Think I'm Gonna Eat Some Worms

I was talking to my dad on the phone the other day, telling him that Noah loves to run around and play outside. That particular day was absolutely beautiful and I had the backdoor open so my little 15-month outdoorsman could come and go as he pleased, barely able to contain his sheer excitement at the great wide open (aka: 30-foot square fenced in yard), and giggling with glee while clutching bark mulch in both fists.

My dad promptly said, "Pretty soon you're gonna have to get him wormed."

Huh?

He continued. "Yeah. Kids eat poop, and you guys have a dog. You all ate poop when you were little and you all got worms. We had to give you de-worming pills, and that was that."

Again. Huh? I told my neighbor about this and she looked at me like I had four heads. Granted they don't have a dog, but I'm sure their 3 kids have been around dogs. And even though we do have a dog, it's not like we don't poop-scoop the yard. Furthermore, my family grew up in rural Iowa playing on and around farms all day. If we slipped and fell, there was a good chance we landed in large piles of cow crap or clutters of random chicken droppings. It's not like we picked it up and ate it. Apparently we got it on our hands, and ended up biting our nails or rubbing our eyes or nose or whatever. Hence, the worms.

So is this normal? Do all your kids have worms and I just didn't realize it was part of the whole child-rearing process?

Belated Birthday Post

My older sister, Jenn, turned 32 last week! We celebrated with her family over the weekend; we went to their place for enchiladas and ceasar salad, watched the Bears beat the Saints, played light-saber games with the kids, and of course, ate cake. Here are a few pictures:

We had red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting and cherry-flavored "writing."

I asked Skye to smile and he did this...

I asked Trey to smile and he did this...

Then I asked the whole family to smile and it turned out great! (Dustin, Jenn, Skye, Trey, and Brice).

Happy birthday, Jenn! :)

Where were YOU when...

Greg and I were visiting some friends over New Years, and we all stayed up one night watching the news coverage of Saddam Hussain's execution. We started talking about other important events we've lived through; the phrase, "Do you remember where you were when _____ happened?" came up over and over as we realized we've seen quite a few ground-breakers in our time. Thus, this blog. I started to jot down various headlines starting from about the 80s (Iwas born late 70s), and was astounded at the sheer number of them! Here's what I came up with...and I will admit I looked up a few of the dates to refresh my memory.

Politics/Terrorism:
Gulf War, Iraq War, Somalian crisis
Iran Contra & Oliver North
Rodney Kind beating and riots '91-92
Car bomb hits the World Trade Center '93
Oklahoma City bombing '95
David Koresh and the Branch Davidians '93
Bill Clinton's Sexcapades (Monica Lewinski, Gennifer Flowers) and impeachment
9/11 Terrorist Attacks '01
Saddam Hussain's capture, trial, and execution '07

Murder/Crime
John Lennon murdered '80
Ronald Reagan shot '81
Jeffrey Dahmer '91
Mike Tyson rape conviction '92
Menendez brothers killed their parents '93
OJ Simpson '94
Notorious BIG and Tupac Shakur murders '97
Unabomber '96
School shootings: Jonesboro, Columbine
Enron Scandal, Martha Stewart scandal

Deaths
Princess Diana '97
Mother Theresa '97
JFK Jr., Carolyn Bissett Kennedy, Lauren Bissett (plane crash off coast of Martha's Vineyard)
Other small engine plane crashes: Payne Stewart, John Denver
Johnny Cash and June Carter
Christopher Reeve

Natural Disasters, etc.
Mt. St. Helens eruption '80
Space shuttle Challenger explodes after lift-off '86
Exxon Valdez oil spill '89
California Earthquake during the World Series '89
Space shuttle Columbia explodes over Houston '03
Tsunami '04
Katrina, Rita '05

Sports
The Dream Team (basketball legends dominate Olympics)
Kerri Strug lands the vault on a fractured ankle to win Olympic gold for US Gymnastics
Mike Tyson bites off part of Evander Holyfield's ear in fight '97
Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan
Legends: Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Nolan Ryan, Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Brett Favre, Joe Montana, Andre Agassi...

Science/Popular Culture
1st Test tube baby
1st heart transplant
1st AIDS patient '82
Clonings, "Dolly" the sheep, '97
Rise of Computers
Rise of Cell Phones
Rise of Reality TV
Y2K

What else do you remember?

One Fine Day Off

Yesterday started out a bit hairy as I took Noah to the pediatrician to get meds for ear infections and wheezing. I spent $70 on decongestants, steroids, and pain killers for the poor kid (who hasn't acted sick at all, but the constant runny nose, crusty boogers, and 5am coughing fits told me otherwise).

After the doctor's visit, I packed us all up and went over to my friend Tracy's house. Another friend, Stacey, was heading over there with her 1 year old as well. The plan was to watch Thursday's tevo'ed episode of Grey's Anatomy because we had all missed it. Tracy said she'd make some snacks.

Do you have any of those friends who are just fabulous all around? Like, Giatta deLorentis meets the designer of Pottery Barn meets Miss Congeniality? Well, I do. Tracy's entire house was beautifully clean with aromatic candles lit in gorgeous hurricane vases, and placed with decorator's precision in each room. She was putting the finishing touches on a fresh mossarella Bruschetta appetizer from the Barefoot Contessa when we arrived, so she stopped to help up inside and proceeded to hand up each a mimosa made with champaign, orange juice, sour cherries, and a dash of Grand Marnier. They were topped off with thin orange slices. The kids took a nap upstairs, and by the time we got down to the kitchen, the table was set with a beautiful spinach, pear, and feta cheese salad with homemade balsamic vinigrette dressing. The bruschetta was on the side.

We ate, drank, drank a bit more, watched perilous medical-love dramas unfold within the walls of Seattle Grace Hospital, and capped of the afternoon with hazelnut coffee and pumpkin-chocolate bundt cake.

I wish all days off could be this good! My dear friend made our day feel like we were at a spa~ Thank you ever so much, Trace!

(Tracy, Stacey, and me a couple months ago--only photo I could find!)

Lazy Day

For those of you who know me, you know I'm a very task-oriented person. I have small lists of what I can get done during each of Noah's naps, and I clean up after him all day. Sadly, his favorite toy is one of those little play vaccuums b/c he can imitate what he has seen us do so much. My husband thinks I can get a little obsessed. Although he is also a very productive and clean person, he has no problem relaxing at home on a day off wearing PJ pants and a tee-shirt, and just playing with Noah. I've never really been cut-out for this; I always have at least one outting planned for each of my days off during the week, and I always "get ready for the day." I'm not an uptight person; I love to be lazy and watch TV and play with my son, it's just that I love to do it in a clean house with the sound of the dishwasher in the background.

Well, surprise. Today is different. It's 10am and I'm still wearing what I slept in last night. Yes, I have brushed my teeth, but I am unshowered and my bed is unmade. Yes, I have bathed Noah this morning, but he currently smells like pee. During his morning nap I drank coffee and watched a rerun of Charmed.

Noah and I have had a fabulous time this morning, too. He discovered how to hide behind the curtains, and that when he pops out I will holler and laugh and tickle him for several minutes.

So I will admit I have an outting planned for today, but it is to Walmart because we have like 4 diapers left. I'm determined to wear what my mom used to call "grubbies" and I will remain unshowered.

New Year. New me. Well, almost; I have to go make my bed.

Resolutions!

Hi ! I'm excited to read all of your holiday blogs since I've been out for over 2 weeks (sans any good excuse). The short version? Christmas was great; we had a lot of fun amidst the proverbial craziness surrounding a total of 14 adults, 7 kids, and 3 babies opening gifts and eating all the usual holiday treats with Christmas music in the background that inevitably woke up any baby trying to nap.

New Year's Eve was wonderful as well; we drove up to NW Arkansas to see a bunch of college friends and had a lot of fun amidst the proverbial craziness of a total of 16 adults, 6 kids, and 5 babies. There were no gifts to open but drinking games were in full swing, and the food was a delectible array of appetizers high in flavor and calories. Aside from the embarrasing Cowboys football game on Sunday, the trip was fabulous!

I decided to write down a few of my more light-hearted New Year's Resolutions because then I am bound to them. A couple of the more serious ones are still in the works.

1. Cook more meals. I've gotten out of the habit of using recipes in favor of the ever-time-saving, thrown together concoction of whatever is in my pantry.
2. Watch the NFL draft. I love pro football, but never know any of the new players. Also, it turns my husband on.
3. Become involved with the family budget. Greg has always been pretty obsessed with it, so I really haven't had to pay that much attention. I'd like to be more financially savvy.
4. Pick up a hobby. Other than changing diapers.
5. Grow out my fingernails. This has been a resolution for the past 12 years.
6. Drink a glass of water between each cup of coffee. I'm not about to quit the good stuff, but I can at least improve my morning drinking routine.

That's it for now; Happy New Year and I hope it's resolute for you, too!