La Chancla

So I've never used this particular child-rearing technique myself, but I am familiar with it and have considered it upon occasion.  Like when the kids are being especially ornery (i.e. bratty)

Fortunately, I'm pleased to report that I have managed to keep my cool the last couple of times my kid(s) have acted up.  Naturally, it always seems to happen at the end of the day when I have zero cool left in my system so this is a momentous development for me.  I'm either finally maturing as a parent or I've been secretly lobotomized.  Either way, it works for me!

Last night, Giggles threw a tantrum in the middle of dinner.  Crying, kicking, screaming, etc.  For people who are used to watching kids melt down, it probably didn't even register that high on the tantrum Richter scale.  Heck, she didn't even throw herself on the floor, and her screaming barely even carried past the bedroom (which is where we ended up).  Nevertheless, it was loud and startling.  But rather than reach for my chancla (or my Croc) or my preferred method (yelling), instead, I gently picked her up, soothed her, and carried her to the bedroom, where I had to wince against her little screams in my ear and bob and weave around her little kicking feet to get her into her jammies.  Then, I held her close and hummed her a lullaby until she calmed down.  Then, I laid her down and told her a story about a beautiful little princess named "Giggles."  My storytelling being what it is, she promptly fell into a fit of giggles, and we had a really nice time finishing the story together.  Then, we hugged and kissed and said "I love you" to each other one or ten times. Then, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.  As most parents can attest, nothing is sweeter than watching one's child sleep.  I could have watched all night and still have begged for more.  Ahhh...

The North Pole

Last year, just before the holidays, I opened a Lowe's catalog/magazine that had come in the mail, and Giggles immediately fell in love with a darling picture of a snow-covered house with a cute porch decorated with twinkling Christmas lights.  She insisted that the picture in our Lowe's catalog was of the North Pole (which she'd just learned from watching Dinosaur Train), and that Santa Claus lived there (this was not from Dinosaur Train).  She took to carrying that magazine around with her everywhere she went and consulting it often throughout the day.  I'd find her sitting at her little Mickey Mouse table just looking into her Lowe's Christmas picture or playing with her stuffed animals with the picture propped by her side.  Even now, the memory of that is still bittersweet enough to make my heart catch just a little.

Naturally, Giggles asked me to take her to the North Pole.  She asked every single day, and twice on Tuesdays.  Each time, I was able to put her off by saying that we had to wait for Daddy and/or Pumpkin to get home because we couldn't go without them.  And she was satisfied with that.  Eventually, her picture of the North Pole got lost.  Perhaps thrown in the trash or simply disintegrated from overuse.  She continued to ask me when we were going, but once the holidays came and the traveling and the gifting began, she seemed to forget about it.  But I didn't.  And I wanted to make my little girl's dream come true.

So when the opportunity to re-visit Denver during Winter presented itself a couple months later, I jumped on it.  I didn't even care very much that Pumpkin was going to miss more school or that the school district had already sent me a vaguely threatening letter about his absences.  My little girl was finally gonna get to see her North Pole!  (or as close to it as I care to get in the Winter anyway, haha).

Our trip was great.  Lots of fun.  Unfortunately, Pumpkin woke up sick with croup and chest pain on our first morning in the mountains, and we were forced to cancel some of our planned outdoor activities.  But, he was feeling well enough by midday that we were still able to play in the snow at the park for a bit before heading back to Denver.  And, even though it was frigid cold (for us) that weekend, both kids were absolutely delighted with the snow.  Watching them play with such joy and abandon was truly a wonder to behold.  Back in Denver, we visited the Mint and the Federal Reserve.  At the Fed, Pumpkin got a bag of shredded money valued at over $100!  He was so excited that he picked up an extra bag to give to his teacher (since they were studying money).  All in all, it was a good trip.  I was even able to attend a baby shower for a good friend of mine while in town.  Sadly, I have no pictures to commemorate that occasion.  But here are some others to enjoy....oh, and please pardon the sleep-inducing music on the slideshow.  There weren't very many options.

Doggie doo

Last night, the kids and I went to pick up dinner. In my zeal to get back home before either of them fell asleep in the car, I completely forgot to pick up the dog from the vet's. I was literally pulling into the driveway when I realized my oversight. It was 5 pm.

So off we went again. By the time we made it home again, our food had gotten cold, and Pumpkin had fallen asleep. But Giggles and Kiko were happy to be together.

Summer of 11

Giggles at our Summer Family Vacation enjoying a S'more without marshmallows...or chocolate

 Gosh, it's really been a while, hasn't it?  Well, what can I say about our summer except that it was fun as usual, and very very HOT.  Nothing out of the ordinary there.  Something out of the ordinary that did occur was that my nephew Ron went to Australia on a school-sanctioned visit.  The whole family went to the airport to see him off, which I'm sure he just LOVED, haha.

In other news, Giggles discovered her passion for nail polish. The brighter, the better was her motto. Many thanks to our friends and family, who allowed her to paint their finger & toe nails over and over again.  Incidentally, Giggles' other motto was "You'll get the color I say you get, and you'll like it!"

No summer is complete without a fun family reunion! We had ours at the Hill Country Resort in San Antonio. Here are some of my favorite pictures.

Me and my boy

Sister #1 with her kiddos

Lovely nieces

Sister #2 and son

Best buds!

The big boys waiting for their turn at the s'mores campfire

Brother & his girls

The boys showing off their swimming skills.

Even the grandparents got in on the action! QT guiding Giggles in her cute wave runner floaty.

Kids played reindeer games...er, I mean Shamu games!

Took in some golf

Summer Days Driftin' Away

I guess I should start this off by announcing that Pumpkin is now officially a 1st grader.

Can I get a Wooot?!!!!  

His class put on a sweet performance for the parents and received some certificates and gifts from their teacher.  The following day was the last day of school.  Here's Pumpkin standing in front of the school as a Kindergartener for the last time.

 

QT & I were both very pleased with how well he was reading by the end of school.  Sure, we've always read to him and encouraged him to sound words out and read on his own, but a good portion of credit for his newfangled (and highly impressive) reading abilities goes to his teacher, Mrs. B.  Oh, I suppose some credit should also be given to the boy wonder himself, haha.  Let's not forget him!

So my little savant starts the GT program in earnest in the Fall.  What with the looming budget cuts at school districts across Texas, I'm more than a little curious at how things are going to turn out.  I'll keep you posted.

All bragging about Pumpkin aside, I should probably also mention that somewhere along the way we acquired a new dog.  He was given to us by a dear friend of mine.  His name is Kiko, and he's a sweetheart.  His birthday falls on the same week as Giggles' birthday; however, he's actually a year older than her.  He seems to have gotten into the groove of things around here very well, and the kids LOVE to play with him.  He and the cat also seek each other out often....mostly to chase each other and make a lot of noise.  Thankfully, neither one seems eager to actually hurt the other, haha.

In the final bit of news,  we've already been to Ldo and back this summer.  We're scheduled to return for another week or two before school starts.  When I return...I mean, IF I return to blog again, I'll post some pictures of us cracking cascarones on each other on Easter and also of our train ride in Austin.  For now, it's bedtime.  I've got only a few hours left before the little ones show up at my bedside demanding yogurt and cereal.

Happy Birthday, QT!

 He looks awfully excited about his cake, doesn't he?

Museum District

 

Afternoon on the town with my favorite little guy today.  We rode the rails, ate spaghetti, and looked at geodes.  Pumpkin even made a new friend at the park and invited him over to our house (as usual).

Oh, Brother!

The kids and I had a really long day today, but it was all good.

First off, Giggles and I had some friends over for a morning playdate.  The girls had a great time jumping on the trampoline, blowing bubbles, playing with sand, and chasing the dog around.  After our playdate ended, Giggles was too wound up to nap so we walked over to our neighbor's house for a late lunch in honor of an Indian holy day (I'm guessing Ramanavami).  I sampled a few Indian dishes then high-tailed it to school to pick up RT (my neighbor's daughter), Pumpkin, and AM (Pumpkin's best friend from school).

After about an hour of playing at our house, the kids wanted to walk over to the bridge to watch the critters swim by (the boys were loudly calling the alligators to come out, which didn't work, haha).  It was getting close to dinner time by then, and I guess Giggles had reached her limit because on our way back home, she started fussing then suddenly plopped down on the sidewalk and refused to go any further.  She wouldn't get up and wouldn't let me pick her up either.  She'd stopped crying and just sat there on the floor holding her sippy cup.  AM's mom had shown up to pick him up so I hurried over to see them off while keeping an eye on Giggles to make sure she didn't run off (she didn't).  Meanwhile, Pumpkin was still riding his bike around so I asked him to run back and make sure Giggles wasn't sitting on an anthill.  I watched him walk over to her while AM and his mom drove off.  I was just about to head over myself to pick Giggles up when I saw him reach down and help his sister up.  Then, hand in hand, they started walking home together; she quietly following him.  It was such a sweet sight.  I quickly snapped a picture with my phone then just stood and waited for them.  When they reached me, Pumpkin said that (Giggles) was ok, but she just needed help getting up.  {sniff sniff!}

Naturally, right after they got home, they both got their second winds, and we were off again to hang out with the neighbors and enjoy the beautiful Spring evening.

Happiness

Happiness is a plate of warm doughnuts on a lovely day in the Spring.

Nite-nite

I haven't been saying much about Giggles lately, but I need to because she's an AMAZING little spitfire!  She's 28 months old and has been speaking in full sentences for a couple of months.  She can count to 15, knows some colors (her favorite is yellow), and can recognize random letters of the alphabet (her favorite is K).  I took her to a trial gymnastics class, and the kid is a natural!  She tumbles, flips, climbs, and even glides effortlessly on the balance beam.  I tell you, she's completely fearless!  She loves dancing too and still enjoys her weekly classes at Gymboree Play and Music. 

She's no longer sleeping in a crib.  I took it down a few months ago after she fell out of it.  She started sleeping in our room after that, in a playpen, but we had to get rid of that too after I found out that she could climb in and out of that thing like it was playground equipment.  I moved her to an air mattress on the floor in our room, and she and Pumpkin slept on that for about 4 days, maybe 2.  They kept ending up in our bed so eventually QT was the one sleeping on the floor while the kids slept with me on the bed, haha.

After a couple weeks of that, I decided it was time for her and her brother to move back into their own rooms.  I started by completely childproofing Giggles' room (including strapping down all the heavy furniture) and buying her a "big girl" bed.  I added a cute chalkboard table, stools, and toy storage bins and threw in some stickers to update her old TV stand, and voila, cute, funky, new room! 

Her new bed sits on the floor in a bed-sized niche in her bedroom so it's impossible to fall off in any direction.  For a headboard, I used part of a little cottage play house that fits perfectly in the niche.  I finished the bed/sleeping niche off with a (homemade) fabric canopy, whimsical animal print comforter, and matching animal pillows from IKEA.  It's all very adorable, and both kids love it!  They play in it every chance they get.  Pumpkin even asked if I could do the same with his bed.

....So off I went in search of ideas.

Pumpkin's old bed

Pumpkin's new bunk beds

My first plan was to somehow transform his bed into a sleeping compartment like those found on trains.  But the ceilings in the kids' rooms are pretty tall, and I didn't want to have to alter his nice bed or install PVC tubing or anything goofy like that.  I was lucky enough one day to come across an ad for a loft bed that matched the blueberry color of Pumpkin's bed nearly perfectly.  Pumpkin had been asking for a bunk bed, and I knew he'd be thrilled even if the end result didn't resemble a train sleeper.


His room was a little harder to do because I ended up moving everything around to get it all to fit right and also took advantage of having my neighbor's electric drill to hang up other prints, lights, and shelves in Pumpkin's room. It turned out great!

Pumpkin absolutely loves his new bed and his finished room!  He and Giggles use the top bunk as a reading nook...when they're not on the floor playing with his wooden trains.

And I finally get to sleep comfortably in my own room in my own bed.  Ahhh....

Go Fish

On our way home from school yesterday, Pumpkin was telling me about the snacks they had after recess that day.

Him: "The snacks were colored like Goldfish, but they weren't Goldfish.  They looked more like ducks or chickens."

Me: "You had Chickadees! They're like Goldfish. Did you like them?" (hoping he'd say yes and I could start buying those instead of Goldfish)

Him: "They didn't really taste like Goldfish, but I ate them anyway.  At first, I put one in my mouth, and I was like (makes a face).  Then I put my tongue on it, and it tasted a little better.  Then, I put some saliva on it, and it was better.  Then, I crunched it around with my teeth, and it was pretty good after that."

I tried to remain quiet, but I was cracking up!  Thank goodness he couldn't see me laughing from the backseat or he would've wondered what was wrong with me, haha.

Christmas Holidays 2010

As usual, we all had a great time visiting the old homestead.  As usual, too, we had a very busy December.  Now, as you know, I'm no slouch when it comes to using many words where only a few might do, but since a picture is worth a thousand words, I will abbreviate my post by using pictures.

Here, then, is our holiday in living color starting with QT's company's family Christmas luncheon, where the kids and I enjoyed getting our faces painted.

That evening, we traveled to North Houston to QT's brother's house to celebrate an early Christmas with Grandmas T & R.

A few days later, we celebrated Christmas (again) at home with the kids.  We told Pumpkin that Santa Claus delivered their gifts early because he knew we were going to be traveling.  They were both excited, and they got some good loot too!

 

 After we were done opening gifts and getting dressed, we went outside to enjoy the day.  Pumpkin and Giggles were excited to try out their new helicopter cars, I was excited to try out my new camera, and QT was excited to watch the trains go by.

Our arrival in Ldo was mostly uneventful.  We arrived just after midnight on Christmas day, opened a few gifts, visited with the family for a bit, unloaded the car, then went to bed.  That weekend, we enjoyed the 1st of Pumpkin's various birthday celebrations with QT's dad and family.

The rest of our trip was mostly spent shuttling back and forth between "home base" (i.e. Mom's house) and my brother's house.  When we weren't at one of those 2 locations, we were at the park or at the museum or dining out.  In this collage, you'll also see pictures of Pumpkin's 2nd birthday celebration at my parents' restaurant.  Unfortunately, he had a very painful ear infection on the day of his dinner party so he was a bit down in the dumps.  Like a trooper, though, he refused to postpone his shindig.  :)

When the Going Gets Tough...

...the tough go home.  This Christmas, with so many amazing deals available online, I decided that I would try to do the majority of my shopping from my computer.  As many of you know, it's not always easy to go shopping with 2 little ones in tow.  In fact, I'd rank that particular unpleasantness right along with having a tooth pulled, haha.  Worse actually...because I can cope with dental procedures as long as necessary, but my ability to cope with meltdowns and whining in the middle of a crowded store definitely has a half life.  Besides, I never know what to get QT's parents or mine, and wandering aimlessly around the mall during Christmas shopping season (or anytime really) in the hope that inspiration will strike is more than I care to bear.

Enter Shutterfly.  QT and I haven't lived in the same town as our families since before we were married.  It didn't really matter when it was just the two of us, but once Pumpkin came along, it became important to me to foster our link with the folks back home.  Shutterfly fit that bill for me perfectly.  Not only is it a great place to store my pictures, share them with our loved ones, and order prints, it's also very handy when it comes to finding the perfect gift for the person who has everything.  With just a few free minutes, I can easily go online and choose a funny Halloween picture to make into a nifty mouse pad for QT or choose 12 pictures from my collection to make into a snazzy calendar for Grandma Tone or order a cute coffee mug for Beautiful Grandma (she loves those) or create an awesome snapbook of Pumpkin's 1st trip to the beach for Grandma Q.  So many options!  Such fantastic deals!  So many Grandmas!

So little time!!

There are just a few days left to have your custom photo gift shipped standard in time for Christmas (a bit more time if you choose 2-day or next day shipping).  If you've been sitting on the fence about what to get your loved ones, you'd best hurry along.  Free shipping ends tomorrow.

Santa Sighting

Last Thursday, Pumpkin threw up at school.  He's doing much better but still gets a stomachache whenever he eats so I didn't send him to school today either.  Instead, I took the kids to Bass Pro Shops in Pearland to check out the Winter Wonderland there.  The store was just opening so there was hardly anyone else there besides us and the employees when we arrived.  The kids enjoyed the aquarium and riding the elevator over the waterfall and all the cool stuff there is to see.  Eventually, we made our way to the Winter Wonderland area, and the kids sat down at one of the coloring tables.

Imagine my surprise when Santa Claus walked in right by our table!  Pumpkin was agog.  It was like a rock star sighting for the Kindergarten crowd, haha.  Giggles maintained her poker face--she didn't know who the bearded dude was, after all.  Santa stopped to chat with us, and he invited the kids to go see him at his house to let him know what they want for Christmas.  I wasn't aware Santa would be there...heck, we weren't even supposed to be there...so I didn't have my camera.  I also hadn't dressed the kids for pictures.  Fortunately, Bass Pro Shops takes and prints the pictures for free, and who cares what my kids were wearing.  It was Santa, for crying out loud!  We even got coupons for free kids' meals at their in-store restaurant, which was cool.

Pumpkin was so excited to finally see and talk to Santa that he decided he'd also write him a letter.  There weren't any other kids around (we were the last to visit Santa that morning) so he ran back up to Santa to hand him his letter in person.  Then, he colored a picture for Santa and wanted to give him that as well, but he settled for putting the picture with his letter and putting both in Santa's mailbox.  Then, for good measure, we went back to say goodbye to Santa when we were finally ready to leave.  Santa was a good sport throughout and kept chatting with the kids and waving at them and laughing "HO HO HO!"  I'm kind of glad we hadn't seen Santa anywhere else before today because it was a lovely experience for all 3 of us.  No crowds, no rushing, no stress.  Thanks, Bass Pro Shops.

Pumpkin's Letter

I took pictures of the kids' letters before they "mailed" them.  Pumpkin wrote his own letter, and then he and I helped Giggles write her letter (I did the writing, and he suggested a few things, but Giggles came up with the last 4 items on her list on her own).  Cereal!  HA HA HA!

Giggles' Letter

What Part of Forever Don't You Understand?

Back in the summer, when the kids and I were squatting at my parents' house in L-do while our house in Denver sat vacant, and QT was living out of hotel rooms all over the country, and our stuff was sitting in a warehouse near Dallas, the 3rd Twilight movie Eclipse opened in theaters.  That week, I happened to catch a couple episodes of "Twilight's Got Talent" on George Lopez, which featured stars from the movie performing tricks and stuff.  It was pretty funny!

One of those episodes also featured a song from the movie written and performed by an artist named Cee Lo Green.  I'd never heard of Cee Lo Green before I saw him on the show, but I was mesmerized.  Here was this big ole' tattooed guy with an awesome voice wearing a chain mail helm on his head and accompanied by a sexy all-woman band, who appear to actually be playing their instruments!  And...the song was awesome and lovely....and has been haunting me since I heard it that night.

In fact, I loved the song so much that I went out the very next day to see the movie (the first Twilight movie I've actually seen at a theater.)  Turns out Cee Lo Green was/is in Gnarls Barkley so I had at least heard him if not heard of him.  And the backup band is called Scarlet Fever, and they are real musicians.

Months later, I still haven't gotten that image or that song out of my head.  I don't own any of the Twilight movies or soundtracks (and only one of the books, which I bought at a discount store), but because of that song, I am definitely going to buy this movie when it comes out on DVD...and maybe even the CD soundtrack to boot.  I just love watching this video.  :)

Christmas Cookie Recipe

I won't be in Denver to attend (my) moms group's annual cookie exchange this year.  In lieu of sending over some of my "famous" Mexican wedding cookies, I'm sending over another recipe that is sure to delight.  Enjoy the party, ladies!!

p.s. Perhaps this will help to explain why I always found it so difficult to finish my cookie baking every year. ;)
Love and miss you all!

Tequila Christmas Cookies

1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup (two sticks) butter
1 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 cups dried fruit (dried cranberries or raisins)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
2 cups all purpose flour
1 bottle chilled Tequila

First, sample the tequila to check quality.  Take a large bowl.  Pour another 4 ounces tequila in a measuring cup and drink to ensure it is of the highest quality.  Turn on the electric mixer.  Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl.  Add one teaspoon sugar.  Beat again.  At this point, it is best to make sure the tequila is still OK.  Pour another 4 ounces and drink.

Try another 4 ounces tequila, just in case.  Turn off the mixerer thingy.  Break two leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit, picking the frigging fruit off the floor.  Mix on the turner.  If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers, shust pry it loosey with a drewscriver.

Sample the tequila again to check for tonsisticity.  Next, sift 2 cups of salt or something.  Check the tequila.  Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.  Add one table.  Add a spoon of sugar or somefink.  Whatever you can find.  Greash the oven.  Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over.  Don't forget to beat off the turner.

Finally, throw the bowl through the window, finish the teqwiuilia and make sure to put the dirty stove in the dishwasher.

Cherry Mistmas!  And remember, limes are for wimps!

 

Turkey Pizza

Haha, I was just reading my last post.  What a wacky dream!  Guess that's what happens when you're feverish.  Well, thankfully, the shot I got at the doc's office worked, and I was well enough to partake in my own birthday pizza party festivities with the family (and regular doses of Ibuprofen to keep my throat from giving out, of course ;).  We all had a blast trying out the Playstation MOVE game that I won online, and everyone danced and sang and ate cake 'til we dropped.



This is the song that Pumpkin and his cousin D danced together.  They looked soooo cute!  I could kick myself for forgetting my camera.  I used my sister's camera to take a few pictures, but I was unable to upload them before we left.  Hopefully, I'll get copies soon.  The game we played (Singstar Dance) came with microphones and MOVE controllers so that 4 of us could play together at the same time (2 teams, each consisting of 1 dancer & 1 singer).  Even the littlest ones were able to play along.  Giggles danced a mean Supremes, haha.  We all had so much fun with it that I contemplated buying a Playstation of my own to play this game at home, but in the end, I decided against it and left all my MOVE loot at my sister's.  The PS is too expensive for one thing, and my kids are really just too young to benefit from having another video game console at home.  And really, I'm just not that into video games.  But Giggles had so much fun playing that, as a compromise, I decided to look for Wii game titles that the whole family can enjoy rather than just buying games for Pumpkin to use on his own.  More on that later.

Thanksgiving Day with the family was nice.  Not much to tell.  Turkey, bread, potatoes, stuffing, etc.  All in all, it was a very nice visit with the family.  Not too short, not too long.  QT had to jet off to California or somewhere right after we arrived, but he made it back in time for Thanksgiving Day.  Thankfully.  :)

Bizzaro Dream

Woke up this morning with the strangest feeling that I wasn't where I should be.  See, I woke up in the middle of a weird dream.

 In my dream, we were in the cafeteria at Pumpkin's school, and I'd received a packet from the school administration.  In the packet was a letter telling me that Pumpkin had passed some sort of test "with flying colors" (which is a highly technical term often used in official school documents, and my 1st inkling something wasn't quite right, haha).  Anyway, the letter went on to explain that Pumpkin had been found to have genius tendencies and was being put into a special program.  At first, I was very proud of Pumpkin, but upon further inspection of the packet, I realized that what I had been given were detailed class and activity schedules including all his electives already pre-selected for him for the rest of his school career.  "In preparation for what?," I wondered in my dream.  Right when I was trying to decide whether I should be aghast or not, I woke up.

And I still haven't figured out if this was going to be bad for us or not.

Note to self, remember to keep Pumpkin out of the hands of any super secret government institutions that might whisk him away at first sign of his genius.  Oh...and let him build a robot dog if he wants.

Night Sweats and Nightmares

Strep Throat.  As you can guess, my "good" feeling was short-lived.  As before, I woke up that morning covered in sweat and feeling mighty cruddy so I once again sent Pumpkin to school with the neighbors while Giggles and I paid my doctor a visit.  I opted to take the injected antibiotic rather than pills because I doubted I could swallow the pills anyway, but I just didn't want to wait 10 days to get better.

After my visit, I dropped Giggles off at a daycare then came home and lay down to rest.  My neighbor, God bless her, called me in the afternoon and offered to pick Pumpkin up after school. I agreed and lay down again.  Next thing I knew, Pumpkin was home.  He was excited to finally be visiting Giggles' daycare with me.  Don't ask me why, but that boy loves drop-in daycare centers.  When we lived in Denver, he often asked me to take him to the one at the mall, haha.  After a light dinner, I had enough energy to do a few chores around the house, but all too soon, my energy started petering out so I quickly bathed the kids, locked the dog up, and we all went to bed.

That was Tuesday.

Repeat wash and rinse for Wednesday.

Repeat for Thursday....except I was finally able to take Pumpkin to school myself.  I was planning on keeping Giggles home but quickly realized I wasn't quite up to the task after all.  Hello, drop-in daycare!

More importantly....tonight is the memorial mass for the daughter of a friend of mine from Colorado.  This is a picture of the little girl, taken earlier this year.  She and her family moved to Texas a few months before we did, and the little girl died as a result of of an auto accident near their home in The Woodlands.  Reportedly, the other driver (the one who caused the accident) was drinking prior to the accident. 

My friend and I were in the same mom's group back in Denver, and we, along with about a dozen other moms, were pregnant at the same time with our seconds (or thirds in some cases).  She and I hadn't managed to meet up since moving to Texas.  We were casual friends at best, but I'd hoped we would see them again at some point and that our daughters could play together every so often.  I'm ashamed that the first time we'll say hello again will be as we say goodbye to her sweet baby. 

Rest in peace, angel.

This Always Happens

The day before QT left on his week-long trip to Denver, I started feeling odd.  It started with some pressure in my face (from sinuses) and then I started feeling a bit weak.  By Sunday night, I was feverish, my throat hurt, and I ached so much all over that I could barely stand upright.

I'm home alone with the kids, so of course I still have to do what needs to be done.  Kids need to eat, and they poop, and the dog has to go outside.  They both got cereal for breakfast, and the neighbor was able to take Pumpkin to school, thank God.  Poor Giggles, all she had to eat during the day was some leftover mac-n-cheese and a TON of Cheerios.  Oh, I think I was able to get her a yogurt drink out of the fridge too, haha.  I was too nauseated to eat, but I forced myself to drink water and eat a cracker every so often.  After we picked Pumpkin up from school, I made myself drive to Whataburger to get the kids some food.  I was in so much pain, I wanted to cry, but I was afraid they wouldn't get to eat otherwise.

They gobbled down their food, but later that evening, Pumpkin asked me if I felt "good enough to make us something like dinner?"  My poor babies!  I have been so useless all day.  After dinner, and as soon as I could rationalize it, I bathed the kids, took the dog and the trash out, and put everyone to bed, myself included!  It was about 7:30 by the time I was done, and Giggles fell asleep instantly.  Pumpkin, on the other hand, was up for a while.  I think he was worried about me.  In his prayers, he asked God to make his mommy get better, and when he saw me shivering uncontrollably, he scooted closer in bed to help warm me up and then offered to bring me another blanket.  So sweet!!

It's nearly midnight now.  About an hour ago, I woke up completely drenched in sweat.  I literally flicked a bead of sweat off of my forehead.  Ugh.  I realized that I felt better, not quite as achy, so I guess the fever must have peaked after we fell asleep.  I debated just going back to sleep, but instead, I got up and showered.  And, I really do feel much better.  I'm even able to sit at the computer, ha!  Going back to bed now.