Hair

Every time someone sees Hill for the first time they immediately say "Oh my goodness I didn't know he had so much hair!" It's true. Once again, he takes after his daddy because I didn't have hair until I was like 3 - my parents had to tape bows to my head. Both Chip and I had really really blonde hair when we were young. Chip still has his, but mine darkened up and then...well...now it's getting pretty grey. Anyway, that's neither here nor there.

I tried to 'fro' up Hill's hair after his bath so you could see how much he has. It's hard to see in regular pictures because it's so blonde that he looks bald. He's probably going to need to get a hair cut soon because some wild hairs are starting to fall over his ears! I'm serious, it's crazy. The back is not long like the top because he sleeps on his back and when he's sleepy he rubs his head back and forth as if to shake his head no and I think it rubbed all the hair off. Not to worry, he's not bald back there just peach fuzz, like a military crew cut in the back.

I told my mom that I could probably put it in a pony tail on top. She suggested I not, because he is a boy. I also have to stop calling his diapers panties. Yes, yes, I know he's a boy and boys don't wear panties. I can't help it though. I call Chip's boxers panties too. I think it's a funny word. Panties - pronounced 'pannies.' I don't like it when the T is pronounced or enunciated it takes the fun out of the word.

Well, alright. Now you know the random thoughts that run through my head more ofthen than they probably should.

I struggled with a title to this blog because I didn't think Hair & Panties was an appropriate title. Then I thought about quoting Raising Arizona - "Son, you've got a panty on your head." But I didn't think you'd know what in the world I was talking about. So...I settled with simply 'Hair.'

We Have A Tooth!

Tonight, Hill stuck my hand in his mouth as if to say; "Lady, looky here. I've gotta tooth in there! Feel it!"
I thought he may be teething but never did I expect it to just pop on up. He wasn't all drooly and irritable like I'd read and heard about. Yesterday he wasn't himself, even daycare thougt so. Now we know why! But... I don't want to jinx myself because he has 19 more teeth to go and who knows how easy those will come in?
I looked in his mouth and it's the bottom front right tooth just sitting there broken through and sticking out. The bottom front left should reveal itself in the next day or two as well.
I told his Daddy that we need to get that boy a toothbrush! Himz needs to go to the dentist and get himz one tooth cleaned and shined up!
I'd post pictures but it would just look like the inside of a toothless mouth because it's just broken through. Plus, have you ever tried photographing the inside of a 5 (almost 6) month olds mouth? It's impossible!
Sassy said he will be eating steak before long!
FIRE UP THE GRILL!

True to the Childers / Hawkins nature we plan and evolve our lives around food.

Since Hill is now able to eat veggies and fruits, I like to involve him in our food planning.

As some of you know I am trying to make as much of Hill's food as I can. Since the inception of our local farmers market. I have made him green beans, zucchini, squash, new potatoes, and eggplant.

At first I bought the natural and the organic Gerber foods. I just wasn't 100% sold that they really were organic. I mean how would I really know the difference? I did it anyway to give me a piece of mind.

He started off with natural green beans from Gerber. He enjoyed those and moved onto organic peas, which was great too.

More peas....please

I got him the Gerber organic carrots which was a hot mess, but he gobbled them up!

Then I bought the squash and zucchini at the farmers market that you saw in my previous post  and he loved them both. He did get sick of the zucchini fast, but he ate it anyway.

The next week I bought new potatoes at the farmers market. I was nervous about all that starch, but I assume it will be ok. He loved them as well.

My potaTOES

Then we tried the Gerber organic sweet potatoes. Wow, you would think he'd won the lottery! He ate those sweet potatoes like it was going out of style and couldn't get them fast enough! We will have to get more of those.

I steamed him some eggplant that I bought at the farmers market. I was a little nervous about it and I guess I haven't familiarized myself with my motherly-intuition-o-meter because I gave him like 3 bites and he was trying to figure out how to hock it back up. He just sat there and looked at me like...no, lady....this is not going to be ok. Then around his mouth got splotchy and I decided to stop feeding him eggplant before he went into anafaliactic shock. So I decided to try mushed up avacado. Yum o right? It's like guacamole with out the spice. He wasn't a fan of avacado either he just let it sit in his mouth. I couldn't even get any effort from him to swallow it. I think it had to do with the testosterone exuding from his dad standing nearby saying "we don't like no stinking vegetables, do we buddy?" So I ate the other half of the avacado and cut my eyes at his daddy for acting a fool and teaching our son bad habits.

We do fruits in the morning - pears, apples, bananas. We tried the Gerber peaches but they were too strong or something. I bought some fresh peaches the other day and pureed them, but he hasn't tried them. If he hates them it's ok - since I stuck them in the freezer they are already frozen and mommy can make her a daquiri or something tasty out of them. Same with the canteloupe and watermelon that turned to watery slosh after putting them in the food processor. I froze them and worst case scenario popcicles or fun ice cubes for mommys fun drinks.

Here is a tuckered out little monkey that fell back asleep eating his bananas.

Then we tried the sippy cup on Father's Day. That was an interesting concept. He knew what was in it, but couldn't figure out why it was different looking.

Yum - I think.

What is this thing?

Speaking of formula...I pretty much hit the mother load at Wal-Mart the other day. Similac Advanced (which is Hill's drink of choice) was $10 a container. Yes, I kid you not... TEN BUCKS! It's usually $21 and so I saw it. Walked by. Did a double take. Reversed. Picked up the container to see what it's malfunction was. Nothing weird except the price. So I went to the worker in that department and she said that the price was correct they had just way over ordered and they had to rid of the excess. Which had to be like two whole car loads worth because I got one car load. I wish I'd have taken pictures of them in my car. I looked like a door to door Similac sales man and the factory was in the back of my car. Instead I managed to get a picture of the Similac pyramid. Note that there are two supportive rows at the bottom. I bought 20 containers. Yes, you can do the math. I spent $200 - - but I saved $220! Hill will never want for formula ever for the rest of his life (I hope.)

On a different note, yet still related to food. Here is a picture of the cake they had at the Welcome Home celebration for our local troops last Friday. Hill didn't get any cake, but he did get to meet the heros that exhibit the truest form of honor and selflessness and are the symbol of our freedom. Our gratitude for them can't be spoken or written in words. There are none. What a privilege for Hill and I to be a part of something so wonderful.

Chippy had a fabulous first Father's Day. Hill pretty much 98.5% rolled over that day. He got all parts of his body over but his arm was stuck underneath which caused a problem and as far as I know...he's given up because he hasn't tried again. This morning we set him on his stomach and he props his arms and head up. I didn't witness it, but Chip said he lifted a knee as if to crawl. He pretty much can say Mama, but I don't think he associates it with me yet. I mean, I'm pretty much just sayin' he's the smartest sweetest good eatin' lil boy ever.
And once I figure out how to post video - - you can see how strong he is, how he loves to stand up 24-7, and how loud he can burp.

Have a great day!

Blue Jean Baby Queen...or Prince

Call me arrogant.  Call me conceited.  Call me crazy.

I'm sorry, my little boy is the cutest dang thing I have ever seen in my entire life.

(of course I'm not bias)

Today he wore jeans and his wallabee shoes with a white knit polo and his Ole Miss hat to school.

Even though his jeans are a 6 month size I still had to roll them a bit because he's so compact.  Short and squatty.  It was the first time he's been able to wear the jeans we have and I was so excited!  I think babies in jeans are too stinkin' cute.  They look like tiny little adults.  So since I've been thinking about Hill's jeans I now have the David Essex song "Rock On" in my head.

(my little blue jean baby queen)

I thought I'd get it stuck in your head too...you can thank me later  :)

Hey kid, rock and roll

Rock on, ooh, my soul

Hey kid, boogey too, did ya

Hey shout, summertime blues

Jump up and down in my blue suede shoes

Hey kid, rock and roll, rock on

And where do we go from here

Which is the way that's clear

Still looking for that blue jean, baby queen

Prettiest girl I ever seen

See her shake on the movie screen, Jimmy Dean

(James Dean)

[Instrumental Interlude]

And where do we go from here

Which is the way that's clear

Still looking for that blue jean, baby queen

Prettiest girl I ever seen

See her shake on the movie screen, Jimmy Dean

Jimmy Dean

Rock on

Rock on

Rock on

Hey, hey

Rock and roll

Rock on

Universal Truths

I received this email from a friend the other day.  I'm not sure the person that wrote this didn't tap into my brain because it's all the things I do and think about...often. 

Universal Truths


1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.

5. How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

6. Was learning cursive really necessary?

7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on #5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

10. Bad decisions make good stories.

11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment sometimes, when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.

13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

14. "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this - ever.

15. I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Dang it!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What did you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

16. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

17. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

18. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

19. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than K

20. I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

21. Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first saw it.

22. I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

23. The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.

24. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

25. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?

26. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent another idiot from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!

27. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

28. Is it just me or do high school kids get dumber & dumber every year?

29. There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

30. As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

31. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

32. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet my behind everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time!
 

Have a great day!

 

Giddy Up

Ride em' Cowboy!

Peek a Boo

Whoa there horsey!

Look!  No hands!

 

Final Decision

After massive hours of R&D (research and discussion) with numerous mothers about my carseat debacle.  I made an executive decision and my child will be safer than safe for the next few years with the Britax Marathon Labyrinth. I may have even shed a tear of frustration along the way.  Then when I told Chip the cost he stroked out and may have shed a tear, but I assured him that this was not some boat he was fixing up this is our childs safety.  Way to throw a guilt trip to get what I want, right?

This is what his new ride will look like. 

It's fancy. 

9 years and counting

9 years ago this week, June 14, 2001. I was living in Oxford, MS in a small apartment complex near the Square. The only reason I remember this particular date is because I had just gotten my hair cut.

I met my new neighbors the prior week. They were boyfriend and girlfriend and lived next door to each other in the apartments above me. One day I will tell you about how when they first moved in (during final exam week) and were installing new carpet and furniture, etc at 11:00 pm, it was so late and so loud I went and turned the power to the whole apartment complex off just so they couldn’t run their power tools and I could sleep.

Anyway, 9 years ago I took Katie Lou on a walk and came back to find a note on my door from the new upstairs neighbor girl. It said, “Hey we are going out tonight and thought you’d like to come. Meet us upstairs around 8:30.” So, 8:30 rolled around and I went upstairs to hang out with my new neighbor and her boyfriend. They were nice folks, I felt bad for turning their electricity off and apologized and they understood the maintenance men shouldn’t be doing that during finals late at night. The guy, his name was Jackson, he was from a small town called Kosciusko. The girl, her name was Julie, she was from a small town called Flora. They were cute as pie.

So, like I was saying, I met them upstairs and we hung out for a minute and they were like we have another friend coming. He will be here in a minute. I didn’t think anything of it. We were outside on the patio enjoying each other’s company waiting for Jackson’s friend…..then this guy pulls up on a motorcycle. It was loud and he revved up the engine or motor or whatever it was and I was like, oh my goodness, please don’t tell me this ‘queer-bait-goob’ is the guy coming with us. Oh, but it was. He came upstairs and Julie introduced me to him. His name was Chip.

Still I didn’t think anything about this nerd guy on a motorcycle. I mean it is not like he was a biker dude. He was in polo chino khakis and a polo knit shirt. He was anything but a biker and I think that is what I thought was so dorky. So we jump in the car and head to the Square. I remember this Chip fella opening doors and both he and Jackson paying for everything for all of us, he had great interesting conversation and was an all around a nice guy.

I guess I forgot about the first impression of the goob on the motorcycle because when he asked for my number at the end of the night I gave it to him. Well it totally didn't go down like that.  He told me to call him and I said no, I don't call guys.  So then he took my number and called me the next day.  I don’t think I ever asked Julie and Jackson if it was a set up or not. Anyway, 9 years ago I met my Chippy. I’m forever indebted to my friends Jackson and Julie Jordan who married a few years later and now have two beautiful babies.

If it weren’t for that night I may not have ever had the chance to meet my husband. I may have missed out on the last 9 years of hilarity in my life. I may have missed out on this little bugga boo. I can’t imagine my life without either of them.

Rare Breed

I was looking in the newspaper classifieds under the free pets. Don’t worry I’m not adding anyone else to my zoo. I like to read about the animals and pray that some abusive toothless person that wears cut off shorts and wife beaters doesn’t take these free animals and neglect them thinking little Jr. needs a playmate. So as I’m finding all these free kittens and puppies I come across 3 Female CHIPOMPOOS. I’m thinking half monkey half poodle? It may be one of those Chinpokomon kid toys? I’m talking out the enunciation out loud to myself. I couldn’t get it.

Finally I had to google it….boy was I way off. Totally off. I was reading it Chip-om-poos. Low and behold it is a Chi – pom – poo. Say it with me now… chipompoo.

The best I can decipher from this strange four legged creature is this family tree. This took me a while to put together so I hope you appreciate my being a visual learner.

I've come to the conclusion that the newspaper misspelled this word - if it truly is a word.  I would call it a chipomapoo but they called it a chipompoo.  Call it what you will I may call the sellers just so I can see what this creature looks like.
Google did not have a picture of such breed because I’m sure they only exist in rare exotic places in the world…. like rural Mississippi.

If you add a cute little boy named Hill in the mix you have a Chillpomapoo

Hill

                Chihuaua               

Pomapoo

My little helper

Since Hill's surgery we were worried about him falling a little behind the pack in developing his rolling over skills.  He hasn't been able to have much tummy time for fear of rubbing his face on the blankets and hurting his still tender mouth. 
For the past week and a half we've thought that Hill was giong to start rolling over from his back to his stomach.  He throws his feet up, gets his leverage, falls to the left but can't get much further than that. 
So his sweet older sister Katie Lou, who is a professional roller over, decided she'd try her hand at teaching him the ropes.  She's working with him, but with little success.

Not only does Katie Lou help Hill learn new things... she is also a big help to me around the house.  Here she is working so diligently in folding the laundry.

Thank you sweet girl.  You are such a good helper and a wonderful big sister.

The Busy Weekend of Firsts

This past weekend Hill had tons of stuff to do. Saturday was his first time to go to the farmers market, a birthday party, in the ski boat and float on the lake.  All in one day!  It's hard work being so fun!

Here are pictures of the adventure.  

Sweet Swayze and her precious mama, Marsha,  put on the best birthday party ever.  

Given it was Hill's first birthday party to attend and he doesn't have anything to compare it to, but we seriously doubt Swayze's 5th birthday can be topped. There was candy everywhere and cupcakes and cake and hot dogs and Cheetos and bouncy things and gift bags and presents. Here is Cooper showing us how it's done.

It probably wasn't appropriate for Chip and I to partake in all the fun and eat all the food and candy, but... we did, and it was tasty.  I will say we didn't jump in the bouncy thing, but it wasn't because we didn't want to.  We'd have crushed the tiny kids and Chip is very competitive and would have been a bully or something.  Poor Hill, his parents will never grow up.

The Party Boys

We got to hang out with our best buddy Pearce!  His family throws great parties! We are waiting for his mama to send us the pictures of Hill and Pearce on the bouncy thing and a picture of Hill and the Birthday Girl. 

After the birthday party we headed out to the Country Club to go riding in the ski boat and float around the lake.

Here is our sweet boy living la vida loca.

He's really not sunbathing, he's under a patio with SPF 50, a hat a shirt and sunglasses. Lord I was so scared of him getting burned!

This is Hill sleeping in his float at the lake.  I kept making sure the life jacket wasn't suffocating him, it looked so uncomfortable.  He managed to sleep the entire time just chilling out.  Because the life jacket was so big and bulky he was like a big doll.  Everyone joked that he looked like Bernie from the movie Weekend at Bernie's because he couldn't move and would just sit there.  What a trooper.  Here is Hill and his daddy in the water.

The lake was such a fun time, the Pettit's were there to play with us too!

Whitney, Tanner & Hart

Early that Saturday morning Kosciusko had it's debut to the Attala County Farmers Market.  I just may be the most excited citizen in Attala County.  I didn't get pictures of the event itself, but I did take pictures of the goods I bought and what I did with them.

So, Rachel....what did you do with the goods from the farmers market?

I made fresh home grown baby food chocked full of vitamins and nutrients!

Squash, cucumbers and zucchinis

I think we may have spent like $3 or $4 on ALL of these veggies combined.

So, I thought I'd make Hilly-poo some squash since he's been eating solids for a couple weeks now.  The lady at the market (and my recipe book) said to steam the veggies because when you boil them all the nutrients are taken out of them.  So I found a use for the steamer I bought ump-teen years ago at a Pampered Chef or Tupperware party in a previous life. 

I sliced the squash, skin on - which is TBD if that is right or not - put it in the steamer and microwaved it for like 6 minutes.

Stuck them in the food processor that I bought last year at Dirt Cheap for $15 preparing for this moment.

Then this is the final product!  Pureed Squash...

My next step is to spoon the food into ice cube trays and put them in a ziploc in the freezer.  This way I can pop out a cube when it comes time to eat.  The food lasts up to 6 weeks, but Hill has already put a big dent in his yum-o squash! 

Chip made me stir fry with zucchini and squash and I'd have taken a picture but I ate it all.  It was so fresh and fabulous. 

We cannot wait until this coming Saturday when we can go and get MORE fresh veggies from our local farmers market!  I suggest you do the same...hope to see you there!

In Between

Carrying Hill in his car carrier weighs like 4,000 lbs. Even though he’s only 15 lbs the carrier is like another 3,985 lbs and is no longer conducive to every day toting around. So Hill is going to have to start being a “hip baby” as my friend Marsha refers to her sweet Pearce as. The only problem is that Hill can’t sit up on his own yet so this poses a problem when we go places we’d have nowhere to ‘set’ him. As much as we’d love to hold him, it doesn’t always work out that way. There is the Baby Bjorn, but when you are eating you might just drop a big meatball on his head if he’s in that thing. There is the umbrella stroller but if you are grocery shopping you can’t push that and the cart. I guess I’m down to either the Bjorn or the umbrella stroller depending on the situation. Any other suggestions are welcome during this transition stage.

As if how to carry him around was my biggest problem…. Let’s talk about his carrier. He is 15lbs. His Graco carrier is up to 30 lbs. The BEAUTIFUL Britax car seat I got such a fabulous deal on is 25-80 lbs. One would think Ah, ha! Easy transition from one to the other. WRONG! The Britax is a forward facing car seat and according to the children’s journal of yadda yadda yadda children are not to face forward until two years of age and 25 lbs. That is two years away for us. He’s gonna be like Chris Farley in the movie ‘Tommy Boy’ - - “Big guy in a little coat” hanging out in that Graco carrier.

So here is my question to all you mama’s out there. Do I sell the Britax Frontier on eBay and get a different one that’s a ‘convertible” as they call it that is both rear and forward facing for when he can transition out of the Graco carrier? Do I keep the Britax Frontier and find an interim seat for a few months from now until age two? Do I not listen to the medical rules of the children’s journal saying how my baby’s neck and body muscles won’t develop fully until age two to withstand facing forward during a crash in his car seat?

Why do I have to make this so complicated?

Then on top of that my poor baby bought me a car with a DVD player that drops down and he can’t even watch it until he’s 2 and facing forward. Did I tell ya’ll that? For mother’s day Hill bought me a new car. It’s a Toyota Sequoia and I love it. She’s a Hoss and uses a lot of gas. Yet, she is safe and safety first….starting with this dang car seat debacle! Please advise or throw convertible car seats my way. Thanks!

Kisses and Carrots

So, I picked up Hill yesterday from daycare and he was in one piece, still smiling and happy to see me and give me the kisses I’d missed out on. I love his kisses they are the open mouth kind where if he lands on your nose he will chomp down and suck on your nose. Most of the time he lands on my cheek and gets it slobbery. I love it. He’s my big kissy face.

I do have to say that Katie Lou gives good kisses too. She licks all over the face. The sweetest is when you are sad and she kisses your eyes. The funniest is when you yawn and she tries to kiss in your mouth. That Silly Goose. Foster is not allowed to give kisses at our house due to his breath smelling like a seafood dumpster. Foxy Mama will give hand kisses unless you are Hill then she will kiss the top of the head or bottoms of the feet.

Anyway, enough kissy talk. Last night I had to take Hill with me to my Junior Auxiliary meeting since Chip was out of town. Aunt Meryl was there and played with him until Ta-Ta (Tasha Grantham) came and she called dibs on the holding of Hill. So, the meeting was in session and there was a brief lull in the conversation where Mr. Gassy McGas Butt decided to let one rip. The timing was impeccable and the culprit couldn’t have been better planned. Immediately I said, “Geez Tasha!” It was hilarious! So glad Ta-Ta is a good sport.

Tomorrow Tina & Craig Graham (and Peyton too) will welcome sweet Colton into the world. I can’t wait to meet him and for Hill to have another buddy!

Also a special shout out to my long time friends Tina & Hector Manriquez who welcomed sweet baby Melanie into the world last week! I can’t imagine how sweet this little girl is since her mom and dad are probably the sweetest, nicest, most in love couple I have ever met in my life. Precious!

My mom just informed me that she may live another 40 years!  Maybe it was a warning?  Anyway, tomorrow June 3rd will be my Great Aunt Martha's 103rd birthday.  Yes, One Hundred and Three Years old!  Can you imagine all the things she's seen in her life time?  Absolutely amazing, and she is in good health just hasn't been able to hear well as long as I've know her...which is 30 years!  Happy Birthday Dear Aunt Martha!  We love you!

I leave you with Hill eating carrots.  I was so worried his face would be stained orange forever and people would think he tried to eat the self tanning lotion.  Once we had a bath, he was back to his normal color.  As for the bib, we won't know until the Spray and Wash kicks in... Cindy, I need darker colored bibs babe.  I hope his dump truck survives the carrots.  If not, it's ok we will still use it because that means it's doing it's job!

First Day of School

Today is Hill's first day of school.  Chip and I did the typical parent thing and took his picture in his first day of school outfit, then a picture with daddy and the little school boy and a picture with mama and the little school boy.  Ok so it's not really 'school' but we told Hill it was.  Technically it's where he will go and meet new people and learn new things.  So, pretty much school.  What an exciting morning!

Chip and I took him together, it is a big milestone starting daycare and all.  We went and signed the sign in sheet, Mrs. Debra commented on his big boy shoes and asked if we took pictures for his first day.  Silly Mrs. Debra, she must know us!  Of course we did!  Mrs. King then showed us the way to our room with a little help from Brooks Kuhn.

In his room we met his teacher, Trista.  Hill did his flirty smile thing with her where he smiles really big, drops his chin and cuts his eyes.  He's a flirt.  I started going through his bag and explaining what everything was.  Chip said, Rachel I'm sure they know what to do with all those things.  I know, I know, I was just rambling.  Trying to pacify myself so I didn't lose it because I felt it coming on. I felt the burning nose and the tears welling up.  I was not expecting to cry.  Crying was not anything I had prepared my self for so I didn't have my guard up.  I put his stuff in his cubby hole and went to kiss on my pumpkin....I lost it.  Why, I have no idea.  It's not like I'm worried they are not going to play with him or change him or feed him.  His safety and well being are non issues, I know he's ok.  I know he will love playing with others.  I honestly have zero clue why I was crying.  It NEVER crossed my mind that I would cry, ever!  I'm a weenie!

Poor Chip, he kept saying that everything was going to be fine, they would take care of our sweet boy.  I didn't think they wouldn't, I was still clueless on why I couldn't hold back this emotional buffoon I'd become!  I think my being upset made Chip a little upset too.  Yet, we managed to leave our smiley faced boy with his big boy shoes on playing happily with Ms. Trista. 

I got to the car and for the first time in my life I wanted to become a stay at home mother.  I wished for independent wealth and wondered if Obama really would give us free medical insurance.  But I went on to work anyway, I wasn't being rational.  I may call later to check in or maybe swing by there since it's right across the street from my office.
Wonder what he's doing now?  Probably just being his cutie patootie sweet self and giving away all my kisses! 

If you daycare people are reading my blog, save some kisses for me...oh yeah, and I'm doing much better now, thanks!  Sigh. Breathe in, exhale.

Coast or Bust

~ Insert Smokey & The Bandit theme music here

We are headed south to Diamondhead this afternoon when I get off of work.  My main mission is to blog (after a month of deprivation), swim and do a whole lot of nothing. 

Man, Friday couldn't get here fast enough this week!  You  know when you are so looking forward to something that the days before drag.  Someone once told me you are wishing your life away when you say, "oh I wish it was Friday," but it's Monday. I could have done without the Monday thru Thursday part this week, not that I'm not appreciative of waking up each morning....but I can't wait to wake up on the coast and look forward to doing what ever I want to - - which will be a whole lotta nothin'!

Talk to you soon. 
I miss you all!  Hope you miss me too!

One step back...

Just when I thought I was in the running for mother of the year…I go and mess things up.


Wednesday night we were outside playing in the driveway as daddy was cleaning up the fishing boat. I had Hill in his Baby Bjorn because he loves to feel like he’s a part of the action by looking out at everything. We were pushing the stroller in the driveway and he was being such a big boy I thought I would let him ‘pretend’ to push it on into the garage so we could go inside and eat. I guided his hands on the bar of the stroller and just as we were cracking up at what a good job he was doing….his bobble head swung forward and he popped his lip on the stroller bar across the top. I didn’t know it hit his lip because he cried for just a minute and since he was facing forward I couldn’t see his face until I walked in the kitchen and saw his reflection in the refrigerator. Oh my God! I couldn’t get him out of the Bjorn fast enough. Blood was streaming down his face from his mouth all over his clothes and splattering onto the floor. I panicked! I screamed for Chip! I was crying, Hill was crying, Chip was the only one with the mental capacity to not just flail on the floor and flip out. It busted his stitches on the inside. Not just broke the stitches, but gaped it open on the inside. I knew I had messed up all this painful past week of healing and syringe feeding in just one split second of my being silly stupid. We gave Hill his pain medicine, cleaned him up, changed his clothes, fed him and skipped bath time and put him straight to bed. I know it was an accident, but I keep beating myself up about it.

Thank goodness we had his follow up appointment the next day. I called Dr. Shell first thing Thursday morning and he said he would allot more time for us instead of just a routine checkup in case we needed to do anything. He didn’t feel the need for us to rush right in.

Hill’s appointment was at 2:30 and we were out of there by 2:45. Dr. Shell said that he’s seen this happen before and expressed no true concern to rush back into surgery or stitch it up. Although it sets us back a little, it usually heals itself with no further surgery, we hope. He expects it the gap inside to heal back together within a week. How amazing is that? Dr. Shells’ main concern with cleft lip repair is under the nose - the skin between the lip and nose – which he said was healing fine. It looks awful to onlookers. Looks like a bloody area with puss gunk coming out under his nose. Almost looks like snotty boogers under his nose. Dr. Shell said that it is not puss and it is not boogers, but some medical term that he spelled for me that starts with an ‘s’ known as tissue juice. I know, gross eah? It’s good nasty stuff. It means the tissue is healing. We keep ointment on it 3-4 times a day that makes it look like a greasy boogery mess, but whatever makes him heal best is what we are going to do! We go back in a week (on Thursday the 6th) and he said we could stop syringe feeding come Wednesday. Wednesday will be Cinco de Mayo and I may just supply Kosciusko with margaritas to celebrate the occasion of going back to the bottle (no silly not me, Hill) and maybe giving him back his Ford frog.

Thanks to my good friend Megan for suggesting we try the big medicine droppers from Wal-Mart to feed with instead of the pain in the rump syringe. Hill, like his parents, is an instant gratification type of guy. If you take the syringe out of his mouth to draw up more formula he screams. It shouldn’t take but 2.5 seconds to draw the formula up the syringe to reinsert it into his mouth…those are the longest 2.5 seconds in the world. With the big medicine dropper, which was free at Wal-Mart, you just squirt in his mouth then go to the cup squeeze the bulb and voila 0.5 seconds to stick it back in his mouth. You are the heroin of the month, Megan. Love you!

So, nutshell version of our past week. Hill was doing FABULOUS until this busted lip set back. Mommy is sorry, Dr. Shell said it was gonna be ok…thank God! We will just have to put you in a bubble and be more careful until your lip heals so that another accident doesn’t happen.

He’s still the sweet smiley boy he always is, which is wonderful. Dr. Shell said to do whatever we needed to do to make him not cry because that causes stress on the lip and we don’t want it to tear anymore. So….Ford has been temporarily replaced for the past week with his new friend, Tylenol with codine. We tried to make it just Tylenol, but that doesn’t knock out the pain. Dr. said to continue usage with the codine for at least another week.

As if I don’t ask you guys for enough already; please continue to pray for us. This setback, although minor, sure has taken a toll on all three of us. Pray that Hill has a speedy recovery and his lip heals how it is suppose to…
Mama Lou will be flying in from Texas on Tuesday and I know that will make everything better. We can’t wait to see her!

Recovering

Hill is healing nicely.  He is still a bit fussy due to sporadic pain in both his lip from the surgery and his stomach from the meds.  Hence, no posts due to dedicating my time to his needs and figuring out what to do.  I want to post pictures from the hopital and talk about the experience and friendships we made, but unfortunately that will have to wait until God creates another 2 hours in my day. 

We appreciate your prayers.  We undoubtedly felt them.  Tomorrow we go back to Memphis to see Dr. Shell.  I feel sweet Hill will get a good report.  Continue to pray.  This hurdle is not yet over.  He has another week of syringe feeding (which is not too much fun for either party) and I know his lip must itch from the stitches and healing but his arm restraints prevent him from touching his face....sometimes. 

Here is a picture of our little angel.  He is still his kissable sweet self!

Love to you all.

Hill's Surgery

People ask me when Hill’s surgery is and it’s on Wednesday the 21st of April.  Next week. Then they ask if we are ready or how I’m feeling and I can’t lie. Every time my response is the same. I’m a wreck. February was when I started to adjust to motherhood. March was the back to work, start a new job adjustment. Now April has become the month I worry myself into a spastic emotional cocoon where I don’t even have to talk about his surgery just simply think about it and I tear up. Last night Chip was out of town and Hill was asleep. I was getting ready for bed and I know you are never to wake a sleeping baby but I couldn’t help it. I needed my little boy to hold me. I needed to stare at him for the six zillionth time. I know his face better than my own. I’ve stared at him for the past 129,600 minutes since his birth.


It troubles me knowing that my little boy has to endure such a life changing surgery. Given, the surgery is for the better but he will never look the same. I feel it my obligation as his mother to etch into my brain every color fleck in his eyes, the abnormal shape of his nostrils and every curve of his misshaped lips. His huge smile will never be the same after next week and that breaks my heart. Although I know his new smile will melt my heart all the same.

Chip and I never thought we wouldn’t repair his cleft. It’s just so sad that the perfect baby God made wouldn’t be considered normal if he didn’t have his lip repaired. It’s totally cosmetic. I notice my reaction to peoples’ faces or lack of reaction when they look at him. Half the time it doesn’t faze me because I never look at him as having a cleft, I truly don't even see it. Sometimes if I feel they are studying him I’ll tell them he has a cleft lip and will have to have surgery. Chip has more of a prompt reaction. As soon as someone looks at Hill he points it out to most everyone saying, ‘he’s gotta have a little lip surgery.’ We take opposite approaches; we each handle the situation different.

I was at a party last weekend and Hill was with me. I had one mother come up to me randomly and tell me that she has a special needs child as well. He has had a massive amount of surgeries for limb repair and reconstruction. We talked about how she handled things mentally before his surgeries. She told me she was just as much a wreck as I am now. She did say something that really hit home though. She said, I couldn’t have done anything different to prevent the disabilities he has, but I can do something now to help him through them. I feel that way too. It was a simple way of saying all the things I ramble on and on about.  You cannot fathom how blessed we are...and we know it.  Unfortunatley, it doesn't ease my nerves or take away the emotional toll.

Most people are upset I haven’t kept up with my blog. I too am upset. I think about it every day and am making mental notes on what all to write about. We have just been so busy (which is a good thing for me right now) but I have taken over 1,000 pictures and plan to post them eventually. I haven’t forgotten that I’ve only posted up to his birth story and nothing afterwards about how he lost a lot of weight after we left the hospital and the doctors we visited and how going to New Orleans Children’s Hospital was the most humbling traumatic heart wrenching moment of my life.

There are still many many more posts to come, friends. I appreciate your patience as I tackle this huge weight that lays on my heart and mind. Once we get into recovery mode and settled then I promise to be better at keeping everyone up to date.

In the mean time, thanks for letting me vent. This has been the longest week in the history of weeks and I need your prayers. We need your prayers. Pray for Dr. Shell and his staff at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, pray for my sweet boy as he is operated on, pray that he comes out of anesthesia not scared, pray that his pain is manageable and that he can take to the way he has to eat for a couple of weeks. Pray for a speedy recovery and minimal scaring. Pray for my sanity and strength as I endure this emotional rollercoaster. Pray for Chip as he is always the rock in our family.

If I don’t get to post between now and next Wednesday, April 21st we have to be in Memphis at Le Bonheur at 5:30am (we will stay the night before in a hotel) and his surgery is scheduled for 7:30 am. Another thing to add to the multitude of prayer requests I have is that he cannot eat after midnight the night before. Pray that he is not starving before 7:30 Wednesday morning. They say that technically his surgery is an outpatient procedure but because he will have to eat differently (more than likely through a syringe) they keep him over night to make sure he takes to the new way of feeding. We should be home by Thursday evening.

Thank you all for everything. If you want to Google Hill’s condition it is called a right unilateral incomplete cleft lip. The procedure they will be doing is the Millard operative technique it's more or less a recess of one lip and an advancement of the other lip to where they symmetrically fall into place.

I found two great articles that explain what the doctor will do for Hill. Some parts of Article 1 are sort of confusing but lays it out from a technical aspect.  Some of it is irrelevant, but if you follow the chart it makes sense.  Article 2 seems like a paper a medical student did and is informative.  It has pictures that you may find disturbing.      Article 1 and Article 2

Hill will probably have to wear elbow immobilizers for a couple weeks so he doesn’t touch his mouth. For those of you that have been around him lately knows he loves his hands in his mouth at all times. It will be sad to see my little bear possibly having to wear this Elbow Brace

Doctor Shell, his plastic surgeon, has a website too. Click here

Dr. Shell has done thousands of repairs. He wrote a book called pediatric plastic surgery. He was over the cleft team at University of TN for years and also he does Operation Smile where he goes overseas to third world countries to repair clefts. Not to mention all the repairs he's done personally through the mission trips he goes on through his church. I have 100% faith in his ability.

He also does Botox for soccer moms and if you check out his website it looks like you can get 20% off of breast augmentation. If you decide to do so tell him I referred you. We hope this will be Hill's only surgery, but if he has to have other nose jobs in the future maybe Dr. Shell will give us a discount for all the referrals we’ve sent him.

If you have any questions about Hill's surgery please let me know. I will try my best to answer them.  Keeping people informed and having open lines of communication seems to be the best way to educate people on cleft children and what Hill will endure.  I don't mean to sound like a Sunday morning educational video or the 19 cents a day, same as a small cup of coffee ethiopian feed the children commercials, but really.  Since our discovery of Hill's cleft I have met more people that this affects and how common it really is.  Chip and I have offered friendship and phone numbers to both Dr. North's office and Women's Hospital for patients that struggle and jump on this rollercoaster into the unknown and have questions from a parents perspective.  If it weren't for people that have experienced or are going through this with me I would be even more so of a wreck than I am now.  Support, prayers, family and friendship is the key.

Love to you all!

New Hair do

You like my new do?

Silly Katie Lou Lou was sitting on the couch by me and her fancy tail makes the best hair piece ever!

Happy 4th Anniversary

Dear Chip,
Happy 4th Anniversary to you!  What a wonderful life we have, I couldn't imagine being without you.  This year we get to share our love with such a sweet little boy.  Thank you for being the best husband and daddy in the world.  I am so lucky to have you.  Hill is so lucky to have you.

Love,
Me

Easter 2010