Easter Story Cookies March 22, 2008

Oh, and here’s our Easter Story Cookie RecipeDLTK’s Bible Activities for Kids
Easter Story Cookies

My neighbor gave me this recipe, but I found it by searcing, too.

EASTER STORY COOKIES 

To be made the evening before Easter

	1cup whole pecans
	1tsp vinegar
	3 egg whites
	pinch salt
	1 cup sugar
	zipper baggie
	wooden spoon
	tape
	Bible

Preheat oven to 300 degrees (this is important, don’t wait till you’re half done with the recipe!)Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces.  Explain that after Jesus was arrested, He was Beaten by the Roman soldiers.  Read John 19:1-3.

Let each child smell the vinegar.  Put 1tsp vinegar into mixing bowl.  Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, He was given vinegar to drink.  Read John 19:28-30.

Add egg whites to vinegar.  Eggs represent life.  Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life.  Read John 10:10-11.

Sprinkle a little salt into each child’s hand.  Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl.  Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus’ followers, and the bitterness of our own sin.  Read Luke 23:27.

So far, the ingredients are not very appetizing.  Add 1 cup sugar.

Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us.  He wants us to know and belong to Him.  Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16.

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed.  Explain that the color white represents the purity in God’s eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus.  Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3.

Fold in broken nuts.  Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet.  Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus’ body was laid.  Read Matthew 27:57-60.

 Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF.  Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door.  Explain that Jesus’ tomb was sealed.  Read Matthew 27:65-66.

GO TO BED!  Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight.  Jesus’ followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed.  Read John 16:20 and 22.

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie.  Notice the cracked surface and take a bite.  The cookies are hollow!  On the first Easter, Jesus’ followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty.  Read Matthew 28:1-9.
 Copied from here

The Day of The Colonoscopy March 10, 2008

Just got home and I’m totally spent.  It was a long day.  I wanted to let my mommas know that they were able to rule out any cysts or tumors. Not a polyp either.  His colon is inflamed and they took 2 biopsies that we will not get the results of until Friday.  So, at least the big scary stuff is off the list of options.   

Selah and Lucas spent the night at my in-laws house, a rare treat for them and us.  It’s amazing how well Jacob did with not being able to eat for 24 hours. He would ask for food but never fussed when we told him that he had to wait for the doctor to give him permission at the hospital. During mealtimes I sat and played with him so he got some special momma time.

He started out excited when we got to the hospital, but became uneasy when we were put in the room. We almost had a full on revolt when he recognized the gown from prior visits. He didn’t want that thing near him.  The’ goofy gas’ they gave him loosened him up pretty quickly.  We got a bit of a glimpse of what Jacob the Stoner would be like…

The took him from the room and we waited, and waited… I tried to knit. I turned on the TV. Finally I forced Travis to get off of his laptop and walk down to the cafe with me for a cup of coffee and a muffin. We hadn’t eaten, of course, since Jacob couldn’t.  I walked through the gift shop to laugh at a bunch of horrendous junk.  Who buys this stuff?

We were only back in the room for about 10 minutes before the brought him back.  Coming out of it was pretty traumatic for all of us.  He was kicking and screaming as if he didn’t even know we were there.  All I could think of is ‘This is what Jacob would be like if he was autistic”.  I’ve never heard him scream like that or have a fit like that.  I held him kicking and screaming for 20 minutes while he was still coming out. He doesn’t even remember it, but my arms are literally still sore from it for hours afterward. Finally the only thing that would calm him was to have the lights off while watching TV.  But the only thing that made it work was me talking in a constant, low voice while he watched ‘The Fox and The Hound”.  The second he didn’t hear my voice, he would start screaming and writhing again.  Eventually it all wore off and he was jut a little dizzy and off balance for the rest of the afternoon.

We let him choose to go to a restaurant after the hospital to get something to eat. Chickfila, of course. That’s a big treat around here.  It was so strange to be there, just Mom, Popi and Jake. He was loving it.

We drove up to get Selah and Lucas, about 45 minutes away, and spent the rest of the afternoon there.

By the time I got them all dressed and in bed I was so worn out.  I felt like I could use some goffy gas myself. For kicks here’s a video of him on the ‘goofy gas’ before he went in.

Ready to Read? March 8, 2008

Here is a fun ‘Reading Readiness’ test for 4 year olds.  I had Jacob do it and he got 17 out of 20, most likely because he’s around when Selah is reading and is very interested.  He didn’t get the rhyming question.  Selah wanted to do the test too (even though she already reads) and got all of them rapidfire and correct, except the rhyming question!  I think I know what we’ll be working on this week!
 
http://school.familyeducation.com/reading/early-learning/46528.html?detoured=1

 I don’t have any intention of starting any work with him other than we already do or anything.  The test is just a fun little quiz and I was pretty happy with how he did at only just having turned 3 in January.  See, my kids learn something…

Of Mice and Media March 8, 2008

I distinctly remember a conversation that Travis and I had with another couple when we were preggers with our first, Selah.  Somehow we had gotten on the subject of children’s media and they were incredulous at our intention of keeping it bare bones in our house. 

Them: Well, aren’t you going to let them watch the Simpsons? (insert look of amazement)

US: Ummm.. Heck no.

Them: There’s nothing wrong with the Simpsons. It’s hilarious!  Our kids are gonna love the Simpsons! Don’t tell me your going to be one of those ‘Disney is Evil.’ families!  (I almost stepped aside to look in the mirror to be sure that I hadn’t actually grown two heads)

Us:  Well, the thing of it is…

Yes, the thing of it is… what is the thing of it.  Simpsons.  Yes, it’s funny.  Seriously clever and entertaining. But honestly?  Mom’s a wimp and off in lala land.  Dad’s a lazy bum that certainly isn’t the best example for his kids.  Bart, totally undisciplined and disrespectful.  Lisa, unchallenged and unvalidated.  Maggie…whatever.  Dude, go for it. Watch the Simpsons.  I’ll watch it now and then and laugh.  But I’m not going to let a 3 year old that is just learning how to be respectful and interact with others watch that.   It plants seeds that I don’t want and I have enough weeding and pruning to do on my sweet little guys.  I’m not up for adding that into my workload.  You go for it.  That discussion was about 5 1/2 years ago.  As far as I can see, the other couple’s kids are pretty great.  I’ve never asked if they actually let them watch the Simpsons.  It’s just not that big of a deal to me.  When they get older?  Maybe. Doubt it, but maybe.

Now Disney. That’s just downright evil from the pit of hell. Oh, I so crack myself up sometimes.  There was a huge ‘boycott Disney’ movement when I was growing up.  Maybe it’s still around?  Surprisingly enough my parents didn’t get too active in it. They’d already cut out so many things that they had Disney covered long before the boycott started.  I never say scooby doo until after I was married.  I still don’t think I’ve ever really seen the Smurfs.  My father still swears that smurf means ‘little demon’ in Swedish or something.  We seriously weren’t allowed to watch just about anything.  Except the Cosby Show, Little House on The Prairie, Mash, Night Rider and McGyver.  The last three because my father loved them and his short lived stance against the media for kids wasn’t as strong as his desire to watch HIS favorite shows.  No TiVo back then.

Ok, back to Disney. I don’t hate The Mouse, but I don’t let my kids watch Disney, I think.  I say I think because it’s more about individual movies.  These movies are made by some seriously talented people and I enjoy them.  But children see things so differently. They see a movie one timeand they’re consumed with the desire to BE the princess or the hero. They long for the romance that they don’t understand and aren’t ready for.  They see the villains and monsters and their little hearts haven’t yet learned to distinguish between reality and fantasy.  Think about Sleeping Beauty or The Little Mermaid.  The witches are terrifying! Not just because their witches and witches are eeeevvviillll.   They morph into these huge monsters with sounds and flashes and …terror!  It’s the picture that I don’t want to be putting into their little minds.  Their innocence is only intact as long as I protect it.  And at this point we prefer to limit their exposure to things that are a little more on the realistic side of fantasy. None of them seems scared by our oppressive parenting so far.

 But I’m also very big on giving our children choices. Because, whether we as parents like it or not, they always have a choice. And “because I said so” can be a slippery slope of uneducation that I don’t want my kids to slide down.  So, I spend a lot of time explaining their choices.

Last week Selah saw a copy of Sleeping Beauty and was just begging to see it.  The child was batting her eyelashes with a sweet little tilt to her head. She looked up at me with those big brown eyes…. “Please let me see it, Momma.”  So I sat down with her in my lap for a talk. 

Me: Why do you want to watch this movie, Love?

Selah: Because I want to watch the Princess and see the castle! It looks beautiful.

Me: She is beautiful, but this movie is a little bit scary. There is a mean witch in this movie that wants to kill Sleeping Beauty. She’s mean and hateful. She throws fire and turns into a dragon and destroys things especially trying to kill the prince that is coming to save the princess. It gets really loud and confusing with lots of fire and the big dragon. I’m worried that if you watch this you will have those pictures in your head and your heart, and they will make you afraid when you think of them. They will give you bad dreams in the night when you could have had good dreams without those pictures in your head.

Selah: Oh…. stares off with her brow creased in concern.

Me: Selah, Do you still want to watch the movie?

Selah: No thanks, Momma. I’m going to go play with my dollhouse. Maybe I can watch it when I’m 10. And off she gallops to sweet playtime adventure.

Now, had she said yes I would have talked to Travis and we may have sat down and watched it with her, asking her how it made her feel at intense intervals to see how she fared. I have no doubt that she would have asked to turn it off at some point.

So, the TV is hardly ever on around here, but I don’t go around saying the TV is sinful.  I do love that instead of begging for, well, I don’t know any shows really… my 5 and 3 year old will sit side by side for an hour at the dining room table doing puzzles.   They haven’t seen a lot of the popular movies and didn’t understand most of the costumes on Halloween that kids wore pertaining to their favorite characters.  My kiddos begged to dress up as Dorothy and The Tin Man because that’s what we were reading at the time.  See, they get some fantasy. But, I still wouldn’t let them watch the ‘Wizard of Oz’ for quite awhile.

I have found that the Pixar movies are generally pretty good.  See, I’m not totally off my rocker.  They don’t have the romantic themes and, while fantastic, they’re more realistic?  The kids were just allowed to watch Toy Story at a friend’s house.  My son immediately decided he is Buzz Lightyear.  I have to say that it confirmed my conviction a bit. If they are at a stage where they are going to take on the personalities of what they watch, I’d better get some good stuff into that DVD player for them to copy!

Anyway, I’m now rambling for no reason. I’m sure you get my point.  I’d love to see some suggestions for good movies for kids to grow on.  The current favorites are Charlotte’s Web, Mary Poppins, Sound of Music and Evan Almighty, followed by any Veggie Tales they can get their hands on.   Think about it for a second and post a comment letting me know what movies you want your kids to act like? 

Blood… March 6, 2008

In anticipation for my official sharing of my experience with the Diva Cup (coming tonight after the kiddos are down), please enjoy this for your entertainment…

Oh… Just to Pee in Private Again! March 5, 2008

I patiently hold it as I nudge Lucas through the door.  Right as I have him safely cleared Jacob rushes past me and vaults up the step-stool screaming “I need to wash my hands.  Dare Durrtee, Momma.”  Ok.  Patience.  Breath.  Just a minute.  Quickly, I scrub in to join the handwashing procedure, hoping that assisting will shorten the time.  Before he turns the faucet off, his favorite part of course, I have the towel in hand and I’m drying him off (head to toe) frantically.  Right. He’s out the door.  I’m alone.  I may now sit and do what I need to do in peace.  At least I think.  In comes Selah who proudly makes my business public with her ‘defecation proclamation’.  Oh the shame.  This is worse than when she would fake puke into public toilets when I was pregnant with Jacob.  That’s what they were for, right?

 It’s not often that mom’s get privacy.  A few stolen moments in the bathroom.  A trip to the mailbox or, if you’re lucky, the grocery store.  A brief reprieve at naptime.  It doesn’t add up to much time to, well, be.  On one hand, I find it frustrating to hear a list of things we deserve as moms.  A list that sounds like a ‘To Do’s’ for the pampered princess who feels entitled to whatever she wants.  On the other hand I’m apt to ignore the needs of my body and psyche for regeneration, pushing myself to the edge of sanity and back again several times each day.  I know no rest.

So, like everything else,  I find the need to examine my ‘momstincts’. Where’s the happy medium between selfish entitlement and grinding ourselves to nothing.  Where do I fall on the scale between two extremes? 

 Now, I can find justification for just about anything I decide I ‘feel’ at the moment.  Can’t you?  When I have a pity party I find the friend that will always poor baby me.  When I’m pissed, validation of my angst is only a call away.  When I need that little ‘Oh, don’t worry. You DESERVE it.’ another friend can be found at the click of a mouse.  Basically what I’m saying is that we can find support for whatever we want to.  But is that the right thing? 

I think this one comes down to self awareness.  I know the difference between condemnation and conviction.   Condemnation is shaming.  It’s unjust pressure and fear.  Conviction is what comes when the truth hurts.  When enlightenment is knocking at the door to push us into deeper knowledge of truth.  Conviction is the reminder that you’re potential is so much greater than what you just did. 

So, which is it?  Do I feel condemnation for harboring thoughts of time alone?  Is the reality that the thoughts are healthy and I should be working towards carving out a few moments to exhale?  Or is it a conviction that I really have the time and I’m using it unwisely and complaining too much.  That if I had more patience with my kids and kept the house clean on a more regular basis I wouldn’t feel the urge to escape from it.

 These are the things I’ve pondered today.  A day when I haven’t been to the bathroom once alone.  And I’ve picked up toys with my kids over and over, yet didn’t play with them as much as I could have because the phone stole my attention.  I avoided the dishes because I’m just sick of  standing at that sink.

So the answer to THE question?  Is my heart condemned or convicted?  The honest truth is that the questions are the same but the answer changes daily.  Hourly, even.  And today it’s a little bit of both.  So I’m releasing the condemnation. It’s useless and shaming.  The conviction?  I think we’ll play more tomorrow.  I need it as much as they do.

Countdown To Bedtime, Unexpected Gifts February 28, 2008

It’s seven o’clock.  I’ve got a raging headache and an hour until bedtime.  The kids are on the  floor in front of me playing with a mound of jumbo sized LEGOs that their Popi had as a child.  If only Selah would stop slowly scraping the  aircraft carrier she has constructed across the ocean of my hardwood floors…

The LEGOs were an unexpected gift.  They came in a beaten-up pathetic box, wrapped in cute paper with a bow.  My mother-in-law gave them to us, or back to Travis I suppose, at our baby shower when we were expecting Selah.  I remember wondering why she didn’t save them for a first birthday or something.  Why give them when they can’t be used for so long? At times the LEGOS are the bane of my existence.  They liter my floors and get stuck under my couch constantly putting me on the defense for my perpetually bare feet.  All worth it for the joy they bring.  I wouldn’t give up that treasure for anything.  Although, I’m quite relieved to say the aircraft carrier has been reconstructed into a skyscraper.  Luckily, an immobile project.

It’s crazy how sometimes the things that bless us are the things we didn’t ever want in the first place.  I was not the happiest woman when I found out I was pregnant with Lucas.  I mean, there was no doubt that we wanted more children, but that soon?  I was actually too embarrassed to tell people for a few weeks. I couldn’t do it and look happy about it.  I’m an open book and everyone would know.  After those first few weeks I was fine and looked forward to the sweet little one. But I was saddened all over again when I found out that my dream of having a little ‘Lucienne Gaylene’ would not be coming true.  The sonogram very clearly showed it. 

So when Selah was 3 1/2 and Jacob was 18 months, little Lucas Gaelen was born.  Even the plan of a homebirth was a failure.  C-section again.  But that’s where the disappointment ended.  He’s amazing. He’s the most joyful little man ever.  Our family needed him, and we needed him when he came.  It’s hard to even remember why I ever felt the way I did.  I prefer to say he was ‘unscheduled’.  I never ever would call him unplanned. 

Blessings come whether we expect them or not and I’m so glad the planning wasn’t up to me!  It’s so easy for us to get frustrated when things don’t go the way we planned, but the circumstances of our lives make us who we are. I wouldn’t change any of mine.

Ok, said little man is now terrorizing the LEGO village.  Off to save the natives.

Not Quite A Bribe February 9, 2008

Tw weeks ago we made a visit to the dentist for three munchkins.   No signs of cavities in little teeth, and the morning was quite the success as I left with all three happily playing with new toothbrushes.  As I expected, they were concerned at Selah’s teeth being so spread and the callouses from how much she sucks her fingers.

It started almost from birth. I have pictures of Selah as a sweet itty bitty, even then sucking the same two fingers.   I did try to get her to switch them out for a passi, but I certainly didn’t make as much effort as I could have.  I have to accept the fact that not making it a priority when it would have been easier was certainly a mistake.  Here we are at five years old with a 25% overbite and huge crooked gaps. 

They are suggesting that we consider a permanent retainer that would inhibit the finger sucking. The retainer is basically a wire that is attached to the back of her top teeth making it uncomfortable to suck the fingers. It can be worn up to 6 months but they expect the habit to be broken within three months.

 Unfortunately the retainer is NINE HUNDRED DOLLARS! (((faint))) Our cost would be $300 after insurance.  Well, if you know anything about me, you know I’m not jumping on that bandwagon.  If it’s necessary we will do what we have to.  But…..We’ll be working on other options first.

In the past I’ve made  efforts on different ways to stop the sucking.  And, I admit, our efforts…ahem….sucked…  We tried band-aids, gloves,  that nasty  tasting stuff you brush on like polish. At one point I had her hand bandaged up to look like a cast.  I could say nothing worked, but the reality is that we didn’t stick it out long enough. 

This time had to be different.  I know someone who was so proud of how she ‘reasoned’ with her son and convinced him that the grocery store was out of diapers  to get him potty trained.  Not something I would brag about, since he was almost ready for kindergarten.  Obviously, I’m NOT proud of the fact that we’ve made it to the point that Selah can be reasoned with for this.  But since she is we sat down and talked about what her finger sucking was doing to her teeth and her fingers.  We talked about her nails not growing properly, her teeth being out of line and needing braces in the future and ultimately that this could cost a lot of money and be very painful to her.  So, instead of jumping on the idea of paying $300 for the retainer  I told Selah we would put $100 in her savings account instead, if she could stop on her own. 

We went out and I let her choose some dainty little band-aids to keep on her fingers as a reminder.  Is it bad that I hid the Barbie band-aids from her and directed her to some generic cute fairies?  Fairies it was and she’s worn them all week not sucking her fingers once.

So,  I’m calling it an incentive, not a bribe.   We’ll be keeping her fingers in band-aids for several weeks to make sure that it sticks.  We’ll see….

Urine in Contacts = Not A Good Substitute for Saline January 26, 2008

Yes, you read that right. Let me start a bit back…

Our sweet Jacob. He breaks my heart with his constant “Mommy, can I cuddle wif you.” and “I want you to hold me.” He’s a sponge for affection and can just never get enough. His favorite thing to do at the moment is ask “Do you know what I love?” and after your obligatory “What?”, he throws his warm little arms around you and cries “YOU!!!”. And he’ll do it over and over, even with someone he’s just met. His heart is tender and wonderfully open.
Yet his body is sick, and we don’t know why. He often cries at night that his bottom hurts, writhing in pain. Every week or so I will see blood on tissue when I help him wipe after using the toilet. It’s terrifying. I’ve looked over and over, never to find where the blood could be coming from. He’s been toilet trained since last spring, so it’s certainly not a diaper rash and there is no visible irritation.
We’ve been at the doctor a good bit. I’m sure she sees paranoid parents often. The first time we redid the celiac testing, since our previous pediatrician botched the test. He neglected to tell us that Jake actually needed gluten in his system for it to be conclusive. So we fed him gluten and retested. Nothing. The next time it was a blood test for food allergies. Nothing. Then he seemed to stop complaining and life got busy with four of our birthdays and Jesus’, too. He did well, but now we are back to complaining. It’s more frequent and so are the bits of blood.
So last week we returned to the pediatrician and he was doing the writhing and fussing while we were there. He also went to the bathroom and she was able to see firsthand the little bit of blood. At least now it’s validated. It’s not in my head. Phew… So she did some swabs and we went back again later for some more blood work for I don’t know what. Then I got Strep. Ugh.

The Dr ordered a barium enema to see what is going on in his intestines. My poor little guy! It was scheduled for today and, like I said, yesterday he was to have clear liquids only after 1pm. Coop started at 12:45 so I fed him lunch and geared up for the long haul. I let him choose juice and one of those Vitamin Water things. He chose the ‘endurance’ and hated it but Mommy liked it. May be a good thing. I feel that I could use some endurance right now. So he had his juice and jello for snack at Coop and did so well not wanting the other kids snacks. I heard he found a stray Cheerio and snarfed it down before his teacher could intercept. Such a sweet woman. Luckily the Cheerio caused no harm.
At 4pm I gave him a triple dose of Senecot as directed. For dinner he had 4 bowls of Jello. I can just see him in college (((shudder))). And then before bedtime, I was obligated to administer the dreaded Fleet Enema. Dear Lord this test better be worth it! Well, we did that and I laid on the bathroom floor with him waiting for it to work. I was starting to worry when it finally did it’s thing and cleaned him out. Poor guy didn’t know what was going on. I explained every step. “We’re going to do this to clean out your bottom so the Dr can see what is wrong with it tomorrow.” On a hunch I dug up an old Pull Up for him to wear overnight. Under protests of being a big boy already, I finally convinced him that 3 year old can wear Pull Ups on occasion. Thank God for those little hunches we mom’s get. The little man woke up devastated because he had an accident in his sleep. I explained to him that the medicine was making his body do what it needed to do to clean out, and it didn’t count as an accident. After all that, we had to do another Enema this morning. This test IS important, right? Sigh….
The morning was much harder as the other kids ate and Jacob couldn’t. I sat Selah and Lucas down with breakfast and Jacob and I played with trains and his new wooden tool set. I had, of course, chosen to fast with him.
The whole morning I struggled to do anything amid the begging for food and fussing of his bottom hurting, and the jealousy of a little 18 month old who wandered shy he wasn’t the one getting all of the attention. I held them both for most of the time and we all watched The Fox and The Hound. It took me awhile to realize that there is actually no ‘Fox’. That the hot little girly pup is ‘foxy’ as in sexy…. thus a Fox. Even back then cartoons were really for parents, weren’t they?
Carol was a divine angel, come to save me from the potential of taking all three children to Scottish Rite Children’s Hospital. Looking back at my long day, I can see that it would have absolutely bankrupt my energy.
We arrived on time and walked in amid reflections from windows tinted in all shades of the rainbow. Jacob was captivated and took several minutes naming each color before he would agree to approach the registration desk. And that’s where I became the hospital mother. Apparently every employee of the hospital believes that I am adopting them, no matter if they are even my senior. Because every where I went it was “Right here, Mom.” “Mom, I need you to sign here.” “Mom, here’s your license back.”… “Oh, thank you, Mom.” I understand that it makes things easier for them, yet it felt quite odd. I was seriously tempted to respond with a “Yes, son?” to the worst offender but I decided against it. I still wasn’t sure which of them was responsible for inserting things into my little boy and I didn’t want to risk pissing anyone off.

We were in the room rather quickly, where my little guy refused to wear the medical gown. He was much more comfortable prancing around stark naked in only his socks, thank you. So that’s what he did. The initial Xrays went quickly. I had to wear the lead jacket and they had this little square of lead that they laid over his tiny penis. My future grandchildren thank you. I held his hands and his trusty sheep lay right next to him to get his Xrays, too.
Then the Barium went in. He was such a trooper. He lay still just holding my hand and we talked about what we were going to go eat when we left. I told him we would have a date and he could choose. He was torn between scrambled eggs from Awful House of a Quesadilla from Taco Smell. It’s not my fault, my husband teaches them these things! By the time they were ready to start the Xrays with the barium, the quesadilla had won out, and my son was fretful and uncomfortable. The radiologist rushed in and at that point I was asked to stand back and just watch. Two nurses flipped his body over into several poses as the radiologist called out… whatever it was he called out. I wasn’t listening. All I could here was my little man crying and saying “Dat’s enuf! Dat’s Enuf! I’m all done.” And eventually just crying because they weren’t done yet. The last part he was on his back and could look at me so I swallowed my sick feeling and panic to tell him all those reassuring things you’re supposed to. You’re so brave! It’s almost done! I’m so proud of you! Just a minute longer.
Finally done, They wrapped his tiny body in towels and handed him to me telling me to get him on the toilet immediately. The bag of barium that they pushed into his system was huge, and his belly was distended like a little starving boy from Africa. He sat on the toilet screaming that it hurt, so I bent down to rub his back and help him relax. That’s when it happened. The poor little guy lost control and peed as all the barium came rushing out. Unfortunately he wasn’t prepared to hold things down, so he peed right in my eye, down the left side of my face and in my hair. Luckily my contact started flipping out causing me to focus on not losing it, rather than the urge to hyperventilate and have a panic attack. My sweet son sat there with barium pouring out of him saying ” Mommy, I sorry I peed on you!” I had to ask the nurse 5 times to find me some saline solution and if she told me ONE MORE TIME that the urine was sterile… oh never mind.
So after 15 minutes in the bathroom and an unbelievable amount of chalky white liquid coming out of my boy, we were able to go get the last set of xrays and then get dressed. I was impressed that Jacob wasn’t traumatized by the whole thing and jumped right up for that last set. Kids truly are amazing.
As we were getting ready to leave the poor nurse brought out a cheep, ugly teddy bear and Jacob would have nothing to do with it. She tried several times to get him to take it, even asking if he could be Sheepy’s friend. Not interested. Smart boy, saved mom a trip to Goodwill. It was a sweet gesture, of course. But yeah, no need for more teddys around here. Smart boy deserved TWO quesadillas!
So the whole ordeal was over. We drove through Taco Smell on the way home for his ‘treat’ of a Quesadilla. He was thrilled that I could roll down his window in the sliding door so he could order it. He’s always begging for his window to open. Yet another feature I LOVE about the 2008!
We got home to the other two down for their nap and Carol relaxing with her daughter Zephora. Jacob finished his quesadilla and was off for nap time to. I chose to err on the side of good manners and spend some time with Carol (good decision, I got to know her a bit better.) But let me tell you I could hardly wait to wash my face again and wash my hair!

MY BRAVE ONE

Cuteness October 16, 2007

So, in doing the laundry lately I keep noticing that jacob has two pairs of shorts on. He is OBSESSED with shorts and always wants to wear more than one pair. Yesterday I had him ready for dance class and turned around and he had pulled on another pair of shorts over his dance shorts.

Me: Jacob, why did put more clothes on?

Jacob: But mommy, I need more shorts

Me: Why, JacobJacob: Betuz mommy, Papi wears MORE shorts.

insert maniacal little grin and two chubby fingers in the air

Jacob: Papi wears TWO shorts, mommy!!

I will now be spending the rest of the day sewing insanely tiny little boxer shorts for my adorable one. And to think I was about to get iritated about the extra laundry.

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The older two have been tromping around the house for two days as Dorothy and the Tin Man. Now, I certainly haven’t let them see the movieand don’t intend to anytime soon. I think they’ve seen a photo is all. If you happen to forget their new names they are quick to remind you of their assumed identities and no longer answer to their given names.

All of this over some confusion about the ‘Lizard of Oz’ and my children’s ongoing obsession with cute little reptiles. I mean, what a wonderful land Oz must be, when you’re off to see the Lizard….

Who could ask for better entertainment?