Ya'll Come Back Now, ye' hear.

(thanks,http://www.flickr.com/photos/brent_nashville/)

After a WONDERFUL kid-free weekend (thanks mom!) I had to retrieve the kids from them.  We met down I-40 about 50 miles from Nashville.  We may have been only 50 miles from music city but this place was still thriving off the country music scene!  I arrived to Hurricane Mills, TN just after lunch.  I was a bit hungry and I'm NOT a fan of McDonalds.  Ever.  So my other choices were the Mexican food trailer (um, no thanks, Montezuma!)  or Loretta Lynn's Kitchen.  I had to begin dining alone which I might have never mentioned but I have a serious issue with eating alone, in a restaurant.  I can do it any day at home or in my car but I hate eating inside a restaurant alone.  I always assume everyone is sizing me up, including the servers.  Wondering "what's her story?"  Can we say paranoid.  Anyway, its my issue.  I was having a pretty tasty buffet lunch when the gang arrived.  The boys were bustling ready to tell me about their weekend and all the amazing sites along the way.  One of them happened to be right outside as there was a gigantic bull? buffalo? in the front of the restaurant.  Not exactly sure what that had to do with Loretta Lynn but the food was good, I can't complain.  Now the rest of the dinner was a shrine to the past country music legend.  There were some fine quality larger than life size throws with her photos on them.  More photos and show prints than I could count and then came the wax statute and clothing display.

(thanks,http://www.flickr.com/photos/brent_nashville/)

  Yes, it was full of facinating relics.  Not enough could be said when mom and I were rendered speechless over this fine piece of art.

 Good ol' George!  We've ordered 2 replicas to be framed for over our mantles!  Now you want one too, don't you?

On the way home we happened to ride behind this car.  Now if you look closely, the bumper sticker on the back says "I love my FIXED pet."  Um, apparently you waited until you'd populated the entire back window of your car before you made that decision.  Can we say contradiction?  I would say only in TN but this kind of thing happened ALL the time in NC and it appears this car is from Mississippi.  In case it's not clear, let me count it out for you.  There are 11 (ELEVEN) pets pictured on this car.  It appears there are 2 parents and ONE child.  Folks, first, unless you own a farm, 11 pets is way too many but second, if you are audacious enough to own 11 pets, please, for the love, don't represent each one of them on the back of your car.  It gives people like me reason to shake my head in wonder {and possibly roll my eyes.}

What's been going on?

1. Several weeks ago Nashville was in the center of a serious storm path that included the great possibility of tornadoes.  Schools were closing and everyone was finding their safe place.  We live atop a hill and there's no safe place in this house.   Luckily, after a small meltdown, Jason found me a friends house to go to while tornadoes rumbled all around but we only sustained a few broken window screens from the large hail. Thankful!

2.  My running group is continually increasing our milage to train for the  Nashville Country Music Half Marathon.  A few weeks ago we began our trek at Loveless Cafe and ran 9 miles UP the Natchez trace.  If you've never ran uphill for 2 miles, you can do it there.
This week we took a scenic route downtown.  It was the last 7 miles of the half and it was FUN.  We crossed I-40 twice, went across the Cumberland River, around Titan Stadium, by Centennial Mall, Farmer's market, through the Gulch and back up to Music Row.  I can not wait to run with 30,000 other people through this town!

3.  After running that 9 miles and picking my parents up from the airport, I participated in a missions event at our church.  They helped with The Fairy Godmother Project of Music City.  This charity provides prom dresses to high school girls who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford them.  I was a personal shopper and I was able to help one girls prom dreams come true!  She found the perfect dress and we were both pleased!

4.  Last week, I was the happiest southern girl on the block.  The owners of this house agreed to let me have a glass front door installed so that I can watch the kids at the playground and have a little more light in the evenings.  I've been basking in my glass front door all week.  I had clothes on...most of the time.
Perhaps one of the funnier occurrences was when Jackson rounded the corner to come inside and ran right SMACK into it.  Poor guy, it made his eyes water but if you'd been here, you too would have laughed hysterically.


5.  6 months ago I bought tickets to see Mary Poppins at TPAC.  It was a long time coming but worth the wait!  It was a wonderful show, better than I remembered and the set was so amazing that I didn't have to wonder how they spent my ticket money!

5a.  As I was standing outside waiting for the valet to retrieve our car the lady I went looked over my should and  said "(gasp) That's Allison Krauss."  I swung my head around to verify that we were in fact in the presence of a celebrity.  I carefully snapped this blurry photo.  I wouldn't have dared to be caught stooping so low as to obviously take a cell phone photo so this was the best I could do in my semi-starstruck state.  Nonetheless, Nashville's celebrity sightings are cool!

6.  It's not unusual for me to find strange guys in my bed.  Such as this one.

7. This is also not an uncommon occurance.  Surely God sees that I need to step on a barbie or two to balance this out!

8.  Why is he naked?  I had dressed this child and placed him on the couch to view (for the 100th time) an OLD vhs movie that he's in love with.  Funny thing is his brother liked it equally as well.  It's kids that are probably now well into their 30's singing toddler songs and bible songs.  Cutest thing is when he can sing what's coming up next.

9.  Lincoln "left" his papi at Aunt Linda's house.  He now claims he left it because he's too big (true).  The morning after he slept without it, I expected an earlier than usual wake up but instead I went in to check on him and he was up peeping out the window.  Who needs a papi?

10.  Have you ever wondered what we did without text and picture messaging?  It is now part of our every day life.  I can't imagine having to shop without sending my sister pix messages.  I guess in the good ol' days, we had to actually go shopping together.  For shame!

The new songs{"What's been going on?"}on my playlist (click here google readers!) are my new absolute favs.  Amos Lee is the next big thing, just wait and see!  Love!!

I got my MOM MD!

That's right, as of Friday evening, I received my undergrad from google.com and then obtained my master's in the very same night from none other than youtube.com.  Both are highly esteemed for information and higher learning.  Sure, some people use their degrees to do harm or laugh at others misfortunes but I used my new found knowledge to perform a medical procedure on my youngest child.  See, MOM MD at your service! Let me know how I can be of assistance to you.  I draw the line at delivering babies.

Let's back up to form the medical history on my very first patient.  He presents as a rambunctious 2 1/2 year old male with a 12 hour old possible arm injury.  Earlier in the day, the patient's older brother was known to have pulled him rather violently up the stairs to recieve punishment.  This resulted in an injury to the left arm which was still to be determined if it was false pain or indeed a medical emergency.  After spending the day holding the arm like a dead fish, another highly esteemed medical colleague suggested it may actually be an injury.  After this consult, we  she makes our diagnosis.  Nurse Maid's Elbow.

We, my para-professional colleague and I, did the appropriate research(google) to confirm the initial diagnosis and reviewed the medical procedure(you tube) to be performed.  We had 3 options for the procedure and we chose the one we thought knew  we could competently perform in our newly formed office (living room).  I held the patient and took the gimp arm (yes, thats a medically correct term) in my hands.  With one hand, I secured the elbow and with the other hand I lifted the arm while turning it to flexion at his shoulder.  I heard the "pop" (also medically correct) and knew that the procedure had been performed with accuracy and skill and was now complete.  The patient felt immediate relief and was rewarded with refined sugar.  After a few high five's congratulatory glances , my professional colleague and I closed up our office for the day with one satisfied patient.  I feel lucky to live in a skilled medical community (internet) that allows me to offer relief to children with gimp arms.

The REAL story:
So we're preparing to leave Nashville for Montgomery and Lincoln does something that requires a spanking.  Jackson being the tattle-tail big brother makes it his mission to ensure he receives the punishment and he proceeds to drag him up the stairs by his arm.  Some screaming is occurring but if you've been around here for long, you'll know it's not that uncommon.  When Lincoln comes up, he's crying his way out of his spanking by claiming his arm hurts.  Lincoln was is my dramatic child.  There have been boo-boos that have long since healed that I'm still kissing around here.  I thought this was another Lincoln ploy to secure his "baby doesn't need a spanking" rank.  Well, he whines for a while about the arm as I'm getting ready.  I find a sucker in the bottom of the suitcase I'm packing and decide it's perfectly fine to consume so I asked him if a sucker would make his arm feel better and he felt sure it would.  I gave it to him and the child places the sucker on his hurt arm!  Yes, indeed, the sucker is placed on the injury as if it's goign to make it better.  I'm not sure it was working because shortly afterwards the sucker had been consumed.

For the rest of the day Lincoln held that arm limp and wouldn't use it.  I was sure he was fine and just attention seeking.  We arrived in Montgomery and I was visiting a friend who's opinion I trust and she said she actually didn't think my little drama king was faking.  She said there was something to the way he couldn't turn his palm upwards.  She went on to say "it sounds like nurse-maids elbow" and I looked at her like she had a 3rd eye.  She said it's common in young kids that have been pulled and it can be placed back  with an easy medical procedure.  She had to google it to convince me and check her spot on accuracy!  After we felt confident in our google diagnosis, we watched a couple of you tubes on how to correct nurse maids elbow at home. I knew our insurance probably wouldn't cover crap in Alabama.   Since my friend, Rusty, was an occupational therapist, we felt sure this procedure was being performed under medical supervision but she insisted that I perform it on my own child, for legal safety's sake.  I chose the turn and flex method and all at once while he was sitting on my lap, I take his elbow in one hand and wrist in the other and turn his hand palm up while pressing his arm up toward his shoulder.  I distinctly heard the pop of it going back into place and knew that the child had been healed.  You'd think he was going to scream and cry but he whimpered a second before saying "You fixed it!"  So yes, I fixed his arm and all was right in the world.

There you have it, my Mom MD.

It's the end of the world as he knows it

There are 2 other blogs waiting in the wings but this one took center stage tonight as I try to stifle my sniffles over this very grown up event in my youngest child's life.  I can't say it went as planned because it was not at all planned.  I will say it went better than expected on his end, mine, maybe not so much.

This weekend we spent the weekend with Jason's Aunt and Uncle in Montgomery, AL.  They boys have their own room there and they slept in a big bed.  I sure wasn't going to volunteer to sleep with them as they turn circles all night.  Nonetheless, I do get one in the bed with me when Lincoln suddenly fell out of the bed because it seemed as if Jackson may have turned side ways and pushed the little guy right out.  I woke up to him crying and found him curled on the floor.  I felt bad enough to let him sleep with me at that point but it took me 15 minutes to find his papi (pacifier) while he lay in my bed content to wait.  On the way home, I stuck the papi in my purse.  Soon, he asked for it and I gave him his blanket complete with the tie from his bumper pad which he's always used as a "lovie."  Normally the papi and "bank" (blanket) go together but I just told him we left it at Linda's.  He said we'd have to get another one and I told him there were no more and he was too big for one anyway.

Jason and I were both playing the blame game on who was going to take the papi away from our headstrong nearly 3 year old.  I think we had agreed upon 1st grade being the absolute end all for papi's.  After all, they still take a nap in Kindergarten and he'd need it then!  He's a good kid and with that papi and bank, he'll lay in his crib for HOURS, ask to be put to bed and he's even been known to climb into the crib so that he could sleep with it.  It's definitely comfort item for him and he's a comfort items kid!  Speaking of cribs, this child is also nearly fully potty trained and has no intention of moving out of his crib.  He loves it and doesn't try to climb out so I decided I'd be a fool to take him out of it now.  He's stuck and we're both ok with that!  He also has a thing for his crib aquarium.  Sure, most kids out grow those by 18 months or so but not mine.  He's been blaring that thing in the middle of the night since he was 8 months.  I have watched him in the video monitor wake up, hit the button and immediately lay down and go back to sleep.  He loves that music box.  Recently, it was out of batteries and I promised him new ones.  After they were installed, he spent the next hour playing with it as it died a slow death.  It's been on it's last leg and at 6 years old  it finally kicked the bucket, he was devastated.  I asked my mom if she knew any 18 month olds that were done with theirs because my 3 year old needed a new one and she went right out and found him one in consignment (what a SWELL Nana!)  That boy loves his comfort items and always has.

We've been limiting the papi to the bed for many months now but we knew the time was coming to give it up.  Jackson was easy and I was 6 months prego with Lincoln when we gave his to Santa Claus.  We don't really do the Easter bunny so no giant bunny was going to be taking it and I have a feeling Lincoln would not willingly give it away either.  I just knew I held the only one we had in the car with me and if I said it was gone, I might actually start believing it myself.  No, I didn't really want to get rid of it now but I seized a good opportunity.  He slept great in the car with just the bank but the real test came at bedtime.  I put him down but he immediately requested me rock him.  Hmmmmm, YES, please.  Lincoln and I play the "rock me" game about 2-3 times a week.  I will tell him I will rock him to sleep as a treat or he'll ask me to "pease rock me" and I can not say no.  I knew this could be a no paci consolation prize and although he did whisper the whole time I rocked, he finally got tired enough to fall asleep.  We haven't made it thought the night yet but if this doesn't hold me accountable to not give it back, I don't know what will.  I do realize he doesn't need it and he's too old to have a stinkin' papi but right now, he's still my only baby and it's just as hard for me to let go.

 So here's my good bye to the papi.

 Until next time...

and there WILL be a next time.  Did you hear that Jason deFoor??