Dating a much younger guy

Why yes, it is true...I am dating a much younger guy.  In fact, he is one of the cutest guys I have ever seen, very intelligent, funny, outgoing, and he adores me. He lets me pick his outfits for him, he tells me that I am pretty, he opens doors for me, he loves to dance and he asks me very interesting questions that require me to think deeply. He is quite the intellectual, for his age anyway. Never mind the fact that he doesn't own his own car, in fact he can't even drive, that his bedtime is 8:30 or that I have to help him bathe. In spite of the occasional fit he is an all-around catch.  (Hopefully this doesn't make me sound like a complete weirdo ) Our last date was this past Saturday and we went to see Disney On Ice. Why yes, I am referring to my 4 year old son as my date.We had not been on a Mommy-Son date in a while, but it something that I think is very important for both of us. We are able to spend one-on-one time together with the focus being solely on him.  We were both pretty excited about it. I know I had better cherish this while it lasts because one day very soon he will probably make a yucky face and say "No way, we can go to such and such, but it is not DATE." So, while he is still little and innocent, I am taking all the dates I can get. What girl wouldn't with this guy?

As for the date, it was GREAT! We got up early and got dressed nice, it was a date after all, and headed to Birmingham for the day. We went to buy him some new tennis shoes, went shopping at the Galleria, went to watch Disney on Ice at the BJCC and after went to eat at Johnny Rocket's (his choice), to Starbucks for a latte (my choice) and then to Toys R Us (yeah, his choice).

While we were at The Galleria we did a little shopping for Baby Brother at Gymboree. As I was paying, my date AKA Lawson kept running back and forth behind me and smacking me on the butt. After about the 3rd time I turned around and said, "Lawson, stop hitting me." HIs reply, "But, I am spanking you." To which I replied with something to the extent of "But you don't spank Momma, I do the spanking." He then informs the sales clerk that "Sometimes my Daddy spanks my Mommy!" I just stood there in shock. The way he said it sounded dirty, which in reality it wasn't and he was referring to Chuck asking Lawson if Mommy needs a spanking for Fill In the Blank with whatever I have done/not done that day, as a joke. The sales lady's eyes just got really big and to her credit, she didn't even crack a smile. She just kept right on folding and bagging. I, on the other hand, was turning pretty red.

On to the show....Warning lots of sapiness ahead
Disney On Ice was wonderful! It really was. I didn't expect to enjoy it quite as much as I did. I knew I would like it because of the music and ice skating, but I didn't expect it to be quite the show it was. I mean Aladdin and Jasmine flying through the air on a carpet that was hanging from the ceiling, Peter Pan and Tinkerbell flying through the air, and all of the many props that made the rink look like it was a scene right in the movie. It really was mesmorizing.
On the way in, Lawson could not stand still. He was so excited he was just bouncing everywhere and chattering. Some of the time I don't think he was actually making coherent sentences he was so excited. When he gets really excited and wants to say a lot at one time, it is like his brain is overloaded and he stutters. Wow, was he doing that. "Mom, Mom, Mom, I want, I want, I want a sword as a souvenir!" It was precious.

My absolute favorite part of the whole day was when Peter Pan and Captain Hook came out. Lawson had been telling me the whole way there that Peter Pan was his favorite so he was just waiting to see him. Well, when Peter Pan came zooming out, flying through the air Lawson's little face was priceless. It is something I never will forget for as long as I live and it was worth ever penny we paid for those tickets. In fact, I wouldn't take a million dollars for that memory. He had this look of innocent amazement and wonder. His eyes were huge and his smile was from ear to ear. I sat there cherishing every second of it and wishing that Chuck was there to see it, too. When he finally turned to me and said simply, "Peter Pan!!", I actually teared up. For whatever reason, right there during Disney On Ice I was overwhelmed with how much joy my children bring to my life. How innocent they are and how much I love experiencing new things with them. It is almost like getting to do them all over again for the first time, only better. I have always wanted to take my children to try new things, to see new things, to experience and live life to the fullest and this little trip just reminded me of how special it is.

For dinner, we went to Johnny Rocket's at The Summit. Lawson was pretty excited that he got to drink a milkshake with dinner, it was a special day you know. We sat outside with several other tables full. At the table next to us was a man with his two sons. Of course, Lawson being Lawson, started up a conversation with the man about how many burgers he could eat. He was pretty interested in what constituted a double cheeseburger and if there was such thing as a double cheeseburger with no cheese, so he proceeded to ask the man if he thought there was such thing as a burger with "100 meats on it". Apparently the concept of double and triples was pretty amazing and needed to be explored further. So the man starts talking to him, as do his two sons. Somehow one of the little boys and Lawson get onto the subject of cookies and candy and the little boy says "well, I am a cookie monster because I eat all the cookies." Lawson comes back with "Well I am a candy monster because I eat all the candy." They giggle, hee hee, silly boys. Then Lawson pipes up with, loudly I might add, "Well, my Daddy says my Momma is the money monster because she spends all the money!" (which incidentally, his Daddy didn't start but his GG (my Daddy) did but Lawson misspoke, which he then corrected by repeating it) The guy just smiles and kind of chuckles, but the older couple at the other table next to us laugh out loud. I just crawl under the table, or at least that is what I wanted to do...I think I said something like, "Haha! Yeah, that's funny but let's not tell EVERYONE that, ok?" 
Sheesh, was it an interesting date. He just better be glad he's as cute as he is.

My oldest son, who is still willing to go on a date with his ole' Momma, is so much fun to be around.

My Cup Runneth Over!
~Shana~

Revision: I felt it was important to add...
Does the fact that I found Peter Pan attractive concern you? Should it concern me? I kept thinking, Peter Pan is soo cute! And then I would think, OK Shana get a grip you weirdo. He is Peter Pan. He was a cutie pie, though.

My addiction to Coke and Adam Levine

Yes, it is true. I am addicted to Coca Cola and I will explain now....

Today at CVS, I was reminded of why I sometimes like to run into a store, SOLO. I was also reminded of why I am addicted to Coca Cola (Not even the diet variety, but the full sugar, full calorie variety that makes it impossible for me to lose weight.)  Ashley, if you are reading this, you saw me…You understand. First off, why do I consistently get the buggy with the torn seat belt, with at least one of the sides of the buckle missing? EVERY SINGLE TIME.  I had a buggy full of candy, Hot Wheels, cookies, chocolate milk, and the one important thing that I actually went in there for, pain medicine.  While I was attempting to pay, Lawson is cruising the candy assortment and asking for everything. He finally settled on chocolate coins that he had to trade one of his Hot Wheels in for. Garrison is pulling a nice variety of Bubble Gum, chocolate coins, and ring pops out and throwing them on the floor. Me consistently saying “Garrison NO! No!” doesn’t seem to make him hesitate at all. Sigh. I finally finish paying, snatch Garrison up who is making a run for the door, go back and put away all the candy that is strewn all over the floor and throw it in the boxes where it goes, and hightail out of there to  load the boys up into Chuck’s big, jacked up truck. Since I had to park in the very last open parking place that was up against the median and a tree was in the way of the passenger side, I had to load up the bags on the front passenger seat, climb in on the back Driver’s side, over Lawson’s car seat, all while holding GW and hollering at Lawson not to move a muscle to put GW in his carseat. I buckled him in, climbed back over and out, and got Lawson in and buckled in. Then I finally loaded up and headed home (With a big coke in my hand). Thus, why I drink coke. It is simply not acceptable or practical to drink wine during the day. I like  wine, it helps to relax me and is a stress reliever. Since society tends to frown on day drinking (especially while taking care of children: ), I turn to Coke instead. It is my replacement stress-reliever.(Totally joking about the day drinking thing…I would never do such a thing, even if it is tempting sometimes ;)  I have to admit, I do LOVE Coca Cola.  When I have had a bad day, spent most of the morning saying “Boys, keep your hands to yourselves. Garrison, don’t bite your brother. Lawson, don’t push your brother down, again!”, I just look forward to a cold, iced Coke. Is it that so wrong?!

 

I am also addicted to Adam Levine, mainly on The Voice. Chuck and I LOVE The Voice. It is the best show. It makes us laugh and it makes us (me, honestly) cry. We LOVE to watch Cee-Lo, Adam, and Blake's witty banter. X-Tina too, but only because she is funny with the other three. I have convinced myself that if Blake and I were to meet, we would become BFFs and if Adam and I were to meet, he would totally want to break up my marriage. (A girl can dream, right?! That's not weird at all....) But really, they seem so genuinely nice. They also seem like they are really friends in like, REAL life.  Even Lawson gets into The Voice. We all sit down after dinner in the evenings, either before or after baths depending, for a half hour to an hour of The Voice. We love it. Lawson makes little comments too, like "Ugh, Christina!...." and "What, nobody turned?!"  and my favorite "Oh, Cee Lo is so crazy." He is such a cool little 4 year old. Eventually we may even be caught up on all of the DVRed episodes we have to watch. That is our goal before the end of the show anyway. It is such a simple little pleasure but I adore when we manage to fit it in before bedtime.

 

jessie posted this to my FB wall today and it really made my afternoon. Puh-lease be sure and watch it. I hope this link works....If not holler at me and I will fix it.

 http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xsw18k_parents-rap-about-maintaining-their-household_music

This couple could BE me and Chuck, if we were funny and/or musically talented at all. We can totally relate, as most people with kids can. I remember the days when I could wear white and not have 10 stains on it by the end of the day...like a nice mixture of  chocolate, juice, food of some type, and  boogers...yes, there are always boogers. I *think* I used to look nice, have makeup on, hair done, and a complete outfit on including accessories. Now I rarely wear makeup anymore, unless you see me at a special event like  a wedding or something it is unlikely that I will have makeup on. I traded it in for a little more sleep in the mornings. I also wear Nike shorts a lot...I used to never wear T-shirts anywhere. It wasn't that I had anything against them, that just wasn't a "go-to" for me. Now I wear Nike shorts and T's at least 4 days out of the week. I also wear a lot of pony tails. But I am OK with that.

I also can not tell y'all how many times I use the "Count to three" thing. ALL THE TIME. Lawson knows three means trouble. I usually only make it to two though...which is better for everyone. Garrison on the other hand....three means nothing to him.

Grateful for laughter and simple pleasures...

My Cup Runneth Over
~Shana~

 

 

 

Randomness

Randomness AKA I haven't blogged in a while

 

 

This is just bits and pieces that I have been typing as they happen and saving for a post:

A random, stray thought from about 2 months ago:

Why are eggs really high in cholesterol, the yolk really, but chicken is low in cholesterol? Eggs become chickens, does something happen in the process of incubation? This really stumps me…I randomly thought this and proceeded to ask my Husband, who happens to know everything (and not in that, “I don’t know everything but I just think I do” way. He legitimately does know everything. His mind is like a freaking sponge for random facts) and his concern was “What in the world made you think of that?!” I still have no answer to this conundrum. Do any of you know? Please comment it if you do.

 

 

Lawson and I were walking in Target last week when he looked up at me and asked “Mommy, can I hold your hand?” (Yes, he really does still call me Mommy and I LOVE it!) I answered, “Of course Son, you can hold my hand anytime you want to!” He then brought up Despicable Me, his current favorite movie that he watches every single time he gets to watch a movie, and told me “Mommy, when the little girl asked to hold Gru’s hand he just said “NO” (he even did the little accent, hilarious!) Why did he say no?” Ah, Gru what an enigma you are. For those of you who haven’t seen Despicable Me, you should watch it. It really is a great movie. I don’t know that  little ones under the age of two or  three may really appreciate it, Lawson more recently started loving it, since it is not really your typical kids’ movie but I know Chuck and I both liked it. Steve Carrell is Gru and the minions are super funny, too. It does have lots of really touching and sad parts too, though.   I tried to make my answer as simple as possible since Gru is a tad bit complicated. I just said that Gru was not used to kids. He didn’t have any kids, he was not ever around kids before the girls, and that he didn’t know how to act towards kids. So we are walking down the shampoo aisle where there are several people around and I am half way browsing and talking to Lawson.He says “Well, maybe he is allergic to kids” (One guy next to us kind of chuckles).I said, well Lawson being allergic to something means you can’t be around it or it will make you sick, like if you were allergic to cats and you were around one, you would start to not feel well like maybe cough or get a headache.” He then proceeds with “I think I am allergic to kids!” (The lady on the aisle down from us giggles). I replied, “Lawson of course you aren’t allergic to kids, you ARE a kid and you are around other kids all the time. Plus, no one is actually allergic to kids.” Lawson comes back with, “Well, some people are allergic to kids.” I was half chuckling along with the rest of the aisle while saying, “Lawson, who did you ever hear say they were allergic to kids?!” His response, “My Nana said that she was allergic to kids sometimes.” The 4 other people on the aisle erupt in laughter.  Yep, NANA you were the talk of the Target that day : )

 

 

First, why do all of my stories involve Target?! Apparently I am there A LOT.

At Target a few weeks ago, I had both boys strapped into one of those double seat buggies. You know, the ones that have a seat for two kids that are a little bench with a space in between and harnesses attached. Yeah, I used to think those were the best things ever. So did the boys. So, Lawson was adamant that they needed to sit in one of those, not the regular kind so we tracked one down. We went and bought a bag of popcorn and a drink for them to share (first mistake). At first they were just as happy as can be sitting there, facing each other, sharing their bag of popcorn. It lasted all of 3 minutes, during which I had that smug mommy moment and dared to think “Wow, I am pretty good at this. And just look at how sweet my boys are being!” Fast forward two minutes….”MOMMM, Garrison won’t share the drink with me!!” Garrison responds with a shrill, shriek as Lawson snatches the popcorn away. I say “Boys, share. Lawson, share the popcorn. Garrison, give your brother some of the drink! If y’all can’t share, I will take it away.” Then they are OK for like, a minute. During which, my phone rings. It is my sister, so I am talking to her while pushing the buggy around the baby section looking for whatever it is I needed, maybe sippy cups or diapers; It could really go either way. The boys decide to start hitting each other. Lawson: “Mommm, Baby Brother  keeps pinching me!” Garrison: “Momma, Momma, Momma…SHRIEK!”  Then Lawson hits him, Garrison hits back and on it goes. I tell my sister, who is laughing on the other end because she can hear all of this, “Hold on a minute please, I need to deal with my two little dears. Hahaha” So I put down the phone, turn to them and say, “Nobody had better touch the other one! You both wanted to sit in this buggy beside each other and we had to hunt one of these down. So you both sit in it nicely, like sweet brothers, and if you can’t be nice, don’t even look at the other one.” All while pushing down the aisles…getting some pointed looks from other shoppers. One lady in particular gave me a rather harsh stare while they were both screaming and I was still on the phone. I wish I could say that I was making up what I was about to tell you, but it is gospel. I tucked the phone between my ear and my shoulder, threw both arms up and gave her the “What are you looking at?!” gesture. True story…I am slightly embarrassed to admit that now. But lady, if you ever had two boys 4 and under, you would/should understand. Chuck laughed uncontrollably when I came home and told him that. He even made me reenact the whole “what are you looking at?” gesture.  I don’t think I was rude, per se, but looking back I could have just ignored her.  

Lawson starts asking if he can get out and walk. I know what will happen, he will get out and run around and Garrison will want to do the exact same thing. Only, Lawson will stay relatively close but Garrison will run full speed ahead, all over the store leaving me to chase him while pulling the buggy behind and yelling for Lawson to “COME HERE!” and follow me. (Does it sound like that may have happened once or twice?) So I keep saying no.

So, on we go, still shopping (We were waiting for a prescription to be filled, go figure)  Somewhere down the snack aisle, the boys decide to start “Hulking” it and trying to get out of their seat belts. Hulking consists of acting like The Hulk, jumping up and down while trying to rip a shirt off (in this case a seat belt harness)and grunting.  Garrison is shrieking at the top of his lungs, standing straight up, pulling at the harness as hard as he can and Lawson, the Big Brother, the GOOD EXAMPLE, is doing the same thing but whining and grunting. It’s a pretty crazy sight. If it had not been my kids and I saw it, I would have laughed my butt off. But, since it was my kids and I kept calmly telling them to stay in their seats and quit and they wouldn’t, it was time for a talk. I sat right down on the floor, in the middle of the aisle, got eye level with them both and had a serious talk. I told them lots of things. I explained how we should act in public, how they should help me to shop instead of making it harder, that they should be sweet to each other, they should share, they should listen.  I even got into how the Lord wants us to obey our parents. It lasted a little while and gave me a little relaxing period, too. About this time, a lady who we have seen several times throughout the store walks by. I said, “Excuse us if we are in the way, we just needed to have  a little talk.” Her response, and I will NEVER forget it was to come up to me and tell me what an awesome job I was doing. WHAT?! I am literally sitting in the floor at Target having a “Come to Jesus talk” with my two little boys who have just about driven me over the edge and down the side of it, and this angel of a lady tells me how well I am doing? I replied “Really? Thanks. I am trying to keep calm and keep my patience.” She went on, “You are SO patient and are a lot calmer than I would be in your situation. You are doing a great job and don’t you ever forget it.” All I could say was, “Thanks!” She then walked away and I had a renewed mind. No one ever tells me that, randomly, in a store. I get a ton of “You sure do have your hands full!” or “Wow. You’ve got your job cut out for you” or other comments along these same lines, but I can’t remember someone seeing me in the midst of  a Time Out and telling me “good job”. Of course, a little while later we saw her in the party section and Garrison was in the big part of the buggy with Lawson, the front part where the seats are was piled up with all of our stuff and Garrison and Lawson both had a roll of wrapping paper that they were hitting each other with, almost hitting her as we passed by. But, it was too late…she had already told me “good job” and there was no taking it back!

I am truly never at a loss for laughter. There are so many times when Chuck and I, in the midst of a crazy storm, just look at each other and start laughing hysterically. I couldn't begin to tell y'all how many times a week that happens. It happens when the boys are hyped up right before bed and are running in circles, literally, and we just stop and stare, then look at each other and shake our heads. Then, we laugh...a lot. They are so darn entertaining. It also happens when GW does something hilarious and unexpected, like pulling his diaper half way off so that all that is showing is the top half of his booty and for whatever reason, he's running around like that, as happy as can be. We catch each others' eye and proceed to get sooo tickled at it. We also share a good laugh when Lawson comes up with one of his awesomely hilarious dance moves out of nowhere.

Never a dull moment and I am so glad that Chuck is the one who I share it all with.

My Cup Runneth Over
~Shana~

 

 

 

 

You say short, I prefer vertically challenged

This evening as I was sweeping the kitchen and Lawson, Chuck, Garrison, and our friend Cam were in the living room, I hear Chuck saying  “Lawson, do NOT  tee tee on the porch, Son. Go to the side of the porch and tee tee off it.” Again, “Son, do NOT tee tee on the porch!” Apparently Lawson needed to potty and opted to go out the French doors and onto the deck (Not the first time this has happened, mind you ). Then I hear a sigh and Chuck hollers in at me “Momma, your  Son  just tee teed on the deck right in front of the door.” My response, “Well, I heard you telling him not to and he did it anyway, so maybe he needs a time out.” I wasn’t going to be the bad guy this time. So Lawson comes inside and Chuck starts talking to him, “Lawson, I told you not to tee tee on the porch, didn’t I? But you did it anyway.” And Lawson responds, and I quote, “Daddy, a job is a job.”

Last week, at The Pig, Lawson was really interested in why people are made all different sizes. I think it has to do with our friend, Cam, who is staying with us. He is super tall. I think like 6'6" or something. I don't know, I will have to confirm that but I do know that he is tall, especially compared to Chuck, myself, and all of the grandparents. Most of the people Lawson is around on a daily basis, like parents and grandparents, are short, small people. So I think he is noticing the differences now. 

 He starts with, “Momma, why are you SO short?” Well, gee, I ask that myself sometimes. So I answer, “Because that is the way God made me, Lawson.” So we shop around a little bit and I can tell he is still really thinking. Then he asks, “Momma, why are some people so big and some people are so little?(read as yittle, because his l’s sound like y’s and I LOVE it J )  So I answer, “Well Baby, it’s because God made us all different. He made each of us in his image, just like we are supposed to be and because of that we are perfect.” Good reminder for myself, right there… So he seems satisfied with that answer. We shop around a few minutes and he comes up with another question. He asks, “Momma, you and Daddy are adults right? Will y’all get bigger?” I reply, “No, we are done growing. We are adults and we will never be any taller than we are right now, Son. Once people reach a certain age, they stop growing taller. Kids are always growing though.” He thinks about this for a minute. He then says, “Momma, did you drink all of your milk like you were supposed to?” Hahaha. I know exactly what he is thinking. We tell him that he has to eat healthy food and drink lots of milk to grow up big and strong. He is wondering where I went so terribly wrong to end up the height I am. Do I lie? Do I say, No I didn’t eat my vegetables or drink my milk, that is why I am so short, in order to get him to do it? No, I can’t do that. So I say, “Yes, I love milk and I drank it when I was little too. I just didn’t grow to be big because that is not the way God made me.”  I then asked him if he thinks his Daddy is big and he said yes. Oh man, that is cute. He has a rude awakening coming when he realizes that at 5’7” and 145 pounds or so, Chuck is NOT big. But how cute is that? He still sees his Daddy as big and tall and looks up to him.

This reminds me of a couple of months ago at Chuck E Cheese when he and I were sitting next to each other on a ride and Lawson turns to me and asks “So Momma, you are a adult?” I said “Yes, I am an adult.” He then asks, quite confused sounding, “So you are a adult but you are the size of a kid?” How do you answer that one? Ha ha. I just said, “Um, no I am bigger than a kid. I am just not a really big adult. I am just the way God made me.” That answer seemed to satisfy him and off we went to another game.

Sometimes he comes up with some of the funniest things!! I can just see his wheels turning sometimes.

What a mess my oldest Son is.

My Cup Runneth Over

~Shana~

My motto at its finest

So, if you are gonna be a bear, be a grizzly! I wrote that post a couple of weeks ago but finally am getting around to posting it. How ironic....as I sit here in the hospital with a crazy eye infection that has kept me here for 5 days! Like my good friend WAP said, I might be a little dramatic :)
I don't do things half-way. Go big or go home. Even my sicknesses follow that motto.

Fast forward a week....I literally fell asleep while typing that. The laptop was still sitting in my lap, my fingers were still on the keys, my head was hanging down and I was snoozing.  Chuck took the computer away from me, to which I popped up and I replied "I'm OK!". He just laughed and is still laughing about it. Ah the wonders of medicine, dilaudid and zophran to the IV, to be precise. I haven't gotten that much sleep in almost four years. I figured I might should wait until I was no longer on meds to finish this post.
Fast forward:

So the Friday before Mother's Day I noticed that my left eye was a little sore. I didn't really think anything about it. As the day went on, my eye started to bother me more. By Friday night, my eye was swollen and really starting to bother me. Saturday morning I woke up and my eye was much bigger. I looked like someone (Chuck) had hit me in the face. My under eye was swollen, too. We had a trip to the zoo in Birmingham with the Morgans planned and I was really looking forward to it, so I just donned my big, dark sunglasses and off we went. All day the pain and swelling just got worse. I felt awful but I still had lots of fun! We went to the zoo, to the Galleria, and to eat and we had a great time! When I went to bed that night, though, I was hurting. By Sunday morning the whole left side of my face was swollen from my nose over across my cheek all the way to behind my ear. My eye felt like it was going to explode. My eyelid was so swollen that I couldn't even open my eye. Off to the emergency room I went while Chuck and the boys went to Thomasville to get something for my Mother-In-Law for Mother's Day. I expected to meet them back for lunch and celebrate Mother's Day....Little did I know, I was going to have to stay in the hospital. I had an MRI and bloodwork done. The boys came and visited for a little while and gave me my Mother's day presents and I had lots of other visitors, too. Friends and family. Monday I went to see an Opthamologist in Montgomery and he admitted me to see an infectious disease doctor at Jackson Hospital.

By Monday night, I was horribly sick! I was in lots of pain and couldn't stop throwing up. The first time, Chuck had run to get some dinner for us and while he was gone I got sick. When he got back, I was in the bathroom floor throwing up and crying slightly. Pitiful looking, I am sure. I quit and started to feel beeter for a little while. A little later, while the Phlebotomist was there taking LOTS of blood cultures from multiple sites trying to figure out what I had, I started to get sick again. I said "Chuck, please get me that trash can." He brought it over and I threw my guts up repeatedly. Poor CHuck just stood there and tried to help while I threw up into the trash can. The Phlebotomist just kept drawing blood and saying "You poor thing. Where is your nurse!?" The truly funny part is that she had to raise my hospital bed all the way up so she would be closer to eye level with my arms, so I was way up in the air while throwing up into the trash can. I apologized to her several times, to which she kept saying, "Don't apologize" Priceless!
After it was all said and done, the Phlebotomist marched down to the nurse's station and brought a nurse back. She let her have it because I had told them when I was admitted that I thought I was going to throw up. The  worst part about it is that with all of the pain and pressure in my eye, puking made it feel like my eye was going to explode out of my face. So, after I finally quit and everything was back to normal, for this situation anyway, Chuck was sitting in the chair across from my bed and I told him how glad I was that he was there with me. I wouldn't have wanted anyone else to see me in the condition I was in. My face looked like Quasimodo (The Hunchback), I had puked until blood vessels had burst around my other eye, I was mercifully, finally doped up to the point that I was loopy and all-around not looking my best. He got a good laugh out of this. He said "So, you are glad that I was the one holding your puke bucket and wouldn't have wanted anyone else to do it?" Well honestly, yes. He replied, "How romantic." Bahahaha. OK, maybe not my finest moment but come on, isn't that what a marriage should be?

To sum up the rest of the 4 day stay:
Chuck would drive back to Camden at 4:30 in the morning to go to work and I would chill out in the hospital bed, hooked to an IV all day. I got lots of phone calls and texted a lot. I watched a few movies on my laptop and spent lots of time on Facebook. I slept a LOT.  After work, CHuck would go back by the house and see the boys, get some clothes and drive back to Montgomery. He also brought me yummy fast food since I am not a huge fan of hospital meals, other than breakfast. (Jackson hospital has the best cheese grits EVER! I am considering faking an illness just so I can be admitted for the breakfast in bed.) Then we would watch a movie or TV shows until bedtime and he would get up the next morning and do it all over again. I kept telling him to just stay home. That I was fine, but he wouldn't do it. He also wouldn't let anyone else be the one to stay with me. We had friends offer, but he wanted to be the one with me. How sweet is that? Meanwhile, throughout the days I am still having tests run because no one can figure out what I have. I had another MRI done one day. It was interesting and got me out of bed for a little while. Of course, I still had to ride in a wheelchair but at least I got out of my room. Oh, did I mention that I am in a quarantine room where the nurses and doctors have to wear masks upon entering? Yeah, there is even a sign on the door. Although, Chuck nor my visitors, WAP and the Morgans never did. It was surreal.
Finally, on day 4 we get an answer. MRSA, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. A highly contagious form of Staph.Yup, my eye had gotten infected with it. I had caught it from my sweet little buddy, Garrison who had it in his ears following his tube surgery (He kept having repeated infections that were finally cultured. He had MRSA for a while before we even knew it, so who knows when I contracted it) The weird part, apparently, is that my white blood count was not up from it. I don't know, but according to the Drs it usually is. I am just a little enigma wrapped in a riddle, now aren't I?

After 5 days on IV antibiotics, I was finally able to go home to my boys. Once home, I was quarantined for like two weeks. That was brutal.
All in all, it was a weird fluke. So random and extreme. But then again, that is how I roll....

I never do things half-way...
My Cup ALWAYS Runneth Over...
~Shana~

No use crying over spilled milkshake

Another day of wonderful

I know it is hard to believe, but today was another typical Tait day. Lawson and Garrison both had an appointment with Dr. D. It had been a couple of weeks since we had seen her, so I was starting to have withdrawals  J The last time we saw her was by chance at Publix last Tuesday before my last doctor’s appointment. We even got to meet one of her daughters. Of course, Lawson ran up to her and saw her before I even did. What can I say, they are tight. Today was just a check up to check Garrison’s ears and Lawson’s allergies. I can proudly say they are both well!! I don’t know if we have ever gotten that response before. I would have to say that usually at least one of them leaves there with a prescription. Not today, though. Today was a great visit. Thank the Lord!

Dr. D is wonderful with the boys. She is super patient with Lawson and always lets him play with the stethoscope and listen to his own heart and baby brother’s and also lets him play with the otoscope. He is particularly fond of the light on it. I really hope all of this early medical experience may stick with him and maybe he will be a doctor. I can hope, right?!  Lawson is so chatty with her, too. Of course, that child rarely goes a minute without talking so that is no surprise. Before we left Dr. D challenged us to make it through the whole summer without getting sick. I am determined to do it, too!

After the appointment we went to Kinnucan’s to look for some Sperry flip flops for Father’s Day. I went to the back of the car to get out my umbrella stroller and…NO STROLLER. Uh oh. I forgot to put it back in after our trip last weekend. Woops! So, I tote Garrison, the diaper bag, and hold Lawson’s hand and in we go. Of course, as soon as we are in the door Lawson sees toys and takes off and GW is bucking like a horse to get down, too. Off they go with me running after. We finally do a quick look through the shoes, no Sperrys in Daddy’s size but both boys have found a toy they want, of course. Being the  pushover that I am, I proceed to pay for them. Two super-high bouncing balls. I can’t even remember the actual name of them, but I have to admit, they are pretty cool. They say they will bounce up to 75 feet. While I am trying to pay, Lawson finds a drink cooler and gets a Sprite and a water out. We add that to the pile. Then he keeps opening and closing the door, meanwhile Garr is running all around the store. I keep having to chase him down and bring him back over, getting on to Lawson “if you open that cooler one more time…” then finish trying to write out my check. I hand the drinks to the boys and try to finish up paying. Oh, the cashier needs to see my license. Seriously? Don’t you just want to let me go? So, I fish that out. All of a sudden crash, splash, scream. Garrison has dropped the new bottle of water and it busted spraying all over the floor and all over Lawson. Lawson hates to be wet! I don’t blame him, I am the same way, but man he freaks out. Lawson is screaming “Garrison! I don’t wanna be wet!! I don’t waaaannnnaaaa beeee wettttt!”Garrison jumps in the rather large puddle and starts playing in it, the man in line behind me starts laughing, the cashier is standing there with her mouth open, and  I quickly snatch up what is left of the bottle of water while telling Lawson it’s ok and grabbing Garrison out of the puddle. I then look at the cashier and simply say “Sorry.” I high-tailed it out of there after that. The man in line behind me looked at me before we left, as I am dragging Lawson by the hand while he’s still crying and toting Garrison around the waist, and told me to have an interesting rest of the day. Don’t worry, guy….I did.

You would think I might have given up after that, right? Maybe said, oh well, let’s go home. But I am a glutton for punishment. No, I just like to think that I have lots of patience or maybe I am crazy, the jury is still out on that one.  We went on down to Dillard’s looking for shoes. While making my way down there, I am cursing myself for forgetting to put the stroller back in the suburban.

Ah, Dillard’s. I think that every employee in the shoes and makeup department there today regretted helping me. I bet next time they might just run the other way. It was like The Perfect Storm. Everything came together just right to make it a really bad shopping experience for me and the boys. Both boys were overly tired, Garrison had no stroller to ride in (be strapped in), Lawson was bored and hungry, and I really needed to get some new makeup from Clinique. Oy! First stop, children’s shoes. I bought Garrison some of the cutest little Sperrys. The boys did OK at this stop, Garrison pulled down a few pairs of shoes and Lawson LICKED the mirror a couple of times, EW, but other than that, it was OK. Next stop, makeup. Poor, poor Clinique girls, they had no idea what was headed their way. While I was trying to pay, Lawson finds a chart on the chair and starts asking one of the girls 101 questions about it. She kept replying, “It tells you what makeup to buy” then he would ask “Ma’am, but what does this say?” and she would repeat it and then he would point to something else and the cycle would continue. Meanwhile, Garrison, who is standing right beside me, found the stash of cotton balls that are out and starts to throw them everywhere. I am attempting to write another check while all of this is going on. Next time, maybe I should just use cash…I pick up all of the cotton balls and off to the men’s shoes we go. This is where it gets really crazy. Lawson announces that he has to potty, NOW! So we take off as quickly as possible to the upstairs bathroom. Why do these places not have multiple bathrooms all over the store!? As a side note, why do they not have carts or buggies or little car stroller things or something, either?!  Come on Dillards, people with kids shop here, too. I digress…So we make it to the bathroom and Lawson tee tees. I realize I really kind of need to tee tee, too. Dang Starbucks, again. For the most part I have my bladder trained, no stops while out shopping, it just requires too much time and energy, but Starbucks won out again. So, I put Garrison down, put a potty protector over the seat, and attempt to somewhat hover while trying to keep GW from touching ANYTHING and Lawson from opening the stall door before I am done.  Needless to say, hovering while trying to hold a toddler between your outstretched legs and threatening to beat your 3 year old is not super successful.

Back to the men’s shoes….Lawson has met his limit. He is done shopping. He continues to run amuck all over the shoe department. Lawson tries to run in one direction while Garrison tries to run in the other. I find the shoes I am looking for and start to pay. DANG CHECKS! I cannot hold GW while writing a check, so I put him down and try to keep him from running all over. Lawson is trying his best to run all over the place while I threaten him by counting to 3. I have no idea who has replaced my sweet, well mannered boy and who this is in front of me. He refuses to listen and actually runs away from me and says, “You can’t catch me!”. OMG! I very calmly grab up Garrison, throw him on my hip, and walk over to Lawson who takes of running. I catch him and whisper in his ear …”You just earned two spankings when we get to the car. Would you like to make it three, son?” and drag him back to finish paying. The shoe guy looked at Lawson and says “Son, I sure hope you make it through what you got coming. You better start behaving.” Hahaha. I think he felt bad for me. Of course, all the way out to the parking lot Lawson is crying and wailing “But I don’t want a spankin’!!”, which makes me look like an abusive Mother.  Somebody call Child Services…

  Now, I try my very, very best not to spank. I really do. I really, really don’t like to yell or spank him in front of anyone, either. If I do spank, I take him to the bathroom or another room or something.  I like timeout and taking away privileges and talking it out. However, sometimes it comes down to it and I will do it if necessary. This was one of those times. It’s a good thing that we had a little walk to the car because I was about to lose my cool. It gave me a chance to calm down.  It truly surprises me when Lawson acts this way because it so rarely happens and when the three chances and counting to three doesn’t work, I am usually blown away. It so rarely backfires.  Yes, I did spank him when we got to the car. He cried for all of a minute. I don’t think it really even hurt. We then talked about the way he acted and why it was wrong and how he is supposed to act. I hope it sank in.

After that we went to Target, then Chick Fil A then headed home. Lawson ate and was asleep before we even made it to the airport. Lawson fell asleep with his milk shake in his hand and sneaky little Garrison seized the opportunity to snatch it. I looked in the rear view mirror and Garrison is happily drinking Lawson’s milk shake out of the straw. I sighed, Ok, he is doing well. No mess yet. Then, he decided to turn it up and the darn thing has a round hole in the top.  Vanilla milk shake dumps all over Garrison’s face, body, car seat, and my car seat. I just laughed and pulled over and cleaned him up the best I could. My car should smell really great tomorrow. A nice mix of spoiled milk and fried food. Let's be honest, not like it hasn't smelled worse than that before.When we got home Chuck took one look at Garrison with his matted, sticking up hair, stained sticky polo, and sticky face and hands and asked “What happened to Garrison?” 

While on the way home, I had my IPod on shuffle. Darius Rucker ,”It Won’t Be Like This For Long” came on. It gets me every.single.time! I reflected over the day, looked at both of my sleeping boys in the rear view mirror, Lawson with his baseball cap on backwards and Garrison with his sticky, matted vanilla milkshake hair, and cried a little. As fast-paced and stressful as the day was, I wouldn’t trade a minute of it. Even the “bad” parts. I love every minute of every day I am blessed to spend with my darling boys. Do they make me crazy? Absolutely. Did I want to snatch a knot in one or both of them at some point today? You bet. Do I wonder why in the world I attempt to shop with them both in tow? All the time. But do I do it again? Every time. But I can honestly say I love every minute of it. I truly do. But do I love a little break now and then? Yes, yes I do J

My Cup Runneth Over

~Shana~

Starbucks, I love and hate you

Well  as my posts usually go, this one requires a warning. This post will include vomit as well as urine. I will also be sharing an extremely embarassing story about myself. What can I say, I will share anything for a laugh or two. Is anyone else worried about what they are going to read below? I would be...Is anyone else starting to get concerned about how many of my posts involve throw up? I really am.

Friday was one of  "those" days. I would say that it was unusual, but it is starting to become the norm. Garrison started running fever on Wednesday of last week. I chalked it up to the MRSA infection still lingering. Then he started breaking out in a rash on his chest. I just figured it was from the fever or from the Chicken Pox vaccine he got a few days before. Well he continued to run a fever of between 100 and 101 all day Thursday and into Friday. His rash also got worse and started spreading over his entire body. I could tell he was just not feeling well at all. I dropped Lawson  by school and off Garrison and I went to Montgomery. The ride there was relatively peaceful as he slept most of the way.
At the doctor's office, there were two little girls that Garrison played with while we waited. One was around 6 and the other was around 3. I usually try to keep him away from other kids who are on the sick side with us as much as possible, just in case he is contagious or they are...but that day I just kind of gave up. I really thought that his rash and fever were going to be ear infection or vaccine related, so I didn't keep him on my lap. The girls kept wanting to hold his hands and their Mom kept saying "Girls, don't touch. You may have germs." I took it as a nice way of saying, "Don't touch. He has a very questionable rash all over and who knows what he's got." I get it, though. I would be the same way. Remember, we need a big bubble to put my boys in.
We get called back and I tell the nurse all that has been going on with Garrison. From MRSA to the rash and back again. She was like me, never even thought of Hand, Foot, and Mouth and thought it may be an antibiotic allergy reaction or something. Well, Dr. M came in and immediately looked at GW's feet and hands. Sure enough, the rash had spread to his palms, soles of his feet, and he had sores in the back of his throat, in the roof of his mouth, and on his tongue. No wonder he was miserable. She said it was a particularly bad case of hand, foot, and mouth and that it was highly contagious. Well, great. She also guessed that Lawson may have brought it home from school, but not actually have gotten it. Apparently it is rampant in Montgomery right now as they have been seeing it in their office regularly. I am going to guess that he got it during one of our many trips to the office over the past couple of weeks. Who knows? I do know that it is awful.
So as we were paying our co-pay the little girls and their mom who were in the waiting room are also paying theirs. Garrison is standing beside me looking at the fish tank. Then the nurse walks by and says, "Oh, what did she determine it is?" just as the oldes little girl sees Garrison and says "Oh, it's the baby" and starts reaching out to him. I replied, quite embarassed, "Um, it's hand, foot, and mouth." The girls' mom let out a little gasp and snatched her by the arm so fast I thought she might have pulled it out of socket. She caught her just before she made contact with Garr. It was priceless!
The nurse just looked at me and chuckled and walked away. After the lady and her daughters left, I went up to pay my copay and had a good little laugh about it with the office nurse, who saw the whole thing. On my way out, I saw the woman loading her daughters into her car and thought I would be nice and apologize. I really did feel bad about possibly contaminating them. So, I went up to her and told her how sorry I was that Garrison had been playing with them. That I had no idea he had H,F, and M and how I thought it was ear related. She was really nice and said she understood and that hers went to daycare so she hoped they didn't give him anything. It was all really funny!

So on we went to Target, as usual. Guess what happened there? Garrison got sick. He threw up at Target multiple times. Who knows how long I was there. I didn't want to leave and be on the road while he was throwing up since I was by myself, so I just stayed and waited it out. Everyone at Target hated me that night! Eventually he stopped and we headed home, but not before I stopped at Starbucks for a much needed Venti Non-fat Raspberry White Mocha with an extra shot. I needed caffeine stat. You probably could have offered me a Caffiene IV drip and I would have taken it.
Of course, with all of that coffee, I had to tee-tee. It hit me around Hayneville and I was bound and determined to make it home. I mean, there is nowhere to stop anyway and I really didn't want to stop on the side of the road. Been there, done that, I am no longer a teenager riding dirt roads, thank you very much!  In Hayneville, I accidentally mowed down a tiny baby deer. It was really sad! I felt bad, but all I could really focus on was how badly I needed to tinkle.
Garrison is finally sleeping so I really don't even want to stop the car, but when we got to Darlington I knew that I had to. I genuinely thought my bladder might burst. It hurt! So, I pulled over at one of the churches in Darlington, left the door open and tee-teed. Well, of course, here come lights...I very quickly pull up my shorts and jump in the car. They may or may not have seen me. I comforted myself by saying that there was no way they had. THey were too far away, right?!
To sum it up, Starbucks-1 My Bladder-0

But, we finally made it home and went to bed. The next couple of days were bad. We were in quarantine and had to miss a birthday party, the 5-K, the Bar-B-Q cook off, and I was really sad about it. However, on Sunday we decided to go on a picnic out at the Training Dyke since there was no one else there to infect and we had a blast. It was nice to get out of the house and let the boys play.


Since then, Garrison has been well. Yay!

My Cup Runneth Over
~Shana~

If You Are Gonna be a Bear....

...be a Grizzly!
I have said this many times in the past few years. It is one of my favorite mottos. It is basically the same as "Go big or go home" or "If you are going to do it, do it right". I often quote these mottos when I am doing things, such as party planning, decorating, baking, etc. I mean, if you are going to do something why not do your absolute best at it?  When my dear Husband tells me I might be going a bit over the top on party planning, I quote my favorite grizzly bear motto. I mean, it's true. It's me. What can I say?
While I realize that doing my best and going overboard in the party department are not the same, I still use this logic. These parties are for my children and I only want the very best for them. I want them to be able to look back at photos and say "Wow Mom, you sure made our parties special!" Because that is what I try to do.

I often remind Lawson that we should always do our best in EVERYTHING we do, whether it is writing our name at school, cleaning our room, playing T-ball, or anything else. He and I have had quite a few talks about this. I tell him that the Lord always wants our best in all things. He expects us to do our best, to try our hardest, to go above and beyond and to do it with joy in our hearts. I have to remind myself of this fact a lot, too. I try to remember this daily...but I know I fall short.  I was told by his teacher that after he and I had one of our talks on this subject, that he came to school the next day like a different child. He didn't ask for help or say he needed help. He did his sheets to the best of his ability and did a great job at them. She was quite impressed. I was SO proud. But that is how Lawson works. He responds well to reason and discussion. If we tell him why he can/can't do something or why he should/shouldn't do something it is so much more effective than simply telling him not to do it "because I said so" or to do something with no reason behind it. He has always been this way, even when he was 18 months old. I simply had to remove him from any distractions, so I could have his full attention, and tell him what actions he needed to change and why. He is like a little adult sometimes.

I have been thinking about doing things to the best of my ability a lot lately. Maybe I am being hard on myself, but I feel that I have been slacking. I just can't seem to get it all done. I mean, there just aren't enough hours in one day. If I didn't have to eat or sleep, I could really get so much more accomplished!  Starting next week, I plan to reevaluate my schedule and try to rearrange things so that maybe I can fit in a little more time for me but still really focus on my family as well.
Wish me luck...

My Cup Runneth Over
~Shana~

Not-so-Quickies

That title got your attention, didn't it?

Sorry to disappoint, but I am just jotting down a few things that Lawson said today that had Chuck and I rolling.

While at Mellow Mushroom Chuck said something to me, I can't even remember what it was, but I replied, completely not seriously, "I am appalled." Lawson looks at me and asks "J. Pauled?" Chuck starts chuckling and I still wanted to make sure he was in fact asking what I thought he was so I said "What Lawson?" He replies, "You mean you are J. Pauled, like on Swamp People?" Bahahaha. Yes, my not quite four year old does watch Swamp People with his Daddy and he was referencing it in conversation. It is neither the first, nor last time I am quite sure, that this will happen. He knows the whole gang. Willie, Troy, J. Paul and his son, Liz, the crazy Giess (I have no clue how they spell their name as I only watch it when they are and then only half way pay attention) brothers. I am sure I am leaving out some important ones. Chuck is Team Willie, therefore so is Lawson. That's all I need to know.

Lawson has a friend who works at Mellow Mushroom. We met him last summer when we were going there almost weekly for doctor's appointments and that was all Lawson would agree to eat. I do love it, though. It never gets old. I don't remember how many trips to MM we made but it was a LOT. I can't remember how it all came about exactly as I was super sleep deprived at the time because it was during the worst part of Garrison's reflux/milk allergy and before it was really diagnosed and during Lawson's constant bouts with Strep, therefore sleep and I had a long, long distance relationship. As in we never saw each other, spoke, skyped, texted, emailed, snail mailed, or even sent freaking homing pigeons to one another. It was a love/hate relationship. I loved sleep, it hated me. At the very least, it avoided me like the plague. But I digress. Yes, tonight is an ADHD night, guys, sorry. Too much Starbucks again. When will I learn that lesson? Back to the story...

Lawson's friend became his friend when he saw little Lawson begging for more bacon. Well, there was no more. Salads only come with so much bacon. That is kind of defeating the purpose otherwise. He always stole the bacon off my Lil' Spinach Salad and if Chuck was there too, forget about it (Please read that using your best mafia/Mickey Blue Eyes impersonation). So Bacon Buddy, as he is now and forever known, brought him a whole bowl full of bacon for free! He told Lawson how much he loves bacon, too. How sweet is that?

The next time we came in Bacon Buddy must have remembered because he automatically brought over a bowl of bacon to Lawson. So when we would talk about Mellow Mushroom, Lawson would always refer to his "Bacon Buddy who brings him bacon". Well, it eventually just got shortened to Bacon Buddy and it became kind of a thing. "I wonder if my Bacon Buddy will be here today? Aw, Bacon Buddy is not working today" or "I sure do miss my Bacon Buddy." Don't worry, Bacon Buddy knows of his nickname and is cool with it.
We had been kind of missing Bacon Buddy recently and we have been eating more Chick-Fil-A than anything while in Montgomery because Lawson always asks for it and sometimes I do love a drive-thru. Just hand Lawson a  box of chicken and toss a few waffle fries Garrison's way, cooled off  of course, and we are still rolling. On the way to Mellow Mushroom tonight Lawson pondered his usual question, will Bacon Buddy be there and will he get to eat a bowl of bacon this time.
Sure enough, we walked in and there he was, good ole' Bacon Buddy. He used to smile a big smile and wave, but this time I didn't even think he saw us.  Lawson was acting UNUSUALLY shy and didn't want to go up and say hi to Bacon Buddy since he hadn't seen him in a while. We got seated, outside since it was gorgeous, and our waitress came and took our drink orders. We are all sitting there chatting, or in our case Garrison was throwing everything he could get his hands on onto the ground including menus and silverware, Lawson was waving at some little girl through the windows, I think I was texting (shame on me) and Chuck was retrieving everything Baby Brother was throwing down, when who should appear holding a bowl full of bacon...BACON BUDDY! Lawson was thrilled. I said to Bacon Buddy, "I wasn't sure you would remember since we haven't seen you in so long". His response..."I couldn't forget my Little Bacon Buddy." I died. How stinkin' cute is that? Slightly worrisome that my three year old, two at the time, has bonded so strongly with a stranger over a pork product, but what can I say? He is super lovable, right? Who wouldn't want to give that kid some bacon for free if that's what he wanted?

Chuck loves bacon, too. They are my little carnivores. No bacon is ever safe if those two are around. Except maybe turkey bacon. It can probably rest at ease. Chuck and I told Lawson tonight how we never get free bacon and that he must just be really super cute and sweet to  have such a good Bacon Buddy.

Do you know anyone else who has a Bacon Buddy? I doubt it :)

That last jot there may have turned into a full paragraph. Sorry about that. Now I also forgot the other 101 super funny things that he said today. That kid is a mess.

I remember one that I can tell:
While tucking him into bed the other night he hugged me and gave me a big eskimo kiss (You know, you rub the tips of your noses to each others). I asked him if he would always give me eskimo kisses. He said, "Yes Momma." I said "Even when you are 16 and can drive?" He replied, "Yes, Ma'am." I asked again, "Even when you are  27 and all grown up?" His response, "Yes, Ma'am". I had to know one more thing, "Even when you are 32 and have two little girls of your own?" Lawson says, "Um, I will be old then and I don't think I want two little GIRLS". So 32 is old (Ouch, as Daddy is 34) and my only hope of having a girl one day, grandaughter or otherwise, is Garrison. I am still not sure what that answer meant,but  I am going to take it as a maybe on the eskimo kisses.

I am going ahead and letting y'all know that I plan to write about the last trip to the pediatrician, Friday, the one before today's trip, tomorrow. It may make for some good reading.

My oldest son, Lawson, has a personality that could light up a room. He has a 1,000 watt smile that could rival the sun.He is one of my Sunshines. He can give you a little smile and bat those super long eyelashes and it's impossible to say no. He climbs into my bed in the mornings after his Daddy has gone to work and wraps his little arms around me and cuddles with me. He keeps us laughing. I adore him.

(Side Note: I went back and changed the title of this post from "Quickies" to "Not so Quickies". I think it was more fitting. )

My Cup Runneth Over
~Shana~

My life is an Alabama song

Yes, my life has become very similar to a certain Alabama song we all know, "I'm In A Hurry (And Don't Know Why)". The chorus, for those who don't know, goes as follows:
I am in a hurry to get things done, I rush and rush until life's no fun
All I really got to do is live and die, but I'm in a hurry and don't know why.

Sing it Alabama! How true, how true. I am really relating to this song today. This past week has been rush, rush, rush. I am going to try to slow it down this weekend and just enjoy life. Nothing like a country song to really make a point ;)

For those of you who are my Facebook friends, you may have seen my status update today. For those who aren't, this is what it said:


Thank you to the random person @ Loftin's who dumped

True story. That is what it said all day today. Sigh..Thanks a lot new Android that I don't know how to work yet.
This is what it was supposed to say:

Thank you to the random person @ Loftins who dumped their entire bucket of crickets (bait) out by the door.

See the difference?!

The story is that someone, who is quite random, dumped their cage of crickets they had for bait out over to the side of the door. I walked through them and got attacked. OK, maybe that is a little dramatic considering they are crickets and not, I don't know, ferocious man eating bugs, but still. They JUMPED on me. They TOUCHED their nasty little legs to mine. EW! I detest crickets. I rank them above roaches, which I loathe, but below slugs which I only mildly dislike due to their sliminess. I would say that caterpillars or rolly polys are at the top of my list, ranked indifferent, due to the fact that they can't fly, run, hop, or jump at/on/around me. I hate a sneaky little roach that can fly or a grasshopper that jumps at me. I would even venture to say that I ALMOST like lady bugs. They are kind of cute and even though they fly, aren't really gross or menacing. Now a creepy mantis or beetle are menacing. Beetles are just bomb-divers. I had one bomb-dive into my hair once. I lost it!I watch them at my French doors sometimes when they fly directly at the door and bounce off. They are loud. They must be cruising when they hit. (Here's a hint, don't go towards the light guys)
So back on track, these crickets jumped all over my feet and legs and I ran away screaming like a two year old little girl. Chuck always says I over react about a bug touching me. Maybe, maybe not but those crickets were creepers.
I got some comments on the first status, as you can imagine, and I think it provided quite a few laughs over the course of the day. I know I laughed when Jessie called me and told me what my status said. Thanks a lot new Droid. I am still unsure how to work all of your modern-time, fandangled contraptions. All of these technologically advanced apps, etc are taking some getting used to. Yeah, I realize I am not 94 years old, but evey once in a while, I feel like it. What's that there texting machine do, anyhow?!

I did go on to explain the status, but not before many people saw it. Oh well, I am sure there have been more questionable statuses on the ole' FB world.

Today was quite a day. I started it out right, by having to dig in the toilet to fish out all of my makeup. It was quite special and a real great way to kick the day off right. I had my entire makeup bag, unzipped, sitting on the edge of the counter....Cue dramatic music...I proceeded to wash my hands with my very spastic self. One spastic arm movement later and crash! The whole bag, unzipped, face down, goes splashing into the blue water of the toilet bowl. I said, quite loudly, "You have got to be kidding me!". There was makeup all down in there. Well, what's a girl to do when all of her favorite makeup and brushes are down the toiletbowl-hole? Go fishing, that's what. It's not like I could just flush it all away anyway. It had to come out somehow and I darn sure wasn't ready to let go of all my good Clinique, Lorac, Nars, Dior, Tarte, Benefit, MakeUP Forever and Lancome makeup. I don't have enough money to go buy it all over again and I couldn't just leave it without a good college try. So, I rolled up my sleeve, closed my eyes, and took the plunge. I retreived it all and laid it all out to dry on the back of the toilet tank. I then washed my hands, quite thoroughly, and went out the door. I then had to tell Miss Anne, who works in the office with me, why there was a whole pallet of wet makeup and brushes laid out on the back of the toilet and sink and why my makeup bag was open and hanging upside down on the paper towel dispenser. I don't think she was super surprised. Should I be worried by that?

Oh, did I forget to mention that part? Yes, I was at work. I always *sometimes* run late for work so I take my makeup inside and slap a little on when I have a few free moments. Bad, I know. So yeah, it was a work toilet, with lots of people around. I know they all heard the crash followed by the exclamation..but no one asked any questions. Again, should I be worried by this?

In other news, I have a Blog Follower! Yay! Thanks so much, Cindy. I couldn't be happier to have a real live follower....Glad you like it :)

I have a follower!
My Cup Runneth Over,
~Shana~

Please excuse me while I have a Jessie Spano Moment

Time, time....there's never any time.....
I'm so excited...I'm so excited....I'mmm soo scared...
And poor Jessie Spanno from Saved By the Bell has an emotional breakdown. She can't even sing with Lisa and Kelly at The Max for the record producer. Screech has to fill in for her. I guess she should have listened to Slater when he told her not to keep taking those caffeine pills. But I can understand, I mean she was under a lot of pressure. She had to be perfect. Good grades, practice for every sport at Bayside and then some,Glee club, a singing career, friends, and a very draining relationship with Slater. That's a lot for any girl to keep up with, don't you think?
Here is a link to a youtube video of this. Classic!!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=bflYjF90t7c




Alright for those of you who weren't a Saved By the Bell fanatic like I was, overlook the above. I grew up watching that show and will still watch it today if I just happen to be flipping through the channels and come across it and actually have time to waste. Ok, that never happens anymore...but I did watch it occasionally up until about 3 years ago.
That episode just stuck with me because it showed the very real danger of becoming addicted to caffeine (believe me, I am, just not in pill form) and the stress a girl can be under to do it all and do it well. I am there. I feel very, very drained tonight. This week was a wonderful week, but was also very stressful and it is not over yet. Tomorrow is a full day. I have about 101 things to do to get ready for Garrison's Birthday party on Sunday. I have to clean the house, clean the yard, make cake pops, make cookie favors, make marshmallow pops, make "sunny sammies" (PB & J sandwiches in the shape of a sun) and do it all just right, of course.
We did one year portraits, for which I made my very first homemade cake, two layers with real icing in the middle,  that I made and dyed. I decorated with a real live icing bag and tips.It was the party colors of aqua and lemon yellow.  I must pat myself on the back here, I think it turned out pretty well for a first attempt. Here are a couple of the pics Steph took. Wonderful job as always, Steph!!!




Of course, on top of all of this, we just go the results back from the ear culture Garrison had done and it is MRSA, staph infection. I was quite freaked out upon hearing this. It can be quite serious but luckily he has been on antibiotics for some time now even before it was determined to be MRSA, so that is very comforting.

I know the party will be great and everything will come together and we will enjoy it all, but this week's schedule just has me a tiny bit overwhelmed. (In other news, the fact that caffeine doesn't have the effect on me that it does on Jessie Span has me quite underwhelmed.)
This week is going or will go as follows:
T-ball Tuesday night followed by cake making and decorating 101 , Wednesday is Garrison's actual first birthday so rounding up of balloons for pictures, photo shoot with Stephanie, Birthday dinner with the whole family at our house, found out he had MRSA so Thursday went from being a work day for me to a Dr Appt day in Montgomery, Friday turned into a trip to Birmingham with both boys and Chuck to see the ENT, Saturday-Tait's birthday party in the morning, cleaning, baking and candle stick making all afternoon/evening, Garrison's Birthday PARTY Sunday, lots of prep and clean up with loads of fun with friends/family in between , follow up with ENT on Monday, and one last trip to Montgomery to the Dr and T-ball on Tuesday.
Whew, that made me tired just writing it all :)

All of this to say that I feel like I am doing about 100 different things, being pulled in 10 different directions and not doing an of them truly to my best ability. I am spread a little too thin. But, believe me there is plenty of me to go around these days, what with all the dang Birthday cake and icing I have been hoovering  testing. I will call it a week on this Wednesday and start over fresh on Thursday. I vow to not take any caffeine pills, I will only get my caffeine the good old-fashioned way through ice cold Coke and lots and lots of coffee, and to do my best at the truly important things, being a good wife and mother!

My Cup Runneth Over
~Shana~

Yeah, that just happened

I wish I could have sat down and typed this post out last night after returning from Prattville at 11 o'clock at night. I was extremely riled up about the events of the day and have since probably forgotten several details of extreme importance. Unfortunately, I had to get Garrison ready for bed, give him medicine, get him to sleep, unload everything from the car, unload and load the dishwasher, sweep the living room, and clean up an enormous pile of cheerios that were all over the bathroom floor from Garrison earlier that morning. (Whatever it takes to keep them entertained so moms can actually shower, right?) Apparently my dear Hubby either never went into our  bathroom yesterday after returning home from work and before bed or he just chose to ignore them. I would have to put money on the latter because I am pretty sure he got a shower when he got home.
I wonder if he even questioned the Cheerio explosion or if he just stepped around, over, and on top of  it and just kept on trucking?

I will go ahead and issue my standard warning now....

This post will graphically describe Garrison's throw-up episode. I will spare no detail. It was kind of rough.....(As a side note, I am becoming more and more concerned about the number of my posts that  start with a warning and/or disclaimer. )

Yesterday Garrison had to go back to see the pediatrician about his ears. After 10 days of antibiotic ear drops, his ears were no better. They were and are still draining and he is extremely congested and coughing. So we load up and head back to Prattville, where I had just been on Monday for Lawson's Dr appointment.Garrison cried the entire way there. It was only slightly nerve wrecking.
Somehow I managed to get to Prattville early so we ran into Hobby Lobby. I had a whole list of things I needed to get for Garrison's birthday party so we took our time looking at everything. At 20 minutes until appointment time I head to the register where I am the last in a very, very long line. That is one of my pet peeves with my beloved Hobby Lobby. They are like Wal-Mart, only one register open and 20 people in line. Plus the clerks are usually as slow as cold molasses when it comes to ringing everything up. Especially if something needs to be wrapped in newspaper to keep from breaking. If you are at all in any kind of a hurry do not attempt to buy anything breakable. You WILL be late. Knowing there was no way I could pay and still make it to the doctor's office on time, I ask an employee if I can leave my full basket and come back after the appointment to get it all. Sure, no problem. Off we go.
 We see Dr. M and it is confirmed that GW's ears look awful and are still infected. She did a culture which the ENT requested to see what is causing the infections. Apparently we should hear back about the results tomorrow concerning staph, etc. but the fungal infection results take 4 weeks. Um, excuse me. We are looking at a possible fungal infection in my baby's ears? I have never even heard of that.  Apparently it is not likely though. Thank the good Lord.
After we leave the doctor we head on over to the pharmacy to pick up his new prescription as well as Lawson's Prevacid prescription. The only pharmacy in the vicinity that can compound it is The Medicine Shop in Prattville. Luckily I was there anyway. So we got all of that and head to Target to get formula, drop ins, night time diapers, nursery water, baby cereal, and about 10 other things we didn't need. I adore that store!
We leave Target. Then it hits me, I never went back for all of my stuff and I really need to be getting some birthday stuff ready. Last stop, Hobby Lobby, again. Of course my buggy full of stuff had been put back. Great. I started rounding it all back up again but only had 15 minutes until closing time. Garrison, who is sitting in the seat part of the buggy, and I are cruising down the baking aisle grabbing lollipop molds, sticks, chocolate melts, whatever I can get my hands on in a hurry, when all of sudden Garrison starts to projectile vomit. It just kept coming....and coming....and coming. It was like a volcano eruption. Without a thought in my head, I do the typical "form a hand-cup under their mouth" and catch what little I can and start pushing the buggy towards the bathroom with my hip. There is a small break in the eruption which I use to try to find an employee to inform them of the situation since they are constantly announcing "Hobby Lobby is now closed" over the speakers. I am zooming towards the back while hollering "Excuse me. Anybody?" Then it starts again, a steady stream of throw up that douses me, him, the buggy, and the floor. I have all but given up on even trying to catch it. There is no hope. About that time I come across a man. He informs me that Hobby Lobby is closed. Umm, yeah, I got the memo. Apparently he is not too observant because he fails to recognize the fact that we, as well as the buggy and floor, are covered in puke. So, I tell him, "Yeah, I know but my baby just threw up all over and I need to go to the bathroom to clean him up." Ah ha! I see the light bulb come on. Now he sees it. He replies that these things happen with kids and to go ahead. Thank you, Captain Obvious. I inform him that there is quite a trail behind us, up one aisle and down the other. I can practically see the steam coming out of his ears.  It was bad.

I finally make it to the bathroom where I start cleaning us up. First thing's first, un-cup my hands. EW! While I am undressing him a lady employee walks into the bathroom. Guess what her first remark is. "Did you know the store is closed?", with an accusing tone in her voice, like I planned to just spend the night there. I mean, did she think I had just been in the bathroom for the last 45 minutes of announcements? "Attention Customers: Hobby Lobby will close in 30 minutes....20 minutes....15...10..Please bring your final purchases to the front....5....2...All customers come to the front (I am pretty sure that one was addressed directly at me)...Hobby Lobby is now closed."
 I tell her the whole ordeal. Apparently the fact that I still had throw up on me, Garrison was naked, and the shopping cart was still covered did not give this away. I finally get myself cleaned off as well as the buggy. Garrison was a different story though. I had left the extra change of clothes that I always take with me in the car. Seriously?
I head out of the bathroom with a naked-except-for-a-diaper Garrison buckled into a newly clean shopping cart with a set of throw up clothes in the back . Who should I meet upon exiting the restroom? Yet another young Hobby Lobby employee who informs me that the store is closed and apologizes for it. Yeah, believe me, I know. A young girl unlocks the front door for me and proceeds to follow  me to my car to retrieve the lone buggy from me. She stands there as I unlock, unload Garrison and my purse and get him situated, then takes the buggy back inside. Awkward....Needless to say, I still didn't get to buy one single thing I went to Hobby Lobby for.
I bet if you walked into the Employee Lounge of the Hobby Lobby in Prattville you would find a Most Wanted poster with a picture of me on it and a Reward. They all hated me. I was the Mom whose baby puked all over the store after closing, which means they all had to stay late. Oh, did I forget to mention that while I was cleaning Garrison up I kept just throwing toilet paper into the toilet and when I went to flush it was stopped up and overflowed? Yeah, it's true.
That probably resulted in the addition of  "Wanted Dead or Alive....Preferably Dead" to the wanted poster.

On the way home poor Garrison threw up a couple more times. I had to keep pulling over and cleaning him up. It was the worst trip home ever. Well, in truth, it ranked pretty high up there anyway. It is not the first time we have done that, either. It also took forever to get home.
By the time I got home, I really, really wanted to just crash. But as I mentioned earlier, there is no rest for the weary (or the wicked as that song says, which may seem more fitting to all those poor Hobby Lobby folks)

I did get to go to Starbucks in Target, twice, where the Baristo (is that the female version of barista or did I just make up a word?!) commented on my being there twice and how that much coffee would stunt my growth. While I appreciate his concern, I do believe it may be a little too late to be concerned about that one.
Starbucks White Mocha Frap and Raspberry White Mocha all during the same Target visit.... There is always a silver lining.



My cup runneth over
~Shana~

Doctor, doctor give me the news

Yesterday we went back to see Dr. D in Prattville. We also went last Wednesday, the Friday before that, the week before that and the week before that one. I honestly can't remember a week this year that I didn't have to take one or both of my boys to a Dr's appointment. With Garrison's well check ups, Lawson's recurring strep throat, Garrison's ear infections and tubes, a couple of sinus infections, a case of viral croup for each of them, Garrison's upper respiratory infection and another double ear infection, and Lawson's stomach troubles, we have pretty much lived at the doctor's office. We may not be able to pay for our own kids to go college but Dr. D's two children should be just fine.

 As I have said before, I feel like Dr. D is one of my closest friends. I am genuinely worried that she and her nurses are starting to question my poor childrens' home life because they are sick so much. I promise, we are relatively clean. Sure Garrison would rather eat off the floor than a plate and Lawson informed me Monday, very matter-of-factly, "Mom, I eat boogers now" but we aren't Hoarders material or anything.   Our wood floors could always use a good sweeping and steaming and our bathrooms could definitely benefit from a thorough scrub down more often, but we aren't gross. (Does it sound like I am trying to convince myself to you? Yeah, me too )

I feel like my boys should be living in a plastic bubble. Yup, they should both be bubble boys. Does anyone know where I can find one? I am pretty much willing to try anything at this point.
Around here, especially at night, the sound of coughing is almost like hearing crickets. It is just so common. No one sleeps and one or the other or both boys are on some kind of medication.

Warning: I am going to get a little whiny and pitiful for a minute. Feel free to skip ahead if this is a problem for you. I try not to complain but sometimes it gets the best of me....

For those (all one of you) who don't already know, we had to take Lawson to the ER Friday. This was the worst episode of stomach pains he has had so far. For the past 6 weeks or so he has complained of  a stomach ache off and on. He wouldn't eat much and at times would either vomit or have an upset stomach. Sometimes both. We talked to Dr. D and she seemed to think it was an ulcer due to the surgery, anasthesia, and all of the antibiotics Lawson has been on  recently. She gave us a list of things that would make it worse and should be avoided and things that would help. Lawson is a picky eater and some of the only things he will eat are on the "No" side. Pizza, fried foods, high-fat foods such as pop-tarts, etc and anything with tomato sauce to name a few. On the good side was yogurt and bread. Yeah, I am sure that will be fun for a 3 year old. But there doesn't really seem to be too much rhyme or reason to when it is worse or better.

Friday night broke my heart into a million pieces. I promise, it shattered it. My poor, sweetheart of a boy woke up screaming in pain while clutching his stomach. All he could do was roll around on his bed holding his tummy and cry. All Chuck and I could do was try to hold him and tell him he was OK. I won't lie, I silently cried as I rubbed his back and tried to soothe him. After the second time he awoke like this and didn't stop, we decided to take him to the emergency room. Garrison was asleep, as it was 11:30 at night, so I called Jessie to come over to stay with him. It is so nice to have friends and family that we can call on when we need help. THANKS JESS!!!
 By the time the Doctor arrived the pain had eased and Lawson was asleep. They took X-rays, took blood, checked his appendix, and then gave him some medicine for his stomach and told us to check back in with our Pediatrician Monday. So we did. They took more blood, ran the labs, and checked his tummy for any masses or abnormalities. Everything came back fine except the fact that he has developed a sinus infection, which he is on MORE antibiotics for. The game plan is for him to take Prevacid every day, stick to a restrictive diet and see how he does.  If he has another episode or doesn't show improvement while on it, we'll have to go see a Pediatric GI. I almost don't know how I feel about it. In a way I want to just go ahead and see a specialist and get an answer but on the other hand, I don't want him to have to go through all the testing that has to be done before we can be referred to a GI and all the things that the GI will have to do. I am not sure how I feel right now.

I do know that I am sad, though. I am so sad that my poor boy had to miss his second T-ball game ever because he is sick, again. I am sad that he missed his best buddy's 2nd Birthday party on Saturday  as well as an Easter egg hunt because he was sick.  I am sad that he has missed so many days of 3 Pre-K  this year because of all the strep throat he has had. I am still a little sad that he had to miss his class Halloween party because he was having his tonsils and adenoids removed. But mostly I am sad that he has had to have so many meds that it may have messed up his digestive system to the point that he will have to take medicine for it. Ironic or what??  He isn't having the "typical" childhood that I want for him. I know no one wants their child to be sick ever  but my poor guy stays sick. My poor little bubble boy. Well, really my poor little bubble BOYS. I do love them more than anything, though. I believe that they will get well soon, too. 

I get down about it and then immediately scold myself for even thinking that way. There are so many children out there who are having to go through chemo right now. There are lots of children who  won't get to have a typical childhood experience because they have to practically live in a hospital. There are tons of parents out there who probably wish strep throat and ulcers were their biggest concern. Compared to so many, my boys are super healthy. Believe me, I thank God for this every single day!
But it's OK to be a little sad for them, right?

Even though my sons have more than their fair share of sickness, we are blessed beyond measure!
They are not fighting for their lives while so many others are.

My cup runneth over!
~Shana~

A Day That Will Live in Infamy

June 17, 2011.....A day that will live in infamy. At least to me......
 Lawson's 3rd Birthday. The theme was "My Favorite Things" which at the time was snakes, lizards, sharks, alligators, the colors blue and green, and really random foods like powdered donuts, pizza, popcorn, chicken nuggets, and cheese puffs ..... Our schedule for the day was slammed. First we had a photo shoot with Steph. The pics turned out beautiful and I treasure them!! Garrison, who was 2 months old, stayed at home with his Ree Ree (my sister Ariel, for those who don't know Ree Ree) while Lawson and I were out running birthday errands and spending the day together.

 We had a full day! After pics we had to run and get the popcorn machine for the party, run several other errands around town, then go to Monroeville and get some last minute party stuff, balloons blown up for the party, and pick up pizza from Pizza hut to bring back for family dinner at 5:30. First thing first, popcorn machine. While there Lawson runs directly into the handle of a mulcher, it hit him right in the eye and clotheslined him . After he got up and quit crying he insisted that I go inside and tell them what had happened to him at the store. Why, I don't know, but I complied. It was slightly embarrassing considering I was at Handiman, but whatever made the injured birthday boy happy, I guess. Then we ran the popcorn machine back home....I unloaded it and Lawson, fed Garrison, dropped everything off, and loaded Lawson back up. I jammed it into reverse and gunned it back (I was in a hurry, you know). BAM! Lawson yells "Momma, what did we hit?" I just yelled a dirty word that I will not type out.  For the record, it was not one of the dirtiest dirty words. Just a little dirty. 
I had rammed my sister's VW Bug and seriously dented the whole door. I told Lawson that I had run into Ree Ree car. Of course, he "Why?"  followed by about 30 more questions in rapid succession. So, I pulled back in and faced the music. I can't remember exactly what I said, but something to the extent of...."Um, I just backed into your car. Sorry!" I called Chuck and told him. Thankfully, he wasn't mad at me. He has lots of patience with me and told me it was OK. Gotta love him!

So, off Lawson and I go to get everything done. Once in Monroeville I had to try to find somewhere to have the balloons all blown up. Winn Dixie charges $1.50 per balloon if they provide the balloons and .$99 if you bring your own balloons.  No thanks! So I went to Wal Mart and bought a big pack of balloons for cheap and had them blow them up for $.50 a piece. So we get all the party food and our balloons and head for the register. The balloons are all tied together and tied to my wrist, where the Wal Mart lady insisted I tie them so I wouldn't accidentally let them go. I am pushing the cart with Lawson sitting in the seat part and we are zooming around at mach 90, heading to pay. We have exactly 10 minutes to pick up the pizza and head home to Camden if we want to make it on time. All of a sudden, the balloons come untied and fly to the ceiling. There is no way they can get them down. Lawson starts screaming, "My b'oons, my b'oons!" He cried and cried. Seriously?? We were not leaving without some balloons.... So we went and got more and the nice Wal Mart lady blew them up. We waited...and waited....While waiting, Lawson has a tee tee accident. Great. Finally a big bouquet of green and blue balloons comes towards us. Yay! Needless to say, I held the strings and did NOT tie them around my wrist. We paid and booked it to the car. I am throwing groceries in the car like a maniac. I stripped Lawson down to a new pull up and loaded him in his car seat (of course I didn't remember to grab an extra pair of clothes for him during all the morning chaos). We get the pizza and are running 30 minutes late! So,  in the interest of full disclosure, I headed to Camden VERY quickly. We were close to Beatrice when I see blue lights. Yep, I got pulled over. I  will admit that I had a flash of crazy where I thought, hey maybe I can turn down this dirt road and run. But I didn't. I am proud to say that I would never do such a thing with my little boy in the car. Haha.
I roll down the window and give him my license etc.I started spilling all about everything that had happened that day. The wreck, the balloons, the fact that it was my little boy's birthday.  As he walked off I said, "Sir, is there any way I can not get a ticket?" I don't remember his exact reply because about that time Lawson's window starts rolling down (apparently I did not have the child lock on) and he starts yelling "Sir, sir can my Momma not get a ticket?" (The sir sounded like siw, siw by the way). I wanted to die. The poor cop is being asked by my 3 year old son, who is dressed in nothing but a pull up, if he can let me go without a speeding ticket. Needless to say, I got the ticket. I guess I should just have been grateful that he didn't call Child Services on me.  So I was even later getting home than I would have been. The whole family was there waiting on us. I had to tell my dear Hubby that I had also received a speeding ticket on the way home. Guess what! He still didn't get mad at me. I think he felt truly bad for me.


To this day, Lawson still reminds me about running into Ree Ree's car...."Momma, remember when you hit Ree Ree's car?" As if I could forget.
He also says, "Now Momma, don't drive too fast. You don't want to get ANOTHER speeding ticket, do you?" Although, that is probably more in response to the one I received this past December than the other one.

All in all, I was kind of glad the day came to an end. The next day we celebrated with a little party and it was great. Thank goodness.


My Husband is full of patience with me.
My sweet little Lawson is almost 4 years old.

My cup runneth over
~Shana~