Daddy's Birthday

I remember our anniversary a few years ago, when it was spent taking The Lime to the doctor.  LaVor's birthday ran along the same lines.  Doodlebug is just getting over HFMD and The Lime is showing early signs of it.  LaVor stayed home from church with Doodlebug, which meant he got a nap and really, what's better than being able to nap on your birthday?

We were supposed to go out Saturday night but didn't want to expose any babysitters to the germs infesting our home.  LaVor was really looking forward to a steak dinner so he got to make it himself last night.  But like every other year, I made dessert and what a delicious German chocolate cake it was!

The Lime and I went birthday shopping Saturday night and he was set on getting LaVor a fart machine.  Obviously, the little boys have been playing with it more than LaVor but he had a wonderful reaction when he opened it.

He opened a couple other presents and then we Skyped with his parents. It was was a low key day, which I think is what LaVor prefers. But we were happy and excited to be able to celebrate another year with our Daddy!

HFMD

During the afternoon on Wednesday, Doodlebug wanted to be held more than usual. He still played out in the mud with The Lime, still played basketball, still played Legos, but seemed a little clingy. That night, as I was making dinner, The Lime and Doodlebug were roughhousing and, like usual, Doodlebug bonked his head. This happens often so I scooped him up, rubbed his head, and told him he'd be fine. He wouldn't let me put him down until Daddy got home. He ran to meet LaVor at the door where LaVor scooped him up and said, "He feels a little warm." "He was just screaming because he bonked his head."

20 minutes later, dinner was ready and he climbed up in his seat and seemed ready to eat. Except that when I put his bowl up soup in front of him, he cried. I tried giving him a bite and he cried harder and flailed his head around. I gave him a piece of bread which he also turned down. I asked him if he wanted an orange and he gave me a grunt (which means yes) so I peeled it and handed it to him. He proceeded to squeeze the juice out of each segment but never ate any of it. Turning down food was a sure sign that something was up.

After we finished eating, I took him out of his seat and he played for only a few minutes before he curled up on the ground, resting his head on the pillows. We took his temperature and he had a low grade fever. Combine that with no afternoon nap and it was time for bed. I scooped him up, got ready to nurse him, he ate for maybe a minute and stopped. Resting in my arms, he was fading fast and almost asleep when...

throw up. Lots and lots of stinky (probably the worst I've ever smelled) throw up.

We rushed to the bathroom where he finished off and into the bath he went. He was so tired and lethargic that he would have fallen asleep in the water if we'd let him. The next hour was spent watching Paw Patrol until he dozed off.

I prepped his room for any future accidents (thankfully there were none) and slept on his floor (or at least tried to). Neither of us got very much sleep that night. He, waking up often, and me, waking up to his "Mama!" cries.

Thursday was spent watching more Paw Patrol, trying to get him to eat and drink, and lots of rest. He got a boost of energy in the afternoon and wanted to play outside with The Lime. We lasted almost an hour before the mosquitoes nearly ate us alive and back inside we went.

I noticed throughout the day that he was getting red bumps around his mouth and especially in the diaper area (his poor bum is so raw). Later that night, they began to appear on his arms and legs and he was drooling a lot. I thought maybe teething but when LaVor got home, he suspected strep throat.

When we woke up this morning, it occurred to me to look up Hand, Foot, Mouth Disease. The second the image popped up, I knew that's what he had. And his doctor confirmed it.

Because the poor little guy has been miserable these last two days, and hasn't eaten much, he got ice cream for lunch today. I figured something is better than nothing, and it probably feels good with the sores in his mouth.

The Lime never got HFMD so this is all new territory for us. But no matter what the illness, it stinks watching your little ones not feel well.

Thank goodness for Tylenol!

New Look

A couple weeks ago, I took The Lime in for his 6 year well check. They checked his weight then had him turn around to read the letter chart across the room. He did great, and then they had him cover his left eye. By the time he got to the bottom two rows, he was struggling. Cs were Os and Ps were Rs. They had him cover his right eye and he read them fine. At the end of his appointment, the nurse recommended we visit an Optometrist to have his eyes checked. I haven't been to the eye doctor in years (prior to us moving) so I reached out to a friend for a recommendation. Her cute little boy has glasses and she only had nice things to say about the doctor.

Our appointment was last week and after several tests, it was determined that The Lime in fact needed glasses. His right eye needs to be strengthened, requiring him to wear glasses full time and an eye patch two hours each day.

There were several options when it came to frames and I was relieved when the receptionist brought us the box of frames on sale (we don't have vision insurance). Sure enough, there was an aquamarine pair in the sales box and The Lime was sold.

Saturday afternoon, we got the call that his glasses were ready to pick up. As soon as he got out of school on Monday, we headed over, he tried them on, and is now an official glasses wearer.

I've always loved glasses, especially glasses on kids. Growing up, I always had a fake pair of glasses. One day in German class, the boy sitting next to me asked if I really needed glasses. I told him no. "Then why do you wear those ugly things?" he asked. I didn't have an answer for him.

These are the ugly glasses

I'm glad The Lime is a heck of a lot cuter in glasses than me. Part of me is so stinkin' selfish and sad that I won't see his cute little face sans glasses for several years (that whole "you never know when something will be their last" thing) but then I'm grateful we're getting this taken care of sooner rather than later.

He thinks he looks like his Uncle Kenny with them on and is trying to be extra careful and responsible. He forgot to take his case to school today so we'll see what they look like in an hour.

His teacher was especially sweet this morning when I dropped him off. "Oh, Dieter! You look so handsome!" she exclaimed as he walked in. She was excited for him and said she'd spend a minute sharing his great news with the class.

I didn't think it was possible to love this face anymore than I already do but those glasses just get me!

Doodlebug - Tally Mark 21

-Is my official unofficial photography assistant. Mostly he tries to steal the food and says, "Mmmmmmmmmm!"
-Likes to jump off the couch.
-Doesn't want to hold your hand when crossing the street.
-Likes having his nose suctioned.
-Hates waiting for the commercials when we watch a non-DVRed episode of Paw Patrol.
-Knows how to order dessert from the kiosk tablet at Chilis.
-Doesn't scream when Daddy brushes his teeth.
-Likes playing Nerf War with everyone. Except he can't cock his own gun so he shoots it, says "More!", I cock it, he shoots it, and we repeat the process over and over again.
-Thinks he's old enough to pee in the toilet but he really just stands next to it and pushes his stomach against it.
-Likes having the last word.
-Is hesitant to go across bridges on playgrounds.
-Loves motorcycles.
-Is quite the little character.

Love & Hearts

The Lime was digging in the mud on Sunday afternoon and called me out back to take a look at something. "I was digging, and I looked down, and saw this!" he said. How appropriate.

Two weeks ago, The Lime had his 6 year well check. He's still tall (which we knew) and they confirmed his ears work just fine so he's been ignoring us this whole time. His warts will go away eventually and he has a heart murmur. I wasn't worried when the nurse told me but still, it made my heart sink a little to think that something might be wrong. So they referred us to a pediatric cardiologist, where we had some tests and an ultrasound done. In the time it took me to go into the bathroom to change Doodlebug's diaper, the doctor reviewed the tests and confirmed there was nothing to worry about. The "murmur" was the sound of his blood traveling through his heart. Yippee!

Since his appointment, I've wondered if there was something wrong and the prayers we offered prior to his appointment were miraculously answered. Or if there was really nothing going on in the first place. No matter the cause, we are thankful that our sweet Lime is functioning the way he's supposed to and that Heavenly Father watches over our little family.

Control

When I was younger, and all the siblings would be wrestling, my brothers would occasionally put blankets over our heads (my sister and I), or sit on our legs, or do both at the same time. I would FREAK out. No matter how much I tried to relax or tell myself it wasn't as bad as I thought, it would make it 10x worse. The only means of defense I had was to scream, and scream loud, which caught my mom's attention and then the boys had to stop.

I was looking through photos not too long ago and came across one of our family, several years ago, when we were all together for Christmas. I can remember that night as if it were yesterday. I ran around the corner to put some gas in my car (back when $5 would get you half a tank) when I was approached by a man, asking for money. I have never been one to carry cash so when I told him I didn't have any, I was being completely honest. He asked me again and I told him the same thing. Then he stood there, staring at me, as if he was contemplating what he should do next. As a petite, 20 year old girl, all by herself, completely helpless, I started freaking out (in my mind but I'm sure it showed on my face). We stood there for what seemed like forever when he turned around and walked away. I immediately got in my car, locked my door, burst into tears, and drove the 2 minutes back to my house.  "What happened?!?!" everyone asked as I walked through the door.  It was that same helpless feeling of when I was little, where I would have had few options of defense, had the man become more annoyed/frustrated with me and wanted to do harm.

Around that same time, I had taken a liking to a boy.  Only, he had a girlfriend, and a baby (with a different girl), but that didn't seem to stop my feelings from growing.  He had his own body shop where he was replacing the front fenders on my dad's Mustang, which I used as an excuse to see him.  Most of the time he had a friend there (never the girlfriend, though.  I was stupid during this time but not THAT stupid) but during this particular visit, he was by himself.  He had an upstairs to his shop and invited me to see the rooms.  We entered one of the rooms, me going in first, he shut the door, turned the light off, and stood in front of the door, blocking it.  So many red flags went up during the few minutes this took place, and I was completely aware of them, but I ignored every single one of them.  Until he turned the lights off.  I had to ask him a couple of times to turn them on until I made my way, through the dark, to the switch and turned them on myself.  I don't remember if his phone rang, or someone came into the shop, but something happened where he had to move from the doorway and we (more I) was able to leave.  I willingly put myself in a seriously dangerous situation where I had zero control.  If something happened (which nothing did), nobody would have heard me scream, I wouldn't have been able to fight him off (although he wasn't much taller than me), I don't even think I had told anyone where I was going.  But the feeling of having someone else in control of me is what scared me the most.  As it did in all the situations mentioned above.

So if I seem to lose it if you sit on my legs, cover me with a blanket, ask me for money when I don't have any and stare me down, or lock me in a dark room, you'll know why.

PBR

A few weeks ago, LaVor had to go to his brother's house to do some stuff. He went after work and asked if we wanted to go. I went back and forth and finally decided yes, the boys and I would join him. We did what we had to do and while LaVor was finishing up, I heard the DJ on the radio announce they'd be having a contest and giving away tickets to the PBR. The Lime has loved bull riding for as long as I can remember, and with his birthday right around the corner, I knew it would be awesome to win those tickets for him.

I had to keep track of the top five songs, plus one extra, and then call in when it was time. As a veteran radio contest winner, I started calling the second the DJ got back on the air to open the phone lines. With my phone ringing and LaVor's, I knew our chances were good. Except they kept ringing and ringing and ringing (like almost five minutes). "What's taking so long?!" I exclaimed. And then the DJ picked up my line and asked me a question. I was so embarrassed that I had to have him repeat it three times (I was afraid he'd hang up on me!) but third time's the charm and we finally made the connection. I gave him the answers, he made me howl like a wolf, and the two PBR tickets were mine!

Since The Lime opened them on his birthday, he's been asking if this Saturday was the day, and then this Saturday. Finally, we arrived on THE Saturday. LaVor took him to get a new shirt and pair of jeans, and thankfully his hat still fits. I almost died of the cuteness when he walked out of his room.

Golly gee, I love him!

Much to LaVor's dismay, I needed a father/son picture before they left. Doodlebug wanted to be included, even though he was staying home with me.

Soon they were off and I began the countdown until I could hear all about their fun! In the meantime, Doodlebug and I went to Target. Whoopdee doo.

Around 10:30, I heard the garage door open and in walked The Lime, grinning from ear to ear. I have a hard time getting my boys to give me details about anything, but this is what I gathered from the night;

-They went to In-N-Out for dinner
-They saw a couple guys get smooshed by the bulls
-One of the clowns danced to my #1 hated song, "Baby, I'm Worth It"
-They sat on the second level
-It was loud
-A prayer was offered before the event started
-There were no cute girls
-The Lime liked putting his feet on the chair in front of him
-They played Dustin Lynch's new music video

I'm sure more will come out over the next few days but I'd say they had a good time. And there's already talk of Doodlebug joining them next year.