Getting rid of Cousin It

The current debate in our house is whether or not Audrey should get bangs. I've been toying with this idea for a while, but lately, it's gotten to the critical point. See for yourself.



(By the way, I did not purchase that bib. I don't want my child to become a self-fulfilling prophecy). The above pic shows how her hair is most of the day, when we're at home. It's ridiculous. I can't even see her face because of all that hair. She's starting to look like Cousin It. And every time she eats or drinks milk, it inevitably ends up in her hair. Of course, I don't let her go out in public that way.



But here's how it goes. As soon as we get somewhere, say Target, I have to get in the backseat and put on her shoes and socks (since she takes them off in the car); then, I slip a barrette in her hair. Generally, when we're out in public, she'll put up with it, but that's mainly because she's so distracted by what's going on. Such as the signs hanging from the ceiling at Target...those are a big hit.

As soon as we put her back in the car seat, though, the barrette comes out. She's going to take it out eventually, anyway, and I don't want her swallowing it. But her hair is driving me mad! Matt doesn't really want to cut it, although he admitted on Saturday that it was driving him a little crazy, too.

So this week, I proposed a daily vote on the issue. Of course, my vote has been bangs every day, but Matt's vote wavers. That's because he doesn't have to put up with it all day!

So, it looks like our little precious will be getting a haircut soon, because we all know that if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. Now we just have to figure out how to keep her from freaking out during the process. She doesn't do too well with strangers, and a stranger coming at her with scissors could equal a major meltdown. I don't know...maybe we should take her to one of those kid salons, where they have all the distractions and toys to keep them occupied. It might cost an arm and leg, but it could be a good initiation haircut for her.

Craziness

I had my physical yesterday...yuck. Matt and Audrey both came with me, since the doctor's office is midway between our house and Matt's school. The whole time we were there, all Matt could talk about was having another baby. And let me tell you, that is VERY strange.

I mean, up until a couple of days ago, if someone asked us if we were going to have a second baby, he would immediately say, "Oh no. One is just perfect for us", or something to that effect. Then suddenly, he just changes his mind. He starts talking about the gender-neutral things we have for a baby, where the baby would sleep...well, you get the picture. This was obviously not a passing thought for him.

All I can think is, my health. How in the world would I take care of two children? I'm not too worried about how the pregnancy would go, since I had no fibro symptoms when I was pregnant with Audrey. But seriously? I can barely take Audrey anywhere by myself, and what would happened if I had another?

We talked to the doctor about it, and he said it would be fine, but we should decide soon, since I'm quickly approaching the dreaded 40 in December. He spoke of birth defects, trouble getting pregnant, etc. Which of course I already knew, having researched all that last time.

Ah...but the more Matt talked about it, the more I could picture it. He's even decided when we should get pregnant. It's crazy, and he's crazy. It is fun to think about what a second child would look and act like, though.

Especially when we have this little cutie running around...



Again, I say the idea is nuts. I think it's normal to want another baby when your first one is turning into more of a little girl than a baby. Right?

Wrestling gone wrong

Not a good day yesterday. I felt awful, so I was pretty much ready to go back to bed shortly after I got up. We did have some fun snuggling, the three of us, in bed. Okay, I guess you could say we weren't really snuggling, since Audrey doesn't stay still for more than 30 seconds.

After Audrey went down for a nap, Matt decided to cut the grass and I decided to dive back into bed. I was awakened by a phone call at 2:45, with my mom saying they were on the way to the hospital. Elizabeth and her cousins were trying out some wrestling moves on a trampoline, and let's just say it didn't end well...she broke her arm.

The EMS came to get her, and we had some tense moments while they decided whether or not Elizabeth needed surgery. In the past, I would've been there with her, but I was waiting at home for updates. That's the most helpless feeling.

She didn't have to have surgery after all, thank goodness. But Mom sent me a pic of the X-ray, and I felt like I was going to vomit. Both the bones in her forearm are broken, and they were bent at an angle that would make anyone sick to their stomach.

There were some funny things that happened in the ER, and I wish I'd been there to witness it. Elizabeth had to be sedated for them to set her arm (this after 3 shots of morphine in the ambulance), and when she was waking up, she did some crazy things. Mom said she'd be lying there, and then all of a sudden, she'd sit up straight in the bed and yell, "I'm hungry" and then lay back down again. And yes, my brother did get some video of that.

I wanted to strangle her cousin for slamming her on the trampoline like that. Mom reassured me that "Kids will be kids", and then she said we'd be dealing with that sort of thing with Audrey one day. Thanks, Mom.

Such Sorrow

I'm going to a funeral tomorrow. I just went to one a couple of weeks ago; it was for my mom's long-time neighbor (over 40 years), Margaret, who died of cancer. That was bad enough.

Then on Monday morning, a glorious, no-clouds-in-the-sky kind of day, her husband, Carl, died in a car accident. He was having problems with insomnia since his wife's death. They believe he fell asleep at the wheel, ironically on the way to the doctor's office, whom he was going to see about the insomnia. Carl hit another car head-on; thankfully, the woman in the other car was okay.

I'm still in shock over this. I've known them my whole life, and I used to be in and out of their house all the time, playing with their daughters. They have three, and they're completely devastated by their loss. I can't even imagine how they must feel.

That sends my mind into dark places, places I don't want to visit. Such as, what if that happened with Matt and me? Who would Audrey have to lean on? We've only planned on having one child, mainly due to my health, but finances are an issue, too. I know she'd have her cousins, but no siblings to help her through it.

So, in a way, I wish we could have another baby. Not just for that reason, but because...well, just because I want to. The message boards I frequent have women with children the age of Audrey, and they're already pregnant with their second baby. And it makes me want another sometimes, really bad.

Damn this fibromyalgia!

But I'm thankful for the wonderful, healthy child we have.

There's a Pumpkin in my Yard

We had some terrible storms on Monday night. Our swing blew over yet again.



We've had some serious wind gusts around here. The swing blows over on a regular basis, though. Recently, it landed in the neighbor's yard. I tentatively looked out the window to make sure no neighborhood kids were pinned underneath it. ::shudder::

Speaking of neighbors, our new ones moved in about a week ago. They had set up some of their kids' stuff in the backyard, and most of it was knocked down.



And the strangest thing I found in our yard was...



Someone's not going to be happy this Halloween. And since the wind was so strong, I have no way of knowing whose it is. Oh well.

Thank God that Audrey's a heavy sleeper; she never woke up during the storm. She was ready to go the next morning.



Unlike Mommy:(

16 month letter

Dear Audrey,

This is an appropriate picture to use for today, since you have become quite the talker at 16 months! You can say at least 50 words, maybe more. Not just things like milk, Mommy, Daddy, but words like monkey and necklace. Sure, you can't enunciate like we can, but you're definitely saying these words. You repeat a lot of what you hear. Just a little while ago, I said, "Oh my gosh!" and you walked around saying gosh. It's amazing.

You're keeping up the vegetarian diet, and now you've got me on it, too. Since you won't eat meat, I'm looking up vegetarian recipes for you, and I'm eating them also. You even ate Cottage Cheese Patties, and so did I. Mealtime is getting scary around here:)

You're becoming less shy around others, although it takes you a long time to warm up to people. You attended your first birthday party recently, and you perked up as soon as you saw the little girl's dog. You were pretty comfortable after that.

Your cousins can't stay away from you. They used to be excited to see me and Daddy, but now they're only interested in you! I can't say that I blame them.

You're running all over the place now, and lots of times, you don't stop until you hit something or fall down. We've dealt with lots of boo-boos, that's for sure. It's only recently that I stopped making Daddy check your eyes for a concussion every time you hit your head.

I've never seen a sweeter child. Yesterday, when we were lying on a quilt outside, you rested your head on my stomach and just looked at me. And I thanked God for giving you to us. You "hug" me and Daddy all the time, wrapping your arms around our legs and squeezing. When we hold you, sometimes you'll pat our back or arms, just like we do when you need some love.

I'm looking forward to Easter and seeing how you do with the egg hunt, dyeing eggs, the Easter Bunny, etc. I think you'll have a wonderful time.

With all my love,
Mommy

Cake and the F-bomb

So, it's been a great week. Matt's been at home on spring break, and we've been doing lots of stuff I couldn't normally do with Audrey, because of my health. We went to Hobby Lobby to look for Easter baskets and some other things.

Matt and I bought cake decorating supplies. Elizabeth and Nichole recently earned straight A's on their report cards, despite all the upheaval in their lives. So we decided to make them a special cake, while trying out our cake decorating skills. One of my favorite shows is Cake Boss, so I'm a little obsessed with that right now.

Well, it didn't turn out like one of Buddy's creations (big surprise), but it still looked great. Better yet, it tasted like sin. Chocolate on chocolate...let's just say half of it was gone at our family get-together last night, and the sheet cake from Publix was barely touched. Even Noah admitted that it was rich, and he's a hard-core sugar addict. Elizabeth asked for a second piece, and when I handed Nichole her plate, she said, "It's three layers!"

Back to Hobby Lobby. Matt was pushing Audrey around in the stroller, and suddenly I heard her little voice saying something I did not want to hear. Yep, this little angel



...was dropping the F-bomb over and over again. In an overtly Christian store, mind you. Now, I know what you're thinking. That she heard it from us. And although I fully admit that was a word I used a lot when I was frustrated before Audrey was born, neither I nor Matt have said it around her. It's just that she's experimenting with sounds, you know, truck, duck, puck...you get the picture. We tried not to react because, if we acted all crazy about it, she'd get the attention and use it even more. Thank God we were on our way out; otherwise, they might have kicked us to the curb.

Ah...the joys of parenthood.