Catching Up

So it feels like I've been away from the blog forever! Mostly we've just been doing the regular day-to-day stuff, with a few spurts of excitement in between. :-) Last weekend we had our good friends the Newell's over for dinner. I'd made a Barefoot Contessa's Frozen Key Lime Pie about a month ago and stuck it in the freezer...gotta love having dessert already made! What a time-saver! And boy was it delicious. Great ending to a Mexican meal!


Maddie and Lucy are so funny together...just like sisters. Their brothers, James and Henry, are the same age and the girls are about 1 year apart. Watching them play so well together made me think, "Boy, it's going to be so nice when James and Maddie are old enough to keep each other entertained!" :-)

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James continues to do great and is growing stronger. Last week we had an evaluation from Early Intervention (like pre-Special Ed. for kids birth to age 5) and James qualified for services, so soon he'll start getting physical therapy at home a couple times a month.
He's getting better control over his muscles and can now sit up for up to 10 seconds at a time
(and then promptly does a face plant), but he still really hates Tummy Time.
I'm sure that won't get any better until quite awhile after abdominal surgery!



Speaking of surgery, on April 27th James will have a dye contrast study done in Radiology at Emanuel to determine if there are any blockages in his intestines and hopefully get a picture of how viable everything looks, then in the afternoon we'll meet with his surgeon. We're hoping to schedule surgery for mid-late May.

Please pray that his intestines look strong and healthy with no blockages or complications!
Also pray that his large intestine will begin functioning again quickly after surgery (we'll be in the hospital for up to a week) and that he can tolerate more tube feedings and formula by mouth so that eventually we can cut down on the amount of time he's connected to IV's and tubes (currently 20 hours a day, which makes it hard to have a life...for all of us!)



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Speaking of entertaining herself, Maddie took this idea WAY too far last week. We have a little (luckily old and junky) side table next to our couch that is sandwiched between the wall and the couch, so the only visible part is the top. When I was cleaning the house, I happened to move our rocking chair in order to vacuum. You know what I discovered underneath? EMPTY sticker sheets. Never a good sign. Then I moved the couch and went to vacuum under the table. Can you already guess? Stickers *covered* the entire underside AND legs of the side table! Lovely.

I give Maddie "The Talk", start her peeling them all off, and continue cleaning.

{Mistake #1: Leaving her alone for more than 2 minutes.}
{Mistake #2: Forgetting that I'd left art supplies on our kitchen table.}

I come back from vacuuming the bedroom. I look around for Maddie. She's under that table, hiding. [Do you hear the ominous music starting?] Guess what I saw this time.
Stickers + crayon AND purple glue stick all over the wall/baseboards/floor/side table!
Yes, an entire new glue stick.
{And don't let those manufacturers fool you.
The fact that it is purple "but dries clear!" is not a comfort at this point!}
AAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!

{The meltdown is beginning. Mine, not hers!}

She gets a swat (apparently meaningless), a talking-to,
then upstairs for a Time Out in her bedroom.

I spend 15 minutes scrubbing said wall/baseboards/floor/side table.
Have you ever tried to get 1/4 inch thick glue stick off anything? Gross.

I take a deep breath & go upstairs, prepared to debrief with Madeline. I open her door and she's nowhere to be found. Not a good sign. I call out her name and she sheepishly peeks out of her closet, looking like this...


L: What in the world do you have on your face?
M: Nuuuuh-thing!
L: Then why does that look like ink? What IS that?
M: I dunno.
L: Did you have markers in your room?
M: No...just some stampers...

Then I see it. Behind her easel in the corner...


OKAY, SERIOUSLY, CHILD!?!
Did we not just have this conversation 15 MINUTES AGO downstairs?
So while you're in Time Out for this very crime,
you decide it's a swell idea to re-create it?!!

This Mommy was done. D.O.N.E.!!!
Complete meltdown right then and there. Crying, the whole works.
You know those days when you just wish you could fast forward to the end and be done with it?
Give me that dang fast forward button!
:-)