Being A Parent At Meijer Means

10:39 PM
1.  Taking twice as long to get to Meijer because the roads are bad and I have precious cargo on board.
2.  Spending 5 minutes disinfecting the shopping cart because Noah puts his mouth on everything.
3.  Reassuring people that the howling, wild beast strapped in the shopping cart is not a danger to the public.
4.  Singing the "I love (insert name or object) song" with Izzy, who is singing at the top of her lungs.
5.  Picking up the few dozen or so spices my son managed to knock off the shelf while he was strapped in. (Yet proof again that Noah may actually be Jack-Jack.)
6.  Explaining to Izzy that there are no sharks in the fish tanks trying to eat the fish and that they are all fish and they are all friends.
7.  Spending 10 minutes trying to get an invisible fuzzy out of my daughter's mouth, who is freaking out due to her horrible gag reflux.
8.  Reassuring the woman, who just got beamed in the face with an etch-a-sketch, that the wild beast still strapped in the cart, against his will, is not a danger to the public.
9.  Spending twice as long at Meijer than I needed to.
10.Trying to comfort Izzy, who doesn't like the dark, and telling her that we're almost home while comforting Noah, who is screaming because he dropped the rest of his cookie and can't find it.

    Banana Smiley Face

    9:16 PM
    I don't want to eat. 
    I don't want bread.
    I don't want a pancake.
    I don't want eggs.
    I don't want a sandwich.
    I don't want pears.
    I don't want ice cream.
    I don't want juice.
    I don't want macaroni and cheese.
    I don't want an apple.
    I don't want yogurt.
    I don't want…And the list goes on.

    This sounds like someone who is watching what they eat; not a toddler who refuses to eat anything and has a hysterical meltdown whenever we talk about food or say 'it's time to eat'.

    Although Izzy has always been picky, we're a little beyond that now.  I have tried every trick of the trade to get my daughter to eat.  All the advice, strategies, and sneaky recipes out there on the internet and the world of books (books, do people even read anymore?)  You name it; I've tried it.  We did determine that Izzy is dealing with some kind of intolerance to dairy so we eliminated some things from her diet and those symptoms stopped.  But she is showing some other behavior that may be indicating a reflux or digestive issue.  We're working with her pediatrician to determine what it is.  She has her 3 year checkup in a few weeks so we'll see where she's at then.  In the mean time, I'm on the front lines in the battle field and yesterday was a victory.  After a meltdown, followed by calm down time, I talked with Izzy for awhile about how I really needed her to eat just a little bit.  She hadn't eaten all day, but she did have some Pedisure.  I made a smiley face with some pieces of banana.  I made a game out eating the banana face with Izzy and she ate the whole face.  It was almost half a banana so I was pleased.  Not that long after she said her tummy hurt:(  My feeling is that she may be dealing with some acid reflux.  It's not like she can say, my esophagus is burning.  But we'll see what her Pedia says.

    Izzy had a banana smiley face again today.  Yah!  I know she can't live on bananas but it's a start and it's something right?   

    Laundry

    9:35 PM
    One of life's mysteries..



    There will always be laundry. Even if you decide to wear the same clothes and use the same towels every day, laundry will appear...waiting to be washed, dried, and folded. And the longer you wait, the bigger the piles will get. I actually don't mind laundry. I don't complain because it could be worse, much worse. Imagine a home filled with at least 11 people of different ages. Some were messy; some threw their clothes in the laundry as soon as they had a spot on their clothes; some liked to layer; some only wore something once before sending it to the laundry; while there were others who wore their clothes one time too many before sending it to the laundry.  There was always a big pile of towels in each bathroom every night and there was always a big pile of dish towels in the kitchen every night...And don't get me started on 'changing the sheets/pillowcases on all the beds' day.  I think it would have been easier for my mom just to pile all of us, along with the laundry, into the local car wash.

    So if you have an average sized family and/or you don't live on a farm, take a moment to appreciate the amount of laundry you have (or is it the amount of laundry you don't have) because it could be much, much worse.  And the next time you are tempted to scream at your mound of laundry as if its alive and growing and multiplying just to take up more time in your life (not that I've ever done that, i'm just saying as an example), remember...If you never hid in the piles of laundry while playing hide and seek, or maybe so your parents couldn't find you...your piles are probably not that big.    


    The Tumor Is Gone

    5:23 PM
    Noah spent most of last night whimpering in his sleep.  It was so sad, pathetic and I wanted to take all his pain away.  Before he went to bed last night there was a little blood in his mouth so I thought his other tumor molar was finally coming through.  This morning I carefully placed my finger in his mouth and sure enough I felt the sharpness of a molar.  That means he has been teething four molars at once, poor kid.  They have all pushed through the gum surface now, which is the most painful part, but they're still coming in and he's still having a hard time:(

    It's okay Noah.  It will all be worth it...Until they all fall out and you have to go through the whole process again.

    Brownies

    7:17 AM
    The cookies didn't go over as well as I had hoped with Izzy, but in the spirit of one of the babies favorite shows, I will "Keep trying, keep trying, don't give up, never give up…"  Next up are brownies with a few secret ingredients added.  She even helped me make them and thought the secret purée mixture was chocolate:)  But sure enough when it was time to try one, she was a bit hesitant.  Kris ate one first and declared how good they were and then Noah shoveled one down with practically one bite.  Izzy took a tiny bird bite, looked up at me, and said, "I like it Momma…Good brownie!"  Hurray!  *Fist Pump*


    Bliss

    7:09 PM
    When the last toy is picked up and the babies are tucked in bed for the night I take a moment to mentally check off everything from my ever growing list of things that need to be done.  I usually try to knock a few things off my list before going to bed, but once in awhile I take some time for myself.  I read, meditate, or take a bath, and most importantly, bask in the glorious blanket of peace and quiet that has covered my house.  Tonight I decided to indulge in a little treat.  I purchased some wonderful tea and chocolate during my last trip to my parents house.

    There is this great place called Anne's Health Food Store.  I used to go when I was younger and I always loved it.  My mom, sister Hillary and I decided to pop in for some goodies and I was pleasantly surprised to see that they had moved.  They only moved across the street but the space they had been in before was old, and wasn't much too look at from the outside.  I walked across the street and was greeted by a beautiful store front.  It was so inviting and once we walked inside we were given a warm, friendly greeting.  Hillary and I spent quite awhile browsing the aisles.  We both bought some delicious raw honey, made in Michigan, a big plus.  I also bought a few different selections of tea, organic hazelnut extract, dried fruit, carob treats, and some naughty chocolate.

















    Hello Tahitian Vanilla Hazelnut tea.  You smell delicious.


















    Hello my love.  I can't wait to eat you.
    And check this out.  There is a poem inside.  How frickin' cool is that.  While I'm enjoying my tea and chocolate I get to read some lovely poetry.

    Bliss
    -Me

    Ummm, sometimes I can't think of a title but I don't like it when the title says, "No Title".

    7:13 PM
    Kris and I took Izzy to the Auto Show today.  Izzy was very excited and wanted to sit in every car.  She was little disappointed when she found out we couldn't drive them or even turn them on, but her attention quickly turned to the rotating floor pieces that some of the cards were showcased on.  As we stood on it she said, "Momma!  It's going in a circle."  Yes it was.  A very slow circle.  As we made our way through display after display and sat in car after car, Izzy began to act as if she was in an amusement park.  We would get out of one car and she would say, "Lets go see another car."  It was all very exciting and I'm sure Kris was even more excited when he saw how much Izzy loved all these cars.  She has very good taste too which I'm sure will only become more refined as she grows older dreaming about what she wants her first car to be.


    (There is supposed to be a picture of Izzy rocking a sweet ride, but the picture won't load so just use your imagination.)

    Noah is going through a rough patch with teething right now.  He has small teeth and molars coming through and I even think I saw a Coast Redwood sprouting its way through his gums.  He's been extremely out of sorts and very tired.  He starts yawning almost from the moment he wakes up.  On a lighter note Noah is oh so polite.  He has been saying 'Thank You' for quiet awhile now, but not completely clear.  I'm marking the day, January 16th, as the day he looked at me, after I handed him something, and said, "Thank You!"  He said it clear as day.  My heart melted and so did my eyes.  Kris was excited but was not moved in the same way I was.  My sweet baby boy says 'Thank You' all the time now.  I love it, and will soak in every ounce of his gratitude as long as I can.

    Oh, and on a side note, Kris and I celebrated four years of marriage today.  Well, we didn't as much celebrate as acknowledge it was our anniversary.  We will celebrate at a later time to be determined by the cycles of the moon, my children, Kris's work schedule (curse you 'o night schedule, but thank you 'o job), and ultimately by the will of the universe.  I hope the universe decides to draw Kris and I together for an evening of food, a movie and maybe being able to sleep in the same bed together.

    The Auto Show

    9:18 PM
    Momma:  "Guess what Izzy?  Tomorrow we're going to the car show."

    Izzy:  "Woohoo! *fist pump* We're going to the car show.  We're going to see cars…and play… and have snacks…and play games…and go on a roller coaster."  There were some other things thrown in there, but I couldn't understand all of them because she was very excited and going on like a crazy toddler.  I know its crazy right, that I couldn't understand her, but it happens from time to time.  Anyway, I hope she won't be totally heart broken when she finds out there are not any roller coasters at the Auto Show.  Maybe having her picture taken in a rocked out truck will make up for it.  
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