Under the Weather

Well it's been coming for a while now I suppose. My two little munchkins have been threatening runny noses and suspiciously worse sounding coughs for the last several days. We have really tried to lay low, take our meds, drink some juice and take the vitamins but to no avail they are officially sick. We got up today and Noah announced he didn't feel good and proceeded to lay on the couch all morning. This is the boy who usually gets out of bed by 6 am with more energy and force than a steam engine and doesn't ever stop! He has a sore throat and a mild fever and gallons of stuff running out of his poor little head.

Lil on the other hand has a nasty cough and a fountain of yuck from her nose. She also is covered in a rash (probably eczema which tends to flare when she's sick.) So after deciding that we definitely couldn't take them to church it was decided I'd stay with the sickly and Travis went on to church.

While he was gone I made beans and cornbread and potatoes and no one ate it but me and Travis. The kids didn't have much of an appetite but they did manage to eat some Popsicles.

I suppose we'll be making a trip to the pediatrician in the morning to see what's going on. We really have made it a pretty good stretch without having to go to the doctor but I knew it was too good too last! Noah is devastated at the thought of having to miss a day of school but I told him we'd just have to see what the doctor said.

Wish us luck, I missed everyone this weekend!!!

Gymboree and Me...

In case you love Gymboree and I do...the boys polos (that are usually 17-19 dollars are all 10 this weekend. And if you have a nifty 20% coupon like I did they are $8.00 each. I can't get Noah polos from Target for that cheap. And if you have a boy like mine who is hard on his clothes, Gymboree stuff lasts much much longer and looks better after a trillion washes.

Oh yeah, and they are giving away gymbucks this weekend too.

My retail therapy for the week has been fulfilled and if I only knew what this baby was I would have got him/her some nifty stuff while I was at it. Seriously though, I got Noah an entire wardrobe of Spring polos and tees to wear to church/school and Lil a little spring dress and spent not too much and got gymbucks. Not sure that you care but it makes me happy.

Also since I never ever make it to the mall anymore, (and my sweetie watched the kids so I got to go on my own for a couple of hours today) I made the awesome discovery that they are putting in a Crazy 8s kid store. (owned by Gymboree, a little less expensive and still super super cute).

Books Books Books...

So I love to read. Seriously....love it. I can remember being tiny when I would sit for hours with Mom and she would read to me. I would memorize the books long before I could read them and then I'd "read to her". I wanted new books everywhere we went. One of my very earliest memories is the first time she took me to the library.

I had to have been maybe 3 and we were in the grocery store and I think I asked for another new book. Mom explained that we would go to the library and borrow all the books we wanted and read them. I was fascinated and I still remember it. I used to check out stacks and stacks of books. When I finally got to school and learned to read I was hooked. I would go to the public library and head to the big kid section and pack up the big books and take them to the desk to check out. The library lady would give me a suspicious look and my mom would have to assure her it was OK because I could read books that big. One of my favorite things at Kyrock was to go to library with Ms. Brenda and she would let me check out books from the section that was supposed to be too advanced too.

It never let up. When I was in high school and had to pick out books for book reports my friends would purposely choose the shortest they could get away with. On the other hand, I would choose something with 1600 pages. I loved it! I'm not trying to brag, I was just a bookworm and I still am. I wasn't athletic I wasn't a math genius, I could just read and read lots and read fast.

When I went to college I tested out of freshman English and went to a higher level course and I loved it. It was an 8 am friday class and half the class usually didn't show up as a result from Thursday night parties I think. I was there and I read whatever we were supposed to read. I distinctly remember that professor profusely trying to talk me into becoming and English or Lit major and teaching. I didn't want to teach I just liked to read!

Fast forward 10 years. I now have 2 babies a house to run and a business to run. I find very very little time to read anything except things like Junie B. Jones to Noah (which by the way are hilarious books and I love them!) but I have really started to miss my books. Also by the time a Mommy puts in a 16 hour day for everyone but herself it equals some frazzled out nerves. So I decided earlier in the year to set aside a little time to at least read something just because I enjoyed it. In January I reread all the Twilight series books. Yep, reread but I loved it.

I had been eyeing the Kindles for a long while but I decided that were too expensive for right now. Well Travis spoils me and got me a spiffy new iphone and lo and behold there are free Kindle and Barnes and Noble Ereader downloads. I downloaded them along with Pride and Prejudice and am happily taking a little bitty bit of time to myself and reading. Perfect way to pass the time while waiting in doctors office or wherever. I'm a little bit hooked but it's OK. Most of the downloaded books to Kindle are only 9.99 and compared to a $29 bestseller I think it's great!

The Temper Tantrum

Ummm I feel compelled to broach this subject more for my sanity than yours. If you have never encountered the world of two year old tantrums here goes...

Noah Thomas is NOT a perfect child. Wasn't when he was a toddler and he's not now. He's a work in progress. He's loud and rowdy and boisterous and well...he's all boy. BUT he never threw the type of tantrums that his little sister is becoming famous for.

Let me set up the scene. At any given moment of the day, if one thing doesn't go planned to little miss's schedule, she will proceed to lay herself out flat on the floor and stiffen out. Then she cries and screams and no amount of consoling helps. Everything I've read (and I've read alot) says that when a toddler throws a tantrum like this it's to get attention and gain control of the situation. So, you're supposed to ignore it. So I do or I try at least. Tuesday we had one that lasted 10 minutes. In reality 10 minutes is a very short amount of time but when you're listening to howling and screaming it's a long time. Really I'm not sure what else to do. You can't reason with her or even pick her up. So I let her throw her fit along with the wailing and gnashing of teeth and proceed with my business. This is all well and good at home. I'm not sure the people at Walmart will enjoy this kind of spectacle that I'm sure will happen eventually. My spur of the moment instinct is to pick her up and spank her little tail (yes we spank our children) but I think it would fuel the tantrum fire. So please, if anyone has a great suggestion for me please let me know.

The things that set off the tantrums are so random it's not even funny. Yesterday it was because I made her hold my hand while coming down the steps. Tuesday I still don't know what it was over. Today it was because I made her get down from climbing.

OK I don't' want you all to think I have a terror for a child and she is let run out of control. 99% of the time she is fun loving and happy and affectionate and spunky. She's a great eater, a fantastic sleeper, her vocabulary grows everyday, and she loves people. She's never met a stranger. She's fantastic at the doctor's office and for the dentist. She's right on target with where she should be as a two year old and unfortunately that includes the tantrums. Sigh....

In retrospect I do find it a little amusing that two year olds find this a solution to whatever situation is going wrong. I mean she's never seen anyone else lay flat on the floor and scream and wail. It's just a gut instinct I guess.
As a Mom, we've gone through a lot of phases together and I know that this is just a phase and as it is said I know "this too shall pass" but it sure is painful until it does!

Sidenote: No I didn't include a photo with this post. I'm certain it would make people fear for their lives and run for cover....just kidding!!!!

How to Nab a Husband

OK I'm sure that Travis married me for a couple of other reasons but this one is high on his list.

I even think I have blogged about this before but it bears repeating.

How to Make the Easiest Barbecue Ribs in the Universe and your husband will fall at your feet..

You need

uhh some ribs (western style or country style pork ribs)

a crock pot

an onion

salt

pepper

Barbecue sauce (one day I'm going to get technical and make my own like the Neely's do...)

but for now bottles will suffice

OK now it gets really complicated...

Throw the ribs in the crockpot...salt and pepper it....

chop onion and throw it on top.

Put the lid on and let it cook all day long on low or part of the day long on high...

Do a little dance cause Dinner is almost done

At the end of the day when these are all done and juice take them out of the crockpot and drain off the juicy stuff. Put them either back in the pot and pour the sauce on them till it's hot OR lay them out on a baking pan and pour the sauce on top of them and cook in the oven till the sauce is hot.

Mash some potatoes and throw in some green beans and some rolls and you're done...

And if your kids don't have egg allergies cook that chocolate lava thing that Lesley blogged bout...

Seriously your husband/boyfriend/dad/brother/uncle/son/ will love you....

OK I suppose he will love you if he is a man like Travis who loves his meat and potatoes and looks for an excuse to wear overalls and will build you a house with his own two hands...and rock your babies to sleep...and make them go to church...and let them ride on his back...OK I could go on and on about the type of man you'll attract with these ribs but enough already...do yourself a favor and make them. I'm pretty sure he was thinking of these ribs when he bought me my anniversary band...

PS refer to my previous post and you will know that I will not eat these ribs. It's just a meat thing...sorry... my kids however love them too...and I think it gets to Travis that they cut in on his leftovers.

Final PS...I bought a dutch oven the other day. It's nifty and red and it's really really heavy. I also haven't cooked anything in it. I would try these ribs in it some day but they might not be as good and my husband might be compelled to leave me for a tall skinny blond...three things I am not. So I will stick with the crockpot and work on our 12th year of wedded bliss.

In Random Order

I love...
my hubby
my kiddos
my mom and dad
my family
my church
my friends
my house
my pajamas
my camera
Olive Garden
rain on the roof
Barnes and Noble
Target
getting my hair cut
reading
Gone with the Wind
Sheryl Crowe
cooking
the color red
baby feet
my Cuisinart stand mixer
a clean house
yellow roses for no reason
blogging

I do not love
cleaning up after cooking
eggs
traffic
temper tantrums
full laundry hampers
cigarette smoke
going to the dentist
being sleepy
meat in general
spots that won't come out of clothes
the sound of ambulance sirens

and that concludes my segment of useless information about Jessica. Have a fantastic Tuesday.

Baby Update

Today was my regular appointment with Dr. Gass and other than the long wait in the waiting room it was rather uneventful. Heartrate was 156 and everything is still on track where it should be. I did do the AFP blood test today which we don't get results from for a while. We scheduled the ultrasound today for March 22. The way my appointments are falling I'll actually be between 21 and 22 weeks at that point but the way the time is passing it will be here before you know it. We plan on finding out what the gender of this baby is if we can. Both of my other babies were rather uncooperative when it came to finding out what they were. They both had a tendency to want to keep their little legs tucked up under their behinds! Lilly actually required us coming back later in the day for the nice ultrasound tech to take one more look after I had drunk a little caffeine to get her to moving! But all in all the gender is not what I'm concerned with on the day of the ultrasound, it's just a nice bonus!