Spit it Out

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a mimic on our hands. Guess that comes with the territory when your child is two-years-old. 

*warning, this may not be appropriate for all readers. it may be considered a bit graphic if you have a weak stomach.

Last week I got very sick. Nothing catching. I had the WORST migraine! It may not have been the most terrible of my entire life, but it was the most terrible I've had in at least 5 years (ie: the worst Jonathan has ever witnessed).  He was concerned that I'd dehydrate. Which, is very concerning for a pregnant gal. No matter what I tried, it made me sick. Plain water, ginger-ale, Tylenol, plain bread...would not stay down. 

Jonah slept through most of my "episodes" (by pure coincidence). But, one time, in the evening, I was on the couch. I was trying my best to drink water. He saw me go into the hall bathroom. He kept saying "spit it out?"

Next thing you know, I felt REALLY sick, so I went into my own bathroom and shut the door. While I was in there, Jonah asked Jonathan for some water. He took a sip and left the room. Then, moments later came back for another sip. Jonathan followed him to see what he was up to. Jonah toddled into the bathroom and spit the water from his mouth into the toilet. And then he joyfully proclaimed he had "spit it out!"

Hopefully he doesn't remember this. EVER. I also hope I don't get that sick again for a very long time, if ever!

I had the hardest time recovering from that migraine too. Maybe it was because I am pregnant. I was weak and light-headed most of the next day. Gatorade helped a lot. 

Leaving on a Jet Plane

YES!! I am going on a trip. Today!!!

You may remember this post of our dear friends moving nearly 800 miles away (which still gets me all teary-eyed). 

Well, Southwest Airlines just had a promotion of $39 one-way tickets. So, this very dear friend called me up and asked if she could buy me a ticket. And if my sister would come too. We both said "yes." I am very very VERY excited. 

Jonathan's parents are coming to stay here to help him and care for Jonah. It's the longest I'll ever be away from my "baby" and I'm a little nervous. Not because I will miss him, which I know I will....and not because I have any reservations of the care he will be in (I have none). Mostly because bedtime is SO tricky sometimes. If you think of them, say a prayer for bedtime. I'd like Jonathan's parents to have a desire to come back to our house someday!

Anyway...I just thought I'd write a little post, since I may not write much for another week or so. 

Happy Thursday. 

Weekend Update: Sopapilla Cheesecake

It's been a while since I shared a recipe on this little blog. Today feels like a good day to do just that!

I have had this dessert two weekends in a row now, and I just love it! The main ingredients are crescent rolls and cream cheese...how can you go wrong?

Sopapilla Cheesecake

2 cans crescent rolls

2 pkgs. cream cheese (at room temp) 

(one recipe I read said 3 pkgs. I think that would be a bit much)

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 C. melted butter

1/2 cup cinnamon sugar

1/4 cup sliced almonds (optional)

fruit for topping, also optional

Cream together the cream cheese, vanilla, and sugar. Press one can of crescent rolls into the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Fill with cream cheese mixture. Top with the second can of rolls, then pour on the butter and cover with cinnamon-sugar. Bake at 350* for 45 min. Cool thoroughly before slicing. ENJOY!

I thought it was very tasty when it was fresh from the oven and still a little bit warm. 

The first time I ate it the friend who served it also served peaches on the side. Peaches that has soaked in a syrup overnight. (is your mouth watering??)

Play Tent Fun

One of Jonah's Christmas gifts was this little "Cars 2" play tent. He has such fun running into and crawling out of it!

I tried to catch his fun on video. However, each time he noticed the camera, he would come over to see what I'd captured. I had a hard time getting much. And you will have to forgive my sloppy filming. I was watching him a bit more than I was paying attention to the footage on the camera. Oh well, his giggle makes it worth it. And the "cheese" at the end is pretty cute! 

I can SEE clearly now!

Well, they FINALLY came!! We got the call Wed. morning and jumped right into the car and went to get Jonah's glasses! 

He is SO cute!! 

The first two days were easy...he's been doing great. Today is day three and I've had to put them back on him a bit more frequently. I find that when he has pulled them off, they usually need cleaning! 

We still patch him several times a day...to try to strengthen his "lazy" eye. But, we have a much better patch now. It slides on the glasses and kind of pockets the lens. I've trimmed it now, so it fits him a little better. He still isn't a fan of the patch, but he does (mostly) keep it on until the timer goes off.

oh, and if you can't tell, he kind of likes to pose for the camera! when I pull it out he automatically says "cheeeese!"

oh by the way....

Mama, Ah-mere!

This afternoon I was getting ready to go to work. I had just left Jonah who was in my room playing with colored pencils and a notebook when I heard him call to me, "Mama, ah-mere!" (mama, come here!!)

So, I went. 

And then I quickly turned around to get my camera.

Yes, he is sitting amidst our unpacked luggage!

translation (in case you can't follow him): six, six, six, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleben, tummy, one, three, four, five, six, five, six, six, six, six, one, three, four, five, two, five, five, six, one, i drop it

New Year's Medical Extravaganza!

Well, this year we celebrated New Year's Eve (day) much differently than anticipated. And I hope to never do it again. 

We usually spend the holiday near Kansas City, MO with Jonathan's family. The night before we planned to leave Jonah started showing symptoms of illness. (well, just a 101.7 temp). He seemed miserable. We decided to travel anyway. We figured we'd treat the temp and see what happened. 

Oh, he also stopped eating, which is very unusual for our boy. 

We made it to the Atkins house by early afternoon. Jonah was doing pretty good...pumped full of alternating doses of Tylenol and Motrin. Then, we let the meds fade out through the night. BIG MISTAKE. We decided at 4 am that we would be seeking out an Urgent Care as soon as possible. The no-eating made me wonder if he might have strep.

*time lapse for attempted sleep and then some breakfast*

Because of where my in-laws live, we had to travel 45 minutes to the nearest clinic. On the way there, I looked back to check on the sweet boy. I was curious to see if he was still awake. He was. And the lower half of his face was covered in blood. I told Jonathan to pull over now!

We battled a very major nose bleed, called his sister (a nurse) who waylaid our fears by saying the dry air mixed with the Motrin was the likely culprit of a nose bleed. 

We continued on to Urgent Care, waited on a very nice leather couch, and then were called back. Amid all of the chaos and unfamiliar medical people Jonah freaked out, started crying, and bleeding again. I tell you, this was no minor nose bleed. The word spurting is all I can think of to describe it to you. Apparently spurting noses do not please the medical community. Neither do low oxygen readings on the pulse-measuring-finger-clamp device. The nurse said we needed to go to the ER. And not just the one across the street. They told us we should go to Children's Mercy in the city...because the oxygen reading was SO dangerously low.  

So, we sojourned on. 15 minutes later we were all checked in at CMH. They were very prompt to get us in. They had to take his temp....in his rectum. Poor kid. It doesn't take any time to figure out that stickers are a very poor exchange for having a device shoved in certain crevices!   Suffice to say, the nose bleeding started up all over again. I can't tell you how many gauze pads we went through. OH, and they re-checked his pulse/oxygen and it was FINE.

THEN, we got to see the Dr. *cue angels singing.* She was the perfect blend of professional/caring. I immediately liked her manner.  She assured us that a nose can bleed a LOT from being dry. She gave us some creme to put in his nostril and it hasn't bled at bit since then. She said the Urgent Care must've used a less-than-accurate device for reading oxygen. Whew! 

So, the question still remained...WHAT was wrong?? 

She checked his ears, they were very clear.  They swabbed his throat. Nothing unusual. 

We ended our visit with a chest x-ray. They saw one spot that could be pneumonia. So, the Dr. prescribed amoxicillin. 

Whatever was wrong is definitely better. We may go ahead and schedule a follow up with our family Dr., but PRAISE THE LORD our boy is better. It took a couple of days, but he is eating again and playing and making messes and making us laugh like normal!  

Twas the Night Before Christmas

I just realized I had forgotten to post our pictures from Christmas Eve. 

We always gather with my mom's extended family on Christmas Eve. We have a couple of games we play each year. When I was a kid Emily and I got to open the gifts from our grandparents/aunts/uncles on Christmas Eve too. Well, now that we are adults the table has turned a bit. We now all shower Grandpa with gifts.

This year Emily got him the BEST gift imaginable! 

"M.E. Brewer

 World's Best Turkey Cook"

(yes, that is a "gold" turkey on the top of that trophy, and yes, the guy at the trophy place looked at her funny when she placed that order) 

It is a fact. He makes the BEST turkey I've ever eaten!

Then, in the midst of our celebration the front door burst open and some unexpected visitors came on in. When you are Santa, you don't have to knock!

Jonah was very nervous. It took a lot of "warming up" and mom and dad joining him for us to get a picture with Santa. 

Then, we got Jonah to give Santa a cookie, but the camera snapped at the wrong time and my only picture looks like Santa is the one doing the giving.

And then a festive kiss from Mrs. Claus.

our FAVORITE Christmas gift!

I don't usually label things as favorite. Especially when there is risk of hurting someone's feelings. BUT, I think we can all agree that this is the best Christmas gift a mom can receive!

In case you can't tell, it's a canvas.

(I didn't capture the brown ribbon by which it hangs, but you can imagine)

My mom had a secret photo shoot with the little guy...in a borrowed suit. I loved all of the pictures, but this one is just takes the cake! We love it!

We had a lovely Christmas. We have now celebrated with both the Varnell and Atkins families. We love this time of year and really enjoyed the nice weather. Now we are glad to be home and are going to try to force ourselves back into that elusive regular routine! 

Have a Happy Beginning-of-2012. 

Soon I'll tell you about our overwhelming exciting New Year's saga adventure.