One of Those Weeks...

It has been one of those weeks and it is only Wednesday. Let me tell you about my week so far....

Monday: Well Child Check-Up for Vivian (aka: shots)
I took Vivian in for her one year well child check up. She is doing well and meeting milestones. She is in the 50% for height and 10% for weight (but she was just sick and lost some weight, so I think she is really in the 35%). She got three shots. I had to hold her arms down and this is the first time she really looked at me with betrayal in her eyes. It made me sad.

Tuesday: I get some bad news that totally distracts me. Also, Vivian had six teeth at her well child check up yesterday, today she has eight. Seriously, two teeth came in over night. However, this explains why she has been so fussy. I pick Connor up from school and he is extra crazy hyper. Like driving me insane hyper. We make it through the day and Dad comes home. We all pile in the car and head over to my friend's house for dinner. I'm really excited about this, I really need the distraction and I want to see my friend. Half way there Connor says his stomach hurts. I ask if he needs to pee, he says yes, really bad. We are in the middle of nowhere so we pull over in a new housing development and find a field. He gets out of the car and is immediately distracted by a cricket. He wants to catch it. Obviously he doesn't need to pee that bad and as suspected, he squeezes out a few drops. Back in the car. Vivian is mad because she didn't get to get out of the car and is fussing. We drive another block. Connor says his stomach really hurts and he needs to poop. Again, we are in the middle of nowhere. The nearest bathroom is three miles away and he is acting like he REALLY needs to poop. I'm having visions of poop smeared in the car seat, but we make it to Quik Trip. Curt takes Connor in and I try to entertain Vivian who is now really mad that she didn't get to get out of the car. I text my friend that we are on the way, but are making an emergency poop stop. A few minutes pass and then a few more pass. I'm getting worried. Then Curt and Connor come out and Connor is wearing underwear but no pants or shoes. Crap. Curt says he threw up on his clothes. I text my friend that we aren't coming and we head home. :( Connor throws up again when we get home. We aren't sure if he is sick or if he throwing up from a smoothie that he drank. He starts feelings better and running around. Then it is time for bed. We lie down and I'm almost asleep when I hear, Mama? I need to pee. We go to the bathroom, nothing. Back to bed. Mama? I need to poop. Back to the bathroom, nothing. Back to bed. Thirty minutes pass. Mama? I need to poop, my stomach hurts. By this point I totally don't believe him so I tell him to go by himself. Bad decision. From bed I distinctly hear the sound of liquid hitting the floor. I run into the bathroom and I don't have my contacts in, but I can see that he has thrown up right next to the toilet and is about to do it again. I shove a trash can in front of him. He finishes and I put him in the bath. We clean up, get new underwear (he barfed on the other pair) and get back in bed. He falls asleep immediately. Thirty minutes pass, I am almost asleep. He starts moaning. Thirty more minutes pass, he sits up in bed and exorcist vomits. I clean him up and then he lies on the floor while I change the sheets. We get back in bed. I am almost asleep. Mama! I need to poop! I can smell that he has already pooped, so I carry him to the bathroom and put him back in the tub. Amazingly none got in the bed (he was sleeping on his stomach). We get another pair of clean underwear. Back to bed. He goes to sleep. I almost go to sleep. Mama! My stomach hurts. He throws up again but in the trash can I put beside the bed. Back to sleep. I think it is almost 5:00 am at this point. I haven't gone to sleep, but I'm hoping he sleeps in. 7:00 am, Mama! Time to get up. Let's go downstairs. Shit. Only now he has a fever so he is happy to sit on the couch and watch a movie.

I won't tell you about the rest of the day, but it consisted of a lot of: Mama, my stomach hurts. But at least no more throwing up or pooping. Vivian went to stay with Nana, so hopefully she doesn't get sick too.

Tomorrow is going to bring new challenges, but we are just hoping that no one else gets sick and I'm just trying to make it to the weekend.

The Fuzzy Wuzzy Caterpillar

Saturday Connor found a fuzzy yellow caterpillar, that looked pretty harmless, so we let him pick it up. Really super bad idea. Connor now has hives on his hand (like thirty!), the front and back of one leg, his stomach, his butt, and several on each arm. The caterpillar ended up being an American Dagger Moth Caterpillar and its hairs are like fiber glass. They are microscopic and stick in your skin while releasing a toxin. We went to the doctor today and she recommended applying cortizone and using Zyrtec to reduce the swelling and itching, which we were already doing. I'm not sure how long the hives will last, but we are supposed to be watching to make sure Connor doesn't develop a fever as that would be the first sign that the poison was overtaking his body. I think he will be fine in a few days, but we sure learned our lesson when it comes to caterpillars! So be warned, if you ever see a fuzzy yellow caterpillar with black lashes, do not pick it up! It may look cute and fuzzy, but it is not nice.

Lately

This last week Curt was out of town for work, refreshing his electron microscope skills, so I was in single parent mode. Let me tell you how hard it is to be a single parent. Each day was about surviving and meeting the most basic needs. I hardly had any time to just play with Connor or Vivian as all my time was spent trying to feed them, bathe them, dress them, put them down for a nap, put them down for the night, wash bottles, make formula, wash dishes, and keep the laundry clean. Oh, and chase the chickens all around the backyard in 100 degree heat. Baby Einstein and E.T. were my best friends, as that was the only way I could entertain Vivian and Connor and get some stuff done without two screaming kids. Also, just to mix it up, Vivian is teething and didn't sleep longer than 30 minutes at a time the entire week and Connor desperately missed his Dad and the only way he knew how to express this emotion was through very negative behavior. One night he got mad at me for not letting him ride his plasma car while holding a sharp stick and yelled, "I'm gonna punch you," and proceeded to punch me as hard as he could in the stomach (it didn't hurt at all) while also yelling, "Dad would let me do it!!!" So let me say, we were all so very happy to see Curt on Saturday. Connor and Vivian missed their Dad and I missed my best friend.

Anyway, due to my single parent status, all my projects came to a standstill. But, now that things are back to normal, I plan on resuming the chair re-upholstery project. Also, my neighbor brought by an old school desk one of his renters left in a garage and gave it to Connor. It was really dirty, but in good shape, so we are fixing it up too. I've already started working on it, so I'll post pictures of it soon.

Upholstery Staples...My Evil Nemesis

When Curt and I bought our dining room set we were still two years away from having Connor, so buying six dining room chairs with white microfiber covers did not set off any alarms bells. Today, with two kids, it sets off a lot of alarm bells. Like spaghetti sauce, pizza, grease, chocolate, etc. All food that is dropped by Connor onto the chair cushion. I have cleaned the cushions so many times that they all look dingy. I tried putting a towel in Connor's chair, but this is what I hear from him, "I don't want a towel in my chair. I don't need it. You don't have a towel in your chair. Dad doesn't have one." Eventually he ends up kicking it out sometime during dinner. At this point I am so tired of cleaning them, that if he drops spaghetti sauce on one, I wipe the blob off, but leave the stain. My new goal is to re-upholster all the chairs.

So yesterday I went to Hancock Fabric with my mom and the lady said I would need about two and a quarter yards of fabric for six chairs. I thought I had better get three in case I make a mistake. The fabric I really liked was 30 dollars a yard though. 90 dollars for three yards! Then she said it was forty percent off, so I bought it. I brought my fabric home and went about trying to remove a cushion from the frame of the chair. Actually I gave Connor the screwdriver and he did it. Super easy. Then I examined the bottom. The bottom has about two hundred staples holding the fabric on! Yikes, but I thought, "How hard can it be to remove a staple." Apparently, it is REALLY, REALLY hard. I tried using needle nose pliers to pull them out, but after thirty minutes I had removed twenty staples, my hand was cramped up and I was sweating. All of the staples are practically flush with the wood, meaning I can't even grip them with the pliers. Today, Vivian and I went to Ace Hardware and bought a tool made specifically to pull staples out. It is even worse than the needle nose pliers. So I looked online and found a tool that looks like it could really do some damage to the staples and possibly my finger, but it is twenty dollars plus shipping. I don't really want to spend that much on it, so I am contemplating just removing the fabric with a razor blade and leaving the staples in since they are flush with the wood and covering them with the new fabric. This is probably what I am going to end up doing. I'm taking pictures, but I haven't really accomplished anything yet, so I'll wait to post them.

Ode to Connor

I have to brag: Connor has been such a delightful little guy lately and I'm so impressed. Just five months ago, every day was a struggle. There was screaming, crying, tantrums. I was at my wits end every day. I was seriously considering taking him to a psychologist. Then I read the book "My Three Year Old: Friend or Enemy" and realized his behavior was normal and that he would cycle out of his bad behavior and he has. Lately, he has been using "please" and "thank you" and he communicates with me more instead of just getting hysterical. Every day he tells me the best stories and I look at him and my heart just swells with love and pride. So I would like to share a little bit about Connor.

Connor:
- always, always puts his underwear on inside out or backwards or both.
- loves to collect things, tape measures, chap stick, soap, candles, rocks.
- loves the color blue...if it is blue he'll collect it.
- loves riding razor scooters and plasma cars...so much that he wore holes in his shoes and then holes in
  his socks.
- loves going to Lowe's or Home Depot. He likes looking at everything. Tractors, weedeaters, tools.
- starts off stories with "Back in the old days" or "When I used to be little."
- can make Vivian laugh harder than anyone else, often by just looking at her.
- has eaten more ice cream sandwiches in his life than I have in mine.
- tells me, "I loves you Mom."

I sure loves him too.

The Library

After three years of law school, I have decided that I want to be a librarian! Well, not really, but kinda. I took Connor to the library for the first time this last week and he loved it. I realize I am probably a bit late in doing this, but when you are in law school and have a toddler and an infant, going to the library is not on top of the important things to do list. Also, having spent countless (often miserable) hours in the law library, I had forgotten what a joy it can be to go to the normal library. Anyway, it was so neat watching his little eyes light up as I explained that he could read as many of the books as he wanted and we could even take some home (as long as we brought them back). We went to story time, signed up for the summer reading club, and got a list of the summer events. I am looking forward to introducing him more to the library this summer because when I was little I loved the library.  It was always exactly what I wanted/needed it to be. If it was cold and dreary outside, it was always warm, brightly lit, and cheery inside. If I needed some solitude, there was always a quite corner to sit in. Then there is the smell of a library, all that paper, some old and some new, it just smells good. And then all the stories. You can go anywhere you want with books and imagination is so much better than t.v. or movies. I hope someday both Connor and Vivian feel this way about libraries and reading.

Anyway, being in the library made me want to spend more time there, work there, but then a job at the library will definitely not cut it when I start getting bills for my student loans. Blarg! Maybe I can just volunteer.

Hemp: The Magical Plant

First of all, let me say that I am not a complete health food freak, although I don't think there is anything wrong with that (and it might be that my family just hasn't reached this status yet, but will in the future). For the most part, I think we eat similarly to most Americans. There is always pop in our house, we eat pizza and hamburgers, etc., etc. However, both of my children have food allergies and this has led us to make changes in our diet, which has also led to healthier eating. Connor is allergic to dyes, specifically Red #40, but probably the other dyes as well. Luckily, it is pretty easy to tell what has Red #40 and to avoid it. Vivian, on the other hand, has a milk protein intolerance. This is more difficult. It took us eight weeks of constant crying before we figured out what was wrong with her and switched her to Nutramigen (a formula based on cow's milk, but with all the milk proteins completely broken down). Now that she is starting to eat solid foods, this allergy is becoming more difficult. She can't eat yogurt, cheese, ice cream, or milk, or anything with any of these ingredients in it. I can always tell when I have accidently given her something with milk or a milk product because she'll get a rash on her face. Basically she can eat meat, fruits, vegetables and some bread. She still drinks Nutramigen, but as you can imagine, it is more expensive than all other formulas and it feels like it is costing us an arm and a leg right now.

A few days ago, Vivian went to the pediatrician for her nine month check up and she said we could start introducing a milk alternative. She suggested rice milk. However, after doing a lot of research, I realized that rice milk is just not that nutritious. It contains no fat, no protein, no calcium (unless fortified) and no vitamins or minerals. It is basically just carbs and sugar. So I started looking at other alternative milks. Almond milk: no go, Curt and I both have nut allergies and we can't introduce nuts until she is two. Soy milk: no go, it acts a a synthetic estrogen and can cause a girl to go through puberty early. Goat's milk: no go, there is a lot of cross reactivity between cow and goat milk, meaning if you are allergic to one, it is likely you'll be allergic to the other. That's when I came across hemp milk, which I initially dismissed because it seemed a little too alternative. Yet, as I researched it more (Curt also researched it), I found that it is actually very good for you. It contains fat (which babies need for brain development), easy to digest proteins, all ten essential amino acids, omega 3, 6, and 9 fatty acids, calcium, and several other vitamins. It is probably the most nutritious alternative to milk out there right now. Also, in case you are wondering hemp milk has no drug properties and is not marijuana. It is perfectly safe to consume. So, Curt and I agreed that we would give it a try. We picked up a carton at Akin and we each had a glass and let Vivian have a sip. She liked it immediately and wanted more! We both thought it tasted pretty good as well. It is thin, similar to skim milk,  and has a creamy, nutty flavor. Since then we have been replacing one ounce of each of Vivian's bottles with hemp milk. We are still watching for any sign of allergic reaction, but so far so good. Eventually, we hope to replace half of her formula with it and thankfully, it is much cheaper than Nutramigen (about three times cheaper).

So we hopefully have found the miracle alternative to milk, but this post also has another purpose. While researching hemp milk, I discovered that it is illegal to cultivate hemp in the U.S. because it is classified as a drug. The U.S. is the only industrialized nation in the world that does not allow cultivation. All the hemp milk I will buy will be imported, making it more expensive than it needs to be. A few days ago, I posted about BVO, which has been banned in more than 100 countries, except the U.S. Also, many countries, except the U.S., have banned Red #40. I am completely lost when it comes to the choices the FDA has made regarding our food quality. The FDA refuses to ban BVO and Red #40, despite the fact that it knows of the numerous health risks associated with these additives, but bans the cultivation of hemp, which has numerous uses and health benefits, because it is classified as a drug. Yes, marijuana also comes from hemp, but the U.S. could regulate hemp cultivation just like it regulates everything else. I feel like when it comes to food quality, this country is completely a$$ backwards.

I'll step down from my soap box now.

Goodbye

Tonight I had to say goodbye to one of my very best law school friends who is moving tomorrow. She got a really awesome job in the great state of Colorado. I can't even begin to imagine how much I am going to miss her, especially since she has been my friend since the very first day of dog law week our 1L year. There is something about law school friends that make them different than all other friends. I think that law school must be similar to hazing in that the difficultly, the fear, and possibly even the socratic method bond you to your friends in a way that is different than any other friendship. When I was struggling my first year, especially my first semester, I knew that she would understand the grief I was experiencing, the feeling that law school was invading every aspect of my life, every crevice of my brain, because she was going through exactly the same thing. Only another law student can truly understand what law school does to a person. I know that I will miss her dearly (especially when I am sitting in class, particularly Mansfield's class, with a bunch of 2L's next semester), but I am so happy and excited that this new chapter of her life is beginning. Therefore, I can only wish her the best of luck and say that I am truly grateful that we met and became friends, lifelong friends.

Our First Family Vacation

Our first family vacation to Silver Dollar City was a huge success! We were a bit worried about the drive up since Vivian hates riding in the car and how Connor would handle sleeping in a hotel. Connor does not like to sleep away from home and has only done so seven times in his whole life. I've tried on a couple of occasions to stay the night with him at my parent's house, but he spent the entire night alternating between crying and saying, "Go home." Anyway, despite our worries, everything worked out perfectly. We left around noon, close to Vivian's nap time, and she slept most of the way there. Connor ended up really liking the hotel too, especially since my parent's room was right across the hall and he was able to go back and forth whenever he wanted.  We stayed at the Welk Resort and they have a Splashatorium, which he really enjoyed (as you can see).

(Relaxing in the hot tub - it was his favorite)

(Apparently there are pictures of me doing something similar to this when I was a child - lol)

(Vivian didn't really like the pool or hot tub, she ended up sitting with Grandma Cindy and watching Connor play.) 

We all had a great time at Silver Dollar City as well. Connor really liked making his own candles, buying homemade lye soap from Granny's Lye Soap Shop, and the Ghost Trap. He even went in the Marvel Cave with Dad and Granddad Tony (and only cried twice :) )

(Dipping candles. All of Connor's candles were blue.)

(We told Connor he could also buy a candle. I tried to get him to buy a dragon. He picked out the sea green unicorn he is holding above. It is currently on display in his bedroom. I'm gonna save it to show all of his girlfriends later on!)

(Vivian sleeping with the pink Snoopy she bought in the gift shop while Connor was exploring the cave.) 

(Eatin' lunch.)

(Connor also HAD to buy a cane. His Granna has a cane, so he needed one too.)

All in all, it was a great vacation and when we asked Connor what his favorite part was, he said, "All of it." Can't beat that.