Ever Notice...

...how when your child says "Daddy," they say it with a sense of playfulness and fun??! And yet when they say "Mama," it is with whining and crying?!

Evan has started this a little bit with us, and I just thought it was funny. It's usually because he's tired, or teething, and I think he just needs me to pick him up and comfort him. But sometimes it's so fake! 

Just a funny observation.

1st Week as a Stay-at-home-Mom

Whew! It's been my first "official" week of being a stay-at-home-mom, and I'm loving it! I have really been working at it since August 3 when Chris went back to work, but it was easy to go and visit Chris during the day without interrupting any classes. Now it truly is just Evan and I together!

I have been trying to keep up with reading everyone's blog entries about their first week of school, and it does bring about a certain sense of nostalgia to read what I should be going through right now. In a weird way, though, I'm still getting ready to teach, just in a different way. I guess since my focus is different now, I don't really miss anything! Also, I've been really busy! I was kind of "worried" about getting bored, but that has been out of the question so far. I've actually been so busy that I look forward to being able to take that 30 minute nap per day! In fact, some days don't seem to end until 10:00pm; I mean, how did it all get finished before?!!! Haha, I guess that is the joke, because it just DIDN'T get finished! 

It has been wonderful getting to spend this time with Evan, which is what this is all about. It has also made our family dynamic work even better since I've been home. I can keep the house clean (ok, relatively clean for those of you who have been to my house!), run errands, think about what's for dinner, give Evan his bath, and work on projects to get the house for sale, all before Chris gets home in the evenings. This gives us more time to be together as a family, and enjoy each other more when we are together. 

It has taken a little getting used to in the spending department, but not really that difficult since we have been trying to live on only Chris' salary for the past 3 years. It also helps me to become very creative in my cooking/parenting/gift giving, etc, and I think that is good for me.

I hope that everyone who is teaching is starting out with great classes, support from fellow teachers, administrators, and parents, and enjoying what you are doing! God Bless.

15 Week Prenatal Visit

Today Chris and I went in for what should have been our 12 week prenatal checkup, which we had to reschedule because we were all sick with the 24 hour bug a a few weeks ago. We saw the financial counselor to go over the details of our plan and work out a payment plan, had a sonogram, and then met with the doctor. The only moderately scary moment was when the doctor found a very small polyp on my cervix, which she said was benign looking, and possibly the reason that I had been spotting in the beginning of the pregnancy.

The sonogram was, as always, the coolest thing to watch! The baby's heartbeat was down to 141 bpm, and the baby weighed 4 oz already (that seems kind of big to me; maybe we're in for another large baby?). We got to see the heart, the hand with each finger in clear detail, and see the baby move a little bit. 

I have already felt the baby moving a little bit over the past week. Evan always felt like he was more of a "roller," but this baby seems to feel more like "popcorn!" Every now and then I can feel a little "pop" of movement. It seems to be when I take a deep breath, or when I pick up Evan. I hope that means the baby loves Evan and isn't jealous?!!

In 4 weeks we get another ultrasound to see what the gender is! I used to think it might be a girl because I seemed to be a little bit more sick than I was with Evan. But, that has now gone, along with the slower heartbeat, and my stomach seems to be flat again around the bellybutton. (That is a theory that Alia and I have heard; if your stomach is round, it's a girl, and if it's flat, it's a boy! It worked with both of us!). 

I can't believe that we are almost far enough along to find out what the baby is!!!! I guess having Evan keeps us busy enough to not have time to think about this pregnancy as much as we did the first time. Also, there seems to be a little less of the unknown in this pregnancy. I've been through labor, so sort of know what to expect as far as the pain goes. We also know what we're in store for with the diapers and lack of sleep. I just can't wait to hold the little baby and see what it looks like! I also can't wait to see Evan with his little brother or sister!

Not Meant to Be

The house that Chris and I had fallen in love with has an option pending...I'm trying not to be bummed, but we really loved that house...

After looking at a house in Cypresswood last week, Chris and I have been frantically trying to finish our house to get it on the market. In the back of my mind, I knew that the house for sale was too much of a good deal and wouldn't last long enough for us to purchase it, but it was worth a try! I thought we could offer a contingency contract if we could just get our house on the market.

Will we EVER be able to get everything together and get the house up for sale?????!!!! I feel like it's taking FOREVER, and I'm exhausting myself trying to get it ready. I want to move before the new baby gets here, or I feel like it will never happen. I just have to trust that there is an even better house out there that will be there when our house eventually sells (if we can get it on the market!). Right now it kind of feels like I lost the house of my dreams, even though I kept telling myself not to get my hopes up and that it would probably sell before we could buy it. It still doesn't help the feeling of losing it for real, though.

I Feel Terrible

My baby woke up in the middle of the night last night, just screaming his head off like he was scared of something. I woke up with a start, stayed in bed to listen for a second, and then went to stand by his door. His crying sounded like it was starting to taper off, but then he started right back up with a wail (all of this is not normal for Evan; to scream like that meant something was wrong).

So I went into his room, picked him up, and he quieted down as soon as he lowered his head onto my shoulder (which is the best feeling in the world, by the way!). After a few minutes of calming down, he looked at my and signed "eat." This again is not normal in the middle of the night, and it hit me....Chris had accidentally forgotten Evan's diaper bag when we went to dinner with Chuck, Lynne, and Reagan Campbell last night, so he had no milk or extra food. We ordered extra sides to go with our meals so that we would have enough to feed Evan, but he really didn't eat much seeing as he was so tired after coming home from the babysitter that day.

Lynne and I left from dinner to continue shopping for decorations for the house, and Chris took Evan home to go to bed. Neither one of us thought to order a milk at the restaurant for him! I mean, HELLO MOM! Feed your son! I felt terrible when he was telling me he was hungry!

So, I went downstairs and got him a bottle of milk, sat down in the rocking chair with Evan and a blanket, and fed him. That was everything he needed. After he was finished, he just layed there on me, and I hope that is a feeling I will never forget. Those quiet middle of the nights, when it's just him and me, with no distractions, loving on each other, are the best.

Re-Decorating

I spent an amazing day with our friend Lynne Campbell yesterday re-decorating our house so that we can put it on the market. I knew that Lynne had a knack for decorating, but after working with her from about 2pm to 1am yesterday, I KNOW that she is an amazing decorator! 

Lynne and I spent countless hours, through many stores, to find all of the goodies currently located in our house. She is amazing to work with, has a great eye for things that look stylish, and above all is an amazing friend. I mean, who else would work all day long, go shopping even when their feet, back, and knees were hurting, and still be excited to come back and work until 1 in the morning, and genuinely mean it?!!!!! 

Thank you, Lynne, for all of your help and hard work to help us get our house on the market. We honestly cannot thank you enough for helping us to realize our dream of living in a nice house, in a nice neighborhood, close to friend and family, where our children can grow up and come back to call home many years from now. You are an amazing Mother, Wife, and Friend, and we are very lucky and honored to have met you and your family. Thank you again.

PS~If anyone needs someone to re-decorate their home for selling, please give her a call; she is amazing! You can add a comment and I will send you her information so that you can contact her if you need some awesome help!

To Fart, or Not to Fart?

For those of you who are curious about the title of this post, just know that I have permission from my husband before writing down this information!

A few days ago on the Tyra Banks show (I don't really watch it, but it was the only thing on while I was cleaning the other day), they had a topic of "What's up with...." They had 4 doctors on the show to answer weird questions that you want to know the answer to, but don't necessarily ask your doctor. Questions like, "Is it ok to wear the same pair of underwear 2 days in a row?"

There was a question about why some farts are stinky and why some aren't. One of the doctors who answered said something about the average person farting between 8-20 times per day, and then went on to answer the other question. I told Chris about it, and thought we'd do a little experiment of our own, because this doctor obviously hadn't met my husband!

Between 3:30pm and 10:00 when we went to sleep last night, Chris had farted 41 times! Who knows what it could have been if we'd been counting all day! Double that, I guess???!!!!

I know this is probably TMI for most people, but we seem to talk about this quite often since we've been married and it's a daily part of our life! Thought our little experiment was fun, though! Maybe ya'll should try it and see if you're "normal??!!!"

Amazing Blueberry Muffin Recipe

I have been in a baking mood lately, and just had to make some blueberry muffins this morning. I have put all of my cookbooks into storage while getting our house ready to sell, and turned to the Food Network for help.

I scanned the list of options, looking for something that said 'easy' and 5 stars. This recipe from Emeril popped up, and so I tried it! It is FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!

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Blueberry-Raspberry Muffins with Streusel Topping

Cook Time: 20 minutes
Level: Easy
Yields: 1 dozen

Ingredients
Topping:
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel

Muffins:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
3/4 cup fresh blueberries
3/4 cup fresh raspberries

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

To make the topping, in a medium bowl, mix together the topping ingredients until crumbly. Set aside.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the melted butter. Add the buttermilk and lemon zest and whisk to combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir just to combine. (Batter will still be somewhat lumpy; do not overmix.) Gently fold in the blueberries and raspberries so the berries do not break open and pour into the prepared muffin tin. Crumble the streusel topping over the muffins and bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

Let cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then remove and cool on wire racks.

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I had raspberries, but I didn't have enough, so I just used all blueberries. Also, I was going to feed one of these to Evan for breakfast, so I did not add the topping. But I can't wait to make them again with the topping for Chris and I! Let me know if you try this recipe and what you think. I don't think you'll be disappointed!!

Justice for Jennifer

If you were awake last night at 10pm (I can't believe I was!), and you watched Ch 2 News, then you might have seen a story on a girl (woman now) named Jennifer. This woman used to work at the library where my Mom is the director, and you won't believe her story.

When she was about to start 3rd grade, she was taken from her bedroom window, raped, had her throat cut, and left to die in a field in Dickinson. Some children found her, and amazingly enough, she has lived to help others going through the same thing. They have not caught the man who did this to her, though.

Her story will be on America's Most Wanted in September sometime, and they have some DNA that they are waiting for results on that will hopefully help them find the guy. If you would like to check out more about her story, or want to donate to her foundation, you can visit her website at www.justiceforjennifer.com.

Rash Update

Ok, Evan's last dose of Benadryl was last night at 8pm. That had been 24 hours of taking the medicine, so we decided to let it get out of his system and see what was left.

When he woke up this morning, there is a little bit of pinkness in his cheeks, but he seems to be back to our cuddly, fun-loving, energetic toddler! Well, except for the fact that he's still getting both eye-teeth in, and so is still a little cranky about that. But the rash is gone, hallelujah! 

Thank you, God, for guiding us through moments like these, and taking away all worry. It's so easy to worry about whether or not we're doing the right thing, but wonderful to know that we can tell you our worries and you will take that burden from us! Thank you for delivering a healthy baby boy out of all of this, and another milestone under our parenting belts.

Measles, Hoof & Mouth, Skin Allergy??????

After my cousin's baby shower on Saturday, we got back to my Mom's house and put Evan down for his normal morning nap. When he woke up, he had a very small, bumpy rash all over his body. We all took notice, but couldn't decide what it was. We went through the list of food that he'd eaten that day, laundry detergent, etc, to see if he'd had a reaction to something, and couldn't think of anything.

As the day went on, his rash seemed to redden more and more, especially across his cheeks. By Sunday morning, we were really worried that he was having a reaction to something. He wasn't having trouble breathing, was eating really well, had no fever, and still wanted to play. I went to CVS and asked about how to give Benadryl to a 15 month old, and was told to give him a dosage from an infant Tylenol dropper up to the .08 mark. (For Moms out there that might need this info, the nurse that I talked to yesterday said that he could have 1/2 tsp).

So, we tried Benadryl, and it did seem to work, at least to take the redness down. It just keeps coming back when the medicine is out of his system. Alia's Mom, Joy, and I were scouring the internet for pictures of rashes, but we couldn't seem to fit his rash to anything for sure. We had it narrowed down to either Roseola Measles, or Hoof and Mouth Disease, YIKES! 

After talking to the nurse at our pediatrician's office, she thought it sounded like a dermatological allergy; like maybe he brushed into someone's perfume at the shower that he was allergic to, or something. I'm supposed to give him Benadryl at the correct dosage for 24 hours, every 4-6 hours, and see if that helps. 

I will keep everyone posted on how he is feeling. I wish I knew where our camera cord was so that I could post pictures of his rash in case anyone knows what it is for sure! Please pray that this is just a simple skin allergy, and that I'm not subjecting my baby to febrile seizures and permanent brain damage from some unknown rash disease!!!!!

Family Visit

Like I said in the last post, Chris' sister Elke and her family came up to visit for the weekend. When I finally met up with them at the Kemah Boardwalk on Sunday, we had a blast all together! 

First we ate at Joe's Crab Shack (where Kyra ended up getting sick; we think she might have the funky little bug that we've all had). Next we spent time watching the girls ride some fun rides on the boardwalk, and they looked like they were having a blast! Then we were able to take the kids to listen to a live band, and to play in the fountain. It was a lot of fun!

It's always great getting to see ya'll!

Weekend Getaway

On Friday, August 14, Evan and I headed home to Santa Fe so that we could be there Saturday morning for my cousin's baby shower. Even with plans to leave for one night, with just Evan and I, it seemed to take us forever to get everything together and leave! We ended up leaving around 4:30, which meant we hit tons of traffic on the way home, and didn't get to Santa Fe until around 6:30 (45 minutes longer than it should have taken).

When we got there, my Mom was making a yummy dinner, and my sister was there after driving down from Lubbock on Thursday. I ended up spending the evening sewing my cousin's gift, which was a nursing cover with cute brown and pink fabric (I should've taken a picture!), and a nameplate for Hailey's door with stuff from my Cricut (my cousin is naming her daughter Hailey Nicole Pace. Cute, huh?!).

The shower was great fun the next morning, and we got to see all of my other cousins and their babies. Christine got SO MUCH STUFF! She should be set when that baby gets here on September 25th!

After the shower, we made a bee-line home to help my Mom get ready for my Grandmother's 73rd birthday party. We had brisket, sausage, pork ribs, and lots of other goodies to eat for dinner, followed by an amazing chocolate praline birthday cake that my Mom made (yummmmmm!!). It was great to spend time with everyone both at the shower and the party.

Evan and I had plans to head home after the party because Chris' sister and family had come up to visit for the weekend, and they were staying at our house. (Can you tell we had lots going on this weekend???!!!!!). However, after talking to Chris, everyone wanted to go to the Kemah Boardwalk on Sunday afternoon, which is only about 20 minutes from my Mom's house....so we turned around and headed back to bed at Grammy's house! 

Thanks, everyone for a great weekend!

Yuck

Ok, I haven't kept up with the posts because it seems like everyone I know has been sick during the last week or so, including our family.

While I was in Lubbock, Chris' Mom and 2 oldest nieces came to visit and babysit Evan while Chris was working. Well, it turns out that Kailynn became sick while here with what seemed to be a 24 hour virus...the yucky kind where you're sick every 5 minutes. After she got better, it just snowballed from there, and almost everyone who came into contact with her caught it. I came home from Lubbock on Sunday evening, and was sick by 4:30 the next day if that tells you anything. The last time I was sick was TMEA last year with food poisoning. If that time were a 10, and I were counting this little bug on that scale, it would be an 8! 

Evan was already sick when I got home from Lubbock, which I found out about on...you guessed it...Facebook! My husband is addicted...  Anyway, needless to say the bug has made it's way all the way from Kailynn, to Evan, Me, Chris, Mama D, Kylee, my Mom, Clarie, and Kyra. I hope that everyone is finished getting sick!

College Graduation!!

My sister is a college grad! Yeah! On August 8, 2009, Clarice Marie Cheatham graduated from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Tx with a degree in Biology.

My Mom and I flew up on Thursday, August 6. It was so much nicer flying than driving for 10 hours, that's for sure! Although I must admit, I'm not the best flyer and really don't enjoy it, I was there in 1.5 hours of people serving me drinks vs. 10 hours of driving and being tired when I got there! 

My Dad and Aunt flew and my brother and his wife drove up on Friday. My sister, Mom and I went shopping at the mall for a dress for graduation, which was lots of fun until I started feeling nauseous again! (Can't wait for that part of the pregnancy to be over with!). Then we went to Bahama Bucks for some fantastic sno-cones and live music. The live music was really cool as it was a one man band with everything from a computer generated drum beat to a didjeridoo and a guitar! 

The graduation was, sad to say, pretty boring! Except for the fact that Clarie has her degree now, of course. There were a ton of Masters and Doctoral degrees to pass out, and that took the majority of the time. But it was very cool to watch Clarie walk across that stage! It was even cooler to go eat lunch afterwards at a place called "Baker Brothers Deli." We all ate a great lunch, and then went to see "Julie & Julia" at the movies. Then we took Clarie to some places on campus to take pictures in her cap and gown, and finally to her apartment for dinner. It was nice to just relax with everyone there since we are hardly all together in one place anymore.

Thanks, Clarie, for letting me stay at your apartment, and for a great weekend! I know we don't always get along, but you know that I love you and wouldn't trade you for any other sister (most of the time...JUST JOKING!). You are such a hard worker and we are very proud of the things that you have accomplished!

Standing Ovation

Evan is walking! He's been able to stand on his own for a couple of days, but he took the big step and started walking today!

About 2 days ago, he started standing by himself for no more than a few seconds at a time. It was so cute because he raises his hands above his head as if to say, "look ma, no hands!" He also had this cute smile on his face, because he knew he was doing something new. The next day, he could stand for a long time; over a minute! 

This afternoon, Chris was holding onto Evan, and he stood up again on his own. I had some crackers in my hand, and we decided to try and bribe him into walking...and it worked! The first time he took 3 little steps before reaching me! We did it again to get on camera, and then proceeded to video chat with family to show him off! It was an amazing moment! It was so cute to watch him move his little legs and balance! I love that little booger!

I was so worried that he was going to start walking while Chris was at work, or while I was in Lubbock this weekend. But I guess I don't have to worry about that now! Now I just need to make sure the house really is baby-proof, and get my running shoes on!

(PS~when we find the camera cord, I can post the video...we seem to lose that cord a lot!)