Tuesday, September 28, 2010

a letter...

UP-FREAKIN'-DATE:

FYI - YEAH, I KNOW THAT ALL CAPS MEANS "YELLING &/OR SCREAMING".  AND, YEAH, THAT IS WHAT I WANT RIGHT NOW!  WHEN I WROTE THE LETTER BELOW, DEAR GERMS, I DID NOT DO SO IN A SARCASTIC MANNER.  ALTHOUGH I DO LOVE ME SOME SARCASM MOST DAYS.  I ALSO DID NOT DO IT IN NEITHER A "DOUBLE-DOG-DARE-YOU" NOR A "TRIPLE-DOG-DARE-YOU" WAY (BECAUSE I LEARNED FROM "A CHRISTMAS STORY" JUST HOW THAT ONE CAN TURN OUT, OKAY?!).  AND SO, GERMS, PLEASE DO NOT BE OFFENDED WHEN I CHOOSE TO NOT THANK YOU FOR THE PLUGGED UP NOSE AND SINUSES, THE SORE THROAT AND THE GENERAL MALAISE I CURRENTLY AM LIVING WITH.  AND THE KIDS, YOU DARE TO ASK?  YEAH, WHEN THIS MOMMA FEELS BETTER I'M A GONNA WHOMP UP ON YOU FOR GIVING THE KINDERGARTNER THE SAME NOSE PROBLEMS AND THROAT ISSUE.  NOT FAIR WHEN SHE DID NOT EVEN HAVE THING TO DO WITH ANY OF THIS LETTER STUFF.  OH?  THAT 4-YR-OLD?  YEAH, SHE IS CURRENTLY "OK" BUT I HIGHLY SUSPECT THAT WITH HER BEING SO STINKING CUTE AND ALL OF MY SMOOCHIES AND SNUGGLES WILL FORCE SOME OF YOU GERMS ON HER....SERIOUSLY.  SERIOUSLY, GERMS?  YOU SUCK!

-SICK & TIRED MOMMA-LLAMA-DING-DONG

************************

dear germs (please forward to all your friends & relatives a.s.a.p.):

after spending 5 days with urpy tummies, both nea & i...i would like to not have any more no good, rotten, horrid germs near me or my offspring.  now, i totally understand that you germs think that you have carte blache when it comes to "territories" but i am telling you right now: 
do.
not.
come.
near.
us. 

this is for you and all your germie families and friends, too. 
the ones who cause gastroenteritis (that's having the pukes &/or cha-cha's). 

those who make our throats raw, itchy and sore (this includes, but is not limited to:  streptococcal pharyngitis and other streptococcus species that are responsible for many cases of meningitis, bacterial pneumonia, endocarditis, erysipelas and necrotizing fasciitis - the 'flesh-eating' bacterial infections). 

those that cause all our boogers to melt and flood out our nostrils and down our faces. 

the ones that cause a cough that sounds like a portion (if not all!) of our lungs is going to fly out of our mouths. 

the ones that cause our heads and bodies to ache to varying degrees. 

and a special note to the influenza germs:  please, please, please stay far, far, far away!  3 outta 4 of us are getting out flu shots this week and we would each appreciate it if you'd kindly not get on anything we might come in contact with, okay? 

thank you, in advance, for cooperation with what i am calling "operation-no-more-ickies-or-sickies"!

-this momma

Friday, September 24, 2010

koo-koo, dipsies, and moes...

we (ahem, i) speak kinda funny sometimes.  been doing it forever.  some times descriptive.  some times made up.  often it is probably considered "odd" to those with ears.  those with ears, other than those with ears who live within the same house.

you see...the hubs is now a user of some of my phrases/words.  "being a total chode" is no compliment.  and usually that is directed to some high-paid athlete who is having a bad day at his job.  the word "tool" is not always just used when fixing things.  but i was interchanging "chode" and "tool" long before VH1 did their show called "tool academy".  just sayin'...

other times i get on a bandwagon.  like when i just wrote the "just sayin'".  totally not mine.  pilfered from someone/somewhere else.  and the uber-popular "i loves me some _______" has been uttered from my lips.

well...then hubs and i had a couple of offspring.  and they, too, speak funny.  totally my fault, i will confess.  it goes way, way, way, way back...but it affects us all today.

when wren was a babe, we did the nursery in giraffes.  and i called them "giraff-a-moes".  when she started talking, an aunt had taken her shopping one afternoon and bought her a new giraffe.  the aunt was amazed that wren had named the giraffe "mo".  wren was under a year old.  i took the wind outta that sail when i confessed that wren thought that giraffes were called "moes" because of my lengthening of the word. 

then there is nea.  i have called her "teener" since her birth.  practically.  she really wasn't all the much teenier than her sister (both were +9lbs), but for some reason she had lil chicken legs.  and i even coined a witty little tune i sang to her:  "teener, tiner...teen, teen, teen!"  i stopped singing that one, in public, when a relative pointed out that "teener" is a drug term.  oops.

and, well, rather than say "let's go change your pants little one", i instead would say "let's change those pantaloons"...which got shortened to "loonies".  and, thus, when i would say i was going to take of "wren's loonies" i would get puzzled looks.  and while on the bottom-covering subject...diaper morphed into "diapey" which (rationally) led to "dipsies".  so, at bedtime, my girls would be told to "go get on your dipsies and jammies".

and then there is the subject of name-calling.  rarely do any of the other 3 get called by their given name.  the hubs has been "mr. larson" for years.  our senior pastor (who married us) laughs at the fact that i refer to him as that!  and wren has been "hopscotch", "hotrod", "spitfire", "wrenner-mcmonkey-mcbean..."(that one actually goes on & on & on and came from the daddy, not me!), "reh", and a host of others.  linnea has been "nea-nea" to her sister since day one (since she could not say l's).  and "nea-nea" led to "nator" and then "nator-tator" and then just "tator".  as she got older i informed the hubs that it would be in nea's best interest if we all conscientiously stopped calling her "tator".  grade school kids can be mean.  no need to offer them a nugget to use, right?  so, then wren would call her "pincess tay-tay" (princess tea-tea) when she wore a dress.  too cute!  and then there is the all-purpose "koo-koo".  "you are being a koo-koo", "you're talkin' like a koo-koo", "why are you acting like a koo-koo?!".  none of which are meant in a mean way...mostly silly is what "koo-koo" refers to.  but now that we are embarking on school, the "name-calling" has been a topic of discussion at our end of day "chats".  trying to explain to my 4 & 5 yr olds that although we, as a family, call names and do so in an affectionate way, not everyone likes to be called something other than their own name.  nor do others understand that when the girls call me "momma-llama-dingdong" that i know they are not being hurtful.  even when they shorten it to just "dingdong".  it has become a "teaching moment" for us all.

oh, and lest i forget...when wren got a kid-friendly encyclopedia last year from her gram...she could not say "encyclopedia" and apparently what she heard when i said "encyclopedia" was merely "p-t-o".  she continues to refer to that book as her "pto".  and it was so stinkin' adorable that i neglected to correct her.  until a little boy asked her what she was talking about one day and she happened to have the "pto" with her and showed him.  "that's an encyclopedia," he told her.  "i know.  it's my pto!" wren replied.

i'd like to end with me promising and crossin-my-heart-without-crossing-my-fingers-behind-my-back that i am going get on path to speak correctly.  and properly.  and not with my own abbreviations.  or adjectives.  or adverbs.  but i can't.  how about if i just promise to say those things not within earshot of others, in public?  i think that is a very good place to start!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

generations

yesterday the girls & i
took a trip to the farm
to visit their
grandpa & grandma great.

these are hubs' grandparents
who still live alone
on their farm
and grandpa chores
every morning and evening
and grandma still
cooks and takes care of their home.

we always hear great stories
of years gone by
when we visit
and the girls get to
enjoy time with two
of their favorite people!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

50% Off...

the first 2 people who
contact me TODAY (09/21)
will each get
(1)
UPPERCASE LIVING
item of their choice
for
HALF-OFF!

who doesn't like a 50% discount?

be in touch soon!

and here is where you can see
all the great UL products!

Thursday, September 16, 2010

for jenn & brian...

as you are reading this,
you may not know these people,
but...
if you have a moment...

please say a prayer for some friends...

today is the 2 year anniversary
of their sweet baby, harrison,
going to heaven.

i am hoping,
praying,
crying,
believing
that on a very difficult day here on earth...
that harrison is having an amazing day
in the presence of Jesus...
and that together, they are gently
holding my dear friends,
jenn & brian,
today.
tomorrow.
and each day until they are
altogether again.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

if it's pink, we dig it!

last week we attended
opening night at our children's theater. 

and...wait for it...

it.
was.
pinkalicious!
the girls were in pink hog heaven!
and, of course, they were in all pink!
and, of course, we got to meet "pinkalicious".
and, of course, we got her autograph!

we totally *heart* our children's theater!
we totally *heart* musicals!
we totally *heart* almost anything pink!

so....it was a good "girls only" outing.
(no pictures from that night, sorry...)

Monday, September 13, 2010

in living color...



one of my favorite blogs to visit is "house of turquoise" (see it listed to the right?)...she showcases some really beautiful blues!

she also has another site that caters to other colors, too.

check out "decor by color " if you
lean towards greens,
or need a chocolate (brown) fix,
or maybe everything is
black-n-white for you...

whatever your color scheme,
you can find some great things at this site!!

happy coloring!

Thursday, September 9, 2010

our pupster, ruby


“money will buy you
a fine dog,
but only love
can make
it wag its tail.”


― Richard Friedman

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

a mother knows...

this is a link to an amazing story:

the doctors pronounced the baby dead.  the mom then cuddled and loved on that baby...and just did what was instinct to her.  talk.  stroke.  cuddle.  hold.  and that baby lived. 

this reminded me (in a very small way) of when linnea was just 23 days old.  she was not nursing well.  she was a bit lethargic.  she felt a bit warm.  so, we took her temp.  she had a low-grade fever.  no signs of being "sick" - no cough, no rash.  really just a "feeling" i had.  we talked about whether to take her to urgent care (because, of course, infants do not get sick during your pediatrician's office hours.  ever.).   and i had a flashback.

to 2005.  wren was just three days old and had been given her hep-b vaccination at the hospital by our pediatrician.  and when our ped came to check in on her during rounds, she had a low-grade temp.  as he was telling me that when there are no outward signs of infection it is "standard practice to admit to the nicu" my mind went mushy.  i can sort of tell you what he was telling me, but probably not even close enough.  what i did know:  my brand new baby was going to the nicu!  in my new-mommy brain, that was most certainly not a good thing!  but go she did.  and we went along.  me and my tears and the daddy.  and in the nicu they did not have a hat big enough for wren (she was a 9 lb. 10 oz baby...she equaled the weight of the triplets nearby altogether).  and as they were getting an iv going and doing all sorts of things that were painful to watch, they said that they needed to do a lumbar puncture and we had to leave.  i refused.  and they said that this was not optional:  no parents.  i guess it was probably better for me to not see her, or hear her, as they did the spinal, but i felt like we were abandoning her.  they also took blood and urine.  and nothing showed initially.  and so i spent almost 2 days "commuting" from the methodist maternity ward, to the nicu, to the cafeteria.  nursing, praying, holding, singing, crying.  we were told that the cultures that were taken needed to "grow" for 3 days and then we'd go from there.  in the meantime antibiotics were administered.  and she ate, slept, cried.  she was beautiful!  the nicu does not have private rooms - it is one large room with curtained areas for each child, or children.  there are no beds for parents - although a nurse did wheel in a recliner for me.  i refused to leave the hospital after i was discharged.  and then on day 3 of wren's hospitalization the specialist came to see us early in the morning.  the daddy was at home.  the specialist started with an apology.  apparently the spinal fluid they'd taken 3 days earlier had not been "grown".  a spinal tap done, but nothing done with the fluid!  nothing!  i was livid!  i called the daddy and tried to tell him that wren had to have another lumbar puncture and that we knew nothing more now than we did 3 days earlier!  i asked the specialist to speak to him because he could not understand me through my cries and hiccups and stammering on words that made my stomach turn.  the daddy traveled in the snow to get to the hospital as quickly as he could.  in that 25-30 minute drive he had calmed down quite a bit.  we chose to have them do a 2nd spinal tap and then we chose to go home.  i was exhausted.  we just wanted to be at our home.  no noise from various machines.  no hushed voices.  no one else around.  so, we went home and 3 days later the specialist called to tell us that wren's spinal fluid was clear with no signs of an infection. (our pediatrician thinks that wren spiked a temp from the hep-b vaccine and he stopped giving them at the hospital for a time.  but resumed a short time prior to us having linnea - so she also had her hep-b while in the hospital - which i was okay with...because i'd rather if "something" were to happen it happen while we were in the hospital).

and so...there we were...linnea just 23 days old.  me knowing she was sick.  me also knowing that the trip to urgent care would be followed by a trip to the e.r. if there was no visible signs of infection.  and so we loaded everyone up on that partially cloudy july late afternoon and went to the urgent care office.  we ended up in the e.r of children's hospital.  and the daddy had to go home and pack a bag for me to bring back.  linnea had to have the same series of fluids taken:  blood, urine, spinal.  this time, though, we knew immediately that she had meningitis.  our pediatrician told me that he believes in a "mother's instinct", so to say - because he has seen numerous times where a child does not "appear" to be ill, but the mother "knows" something is wrong.  and the mother has been right.  this was one of those times.  i just had a feeling that our brand new baby was not quite okay.  

it would take another 48 hours to determine if it was viral or bacterial meningitis.  if one has to have meningitis, the viral one is the one you want.  luckily for linnea she had viral meningitis.  it was a very long 2 days in the hospital.  but i was glad that i didn't just think that a low-grade temp was "no big deal".  not every hunch is always right...but often a mother really does know best.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Friday, September 3, 2010

well....hello....

labor day weekend!

nice to see ya!

thanks for the delightfully autumn-ish weather...
makes me wanna pull out all the sweatshirts...
and watch football all weekend...

however, i shall not do that all weekend...
but i will watch some.

and i will get some projects done:

paint the kitchen wall (done!)
storage room organization
basement re-org

that should be plenty to keep me busy for 3 whole days...around breaks for football and church and some funnin' with the girls...who are quite ready for 3 whole "daddy stays home" days, too!

hope your labor day weekend is just what you want it to be!

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

nea day!

well..."that girl" is officially not a toddler anymore.

she is now a PRE-SCHOOLER!

first day today and she is suffering from "perma-grin"!

she was all smiles this morning...

(she did want me to make sure to mention that she only wore her puma shoes for walking club with big sister and that after that she did change in to her sparkley princess shoes to go to her school)