I forgot to put this in the update entry, but Alison is now bottle free. She's been down to just one bottle before bed for several months. In the last couple of weeks she's been drinking milk from a cup a whole lot better, so I decided Monday was it. We were going to ditch the bottle and switch to a cup. She didn't even bat an eye. She's also drinking almost the whole 5 oz. that I put in it (same amount as she used to get in the bottle) without a fight, and I did not think she would. I thought she might drink half of it and planned to adjust accordingly, in anticipation of ditching the bedtime milk altogether. Guess I'll have to rethink that plan. :)
At any rate, on one hand I'm happy that we've finally gotten rid of the bottle. It means she's growing up. On the other hand I'm sad that we've finally gotten rid of the bottle, because it means she's growing up.
Wednesday, May 19, 2004
A Couple of Quick Updates
Since I can't remember any of the other things I thought I might want to write about, I'll just give a couple of updates.
Alison had her follow-up with the ped on Monday. He told us her posture has improved dramatically. Imagine that. I guess when you're not constantly fighting to maintain your balance, you can stand up straighter when you walk. Alison did things kind of backwards. Instead of learning to stand before she walked, she walked before she could stand (without support). At any rate, she was prounounced "doing wonderfully" and we were sent on our way.
I know the reason we take Alison to clinic is so that she can see a specialist because we don't expect her regular ped to have as much experience in dealing with SB, but gees, you'd think maybe he might brush up on some of the particulars when he knows he has a patient with SB. I know they told us at Vanderbilt that we would come away with more knowledge of SB than 99% of doctors in the country, but it's still kind of a weird experience. I was about a half step ahead of our RE throughout our treatment for infertility, due to the research I did beforehand, but that was more a case of he'd say we were going to try something different and I'd be able to tell him what it was going to be (and then he'd ask me how I knew that). This is a whole different ball game though. At least he'll be a little smarter about treating SB kids when/if the next one comes along.
And now a quick update on me. My original goal was to lose 30 pounds by my friend's wedding. I didn't quite make it. I only got down 25. Now, almost 2 weeks later, I'm down 27. Hopefully I'll get the last 3 off by the end of the month. I should have had no problem making it by my "deadline," but I know I slacked off quite a bit here and there. Actually, I didn't do any exercise other than walking with Alison last week, and even that was hit or miss. But I'm back on track now (I hope). I want to lose 50 pounds altogether and I'm hoping to have it all off by Alison's birthday, or Labor Day at the absolute latest.
Alison had her follow-up with the ped on Monday. He told us her posture has improved dramatically. Imagine that. I guess when you're not constantly fighting to maintain your balance, you can stand up straighter when you walk. Alison did things kind of backwards. Instead of learning to stand before she walked, she walked before she could stand (without support). At any rate, she was prounounced "doing wonderfully" and we were sent on our way.
I know the reason we take Alison to clinic is so that she can see a specialist because we don't expect her regular ped to have as much experience in dealing with SB, but gees, you'd think maybe he might brush up on some of the particulars when he knows he has a patient with SB. I know they told us at Vanderbilt that we would come away with more knowledge of SB than 99% of doctors in the country, but it's still kind of a weird experience. I was about a half step ahead of our RE throughout our treatment for infertility, due to the research I did beforehand, but that was more a case of he'd say we were going to try something different and I'd be able to tell him what it was going to be (and then he'd ask me how I knew that). This is a whole different ball game though. At least he'll be a little smarter about treating SB kids when/if the next one comes along.
And now a quick update on me. My original goal was to lose 30 pounds by my friend's wedding. I didn't quite make it. I only got down 25. Now, almost 2 weeks later, I'm down 27. Hopefully I'll get the last 3 off by the end of the month. I should have had no problem making it by my "deadline," but I know I slacked off quite a bit here and there. Actually, I didn't do any exercise other than walking with Alison last week, and even that was hit or miss. But I'm back on track now (I hope). I want to lose 50 pounds altogether and I'm hoping to have it all off by Alison's birthday, or Labor Day at the absolute latest.
Monday, May 17, 2004
Thunderstorms
We had some huge thunderstorms go through this afternoon. Unfortunately we really didn't need any more rain. Kevin had a double header in his softball league tonight and the games were flooded out for the second week in a row.
The storm held off until just before 4:00. That was nice because I didn't have to worry about it waking Alison up since normally gets up around then anyway. I was talking to my mom on the phone and she asked me if Alison was afraid of the thunder and I told her it didn't seem to bother her (especially now that she's off her meds). As if to prove that point, when I went in to get her up, we heard a big rumble of thunder and she thought it was a motorcycle. I guess there are advantages to living next to Harley afficionados.
It rained pretty hard for about another half an hour. Luckily we were not in the area with the 1 1/2 to 2 inch hail. Luckier still, we were not in the area where they suspect there was a tornado. I hope everyone there is ok.
As far as I'm concerned, the rain can take a break for a few days. My back yard needs some time to dry out!
The storm held off until just before 4:00. That was nice because I didn't have to worry about it waking Alison up since normally gets up around then anyway. I was talking to my mom on the phone and she asked me if Alison was afraid of the thunder and I told her it didn't seem to bother her (especially now that she's off her meds). As if to prove that point, when I went in to get her up, we heard a big rumble of thunder and she thought it was a motorcycle. I guess there are advantages to living next to Harley afficionados.
It rained pretty hard for about another half an hour. Luckily we were not in the area with the 1 1/2 to 2 inch hail. Luckier still, we were not in the area where they suspect there was a tornado. I hope everyone there is ok.
As far as I'm concerned, the rain can take a break for a few days. My back yard needs some time to dry out!
Sunday, May 16, 2004
Sunday Rumblings
I think my daughter is a budding bully. Today at church, I observed her snatching toys/books out of other kids hands and I also observed her trying to push a child down the slide because he wasn't getting out of her way fast enough. Is this normal toddler behavior? I hope so. If not, we've got some work to do.
Today after church, Alison walked up the stairs. Not by herself, mind you, but the whole way up comepletely on her feet. We've tried working on stairs here at home, but the only stairs we have are very tall. When standing on one step, the next one is at knee height on her. The steps at church are not so tall. She shocked the heck out of me, that's for sure.
After we got home from church, while Kevin was putting away the groceries and I was putting my shoes and Alison's diaper bag away, I noticed things were awfully quiet in the living room. I walked in to find Alison sitting on the couch, holding one of the remotes up to her ear as if it was a telephone. She was talking to Grandma. I suppose this means we don't need to worry about whether or not she's exhibiting imaginitive play -- not that we were worried about it in the first place, but if anyone asks we can tell them yes, she does.
My next door neighbor told Kevin that one of these Saturdays she's going to come over and basically kick us out of the house and take care of Alison for us so that we can do whatever we want. And she won't let us pay her. She says that getting to come over and play with Alison is payment enough. Alison will be thrilled....she loves Miss Melissa. The sad thing is I have no idea what I want to do with a whole day to ourselves.
Tomorrow we have to go to the ped's. It's a follow-up to her 18 month check-up. The doctor had some concerns then that we were to check out with Alison's SB doctor so he wants an update. He also wants to see how she's doing off her asthma medicine. Well, she's doing just fine, no wheezing, no coughing, and best of all, no freaking out at loud noises. He'll tell me she was just going through a phase, but I find it pretty coincidental that the phase started when she started the meds and ended when she got off them. She actually layed on the floor while I vacuumed around her the other day. She used to freak out if I even mentioned that I was going to vacuum. Her SB doctor told us she was fine. She doesn't walk "pretty," but a lot of kids don't walk pretty at this age. Her spine is fine. She wasn't standing without holding on to something yet because she has she has very mild Chiari malformation causing some immaturity in her brainstem. Tomorrow the ped will see that she's not so crooked when she walks anymore and she's getting pretty good at standing. I know he's just trying to do his best by her and that he's not an expert in spina bifida, but geesh, overreacting to everything that's outside the norm is not going to help things (and it's going to make the specialist think you're nuts).
Oh, I almost forgot. Alison can say her name now. I'm not sure she's really made the connection that it's her name, because if I ask her her name she says no. She doesn't say it perfectly....it sounds more like Ah-son...but it's a start.
Today after church, Alison walked up the stairs. Not by herself, mind you, but the whole way up comepletely on her feet. We've tried working on stairs here at home, but the only stairs we have are very tall. When standing on one step, the next one is at knee height on her. The steps at church are not so tall. She shocked the heck out of me, that's for sure.
After we got home from church, while Kevin was putting away the groceries and I was putting my shoes and Alison's diaper bag away, I noticed things were awfully quiet in the living room. I walked in to find Alison sitting on the couch, holding one of the remotes up to her ear as if it was a telephone. She was talking to Grandma. I suppose this means we don't need to worry about whether or not she's exhibiting imaginitive play -- not that we were worried about it in the first place, but if anyone asks we can tell them yes, she does.
My next door neighbor told Kevin that one of these Saturdays she's going to come over and basically kick us out of the house and take care of Alison for us so that we can do whatever we want. And she won't let us pay her. She says that getting to come over and play with Alison is payment enough. Alison will be thrilled....she loves Miss Melissa. The sad thing is I have no idea what I want to do with a whole day to ourselves.
Tomorrow we have to go to the ped's. It's a follow-up to her 18 month check-up. The doctor had some concerns then that we were to check out with Alison's SB doctor so he wants an update. He also wants to see how she's doing off her asthma medicine. Well, she's doing just fine, no wheezing, no coughing, and best of all, no freaking out at loud noises. He'll tell me she was just going through a phase, but I find it pretty coincidental that the phase started when she started the meds and ended when she got off them. She actually layed on the floor while I vacuumed around her the other day. She used to freak out if I even mentioned that I was going to vacuum. Her SB doctor told us she was fine. She doesn't walk "pretty," but a lot of kids don't walk pretty at this age. Her spine is fine. She wasn't standing without holding on to something yet because she has she has very mild Chiari malformation causing some immaturity in her brainstem. Tomorrow the ped will see that she's not so crooked when she walks anymore and she's getting pretty good at standing. I know he's just trying to do his best by her and that he's not an expert in spina bifida, but geesh, overreacting to everything that's outside the norm is not going to help things (and it's going to make the specialist think you're nuts).
Oh, I almost forgot. Alison can say her name now. I'm not sure she's really made the connection that it's her name, because if I ask her her name she says no. She doesn't say it perfectly....it sounds more like Ah-son...but it's a start.
Friday, May 14, 2004
A Story From Mother's Day
As I said in my previous entry, Kevin took us and my parents out to brunch Sunday morning. While we were eating, I commented that I thought Alison was doing a pretty good job behaving and my mom agreed with me. She said that she was behaving a lot better than the little boy behind the divider, who had a good three years on her. As I was sitting there thinking that was an interesting thing for my mom to say, my dad leaned over to her and said exactly what it was that I was thinking "That used to be your little boy."
My brother was, at times, a holy terror when he was little. I feel quite certain that if/when we have another baby, if it's a boy, we are really in for it. Heck, I think we're in for it even if we were to have a girl. Alison really has us spoiled because she's pretty good most of the time. I have no qualms about taking her almost anywhere. Despite everything, she's an overall happy kid and takes things in stride.
My brother was, at times, a holy terror when he was little. I feel quite certain that if/when we have another baby, if it's a boy, we are really in for it. Heck, I think we're in for it even if we were to have a girl. Alison really has us spoiled because she's pretty good most of the time. I have no qualms about taking her almost anywhere. Despite everything, she's an overall happy kid and takes things in stride.
Monday, May 10, 2004
Nancy's Wedding
One of my very best friends from college got married on Saturday. I am so happy for her. She spent 6 years dating/living with a guy who, while he was very nice, had no intention of making a formal commitment to her. She finally gave him an ultimatum: if they were not engaged when he moved back to northern Ohio, she was staying in Cincinnati. They didn't get engaged, and she stayed where she was. Enter Arn. I don't know him that well, having only met him on a couple of occasions, but he seems to be a really great guy (anyone who would willingly go to the first birthday party of his fiancee's friend's baby must be a decent guy, right?) and has really been a good influence on Nancy. A wind beneath her wings type of guy.
So the wedding was Saturday. It was an adults only affair, except for a select few children, mine being one of them. I was a little nervous because it was a Catholic ceremony, expected to last an hour, and I had no idea if we could keep Alison quiet for that long. We let her "run" around outside the Sanctuary until the last possible minute and then we went in. She was a little antsy at first, and a little loud, but we just stuffed goldfish crackers in her mouth every time she opened it and that took care of one problem. We got out crayons and paper and she spent most of the rest of the ceremomny, which mercifully only ended up being half an hour long, trying to get the crayons out of the crayon box. When is was all over and we were applauding the bride and groom, she clapped right along with us and cheered her little heart out. We got several compliments about how well behaved she was in church.
The ceremony was very nice. Nancy was beautiful, and so excited. And happy. Her dreams are finally coming true. She has always wanted marriage and a family.
Since the wedding ceremony wasn't until after evening mass, the reception didn't start unitl 8:00. We had fed Alison before the ceremony, so she was good to go. We were the ones who were starving by that point! Dinner was served at 8:30, and wouldn't you know, even though we were at table 6, we were the last table released to the buffet. Oh well. After dinner the traditional reception activities began. Except they weren't quite so traditional.
Nancy and Arn swing dance. Their first dance was actually a choreographed swing dance routine! It was so great. They really did a wonderful job. And the entertainment didn't stop there. Arn is a juggler. In addition to teaching Nancy to swing dance, he has also taught her how to juggle. They did one of the most incredible juggling routine I have ever seen. It was set to music and everything. They dimmed the lights and used lighted balls, three each to start with then Arn got up to 5, I think, then they stood together and juggled three between them, Arn using his left hand and Nancy her right. Then they switched to lighted clubs and did the typical things, includig tossing them to each other. They finished up by "twirling" some weighted flags on long strings. Nancy was really in her element here because she had been in the flag corp for both her high school and our college marching bands. All I can say is all wedding receptions we go to in the future will pale in comparison.
Throughout it all, Alison was really well behaved. I was really worried about that because she hadn't taken a nap at all. She spent a lot of time at the reception running around in the lobby with daddy. She loved the juggling. She had wanted so badly to get at those lighted balls when Nancy was trying to get everything set up.
One of my other friends, who I hadn't seen since Alison's surgery two years ago, her husband and her parents were there as well and marveled at how well Alison was doing. After my parents took Alison back to the hotel so she could go to bed, I realized I had not had a chance to get her over to see Nancy's mom. I was very upset with myself about that. She has been praying for her and keeping up with how she's doing through her website. She was supposed to come and see her at her birthday party last year, but she fell and, although she didn't know it at the time, broke her arm the day before. Fortunately, even though she didn't realize who she was at the time, she did see her while she was running around in the lobby.
I think we all had a nice time. I really am so happy for Nancy and Arn. I hope they have a wonderful life together.
So the wedding was Saturday. It was an adults only affair, except for a select few children, mine being one of them. I was a little nervous because it was a Catholic ceremony, expected to last an hour, and I had no idea if we could keep Alison quiet for that long. We let her "run" around outside the Sanctuary until the last possible minute and then we went in. She was a little antsy at first, and a little loud, but we just stuffed goldfish crackers in her mouth every time she opened it and that took care of one problem. We got out crayons and paper and she spent most of the rest of the ceremomny, which mercifully only ended up being half an hour long, trying to get the crayons out of the crayon box. When is was all over and we were applauding the bride and groom, she clapped right along with us and cheered her little heart out. We got several compliments about how well behaved she was in church.
The ceremony was very nice. Nancy was beautiful, and so excited. And happy. Her dreams are finally coming true. She has always wanted marriage and a family.
Since the wedding ceremony wasn't until after evening mass, the reception didn't start unitl 8:00. We had fed Alison before the ceremony, so she was good to go. We were the ones who were starving by that point! Dinner was served at 8:30, and wouldn't you know, even though we were at table 6, we were the last table released to the buffet. Oh well. After dinner the traditional reception activities began. Except they weren't quite so traditional.
Nancy and Arn swing dance. Their first dance was actually a choreographed swing dance routine! It was so great. They really did a wonderful job. And the entertainment didn't stop there. Arn is a juggler. In addition to teaching Nancy to swing dance, he has also taught her how to juggle. They did one of the most incredible juggling routine I have ever seen. It was set to music and everything. They dimmed the lights and used lighted balls, three each to start with then Arn got up to 5, I think, then they stood together and juggled three between them, Arn using his left hand and Nancy her right. Then they switched to lighted clubs and did the typical things, includig tossing them to each other. They finished up by "twirling" some weighted flags on long strings. Nancy was really in her element here because she had been in the flag corp for both her high school and our college marching bands. All I can say is all wedding receptions we go to in the future will pale in comparison.
Throughout it all, Alison was really well behaved. I was really worried about that because she hadn't taken a nap at all. She spent a lot of time at the reception running around in the lobby with daddy. She loved the juggling. She had wanted so badly to get at those lighted balls when Nancy was trying to get everything set up.
One of my other friends, who I hadn't seen since Alison's surgery two years ago, her husband and her parents were there as well and marveled at how well Alison was doing. After my parents took Alison back to the hotel so she could go to bed, I realized I had not had a chance to get her over to see Nancy's mom. I was very upset with myself about that. She has been praying for her and keeping up with how she's doing through her website. She was supposed to come and see her at her birthday party last year, but she fell and, although she didn't know it at the time, broke her arm the day before. Fortunately, even though she didn't realize who she was at the time, she did see her while she was running around in the lobby.
I think we all had a nice time. I really am so happy for Nancy and Arn. I hope they have a wonderful life together.
Thursday, May 6, 2004
Bikinis
On Tuesday Alison and I were shopping at Walmart. We were browsing through the baby/toddler section when we came across the swimsuits. They had some really cute ones. Even though the one I really liked was the bikini with the grass skirt, I searched the racks for a one piece instead. Why? I have no issues with bikinis for toddlers, in fact I think they're kind of cute. But I thought to myself that there was no way I could put Alison in a bikini. Someone might see her back. And her back is pretty ugly looking. She's got a nasty looking scar from where they did the closure, and she's got another one, which doesn't look quite as bad, from a skin graft to cover the flank incision that was necessary to give the surgeon enough skin to do the closure.
Kevin and I have talked about her back periodically. He will occasionally ask me what she's going to think about her scars when she gets older. There will probably be a time when she'll be very self-conscious about it. If that's the case, plastic surgery is an option we can explore. I'm hoping, though, that she'll just accept that's the way she is and not give it a second thought. That's why we want to try and treat her just like a regular kid as much as possible. And regular kids sometimes wear bikinis when they're little. So I bought it.
Kevin and I have talked about her back periodically. He will occasionally ask me what she's going to think about her scars when she gets older. There will probably be a time when she'll be very self-conscious about it. If that's the case, plastic surgery is an option we can explore. I'm hoping, though, that she'll just accept that's the way she is and not give it a second thought. That's why we want to try and treat her just like a regular kid as much as possible. And regular kids sometimes wear bikinis when they're little. So I bought it.
Wednesday, May 5, 2004
Shopping for Shoes
We're going to a wedding this weekend and while I don't have a problem wearing a dress that's a good 5 years old (see our Easter pictures below), I figured it would be a good idea to get a new pair of shoes to go with it, since the pair I used to wear with it are at least 11 years old, probably older. I have a nice pair of white shoes that could have been a possibility, but they just don't look quite right. How hard is it to run out and find a pair of pumps that would look halfway decent with this dress? Well, let's just say it probably would have been easier to find a new dress to wear with my white shoes.
Now, I know that in current fashion, pantyhose are out. I also know that the current trend in dressy footwear is a strappy, opened toed, sandal-type shoe. However, this body needs control top pantyhose and pantyhose with open toed shoes is quite possibly the mother of all fashion faux pas. That's how I found myself at our mall, wandering from store to store to store trying to find a shoe that was not only the right color, but that didn't look like something a senior citizen would be wearing. At 32 years old, I don't think I'm ready for the Hush Puppies and Naturalizers.
At the 5th store I went to, I found something that might work, but it was still a little on the frumpy side. I headed off to the only store I hadn't been to yet with little hope of finding anything. But there it was. A nice, ivory sling back....in my size....on sale! After walking around in them for a little while, checking them out in the mirror, looking at my watch and seeing that I had to be home in less than 25 minutes, I decided to take them.
I tried them on with my dress after I put Alison to bed. I think they're going to be all right. I was a little concerned about them being too tight Saturday night, but I figured my feet aren't going to be anymore swollen then than they were last night, so I'm not going to worry about it. Here's the funny thing....not only have I decreased my clothing size in my weightloss journey, I've also decreased my shoe size! Well, for these particular shoes anyway.
So that was my shoe shopping expedition. Next up, sandals for Alison. That's probably the only thing that will be more difficult than finding shoes for this wedding!
Now, I know that in current fashion, pantyhose are out. I also know that the current trend in dressy footwear is a strappy, opened toed, sandal-type shoe. However, this body needs control top pantyhose and pantyhose with open toed shoes is quite possibly the mother of all fashion faux pas. That's how I found myself at our mall, wandering from store to store to store trying to find a shoe that was not only the right color, but that didn't look like something a senior citizen would be wearing. At 32 years old, I don't think I'm ready for the Hush Puppies and Naturalizers.
At the 5th store I went to, I found something that might work, but it was still a little on the frumpy side. I headed off to the only store I hadn't been to yet with little hope of finding anything. But there it was. A nice, ivory sling back....in my size....on sale! After walking around in them for a little while, checking them out in the mirror, looking at my watch and seeing that I had to be home in less than 25 minutes, I decided to take them.
I tried them on with my dress after I put Alison to bed. I think they're going to be all right. I was a little concerned about them being too tight Saturday night, but I figured my feet aren't going to be anymore swollen then than they were last night, so I'm not going to worry about it. Here's the funny thing....not only have I decreased my clothing size in my weightloss journey, I've also decreased my shoe size! Well, for these particular shoes anyway.
So that was my shoe shopping expedition. Next up, sandals for Alison. That's probably the only thing that will be more difficult than finding shoes for this wedding!
Saturday, May 1, 2004
Bath Time
Bath time at our house is daddy's job. I don't like to do bath. I'm not sure exactly why, but I don't. It's not like it's all that hard....put Alison in the tub with some toys, let her play around a little, brush her teeth, soap her up and rinse her off, and wash her hair.
I guess hair washing is why I don't like doing bath. It shouldn't be such a big deal, but for some reason --my left-handedness maybe?-- I'm not coordinated enough to rinse the shampoo out without traumatizing my child. I have come up with an idea --ok, I stole someone else's idea-- on how to make it a little better. We went to Target last night, bought a little toy watering can and voila! Instant mini shower. :) I still have to be really careful about shampoo in the eyes because Alison puts her head down instead of tilting it back, but it's a definite improvement. Alison likes to use it to water the bath water.
I guess hair washing is why I don't like doing bath. It shouldn't be such a big deal, but for some reason --my left-handedness maybe?-- I'm not coordinated enough to rinse the shampoo out without traumatizing my child. I have come up with an idea --ok, I stole someone else's idea-- on how to make it a little better. We went to Target last night, bought a little toy watering can and voila! Instant mini shower. :) I still have to be really careful about shampoo in the eyes because Alison puts her head down instead of tilting it back, but it's a definite improvement. Alison likes to use it to water the bath water.
Saturday Night
It's the second night of "girls' weekend in." It's been pretty good so far, although Alison had me ready to pull my hair out earlier.
We did end up going to the Center for the Arts. We didn't go to the "Pearls" exhibit --I decided to wait until Kevin can go with us because I think he'd like it-- but we did go through the Hall of Ideas. They have a Foucault (is that even close to the right spelling?) pendulum between the gift shop and the entrance to the hall, and Alison was absolutely fascinated with it. She kept wanting to go back and see the "clock."
It's hard to describe just exactly what kind of exhibits they have here, but they are mostly science related. We didn't spend a whole lot of time looking at them, since they really aren't geared for a toddler, but Alison had a good time walking around. There are a couple of not-exactly-soundproofed rooms that deal with music. One talked about different types of music and played short clips of songs. We stayed in there for a few minutes and Alison really like some of what we heard. She couldn't have cared less for the commentary. The other room had a couple of different intruments in it....violin, recorder, trombone, some pipes from a pipe organ, and a xylophone. The xylophone was by far Alison's favorite. What's not to love about something that plays music when you beat on it with a stick? The pipes from the organ scared her. Actually, I think it was just whatever was providing the air for the pipes, because the trombone and the recorder didn't bother her and they worked on the same principle.....push a button and air starts blowing, then cover the holes, move the slide or move the air source around to make music.
I also discovered that Alison really did learn how to climb down stairs last weekend. Her grandma taught her how to get down the porch steps so we weren't constantly having to catch her before she walked off into thin air and fell down the steps. I don't know why, but I wasn't sure she would equate the porch steps with other kinds of steps. This morning, without me even saying a word, she stopped about two feet away from the stairs, got down on her hands and knees, turned around, crawled back to the edge and went down.
Tonight, after nap and our regular walk (here's where I want to whine about it being nearly 30 degrees colder than it was 2 days ago) we hit the mall for dinner at Ruby Tuesday. It's the first time I've taken her to a real sit-down restaurant by myself. Everything went fine. Alison colored on her menu a little, ate some peaches without a fight, was satisfied with a few fries while I de-breaded her chicken nuggets, and had finished most of her dinner before I even had a chance to start mine.
About a year ago, while we were out to dinner with my mom and my brother, my brother decided to give Alison a fry with ketchup to see if she would like it. She did not. The face she made was priceless. Tonight she kept grabbing for the ketchup bottle, so I put a little splotch on her plate and dipped a fry in it for her. Instead of taking a bite of the fry, she sucked the ketchup off and stuck the fry back in it. She ate most of the ketchup with the same fry.
After dinner we went out and walked around the mall a little bit. I was brave and did not bring the stroller in with me. Although there are a lot of people who don't approve of them, and think it makes children look like dogs, I have a harness for Alison. She's getting to the point where she wants to be down exploring and she doesn't like to hold my hand or have her hand held for very long. We went to Hallmark because I needed to get a couple of cards. Not exactly the best idea I've ever had. There's a lot of stuff to get into at Hallmark. I was able to buy my cards and get us out of the store without little fingers breaking anything.
The second bad idea of th evening was to make our way down to the rides. Alison's been to the mall enough --it's where we walk when the weather's bad-- to know that there's a choo choo there somewhere. So we went to see the choo choo. She didn't want to get in it, or any of the other rides, but, once there, she didn't want to leave it either!! We'd get going in the right direction for five or ten feet and the next thing I knew she was headed back to the choo choo. We finally got far enough away that she kept going in the right direction. The only challenge then was to keep from going into every store we passed.
We finally made it out of the mall and back home only to discover that Kevin called less than 10 minutes before we got here and we missed him. He's having a good time, I guess, and he'll be home around noon tomorrow. I think we'll survive until then. :)
We did end up going to the Center for the Arts. We didn't go to the "Pearls" exhibit --I decided to wait until Kevin can go with us because I think he'd like it-- but we did go through the Hall of Ideas. They have a Foucault (is that even close to the right spelling?) pendulum between the gift shop and the entrance to the hall, and Alison was absolutely fascinated with it. She kept wanting to go back and see the "clock."
It's hard to describe just exactly what kind of exhibits they have here, but they are mostly science related. We didn't spend a whole lot of time looking at them, since they really aren't geared for a toddler, but Alison had a good time walking around. There are a couple of not-exactly-soundproofed rooms that deal with music. One talked about different types of music and played short clips of songs. We stayed in there for a few minutes and Alison really like some of what we heard. She couldn't have cared less for the commentary. The other room had a couple of different intruments in it....violin, recorder, trombone, some pipes from a pipe organ, and a xylophone. The xylophone was by far Alison's favorite. What's not to love about something that plays music when you beat on it with a stick? The pipes from the organ scared her. Actually, I think it was just whatever was providing the air for the pipes, because the trombone and the recorder didn't bother her and they worked on the same principle.....push a button and air starts blowing, then cover the holes, move the slide or move the air source around to make music.
I also discovered that Alison really did learn how to climb down stairs last weekend. Her grandma taught her how to get down the porch steps so we weren't constantly having to catch her before she walked off into thin air and fell down the steps. I don't know why, but I wasn't sure she would equate the porch steps with other kinds of steps. This morning, without me even saying a word, she stopped about two feet away from the stairs, got down on her hands and knees, turned around, crawled back to the edge and went down.
Tonight, after nap and our regular walk (here's where I want to whine about it being nearly 30 degrees colder than it was 2 days ago) we hit the mall for dinner at Ruby Tuesday. It's the first time I've taken her to a real sit-down restaurant by myself. Everything went fine. Alison colored on her menu a little, ate some peaches without a fight, was satisfied with a few fries while I de-breaded her chicken nuggets, and had finished most of her dinner before I even had a chance to start mine.
About a year ago, while we were out to dinner with my mom and my brother, my brother decided to give Alison a fry with ketchup to see if she would like it. She did not. The face she made was priceless. Tonight she kept grabbing for the ketchup bottle, so I put a little splotch on her plate and dipped a fry in it for her. Instead of taking a bite of the fry, she sucked the ketchup off and stuck the fry back in it. She ate most of the ketchup with the same fry.
After dinner we went out and walked around the mall a little bit. I was brave and did not bring the stroller in with me. Although there are a lot of people who don't approve of them, and think it makes children look like dogs, I have a harness for Alison. She's getting to the point where she wants to be down exploring and she doesn't like to hold my hand or have her hand held for very long. We went to Hallmark because I needed to get a couple of cards. Not exactly the best idea I've ever had. There's a lot of stuff to get into at Hallmark. I was able to buy my cards and get us out of the store without little fingers breaking anything.
The second bad idea of th evening was to make our way down to the rides. Alison's been to the mall enough --it's where we walk when the weather's bad-- to know that there's a choo choo there somewhere. So we went to see the choo choo. She didn't want to get in it, or any of the other rides, but, once there, she didn't want to leave it either!! We'd get going in the right direction for five or ten feet and the next thing I knew she was headed back to the choo choo. We finally got far enough away that she kept going in the right direction. The only challenge then was to keep from going into every store we passed.
We finally made it out of the mall and back home only to discover that Kevin called less than 10 minutes before we got here and we missed him. He's having a good time, I guess, and he'll be home around noon tomorrow. I think we'll survive until then. :)
Friday, April 30, 2004
A Weekend Alone
Well, alone with my toddler anyway. Kevin is going on the middle school youth group retreat. They are leaving tonight and won't be back until noon on Sunday. He got his stuff all packed up at lunchtime, so I don't think he's planning to stop here before he goes, but I forgot to ask him.
I have no idea what Alison and I are going to do for the weekend. The weather is crappy again. I don't think there will be too much playing outside. The Center for the Arts has an exhibit on pearls that might be interesting. Maybe I'll see what time they are open tomorrow and we can go to that. If it wasn't going to be so crummy, checking out Dow Gardens would have been a good idea. Alison is becoming facinated with flowers lately. I'll have to file that idea away for another time.
There are some good things about Kevin being gone, though. For one thing, I won't have to listen to him complain about just having gotten home Tuesday and having to go again today (I will still have to listen to him complain about being gone for two weekends and having to go away again next weekend, but not until Sunday). I will also get two good nights of sleep, taking up as much space in my bed as I want. :)
I have no idea what Alison and I are going to do for the weekend. The weather is crappy again. I don't think there will be too much playing outside. The Center for the Arts has an exhibit on pearls that might be interesting. Maybe I'll see what time they are open tomorrow and we can go to that. If it wasn't going to be so crummy, checking out Dow Gardens would have been a good idea. Alison is becoming facinated with flowers lately. I'll have to file that idea away for another time.
There are some good things about Kevin being gone, though. For one thing, I won't have to listen to him complain about just having gotten home Tuesday and having to go again today (I will still have to listen to him complain about being gone for two weekends and having to go away again next weekend, but not until Sunday). I will also get two good nights of sleep, taking up as much space in my bed as I want. :)
Thursday, April 22, 2004
The Joy of Shopping
I finally got a chance to go out shopping for some new clothes the other night. My jeans were all way too big, to the point where the waist was down at my hips. I pulled out a pair of shorts from last summer and was able to put them on without unbuttoning or unzipping them.
So off to Walmart I went. I will admit right here and now that I am cheap. I particularly don't want to pay a lot of money for clothes right now, when I'm hoping to lose about 25 more pounds.
I am pleased to announce that I have moved out of the plus-sized department and back into the regular size department. It took some doing, but I finally found 3 pairs of shorts that I like and 2 pairs of jeans. That should hold me for a while. Well, except for needing a few new things, skirts and tops, mostly, to wear to church.
I have often wished that women could by pants the same way that men buy pants, using waist and inseam measurement instead of set sizes. Perhaps instead of the inseam measurement they could use hip measurements. It would make things a lot easier for me, that's for sure. My hips are a size bigger than my waist, so now everything that fits in the hips is too big in the waist. Maybe one day I'll be back in better proportion, but until then, relaxed fit jeans are a godsend.
So there you have it, 24 pounds down and the beginings of a new wardrobe.
So off to Walmart I went. I will admit right here and now that I am cheap. I particularly don't want to pay a lot of money for clothes right now, when I'm hoping to lose about 25 more pounds.
I am pleased to announce that I have moved out of the plus-sized department and back into the regular size department. It took some doing, but I finally found 3 pairs of shorts that I like and 2 pairs of jeans. That should hold me for a while. Well, except for needing a few new things, skirts and tops, mostly, to wear to church.
I have often wished that women could by pants the same way that men buy pants, using waist and inseam measurement instead of set sizes. Perhaps instead of the inseam measurement they could use hip measurements. It would make things a lot easier for me, that's for sure. My hips are a size bigger than my waist, so now everything that fits in the hips is too big in the waist. Maybe one day I'll be back in better proportion, but until then, relaxed fit jeans are a godsend.
So there you have it, 24 pounds down and the beginings of a new wardrobe.
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
Monday Afternoon
I have a list of things that I should be doing right now, but I don't have any desire to do them. I'm going to regret that come Thursday afternoon when I'm racing around like a crazy woman trying to get everything done before we leave Friday morning. Oh well, I'll deal with it then, I guess.
We had a beautiful weekend here. We had showers in the mornings, but the afternoons were bright, sunny and, most importantly, warm! We were able to spend quite a bit of time outside. Kevin used the time to rake up the backyard. He worked his way from one side of the yard to the other, making piles of leave, sticks and dead grass as he went. Alison, the girl who wanted nothing to do with piles of leaves last fall, followed along behind him plowing through his piles and strewing them all over the yard again. Saturday evening, she found a stick in one of the last piles and proceded to sit in front of that pile and swipe the stick back and forth across it, flinging leaves and grass all over. She totally cracked herself up doing this. I mean she was litteraly sitting there screaming with laughter each time she flung stuff out of the pile. Kevin was not exactly happy, since he was going to have to rake it all up again, but he couldn't help but laugh at her.
Finishing up on Tuesday night.....
Alison got her first big boo boo of the summer Sunday afternoon. She got tripped up when she was a step or two away from the deck and when she went down she caught her chin on the corner of it. Fortunately it was just a scrape and not a gash, so there wasn't a lot of blood, just a lot of tears. **fast forward to Tuesday, she noticed her boo boo in the mirror today... it was so funny to watch her trying to look at it because she couldn't really keep her chin up and get a good look at the same time.**
Sunday evening we had youth group. It was supposed to be a study night, but since it was such a beautiful day, it was decided that we would skip the study and go outside and play games instead. We hit the parking lot and started out with "sharks and minnows." Kevin wiped out while he was avoiding some of the "sharks" and skinned up his hand and put his keys, which were in his pocket, through his pant leg. Later on, one of the girls slipped and fell and sprained her wrist. :( They played a few other games, including kick ball. Then came the best part. We walked over to the pizza/ice cream store down the street and we all got ice cream. For someone who hasn't had ice cream in a while, it was soooo good. A good time was had by all.
Monday proved to be a typical day. The temperature, after starting out at 71 degrees at 8:00 in the morning, took a nose dive and it was below 60 by the time we went for our afternoon walk. The wind was unbelievable in the morning, but it tapered off somewhat by walk-time, too. There was still enough for Alison to learn a new word, though: WINDY!!!
We had a beautiful weekend here. We had showers in the mornings, but the afternoons were bright, sunny and, most importantly, warm! We were able to spend quite a bit of time outside. Kevin used the time to rake up the backyard. He worked his way from one side of the yard to the other, making piles of leave, sticks and dead grass as he went. Alison, the girl who wanted nothing to do with piles of leaves last fall, followed along behind him plowing through his piles and strewing them all over the yard again. Saturday evening, she found a stick in one of the last piles and proceded to sit in front of that pile and swipe the stick back and forth across it, flinging leaves and grass all over. She totally cracked herself up doing this. I mean she was litteraly sitting there screaming with laughter each time she flung stuff out of the pile. Kevin was not exactly happy, since he was going to have to rake it all up again, but he couldn't help but laugh at her.
Finishing up on Tuesday night.....
Alison got her first big boo boo of the summer Sunday afternoon. She got tripped up when she was a step or two away from the deck and when she went down she caught her chin on the corner of it. Fortunately it was just a scrape and not a gash, so there wasn't a lot of blood, just a lot of tears. **fast forward to Tuesday, she noticed her boo boo in the mirror today... it was so funny to watch her trying to look at it because she couldn't really keep her chin up and get a good look at the same time.**
Sunday evening we had youth group. It was supposed to be a study night, but since it was such a beautiful day, it was decided that we would skip the study and go outside and play games instead. We hit the parking lot and started out with "sharks and minnows." Kevin wiped out while he was avoiding some of the "sharks" and skinned up his hand and put his keys, which were in his pocket, through his pant leg. Later on, one of the girls slipped and fell and sprained her wrist. :( They played a few other games, including kick ball. Then came the best part. We walked over to the pizza/ice cream store down the street and we all got ice cream. For someone who hasn't had ice cream in a while, it was soooo good. A good time was had by all.
Monday proved to be a typical day. The temperature, after starting out at 71 degrees at 8:00 in the morning, took a nose dive and it was below 60 by the time we went for our afternoon walk. The wind was unbelievable in the morning, but it tapered off somewhat by walk-time, too. There was still enough for Alison to learn a new word, though: WINDY!!!
Thursday, April 15, 2004
Pictures of Easter
**if the pictures don't show up, it's because the site hosting them is down...please try back later**
Here's a picture of the three of us in our Easter finery.
And here is a picture of me, Alison, and my dad.....not the most flattering picture, but it was better than the alternatives. :)
Here's a picture of Alison in her dress. Unfortunately she wasn't looking at the camera. The other picture we have of her when she's looking at the camera, she's covering up most of her dress with the arm cover from the sofa.
Here is Alison with two of her new stuffed animals. The duck was a gift from my MIL. It is a puppet and when you squeeze the beak, it will quack out "Here Comes Peter Cottontail." It's cute the first time or two and then it gets really annoying. The pink bunny, which is really a bear in a bunny suit, was a gift from my mom. She saw it in the hospital gift shop when she was walking one morning and it was gone by the time she got there to get a better look at it. Fortunately they got another one in and she was there as soon as the gift shopped opened to buy it.
Here's a picture of the three of us in our Easter finery.
And here is a picture of me, Alison, and my dad.....not the most flattering picture, but it was better than the alternatives. :)
Here's a picture of Alison in her dress. Unfortunately she wasn't looking at the camera. The other picture we have of her when she's looking at the camera, she's covering up most of her dress with the arm cover from the sofa.
Here is Alison with two of her new stuffed animals. The duck was a gift from my MIL. It is a puppet and when you squeeze the beak, it will quack out "Here Comes Peter Cottontail." It's cute the first time or two and then it gets really annoying. The pink bunny, which is really a bear in a bunny suit, was a gift from my mom. She saw it in the hospital gift shop when she was walking one morning and it was gone by the time she got there to get a better look at it. Fortunately they got another one in and she was there as soon as the gift shopped opened to buy it.
Easter Weekend Recap (warning....very long)
We spent Easter weekend at my parents' house. Until a few weeks ago, we all thought that my mom was going to have the weekend off, but, as it turned out, it was her weekend to work.
We arrived around 9:30 Friday night and let Alison run around and blow off some steam for a while. After being strapped in her carset for over three hours at that point, she needed it. It was 11:00 by the time we finally got her into bed. That's pretty late for her, since she's usually in bed shortly after 9.
Saturday ended up being pretty hectic. My grandma decided that riding 25 miles from her house to my parents' for Easter dinner was "just too far," so we packed Alison up and headed in to see her Saturday morning instead. I know it will sound horrible, especially in light of the fact that Gramp just passed away at Christmas, but it's never pleasant to go and see my grandma. When Gramp was still alive, I made sure we went (if they weren't going to make it to may parents') because I knew he'd want to see Alison. We went on Saturday because I knew Grandma would want to see her, too, but it's such a pain! I had hoped to go in, visit and be home by 12:30, so Alison could have lunch and still go down for her nap close to 1:00. Well, we didn't even get home until almost 1:00, and it was after 2:00 before she settled down enough to go to sleep. Normally I don't let her sleep past 4:00, but I did Saturday. She slept until 4:30. My mom had gotten home a little after 3:00 and I helped her get a casserole together before she, Kevin, Alison, Bo and I left to go to the park and take a walk. It was a nice day for a walk. A little breezy (and therefore a little chilly), but it was sunny. We had a nice walk and came home to finish dinner....one of my favorites and one that is very, very bad for my "diet." Afterwards we went through the usual evening routine. I went to bed early, since we would have to get up early Sunday morning for church.
Oh yeah. Also on Saturday everyone felt the need to inform me that my brother had found a mouse in the bathtub when he came home to take a shower before work. I hate rodents. I especially hate them when they are in my (well, my parents') house. We had a rat in the house (though we didn't know that's what it was at the time) when I was 16 and I kid you not, I slept in the car in the driveway for 3 nights. After that I slept with my bedroom light on for over a month. So the news that Paul had found a mouse in the bathtub had me ready to head to the nearest motel, but we didn't. :) I just made sure that Kevin used the bathroom before me Sunday morning so he could check to make sure there were no unwelcome, furry visitors in the tub.
Easter morning was cloudy and cold. We decided not to attend the sunrise service since none of us wanted to get up in time to be there at 6:30. We opted for our usual 8:15 service instead. I don't really enjoy going to this church anymore, despite the fact that it is the church I grew up in. It is not a church I would be interested in joining if I were new to the area. We go because my parents are still members and partly out of habit. The chancel choir sang the same introit it has been singing for years. I have never been in the chancel choir, but I could sing right along with them without any trouble. The brass ensemble was there as usual, too, and Mr. C didn't frack nearly as often as he usually does (the trumpet isn't really his instrument and you can tell....he took it up because he wanted to be a music teacher, but he's really a trombone player). Instead of just having Easter lilies decorating the chancel, they also had an assortment of other flowers mixed in. The fragrance, from the hyacinths I think, was almost overpowering, especially since were weren't more than 12 feet back, sitting in the 3rd pew. Alison had a great time down in the cribroom. Carol, the cribroom attendant, was shocked at how much she has grown, how much she is talking and how much she is running around.
After church we went down to Fellowship Hall to have some coffee and juice. I took Alison back upstairs to see if we could find my friend Kari, and she and her daughter (who is just turning 1) happened to be in the Narthex. We chatted for a few minutes and then I went in to the Sanctuary to see her mom. We almost made her cry when Alison got down and started walking around. From there we had to head up to the choir room. I promised another friend's mom that I would bring Alison up since she had been off getting her diaper changed when she came down to see her, and besides, she had forgotten to bring pictures of her grandson down with her and I had to check them out. The choir got a kick out of watching Alison toddle around, even though only a few knew how big a deal it actually was. Kevin kept an eagle eye on her to make sure no one was feeding her goodies that had nuts or peanuts (or peanutbutter) in them. She was facinated with the windows because they had a deep sill and were only a foot off the ground, so she could climb up on the sill and look out. Fortunately only the top of the windows opened and she isn't that tall, but Kevin still kept a hand on her just to make sure there was no way she could fall out.
Since mom was working, Kevin and I were in charge of getting dinner on the table. Obviously that was easier said than done. I decided not to make scalloped potatoes but just bake them instead because I thought it would be easier.....unfortunately the potatoes were not done when we were ready to eat. Neither was the ham. Apparently it hadn't completely thawed the night before and it was still a little frozen in the center. The broccoli casserole came out all right, but the sweet potatoes could have baked a little longer. Oh well. We threw the ham and the baked potatoes in the microwave and everything ended up being edible. I made sure to bring home the broccoli recipe, too.
Once lunch was taken done, Alison went down for a nap and I got us all packed up and ready to go. Then I took a nap, too. Mom got home a little after 3, Alison got up at 4, and we were on the road by about 4:45. I felt bad that mom didn't get to spend that much time with Alison, but that's how it works out sometimes. We are going to be back in a few weeks to go to a wedding, so she'll get to spend plenty of time with her then. We made good time on the way home and, even with a stop for supper, pulled in the driveway at 9:30.
We arrived around 9:30 Friday night and let Alison run around and blow off some steam for a while. After being strapped in her carset for over three hours at that point, she needed it. It was 11:00 by the time we finally got her into bed. That's pretty late for her, since she's usually in bed shortly after 9.
Saturday ended up being pretty hectic. My grandma decided that riding 25 miles from her house to my parents' for Easter dinner was "just too far," so we packed Alison up and headed in to see her Saturday morning instead. I know it will sound horrible, especially in light of the fact that Gramp just passed away at Christmas, but it's never pleasant to go and see my grandma. When Gramp was still alive, I made sure we went (if they weren't going to make it to may parents') because I knew he'd want to see Alison. We went on Saturday because I knew Grandma would want to see her, too, but it's such a pain! I had hoped to go in, visit and be home by 12:30, so Alison could have lunch and still go down for her nap close to 1:00. Well, we didn't even get home until almost 1:00, and it was after 2:00 before she settled down enough to go to sleep. Normally I don't let her sleep past 4:00, but I did Saturday. She slept until 4:30. My mom had gotten home a little after 3:00 and I helped her get a casserole together before she, Kevin, Alison, Bo and I left to go to the park and take a walk. It was a nice day for a walk. A little breezy (and therefore a little chilly), but it was sunny. We had a nice walk and came home to finish dinner....one of my favorites and one that is very, very bad for my "diet." Afterwards we went through the usual evening routine. I went to bed early, since we would have to get up early Sunday morning for church.
Oh yeah. Also on Saturday everyone felt the need to inform me that my brother had found a mouse in the bathtub when he came home to take a shower before work. I hate rodents. I especially hate them when they are in my (well, my parents') house. We had a rat in the house (though we didn't know that's what it was at the time) when I was 16 and I kid you not, I slept in the car in the driveway for 3 nights. After that I slept with my bedroom light on for over a month. So the news that Paul had found a mouse in the bathtub had me ready to head to the nearest motel, but we didn't. :) I just made sure that Kevin used the bathroom before me Sunday morning so he could check to make sure there were no unwelcome, furry visitors in the tub.
Easter morning was cloudy and cold. We decided not to attend the sunrise service since none of us wanted to get up in time to be there at 6:30. We opted for our usual 8:15 service instead. I don't really enjoy going to this church anymore, despite the fact that it is the church I grew up in. It is not a church I would be interested in joining if I were new to the area. We go because my parents are still members and partly out of habit. The chancel choir sang the same introit it has been singing for years. I have never been in the chancel choir, but I could sing right along with them without any trouble. The brass ensemble was there as usual, too, and Mr. C didn't frack nearly as often as he usually does (the trumpet isn't really his instrument and you can tell....he took it up because he wanted to be a music teacher, but he's really a trombone player). Instead of just having Easter lilies decorating the chancel, they also had an assortment of other flowers mixed in. The fragrance, from the hyacinths I think, was almost overpowering, especially since were weren't more than 12 feet back, sitting in the 3rd pew. Alison had a great time down in the cribroom. Carol, the cribroom attendant, was shocked at how much she has grown, how much she is talking and how much she is running around.
After church we went down to Fellowship Hall to have some coffee and juice. I took Alison back upstairs to see if we could find my friend Kari, and she and her daughter (who is just turning 1) happened to be in the Narthex. We chatted for a few minutes and then I went in to the Sanctuary to see her mom. We almost made her cry when Alison got down and started walking around. From there we had to head up to the choir room. I promised another friend's mom that I would bring Alison up since she had been off getting her diaper changed when she came down to see her, and besides, she had forgotten to bring pictures of her grandson down with her and I had to check them out. The choir got a kick out of watching Alison toddle around, even though only a few knew how big a deal it actually was. Kevin kept an eagle eye on her to make sure no one was feeding her goodies that had nuts or peanuts (or peanutbutter) in them. She was facinated with the windows because they had a deep sill and were only a foot off the ground, so she could climb up on the sill and look out. Fortunately only the top of the windows opened and she isn't that tall, but Kevin still kept a hand on her just to make sure there was no way she could fall out.
Since mom was working, Kevin and I were in charge of getting dinner on the table. Obviously that was easier said than done. I decided not to make scalloped potatoes but just bake them instead because I thought it would be easier.....unfortunately the potatoes were not done when we were ready to eat. Neither was the ham. Apparently it hadn't completely thawed the night before and it was still a little frozen in the center. The broccoli casserole came out all right, but the sweet potatoes could have baked a little longer. Oh well. We threw the ham and the baked potatoes in the microwave and everything ended up being edible. I made sure to bring home the broccoli recipe, too.
Once lunch was taken done, Alison went down for a nap and I got us all packed up and ready to go. Then I took a nap, too. Mom got home a little after 3, Alison got up at 4, and we were on the road by about 4:45. I felt bad that mom didn't get to spend that much time with Alison, but that's how it works out sometimes. We are going to be back in a few weeks to go to a wedding, so she'll get to spend plenty of time with her then. We made good time on the way home and, even with a stop for supper, pulled in the driveway at 9:30.
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
Miscelaneous Alison
I think it's time to get Alison a potty chair. Not because I think she's anywhere near ready to potty train (that is going to take a very long time I think....we don't know for sure what she can feel "down there"), but because we need someplace to put her when she starts to tinkle on the bathroom floor or poop in the bathtub. Tinkling on the floor is not such a huge deal and she's only done it twice, and the second time was just a little dribble. Pooping in the tub is another story. She did it for the second time in 3 nights last night. At least Kevin got her hair washed before she did it. Her toys are still in the dish drainer, since they had to get washed. Who knows, maybe she does feel when she's doing these things and putting her on the potty will help her to realize what she's doing.
Our next door neighbors have a motor home. Last night Alison was looking out the window at it asking Kevin "what this?" He told her it was a winnebago (or however the heck you spell that). Imagine my surprise when Alison actually said "winnebago," and fairly clearly, too.
One of Alison's new "tricks" it to insist on blessing meals. Now, we always say a blessing before supper, but as soon as we're all at the table for lunch, even if she's half way through her meal, she'll put her fists up next to her nose and say "bless" until we do -- Saturday morning Kevin even had to bless breakfast. When we're done, she'll even say amen. Of course, if she had her way, we'd bless at least 5 times during the course of a meal. For now we just keep telling her that we already blessed and she can go ahead and eat.
Today is the first time I have been able to run the sweeper without Alison having a major meltdown. She was starting to get better about it at the end of last year. Then she got sick and got put on Pulmicort. Although no one in the medical profession will believe me (except my brother's girlfriend) I think it has made her sensitive to noise. For a while even the furnace turning on would scare her half to death, so I think it goes without saying that the sweeper was almost like torture for her. She'd start to cry if I even said I was getting ready to run the sweeper. Then she'd cry when I was done. But today, I said I was going to run the sweeper and didn't get even so much as a whimper. She just hopped up in the "big" chair and stayed there until I was done. Then she got done and resumed playing. I think that's been the key.....being able to get up and away from it. Hopefully this wasn't a one time thing because shedding season is about to start and having a black dog and light brown carpet means a lot of vacuuming.
Our next door neighbors have a motor home. Last night Alison was looking out the window at it asking Kevin "what this?" He told her it was a winnebago (or however the heck you spell that). Imagine my surprise when Alison actually said "winnebago," and fairly clearly, too.
One of Alison's new "tricks" it to insist on blessing meals. Now, we always say a blessing before supper, but as soon as we're all at the table for lunch, even if she's half way through her meal, she'll put her fists up next to her nose and say "bless" until we do -- Saturday morning Kevin even had to bless breakfast. When we're done, she'll even say amen. Of course, if she had her way, we'd bless at least 5 times during the course of a meal. For now we just keep telling her that we already blessed and she can go ahead and eat.
Today is the first time I have been able to run the sweeper without Alison having a major meltdown. She was starting to get better about it at the end of last year. Then she got sick and got put on Pulmicort. Although no one in the medical profession will believe me (except my brother's girlfriend) I think it has made her sensitive to noise. For a while even the furnace turning on would scare her half to death, so I think it goes without saying that the sweeper was almost like torture for her. She'd start to cry if I even said I was getting ready to run the sweeper. Then she'd cry when I was done. But today, I said I was going to run the sweeper and didn't get even so much as a whimper. She just hopped up in the "big" chair and stayed there until I was done. Then she got done and resumed playing. I think that's been the key.....being able to get up and away from it. Hopefully this wasn't a one time thing because shedding season is about to start and having a black dog and light brown carpet means a lot of vacuuming.
Wednesday, April 7, 2004
Easter Baskets
Each of Kevin's younger siblings has a child. We have two nephews and a neice. They are all older than Alison. Around the holidays, I like to do little things for them since they live far away from us and we don't get to see them very often. We send presents at Christmas, but I also send several dozen Christmas cookies. I also try to send cookies for Valentine's Day. I've sent green shamrock Rice Krispie treats before. Last year I sent Easter baskets with plastic eggs filled with Goldfish crackers, yogurt covered pretzels, apple chips, and banana chips. I also included a book. All the kids liked their treats, and their parents were glad for them to get something other than candy.
So Easter is almost here again and I decided to send baskets again. Since we can't really afford to be buying a new basket to send every year, I decided to take my mom's suggestion and make baskets. For just about $7, I was able to make 4 Easter baskets, which are a little larger than a family sized Kleenx box, out of posterboard and paper twist ribbon.
I didn't get books this year, but in addition to yogurt covered pretzels and raisins and some Goldfish, I made cookies.
I hope the kids like their baskets. My sister-in-law will die when she realizes not only did I send goodies, but I made the basket, too. She's told me before that she loves what I send for holidays and wishes she could think of doing that kind of stuff. Kevin thinks I do too much, especially because Alison never gets anything from any of them --that's why I didn't make and send what I wanted to do for St. Patrick's Day-- but I like to do it and I don't do it just so Alison might get something in return. Besides, the baskets were fun to make, and it was a good excuse to try new cookie recipes.
So Easter is almost here again and I decided to send baskets again. Since we can't really afford to be buying a new basket to send every year, I decided to take my mom's suggestion and make baskets. For just about $7, I was able to make 4 Easter baskets, which are a little larger than a family sized Kleenx box, out of posterboard and paper twist ribbon.
I didn't get books this year, but in addition to yogurt covered pretzels and raisins and some Goldfish, I made cookies.
I hope the kids like their baskets. My sister-in-law will die when she realizes not only did I send goodies, but I made the basket, too. She's told me before that she loves what I send for holidays and wishes she could think of doing that kind of stuff. Kevin thinks I do too much, especially because Alison never gets anything from any of them --that's why I didn't make and send what I wanted to do for St. Patrick's Day-- but I like to do it and I don't do it just so Alison might get something in return. Besides, the baskets were fun to make, and it was a good excuse to try new cookie recipes.
Sunday, April 4, 2004
An Evening With the Easter Bunny
Well, we went to see the Easter Bunny after dinner last night. There were two kids in front of us --one a tiny baby, the other was probably 4 or 5-- so we had to wait a little bit. Alison had decided that she didn't need to sit in her stroller, so we were wandering around checking out the scenery while waiting for our turn. While the picture of the little girl ahead of us was printing out we headed up to the big bunny, who was stationed inside a small gazebo. Alison got a foot away from said gazebo and would not move another inch, no matter how much we cajoled her. Finally I took a risk and just picked her up put her in the gazebo. The bunny put his hand out and she kind of petted it. So far, so good. The photographer was just about ready to take her picture and Kevin was in position right under his camera with our camera (the mall has copyrighted it's holiday scenes, so we have to buy a picture in order to be able to take our own), so I went a step further, plopped her onto the bunny's lap and held my breath. She did great. I noticed the fan that was keeping the Easter Bunny cool was blowing up the back of Alison's hair, so the bunny redirected it and was smoothing down Alison's hair when the photographer took his first picture. It looked really cute. He took one more and Kevin took three and then we were done. We bought the second picture, the one with the huge grin. It looks pretty much like this, except everyone is centered (Kevin kind of slipped at the last second, apparently).
From the Easter Bunny, we headed down to the "play" area where they have all teh little ride on toys. It was going to be Alison's first time on one of these toys. We're kind of weird in that we like to take pictures of "first" no matter how insignificant they are, so we've waited until we had the camera with us to let her ride.
As you can see, it didn't go over so well. We had to take her off the train before it was even close to being done because Alison became hysterical. She did not want to be anywhere near that thing, or any of the other rides. Next time I think we'll just let her sit in it for a while before we attempt to make it actually run.
P.S. Now that I've kind of got the hang of adding pictures, I've also added a few to "Alison's Big Day," my entry from March 15, showing her and the people she worked with in the study she was part of.
From the Easter Bunny, we headed down to the "play" area where they have all teh little ride on toys. It was going to be Alison's first time on one of these toys. We're kind of weird in that we like to take pictures of "first" no matter how insignificant they are, so we've waited until we had the camera with us to let her ride.
As you can see, it didn't go over so well. We had to take her off the train before it was even close to being done because Alison became hysterical. She did not want to be anywhere near that thing, or any of the other rides. Next time I think we'll just let her sit in it for a while before we attempt to make it actually run.
P.S. Now that I've kind of got the hang of adding pictures, I've also added a few to "Alison's Big Day," my entry from March 15, showing her and the people she worked with in the study she was part of.
Saturday, April 3, 2004
It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
So far, for the past 3 days, the weather reports have been wrong. We've been supposed to have gloomy, cloudy, cold days in the low to mid 40's. Instead we've had beautiful, sunny, warmish days in the low to mid 50's. Hooray! Weather report says it's only supposed to be 35 tomorrow. I hope it's wrong again.
I am currently about at my wit's end trying to find white shoes for Alison to wear for Easter. I guess that's what I get for waiting until a week before Easter to get serious about finding them. I've been looking sporadically for a few weeks, but we did some serious shopping this morning. I've found several pairs that I liked, but they were either too big or too small or too wide. I found another pair that fit, but the only pair in her size were hot pink, which will not go with her Easter dress --or any other dress that she has right now either. So I did some searching around online and found the perfect shoes at Stride Rite. Unfortunately they are $25. I hate spending more money on shoes that Alison will only wear to church on Sundays than I am willing to spend on my own shoes, but I'm desperate. I have to see if my local store even has these shoes in stock in her size. Someone say a prayer that they do, otherwise Alison is going to church shoeless next week.
Alison has been sleeping well the past few nights. I'm so relieved. With daylight savings time starting tonight, I was worried that she would be even more sleep deprived than she already was.
We're going to take Alison to get her picture taken with the Easter Bunny tonight after dinner, so I hope she's in a good mood. She wasn't exactly thrilled with Santa when she got his picture taken with him, but we did manage to get her to smile. I hope we're that fortunate tonight. They're having pet day with the Easter Bunny tomorrow and it would be fun to take Bo and get a picture with the two of them with the Easter Bunny, but it falls during nap time and the rush to get read for youth group, so it's not going to happen.
--Weekly weight loss update--
I have now lost 21 pounds. I have also lost 4 1/2 inches off my waist and 5 inches off my hips. Yay me! I'm going to go out and celebrate by having having a Strawberry Shortcake at Ruby Tuesday. (Actually I was going to have one regardless, but it's nice to have something to celebrate, and I will be splitting it with Kevin and Alison.)
I am currently about at my wit's end trying to find white shoes for Alison to wear for Easter. I guess that's what I get for waiting until a week before Easter to get serious about finding them. I've been looking sporadically for a few weeks, but we did some serious shopping this morning. I've found several pairs that I liked, but they were either too big or too small or too wide. I found another pair that fit, but the only pair in her size were hot pink, which will not go with her Easter dress --or any other dress that she has right now either. So I did some searching around online and found the perfect shoes at Stride Rite. Unfortunately they are $25. I hate spending more money on shoes that Alison will only wear to church on Sundays than I am willing to spend on my own shoes, but I'm desperate. I have to see if my local store even has these shoes in stock in her size. Someone say a prayer that they do, otherwise Alison is going to church shoeless next week.
Alison has been sleeping well the past few nights. I'm so relieved. With daylight savings time starting tonight, I was worried that she would be even more sleep deprived than she already was.
We're going to take Alison to get her picture taken with the Easter Bunny tonight after dinner, so I hope she's in a good mood. She wasn't exactly thrilled with Santa when she got his picture taken with him, but we did manage to get her to smile. I hope we're that fortunate tonight. They're having pet day with the Easter Bunny tomorrow and it would be fun to take Bo and get a picture with the two of them with the Easter Bunny, but it falls during nap time and the rush to get read for youth group, so it's not going to happen.
--Weekly weight loss update--
I have now lost 21 pounds. I have also lost 4 1/2 inches off my waist and 5 inches off my hips. Yay me! I'm going to go out and celebrate by having having a Strawberry Shortcake at Ruby Tuesday. (Actually I was going to have one regardless, but it's nice to have something to celebrate, and I will be splitting it with Kevin and Alison.)
Wednesday, March 31, 2004
Will It Never End?!?
It looks like Alison has another cold, or the cold she had before never left, I'm not sure which. Whatever it is, it's been going on since the middle of February. She's coughing and sneezing again. She needs sleep desperately, yet keeps waking up coughing. I thought she might have felt a little warm this morning, but a short while later I thought she felt fine. Since she's too squirmy to do it any other way than rectally, I didn't take --or have Kevin take-- her temperature before nap because I didn't want to risk making her poop and wake up early. It didn't really matter because she started coughing about an hour after she went to sleep. That kept up, off and on, for nearly half an hour and then stopped for about as long and seems to be starting again. :(
It's cold, cloudy and damp today, so I guess we'll be walking at the mall. While fresh air wouldn't hurt, being out in the windy cold probably isn't what the doctor would order. I hope we can keep it from getting bad enough to need Albuterol treatments again. Those make all of us miserable.
I hope we're able to kick this thing for good soon. We're going to visit Kevin's dad in less than a month and I can't help but think it would not be a good idea for him to be around a sick kid while going through chemotherapy and radiation. On the other hand, I don't want to keep her away from him --or stay home with her-- because we have no way of knowing if this is the last chance he'll have to see her.
It's cold, cloudy and damp today, so I guess we'll be walking at the mall. While fresh air wouldn't hurt, being out in the windy cold probably isn't what the doctor would order. I hope we can keep it from getting bad enough to need Albuterol treatments again. Those make all of us miserable.
I hope we're able to kick this thing for good soon. We're going to visit Kevin's dad in less than a month and I can't help but think it would not be a good idea for him to be around a sick kid while going through chemotherapy and radiation. On the other hand, I don't want to keep her away from him --or stay home with her-- because we have no way of knowing if this is the last chance he'll have to see her.
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