Someone Must Be Watching

I figure that someone must be watching me from above and getting a kick out of seeing me gag on a weekly basis. For the second week in a row, Sloan has managed to test my gag reflex and the power within me to hold my lunch. The majority of adults have seen, dealt with, or heard tales of a blowout. If you do not know what this is I'll educate you now.

If you have a baby or care for young children as I do, a blowout is expected from time to time when a child is still in diapers. Last week was kind of a rough one for Sloan in the BM department. Due to teething, not feeling well and the heat she had some major rank diapers going on. Last Thursday was no exception to these disastrous bombs she brought down on everyone within the house. It was another hot and steamy day so Q and I decided to fill up water balloons . . . who could forget Water Balloon Baseball?! I pulled Sloan's high chair into the kitchen while she finished a late lunch so I could keep an eye on her as well as keep her entertained. Q and I heard the grunts . . . we heard the noises from below . . . and then came the SMELL!!! I knew it was going to be horrid, but figured I'd give her another five minutes to finish up. No need to use two diapers. Perhaps that was a mistake. I turned around to get her out and saw that she was covered in what I thought was food. Yes, you read correctly I thought it was food. Poor baby had it come out the back, the front, both leg holes of the diaper. It wrapped around her body, the cute little pink striped shirt was now mandarin orange colored . . . and that "food" on her face was actually pooh!! This my friends was no blowout, it was in fact an EXPLOSION!!! I'll spare you any more details on this particular day, but will tell you it took nearly an hour to get Sloan cleaned up, the tub sanitized, the high chair dismantled (she managed to cover every strap too) & sanitized, and throw the soiled clothes/high chair parts into the washing machine. I will admit while trying to get her clothes removed a few dry heaves sneaked up on me. At the time I was a ball of nerves, but by the time I got home to tell Matt my tale it was starting to become humorous.

That was last week. Now for today . . . Sloan is still not feeling quite herself. Don't get me wrong she's an extremely happy little girl even when she's sick. Exactly like her brother. But her balance has been a little off these past couple days. It was a gorgeous day out, in the low 70's with a nice breeze. We headed to Glen Oak Park for a picnic and some playground fun. There were a lot of kids for Q to play with and the side walk made it easier for Sloan to walk around. We had just started pulling away from the curb on our way home, when Sloan cranked out a huge burp. I looked back just in time to see her burp again with lunch in full pursuit. Within a few short seconds she was covered in vomit. I immediately rolled down the windows trying to keep Quinton and myself from enduring the same fate. I had a small thin blanket that I keep in the bag to lay across picnic tables which was used to get the major chunks off the poor girl. I felt horrible making her sit there covered in vomit until we got home, but I had no choice. It was all over her and her seat. Dry heaving the whole way home and listening to Quinton continually shriek "Oh my gosh, it sticks. Oh, it disgusting. I hope I don't puke (heard that from me so of course he repeated it again and again). I am holding my nose." Just like last week, Q was a pretty big help holding the door open for me as I rushed Sloan inside arms length away all while holding my breath for what seemed like an eternity. Nasty pooh I can handle, however, vomit is a whole other story. I was gagging left and right as I bathed Sloan and rinsed her clothes. I was able to take a quick break while reading her a couple books before lying her down for nap. But returned to the horrid mess as I disassembled her car seat. The car seat was not cooperating and it took me nearly 45 minutes to get is disassembled. I kept my shirt over my face to buffer the bile smell that sent my stomach churning. Eventually, everything was thrown in the wash and I was able to sit down and relax with Q. A little BoomBlox fun on the Wii was well deserved after all that.

Needless to say, my days are usually eventful for one reason or another. Usually it is full of fun things the kids and I do or silly things Quinton says. But every once in a while I'll have a day (or two) where a major catastrophe occurs, only to find humor in the matter later on.

Janelle, you were right, I had to blog about it. I wasn't planning on it, until today's occurrence. After having two days within a week of such nerve racking occurrences, I figured I must share. After all, someone up there is getting a little entertainment from all this. I know I would :)

Mismatch Man

Q cracks me up!! It was a week or so ago and the little man picked out his own outfit. Normally he has a pretty good eye about what looks good together and what does not. However, on this particular day he decided to go all out. Partially it was because he didn't have a match to a random sock he found in Sloan's diaper basket. After running around for half the day with only one sock on, he discovered the Incredible pair hiding behind the toy box. Only one foot needed a sock so only one went on. :) He had fun being Mismatch Man for the day!!

The Garden

After talking about it for the past couple summers, we finally buckled down and planted a garden this year! I think in part it was our buddy Earl coming over with a tiller which made it all happen. Thanks Earl :) We got the kids involved by helping pick grass clumps out of the dirt before planting. Hailey helped with most of the planting, both seeds and plants. Logan was only "here on Earth" for the tomato planets. Otherwise, he was off in his own little world (the world of Star Wars no doubt) playing in the back yard. They also enjoyed digging up worms and showing them off. Did I mention how cute they looked in their grubby clothes.

As of today our garden is actually doing quite well considering we hadn't done much with it after the first couple weeks. The corn and tomatoes a thriving, where as the green beans (2), green peppers (2) and okra (1) only had a couple plant sprout. Matt finally went out a weeded today and man did the garden need it! Now our vegetables don't have to fight for nutrients any more. Not to mention I can post a picture of it looking nice now :) Besides dealing with the weeds our only other problem is keeping our Moo-cow Piggly-wiggly dog Xena out of the garden. It is so frustrating!! I do have to remember she is taking predenisone (sp??) for her allergies which makes her super hungry, but again it is frustrating!!

Happy Father's Day

To the Best Dads Around!

Dad: You have always done a lot for us kids, helping us out financially when we need it, co-sign a loan, supported us through all our school (high school and college) events and extra curricular activities. The things I remember a loved doing the most as a kid, were fishing along the bank, going swimming at the pool with you (usually 6-8 pm), and practice driving "Old Gold" at age twelve in Polk's fields. Thanks for all you have done, do and will do for us kids!!

Grandpa H: Although I don't have many memories of you I do remember being excited every time we came up to visit. During the summer you would give us tractor rides and the winter you'd pull us on a sled behind the snow mobile! You helped raise ten magnificent kids, my mom being the first of those. Thank you for all your hard work and everything you did for your own children as well as your grandchildren during your precious time here with us! I love, miss and think of you often. Grandpa and Kim driving the tractor (guessing 1984)

(sorry no access to a picture at this time)

Grandpa D: Although I never got to know you, and only have pictures of you and I from when I was a baby, I would still like to honor you as a father. If it wasn't for you I would not have my own father, who taught me many things and helped shape me into the adult that I am today. For that I would like to thank you. I love and miss you too!

Harry: You have helped raise a couple of great boys. You worked hard for your family over the years and I know they appreciate all you have done for them. You are a thoughtful person and I am glad I have gotten the chance to know you over the past few years. Thanks for all you do for us kids!!

Happy Father's Day! I Love You All!!!

Corn Nut Fix!

On our way to Walmart last night, it was a repeat of last weekend. All Miss Hailey could talk about were corn nuts! Well I am glad to announce she got her Corn Nut Fix!!! After eating a 6" sub, she downed a whole big bag of Ranch Corn Nuts while watching The Last Mimzi (great movie by the way). Hopefully, it will satisfy her all weekend long. We'll have to wait and see how the next two days go :)

"The Bike Park"

Today ended up being quite eventful or should I say this morning did. The kids and I headed out around 9:00 planning to go to Safety Town so Q could ride his bike and practice road safety. For those who don't know what Safety Town is, it is a park that has stop lights, road signs, mini roads and bridges for children to practice riding their bikes, scooters or roller skates all while learning road and bicycle safety. As we were loading up the car it started to sprinkle. I mentioned Rainbow Play Systems, since we didn't want to get stuck in the rain, and Quinton jumped on the chance to go there instead. Unfortunately it was closed (9:22 am, not sure what time they opened) so we decided to go to Safety Town anyway. I told Q that the sprinkles would feel good since it was already in the 80s and muggy outside and that a little rain wouldn't hurt us. He informed me "We only have to worry about thunder and lightning, because lightning could hurt us. Bad Nicki. Really bad."

We arrived at Safety Town with the sun shining bright. After unloading the bike and stroller from the car and getting Sloan buckled in, Q informed me he had to pee. Port-a-potty here we come . . . So gross!! Somehow I managed to I hold the door open with one foot (the ungodly smell) and lifted Q up at the same time so he wouldn't have to touch anything. He was thoroughly disgusted by the sight and smell of the "bagoo bathroom" at Safety Town. FYI, the definition of Bagoo is "gross, yucky, icky, smelly, disgusting" and any other descriptive word that means you don't care for something. You may have heard this term used in a Jim Carry movie (Bruce Almighty? Liar Liar?I'm not sure which).

After that traumatizing event for both Q and I, we strapped Q's helmet into place and were off. It was nice having the place to ourselves at first because it gave me a chance to explain the road signs, line markings on the ground, and road/bicycle safety rules. But other children came shortly after and Quinton was ready to make friends. Most of them were too busy concentrating on their own bikes/scooters to pay any attention to him, but he tried his hardest to chat with them. After about 15 minutes, it decided to start sprinkling. Q hates getting rained on, but handled it okay. He said "Riding in the rain is fun, right Nicki?" Trying to convince himself that the statement was true more than anything. After a few short minutes the sun popped back out and we went on our merry way.

Obviously, my camera never made it to Safety Town

However, it didn't last for long. After about another 15 minutes it started sprinkling again. By chance Sloan and I had stopped by the exit to get a drink and that's when we heard the low rumble of thunder. I saw that Q had heard it too, because he turned his bike around quickly and jetted toward the exit. Before he even made it to us he was informing the other adults as well as myself "That was thunder guys. THAT WAS THUNDER GUYS!" Trying to keep him calm and prevent the other children from getting scared I said "I think you are right Q. But you know what? I didn't see any lightning so it is probably off in the distance. Regardless, I think we better pack it up." Q agreed that it wasn't a big deal and thought we still needed to go home too.

As we headed toward the car, it started to rain. Q jumped off his bike and straight into the car before I could say anything (hmm... I believe I enjoy not having to ask him a million times to get into the car). I got Sloan buckled in and the stroller & bike loaded just before it down poured. As I waited for Q to buckle himself into his seat (yes folks he is a Big Boy now) lightning started flashing. It took only a minute before the hail started! I felt bad having the kids out in this weather, but I guess knowing other mothers had their children out and about too made me feel a little better. Not to mention it happen so quickly! The rain, hail, lightning and thunder pretty much came and went all within 3 minutes. Seriously it was that fast. We no more than got about 3 blocks up from Safety Town and it had subsided to a sprinkle. Once we got to the house, the sun was shining and most of the clouds had moved on. "What in the world is going on with this weather?" Q exclaimed. What a great question!! :)

The weather continued to act the same way throughout the day. We had a couple severe thunderstorms with 60+ mph winds during the afternoon, but they lasted maybe 15-20 minutes. Rainy days are okay, but it seems as though we've had a bit too many lately. Although we were unable to play outside today we made the most of our day filled with indoor fun. I have to admit, I enjoy playing "Sorry", "Hullabaloo", "Connect Four", and "Candy Land" with Quinton on days like today!!

Tooth #7

Little Miss Sloan has been drooling like crazy for over a week now and has been pretty cranky too. We all knew that meant more teeth were on their way. It took the little miss, ten and a half months to have her first tooth break through which was followed by five more by the week's end. Finally, three months later, another tooth has finally broke through!! During a tickle session this afternoon, Sloan was belly laughing, mouth wide open. I peaked in to discover her first molar on the left side sticking out. Not the one I expected. I figured her fangs (canines) would be next, but I was wrong. They'll come in when they are ready. If this is anything like last time, she'll have a whole mouth full within a week or two!

First toothy smile at age 10 1/2 months

Sloan's getting so big and I love watching her grow. She is now the age Quinton was when I started watching him, two and a half years ago. There are similarities in their development at this age, as well as differences. I can't wait to see the development of her motor, verbal and cognitive skills in the future. Congrats, Miss Sloan, on tooth number seven!!

Corn Nuts and the Movie "Up"

You may be thinking what in the world do corn nuts and the new Disney Pixar movie Up have in common. Well the answer is nothing! However, Hailey tried corn nuts (ranch) for the first time this weekend, and is now obsessed with them. We stopped at Circle K (our 2nd stop after Kroger) instead of Casey's (where the ranch flavored corn nuts came from) on our way out to Elmwood. Hailey refused to get the Original or BBQ flavor since the store didn't have Ranch and settled for a push pop sucker instead. We all thought this would be the end of the corn nut drama, however, we were wrong. The child would not stop talking about them. How good they were, how they crunched, and how she was going to get more next weekend while they are here were all brought up numerous times throughout the drive. Never has a 40 minutes drive seemed so long!

Once we got to grandma's house Hailey got distracted by some new toys that were picked up at a garage sale. To my knowledge, there was no mention of corn nuts all afternoon. On our way home was a whole other story. Maybe it was my car (past couple days Matt keeps telling me it smells like corn nuts) or the fact that we were headed back to Pekin. Either way, the corn nut talk came around full circle. The thing that got us adults was that we would be talking about one thing and out of left field, Hailey says " Oh, I just can't wait until next weekend when I get to have corn nuts." We all laughed and went about discussing other things. Then again Hailey with the corn nuts "Hey, Daddy? You're going to get some more of those Ranch Corn nuts before I come back next week, right?!" Talk about a one tracked mind! This happened probably five different times by the time we got back home.

So where does the movie Up come into play you may be asking. Although the kids have seen it, I have not. But from the movie trailer and what the kids have been quoting, Hailey's little corn nut comments remind me of one particular scene in the movie. The dog is talking to the old guy, introducing himself and all the sudden he looks to the left and says "Squirrel!" waits a few seconds and then turns his attention back to the old guy. Up Trailer scene starts 1.17 min

Comparing Hailey's random quirkiness to this scene in the movie makes it all a little more funny (for us anyway).

Guitar Hero Night

Tonight we cracked out Guitar Hero on the XBox 360. I'm not sure how long it has been since that game system was even used, little lone had that particular game played on it. Perhaps playing Guitar Hero Areosmith in Iowa sparked an interest again. Nonetheless, Matt, Lonnie, Hailey and I gave it a go . . . on EASY of course. Hailey did some practice songs to try and get the hang of timing and all. It was a fun night, playing a game we used to play together every weekend over two years ago! Oh the good old days!! :)

Cooling Off

Last time the kids were here, the days were dreadfully hot. We had them outside in the water as much as possible. Hailey loves the water, where as Logan hates it. Don't get me wrong he enjoys playing in a warm bath, but cold water and a sprinkler that sprays is not an option in his mind.

Of course, Matt and I's oldest "child" Xena, had to join in the fun too. I believe she loves the sprinkler and kiddie pool just as much, if not more than the Hailey. I'm certain it is the lab in her, which is why she loves the water so. I don't even want to think about what she would do or what would happen if we took her to a pond and let her off the leash. We'd probably never get her back!
Due to all of Xena water activities, she now has a yeast infection in her ears caused by a combination of her seasonal allergies and moisture getting trapped in her ears. All her aliments (heart worms, allergies, & ears) and medication (don't even get me started) over the past year a lone, are breaking the bank! Oh, the love of an animal :)

As Hailey and Xena ran around taking turns exhausting themselves in the sprinkler, Logan took a hands off approach and barely got his big toe wet in the kiddie pool.

Uncle Matt threatened to throw him down the slip 'n slide and Hailey hugged him with her soaking wet body, just so he could get a few drops of water on him. He didn't like this in the least. I told him to throw a bowl of water on Hailey, and apparently he took it literally. He threw the whole water filled bowl!! Luckily it missed Hailey's head (by inches). Logan managed to muster up some courage to chase Hailey around the yard. She tried her hardest to get him to run over the slip 'n slide during the chase, but Logan knew better. All I can say is that us adults were quite entertained by what we heard and saw. The kids (including Xena) had a blast and that's all that matters! You may be wondering where Halo was during all this. She was nonexistent, the little chicken, staying up on the deck with Mama!

Short and Sweet

Well it looks as though Saturday will be filled with rain showers and thunderstorms. I guess our yard sale will have to wait until the following weekend. Keeping my fingers crossed that the weather works in our favor next weekend. It is probably for the better anyway. The kids are here this weekend and we need to figure out what to do for Father's Day. Hoping to have a little "fun" post tomorrow!!

"Everywhere I Go"

"Everywhere I Go" is a song that hear almost daily on Noggin. It is sang by the character, Moose A. Moose, and is quite catchy. Although the TV is only on in the morning or during quiet time (Q's napless days) the chances of hearing it on a daily basis is quite large. Earlier this week Q and I were playing down stairs and he started making up his own words to the song. Obviously the song was stuck in his head, but changing the words to people/things he sees around the house made singing the song a lot more fun. Below is the actual song from Noggin. You may need to stop my other player in the left column before playing this one. For those who have no clue how this song goes, it will help with the rhythm.

Noggin - Moose A. Moose & Zee - Everywhere I Go.mp3 -

Here are our (mostly Quinton's) new lyrics to the song. Please bare with the spelling. Most of these aren't even real words, but if you listened to the song then you know what I'm trying to type!

Markers are the Drawiest
Bean Bags are the Tossiest
Balls are the Bounciest
Everywhere I go

Guitars are the Strummiest
Bongos are the Drummiest
Maracas are the Shakiest
Everywhere I go

Bikes are the Pedaliest
Treadmills are the Joggiest
Scooters are the Scootiest
Everywhere I go

Quinton is the Silliest
Sloan is the Giggliest
Nicki is the Goofiest
Everywhere I go

Couches are the Sittiest
Screwdrivers are the Screwiest
Hammers are the Poundiest
Everywhere I go

Toilets are the Flushiest
Sinks are the Runniest
Doors are the Closiest
Everywhere I go

Batman is the Battiest
Cars are the Raciest
Socks are the Smelliest
Everywhere I go

Well there you have it folks. Quinton's version of the Noggin song "Everywhere I Go"

Hot Summer Days

Well June started off with a hot and steamy day of nearly 90 degrees. As always Quinton and I were trying to decide what to do outside to keep us cool (more him than me, but even getting my toes wet helps). We decided to set up the kiddie pool and get out the Beach Ball Sprinkler, that I'm almost positive Janelle originally bought for a friend last summer. Boy did Q-man love it!! I was sure he'd still be timid about getting his face sprayed by the sprinkler, which was the case last year, but he surprised me. It took him no time to get soaking wet. Did I mention he LOVED it!! Here are some pictures from our wet 'n wild first day of June!

I actually got some decent shots of Q playing in the sprinkler. These are some of my favorites of both kids!
Click photos to enlarge

Sloan looked so cute in her bathing suit. The water was too cold for her liking; not that I can blame her because we didn't have time to let the sun warm it up. But she enjoyed watching Big Brother play. Oh and have I mentioned she is walking?!! She's full speed ahead and just waiting until the day she can run to keep up with Q!