A Few Questions

I don't normally do these things, but Bonnie asked me to. And I like Bonnie. And she writes for Virtuou Pla.net now so I better do what she says.

What is your occupation right now?  I'm a speech-language pathologist. I work for the local school district testing 2-5 year olds for speech and developmental delays. I also have a small caseload of preschoolers that I serve. I get to travel around to local pre schools and day cares on a daily basis. My office is in a pre school and I love stopping by the baby room to peak at the kids who are a month older than Hannah to see what she'll be doing soon.

What are you listening to right now?  Nothing. We never have the tv on and rarely play music.

What was the last thing that you ate? Guacamole and chips for dinner.

 How old are you today? 26

What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? Cardinals baseball!

What is your favorite drink?  A margarita on the rocks with salt.

What is your new favorite song?  "Empire State of Mind" by Jay Z. Yes, I have a weakness for rap...

What is the last movie you watched?  I couldn't even tell you. We rarely watch movies.

Favorite day of the year? Any Friday in the fall. Especially if there's a home football game that weekend. That probably goes back to my high school cheerleader days. I just love the energy and the crispness in the air.

What was your favorite toy as a child? The video camera. We made music videos, commercials, movies...

What is your favorite season? Fall-Missouri's not Mississippi's

Cherries or Blueberries? Fresh-blueberries. Canned-cherries

When was the last time you cried? Tuesday at the doctor's office when Hannah has to be catheterized. It is so, so hard to watch your baby cry. (she's ok now by the way)

What is on the floor of your closet? Shoes, purses, and a box of spare sheets.

Who is the friend you have had the longest? My cousin Jamie-friends since birth!

What did you do last night? Drove back from a conference on Apraxia in Jackson.

What are you most afraid of? Nah-no need to dwell on that one.

How many states have you lived in? Two-Missouri and Mississippi!

What is your favorite kind of flower? Tulips. Hands down. Remember when I got these? (Beware-that was the post about the dead bunny.)

Nine Eleven

I was 16, a sophomore in high school.
Religion class. Back row. In the middle.
Our principal came on over the intercom and told everyone to stand. He led us in an Our Father and a Hail Mary and told us to sit down.
Then he told us about the attack.
I felt like the floor fell out from under me.
Mrs. W turned on the T.V. I saw the towers. I saw the planes. As much as I didn't want to watch, I couldn't take my eyes off it.
The bell rang for break. Everyone just stayed in the classroom watching T.V.

My parents were out of town. It was the first time they had left me in charge and didn't have us staying at a relatives.
I can't ever remember wanting my mom and dad more than I did in that moment.
I went to my uncle's classroom at the end of break and asked him if my cousin lived close to the towers. She lived in New York-but he didn't know how close she was. I prayed she was ok.

Geometry class. Mrs. W (a different one) led the class in an extra long prayer. Then we did geometry. She didn't let us watch T.V. Part of me was grateful.

After school I met my two younger sisters and a neighbor boy at my car. I drove them home and tried to answer their questions. I suddenly felt so young. I wasn't prepared to answer mommy questions.
My youngest sister was 9.
"Are the planes gonna come hit us too?"
"No, they only want to go to places with big buildings and there aren't any here."
"But the courthouse is really big!"
"No, they don't want to hit the courthouse."
"What about that cannon by the park [in front of the national guard building]? Will they come get us because we have that cannon?"
"No. That cannon doesn't work anymore and they know that."

Town was crazy.
Cars were pouring into gas stations. I had only had my license for a month and probably only pumped my own gas two or three times. I waited in the long line at Casey's because that's what everyone else was doing.

I talked to my parents on the phone that afternoon. They were cutting their trip short and were on their way home.
Thank God.

My cousin was ok.

Eternal rest grant unto them, Oh Lord. May they rest in peace.

My

mom

is

so

kissable!

Quick Takes (29)

-1-

I think Hannah is finally over her first illness. A fever for three days that got up to 103.3 today. I think she caught whatever was going around at the day care that my office is in. She may stay home, but her mama sure doesn't! We got through it with a lot of nursing, the ring sling, and the Holy Baby DVD I ended up buying.

-2-

Missouri tomorrow! Family reunion with Ted's mom's side of the family. And just in case-I'm bringing JEANS!

-3-

A friend gave me a very, very easy dairy-free peanut butter cookie recipe. I'm addicted. I can't stop making them. It's nice having a "go-to" recipe. It's not nice feeling sick from having no self control and eating too many cookies.

-4-

We're ordering take out tonight! I can't remember the last time we did that. Chicken strips from the best chicken strip place in town. And sweet potato fries made at home. Because even when we splurge-we're still cheap.

-5-

Am I the only one who ALWAYS puts an E on the end of potato? Thank goodness for spell check.

-6-

College football has begun! 59-14 was a great start to the season for the bulldogs. Hopefully many more to follow.  Of course, we'll have fun tailgating either way.

-7-

I've got nothing. Happy Friday!

My Week According to Google

I stole this idea from my friend Lyndsay. She just started blogging and I'm already hooked.


baby has to nurse to pass gas--breastfed baby pass gas--baby can't pass gas without nursing
As this would suggest, much of my week has been spent worrying about Hannah's gas. Much of the last six months really. Dr. Google didn't have the answer for me this time.

[sidenote: Ted wants me to warn my readers not to accidentally google nurses pass gas]

milk bank of mississippi
Darn it-it's not up and running yet. I don't want the 60+ ounces of milk I have frozen to go bad. Hannah can't have it because I froze it before I gave up dairy. Anybody out there need some breastmilk??

slr camera bags
Why would I be googling camera bags? To hold our awesome new camera!! It's amazing. I'm in love. We went to the park before Mass this morning to really test it out.

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

Exhibit C:

And a D:

slr camera strap
See above. An awesome new camera needs a cute strap. I'm thinking this one.

do oreos have dairy
Believe it or not-the allergen warning on a box of oreos does NOT include dairy. At first I was a little disgusted that a cookie made of chocolate and cream didn't have milk. My disgust quickly turned to extreme excitement upon realizing that I could eat these milk free chocolate and cream creations! Ted had a few rough days with a fussy little girl this week (hence the googling of the gas) so I decided to treat myself him to-not one-but two boxes of oreos. After three full months of no dairy-oreos dipped in almond milk was about as good as it gets.

Fast forward to the next day-Hannah is miserable and it hasn't gone away yet. The only suspect is the oreos, despite the label not containing any milk ingredients. But she's acting like she did before I gave it all up and that's my only guess. After consulting google, I found that I'm not the only who has had issues with the disturbingly dairy-free cookie. The answer to my question? A definite: maybe.

holy baby dvd
Oreos only solved half of the problem of a stressed out stay-at-home dad. The other solution? TV.

If we're gonna brainwash her six month mind with television-shouldn't it at least be Catholic? I remember this DVD from a family I used to nanny for. It's very, very low budget-but it gets the job done. And we feel slightly less guilty for setting her in her jumper and turning on "Baby Bosco" instead of PBS.

Don't judge us.


how to cook butternut squash
Ted and I have really ventured out with our food over the last couple of weeks. Asparagus, okra, butternut squash, brussel sprouts. I had a recipe for Butternut Squash Crisp from the farmers we bought them from. The first direction: Cook squash.

Uhhh. You're gonna have to be a bit more specific. But thanks to Chef Google, we now know how to cook squash. And it's delicious!

[sidenote: who knew you could eat baked okra?? I thought this vegetable was only edible if it was fried. Not only is baked okra edible, it's delicious! I almost prefer it to fried! I hope no one read this and decides to kick me out of Mississippi...]

what are pork chitterlings
This one was Ted.

buffalo wild wings allergen menu
1-There is now a B-dubs in town.
2-Alisha's mom came to visit and offered to babysit Hannah while we all went out to eat. Free babysitting.
3-Then she offered to buy our dinner. Because she's the nicest person I've ever met. Free dinner.
4-Almost ALL of the wing sauces are dairy-free.

The perfect combination for a great Saturday night out.`Thanks Gigi!

What did you google this week?

Why I Love My Husband (8)

He scratches my back in the middle of the night while I'm sitting up in bed nursing Hannah. Sometimes I nurse her a bit longer than she needs just to keep the scratching going....

He is doing a fabulous job in his new role as Mr. Mom (I went back to work and he's staying home with Hannah while he looks for jobs).  This isn't the arrangement either of us would have chosen, but it's the card we've been dealt right now and he is making the most of it.

He sends me pictures of Hannah while I'm at work.

He's giving up dairy with me. Except milk-the boy needs his milk.

He appreciates the work I do for our family-be it laundry, preparing healthy meals, researching items before we buy them to save money-and tells me this continually.

His arms are really sexy when he pushes the stroller.

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