scrubberman

Eli loves to play in the sink! So I thought I would put him to work and have him scrub some dishes! :)

AND, scrub the sink!


Of course he practices safe hand washing habits, just like his Mommy.

He scrubs those hands until they are clean.

When he is finished his chores of washing, then he can play.* :)

*For those who think I am terrible mother who makes her child scrub the sink and dishes, my words were all in fun and the pictures show that he did everything on his own recognisance. :)

comparison

Picture number 1 is Evangeline and picture number 2 is Elijah....the ultrasounds were done a few days apart as far as weeks pregnant go. Evangeline is much fuller in the face than Eli was....maybe I am having a 10 pound little girl come May! Yikes!

BEAUTIFUL!

Here is a sneak peek at our beautiful daughter Evangeline Finley!

3D

On Monday afternoon, we will be going to get 3D and 4D ultrasounds at a place in Frazer. It is not medical, just a fun thing to do in order to see our little bean before she makes her arrival. I will post some pics on Monday or Tuesday. If you are not familiar with what these look like, here is the website of the place we will be going: http://www.innerviewultrasound.com/. Evie is very active, so hopefully we can get some good action shots! :)

dentist

Teeth and their cleanliness are so important to me. I floss every night and brush twice a day. I brush so hard to get my teeth clean that my dentist said to do it more lightly because my gum were eroding. I don't know what caused this obsession with my teeth, but I try to take very good care of them. I have had one cavity my whole life, which was a few years ago and I never want to go through that again, let alone anything other dental procedure that requires more pain! I guess that is my motivation.

A few weeks ago, Eli started to get staining on his two front teeth that was a faint gray color. I freaked out about it, while Chad said he hardly noticed. But off to the dentist we went to get it checked out.

As you can see, Eli loved sitting in the dentist chair.....sitting and laying and climbing.....

The dentist thought that it was caused by his liquid vitamins we give Eli that have iron in them. Apparently the iron can cause staining of the teeth. But when he inspected further, he told me he did think this was the case anymore. Then he tells me that all people have bacteria in their mouths. Some people's bacteria can actually stain their teeth and that is what he believed to be happening here.

Of course he noticed the horrified look on my face and reassured me that it comes off with a cleaning. However when they started to scrape his teeth, Eli flipped out and did not like that at all. So we go for our routine visit in April and then the dentist will do a full cleaning. He didn't want to traumatize Eli any more, which was nice.

I think the horror on my face came from my childhood pain rearing its ugly head. When I lost my baby teeth, my adult two front teeth came in orange!!! I lived with it for a little bit and that was just embarrassing for a kid because kids are mean to other kids that are different. I did not want this to happen to Eli. I remember trying not to smile so people wouldn't see the discoloration. I remember being so hypersensitive about it and very upset. Soon after, got bonding on the teeth and I have to get this semi-expensive, not covered by insurance procedure done every 3 years. Of course it wasn't until college and the infamous black lights that college brings that my friends and I realized that bonding does not glow like the rest of your teeth. Basically, in black light, I look like I am missing my two front teeth! Embarrassing.....but funny too. Also, I cannot whiten my teeth because bonding cannot be whitened. If I did whiten, I would have two yellow front teeth and the rest would be white. Again, embarrassing, but funny.

I think we as parents have childhood memories, good and bad, that influence how we parent our children. This is one of many instances for me. I know my sister doesn't make my nephew eat everything on his plate at dinner because our parents made us eat everything and that stuck with her as being a painful memory. On the bright side, I loved a saying my Dad had for when he was trying to convince us to sleep in the car during a long car ride. He would say that if we slept, we were taking a shortcut and when we woke up, we would be at our destination faster. Wouldn't you know it, it worked! And I am sure it gave my parents some sanity too! :) So we will be saying that to our children, for sure! :)

If you are a parent, what memories effect the way you parent? It is interesting to think about! :)

senses

senses bring back memories

veggie tales cd brings back the days of nausea from morning sickness

blankets with silky edges bring back the days of sleeping in my bed growing up

drakkar noir brings back the high school days

old pipe smells bring back the days of being with a grandfather who died before I had the chance to really appreciate him

the smell of smoke from a fire brings back the days of skiing in the poconos with my family

looking at pictures brings back the days of fitting into skinny jeans and still feeling like I was fat

the smell of the ocean brings back the days of driving to the beach with my family and knowing when I smelled the smell, we were close.

memories are stored in our senses

vomit

*WARNING* This post is not for people with a weak stomach. :)

There is nothing like the first time you get completely covered in your child's vomit. Every Mom remembers the first time. It is priceless, but not in a good way.

My poor Eli threw up for the first time (besides baby spit up) yesterday. It started with a fever and no other symptoms. As the day went on, I was bracing myself for what may come with the fever: a cold, strep throat, roseola virus, etc.

But then, the symptoms came spilling out of Eli's mouth in the form of previously ingested chocolate whole milk, curdled in chunks, accompanied with stomach acid. Then I knew we had a stomach virus on our hands.

The first incident: Eli was so scared about what was going on, screaming and crying. I tried to hold a bucket up to his mouth, a towel, I even tried to gently direct his head into the potty, but he was so freaked out by what happened, he shoved everything away from him but me. I then decided I would take one for the team and let him vomit on me.

The second incident: He threw up again within a few minutes of the first time and again, I sacrificed my body, my clean smelling clothes and my hair. I tried to get him in the bath, but he was still too traumatized. So I stripped us both down and used a wipe for him and I. Then I dressed him in PJ's, put on my robe and went downstairs, praying that the worst was over.

The third and fourth incident: It was 6:30 and we decided to put him to bed early. He was in good spirits for a sick little guy, but still weak. He had kept down some apple juice which was all he ate or drank all day. Chad brought him upstairs and I followed. Just as Chad passed Eli off to me so he could get the bath ready, it happens again. This time, the hallway rug was splattered and I pulled him against me so the rest of the vomit would fall on me and not him or the rug.

When I thought he was finished, I walked into Evie's room to put him on the changing table and before I let go, it happened again.

Poor Eli, sitting in the bathtub crying and scared, is severely traumatized again and sweet Chad tries to explain to him what is going on in kid terms. "Eli, you are not feeling well. Sometimes when we don't feel well, we throw up. That is what came out of your mouth. It is ok because it is over now." He seems to get it, but it is still horrified. He did not want either of us to touch him, poor child. It broke my heart.

I slept in his bed and in the middle of the night, he woke up wanting to drink apple juice. I brought him downstairs and gave him some. He also wanted goldfish.....I was a little reluctant for fear he would explode from the mouth again, but I gave in because I didn't want him to starve.

Today, he has not thrown up since last night before bed. He still has a low fever, but seems to be in better spirits than his listless, lethargic self yesterday. Hopefully this is just a 24 hour thing and he is over it now. We'll see what tonight brings.

When your child is sick, it brings out this protective, lioness instinct in you to do anything and everything to help your child. I wish I had a magic wand to make the symptoms disappear and have my crazy, active child back. It is when he is sick that I realize how wonderful that healthy activity really is. But I am not magic and the only things I can do is comfort him and pray for him. I may not have the power to make my son feel better, but luckily I know Someone who does. :)

P.S. Anybody know how to get curdled chocolate milk stains out of carpeting? I tried Resolve stain cleaner, but it did not work. :(