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Do you EVER find missing Lego minifig pieces?

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It was five missing pieces about a month ago…and now it’s up to 20+ and we’ve looked EVERYWHERE. I’m trying not to be upset since he is only four, but we’re usually quite vigilant about not losing pieces because Katie could get them. So it’s driving me mad that we are missing so many.

Here’s Owen matching them up to their photos:

And here’s what the half-assembled remaining bunch looks like—all missing heads, torsos, legs, accessories, or a combo of all of the above. Ugh.

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Of course, the flip side is that Owen couldn’t care less…he loves mixing and matching pieces SO much. In fact, the other minifigs that we did fix this morning? Within 30 seconds of giving him the okay to play with them, they look like this:

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And we have benches!

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Tom busted his ass all weekend to get the side benches done on the new deck! And they are AWESOME! (There’s still one tiny section to do on the top level deck, and then we’ll likely just put one bench across the far end of the lower level deck. At least that’s the current plan.)

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Of course, Owen loves to run up and down them, lay on them, and play on them. He loves everything about the new deck. 🙂

We also had dinner outside tonight… Katie loves her whole strawberries.

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And Owen got a little messy with his chocolate pudding dessert.

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Awesome napping form

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He was whining about something…then it got too quiet. 🙂 That’s some form he has there!

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A little while later he had moved. Seriously? That’s where you choose to nap? 🙂

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And then waking up…a tad grouchy.

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Maggie and Charlie also got in on the cool napping style.

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And then—of course—when I try to lie down for a minute just to rest my eyes…that’s when Katie wakes up and starts screaming. 😐

Our new family portrait!

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So back in February, a friend of ours posted about this really cool family portrait he had commissioned by KateWhitmoreArt on Etsy. Everyone RAVED over it and said they would love one…including me. And then a few months later, I finally said YES, I’M DOING IT! But it was going to be a pre-deployment surprise for Tom.

I worked with her for about six weeks before we had a final product—sending ideas, evaluating sketches, changing details, etc.—and I managed to keep it a secret up until the very end, when I needed his input on something (though, honestly, I could have decided on my own—but you know how I am about surprises and the final reveal would only be a day or so away anyway).

And I have to say that for someone who doesn’t get choked up too easily…I think Tom was actually a bit choked up. 🙂

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In it, you will notice all the small details of our family that I gave her to make it perfect…

  1. Owen driving his police car.
  2. Me taking a photo of Owen with my iPhone.
  3. A replica of our favorite Troy playground/park in the background.
  4. Tom wearing an MSU shirt.
  5. Katie wearing pink and grabbing my hair. The artist did the hair-grabbing thing on her own. I did NOT provide that detail.
  6. Owen is wearing blue.
  7. All pets are accounted for—and Charlie even has the nose dot.
  8. Owen’s drink is his actual cup.
  9. We have USMC Tervis tumblers. (I wasn’t expecting them to have a visible design, but I can tell they are the USMC one that I sent her the sample photo of.)
  10. Our exact diaper bag is under the table.

It turned out more perfect than I could have imagined. But, it did take a bit to get there. Here’s the first draft, when she was trying a Christmas theme (I told her we loved Christmas):

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She sent it with this:

I thought it was a little too ‘out there’, possibly. I thought it would be cute to have you guys in the tree, surrounded by your ornaments and lights! I just felt it might be a little fun—the ornaments would have either icons/colors for your interests, the USMC, Cars, things like that, and something a little more unique than a standard portrait. Something you can’t get a photo of, you know? If you don’t feel this one, though, just let me know and I can take another crack at it!

So, while I did really like her unique take on us INSIDE a Christmas tree (I had told her we LOVED Christmas) I just wasn’t loving it enough…so I gave her the suggestion of a park or the ocean and sent a few more pics, after which she came up with this:

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My thoughts were more YAY! but it wasn’t QUITE there yet. She said she didn’t do a slide (as I had suggested) because the spacing/sizing didn’t work out right. So to me it didn’t look like we were really at a park but more just having a picnic—which we haven’t really ever done. And I wasn’t sure about the kite as he’s never flown a kite so that’s just not him. I thought I might be over-thinking it but my online sounding board assured me I wasn’t…and that the artist DEFINITELY wanted clients to be happy. So I asked her to put Owen in his power wheels police car, have me taking a picture with my iPhone, have our actual sippy cup/Tervis tumblers on the table instead of a pitcher of lemonade, and change the picnic basket to the diaper bag (a long story, but it took trying/buying/returning about 15 bags before I settled on that one, so it’s kind of a running joke).

She was fine with all the changes and then sent this, which was IT.

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Then came the color version and it was almost perfect. Bonus points if you can see what the last missing detail was.

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Highlight this text to see what it was: The white S on Tom’s shirt.

So overall I’m absolutely and completely THRILLED. I’ve already ordered artwork for our walls (I had bought a Groupon ages ago unsure of what I would use it for…and I’m glad I saved it for this) and I’ll just say that I’m sure this will turn into Christmas presents… 🙂

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

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So I figured it was time for an Owen poop update. Unfortunately it’s not great news.

Since his initial appointment, we had one—ONE!—good week of Owen pooping by himself in the potty…meaning knowing he had to go, stopping what he was doing to poop (even coming in from playing!), clean underwear most of the time (rarely any skids, even!), earning Legos on an almost hourly basis…

Then it all turned to shit again (pun intended) and after two weeks of shit-filled underwear/pull-ups I am (once again) at my wits end.

I just don’t get how he could make the change so easily—be doing everything PERFECTLY—then apparently some inner flip switches and he decides You know what? I’m not going to do that anymore and I’m going to pretend like I have no clue what’s going on.

Sometimes we catch a lucky break and he actually poops in the toilet after we tell him to go in there (but not always). We have tried the every-hour-on-the-hour method…to no avail. He won’t even tell us he has pooped his pants.

So, that week he was being awesome? It was amazing. I was so happy and had zero stress and life was great and thought Yes! This is what life should be like! Ahhh! Yeah, that was apparently the kiss of death. Now, unfortunately, the urge to strangle him is back.

But I guess at least he’s pooping and not backed up. Small consolation. 🙁

I can’t wait to hear what the doc has to say at our next appointment. I’m guessing his job is done (for the most part) because Owen is no longer backed up and IS pooping.

Maybe we need a psychologist. Or an exorcist. :p

Katie’s new diagnosis

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Well the pediatrician says impetigo or herpes so she’s being treated for both. It’s still contagious, but not as bad as molluscum.

That said, I texted my sister the diagnosis (and of course I didn’t get her text until I left the office) and she said “It’s not herpes if it’s on her finger, too.” Hoo boy. So now I’m leery if these docs don’t even know something that seems basic… But I guess we’re covered either way with the meds (one twice a day for seven days and one five times a day for 10 days).

We were also referred to an ophthalmologist since it’s by her eye so that’s this afternoon.

—

Ugh. That was painful.

Our appointment at the eye doctor was 1:15 and as a new patient I had to be there at 1:00. Fine. We got in about 1:25 so not bad. Then it was AN HOUR AND A HALF LATER by the time the doc came in. Oh, at about an hour someone finally came in and said “He just got back from surgery, he has one quick thing to do, then he’ll be in.”

What? JUST got back? At 2? So why the hell were we scheduled for 1:15? (They didn’t say emergency surgery.) And then it still took another 30 minutes.

The pediatrician didn’t say “Good news, they squeezed you in!” so I assumed we had a normal appointment. Apparently not.

So let me just tell you HOW MUCH FUN it was with an already over-tired baby WAY beyond her nap time and an energetic 4yo cooped up in an exam room. Thank heavens Tom met me there and could help out. I may have lost my mind otherwise.

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And the actual doc part? Seriously two minutes. GRRR. One squirt of dye in her eye and a quick look with a blue light to see if there were scratches. Nope, okay, use this ointment. See you in two weeks.

😐

Then Katie was out within two minutes of me starting the drive home.

Poor Katie

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Ugh. Poor Katie.

Before we left, I noticed two red spots on her face by her eyes. I just thought they were random baby pimples and didn’t think much else about it.

We came home and she had another one—and the old ones weren’t gone. Another day, and she was up to five—all around her eye.

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It was at this point I decided to ask my sister, Kathryn, who has professional dermatology experience. Her diagnosis was Molluscum, a type of wart. (FYI: don’t google–EEK!—though the pics are all WAY worse than what she has.)
Unfortunately, they are contagious, and can be spread on herself or to Owen (or to us). 🙁 But how do you keep a baby from touching her eyes/face/mouth? EXACTLY. YOU CAN’T.

My sis said to keep her (and Owen) very moisturized because it spreads more easily to dry skin. So I lathered her up really well last night…but then she woke up with three more around her mouth and one on her finger! Ugh. I bandaged the one on her finger but then I have to watch that she doesn’t chew the bandaid off (and swallow it). And of course it’s one of the two fingers she puts in her mouth to comfort herself. 🙁

They’ll (supposedly) eventually go away on their own but it sounds like it’s something that can stick around for a long time (like 5 years) and the best treatment is burning or freezing. 😐 Though my sis says from what I’ve said and pics I’ve sent they don’t seem to be that bad. There are other creams but Googling says they’re not very effective (and my guess is they shouldn’t be applied around a baby’s eyes).

I just hate that she has to deal with this. (Okay, I’m not kidding anyone. I hate that I have to deal with it as well.) They look awful but don’t seem to itch (fingers crossed). Though she does seem to be more cranky than she’s ever been…and I’m guessing her no-nap days are because of this somehow, too, though she does sleep all night.

We have an appointment with the pediatrician tomorrow so we can confirm. We don’t need to quarantine ourselves (you just have to take precautions) but I really want to because it just seems easier. I did cancel our playgroup date tomorrow but I’m sure we’ll be back next week depending what the doc says.

I just hope there’s something we can do…

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Annual Accidental Freezer Defrosting

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I swear this is becoming an annual thing. Ugh.

I went to put some bagels in the freezer this afternoon and discovered that the door was ajar and EVERY SINGLE THING was thawed. Still cold, thankfully, but completely thawed. Even the super thick pork loins. Ugh.

You’d think I’d be used to this by now but your mind still races with the HOLYSHITWHATDOIDONOW thoughts.

Of course, my first thought was “Oh crap! The babysitter probably got in the freezer this weekend and I hadn’t showed her or even told her about the baby lock so that probably got in the way and caused this.” So I texted her and asked when she had been in there (just to know how long it had been open) and she said she didn’t go in there. Hmmm. Then I noticed that the baby lock had busted off. (We’ve had it on ever since we had the door pop open before.) Tom says that the door seal doesn’t work well at all so if it got hot enough maybe the lock popped off (it’s just on with glue after the sticky tape popped off). Well, I didn’t think the entire seal was bad…but maybe it just isn’t as strong as it used to be (it IS 10 years old). So anyway, we’re sure that was the reason but man…WHY did it have to happen the 48 hours we were gone when we’re NEVER gone? Ugh.

So anyway, I rushed to the shed to pull out the huge cooler (which, of course, was under a bunch of crap). I had piles of TOSS, EAT, and REFREEZE. We have no space heaters anymore so I had to get hair dryers (I wanted to defrost the ice as quickly as possible)…except I blew a circuit when I tried to run two at the same time. Owen was intrigued by what I was doing and helped for about three seconds.

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It seemed like it took forever, but I had the entire thing emptied, defrosted, and refilled in about an hour. (I guess experience does pay off, eh?)

Thankfully quite a bit of the stuff could be immediately refrozen (hot dogs, professionally packaged stuff, spaghetti sauce). Some stuff will be cooked and refrozen (brats, ground beef, hamburgers, pork). But we still have about 15# of meat to eat this week.

And we obviously also need to look into other door locks and/or alarm systems. I remember it was a bit challenging to find an acceptable door latch in the first place and the reviews for alarms on Amazon don’t look too promising.

Hoo boy.

Weekend Babysitter

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The kids had their first non-family member weekend babysitter while we were in DC—she’s the mom/nanny I found on SitterCity that introduced me to the mommy group.

Thankfully Owen has outgrown his major issue with us leaving and was completely okay with Amy (and her daughter) coming over to stay. It also probably helped that he sees her every week at play group.

He wanted to wait on the porch for them and when they pulled in, he excitedly screeched “Miss Amy’s here!” 🙂 Tom arrived shortly after they did and when he walked in, Owen pointed at Amy with a sweeping arm motion and said “Daddy! Looook!” It was adorable.

Then we were off and Owen barely even noticed or cared! YAY! On the way up, Amy texted this picture:

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Awww! So cute! She said “They are just both so great. Owen is SO polite!” And she said he was calling her Sir Amy because he went on missions and reported back to her. They set up perimeters in the back yard. Soldiers manning the slides, all safe. That’s SO him. 🙂

Saturday morning I got this picture, saying her daughter braved the morning swim:

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Later that day—“Airing out the babes.” 🙂

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I told her I’d never even taken both of them out together! She’s hired! (I asked her later who was in which stroller and she said Owen was too squished in the small stroller so Katie went in that one and he went in the bigger stroller but that it was a tight fit. I’m impressed he fit at all—I would have made him walk! But, she said snacks and drinks were a necessity!)

Amy had also brought one of her dogs over—which Maggie LOVED! Owen wasn’t too sure at first because she’s a big dog…but Saturday evening I got this text:

“These two have become quite the pals!” (She told me later that the dog would follow Owen around the backyard as he played, and Owen would stop to pet her and incorporate her into his imaginative scenarios.) YAY OWEN!!

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Then I got a text saying the barter box* was full:

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*Part of Amy’s payment is a box of goodies from our huge pantry. We first did it when she watched Maggie one weekend and Amy was game for another surprise box!

Our wide-awake cutie:

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We made it home about 3:45, but only for long enough to get ready for our dinner at the General’s house at 6. We didn’t want to confuse Owen (or possibly start a tantrum by him seeing us leave again) so Amy took the kids out for ice cream while we rushed in and out.

We got home—FOR GOOD—at 9:45. Amy said both kids were VERY good, that Owen is incredibly polite and has extremely good manners, and that Katie was attached to Amy’s daughter at the hip all weekend. 🙂

It was AMAZING not having to worry one bit about the kids all weekend. I am eternally grateful to have found Amy.

And as a word of warning to the grandparents: the bar has been raised…we now expect texts and photos when you guys babysit the kids! :p

Owenisms 17

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Owen: Put your seatbelt on! We’re going to the pizza market!

Me: Owen, what makes you happy?
Owen: Maggie. And Charlie and Bella. And Katie and daddy.

Owen: Holding an empty pizza box. Knock knock.
Me: Who’s there?
Owen: The pizza man!
A few minutes later.
Owen: Holding an empty box of crackers. Knock knock.
Me: Who’s there?
Owen: Cracker man!

He has gotten on a kick of asking for good news and bad news. We have zero idea where it came from.

Owen: Mama, tell me some good news and bad news.
Me: Hmmm. The good news? You got a chocolate for pooping in the potty. The bad news is you still had lots of poop in your underwear so you don’t get a Lego. Now you tell me some good and bad news.
Owen: Bad news…I lost you in the library. [This was from a dream he had weeks ago.] Good news is you still love me.