Winter Things

We've had such a busy December that I haven't had much time to post. Here's what's been going on:

-Our first and maybe only snowfall of the year. It was really beautiful for the 15 minutes that it lasted. Madeline wasn't too exited about being out in the cold. She was much happier watching from the window.

-I've been crazy busy with church, which has been a good thing. I feel a sense of fulfillment when I concentrate on serving others during the day.

-Madeline and I crafted for the first time together. I know, it's nothing much to look at, nor was it as much fun to make together as I thought it would be, but at least we tried. I'm not much of a crafty person, but for some reason I had great plans to do a Christmas craft every day in December with Madeline. This is all we've done. I have a hard time with crafts, especially kid crafts, because I don't want a lot of extra junk around our house. I found some really cute ideas on marthastewart.com that don't look junky - so maybe we'll try more next year.

-Scott had his last class of his collegiate career yesterday. It was very exiting. He takes finals next week, and then we don't have to worry about anymore coursework or tests. Ever. Starting in Jaunuary he will wholeheartedly work on finishing his clinic requirements and figure out what on earth we are doing after graduation. Anyone looking for cheap chiropractic care?

-I'm almost done with my Christmas shopping. Thanks to couponing blogs, I found some really great deals this year. Madeline especially is going to have an awesome Christmas - at least awesome for our meager budget.

-We're anxiously awaiting our trip out west in a week and a half. We haven't seen much of our family this year and are so exited to spend time with them.

Thanksgiving: Louisiana Style

We spent Thanksgiving in Louisiana with Scott's Aunt Jo for the second year in a row. Here are some highlight pics from our delightful trip:

Annual ameteur family picture for my parent's christmas newsletter.

Scott shelling shrimp for gumbo

Madeline has a new-found love for frogs.

Bullseye!

Horses in the back pasture

Enormous bubbles in the shed

Madeline's first bike that we will give her for her birthday

We had the most wonderful relaxing vacation, like always when we're at Aunt Jo's. Southern hospitality is alive and well. Madeline had the time of her life playing with Aunt Jo's grandchildren, swinging, jumping on the trampoline, petting horses, running through leaves, and riding bikes. I don't think I have ever seen her so happy. I long for a backyard.

Scott and I enjoyed fabulous southern cooking, learning how to make gumbo, shopping (buying our first cast-iron skillet), watching old detective movies, and just relaxing.

We actually feel rejuvinated instead of exhausted like we do after most vacations. Aunt Jo's is the place to go!

It's OVER!!!

Our dreaded, crazy fall has finally come to an end. Not that our lives are calm, by any means, just calmER. Scott finished taking part IV of the national chiropractic boards on Saturday. I'm not sure why there are four parts, why they are taken months apart, why they are so dang expensive, and why they have to take them in the midst of school with all of their other tests/clinic work. But, I guess that's the way it is. Between part III boards, seminars, and part IV, Scott has been gone every weekend but 2 since August. That wouldn't be such a huge deal if I didn't work every weekend. It meant lots of babysitters (thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who helped us out!) and very little sleep for me.

I am so exited to have Scott home on the weekends, so exited that he has one less thing to study for, and really exited to get more than 3-4 hours of sleep.

Update on the crib tent: LOVING IT!!!

Princess Bed

After climbing out of her crib for the first time last week, we've deliberated quite a bit about just what to do with our monkey of a child. Scott tried several times on Saturday night to get her to stay in her crib, to no avail. She spent that night and Sunday night in our bed. I love to snuggle and nap with Madeline from time to time, but I prefer it to be on my terms, not on hers. Our queen is just not big enough for all three of us. By Monday morning, we decided a crib tent was the way to go for our family. Don't judge - everyone's situation is different. Madeline's sleep is crucial for all three of us.

We went out Monday afternoon in search of a crib tent, only to find that they are not to be found in DFW. Apparently, you have to order them online. I wish I'd have known that! I needed one THAT day. The earliest I could get it from Amazon was Wednesday. So, we decided to go with Plan B on Monday night and see if we could get her to sleep in her crib with the siderail lowered (to lessen the chance of injury since she was actually LAUNCHING herself from the crib and landing flat on her back). She figured out in about 5 minutes how to kick the side rail just so, so that it would fall completely off. We tried the "silent return to sleep" method where you walk your child back to bed without looking at their face or talking to them. It was a battle of wills, and she won. I silently led her back to bed over 600 times in a three hour period before I was sick of keeping track. By the time I got to the door of her room after putting her down, she was already out of bed. I only had time to make a talley mark on my little paper, and turn around to put her back to bed. The last straw was at 9:45pm when she started crawling out of her room and laughing, thinking this whole thing was just a fun game. I was completely exhausted. I pulled out the futon in her room, put her in her bed, and we slept. Well, she slept in her bed until she fell out 5 times during the first hour, and then she slept with me.

I was on the computer ordering the crib tent by 6:45 Tuesday morning, with one day shipping. I again had to sleep in her room Tuesday night, and was really getting sick of that hard futon mattress.

Unfortunately the tent didn't arrive until after she went to bed Wednesday night. I guess the UPS guy couldn't find it in his truck until all of his other deliveries were done. Madeline woke up at 9:30pm and wouldn't go back to bed, so we put the tent on that night. We made a big deal about it and called it her princess bed. I had shown her pictures online of beds with canopies, and told her she would be getting one for her crib. She was really, really exited - until I closed the zipper. Not wanting it to be a bad experience for her the first night, when she was already a little out of sorts, I slept in her room again, but made her sleep with the crib tent zippered shut.

The next morning, we decorated the princess bed with flowers and ribbons. We pretended we were camping and ate marshmallows in it. We showed it off to friends. I talked to her several times during the day about what was going to happen that night. I geared myself up for lots and lots of crying.

I put her to bed an hour ago. She cried for two minutes.

Crib tents are awesome.

Halloween

We didnt' participate in many Halloween festivities this year, but we did attend our ward's annual Harvest Carnival. Madeline dressed up as a "flower fairy" this year, thanks to one of my co-workers who lent us this adorable costume.

We decided against trick-or-treating on Saturday due to scheduling conflicts. I also wanted to get Madeline in bed early - she hadn't been sleeping well since our vacation. I guess I should have had Scott take her, because when I called home from work at 8:30pm she was prancing around the house in her costume. Scott couldn't get her to stay in her crib, so she got to stay up. She thought she was the queen of the house.

I guess as a good culmination to my weekly chili challenge, my chili won first place in our ward chili cook-off. The recipe was adapted from my Uncle Delwyn's chili. He made it for a family reunion that I didn't attend. I guess several family members asked for the recipe because it was so good, so he emailed it out to all of us. I made it last year and it was excellent. I made a few changes to it last week which I think made it even better. Try it out!

Allison's Version of Uncle Delwyn's Chili

1 lb ground beef, browned

1 lb Jimmy Dean sausage, browned

1 onion, chopped

4 stalks of celery, finely chopped

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes

2 cans kidney beans, drained

1 can black beans, drained

1 15 oz can tomato sauce

4 green onions, chopped

1 green pepper, broiled until skin blisters and begins to blacken, seeded and chopped

1 red pepper, same process as green pepper

1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, seeded and chopped

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 Tbsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

2 bay leaves, remove before serving

salt and pepper to taste

Put all of the ingredients in a crock pot if you have all day, or in a stock pot if you don't have as long. Cook until it tastes good.

Escape Artist

Madeline climbed out of her crib for the first time today.

I feel like we may have begun a new phase of life, and I'm not sure we're ready for it.

Mini Reunion

Madeline and Hunter at Sam's. Madeline is actually IN the cart. The FRONT of the cart. I wanted to bring Hunter home with us for that reason alone because he's the only one that can keep her in the cart.

We had a mini family reunion in Cleveland last weekend. My sister, Shelley, moved to Ohio at the end of the summer so her husband could attend podiatry school. My mom came up with the great idea for her and Madeline and I to meet in Cleveland to see my sister's new place. It was so nice to get away from our normal routine for a few days. I loved the extra help with Madeline, and she apparently misses it with how she's been acting since we've been home.

I hadn't seen her little guy, Hunter, since he was a newborn, so it was fun getting to know him. He is such a calm, happy baby. Madeline wanted to be just like him - to the point where she was crawling around on the floor and sucking on a binkie (my next child WILL take a binkie). Cleveland is really beautiful in the fall. The whole city was shrouded in orange and red.

We spent a good part of our trip shopping, including my mom's necessary daily trips to Walmart. We grew up running constant errands with my mom, so I guess that's one of the ways we bond. Shelley was graciously given a sewing machine on Friday, so we thought it might be fun to try it out with a small sewing project. We decided to make crayon holders, but grossly underestimated the time it would take. We spent the whole afternoon into the evening on Saturday making them. My mom sewed quite a bit when we were younger, but Shelley and I are pretty inept at it. They turned out really cute in the end, though.

It was wonderful to see some of my family after so long. I'm all hyped up for our Christmas vacation now.

Madeline and Hunter at the Cleveland Zoo. The monkeys were the favorite animal at this zoo. Madeline yelled "MONK, MONK, MONK" for about 15 minutes.

We went out to dinner on Monday night, which was pretty crazy with these two kids. Madeline's favorite part of the meal was the ranch dressing. Who needs carrots when you have fingers?

Chili Challenge Week 4

I'm pretty sure my pictures make the food look less appitizing than it actually is. Maybe I should start garnishing the bowl, or just stop taking pictures of it!

This week we tried a new recipe from Rachael Ray's Big Orange Book. It was smokey, chunky, and really delicious. Definately a keeper. I'll probably even make it again, something that doesn't happen too often at our house. Most of the time I forget about the recipes we liked and just make something new - except for bean burritos and spaghetti which we have every week.

I made a few substitutions to the recipe for various reasons, and I'll include the changes I made.

Grilled Vegetable Chili

2 zucchini, sliced 1/2 inch thick on the diagonal

1 red bell pepper, halved and seeded

1 yellow bell pepper, halved and seeded

2 large portabella mushrooms (I used 8 oz. of baby bella)

1 red onion, peeled and sliced 3/4 inch thick (I used yellow, because I forgot to buy the red)

1/2 cup EVOO

salt and pepper

2 to 3 garlic cloves, grated or chopped

2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped (I used 1 chipotle packed in adobo because that's what I already had and I like the smokiness, but just 1 packed a good punch and I even seeded it)

1 15 oz can black beans

2 Tbsp chili powder

2 tsp sweet smoked paprika (I used regular)

3 Tbsp tomato paste

1 cup beer (I used chicken stock)

2 cups vegetable stock (I used chicken stock - I keep a never ending supply of it!)

Juice of 1 lime

A handful of fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped (I overlooked this when shopping, and was sad about it)

Heat a grill to medium high heat (I used the broiler with the rack 4-6 inches from the top. Someday we'll actually be able to use our grill, when it's not against fire code). Lightly brush all the vegetables with EVOO and season with salt and pepper. Cook 4 minutes on each side, or until marked and tender, with the lid down; remove to platter.

Heat the remaining EVOO, a couple of tablespoons, in a medium pot over medium to medium-high heat. Add the garlic and jalapenos and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, add the beans to heat through, and begin chopping the grilled vegetables with the chili powder, paprika, and salt and pepper. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the beer (stock) and reduce heat for 30 seconds, then stir in the rest of the stock and simmer the chili for a few minutes. Stir in the lime juice and cilantro.

Chili Challenge Week 3

For this week's chili challenge, I wanted to make a simple, classic chili. There are some who would argue that "classic" chili doesn't have any beans in it, so I guess this is MY idea of a classic chili. I pulled this recipe from my trusty Betty Crocker's Cookbook - Bridal Edition, from which I started to learn how to cook (and burned many things along the way). It's nice and tomatoey. The only thing I didn't like is that it didn't make enough for leftovers, and we like leftovers for lunch. Maybe we just eat a lot, but I'm going to make a double batch next time.

Chili

1 pound lean ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (8oz) can tomato sauce

1 Tbsp chili powder

3/4 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 can kidney or pinto beans, rinsed and drained

1. Cook beef, onion, and garlic in 3-quart saucepan over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown, drain.

2. Stir in remaining ingredients, except beans. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

3. Stir in beans. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered about 10 minutes, sirring occasionally, until desired thickness.

New Look

I've really not liked how this blog looked for quite some time, actually ever since I started it. I just wasn't computer-savvy enough to know how to do anything about it. Thank goodness for computer tutorials! I thought of the idea for this header as I was laying in bed last night trying not to think. I'm pretty proud of myself for stepping one toe into the world of photo editing. I'm sure I'll eventually want to change it again, but for now I'm happy with how this looks.

Better than "ah, ah, ah, ah....."

Madeline started stringing three words together yesterday.

"Help me, please"

What a beautiful sound.

Chili Challenge Week 2

I got the recipe for this week's chili from one of the best cooks I know - my mother-in-law, Karen Serr. Her food is absolutely wonderful, and we look forward to it every time we visit. It's down home country cookin' at it's best. She made this chili for us last winter. It's thick, chunky, rich, and creamy. It's not for the calorie conscious, but everything in moderation, right?

White Chili

3 boneless chicken breasts (I actually used thighs) cooked and shredded or chopped

28 oz. chicken stock

4 cans white beans (I cooked up my own great northern beans ahead of time - cheaper)

1 pint whipping cream (half and half is ok, too)

12 oz. shredded monterey jack cheese

1 large onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 can green chiles

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp cloves, crushed

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1 Tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

In medium pan, heat oil and saute onion until tender. Add garlic, chiles, cayenne, oregano, cloves, and cumin. Saute 2-3 minutes. Add onion mixture, chicken, cheese, and remaining ingredients to crock pot and cook on high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or low for longer.

Try it!

Fun at the Fair

We made it to the State Fair of Texas this year. Scott and I went two years ago when I was pregnant with Madeline as volunteers at the petting zoo, but we skipped it last year. The state fair is a pretty big deal here, and runs for about a month every fall.

I seriously can NOT get this child to look at the camera!!!

Parker College has a booth at the fair every year to recruit patients, and Scott was able to work at it last Friday. Madeline and I decided to meet him at the end of his shift. For some reason, it's always kind of a mess driving down there. I got the directions off of their website (1st mistake), and now I'm pretty sure we used the same directions two years ago because I remember them being wrong. Downtown Dallas is not exactly a place you want to get turned around in. The driving, parking, walking thing was pretty much a hastle, but once we actually found Scott we ended up having a great time.

We took Madeline to the Children's Barnyard Petting Zoo that is sponsored each year by the hospital I work for. She LOVED it. When we first walked in, she kept saying "COW, COW, COW!!!", like she couldn't believe there were actually real cows there. She got to pet the cutest little baby goat, although I never could get a decent picture of it.

She wanted to feed the animals, but once they got their mouths close to the shovel, she would drop it. By the end she was starting to get the hang of it.

One of the main reasons people go to the state fair is for the food. Fried food. Each year there are two main food awards given out. This year the best taste award went to fried peaches and cream. The most interesting food award went to fried butter. Yes, fried butter. I guess they were butter balls with the option of different flavors that were battered and fried. That I didn't try, but I was really exited for the peaches and cream. After consulting our map and walking around for quite some time, the peaches and cream were nowhere to be found. So, I settled on a previous year's best taste winner, fried cookie dough. It was as good and rich as it sounds. Scott, being the health guru that he is of course chose the corn-on-the-cob. It wasn't exactly health food, though, with the butter literally dripping off of it.

We dropped a lot of money in a pretty short period of time, but seeing as this just may be our last State Fair of Texas, it was worth it!

Chili Challenge

One of the things I love most about the fall is the change in what I cook. I love that I can use the oven again without making our apartment miserably hot, and I love to eat all of the hearty, delicious comfort food of the season. I think that the food that defines our family's fall eating habits is CHILI. There's not much in this world more satisfying than a big steaming bowl of chili and a cornbread muffin. Every year I search for more chili recipes in hopes of finding the best. I've got quite a stash, so I've decided to make it once a week this fall and share the recipes on my blog.

Here's my first recipe of the season. I made pinto bean chili with corn and winter squash on Friday. It was really easy and used my prefered method of cooking chili - the crock pot. It was a hit with Scott. Madeline tried a couple spoonfuls of the leftovers for lunch today. She thought it was more fun to smear it on the table than eat much of it. I enjoyed it - I thought the squash gave it a really interesting autumnal flavor. Also, I used black beans instead of pinto. Why? Because I had a pound of cooked black beans sitting in the fridge needing to be eaten.

Pinto Bean Chili with Corn and Winter Squash

2 1/2 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash

1 onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cumin

2 16oz. cans pinto beans, drained

1 16oz. package frozen corn

1 15oz. can crushed tomatoes

1 4.5oz. can chopped green chilis

1 1/2 cups water

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker, cook on low for 8 hours. Or, if you start it too late like I did, cook on high for 2 hours, then on low for 6. Serve with lime wedges.

I'm always looking for more chili recipes, so if you have a good one feel free to email me and I'll try it one of these weeks.

So Sleepy

Madeline has a little cold with a low-grade temp and has been fussy, fussy, fussy today. I put her up to the table for some lunch so I could have a little time to myself on the computer. I noticed it became unusually quiet after a few minutes, and upon investigation this is what I saw. Hilarious! She was slumped over in a very uncomfortable looking position, fast asleep. She hasn't randomly fallen asleep since she was probably a couple months old. I guess she's feeling worse than I thought she was.

Yummy?

I never in a million years would have thought of feeding Madeline a head of raw cauliflower. She found it (I won't tell you where...) and gnawed on it for 30+ minutes. I guess I should have thought of it.

Friends

We said goodbye to some wonderful friends of ours this weekend. They are moving on to bigger and better things, and we are so exited for them. But, we will sure miss them. They have helped us feel at home in Texas. They are the type of friends you can count on to do whatever they can to help you during hard times. They are the type of friends you help when they're in need, not because you feel like you have to but because you truly want to. They are the type of friends you can talk to for hours, or not see for weeks and still be friends. They are the type of people you want to be more like.

We are so lucky to have had you in our lives. Good luck!

Break

Scott's break from school is officially over today. He will be in national board reviews for the rest of the week, and then his next semester of school starts on Tuesday. We have always looked forward to these nice 2-3 week breaks that he gets every few months, in fact sometimes we almost live for them. We didn't take any grand vacations this time, but it was still nice to spend time together as a family. The above view is what I had of Scott during the first day of his break. He is always so good to take care of our cars and keep them running. They get oil changes, washed, waxed, etc. during every break. I don't ever even think about the maintenance of our cars - I just expect them to run and get me to where I need to go. If it weren't for Scott, I'm sure we would spend a lot more on car repairs.

We actually went on a date. Only a one month break between dates is amazing for us. We had great plans to see Mama Mia! on stage, but that fell through at the last minute. We ended up going to see The Proposal and then going out for ice cream. I loved the movie. Scott even laughed a couple of times, which is really saying something because he's not a romantic comedy kind of a man.

We decided to spend one of our mornings at the Dallas Farmer's Market. I grew up with going to one of the best Farmer's Markets in the country in Madison, Wisconsin and was exited to see how Dallas compares. I still much prefer Madison's market that wraps around the capitol square every Saturday morning. It is one of my favorite memories from that city.

We still had a great time, and were able to buy some delicious produce. I think the best thing we bought was an Israel melon. It is a cross between a honey dew melon and a cantaloupe, but is sweeter than both. It was delicious! Madeline loved all of the free fruit samples she got from the nice vendors.

This week our big adventure was camping. I'm not sure that we are really camping people, but we have all of the gear and it's just been gathering dust in our closet for 3+ years. Scott's been requesting that we go for a while and the weather was finally bearable this week, so away we went. We found a pretty site that is only about 20 minutes away - which was a really good thing because our trip included a stop back home for forgotten necessities at 10:30 pm.

Madeline thought the tent was pretty fun - in fact a little too fun to fall asleep in. It took her no less than an hour and a half to go to sleep that night, but who's counting? Luckily Scott and I had brought our portable dvd player to pass the time with some good old Ghostbusters.

Above is the view from our tent. It was a really pretty area right on the shore of Grapevine Lake.

We brought shish-kabobs for dinner, but they were nasty which meant that Madeline for sure wouldn't touch them. So that left her with marshmallows for dinner. I actually thought she was eating her whole s'more until I found the graham crackers she'd hidden in the cup holder of the chair.

The site had electric hook-ups so we made pancakes and eggs for breakfast, and were much more successful than we had been at dinner.

There were all kinds of fun things to play with, like rocks, mud, and chasing squirrels. The very best thing Madeline found to play with was the water faucet. She kept saying "moe wah-ee" (more water) over and over again all evening long.

This is how the trip ended. It was a lot of work for one night, but it was nice to have a change of scenery.

I guess we're all geared up for the fall trimester now. It promises to be extremely strenuous.

Aunt Megan's visit

Madeline's Aunt Megan (my youngest sister) came out to visit us earlier in the summer. It ended up being a really crazy week, and not much went as planned, but I was so grateful to have her help. She was really such a blessing to us at that time. I didn't take any pictures while she was here, but these are a few of the pictures she took.

We went to a baby shower and two birthday parties in one day! Here we are at the park for the last of the parties.

Madeline wanted to be just like her Aunt Megan, purse and all. She would trail behind us out of the house with her arm swinging and carrying her special little purse.

We did a little shopping, which Megan was grateful for because the shopping in Logan is definitely lacking. Madeline spent a good long while playing in the lingerie rack at Gap. There was a lot of crying when I didn't buy that little number she was holding onto.

She got to play with exiting new toys from Megan's purse.

Madeline really took to Megan, and still gets exited when she sees pictures of her. We can't wait to see her again at Christmas, if not before.

Thanks so much for coming to see us, Megan!

18 Months!

Madeline hit the 18 month landmark last week. Here are a few of my thoughts about this time in her life.

Things I love about Madeline right now:

- hearing her nearly constant jibber jabber
-her great big, sometimes slobbery kisses with a loud SMACK at the end
-her cute teeth that make her look like a little girl instead of a baby
-that she wipes up after her own spills
-that she throws her trash away in the garbage can
-that she is sleeping through the night, again
-how she runs so adorably with her little head forward
-how she still sleeps on her haunches (as Scott puts it)
-how she calls me "mimi"

Things Madeline loves:

-reading stories, sometimes the same one over and over again
-watching Elmo "Ngo Ngo" while I shower
-bubbles in the tub, and washing herself
-any and all fruits, and not much else
-carrying around a bag of grapes and a bagel first thing in the morning, before breakfast
-being carried or "worn" by her mom
-bows and flip flops
-swimming
-standing in the fridge with the door wide open, just looking
-her blanket and giraffe
-snuggling up with her mom while still in her towel after a bath

Moments

I have found that motherhood involves a degree of monotony and drudgery. But, there are wonderful moments of pure joy that shine throught the long days. Tonight I had one of those such moments. Madeline was sitting on my lap in our rocking chair after her bath, as naked as the day she was born. We were singing "I'm bringing home a baby bumblebee". She was bouncing up and down with her hands clasped together, saying "baby bee, baby bee" with a huge smile on her face. I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude and happiness for the chance to be the mother of such an amazing, beautiful little girl. There is nothing in this world I would rather be.

I've loved watching Madeline meet the milestones of childhood, but I think my favorite milestone has been her talking. I get so exited and proud every time she learns how to say a new word. It seems like its happening every day now, and it's so amazing. I love to hear how she pronunciates her words. Often times it's practically undecipherable, but so cute. My favorite word of hers right now is "dirty". She says, "dirtally" with a little flip of the tongue. However, her current favorite word is "no".

This is a typical conversation in our home:

Me: Madeline, lets go change your diaper.

Madeline: Noooooo!

Me: Yes, we need to.

Madeline: No.

Me: Yes, Madeline, it's dirty!

Madeline: No.

Me: Can you please learn how to say yes?

Madeline: No.

Letter to the Insomniac

Dear Madeline,

Will you please, please sleep? I know you were really sick two weeks ago and haven't been able to sleep well since. Then Daddy called me on Friday night when I was at work and put the phone up to you. Your breathing sounded HORRENDOUS! I told him take you in the bathroom and steam it up with the hot shower and beat on your back to get you to cough. It helped a little bit, but you still sounded like your throat was really swollen. I know I told Daddy to put you in bed with him so he could hear you and check on you easily. Maybe that wasn't the right decision, but I was afraid you might die, as I have found is a common (but usually crazy) fear of motherhood. Then the next day you didn't want to nap in your crib. But, you were sick and really tired, and I was really tired, so I gave in and let you nap with me in bed. So the pattern continued for the next couple of days.

Last night you weren't sick anymore. Daddy and I wanted you to sleep in your crib, just like you've been doing for months. Was it really necessary for you to cry in protest for so long? It made me feel so sad to hear you. I worried that something might be wrong. I worried that I'm not a good mother to you. How come you had to then wake up at 4:45 in the morning and cry some more? I checked on you when you first started crying, but you were fine. You just wanted me to hold you. I love to hold you, but not every night in the middle of the night for hours until you fall back asleep. That makes me really tired and really grumpy in the morning.

Usually when people are tired, they sleep. I have found that this is not the case with you. Maybe you could learn, though.

I love you so much, but could you please, please sleep?

Love,
Your mom

Four Great Years

Scott and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary yesterday. We had such a wonderful day together. Scott was able to come home from school early, at about noon. The three of us had lunch together and then we all laid down for a much needed nap. When we woke up, we decided to take a leap and try bringing Madeline to the movies with us. We went to the dollar theater (which is the 50 cent theater on Tuesdays!) and saw Monsters vs. Aliens. Madeline actually did pretty well. She sat on my lap and watched for the first 30 minutes or so. Then she climbed on the seats and walked around the little row we were sitting in. And she was fairly quiet. The movie wasn't quite as good as we expected, but for 50 cents, who cares?!!

We actually went out by ourselves last night. I'm embarrassed to say how long it's been since we've been on a date. A long time. We went to dinner at the Grand Lux Cafe. It was seriously delicious. I will even venture to say that it was among the best food I've ever had. We had grand plans to go ice skating after dinner, but Scott had decided to wear his new suit pants and I wasn't about to risk getting a hole in them. I bought him an early graduation present in January when Joseph A. Bank was having an awesome sale. We got three suits for the price of one. Anyway, they were still expensive, so we passed on the ice skating and just did a little shopping (or looking) at the mall. We also had plans to get a little dessert at Godiva, for a special anniversary treat. Unfortunately, I guess I'm just too cheap. I was also really full, which I'm using as my excuse today. I just couldn't pay $15 dollars for four truffles, or $4 for one macaroon. I'm a little sad about it today.

I'd forgotten what it's like to go out with my husband. I'd forgotten how much fun we can have together. I'm so happy I married such a wonderful man, and I'm planning on making a better effort at spending time with him. Alone.

Work

I don't talk about my job too often, but we've had some major changes this summer that I want to highlight. For those who don't know, I am a registered nurse at Children's Medical Center of Dallas. I work in the recovery room every Friday and Saturday night. Basically my job entails stabilizing children as they come out of anesthesia and controlling their pain when they wake up. We generally only take care of one patient at a time since they require critical care in the beginning, and the patient stays with us for about an hour or two. I enjoy the wide array of patients that I see and the skills I have learned at this job.

We joined the wonderful world of paperless charting at the end of May. Most of the other units in the hospital had been charting on the computer for quite some time, but we were still using paper in the recovery room because it's faster. The hospital decided to purchase different documentation software, and with that change it was decided that all units must chart on the computer. It has been a huge change for us. I'm slowly getting faster at charting, but definitely still getting used to it.

The hospital has just completed construction of a new 10 story tower. This place is seriously enormous! They built us a new recovery room in the new tower, which was MUCH needed. Our old room was tiny and outdated. Imagine 15-17 patients on strechers hooked up to beeping monitors, 15 nurses, 4 techs, family members,and multiple doctors all crammed into a small, oblong room. It wasn't a pretty site. Extremely chaotic. And a little smelly by the end of the day! We moved into our new recovery room two weeks ago. It's gigantic and beautifully decorated. We're loving it.

It's been exiting (though a little unnerving) to have so many changes at work this summer. I really do enjoy my job, as much as I complain about having to work every weekend. For the time being, I know that this is what I need to be doing to help our family. We are extremely lucky that I have a well-marketable career that provides enough money for me to support my family's needs, as well as a few of our wants. This job truly is a blessing. Someday, Scott will be able to take over this role, and I'm exited for that day. But, for now, we have a pretty good thing going.

Budding Photographer?

Madeline got a hold of my camera the other day, turned it on, and starting taking random pictures (mostly of her hand). In hindsight, maybe it wasn't the best idea to buy her that cute toy camera from the dollar store, since she knows how to use one now. I went through the pictures to delete them and came across this one. I thought it was a pretty cool shot taken by a 17 month old!