Monday, April 30, 2012

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~

Thursday, April 26, 2012

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


BOTW-73

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~

Friday, April 13, 2012

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~

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

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~