Random Thoughts Thursday

Apparently, automatic car washes rank somewhere between ax murderers and flesh-eating vampires on the "Things That Are Frightening To Your Baby" scale.

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The following is a list of things that Sam ate yesterday. For lunch.

-a slice of turkey

-a couple of cubes of cheese

-a cherry tomato

-rice cereal with pureed mango mixed in

-1/2 slice of bread

-Gerber puffs

-apple juice

These are my thoughts about that list:

-I love that my little boy will literally eat anything (more on that in a minute). We have not found any food that he will refuse. He wasn't particularly fond of the cottage cheese I gave him a coupe of weeks ago, but I think it was more the texture he didn't like. But when he spit it out after the first bite, Shawn started screaming, "I've been telling you for years that stuff is nasty!"

-Maybe I should have taken advantage of the Presidents' Day sales and bought some clothes in a bigger size, because oh my gosh I think this kid might be getting ready to have another growth spurt.

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We went to the doctor yesterday where Sam was diagnosed with croup. They gave him a dose of oral steroids mixed in Hershey's syrup, and the nurse had the audacity to think that he might not take the medicine well. Ummm....lady, for one thing, this is Sam...the most laid back kid ever. Secondly, it's mixed in chocolate. He slurped it right down and looked at her for more.

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The following is a list of non-food items that Sam ate or tried to eat yesterday.

-water from the dog's water bowl

-a baby wipe that I had just finished wiping his tail with

-the thermometer at the doctor's office

-the remote control

-my shoes

We Nailed It

Last weekend, some of my kinfolk from the West drove up to my sister's house for a visit. So Sam and I took a little day trip and snuck in a visit, too. After lunch at the busiest deli EVER, we decided that some of us needed manicures.

"Mom, which shade of pink should I get?

THIS OOOOOOOONE???" **holds out a fluorescent shade of pink**

"orthisone?" **barely flashes a lighter, softer shade**

So young, yet already manipulating the situation with such skill. I hope she uses her powers for good someday.

Makayla knew exactly what color she wanted. I think it's the same color of orange that they use to make the Caution: Road Work signs.

But their nails look awesome!

This is apparently what Sam and Izzi think of manicures.

BOOOOOORING!!

Dear Sam,

You must have woke up one morning this month and thought to yourself, "Hey, I'm almost 10 months old. I'd better start learning some things." You have been so much fun this month because your brain is like a giant sponge, just waiting to soak up everything around you. Every time you pick up on something new, your eyes light up and you seem so proud of yourself. I hope learning is always this fun and exciting for you.

I think your biggest accomplishment this month is that you're now mobile. I wouldn't exactly call what you do crawling. While you are starting to get on your hands and knees and get everybody moving together on occasion, you more often prefer to just slither like a snake. You're pretty sneaky about it, too. I can put you in the floor surrounded by your toys, and within seconds, you're across the room headed towards something you're not supposed to have. It's so funny to see your little butt wiggling back and forth. You throw in a few grunts for good measure, and bada bing, bada boom! Before I know it, you've found a dust bunny to eat.

You have also started clapping this month. Whenever you do something that you feel is applause-worthy, you crack a big grin and clap your chubby little hands. I picked up a Cheerio with my thumb and fore-finger and successfully got it in my mouth. Yayyyy!!! A couple of days ago, I was walking on the treadmill and you were playing in your Exersaucer. Every couple of minutes you would stop what you were doing, look over at me and clap for me. One week, you kept all of the people around us in church distracted entertained by clapping for them.

We're working on waving, but it's still pretty sporadic. Every night, we wave bye-bye to Maddie and the cats as we make our way to your bedroom. You give Daddy a kiss and wave to him. Finally, when we get to your room, we wave to Geronimo, your giant giraffe. Sometimes during this little routine, you actually wave, but most of the time it's just Mommy. While I can't get you to wave on command, you will randomly wave at some non-existent person while we're playing and say, "Bah."

You're getting better at communicating. Last week, Daddy was pulling you around the block in your wagon, and we stopped for just a minute. When we looked back at you, you were lunging forward in the wagon. We could almost hear you saying, "Go, Daddy, go!" You're also shaking your head "no" these days, but we're not sure it always means no. Sometimes it's just you being silly, and when someone nods their head back at you, you collapse in a fit of giggles...and then clap for the wonderful game. You tell us you're sleepy by patting your head. I know when you start rubbing your hair, I'd better find a place to put you down...FAST!

Sam, I love your sweet, gentle nature. I love that when I walk in the door in the evenings, you smile at me and clap for me. I love that you don't yet know how to judge others so you bless everyone who speaks to you with that smile that goes all over your face, no matter who they are or how they're dressed. I love finding new things that make you laugh like shaking my head and flopping my hair or just bouncing a tennis ball on the floor. (One night Daddy was blowing on your hair and making it stand up, and I thought you were going to pass out you were laughing so hard.) Your sweet smile and contagious laugh can melt away even the coldest of bad days.

I love you, my baby boy!

Mommy

And So It Begins...

One night this week, I was feeding Sam his supper just like normal. Nothing out of the ordinary. My sweet little boy was taking bites of baby food between his self-fed bites of Cheerios.

Then something happened.

My sweet, innocent little boy farted.

I'm not talking about a baby toot--that happens all the time. This was a man-sized fart. The kind that a man lets after eating buffalo wings and drinking beer while watching football. The kind that only the biggest, burliest, hairiest men can make. It ricocheted off of his vinyl highchair and echoed through the quiet kitchen.

And then my sweet, angelic child laughed and clapped his hands.

And just like that, the battle is over.

I am waving my white flag.

My son is all boy.

And my husband is so proud.

He has learned the most basic principle to being a man. Farts are funny.

Dear Spring...

Could you just go ahead and make your appearance?

'Cause this just ain't workin' for me.

Sincerely,
Sam

This Could Be The Beginning...

...of a beautiful friendship.

Sam is becoming Mr. Independent when it comes to food. I can do it myself, thankyouverymuch!

For years now, I have been telling Maddie that it could only benefit her to have a kid around. Because do you know what little Mr. Independents do when they're eating?

They drop lots of food!!!

It looks like she might finally be warming up to the idea.

Dear God,

Thank you for finally answering my prayer to make it start raining food. You're awesome.

Sincerely,

Maddie the Dog Ruler of This House

Annie's New Bed

Annie loves to find places where she can hide and sleep for hours. Come to think of it, I would love to find a couple of places where I could hide and sleep for hours. But I digress.


This is not the first time I have posted about Annie's hiding places. She has been known to sleep in Sam's Poop Chair, in a basket of diapers and in his stroller. Every now and then I wake up, and in my sleepy stagger to the shower, I notice a random paw sticking out from underneath my dresser.

So you can imagine my surprise when Sam and I walked into his bathroom a couple of weeks ago to see this:



The cold, hard countertop is neither warm nor private...two things that I thought were prerequisites of hers. She eventually managed to drag herself up, stretch and yawn the way cats do, and flounce away in a huff when we started splashing around in the tub. I guess we disturbed her.

Two Healthy Recipes

I didn't make it to the grocery this week. On my day off, I took a couple of pictures to Hobby Lobby to have them framed, and by the time Sam and I finished browsing their 50% off shelves, he was ready for a nap. So I decided that it would be easier to get creative with the food already in our fridge and pantry than to try and keep him occupied in Kroger while he was sleepy.

Shawn always gets a little nervous when I use the words "get creative" and "cook" in the same sentence. He walked into the kitchen, took the lid off of the pan, and saw this:



(Remind me to get some tips from my cooking buddies on how to take more appetizing pictures of the stuff we make.)

I added some roasted carrots to the plate for a little extra color.

Joe's Chicken Couscous Concoction
-1 pkg chicken breasts
-1 bag frozen broccoli (the kind you steam in the bag)
-1 box couscous (I used the Parmesan flavored)
-1 can stock (vegetable is what I had on hand, but I usually keep chicken)
-Greek seasoning to taste

Here's what I did. I would describe this as just okay. It definitely has potential because it's quick and healthy, but I would be open to comments and suggestions for how to improve it.

Boil the chicken until there is no pink in the center. Cube it into 1 inch pieces, then saute it in a large pan just until browned on the outside. (I just like boiling the chicken because I think it's more tender that way.)

Steam the broccoli in the microwave while the chicken sautes.

Add the stock, 1/2 can of water, broccoli and couscous to chicken in the pan. Remove from heat, cover with a lid and let sit until the liquid is absorbed. Season to taste.

Easy enough?

For those of you who are interested, this makes about 3 very generous servings and it's about 8 points per serving.

I was also cruising through a Weight Watchers cookbook that I have had forever and probably never used and came across a recipe for salad dressing that looked promising.

Greek Salad A La Joe with Weight Watchers Citrus Dressing
-lettuce
-grapes, cut in half
-cucumbers, diced
-Italian cheese blend (although Feta would be nice...I just didn't have any)

Dressing
-1/2 cup orange juice
-4 tsp lemon juice
-4 tsp lime juice
-1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
-1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
-I added 2 packets of Splenda...this is pretty tart. If you're not into artificial sweeteners, give it a little sugar

The dressing is a bit complicated to make. Here are the directions:

Pour everything together and mix.

I mixed it in one of Sam's bottles so I could shake it up without making a mess.

I would absolutely make sure I had fruit on my salad when using the dressing because even with the Splenda, it has a bite to it. You need the sweetness from the fruit to balance the tartness of the dressing.

This got two thumbs up from Shawn.

WW Update Week 3

Me: 3.4 lbs lost (You'd better believe I'm counting the 0.4 lbs!)

Shawn: 7 lbs lost

Slow and steady wins the race.

Take With Food

Maddie gets better health care than most Americans.

Because we're just suckers like that.

She takes glucosamine for a knee injury that occurred a few years ago. She also takes a fish oil capsule for...wait...why does she take that again? Shawn took her to the vet one time and came home with fish oil capsules and she has taken one every day since then.



The end.



Fish oil. Oil of fish.

It's just what you'd think it is. As in, if you break one open, you smell fish. As in, if you chew it, you probably taste fish. (I can only assume this to be true, because I have never chewed nor swallowed one whole.) My patients who take it tell me they burp and taste fish, for which I tell them to store the capsules in the freezer.

(That's one of the sneaky things they teach you in pharmacy school.)



Maddie doesn't really seem to mind the whole fish thing. But then, she also thinks the things in the litter box are Tootsie Rolls, so what does she know? We just put her medicine in the bowl with her food every night when she eats her supper. No hiding it in ham around here! Lately, she has started picking the pills out...NO, I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP!!! She saves them for last, and then...

...are you ready for it?

SHE CHEWS THE FISH OIL!!!

ON PURPOSE!!!

AND SHE SMILES AT YOU WHILE SHE'S CHEWING IT!!!

Oh my goodness, we love that dog.