what a week...

the title says it all...the week started with the eating of the rock and ended with "sickies" for mike and i. in between we had elizabeth's discovery of the black sharpie, her first trip to the hospital (nothing "urgent"...i promise...but her first visit nonetheless), and so many other "moments". so i think my last entry was wednesday...right? okay...so just after i typed that blog she got up from her nap and was playing while i went upstairs to get kate up. i came back downstairs to find her sitting at the kitchen table coloring with the sharpie...bless her heart, she was trying to color on a paper...to color a picture for daddy, who was working a wee bit late...she missed him and wanted to make something for him...however, the sharpie must have been a bit harder to handle than her crayons (which she never uses "off" the paper)...she had covered her hand and scribbled on the kitchen table. off course, minutes later she had an "explosion" of sorts (i'll spare you the details) which involved a shower and change of clothing (yeah...that kind....most likely thanks to the good ol' rock)...so when daddy walked in the door elizabeth was pant-less at the top of the steps, hand covered in black sharpie, and having a melt-down because the marker wouldn't wash off. bless her heart, kater kater alligator was as happy as can be...playing on the floor. should this scenario happen to you....magic erasers really are "magic"...they took the sharpie right off the kitchen table....and rubbing alcohol took it off elizabeth's hand. as for the "explosion"...well friends, lets just say i decided the best approach was to just toss the undies and chalk it up as a loss!

on to thursday...spent the morning at the children's museum a few friends...stayed much later than typical...meaning elizabeth caught a cat-nap in the van on the way home (translation: no long afternoon nap at home). then we had a doctor's visit to check on the progress of the rock...especially since she seemed to be having some intestinal "issues" (ie...explosions...or the big D)...the doctor decided we should head over to the hospital for x-rays. so we did. i must say, both of the girls were FABULOUS the whole time....elizabeth made several people's days...smiling, telling them hello, even sharing her veggie fruit snacks with the lady at the registration desk (which is a BIG deal--she loves those veggies). she proudly sported her little hospital bracelet and cooperated wonderfully when she got to lay on the table to get the "picture of her tummy". on the drive from the doctor to the hospital i had been preparing her by talking about the story where Curious George goes to the hospital (when he eats the puzzle piece). so i think elizabeth's biggest disappointment of the day was not seeing george at the hospital. she kept asking..."where's george mama...george get picture of his tummy too?"

anyway...the verdict on the x-ray...the rock has either already passed and we missed it, is there but not causing any trouble (and therefore not visible since it isn't metal) and could take up to two weeks to pass, or there was never a rock (perhaps it was actually asphalt or something else that could deteriorate (ugh...i cringe to think of the possibilities...but i promise, it LOOKED like a rock!). the big D issues could have been a stomach virus totally unrelated to the rock or could possibly be from whatever she ingested...but again, not causing major problems, not serious, nothing to worry about (in the words of the doctor).

friday...hmmm...mike had the day off...finally...we were planning to spend lots of fun time together...perhaps outside. alas, i went to bed thursday with a scratchy throat, not feeling great...and woke up friday morning with a cold..ugh! but my poor husband...he woke up feeling horrible...couldn't even make it out of bed until 1:00 or so...and then fell back to sleep on the couch shortly after. so much for those "plans"....

saturday dawned with the hubby a bit healthier...and i felt good enough to make it to a baby shower in the morning...and then by afternoon we both crashed. (perhaps my crash was aided by my decision to "push it" and go out for a run since it was decently warm (any chance to get away from the treadmill!). needless to say, i came back from my run and just felt beat! (but what's a girl to do...it seems lately that every time i get in a good habit on the treadmill i find myself with a cold or other illness...then i take a break from the treadmill to get better and have to start all over...ugh!)

and here we are...sunday....we made it through the week. mike is feeling much better...as for me...well, i'm still here. stuffy nose (you know, the kind where you can only breathe out of one nostril)...and we both have that "hacking" cough...we did make it to church this morning. and after dinner this evening i did some errands...bargain shopping. i will have to share more...but i found a blog with lots of great money saving ideas...including taking advantage of CVS and their extra care bucks...that and a terrific deal at kroger (combined with coupons that made it super-extra-terrific)...i think one of my goals is to work to become much more frugal with our family's grocery/toiletry budget. i promise to share for those who are interested!

and now...i'm off...to bed.

little friends....

"Randa"--as Elizabeth calls Miranda was with us today...and the weather was gorgeous, meaning lots of outdoor time this afternoon. The girls were so cute, climbing into the same chair together and lovin' on each other...priceless candid moments.

(p.s....still no rock! ugh! *for those who haven't been by for a couple days...check out monday's post for the humorous "rock story". we did have another adventure this afternoon...with a sharpie marker...ugh!--foretunately magic erasers clean tables and rubbing alcohol cleans little girls...let me tell you; its been one of those weeks!)

{hugs}

{kisses}

ten smile tuesday

Lots of smiles once again....and for those who are wondering, nope, we haven't "found" the rock yet...but all seems to be "moving along" okay...so no worries! I did, however, google "my child ate a rock" last night, just to see what came up....not much. Apparently Elizabeth is unique. I only found two references to children eating a rock. For those who have no clue what I am talking about, check out my post from yesterday...I promise it should make you laugh a bit!

1. Our funny Elizabeth...seriously, this girl has given us our fair share of laughs this week. Just this morning I was doing some "tidying" in our front room while Elizabeth colored (so I thought!) in the other room. When I walked into the other room I found a naked little girl trying with all her might to reach her doodlepro toy...when I asked her what happened to her clothes, she pointed them out and then told me she was "taking a shower". Get this, she even told me she had to turn the water off (which she proceeded to pretend to do) before we could put her clothes back on. Crack me up! I love this "pretend-play" stage! (She also decided the ottoman needed some new diapers this morning--one wasn't enough to cover it!)

2. Thursday marked Kate's 7th month "birthday"....can you believe it!? I can't! What a blessing this smiling, giggling, contented little girl is...I just love this picture I caught this morning.

3. Having daddy home for three whole days! They finally wrapped up their project late Thursday evening...meaning Mike was able to take the day off Friday and didn't have to go in over the weekend either! We enjoyed an impromptu trip to the museum Friday morning and lots of together time the rest of the weekend. The picture is from Friday morning...when Elizabeth came downstairs and saw daddy she rushed to give him a hug...then wanted to spend the rest of the morning "glued" to his lap!

4. Enjoying Sunday lunch at my parents...with our dearest friends. My parents invited our friends over to partake in some food and fellowship...fun was had by all...of course!

5. A wonderful MOPS meeting Thursday morning...great speaker, great discussion, and some time away (something I so appreciated after being a "single" parent much of the past week or so).

6. The fun of watching Miranda and Elizabeth interact and play together more and more each week. This week the three of us had a BLAST creating play-doh friends while Kate was napping. We made Bob and Larry (veggie tales), a dinosaur, Mugho, a cake, and and elephant...good thing the girls are two...they appreciate my "artistic" creations!

7. Discovering loads of new recipes last night at my church's annual "taste" event. Everyone submits a favorite recipe ahead of time, and the recipes are copied and combined into a "book" of sorts. Then on the night of the event, you bring your dish, separate it into dixie cup "tastes", and sample them. Always fun...and tasty...and a great way to find new recipes that you can actually taste ahead of time!

8. Watching Elizabeth and Mugho play this morning....and listening to the shrieking giggles and gails of laughter from Elizabeth...oh to be able to capture those giggles in a bottle to replay back over and over again!

9. The sun is shining and spring seems to be on its way....in fact, this afternoon I am hoping we can spend some time outdoors when the girls wake up from naps. (Which reminds me of another smile...the fact that they nap at the SAME time in the afternoon....blessed respite for mommy! Today I got to run on the treadmill for a half and hour when they first went down, now I'm typing my smiles...and I will still have the second hour of nap-time to grab a shower and do some cleaning!)

10. Our messy little eater...these pictures make me smile....there were so many more taken during this little photo session that I'd love to share...but I just picked four (I know, that in and of itself is a bit overboard...but I couldn't resist!)

rocks..yumm-o!

maybe you read the blog title and thought...what!? well my friends, let me share....today elizabeth ate a rock. yep, you read that right...she ate a rock. and by rock i mean about the diameter of a nickel...but kind of more square shaped....no pebbles for this girl. so now you are probably wondering how this came about....let me share.

we were out and about and decided to pick daddy up for a lunch date. afterwards as we were walking to the car our little rock lover (this is NOT her first rock...she LOVES to pick up rock and carry them around...she found one about a month ago that she just adored...carried it with her, asked for it as soon as she woke up in the morning and after nap time, made "rock soup" with it to share with mommy and daddy) found a rock and picked it up. i didn't think much of it, afterall she has picked up lots of rocks and never tried to eat any of them before. so we get her strapped in and head toward the grocery store. en route elizabeth pipes up from the back, saying "i eat a rock"...but honestly, i didn't think that much of it...just thought she was playing. of course, both daddy and i said, "elizabeth, don't put the rock in your mouth."...and glancing in the rearview mirror i didn't see a rock anywhere near her mouth. so i left the girls and daddy in the car while i ran in the grocery and grabbed a couple things i needed for a recipe.

when i came back to the van daddy was sitting the backseat with the girls. he had elizabeth out of her seat and seemed to be searching...i opened the door, and here is the conversation.

mike: i know what you're doing this afternoon.
me: what's that?
mike: going to the doctor. she really did eat the rock.
me: (with a bit of panic...but kind of laughing too...not really believing mike) no way...she
couldn't have swallowed that rock; it was way too big.
mike: i've looked everywhere...and she keeps telling me she ate it.
me: umm...what do we do? i know, i'll call jill (my good friend and pediatric consultant...she just
so happens to be a pediatric nurse)...she'll know.

mike continued to share the conversation he had with elizabeth while "searching" for the rock. "elizabeth, where is the rock?" "i ate it daddy." he continues asking, she continues insisting. he talks to her about how lying is disobedient. she sticks to her story. but what finally convinced him. she asked daddy if mommy was in the store buying curious george fruit snacks...seizing the opportunity (now mind you, we don't promote bribery...but some occasions necessitate creativity, right!?) he says, "sure...but elizabeth, you can't have a george fruit snack unless you give daddy the rock." what does elizabeth do...she starts spitting in mike's hand..."daddy i ate rock!" i think that is what convinced mike.

anyway...we did call my dear friend jill, interrupted her lunch, in fact; she told me not to worry too much...just to watch and see that it "passes" in 2-3 days...i won't go into the details of what watching for it entails for me (you can guess, i'm sure!). if it is too big to pass without help then we will most likely have to visit the doctor, perhaps get an x-ray to see how it is moving along, and "help" it out (whatever that means...honestly, i didn't have the heart to ask!). needless to say, when we dropped mike off at work he checked the car-seat and vicinity for anything else that could be "eaten"...

once we were home and the girls were tucked in bed for naps i did some serious searching in the van...trying to find the rock, hoping this was all some big mistake....nope...no rock to be found...anywhere. i even removed the car-seat and check in all the cracks.

lessons learned....
-don't let your two and a half year old "collect" rocks in the parking lot (or at the very least, don't let her carry those rocks)

-elizabeth can swallow far bigger things than i ever imagine...too think i was worried about silly things like grapes and hotdog chunks....sheesh!

-the eating of rocks is a good impetus for a thorough "cleaning out" of the van

-you really do have to laugh at yourself (and your children)...you'd go "bonkers" if you didn't!

needless to say, we've been laughing a lot today. so add this one to the list of moments to be shared at many a family gathering for years to come...right alongside the day that elizabeth locked me out of the house...and the night i locked her in the van....and the list goes on.....

ten smile tuesday

God is so gracious...and I have so much to smile about...even in the midst of a quite l-o-n-g week (Mike had to work both Saturday and Sunday on top of his 12 hour plus days). Without further ado...(sorry for the strange formatting in some places...not sure what the deal is!)

1. Friends who speak truth...even hard truth. I had one of "those" conversations Sunday with a dear friend who wasn't afraid to shake me up a bit. Those kind of friends are such a treasure...the Bible even says so..."Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses." (Proverbs 26:7)

2. My "100 things I am thankful for" list...a result of the conversation mentioned in smile #1...her challenge to me. What a huge blessing to really dig deep and think about all that I have to be thankful for...the deep things...to really realize the grass is greenest right beneath my own feet, not on the other side...to come to a point of thanking God for exactly who He made me to be, where He chose for me to do in life, and what trials and challenges He would use to refine me and make me more like Christ.

3. Our delightful "visit" from spring...a welcome afternoon of playing in the backyard! (See the pictures from Sunday's post for a better glimpse of this smile!)

4. Whipping up a batch of "spring-y" cookies to go with our spring day on Sunday...butterflies and flowers...of course, the best part of this was having Elizabeth right by my side to help me out! (And sharing them with my hubby when he was finally able to make it home from work!) Have I mentioned that I am on a hunt for the best sugar cookie recipe I can find...this one was among my favorites so far! If you have a good one, do share!

5. Visting daddy's office after church Sunday...I dropped the girls off and then grabbed a big ol' pizza from Costco for us all to enjoy. Elizabeth loved running around the office (and rolling in daddy's office chair)...I was a nice chance to spend some time with daddy, and Elizabeth couldn't stop talking about daddy's office the rest of the day!

6. Spending a fabulous day with my parents on Saturday...check out Saturday's post to hear more about it...too many smiles to recount here...but truly one of those days to remember!

7. More sock monkeys...two more completed...and two more ready to be stuffed and have their "limbs" attached!

8. Kate's bottom teeth are finally popping through! I knew they were on their way...but it is always nice to actually see some progress!

9. Elizabeth "helped" me (I use the term helped loosely here!) give Mugho a bath tonight...then afterwards she really helped Mugho dry off...running in circles with him, loving on him...they had a blast. But the cutest, hearing her invite him up onto her bed to sing with us and then insisting on giving him the biggest hug and kiss ever..."Love you Mow-go" (as she so sweetly pronounces his name...actually, for any who have wondered it is actually pronounced Moo-go)

10. Independence...okay, some of the independence is bittersweet...however, not this independence. She's got it...going to the potty all by herself! Hooray! I think I almost did a cartwheel yesterday when she ran to the potty, and I heard the tell-tale sound of her little seat being placed on the potty, a pause, then a flush, and my precious girl running out (pants still around her ankles, of course--just to make it all the more precious and priceless) shouting, "I did it...go potty BY MYSELF!" Now she is all about doing it on her own. AMEN!

And now some random shots from the past few weeks...pictures from my mom's camera that she sent my way!

libs modeling the dresses g.g. and b.b. gave her

for valentines--kate got too equally cute dresses...

just didn't try them on right away!

my sister and i--before our haircuts (sorry the afters were

blurry!)...and even better, the lovely michelle, sporting the

super fun glasses she bought for elizabeth!

need i comment...kate is simply FULL of these grins

and giggles these days...they just don't stop!

spring came a-knockin'

wow...two posts in one day...just had to share some pics of our afternoon. spring came to pay a visit (just a teaser, really...since it is supposed to cool down again tomorrow i believe)...but, really, at this point a "visit" is better than nothing....and i suppose that is what we get for living in indiana! what fun we had running around in the backyard...enjoying the fence....ending up covered in squishy mud....expending some of that energy that has been building up all winter long! watching elizabeth run and play was yet another reminder of how much she has grown in the past 4 or 5 months....and made me even more excited for the arrival of spring and summer days! mugho also loved the time to romp around and bark and chase elizabeth (and be chased by her as well!). as for kate...well, she enjoyed her time outside too...swinging, exersaucing.

another new friend...

this is daddy's sock monkey (my second attempt at making a sock monkey)....mike took him to work, so now elizabeth knows that a monkey is watching out for daddy while he is gone. plus, on days like today--when we visit daddy in the office--elizabeth now has a "buddy"!