Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Life Lessons

Why it is important to brush your hair for work (or going out in public for any reason):

I'm not much for primping or dressing up. I have a thing about brushing my hair... I don't find that it's a necessity. I used to go to high school without brushing it. I definitely went to most of my college classes without brushing it. If you have seen me going to/coming from/at work, you can obviously tell that I didnt' spend much time looking in the mirror in the morning. Yesterday I wore new shoes to work. I got a blister after walking from my car to my desk. Not a good sign. Last night, my blister was really hurting so I got a band aid out of the cabinet, took the wrapper off, laid it face up, and put neosporin on it. I bent down to put some peroxide on my toe but when I reached for the band aid, it was gone. I looked ALL over the bathroom and couldn't find it! I was tired so I just got another band aid. Well, when I got to work this morning, I was brushing my hair at my desk and found the band aid. In my hair. AFTER I had talked to a few people! ha. At least it was a new band aid. ??? I know, I have problems!

Also, while on the topic, I will share my beautiful, fully accessorized, always sparkly (but not always matchy), very opinionated 6-year-old niece's review of my attire. She told my sister that she really didn't like the way Aunt Laurin dresses because she always wears just t-shirts and they are always blue or gray (thank you free PRC football tshirts) and never pink or purple and they NEVER sparkle. LOL. That's way too accurate! I forgot to mention that she is also very observant. My sister's friend's daughter once looked in my closet and asked me why I only have boy clothes!!!??? Wow. Before Stella gets big enough to notice, I guess I need to step up my sparkle collection! I don't think I can take this kind of abuse on a daily basis :)

Monday, March 14, 2011

Global Wildlife


Tackling on the wagon...

Smiling after tackling each other...


Both of them got IN the feed bucket.... ha. I don't know what the other parents thought of us but at least our kids were enjoying themselves.


Mid Tackle


Stella enjoyed hanging with Aunt Debbie


Tackle/hug?



You can see some of the animals in the background...


During Mardi Gras we took the kids to Global Wildlife in Folsum, LA. It was really cool. We got to feed giraffes, camels, bison, Texas Long Horns, all kinds of deer, llamas, and zebras. I think the boys may have had more fun tackling each other in the grass after it was over... I am so glad that Lennox and Jenson are so close in age. They play so well together and they love to knock each other down!!

So Sweet

I had to go to a wedding on Saturday and, as I was getting ready to leave, Lennox was just staring at me. I asked what mommy looked like because, last time I dressed up, he said I looked like I had on a girl costume. I figured he would come up with something amusing. He sweetly said, "Mommy, you look like a princess!" Wow. I don't know if I have ever been given such a sweet and sincere compliment. I didn't even know he knew what a princess was... actually, if he thought I looked like a princess, maybe he doesn't know what a princess is afterall! lol. After I kissed his little face off, he followed with "And I'm a ROBOT!"

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

My Boy

I don't know if anyone would agree but, to me, a little toddler sitting on a big potty is just so cute! Lately Lennox has been sitting on the potty for an extended period of time... got a few issues there. I asked him if he was finished and he said "No... more poopoo is coming." A few minutes later, I asked if he was finished and he said "no. it won't go blewp, blewp!" (blewp is the sound of something hitting the water) Poor guy. What is the age limit for discussing someone else's bathroom habits on you blog?!


We have really been working on our letters and the sounds each letter makes. Lennox cannot seem to get the F sound. I say, "can you say FFFffff?" he says, "yeah, PPpppp!" Then I say, "Can you say FFFFISH?" He says, "Yep. PPPPPpIIIISSSHHH!" followed by a look that clearly says "duh mom. '


I was laying by Lennox Sunday night and he said "Mommy! My poot is bitching!!!!" I said, "WHAT?!" He said, "Yeah, there's a squito bit me and my poot is bitching!" lol.

Lennox's new favorite food? salad. Hold the veggies. He would just like those smelling things (feta cheese) and those crunching crunches (croutons)!

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Moodie Madness

Since Christmas time, Lennox has been a little obsessed with watching movies. He wants to watch a "moodie" all day long. Last week, when it was absolutely beautiful, he threw a fit because he didn't want to go outside. He wanted to watch his "pavorite moodie. SToy Tory Tree!!!" So, I put my foot down. Enough with the movies. No movies unless it is dark outside. Now, as soon as the sun goes down, he says "Yes! It's dark. Now I can watch my moodie!!" Umm... wow.

Jay is the one that created this moodie monster so, of course, he ran right out and bought Bambi on Tuesday. I think Jay's motivation has more to do with Bambi being blu ray than watching the actual movie. Lennox settle in on the couch while Jay unwrapped the new DVD. Lennox said "OK Daddy! What's for the entertainment?" Ha. I didn't even know he knew the word. Anyway, Bambi really is a sweet little movie... until you-know-what happens. I wanted to cry when Bambi's mom says, Keep running Bambi. Don't look back. Then Bambi is going "Mother? moothhherr... MOTHER? mother!" and my sweet boy is saying "where da mudder go? where his mudder go???" Wow. It killed me. What is wrong with Disney? Why can't there be just one cartoon that doesn't have some tragic moment or some sadistic queen or some toy calling another toy stupid and telling it to shut up. Really. I would love to do away with the tv watching for the most part... except at the doctor's office :) Too bad my husband isn't on the same page.
Stella's 4 month check up:
Weight - 14 lbs 2 oz (75th percentile)
Height - 24.5 inches (75th percentile)
Head - ? (75th percentile)

I was surprised that my little Stella was in the 75th percentile. She seems so tiny to me... I guess it's just a change from my previous experience. I am loving that she can wear her clothes for more than 2 weeks though. She is still in some 3 month clothes, some 6 month, and she is also wearing a few tiny 9 month outfits. It's awesome. Lennox only wore 3 month for about a month (maybe).

Stella is still not turning over from her back to her belly, not consistently anyway. Part of the problem is that she never really has a chance to lay on the floor. I am always holding her... partly for her safety but also because I like it. This past weekend I did try to put her on the floor to play a good bit (she pretty much just spins around her own head). The problem is that Lennox likes to run and leap over her head. If you are familiar with 2 year olds, you know they don't leap very far! If I tell him not to jump over her, he jumps around her. If I tell him not to jump around her, he runs around her... on and on. So I pick her up. She may never roll over. :(

Last week, both Lennox and Stella had mild fevers, snotty noses, crunchy coughs... the standard. I wasn't too worried about Lennox because he can usually tell me if something is wrong that needs medical attention (ex. an ear ache). However, I was worried about Stella because she had been pulling on her right ear, crying a lot, and not eating normally. If you recall (which I am sure you don't), Lennox was pulling on his ear at 4 months and I thought, how cute... he found his ear! Yeah, he had a double ear infection. So, I didn't want to be a stupid mom again. Plus, if you are a parent, you know how stressful having a sick baby is because you just don't know what is wrong with them!! Stella had a well baby visit scheduled for Monday but this was Friday. My only hesitation in taking her to the doctor was that the last time I took her, just to see, nothing was wrong with her and it cost me $250. Yes, that’s correct. $250 big ones. So, I called to see if I could change her well baby appointment (that insurance covers) to Friday and that way, if she had an ear infection, I would know. For whatever reason, I guess because I actually PAY for insurance, they couldn’t schedule me a well baby for Friday but they would be glad to schedule a sick baby appointment and have me come in again on Monday for her well baby… even if she was a well baby at a sick baby appt. WHATEVER. I decided to take her in as a possibly sick baby but maybe a well baby to her sick baby appointment.

Anyway, before we went to the doctor, I noticed lint and one of my hairs (that is falling out like crazy) under Stella's toes. I pulled the hair and then noticed that it had wrapped around her toe… REALLY tightly. I tried to get said hair with tweezers but I couldn't grab anything... plus her little toe is so fat and gushy that I couldn't see in the crack. I started to panic because I just knew MY hair was wrapped around her toe so tight that her toe was going to fall off before I could get to the doctor's office. I threw the kids in the car and made a frantic call to my poor mom at work. She could hardly understand me because I was crying so hard about her toe falling off (***both kids had been sick and not sleeping for a few days so I was really sleep deprived***). Anyway, I rushed to the doctor's office (30 min away) and, to my great relief, I realized that her toe had not fallen off in her carseat... it was still attached and not even purple. Once we got back to see the doctor, she told me that her ears were clear and her lungs sounded fine so yes, I had spent $250 for nothing. Then she started checking out her toe, which I explained would likely fall off in just a few minutes because I’m a horrible mother and my hair was wrapped around it. She thought it looked like an amniotic band (which meant nothing to me without google) but I insisted that it was not there until I pulled out the lint/hair causing it to wrap around her toe. The doctor decided to use a needle to see if she could lift anything out of the crack… Meanwhile, Lennox is rolling around the room on the doctor’s stool, climbing on the table, sassing me when I tell him to sit still, trying to get his head between the doctor’s face and the needle in Stella’s foot. The nurse is holding Stella down while she screams and blood drips on the table. All of this went down for a good 10 minutes. Finally, the nurse decided to take Lennox out of the room so I could talk to the doctor. I don’t know what it is about someone taking charge of your child while you are standing there but it is totally defeating. I know the nurse thought she was helping but she only made me feel like a total failure as a parent… that on top of not knowing what was wrong with Stella AND knowing that her toe was going to fall off even though the doctor said it wouldn’t AND spending $250 for nothing… I just burst into tears. I told the doctor I was just tired and hadn’t slept and was embarrassed by the way Lennox was acting. Her response? “Oh… don’t worry. Don’t be embarrassed. We love Lenny. We know he is BAD! That’s what makes him so lovable! What do your parents say about him? (about how bad he is)” Ummm…. What?! So, my mind is spinning. Did she just tell me my kid is bad?! Yes. She did. Then I launched into my spill about how he’s bad at the doctor’s office but he’s really not bad. He’s not bad at school. He’s really good… all while I’m crying because he is bad!! Ha. It was a totally ridiculous scene. It was a ridiculous day. Anyway, I promptly called his teacher to see if he is actually bad and I don’t know it… But she assured me that all 2 year old are bad sometimes but she would not classify him as bad. So… there you have it. My super FUN Friday!

If you are wondering, I did go back to the well baby visit and we did dig around in her toe again. Her toe is still attached, it is not purple, and apparently, there is no hair wrapped around it. At the well baby visit, I took Lennox’s dvd player and he watched “Stoy Tory Tree” and acted like a perfect angel! VINDICATION! ;)

So, with all of that said, I hope that I do not portray my child as bad on my blog. I write things that I think are funny and are true to his little free spirited self. But… I forget that I write/read them through my perspective. I see all of the wonderfully loveable and cute, sweet things about him and not just his terrible two year old antics! So, just to be clear, I do not think Lennox is a bad kid. For the most part, he is really a joy to have around. I won’t go on and on about all the things I love about him because there are too many to list. He is just a little bit high maintenance and he is very strong willed… but I actually love that too!

Saturday, February 19, 2011