not luvin the stones....

Yesterday I was flat on my recliner with a heating pad to my lower back all day, except when I threw up d/t excessive pain.  yeah, that was tasty.  Bub stayed up all night, despite the nightlight and Ipad.  Momma took the Ipad away around 2 or 3, followed by much screaming and kicking of the wall.  FYI, yesterday was exactly a month from when the 1st episode hit.

today I had a "revenge of the stone" that lasted about 2 hours.  I pulled out my nursing book to reacquaint myself to the nursing interventions of kidney stones...pediatrics doesn't see too much of them, oddly enough....*sarcasms*

basically, I need to:

• capture some stones, which I have thusly been unsuccessful at
• drink 3+L fluid daily (hard to achieve when I am at work)
• start a food journal to look for triggers
• Food:
• take 1-2 grams Vitamin C daily
• prolly should eat less meat
• Prolly should cut calcium, but I barely ingest ANY calcium, around 6 oz soy milk daily, and some cheese every couple of days, rarely eat broccoli, never eat Kale or Chard or bitter crap like that....
• prolly should avoid chocolate (!!!!!!)  *boohoohooo*
• prolly should avoid coffee 
• might need to avoid whole grains  (
• I need to make an effort to pee every 3-4 hours (again hard to do at work)

(side story:  there are days (nights) while I am at work where everything is so crazy-busy I don't make it to the bathroom at all (that means 12-14 hours).  I am not the only nurse this happens to. PLEASE be kind to your nurse, we need an opportunity to pee too.)

Check out this lovely fact about kidney stones:

"The pain associated with ureteral spasm is excruciating and may cause the client to go into shock from stimulation of nearby sympathetic nerves"

Medical-Surgical Nursing 5th edition, Ignatavicius & Workman p. 1697

well, Bob's yer uncle.  one more thing to worry about..

Today during the few hours of wakefulness before and after the 2nd stone passed, zbug was on me like glue.  would not leave my side for anything, even Daddy offering her oreos.  I feel so guilty.  I'm at work 3-4 nights a week, w/ the days spent sleeping, then I get this and am cloistered in my room from pain, and that's another 2 days she doesn't see me.  even Bub is missing me, and being clingy while I'm around.  poor Joe looks like wall hit him, and the house like a tornado hit.  my MIL thinks I need to see a urologist, but until I get some stones, there really isn't anything to do except what I listed above.

things I'm pretty sure trigger a stone:  coffee & meat.

apparently I am getting the message that I need to become a semi-vegetarian....and a tea drinker.  How's that for irony....

Joe isn't going to be happy about a reduction of meat consumption in our home.  :(
neither will Bub be pleased since the only vegetables he will consistently eat are frozen peas and frozen corn while they are still frozen, and a raw carrot if he gets to peel it.

So I'm pretty depressed by all this.   but on a happy thought (ok I'm stretching it here):  I get stressed and make a human version of a pearl?!?!  lol!

useful applications of PALS around the home...

so today, Little Z gave momma a retro panic attack.  Why retro?  because I didn't have time to panic during the episode and the Nurse in me kicked into automatic without even thinking...

I made her sausage and fried potatoes for breakfast.  She wasn't really into the potatoes, but she was going nuts on the sausage.  Kept shoving small pieces in her mouth, and then forgot how to swallow correctly.

It was a classic episode of infant choking...hands to the neck, eyes watering, face getting red, no vocal output.  Didn't even blink, just pulled her out of the highchair and started doing the pediatric version of heimlech until there was a lovely spray of half-chewed sausage on the floor and a full volume of crying and wailing. 

after I checked her out and she was all smiles and dimples again, I allowed the panic to emerge.

anyone with small children:  take the time to learn Child & Infant CPR.  it is worth the small fee and day in a classroom setting to have the knowledge and instant reaction to a situation that could be absolutely heartbreaking.

Nubs.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year is a year to be thankful about.  Zber is slowly beginning to verbalize, she now will "Moo" with me, and we are still hearing "up" and "no" and "byebye"  Bub is able to write his entire alphabet and 1-20 all by himself w/o any prompting.  Joe has started designing again, and I have a new job in a pediatric unit.

We are going to Grandma Dorlaine's and Grandpa Ken's for Thanksgiving lunch in a little bit. My contribution is broccoli salad and a dairy-free version of Chocolate trufle pie.  One of the BEST chocolate pies I ever had, thank you to Lindy Loo from "Yeah, that Vegan Shit".  but although we are not vegan (at all) vegan recipes are the best for us to use for deserts for Bub's food allergy to all and any milk products.

so I am off to shower and wake zber from her nap (she has been enormously crabby today).  Love you all, and God Bless us all!

Nubs

He's not big on eating vegetation....

I have discussed before how much I hate grocerying, unfortunately, it is my job, as I am the only one willing to spend the time infront of the PC reviewing the circulars and adding ecoupons on to our grocery store cards, and going thru the coupons my wonderful Mom sends me every week.  I am also the only one determined enough to shop to a budget.

I typically set our food budget to around $150-200 for a 2 week period.  this is not much really for a family of 4 with food allergies... and this also includes diapers, cleaning products, self care products etc... so sometimes it is VERY hard to stay on this budget, and I let not-as-important-things go, like junk food, or fancy cleaning products and get a $1.00 bottle of bleach instead and/or a safe store-brand of cereal and marshmallows and make "cereal bars" in lieu of said junk food that my family craves and inhales at alarming speeds which is another reason I don't buy junk food very often.

so I really love the holiday season where I can take advantage of sales like $.49/lb full turkey.  I got a 22lb turkey today for $10 and change.  this is the 2nd one I've bought since Nov1.  I'm thawing it out in the fridge and since I have monday off, and it will prolly only be fully thawed by then, I will chop that sucker up, cook different portions in different ways and then refreeze the cooked meat for later meals.  these things make me happy on paper...on monday I will be cursing myself for doing this to myself because the only alternative will be to let the turkey go bad and toss it, which will make me even more mad and further cursing of self will ensue.

anyhow, today was the biweekly shopping trip.  I spent prolly around 2 hours on and off preparing for this trip, I went to 4 different grocery stores (not walmart!!!!!!) according to the receipts I saved a total of $82.13 by taking advantage of store sales and about a dozen coupons (diapers and wipes were included in this trip)...I don't typically use a lot of coupons as I find certain store brands are more likely to be safe for Bub and are still cheaper than the name brand with a coupon.  I was under my budget by about $13!  the only thing I didn't get that I was planning on was some chicken, and that was because the store had sold out of it for the day.    so Yayee to me...the madness I put myself thru pays off, even if I am all pissy while doing it. 

after getting home I have the madness of putting it all away & cutting up the bulk meats into meal-sized portions.  Plus I have decided that while I am working days this month, I will pre-make the next day's dinner so all Joe will have to do is pop it in the oven so I don't have to worry about my kids eating hotdogs and instant potatoes every day I have to work...or ramen....This really does happen.
I have to constantly remind Joe to make sure he feeds the kids either a veggie or a fruit w/ every meal.  He's not big on eating vegetation, so he forgets the kids need it...and I get mad when they don't get vegetation at every meal, and me mad at Joe is a thing Joe likes to avoid...so you would think I wouldn't need to do the constant reminders...but I do.
we have lots of canned and frozen veggies on hand to help Joe remember.  lol.


nite.

2nd day

Today I got to meet all sorts of people I will be working with...got my new user ID and passwords that don't work yet, but are promised to work by tomorrow.  Which is especially good since all I do tomorrow is computer-stuff I have to be logged in to do.

I have determined that I will need to bring my own lunches and snacks to work since I have been feeling oogy after lunch the last 2 days.  That kinda sucks cuz it means I need to be pretty proactive and plan-aheady so I don't just get caf' food cuz I didn't bring anything...  boo.

Bub is at Windridge right now, with Joe and Z.  If I haven't shared before, Bub is learning 2-point riding on a new horse named Dancer...again, will post pictures once I get a working camera.  As I mentioned the last few days, Bub is having a hard time w/ controlling his negative emotions in a constructive way.  I am starting to be fairly concerned about it as we are putting all his insurance-covered therapies on hold until my new insurance kicks in.  And I have to get documentation that he has been uncovered for less than 63-days so that his "pre-existing condition" will be covered by our new insurance.  Don't you love how YOU as the consumer have to be on top of these clauses and exceptions to ensure you get what you need.  the only reason I even know about this is that I saw "without pre-existing conditions" in very fine print. and started to ask questions.  yes there is one of "me" in every group to the underinformed HR rep's dismay.  haha-kinda.

Anyhow...hope tomorrow is just as good.  nite.  :)

Good day w/ a brief bad interlude..

Today was my 1st day at my new job...so lots of orientation and sitting around getting lectured to...about stuff I really do need to know...but will never be able to entirely retain. 

Joe and I decided to go out to dinner WITH the kiddos...I really didn't feel up to cooking, and heck, we "needed" to celebrate my new job.  Plus since we don't do halloween, we wanted to do some kind of alternative for the kids...even tho Bub is oblivious to holidays except Christmas, and Z is still learning the whole holiday thing.  Plus I found 2 free kids meal vouchers for Texas Roadhouse that I won YEARS ago in a March of Dimes activity..so hey- kids eat free...I don't cook...we're all winners!

Unfortunately just before we go, Bub had some issues...having to rush out right after getting home from school to pick me up disrupted Bub's schedule of Mondays enough to have some sensory and emotional challenges.  Bub was getting a little too grabby of Zber to Joe's level of tolerance (I was in the shower), so after a few failed attempts to get Bub to stop, Joe picked him up and carried him to his room to have a cool-down talk about respecting other's space.  Bub got upset and head-butted Joe...not really hard, but he hit Joe's glasses in such a way that the glasses gauged a chunk of flesh off Joe's upper left eyebrow!  Bub ended up hurting the side of his head in this and both Daddy and Son were making lots of "Angry Bird" kinds of noises.

Fortunately, we were able to calm Bub down and maybe this time got it thru his head that he's a big boy now and can't just go around bonking people in the head when he gets mad and impatient. *hope hope hope*

After everyone was patch up (Joe's so lucky I love doing wound care...) we went to Texas Roadhouse, our server was awesome.  we typically don't get good service when we go out with the kids, we typically get rushed out and not a whole lot of understanding about special needs and restricted diets.  She was so helpful, I think we have found our new "family" restaurant (even tho we can only really afford going out 1 time a month typically). 

Now the kiddo's have full bellies and are settling down for bed, and I have a little time to myself before I go to bed. Yayee  for mostly good days  :)

Doctor visit x2 kiddos

Random Bub elaboration

We did it. We took both kiddos to the doctor at the same time yesterday.

It was and wasn't a nightmare...if you know what I mean...

Highlights:
- Bub stood on the scale all by himself w/o freaking out.  (95 percentile)
- Bub allowed himself to be measured for height
- Zber is nearly 25 lbs and is at 45 percentile for her age (no more underweight concerns!!!!)
- Zber had no issues with her exam
- Doctor gave me NO problems when I asked for a referral to ECI for Zber
- Doctor gave me no "vaccines are important" speech since we decided to skip vaccines this visit

Nightmare moments:
- Bub's ears getting checked (ie- pinning him down amidst loud screaming)
- Bub attempting a great escape from the exam room
- Bub throwing himself off the exam table
- Explaining Bub's special diet to the new nurse
- The nurse doing the initial exam of the kids telling me she wanted to get a job at my facility.....
- Almost forgetting to get a Doctor's note for Bub's school
- Ensuring that they removed ALL traces of medicaid for Bub's coverage...since we don't qualify for it anymore...

So, after we had to get the kids home and fed b4 we could take Bub back to school, he missed his lunch during the appointment.  Thankfully that went well, I tried to stay up until 6pm but passed out in front of the PC watching season 2 of "South Park"  Which is pretty good considering I had been awake for 26 hours by then.  At some random point Joe woke me up for a return call from the "Mystery submission" and I have a meeting about it on Tuesday.

Then this morning I forgot I had a work function and didn't remember until 2 hours after it started.  However, since I am an RN, not a LVN, I am already certified/authorized to do the procedure this training was on, I think it will be ok...but I would have liked to have a refresher on it, so I'm still kicking myself in the butt about forgetting....but to be fair, we were woken up at 5:30 by Bub pounding on the door which scared Zber who then started crying her head off....and Joe was feeling poorly and I was/am still wiped out from my Thursday-friday day, so my head was not where it usually needs to be.

I've been very lazy today.  I did do the dishes, and fed the kids at appropriate times, and gave the kids their baths...so I guess I did what I needed to do.

We got a new kitten yesterday.  We ended up having to give Gunk away to another home because he did not like Zber...he kept spitting at her and acting like he was going to bite her face off.  He's [Gunk] very happy now and has a new cat friend.  I'm glad for that.  This new kitten has 6 toes on each paw, is black and white and is SO mellow around the kids.  Bub is very happy and is learning to pet her softly, Zber hasn't figured out that tails are NOT for grabbing and pulling yet.  we put up the baby-gate in front of the laundry room so the kitten can come and go as she pleases.  Bub wants to play with the kitty litter.  I try not to gag when I find Bub in there doing just that.  If he wasn't before, Bub is now an expert at hand-washing techniques, Nurse style....lol

Babka!

One of the Ukrainian traditions I strongly hold to is having Babka for Easter.

Sadly, I do not live near an Orthodox Church of any variety (there are 2 small ones in Tyler, but w/ my car the way it is, I'm not leaving town except for work)...and so I have nowhere to go to have it blessed on Easter Morning.

Which is weird that I even want to do that, since we only did that a few times when I was a kid, my parents choosing a Lutheran Church for us to worship in as a family (Dad-Eastern Catholic + Mom-Orthodox = LCMS Lutheran.  ????)   But for some reason, I was thinking it would be nice to make Babka myself and get it blessed.  I am such a nerdling.

So skipping the blessing, I'm making the Babka, This is the first time I have actually made it myself, as Mom usually sends me some every year.  As I was making it, I realized all the years I "helped" Mom make it, all I ever did was fight Ross about who got to "punch" it down after each rising (there are 3 risings). Called Mom and we laughed about that.  :)  Had to describe how I was kneading the dough to her to make sure I was doing it right, cuz it's not like kneading bread...you have to grab a blob and pull, over and over for 10+ min or it won't bake right.  so here I am on the phone describing how the dough is pulling off the sides of the bowl and stretching, and Mom's saying "yeah, yeah, yeah" the way she does, and I am wishing Dad would just get off his butt about changing their DIAL-UP internet to anything that is faster so I could just send Mom a quick picture or stream her a video to make sure I'm doing this right!!!!!  Oh Dad and his refusal to pay for anything that can be gotten for free, even if the free sucks, it's free...right?  (help me, this is in my genes too)

There is a recipe in here for sheep brains.....

So here is my Babka recipe adapted from the "Traditional Ukrainian Cookery" by Savella Stechishin
It has multiple steps that have to be done separately b4 you can mix it all together.  very process driven.

Step 1:
1 C. soy milk
1/3 cup "flour"
Boil/scald the soy milk and mix into the flour slowly w/ a wisk. 
   I don't own a wisk as Bub decided it would be fun to dismantle it, I used a fork

beat thoroughly until smooth and free of lumps
     not having a wisk, my batter was lumpy, the book suggests putting it thru a sieve if necessary...it was necessary.  I felt like I was making spaetzle!!!!

Babka "spaetzle"

Cool to lukewarm

While I was boiling the soymilk I started step 2:
1/2 c. lukewarm water
2 tsp sugar
3 packages dry granular yeast  (I have a huge amount of jarred yeast, so I used 3 Tablespoons) 
Dissolve sugar into lukewarm water (MUST BE LUKEWARM!!) add yeast cover w/ tea towel and let rest until bubbly

While boiling and waiting I started step 3:
10-12 egg yolks (I used 11)
2 whole eggs


Separate the eggs, save the whites for a different recipe
I put my whites into a ice cube tray and froze them for other stuff

*Side story time...*
As I began to separate the eggs, I remembered the post I read yesterday from Rue Rice about making Cascarones with her kids...what the heck!  we're going to be coloring eggs tomorrow, lets do that too since I'm going to have 12+ empty egg shells...  So I spent a lot of time carefully tapping small holes on the tops of the eggs so I could save the shells.  I am TRULY a super-nerd.
*Side story time over*

by now the yeast should be bubbly, so back to step 2:
Mix soymilk/flour mixture w/ yeast mixture.  fold well. let it rise again until tall and bubbly in a warm quiet place
I use my microwave so I don't have to worry about any munchkins sticking their hands into it.  ;)

Bubbly yeast-flour-soymilk brew

Back to step 3:
1 tsp Salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup melted Parve Margarine "butter"
2 tsp vanilla
grated rind of 1 lemon
I forgot to buy a lemon, so I used orange zest instead

Beat the yolks and eggs with the salt.  Slowly add the sugar, vanilla and zest.  Melt the "butter" and let it cool before adding

while I was waiting for the "butter" to cool, I started step 4:
Sift 5-6 cups "flour"

one of "those" days

Firstly: Happy Birthday Dorlaine!  We all send hugs and kisses to you!

Now:
Today was one of "those" days.  I suspected it may be when Bub decided to start flopping on the ground when we arrived at therapy.  I couldn't figure out why he was flopping.  He just started flopping on the ground and laying there.  He loves therapy, so maybe he was having a bad start of the day.  But we didn't have any issues w/ behavior before we left...so who knows.

Then going to school from therapy, he began flopping again.  It was getting old at this point.  His therapist said it was a good session...no verbalizations, but lots of signing.  So, again, who knows...

Finally, he got dropped off from school 1 hour earlier than normal.  I suspect he was acting up on the bus, and the driver (bless her heart) said to herself, "hell no!" and left her normal route to drop him off with us as soon as she could.  Just a guess tho.

So, he begins w/ wanting a new band-aid. He has no boo-boo's right now.  His skin is completely intact EVERYWHERE (I gave him a bath last night, so I know).  No bruises, no scratches, no scabs, nothing.  He wants a band-aid.  Momma's not playing this game today, so I say no, and shoosh him out of the bathroom.  OOOOHHH the wailing i got out of him.  Z started to join in.  Bub decided he didn't like Z fussing when he is fussing, so he started to try to pick her up and dump her off in a different room.  Yeah, Momma wasn't letting that happen either.  So MORE fussing and wailing from both of them...and I'm TRYING to make them some kind of dinner cuz I know that is prolly THE root issue.  So with them fussing, I go for quick, thinking I'll make the lamb shanks I got on special today later on for me and Joe once they are in bed.

I whip out a can of Bub-safe ravioli and while that's cooking, I cut up a mango and strawberries for their side dish.  Z is totally happy w/ the prospect of dinner and dives in, with all her tomato-smeared-face glory.

Bub, decides to be contrary, and the ravioli is unacceptable.  I am tired of this by now, and I decide today is the contest of wills.  he will eat the ravioli, or he will go to bed.

Needless to say, after an hour of Joe and I "arguing" w/ him, he's in bed, unhappy, grumpy, and whiny.  I have a headache, and Joe is going out to hang out with some guy friends of his.   gee I wonder why...

Welcome to my world.

Nubs.

Renting

Since it will be a LOOONG time before Joe & I can manage to save up anything near enough to buy a house, we rent. We're really lucky this time around, w/ the house we are renting. It's a two bedroom 1 bath, BUT it's on a HUGE property. I would be very surprised if it wasn't at least an one acre lot. and it has lots of tree (which I love), but a lot of oaks. phooey. I like the acorns, cuz Bub likes to collect them and count them, BUT the leaves don't come down til spring...sooo are you following me on this one? yep...they're just falling now...just when we almost finished getting all the fall leaves raked up. boo!

Add to that, I'm pretty sure most of the leaves we've been raking are NOT just from this last fall (we moved in Nov. '10), so we've been having burn-piles nearly every week since we moved in. It's getting kinda old.
and now to add to the leaf detail, pollen is everywhere, my green car has turned yellow once again.

LOL- I just remembered! One burn-pile a month or two ago, I had the "great" idea to have Bub and Joe toast some marshmallows, cuz Bub loves a marshmallow! well this great idea started to sour almost immediately. Bub snabs the marshmallow bag and runs off, so we have to chase him to get them back, and during the chase MANY marshmallows ended up inside bub. *surprise* then we finally get a marshmallow on a stick, Bub decides he's too afraid of the fire pit to toast it. *sigh* so Joe toasts it FOR bub, and brings it over to him. Mr. Man sees his nice white marshmallow has turned brown, touches it and it kinda sticks to his finger a little. he runs away. Joe tries to show him that he can eat it, but Bub has decided we are mental and will show no intent of eating the toasted marshmallow. meanwhile, we have wasted an hour and a bag of marshmallows for nothing. Oh, I love my life, lol.

the bird that starts with the letter "X"

hey Mom,
I found the bird that starts with the letter "x", it's a xenops.

I put in a link for more info on them, it's kinda cute & I will prolly send you a copy. (click on the title of today's blog to go there)

well, today Dorlaine was braver than I am, she took Bub AND Cousin "K" to the movies!!!!
(she let me stay home & study, which I am REALLY greatful for!!!)

They went to see "kung-fu panda"
I made snack packs for them as Bub is not able to eat movie theater foods being gfcf and all...
They had gfcf popcorn, jelly-beans, lollies, and some parve kosher taffy I found that stated it was gluten free!!!

they didn't make it thru the whole 90-min movie tho, Dorlaine reported that they both got antsy and sticky within an hour, so they left early...which was ok, b/c Cousin K had already seen it, ("It's a good movie auntie Nina, there isn't any bad parts...it's PG!!! REALLY!") (hehehehe) and bub was sticky... Sticky Bub is never a fun Mr. man....he gets crabby about being sticky after a while....

Also, Bub got his jumbo raisins today....for once he has solid BM, but they are TOO solid. Poor guy, he's freaking out every time he sees the wipey comin for to clean him up. *sigh* Hopefully the "jumbo raisins" will clear him up and he will have normal poop for a while....if not he sees his Dr on the 19th and I will insist that running some tests on his GI track may be a VERY good idea...if his Dr. doesn't agree, I'll get his endocrinist to listen to me....

Ah, the love of medical stuff. I need to get some of my teachers to advise me on how to get my doctors to listen to me & believe I know what I am talking about.....

need to study for another hour or so! Loves to all!

Mr Man's Chicken nuggets

So,
As some of you know, Bub will only eat 2 kinds of meat....ground beef with ketchup (this includes cabbage rolls and meatloaf) and chicken nuggets. Now, He has not had chicken nuggets since we went gluten free last October and nearly all commercial chicken nuggets have gluten and/or casein in them. I did find one brand, Ian's. My healthfood store and albertson's carries it, but it is $5.00+ for 8 nuggets. ARGH! I don't have that kind of moolah for chicken nuggets.... :(

Then, as I mentioned in a previous post, One of the many wonderful things Dorlaine has done for me is help me overcome my fear of deep frying at home. So now I can MAKE chicken nuggets for my bub very inexpensively. Here's how!

-3 cooked chicken breasts cubed into bite sized pieces (If they are bigger, bub will only eat the breading....grrrr)


-1 c. GF cornmeal/corn flour

-1/2 c. brown rice flour

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 - 1 c. soy (rice) milk

Stir flours, seasonings and milk substitute well.
Add chicken to coat.
Fry in 2 in. oil in batches for 2-3 min.
Drain well.

if you allow the nuggets to drain well and cool thoroughly, you can freeze them in a baggy and they won't stick together, so you can grab a handfull to nuke as needed.

PS- use the remaining batter to make hush puppies (bub loves 'em)


I think I might try doughnuts soon.....


Wow.

Nubs!

Man alive

Arrgh.
So I just bought my books and supply bag for my nursing program....$779.94.

Can you believe it? I got 12 books, 2or 3 CD thingies, and a bag full of catheter trays, syringes, fake "IV" solutions (read the fine print and you will find they contain either non-sterile water or isotonic salt water) and some IV drips. I still have to buy a stethoscope, scrubs, shoes, watch, arm-pressure thingy (is it a manometer?).
Also,I have to get CPR certified, get a TB scratch test, and get my last booster for hep B.
Finally, I have to go register at some "evolve" site that allows me to access all my books online from any PC, so that is pretty cool, I just have to do it. *sigh*
Yikes. So much to do.

on the plus side....I discovered a homemade chicken nugget that Bubbie likes. :)
Dorlaine has helped me overcome my fear of deep frying, and if I coat cooked chicken in a mix of rice and corn flour with salt, pepper, and soy milk (I just eyeballed it) it cooks really fast and is quite yummy with honey (or so says the speed in which it was eaten by mr Man)

Loves to all! I had a great visit and miss you all already!

n

mile stones...right?

well, I think we are seeing some good mile stones with Mr. man.

Wednesday he was playing in the pantry. He found a basket my mom gave me & was filling it with tuna fish cans (he doesn't like tuna, but he SURE likes the cans it comes in....*sigh*) (FYI- it's was the basket right in front of him & towards the floor in the below picture he was using at the time- it kinda looks like a picnic basket) anyhow. I had just checked on him, making sure he wasn't grabbing things from too high that would fall on his head (he is fascinated with things -just- beyond his reach), he looked fine with the tuna filled basket so I went back to the counter to finish studying for one of my psych classes. I hear a "thunk" & a big wail & a little man comes racing out of the pantry, pulls me down to floor level & weeps into my shoulder. Of course I hug the little man & I asked him to show me where it hurts (he never does, I have to find the bruise or cut myself once he calms down). Well, surprise surprise! Mr. man sniffles, pulls back & points to a tiny scratch just under his left eye. I am caught off guard by this, but quickly recover with the traditional obligitory "oh poor sweet baby, momma kiss it better...." speeches. Mr. Man seemed to feel better once the kisses were applied to the correct places. :)


then, this morning I woke up unusually early & watched the morning news with grandpa b4 he left for work.(getting to watch the news in the morning is a HUGE treat for me). Around 6:30 I hear the unmistakable sound of Mr. Man awake (he has taken to barking upon waking this past week an a half) so I go over to his room to give him his morning hug. He is sitting up on the side of his bed, barking softly to himself at this point. He sees me, holds out his hands & says "momma" really excitedly. That was the best good morning I got!

New favorite game is filling his "little people" bus with people & animals from his "noah's ark" set. Every "load" will contain a panda, all the others are different, but there is something about the panda that must be bussed all around town (kinda like me during elementary school). however, the panda is never the driver, tho sometimes the lion is. how weird is that?


He finally decided he likes PB & J sandwiches 2 months after I decide I can let him try peanut butter (remember, I have a dread of food allergies & food intolerances)


He saw a package of his favorite and best treat (chocolate covered graham crackers) laying on the counter, screamed "cookie" & lunged at the package, then helped himself to the "cookies" while grandma & momma laughed (we prolly shouldn't have laughed, but we couldn't help it....)

what a busy week.

Tricycle

Today we tried to talk with Grammy & Grampy on the phone, but Mr.Man was too busy to talk, so Momma did the talking for him. Grammy was excited to know that the Bub is learning the concept of "tricycle" He understands that his feet on the petals will move him, but the whole handle-bar thing isn't there. It's quite funny to watch the Bub go in little circles or bang into the wall because nothing is happening with the handle-bars to direct him.

- but if you look closely, there is a little bell on there. We have a little game...Momma says, "Can you make the bell go 'BING'?" (does the question mark go before or after the quotation mark at the end of a sentence????) *puff* then the bub RUNS to the trike and bings the bell. then we clap hands & say "yayee!" Then we get a few gratutious bings just for fun...and then the random bings...etc....
Then when we talked with Grampy, Lil bub started acting up because we were well past snack-time...what a travesty. So while taking with Dad, I set Bub up with his current favorite; waffle & 'nilla yogurt with frozen blueberry dessert! Here he is with yogurt & blueberry face as requested by Grampy. Fortunately you are spared the shot of "cram-all-berries-in-my-mouth -like-a-chipmunk-so-no-one-else-will-want-them-then-spit-them-out-to-enjoy-one-at-a-time"
I get to clean that up everytime we have frozen-blueberry-dessert-treat. Love the ones that make it to the floor....

Also exciting was going with Grandma & Momma in Grandma's "truck" to pick up one of my nieces. That was fun. When she got in the car, Mr. Man was so excited he offered her his choco-sippy. She wisely declined as choco-sippy after visiting the mouth of bub is not altogether appetizing. But Boy-oh-boy does mr.man love going for a ride!


Finally, even tho I am a few hours early. MUST MUST MUST say Happy Birthday to my friend Melissa. Hope you get to go bowling! bowl a gutter ball for me! hehehehehehe. And yes you were always right, I am -that- kind of mom. *grin*

Talley-ho!