Wednesday Ramblings :)

Thanks to everyone that commented on my previous post about kids and TV. Since I have become a mom (which is still even a funny thing to say...I just can't believe it!!), I have truly adopted the policy of "to each their own" in regards to parenting. (Within reason of Things can work well for some children and parents and not others. I think that I have decided that some TV is okay for Emersyn but I never want it to be used as a "babysitter" and I want to be VERY careful what she watches. I was watching Sesame Street the other day and it is actually pretty educational! I got some great ideas of shows from you ladies so thank you!! :)

Last night we had another great book club meeting with some quality ladies. It is such a refreshing time for me. I want to blog about the thoughts that were shared...stay tuned! :)



This morning I took Emersyn to the dr. to have a look at her most recent flare of eczema. Yesterday morning at Bible Study, one of the ladies that works in the nursery paged me and said that Emersyn had hives. I was pretty sure that she didn't have hives and assured them that it was just her eczema. But then I got to thinking....what if? So I made a dr. appointment and $20 later, I find that it it is NOT hives but simply a bad flare up. I should take pictures to show Emersyn some day. Poor baby. Her entire back, tummy, the back of her neck, under her chin, and tops of her legs are red and scaly. I am going to aggressively treat her with the steroid cream that her dr. prescribed us today as well as using Vaseline like a crazy woman. Poor Ems is so slicked and greasy....but whatever helps her skin makes it all worth it! :)



When I got home I put Ems in her crib for some playtime while I went and took a shower. When I got out of the shower I heard nothing so I went and peeked and saw this....

She was zonked out! And note the sweet doggie that she is cuddling....a gift from her 10 year old friend, Christopher. Precious. She doesn't consistently take a morning nap but I often find that she will if given the opportunity. I miss her when she is sleeping in the mornings though because I work in the afternoons. *sigh* Someday.......

While Ems napped, I got a shower and got ready and then Miss Roxanne came over at about 11am! Roxanne watches Ems on Wednesdays ( I wrote about her last week) and often she will come over early so we can chat about her life and what's new. The best part: she doesn't mind if I multi-task while we chat!!!!!!!! It is such a win win situation!! She gets to relax and chat with me on a barstool at our kitchen island....meanwhile, I empty the dishwasher, load the dishwasher, vaccum, mop, etc. Hallelujah, what a blessing to ME she is!! I don't mind cleaning at all when I get to be distracted by wonderful conversation. It's like I go into auto-pilot mode with cleaning and just enjoy chatting and then all the sudden, my house is clean!! I am SO excited about all the amazing things that the Lord is doing in Roxanne's life. She is an amazing woman and has a heart that truly seeks God's will for her life. I know that God has big plans for her and her testimony. :)

Tonight: trying a new recipe thanks to Jennifer!! I will let you know how it goes!

Tomorrow: hopefully going to the zoo again in the morning, assuming the weather cooperates. Brett thinks that the zoo in the rain would be fun with an umbrella. I am a realist and firmly disagree with this theory. Also, some last minute shopping for her costume

Friday: taking Emersyn down to Albany to visit her great-grandparents in her costume! They both live in retirement/assisted living facilities and get a kick out of seeing Emersyn and showing her off to their friends. Last year we took our two month old little ladybug down there and let me tell you, she was a hit! :) Friday night Emersyn is attending the first birthday party of one of her BFF's, Estella.

Okay, enough rambling! Sometimes it is nice for me to write it all out and organize my thoughts that way.....makes me feel more on top of life that way! :)

Happy Wednesday everyone!!

Weekend Tid Bits

Friday night we went to our church's Young Married group's Harvest Party at a friend's house. We got there a couple hours early and I thought we were so smart to bring a playpen for Emersyn to nap in but I was wrong. She refused to sleep and thus was pretty cranky for the whole afternoon and evening. Ugh. And to top it off, she had an allergic reaction to something and her face, neck and back had splotchy red raised patches. I nearly had a nervous breakdown, I just can't stand when she is uncomfortable. Her skin issues make me especially sad too because I had such bad skin as a child. It stinks to think that you passed something along to your baby. :( I called the advice nurse to make sure that a rash isn't a flu symptom and she assured me that it wasn't. I was trying to think of all the things that she had eaten that day but it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Turns out, when we got home, Brett saw the Mr. Bubbles on the counter and remembered that he had given Emersyn a bubble bath earlier in the day. I am thinking that is what she reacted to. I have never used Mr. Bubbles for her; I had bought that for when our neices spent the night several years ago. Anyways, I am *hoping* that is what it was. We use all hypoallergenic things on her skin and I usually just use a little of her shampoo to make bubbles in the bath. Daddy didn't know better. Her skin is still pretty flared up but we are moisturizing like crazy and tomorrow I will get her prescription for steroid cream refilled. I think the worst area that is consistently bad for her is under her chin. With all her drool, it is hard to keep that area dry and therefore it gets chapped and she itches it. :( Dear Jesus, please heal my baby's skin!!

Last night we went to Sweet Tomatoes with Brett's parents. Emersyn is pretty entertaining at that resteraunt. For those of you reading you aren't local, it is a soup, salad and pasta buffet but it's mainly known for it's huge salad bar. We love it. Emersyn eats pretty healthy there too and she is FREE!! She enjoys the kidney beans, butternut squash, cucumbers, olives, peas, plain veggie pasta, zucchini, muffins, some mac and cheese and then a tiny ice cream cone of which we discovered she doesn't care for the cone, she just likes to suck the ice cream out. Brett's parents were pretty amused watching her chow down.

While at Sweet Tomatoes, I was giving Brett a bad time about his vision and how I am going to be making eye appointments for both him and I. He claims that his vision isn't that bad but he can't read anything that is remotely far away. Stuff that everyone else can see plain as day, he can't even begin to make out the words of. Brett's dad let him try on his glasses and Brett nearly fell out of his chair. He had no idea that the world could be such a clear place!!! That settles it, he is getting glasses. He is kind of excited about it now though. He can never see anyone's faces on the platform of our church, he can never read scores on the TV sports games, and I shudder to think of what else he can't see while, oh I don't know, DRIVING! This week is the week that will change his vision forever! Costco, here we come! :)

Emersyn has been growing more and more confident while walking, it is so cute. Last night was the first time that she tried to run away from us in public. I love it. The days of chasing a toddler are here. She was so cute in her new boots, walking all around the resteraunt, waving at everyone as though to say "look at me! I can walk!". It was a lot of fun, or I think it was anyways. Brett was chasing her as I enjoyed some coffee! :)

This morning we missed church. We are SO bad about getting to sleep on Saturday nights. I think part of us justifies it because we go on Sunday nights. But still, I love morning service, and love seeing people that love us and Emersyn and are like family. Someday when Brett is off on Sundays, it will be easier. I can handle an 11am service. It's the 9am service that is brutal to try to get to.

Well, Emersyn is napping and I should go jump in the shower while I can in peace. Only 3 weeks until my dad comes for a visit, I can't wait!! I wish my mama could come too but she is staying behind to take care of their dog. I was telling Emersyn at the store today that Grandpa is coming to visit her and she seemed excited. :)

Happy Sunday everyone!