Pieces of My Day

Today has been one of those normal, mom-at-home days, where the kids are pretty good, sometimes a little bored, the groceries need unpacking, and the baby takes three naps. We have had a few things going on, though.

The Bad News and the Good News (I prefer bad first):

The bad news is that little Miles has a moderate heart murmur. The doctors are pretty sure things are fine, but want to be certain, so they have scheduled an echocardiogram for the little guy. He's already had a chest x-ray and an EKG, neither of which were pleasant, so I'm definitely not looking forward to the next step. I know it's a pretty routine procedure, and I'm sure we all know someone with a heart murmur, or we have one ourselves, but still, worrisome for us. They'll have to sedate little Miles for the procedure, and they originally told me that he must be fasting for 4 hours prior to his appointment. Not a big deal, except that he's only six months old and pretty much nurses whenever the idea strikes him. (picture me picturing a screaming baby, an appointment which will probably start late, and 2 conspicuous milk stains on my blouse. not my idea of fun.) I called the hospital today to get more information and they told me can have clear liquids up to 2 hours before his appointment. Here's the good news:

Breast milk counts as a clear liquid!

This takes a HUGE load off of my mind. I know that day won't be fun for Miles (or for me), but at least he won't be hungry as he's taken away from me down a hospital hallway, only to be pricked by a needle shortly thereafter. (Isn't that all of our worst nightmares, that whole hospital separation scene?) Ugh, not looking forward to March 12th.

And now for some random photos from our afternoon outside:

Parker tossing a newspaper into the air as we wait on the front lawn for Audrey to come home. Miles thinks this is hilarious.

When Audrey came home, I snapped a picture of her and Miles. She's pretty much his favorite person ever. You can guarantee he's smiling if she's around. Audrey wanted me to point out that she's wearing her favorite shirt and that she wore a necklace to school today.

In other news, the apricots just might be working. (Click to enlarge, I promise there's hair there.) They're even stimulating a bit of apricot-colored hair.
We'd better steer clear of carrots.

And in still more completely unexciting news, I found the most adorable cowgirl party invitations for Audrey's upcoming party at the ranch. I'll post them to my other blog once they're ready to go. And I finished The Lovely Bones. I've rated it a 4 out of 5 in my sidebar list o' books. Worth a read!
Next comes Thirteen Moons, by Charles Frazier, who wrote one of my favorite books, Cold Mountain. I've been looking forward to Thirteen Moons, but only because I keep hoping for another character like CM's Inman. Who was fascinating.
Ok, done rambling.

Park Time

Sunday was just another gorgeous Texas winter day, so we took a walk to the park and I took some pictures.

We conducted an experiment to see if apricots, a new fruit for Miles, stimulate hair growth.

I don't think it's working.

Do you like Parker's hat? He thinks it's super cool, and isn't embarrassed that it says "Mom Rules" on it. That's because he's still cuckoo for me.

And little Miles went swinging.

Children's Book of the Week: 2

Abe Lincoln: The Boy Who Loved Books

by Kay Winters

"In the wilds of Kentucky, 1809, a boy was born. His mother called his Abraham, his last name was Lincoln. His bed was made from corn husks, his covers, skins from bears. His cabin built with logs from towering trees."

This book is new to our library, and I actually got it from the school's ever-popular Scholastic Book Order (of which we receive 4 per month). Again, always hard for me to pass up purchasing books, especially at a discount! If a book can teach and entertain at the same time, it gets a double nod of approval from me. My kids love to read fiction and non-fiction, which is how they've learned all they know about sharks, the solar system and Egypt! This book is told as a story, but you can talk to your children how it is real, and they will forever know that Abraham Lincoln was a good and honorable man. This book not only has beautiful, simplistic oil paintings as illustration by Nancy Carpenter, but teaches children about Mr. Lincoln, one of the greatest men of all time.

"As Abe grew, he talked to travelers--heard where they'd been, where they were going. He saw their world was wider than his own. His ideas stretched. His questions rose. His dreams were stirred."

This simple narrative follows Abe as he grows up, as his family moves, and his mother dies. It shows us how he eventually went "from the wilderness to the White House," as he learned that "it was unjust to own another," that "words could change the way folks thought," and as he discovered the "power of words and used them well."

Now you know why it's one of my new favorites. You can get this absolutely beautiful book here. I'm clicking over to Amazon right now to check out the other books by Kay Winters.

Grateful Sunday

Today I'm grateful for:

• the most perfect, beautiful Sunday I've seen in a while. 62 degrees, a slight breeze and heavenly sunshine. I'm only grateful for the weather on pretty days like today.
  
• the rare times when the stars align just so in the sky, the house is quiet, and I can actually take a nap on a Sunday afternoon. That didn't happen today, but I'm holding out for next Sunday.
  
• my plane tickets to see Stephanie and her family in Arizona in a few weeks.
• friends, blogs, and friends with blogs.
• our broadcast Stake Conference at church today. We got to listen our prophet.

Goals for the week:

1. Find cowgirlie invitations for Audrey's party.
2. Plan a low-key baby shower for a new friend.
3. Take stuff to Goodwill and consignment shops, one of the perks of being done having babies: getting rid of excess STUFF!
   

Book Tag Game

I found this game on Thoroughly Mormon Mille's blog, which is often quite entertaining. We all love books, don't we? Let's play!

The Rules of the game:
1. Find the nearest book to you.
2. Name the book and author.
3. Turn to page 123.
4. Go to the fifth sentence on the page.
5. Copy out the next 3 sentences and post to your blog.

The nearest books to me at this point in time (12.05 pm) are a stack of library books for the kids. None of them have 123 pages, so I waltzed over to the bookshelf and chose the first book I saw.

Romeo & Juliet
William Shakespeare

Romeo speaking to his good bud Mercutio in Act 3 Scene 1:

"This gentleman, the Prince's near ally,
My very friend, hath got this mortal hurt
In my behalf. My reputation stained
With Tybalt's slander--Tybalt, that an hour
Hath been my cousin! O sweet Juliet,
Thy beauty hath made me effeminate
And in my temper softened valor's steel."

Three sentences, but seven lines. Doesn't that just take you back to ninth grade? Oh, Romeo was such a heart throb (for me anyway). Tag, you're it!

Cowgirl Up

Audrey really wants to be a cowgirl. Luckily for her, we live in Texas. And here in greater Houston, today has been unofficially (or maybe it is officially) proclaimed "Go Texas Day," to recognize the first day of the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo (pretty much the biggest, craziest, most Texas thing you've ever seen). It's a major deal around here, so big that Beyonce and Reba (among others) are performing this year, and rodeo professionals, livestock traders and country people from all over the state stay for weeks on end in the big city. It's big, people. (Entertainment the size of Texas, to quote the website.)

To celebrate Go Texas Day, everyone in town dresses up like our Texan forebears, in Western wear galore. Well, not everyone. Not me. Or Neal. In fact, Audrey was one of a handful at her school dressed up (we live a bit out of town), but if this girl has a chance to be a cowgirl for a day, she's all over it. We walked/rode home from school today, and Audrey, in her pouty Audrey way, said,
"Mama, I wish every Friday was Go Texas Day."

What's a little cowgirl to do?

btw: audrey insisted on posing this way, with her feet just so. To see the other pose she insisted on, click over to her blog. It's even better.

Enough already.

Enough deep thinking for one day. It's 79 degrees here. Audrey's home from school and we're going outside until it gets dark.

Tomorrow is Another Day: Introspection of a Tired Mom

You can tell I've had a sick baby lately. Many night-time moments alone in the quiet. I'm in introspection mode, which can be dangerous, but also feels really good once in a while. And lucky you: you get to hear about it. :) Last night, just like I do every night after the kids are all asleep, the lunches are made, and the doors are locked, I was straightening up my house, putting away the toys of my three little ones. I found a pile of candy and stickers under the kitchen island, where Parker had dumped out a party favor bag after his bath. And at that moment, I know this sounds strange, I worried that maybe I didn't love my kids enough that day. Surely I did in my mind, but did I tell them enough? Do they know how much we love them? Does Audrey know how beautiful she is? Did I tell Parker how much I appreciate all his hugs and how sweet he is to his baby brother?

I remembered looking at Parker's shirt briefly before bed and noticing that he had stuck a big dinosaur sticker on himself. I thought, when I saw it, "Cool sticker on your shirt, dude!" but I didn't say it out loud. He would have loved the praise and acknowledgment about his creative sticker placement, but he didn't get it from me tonight. I was too busy trying to replace his shirt with his pajamas. But I don't want my kids to go to bed disappointed or feeling that they were skipped over during the day. I'm sure it won't matter to Parker in the long run; he'll have forgotten the sticker by morning, but, once again, my guilt is getting the best of me. My kids need to know how much I love them and that they are my priority.

Recently, a friend of mine said, "Your priorities are what you DO." Not what you plan to do, not what you think about doing, but what you actually DO. I may say that my kids are my number one priority, but how often do the dirty clothes or the dishes or a phone call actually come before they do? Not always, but probably too often. I do my best to jump on the trampoline, read books or just cuddle up on the couch and watch a movie. I have to make an effort to do these things, since that annoying pile of dust in the corner is screaming at me to get up. I'm sure all mothers wrestle with this issue often, don't you?

Sometimes, as I lay in bed at night (or nurse Miles in the complete darkness), I analyze my self and my day. Often, I picture a little scale in my mind. One side is "the important stuff:" my kids and Neal. The other side is "everything else:" the house, the grocery shopping, the book I'm reading, my rushing around, my friends, my blog. I know which side should have more weight, and often, that side doesn't. Of course, some things are necessary: the laundry needs to be done, I need to cook dinner, the bills need to be paid. But a few nights ago, this feeling got the better of me, and I crawled into bed with Parker (he's the only one with an accessible bed [not a crib or a top bunk]). I hugged his little self close to me, and thought how I should have done that while he was awake instead. My wise sister, Stephanie, put it so well in this brilliant post, which I think of often.

Luckily for me, and I tell myself this all the time, tomorrow is another day. I'm going to do better. I'll slow down, put away the housework, take the time to listen to my kids, look them in the eye while they talk to me, spend time doing the really important things, and crawl into bed tomorrow night with a satisfied smile on my face, knowing that I really did do my best to love them.

There, I feel better already.

For Real

In the spirit of Mrs. Dub's highly thought-provoking post over at Musings and Misadventures yesterday, I just wanted to say a few things. You ought to read her post, if you haven't. She pretty much rules.

I've learned first-hand how detrimental and destructive self-comparison and self-criticism can be, especially when you're a young mother, largely isolated from the adult world most of the time. There are certain people in my life, who, by no fault or purposeful action of their own, make me feel badly about myself. I've chosen to have more of a distant relationship with those people, for the sake of my own self-esteem. I don't need to know about all the cute clothes their kids have, or how much spending money they get every month, or how awesomely they perform in their calling at church. So many people have such lovely talents, and sometimes, it's easy to get carried away wishing those talents were mine, but I don't think that's right. I have my own talents, although I may be so used to them that they don't feel like talents anymore. They may not involve scrapbook paper, fabric, singing or gardening, but they're my strengths, and I need to be grateful for them, pursue them, and improve upon them as much as I can.

I read on someone's blog once that their husband laughed off these blogs as having created a sort of "mutual admiration society," where we all publicize and take pictures of the cute, pretty, witty and sentimental parts of our lives, hoping for some validation from people, most of whom we don't even know. Consequently, though, we may be giving the impression that our lives are perfectly rosy, that there is no bad news, when in fact, we all know this can not be true. In some respects, I don't see anything wrong with that. Why would I want to tell you, if you're having a perfectly happy day, that Miles screamed his way through a chest x-ray this morning, or that I lost my temper at bedtime a few nights ago, or that my sink is full of dirty dishes? All those things may be true and real (they are), but not necessarily worth sharing or asking for pity about in my comments section. We all know that life carries with it the good and the bad, and I've chosen to use my blog to talk about the good. After all, it helps me to realize that there is way more good than bad in my life, and that I ought to be very grateful or I fear that it all might be taken away.

I guess what I'm saying is, I'm happy with who I'm becoming, the way I'm living my life, and the way I'm spending my time. Sure, I can always do better, but that's why I'm still here. I think you all have wonderful REAL lives, and I love reading about them, seeing them, and learning from your way of doing things. I even like to see your latest craft projects, because they're really, really cute. Thanks Mrs. Dub, for your awesome post. I only wish the original version didn't get lost. :(

A little Perspective

A year ago today, this is how Miles was spending his days.

Today, he does a lot of this.

And a lot of this.

It's amazing how much life can change in a year, isn't it?

Children's Book of the Week: 1

I've decided to copy one of my blogging idols, Design Mom, and feature a children's book each week that we have enjoyed in our home. I buy books like I buy milk, so we have children's books coming out of our ears. I have so many favorites, some from my childhood, and some we've recently discovered. So get out your Amazon wish list, and take some notes!

This is my all-time favorite children's book, and my mom and sister both share my opinion that it is perhaps the sweetest book ever written.

Bear by Himself
by Geoffrey Hayes

"There are times when a bear has to be alone with himself. To think his own thoughts and sing his own songs."

Bear is so content to be alone, his daily actions are so simple ("smelling the rain, listening to the quiet"), and so endearing, that you will find yourself, when you have come to the end of the story, with a little tear in your eye and a compulsion to go back to the first page and read it again. I'm serious, it's that good! When I was young, Stephanie and I would check this book out from our little library over and over again. The bear looks strikingly similar to her cherished bear friend, Nosy Nosy, and I think we both secretly hoped that if we checked this little book out enough times, eventually they would just let us keep it. I found vintage copies of the first printing for me, my mom, and sister. The photo above is of the newer printing, and although it is cute, the original (1976) is just pencil drawings with hints of green watercolor splashed in all the right places. Perhaps it's the memory of reading it with my mom as a child that makes it so special to me, but this one is a must for every children's library!

Grateful Sunday

This Sunday, I'm grateful for:

• modern medicine, including baby ibuprofen, which has helped Miles' fever cool down these past couple days.
  
• our trampoline. My kids LOVE that thing, even when it's 40 degrees outside.
• Neal's ability to grow plants, including this pretty plumeria that smells like Hawaii when it blooms in the summer.
  
• girls' night out and friends who feel like sisters, since mine are so far away.
  
• a 3-day weekend, even if Neal did have to work on Saturday.

A couple of goals for this week:

1. Finalize Audrey's birthday party plans.
2. Read my scriptures every day.
3. Have some quiet chats with Audrey and work on reading with Parker.
   

Interview avec Moi

Natalie caught me on a day with nothing to blog about, so I'm doing her survey!

* What's the quality that you like least about yourself? That I have a hard time relaxing. As soon as Miles is asleep, I immediately turn into a tornado of activity, running around my house cleaning, grabbing some lunch, throwing some laundry in, etc. I wish I could just stop multi-tasking already and relax.

* If you could trade places with anyone, living or dead, for a day, who would it be? I would trade places with myself when I was about 7. Life was so good back then, so carefree. I would love to be a little kid again, but live that life understanding how good I had it.

* My life would be simpler if... I had a wife to do all the housework for me.

* What's your favorite possession? (must be a thing) I have a lot of favorites, but I'll have to go with my piano.

* Guiltiest pleasure? Sleeping in. That makes me feel the most guilty.

* High road or low road? Does anyone purposely take the low road? I don't think so, I hope not anyway.

* Who was the naughtiest kid in your elementary school, and what did he do? I'm going to have to embarrass my brother, Matt, here and say that it was him! He pantsed a GIRL! And it was in Junior High. Worse.

* The big decision I'm currently wrestling with is... When to book my trip to see Stephanie in Arizona.

Hey, while you're on the computer, check out my other blog today, and weigh in on my Burning Fashion Question, just for fun!

I know, I know

More Miles pictures, but this is what he REALLY looks like. Natalie got her long-awaited and oft-coveted new DSLR camera and practiced on Miles yesterday. I'm in love with these pictures! My camera feels majorly inferior now, and all I can say is, we better be seeing a lot more of Natalie and her camera before she moves to Denver in June!

If you click to enlarge this first one, you can see his little tooth that emerged last weekend.

Do you notice a reddish tinge on the top of his head, or is it just me?

We are just plain crazy about this boy!

My Valentine

Neal always finds the most beautiful flowers for me. I think he's only bought me roses once in all these years. See, he knows more about flowers than the average boy, and so he buys the more unusual bouquets, knowing I'll appreciate them more. Last year it was peonies, my favorite. The year before that, he brought home orchids that I could clip off and wear in my hair.

This year, he found these incredible

blue and white hydrangeas.

I love them. And him.

Summer here at Flowerchain

Welcome to my summery blog!
On days like today, when it's white and freezing almost everywhere north of the Mason-Dixon line, I'm very grateful to live in Texas.

Don't ask me about it in July.

ps kristen, i googled "buffalo snow" and found this picture. :) stay warm!

Happy Boys

make for a happy mommy.

Good Lips and Six Months

Little Miles Jefferson is six months old this week. His bald head and petite size fool some people into thinking he's a bit younger, but six months! I can't believe it's already been half a year since I had him. I'm doing this as a "baby book post," so I won't forget the little things.

Miles is super smiley, smiles at most strangers who talk to him, puts his fists up and turns his little face into my shoulder when he feels a bit shy.
He has one little teeny tooth, bottom right. He also has really good lips, as you can see above.
He is pretty easily entertained, especially by Audrey and Parker, who will do pretty much anything to make him laugh.
He's a major talker, especially during church meetings, where he prefers squealing to talking.
He laughs a little bit when he first latches on to nurse, so glad that he got what he wanted, especially when he's really tired.
His "hair" gets a little messy when we take off his hat (which he wears a lot, even in the house). Audrey loves when his hair sticks up.
He has about 8 hairs that you can see, and in the sunlight, they're pretty much orange.
He sleeps on his tummy, but likes to roll over to see his ceiling fan after he wakes up.
He loves a diaper change, but hates a bath.
He finally accepted the fact that the car seat is part of his life. He's pretty okay with it now, thank goodness.
He's as sweet as can be, and his entire life is being blogged.

We're totally crazy about our little Moe (Moo, Moey, Moezy, Doodle, Mr. Miles), and are so grateful he came to our family! Happy 6 months Miles!

Two Barefoot Mommas

I have great news! My ultra-talented sister, Stephanie, of Barefoot in the Kitchen, and our super-clever sister-in-law, Ginger (who, even with the recent addition of her fourth child, has found time to blog and craft and quilt), have been hard at work starting their own small web-based business! Steph has some mad sewing skills and has hand-stitched beautiful burp cloths with initials and wool felt appliques; personalized, custom, made-to-order aprons for little girls; and baby blankets to come. Ginger has found her niche creating one-of-a-kind baby, child, and momma-sized sterling bracelets, personalized for the little girls and proud mommies in your life. Click on over to

Two Barefoot Mommas

and support home-based mommy-run business! Audrey's bracelet order is in! Sterling silver horse charm and all.

One of the sweet aprons available here.

One of several sets of personalized chenille burp cloths. See them all here!

Adorable newborn-sized sterling baby bracelet, hand made for Ginger's niece, Ruby Jeanette. See the other infant bracelets here.

I think I'd like Audrey's to look something like this child-sized one. Isn't that ballet shoe charm the sweetest?

Ginger and Stephanie are adding new products every day, so check back often!
I love it, girls! I'm so proud of you both!

Quotes of the Day IX

Up at 5 with Miles again, and since there's not a whole lot to do but lay on the floor and chew on sunglasses, here you go:

Number Nine in the Series, Quotes of the Day, by Audrey (5) and Parker (3).

Audrey, to Parker in the tub: Parker, do you know what "carbon dioxygen" is?
Parker: No.
Audrey: It's the kind of air that's on other planets. We can't breathe it.
Parker: Why?
Audrey: 'Cuz you'll die.

Audrey and I were coloring a few pictures from the Friend Magazine about the creation of the Earth. I was coloring Adam and Eve, and Audrey was watching me and said,

I like Eve. She's so pretty. Did you know that Adam and Eve were the first people on the earth?
Me: Yep. Do you know who was here first, Adam or Eve?
Audrey: I can't remember.
Me: Who do you think came first?
Audrey: Um, Eve.
Me: Nope. Adam.
Audrey: Awwww!

The other day, Parker and I went for a walk over the bridge behind our street. It goes over what is known as Oyster Creek, but we call it the river. Parker said, "What if this river went all the way back there and then all the way to Egypt and turned into the Egypt River?"

Don't you think that would be cool? I do.

Last one: Parker and Neal were in the car, listening to the radio about a woman who was a maid.

Parker: Daddy, what's a maid?
Neal: Someone who cleans houses.
Parker: Is Mommy a maid?
Neal: No, because she cleans her own house.
Parker: Well, she's kind of like a maid!

True that, Parker!

Daddy's going to shoot stuff.

Neal's gone hunting this weekend in Georgia. Hunting, you say? Neal?

Ya, I know. Whenever people hear that Neal grew up the son of a cattle rancher, and spent his summers working with cows on horseback on a ranch in Kansas, they have a hard time believing it. One friend said to me once, "But Neal's so . . . urban!" "Yes, well, that's my influence," I joked. :)

So Mr. Animal Lover himself has gone hunting with his three brothers and his dad, none of whom enjoy animals as much as Neal does. He went on trips like this as a boy, but hasn't "shot a gun since high school." That doesn't sound very good, does it. He practiced at the shooting range last weekend with a friend, so as not to embarrass himself among his more seasoned (with guns) brothers. He went to the sporting goods store in search of hunter-crowd-friendly clothing (including some new, slightly tighter jeans). It's all a bit comical to me, as you can see: picturing Neal out there in the wild, taking aim at a small bird, and the manliness of it all. The fact that Neal's going to shoot quail (those cute little birdies with the little feather sticking out of the top of their heads) is really bothersome to Audrey. Not so bothersome to Parker, who really would have liked to go.

I can't wait to hear how it goes. He gets back on Sunday.

On another note, I am very respectful of all you wives who send your husband away on business for days at a time (MOM, my whole life!). I'm so not looking forward to him being gone. Not so much for my own self (I'll be fine with the all the kids, especially since my parents arrive here in about an hour), I just WORRY! I run scenarios through my head of all the things that could happen and how I would deal with it, what would we do IF, etc. It's not good, but all I know is, I can't wait to see that boy on Sunday. :)

My Camera is Back . . .

And so are the straps.






Oh, and so is Sawyer, just FYI.

Go Natalie, It's Your Birthday!

A special Happy Birthday to my dear friend, Natalie, who joins me today as a proud 29-year-old, determined to live the last year of our twenties to its absolute fullest.
Natalie is the best kind of friend. I have blogged her praises many times before, like here and here, but she is completely devoted to so many aspects of her life, including our friendship. She's very passionate about things like to-do lists, thank-you notes and movies. She loves a clean house, a hot shower, her blogs, and Target. She takes some wickedly awesome pictures of my children (and other people, too). We share a love of so many things: good food, good chocolate, girl time, pretty clothes, Orangina and Project Runway, to name a few. Go here to wish her a Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Natalie!

Now where are those chocolate croissants?

Playgroup Boycott or Why I'm a Snob

I don't think I'm going to playgroup anymore. I haven't been much since I had Miles, since he tends to nap during that time, but last Friday he was awake, so we thought we'd join society again. Since it's been so rainy, we've been forced indoors for the past 4 playdates. I'm the co-chair of our group (organized through our church), so I help decide what we'll do each Friday and send out the requisite email. One of my friends offered to have it at her house, which was very nice of her. I used to look forward to the playgroups at people's homes because it was a controlled, enclosed environment and didn't involve mosquitoes or me pushing anyone on a swing for half an hour.

I was quite alarmed when I got to the playdate and saw what I saw. I totally would rather have pushed Parker on the swing! Maybe it's because I was raised in a very peaceful, non-chaotic home, despite the fact that six children lived in it. Maybe it's because I only have 3 children, who are all quite mild-mannered and well-behaved (if I do say so myself). Maybe it's because I'm a total snob and don't like my kids associating with wild children. But seriously, I couldn't take all those kids and all that noise. Miles had his head sat on by a husky one-year-old, and proceeded to cry, I was shot in the head by a Nerf gun, and had to ask the child to take it elsewhere, and Parker had a ball thrown directly at his ear by a very strong baby. Not one of those three mothers apologized (or even noticed what their kid was doing). Sure, kids will be kids, you may say, but what has happened to parents taking responsibility and disciplining their children? Just because there's a bunch of toys hanging around doesn't mean you can just leave your kid to do whatever while you chat away with your friends! I could really spout off about this topic. (Neal and I discuss it every Sunday afternoon, after church meetings full of wild, unruly, irreverent children and inattentive parents.)

I guess I am just judgmental about other parents, but I can't help it. I have no patience for it!

Besides the injuries above, there were so many sick kids there, kids who should not have been let out of the house lookin' like that. One child had perhaps the goopiest eyes I've ever seen. They were so infected that they were swollen and purple around the outside. I heard one of the other moms say to his mom, "Oh look! Aaron* just opened his eyes!" as if it was such a relief that the poor kid could finally do so (at 11:00 in the morning). Another conversation I overheard about how the preschool called home requesting my friend go pick up her child, "but we caught 'it' really early, so she's fine now (and here at playgroup)."

I looked down at my healthy little glowing Miles, he looked back up at me, and together we grabbed Parker's hand, headed for the car, Purell-ed immediately, and headed off to play somewhere else. I know I'm horrible. I just couldn't take it.

*name changed to protect the poor innocent little invalid

If you don't like me anymore, you don't have to read my blog. I'm not offended. ;)

Grateful Sunday

This Sunday, I'm grateful for:

• our AAA Texas membership. It came in quite handy on Tuesday morning when my battery was dead.
• my little family. I'm grateful that we can have fun when we're together, even if we're just at the grocery store on a Saturday night.
• the fact that we live in semi-tropical Texas and not Iowa (where, according to our friend Keith, the high was ZERO yesterday).
• Audrey, who loves Parker, and Parker, who loves Audrey. And Miles, with whom we're all smitten, even though he pulls our hair, pinches our noses and gets us wet with slobber.
  
• my mom and dad, who are coming to see us on Thursday. Yay!
• a fridge full of food and a warm house to come home to.

Some goals for the week:

1. the garage
   
2. the pantry
3. the weeds out back

Blondie

I'm a blonde and always have been. When I was little, I had hair "down to my bottom" that was a nice light blonde and I thought it was so pretty. By the time I got to high school, the blonde had turned kind of ashy and not so pretty anymore, and half-way through my freshman year at BYU, I determined that the cost of professional hair color was worth the way it made me feel when I walked out of the salon. It's just one of those things that I know I'll be shovelling out the cash for for the rest of my life, and Neal has come to understand that. (Plus, he has no idea how much it costs.)

Having blonde hair is part of my identity, sadly enough. When my roots grow out, I feel lousy about myself. But ba-da-bing, when my very young and semi-scary goth hairdresser, Jaclyn, finishes blow drying my newly refreshed blondeness, suddenly life is good again! Steph understands, see?

This morning, Audrey pointed to the back of my head and said, "Momma, this part's brown." Yes, I know. Thank you, sweetie.

Ideally, and if you have the cashola, you're supposed to have your hair blondified every 6-8 weeks. Well, having a 5-month-old who's addicted to nursing doesn't really fit in well with the need to have my roots done. It takes a good 2 hours, and with driving time, that makes for a sad Miles, or at least I thought it would. I've only had it done once since he was born (and he was fine), and my roots are shouting that out to the world!

My parents are coming in town next week, and Dad, I am counting on your magical baby-sleep-molecules to help Miles while I get my hair done. I'm sure he'll be fine, I'll fill him up nice and full before I go. He eats baby food now, too, so he won't get hungry. I'm just preparing you, Mom and Dad. Saturday, 9.30 am. I really need my hair done. It's turning brown.