Friday Funnies

A few funnies for this very busy Friday. (I'm so torn, do I watch the Olympic Opening Ceremonies or the WVU v. Pitt basketball game??? Olympics - live, WVU is recording...so I will have my cake & eat it too!)

Last night at the West Liberty basketball game, Elizabeth was enjoying a bit too much of her Valentine's candy when she thought it was a good idea to start sassing me. She was completely hopped, too, from having the Valentine's "celebration" at daycare. (She insisted it was going to be a celebration and NOT a party!) So she is sassing me and wagging her finger at me like Dikembe Mutombo as he blocked a shot...which, as you could imagine didn't go over really well with me. I told her to stop it and to, "Put that finger away." She replied, "But I don't have a pocket for it."

During the second half of the game as she was yelling for her favorite player, John Wolosinczuk, "Come on - boyfriend!"

On the ride home I asked her where she wanted to go to school - did she want to go to Wesleyan where Mommy went? Or to Fairmont where Daddy went? Or West Liberty? Or to WVU where both Mommy & Daddy went? Elizabeth said that she wanted to go to West Liberty and she wanted to play basketball AND football. "Football?" I asked. "Yeah, because I want to be a champion!"

She fell asleep this evening before the really good stuff on the Olympic Opening Ceremonies -- at 8:30 she was "Sleepy Time Down South" so the joke might actually be on me in the middle of the night!

F-ing Funny for a F-ing Cold Wednesday

If you haven't seen Stephen Colbert's clip, it is worth the watch...both he & Jon Stewart make me laugh... Enjoy! (Stay safe & warm!)

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/264042/february-08-2010/sarah-palin-uses-a-hand-o-prompter

4-Year Check Up

Yesterday we took Elizabeth back for her follow-up at the audiologist and Dr. Chris, her ENT. The audiologist said that her hearing had improved by about 25% - up to the "normal levels." No excuses for her in not being able to hear us when we tell her to clean up her playroom or to stop jumping/climbing on something. Dr. Chris said that she looked "perfect!" (I really like him!) He said that her throat healed well and that her tubes were in and looked good. He said that whatever we are doing to keep her ears dry was working (plugs when she bathes!) We go back on February 22nd for the fitting for her swim plugs. She goes back to either Dr. Chris or Dr. Ruben (her pediatrician) in 6 months to check on the tubes.

Today was Elizabeth's annual check-up. Dr. Ruben said she looks great! We are to put her back on the Zyrtec once a day (1 teaspoon) for treatment for seasonal allergies. (We're so fortunate that she loves to take medicine!) She got her H1N1 shot -- and she'll go back in a month for the second H1N1 shot. She also got the seasonal flu shot as well as 4 other vaccines. That was 6 shots, 3 in each arm, 2 at a time.

She doesn't like doctors any more. Paging Dr. Jeff Wilt -- please help dispel her thoughts that doctors aren't very nice!

Elizabeth has grown 3-1/2 inches since last year -- she's now 42". (That puts her in the 90-95th percentile for height for her age.)

Elizabeth has gained 5 pounds since last year -- she weighs 36 pounds. She didn't lose any weight with the surgery. (She's in the 50th-60th percentile for weight for her age.)

Her weight for height percentile is 10th-25th. So, in other words, she's tall and skinny - but you would have to be blind to not determine that for yourself!

Thankful Thursday

Today, I'm thankful to/for/about:

• My Mom - who is just a rock star. I miss her dearly but am so thankful for the time she was able to spend with us.
• Elizabeth's continued health. She's so amazing! She is all about smelling things these days - truly a new experience for her!
  
• The Amoses for coming to the Friendly City of Wheeling for Elizabeth's birthday...and Aqua Sand. The novelty has not yet worn off, so I'm thankful for that, too! (I'm not-so-thankful for Disney for still making crappy stuff -- as the arm from the replacement doll has broken...same way as the one she got from Santa. I hate Disney Store products!!!)
• The Koeglers for being fun to hang around with! Sorry, Campbell, that Elizabeth "had an accident with Spike." (She sat on the remote control for Spike the dinosaur, which turned him on and he started moving. To say that Cam isn't a fan of his remote-control dinosaur when he is on and not sleeping would be a great understatement!)
  
• The Toppers getting their quality win over A-B tonight -- and the Falcons for upsetting WV State in Fairmont. That combination puts the Toppers in 1st place in the conference.

Some Elizabeth funnies:

• Two days after E's surgery, Friday, January 22nd, we were watching the Haiti relief program on TV. She loves to dance and was ready to get down. I had given her a dose of hydrocodone just to "make sure" that she would be pain free for the night and would be able to get a quality night's rest. She eventually got the rest, but I'm pretty sure that the hydrocodone didn't play a big factor in it. She was so high off of the stuff it was the last dose we would give her. At 10:30 PM she said, "I don't need my undies on because I'm going to dance!" while she proceeded to strip nakey and dance.
• Tonight at the game, Elizabeth spotted a few girls that were dressed for the evening -- in a club, not so much for a basketball game. Regarding one girl who was in a halter-top, Elizabeth said, "Mommy, why is that girl not wearing a shirt with these?" (pointing to her shoulders.) I asked E if she liked that girl's shirt to which she replied, "No. It's not very cute."
  

Happy Sesame Birthday

We had a great time this year at Elizabeth's 4th Birthday party! We were so delighted to have Grandma, Nana, Papi, Rikki, Doug, and the Koeglers - Jason, Sarah, Campbell, & Will celebrate with us. Especially Rikki & Doug (guilt does work!) for braving the weather to get here...which is what kept Papi at home.

Thankful Thursday

Today I'm thankful to/for/about:

• Dr. Christopher Tiu! Yesterday her performed Elizabeth's surgery of removing her tonsils, adenoids (about 90% of them at least), and put tubes in her ears. He said she was "perfect" after the surgery. Her ears were really infected - much more so than what he initially thought. In our last consultation with him, he thought that she wouldn't need drops in her ears or an antibiotic after the surgery, but that wasn't the case. He was quite surprised that she never complained about her ears hurting her. Her tonsils were about the equivalent of an adult having two golf balls in the back of their throat. Her adenoids were completely blocking her airway, so she was never able to breathe from her nose...until yesterday! She barely snored last night (and Dr. Chris said that post-op she would likely have swelling and would snore for a few more weeks.) The nurses at the hospital were so good to Elizabeth, too. We are so thankful to everyone at Wheeling Hospital!!! Her surgery was delayed for nearly two hours as the hospital was dealing with harvesting organs in the OR in which Elizabeth's surgery was scheduled. I'm thankful, too, for the generous soul that offered his/her organs which are saving and greatly enhancing lives
  
• Elizabeth - she is an amazing 4-year-old little girl! She never complained with all of her discomfort prior to surgery. She's been so fabulous post-surgery - only four times saying that her throat hurts. She says her ears don't have bubbles in them any more (that is all the more complaining she ever did when she would have an ear ache). The majority of her complaints that she has lodged thus far after the surgery is that we are making her rest on the couch or not run from the living room and her play room.
  
• Reid - for being the strong one when the nurses and anesthesiologist wheeled her off on her bed yesterday while she was still awake. (She wasn't crying, she was definitely "loopy" thanks to the drugs, but I wasn't the rock in that situation.) He's such a good Daddy!
• Grandma (& Papi) - for coming up to stay with us and to help care for Elizabeth (her love of cleaning products is just a bonus!) She got her last Wednesday, just in time to help out with Elizabeth while I was in "God Bless Texas" for work. Plus, she has been such a good nurse to me during my various surgeries, it's just an added comfort to me! Papi, too, for being so good about lending us Grandma (not that I think he had much to say in the matter!)
  
• Nana & Papa - for their loving support of us, and most especially Elizabeth. E was allowed to take her precious Lambie and her Christmas quilt that Nana made her back into the surgery with her...so wonderful that she had her comfort items with her!
• Aunts, Uncles, & her cousin Alex...who when he saw a picture of her in her hospital gown he said, "Go see EP. Make her happy." What a sweet boy he is!

I'll be curious as to what Elizabeth remembers from her surgery. I was 8 when I had my T&A. I have very random memories, none of them were too scarring (unless you count waking up and your Mom not being in the room, but your Grandma was there boozing it up with something from her thermos.)

Seeing her in the recovery room was tough. She didn't know what was going on, or to some extent who we were. She cried so hard and couldn't really be comforted. When she saw the heart-rate monitor on her finger, she tried to rip it off. Then when she saw the IV in her left hand (when they had been prepping her right hand) and tried to rip it out. A nurse, Franny, quickly came over to remove those items before Elizabeth took matters completely into her own confused little hands. Then Elizabeth, still crying and confused, tried to stand up in the bed. Her legs were weak and she quickly fell back down. I scooped her up and held her. With me holding her close to me and Reid able to wipe away her tears and stroke her hair, she finally calmed down to where she stopped crying and quickly fell asleep.

We stayed in the recovery room with me holding her for about an hour. Thankfully another nurse, Jo Ann, was able to track down Dr. Chris before he went in for his third procedure of the day (Elizabeth was his first) so that we could get discharged.

Her voice is markedly higher at the moment. Dr. Chris said it would most likely change following the surgery. I'm curious at this point, though, if it will stay as high as it is right now...as I am guessing that it is partially this high as a result of the stress on the back of her throat.

Elizabeth truly is a remarkable little girl. I'm not just saying this because she is mine...she is one amazing kid.

Elizabeth Rings in the New Year

Happy 2010 to All!

Elizabeth stayed awake on NYE to ring in 2010 with us. She had been in her playroom quietly hanging out watching Season 1 of the Brady Bunch...without sleeping. So, about 10 minutes until midnight, Reid had her come into the living room to watch the ball drop with us. We're concerned that her counting skills have been severely hurt with watching Dick Clark do the countdown. How sad that has become, "Firteen, tehve, ten, leben, nie..." Most kids these days will have no clue how important Dick Clark was to music or folks like my mom (or even me to a lesser extent) in their teen years. They will just have this image of the guy rising up from his coffin every New Year's Eve to botch the countdown...truly, truly sad!

Today, while cleaning up in my scrapbook room, I found $40! Score!!!

Elizabeth is thrilled with her easel and art stuff, which I have set up in the scrapbook space. She wrote her own name on the wipe board today - check it out!!! She may have been set back in the counting department thanks to Mr. Clark, but she wrote her name today, which is HUGE! She was so proud of herself, and rightfully so! I took pictures of the writing (especially since it was done with a dry-erase marker!), and she wanted her picture taken with it, as well as her picture with her Daddy and the writing. She's growing up so quickly!

She's been quite active...downloading the Chipettes (from Alivin & the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel) singing "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" on Reid's iPhone...and has been walking around singing, "All the single ladies...put a ring on it...uh oh oh, uh oh oh..." for the last two days. So, with the found money, we went to see the movie this evening. It's really cute!

Then for the ride home, despite it being only 12 degrees outside, Elizabeth insisted (and we indulged) in a trip to Cold Stone Creamery for some lemon ice cream (sorbet, but I'm not going there to correct her...I'll just be happy when she masters the "lie down" thing)...then off to see the lights at Oglebay for the last time this season. She blew kisses to Willard (the Snowman) and Frosty the Snowman, his wife, & kid. Goodbye lights, we'll see you next year!

Surgery scheduled

I will know more in a few more days, but Elizabeth's surgery is scheduled for January 20, 2010. Dr. Christopher Tiu will have my baby in his care for the surgery at Wheeling Hospital.

I'm still working on plans for her birthday party...am open to any/all ideas...and I'm initially thinking that the date of the party would be January 31st if that works for folks (if not, let me know!)...as Reid is broadcasting a game at Bluefield on the 30th...

Merry Christmas!

As usual, our Christmas has seemed like a whirl-wind affair. However, we are most lucky to be able to see both Reid's and my families on Christmas!

With Rikki & Doug in from D.C., we started off the holiday by celebrating Rick & Carol's (aka Nana & Papa) 42nd wedding anniversary on the 23rd. Elizabeth did a beautiful job setting the table - and I am a horrible mother for not capturing it in pictures. Reid and Doug went to the College Lunch afterwards so their "bro-mance" could continue to blossom.

My antibiotics finally kicked in for my ear infection and sore throat, so I was able to start enjoying the holiday so Christmas Eve was pretty uneventful - which is never a bad thing. Just enjoyed spending time with the Amoses...and I got the special treat of getting to watch my favorite Christmas movie, "Christmas Vacation" while successfully avoiding my least favorite Christmas movie, "A Christmas Story." :-)

Santa came (as did Santa Mouse -- since the cheese had a few nibbles taken out of it!) on Christmas. Elizabeth made out quite well (no surprise there!). I'm still miffed at the Disney Store for crappy merchandise...as the only thing Elizabeth asked Santa for was a doll with brown hair. Santa procured her doll with brown hair (Belle) from the Disney Store, which in a lot of ways goes against every fiber of my being as I'm not-so-much a fan of anything involving the three-effing-fingered-rat...she was gently playing with the Belle doll (no kidding)...and her freaking arm came off! Grrr! I've contacted the online Disney Store, which says they can't do anything for me since Santa procured the item in a store...so now I'm going to be calling the customer service for Disney Store...and if they can't resolve the issue, it looks like after I get the pleasure of driving to freaking Pittsburgh, someone misfortunate soul in the Disney Store in Pittsburgh will get to deal with me - and as the Mortons like to say (usually in reference to my Mom), "Don't poke the bear!"

Elizabeth really likes the Vtech KidiJamz Studio that Santa brought - complete with its 10 musical instrument sounds, 20 songs, a turntable to make the scratching sound, microphone and voice changing effects, and a detachable music device that records the little songs you make, which can then be played in the car via an audio mp3 tape jack - just like an iPod. The biggest hit of the KidiJamz Studio is the ability to plug in the kid-safe headphones so that Elizabeth can hear all of the musical stylings, and, unless she is singing along, we are saved from it!

I'm still trying to figure out the best settings for my external flash for my camera, but am looking forward to playing. I am looking forward to playing with some other toys, too...and Reid is already playing with a few of his surprises.

A visit to the Mortons involved, as it always does, a trip over the river and through the woods - to CaCa's House we go. Again I was a bad girl and didn't snap that many pictures, mainly just ones of the kiddos opening gifts. As always, we had a yummy dinner - thanks Aunt Cathy (and surprisingly Aunt Sarah for not screwing up the sweet potato casserole, yes, we set the bar that low for her...baby steps!) Mmmm...oyster casserole...

The Mountaineers hung on for a nice win on the road yesterday. We're looking forward to watching the bowl game...and Reid will be doing his gumbo dance for new year's day. If you're in our neck of the woods for new year's day, we'll be watching lots of football and eating gumbo (and a few other things like home-made pepperoni rolls, if you're not a fan of gumbo)...

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

The Neighborhood Elf

Elizabeth has been visited by our neighborhood Elf (Marie & Jim Ritz, our next door neighbors!) Starting with the first day of December until Christmas, Elizabeth has a stocking (a HUGE stocking that they gave us to use for this purpose) that she hangs on the handle of the back door. At some point during the day, the Elf stops by and drops off a present for her! (Yes, we know that we have the best neighbors in the whole wide world!). Here's what she received from the Elf this year:

• 10 Santa-themed candy bracelets
• Farm animal peg puzzle
• Sesame Street Colors, Shapes, & Opposites Flash Cards
• "Ratatouille: I Smell a Rat" scratch & sniff book (and no, it doesn't smell like a rodent!)
• Circus coloring book and washable crayons (oh, how well the Elf knows E!)
• Silly Putty
• "If You Give a Pig a Party" book
• Pig (from the aforementioned book) stuffed animal
• 4-pack of Play-Doh (E: "What color is this?" Me: "Aqua." E: "No! What color is this?" ...to infinity and beyond!)
  
• Spin & Go Colors game
• Cotton Candy (yummy!)
• Slinky
• Snoopy Christmas cup & plate
• Mickey Mouse Club House lip balm (or as Elizabeth says it, "Mickey Mouse Club House - Come inside it's fun inside lipstick.")
• "Dick and Jane: A Christmas Story" book
• Pretty pony tail holders
• Gloves & a coaster with the monogram A (she's so me with that - as she loves her coaster on the table in the kitchen for HER drink!)
  
• Set of 3 Christmas bracelets
• Expandable snowman washcloth & box of Mac & Cheese crackers
• December 20th - a bit over-the-top: Elizabeth = snowman ornament; Kennedy = snowman bowl; me = kitchen towel with trees on it; Reid = a golf ornament
  
• Holiday marshmallows
• Jigsaw puzzle
  
• Disney Princess slide puzzle*
• Picture Story Pad (draw a picture & tell a story pad)*
  

* It should be noted that we left to go to Nana's & Papa's house on the evening of the 22nd. The Elf made sure that we had Elizabeth's presents for the 23rd & 24th. Marie & Jim are too much! We are the luckiest people to have them as our neighbors!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!