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Lilypie Kids birthday Ticker
Sunday, June 29, 2008
3 Word Sunday

I know our picture is supposed to reflect our week. And I know that this is a picture from Sera's birthday in April. BUT I just got the cd with all the photos from her birthday in yesterday's mail. In case you've forgotten, or didn't know, there was a professional photographer at Sera's party. They were doing a story on the venue and asked to photograph her party. A few shots made it into the magazine and a few more on their website. Yesterday, I received a cd with all 239 photos.

If you're a mom who was at that party, I will sort and email the pictures with you and your children as soon as I can.

This was my favorite photo. I don't like pictures of me, but I love this one of us.

We just returned for a whirlwind 24-hour trip to Detroit. Our good friend, Doug, called Thursday with news he had tickets to Saturday's game. We met him and his wife, Laura, around 1 pm on Saturday and headed east. It was a great trip. The weather was beautiful. The Tigers won, and the fireworks were awesome. In the middle of the game, a man came to our row and gave Sera a plush Tigers hat. I'll get it posted when I can. It was very random and very nice. Jim and I wondered later if he was waiting to adopt. I didn't see where he'd come from, but Jim did. He had been sitting a few rows behind us. She was quite entertaining to watch. She was dancing, cheering, clapping, and yelling Go Tigers with the best of 'em. Jim has trained her well.

We got home today around 1 pm and have approximately 15 hours before we leave again. The house sitter is arranged, and we hit the road. We leave early tomorrow for Omaha. We'll spend the afternoon at the zoo and spend the night. We then head to Denver where we'll catch the Rockies at home. Ironically, last night's game was against the Rockies. On Wednesday, we'll travel the rest of the way to Jim's dad's house in Utah. We'll spend some time there where we'll also get to see Jim's sister, Wendy, and her family. Jim hasn't seen her in years, so it will be good for them to catch up. This will be the first time Sera meets anyone in Jim's family. Our plan is to relax and have a good time. If we find someplace interesting to stop. We will. We're bringing some camping supplies, so we may camp on the way home. It's nice to know that we can take our time and enjoy our roadtrip out west.

We will have the laptop with us and will blog as time and access permit. You know that we'll definitely have pictures.

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Friday, June 27, 2008
Favorite Ingredients Friday!
Here's a little something to warm the hearts of any true chocoholic.

Chocolate Pudding Fudge Cake

1 (18.25 ounce) package devil’s food cake mix
1 (3.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
4 eggs
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Glaze:

6 Tablespoons butter
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350° F (175° C). Grease and flour a 10 inch bundt pan.In a large bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, milk, oil, water and eggs. Beat for 4 minutes, and then mix in 2 cups chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

To make the glaze: Melt the butter and 1 cup chocolate chips in a double boiler or microwave oven. Stir until smooth and drizzle over cake.

Be sure to visit the Favorite Ingredients Friday home to find more great recipes!

Past FIF recipes:
Pasta, Pesto, and Peas
Basic Beef Starter, Plus
Pineapple Upside Down Biscuits
Tomato Chicken
Greatest Hits: Enchiladas de Pollo and Old-fashioned Peanut Butter Fudge
Almost Cabbage Rolls
Guacamole
German Chocolate Pie
Carne Asada & Sour Cream Tortilla Casserole
Dorito Salad
Shrimp Stuffed Potatoes
Apple Cake
Mocha
Vegetable Beef Soup
Stuffed Cabbage Soup
Raspberry Pie & White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Pie
Breakfast Granola
Shrimp Creole
Lazy Man's Lasagna & Apple Cake
Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Jim's Favorite Jelly Cookie
Eye of Round Roast
Mozzarella & Tomato Sandwich
Marcia's Taco Soup
Chicken Parmesan Casserole
Cajun Baked Catfish
Jim's Snickers Pancake
Crawfish Monica
Grilled Meats and Vegetables over Saffron Orzo
Crockpot Red Beans
Better Than Almost Anything Cake
Fruity Sangria
Outrageous Brownies
Enchiladas de Pollo
Lescó
Catalina Chicken
Croissant French Toast
Corned Beef
Sloppy Joe, Mac 'n Cheese Casserole
Shredded Chicken
Baked Bean & Burger Casserole
Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie
Crab Rangoon
Sausage con Queso and Ro-tel Cheese Dip
Blueberry Multigrain Coffeecake
Banana Bread
Bananas Foster
Old-Time Beef Stew
White Chocolate Snack Mix
Gorilla Bread
Ginger Shrimp
Roast Chicken
Tex-Mex Chicken Taco Soup
Shrimp Mold
Pasta Puttanesca
Pork Milanese
Pumpkin Dip
Oven-fried Chicken
Best Bundt Cake Ever
Hot Dog Casserole
Chicken & Rice
Peanut Butter Fudge
Omelets in a Bag
Shrimp Boil
Apple Cheese
Pulled Pork BBQ

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Tuesday, June 24, 2008
I Married a Genius
We've entered a part of summer that I dislike. It has nothing to do with the weather, which is rather nice right now. I don't even mind the late sunsets. It's the fireworks. Don't get me wrong, I love a good fireworks display as much as the next person, but I don't love listening to the boom every night and listening to my dog whimper and cower by my side. Officially, fireworks are illegal around here. Illegal to set off that is. They're perfectly legal to sell and buy. Explain that one to me?

They started a few nights ago, and they will increase exponetially until the 4th of July. At that point, they'll begin to diminish again.

Last summer wasn't a real problem for us because Sera easily slept through them. This summer she's in a easily-afraid-of-unusual-noises phase. Any noise that she doesn't instantly recognize causes her to run to me terrified until I explain it to her.

The other night the fireworks started while Jim was putting Sera to bed. It wasn't even completely dark yet. We've been trying to push her bedtime back a bit in preparation of our trip out west. Jim opened up her blinds and sat rocking with her and explained the fireworks to her. They watched and oohed and aahed over all the pitty colors.

Last night, Sera was having a hard time sleeping. Her three hour nap came back to bite us on the butt. About 9:30 her cries became crying, so I brought her into my room. She likes to lie on momma's pillow. I turned the season one dvd of The Wire off and turned the TV to the Food Network. She likes to watch cooking. Around 9:55, I told her that in 5 minutes it would be time to go back to her crib. She fell back on my pillow, pulled the blanket up and began to snore. I think she thought if I thought she was asleep that she could stay. Unfortunately for her, she can't fake sleeping for more than a minute before she starts giggling and shouting. "Mommy, Sera wake up!" The only time she ever really fusses about going to bed is if she's come into my room for a bit. She only fusses for a minute or two, but her fusses are really full-on crying bouts. I still bring her in because otherwise she's whining and whimpering for hours. I'll take a minute or two of crying over hours of whimpers any time.

After another minute or two, we heard the boom and she saw the fireworks from my window. My window faces the opposite side of the house, but that didn't stop me. I suggested she go back to her crib. She jumped up eager to go. I opened the blinds, and she gave me a hug and kiss night-night. Then she settled in watching for fireworks until she quietly fell asleep.

What could have been a summer of sleepless nights and crying over the booms of fireworks has turned into a pleasurable event that helps her fall asleep.

He's a genius!

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Monday, June 23, 2008
No Pee Pee Mommy
I forgot to tell you all the story behind yesterday's photo. M&Ms are a pretty big incentive for potty training. So much so, that Sera will sit on that potty for quite some time if she wants one. I'll keep asking her if she wants to get up and try again later, and she says no and stays there. At one point, she got up and gathered her dolls, Nana and Sophie, and brought them with her to the potty. She was sitting on the potty, rocking her babies, and reciting Brown Bear. It sounded something like this:

Brown Bear, Brown Bear see
Red Bird me

Red Bird, Red Bird see
Yellow Duck me

And yes, she can go through the entire list in order. We may have read that book once or one million times.

How could I not take this picture?

We had a huge breakthrough this morning. I was in the kitchen getting some yellow cheese as requested. I went back into the living room to find her standing by the potty with her panties at her ankles. She was clapping and cheering. I looked, and she had gone potty all by herself. She did it again about an hour later. We went the entire morning accident free. Woo hoo!

After the first success, she climbed up on the couch and patted me. She then said, "No pee pee mommy." I laughed and agreed with her. We had discussed the other day that you don't pee pee on mommy or daddy, but only on the potty. I'm glad that one took.

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Sunday, June 22, 2008
3 Word Sunday

I have absolutely no excuse for not posting all week. The muse just didn't move me for some reason.

On Wednesday, Sera and I met the Chinese adoption playgroup at the local zoo. We had a wonderful time. She really enjoyed all the animals. She wasn't as fond of the train, though. Our group split in half, and we were with two other families. Both Lily and Brooklyn wanted to ride the train, so we headed that way. Sera was all for it until the train pulled in and blew the whistle. She wanted nothing to do with it then. We had a nice rest while the other girls rode the train. We then ran into the other half of our group, went by the butterfly exhibit, and headed to the "restaurant" for lunch. It was nice to sit and enjoy the company of the other moms. When Lily and her mom said bye and headed out, Sera looked at me and said, "bye bye?" I asked her if she was ready to go home. She literally stood up on the bench and tried to climb over the back of her stroller to get in. She was exhausted, and it was about half an hour past naptime. I took the hint, so we made our way out. When we got to the car, she was chanting something under her breath. I couldn't hear what she was saying until I picked her up to put her in the car. She was saying ride train, ride train over and over. I told her next time, we'd ride the train. Same for the ponies. She rejected the idea there, but has since asked to ride the horsies.

As you can tell from the picture, we did hard core potty training this week. I relented and moved the potty to the living room. Another thing I swore I'd never do. Ha! You can't see it because I cropped it out, but there's a roll of toilet paper on the tray over her head. This isn't our first attempt. I first tried with pull-ups, but she can't feel the wet. We were doing okay with pooping with those, but not peeing. On Thursday, I tried the plastic coated underpants I found on Ebay. She felt the wet this time, but they leaked. Then I figured I'd just go for it. If those were going to leak, might as well head straight to the big girl panties. I brought down a stack of towels and told her she had to sit on a towel if she was wearing big girl panties. She did really well. Every accident she had happened on a towel (or me) except for one. And for that one, she was in the kitchen not on the carpeting. She made it to the potty about once per every two accidents the first day. On the second day, she only had one accident. Since then, she's done pretty well. I'm using the old M&M bribe, and it definitely works.

That's about it for our week. I guess it was hard to be inspired when the main highlight of most of my days was being peed on.

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Sunday, June 15, 2008
3 Word Sunday

Jim took Sera out Thursday afternoon for a ride and to give me a break. They came home with a bike. Doesn't she look proud? It took us a few days, but we finally found a helmet to fit her. Now we're looking for some knee pads. She's having a bit of trouble with sharp turns and has already had a few tumbles.

This is just one example of many of how great Sera's daddy is. She couldn't ask for a better daddy. I couldn't ask for a better husband.

We love you, daddy!

To see other 3 Word Sunday pictures or to add your own, visit P*ug M*ama. The more the merrier!

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Friday, June 13, 2008
Favorite Ingredients Friday!
It's grillin' time. Since Jim got his new grill, he's been doing all the cooking. It's been great and delicious.

I saw this recipe the other day and decided it would be a great side dish with grilled chicken. Then I learned that the playgroup this week (our first week back since the school year started last August) was a potluck. I ended up buying double the ingredients, planning to make one for the potluck and one for us. It made so much that I haven't made the second batch yet, but I'm very happy I have the ingredients on hand to do so. It was quick, easy, and delicious!



Pasta, Pesto, and Peas
by Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa

3/4 pound fusilli pasta
3/4 pound bow tie pasta
1/4 cup good olive oil
1 1/2 cups pesto
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/4 cups good mayonnaise
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 1/2 cups frozen peas, defrosted
1/3 cup pignoli (pine nuts)
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cook the fusilli and bow ties separately in a large pot of boiling salted water for 10 to 12 minutes until each pasta is al dente. Drain and toss into a bowl with the olive oil. Cool to room temperature.

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, puree the pesto, spinach, and lemon juice. Add the mayonnaise and puree. Add the pesto mixture to the cooled pasta and then add the Parmesan, peas, pignoli, salt, and pepper. Mix well, season to taste, and serve at room temperature.

My notes: I used a jarred pesto. I did not use anywhere near that amount of olive oil. I just added enough to keep the pasta from sticking together. I also didn't use as much mayonaisse. I added it to taste. I also toasted the pine nuts before adding them. Instead of frozen peas, I used my favorite Leseur peas.

Be sure to visit the Favorite Ingredients Friday home to find more great recipes!

Past FIF recipes:
Basic Beef Starter, Plus
Pineapple Upside Down Biscuits
Tomato Chicken
Greatest Hits: Enchiladas de Pollo and Old-fashioned Peanut Butter Fudge
Almost Cabbage Rolls
Guacamole
German Chocolate Pie
Carne Asada & Sour Cream Tortilla Casserole
Dorito Salad
Shrimp Stuffed Potatoes
Apple Cake
Mocha
Vegetable Beef Soup
Stuffed Cabbage Soup
Raspberry Pie & White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Pie
Breakfast Granola
Shrimp Creole
Lazy Man's Lasagna & Apple Cake
Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Jim's Favorite Jelly Cookie
Eye of Round Roast
Mozzarella & Tomato Sandwich
Marcia's Taco Soup
Chicken Parmesan Casserole
Cajun Baked Catfish
Jim's Snickers Pancake
Crawfish Monica
Grilled Meats and Vegetables over Saffron Orzo
Crockpot Red Beans
Better Than Almost Anything Cake
Fruity Sangria
Outrageous Brownies
Enchiladas de Pollo
Lescó
Catalina Chicken
Croissant French Toast
Corned Beef
Sloppy Joe, Mac 'n Cheese Casserole
Shredded Chicken
Baked Bean & Burger Casserole
Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie
Crab Rangoon
Sausage con Queso and Ro-tel Cheese Dip
Blueberry Multigrain Coffeecake
Banana Bread
Bananas Foster
Old-Time Beef Stew
White Chocolate Snack Mix
Gorilla Bread
Ginger Shrimp
Roast Chicken
Tex-Mex Chicken Taco Soup
Shrimp Mold
Pasta Puttanesca
Pork Milanese
Pumpkin Dip
Oven-fried Chicken
Best Bundt Cake Ever
Hot Dog Casserole
Chicken & Rice
Peanut Butter Fudge
Omelets in a Bag
Shrimp Boil
Apple Cheese
Pulled Pork BBQ

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Thursday, June 12, 2008
Bring the Mount...err Beach to Sera
When we went to Gulf Shores for spring break, Sera fell in love with the beach. Since we can't bring Sera to the beach easily, we brought the beach to Sera. Monday morning, she and I had a girl's morning out. We went to breakfast and then to Target. At the store, I found this sand and water table. I'd been looking online at several, but hadn't ordered one. This one was perfect, and was a lot less expensive than the online versions.

She and I put it together when we got home. She was a very good helper. She immediately took off with the four legs and the two support bars, but when I asked her to bring me the big yellow sticks, she brought them. Ditto for the legs.

While we waited for daddy to come home, she started making soup for me. It came out of the funnel into the star strainer. She told me it had chicken and noodles. It was very yummy, and she made several bowls for me.

After daddy came home, we had to go out for an appointment, some errands, an early dinner, and a quick stop at Wal-mart to buy sand.

These pictures were taken Tuesday afternoon when we added the water and sand to the table. She absolutely loves it.

So how does this work now?

Okay, this could be fun.

Hold on, daddy. Let me pull my chair up, too.

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Stop The Boycott!
Congratulations, Stephanie! The Internet community can now continue to watch Top Chef without imploding.

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Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Yay, Mommy!
"Mommy pee-peed in the potty!" "Yay, Mommy!" "Good job!"

Can you guess we're potty training? This is what I heard after flushing yesterday afternoon. To quote Karen Katz, "I'm so proud of me!", which we've read 900 times since it arrived on Saturday.

Sera's really good about getting to the potty, unless she's asleep, when she has to poop, but we're having trouble getting there just to pee. It's only happened once. I thought I'd get her some training pants so she'd feel the wet. Let me tell you, it's hard to find training pants period. It's doubly hard to find them in her size. I had to explain what they were to one employee who thought it was a wonderful idea and is going to look for some for her three-year-old. I finally found some online at Ebay. I've got two on the way, and I've bid on a pack of three. Sheesh!

Here's her outfit as seen on spring break with cape. Several weeks ago, Jim watched a Superman cartoon with her. The last few days she's been trying to hold her blanket around her neck like a cape, so I pulled this out to let her wear it. It's the only thing she wants to wear now. In the morning, when I pull out an outfit, she tells me, "No, Superman!"

She's wearing a pair of shorts on her head. She's going through a phase of putting clothes on her head and calling them hats. It's hysterical. You'll notice our door in the background? If I pull out the camera, she runs to the door to pose. But she turns and runs to me or around the corner before I can get a picture. She thinks it's a fun game. I call it the papparazzi game. It's hilarious.

This is the outfit she chose today. The slippers and the outfit were passed on from friends. They've been in her drawer (outfit) and toy basket (shoes) for months. She "discovered" the shoes the other day. They finally fit her, and she loves them. They go perfectly with her new Fancy Nancy sunglasses. Fancy Nancy is a must at bedtime.

Trying to get away before I get her picture.

Jim was talking to some men in the front yard while I was cooking dinner. Sera yelled to me that she had put her shoes on and was going outside. She didn't understand when I laughed and told her she was quite ready to go.

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Sunday, June 08, 2008
3 Word Sunday

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Friday, June 06, 2008
Favorite Ingredients Friday - Freezer Edition!

I have got to start doing more freezer cooking. In fact, I think I want a freezer for my birthday. Dinners during the school year were tough to pull off each night. I don't see next year being any easier. I do have to admit they're a breeze right now. Since Jim got his new grill, he's cooked dinner every single night.

I'm going through a bunch of old magazines and pulling out the recipes I really want to try and discarding the rest. It's time to do some major purging. This is a recipe I recently added to my files. I love the idea of making a base component and freezing it, then using it later to make different meals. I'll include the main recipe and the two they had to follow up. These came from Taste of Home magazine.

Recipe #1

Basic Beef Starter

5 pounds ground beef
4 medium onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 bottle (12 ounces) chili sauce
1 envelope brown gravy mix
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 teaspoon salt

In a Dutch oven, cook the beef, onions and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Cook for 10 minutes or until heated through. Cool.

Place about 2-3/4 cups each in four freezer containers. May be frozen for up to 3 months. Yield: 4 portions (11-1/2 cups).

Recipe #2

Beef-Stuffed Peppers

1 portion Basic Beef Starter, thawed
1-1/4 cups cooked rice
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/8 teaspoon pepper
4 medium green pepper
1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a bowl, combine the beef starter, rice, tomato sauce, basil and pepper. Cut tops off green peppers and remove seeds. Spoon 1 cup of beef mixture into each pepper.

Place in a 10-in. round microwave-safe dish. Cover loosely; cook on high for 7-9 minutes or until peppers are tender, rotating a half turn once. Let stand, covered, for 3 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese. Yield: 4 servings.

Recipe #3

Start-Ahead Stroganoff

1 portion Basic Beef Starter, thawed
1 can (4 ounces) mushroom stems and pieces, drained
1 teaspoon beef bouillon granules
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cold water
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, cubed
Hot cooked noodles

In a large skillet over medium heat, combine the beef starter and mushrooms. Add the bouillon and Worcestershire sauce. Combine flour and water until smooth; stir into the beef mixture. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Stir in cream cheese until melted. Serve over noodles. Yield: 4 servings.

Be sure to visit the Favorite Ingredients Friday home to find more great recipes!

Past FIF recipes:
Pineapple Upside Down Biscuits
Tomato Chicken
Greatest Hits: Enchiladas de Pollo and Old-fashioned Peanut Butter Fudge
Almost Cabbage Rolls
Guacamole
German Chocolate Pie
Carne Asada & Sour Cream Tortilla Casserole
Dorito Salad
Shrimp Stuffed Potatoes
Apple Cake
Mocha
Vegetable Beef Soup
Stuffed Cabbage Soup
Raspberry Pie & White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Pie
Breakfast Granola
Shrimp Creole
Lazy Man's Lasagna & Apple Cake
Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Jim's Favorite Jelly Cookie
Eye of Round Roast
Mozzarella & Tomato Sandwich
Marcia's Taco Soup
Chicken Parmesan Casserole
Cajun Baked Catfish
Jim's Snickers Pancake
Crawfish Monica
Grilled Meats and Vegetables over Saffron Orzo
Crockpot Red Beans
Better Than Almost Anything Cake
Fruity Sangria
Outrageous Brownies
Enchiladas de Pollo
Lescó
Catalina Chicken
Croissant French Toast
Corned Beef
Sloppy Joe, Mac 'n Cheese Casserole
Shredded Chicken
Baked Bean & Burger Casserole
Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie
Crab Rangoon
Sausage con Queso and Ro-tel Cheese Dip
Blueberry Multigrain Coffeecake
Banana Bread
Bananas Foster
Old-Time Beef Stew
White Chocolate Snack Mix
Gorilla Bread
Ginger Shrimp
Roast Chicken
Tex-Mex Chicken Taco Soup
Shrimp Mold
Pasta Puttanesca
Pork Milanese
Pumpkin Dip
Oven-fried Chicken
Best Bundt Cake Ever
Hot Dog Casserole
Chicken & Rice
Peanut Butter Fudge
Omelets in a Bag
Shrimp Boil
Apple Cheese
Pulled Pork BBQ

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Thursday, June 05, 2008
Vacation?
When we last left our intrepid vacationers, there was talk of cuddles and hot flashes. We've had a lot of the former this week, and, thankfully, none of the latter.

Monday morning we checked Sera's throat to see what her red splotches looked like and found they'd turned to canker sores. I went ahead and called her doctor and scheduled an appointment. They could fit us in at 2:50. I put Sera down for her nap at noon thinking she could get two hours sleep and have time for a quick snack before her appointment. Instead of being a smart mommy and showering and dressing during her nap, I surfed and read blogs. At 1:45, I decided I needed to jump in the shower and dress quickly. At 1:46, Sera woke up crying. I used our phone intercom to call Jim up from the basement to watch Sera while I got showered and dressed. In the minute I did that her cries became more strident. I ran to her room and found her hysterical on all fours. She was crying so hard, I knew she was about to throw up. I quickly moved her pillow and blanket out of the way, and started rubbing her back while letting her know I was there, and she was okay. Jim ran in just as she finished. I pulled off her shirt quickly, swiping her face while I did. Jim ran and got something to clean up the mess, and I held Sera and took her to our room and sat on the bed.

She was hysterical. The closest I've seen her to this upset was the night she had the ear infection. She finally stopped crying while I was holding her, but the shuddering went on and on. Jim and I decided not to wait, but to leave right away for the doctor.

The shower was out, but I definitely needed to put on something else before going out in public. I handed Sera to Jim, and that started another crying jag. She was crying for me and telling Jim, "no, daddy. bye, daddy." It was heartbreaking. I threw on a t-shirt and some athletic pants. Not much better than what I'd had on, but at least it didn't have kitty-cats and stars all over it. Jim ran and got her another shirt, and we took off. We didn't even stop to get her shoes.

As soon as I put her in the car, she was calming down. By the time we got to the doctor, she had completely stopped crying. In fact, she seemed fine. I reached to get her out of the car seat and that was when she noticed she didn't have shoes. "Ohhhh, nooooo, mama. No shoes!"

We sat down in the waiting room while Jim checked us in. She didn't run around playing with the toys or visiting the fish in the aquarium like usual. She sat right next to me on the chairs and snuggled into my side.

The doctor tested her for strep - negative. She diagnosed her with a really bad sore throat. No, she did actually call it a name, but it was gone as soon as I heard it. Basically, it's a similar virus to hand, foot, and mouth disease, but it only affects her mouth. Her throat, roof of her mouth, tongue, inside of her cheek, and the inside of her lower lip had canker sores. The only real danger, the doctor said, was that many children wouldn't eat or drink enough to stay hydrated because of the pain. Sera had asked for yogurt for breakfast and had eaten an entire adult-sized container, plus part of a second. We also let her have some ice cream for lunch. Okay, we let her have a second bowl, too. Once we saw those sores, we let her have as much as she wanted.

She's been taking ibuprofen every six hours to alleviate the pain and has been on a six-day quarantine. She's handled the quarantine better than mommy. I'm about to go stir crazy. Daddy went back to work on Wednesday.

Overall, she's been so good through this. We've had some mood swings. I was calling her Sybil the other day. Wait 60 seconds and a new personality came out. Sometimes good; sometimes not so good.

We learned she likes going by new names. Jim was playing with her, and she started squealing at such a high level I'm surprised all the neighbors dogs didn't end up in our yard. Jim asked her if she was Mariah. She nodded, pointed to herself, and said Mariah. Then I called for Mariah to come to me. She started laughing and came running to my arms. She's a hoot.


My only excuse for not aknowledging this lovely award earlier this week is the amount of time I've spent on the couch snuggling a certain someone. Tammie, thank you so much for this. You are definitely one of the blogs that I visit daily. I love reading about your adventures with Erin, and it's a fun little reminder of life in south Florida. Did I ever tell you that I lived in North Lauderdale for four years?

Now, it's my turn to nominate five blogs that make my day.

This first blog won't come as a surprise to anyone. Why I nominate may though. Jim and I got to know each other through the written word. Reading his blog gives me insight to his thoughts that may not get expressed in the day-to-day, and reminds me of the early days of our relationship.

It's much harder to narrow down four others.

I have to include Susan and As We Wait for Eleanor and LilyKate. Susan is my sister's good friend and neighbor. We all waited together and are so thrilled to see her twins. She and her husband will be travelling in just days to get their girls.

For number three, I'm going to pick an extremely popular blogger. She certainly doesn't need any traffic I'll send her way, but I love her site and think you will, too. If you don't already. Be sure to visit the cooking tab of Confessions of a Pioneer Woman. Every recipe she posts makes you want to run out and cook. Her photography is amazing, and she's an excellent and witty writer.

My criteria for choosing these blogs are the ones I get excited about when I see Bloglines showing a new posting. I enjoy every blog on my list, or they wouldn't be on my list, but with some you just know you're going to get a good read. Know what I mean? Well Meredith from A Mother Singing is one such blogger. She doesn't write daily, but when she does....wow!

And last, but certainly not least, I have a tie. Again I'm going to show some nepotism. But how could I not get excited when these bloggers post. I get to see photos of some of my favorite people in the world, my nieces and nephews. Enjoy visiting my sisters' blogs, Marcia at Waiting for a Graceful Morning, and Jessica at Her Name is Not Mini!

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Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Buh Bye, Baby!

It's time to say good-bye to my baby. She's a big girl now. There have been clues along the way, but I was choosing to ignore them. Her favorite phrases right now are "I do it," "I found it," and "I got it." Notice a trend there? Then the other day she walked all the way up the stairs on her feet. She didn't get down and crawl for one single step. She's regularly making it to the potty for number two. The only time she hasn't made it has been due to sleeping or illness.

But the biggest clue came tonight. I was doing her laundry when I hear something clanking when I'm transferring her clothes to the dryer. Usually when I hear that noise, it's because Jim had change in his pockets. I looked in the drum to find the source. It was rocks.

I've mentioned how Sera loves the outside. I don't think I've mentioned her new obsession with rocks and twigs. She's collecting them. Most people use that little pouch on their chair to hold a drink. Not Sera, oh no, not Sera. To her, it's ideal spot to hold her treasures.

I had noticed the other day that she had discovered her pockets and was putting her hands in them. She had never put anything else in them before. I guess I'd better start checking them.

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Monday, June 02, 2008
Things Not Considered

I must say it is interesting becoming a first time mom in my 40s. There are definite advantages and disadvantages. Most of which are pretty obvious, so I won't go there.

But here's something I never considered. Last night, Sera was having a hard time sleeping. Her fever hadn't come back since Saturday night, but she was definitely not 100% yesterday. Around midnight, I went to her and took her to the guest room to sleep with me. She and I do okay in the guest room bed. When she's in bed with both Jim and I, it becomes play time.

Last night wasn't play time because she was upset. She wanted to cuddle. It was a little muggy and I was wishing the guest room had a ceiling fan. I'm a ceiling fan addict when I sleep. I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the door because it was substantially cooler than my bedroom.

I was sitting on the edge of the bed cuddling Sera and getting ready to lie down with her when I had a full-blown hot flash. I've only had two or three so it's never my first thought. I just assumed I was hot. I put her down and opened the window. I then lay down with her. She climbed practically on top of me to cuddle. As I lay there dripping in sweat and with a racing heart, I was thinking how am I going to do this. How can I sleep when it's so hot. At about that time, I noticed that my legs weren't hot nor were my arms. In fact, those parts of my body were slightly chilled. I'm slow, but I finally realized it was a hot flash. Just about that time, it started to go away.

Those are the things you never consider. The last thing I want when I'm that hot is to have any one, human or canine, touching me. That wasn't even a consideration when Sera needed me, but boy was I happy it was short-lived.

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Sunday, June 01, 2008
Giveaway Winners

We have winners. In fact, you all win! We had nine commenters: one posted twice and one was unrelated to the giveaway. That meant seven actual comments, and we had seven prizes.

Since some of the commenters were related by blood or marriage. I called on random.org to choose the two gift pack winners. The numbers were six and five.

Congratulations to Wendi from My Heart is Always Home and Sandra from Jazzie and Tahlia.

I love having everyone win. Please email your snail mail addresses to me, and I'll get those packages sent to you right away.

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3 Word Sunday*

This photo is actually from last weekend. Sera had climbed up, but Jim wasn't ready to catch her. He was taking something around the house. He told her to wait, and he'd be right back. She sat down and waited.

Sera and I have hunkered down this weekend, while Jim has been a crazy man running errands. He got his Father's Day present early - a brand new grill. His old grill was at least three years past its retirement. The other day I received an unexpected check from work. More forgotten than unexpected. I'm a mentor for new teachers. Because of this, I get a small stipend at the end of the year. I have plenty of responsible things I could have done with this money, but instead I bought something I've wanted for Sera for months and the grill for Jim. It may not be the most responsible thing to do, but a small unexpected windfall should be for fun, shouldn't it?

Anyway, Jim's hard work all day Saturday paid off. He made dinner last night for us. Grilled steak, chicken kabob, and corn-on-the-cob. We all shared the steak and kabob, so we could try a little of everything. A new grill really does make a difference.

Sera and I stayed home because she woke up on the first day of summer vacation with a fever of 101. She's not acting sick at all. She's been her usual happy self and played all day. That fever came back like clockwork though, every four hours. Each time was higher. After her nap, it was close to 103. In the evening, it was 104. She got a tepid bath before bed. I'll be checking on her throughout the night. Okay, I just gave myself away. I'm typing this Saturday night and setting it to post in the morning. Hopefully, by morning, she'll be fine.

*3 Word Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by the fabulous P*ugMa*ma. If you'd like to join in, the more the merrier. On the following Monday or Tuesday, she puts all the pictures together in a great video.

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