What a Week

Well our visitors are gone and I have to say I was sad to see them go. I have really enjoyed watching Em with her grandparents. She was genuinely sad when they left today. I swear I actually see her experiencing new things everyday. I have a busy weekend ahead with a women's conference at church and a concert Sunday night but I am hoping to get back to my routine on Monday.

In other random news, I got my haircut last Friday and I hate it. For those of you who have known me for awhile you know I am very sensitive about my hair. I am much less high maintenance now that I used to be in my life but when I want to feel good I do my hair and put on a little make up and usually I feel a little less schlumpy then my standard house wife self. Well my hair is square. I am not even sure how she did it but it looks terrible and I was really sad. I am over it now but I am desperately taking my vitamins in the hopes it grows out or does something before Penny's wedding. UGH!!

Emelia had her first ice cream cone this past week and she LOVED it. I also let her eat a piece of chocolate cake by herself - YIKES!

Yummy!

The Beauty of Spring

Just a quick update so that my blog doesn't have poop as the first word anymore...

Our family visit has been good. The week is whizzing by. Emelia enjoys being with Grammy and Papa M. Everyone in the house is healthy but I have gotten in to some bad habits this week. I haven't been working out and I have been indulging in wine every night with our guests. I am sure I have gained five pounds. I will just have to catch up next week - I wonder what Mariah Carey did to get so skinny. Oh that's right she eats artichokes and squash and does water aerobics. (I am down with the water aerobics but I can't give up food.) Dang it, guess I will have to find another way!

Poop Glorious Poop

I have never been so happy to see a turd in my entire life. We are officially diarrhea free. Jeff apparently now has a different strain of cooties that leaves him with a nasty case of the chills and aches. I practically forced him to stay home today because if I worked at his office I would not want whatever he has.

So I found out yesterday that Jeff's parents are coming... on Monday. I was terrified, horrified and madified. (not really a word but you get the point.) When my FRIENDS from St. Louis came it took me a week to get the house the way I wanted it. With my mother-in-law coming I have one weekend. I was freaking out last night, then I prayed. I prayed that God would help me remember the value of family and not get caught up in my homemaker pride and today I feel better. Oh, I am still going to clean the house right good, but I am done freaking out.

I will keep you posted on how it goes.

By the way, I continue to be amazed at how God gives each person unique gifts and then fits them in to each other's lives to enrich them. My friend Thuy claims I am a really good host but she is a really good guest - she sent me a thank you card with delightful chocolate treats and really cute pictures of the babe this week. I was just struck by how we fit and by how good that chocolate covered marshmallow tasted after eating only toast and bananas for four days.

Cooties 2.0

I officially am titling yesterday the day of diarrhea. I think we changed Em's diaper 20 times. Once we changed her twice in 10 minutes. Bless her little heart, she was a disaster. I woke up feeling pretty grim and by my fourth trip to the bathroom in an hour realized I too had the cooties. Jeff worked from home in the afternoon so I could get some rest, God love him! We have been diarrhea free for 18 hours now so I am hoping we are on the road to recovery. I think Emelia is starting to get stir crazy, this morning she just walked around whining. Then she had a terrible melt down and went down for a nap at 9:45, two and a half hours after she got up. I can't figure it out. I am guessing she is still feeling yucky. I haven't been to the doctor because I am guessing there is not much they can do for her but if she has diarrhea again today we are calling for an appointment. I think we will try to go for a walk when she wakes up in an effort to get her outside without infecting anyone else. Man alive I am ready for everyone to be healthy for the rest of the year.

Gross

Emelia is sick, again. On Saturday we woke up to find her covered in vomit. It was pretty gross, poor thing who knows when she puked but she then must have rolled around in it all night. She was a noodle most of Saturday then perked up in the afternoon. We had people over for dinner, and I felt bad because they have kids. I told Jeff we should call and tell them Em is sick and give them the choice of coming or not but he thought it would be fine. It was fine... until she threw up all over the kitchen floor while everyone was there. Double yuck!

Sunday we moved on to diarrhea. Today we have had super soft poop and crabbiness. The thing that is worrying me the most is she is not really eating. She ate maybe 1/2 a cup of food yesterday and 1/4 cup so far today. She is drinking tons of milk though so I guess she is getting some nutrition that way. You know I am a freak about her eating anyway so this is a new challenge for me.

God bless Jeff though, he is the one who found her covered in vomit on Saturday morning because I was at the grocery store. He has a pretty weak stomach so I am proud of him for stripping her down and throwing her in the bath and not vomiting himself.

Maybe Em got sick to take my mind off the fact that it snowed here in April. Really, I mean really?!?!?!

Crazy Baby

Emelia has been doing so many funny things lately. One of her new favorite things is eating fruit but the trick is she wants to eat the whole thing. She doesn't want a slice of apple she wants to eat it off the core. It is so funny to watch. It is not so funny to clean up but oh well. She also discovered that the vacuum cleaner blows out air on top so she stands in front of the vacuum with the wind blowing through her hair posing like a super model. She is so funny. What is not so funny is that she is beginning to assert her independence and she wants what she wants when she wants it. I am not really sure what I should be doing about discipline at this age but I need to figure it out and quick!



Pears are super yummy!




Hard to see, but this is miss supermodel in front of the vacuum.


I heard about this pose on America's Next Top Model!

Burnin' Down the House

Women of Faith this weekend was great. Thuy and I had such a good time, so did the guys. Nothing says fun like watching baseball, going to Costco and babysitting. : )

Women of Faith was really different this time for me. Last time I went it was a few months after my mom had passed away and I was in such a fragile emotional place. This time I definitely felt less emotionally but I also felt more tested by some of the topics. The one thing that I keep reflecting on is a drama about the verse in James that talks about a tongue being like a flame. The dramatist showed how harsh words to your family members can set your house on fire and leave burn marks that never completely heal. The actual verse from the Bible is this.

James 3:4-6 "4 And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. 5 In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.

But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. 6 And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself."

I was really convicted by the drama. When I am overwhelmed or frustrated, I say mean things. I know that is terrible and in this moment I can recognize that it is terrible but when the baby is crying and the dog is barking and the pasta water is boiling over, my tongue is scorching. I yell at whoever, the baby, the dog, my husband. I would be ashamed if any of my friends heard me - the mean hostile tone of my voice, the piercing words - yet I unleash them on the people I love most on this earth. Why is it that we are the meanest to the people we love the most? Is it because we know they will forgive us? I don't know what it is but I know that the things I say in the heat of that moment are still with Jeff and one day they will remain with Emelia as well. That is why I am really going to start praying that God helps me hold my tongue. I have been working on not getting hostile when something frustrating happens and I am getting better at letting go of things. But I will never completely be able to stay calm, so I need to react without the terrible tongue. I don't think we stop to think about how powerful our words are, I am trying to fully understand the weight of the words I choose and I am trying to choose words that don't burn down my house.

Perspective

God is good! I got the results of my biopsy and they were negative, nothing to worry about - hooray! Pink eye seems to be gone and the baby is back to her old self but with a slight Sesame Street addiction. I now hide the remote and turn the TV off (no Today Show for me) and then she seems to be fine.

I lost another pound and a half. This means I have officially lost twenty pounds of non-baby weight. (I was twenty pounds heavier before I got pregnant than I am now, make sense?) I am trying hard to eat better and take better care of my body and I really feel a difference.

After our week of craziness I have to say I still feel blessed. My friend's little boy has hand/foot/mouth disease (apparently just a childhood illness that is not as scary as it sounds but still pretty unfun none the less.) She also has a three year old to keep happy. Now that is a challenge. We are praying for you sister!

My friend Thuy is coming this weekend and we are going to Women of Faith. I am so excited I could just about pee. I have cleaned every room in the house and stocked the pantry. I am putting her to work making her famous Vietnamese Spring Rolls one night - yummy!

I am also excited because tonight is water aerobics - my first time to the gym in almost two weeks. Besides the fact that it is the end of March and the temperature with wind chill is in the 20's, today is shaping up to be a good day!

As the Moc Turns

The last 10 days have been some wacky times at the Mochal household. This is a brief synopsis...

Monday 3/17 - I feel crummy so I go to the doctor who does a quick return strep test which is negative, says I have a sinus infection and some "grossness on my tonsil". I leave with my prescription in hand and head home for lunch and nap time. Emmy's nose is still running so after nap time we go back to the doctor who says she needs another round of antibiotics. Okay, off to Target we go to fill our prescriptions and get started.

Tuesday 3/18 - Mom's birthday but oddly enough I don't realize it because when I set my watch for daylight savings time I must have screwed up the date so I think it is the 19. I feel better and Emmy's nose is still running. The doctor calls and my strep culture came back positive after they let it sit for awhile but I am on antibiotics so all is well.

Wednesday 3/19 - I host playgroup, it goes really well and it was so nice to talk to people again and just be around other moms.

Thursday 3/20 - I go in for a breast biopsy. I had gone to the doctor because I had a red spot on my right breast and she thought it was a clogged duct but ordered an ultrasound to be on the safe side. That detected a small nodule which looked benign so I had a mammogram. That detected the same nodule so we decided to remove it and look at it under a microscope to make sure it was benign. The hospital staff was so gracious and kind it was a complete answer to prayer. All of the doctors thought it was nothing to worry about but I get the official results sometime this week.

Friday 3/21 - Emmy's nose is still running and now her eye is goopy. We plug away with the antibiotics.

Saturday 3/22 - We were at the furniture mart and I was holding Emmy's hand. She wanted to go one way but I wouldn't let her so she stopped supporting her weight so I was basically holding her by her hand only. I heard two loud cracks and now she won't move her arm and she is crying pretty good. Crap, I broke her arm, what kind of mother am I?!?! We call the after hours nurse for our doctor, she says we should go to the hospital to have it looked at. She has what is called nursemaid's elbow which basically means she dislocated her elbow. It took us longer to fill out paperwork then it did for the delightful Dr. to fix it. We return home like nothing ever happened. The good news is I think I met our deductible with the breast biopsy so hopefully this little field trip will be free.

Sunday 3/23 - We all get fancied up and head off to Easter church. When I pick Emmy up from the nursery she is asleep on someone's lap. This is weird since it is 10:30 and she has been napping around noon. We get sleepy face home and change her clothes only to discover a big blotch on her should. We put her down for a nap and look it up on the internet and determine she has hives. When she gets up from her nap they are all over her back. I give her some Benadryl and they disappear in 15 minutes. She is a wet noodle most of the rest of the afternoon - except when we did an Easter egg hunt and she discovered the magic of jelly beans. We get home from my aunt's house and now she has a fever. We talked to the triage nurse again and decide she is probably fine, just an allergic reaction to her Easter dress. I got it from the resale shop and didn't wash it (mostly because it was linen and I didn't want to iron it - all those things God says about laziness in the Bible are true)

Monday 3/24 - I call the doctor tell them about the weekend and add her new issue, her eye was crusted shut when she woke up this morning. She says bring her in. So now, for the third Monday in a row we are at the doctor. She has pink eye. Seriously, I am expecting locusts or frogs next.

Tuesday 3/25 - Now we can't go to our friend's birthday party, we can't go to the gym, we probably infected most of the kids at church and we are watching boat loads of Sesame Street because we have to stay inside. I look forward to Thursday when she supposedly isn't contagious anymore and I hope Jeff and I don't get it.

Cooties

Man, it seems like every week one of us is sick and we are back in the rotation. The baby had slight sinus infection and ear infection but she seemed to be getting better until this weekend. We went through an entire box of kleenex wiping her nose. I took her back in yesterday and they said she is getting better but she will probably need a second dose of antibiotics. i tried grape bubble gum flavoring this time, maybe that will be better because plain bubble gum did not seem to make her more receptive to it. Then on Sunday I started with the sore throat and aches and chills - YUCK! Those were the exact symptoms Jeff had when we had strep throat so I went to the doctor. I have a sinus infection and the sore throat is from post nasal drip - yummy. I felt a little better yesterday afternoon but today i feel worse. Man alive I do not like being sick. At least now I can write on my resume never called in sick from this job.

So last week when I went to the doctor for her check up I got the normal handouts that say here are the milestones you should expect for this age, blah blah and one of them said she should be completely feeding herself by fifteen months. Well crap! She would take a spoon or fork I loaded and put it in her mouth but I didn't dare sit a bowl of something in front of her and let her go at it. She would starve. Apparently I was wrong. She did pretty well with the motion of putting the spoon in to something and putting it in her mouth. Things like oatmeal that stick to the spoon have been great, things like soup or yogurt have not been great. She turns the spoon upside down before putting it in her mouth. This is what a dish of yogurt looked like when she got done with it.

Fifteen months is fun

Not everyday is fun but she is fun right now. It is like I can see her brain making connections. The other day I was cleaning our bedroom and bathroom and she was upstairs playing in my jewelry box. (This used to be one of my favorite things to do when I was a kid.) I gave her two bracelets and she put them on her arm and then walked around with her arm in the air so they wouldn't fall off. Today I blew her a kiss and she blew one back to me. She has full blown conversations with herself or other kids and she sounds so sincere. I can't understand what she is saying but her tone sounds just like a real person. It really is fun. She is having some sleep issues and we are trying to break away from the binky which is not fun, but for me, so far this is the best age. I think it has less to do with age and more to do with stage.

Her are some new pictures. Would you look at this little outfit we wore to church last week.

Seriously!


Clipping Coupons - I am starting her early

Pigtails... I could eat them up - so cute!

Motherhood

Well, we are back from Minneapolis and I am actually appreciating the Omaha weather. Today was lovely. I put on my flip flops even though my toes were offended they were not given more notice to get ready for sandal weather.

This is an email I got from a friend and it cracked me up. It is so true.

Recently, I was diagnosed with C. A. A. D. D. - Child Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

This is how it manifests:
I decide to do the laundry. As I start toward the basement, I notice that there are cheerios all over the floor and my house keys are in the cereal bowl. I decide to pick up the cheerios before I do the laundry. I lay my keys down on the counter, put the cheerios in the trash can under the counter, and notice that the trash can is full. So, I decide to take out the trash.
But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the trash I may as well pay the bills first. I take my check book off the table, and see that there is only one check left, my extra checks are in my desk in the office, so I go to my desk where I find a sippy cup full of juice. I'm going to look for my checks, but first I decide I should put the sippy cup in the refrigerator to keep it cold.
As I head toward the kitchen with the sippy cup a plant on the counter catches my eye--it needs to be watered. I set the sippy cup on the counter, and I discover baby wipes that I've been searching for all morning. I decide I better put them back in the bathroom, but first I'm going to water the plants. I set the wipes back down, fill a container with water and suddenly I spot the TV remote, left on the kitchen table.
I realize that when I go to watch TV, I will be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the plants. I splash some water on the plant, but most of it spills on the floor. So, I set the remote back down, get some paper towels and wipe up the spill. Then I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.
At the end of the day: the laundry isn't washed, the bills aren't paid, there is a warm cup of juice sitting on the counter, the plants aren't watered, there is still only one check in my check book, I can't find the remote, I can't find the wipes, and I don't remember what I did with my keys.
Then when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day long, and I'm really tired.

I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail. Do me a favor, will you? Forward this message, because I don't remember to whom it has been sent.

Don't laugh -- if this isn't you yet, your day is coming.

Recycling

I decided to clean out the car and car seat while Miss Em is napping this morning and I swear I vacuumed up an entire box of Cheerios/Life Cereal. I really thought about scooping them all up by hand and putting them in a snack cup to be eaten later but I thought that might be a bit extreme.

By the way last night I had a dream involving John McCain, my eighth grade boyfriend, my mom, my high school boyfriend's mom and a car pool in New York City. Clearly the enchiladas for dinner did me wrong. : )

Molars suck!

Yes, I know technically we need them to chew food and stuff but really must Emelia get all four of them at the same time. (Upon further reflection though this may be good because then we won't have to do this again.) The only thing that makes her happy right now is Sesame Street. I am sure I have already screwed her up by letting her watch TV so I might as well go all the way and allow a Sesame Street marathon.

An ode to Omaha's Weather

What a delight, Spring is finally in sight
No need to put on your mittens or bundle up tight
It is 60 outside, a good day for the park
Take advantage while you can, it may be a lark
The forecast for Sunday is forty degrees
That's not so bad, we still won't freeze

Off to church I go with just a warm sweater
The sun warms my face, I feel so much better
After the service the wind starts to pick up
It's really quite chilly, where's my warm coffee cup?
The weather man says we hit our high at eight
Soon the rain will start and snow is our fate

I don't understand, I just don't get it
One day was lovely, the next requires a jacket
I should be happy with the tiniest glimmer of spring
Because who knows what tomorrow will bring

The best husband

I really do have a great husband. For Valentine's day we decided not to get each other anything because money has been a little bit tight with paying two mortgages gas bills, etc. (We finally sold the house by the way - hooray!) So on Valentine's day he gave me a card with a note in it that said I needed to reserve the weekend of March 6-9. Well the other day he gave me the surprise. He has booked a weekend for us as a family in Minneapolis and he got me two prepaid Visa gift cards to spend at Mall of America. It was such a nice and thoughtful gift. We will get to see his sister and have time as a family and it will be nice because it has been a long time since I have bought anything for myself besides the occasional $6 clearance sweater at Target. I have already started making a list of the things I may buy with my gift card. He also got a gift card for the baby so I won't be tempted to spend my cards on her. (I do that a lot.)

In other news I scored at the resale shop - yes again. I have been looking for a Bounce and Spin Zebra ever since she rode it at a friend's house and loved it. I was ready to give in and buy a new one but it is really hard to spend $40 on a new toy. I found one at Once Upon a Child for $20. YAHOO!!! I wish I could find a good grown up resale shop. Maybe then I would wear something besides track suits.

Count your blessings

Howdy y'all, we are back from Texas and we had a great time. We did everything I wanted to do - hang out with good friends, go to Target and eat Chick-fil-A. The flights were so much better than I could have ever hoped for. God blessed us each step of the way. I often hear the phrase count your blessings, so I am going to...

1. I was able to have the car seat in a seat on each leg of the trip even though on my last (and longest) flight it meant an off-duty pilot sitting in the jump seat because the plane was completely full.

2. A really kind worker got me some milk for the baby so that I didn't have to try to stand in the really long line with a really short layover.

3. As I walked up to security in San Antonio they opened a new lane so there was no traffic trying to get through which was the only time I had to do it by myself.

4. The baby fussed for a total of about 20 minutes out of all of the flights. I sang her the theme to Elmo's World 50 times over and she calmed down but only as long as I was singing. Thank goodness we were sitting over the engines so my fellow flyers did not have to endure it.

5. We had a small delay in Dallas yesterday which allowed us time to get dinner, something I was concerned about.

6. Perfect strangers helped get my car seat on board on my two outbound flights.

7. Emelia charmed people every where we went which made people more compassionate toward our cause when we were boarding.

It really was great. Thank you for all of the prayers and tips. It turned out better than I could have hoped for. Since I failed to take the camera (big loser) I will have to post pictures when my friend sends me some.

Crazy Days

Yesterday I finally really felt better and went to the gym. An hour by myself out of the house felt like such a luxury. On the way home I realized that while I was sick I missed traffic school. CRAP!!!!! I called and they are going to be kind enough to let me make it up for another $98. Yuck, but what can I do. At least I won't have to take points on my license. Speaking of which I really need to get a Nebraska license. I will wait for a good hair day.

Speaking of good hair, Miss Thing had some serious bed head and I had to capture it on film. She also now enjoys playing peek a boo from behind the table, it is pretty darn cute.

Where is the Lysol?

So on Friday Jeff went back to work and on Friday night I came down with a stomach bug. Started with the vomiting then moved on through so I didn't know which end to take care of. UGH! I just kept praying that the baby would be fine but on Saturday morning she threw up all over Jeff four times. God love him everytime she threw up he immediately threw the offending item in to the laundry. I think we did six loads of wash with three things in each load. Her beloved blankie got washed each time. : )

By Sunday we had stopped throwing up but we were all still tired. Apparently though Em got too much daytime sleep because this morning she woke up at 5:00. UGH again! Right now I feel like a zombie but I am hoping if I pretend like it is a normal day it will be a normal day.

Today more than anything I miss my mom. I think it is because when I was sick I just wanted my mom. I wanted to call her and say come take care of me and the baby. Give Jeff a break and I know she would have, even if it meant driving six hours. February 14 is the anniversary of her death and so this time of year is tough. It is difficult to accept that she is gone and hard for me to believe that it has been three years. I still get weepy a lot and I would have thought that would have gone away by now but I think it won't ever go away until I get to heaven and God takes the tears. I don't have a very clear picture of exactly what heaven is like so sometimes I anthropomorphize it and imagine my mom drinking coffee with my grandparents. Coffeetime was a good time around the house. It meant a warm cup of coffee or pop in a coffee mug for me and home made cookies. When we went to visit my grandparents that is a memory that is very clear for me. Sometimes I have trouble because I can still so vividly see how she looked when she was sick. The last days were so bad and she was not herself. She couldn't remember her birthday or where she was. At one point I heard her rummaging about at 4:00 in the morning and God love her she had gotten up and gotten herself dressed because she was convinced she was going to breakfast with my Aunt Marlene. The days leading up to February 14 feel sort of like Holy week for me. Each day I remember another thing about the time before her death. Then when I think of her actual death it is more of a joy because at the end I prayed for God to take her home because I knew she would never be well again.

Mommy I miss you so much and I wish you could see our baby girl. She is just like you, full of life and ready to go at 6:00 in the morning. You would have loved her mommy, we watch Sesame Street just like we used to and I can finally understand how you could love me so much. I am sorry for the times I broke your heart like when I was sixteen and when I got the tatoo. I was right though, the nurses in the hospital never did say anything about it when I had my baby, there was no need for you to worry, not one of them thought I was a biker. I love you mommy and I can't wait to see you again.

Anxiety

I am going to visit a friend in Texas and I am having terrible anxiety about taking Emelia on the plane. I didn't buy a seat for her because it was pretty expensive but I am hoping the plane is not full and they will let me put my carseat in a seat next to me. She is so active I am not sure how I am going to keep her on my lap. Does any one have any thoughts on this subject? Please pray for me. I know it is going to suck I just hope it doesn't suck too bad.