Good bye Paci, Hello trouble!

Shortly after Parker had his surgery he lost his pacifier. We came home one evening and it was time for bed. I told Parker to go get his paci and blankie and head to bed. This is how life has been pretty much since he was born. No big deal. It's bed time and he goes to bed... I wish I remember what that was like. :) On this particular day he could not find his paci. It was in fact missing. I turned over the couch, love seat, and all the cushions... No paci! I looked in his bed, under his bed, in his bag, in my pocket, in my room, and every other place I could think of...No paci! Finally I thought to myself this is ridiculous. Parker has an amazing ability to find things that are missing or misplaced I should just ask him. So I did. He looked and looked and came running in and told me he couldn't find it. I calmly told him if he did not find it bed time was in 5 minutes with or without the paci. 5 minutes later sill no paci and it was bed time. He went to bed and cried for a few minutes but eventually went to sleep. The next day was the same he kept asking for it and I told him if he found it he could have it but I had no idea where it was. We made it though a nap and another night with out it. I thought to myself this isn't so bad! That's when I found it in the spare room under the bed. I stayed strong and continued with my story that it was still missing since it seemed to be going better than I had expected. That was the end of that.

The next several weeks that have followed have been awful. He will not stay in bed no matter how many times I put him back. One night this went on for over an hour and over 50 times of not saying anything just putting him back in his bed and walking out. (Yes I was counted! Not sure why but I did) I have tried everything from laying down with him, tickling his back, reading books, and even skipping naps! Nothing is working very well. I have been laying down with him and it seems to work the best but I usually fall asleep and that aggravates me because I like my "me time" while his is napping and my time with Kris in the evening. If I would have know this process was going to be so awful I would have given it back to him when I found it. I don't care what anyone else thinks. He is my kid and I can do what I want. Like my sis says "he won't go to college with it!" Still there are days I want to give it back because life would be easier but I haven't I keep thinking it will get better. But I am not sure how much longer I can last. I need him to just lay down and go to sleep.

Here is one of the last pics before he lost his pacy!

Weekend of Fun

On Friday I worked all day at a craft fair in Norman selling Discovery toys...Yes I know they are not crafts but they wanted me there anyway. It was fun to get out and interact with adults for a change. I met some really nice people and didn't do to shabby on sales either. All in all it was a productive day and a special thanks to my parents for watching Parker all day. While Parker was at Mema and Papa's he decided he wanted to take some pics. with my camera he is getting really good at it. Here is a picture that he took of the sucker fish in their aquarium I was impressed when I looking at the pictures that I uploaded to my computer and found this one.

After I picked up Parker he and I went to our friends house for a very yummy dinner. Kris had to work on a side job so it was just me and Parker. We had a great time hanging out and Parker had fun playing with the kiddos. Kristin and Parker even stopped to pose for this adorable picture. This has to be one of my new favorites. I enjoyed getting to hang out with Chris and Amanda it had been awhile since we had seen them.

Saturday was a very busy and exciting day. It was Kris's (Daddy's) birthday and it was also Uncle Kenny's and Parker's best friend Audri's birthday. We got up early did a few things around the house and then Parker and Daddy went outside to work in the yard for awhile before we had to leave. Parker really enjoys helping Daddy on the tractor and work on tearing out an old fence at the back of our property. After that Parker and I went to Stillwater for Audri's birthday party. He was very excited to get to see Audri and "baby Ean" it has been about a month since he was seen them. They had a great time playing and for the most part they all got along. They even had a band with Parker on guitar, Audri on Drums, Genni on the maraca and vocals, and Ean dancing. It was very cute. Luckily it lasted long enough for me to even catch it on video. There was fun to be had by all. It was good to see everyone especially the Burts. We really miss not living down the street from each them.

Parker and I had to jet out early because we were also going to a party for Uncle Kenny/Daddy. It was very fun and Parker was really cute. He insisted on opening all of Kenny's gift and he was excited when the OU cake came out he started chanting OU! OU! OU! and started clapping and said "Mommy, Uncle Kenny's favorite! It was sweet. He was a bit concerned that there were not candles...as you can see he was been to alot of parties and know how it's supposed to work. Sunday we got ready and went to church it had been a couple of weeks since we were all able to go since Parker had his surgery. Parker was happy to go to class and see all his friends. After church we went to eat and went running around for a bit. Then we came home and Parker took a nap. When he woke up Parker and I made cookies to surprise Daddy. He was out spending his birthday money on hunting stuff. They were not as good as Grandma's but they were good and Daddy was happy to have them.

It was a fun filled weekend.

P.S. I am having trouble getting things positioned right and I give up sorry if its a mess. My computer is acting weird.

Discovery Toys

Hey just to let everyone know I am now selling discovery toys for kids. If you are interested in hosting a party or ordering something let me know.

I have decided to give this a whirl I am excited and hope it goes well. I want to continue to stay home with Parker but be able to make some money as well. I have just received my kit and the top selling 18 toys. Parker has been busy since we got it. I can't wait the toys are very fun. I have been playing with him as well. They are very neat.

I will be having a grand opening party probably the end of Oct. or beginning of Nov. so I will be sure to let everyone know for sure when it will be. If you have any questions let me know.

Home from the hospital

We finally got to get out of the hospital. Perhaps we were a bit tricking in getting out but you gotta do what you gotta do. My mom and I had to force Parker to take his meds and drink (most of which he spit out). I knew that he would do much better once we got home.

When we got home I was able to get him to take Tylenol and my mom was able to bribe him into taking his antibiotic with a sucker. Then I was off to bed. I had very little sleep and felt like a zombie. I slept for a couple of hours and I guess Parker did too. When I got up he seemed to be feeling pretty good. He played and was talking and was almost his normal self. We even convinced him to take a bath. He made a giant mess splashing in the water and throwing a rag but it made him happy. He got Mema very wet and she even had to change clothes. But at least he was happy. Mema decided that she would leave since he was doing so good. After she left he ate 3 Popsicles and wanted to play outside until Daddy came home.

He played outside more once Daddy came home and then he sat still for 2 min. and fell fast asleep. It was really too late for a nap and too early for bed time so I let him take a short power nap and then woke him up. He played more and was peppy. Kris and I were even able to convince him to take his pain medicine which tastes terrible. I was so excited because that means I would only have to wake him up once instead to twice in the middle of the night.

He went to bed about 9pm without a whine. He was still sound asleep when I had to wake him up at 2am for more meds. He was not happy I woke him up and I had to force the medicine down but he went right back to sleep.

When he woke up this morning he was grumpy and did not want to his medicine but I managed to get it down. Today has been a rough day for him. (Everyone said this day would probably be the worst....and so far it has.) He has had moments of happiness but mostly lost of whining. I am hoping this is the worst of it. I am ready for things to be back to normal.

Tonsil Adventures

Tuesday morning bright and early Parker and I left for the hospital. We arrived, signed in, and waited... Mema and Papa showed up and hang out with us while we waited and to sit with me while Parker was in surgery. They finally called us back. We went back and Parker instantly knew something was up. He did not want to sit in the chair of wear the "special pajamas". We finally got him to cooperate for a little bit at least long enough to take his vitals. Still no luck with the pj's. The hospital has volunteers that make hats for the kids to wear into surgery. Parker choose a spider man one after much deliberation. There were too many choices for him. Then he wanted to sit in a different chair. I guess he thought that if he was in a different chair he would not have to do anything. So he sat in the other chair and Mema told him he was going to have his tonsils out and pointed to her throat. Parker proceeded to do the same. It was very cute. The dr. decided that we should give him so medicine by mouth before they took him back to make him sleepy. Once the meds kicked in the fun began. He was very funny. He decided that he wanted down to walk around. He was standing by me when the dr. came in and patted him on the head...Parker fell over because he was so sleepy. I picked him up and held him on my lap while he stuck his hands in the air and watched them. He was also very intrigued by his bands on his ankle. He finally decided he would let me put on his pj's. They finally came and took Parker back for surgery he was very good and did not even cry when he left.

After surgery he was in lots of pain and they had to give him meds 3 times in recovery and then I finally got to see him. He was really out of it but crying a lot. They had be try to get him to drink something and he didn't want to. We finally got a bit of water down him. Then he needed more meds and when we gave them to him he turned blue because he would not swallow and was throwing a fit. It was a little scary and brought lots of memories back of him being in the NICU when he was born. He finally calmed down and they transferred us to our room. (He had to stay overnight since he was under 3) When we got the the room he ate a Popsicle and watched a movie and cat napped. He was a little fussy and hated his meds. The day was really long but he did good all things considered.

That evening Daddy and Uncle Kenny came to see him for awhile. They entertained him for awhile by trying their hands at making balloon animals and Parker could draw on them. He even laughed. Before Daddy left Parker was getting really sleepy and wanted to lay on the floor it was the only thing that would make him happy. I have no idea why. I thought he was going to fall asleep but then he popped up and wanted to sit in the window and watch the cars and see the lights. He did well through the night for the most part. I could not sleep though.

We were told in the morning that we could go home at soon as would take his meds and drink 4 oz. It took awhile and we basically had to force it down but I knew he would do much better at home. We finally left around 10:15am.

Just to catch up!

Our last week has been busy and exciting. My Aunt Barrie (left) came to visit which I mentioned in my last blog and on Wed. Eileen Cook (right) also came. So needless to say we had 2 famous authors staying with us. We really enjoyed having them. Parker enjoyed having them here so he had someone else to play with. He insisted on getting out almost every toy he has so they could see them. My aunt is a speech pathologist and is very good at giving me little exercises to do with Parker since he was born. I was excited to see how she thought he was doing and apparently it is paying off. He seems to be on target. We had many late nights because we stayed up late talking and many early mornings but it was all worth it. Parker was very sleepy after his fun filled week and on the way to the mall Sat. He fell asleep. It is rarely happens. He is not a car sleeper for the most part but he was past going. I could not resist taking his picture it was too cute.

Yesterday Kris and I went to the OK State Fair. We had fun and ate way to much. (although not as much as I have eaten in the past)! We has a good day walking through the buildings and I have even decided to start selling Discovery Toys. I think that they are really neat and it is a way to earn some extra money. I am really excited. It is actually something that I have been thinking about for awhile but just finally decided to do it. Hopefully it will pay off.

Today I have spent a large portion of the day cleaning the house and getting caught up on laundry that I have been neglecting this week. I am trying to everything in order before tomorrow when Parker has his tonsils taken out. We are supposed to be at the hospital at 6am and the surgery should be at 8am. Since Parker is only 2 1/2 he has to spend the night to make sure he is drinking like he needs to be. We don't want him to get dehydrated. It should be an adventure spending the night. Hopefully he will do well and we will be on the road to recovery and have no more strep throat.

In other news: Our grass is really starting to take off. I know that I have mentioned it before but this time I thought I would include a pic. (Yes I am a dork and I took a pic of it) I realize it may not look like much but it is a big improvement compared to what we started out with. (besides the sod)

Company has arrived!

Saturday evening my "Famous Aunt Barrie" arrived from San Diego. I have been looking forward to her arrival since last Sept. When she is here it is filled with fun times, adventures to Holdenville, and of course many uber late nights. The first night she was here we were up until 2am chatting and catching up. We also helped Kris hang some stuff in the kitchen. I much say he did a great job. The next morning we got up early and got ready to go to Holdenville to visit family and also so she could do a school presentation at Moss. We had a great uneventful drive filled with good conversation and Parker was very good in the car which is saying alot. We took a different way to Holdenville than normal since I have moved going down highway 9 is much faster. I usually am not a fan of Hwy 9 because it is 2 lanes and I don't feel it is very safe but for the sake of time I did it anyway. It was actually not that bad and we even passed a place called the Hix Trading Post. I wanted to stop and take a pic but didn't because of time restrictions. We were supposed to be meeting family for lunch and we got a later start than planned.

After lunch we went to my Grandparents house to hang out. It was good to see everyone. Parker had fun playing with his cousins and drawing with Ava. Later that night Barrie and I stayed up late trying to figure out stuff for her presentation the next morning.

Monday we got up early (Parker stayed with Granny) and went with Grandpa to Barrie's speech at the school. I helped carry her stuff in and manned the mouse during the power point. She did a great job and the kids and stuffed really seemed to enjoy her being there. She stayed all day talking to many groups of students. I went back to see how Parker was so Granny could go listen to the next speech. Parker and I ran around and played. He really liked riding the plastic horse and the stick horse. When Barrie got home more company came over to visit and eat dinner. We did not leave until 8:30pm to come back home.

The drive back was a bit more of an adventure. We had to get gas before we really got on the road and we also stopped for a Diet Coke from Sonic (Parker got some tots) It was UBER dark traveling on Hwy 9 and Parker was really grumpy. (perhaps because he could not see anything or maybe he was just moody). I kept thinking that there was somewhere up the road so I could pull over and change places with Aunt Barrie so I could deal with Parker seeing as how he did not want her to do anything (even though she is much nicer and far more patient than me). I never found a good place to make the switch so I was at a stop sign on a very dark road and decided that was as good a place as any to do the switch-a-roo...so we jump out and did a Chinese fire drill. Then we were on our way once again. Parker eventually settled down and watched Harry and the Hendersons and Aunt Barrie and I went went on chatting. Finally around 10 we made it home.

Parker was very glad to see Daddy and I was too. Not to mention it is nice to be home with your own bed. I like little vacations but nothing beats your own bed. We had a good rest of the evening and of course stayed up late again but I sure did regret it when Parker some strolling into my room before 7am. YUCK! I convinced him to lay quietly for a bit and then he watched cartoons for a little while. I stayed in bed and cat napped for awhile longer. I was very sleepy. All in all it was a good weekend (at least for the most part)!

In other news... Kris has been working really hard in the yard and around the house trying to get the brush knocked down and getting grass to grow. Today when he got home he discovered that some of the seed he put down is starting to grow. Woo Hoo! The builder includes 5000 sq. ft. of sod but that really doesn't cover much. It just sounds like a lot. Hopefully more of it will continue to take root. I know it's not that exciting for most but it is for us. :)

Long Weekend

Well we have had a busy last few days. Wednesday bright and early I had to take Parker to Children's Hospital to have his upper GI done. This should have been a rather easy procedure for most but no not for Parker. He has to make everything complicated. (It's how he has been since birth) We were just supposed to show up, drink some "magic juice", and take some pics of his insides to see if he has acid reflux. We got there and everything was fine until we walked into the room and I started to sit him down. He freaked! So we had to strap him to a bored and put him in the x-ray machine and make him drink. They got the first set of pics done relatively easy but with much screaming. The next part he was not going to do. We were supposed to get him to drink 8 more ounces of magic juice (contrast). He drank a little bit for me as long as I held him but he would not drink it fast enough for the test to work so they had to put in a NG tube. NO FUN! He was screaming and gaging like crazy. We finally got all the stuff in his stomach to take the rest of the pics. I still do not have the results even though they told me I would have them Thurs. They have made it to Parker's Dr.'s office but they still have not got back with me. I was supposed to hear something from them Friday but they never called back. They will be getting a call from me in the morning. I am ready to figure out what we need to do next. I am pretty sure that he has acid reflux from his symptoms and also just from what I saw on the x-ray (even though I am not a Dr.) I just have to wait for the official report. After all the testing was over he was back to his bouncy self. He even got to get 2 prizes from the toy chest. We left with a stuffed dog and a little car. They said he could have 2 since he was so good. If that was so good I would hate to see what bad was. :) While we were waiting for out car Parker and Mema played with his new car outside. Then me wanted to go home with Mema. We went to her house and visited with Papa, Mema, and Aunt Katie. We had a fun day minus the testing!

Friday and Saturday we just hung out and ran some errands. Parker has been busy helping Kris work outside clearing the brush and trimming the trees. He really likes to ride on the new tractor. They have got tons done in the past few days. Today they worked on it some more. I was inside feeling horrible. So Kris was trying to keep Parker out of my hair. They were mowing on the tractor for a long time and then Kris came in carrying Parker. I guess all the work made him really sleepy and he fell asleep on the tractor. Too bad I don't have a pic of that.

Sunday we woke up, got ready, and drove to Stillwater for the day to visit the Burts. The kids were really excited to play with each other. They actually played really well for the most part. They played hard all day. Parker's favorite thing to do was drive a bike or car up and down the hall all day long. We went out to eat for lunch a Buffalo Wild Wings and then we went to Blockbuster. They were having a giant sale on movies. Kris and I bought some new kid movies for Parker. We then went back to the Burts and hung out. It was good to get to see them for awhile and to be able to see their new house and they even fed us dinner. It has been a good weekend (other than me feeling sick all day today)

Enjoying the Outdoors

This evening after Kris got home and we ate dinner we decided to go outside to enjoy the nice weather. I decided I would sit on the porch watch Kris and Parker. Parker told Kirs that he wanted to "hunt". This is code for watch Kris shoot arrows at a target deer. It is really quite entertaining. Parker stands next to Daddy with his water gun and shoots at the deer and says things like "aw man" and "almost!" These are all funny when hearing it from our 2 year old. The best part though is seeing them interact and having a conversation. When they came back from pulling out the arrows Parker told me they shot the deer in the booty! Then Kris thought it would be fun to see how far the arrow would go if he held the bow up in the air and shot...the answer is far enough that he came about 4 feet from me and about 2 feet from a near death experience for our dog Snicker doodle. I really wish that I could capture the funny banter between Parker and Kris but its not working. I have a feeling that this "hunting" is going to be something that Parker is going to want me and him to do when we are home during the day. I assure you it will not be happening. Needless to say this has been my failed attempt to capture this funny situation. I have a couple of videos that I will put up but every time I tried to record it Parker knew and would not say the funny things I wanted him to say. Here are a couple that were okay! One of them he is telling me about shooting the deer in the booty and then other one he is telling me that he shot the deer in the jugular!

Sunday Fun

Yesterday Chance and Ava came home with us after church so Crystal and Brian could go out. Considering the night before Parker did not go to bed until midnight everyone got along very well. I decided on the way home and would get them all happy meals and we would eat outside since the weather was really nice. They all enjoyed eating outside and thought it was really fun. After we all ate our lunch they decided that they wanted to play outside for awhile. I think Chance and Ava were really excited about all of the space. They just ran around for a bit and then they found Parker's little power wheels. It is a small one and is actually too small for Chance but he insisted that Parker wanted to to try it. How do I argue with that. They were all being too cute. Chance really liked the power wheels and told me I should get a real 4-wheeler that he could ride. I actually continued by telling me that there was actually one in my Garage. That was news to me. I had never seen one. After much thinking I figured out he was talking about the riding lawn mower. How funny. I then proceeded to tell him what it actually was and he was very disappointed. They continued to play with the little one for a bit longer. Since it does not drive well in the grass Chance would carry it up the small hill and Ava and Parker took turns riding down the hill. Who knew they could get along so well. We eventually went in and and they played inside for awhile until it was time for Parker's nap. While he was laying down Ava watched Chance play super Nintendo. Then they wanted to go outside. While they were roaming around I got some painting done on a shelf for Parker's room. I feel like I was very productive and everyone got to play. Did I mention I even cleaned the house in between all the excitement.

Another Sleepless Night

This evening I went to youth girls night at church. We had lots of fun. We made little octopus out of yarn and they have little wiggly eyes. They are very cute. Our plan is to take them to kids that are sick in the hospital. Our fearless leader of girls night got the pattern off of the Internet. It said kids ages 6 and up could make these. She thought for sure it would be really simple and we could make several of them during our 2 hours of fun along with watching a Nooma video. I am not sure what the people that said 6 and up were thinking but it was a bit more difficult than any of us were thinking. Not that we were unable to make them but it took considerably more time to do them and it was a bit tedious. Along the way we got faster and worked out some of the kinks. The girls seemed to have lots of fun and are really excited about taking them to the hospital. Since we did not get as many made as we originally thought we have decided we will hang on to them awhile longer and at out next girls night make something else and so on and so forth and then take a bunch of stuff around the holidays. Here is a pic of our little octopus. They are actually much cuter in person.


While I was gone Parker went to stay at his Aunt Crystal and Uncle Brian's house to have a fun filled evening playing with his cousins and spending some quality time with them. From what I hear he had a great time and was very hyper. When I heard this I immediately thought ... "he will sleep good tonight"! Boy was I wrong. He came home and wanted to lay down with Daddy so I put him in bed thinking he would for sure fall asleep and then I would move him to his bed. I checked in on him in 30 min and he was wide awake. I then took him to his bed anyway and told him I would lay down with him. 30 min. later he is still wide awake. I gave up and am going to let him cry it out. Scared or not he has got to sleep it is almost midnight and we have church tomorrow and a fun filled afternoon with the cousins at our house. The thunderstorm we had a few nights ago has completely ruined his sleeping. I don't want to be a "mean mom" but really he has to sleep. He has never been scared of storms before. I am not sure where this new found fear has come from but it need to go away and quick. It is going to be a long day with a grumpy 2 year old tomorrow. Wish us luck.

"Sleeping under the Stars"

Yesterday was a very busy day. Parker and I got up early because he had a Dr. appointment to attempt to figure out what is causing a rash on the bottom of his feet. The Dr. did not have much of a guess. Just told me to put some over the counter cream on them and make him wear socks for a few days and see if he is reacting to the new carpet or something else in the house. (Glad I paid money for nothing) I could have figured that out on my own. But better to be safe than sorry I guess. After that we went with my parents to Holdenville to see my Grandparents new house and visit. It was a quick trip but it was good to see them. When we got home it was immediately time for me to leave to go to church. I was really tired my the time I got done. I just wanted to get home and relax.

We got home and I was getting ready to put Parker to bed when all of a sudden the lights went out. I don't mean out for a few minutes I mean out for hours. Parker was freaking out since he could not have his nightlight. I tried to convince him that it would be cool to "sleep under the stars" (we just put glow in the dark stars on his ceiling)! He was interested for a minute but wanted me to lay down with him which is never a good thing. He just lays there and stares at me. No sleeping. I eventually resorted to rocking him to sleep. Hopefully this is not a new habit we are going to form. He is too old for that.

After I finally got him to sleep I was really thirsty and went to get something to drink...since we are now on a well and the electricity was out that was not happening. We need the electricity to run the pump for the well. So I decided there was nothing else to do and we would just go to bed. At 4am Kris and I awoke to a terrible noise. The electricity was back on and I guess the well pump (that is on the other side of our Bedroom) had to readjust from being off so long. The toilets also were making terrible noises. I guess this could be a downfall to being on a well. It eventually all settled back down in time for us to sleep for a tad bit longer before Kris had to get up for work. Needless to say my need to sleep has continued all day long. Parker is still terrified to sleep (so no nap today) because of the storm last night! I even tried telling him it was just God watering the plants and animals so they could grow big and strong and I told him the lightning was the angles bowling. He still will not sleep. He just wants to sit up and talk about God, animals, and bowling. I am fine with all that but not when its time to sleep. I am really hoping he will be too tired to think about it tonight at bed time. We need some sleep!

Here goes nothing!

Like many things that I start in my life (such as myspace, facebook, and now blogging) I do so because my sis has convinced me to. So here goes nothing. I am going to attempt to blog. I am not sure how is going to go since I am a horrible writer and tend to ramble. I will give it a shot if for no other reason than I like to read other people's and our family and friends can stay informed. Not to mention my sis assures me this is the best time to start since we are going though so many new things.

Our family has recently purchased a new home in the country. Yes I said it. The city girl has moved to the country. Actually I am adjusting fine. It does take longer to get places but it is very peaceful and we love the new house and all the space. Parker loves to play outside, roam around, ride is little power wheels, and of course the riding lawn mower. He is having to adjust to not running all over the city everyday like we did before but there are other things to keep him busy. Kris has been working hard to get the garage organized and all the stuff moved over. I have been taking care of the inside getting out of boxes and getting the pictures and stuff on the walls. We are mostly settled in. I still need to figure out what I am going to do with all this wall space in the living room without having to buy more stuff. The rest of the rooms are 99% complete.