Thursday, June 30, 2011
Sprinkler Fun
Aunt Harolyn got the kids this fun sprinkler this summer, so we got it out last week to try it for the first time. The kids loved it and the flowerbeds got watered at the same time. I’d call that a win-win situation!
Oklahoma Weekend
The Friday night after VBS, we had a great time swimming with our friends, the Sharplesses. They stayed afterwards for a cookout and we enjoyed their company. I enjoyed it so much that I completely forgot to take any pictures, but here’s a link to the ones that Sheila posted.
Saturday morning, we drove over to Owasso to see Jan and Bill. Caleb got to play with Gabe and they even got out the slip & slide to try to escape the ridiculous heat that we’ve had this June.
After the slip & slide fun, the boys all went to Bass Pro Shop while Jan & I stayed home for Nola’s naptime. Bill’s son, Tyler and his wife Andrea joined us for dinner. They have an adorable little boy named Will who is just a few months older than Nola. Here’s Jan holding both of the little ones.
On Sunday, Bill and Rudy played golf. Jan and I spent the morning playing with the kids and then took them to lunch. When the golfers came home, we gathered up our things and headed for home to get ready for another summer week.
Saturday morning, we drove over to Owasso to see Jan and Bill. Caleb got to play with Gabe and they even got out the slip & slide to try to escape the ridiculous heat that we’ve had this June.
On Sunday, Bill and Rudy played golf. Jan and I spent the morning playing with the kids and then took them to lunch. When the golfers came home, we gathered up our things and headed for home to get ready for another summer week.
Pandamania VBS
We had an amazing VBS during the week of June 20-24th. We had 500 kids in the sanctuary every day praising God and learning how He is WILD about us! I gotta’ tell you, there is not much that is as awesome as seeing that whole sanctuary filled up with kids. Big stuff was happening in this building last week.
The kids were challenged to bring food for the food pantry as their VBS mission project. This is all I could fit in my camera angle on Friday. The steps were just covered in cans and boxes!
I volunteered to help with VBS this year for the first time because I knew for sure that we would be in town for all of it. I was a group leader (basically a chaperone) every day except for Thursday, which was my day to have major dental work done. (ugh)
Caleb was excited about VBS because he remember how much fun it was last year. I watched him with a mixed emotions. He was so reserved and wouldn’t sing or do the motions to the songs. He sat entranced and quiet through the opening and closing sessions. Later, I realized that he was just taking it all in. He was too shy to act silly like some of the other kids, but he didn’t miss a beat. He’s been talking all week about the stories and he loves to sing the songs. I bought the CD so that he could listen to it at night when he goes to sleep. He asks for it every night now. I’ve had it in the car a few times too and I can’t get enough of hearing him try to sing along with those songs. It makes me smile from ear to ear. The only thing better than hearing my child sing praise songs is seeing my child pray. If that doesn’t warm my heart, nothing will:
The kids were challenged to bring food for the food pantry as their VBS mission project. This is all I could fit in my camera angle on Friday. The steps were just covered in cans and boxes!
I volunteered to help with VBS this year for the first time because I knew for sure that we would be in town for all of it. I was a group leader (basically a chaperone) every day except for Thursday, which was my day to have major dental work done. (ugh)
Caleb was excited about VBS because he remember how much fun it was last year. I watched him with a mixed emotions. He was so reserved and wouldn’t sing or do the motions to the songs. He sat entranced and quiet through the opening and closing sessions. Later, I realized that he was just taking it all in. He was too shy to act silly like some of the other kids, but he didn’t miss a beat. He’s been talking all week about the stories and he loves to sing the songs. I bought the CD so that he could listen to it at night when he goes to sleep. He asks for it every night now. I’ve had it in the car a few times too and I can’t get enough of hearing him try to sing along with those songs. It makes me smile from ear to ear. The only thing better than hearing my child sing praise songs is seeing my child pray. If that doesn’t warm my heart, nothing will:
Here is Caleb with his crew leaders and in the opening session on Friday:
This is Mrs. Tracy (AKA “Mania Molly”), who Caleb adores. I think he actually has a crush on her. When he sees her, he lights up and she is so awesome to give him special attention and hugs. We love Mrs. Tracy!
It was an awesome week. I’m sure glad that God is WILD about us!
Easing Back Into Reality
When we got back to Hot Springs on Friday evening, Caleb came running out to greet us with the biggest hugs ever. He nearly suffocated me by squeezing so hard. That lasted about 2 minutes and he was off and running again – chasing lizards, following in Pops’ shadow and peeing off the porch (one of his favorite things to do at the lake). Nola was glad to see us, but held a little bit of a grudge before she finally warmed up to me. She made sure I knew that she was officially LaLa & Pops’ girl after spending so much time with them.
We eased ourselves back into parenthood with an extra day in Hot Springs. Mr. L. bought a tube for Caleb this summer since he’s finally big enough to ride one and he’s now had 2 years of swimming lessons. (That’s something he did while we were in Florida.) We decided to spend Saturday on the lake. A few pictures from our fun in the sun…
By the time we got ready to come home on Sunday morning, Mom had washed all of our laundry. (Hallelujah for her laundry addiction!) We loaded up the car to the gills and hit the road. Nola (as usual) fell asleep 30 minutes before we pulled in the driveway. Caleb watched movies all the way home. Summer was definitely off to a good start.
We eased ourselves back into parenthood with an extra day in Hot Springs. Mr. L. bought a tube for Caleb this summer since he’s finally big enough to ride one and he’s now had 2 years of swimming lessons. (That’s something he did while we were in Florida.) We decided to spend Saturday on the lake. A few pictures from our fun in the sun…
Captain Caleb:
Nola and LaLa and Pops
Caleb tubing with Daddy and Mama (Yep – I got in the tube.)
Nola loved to stand at the front of the boat and watch the water
Swimming Practice (he eventually got brave enough to take off the life jacket)
After we boated, we had a good old Southern shrimp boil and then sat around and watched the kids play while we visited. These two silly monkeys put on LaLa’s old glasses.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Perdido Key
Monday (6/13), Rudy and I got up and the crack of dawn, kissed the kids goodbye and left them with LaLa and Pops for the week. Destination: Perdido Key, FL!
While we drove, we listened to a John Grisham audiobook. I paused it as we went through Southeast Arkansas to show Rudy (for the millionth time) the landmarks of my childhood that you can see from Hwy 65.
We were hungry and ready for some seafood, so we freshened up and went to dinner. We ate shrimp (me) and oysters (Rudy) from the Oyster Bar at the Flora-Bama on Monday night. Nothing fancy, but perfect gulf seafood for road-weary travelers. Would you look at the size of that shrimp? The view from our barstools wasn’t so bad either.
It was open mic night at the Bama, so we stuck around and listened to some good and not-so-good entertainment. You just never know what’s going to happen in that place and there was some fabulous people-watching!
When we got back to the condo, I was long overdue to put my toes in the sand. Sometime during that late night walk on the beach, I was able to exhale. I realized how much stress I had been carrying and how tense I was. The sound of those ocean waves and feel of that warm, white sand underfoot was overwhelmingly cathartic. I sat on a chair on the beach and wondered at the magnitude and perfection of it.
Tuesday morning, we got up and made a quick trip into town for some groceries and breakfast. As we were pulling into the parking lot, we saw the Blue Angels fly overhead as they were practicing. After we got back to the condo, Rudy went out and set up our canopy on the beach while I packed our beach bags and put on my swimsuit. I spent the afternoon alternating every 15-20 minutes between these two views:
Not a bad way to spend an afternoon, right?
We had dinner at a place called The Original Point, where Rudy had soft-shelled crab and I had yet another plate of shrimp. Afterwards, we went back to the Bama for some more entertainment and another great night of people-watching. We LOVED the guy singing that night.
Wednesday was our day to get out and see more of the area. We drove all the way into Gulf Shores and back. We had lunch at Brian’s PoBoys – a roadside food truck - and it was wonderful! After lunch, we went back out on the beach for a while. Because it was our first trip without kids since we became parents, we splurged and went on a parasail ride. We had to ride on a banana float pulled behind a jet ski out to the parasail boat. Once we were on the boat, we got all strapped into our harnesses and off we went. We were up about 600 feet, which is an amazing view and it is so peaceful. Before they reeled us back in, the boat driver dipped us into the water a couple of times, which was pretty awesome. We don’t have any pictures of it. They wouldn’t let us take our camera out there and it would’ve cost us $30 to have them take pictures. You’ll just have to trust me on it.
I spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach, which is something I’d like to be able to say more often…
Wednesday night, we had an amazing dinner at Louisiana Lagniappe, where I ate some ridiculously good stuffed shrimp. Rudy and I both agreed that it was as good (maybe better?) than anything we’ve ever eaten in New Orleans. For real. After dinner, we were miserably stuffed. We drove out to LuLu’s in Gulf Shores just to see what it was all about. It was a fun place, but waaaay touristy. It was definitely our early night on the vacation.
Thursday was our last day. We planned to lay on the beach literally all day. When we woke up to clouds and thunder, I was not a happy camper. The thunder and rain passed mid-morning, but it stayed cloudy almost all day. By golly, we were on the beach, though! It was almost cold for a good part of the day. I stayed under the canopy with my cover-up on and a towel over my legs. Once the clouds began to break up a little, it warmed up and we enjoyed our day. I certainly didn’t need to get in the water to cool off very often.
We went to dinner that night at Fisherman’s Corner. The food was delicious and we’ll definitely go back there sometime. We decided to spend our 3rd night out of 4 enjoying the crowd at the Bama, and what a crowd it was! The place was packed and it was so much fun! We laughed and sang and danced and had a great time until Rudy pretty much had to make me leave. I know he was dreading making a 9 hour drive after a late night. We couldn’t resist one more walk on the beach that night. It’s a hard thing to savor for 3 days and then leave it.
Friday morning came pretty early and we were on the road. We were ready to see the kids, though. We managed to bring Caleb a t-shirt and a starfish and brought Nola a little purse that says Orange Beach on it with a crab.
Our trip was wonderful. It was much-needed time away together. It was much needed relaxation and saltwater and sand and sunshine and seafood. We celebrated our 12th anniversary in style. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait quite so long to do it again.
And, for the record, we are now big fans of Perdido Key. We highly recommend it to anyone looking for a place to go with or without kids. It’s a great location – close enough to the touristy places, but they aren’t in your face. They cater to visitors, but not in a bumper boats and putt-putt golf kind of way. We’ll be going back there as soon as we can.
While we drove, we listened to a John Grisham audiobook. I paused it as we went through Southeast Arkansas to show Rudy (for the millionth time) the landmarks of my childhood that you can see from Hwy 65.
We made it to Perdido around 4:30, checked in at our condo and unloaded the car. We smiled as we opened the blinds of our balcony to find this view waiting for us:
It was open mic night at the Bama, so we stuck around and listened to some good and not-so-good entertainment. You just never know what’s going to happen in that place and there was some fabulous people-watching!
When we got back to the condo, I was long overdue to put my toes in the sand. Sometime during that late night walk on the beach, I was able to exhale. I realized how much stress I had been carrying and how tense I was. The sound of those ocean waves and feel of that warm, white sand underfoot was overwhelmingly cathartic. I sat on a chair on the beach and wondered at the magnitude and perfection of it.
Tuesday morning, we got up and made a quick trip into town for some groceries and breakfast. As we were pulling into the parking lot, we saw the Blue Angels fly overhead as they were practicing. After we got back to the condo, Rudy went out and set up our canopy on the beach while I packed our beach bags and put on my swimsuit. I spent the afternoon alternating every 15-20 minutes between these two views:
We had dinner at a place called The Original Point, where Rudy had soft-shelled crab and I had yet another plate of shrimp. Afterwards, we went back to the Bama for some more entertainment and another great night of people-watching. We LOVED the guy singing that night.
Wednesday was our day to get out and see more of the area. We drove all the way into Gulf Shores and back. We had lunch at Brian’s PoBoys – a roadside food truck - and it was wonderful! After lunch, we went back out on the beach for a while. Because it was our first trip without kids since we became parents, we splurged and went on a parasail ride. We had to ride on a banana float pulled behind a jet ski out to the parasail boat. Once we were on the boat, we got all strapped into our harnesses and off we went. We were up about 600 feet, which is an amazing view and it is so peaceful. Before they reeled us back in, the boat driver dipped us into the water a couple of times, which was pretty awesome. We don’t have any pictures of it. They wouldn’t let us take our camera out there and it would’ve cost us $30 to have them take pictures. You’ll just have to trust me on it.
I spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach, which is something I’d like to be able to say more often…
Wednesday night, we had an amazing dinner at Louisiana Lagniappe, where I ate some ridiculously good stuffed shrimp. Rudy and I both agreed that it was as good (maybe better?) than anything we’ve ever eaten in New Orleans. For real. After dinner, we were miserably stuffed. We drove out to LuLu’s in Gulf Shores just to see what it was all about. It was a fun place, but waaaay touristy. It was definitely our early night on the vacation.
Thursday was our last day. We planned to lay on the beach literally all day. When we woke up to clouds and thunder, I was not a happy camper. The thunder and rain passed mid-morning, but it stayed cloudy almost all day. By golly, we were on the beach, though! It was almost cold for a good part of the day. I stayed under the canopy with my cover-up on and a towel over my legs. Once the clouds began to break up a little, it warmed up and we enjoyed our day. I certainly didn’t need to get in the water to cool off very often.
We went to dinner that night at Fisherman’s Corner. The food was delicious and we’ll definitely go back there sometime. We decided to spend our 3rd night out of 4 enjoying the crowd at the Bama, and what a crowd it was! The place was packed and it was so much fun! We laughed and sang and danced and had a great time until Rudy pretty much had to make me leave. I know he was dreading making a 9 hour drive after a late night. We couldn’t resist one more walk on the beach that night. It’s a hard thing to savor for 3 days and then leave it.
Our trip was wonderful. It was much-needed time away together. It was much needed relaxation and saltwater and sand and sunshine and seafood. We celebrated our 12th anniversary in style. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait quite so long to do it again.
And, for the record, we are now big fans of Perdido Key. We highly recommend it to anyone looking for a place to go with or without kids. It’s a great location – close enough to the touristy places, but they aren’t in your face. They cater to visitors, but not in a bumper boats and putt-putt golf kind of way. We’ll be going back there as soon as we can.
Two Little Monkeys Jumping On A Bed
Some of our friends told us that the key to getting both of the kids to sleep through the night was to put them in bed together. We were assured that it would work like a charm. They would soothe each other and go right to sleep, not waking up until we were ready for them to wake up the next morning. Well, we tried it. Here’s what happened:
They are now back in their respective beds…asleep.
It started out great. Aren’t they sweet and snuggly?
That lasted about 30 seconds and then things went downhill fast.
Sweet Summertime!
Cue the Jimmy Buffett tunes, pour me a glass of lemonade and pass the SPF 30 – it’s finally summer! After a ridiculous 10 snow days this year put my last day of work at June 8th, summer couldn’t get here fast enough.
I left the kids in daycare until Friday, the 10th, because I had some things that needed to be done. Rudy was still working until noon on Saturday (he had a crazy band thing!). I took the kids in on Thursday and rushed to the hospital only to find out that the mammogram that I thought was scheduled for Thursday was actually scheduled for Friday. I was also supposed to have had a hair appointment on Thursday, but the stylist cancelled it because she was sick. Hmmm…things were not off to a rousing start. I took advantage of the free time and went shopping for our trip to Florida. I bought myself some clothes and stocked us up for a few days away from home. Friday was much more productive. I had my first mammogram (not as bad as I expected, but still…) and went for a scheduled visit with my doctor. After that, I had a wonderful outdoor lunch all by myself and then moseyed over to the spa for a mani/pedi & brow wax. I had a gift certificate from Christmas for $100. My bill? $100. That’s a beautiful thing. After that, I started to panic about the state of my hair right before vacation. I did some asking around and found a great person to color my hair at the last minute. Whew – maintenance is difficult at 34!
On Saturday, Rudy worked in the morning, then met us for Caleb’s last T-ball game. Caleb got to play first base and did a great job! I spent Saturday evening doing some heavy duty packing. I managed to get pretty much everything packed so that we could load up and go on Sunday.
Sunday morning I had to meet someone at church at 9:45 to get some information, then we were on the road! The car was loaded to the gills, but we were headed down the mountain. We stopped in Alma to eat lunch and then cruised on down the highway to Hot Springs. LaLa and Pops were waiting for us when we got there. Caleb jumped out of the car literally squealing with excitement! We spent the afternoon on the lake trying out the new tube that Pops bought for Caleb. Jimmy and Kim came over by boat to watch Caleb’s first try on the tube. He LOVED it. First, he rode with Rudy and then it was my turn. I wasn’t so sure about it, but I’ll do things for my kids that I wouldn’t do otherwise. Caleb and I rode the tube all the way to Aunt Harolyn’s house! When we got there, we swam for a while in her pool. Nola loved the pool. She may be my waterbaby after all. She’s definitely going to be the more adventurous of the two kids! We boated back home, had dinner and went to bed pretty early.
It was the beginning of a wonderfully sweet summertime…
I left the kids in daycare until Friday, the 10th, because I had some things that needed to be done. Rudy was still working until noon on Saturday (he had a crazy band thing!). I took the kids in on Thursday and rushed to the hospital only to find out that the mammogram that I thought was scheduled for Thursday was actually scheduled for Friday. I was also supposed to have had a hair appointment on Thursday, but the stylist cancelled it because she was sick. Hmmm…things were not off to a rousing start. I took advantage of the free time and went shopping for our trip to Florida. I bought myself some clothes and stocked us up for a few days away from home. Friday was much more productive. I had my first mammogram (not as bad as I expected, but still…) and went for a scheduled visit with my doctor. After that, I had a wonderful outdoor lunch all by myself and then moseyed over to the spa for a mani/pedi & brow wax. I had a gift certificate from Christmas for $100. My bill? $100. That’s a beautiful thing. After that, I started to panic about the state of my hair right before vacation. I did some asking around and found a great person to color my hair at the last minute. Whew – maintenance is difficult at 34!
On Saturday, Rudy worked in the morning, then met us for Caleb’s last T-ball game. Caleb got to play first base and did a great job! I spent Saturday evening doing some heavy duty packing. I managed to get pretty much everything packed so that we could load up and go on Sunday.
Sunday morning I had to meet someone at church at 9:45 to get some information, then we were on the road! The car was loaded to the gills, but we were headed down the mountain. We stopped in Alma to eat lunch and then cruised on down the highway to Hot Springs. LaLa and Pops were waiting for us when we got there. Caleb jumped out of the car literally squealing with excitement! We spent the afternoon on the lake trying out the new tube that Pops bought for Caleb. Jimmy and Kim came over by boat to watch Caleb’s first try on the tube. He LOVED it. First, he rode with Rudy and then it was my turn. I wasn’t so sure about it, but I’ll do things for my kids that I wouldn’t do otherwise. Caleb and I rode the tube all the way to Aunt Harolyn’s house! When we got there, we swam for a while in her pool. Nola loved the pool. She may be my waterbaby after all. She’s definitely going to be the more adventurous of the two kids! We boated back home, had dinner and went to bed pretty early.
It was the beginning of a wonderfully sweet summertime…
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
A 5-year-old’s World
Sometimes I would like to see the world through Caleb’s eyes. It’s all about the next adventure. It’s all about running and playing and avoiding bedtime. It’s all about him.
At five, Caleb is obsessed with all things creepy-crawly. Basically, if I won’t allow it in the house, he LOVES it. He would spend all day hunting for bugs, lizards, frogs & toads. And, oh, when he catches them…those poor little guys. He caught a toad this past weekend. Rudy made him let it go in the yard after 24 hours. I’m pretty sure that toad is in therapy somewhere (physical and mental). Right this minute, there is a wet/dry habitat box on my back porch with 6 baby frogs hopping in it. The previous inhabitant was a salamander and a variety of beetles and spiders. Caleb says he wants to be a scientist when he grows up – the kind that studies bugs and animals. We’ve learned some new words: entomologist, zoologist and biologist. He doesn’t think he wants to be a veterinarian, though. They don’t get to work on spiders and bugs. I’m pretty sure we’re not going to be able to avoid a lengthy trip through the insectarium this year when we visit the zoo. A couple of weeks ago, I looked out the window as I was putting laundry away and saw this big box turtle crawling through our front yard. We took Caleb outside immediately and he was so excited you would’ve thought Disneyworld had dropped in our front yard. He looked at it, picked it up, giggled and then helped Rudy take it to a safe spot in an empty lot. He talked about that turtle all weekend.
At five, Caleb is learning letters and numbers and logic and language. He likes to write, but gets frustrated when we try to get him to sound out the words that he wants to put on paper. He doesn’t really get math concepts, but I think that’s partially because I’m really bad at teaching them. He can color beautifully, putting to ease my (very slight) worries of fine motor difficulties from a couple of years ago. He loves books and I feel the greatest guilt when I have to tell him that we can’t stop and read a book right now. He also likes to ask for books to keep from having to go to bed. (He’s 5, right?)
At five, Caleb’s imagination is growing by leaps and bounds. He pretends with his toys. He pretends when he’s playing alone. I love to “eavesdrop” on those moments. One night, he decided that he wanted to make a campfire like Pops makes at deer camp. He stacked some wood in the middle of the backyard, then gathered some rocks to make a circle around the wood. He got a couple of chairs and put them by the fire. That wasn’t quite enough, so he took his red bucket, turned it upside down and pretended that he had a campfire, just like at deer camp.
At five, Caleb is still a worrier. He gets it honest. He’s naturally anxious. I worry about his worry. I’ve talked to my wonderful sister-in-law who is a psychologist and she assures me that he is okay. We try to help him relax. We give him time to survey the situation before expecting him to join in. We don’t scold him for being reserved. We do scold him for being ridiculous about it though – especially when we know he is putting on a show of it, like pretending to be scared just so someone will sleep in his bed with him. We do scold him for being whiny. I can’t stand whiny kids. Sometimes Caleb is whiny. We’re working on it. Any suggestions?
At five, Caleb loves his sister. He loves his Daddy. He loves his Mama. He loves his grandparents and his friends. He is a sweet, sweet boy…most of the time. We do occasionally catch him giving Nola a little extra shove at the end of a hug. We also see him give her hugs when he thinks nobody’s watching.
At five, Caleb is wonderful. He loves t-ball, football, bugs, animals, playing, anything with wheels, his family, his friends, the swimming pool, bizzert (dessert) and the ice cream truck. He loves his behavior sticker chart that earns him nightly choices like playing Wii or a dollar for his bank. He is pretty much a great kid…and I think I’d say that even if I wasn’t his mom.
At five, Caleb is obsessed with all things creepy-crawly. Basically, if I won’t allow it in the house, he LOVES it. He would spend all day hunting for bugs, lizards, frogs & toads. And, oh, when he catches them…those poor little guys. He caught a toad this past weekend. Rudy made him let it go in the yard after 24 hours. I’m pretty sure that toad is in therapy somewhere (physical and mental). Right this minute, there is a wet/dry habitat box on my back porch with 6 baby frogs hopping in it. The previous inhabitant was a salamander and a variety of beetles and spiders. Caleb says he wants to be a scientist when he grows up – the kind that studies bugs and animals. We’ve learned some new words: entomologist, zoologist and biologist. He doesn’t think he wants to be a veterinarian, though. They don’t get to work on spiders and bugs. I’m pretty sure we’re not going to be able to avoid a lengthy trip through the insectarium this year when we visit the zoo. A couple of weeks ago, I looked out the window as I was putting laundry away and saw this big box turtle crawling through our front yard. We took Caleb outside immediately and he was so excited you would’ve thought Disneyworld had dropped in our front yard. He looked at it, picked it up, giggled and then helped Rudy take it to a safe spot in an empty lot. He talked about that turtle all weekend.
At five, Caleb’s imagination is growing by leaps and bounds. He pretends with his toys. He pretends when he’s playing alone. I love to “eavesdrop” on those moments. One night, he decided that he wanted to make a campfire like Pops makes at deer camp. He stacked some wood in the middle of the backyard, then gathered some rocks to make a circle around the wood. He got a couple of chairs and put them by the fire. That wasn’t quite enough, so he took his red bucket, turned it upside down and pretended that he had a campfire, just like at deer camp.
At five, Caleb loves his sister. He loves his Daddy. He loves his Mama. He loves his grandparents and his friends. He is a sweet, sweet boy…most of the time. We do occasionally catch him giving Nola a little extra shove at the end of a hug. We also see him give her hugs when he thinks nobody’s watching.
At five, Caleb is wonderful. He loves t-ball, football, bugs, animals, playing, anything with wheels, his family, his friends, the swimming pool, bizzert (dessert) and the ice cream truck. He loves his behavior sticker chart that earns him nightly choices like playing Wii or a dollar for his bank. He is pretty much a great kid…and I think I’d say that even if I wasn’t his mom.
Dancing Queen
Check out this girl’s smooth moves…
Dancing while Caleb plays Just Dance Kids on the Wii…
Hand, Foot & Mouth
As I mentioned in a previous post, I drove down to Hot Springs on Thursday, 5/26 for an interview. It was a quick overnight trip and I drove back home on Friday. We were planning a trip to Tulsa to see Jan & Bill for Memorial Day weekend. I was on the phone talking to my mom – almost to Fayetteville – when I got an incoming call from a number I didn’t recognize. I let it go to voicemail. When I got off the phone with Mom, I checked the message. It was the kids’ daycare. Nola was running a fever of 101.9 and they needed someone to come get her. Ugh…
By this time I was in Fayetteville, so I called Rudy and told him that I would pick the kids up up & meet him at home. My plan was to bring Caleb home and then take Nola to convenient care. The boys packed and left for Tulsa while I took Nola to Wellquest. There was a 2 1/2 hour wait, so I decided to try out the new walk-in clinic in town. Lo and behold – we were the only people there. (Seriously, the doctor was playing solitaire when we walked past him on our way to the exam room.) I figured that was either because they were brand new and people didn’t know about them yet or they were awful. Either way, I needed someone to take a look at Nola and find out why she had spiked a fever. I suspected hand, foot & mouth virus because we had some friends over for dinner the week before and their daughter started showing symptoms 2 days later. I mentioned it to the doctor, but he didn’t see anything to base the diagnosis on. He looked in her mouth and her throat was a mess. Strep swab was negative, but there was no way her throat felt good. He called it a bacterial infection, prescribed good ol’ amoxicillin and sent us on our way.
I started her on the amoxicillin that night. She obviously didn’t feel well. The fever hung on through the night, but was much lower the next morning. We spent Saturday snuggled up in the big chair in the living room. She napped on my chest while I watched more TV than I’ve watched in months.
She still felt pretty miserable, but the fever gradually went away. By mid-afternoon, red spots were starting to show up on her body. By 5:30, they were turning into blisters. Yep, she definitely had it. Full-blown hand, foot & mouth.
The worst blisters were on her left thumb – the one that she sucks. Our pediatrician had told me previously that our best bet for her to stop thumb-sucking was to contract HFM. Secretly, I was kind of giddy about the idea of that working. Not that I wanted her to have to suffer the awfulness of HFM, but I was really hoping there would be a good payoff in the end.
By bedtime, she was miserable. By 12:30, I gave up and put her in bed with me. Neither of us got much sleep. The worst part of HFM is that there is absolutely no medicine for it. It’s viral & just has to run its course. I gave her tylenol for the pain, but it didn’t seem to help.
On Sunday, we went back to convenient care. This time, I went to Mercy. We waited and waited and waited to see a doctor. Nola wore her sunglasses in the waiting room so she could be incognito. She would’ve been mortified if any of the kids from her class had seen her with those blisters on her hands and face!
Once we finally got back to the room, we waited a while longer for the doctor. Nola was tired. It was naptime. She really didn’t want anything to do with that room or me for that matter. She screamed and screamed and threw a tantrum like I haven’t ever seen her throw. I’m pretty sure it all started because I told her she couldn’t put her diaper bag in the medical waste trash can. Eventually, the doctor came in. She took a look at Nola’s blisters, listened to the information that I shared and said, “Yeah, she has a really bad case of HFM. Really bad.” She took her off the amoxicillin & said to just ride it out. I asked about returning to daycare and she wrote a note saying she could go back when she was 24 hours fever-free and eating/drinking normally. Well, we were already at both of those milestones, so technically she was in the clear.
We went home & both of us took a much-needed nap. After nap, we played and watched some more TV. She was obviously feeling better as long as the tylenol was controlling her pain. She even discovered her bellybutton. (She’s now obsessed with bellybuttons. If you’re around her, I highly recommend tucking in your shirt.)
By this time I was in Fayetteville, so I called Rudy and told him that I would pick the kids up up & meet him at home. My plan was to bring Caleb home and then take Nola to convenient care. The boys packed and left for Tulsa while I took Nola to Wellquest. There was a 2 1/2 hour wait, so I decided to try out the new walk-in clinic in town. Lo and behold – we were the only people there. (Seriously, the doctor was playing solitaire when we walked past him on our way to the exam room.) I figured that was either because they were brand new and people didn’t know about them yet or they were awful. Either way, I needed someone to take a look at Nola and find out why she had spiked a fever. I suspected hand, foot & mouth virus because we had some friends over for dinner the week before and their daughter started showing symptoms 2 days later. I mentioned it to the doctor, but he didn’t see anything to base the diagnosis on. He looked in her mouth and her throat was a mess. Strep swab was negative, but there was no way her throat felt good. He called it a bacterial infection, prescribed good ol’ amoxicillin and sent us on our way.
I started her on the amoxicillin that night. She obviously didn’t feel well. The fever hung on through the night, but was much lower the next morning. We spent Saturday snuggled up in the big chair in the living room. She napped on my chest while I watched more TV than I’ve watched in months.
She still felt pretty miserable, but the fever gradually went away. By mid-afternoon, red spots were starting to show up on her body. By 5:30, they were turning into blisters. Yep, she definitely had it. Full-blown hand, foot & mouth.
The worst blisters were on her left thumb – the one that she sucks. Our pediatrician had told me previously that our best bet for her to stop thumb-sucking was to contract HFM. Secretly, I was kind of giddy about the idea of that working. Not that I wanted her to have to suffer the awfulness of HFM, but I was really hoping there would be a good payoff in the end.
By bedtime, she was miserable. By 12:30, I gave up and put her in bed with me. Neither of us got much sleep. The worst part of HFM is that there is absolutely no medicine for it. It’s viral & just has to run its course. I gave her tylenol for the pain, but it didn’t seem to help.
On Sunday, we went back to convenient care. This time, I went to Mercy. We waited and waited and waited to see a doctor. Nola wore her sunglasses in the waiting room so she could be incognito. She would’ve been mortified if any of the kids from her class had seen her with those blisters on her hands and face!
We went home & both of us took a much-needed nap. After nap, we played and watched some more TV. She was obviously feeling better as long as the tylenol was controlling her pain. She even discovered her bellybutton. (She’s now obsessed with bellybuttons. If you’re around her, I highly recommend tucking in your shirt.)
This is what Nola’s thumb looked like by Sunday night. Heartbreaking. It was about 50% larger than the other one and the blisters were so large that you couldn’t really tell where one stopped and the next one started. They were beginning to break and become open sores. It was not fun.
The boys came home on Monday and we made the decision that Nola could not go back to daycare on Tuesday after the Memorial Day break. My mom offered to come up and keep her. We were concerned about sending her out with open sores that couldn’t be bandaged. She could get any kind of infection in those sores and we couldn’t stomach the thought. So, Mom kept her home Tuesday and Wednesday.
On Wednesday night, I did something I never thought I’d do. I gave Nola a pacifier. She was having such a hard time sleeping because she wanted to suck her thumb, but it hurt. I remembered that I happened to have 2 pacifiers in the cabinet, so I gave her one. After a few seconds, she calmed herself right down and went to sleep. A lightbulb went off in my mind! Maybe…just maybe, she would take to the pacifier and stop sucking her thumb after all. Then, once I knew she didn’t miss that thumb anymore, I could instate paci rehab and we’d be done with it all! My evil plan was foiled. The paci served its purpose for one night. As I type this, Nola is in her bed, sound asleep, thumb firmly planted in her mouth. Can’t say I didn’t try!
She still had her boo-boo on Thursday (and was quite happy to show it to everyone who would look at it). She really liked for people to blow on it and then she would try to do the same, but usually ended up blowing a raspberry at it. Mom offered to take her home with her for the weekend. As much as I hated to be away from her for that long, I decided it was for the best. So, they packed up and headed for Hot Springs on Thursday morning. Mom reported frequently on her improvement and Nola had a blast being the center of attention at LaLa’s house.
We met Mom and Mr L in Ft. Smith on Sunday for lunch and brought Nola home with us. We were so glad to have her home, but most of all we were glad to see HFM go away!
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