Weirdness

I wasn't exactly tagged by Ashley, but I've been thinking about what my list would include and it was harder than I anticipated to come up with. Not that I have, I want to validate the days I've spent thinking about it, by posting 5+ weird things about myself that not many others know:

(1) I still do the grade-school "A-B-C" flipping of the can top when I finish my Diet Cokes. Remember, where you twist the stem of the apple or bend the can top back and forth to see what letter you end on, because it indicates who likes you. And if the letter is one you don't like, I always added the 2 bends it took to open the can to see if I like that letter any better. I don't pay as much attention to what letter I end on anymore, but I do still actually say the letters as I'm bending it off.

(2) Many women have an obsession with shoes, but mine is for socks. I don't wear normal, white socks. I get the fun socks with animals and patterns on them in all different colors and they make me happy. Kohl's has a great selection. I have my high school friend, Leigh Ann to thank for getting me into fun socks.

(3) I also have an obsession with Thank You cards. Some people go look at candles or something else whenever they go into a store. I look at the stationary and Thank Yous. I'm a big believer in writing Thank You notes, so at least I do use them, but I have way more on hand than I need at any one time!

(4) I am a major pack rat. I still have notes from middle school that we passed in class. I kept movie ticket stubs for a long time, but finally relinquished holding onto them. I keep a shoebox where I throw all of these things like invitations and cards and announcements. When it gets full, I get another one. So, I have closets full of shoe boxes full of "mementos" that one day I tell myself I'll go through. The advent of scrapbooking did not help my situation any!

(5) I am also very bent on keeping things in chronological order. Each shoebox basically represents a year or so and contains all sorts of things from that time period. Rather than having a box of all the cards I've ever gotten from Greg in one place, I'd have to go through multiple shoe boxes to dig them out. Photo albums are chronicling my life as well and it's hard for me to separate out life events from the "big picture." When I upload pictures from my camera to the computer it puts them into folders by date of when the pictures were taken. This really feeds my neurosis of needing to know dates and order and so I keep them separated out this way, instead of combining them into one big folder (at least representing a month, if not more) that would be easier to navigate. I also listen to new CD's in order. I rarely allow myself to skip songs, too. I think part of music is familiarity and if I skip and only play the songs I initially like, I'll never "learn" to like the other ones (not that that's always a bad thing).

(6) Despite this need for order, long ago, I programmed my brain to tap my fingers together in a weird order not just rap them in sequential order. This one is a little harder to explain, but instead of touching my thumb to my index finger, middle, ring and pinkie or tapping my fingers on a surface in that "normal" order, I worked really hard at skipping to every other finger and then starting over. So, I tap thumb to middle finger, pinkie, then index, then ring then back to middle. I can do this now just as fast on both hands. Much like teaching yourself to be able to flip your hair and tie it into a knot with one hand; that also takes a lot of mental concentration and practice.

(7) I cannot handle it when pens are lying around without caps. I just don't like thinking they are drying out! I am very particular about pens and like ones in multiple colors. I am always grabbing the pen off of Tyler or Kirby's desks and putting the top back on. Even when they were using the pen and have just laid it down for a brief period.

So, there you go. A little glimpse into some of my own personal weirdness. Feel free to share any of your own in the comments. Megan & Emily (& Daniel, if he wants) - I tag you to post about it!

OMG!

Whoa! Look what I just stumbled across. I had to do a few double and triple takes myself. Thought of all you HP fanatics and wanted to share.

So advanced

Dellaina has learned to blow her nose! Everything I'd read said kids didn't learn how to do that until age 5! I'd been trying to exaggerate blowing out of my nose at different times when she was in the bath, etc. And she was starting to catch on and now you can hold the tissue up to her nose and tell her to blow and she will! She even leans into the tissue sometimes, too. It's so much easier than her fighting and screaming! I'm just amazed and wanted to share.

She also really does sing and it's pretty awesome. She knows the melody and when to start, etc. We were both singing last night when rocking her to "sleep." I think it's funny how "Ba-ba Black Sheep" "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and the ABC's all have the same basic little melody (or are very similar).

Granny suggested a smart idea she saw on TV where a woman used clothes pins instead of her finger for her child to hold onto to walk and she'd let go of the clothespin and the child would keep going before she realized she was on her own. Much like parents do when you're learning to ride a bike. .they promise you they won't let go, but before you know it, you're careening down the steep concrete hill on your own with no safety net! but, the clothespin idea is pretty good. If I had the old-timey wooden ones that were round and more substitutable for a finger, but mine are square and plastic, so I've tried a few other round objects the past two nights and it does work for a few extra steps, which is pretty fun to watch. She's definitely getting more brave and walks well with her walker and holding on!

As an added treat, thought I'd share some little home videos. . .

Do-da-do

The other day when I called to check in on Dellaina, Ms. Georgia said they were just hanging out. She'd woken up a little early and they were just playing together. She said she had made her a "dodado" out of a piece of paper and she was having a big time. I asked, "a what?" and she exclaimed, "oh, she knew right what to do with it, I thought you'd shown her" and explained "when you roll up a piece of paper into a tube and go 'do-da-do' into it" I just laughed and said, I had done that with her, I'd just never heard that name before! I thought it was amusing and still get tickled thinking about it. I think it's a great name, because I know exactly what she's talking about. It's funny that it's such a universal sound to make into a paper towel roll or whatever. I guess it's from a trumpet sounding? Anyway, in honor of Ms. Georgia's birthday today, I wanted to post about it.

Being responsible

Friday, I was in a good mood. I accomplished some things on my To-Do list of the unpleasant phone call nature. I finally called BellSouth to ask about their bundling services offer. We already had Cingular Wireless and DirecTV and I wasn't sure if the offer only applied to new service, not existing. A letter I received several months ago, though, made it sound like it might be possible to bundle even with current users and so it's sat in my pile as a reminder to call and try to set it up. It was actually very easy and a pleasant phone call. The guy on the other end chatted while he set things up and we ironically knew some of the same people. Small world! So, know we are saving $5 off for bundling our Cingular wireless account with our BellSouth account and another $5 off for bundling our DirecTV account! Each month! It just put me in a good, accomplished state of mind. Then, I took my lunch break to do a little shopping and spend that money I'd just saved us! I had seen a shirt from a distance while out the weekend before with Greg who, despite my laying out the items I was looking for/needed before hitting the stores and it fit the category, responded with an exasperated "you've got tons of clothes" when I asked if I could go look at it/try it on. So, I'd been obsessing about it all week. That's when I know I really must want something and it's worth getting. On the way to the store, I put in some old Pete Droge and was just grooving (Pen - I was thinking about you on my way to get a shirt that would make me feel good. I hope you find one someday!) However, when I went back to the store, it took a while to find it and when I did, it wasn't exactly how I remembered it. If he had let me look more closely at it while there, I wouldn't have been obsessed with it for a week and then wouldn't have to have bought it slightly out of spite (it was only $8 and I did still like it and it fit the category of "3/4 'mom'-length, undershirt with some special flair that I could wear alone") or because I'd made the trip back specifically for it. Today is Monday and I've been kind of blah and more bummed so far this morning. Recently, I decided it was best for me not to renew my People subscription. It's a lot of money and I just don't have the time I used to have to read them cover to cover. They just collect in the basket or reading material in the bathroom! I had accepted my decision as a smart, fiscal one, but they keep sending me notices and I see updates online and know I will miss being able to flip through and catch up on pictures and stories, even abbreviated. It was sadly one of my only sources of information about the world, so I will be even more clueless without it. But, we'll have saved money and I can focus more on what's important in our immediate lives. Screw the rest of the world, anyway!

Weekend Update

We had a nice weekend at the lake with my family. We got there just before 10:00 PM on Friday. It makes for a really long day. But, we still all sat around, talking until the wee morning hours. We even got onto politics and remained fairly calm, all things considered. And mostly still friends the next day! Mom made the comment that we were all going to get up and have coffee together in the morning (as a plea that we not get too upset with each other) and I said, "not all of us" and she's started to argue and get worried when I reminded her that I don't drink coffee. It's an amazing thing to have so many different perspectives and personalities in one family. It was amusing to see who supported the different issues; the lines were not clearly red and blue, but definitely more of a muddled purple with some green thrown in. I was the first to retire to bed (other than Mema and Dellaina who were much more sensible and followed a normal routine) and it was 2:30 in the morning at that point! Needless to say, we had a few late risers Saturday morning. Dellaina was not among them, so neither was I. The men came to install the carpet early as well and were terrified of dogs, so we got to round up 7 dogs and keep them contained right as they are first getting up and most excited and energized. It wasn't as bad as it could have been and thankfully, the men worked fairly quickly. The carpet looks great (it's a nice dark brown color with some cream speckles) and feels great and the room is really taking shape. With the carpet on the steps and the newly installed half wall at the landing (in honor of yours truly) I am much more capable at navigating when bringing Dellaina down in the mornings.

She did not act miserable this weekend and seems to be getting better. Her nose is still runny and congested and dries to her overnight, but she doesn't look like she feels as badly as she did earlier in the week. Her head is healing and the cut is growing smaller (shrinking, even). I'm still holding out hope that it won't be a major scar. She got to take a bath in the big tub for the first time, so that was a thrill. I thought she would make more laps crawling around than she did, but she still had a big time. (I'm incriminating myself by taking and posting this picture, but please don't call CPS on me for the slightly pink legs. Grandmama did ask me if it was too hot and we ran more cold water) She's been sticking her tongue out lately and it's really funny. There's no noise, like with her blowing the raspberries (where did that saying come from anyway?) it's just the basic sticking your tongue out, which is such a silly thing! She really likes to sing (especially "ba ba black sheep" because she sings with "ba ba" or "la la").

I tweaked my wrist Saturday grabbing onto Boss' collar to hold him when cars were leaving. Something shifted and popped and I was immediately tearing up. It was excruciating and I kept ice on it and held my whole arm like it was in a sling for hours. It made it difficult to run after Dellaina, but eventually I started getting a little bit more mobility withe less intense pain. It was just Dellaina, Morgan & me left at the lake - everyone else had gone to Mema's house to load up. Morgan hurt her leg last week and was instructed to sit, prop it up and keep ice on it. We were quite a pitiful set! I'd be her legs for her, and she had to open things for me! I knew I had to have done something to the tendon and dad agreed. Thankfully, it's not completely torn, because I can use it, but I just strained it and it really hurt for a while, especially with certain specific movements (grabbing, washing hair, trying to put hair in ponytail, etc.)

We did manage to get all of Mema's stuff moved from her house. It took 3 trips with the trailer and several truckloads, but it all got done. It's quite a process to have to evaluate and sift through a lifetime's amount of stuff! It'd be hard to condense or let go of the things you've accumulated. And I know it's an adjustment going from being on your own in a whole house to one that's as full as ours can get! I know she enjoys having us around, but also that it's not constant!

I got a good bit of scrapbooking done, but I'm still not quite to her birth yet! I left it all there, because that's the only time I get a chance to work on it -- when I have enough willing babysitters and inspiration/motivation from Emily to work on our respective books (life events) together. It makes it more fun to have someone to do it with and bounce ideas off of, etc. I think things are coming along nicely. I'm just ready to get to the point where I won't be scrapbooking, so I can start just putting them all in regular albums and have better access to enjoy them and not have them build up so much and taunt and torment me!

It was beautiful yesterday and Dellaina & I walked around outside for a while (she was actually walking, holding onto my hand - crunching through the pine straw and pine cones). It's amazing how cold and windy it got today! We actually built a fire. We ended up staying later today than planned. Surprise! It's always harder to leave and everyone is slower on Sunday - worn out from the long, fun weekend. I had some work to do this morning, so didn't take mom up on her offer to go back to bed. We did get my hair dyed (Greg helps me!) and I got a nap in, so I was happy. The dogs were worn out, but Boss did manage to injure himself somehow. We noticed he was limping this morning, but couldn't find any cut or mark. It was like he'd tweaked his shoulder or something (running and hit a hole funny) I think he'll be fine, but it was one more injury!

We brought the trailer back to Atlanta to get a dining room set to Emily & Daniel's and a head and foot board for our guest bedroom. I've been on a kick lately to really fix up the room and make it nice. It's one of the few rooms we didn't touch (i.e. paint) when we moved in. It's a yellowish sponge paint with green ivy/leaves stencil border. After painting the rest of the house (that was more sponge painting and even mauve in parts!) we decided we could live with it for a while. But, I'm tired of having a bed on just the frame and my college dorm room comforter! I'm ready for a real "grown-up" guest bedroom. We'll see if we can achieve it. If nothing else, we'll have a change. One day.

Hope everyone has a good start to the week.

Bumps & Boo Boos

We took Boss back to the vet yesterday for his recheck on his ear infection and the bump on his chest. He also had a bump appear on his ear in the past 2 weeks as well. It looks just like the one we had taken off of his head that was cancer, so we'll be scheduling to take both bumps off next week.

Dellaina has been sick the past few days. She's just really congested with a very runny/snotty nose. Yesterday, I noticed her ear was draining, too, which is actually good, because it means the tubes are working. I think she might also be teething, because she's very drooly. Or, it could just be the trouble she's having breathing through her snotty nose. When I picked her up, her shirt was soaked from all of the drool and snot! Lovely. She's been more restless at night and fussy during the day. She did not seem to be quite as miserable today as she was yesterday, though, so hopefully, it will be short-lived. All the kids at day care are just little snot factories, so it's no surprise they stay sick, passing it back and forth to each other. We're headed to the lake this weekend, so she'll have lots of doting to distract her, hopefully.

Her head is healing, slowly. The Band-aids have caused as many places as the gash itself. We left it open last night to give it a chance to breathe. I put more Neosporin and another bandage on it this morning. We are down to one small band-aid now, at least.

Lately, I think Dellaina's words are getting a little more precise. Especially, "duck" and "bird" she seems to have mastered. She has been trying to snap and it's so cute. She still loves music and dancing. Even Ms. Georgia told me today that she has some real rhythm. I was thinking last night that I wish I just had an endless recording of her laughter. I just love hearing her laughing; it's such a powerful and emotionally-charged sensation for me to experience. That's all the updates I can think of for now.

Intersecting lives

Emily had a funny (both ha-ha and strange) encounter today while at her new doctor's office. She decided she needed to find a local doctor and made an appointment with Daniel's long-time family doctor. While she was waiting to get called back, she saw a nurse calling someone else back that looked just like my dad's nurse at his office in Watkinsville that Emily worked with a lot. She really thought she must have quit and was now working up here and was going to say hello, but the lady didn't seem to recognize her. She went outside and called my dad's office to tell his nurse, Lisa, about the incident and they just laughed about it together. Then, the nurse ended up checking Emily out and so she told her that she looked just like dad's nurse in Athens and she laughed and said, "yeah, my sister, Lisa." It was actually her twin sister! And Lisa hadn't even thought to ask what doctor's office Emily was at, because what were the chances it was really her sister? How odd is that? What are the chances? That Daniel's family's doctor employed one twin and dad's office employed the other? I think things like that are fascinating. Like the fact that Greg's sister is also named, Andrea and his dad is Andy, so they had to come up with their own name for me (enter Pooh) to lessen the confusion. And the fact that we both had younger sisters the same age and our maternal grandfather's both died before our dad's ever met them or actually ever entered the picture. Also, we were both really close to our maternal grandmothers, but they each died just before Greg & I started dating, so neither of us knew the other one's big influence directly. And how Daniel's mom's name is also Emily. I like finding similarities with people. Even when they are a stretch.

Ashley wrote two posts a while ago that really stuck with me about how we cross paths with people and have a moment of intersecting with them or witnessing something that can greatly affect their life, but we move on (or vice versa). It's something that fascinates me to think about. All of the lives we come in contact with on a daily basis, but that we really know nothing about. How something someone does for you (or to you) can really set off and trigger a chain reaction in many other lives that you touch after that encounter.

I loved the first episode of Six Degrees last season for this very reason, but did always think it would make a better movie than TV series (and apparently someone else agreed since it's no longer on -- actually according to the web site, it appears that haven't officially cancelled it, but no mention of when it might actually come back on. hmm.)

Extreme community effort

I used to get my weekly dose of crying by watching the ABC show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. I haven't watched it in a while, but still think it's a pretty good show. I was excited to find out a week or so ago that Greg's company was actually involved in the show! They were donating supplies to help build a house nearby. I asked for a tour, but somehow that didn't happen, but still thought it was pretty cool and that I'd share. Oakwood Homes was the builder and they have a website set up for it, if you want to see any of the details of the family or house.

A Case study on Cleaning

What is it about cleaning that makes you feel so dirty? Realizing the filth you've been living in can really turn your stomach.

What gene is missing from men that they: (1) Cannot put the toilet paper roll on the holder?! I truly do not understand this phenomenon, but I think it's universal! (2) Do not notice the scum in the bathroom? It's like it doesn't even register on their radar and never even enters the realm of thought that THEY could actually clean it! (3) Cannot put a bag back in the trash can once you take the full bag out. But the fact that he actually took the trash out (without being asked) is such an accomplishment in and of itself that you can't complain about the bag! (Except, publicly to lots of loyal readers, but only in a hypothetical generic instance, of course. )

Why is it that no matter what side of the window you are on, there is always a spot on the other side? Even (especially?) when you have already cleaned said "other" side?

Boo Boo Report

We've had a nice weekend being at home. Saturday, we leisurely woke up and ate breakfast and it was nice to all be together. Greg went outside to clean the gutters and I like to be outside when he's up on the roof, so we bundled up and went down to the backyard. Dellaina loves being outside and just laughed heartily watching Boss & Hank run around and play. I'd throw sticks to OCD Hank, but he'd always want the one Dellaina was holding. At one point, he did manage to get a hold of it and he pulled and she didn't let go, so it was a little comical to see her body fly towards him a bit. Thankfully, he let go quickly and she thought it was funny. Since her preferred method of transportation is crawling, it's hard to let her down on the actual ground much, but we had a good time. When Greg was coming back down the ladder his foot knocked the blower and it started to slide down the roof a little. He quickly stuck his foot back out and caught it before it fell! I was holding Dellaina and the ladder and Boss was just underneath, not to mention, Greg on the edge of the roof, trying to get back on the ladder carefully, so it was a scary moment for an instant. While Dellaina was taking her nap, we got the steam cleaner out and cleaned one of the couches. We wanted to do one at a time to allow for drying time and still have a couch to sit on! Greg worked in the kitchen some, scrubbing cabinets and the back splash from all the crusties that build up. Then, we decided we'd try to sneak in a little nap, too, even though it was almost time for Dellaina to wake up. Thankfully, she slept for about another hour and we all got some good rest! When we came back downstairs, it looked like something had exploded. I had felt so productive going to take a nap, but the couch pillows were spread out all over the living room and the kitchen had been moved around, too, so we had to spend more time, putting things back together, while chasing Dellaina around.

Our wine cabinet was scheduled to be delivered sometime between 5:00 and 9:00PM, so there went any possible plans for our Saturday night! Surprisingly, it arrived around 6:00! It's great and I'm so happy we finally got it. I'll try to take pictures soon to post. Josh had come up to hang out and wait with us for the delivery, but since it came early, we felt a little freed and decided to go eat Mexican at our old stomping place. We had a warm welcome and Dellaina entertained us eating off of everyone else's plate except her own and finally, picking up half of her soft taco and slinging it around rather than the small bites we'd cut up for her. Afterwards, we decided to go over to Emily & Daniel's house. It's right down the road and they had some friends over and had invited us earlier, but we didn't think we'd be able to leave because we'd be waiting on the wine cabinet all night long. It was fun to visit and watch Dellaina with Marble. She just loves animals and laughs so heartily and infectiously (as I'm typing this, Dellaina is laying on a pile of pillows watching her Baby Einstein video and it just popped up a picture of a kitty cat that looks a lot like Marble and she said, "Heeey!" and pointed at the screen!) Greg & Josh helped with some wiring issue they were having with the light in the entry-way and as a reward received some homemade blueberry pie. We were all sitting around the living room and Dellaina was on the couch between Greg & I. One minute she was standing against the back of the couch, kind of behind Greg, holding onto his shoulder and the next, she'd moved up and stepped off the couch and fell right into the coffee table. She hit her head pretty good and I picked her up quickly and was rocking her as Greg said, "She's going to need stitches!" and I was like, "What?! no, she's ok, she just hit her head, it's ok" and he said, "look at it!" and I look down and it's gushing blood and running into her eyes. She gashed it pretty good. Everyone was scrambling to get paper towels and ice and we got her cleaned up and calmed down. The good thing about it being so late and she was so tired, she rocked on to sleep and we could hold the ice on it for a long time. We decided it might need one stitch and if we went to the ER, they might put 2 in just because we were there, but they'd probably laugh at us and be like, "this is your first bump, huh?" because it really wasn't that bad (at least that's what we were all telling ourselves -- it was amazing how everyone feels responsible! We were all watching and just feel so helpless). Daniel ran out to get some Butterfly bandages, but the drug stores were already closed. He got Publix to let him in, even though they were closing up, but they didn't have any. They did tell him about a 24 hour CVS a little bit away and he went and got some liquid band-aid and bandages. We got her put back together and headed home. On the way, she woke back up and was acting very normally. We looked at it this morning and it's held together pretty well. Once we think it's together enough, we'll start putting Neosporin on it so hopefully she won't have a scar above her eye. Ok, we're off to do some running around and shopping/returns. Hopefully, that's the last of the Boo Boo Reports for a while!

Boredom

I'd rather be at home now, playing with Dellaina and visiting with both Grandmothers, but instead, I'm stuck here watching the clock until it's reasonably close to 5:00 and I can call it a day.

I tried to check in on an old favorite: PITNB that I haven't been to in quite a while and it says it was currently moving to the new version of Blogger and to check back in later. I wonder how long it's been saying that.

So, then, I went to Overheard In Athens and was amused by this one entry and thought I'd share. Score 1 for the blondes for a change. And this one. And this quote is pretty amusing: "The fastest way to a frat boy's heart is through his blood alcohol content."

Details

Greg & I were both fairly impressed with the systematic procedure they had at the hospital (outpatient center, actually). All of my complaining about having to be down there an hour and a half early being for their convenience and we'd just sitting and waiting was a little inaccurate. They actually utilized the time well and we weren't ever really sitting in once place for very long. We got there right at 7:00 and signed in. We went and sat down and there was a set of blonde triplet boys signing in just behind us! Toooo cute. They all had their PJ's on and were really enjoying the stickers they had been given. I got called up to a desk to fill out some more paperwork and sign forms, get copies of Insurance card and DL and pay the co-pay. We had to bring Dellaina over to put the band on her ankle and she started crying as soon as the lady reached out to her. We sit back down for a few minutes, then get called to go take her vitals. A.k.a. Another screaming fest on the scale and with the blood pressure machine and stethoscope. The lady had tried to distract her with toys, but that was futile. Go back and sit down. The triplet boys are curious about the new toy Dellaina got to bring over and they come up to play with it, too. We learn they are almost two and are ALL having tubes in their ears this morning! We get called to go back to the pre-op room where she can play with some toys and we meet with several nurses, the anesthesiologist, and Dr. Thomsen, who's doing the surgery. Dellaina gets to go to a big cupboard and pick out a toy and then it's time for me to go take her back to the operating room. I'm sitting in a chair holding her as she watches the ladies in the room setting things up. There's a nice big window of the Atlanta skyline and it's really cold. Then, I'm instructed to lay her down on the table and help hold her hands while they put the mask over her mouth and nose. She's screaming as soon as I move before I even lay her down, but once the mask is over her, it's very muffled, so that was the most difficult part. I can feel her body relaxing and slowly her breathing changes and the little tears squeeze out as she closes her eyes. Then, I go back to get Greg and we're transferred over to the post-op room where we get to wait. It's dark, with just a little light that won't be too harsh for her when she gets back and is waking up. We sit there, holding hands, attempting to make conversation and not stare at the clock. I repeat for the umpteenth time, I can't imagine going through this 3 times!! After maybe 15-20 minutes, they roll her in, still on the table, her little head is angled back a bit and her mouth is wide open. I told Greg she sleeps (snores) like him. She's so tiny on the table and it's just like she's in a deep sleep. They warned us that she would wake up very angry from the anesthesia and it could be sudden and to watch her head, because it could be floppy like a new born. Greg picks her up and just holds her while we wait for her to wake up. The nurses all leave and let us sit with her. She continues to moan a little bit and contorts in different positions, just like she's sleeping and trying to get comfortable. It's a while before she ever really opens her eyes, she just seems so sleepy. Considering we had to wake her up so early this morning and the trauma, it's not surprising. All of our worry and loving and doting and her first word when she starts to come through isn't "mama" or "daddy" or fussing, it's "baa-pee" (her pacifier!)Melts your heart, anyway. Eventually, we get her awake enough to drink some of the watered down juice. The nurse tries to bring her a graham cracker, but she starts screaming again and she runs out! She said she'd never had someone get so upset with her when she was offering food! She didn't really eat much, but did drink a little bit and we were able to go home. She was fairly dazed in the car and feel asleep right before we got home. We carried her in and put her in her crib. She slept for a long time and I got in a nap, too. When she woke up, she played and ate well and acted very normally. I left for the gym at 5:40 and Granny was almost to the house. When I got back, Dellaina just looked delirious and flushed. We gave her some Tylenol and I put her to bed just before 8. She slept all night and this morning until almost 9! When she got up, she was still clingy and flushed. We gave her some more Tylenol and I snuck out, leaving her with Granny, who called shortly to tell me she'd eaten and was acting more normally! Glad she's there with her! Grandmama is coming up tonight to stay with her tomorrow. Hopefully, we're on the road to recovery and she'll really start to blossom now without all of those yucky ear infections!

Surgery success

We just got back from Dellaina's surgery a little bit ago. Everything went well. There was fluid in her ears, but it wasn't infected. She's sleeping now and I'll probably join her soon. I'll have more to report later, but wanted to just put a quick note that it all went well.

And Fever, too, oh my!

Just got a call from Dellaina's day care that she's been really fussy and clingy today (which is how she was all weekend) and is starting to get a little warm. She has a low-grade fever at the moment (99) and I don't have to come pick her up right at this moment, but they just wanted to let me know. I don't know what this will mean for her surgery in the morning. Fun times!

Surgeries and birthdays

I got the call that Dellaina's surgery is scheduled for 8:30 in the morning. We're supposed to be there an hour and a half early!?! That's just so insane and it's all about their convenience. But what are you going to do? If the surgery goes well and helps her, it's all worth it. She hasn't been eating that great for us in the evenings and has been a little restless at night's, too.

Today is supposedly Winnie the Pooh's birthday? At least according to Ms. Georgia. And, well, the "official" web site is also claiming 80 years of Adventures. They were having a big day of activities planned, I think. She had been trying to figure out what child was which character the other day and I was just confusing her. I think Dellaina ended up being Pooh. She has traits that could fit most any of them. I dressed her in a little yellow bear sweat suit that has ears on the hood (even though it's a little bit too small now) and a red t-shirt underneath, because, that's all Pooh wears, but it's a little cold for that today (finally).

It's also Tyler's birthday today, so "Holla!" Hope it's a good 'un.

Recap

I'm not really in a chatty mood, but thought I should recap the weekend a bit for those loyal readers who check regularly! I'm sure once I get going, it will still end up being a long-winded post.

Friday was a lot of fun and helped ease the pain of growing older. I went by to pick up Dellaina and they were outside playing, so I stayed and played for a bit. Then, we went by to see Greg at work. When we got home, Dellaina was content in her high chair for a long time while I straightened up the house. Daniel came on over early and hung out. We listened to lots of great music, and I now have both Amos Lee CD's and the new Taylor Hick's CD to test out. We listened to Amos Lee a good portion of the night. Greg did most of the grocery shopping and when he got home, we started making some food for us while we waited on the others to arrive. Emily had to work a full day and got there close to 8 and Doug, Morgan & Garris came from Athens with Moxie and Bayla. We just hung out and ate and drank and were all merry. I got some great clothes, money towards my video camera I'm planning to buy and an awesome calendar from Snapfish filled with pictures of Dellaina! Emily spent a lot of time working on it and I was so excited to bring it in this morning to the office. It's really cool, because you can put pictures on the days of the month, too! I had started working on one myself in early December but hadn't gotten very far. I kept telling Tyler I needed to finish it and order it so I'd get it before March, because I was so lost without one. He was impressed when I showed up with one this morning. I'm so excited that it's already done! yea! It was a lot of fun, per usual, if not a little late! Even for Boss.

Saturday, Greg went to work early and I cleaned up the house a little. Doug, Morgan & Garris had all spent the night and woke up leisurely, but were gone by lunch. It was such a beautiful day, Dellaina & I went for a walk and then while she took her nap, Greg & I got the letters of her name that I ordered painted! yea! next step will be figuring out how to hang them, but we're getting closer. We were waiting to leave town on the wine cabinet Greg ordered for me to be delivered. Supposedly some time between 1 and 5! At 5:00, Greg called the store and spoke to someone who said the driver was at the stop before ours and would call us in just a minute. By 5:30, we still hadn't heard from him and called back, but the store was now closed and no one answered! Fuming, we jump in the car and Greg leaves a note on the door that we couldn't wait any longer and a voicemail with the person that sold him the piece. At 5:50, the driver finally called and said he'd be there within the hour!! Ridiculous. I'm hoping Greg has already had a stern talking to the owner today, although, they are probably closed today, come to think of it.

We had a nice visit with Granny & Granpa. We all went to the Waffle House for dinner Saturday night. Dellaina made Granny cringe coating herself in syrup! Aunt Andrea was off Sunday and got to spend some good quality time with us, too, even though Dellaina was kind of clingy and fussy. Greg & Granpa worked in the shop and made some good progress on their project. When we got home last night, Dellaina was asleep in the car and we unloaded it and I jumped back in to head to Emily & Daniel's house for the premiere of 24. They were having a cookout with some friends and it was a lot of fun. Dellaina did well entertaining herself with the tiny river rocks in the candle holder they had on the hearth and chasing Marble around. We're going to attempt going back tonight for the 2nd half of the season premiere. I'm so glad we don't have to wait a whole week, because it started off with a bang. good stuff.

Dellaina is in the infant's room this morning, because they didn't have many kids today with the holiday. I'm about to head out to lunch. Blogger isn't uploading pictures, so I'll try to update with them later. . .

You say it's your birthday. . .

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to meeeeeeeeeeeeee, Happy Birthday to me.

So, this is what 28 looks like, huh? It's not so bad.

Thanks for all the well wishes via emails and ecards this morning Granny, Beth, Marcy, Josh, mom & dad! Hollie sent me a great list of other births, deaths and events in history that share my special day. In 28 years, I never knew some of the other (other? like I'm famous or something?) famous people that were born today - John Hancock, Kirstie Alley, Howard Stern, Rush Limbaugh! I got Megan's amusing card in the mail yesterday and know I have at least one more arriving today. Tyler just arrived (late, in honor of my birthday) bearing a Pooh balloon, funny card, little stuffed dog and a little container of icing since it's my favorite part of the cake and we don't need a whole cake around here!

All of my siblings are coming up for dinner tonight. It's become a tradition for them to show up and cook dinner for me! This will be our 4th year and I really enjoy it. We are also celebrating Daniel's birthday tonight, too, against his wishes. Emily & Greg's birthdays are close and we usually do a joint dinner for them, too. Funny, huh?

Greg left me a note this morning and just called to let me know that my birthday present that he was hoping would be delivered today, will actually be arriving tomorrow. He ordered the wine cabinet that matches our dining room set we've talked about getting for a long time! Woo-hoo!

Aunt Andrea just called me, too. Feeling the love. . .

Hope you all have a fantastic day! Thanks again for the love and support.

Spice of Life

So, Dellaina's surgery is scheduled for next Wednesday. He only does them on Wednesdays and they don't give you an actual time! They do them in order of age and will call you the day before. Smart and convenient on their part, so he can get them all right in a row, but kind of a pain on our part. Not that I wasn't already planning to take the whole day anyway, but it's just harder to plan when you aren't given specifics. I was reading some of the information on the website and she's not allowed to eat or drink beforehand, so I hope it's scheduled early, because that's going to be rough. She wakes up signing "more" and wanting to eat, so it will be a long ride in the car and wait in the waiting room without feeding her.

Greg replaced the sensor for the garage door on Sunday and hallelujah it's working again! It only took a year for us to get it done, but I'm so thankful to be able to use my clicker again both coming and going. Just in time for the toilet upstairs to start leaking (not the new one, the one in the master.) fun times.

Greg & I were pondering the complexities of dog hair last night and how it's crazy it only grows a certain length. Watching Boss' spots where he was shaved grow back, you can still tell the hair's not quite as long as the rest, but it's filling in well and it made us think about how the hair only grows a certain length, so it can catch back up. But I guess it's more like our body hair, and less like the hair on our heads. hmm. interesting.

I got a new pack of Big Red gum and it's some powerful stuff! I am addicted to gum and have a pack in the car and my purse. Greg got me started on Big Red back in high school, he always had a pack in his pocket. (Those high school boys, gotta have fresh breath!) But they must have a new formula or something because it stays "spicy" for a long time! They recently changed the packaging and it said new formula then, but I didn't taste it until this most recent pack. I'm a wimp when it comes to hot stuff (the honey mustard on the Monterrey chicken salad at Taco Mac burns my nose and makes me tear up sometimes!) so it may not be as spicy to anyone else, but I think this stuff is good, if anyone wants to try it.

Daddy's little girl

As I've mentioned before, Dellaina is fast becoming Daddy's little girl. I've heard the saying a thousand times. I know what I put my own mother through being ecstatic when Daddy came home and wanting to ride with him places when we were taking two cars. It's still an amazing thing to experience. A friend just told me recently that little boys are so different and sweet because they love their mama's so much. Well, little girl's love their daddy's and wrap them around their tiny fingers!

I've also discussed how much Dellaina really loves her "school." Which is great. I'm really glad she enjoys it so much. So much for all this separation anxiety I keep reading we should be experiencing now. I think she went through that phase earlier and quickly. Ever since coming back from Christmas break, she has been so smiley and happy when we get there in the mornings and goes to whoever's there to take her with a drawn out, Southern "byyye-bye" and a wave to me! "See ya later, mama." That part isn't much different, but in the afternoons now it seems like everyday when I come to get her she starts crying and doesn't want to go with me! One reason for this change is that now at the end of the day, the bigger kids usually combine with the few infants that are left and they move over to the Infant room. Well, Dellaina just loves going back to her old room and playing with the "new" old toys everyday. After a full day of being in her room, it's like a big change to get to go to the other room, plus it's familiar and comforting, too. And she knows when they are supposed to go over there, too! They told me yesterday, that she was sitting at the door between the two rooms pitching a little fit for about 10 or 15 minutes because she was ready to go over to the other room! I've had to let her play for a bit instead of just yanking her up, so she doesn't think I'm quite so mean or associate me with this negative part of her day - being pulled from her playing. She sort of regresses and likes to lay like the babies do on the play mats and climbs into the bouncy chairs. Juana says she wouldn't take her sippie cup the other day and think she wanted a bottle. (BTW, I don't think I mentioned we are off the bottle now. Basically over the break, I just stopped making and giving them to her! And when we came back to school, I didn't make one to bring! She drinks out of her sippie cups and really likes her whole milk or water -- although lately, she's gotten where she likes to spit the water back out on herself. lovely.) So, today, when I get there to pick her up, the big kids are still in their room and as soon as she sees me, she just starts screaming and throws herself on the floor! Just the reaction moms love to get, right? I know it's because she wants to go play, so we get her stuff and go into the infant room and I let her explore for a bit. Then, I'm asking and signing to her "are you ready to go for a 'ride' and go 'home' and go see 'daddy'" and she looks up from her play, puts her finger to her forehead (her sign for 'daddy') and so I repeat that we're going home to see daddy and she reaches her arms up to me like, "take me home to see my daddy!" So sweeteningly heartbreaking, right? In so many ways. . well, she may be her daddy's little girl and everyone says she looks just like him (which I concur on both counts) but I was thrilled to see she's got her mama's green eyes! yea!

life's interuptions

Turn on computer. sit down. cringe at beeping sound of laptop's obscure key sticking issues; unsure if will be able to type a post and have thoughts swirling . . . Boss is sitting at door. Get up, let him out. Come back, sit down. Wait impatiently for laptop to fully load before hitting Internet Explorer icon and selecting Blogger log in from favorites menu - still unsure if keyboard is going to cooperate or not, avoiding testing it for a moment. Boss is barking outside. Get up, open door, hush dog. Come back, sit down. am able to type in user name and password, yea! Will be able to post. Not yet, Boss still barking. Get back up, call him to come inside. Actually comes, hard to reprimand too much. Come back, sit down and here we are. . .

Learning

I worry a lot about whether or not I'm doing the right things for Dellaina in the sense of "am I stimulating her enough?" or "is she getting enough to eat?" and "am I teaching her enough?" Sometimes I feel like the movie Groundhog Day where all I do is pick her up, feed her, bathe her and start tucking her in then wake up and repeat. Lately, I feel like she's the broken record with her "more" signaling ALL the time! I swear, she sees me and starts signing "more!" from the time she first wakes up in the morning, to when I'm tucking her in at night, like all I am is the food lady. (She's definitely fast becoming her daddy's girl, too. I'm trying not to be too upset, because it is too sweet, but it's a good thing green is my color) It's been a new challenge trying to figure out foods to give her to make sure she gets enough to eat and the right kind of good things in a good variety. We've been experimenting with lots of different things. It's hard, too, because sometimes she'll eat certain things and you think, "great, she likes carrots, we can stock up on those" and then the very next time you give them to her, she wants nothing to do with them! It was so easy when it came in the jars and you could give her veggies she liked and fruits she liked and you knew she was eating well and they traveled so well -- just throw a jar or two in the bag with a spoon and we were set! (Georgia "did her hair" the other day. I thought it was cute, it made her look so different! This is after the doctor's, so she's been through the ringer and it's already falling, but I think it proclaims, 'Feed me!' She had to fit in with the other girls that all have pig tails. She said she got sooo mad at her, like purple face mad.)
She stays up later than most babies because I have a nice work schedule that doesn't start until 9ish, so I have more time with her than a lot of other parents have with their kids, but sometimes it just feels repetitive and hard to get extra things in. That's why it's nice when we have a long weekend at home where we actually spend entire days together. But, it's also overwhelming at the same time! Day care has things scheduled and regimented every 10 minutes! Somehow they manage to have her consistently eat at the same times and sleep at essentially the same time for about the same amount of time! It's amazing. I just don't know how they manage it! Greg had a taste of it today when he was wrestling her to sleep for her nap for over an hour while I was doing some work at the office. It was nearly 2:00 before she finally went to sleep and that's the time she's normally waking up at day care! It's partly because we stretch her nap time at times, because we're trying to squeeze something else in (like today, she was with me at the office until noon and then Greg still took her by the grocery store and fed her before trying to put her down) but then it's beyond time for her to be tired, you'd think she'd konk right out! I don't like messing with her schedule and I worry about her learning the right things or being stimulated in the right ways. I'm not even sure what those "extra" things should be that I was talking about squeezing in! She actually does art at school and Georgia asked me something one time and I admitted that I never did anything like that with her at home. She was like, "she's very good and really enjoys it" because she's meticulous and very dexterous and coordinated. I know she was trying to encourage me to do these things with her, but it had the effect of making me feel like I was short changing Dellaina and wasn't doing enough. When we play with her animal train she likes to hit the button that makes the different animal sounds and I try to call them out each time and show her which animal makes that sound and I'll ask her "where's the monkey" or whatever on occasion, but then the animals have different colors on their feet and I think about trying to teach her colors, too, and then numbers and there's just so much to learn! We ask her questions and try to label things like "daddy's nose" or "Dellaina's ears" but it's overwhelming at times to think about all the things she has yet to learn and making sure you're teaching it all to her in the right amount and the right order. I know there's really no "right" way, I just wanted to vent about the pressures of figuring it all out and worrying about it constantly.

Christmas recap

I never really recapped our Christmas and looking through pictures today inspired me to do a little bit. Since Megan's still waiting on her camera, I know I'm not the only one that will have a late review.

We had a wonderful time (despite this less than thrilled look on Dellaina's face!) -- all 3 or 4 times we were gathered to open gifts! The presents were piled high under both trees at the lake and in Athens and spilling out into the hallways. We had "Christmas morning" with my family Sunday, Christmas Eve and went to Granny & Granpa's early Monday morning. We all got just about everything on our lists! Thanks again to Doug for creating our family's online gift registry! It was so cool and really helpful. Dellaina got lots of great things from everyone and is now set in the clothes, toys, books and shoe departments! Well, I don't know about the shoe department - she is a girl and can always use more shoes, right?! Greg was very creative and good with gifts this year, too and got me a wonderful framed picture of all the youngun's! The other pictures of his attempts to capture them all together are really humorous, too, but I love it and just have to decide on the perfect place for it. I like this picture, too, because of the Christmas lights reflecting in the glass; it makes it festive to me (I suppose the football on TV in the background says Christmas Day as well, huh?) Greg also got me some diamond earrings! I was totally surprised and absolutely love them. He had them wrapped very creatively in a big box with a bigger gift (a basket for the living room with a note about being able to put something other than rocks in it!) I don't normally wear earrings a lot, because my ears are sensitive, but I've pretty much worn them everyday and my ears are adjusting nicely!

This picture of Dellaina & Aunt Andrea is one of my favorites -- too cute. It makes me think I need to put more bows in her hair! Great smiles, too. And this one with Grandaddy is pretty darn cute, too. What you can't quite see is the chocolate cookie just off camera that he gave her when she wasn't eating her real food! If you look closely, you can see the chocolate grin!

The week Dellaina & I stayed in Athens at Granny & Granpa's I borrowed my parent's (formerly Emily's) Corolla to have a car to drive around the few places I went. It was an adjustment driving a small zippy car. I felt so low to the ground and the gear shift is down by the console, whereas mine is on the steering column. All week I was reaching up by the steering wheel and turning on the windshield wipers to put it in drive but now that I'm back driving my car, I'm still reaching down to the console! What's up with that? I had to readjust to getting my big SUV stopped, too. It weighs a little more and takes a tad longer! It's just funny how you get accustomed to things and don't even think about them when you are used to them.

Tubes here we come

We took Dellaina to the ENT doctor yesterday afternoon. They did several different tests including sticking a tube in her ear that blew air and measured things (reporting she had fluid in both!) and a hearing test where she sat on my lap in a little room with some stuffed animals in boxes and lights to test her responses. She did pretty well and was mostly normal, falling just below "normal" at one point with softer/lower sounds, but typical for having fluid in both of her ears. Then, we had the doctor's exam which took 4 adults to hold her down! I had her legs, Greg her arms, the nurse her head and the doctor attempting to clean out and look in her ears. She was screaming and fighting, but we all made it through in awe at the workout she was giving us to be so little! She enjoyed her treat of Ritz bitz and cookies on the the ride home. The doctor did say that she needs tubes because she isn't really responding to the antibiotics and has been on several different kinds. basically, she's had an ear infection the entire month of December and it's time we do something that will really help her. It's a little unnerving to think about her having anesthesia, but the procedure is quick and he says she can return to normal activity, including school the next day! I'm hoping Granny or Grandmama might want to come stay with her for a day just to make sure, but we'll see.

Little seal

Over the holidays, I ended up taking Dellaina to my dad's office to see a doctor, because she had been acting a little lethargic and less enthusiastic than her normal self and was starting to tug on her ears and lean her head over on her shoulder. It was the Friday before the long New Year weekend, my dad was already down at the lake, so Granny suggested we go to the office, rather than wait and it be a holiday weekend! Smart lady! Sure enough, Dr. Ray says her left ear was red hot. ugh! As this was our 4th visit to the doctor this month, Dellaina is no longer cooperative or agreeable and just screams when someone comes anywhere near her. So, she's on another round of medicine - something different that she's tried before: sulfur something - and also has some ear drops to help numb them so she's not in as much pain! I don't know why her doctor hadn't prescribed those before?! We go to see the ENT tomorrow. I'm a little anxious about that visit.

Apparently at some point over the holiday, Dellaina saw a seal and has learned a new trick of throwing her head back and holding her sippie cup with just her teeth! It cracks me up, I mean, it slays me or it kills me or whatever phrase I was supposed to have adopted. She even will crawl around just holding the cup with her teeth. Too funny.

Greg & I have talked before about how odd it is to think about reaching your hands up over your head and your fingertips only barely come to the top of your head! It's such a wild thing to think about how large a child's head is in proportion to the rest of her body! I'm realizing she's growing some, too, because when she reaches her hands up, she's able to reach a little past her head now.

Those are my thoughts for the day.