High Fever

On Monday, I was wrapping things up at work when my assistant principal came to my room to tell me that Caleb's daycare was on the phone. I ran to the office to get the call. Mrs. Natalie told me that Caleb had woken up from his nap saying that he was "not feeling so good." She didn't think much of it, but when he just nibbled at his snack and then his face got red, she took his temperature. He had a fever of 102.8 under his arm. Usually, you add a degree to whatever reading you get under the arm, so he was very definitely sick. I went to pick him up from school immediately and we went straight to the convenient care clinic. We waited for 2 hours to see a doctor. With the outbreak of swine flu this week, the clinic looked like more like a triage unit. There were tons of people there and most of them were wearing masks. The check-in desk was giving masks to anyone who was coughing. Fortunately, Caleb wasn't coughing. I can't imagine trying to get him to wear a mask for 2 hours. Rudy joined us in the waiting room after a while and we took turns holding a very lethargic Caleb. Rudy brought dinner and Caleb's blanket. He wouldn't eat his dinner, but definitely wanted that blanket. When we finally got back to see the doctor, his temp measured 101.8 temporally. They gave him some Motrin and the doctor ordered a strep test and looked him over. The strep test came back negative and there were no other symptoms of flu or anything else, so Caleb got a prescription for amoxicillin and we were told to keep him home for 24 hours. Rudy took the day off on Tuesday because I'm out of sick days. Since he was staying home with Caleb, he also took the night shift with Caleb. We knew he would wake up during the night with fever and he did - at 10:30. Rudy said that he was absolutely burning up and shivering and aching. He gave him tylenol then and again when he woke up at 4:00. After that, the fever broke and he was back to his old self again. They spent the day Tuesday playing and taking it easy. Caleb hasn't had anymore symptoms at all, but he sure did give us a scare on Monday.

Sunday Afternoon in April

Shutterbug

I love to take pictures. Of course, I love taking pictures of Caleb and the rest of my family, but I also enjoy taking pictures of places and things. I like to look at them up close and from interesting angles. I've always loved to take pictures.

This is a doorway in New Orleans:

This is the fence in Jackson Square in New Orleans:

This is the fence around my grandfather's garden:

This is a dogwood in my grandparents' backyard:

I don't claim to be a photographer, but I sure do like these images and I enjoy going out with a camera to look for interesting photos. As long as I can remember, I've wanted a really good camera, but I've been afraid of them on two levels. First, I was afraid to drop that much money on something that I didn't really need. Second, I've never had a photography class. I don't know what all of the terminology means and I never thought I'd be able to really use a good quality camera. I've always had a point & shoot and have always been able to get pictures from them that I liked. Rudy knows how much I love to take pictures and this year, for Mother's Day, he suggested that I bite the bullet and get "my camera." Fortunately, the local photography store was having a Canon sale this weekend. I did it. Yesterday, we went to Bedford and bought a Canon EOS T1i. It takes 15.1 megapixel shots and can snap 3.4 shots per second. It came with an 18-55 mm lens, but we got an extra 55-250 mm lens to go with it so I'll be prepared for our trip to the beach this summer and for Caleb to begin playing sports next summer. I am just beside myself with excitement over this purchase and can't wait to really get a chance to try it out. I'm going to take a training session at the camera store to learn the bells and whistles. For now, though - I'm just loving the crisp, clear amazing shots that I'm getting as I snap away at everything that catches my eye!

Caleb's Birthday Wish List

I know it seems tacky to post this, but lots of people have asked what Caleb wants for his upcoming birthday. I'm really not begging for gifts, just trying to make it easier for those who are already planning to get a gift but don't know what he wants/has/needs/likes. Honestly, it seems like we have approximately 500 toy vehicles, 25 puzzles, 100 stuffed animals, every kind of mini-sized sports ball, every Little People toy known to man, enough play food to feed a play army and a library of books that's bigger than those in some small towns. And - he's getting a bike with training wheels. We'll be doing some cleaning out after this birthday passes - that's for sure. But, knowing that it IS his birthday and so many people want to celebrate by giving him a gift, I took him to WalMart yesterday and (for the first time) let him out of the buggy in the toy section. Everything he "oohed" and "Look, Mama'd" - I took a picture. Here's the wish list, with my comments thrown in for good measure...and because I could see the top shelves AND the price tags. Just in case you can't tell from the list, he loves sports, loves to be outside, is interested in the computer and his favorite shows/characters right now are Cars (Lightning McQueen), The Wonder Pets, Little Einsteins (It's the birthday party theme), Backyardigans, Handy Manny and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

• Fisher Price Kid Tough Walkie Talkies
• Little Einsteins Pat Pat Rocket (toy)
• Little Einsteins Rocket's Tub Adventure (toy)
• Let's Get to Work Manny (toy)
• Swimming pool toys (kickboard, splash balls, etc)
• T-Ball set (suitable for 3 years)
• Toy bugs (ewwww....)
• Games (Elefun, Gator Golf, Whac-A-Mole, etc)
• Outside toys (playground ball, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, etc)
• Madagascar 2: Return to Africa (DVD)
• Little Einsteins DVD - any one would be fine, we don't have any of them
• Mickey Mouse Clubhhouse DVD - we don't have any of these either
• A kid-friendly computer mouse
• LeapFrog Fix the Mix

Now, can I make a list for myself? Just kidding...unless someone really wants to buy me an iPhone, a new couch or that amazing camera I have my eye on. :)

Update 4/26: I've taken some things off the list that I know have been purchased. Oh...and you don't have to get me that camera after all. :)

• Summer pajamas (short sleeves with shorts or pants) - he wears a size 3T
• The Bee Movie (DVD)
• Memory game
• A bicycle with training wheels
• V.Smile V-Motion Active Learning System
• V-Motion Games for 3-5 year olds (Little Einsteins, Wonder Pets, Mickey Mouse)

3 Years of Portraits

I took Caleb for his 3 year portraits today at Picture People. It's amazing how much he changes every year...

May 2006 ~ 5 hours old

May 2007 ~ 1 year

May 2008 ~ 2 years

(Almost) May 2009 ~ 3 years

Oh, how you've grown...

May 2007 ~ 1 year

May 2008 ~ 2 years

(Almost) May 2009 ~ 3 years

Easter 2009

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow!

We celebrated Easter this morning with a beautiful service at Central United Methodist. I thought we'd give Caleb a shot at staying in the sanctuary so that we could be together for Easter. Well, we made it to the sermon before Rudy had to take him out. He wasn't noisy or fussy, he was just busy. We certainly didn't want to distract anyone, so Rudy thought he'd take Caleb to the nursery and come back. Caleb had other ideas. He cried when Rudy tried to leave him and then said he had to go to the bathroom. Rudy decided to just stay with him because the service was almost over. As soon as the final amen was said, I went in search of them. Rudy went to get the car and Caleb and I (and about 50 other people!) waited in the covered entryway because it was 42 degrees and pouring down rain! We were weary of going out to lunch and fighting the Easter crowds, but were pleasantly surprised to walk in and sit right down. Caleb wasn't on his best behavior and we were glad to get through the meal without a major attitude adjustment. We came home and gave Caleb his Easter basket, which he loved! Afterwards, I tried to put him down for a nap, but he fought it for over an hour. Eventually, I gave in and put him in bed with me and we took a 2 hour nap. Rudy took advantage of the quiet by cleaning out the garage and smoking a chicken. We had the chicken for dinner and then "chilled out" (as Caleb says) before putting him to bed. Rudy and I have both talked to our families tonight and wished everyone a HAPPY EASTER. Now, we're getting ready for a big week of testing at school and looking forward to slightly warmer temperatures as the week goes on. I hope you've all had a great weekend and a very happy Easter. He is risen indeed!

The Great Easter Bunny Debate of 2009

Several years ago, I was at the intersection of Brentwood and Hwy 40 in St. Louis when I saw a bumper sticker that said, "Don't Lie To Your Kids." I'm not sure why I remember that so clearly. I didn't even have a child at that time, but it really stuck with me. It has been on my mind this a lot this week as I have struggled with something I never expected to second guess.

On Wednesday, I went shopping and picked up a few things for Caleb's Easter basket. Rudy didn't know what was in the bags and, in trying to help me unload the car, accidentally let Caleb see some of the surprises I had gotten for him. Curious as always, Caleb wanted to know what that stuff was. I told him it was a surprise and he couldn't see it yet. That minor incident got me thinking about the Easter Bunny and why we have the traditions that we have for Easter, Christmas and other holidays.

Last night while scrapbooking with Stacy and some people I've never met before, I brought up this topic. Two of the women at the table said that they have chosen not to follow the traditions of Santa or the Easter Bunny. The more we talked about it, the more I agreed with them. After all, why do we lie to our children about fictional characters that have absolutely nothing to do with the holidays that we are celebrating?

After lots of internal debate and some interesting discussion on Facebook, I brought it up to Rudy today. We quickly came to an agreement that we don't want to lie to Caleb unnecessarily and that we are ready to make the change from what's expected to what we choose to do as a family. So, from this point forward, we aren't celebrating Christmas with Santa or Easter with the Easter Bunny. Don't get me wrong - we're not completely shunning tradition, we're just tweaking it to meet our needs. We will teach Caleb that Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and all other fictional characters are just that - fictional. Pretend. Make-believe. They are characters, just like Mickey Mouse and Lightning McQueen. They are things that are for entertainment, but they simply are not real.

Our reasoning for this decision is twofold. First, our family's major holidays are centered around our Christian faith. The secular celebrations of Christmas and Easter have become overwhelming in our society. We have lost sight of the true meanings of these two holiest of holidays. The birth and resurrection of Christ are too often overshadowed by "What is Santa bringing you?" and "What's the Easter Bunny going to bring?" We want to bring our celebrations back to where they should be. This doesn't mean that we won't exchange gifts as we've always done and it doesn't mean that we won't allow Caleb to glue cotton balls on a paper Santa's beard or have his picture taken with an Easter Bunny (like we did today at the church egg hunt). We aren't taking this to an extreme level - just making some changes internally as a family. Second...as I said before, we don't agree with lying to our child unnecessarily. I heard about a child who, when he found out that Santa wasn't real, asked his mother if she was lying about Jesus too. I can't even imagine being in that predicament. How do you justify telling a child not to ever lie, but then lie to them about something so insignificant?

Tomorrow morning, we'll be celebrating Easter. We'll be giving Caleb an Easter basket with some candy and a few small gifts that we know he'll enjoy. These gifts are our way of showing him that the holiday is a celebration, even though he's not old enough to understand the true meaning of Easter. We are giving him gifts as a symbol of the gift that Jesus gave to us - the gift of forgiven life. And at Christmas, we will give him gifts to celebrate the birth of Christ - the gift of God's Son.

We'll continue to celebrate Easter by dying and hunting for Easter eggs, as eggs are a traditional symbol of renewal and, for some, symbolize the tomb that Jesus emerged from on the 3rd day after His death. Next year, I plan to introduce the Resurrection Eggs that several friends have suggested, as Caleb will be old enough to understand the basic principles that they teach.

Unfortunately, my main concern and my hesitation in this decision hasn't been about us. It's been about other people. How will we keep Caleb from being that kid who tells all the others that Santa isn't real? I guess we'll cross that road when we get to it.

For now, Happy Easter! May you be blessed beyond your expectations. It's amazing how God does that sometimes, isn't it?

Cough, Cough, COUGH

Caleb had a runny nose last weekend. I immediately started giving him Claritin. By Sunday, he was starting to cough. By Monday, he was waking up at night coughing. We still use the baby monitor because Caleb's room is on the opposite end of the house from ours, so when he coughs, I wake up...even if he doesn't. Rudy and I have taken turns getting up with him at night when the coughing gets bad enough that he comes toddling into our room for comfort. Thursday night was the final straw. Up at 4:00 AM and unable to get back to sleep due to Caleb's coughing, I decided to take a sick day so I could take him to the clinic. I managed to get a 10:30 appointment. The doctor said his tubes are looking good (yeah!) and he wasn't wheezing (yeah!), but that his chest sounded "crackly" and he had nasal congestion. With the official diagnoses of "early bronchitis" and "rhinitis," we were sent on our way with a prescription for amoxicillin and a suggestion to give him Robitussin CF. Almost 2 days later, he's still coughing and his nose is running like a faucet. When he's feeling good, the world is fine, but when he's not - Heaven help us. He's wavering between those two states quicker than a preteen girl right now. It doesn't help that we're all tired. It's amazing what a little cold can turn into.

LaLa, Meltdown, Easter Eggs & Bunny Cake

Rudy went to deer camp this weekend with Mr. L to gather firewood and do some other work stuff around the camp. Since we were both deer camp widows for the weekend, Mom came up to see Caleb and me. She got here Friday afternoon and left this morning. We went to dinner on Friday night and then came home to put on our PJ's. She and Caleb went to bed pretty early. I watched a movie and finished the invitations for Caleb's b'day party. (I'm so proud of the invitations. I designed and made them myself and I just love them!) Mom let me sleep in on Saturday by taking care of and playing with Caleb. When I got up, we had a little breakfast and played some more. We tried to get Caleb to take a nap, but he never went to sleep. We finally gave up and went to Target. After meandering through Target for a while and getting everything on our list, we went over the mall to get Caleb some jeans at Children's Place. We left the mall and headed across the street for Jackson's birthday party at Chuck E Cheese. Before we went in, Caleb and I had a talk about being a good listener and not crying when it was time to go. Mom dropped us off and went to do a little kid-free shopping. We went in and said hi to the Lyonses and wished Jackson a happy birthday. Then we played a few games until they called for Jackson's party to start. We went over to the table and I was calculating times in my head. I decided that Caleb had time to have one piece of pizza before we were supposed to meet Mom outside. I didn't take into account that the pizza would be too hot for him to eat and we wouldn't have time for it to cool and for him to eat it. The whole situation blew up on me: no nap + excited about being there + having to leave early = one angry almost-3-year-old. Whew! I haven't seen Caleb throw a fit like that in a very long time and I've never had him throw one of those in public. I was so embarrassed. He screamed and kicked and even hit me in the face a couple of times before I managed to get him out the door. I know that's an everyday occurrence at Chuck's - but it's just not a common thing for us and it's certainly not acceptable. He was still screaming when we got to the car and screamed all the way home. Mom offered to take him outside when we got home, but he wouldn't leave my side. We talked about what he did wrong and he apologized. I also apologized for asking him to leave early, but explained that it was what we had to do that day. We decided that taking some time to chill out and watch a movie would be the best thing for him to do. He agreed and watched part of Cars before dinner. After dinner, Mom and I took him outside to play in the backyard for a little while. I came in while they were playing and got things ready to dye Easter eggs. When they came in, we dyed our eggs. We've never done that before and he thought it was pretty cool. Once we got the eggs in the dye, we started working on our real family tradition: the bunny cake! Mom and I have been making the bunny cake at Easter for as long as I can remember. We've missed a few years along the way, but I have a picture of the cake that we had on my first Easter...32 years ago! Caleb loved helping with the mixer and (of course) licking the beaters. We let the cakes cool overnight and decorated them this morning.

Thursday Night

8:00 - Haley gets home from museum meeting. Greeted with a warm welcome from both of my boys!
8:15 - Rudy puts Caleb to bed.
8:50 - Haley goes to bed to read. Rudy is working on the computer. Caleb is still talking in his bed.
9:50 - Rudy is getting ready for bed. Haley is laying in bed reading. Footsteps in the hallway. Caleb shows up in the doorway and says, "Mama, my Crocs are on the wrong feet." Really? He got out of his bed, opened his closet, put his shoes on and then decided to come tell me they were on the wrong feet?
9:52 - Rudy puts Caleb to bed.
10:00 - Rudy comes back to our room with a victorious grin. Caleb is asleep in his own bed...without shoes.

What's New

Why? Why? Why?
The inevitable has happened. Caleb has discovered the question, "Why?" He loves it. Here's a typical conversation:
Caleb: Where's Daddy?
Me: He's in the kitchen. (Which is 10 feet away and Caleb can actually SEE Rudy in there.)
Caleb: Why?
Me: Because he's getting the chicken ready to grill.
Caleb: Why?
Me: Because that's what we're having for dinner.
Caleb: Why?
Me: Because.
Caleb: Why, Mama?
Me: Oooh, look! Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is on. (Gotta' love that ol' distraction trick!)
Caleb: Why?

Yesterday, Rudy decided to turn the tables. I can't remember what the conversation was about, but here is the trick Rudy tried (unsuccessfully) to pull:
Caleb: Daddy, let's play.
Rudy: Why?
Caleb: Because let's play. (complete with a look of exasperation)
You can't outsmart a 2 year old in a battle of the whys. They have the resolve to withstand anything you throw at them and will probably throw a big fat WHY back at you.

Front Seat Driver
Pops is to blame for this one. Over spring break, he let Caleb sit in his lap and "drive" the car from one spot in the driveway to another. Now, Caleb thinks he can sit in my lap while I drive. I've almost got him convinced that it's not going to happen, but he's still asking. Thanks, Pops.

So Tall
Caleb's growing pains continue and it's easy to see why. The kid is growing like a weed (despite his steady diet of fruit snacks, pudding, yogurt, easy mac, hot dogs and chicken nuggets). He has gotten so tall and is getting so much thinner. I took him to Stride Rite on Friday to get his feet measured because he's been complaining about his feet hurting again. Sure enough, he's moved up yet another shoe size. Of course, he has to have wide shoes, so Stride Rite is the only thing that fits. Lucky for me, they were having a BOGO sale! Lucky for Caleb, those new shoes are SUPER-FAST!!!!

Racing Day
Caleb loves the Backyardigans. His new favorite episode is Race Around the World. In the show, the characters say, "I'm gonna win this race!" Caleb has taken that phrase to a whole new level. We can get him to do almost anything by telling him we're gonna win the race. He takes off like a shot to do whatever it is before we win. This applies to toothbrushing, going to the bathroom, going to bed, changing clothes, etc. You name it, he is GOING TO WIN THAT RACE! We're milking it for all it's worth because we know it won't work for long...

Sleep Troubles
Before spring break, Caleb was doing a pretty good job of sleeping in his bed all by himself. The camping trip followed by almost a week in Hot Springs blew that out of the water. When we're at Mom's and Mr.L's, he is scared to sleep by himself b/c the beds are all big and he's in a different place. He slept with Rudy during the camping trip, with Mom the first night in Hot Springs and with me when I got there. Now, we're home and he's still not sleeping by himself. Most nights he has gone to bed by himself, but wakes up crying about shadows or being scared and ends up with either Rudy or me in the guest bed. Last night, I thought we were in luck. He went to bed all by himself. He went to sleep immediately. Just as I laid my head on my pillow at 9:50, he started screaming. This was cry that broke my heart. He was in pain. His legs were hurting so bad that he couldn't stand up. When I went in to find out what was wrong, he had kicked all of his blankets onto the floor and was sobbing. Rudy and I finally figured out what the problem was, gave him some medicine and...put him in the guest bed to sleep with me. Now we're in for a week of intermittent thunderstorms. I'm guessing this pattern will be continuing for a while.

And on another note...
75 days until we leave for our Florida vacation with Pops and LaLa! Not that I'm counting. :)

Spring Break '09

Before I get to spring break...I forgot to post about Caleb's first kite-flying experience. It was a warm and windy day on the 9th, so we stopped at (our brand spankin' new) Target and bought a kite. Caleb was all excited about it...until we actually got it out into an open area and started flying it. Then he was more interested in picking up rocks. I flew the kite for a while and then we brought our windblown selves home. Really...kite flying isn't all that great and now that I've done it again, I remember it not being so great when I was a kid either. Oh, well - it makes a great decoration in Caleb's room. I hung it on the ceiling above his bed. The boys enjoyed their spring break trip last week. They had a good time in Ft. Smith on the 18th, visiting the Morrises (in Spiro), seeing Aunt Janice at work and then spending the night with Jan. On Thursday morning (3/19), they headed down to Lake DeGray to meet Mr. L. and Waymon at the campsite. Caleb was all jazzed up for his fishing trip with Pops! Mom met them down there after work on Thursday. They had a great time. At one point, there were 6 kids running around. Mom said it was like Romper Room at the campground. Waymon and Penne and their kids and grandkids joined the group off and on throughout the weekend.Caleb wasn't quite old enough to fish, but he did hold a fish and was pretty excited about it. I hear that someone even convinced him to stick his finger in its mouth, which didn't go over so well. One of Caleb's favorite parts of the trip was playing with the bug box that Mom got for him. Rudy caught a huge green moth and Caleb carried the thing around in the bug box all weekend. He called it "Bunny Foo Foo." I hear that he even took it out and "hugged" it a few times. Ewww.... Rudy left the campground on Saturday and came home. Caleb and Mom stayed one more night and then went to Hot Springs. Mom said that when she put Caleb in the bathtub on Sunday morning, the whole tub turned brown. From the looks of these pictures, I believe it!

I spent the week working day and night. Friday brought my much-needed spring break! Stacy came over and we scrapbooked until after midnight. I slept in on Saturday and then Rudy came home around 2:30. We decided to take advantage of our kid-free status and went to dinner and a movie. Wow!

I got up on Sunday and packed my bags for Hot Springs. Rudy stayed here and went back to work this week. It has really been complicated and unfortunate that we had different spring breaks this year. Hopefully, that won't happen again.

By the time I got to Hot Springs, I was beside myself to see my CalebBug! He was just as excited to see me, which was good. I would've been disappointed if I hadn't been greeted with a big grin and a hug. :) Sunday was low-key. Mr. L. came home from camping on Monday and Caleb fell right into step with him. Those two are so funny together. Caleb is absolutely Mr. L's shadow. While they took a short nap, Mom and I went to Belk to get out of the house. We didn't find much of anything, but enjoyed getting out. We also had to make a semi-emergency run to Walgreen's because I realized that I had forgotten my entire makeup bag. Oops! Believe me...nobody wanted me going around without makeup all week. No way! Becca, Jimmy and Maddox got to HS on Monday, so we went over to Aunt Harolyn's to see them. Caleb and Maddox became buddies all over again! They played with cars and blew bubbles and made Jimmy a nervous wreck trying to keep them from falling into the pool.

On Tuesday, I got my hair cut and colored by the same person who used to do my hair in jr. high and high school. I completely trust her and needed her help to fix the mess that was made about a month ago. Kim did a great job and I'm feeling much better about my hair these days. When I got home from the salon, it was go time for the family cookout. All of the Hot Springs family came over for burgers and entertainment by the 2 year old boys. And, boy, did they get their money's worth. Caleb showed out from the very beginning - screaming and running around like I've never seen him do before. Maddox warmed up after a while and put on a show as well. By the time it was all done, they were throwing themselves on the floor while the whole family sat around and watched them. Becca and I just sat there in amazement that our boys were behaving like clowns. We were also hoping they would wear each other out so they would get a good night's sleep! Before they were born and when they were babies, we all talked about how much fun it would be to have two little boys running around at family get-togethers. Well, the time has come...and it was fun. Crazy, but fun! As soon as everyone left, Caleb told us that he was ready for bed and tried to crawl into Mom and Mr.L's bed with his clothes on. He was exhausted!

On Wednesday, Mom and I took Caleb over to Pepapa and Anna Joyce's. He stayed with them while we went shopping. They took him to lunch at McDonald's and played with him at their house until we got back. (Thanks, Pepapa and Anna Joyce!) Mom treated me to some new spring clothes and lunch. We had a good girls' day!

Last night, we ordered dinner in and enjoyed just being home together. Caleb was sitting in his booster seat at the bar, eating his mac & cheese. I noticed that he was dropping a lot of it, but figured he just wasn't paying attention. Then I noticed that he was literally falling asleep while he was eating his dinner. He was dropping food because he was falling asleep. He finally said, "I all done. I get down now?" Mom got him out of his chair and put him in Mr.L's lap in the recliner. He was sound asleep within minutes. Mom changed him into a pull-up and we tried to put him to bed, but he got really upset. He wanted to sleep with me, so I put him in my bed and never heard another peep out of him until he woke up from a bad dream at midnight. He slept from 6:00 last night until 6:00 this morning. Spring break is exhausting! I don't think he's taken a nap more than 45 minutes since last Tuesday at school and maybe only one or two naps at the most. The boy is worn out!

This morning, Mom, Caleb and I met Becca, Maddox and Harolyn at Little Bitty City for a playdate before Caleb and I left for home. "The Boys" had a great time playing with blocks, "exercising," playing with cars and trucks and bringing us play food to enjoy. They had a great time and Caleb asked if Maddox could come home with us.

After playtime and lunch, I packed my car to the max and Caleb and I headed for home. Caleb was my shadow the whole time. He kept asking if he could go in my car. I promised him I wasn't leaving without him, but I'm not sure he believed me. Even though we had an awesome time in HS, we were so glad to see our house. I got the car unloaded and unpacked our many many many bags. Caleb and Rudy were ecstatic to see each other after being apart for 5 days. When Caleb heard the garage door go up, he went running and yelling, "Daddy! My Daddy!" I was pretty glad to see his Daddy too. With all of the running we've been doing, we've seen each other one day out of the past nine.

We're now home for the duration of the break. We may have some bad weather this weekend - even snow?!? Rudy may go to Springfield to see Summit's guard and drumline. That depends on the weather. Caleb and I aren't going. We've had enough time in the car and enough time away from home for a while.

One last photo that I can't resist posting. How great is this?

And my favorite Spring Break Calebisms:

LaLa: Did it snow at your house?

Caleb: Yeah. I nearly froze to death.

And this morning, I woke up to the revelation that my child is learning to count in Spanish. I assume he's learned this at school, because I habla Espanol muy poquito. (I have no idea if I spelled that right!)

LaLa: Uno, dos, tres

Caleb: CINCO!

LaLa: How many are there?

Caleb: Uno, toast, cinco!

Home Alone

It's 10:00. Do you know where your family is?

Mine is in Ft. Smith. That's right - my house is empty except for me. It is ridiculously quiet. The boys left this morning for their Spring Break '09 adventure! They went to Ft. Smith/Spiro today and they are off to fish with Pops tomorrow. When I talked to Rudy tonight, Caleb was too busy playing to say hi to me. I understand - but by tomorrow that little stinker better be ready to at least tell me goodnight. I've gotten so much work done tonight. I wrote all of my progress notes in one night. I've never been able to do that before. Now I just have to enter the data in SEAS, print 'em out and send 'em home. That sounds easy enough, but who's betting I'm sitting right here in this chair again tomorrow night?

Fibro Flare-up, Crawfish and Rudy Meets John Daly

I try not to talk much about Fibromyalgia. Nobody really wants to hear it and it makes me sound like a whiner. This past week, though, it has affected me enough to make me angry. This happens every spring. The weather changes back and forth from day to day and the rains come in. Both of those things team up to make me feel like I'm about 90 years old. On Tuesday, I came straight home from work after calling Rudy to make sure he would pick Caleb up from school. I left work at 3:10. By 4:00, I was sound asleep in the bed with my PJ's on. I vaguely remember Rudy coming in and telling me that dinner was almost ready. I woke up at 6:00 the next morning. I ate that dinner for lunch on Wednesday. I can't fully blame this need for 14 hours of sleep on Fibro. Part of it had to do with Caleb waking up a lot during the night on both Sunday and Monday nights. Actually, he woke up before 5:00 on Monday morning and never went back to sleep. He woke up at 3:00 on Tuesday morning and neither of us ever really got back to sleep until right before my alarm went off. So, I was tired to begin with. The pain just pushed me right over the edge...and into the bed. I made it through the rest of the week with help from my friend Rapid Release Tylenol. Friday was another rough day. I ended up having to stay home Friday night while Rudy and Caleb went over to Grandma's for dinner. I did get up Saturday morning feeling quite a bit better and managed to tackle our mountain of laundry and get the house picked up. Weeks like these make me crazy!

To make matters even worse, my optometrist told me that the shape of my eyes has changed and I may not be able to wear my beloved night & day contacts anymore. He is making me wear daily contacts only until I go back to see him on Tuesday. He only gave me 5 pairs of contacts and told me to wear my glasses as much as possible. He's trying to see if my eyes will "bounce back" to normal. I hate these contacts and I super-hate my glasses. (Yes, I just made up a word.) I wore the contacts to work on Thursday and Friday and by the time I got home, I was ready to scratch my eyes out. Then I had to make the choice between bad and worse: glasses or contacts. I went with glasses - just because I could take them off and rub my eyes from time to time. Today, I had to wear my glasses all day so that I'll have enough contacts to get me through until I go back on Tuesday. I can promise you that I will beg, steal, grovel, cry and/or wail if it means I get to keep my night & day contacts.

Jan came to our house yesterday (Saturday) to play with Caleb so that Rudy and I could have a date night. We met our friends Jeremy and Lauren at Cafe Rue Orleans. Rudy, Jeremy and I devoured 7 pounds of crawfish and all admitted that we could've eaten more. I was disappointed that there weren't any potatoes or corn in the boil, but took full advantage of the fact that there were mudbugs in their absence. Oh, there's nothing better than a big platter of crawfish! We were planning to go to a movie after we ate, but ended up coming home earlier than planned. We couldn't find a movie that we wanted to see that would get us home before midnight. That is just too far past my bedtime.

This morning, Rudy got up early and met Chad in Dardanelle to play golf. I got a text message from him this afternoon saying that he was on his way home and he had met John Daly. He was so excited to get to meet a professional golfer...even one with the reputation of Big John. Rudy went in the pro shop and bought a copy of his book and got his autograph. And on top of that, he was pleased with how he played, considering that he hadn't swung a club since November. He's playing again on Tuesday. He's taking full advantage of his spring break this week.

My spring break isn't until next week, so I'll be keeping my normal routine. Things around here will be pretty quiet starting on Wednesday, though. Rudy and Caleb are going to Ft. Smith on Wednesday, then heading down to Hot Springs on Thursday to camp and fish with Mr. L. Rudy's coming back here on Saturday and leaving Caleb for an overnight stay with LaLa and Pops. I'm headed down there Sunday to spend the majority of my spring break. I'll be itching to see my Caleb-Bug after being away from him for 4 days!

A Week of Calebisms

A few Calebisms that have made me smile lately...and one that has me perplexed:

Last night, Caleb and Rudy were wrestling and tickling. Rudy told Caleb he was going to "eat his cheeks" which is where he pretends that he is gobbling on Caleb's face - a game that usually brings lots and lots of laughter. Caleb got serious all of a sudden and said, "No, Daddy. We don't eat people."

On Tuesday, it was warm. On Wednesday, we got out of the car to go into Caleb's school and it was in the 30's. Caleb looked at me so earnestly and said, "Mama, where'd the warm go? It in timeout?"

This week is "pet week" in Caleb's class. Last night at dinner:
Caleb: Why we can't have a doggy at our home?"
Rudy and I looked at each other for a long time, thinking OH, NO!
Haley: Because we don't have one.
Caleb: Okay.
And we continued eating dinner until a few minutes later...
Caleb: We gonna' go to the dinosaur store and pick out a baby dinosaur?
Haley: Nope.
Caleb: Okay.
I know it won't always be that easy, but I'll take it for now.

Last night, I was putting Caleb to bed. We were sitting on the floor in his room, snuggling and singing songs:
Haley: It's time to say your prayer.
Caleb: I do it all by myself. (We hear this 100 times a day!)
Haley: Okay.
Caleb jumps into his bed and closes his eyes so tight. He sits there for a few seconds without saying anything.
Haley: Now...
Caleb: Now I know my ABC's. Amen. Yeah!!!
Haley: Not quite. Now I lay...
Caleb: Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. Amen. Yeah!!!
Haley: Let's say it together this time. (and we did...)

Now, here's the strangest one of all. Rudy and I had a conversation a couple of weeks ago about the timing for having our second child. That got us thinking, so we were trying to go to sleep one night and bouncing names around to see what we liked. The next morning, Caleb told me he played with his sister the night before. I didn't even know he knew the word "sister." I guess he had a dream about it??? He has used the word a couple more times since then. Last night, he said, "My baby sister came to my house." Through a convoluted conversation, we figured out he was trying to say "babysitter" not "baby sister." However...tonight, he was playing with my old cell phone and kept asking me to call people. We went through a few people before we got to this exchange:
Caleb: You talk to my sister?
Haley: You don't have a sister.
Caleb: Yes I do. You talk to her.
Haley: What's her name?
Caleb: Fella. (This is what he calls his friend Bella.)
He then proceeded to "talk" to her on the phone...about what I was doing. Then he said, "Her not want to talk to me." Sounds like a sister to me! Later, he did the same thing with Rudy, except he decided he didn't want to talk to her and he hung up on her. Does Caleb know something we don't know???

A Little Boy's Almost-Perfect Saturday

If it weren't for having to take a nap, this would be Caleb's perfect Saturday. Well, he'd probably also like to be with any combination of his grandparents, too. But - this is as close at it gets to perfect for right now.

Caleb got his first fishing pole today. Rudy took him to "the huntin' store" to pick it out in preparation for their fishing trip with Pops in a couple of weeks. Caleb chose the one with Lightning McQueen on it...and it lights up - just like the pros, right?

They practiced a little in the backyard. Caleb thinks he caught something. It's the practice weight. Rudy says he's too young to cast, but he should be able to reel. We'll see... He just wants so badly to be like the big boys. He also got a chance to practice riding his "bike" which is actually a tricycle. The handle on the back is for pushing when he gets tired. This is a 3-in-1 trike that started out as a rocker, then a ride-on with the push bar. Now, he's about ready for us to take the handle off so he can ride all by himself.

Rudy also took a short video...