With 12 weeks left until our due date, this is the state of things: My belly feels smaller in the mornings and larger by the evening/night time. I'm still riding my bike to school, but I'll cut that out as soon as I feel less balanced. Hopefully that wont happen for at least another month and a half. I don't want to ride the "gimp wagon" (a service the school will provide to people who have broken a leg, sprained a toe, etc.), but I'll do it if necessary. Baby kicks a lot every day, particularly when (s)he hears Abby or Matthew yammering. We toured the Birthing Center in Davis this week. Abby was fascinated! She came home with all kinds of doctor's gear (including an umbilical cord clamp, which I'm hoping does not end up clamped on anything vital)and has been practicing on her baby dolls. This kiddo is READY to be a big sister!
I know I have been slow to blog, but between teaching a class, taking a class, researching for a prof, wife-ing, mothering, and gestating, I find myself fairly worn out most days. I think to blog often, but then I decide that the quietude of just resting is more appealing. All is well; we are enjoying the wonders of preparing to be a family of four--the talks, the laughs, the belly-watching, the role-playing...life is good.
February 7, 2007
our 5 year old young lady
Sweet Abby wore this dress (from her grandmother) for her 5th birthday party. I couldn't resist blogging at least one photo of her in it! An update on Abby: She is getting ready to start attending a private school! Beginning on March 1, she will go to Merryhill School. (Anyone interested in contributing to the cost of this is welcome to do so! We figure that we will be able to actually afford private school in 2 years, once we get "real" jobs). Since Abby can already read, and since she is beyond the public school Kindergarten curriculum in other areas too, we decided to look for a better fit for her. We are thrilled with the school we've found and are tightening the (figurative) belt in order to afford to have her there--this as belts become a far off memory for me with my growing belly... Anyway, we will have to post pics of Abby in her uniform (as soon as we get one for her).
looks like a teenager
Abby likes to listen to music as she falls asleep. Usually this involves me singing, but she also likes listening to CDs. We put the music on a different player now (after finding her crashed out with the headphones still on), so that she isn't sleeping with wires. But this image made us laugh. Our kiddo is really growing up!
January 17, 2007
Birthday Girl
Abby is FIVE! Here she is in front of her school door this morning. Cupcakes, giggly friends, and a day all about her...perfect. This evening she picked her favorite--Thai food--for dinner. We had a lovely feast at Thai Bistro in Davis, and after eating way too much (we had sate chicken, calamari rings, lettuce cups, and panang curry chicken), they brought Abby a birthday treat of fried bananas with ice cream. I love that she wanted to go to Thai Bistro and not Chuck E. Cheese (she's never actually been there).
January 10, 2007
who's the boss?
While playing with dolls tonight:
A: This girl is going to be the mermaid. But I'm not the boss. I'm only the third boss of the bubba (BBQ).
G: Who is the first boss of the bubba?
A: daddy.
G: And the second?
A: you.
G: What about you? How many bosses do you have?
A: one.
G: Oh? Who's your boss?
A: mommy.
G: what about daddy?
A: he's your boss.
This totally cracked me up--all of it! We haven't had conversations about "bosses" really, but I love hearing her thoughts on things we haven't directly talked about.
A: This girl is going to be the mermaid. But I'm not the boss. I'm only the third boss of the bubba (BBQ).
G: Who is the first boss of the bubba?
A: daddy.
G: And the second?
A: you.
G: What about you? How many bosses do you have?
A: one.
G: Oh? Who's your boss?
A: mommy.
G: what about daddy?
A: he's your boss.
This totally cracked me up--all of it! We haven't had conversations about "bosses" really, but I love hearing her thoughts on things we haven't directly talked about.
January 8, 2007
Wisdom, snot, leg cramps, and organization
What a wild weekend this has been. I'll try to recap it briefly: M had his wisdom teeth pulled on Friday; well, drilled out is more accurate. The dentist had to cut his gums and drill into the bone in order to remove a root tip. Besides being a VERY painful recovery--I'll get to that in a sec-- M endured this without being sedated, since our insurance doesn't cover that expense. He was numb but was totally aware of the entire procedure. He's a little traumatized by it, but he will recover. The pain on Friday night was outrageous. He only had Tylenol-3 and that didn't touch the pain. A late-night run to pharmacy and we had vicodine and valium (for muscle spasms). Those made him loopy but not much more comfortable! Saturday morning in urgent care brought some relief by way of an injection to the buttocks (Abby thinks that's funny) of toradol. Since then we've stayed ahead of the pain and he is currently organizing our hall closet.
On to snot: Abby has a cold that began last week. She is now in the stuffy/runny nose phase, which means lots of vaporizer filling and vicks vapo-rub slathering. I've unfortunately come down with the cold myself (and can't take decongestants because I'm pregnant). Then last night, just as I thought I might actually get some sleep (i.e. 20 minutes after turning off the lights), Abby wandered in with leg cramps. So I ended up giving her some tylenol and rubbing the poor kid's leg until she could finally sleep. I slept in her bed till 7:15 this morning.
We stayed home from church today-- snotty Abby, sneezy and baggy-eyed G, and chipmunk-cheeked Matty-- what a miserable crew! It hasn't been a bad day though; we're making more progress on our apartment as we settle in and prepare for BBQ, and we got to hang out together and laugh. I'm ready for a LONG winter's nap.
On to snot: Abby has a cold that began last week. She is now in the stuffy/runny nose phase, which means lots of vaporizer filling and vicks vapo-rub slathering. I've unfortunately come down with the cold myself (and can't take decongestants because I'm pregnant). Then last night, just as I thought I might actually get some sleep (i.e. 20 minutes after turning off the lights), Abby wandered in with leg cramps. So I ended up giving her some tylenol and rubbing the poor kid's leg until she could finally sleep. I slept in her bed till 7:15 this morning.
We stayed home from church today-- snotty Abby, sneezy and baggy-eyed G, and chipmunk-cheeked Matty-- what a miserable crew! It hasn't been a bad day though; we're making more progress on our apartment as we settle in and prepare for BBQ, and we got to hang out together and laugh. I'm ready for a LONG winter's nap.
December 31, 2006
Now is the time for turkey
The other day M brought home a turkey that the grocery was practically giving away after the holiday, along with all of the trimmings. We decided to cook the turkey and just save it for weeknight dinners. Also, since we wern't interested in a big presentation, we tried a new cooking method from our favorite cookbook The New Best Recipe (p. 377).
What follows is Matthew's explanation of why we'd go to the trouble of cooking a bird right after the holidays: This recipe, called "Crisp-skin butterflied high-roast turkey" is an attempt to solve the problem that plagues most roasted birds: by the time the thigh is cooked, the breast is so dry it needs to be thoroughly doused in gravy to be edible. This problem can be solved with chicken by roasting it at a high temperature for a shorter amount of time, but a turkey is too big to be thoroughly cooked using this method, unless you flatten it out by butterflying it. As you can see in the picture (sorry, we tasted it before taking the pic), a butterflied turkey is one with the backbone and ribs cut out, and then the breastbone is flattened using a rolling pin (or sledgehammer, whatever you have lying around). This way, the legs shield the thinner part of the breast when they are arranged as shown, and this 12-pound bird was only about 2-3 inches thick all the way around. (Note from G: The process of de-backboning and sledge-hammering the bird is gruesome--I'll never look at my marble rolling pin the same way again--I suggest you attempt this only if you've got brawn and a stomach to match it! Even the sound grossed me out; I went and took a nap--no joke.)
Second, the problem of the drippings causing a lot of smoke (because you're cooking the bird now at 450 degrees) is solved by putting your dressing (sans butter, because the drippings season it) in the roasting pan under the turkey, which is then placed on top of the pan on a broiler grate and brushed with butter. The roasting only takes about 90 minutes, at which time the thigh is up to 175 by the time the breast is at 165, leaving both parts fully cooked and still very moist, not to mention that crispy skin. The other secret is to brine the turkey in about 1/2 cups each of salt and sugar in a large stockpot with about a gallon of water. This step allows the turkey to absorb the seasoning throughout the meat and causes it to retain more moisture during cooking. We left ours to brine overnight in the fridge and it was just right.
Finally, we took the backbone and giblets and roasted them in a pan with some celery, onion and garlic to make a base for the gravy, because, of course, you sacrifice the turkey drippings for the stuffing, which, by the way, turns out at least as good as any in-the-bird stuffing.
So there you have it folks, delicious turkey, stuffing, and gravy in under 2 hours, with the only sacrifice being the presentation (though we think this butterflied bird looks nice). So now that all of these items are on a fire sale at the grocery, it's time to give it a try!
What follows is Matthew's explanation of why we'd go to the trouble of cooking a bird right after the holidays: This recipe, called "Crisp-skin butterflied high-roast turkey" is an attempt to solve the problem that plagues most roasted birds: by the time the thigh is cooked, the breast is so dry it needs to be thoroughly doused in gravy to be edible. This problem can be solved with chicken by roasting it at a high temperature for a shorter amount of time, but a turkey is too big to be thoroughly cooked using this method, unless you flatten it out by butterflying it. As you can see in the picture (sorry, we tasted it before taking the pic), a butterflied turkey is one with the backbone and ribs cut out, and then the breastbone is flattened using a rolling pin (or sledgehammer, whatever you have lying around). This way, the legs shield the thinner part of the breast when they are arranged as shown, and this 12-pound bird was only about 2-3 inches thick all the way around. (Note from G: The process of de-backboning and sledge-hammering the bird is gruesome--I'll never look at my marble rolling pin the same way again--I suggest you attempt this only if you've got brawn and a stomach to match it! Even the sound grossed me out; I went and took a nap--no joke.)
Second, the problem of the drippings causing a lot of smoke (because you're cooking the bird now at 450 degrees) is solved by putting your dressing (sans butter, because the drippings season it) in the roasting pan under the turkey, which is then placed on top of the pan on a broiler grate and brushed with butter. The roasting only takes about 90 minutes, at which time the thigh is up to 175 by the time the breast is at 165, leaving both parts fully cooked and still very moist, not to mention that crispy skin. The other secret is to brine the turkey in about 1/2 cups each of salt and sugar in a large stockpot with about a gallon of water. This step allows the turkey to absorb the seasoning throughout the meat and causes it to retain more moisture during cooking. We left ours to brine overnight in the fridge and it was just right.
Finally, we took the backbone and giblets and roasted them in a pan with some celery, onion and garlic to make a base for the gravy, because, of course, you sacrifice the turkey drippings for the stuffing, which, by the way, turns out at least as good as any in-the-bird stuffing.
So there you have it folks, delicious turkey, stuffing, and gravy in under 2 hours, with the only sacrifice being the presentation (though we think this butterflied bird looks nice). So now that all of these items are on a fire sale at the grocery, it's time to give it a try!
home again
We are back in Davis, safe and sound. Settling back in to our apartment has been fun; we've moved Abby and BBQ's things to our big room and Matty and I are cozy in Abby's old room. I'm sipping on decaf coffee and feeling like I'm going to fall asleep, Abby is watching a show on her new portable DVD player (great for long car or plane trips--thanks Mia!), and M is putting a turkey in the oven. It feels great to be home. No big New Year plans tonight.
I'll be posting pics of the new rooms soon, but for now here are some funnies from the past couple of weeks:
A: Momma, why did daddy have to go to Broccoli?
G: What do you mean?
A: Remember when daddy went to Broccoli?
G; I don't understand your question; broccoli is a vegetable.
A: No, he had to take the train and I was sad when he had to go.
G: Oh, BERKELEY?
A: Yeah, broccoli.
(Another city naming funny)
On our way to San Diego we were naming off cities to Abby in anticipation of arriving at our destination. Note: the city before Vista is "Oceanside."
A: Where are we now? Are we to Lotion-side yet?
(Now a sibling-naming funny from last night)
A: Why do we call the baby barbeque?
G: It's a nickname.
A: But why barbeque? I think we should call the baby "Ranch."
(Peals of laughter from M and I)...
I'll be posting pics of the new rooms soon, but for now here are some funnies from the past couple of weeks:
A: Momma, why did daddy have to go to Broccoli?
G: What do you mean?
A: Remember when daddy went to Broccoli?
G; I don't understand your question; broccoli is a vegetable.
A: No, he had to take the train and I was sad when he had to go.
G: Oh, BERKELEY?
A: Yeah, broccoli.
(Another city naming funny)
On our way to San Diego we were naming off cities to Abby in anticipation of arriving at our destination. Note: the city before Vista is "Oceanside."
A: Where are we now? Are we to Lotion-side yet?
(Now a sibling-naming funny from last night)
A: Why do we call the baby barbeque?
G: It's a nickname.
A: But why barbeque? I think we should call the baby "Ranch."
(Peals of laughter from M and I)...
December 16, 2006
December 15, 2006
BBQ and I Passed our tests!
I passed the prelim exam, and we had our 20 week ultrasound: BBQ is a real baby! We told the doc that we wanted the gender to be a surprise, so she avoided dwelling on the bottom half of the baby... This kiddo was dancing and wiggling the whole time! I'm going to try to post a digital video of BBQ's dance moves sometime soon. We saw hands and feet, mouth opening and closing, and several of BBQ's famous double-foot kick moves (I could feel them but had no idea just what the kiddo was doing; NOW I know.) M and I were so excited to see our baby. We will show Abby the tape when she gets home from school. Our due date is still May 5th.
December 8, 2006
Unofficial, but "very good"
No official announcement yet on prelim results-- the department promises to let people know by the 21st of December if they have passed or not. BUT, my study partner, Kyle, (the only other person to take the Renaissance prelim with me this year) ran in to one of our profs. who said: "This is unofficial, but ALL Renaissance prelims look VERY GOOD." Kyle and I are taking this as a wink and a "you passed" nod. Things have to be unofficial since lots of the other prelim takers are up in arms over not knowing their results yet. Kyle and I are much more relaxed and passive than our fellow test-takers, but I think that may be because we know our profs. so well and figure that they wouldn't leave us hanging over Christmas. I'll be sure to pass on the official results as soon an I get them.
December 3, 2006
"Kafka"
This entry is from Bronwyn's blog (pasted shamelessly here, with proper citation credit...). She kept Abby during our tests on Friday and brought home some giggles with this story:
Yesterday I had the privilege of spending a couple of hours with my 4-year old neighbour Abby while her Mom was taking a grueling 8 hours English literature exam. We went from pre-school to grab a bite to eat for lunch: I had salad, she had chicken strips.
As we were leaving and getting her settled into her car seat, she asked "What's Kafka?"
I thought: "Kafka? Wow - I don't know anything about Kafka except that he was a great writer. Bohemian. Haven't read any, and couldn't name anything he had written. But why is she asking about Kafka? This is amazing English literature insight from this 4 year old! Maybe she is just really 'in tune' with her Mom who's writing this exam... but why is she asking this now?
I said: "Why do you ask?"
"There," she said, pointing. "What's Kafka?"
I followed her finger to the big red and white sign saying "K-F-C", which for little girls just learning how to sound out letters says "kuh-f-kuh" :-)
Yesterday I had the privilege of spending a couple of hours with my 4-year old neighbour Abby while her Mom was taking a grueling 8 hours English literature exam. We went from pre-school to grab a bite to eat for lunch: I had salad, she had chicken strips.
As we were leaving and getting her settled into her car seat, she asked "What's Kafka?"
I thought: "Kafka? Wow - I don't know anything about Kafka except that he was a great writer. Bohemian. Haven't read any, and couldn't name anything he had written. But why is she asking about Kafka? This is amazing English literature insight from this 4 year old! Maybe she is just really 'in tune' with her Mom who's writing this exam... but why is she asking this now?
I said: "Why do you ask?"
"There," she said, pointing. "What's Kafka?"
I followed her finger to the big red and white sign saying "K-F-C", which for little girls just learning how to sound out letters says "kuh-f-kuh" :-)
Drum roll please....
Matthew has PASSED his oral exams! He never has to take another academic test again! Bedraggled and beat up, M came home after a 2.5 hour grilling by 5 econ profs. They do not pull punches, and they do not let you get through this hurdle without really working hard. After their deliberations, the first thing Matthew was told was: Congratulations, you have passed. So, he is officially a "PhD Candidate" also known as "ABD"-- All-But-Dissertation. This means he still has to work on his diss. and get it signed, but the powers that be think he's ready to proceed. I am SO PROUD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (times infinity!)
I am WAITING for my results, which should be announced in about a week or two at the most. (Since my test was written, the professors need more time to grade it). I feel good about my performance on the test; I knew the material cold and did all I could to evidence that knowledge. After over 5 months of studying, eight hours to show them what I've got seemed like the blink of an eye. Later that night though, I realized that I had indeed sat for 8.5 hours, with only brief potty breaks; my whole body ached when I got in bed. I was shivering and emotional and achy all over--it took me till this morning (Sunday) to feel the real relief of having gotten through the hardest studying and examination I've ever faced.
BBQ decided to kick harder than ever at about hour 5 of the test. I was sitting cross-legged (to give my lower back a break) and had my laptop on my lap. BBQ kicked the computer over and over until I moved to a different position. The kicking was distracting, but I assured baby that I wished I could kick the computer too.
Abby was a very good girl for our dear friend Bronwyn, who generously kept her all afternoon! After my test ended at 5:15 p.m. Abbs came home with energy to spare, Matthew was laid out face down on the bed, and I stood in my messy house in a complete daze. We're getting it together now, though. Thanks to everyone who prayed for us, brought us meals, kept Abby, brought us (me) lattes, manned the phones for frantic calls, bought us (Matthew) celebratory beers, and reminded us of what is so much more important than these tests. We are truly thankful to God for providing such a network of family and friends to lean on.
I am WAITING for my results, which should be announced in about a week or two at the most. (Since my test was written, the professors need more time to grade it). I feel good about my performance on the test; I knew the material cold and did all I could to evidence that knowledge. After over 5 months of studying, eight hours to show them what I've got seemed like the blink of an eye. Later that night though, I realized that I had indeed sat for 8.5 hours, with only brief potty breaks; my whole body ached when I got in bed. I was shivering and emotional and achy all over--it took me till this morning (Sunday) to feel the real relief of having gotten through the hardest studying and examination I've ever faced.
BBQ decided to kick harder than ever at about hour 5 of the test. I was sitting cross-legged (to give my lower back a break) and had my laptop on my lap. BBQ kicked the computer over and over until I moved to a different position. The kicking was distracting, but I assured baby that I wished I could kick the computer too.
Abby was a very good girl for our dear friend Bronwyn, who generously kept her all afternoon! After my test ended at 5:15 p.m. Abbs came home with energy to spare, Matthew was laid out face down on the bed, and I stood in my messy house in a complete daze. We're getting it together now, though. Thanks to everyone who prayed for us, brought us meals, kept Abby, brought us (me) lattes, manned the phones for frantic calls, bought us (Matthew) celebratory beers, and reminded us of what is so much more important than these tests. We are truly thankful to God for providing such a network of family and friends to lean on.
November 28, 2006
kick kick
M and I have just three days until we face down our big tests. We both feel good about our preparation and we are mopping up the bits of reading, typing, and studying as we look to Friday. Abby has been in San Diego (she goes to Disneyland on Wednesday for the first time!) and we will get her back Thursday morning. We are all longing for Saturday morning--to wake up and NOT have to study will be amazing.
"Barbeque" has been kikcking me daily. We're 17.5 weeks along now, so BBQ is about 5 inches long (according to the books). We will have our big ultrasound on Dec. 15th (the half-way mark!!), but don't expect to know if BBQ is a girl or a boy; we are leaving that surprise until we see our baby in person! We fondly remember waiting outside the delivery room when our dear friends Pete and Melanie announced that there was a new baby girl in the world...well, Pete announced it; Melanie was a little busy. Anyway, that was a great moment and we look forward to our own big announcement in a little over 5 months from now. Keep us in prayer on Friday! I'll check back in after Dec. 1st!
"Barbeque" has been kikcking me daily. We're 17.5 weeks along now, so BBQ is about 5 inches long (according to the books). We will have our big ultrasound on Dec. 15th (the half-way mark!!), but don't expect to know if BBQ is a girl or a boy; we are leaving that surprise until we see our baby in person! We fondly remember waiting outside the delivery room when our dear friends Pete and Melanie announced that there was a new baby girl in the world...well, Pete announced it; Melanie was a little busy. Anyway, that was a great moment and we look forward to our own big announcement in a little over 5 months from now. Keep us in prayer on Friday! I'll check back in after Dec. 1st!
November 13, 2006
prayer for Dustin
Friends and Family,
I ask your prayer for someone I don't know. He's a father of three, a husband, and he's the campus minister at Furman University with the same ministry Matthew and I worked for when we met. Here is what was sent by email: "Last wednesday Dustin was giving his new mountain bike a test ride with his two sons in their neighborhood when he somehow fell and received a massive brain injury. He was airlifted to the hospital, underwent surgury and is now in a coma. It doesn't look like this will be lethal, but there will most likely be serious brain damage. Brain activity is measured on a scale from 3 to 15--Dustin is at about 4 right now,while you and I are at 15. He has a wife and three children. The kids don't really understand that daddy "will probably not wake up"."
I know if it were Matthew in Dustin's place, I would want the whole world praying for his recovery.
If you want to pray and keep up with his progress, see our friend Grant Beechy's blog: http://www.redeemerchurch.net/dustin/
I ask your prayer for someone I don't know. He's a father of three, a husband, and he's the campus minister at Furman University with the same ministry Matthew and I worked for when we met. Here is what was sent by email: "Last wednesday Dustin was giving his new mountain bike a test ride with his two sons in their neighborhood when he somehow fell and received a massive brain injury. He was airlifted to the hospital, underwent surgury and is now in a coma. It doesn't look like this will be lethal, but there will most likely be serious brain damage. Brain activity is measured on a scale from 3 to 15--Dustin is at about 4 right now,while you and I are at 15. He has a wife and three children. The kids don't really understand that daddy "will probably not wake up"."
I know if it were Matthew in Dustin's place, I would want the whole world praying for his recovery.
If you want to pray and keep up with his progress, see our friend Grant Beechy's blog: http://www.redeemerchurch.net/dustin/
November 10, 2006
Barbeque
Matthew told me this morning at 4:40 am that he had just dreamt that we had a baby boy and that we named him: _John Barbeque Pearson (the underscore was part of the dream). I laughted for a long time; infact, neither of us could really go back to sleep after that. Seriously, those southern roots run deep! We don't plan to find out if the baby is a boy or a girl until his or her birthday, but we will let you know how little "Barbeque" is doing as we progress.
October 28, 2006
double whammy
We've just learned that Matthew is set to take his oral exam (to defend his dissertation prospectus) on Dec. 1-- the SAME DAY as my prelim! He is also presenting his research in South Carolina (Nov 17-21). Given the new twist, we realized that we would both be pressed very hard with our studies this month, so we called for help... My sister is flying up Nov.15th to pick Abby up and fly her to San Diego for a 15-day vacation with Aunt Andi, Alec, Mia, Mimi, and the cousins... I hear that a Disneyland trip is in the works!
So, this will give M and I study time and will make the time MUCH more fun for Abby. Yay for having help from a village! This also may be the last time M and I are together by ourselves for a LONG time (with baby coming in early May...). We will try to to take study breaks once or twice to go see a movie and have a dinner out.
So, this will give M and I study time and will make the time MUCH more fun for Abby. Yay for having help from a village! This also may be the last time M and I are together by ourselves for a LONG time (with baby coming in early May...). We will try to to take study breaks once or twice to go see a movie and have a dinner out.
October 23, 2006
the sound of childhood
I never had legos as a kid, but Matthew sure did. He and Abby went to Wal Mart tonight to hunt for legos. I never knew these things were so tiny (and, yes, I'm thinking that it will be interesting keeping baby Pearson away from them). One other detail about legos that I never knew: they are LOUD. Abby and Matthew have been digging around the bin, finding just the right pieces for their house, and I'm getting a little headachy. In fact, I think I am going to hide out and take a bath. I mentioned how loud the legos were and Matthew simply replied: "This is the sound of childhood." If we have a boy this time around, or a louder girl than Abby, I'll be needing ear plugs, aromatherapy, and maybe even quarterly massages.
I may be very slow to blog until after December 1--my PhD preliminary exam is on that date, and all of my time and energy is going to studying, managing nausea and fatigue, and trying to snuggle and love my family before I fall asleep at 8:15 p.m. So PLEASE pray for me and for us. Especially pray that I'll not be anxious and that I will somehow get the rest and peace that I need in order to manage this very stressful time.
I may be very slow to blog until after December 1--my PhD preliminary exam is on that date, and all of my time and energy is going to studying, managing nausea and fatigue, and trying to snuggle and love my family before I fall asleep at 8:15 p.m. So PLEASE pray for me and for us. Especially pray that I'll not be anxious and that I will somehow get the rest and peace that I need in order to manage this very stressful time.
October 17, 2006
props to Matthew
I mentioned that M has been a champ, but this deserves special mention. This past Saturday I got a serious headache--I'm not sure what sort it was, but it was awful. Tylenol wouldn't touch it and the doc said (over the phone) that I could take Vicodine. One vicodine and two hours later I was still in just as much pain. One more vicodine and thirty minutes later and my body decided to revolt. All night long. Dear Matthew held my hair and fetched washcloths as I threw everything and then nothing up over and over. Around 4 a.m. we quit trying to sleep and decided to watch a DVD. I took some anti-nausea medication, put the hot rice pack on my neck (THANK YOU, Bronwyn and Jeremy!) and prayed for relief. We both fell asleep at 5:30 and Abbs was up Sunday morning at 7:30, so we took shifts. If one must be sick all through the night, it sure helps to have a loving hubby to just be there and be willing to forego sleep if it makes things even a little more bearable. He earned some stripes this weekend, for sure.
I'll try to remember this the next time I'm frustrated with Matthew for declaring "spider amnesty day" when I beg him to kill a spider in our house.
I'll try to remember this the next time I'm frustrated with Matthew for declaring "spider amnesty day" when I beg him to kill a spider in our house.
a "miracle"
I came home tired after teaching from 4-6 tonight. Abby was pouting and grumpy because M wouldn't let her play a game on the computer. She started complaining about her leg, her hand, and her neck hurting; oh yes, and her eye was very itchy too. She was angry about her food (she wanted mommy's chicken tetrazini after she ate her own portion) and angry at not getting her way about the computer, so she decided to milk the owie card.
WAY too tired to put up with this, I calmly told her that the best course of action for someone feeling so blue and owie is to have a bath and go straight to bed. I walked out of the room a minute to take a deep breath and give her time to consider what I had said. When I walked back into the room, she sheepishly said to me:
A: Mommy, I know something great is happening, but I don't want you to think I'm lying.
G: What is it?
A: My owies are all better. My leg doesn't hurt anymore; my hand and my neck are better too. I'm not lying.
G: How did they get better so fast?
A: I don't know; they just did. (Pause) Momma, since I am feeling better, do I still need to go bed early? I'll stop whining, I promise.
WAY too tired to put up with this, I calmly told her that the best course of action for someone feeling so blue and owie is to have a bath and go straight to bed. I walked out of the room a minute to take a deep breath and give her time to consider what I had said. When I walked back into the room, she sheepishly said to me:
A: Mommy, I know something great is happening, but I don't want you to think I'm lying.
G: What is it?
A: My owies are all better. My leg doesn't hurt anymore; my hand and my neck are better too. I'm not lying.
G: How did they get better so fast?
A: I don't know; they just did. (Pause) Momma, since I am feeling better, do I still need to go bed early? I'll stop whining, I promise.
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