Little Lady

I was here at the computer when Sprite emerged from the bathroom looking like this...

" Look Mama, it's coral bronze..."

"Here, let me give you a kiss!"

How is it that my two year old daughter can apply lipstick without a mirror better than I can with a mirror? Seriously???

A Lot To Be Thankful For

Sprout really wanted to make a cornucopia this year so I found this one at a craft store and let him fill it. He designed it all by himself with a pumpkin, gourds, berries and leaves! He was very proud of it! It was our centerpiece and decorating it will be a new tradition for us from now on along with our tablecloth.

Every year when we have Thanksgiving dinner at our house, we ask everyone to sign their name and/or write a small thought, then my sister-in-law, Amy, graciously sews it for me (since I don't know how to sew) with a differnt color thread each year. She then uses the same color thread to write the year along the edge. This tradition was passed down from Toby's Aunt Kathy and is one that I really love. It is fun to look back over the years and see who was sitting at our table and what they wrote. There are well wishes to Toby when he was deployed, wishes to unborn children when I was pregnant, signatures from my brother's ex-girlfriends who is now married, and misspelled words from friends who had a little too much wine!! It is a great conversation piece and I look forward to pulling it out every year and remembering how much I have to be thankful for, especially these 2 munchkins...

Sprout

Sprite

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wordless Wednesday-Gobble Gobble

"Don't eat me, eat Steak instead, Gobble, Gobble!"

By Sprout

Tonsils Smonsils

We have a new pediatrician and Sprout had his first appointment a few weeks ago. Even before she looked in his throat she could tell that his tonsils were enlarged- because of the "way" he talked, she said. I politely reminded her that he receives speech therapy for articulation delays. She said, "I remember you telling me that, but this is different, he talks like he's got a potato stuck in his throat!"

So she asked him to open up and say ahhhh.

"Good Lord" she said, they are huge. The poor kid's got 2 potatoes stuck in his throat! Come look Mom." Apparently, Sprout is sprouting potatoes in his throat!

She went on to ask questions about his sleeping patterns and habits. After hearing that he snores, has frequent chapped lips and is groggy and hard to get going in the morning she was convinced that the tonsils were a big concern and recommended that we go to an ENT for an evaluation.

Today was our appointment with the ENT and he too was concerned about the size of Sprout's tonsils. He was especially concerned after talking with us that Sprout may be suffering from sleep apnea as his tonsils are so large that they most likely obstruct his airway when the tissue relaxes in the back of his throat at night. This explains why he is so groggy and hard to get moving in the morning- he is not getting restful sleep. So, Sprout is having his tonsils and adenoids removed next Thursday!!!!

The doctor asked Sprout if he had any questions. Sprout wanted to know if tonsils were muscles. Gotta love his curiosity! The Doctor explained that they were not muscles but clumps of tissue. "Like tissue paper?" Sprout asked! ;)

He will be out of school for 2 weeks and on a strict diet of ice cream, popsicles, jello, pudding and yogurt. This is the only part of the deal that had Sprout smiling today.

I have been really impressed, possibly for the first time, with Sprout's new pediatrician and pediatrician's office in general. The entire staff is warm and caring and goes above and beyond to help. I can't tell you how many doctors we have been to that not only overlooked the enlarged tonsils but overlooked everything, including their bedside manners. This doctor could tell that his tonsils were enlarged simply by the way he talked-and she has a great personality-amazing!It is a huge relief to have found a doctor that we are comfortable with. It's been a long time coming.

While I am not looking forward to the surgery or recovery, I am looking forward to the weeks after when Sprout will be able to breath, speak and sleep better. Who knew that two clumps of tissue could cause so much trouble for a little guy. I suspect his behavior and/or mood may improve a bit too once he starts sleeping better and experiences less frustration regarding his speech and the ability of people to understand him. I'm not expecting a miracle here but I'll take whatever benefits that may come from this. ;)

Cowgirl Princess

Sprite is a rough and tumble little girl who can hold her own with the boys but lately she has been showing more of her girly side.

Case in point...

Yesterday she decided to play dress up and emerged from her bedroom wearing a cowgirl hat, princess shoes and carrying a pink handbag.

Later in the day she decided to experiment with a little bit of makeup and covered her face and part of the bathroom with lipstick. I wish I had a picture of this but I was a little to preoccupied with the Lipstick Jungle in my bathroom to think about the Kodak moment.

I forsee a future filled with pink and battles over clothing and makeup!

Wordless Wednesday-The view from here...

Tackle It Tuesday

The Reading Olympics and this family project are why I have been absent from the Blogosphere this past week...

It's been a big tackle but one that we have enjoyed more than we thought we would. We are still not done but are getting close; all that is left is the swingset and a little decorating...

Reading Olympics Results

Sprout and I read a total of 594 pages for the Reading Olympics.

Sprout read 152 pages by himself!

Go Sprout!

Reading Olympics

Sprout has been working really hard on his reading lately and is participating in the Reading Olympics at his school. He is in need of sponsors to help him make it through to the end of the Olympics-November 19th and would like to know if you* would consider being one of his sponsors. You can pledge a dollar amount per page or per book. If you would like to sponsor him for the Reading Olympics, please let us know! You can makes checks payable to me if you want and then I will write one check, including our sponsorship, to turn into his school.

* You refers to family and friends who know who Sprout is but if you are reading this and are not a family member or friend and feel inclined to sponsor a young boy for the "Reading Olympics, at his Elementary school" I certainly won't turn your money away. :) So to all the Joe Plumbers out there- how 'bout sponsoring Sprout the Reader?

Tag- You're It

I've been tagged by Amy ...

The rules: Remove 1 question from the list below, and add your own personal question to make it a total of 20 questions. Tag 8 people, list them out at the end of this post. Notify them in their chat box that he/she has been tagged.

1. At what age do/did you (wish to) marry? 19 seein' as how that's when I got married and all. I was young and in love... 12 years and still going strong!
2. What color do you like most? Green, green and green-'nuff said!
3. If you can have a superpower, what would it be? Matter ingestion-Ability to consume any sort of matter without any ill effects on the user... so I could eat whatever I wanted and not gain weight! Click here for a list of superpowers.
4. If you can travel anywhere in the world, where would you want to go? Ireland, see #2.
5. Which part of you do you hate the most? It's a toss up between my gigantic feet and the dark circles under my eyes. Since I can hide my feet but can't seem to hide the dark circles under my eyes with all of the concealer in the world, I'll go with that one.
6. When you get sad, what do you do? Cry- Is this a trick question; what do other people do?
7. What book are you reading now? For One More Day by Mitch Albom
8. If you win $1 million, what would you do with the money? Donate it all to charity. Ok, not all of it. I would pay off all of my debt, travel and build my home in the mountains!
9. What did you love the most about last year (2007)? My daughter started sleeping through the night.
10. How did you get your name? I was named after a Tanya Tucker song titled, "I'm Not Lisa." Yes, I am serious. No wonder I have identity issues! :)
11. What is the moment you regret most? Getting personal now are we? Some things are better left in the past...
12. What type of person do you hate the most? Mean people. Mean people suck!
13. What is your greatest asset? My butt. Oh, you didn't mean physically, did you?
14. If you had one wish, what would you wish for? For my children's dreams to come true.
15. How did you celebrate the New Year? I don't remember-how bad is that? And no I was not intoxicated. If I spent it with you and don't remember- I am sorry!
16. What tv show do you watch that you are embarrassed to tell people about? Sometimes if I am home during the day I peak at Days of Our Lives-Gasp! I know, I know but I grew up watching it with my Mom and Gram and can watch one episode every three years and catch up.
17. It’s 2008. What are you looking forward to this year? Spending time with my husband before he deploys.
18. Anything in your life that you wish weren’t so awful? My Mom's health.
19. What’s the shallowest thing you intend to do this year? See #13.
20. Coke or Pepsi?

I'm not very good at tagging people so if you are reading this, consider yourself tagged...

Tag-you're it!

Happy Halloween