownies started and finished so I could savor every bite that I literally threw it all together without paying attention.

I was wondering why the mix was sooooo soupy.  On top of that, I only added the 1 tablespoon of Canola Oil that is listed on the box above instead of the 1/3 cup that was suppose to be measured.  I figured 1/3 cup of oil and a 1/3 cup of water (which is what I was suppose to add) is somewhat close to the large amount of water I had already dumped in, so went ahead and threw them in the oven to see how they would turn out.

2 HOURS later (that's what it took to cook out all the water) they were finally "finished."  I let them cool down for about ten minutes and decided to take my chances.  My first initial reaction was "they are not that bad, I can make this work."  I took out a very small piece for Allison to try; hoping to reaffirm, or maybe convince myself, that they were good to go.  She muscled through it but quickly said it was awful and she couldn't handle the texture.  So I cut a piece to prove her wrong and plopped a scoop of homemade ice cream with chocolate fudge on it and started going to town.   About 4 bites into I realized there is no disguising the truth, mixing browning ingredients with rice cooking measurements DO NOT make for tasty brownies.  Gooey...yes, tasty...no.   Unfortunately we wasted a perfectly good brownie mix to discover what we are now calling "brownie spread".  I swear you could have spread it on a piece of bread like peanut butter.  I don't know if any amount of cooking could have cooked out all that water.

Oh well, still enjoyed the ice cream and had a great laugh with Allison.  So the moral of the story-- brownies are worth the wait and fully reading all the directions.  Don't rush, or you might find yourself mixing it with some other random box sitting on the counter only to later discover that you have invented your own "brownie spread."

18 Month Check Up

Landon had his 18 month check up yesterday.  Should have been a relatively uneventful visit, but of course it proved otherwise.  Here are the details....

1. ripped several paper leaf decorations off the doors in the waiting room
2. no toys out in the waiting room because it's flu season, so he decided the Little Tykes picnic table could double as a jungle gym
3. flirted with the nurse that brought us back to the room
4. freaked out over having to lay down on the examining table to get his height measured. Full on wrestling match and crying to get him to lay down, followed by nasty looks at the nurse he had just been flirting with.  Crying fit #1
5. Height is 34.5 inches, putting him in the 95th percentile for his age, where he's been for most of his life
6. Actually sat still on the baby scale!  Decided the nurse was worth flirting with again.
7. Weight is 26.5 pounds, putting him in the 50th percentile for his age, where he's been for most of his life.
8. Not interested in reading books with me while waiting for Doctor to come in.  The chairs in the room and the trash can are much more exciting. 
9. So excited the Doctor and her med-student are in the room he starts his "show off dancing."  Floor is slick and he's in socks.....face plant into the floor right in front of the doctor.  4th time in less than 2 weeks he's split his lip open.  Blood everywhere.  Crying fit #2.   
10. Doctor asks questions and checks him out while he's sitting on my lap.  Pouting and thumb sucking.
11. Put him on the table again so she can check him out up there.  Freak out and wrestling match and Crying Fit #3. 
12. He sits still while waiting for nurse to return with the shot.  He decides reading a book isn't such a bad idea.
13. Flirts with the nurse when she comes in and does another "show off dance."  This time without socks so no face plant. Phew!
14. Lay down on table again.  Wrestling match again.  Crying Fit #4.  But this time the crying fit is more intense because he got a shot while on the table this time.  Pouts and sad faces at the nurse.
15. Falls asleep on the way home.

Good news is he's growing at insanely steady rate and was more concerned with his bandaid on his leg from the shot than he was with his lip.

*sigh*  Most likely at the next visit to the doctor's I'll have two kids to traumatize!

Landon's Guardian Angel

I believe in Guardian Angels.  I have always believed in Guardian Angels.  But the impact of Guardian Angels was not always apparent to me.  It took having Landon, being his mother, and watching him grow over the last 18 months that I finally understand the importance and impact of their work.

Landon was sitting up and crawling at the age of 4 months. He was independently standing at 7 months, and walking at 9 months.  He climbs anything and everything that looks like it might be interesting to get over or be on top of-- this includes our deck railing (2 stories high).  I'm pretty sure he's been moving non-stop since the day his brain could send signals to his body to wiggle in-utero.  His Guardian Angel (and all care-givers) are constantly on the move in order to keep up with him.

I am shocked that we have yet to go to the Emergency Room with him. I am shocked that he's not required stitches or a cast for broken bones.  I have personally witnessed some invisible force move his body, his head/face just out harm's way numerous times.  I can only attribute the narrow misses and the lack of serious injury to his Guardian Angel. 

So this post is to be a public recognition of this dear angel's work. And a request, for all who read it, to say a prayer of thanks to God, for creating a special angel for my special child who has no sense of danger and no concept of inactivity.  And also to request a prayer for me.....that I will handle Landon's first major injury with sanity and without complete panic!  Because while we have avoided the emergency room so far, it is inevitable that we will be visiting it sooner than later.  After all, he is the child of a mother who received stitches in her head twice before the age of 5, and a father who broke his arm in 2 places falling out of a tree. :)

Halloween 2009

So, after posting pics from this year's Halloween, I started feeling nostalgic.  Found these pics & video from last year and decided to share.  So cliche to say, but I can't believe how much he's grown!!

My sister....festive in random "ski" stuff from our house.

Little Tigger & Eeyore

Happy Family!  The orange shirt is as festive as I get!

Landon would jump like this all the time!  Ironically, he never took to the "Johnny Jumper" thing. He apparently preferred to exhaust the arms of any willing adult.

Halloween 2010

We don't really know many of our neighbors so we opted to go to my Aunt & Uncle's neighborhood for Halloween this year. That way family could see Landon (and help chase him) and I could see some of my former clients that live in their neighborhood. 

Landon was dressed up as a dinosaur and actually left the hood/head on most of the night!  He RAN the whole time and attempted to play on swing sets, play with toys in garages, and invited himself into a few houses. He's only had a few M&M's and Smarties in his whole life, so had no idea what this whole "candy" thing was about.  But being allowed to run all over the yards and from house to house was apparently the best thing ever!

Here are some pics.....

Happy Family! 

This is outside my Aunt & Uncle's neighbor's house that we pre-partied at. Chili and pumpkin desserts, etc.  

We had just come from our friends' cabin. We were exhausted and smelled like campfire! 

Landonsaurus Rex is about to attack!

My sister dressed as "Flo" from the Progressive commercials.  She is way more festive than I am and will most likely always be considered "cooler" than me by my children.

An "active" moment with my cousins Chloe and Clara.  I'm not sure if this was a sweet gesture towards Clara or an antagonistic move, but it made for a cute picture!

Okay, this pic is not the most flattering for any of us, especially me. BUT, I had to post it to prove that I did participate in walking a little of the neighborhood that night. 

My Reasons....

....for starting this blog

1) We have a lot of family and friends and I'm not good at keeping in touch.  This hopefully is a way to keep people informed about our life that care to know!

2) I'm horrible about writing in Landon's "Milestone Journal" that I started in order to keep track of things.  I'm horrible at writing in my own journal to keep track of thoughts and happenings in my life.  I'm horrible at remembering events (the big and the little) unless they're written down or photographed.  So I'm hoping this is a way to remedy my poor ability to keep track of the things going on in our lives.

3) My life and every detail about it most often feels like chaos to me. I'm always attempting ways to get better organized, stay organized, etc.  This is yet another one of those attempts. :)