pics from the weekend

Hi all! I hope you had a fantastic Thanksgiving. Ours was marvelous, and the whole weekend has us in full Christmas mode. The tree is up, the house is decorated, and I'm feeling festive. Hope you enjoy some pics from the weekend. Please forgive the fact that they're in reverse order...I'm feeling lazy and don't want to switch them all around.

I'm pretty pleased with this snapshot of our visit with Mr. S. Claus. Both kids were happy to see him. Em was so cute as we waited our turn. She said, to no one in particular, "I forgot what you looked like, Santa." And as I was holding Pete, I felt her tug on my arm. When I bent down to see what she was saying, she said "I'm sorry Mama, I'm talking to Pete. Pete, Santa has a beard, ok. It's a beard. You'll be ok. It's just a beard on his chin, ok?" I know it sounds silly as I type it here, but it was one of the sweetest things I've ever heard her say. I love that she's his protector, already. Sigh.

Emerson's preschool is affiliated with a local church, and they asked us to play the role of the Holy Family for a while on Friday night during our town's Christmas Walk. We were so honored! They even had live animals around the manger...Emerson was in heaven. And she was a pretty darn cute shepherd, don't you think?

So sorry for the crappy quality...don't know what was up with my camera!

After dinner, we played some dominoes, and I think it was my favorite part of the whole day! Here's Jeff with Aunt Judy and Grandpa Roger. Did you know that Jeff's grandpa was his best man in our wedding? Just one of the reasons I love him.

Emerson was excited at the selections for dessert. Someone remarked that there was about one dessert per person. Our family has our priorities in line!

Pete with "the men." Uncle Craig, Jeff, and Uncle Matt.

Jeff's grandparents loved hanging with Mr. Pete. And I love that he is getting to know his great-grandparents. That's SO special to me!

And this one is just cuz it's silly. Seriously...how cute is he? Nanook of the North is in effect.

on the mend and holding my breath...

...cause that's what we parents do, right? We hold our breath and hope or pray that things turn out alright for our kids.

Hope that they are kind

Hope that they are smart

Pray that they love God

Pray that they are healthy

Hope that they stay out of trouble

Pray that they stay safe


This could go on indefinitely. On with the show.

The good news is that, after a miserable night last night, Emerson woke this morning and the first words out of her mouth were "Mama, I think I'm better." Music to my ears! And she was better. Not "normal" mind you, but definitely improved. However, the doctor's parting words to me yesterday were "If she develops a rash, bring her back in." So...guess what she got today?

Ding, ding, ding...a rash. Crap.

Back to the doctor. Another co-pay, another hour waiting to be seen. This time, the instructions are to bring her back for blood work if she spikes another fever of 101 or higher in the next day or so.

Back to hoping and praying.

So far, so good. She hasn't had a fever since 99.5 around 11 am this morning. And that's the first time since LAST TUESDAY that I can say that. Still no school tomorrow, but hopefully she'll be fully mended for Thanksgiving. IF Thanksgiving is still happening. Grandma, who saved our butts over the weekend by tending to Pete while Jeff and I died a slow death on the couch (partly due to stomach flu and partly due to Iowa losing to Ohio State AGAIN) is now in the throes of stomach flu herself. I feel SO BADLY about that!!!

This is, I sincerely hope, the last medical update from our household for at least a few weeks when Pete has surgery. But I'm not going to think about that now.

For now, I'm off to hope a bit and have a chat with God.

missing again

Here's a recap on the last week:

M: Pete to the Dr. On antibiotics for mysterious lingering illness.
T: Emerson has a fever of 101 overnight
W: Emerson to the doctor. Diagnosis-croup.
Th: Emerson stays home from school. Fever is 104.
F: Fever is still 104. This is a long week.
F around 10:45 pm: While my stomach had been growling unhappily for an hour or so, P woke up covered in vomit. And more vomit. Repeat. Repeat again.
F around 11:30 pm: I began my date with the toilet. Jeff's stomach let him know that his turn was coming. Soon.
S around 4:30 am: I was ousted in favor of Jeff's turn.
S: Emerson went to Grammy's; Grandma came in to take care of P; Jeff and I spent the day in misery. Emerson still had a fever.
Su: Emerson went back to the Dr. Temp back up to around 104. Oh, and Pete is hacking up a lung.

Seriously?!?!

I SURRENDER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you're so inclined, I'd greatly appreciate prayers for health for our household.

i've got nothing

As in "I've got nothing much to say." I have been so, So, SO crazy busy during the last week or so that I have not had more than about a minute to myself. Work has been crazy...seems like lots of people have gotten the bug to go to Disney World and want my help. AWESOME! (Sidenote-If you are thinking about a trip to the World, or anywhere else for that matter, I'd love to help you with your planning! Email me at alisong@mei-travel.com) Ok, enough with the shameless plug. But this has been my busiest, most productive week ever since I began travel planning. And while that's good for me, it's not so good for my blog. So I apologize.

As a peace offering, I'm going to post some pics from Pete's Baby Dedication at our church over the weekend. First off, I have to apologize to Grandparents and Uncle... I can't believe I didn't get any pics of the whole group. What was I thinking?!!??!?! Drat.

conversations with a 3 year old

Ok, seriously. Emerson has been cracking me up lately. I would like to enter into evidence these conversations:

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While flipping through a board book about the University of Iowa, she saw a picture of Herky, the Hawkeye mascot.

E- "Look, Mama. It's Herky."

me- "You're RIGHT! Good girl."

E- "Mama, what kind of bird is he? I think he's a turkey, because turkey rhymes with Herky."

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After noticing a display of chestnuts at the grocery store...

E- "Mama, what are these nuts?"

me- "Those are chestnuts. People eat them at Christmastime."

She proceeded to sniff them and was making yummy smelling sounds.

E- "Mama, would you like to smell?"

me- "What do they smell like?"

e- "They smell like Santa Claus."

(I guess Santa could smell like worse things...)
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After cleaning up the baby toys the other night, I couldn't find the blue ring from Pete's stacking ring toy. Emerson has a bit of a thing for blue, so I thought she might have an idea about its whereabouts.

me- "Em, I can't find the blue ring from Pete's toy. Do you know where I might find it?"

e (while brushing her teeth, stopped brushing and deadpanned)- "You might find it under your nightstand." (and she went right back to brushing, the little thief)

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On Tuesdays, Pete spends the day with Grammy and E and I have "girls' day." On our way to the library sans the boy this morning, I heard,

e- "Mama, I miss Pete. I don't like when he goes to Grammy's. It's bad news."

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And my personal fave...
When we walked into the garage, we smelled burning leaves somewhere in the neighborhood. She quickly noted,

e- "I smell something. Hmmm, something is funny. It smells like schmutz."

At which point I looked around to see if anyone else had heard that, but sadly, I was alone. Smelled like schmutz, huh? For those of you who are curious, apparently schmutz smells like burning leaves. Who knew?

Man, do I love that kid.

channeling my inner martha

Do you hate to clean your microwave? All that mystery gunk baked on and lots of scrubbing and using elbow grease. Ugh...seriously.

I may have a way to make this task easier for you! Warm about a cup or so of water in a microwave safe cup or mug for about 3 minutes. Then, when the microwave beeps, just leave the water in there for about 5-10 minutes. The steam will create condensation on all of the surfaces, doing lots of the hard scrubbing for you. When you finally use a sponge or paper towel to wipe the gunk away, the scrubbing should be minimal.

Ok, carry on...

They call him Fang

I can't believe it has happened. At 7 months and 16 days, my baby has gotten his first tooth. And in true Pete fashion, there has not been much fuss or fanfare: No swollen gums, no epic diarrhea, no screaming fits at night. Just Happy Mr. Pete. He's been fighting a cold (a, real, honest-to-goodness, green boogers and all cold) since last Friday, so when the boogs turned clear yesterday, I just assumed that he was on the mend. And I swear that I've had my hands in his mouth everyday this week, so the little bugger must have popped through today. It's the most minuscule tooth ever, but it's there, poking it's little head through his gums. I had forgotten what a brand new baby tooth feels like. Sigh.

Both Emerson and I were late bloomers in the dental department. She didn't get her first tooth until 10 months (after a solid month of waking multiple times nightly), and I didn't get mine until I was around a year old. So I just assumed that Pete would follow that same schedule. But this kid is a Girling through and through, and his biological clock is not wound the same way that ours are.

So, here's the kicker (as in kick-Mama-in-the-gut). At lunch today, it was just the 2 of us (E was at school). And I said to him "Pete, I feel like your babyhood is passing me by." He just gurgled and drooled and grabbed the spoonful of pumpkin and apple out of my hand. So, when Jeff told me to feel in his mouth tonight, I was a bit overcome. (Read as: weepy)

I simply cannot believe how fast this first year is going.

With kid #1, the whole world revolved around her. By the time she was 7 1/2 months old, I could tell you her friends, her likes and dislikes, her favorite activities. With Pete, I feel like he's "just the baby." He has to compete with her for my attention (and she's an Alpha female, let me tell you!), so he often just gets dragged along on whatever activity she's doing. Of course, I can tell you his likes and dislikes and his favorite activities, but it's just so different this time around. I know that he'll never know the difference because he doesn't know what it is like to be the only, and I know that he is loved and adored, but I can't help feeling a heaping helping of Mom Guilt about all that's different.

But for now, I'm rejoicing in this milestone and simultaneously hugging the heck out of that little man.

pasta with red pepper sauce

Alright, here's another recipe, this time from Cooking Light (my absolute FAVE source for yummy ideas.) You can use this on fish or chicken, or with pasta and Italian sausage, or just over plain pasta. It's pretty versatile and SO easy!) And, it's the ONLY way I can get Emerson to eat peppers. The vinegar gives the sauce a slightly sweet taste.

1 lb. pasta
1 sweet onion, diced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 12 oz. jar of roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
2 Tbsp. Balsamic vinegar
1 C. half & half
2 Tbsp. tomato paste (I'm pretty generous with the tomato paste)
1 C. grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
red pepper flakes, to taste (I omit these because Emerson doesn't like spicy food)
some julienned fresh basil leaves for garnish if you like

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package.

Dice the onion and saute it in the olive oil until it's translucent. Add the red peppers and heat through, about 2 minutes. Add the vinegar and cook until the liquid has evaporated. Then transfer the pepper and onion mixture to the food processor and blend until smooth. Transfer back to the pan. Add the tomato paste to the half & half and stir together. Add tomato mixture to the pepper mixture in the pan. Stir in pepper flakes and cheese. Spoon over pasta and top with basil.

Yum!