Christmas Predictions

Just call me Nostradamus, because I’m about to predict some catastrophic Christmas disasters this year…

Failures:

#1  The Christmas cards I ordered last week have still not arrived.  And yes, I know, ordering Christmas cards the week before Christmas was not my best moment.  However, in my defense, the picture we had originally planned on using ended up being terrible (see Fail #2), so we went with plan B.  Which was a non-Christmasy picture of my adorable child sitting on a pumpkin…  A PUMPKIN!  Maybe I’ll just hope for the cards to get lost in the mail so I can forget the entire thing.

#2  Santa is an evil man.  He made my child cry.  In front of a camera.  That was supposed to take our fantastic Christmas card picture.  But to be fair, we did not intend to visit Santa on this particular day, but decided to jump on the chance to avoid waiting in line for 2 hours.  Because waiting in line with a toddler is the worst kind of hell.  And on top of that, the kid has been a cranky mess for like the last 2 months.  Not fun.

On the up side, at least we got it done.  Crying or not.  Last year we went on Christmas Eve and had to see the crappy Santa.  He was wearing a red suit, but that was about the only resemblance to the big guy.  He must’ve been about 5’4″ and 115lbs with a white wig on his head and face.  I’m all about equal opportunity employment, but really?

#3  Some years I am a total rock star at thinking of gifts and other years….  Well, this is one of those years.  And my biggest problem?  The hubs. Last night I even asked him if he wanted to skip the whole thing.  This was after deciding last week that we were only doing stockings.  So, if anyone has any great stocking stuffer ideas, please email me.  I’m desperate. 

#4  Four words.  Kale and Potato Puree.  Sounds like baby food, right?  Well, I’m serving it on Christmas Eve.  And I’m incredibly scared despite all the rave reviews that I have read.  But I’m trying to introduce new dishes.  I’m sure Matt will hate it, but hopefully it won’t be fed to the dog while I have my back turned.  Check back for the postmortem on that one…

Successes:

#1  I am a cookie genius.  At the cookie party this year, I was introduced to Dorie Greenspan’s recipe for chocolate cut-out cookies.  And I thought, now wouldn’t that be good with peppermint?  And maybe dipped in melted chocolate?  So, I present to you the homemade thin mint cookie.

(The little gingerbread guys are also from the same recipe since one of my logs wouldn’t slice right.  I’m thinking royal icing would be good way to finish them.  But I’m not really so good at finishing things.  I’ll give myself half credit for that one.)

#2  I have managed to fulfill my goal of not stepping foot in a shopping mall since before Thanksgiving.  It just never ends well.  Now, I have had to battle the masses at Target, but the worst part of it was my impatient toddler.  Or maybe she just distracted me from the madness.  Either way we survived.

Initially, I had intended to focus on more hand-crafted gifts, however, I quickly discovered that is near impossible.  Especially when a 7 year old that has everything is on your list.  But I did get a couple hand me downs and Craigslist items for my own kid and I feel pretty good about that.

#3  Our Christmas decorations did turn out to be pretty bad ass.  Of course, we put up the usual tree, however, this year we also did a miniature tree downstairs.  It has colored lights and matching ornaments with mirrored garland.  It makes my OCD happy.  And the kid hasn’t broken an ornament yet.  Which is one less than me.

And I’ll stop there.  Come back next week for the postmortem.  I’m sure you’re all dying to hear how the green goop tasted.

Busy Blogger

WHAT??!  I know, you would never be able to tell I've been blogging up a storm from here.  But I've been busy with a new endeavor over at Dear Mommy Brain**.  Still working out some kinks, but I'm having fun playing out in the blogosphere.  And it gives me something to do at work all day other than playing solitaire.

**Sorry about the shameless self promotion.

Shame

Hold on.  This blog is about to get more random. 

I don't know why I'm about to post this.  Probably because it sounds like something I'd write on Facebook. 

What does that say about me?

I feel dirty.  I just ate a package of chocolate frosted donuts from the vending machine for breakfast.  All because I didn't take the time to grab something from home.  Another lesson in the value of preparedness.  I can already hear my gut saying "WTF!"

And Allison's breakfast was only slightly better.  Wheat toast with cream cheese and mango.  I'm getting desperate in the mornings.  I guess it would help if I stopped hitting the snooze button for 40 minutes in the morning.

Or turn off The Biggest Loser and make some muffins. 

Actually, I didn't watch The Biggest Loser last night.  I watched Glee for the first time.  But only because they were doing Rocky.  I love that sweet transvestite.  I have to admit I was pretty disappointed.  Maybe it was the crappy Magenta.  But more likely, it was the inconsistent editing.  I mean, you can say "I'll oil you up and rub you down," but not "transexual?"  I'm sure the GLBT community was thrilled with that.

I'm bringing blogging back...

...Them other bloggers don't know how to act...   (Sorry, I can't help myself from breaking into song every time I say that!  Damn you Justin Timberlake!) 

But I digress.  I've decided that I need to bring the blog back!  Facebook has made me lazy with it's convenient status updates and simple photo uploader.  So, I'm going back to my roots and welcoming Blogger back into my life.  My declaration may have something to do with the fact that Facebook is monitored here at work... but I'm welcoming the respite...

18 months (5 weeks late)

I've been a horrible blogger lately (like that's something new), but yesterday I uploaded 2 months worth of pics, and thought it was time to post an Allison update.  And since I haven't been keeping a baby book so much, this is my only documentation of her development!

Her 18 month appointment was on September 21st and she weighed in at 21lbs 4oz (15th percentile) and measured 32 3/4" tall (70th percentile).  The doctor checked the percentile chart for height first and was kinda baffled that our little preemie was so tall!  But she was then reassured by her diminutive weight...  :)

 Sleepy girl

Allison can now jump unassisted, climb stairs on her own (with a railing), eat with a spoon, sort shapes, and put on her own shoes (mostly).  She's still a little slow on talking, but now says, "hi, da dee," "tickle tickle," "i did it," and "all gone" pretty regularly.  We've heard some other words, but not repeatedly.  She continues to sign in the meantime.  I love that if I ask her if she's hungry, she will respond with the sign for "eat."

She loves to play tea party and busy ball popper, as well as read books and listen to music.  Oh yeah, and watch Dora.  She loves Dora.  She enjoys "helping" mommy cook and unload the dishwasher, too.  It's really amazing how much she learns everyday.  She continues to be a happy, healthy girl (most days)!

Black Cloud

Getting older has never really bothered me, although, some numbers have been better than others, of course. Last year I turned 30. And I was happy about it. It had been a long time since my last landmark birthday and I was looking forward to a new number up front. Besides, I've never felt old. Certainly not old enough to be married... own a house... be a mother...

But 31 is looming over my head like a black cloud. I can't exactly put my finger on what's got me so shaken up about it... I mean, it's just a number, right?

Maybe it's that I don't feel any more grown-up than I was 10 years ago. But what makes you feel grown-up, exactly? Is it grown-up stuff? A grown-up job? Or grown-up problems? I've certainly had plenty of those...

And as all the birthdays past, this one will come and go... maybe with a little display (and more candles) and I'll be the same person with just a different number.

Road Trip!

I figured since we've been back a week now, I better get to posting...  I was so happy that our trip worked out the way we had hoped since we had been planning it for some time.  Our first stop was in Milwaukee to visit with my friend, Sarah, and of course, go to the Wisconsin State Fair!  I was really excited for Allison to experience it since we had such a wonderful time when Matt and I went 2 years ago.  After a long day in the car on Friday and a late night/early morning, I wasn't sure what to expect on Saturday, but she did great!  And despite her teething (and about 100 diaper changes) she "faired" it up til 630p.  She even conked out for a bit in the stroller (which never happens) after enjoying a big cup of cherry vanilla milk.  I guess that was just enough of a power nap to keep her going.  Her favorite thing after the milk, of course, was probably seeing the bunnies.  She kept trying to reach from the stroller to pet them.  I thought she might like some of the other animals, but didn't seem to care much about the cows and the chickens were too loud for her liking.  Other than that, we ate a lot...  Roasted corn, chocolate covered bacon, ostrich burger, deep fried pb&j, and my personal favorite- a brat on a pretzel bun!  We did meet up with some of Matt's family that was also at the fair, but only briefly...  It's just so hard to find people at an event of this size.  I wish I had taken some pictures, but with Allison running all over the place (and trying to push the stroller), Matt and I had our hands full! 

On Sunday, the plan was to head to West Bend to visit with Matt's grandma for a day, but before we left Milwaukee, we had a great breakfast down by the beach and Allison got to experience sand for the first time.

After an awesome lunch from the taco truck, we piled everything into the car for the short drive to West Bend.  I think Grandma J had a great time reading with Allison!

 

After a (relatively) good night's sleep, we piled back in the car Monday morning for the long drive to Minneapolis, where Adam, Aymee, and new baby Maddie live.  It was a really amazing drive on country highways through small towns and lots of farmland...  We did make an impulsive stop along the highway when we saw a beautiful wetland.  It turns out that the Horicon Marsh is actually over 30,000 acres of wetlands and what we could see from the highway was just a small portion.  I wish we had more time to explore the area, but maybe on another trip...

Another stop we made on the trip to Minneapolis was in the Wisconsin Dells.  We weren't really sure what to expect, but it turned out to be kinda like Branson or Gatlinburg, TN.  Very family friendly, with lots of water parks and other kitschy activities.  We had some lunch at one of the restaurants off the main drag.  Matt had a gator sandwich was really actually good (as was my beer battered chicken sandwich).  Then we moved on to the real reason we stopped in the Dells.  I had stumbled onto www.roadsideamerica.com while making trip preparations and discovered that there was a MIR space station that someone had bought from the Russians to put on exhibit.  I knew Matt would love to see it, so I was able to surprise him as we were pulling off the highway.  It turns out that the Tommy Bartlett Exploratory is actually an entire science museum, like our science center, with all kinds of interactive fun for kids and adults.  Allison enjoyed playing around the museum even though much of it was beyond her.  Her favorite was probably the robots...  and the floating balls, of course!

She looks so big trying to reach the balls!

Robot, if you can't tell...

Allison's "head on a platter"

Look! No hands!

 

Piece de resistance!  1 of 3 Russian MIR space stations ever built.

Cozy accommodations...

After the exploratory, we were ready to get back on the road to our real destination- Minneapolis.  Baby Madeline Belle Thurston was born the Friday before (a week late, I might add) and we had to go meet the little lady.  Mom and baby had just arrived home from the hospital the day before, so timing wasn't ideal for being able to really spend time with the Thurstons, but I was glad we were able to help them out, even if it was just by holding little Maddie so the new parents could sit down and eat.  (I know, such a tough job!)  We also figured since we were there, we should go see this thing called the Mall of America.  We didn't actually cruise around the mall much, but we did have fun taking Allison on her first roller coaster and ferris wheel rides!  We had talked about going to the aquarium, but Allison was quickly melting after 5 days of no "real" naps.  We were a little bummed that the Lego Land was closed for some kind of construction, but I guess that just gives us a reason to go back! 

Allison's first coaster ride!

Mud Run

What's your idea of a good time on a Saturday morning?  A lazy breakfast?  Hitting up some garage sales?  What about running a 10k military style obstacle course in the mud?  While I have to admit this does not sound like my idea of a good time, when Matt heard about this fundraising event for the MS Foundation he jumped right on board.  So after weeks of coordinating a team and fundraising, he and Scotty headed down to Harrah's for the big event.  They completed the course in 2 hours and 7 minutes in nearly 100 degree weather.  Pretty impressive because I was exhausted just from pushing the stroller!  But they had a great time and raised some money and awareness for a very important cause.

A portion of the obstacle course.

Matt and Scotty crawling out of a mud pit headed towards the finish.

Thank you guys for taking the time to participate.  It means a lot to me and everyone else living with MS everyday.  And if you hear about a mud run in your area, get involved.  Matt said it was so much fun he'd do it again this Saturday if he could!

Long Road

It's been a rough road the last couple of months with Denver's near death experience and all. But I think we've made it through! After discovering that Denver was suddenly in renal failure, I didn't know what to do. Logically, I knew that the chances of his recovery were not good, but my heart just couldn't give up on him without at least knowing for sure. And am I glad I made the decision to continue with testing!

With his condition deteriorating by the day, a specialist tested his cortisol levels in hopes that would shed some light on the situation since every other test had been inconclusive. When the results came back, it was discovered that his adrenal glands weren't producing enough of the hormone cortisol that helps the body regulate stress. That led to a diagnosis of Addison's Disease. The great part is that Addison's is totally treatable with a once monthly injectable medication and occasional steriods.

The concern was how much damage has been done to his kidneys that isn't reversible. But I'm happy to report that after almost a month on the prenisone we repeated his blood work yesterday and his kidney function is completely normal! It's still going to be a long road of vet visits, pills, and a special diet, but he's worth it. He is really a wonderful dog and it makes me so happy to think about Allison growing up with him to play with (or chase after).

Flashbacks

A couple weeks ago, I was going through some old pictures and came across this...

I tried to reduce the glare a bit, but it's still horribly out of focus... But I couldn't deny the resemblance to this face.

I wish I had a better picture to compare, but this is the best I could find. I guess my baby does look like me! :)

Long Road

It’s been a rough road the last couple of months with Denver’s near death experience and all. But I think we’ve made it through! After discovering that Denver was suddenly in renal failure, I didn’t know what to do. Logically, I knew that the chances of his recovery were not good, but my heart just couldn’t give up on him without at least knowing for sure. And am I glad I made the decision to continue with testing!

With his condition deteriorating by the day, a specialist tested his cortisol levels in hopes that would shed some light on the situation since every other test had been inconclusive. When the results came back, it was discovered that his adrenal glands weren’t producing enough of the hormone cortisol that helps the body regulate stress. That led to a diagnosis of Addison’s Disease. The great part is that Addison’s is totally treatable with a once monthly injectable medication and occasional steroids.

The concern was how much damage has been done to his kidneys that isn’t reversible. But I’m happy to report that after almost a month on the prenisone we repeated his blood work yesterday and his kidney function is completely normal! It’s still going to be a long road of vet visits, pills, and a special diet, but he’s worth it. He is really a wonderful dog and it makes me so happy to think about Allison growing up with him to play with (or chase after).

First Steps!

I've been starting to worry that Allison would never muster the courage to let go and take the leap from crawling to walking...  She had progressed from basic crawling to walking while holding onto one finger.  Then to wall walking.  Then she began walking on her knees.  At this point I was starting to worry.  She seemed perfectly content with her own hybrid of transportation.  But after much frustration (hers and mine), I think she got tired of moving at the speed of a snail and she went for it!  It started last week with a little shuffle and finally on Friday she took one step.  A few days later she took two steps...  And then tonight she was all over the place loving her new perspective on mobility!  I know that I'll be regretting this milestone once she starts running, but until then, I'm so proud of my little girl.  Since her early arrival, I've been acutely aware of the potential for developmental delays and it's incredibly reassuring to have her back on track.  She really is capable of so much more than I assume is possible at 15 months, so I hope to encourage her to learn and grow as much as possible.

Busy Week!

Last week was insanely busy for us, but we really enjoyed spending time with family and friends.  We got to try some new things and kick off the season for others.

Tuesday: Tadpole

Allison took her first swim class on Tuesday at the YMCA.  She had been in the pool once last year, but at 3 months, it was difficult to get any reaction out of her.  This was going to be the big test to see if she was going to be our little fishy.  Well, it didn't go great since she was exhausted from our hectic schedule over the weekend while MoMo and PaPa moved...  But I'm sure this week will go better.  Here are some tearless pictures that we managed to get in between screaming fits.

Wednesday:  3 years

Wednesday marked our 3 year anniversary and we were blessed with gorgeous weather.  (ironic, isn't it?)  We had talked about paddle-boating in Forest Park some time ago and decided to check it out.  For $15, you get a paddle-boat that can seat up to 4 for an hour.  That's just the perfect amount of time to cruise through the channels of streams that run off the main lake.  It was definitely a work-out for 2 people, so I wouldn't recommend going it alone.

Thursday: Camping

We officially kicked off the season with our first camping trip of the year.  We went to Klondike Park just past Defiance, MO off Hwy 94 with the Talleys and Jennings for an overnight trip.  The campground is really nice, with covered picnic tables (which thankfully shielded us from the unexpected rain shower), fancy bathrooms (with showers nicer than mine at home), and a kitchen with sinks, long counters, and even an electric stove!  We grilled kabobs for dinner and made s'mores before putting the kids to bed.  That didn't go so well.  Sean and Spencer kept waking each other up until Sam and Susan called it a night.  Allison was the opposite.  She went down with minimal crying, but we woke her up when we came to bed.  Then the 2 hour-ish battle ensued.  I'm not exactly sure when she finally fell asleep, but it was after Tracy gave up trying to get Shelby to bed and took her home to sleep.  But despite the struggles we all had a good time and woke up to mostly happy kids and yummy breakfast burritos.

Allison being "so big" in Shelby's camp chair.

Ready to let go?

I am completely amazed by how quickly Allison is growing/changing/learning!  At her birthday party, she was patiently cruising along furniture and look at her now!  She's running behind her walker!  We had to change practice venues because the basement wasn't big enough to hold her.

Strolling down the sidewalk...

 RUNNING!

Easter

We had big plans this Easter as Allison's first "real" Easter.  Last year she was tiny enough to put in her Easter basket, so this year we were looking forward to egg hunts, the Easter bunny, and lots of family fun!

Here she is with the same Easter basket.

 

Not really sure what to think of the Easter bunny, but she definitely didn't like the girl that was trying to get her to smile!

 

Her first egg hunt with Sean, Spencer, and Shelby!  She loves plastic eggs, so she really enjoyed finding them.  And by Easter she really understood that she should collect them in the basket... 

 

EGGS!!

 

After such success with the jungle party cupcakes, I thought I would try my hand at another cupcake craft.  So here are some "bunny butt" cupcakes, recipe courtesy of Hello, Cupcake!  Piping the grass got a little tedious by cupcake #14, but I can definitely tell that my skills are improving as the last 6 piped with another bag looked better than the first 12.  My tip for anyone wanting to try these...  Buy the white circus peanuts online.  By the time you spend all the time and money to coat the regular ones white, it will have been about the same as buying them online...

Climbing

Allison's been working up the courage to explore more and more everyday...  Thursday she learned that she can go down the step into grandma and grandpa's family room all by herself.  So naturally, she applied that same theory to other objects, like the couch.  Fortunately, Matt was there to stop her from taking a dive.  But yesterday I caught her trying to get to Denver on the landing...  (please ignore my child's crazy mismatched outfit.  we had sloppy joes for dinner.)

Time Flies

I can't believe an entire year has passed since Allison surprised us with her early arrival.  It doesn't seem long ago that we were visiting her in the NICU, staying up for graveyard feedings, or carrying her around in her baby sling.  I still look at newborn clothes and think that my baby is still that small, but I guess she will always be in my mind although she's obviously grown tremendously in the last 12 months.  Here is her 1 month pic with her china doll and her 12 month pic.

(you can see I even had to turn the camera to fit her all in!  and the first one was even taken from the couch!!)


Allison is growing perfectly, weighing 18lbs 10oz (20th percentile) and measuring 29 1/2" (50th percentile).  That's a long way from 4lbs 2oz!!  The doctor said she is just a petite girl and probably always will be.  So we have awhile before we turn her carseat around, but that's okay.  I'm just glad that she's such a happy, healthy girl!

Birthday Party!

I think we've finally recovered from Allison's big party...  Well, except for the floors.  There are still remnants of cake crumbs to be found.  But Allison had a great time celebrating with family and new and old friends!  And I think we figured out our house's capacity...  We crammed over 30 people including 9 kids downstairs for presents and upstairs for cake!  But I think everyone had a fun time despite some being put to work.  (I had a bit of a panic attack an hour before dealing with a no napping child and a long list of to dos...)  We really appreciate everyone that came to celebrate and especially all of those that helped pull it together!  The cupcakes were a HUGE hit and Allison loved digging into her giraffe.  Here are some pics from the big day...

her party dress made to match the jungle theme

cousins!

lions, zebras, monkeys, oh my!

allison's giraffe

yum!

our family