Tricking the Lock Jawed Infant and How Mommy Wins.

This week has been a challenge with Trent.

Word to the wise. Do NOT under any circumstances combine teething, trying to crawl baby with said baby's flu shot.

The result is an emotionally unstable baby thats vacillation between happy and sad could give you whiplash. I should also add that the multiple wakings from an otherwise sleep through the night kiddo will make parents zombies. Be sure to have caffeine on hand.

Not to mention baby's unwillingness to eat ANYTHING! Here have your favorite,applesauce...baby proceeds to lock jaw and purse lips giving you a horrendous look of
consternation. This look should produce a bubble above the infants head that says, 'Who do you think you are?' This look will put mommy in fits about what happened to her good eater.

Parents will start adding up the no eating, no sleeping, fussy pants baby symptoms and think, '''Ohhhhh maybe an ear infection'''

Call pediatrician and talk to overly sympathetic nurse who confirms your thought process. Appointment in 30 minutes. You think, 'Get the amoxicillan and sleep will be mine!'

Proceed with plan, wake baby from nap(which will only increase fussiness later and make for a 'joyful' evening), lug baby and sister to doctor. Have doctor look in ears and proclaim them PERFECT!....Mommy grumbles up to desk and pays copay. Placate older sister with lollipop from doctors stash. Thank baby for once again duping her with textbook symptoms to be told, 'It's probably a cold'.

Sigh...home we go.

Dinner has come. The mommy is prepared with a new plan. She was made a fool once today, but not again.

Put non-eating baby in high chair and begin listening to fussy soundtrack being emitted. Pause nerve grating noise by handing baby spoon.

But not just a spoon.

A spoon with food on it! Teething baby will now place spoon willing in it's own mouth driven by desire to eat on all things plastic and colorful. (Read about about teething above)

Baby will give you look....'You tricked me!'

Baby thinks, surely she will not try that again....but mommy does over and over and over again until all food is IN or ON the infant.

Mommy will giggle with glee at cleverness of the plan. Success is mine!

(Note: total food consumption for this day was 14 oz. of formula, 1 jar of food, and little puffs. That's about 1/3 of what is normally eaten.)

So, ummm, I went Shopping.

Even better. I went shopping without the kids.

Sigh. Breathe in the freedom, even if it was just the grocery store.

I am often astounded by how much concentration it takes to grocery shop, especially when using coupons! There were several moments last night when my brain felt taxed by the math.

Here's a list of what I bought....

2 Enfamil Powder (35 oz.)
3 boxes Lactaid pills
2 Pop Secret popcorn 6 pack
1 bag bell peppers
20 Beechnut baby food
2 boxed Ritz Crackers
2 Duncan Hines cake mix
2 boxes Instant oatmeal
2 bags Cape Code Chips
3 cans Rotel
2 pkg. Hormel pepperoni
2 Kraft Catalina dressing
2 Herbal Essence Shampoo
2 Yo Plus Yogurt 4 pk
2 Crisco oil - 32oz.
2 Yo-baby Yogurt 4 pk
1 Stoneyfield cottage cheese 4 pk.
2 jars Vlasic pickles
1 Perdue chicken breast pkg.
1 Newmans salsa
2 Natures Own English muffin - 6 packs
3 Capri Sun - 10pk
1 Angel Soft Toilet paper

I got ALL that for $151.00, I saved $75.04(roughly 34%)

Then, THEN....I went to Kroger across the street and racked up this bill.

6 Healthy Choice Meals
3 Birdseye Steamed Veggie
1 Adele's chicken Sausage
1 lb. ground beef
3 bags Goldfish
3 bags Quaker Rice Cakes
2 Annie Cheesy Pasta Shells
1 Schick razor blades - 12 pk
5 Crystal Light powders - (8pks)
2 Mahatma Rice pkgs
2 Dove Deodorant
2 Arm & Hammer toothpaste
1 Crest toothpaste
3 boxes Tampax - 20 ct.
2 cans diced green chilies
2 bags Twix minis
1 box Barilla pasta
2 boxes Triscuit
5 jars Pace picante
2 cans Kroger blk beans
2 cans Rotel
10 cans Hunts tomatoes
5 cans Delmonte Corn
10 cans Delmonte Green Beans
2 cans Delmonte carrots
3 cans. Delmonte peas
2 lbs. apples
5 cans Organic pumpkin - (.69/can)
1 box Kellogg Cereal
2 boxes Quaker Granola bars
2 box Ronzoni lasagna noodles
1 box Cascade
4 case Diet Coke, regular coke (12 pk)
1 Huggies diapers - 140 ct(they were on closeout for $12 off per box)
1 case Miller Lite - 18pk(this purchase completely blew my savings %)

All of that came to....$182, and I saved $92(roughly 33%)

And now I won't shop for non-perishables for over a month! We will still have the weekly fresh fruit/veggie, milk, cheese and meat bill, but that I can hold to about $50/ wk. And I KNOW some of this will go far beyond just the next month.

Sweet Potato Rounds with Parmesan.

These have become an addiction for me, especially on the days when life is hectic. We use them as a substitute for fries or just an on the go snack the next day.

Sweet Potato Rounds With Parmesan

4 Sweet potatoes
grated Parmesan cheese
olive oil
salt pepper

1. Wash sweet potatoes. Cut off ends.

2. Cut sweet potatoes in slices about 1/8" thick and place in large mixing bowl

3. Pour about 1/8 c. olive oil over potatoe slices and mix

4. Dump slices onto pregreased cookie sheet. Spread out so rounds are lying as flat as possible.

5. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Then sprinkle with 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese or use to taste.

Bake at 425 degrees for 30-40 mins...

Invisible Mom

Because, I've been having a lot of days like this lately and have lost my patience with life. This reminded me why I've sacrificed a lot of my dreams to be with my kids. I have to dream for them right now.

Invisible Mom

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way

one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be

taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?'

Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping

the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see

me at all. I'm invisible.. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of

hands, nothing more! Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this??

Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock

to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is

the Disney Channel ?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'

Some days I'm a crystal ball; 'Where's my other sock?, Where's my phone?,

What's for dinner?'

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes

that studied history, music and literature -but now, they had disappeared

into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going,

she's gone!?

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a

friend from England

. She had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she

was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there,

looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to

compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when she

turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you

this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe

. I wasn't exactly

sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'With admiration

for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'

In the days ahead I would read - no, devoured - the book. And I would

discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I

could pattern my work: 1) No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we

have no record of their names. 2) These builders gave their whole lives for

a work they would never see finished. 3) They made great sacrifices and

expected no credit. 4) The passion of their building was fueled by their

faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A story of legend in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the

cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird

on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you

spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by

the roof, No one will ever see it And the workman replied, 'Because God

sees.'

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost

as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you. I see the sacrifices you

make every day, even when no one around you does.

No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've

baked, no Cub Scout meeting, no last minute errand is too small for me to

notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see

right now what it will become.

I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of

the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work

on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went

so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime

because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's

bringing home from college for Thanksgiving , 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the

morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for 3

hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a

monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there

is anything more to say to his friend, he'd say, 'You're gonna love it

there...'

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're

doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel,

not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the

world by the sacrifices of invisible mothers.

Smells Like My Han-du

Nora has a BEST friend, Han-du(Andrew)...they have a love hate relationship in that brother sister way. (I'm beginning to wonder is she will EVER pronounce his name right)

You know the one where each knows exactly what button to push to make the other one get mad and scream. Then the perpetrator looks at you with feigned innocence...

Yeah, that....

But some days one of them will just melt your heart with the care they express. I rejoice in those blessed moments, that Nora has learned so much love for someone her own age.

Nora found the basket that contained all the clothes Kathy, Andrew's mom gave us for Trent. Essentially, hand me downs that we are hoping Trent will fit into. I had washed them here at home in our dye-free, scent free detergent, folded them and packed them away for later.

Despite my washing them, Nora walked in and said, ''Mommy I find these, they smell like my Andrew. We need to get them to Miss Kaffy. These are Andrew's jammies''

(Does anyone else think it's odd my kid knows what her best friend smells like?)

Me, ''Nora those are too small for Andrew so Ms.Kathy gave them to us for baby Trent.''

''No mommy, these ARRRRRE Han-du's, he needs them. We need to get them to his house! It is getting late, we need to hurrrrry.''

Me, ''Babe, they are for baby brother when he gets bigger''

''Mommy, Miss Kaffy needs them for Andrew's baby, they are Andrew's clothes''

Me, ''But those are boy jammies and Ms. Kathy's baby is a girl, her name is Virginia''

''Oh, these are boy jammies?''

Me, ''Yes, you see the monkies on them.''

''Ms. Kaffy was nice? She gives us these jammies for baby Trent. They smell like my Han-du.''

I forget where the conversation went after that. I think Nora argued about Kathy's baby turning into a boy next week. And there might have been a resolution that it was ok for Trent to have Andrew's clothes.

My Fish Is Lonely

We got Nora a fish for her second birthday...she referred to it as the Dirday Daddy Fish. Don't know why but it made sense to her.

You can read the post about Foofa here: http://soundsfromtheunderpants.blogspot.com/2009/10/fish-and-kitty.html

Nora mentioned to Rich last night that she couldn't see Foofa in his tank. Her explanation was, 'Foofa went night night in his bush''

(Ummm, yeah, we'll go with that he's sleeping or hiding in his bush. In actuality Foofa died about two weeks ago and we removed him. With all the excitement of the holidays she didn't even realize he was gone!)

Nora informed Rich, ''Daddy, I need two Foofa's, Foofa need a friend, so they can talk. He's lonely'' Love that she thinks the fish is lonely.

Small problem.

Foofa is a beta. I do believe that if we put two in the tank they are going to do a little more than talk. More like FishDome 2010 will be going on.

I'm willing to get Nora her two fish, but first I must think up how to explain his disapperance. Suggestions?

Piggy Bank

Nora is really starting to put things together and grasp the BIG wide world. Even at a little over three there are so many concepts she still has to understand.

One being money.

We get asked a lot ''why daddy has to go to work'' or ''why mommy has to go to work''. In most cases, our answer is to make money to pay for things like food and groceries. Then Nora will say, ''AND toys!'' Three year olds have priorities too, mine don't include toys.

Mom and Dad have been visiting for the New Year and Nora has been enjoying Nuggle Chat with the Mimi. Last night, Nora started talking about her piggy bank on the shelf in her room. How daddy had given her lots of poins(coins) to put in it. How she and Han-du(Andrew) jumped and jumped and jumped to get it but could not reach it. Because they are small. But mommy is big and has strong hands so she can get the piggy bank.

(Don't you LOOOOOVE how they explain things sometimes)

My mom promised to give her some coins for the piggy bank in the morning before they left, but Nora was to remind her.

Imagine Nora's excitement when my mom handed her a $1 bill! To Nora bills are MONEY, coins are just things to play with. Poppie tried to reason with her. He handed over two silver dollars in exchange for the $1 but nope, she wanted what she viewed as money.

She begged to take the dollar to the airport with us, but was told no we need to keep it safe.

There are always sad goodbyes with the Mimi and Poppie but Nora did well this time. Going to the airport has become an adventure for her, sitting back there tingling with excitment about seeing the planes, talking about going to TEXAS. If you ask her Mimi and Poppie live at the airport or the Atlanta airport IS Texas. The distance between us is hard to explain, even on a map.

As we curved around out of the airport and back onto I85 the usual conversation started....

''Mommy, I miss my Mimi and Poppie. I want them to come back. I love them. I want to go into the airport and see the planes with Poppie''

''Nora, we can't go in the airport we don't have tickets''

''Moommmmy! We can get the tickets, Mimi give me money so we can buy a ticket ok?''

''That's a very nice thought Nora but you need more money for a ticket''

''OH, Mimi give me more money next time''

And it is true, my mom will probably give her money on their next visit in April because she's a sucker like every other grandparent. I was just astonished the Nora understands that tickets, plane tickets cost money...she's getting big and growing up and I'm watching her lose the innocence one piece at a time.

(Note: I called my mom immediately to tell her about the conversation. Mom says, one day she will buy Nora a ticket to fly her, all by herself to Texas. I don't know if I could ever do that, put my child on a plane without me, too much of a nervous flyer)