Wednesday, February 28, 2007

THAT cry.

THAT cry.

You know each child has it ...

It's not the wah-wah I just want to make noise cry.

It's not the waaaaaaaaaaah I'm throwing a tantrum cry.

It's THAT cry ...
The one we as parents recognize when our child needs us.
REALLY needs us.

Griffin just had THAT cry.

He likes to turn the rocking ottoman over to rock back and forth while watching Sesame Street ... his finger got stuck in between the rocking section and the side.

He yelled THAT cry ...
I came running ...
Then a few magic Mommy kisses ...
And now all is right with the world again.

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Java Jodies.


We have a cute new restaurant in Goochland ... it's called Java Jodies Coffee Cafe. Griffin and I joined Heidi, Ryan and Evan there for lunch today after the Mommy & Me Gym.

It's a really cute coffee cafe. They of course offer a wide selection of coffee, sandwiches, and desserts. The decor reminds me so much of the set of "Friends".

I'm really looking forward to going back.

Monday, February 26, 2007

Back To Normal.


Life is back to normal.
I like normal.

Mike is home, working locally.
Griffin is well, the sicknesses are gone.

Our friends Fred and Judy stopped over for an overnight stay Friday night on the way back to Florida. The picture above is of Griffin with two of our best buddies. Griffin LOVES them ... and they are SO good with him. We had a nice lunch with them on Saturday afternoon before they left. Mike grilled steaks and Judy and I made sweet potatos and green salad.

Today Griffin and I met our friends Heidi, Ryan and Evan at Short Pump Towne Center for playtime and lunch. It was really nice to go somewhere to let Griffin play. He hasn't played with any other children for two weeks. That's too long. Had to keep him away from other children as we did not want to pass our icky sickness on to others.

We are definately back to normal.
I'm loving this place we call normal.

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Sweet Little One.


Just a little something I made for Ebay today ...

Friday, February 23, 2007

Mexico.



Mike returned home last night from his business trip to Mexico. He was gone a week. Seven days. We missed him very much!

He worked CRAZY hours while he was there ... honestly he probably worked 90+ hours during the week he was gone. He's upstairs sleeping now. We are trying to be as quite as possible so Daddy can get some rest.

This is a picture of Mike and Griffin right before he left for the airport for his flight to Mexico. I always take a picture of Mike and Griffin before he goes away on a business trip or takes a flying lesson. Is that weird? I don't know ... I always want to have a picture ... you know ... just in case. I do not have one picture of me and my mom together. That's sad isn't it? I think that's why it's so important of me to do this.

Anyway .. Mike/Daddy's home ... and we are going to shower him with love and kisses today.

Hope you all have a great weekend.

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Applebees.

Yesterday Griffin was feeling better and we were getting a bit stir crazy so we met our friends Heidi, Ryan and Evan for lunch at Applebee's.

We settled in for what I was hoping to be a wonderfully relaxing lunch. Didn't turn out quite that way. Griffin was loud, very loud at times ... the loudest I've ever heard him be. Heidi reminded me he was acting like a normal two-year old.

After awhile the hostess came by and handed me some crackers and said to me "Here try these, I don't know what's wrong with him, is he teething or something?" ... I commented back "I dn't know what's up with him today either". She went on to say something like "Well, all of the people coming in for lunch do not want to sit back here near you all because of the noise, we do have alot of professional people that come in for lunch". I was floored. I didn't know what to say.

I realize what she was saying was more than likely true, but I was astounded she actually verbalized these comments to me.

Heidi asked to speak with a manager ... she shared what happened with the hostess and said we rarely have time to actually come to a restaurant to enjoy ourselves. We realize our children are being a little loud as children usually are, but we are controlling them, we are not letting them run around the restaurant. The manager apologized and said he would talk to the hostess. He went on to say he has young children and he totally understands. I was very upset ... pissed off really. As we were finishing up with the manager the hostess came over and said something like "if I said something that ..." I cut her off. I didn't want to hear it. She made me mad and I wasn't ready to accept an apology. Very adult of me I know.

As we were finishing our meal, enjoying the free dessert the manager so graciously gave us, this man, dressed in a very nice business suit came up to our table. He said, "is this the table with all the children making noise" ... big gulp from me ... I said, yes sir it is. He said to me ... it's such a joy to hear children enjoying themselves. If my wife were here with me she would be eating your boys up! Oh my gosh!!! He made me feel sooooooooo much better. I got teared up and thanked him for taking the time to stop by and told him how very much it meant to me.

I know he must have overheard the manager saying something to the hostess.

This man made a miserable situation almost bearable.

Anyway ... after getting Griffin in the car, I realized he was tired. So tired in fact as soon as I pulled out of the mall parking lot he was out like a light (about 1:30) and slept until almost 5:00 pm! He was cranky AND loud because he was tired.

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Art.



Sometimes I'm amazed at the beauty we can find in simple things.

I happened upon this collection of blocks Griffin left on the window ledge.
Pure beauty.
Pure Art.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Tape.

Our friends Mary Ann and Chayce included a roll of tape with Griffin's birthday gift. I actually thought she had accidentally placed it in the bag and I had said to her, "Oh, I don't think you meant to give this to us". She then said ... oh yes I did ... children LOVE tape. It's a known fact around our house how much Griffin does love tape. When I'm packing orders with the packing tape, he laughs and giggles each time I stretch the tape for a package.

So ... it was quite fun to see him enjoying his very own roll of tape.


Wow ... stretch, stretch, stretch.


Ummmm ... Mommy .... HELP!


Giggle Monster.


It's amazing the things you can do with tape.


Oh sooo much fun!

Monday, February 19, 2007

Rotavirus.

I took Griffin back to the doctor this morning ... this is our FIFTH visit since January 15th. This time ... ROTAVIRUS. He's had severe diarrhea (D) since Friday ... going 7-8 times a day. He's had no appetite, but he's acting okay.

I was worried because he lost 2 pounds from January 25th until February 13th and I was really concerned he might loose more weight. He can't stand to loose anymore weight (he went from 29 pounds to 27 pounds in that short period of time). So, I went in and we were able to see Dr. Terry (we LOVE him!). He actually listened to me ... and he diagnosed rotavirus. He gave me a print out of the diet they give the children when they admit them to the hospital if they are de-hydrated ... same stuff Griffin eats anyway. And said he was pleased to see he was not de-hydrated. He suggested I continue with the Pedialyte, but wants me to give G Gatorade too.

This is a very, very contagious virus that mostly affects infants and toddlers. We are always careful to wash our hands, but now we most definately have to be super, super careful. I had to take a stool sample back to the lab this afternoon as he wants to test for more serious things such as salmenella (sp?). I'm keeping my fingers crossed that all comes back negative.

So ... we are keeping our sweet boy hydrated, fed, dry and happy.

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Baby Bandaids ...

Our friends Fred and Judy are visiting from Florida. We went to Casa Grande for dinner last night in Short Pump and then decided to stop by Walmart to walk around a little bit before heading home.

The other day when I took Griffin to the doctor, he had blood drawn and they put a "baby bandaid" on it. After his nap I decided to take it off, but then discovered it was still bleeding. So, I had to put two big bandaids on it to keep it on his tiny little finger. I made a mental note to pick up some baby bandaids next time I was in Walmart.

As Judy and I were looking for them, I noticed a very well dressed lady sitting in one of Walmart's mobile carts kind of listening to our conversation, but really didn't think anything about it. I couldn't find the baby bandaids I was looking for, but did see "kid bandaids". I made the simple comment to Judy ... I will never buy those silly bandaids with the characters on them because they are twice the price and you only get 15 of them. That's it ... my simple comment. I told Judy next time I was in the pharmacy I would look for the baby bandaids and we moved on.

So ... all of us were walking through the food section and we came upon this same lady. And she said to me ... "Oh good, it's you ... my husband has the bandaids in his cart and I want to give you the money to pay for them, I couldn't stand it if a baby needed something and couldn't have it". I was mortified!! She thought I couldn't afford bandaids. I explained to her that we had plenty of band aids at home, I was just looking for a particular kind. She was very kind and very sweet to think about us and make this offer ... but I was sooooooo embarrassed.

Anyway ... I can't believe I shared this story, but thought I should. I guess the lesson is before we jump to conclusions about something ... get all the facts.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Thursday, February 15, 2007

The Ice Storm ...

We experienced an ice storm Tuesday evening into Wednesday morning ... Wednesday about 1:30 am our power went out ... the house went completely quite. Mike went to look outside and the trees were drooping over, almost to the ground. His exact words were "this is going to be serious" ... and it was. The first thing we heard sounded like a gunshot ... it was a tree falling. It continued all night long. It was pretty scary. We continued hearing trees and limbs falling all night long. I don't think either one of us got much sleep.

The pictures below show what we woke up to. If you have time, please make sure to click on each picture to view it in a larger window ... they are pretty incredible. Especially the last picture ... you can see just how thick the ice was.

Everything was grey outside ... grey and omninous ... and yet beautiful.

Our power was off all day, until 8:00 pm Wednesday. We had the fireplace going so it stayed pretty warm. We have a generator so we were able to keep our freezer, refrigerator and other necessary items on throughout the day. When things like this happen we really appreciate those things we take for granted.


This is NOT snow ... it's all ice.


The trees in our yard are huge and tall ... and when they get top heavy with ice, they can get pretty dangerous


This is a view of our side yard, yet more trees


And then a view of our front yard ... right after I took these pictures I came into the house and then just a little bit later my neighbor Tony came to our front door to make sure I was okay. He saw me outside taking pictures when he drove down the road on his four-wheeler. Apparently when he got back to his drive-way he heard one of these trees in the front yard snap and the top fell right by the van, narrowly missing it. Tony wanted to check on me to make sure I was okay ... nice guy huh?


This is a view looking down our road ... we had 5 huge trees fall across the road. Mike, Tony and our other neighbor Mike cleared the road so we could get out if necessary.


It's just a winter wonderland ... all white, icy and grey


And this is the picture I encourage you to look at larger by clicking on it ... you can see just how thick the snow actually was

Touching Base ...

Hey everybody ... we made it through the ice storm. I have some great photos I would like to share, along with our "ice storm story". I keep trying to load them today, but it keeps timing out. I will try again tonight. Until later ... Missy

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

The VIRUS ...

C'mon everybody ... let's sing ...
The VIRUS in the house goes round and round, round and round, round and round ...

Oh my gosh ya'll ... we have been so, so sick ... CRAZY sick.

This is a bit graphic ... so if you have a weak stomach STOP READING!!

Thursday night Griffin got throw-up sick for the first time. He started about 11 pm and he continued throwing up until about 4 am. He was so scared ... and I felt so sorry for him.

Friday it turned into diarrhea (from here on out this will be referred to as D) and we thought YEAH ... at least he's not throwing up anymore. Friday night, once again he started throwing up about 2 am. He only had one really good throw-up and we got him settled back down.

Saturday I called the nurse on call at the pediatriacs office and she encouraged us to bring him in. We get there, didn't have to wait long and our doctor said that it was a very CONTAGIOUS stomach virus that was going around. So, we should limit what he ate to carbs only (crackers, bread and noodles) and no milk for 3-4 days. After the doctor we stopped by Walmart and as we were leaving I told Mike that I didn't feel well. Right after getting home ... it hit me like a ton of bricks. Throwing up and D ... oh my gosh, I have never been so sick in my entire life. I was literally crying I felt so bad. So ... Mike had to take care of both me and Griffin. Then about 9 pm on Saturday ... it hit Mike. Our entire family was sick. Griffin didn't throw-up at all Saturday night and we are greatful because Mike and I were so sick ourselves.

Sunday brought a day of rest for the entire family. We took it easy and ate only the minimum and drank our Diet Sierra Mist. By Sunday night Mike and I were feeling some better ... Griffin seemed fine too. Come 2 am ... he started throwing up again.

Monday ... I still have D and so does G. Mike is well enough to go work. I really kept our food to a minimum on Monday. All of actually ate plain spaghetti noodles with a little parmesan cheese sprinkled on it for dinner, no butter mind you.

And today ... we are all feeling better.

I do not wish this virus on my worse enemy. It is BAD ... bad, bad, bad.

I've missed visiting all of my blogging friends ... but I just haven't felt like it. I will try to visit as soon as I can. I am just catching up on emails and housework. I've missed you all!!!

Friday, February 09, 2007

Birthday Pictures ...

On Wednesday we had Griffin's birthday party at Short Pump Towne Center. It's so cold outside, we decided to have the party somewhere the kids could run around.

So ... we invited everyone to the play area at SPTC to play. Then the kids enjoyed lunch from Chick-Fil-A. After that we had a wonderful Sesame Street Cake with whipped cream icing (yum!) and finally presents. This is the first children's party I've ever thrown, and I really think it turned out well.

His little friends were very, very cute and adorable. I have some great pictures of them, however I haven't asked permission from their parents to post their pictures to my blog, so I've decided I better not share those pictures. Just know ... they are cuties!!

I've had a really hard time getting these pictures loaded to Blogger. I had to load them as small images because each time I tried loading them larger, Blogger would time out. Also, they are out of order ... but again, I do not want to take a chance realigning them and them having Blogger time out again on me. These pictures are all courtesy of our dear friend Heidi. She had emailed these to me and I took advantage of already having them on my computer and not having to load them from my camera. If you would like a bigger view of any of the pictures, just click on the small pic of your choice and it will load bigger.

And one last thing ... Griffin had on a really cute camo shirt that we had to take off because the play area was so hot. The white t-shirt he is wearing is his under shirt. So ... no ... I did not dress him in a white t-shirt for his birthday ... LOL.


The birthday boy is anxious for the party to start ...


Yummmm ... this cake is GOOD!!


Griffin opening a gift with a little help from Mommy, Samuel and Zachary



Daddy & Grandma (Mike & Bett)


His really cute Sesame Street cake ...


I wanted to share this picture ... just look at those lashes ...


Mommy helping Griffin with his cake ...

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Ugggh ....

So I just signed on to load pictures and a post about Griffin's birthday party and Blogger keeps timing out when I tried to load a picture. So ... it will have to wait until tomorrow.

We had sooooooooo much fun at the party yesterday, I can not wait to share it with all of you ... but I *will* wait until tomorrow.

I wanted to say THANK YOU to my blogging friend Teresa ... she was soooooo sweet to send me some very cute and festive Cow Mardi Gras beads ... thank you, thank you, thank you.

Also ... Cassandra ... I am soooooooo happy you started a blog. When Blogger is more willing to allow me to do what I want to do, I will be adding your link to My Favorite Blogs.

Griffin and I just returned home from taking my mother-in-law to the airport. We miss her already ... but we understand, she has a life in Florida to get back to.

Well ... better get my house back in order ... hope everyone has a GREAT evening. I hope to be back to daily blogging now.

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Happy 2nd Birthday Griffin!


Happy Birthday to our sweet Griffin ... he's 2.
Can you believe he's 2?
Seems like yesterday this little guy entered our lives ... and changed it forever.

We love you Griffin ... Happy Birthday!!!

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Quicky Update ...

Hey Ya'll ... I'm still alive ... just haven't had much time to update the past couple of days as my mother-in-law is visiting. We are having a great time. She arrived late on Saturday, so we went to the outlets in Williamsburg on Sunday instead. Honestly, I'm not much of a shopper, but we had a good time.

Yesterday I was finally able to get my hair cut. Really, the only chance I get to get my hair cut is when family visits. So, it's nice having a shorter new do right now. We also made a stop at Walmart to stock up on birthday party stuff and went to my favorite Chinese buffet for lunch.

This morning it's 3 degrees outside ... can you even believe that? It's been ALOOONG time since it's been that cold here. We do plan to go out today. Beginning this week the Mommy & Me Gym time will now be available on Tuesdays AND Wednesdays. How great is that?? So ... I thought it would be great fun for Grandma to enjoy some time with Griffin at the gym. Hopefully it will warm up at least a little.

I've took some time to visit most of my blogging buddies yesterday, but didn't have a chance to leave comments (dial up sucks ... sorry but it does). Anyway, when we get home today from the gym and G goes down for a nap, I'm going to try to visit and let you know I was there. I did want to give a "shout out" to a couple of people. Terri (TK Angels) ... thank you for being a new visitor to my blog. I've visited your blog many times since you've visited mine, but Blogger will not allow me to leave comments. I just don't understand why. Anyway ... hi there and thank you for visiting. And Cassandra ... did you ever start your blog? If so ... make sure to leave your blog link in my comments section ... I'd love to visit yours!

Well ... tomorrow is Griffin's 2nd birthday and we will be having his party. I'm sooo excited. The weather forecast is SNOW ... but hopefully our friends will still be able to make the party.

Until next time .... hope ya'll have a great day!

Friday, February 02, 2007

TGIF ...


I'm really happy it's Friday! My mother-in-law Bett is flying in tomorrow and will be visiting us until Thursday. You do not know how happy this makes me. I really miss her so much and love when we are together. She will be here for Griffin's birthday, so it will be extra special.

She will be flying into Richmond tomorrow afternoon. We plan to pick her up from the airport and then head to Williamsburg. Mike needs some new shoes, so we will be going to the Timberland outlet over there. I'm really hoping we can pop into Williamsburg Pottery so I can go to the ribbon building. I do not have to go to any other buildings ... just the ribbon building. They have the 3/8" gingham ribbon that I love to use for only $2.50 a roll ... that's 25 yards ya'll ... for only $2.50!

Sunday we will all be going with Mike to his flight lesson. Bett has never seen Mike fly and we think she would enjoy going. Other than that we have no real set plans except for Griffin's birthday party on Wednesday ... which we are really looking forward to.

The little Easter Bunny that you see above is a new creation of mine. Just thought I would share it.

I hope you all have a lovely (and warm!) weekend.

Thursday, February 01, 2007

Just a little fun ...

Andi, Susie Q, and several other blogging friends had the cutest "Just For Fun List" on their blogs.

You have to give an answer that begins with the first letter of your name!

I'm Missy and I will use "M" ... Here's my list.
I'll be looking forward to reading yours.

1. Famous athlete: Montana, Joe (is that cheating?)
2. Four letter word: Must ... as in ... I must actually think to do this quiz
3. Street name: Mulberry Lane
4. Color: Mauve
5. Gift: More time ... as in ... more time for anything would be a gift
6. Vehicle: Mustang!
7. Tropical Location: Moracco
8. College Major: Music
9. Dairy Product: Milk ... so easy!
10. Something in a Souvenir Shop: Map
11. Boy Name: Michael ... my husband's first and my son's middle name
12. Girl Name: Melissa ... my "given" name
13. Movie Title: Mr. Mom
14. Alcohol: Mai Tai
15. Occupation: Medical Doctor
16. Flower: Magnolia
17. Celebrity: Michael J. Fox
18. Magazine: Mode ... hey ... it's on Ugly Betty ... didn't say it had to be real
19. US City: Montgomery
20. Sports Team: Miami Dolphins
21. Something Found in a Kitchen: Mayonnaise
22. Reason for being late: Mike (lol!)
23. Something you throw away: matchbook
24. Things you shout: Mommy's here ... it's okay (to G)
25. Cartoon Character: Madge

Your Turn!!!