Carrot Paint

FYI for next year, if you run out of orange face paint.... use a carrot!

Fischy questions

Lately Fischer has been asking a lot of questions about EVERYTHING!

• "Do fireman wear pajamas when they sleep at the firestation?"
• "How do spiders make webs?"
• "Does God have a wand?"
• "Well then how does He make people? Does He have a machine to make the people?"
• "Does God wear pajamas?"
• "How do babies go pee?" .... (later I realized that he thought Maddie maybe hadn't grown all of her parts yet. ;) )
• "How old will Maddie be when I am 69?"
• "When will Maddie be 3 1/2 like me?"..... and about a million other age related questions.
• "When do the space shuttles take off?"
• "Did Uncle Dick invent the telephone?"
• "Does Elvis live with Jesus now?"
• "Does Ursula (from the Little Mermaid) live with Jesus now?"
• ..... and on and on.... he is definitely curious!

Willow Africa and Daisy Fall

After Maddison was born, Aunt Beth came to the hospital to visit. She brought cute clothes for Maddie and a doll for Fischer. She told Fischer that he could feed "his baby" when Mommy feeds Maddie. He could hold "his baby" when Mommy and Daddy hold Maddie, etc. At the moment, Fischer seemed interested but not overly emotional about the doll. I have to admit that I wasn't really sure what to think about the doll either.

All of that has changed over the past few months. Shortly after we came home with Maddison, he named the doll Willow Africa. He began bringing her everywhere and taking VERY good care of her. He rocked her, held her, put her in the swing and the bouncer chair. He fed her (even attempted nursing her using the Boppy pillow and everything!), he slept with her, kissed her good night, sang to her, read her stories, buckled her into the car... AND Andy and I had to do all of those things (except the nursing part) to Willow also. He would change the story periodically about who her parents were, sometimes he was the dad and I was the mom, sometimes Willow came out of his tummy... but now he has settled in on the fact that Andy and I are Willow's parents and he is sometimes her brother and sometimes her cousin. He LOVES her. Now he has also added Daisy Fall to the family. She was a friend's doll that he chewed on when he was a baby, and we kept and replaced with a new one for his friend, Alexis. Now, according to Fischer, I have three babies (Maddie, Daisy, and Willow). They are all treated by him with the utmost respect. I mean, he kind of freaks out if I toss them to the side or once I had my leg on Willow and he burst into tears that I was "squishing her and she couldn't breathe"! GrandmaBetsy even made little pillows and blankets for them.


Not a great pic, but this is Fischer watching Cinderella with Willow (in blue) and Daisy (in yellow).

Here is Fisch and BFF with Daisy, the day BFF broke the news to Fischer that only "mommies" can breast feed. So he brought the Boppy to BFF and instructed her on how to do it. Luckily, BFF thinks that breastfeeding happens on your love handles (of which she has none) and over your clothes! Phew! Might I add, that BFF insisted upon washing her hands before holding Daisy and Willow for the first time. She and Fischer also had many heated discussions on just how to best make Willow stop crying... she was apparently a very fussy baby in the beginning.

So, I don't know if Fischer has transitioned and adapted so well with Maddison because of his dolls, or just because he is so sweet and tender.... but the unexpected gift of a doll, has been quite the blessing to him. Thanks Aunt Beth!

Now he wants car seats for them for Christmas! Now I must say, that even thought he loves these dolls and cares for them, and he loves the movie Cinderella, and he has a true admiration for pretty dresses and shoes... he does seem to have an opinion on what is for girls and what is for boys. He just doesn't seem to think that these dolls are girlie.

Who doesn't love a good double chin?

Maddie Cakes

I've been MIA... obviously.

Well, I'm back... I think. I can't believe almost two months have gone by since my last post. We've been busy... but not that busy. We are enjoying fall and excited for winter... or at least I'm excited for winter. Let it snow!

I'm going to try and attempt to update my blog every day in November. I was able to do it last November... so I'll try again... in order to get me back in blogging mode.

Of course the kids are growing like crazy, I'll post pictures soon.

Andy is back to the grindstone full throttle with teaching and taking a class. He is getting his Gifted and Talented endorsement.

I am doing really well right now :). The month of October sucked big time for me mentally/emotionally, but I'm finally feeling better. Shortly after Maddie turned 2 months old, I started having major anxiety attacks. I've never experienced anything like that and it was so not a good feeling. I think it had something to do with hormones and postpartum what not. A similar thing happened to me with Fisch when he was 2 months, except that time it was a sudden surge of depression.

I'm wacky, I know, but I'm dealing with it and I finally feel "normal" again.

What do big brothers do?

I asked Fischer, "What is a big brother? What do they do? What is important about them?"

Here are his answers:

• "Big brothers follow directions."
• "They look at their babies and make sure they don't get hurt."
• "They love their baby sisters."
• "They love to play hide and seek with their babies."
• "They love to play with their sister when they get older."
• "And that's it!"
  

Super fun back-to-school Swap

Fischer and I participated in another fun swap last month. This was our third one! We were paired with a super cute little guy named "B" and his mom. Fischer and B have lots in common... like teachers for parents, a love of the Cars movie and Cars toys, trains, dogs and firetrucks. In fact, B's daddy is even a volunteer fireman - which Fischer just thinks is absolutely fabulous.

The boys have been emailing each other (with the help of their moms) and asking each other all kinds of questions. B is 4 and Fischer is 3, but I think they'd be fast friends. B's mom had a cute idea for them to send each other images from the Internet on their email. Fischer thought that was so great to see the little pictures on B's letter.

Then the boys put together some fun back-to-school items and sent each other a package. Fischer LOVED his package and was sooo excited to receive it! B sent him all kinds of great loot: crayons, notebook, chalk, paper, calculator, books, etc. His favorite part was the calculator! He keeps forgetting what it is called and I've now heard him refer to it as a 'calendar' and a "time machine".

Today he drew a picture and dictated a letter for B. B had asked to see some of Fischer's toys, like his Lightning McQueen cars, his fire truck and his Legos... so Fischer posed them on the coffee table for a photo shoot. He added some other favorite items in also. His favorite blue blanket made it into all of the pictures. :)

Thank you to the girls over at the Little People Swap for organizing such a fun thing! AND a big thanks to B and his mommy for being such great swap partners!

Fischism

Maddison was wrapped in a white blanket with an embroidered saying on it...

Mom: "Fischer, this used to be your blanket."

Fischer: "What does it say?"

Mom: "Thank Heaven for Little Boys"

Fischer: (genuinely moved, and with a look of deep appreciation) "Awww, that was so nice of God to give that to me!"

My itty bitty is SIX weeks old!

Now that I have lost all the readers I ever had... I've finally found a moment to post an update. I am so sorry, but this blog is competing with my sleep. The only times I'm not holding Maddison are the few moments that she sleeps... in which I want to play with Fischer, attempt housework, cook or... at night - SLEEP! Without fail, whenever I go near the computer, Maddie needs me -both of my hands!

I've been wanting to write down everything about Maddie's first month so that I wouldn't forget... but like I said... I've been holding her instead - I guess that could be important too. ;)

Here is our little Maddison at 3 weeks old. Although I was able to get her pictures taken nice an early for her birth announcements, most of the announcements are still sitting on the kitchen table (along with a pile of written thank you notes) because I haven't had a chance or two free hands to address them! Anyway the pictures turned out pretty cute.

She is six weeks old today!! She loves to eat... but never all at once - she likes to draw out feedings for an hour to an hour and a half! She also loves warm baths (she gets that from me) and she loves loves loves the blinds on the window in front of her changing table. Fischer loved his blinds too at this age. She also loves to be held, but not in a Snugli and not in a sling...my next trick will be to attempt to make a Moby wrap. Maybe she'll like that better. She cries more than Fischer ever did, but I think that is because of her reflux and tummy pain - poor baby! She's tried Zantac and Prevacid, but neither have seemed to make much of a difference. She sleeps pretty well at night usually. She'll sleep for 4-6 hours at first and then wake up every two after that.

I do love to cuddle her, especially when she scrunches up her little body and lays her head on my chest or shoulder. I love to feel her tiny breath on my neck or cheek. It is especially cute when she lifts her little bobble head and head butts me! Seriously... awww so sweet. I need to really savor this time, because it will go by so fast... I can get a bit caught up in wanting her to get older to stop some of the crying... but I know I'm really going to miss this cuddly time.

Maddie is pretty silly with her facial expressions - she has us all laughing... and she just started smiling with eye contact - so we feel extra special to receive a big open-eyed gummy smile! Although, she usually saves them all for her daddy! Andy loves to hold her on his lap and make faces at her until she smiles.

Fischer is still loving his baby sister. He loves to talk to her, kiss her, hug her, touch her, sing to her and play peek-a-boo with her. Hopefully soon, she'll smile for him. He is pretty helpful when it comes to Maddison's needs. He is usually quick to run to her when she cries in her bed, or he is johnny-on-the-spot when it comes to binkies and burp cloths.

All and all our family of four is still adjusting, but we are so very blessed to have one another.

TWO weeks

We've survived the first two weeks of postpartum and new baby! Hooray! It was a little rough there in the beginning, but we are settling in nicely now.

When we first arrived home on day 4 my hormones went crazy and I was a weepy mess for a few days. I cried if anyone came over, I cried if anyone left, I cried if I answered the phone and the person on the other end said, "How are you?"... yikes, I was a bit of a mess. Andy was amazing (of course he was), he took care of me, of Maddie, of Fischer, of our house, of the meals and visitors coming each day... everything. He made sure that I was able to sneak in extra naps during the day and was ready with a pep talk at a moments notice... often. I am so thankful that God has given me such an incredible husband and I am so grateful that he is off work for the summer (he is a teacher) and can be here to help.



With the weepiness, I kept thinking that I was just going to stay that way or spiral out of control into a deep depression. Andy kept reminding me that I just feel this way right now, and it doesn't mean anything about the future. I tried to focus on that, and I wanted everyone I talked to to tell me that this was normal and that it would pass.



It passed and I am feeling sooo much better now. I'm still healing from the c-section, but I am much more mobile and a lot less sore. So things are going in the right direction... OH - and a few days ago, I got my ankles back! WAHOO! I can fit into all of my shoes again!



Maddie is doing really well and really GROWING! We went for her 2 week appointment and she weighed 9 lbs, 2 oz already and measured at 21 inches. They said that she was healthy and perfect! Isn't that what every mother wants to hear? She's been out a bit... slept through a few family and friend outings - like the Dinosaur museum, playgroup and the farmer's market.

She has been battling reflux and has to take what appears to be the most disgusting tasting medicine ever - poor baby! She also has a very high pitched gasping sound that she makes quite often. The doctor said it was due to her tiny air passages. It makes it a little unnerving to sleep when you hear her make that sound. We've got her in our room so that we can keep tabs on her.



Fischer is still enjoying her, although he could do without her crying. He went back out to the waiting room at the doctor's office when they were about to prick her heel, so that he wouldn't have to hear her cry.

He takes pride in being able to help her in some way. He knows where all of her things are kept and loves to run grab anything she needs. He has been busy with the commentary on what it is that he thinks she needs at any given time. He also says that his head matches mine and Maddie's matches daddy's. (I'm guessing he means our hair). He also said that Maddie's skin is soft and his and ours is hard. He has a special interest in when her "extension cord" (umbilical cord) is going to fall off. He has also been interested in all of the baby stuff and the fact that it used to all be his... like the swing and the bouncy chair and many of the blankets. He is sharing really well, but seems a bit miffed that he can't sit in the swing or chair anymore.



Andy is tired but has been go-go-going with all that needs to be done around here. He says that new dads get an extra burst of testosterone to keep them going and to take care of their family. He is probably secretly anxious to get back to work!



Thank you for all of the well wishes in the comments and on Facebook, thank you to my friends for all of the delicious dinners and presents, thank you to our families for all of the support and cute girlie gifts, thank you to Ann and Danae for the breast feeding support, thank you to my husband for still being Mr. Wonderful after all of these years, thank you to Fischer for being so flexible, thank you to my hormones for relaxing and letting me be "normal" again and thank you to God for our many blessings.

PS- I'll add some pictures to this post when I find my misplaced camera.

M is for Maddie

Andy, Fischer and I welcomed Maddison Daisie into the world at 7:47 am on Thursday, July 16. She weighed in at 8 lbs 9 oz and 20 inches long. She is absolutely beautiful, and we are so thankful for her.

Andy and I arrived at the hospital at 5:30 am and were admitted into a birthing room so that they could monitor the baby (who still didn't have a name). We had a great nurse who seemed to really know her stuff and was a take-charge kind of gal. Apparently though, she had a bit of a bone to pick with our doctor.... so that was a bit unsettling as she kept making comments about him being in a bad mood! NOT what you want to hear about the guy who is about to cut you open!

Anyway, we walked into the OR about 7:30 and the really fabulous anaesthesiologist gave me a spinal block. Then they laid me down, hiked my gown up under my breasts and left me that naked on the table for the rest of the procedure! Is it only on TV when they drape blue things over all of the parts of you that they don't need to see? A little embarrassing... but then what could I do, I was numb from the chest down. They put the oxygen on, the IV in and then I started feeling pretty crummy... and so did Andy. He turned sheet white and had to sit in the hall for a few minutes to regain his composure. Once in, he sat right by my head and started trying to distract me with naming the baby. (We couldn't see what was going on because of the drape in front of us.) He started listing off a few of our more recent favorites, like Willow and Jordan, but still none were resonating with me. Then he started talking about renaming the dog so that we could name her Kaia... which i really was contemplating... but who would want to find out that their namesake was the word's stinkiest dog?

Next thing we knew, she was out and had a full head of dark hair! We thought it must be the goop from the womb. Andy hustled back and forth between the baby and me reporting on what the nurses were doing and trying to show me the pictures he had just taken of her, so that I could see her.

Then they pushed and pulled and practically jumped all over me, till finally I was sewed up and ready to go... can't really remember what happened next. I think they handed her to me and wheeled me back to the birthing room where my parents were anxiously awaiting their new granddaughter. I think it was around this time that Andy started referring to her as Maddie. I kept saying, that's not her name, and he kept insisting that she looked like a Maddison. Just take her hat off and look at her.

Everything went really well and we couldn't be happier with our little bundle of pink. We feel so extremely blessed.

Sometime Friday, the name Maddison had stuck and we paired it with my grandmother's name "Daisie". Of course right after that one of my aunts was just sure that she looked like my Grandmother Daisie (who we all called 'Omi'). But like Daisie herself would have said... "Maddison looks like Maddison."

Fischer absolutely loves her. He is very involved - wanting to hold her and feed her and kiss her and do everything we do to her. He loves to touch her little hands and feet and pet her head. He keeps asking me, "So, how is breast-feeding going?"

Her daddy now just calls her "Gorgeous".

A birth story (not for the faint of heart)

I'm beginning to feel a little anxious about the baby coming. On the one hand, I cannot wait to see her and hold her and to NOT be pregnant anymore.... but on the other hand I'm feeling nervous about the c-section (scheduled for 9 days from today). I know it will all go well, but I can't help feeling a bit of anxiety these days.
The whole labor and delivery HAS to go better than it did with Fischer! I thought I'd recount the events leading to Fischer's birth... I fully realize that Fischer and I may be the only ones interested in this story... and even he won't be till 20 years from now (and even then... probably not).


In fact, do not read on unless you are perfectly OK with TOO MUCH INFORMATION. AND, do not read on if you are pregnant now, especially with your first baby... you don't need these thoughts in your head.

I woke up at 6 am one Sunday morning with "surges" (that's what we called it in the hypnobirthing classes), not contractions. It was still 2 weeks before my due date, so I was sure it was Braxton Hicks or as my mother-in-law called it "practice labor". I went about my day and later went to a home dedication for my mother-in-law who had just moved. All the while feeling surges. As evening came I was busying myself with preparations for school the following day. I was teaching second grade at the time. I spent the evening planning, correcting papers, and thinking about meeting my long-term substitute. She was supposed to be coming in on Monday morning and spending a few days with me and my class so that I could show her the ropes and plan with her for the time that I'd be gone.
Well the surges kept getting more and more painful (although after watching the hypno-birthing videos... you wouldn't think there was ANY pain involved whatsoever - nothing a little sigh or slight grunt couldn't alleviate). So now I'm thinking... um, this could be the real thing. So I start working as quickly as I can to get as much planned and prepped for school the next day. I think I must have packed my bags too. Then I got in the tub to make sure everything was as it should be for the "big show".
Finally, around 1:00 am, I woke Andy and told him it was time to go to the hospital... he had a full on panic attack, so we sat on the couch and held each other until he felt better, and we were off.
At the hospital they checked me and I wasn't even dilated! BUT when they checked me, Fischer's heart rate dropped, so they didn't want me to go back home. They checked us in. So, Andy and I hung out, walked around, and around, and around for hours while I clung to him every few seconds with surges. I tried to go into my hypno exercises, but the pain was really throwing me off! By 9:00 am, they checked me again, and there was NO progression! By this time I couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel, I'd been having contractions for 27 hours already... I lay in the tub in the birthing room and made the decision to give up my natural-birth aspirations and get some help. Andy had gone home to shower. When he returned, they gave me the epidural... hallelujah! What in the world was I doing to myself before? This was heaven. My mom and Danae came, and we all sat around chatting, I watched The Three Amigos (movie options were limited), and then secretly cursed my mom and Andy while they snacked in my room! I snuck a bite. Everytime they checked me I hadn't progressed. So finally they gave me Pitocin to get things moving. Around 4:00 we started the pushing... and pushing... and pushing...(Andy was huddled by my head on one side and my mom was on the other, My dad and mother-in-law were waiting outside the room) ... two and a half hours later, the nurses and midwife could see Fischer's blond hair, but he wasn't budging. So my midwife called in a "forceps specialist". Well he assessed the situation and announced that with one big push from me and one big yank from him, the baby would be out (a considerable amount of repair would be needed for me- but by this point - 36 1/2 hours later - I didn't care one bit).

This is where things got a little fuzzy until months later when my mother filled me in. Next think I knew I was being wheeled off to surgery to have a c-section. Apparently, when the doc went to give his "one big yank" he braced himself by putting his foot up on the bed - which horrified my mother and she whispered to him "this looks like a law-suit waiting to happen"... and there I went in for surgery, just like that - no yanks, no repair work needed.

In the surgery room, they asked Andy if he wanted them to put up a mirror so that he could see, he responded with a definite "Hell No", and the drape went up in front of us both. I don't know how long it all took, one minute Andy was whispering soothing things in my ear and the next, he was showing me out beautiful baby boy.
After that, everything goes pretty fuzzy.

So you see, although the outcome was nothing short of a beautiful healthy bouncing miracle... the labor was WAY TOO LONG.
So this one has got to be better, right?

Happy 8th Anniversary Andy!

12 years ago, we met and fell in love, I was 19 you were 21.
10 years ago we bought our pups, Sophie and Kaia... and you asked me to marry you.
9 years ago you graduated with your BS.
9 years ago I graduated with both of mine.
8 1/2 years ago I started teaching.
8 1/2 years ago I totalled my car on the freeway.
8 years ago you graduated with your MS.
8 years ago we moved out of our college town and closer to family.
8 years ago we were married and celebrated with friends and family.
8 years ago we both started new teaching jobs.
8 years ago you bid farewell to your Saturn and bought your beloved truck.
7 1/2 years ago we bought our first home.
4 years ago we found out we were pregnant.
4 years ago you moved from teaching high school to teaching junior high school.
3 years and 4 months ago we became Mommy and Daddy to our beautiful son.
3 years ago I quit my job to stay home and take care of Fischer while you worked to take care of all of us.
8 1/2 months ago we became pregnant with our sweet little girl.
2 1/2 weeks from now we will get to hold her in our arms... a family of four (actually 6 with Sophie and Kaia).

I look forward to our next eight years of marriage and the eight after that and the eight after that and the eight after that and the...

Happy Anniversary Andy, I love you!

Now I know my ABCs

Out of the millions of alphabet books out there, today I'm loving Tomorrow's Alphabet by George Shannon and Donald Crews. It's a different spin on ABC books and the traditional "A is for apple". I love the thought process involved, and the possibilities for further learning, discussion and activities. The book begins with "A is for seed, tomorrow's apple". Each 2-page spread goes on to show a before and after, or a change... such as "B is for eggs, tomorrow's birds" and "R is for grapes, tomorrow's raisins".
At first, I thought the book was much too confusing for Fischer, if my goal was for him to understand the correspondence between letters and sounds. There are better ABC books for that, but now that he is a bit older and seems to already understand letters and sounds, this book opens up some fun dialogue and thinking for him.
For older kids, I would just love to make a class book and get them thinking along this pattern. I found a fun one here that a 4th/5th grade class made (click on the pictures to see the full 2 page spreads). There were also some interesting ideas for extension activities and discussion on this site.

Fischer really enjoys letters and of course really digs the old favorite Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr., John Archambault, and Lois Ehlert. The simplicity and rhythm of the story seems to snag students of many ages. We also like listening to the songs of it on youtube.

For a unique visual treat, we also really like The Hidden Alphabet by Laura Vaccaro Seeger . Very cool, although probably a bit difficult for the littlest of readers to really identify all of the letters. Once they are familiar with their letters, this is a great one. It is a fun change in perspective and example of optical illusions. There are so many wonderful alphabet books out there... What's your favorite?

Now, for the tiny DVD lovers out there, Leap Frog's Letter Factory is surprisingly enticing.It does a really fun job of introducing the letters and teaching their sounds in a memorable way. It happens to be one of Fischer's faves.

When I was teaching, my students LOVED Gaiam's Yoga kids and especially their ABC video. What a fun way to get a physical understanding of the letters! We'd watch it for inside recess or when we needed a little wiggle time. Although I do have to say that the video never actually fit into the slot of time I allotted and I always turned it off around "V"... now that never really went over to well with my students or the paraprofessionals in the room!

TiVo, DVR, PVR... how did I ever live without you?

Seriously! How in the world did we ever live without the digital video recorder? How would a person ever get to see their favorite shows AND have kids or a job or friends? People seriously didn't tape everything on their VCR, setting timers every day, did they? Did you? That's so much effort.

In high school my bestie (BFF's mom) often had to work on Thursday nights, it would be my duty to focus and watch all the shows so that I could re-inact episodes of Friends and Seinfeld to her on Friday (as we went on long walks past her crush's house in the most non-stalking manner).

In college, I just didn't watch TV. Til I met Andy, then we had a few shows that we were able to see once in awhile.... I think... he must have had cable. Later when Survivor started, we were taking a community ed Spanish class and had to drop out after only a few weeks... because we just couldn't miss Survivor! Our friends dropped the class for the same reason.

In fact, Survivor is the reason that I can't speak Spanish today. That and the fact that Andy keeps talking about buying the Rosetta Stone software and still hasn't. Spanish would sure come in handy with my next door neighbors. The other day, I went over with a fence slat and some screws to ask them to fix a broken slat on their side of the fence (so that my giant dogs wouldn't eat their wiener dogs)... and no one knew what I was trying to say. Thankfully there is a 11 year-old at home that is bilingual.

The year that we dropped out of Spanish, I was teaching elementary special education. My students ranged in grade from Kindergarten to fifth grade. They had intellectual disabilities of all types. One particular student, G, was in second grade and had Down Syndrome. His family only spoke Spanish in the home, however he didn't really speak Spanish or English. He used a combination of sign language, pictures and a little bit of verbal to get his point across, but mostly didn't communicate with anything much at school. Anyway, I started teaching at this school in January and had never met his family. As the year was coming to an end the second grade was having a big performance. They were to sing and do a myriad of other things. Well, G had been attending all of the music classes and was thoroughly enjoying them (although he never sang or did any actions), so I sent home a letter to let his parents know of the date, time and location of the program. Where am I going with this, you ask? I'm getting there. I didn't know if G would be there or not, but one of my assistants and I came to the performance to help him if he attended. Well, much to my surprise and delight, he showed up! He looked so cute in his dressy clothes and his slick combed hair. I ran right over to his family and introduced myself. "Hi, I'm G's teacher, Lisa." They stared blankly. Then, I said "I'm so glad that you were able to come." They stared blankly. I searched from person to person to see if anyone was understanding me. Then very smiley and animated, I say "G looks so handsome!" No response. Then business like, I say, "The program will start in a few minutes, G's part is toward the end". I get nothing from them, not even a flinch. By this time I am thoroughly squirming and wanting to shoot the older sister a mean glare (because she just HAS to know what I am saying and is choosing not to share) and I am getting more red in the face with awkward embarrassment... and desperately wanting them to understand me after I've repeated the above statements multiple times... Finally I reach far back into my brain to brilliantly pull out the little bit of Spanish I can recall from the few weeks before Survior started... and I proudly say "Me gusta el chocolate!"

What?

What in the hell did I just tell them I like chocolate for? Now completely beat red, I slink away with G in hand to await his performance. To make matters worse, while waiting for G's songs, I recounted the entire story to my assistant... repeating the word chocolate a hundred times... And you know what happened? G got up on stage for his songs and as big as day continuously signed the word CHOCOLATE and pointed at me in the front row the WHOLE TIME!

I just had to pray that his mother didn't send him to school with chocolate for me on Monday!


In conclusion, the DVR could have saved me a lot of embarrassment and maybe I would know Spanish now! So now, nothing embarrassing ever happens to me (yeah right) and I can record every show I want to... like whatever the big announcement is on John & Kate plus Eight tonight. I don't even watch that show... but I can record it... you know, to keep up with current events.

All about my dad...

Fischer's thoughts on his Dad:

1. I like when he makes me chocolate milk



2. I like when he makes me water.



3. I like when he plays with me like blocks and Lego's.



4. I like to go to the grocery store with Dad.



5. I like to weed and dig with him.



6. I help him with his hockey laces.



7. Dad's good at putting on my new sandals.



8. Dad's favorite treat is doughnuts.



9. Dad's favorite snack is beer and chips.



10. Dad knows how to make green beans and stuff like that.



11. Dad likes to eat with us.



12. Dad teaches his students at work.



13. Dad likes to make hockey time and work out.



14. Dad saves us from anything.



15. Dad smiles when we are home.



16. Dad smiles when he has doughnut holes and strudel bites.



17. I love my Dad.



18. Happy Father's Day!

Writer's Block

I seem to be having a terrible time coming up with something to write about these days. I start to think of things, and then can only think of a sentence or two OR I plan out an entire thought-provoking (yeah right) post in my head while I lay in bed at night, and then can't think of it in the morning. So I thought I'd brainstorm out all of the little thoughts, in hopes that a deep and powerful post will be around the corner.

• Fischer has his new big boy bedroom furniture and twin bed. SOOO cute! He's been a little anxious to fall asleep in it the past few nights, but it is getting better. He is still worried about monsters... even though we've reassured him that monsters are afraid of dogs, therefor there is no way we could have any monsters in our house.



• The baby's room is coming together beautifully. My mother-in-law painted it pink and green to compliment the bedding. It is so sweet and girlie in there. I am soo NOT girlie, but I'm lovin' this!


• She'll be here in less than 4 weeks! I'm scheduled to have a c-section in less than a month!! I can't wait to see her. Hopefully upon seeing her we may actually come up with a name for her!



• I have something called Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction which is making life a little waddly these days. Basically, my pelvis is moving and separating. It often hurts to move and it is the worst while trying to turn over or change positions in bed... which I feel like doing about every hour. It also makes walking difficult, especially when I overdo it like today (t-ball, farmer's market, Costco, Home Depot). It should slowly go away after the baby is born. I'm worried about having a c-section with this because the drugs could mask the pain and make me hurt it worse and/or being immobile for an extended period of time can exacerbate it also. I've got to talk to my OB next week about it.
  


• I also injured my knee (doing nothing... I just knelt down on the floor) and now have something called Lateral Patella Plica Syndrome which should be remedied with anti-inflammatories. I went to my sports med doc yesterday and he prescribed Celebrex for 9 days, saying that it won't hurt the baby. I couldn't get a hold of my OB to double check that, so I called a doctor friend. He said to definitely NOT take the Celebrex in the third trimester because it could cause premature closure of the fetal ductus arteriosus and renal ADRs in the fetus. Additionally, NSAIDs are linked with premature birth. So I guess, now I need to talk to my OB about that and whether or not a cortisone shot in my knee would be a safer route.


• Andy and Fisch harvested a huge bowl of beautiful juicy strawberries from the garden today. Andy is continually amazed at the difference in flavor between ours and the grocery store's. Yum! We've been chowing them down like crazy.



• Slugs were taking over and completely consuming everything in veggie garden... I went out early in the morning to find at least 30 slugs in my little green bean bed, half of the green bean plants were totally missing! We're not talking about a few holes in the leaves of this plant or that, we are talking about complete - without a trace- consumption of green bean plants, cantaloupe plants, cucumber plants, watermelon, etc. So we had to forgo being completely organic in order to save the crops. I bought Sluggo, which I found in the organic section of the garden store... but still. Of course I put that stuff all over right before we had 2 straight weeks of rain...so who knows. I do think it helped a little, but I may have to reapply.


• I think that I am one of the only people enjoying all of the overcast skies and rain this summer. My big pregnant body is loving the cooler June temps.

Well I hope that dull list sparked something intriguing for later. Happy rest of the weekend to you!

The ants are marching...

all over the sidewalks, in the grass, on the patio, through the vegetable garden, in my living room, in my bathroom... What in the world? Anybody have some fantastic ideas about ridding our home and yard of ants safely (for Fischer and the dogs)?

Muscle Juice

Fischer dumped out his huge jar (Costco-sized pickle jar) of little Lego's onto the family room floor and began to play. I took this opportunity to check my email (not more than 8 feet away). Next thing I knew Fischer sets the "empty" pickle jar on the table next to me... but it wasn't empty. It contained a liquid.

Fischer: "Here Mom, here is some muscle juice for ya."

Me: (Staring... thinking about whether or not he'd had a cup of apple juice... realizing we don't have apple juice...) "Um, what is in the jar?"

Fischer: "Muscle juice"

Me: "You need to tell me what is really in the jar." (and please don't let it be what I think it is)

Fischer: (silence)

Me: "Fischer, what is in this jar?"

Fischer: "Shhh, I'm thinking!"

Me: (bug-eyed) "What is in the jar?"

Fischer: "It starts with a puh puh puh P."

Me: (secretly proud that he knows his letter sounds... freaking out that it is indeed what I was dreading) Calmly, "You peed in the jar?"

Well, this goes into a discussion about whether or not this was a good thing to do or a naughty thing to do, where pee is supposed to go, and what should happen next. He agreed that it was naughty but thought the consequence should be to "just keep playing".
As he was walking to his bedroom for time-out, he wanted me to promise not to wash it out until he came back. ??? After time-out we poured it in the toilet and he washed his hands. Then he says:

Fischer: "Can I have a potty treat now?"
(See, I reinstated the potty treats because he stopped initiating having to go to the bathroom and was waiting till I noticed him dancing around and forced him to go. So, he gets a potty treat if he thinks of it on his own, goes potty and washes up all without me having to tell him to.)

Me: "NO! Are you kidding me?"

Fischer: "Well, I thought of it all by myself!"

Afterthought:
Me: "Did any pee get on the carpet?
Fischer: "No, (beaming with pride) I just stuck my penis in and filled it right up!"

Rockin' in Reno

Fischer and I went to Reno for a few days to visit my brother and sister-in-law. We hadn't seen them for sooo long. It was so fun for Fischer to spend time with his Uncle Matt and Aunt Jana... he loves them! I don't think he really remembered them other than from pictures and from us talking about them... so this was great!

Fischer and I drove out there with my parents. It was quite the long drive... but Fischer was busy with movies, snacks and fun (MamaBarb is a great entertainer). Grandpa was able to stay on course with three... yes THREE GPS devices going at once! When all three would start telling him where to turn... he'd start saying "Girls, girls, don't fight!".

The highlight of the drive for Fischer was probably helping Grandpa get gas, and the lowlight was when he tripped and fell at a rest stop while racing his grandma! He skinned his knees and they HURT! After that, he only wanted his daddy and he wanted to go home!

Once we arrived at Matt and Jana's, it took Fisch a little while to warm up... but then he started having a great time... unless he started thinking about his knees again. :(

We all had a wonderful visit. We love playing at their beautiful new house, Lake Tahoe and the pool. We ate lots of great food and did our fair share of bonding.

Fischer loved spending so much time with MamaBarb and Grandpa. He played hard with Aunt Jana.I think he was in awe of his Uncle Matt.We can't wait to see them again late this summer when they come to visit the new baby. BTW, Aunt Jana gave the baby the most adorable and hilarious teeny tiny pink bikini! I can't wait to take her picture in it!