As we often do, the hubs and I kicked into team work mode, he mixed childrens benadryl and Motrin into some chocolate milk, I cleaned the ear, coated it with benadryl cream and started an ice pack, all the while changing J out of his pool clothes.  Within 5 minutes we had a dry kid who was no longer wailing but definitely hurting and as the ear swelled it occurred to me…this kid was adopted, I have no clue if he’s seriously allergic to bee stings.  J’s birthfather is unknown and without that medical history and I was glad to live only a minute from a hospital with a shiny new emergency room.

Thankfully, as I’m quite allergic to bee stings myself, we knew exactly what to do and snapped right into action.  As a mom there’s nothing worse than seeing your kid hurt, nothing that makes you feel quite so proud as seeing them tough it out and return to smiles, and as an adoptive mom nothing more terrifying than not knowing if a mushroom, bee sting, or strawberry could send your baby to the hospital.

Let’s remember that the $350 silver baby spoon listed as a “must have” by cookie magazine is almost half of my mortgage payment here in Nebraska.  That being said, I saw these this morning, maybe you’ve already seen them in Pregnancy Magazine or on other blogs, they are definitely a must have and come with a hyperventilation free price tag!

A perfect gift for our son’s natural mother

This one says “sister” and “Christmas” to me!

A beautiful gift for a new mama, I know a few of those!

My husband is going to find the URL to this in his inbox….

and this…is just gratuitous.

These beautiful creations are the work of Lisa Leonard, and right now you can win one of 3 $50 Gift Certificates over at one of my favorite blogs to read The Inspired Room.  Check out her giveaway and visit Lisa’s website and pick up a few goodies for the holidays.  I promise you won’t be disappointed.

There is great discussion this morning about remembering where you were, what you were doing on the morning of 9/11, aside from my run to buy gas as we watched the prices soar here is what I remember:

I remember waking up to beautiful fall weather and clear blue skies, a perfect birthday.  I also remember sitting on my mother’s bed hands clasped to my face watching that second plane fly into the World Trade Center, thinking how could this happen to in my country? My America, where I watched families of troops that fought to protect our most basic human right, FREEDOM, time little yellow ribbons on trees and fences while they waited during Desert Storm?  My America, where I was raised to see the sacrifices that our ancestors made and a thousand people after that to make our United States free for everyone.  My America, great and proud and born out of geniuses and men who believed that we should have the right to grow and prosper and do for ourselves without the hand of the government but instead with the hand of whichever god you believe in.

I remember stepping outside the door at work and watching fighter jets streak overhead and Air Force One as it landed at Offutt Air Force Base. In my lifetime, I had never seen a war brought upon our soil, and rest assured it was a war long before that beautiful September day.  On another beautiful morning, in 1941 the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and our country went to war against an enemy who held no respect for human life and destroyed millions before being brought down.

On 9/11 terrorists who also held no regard for life killed 2993 people because they knew that dictators can be overthrown,  freedom cannot. On that day we were reminded that the cause of freedom is a cause to be advanced around the world, terrorists and dictators should not be allowed to rob their own countrymen of their right as human beings for life and liberty.

With the coming of my birthday each year I am filled that same defiance and pride in our great nation as I was that day.  I am reminded that freedom is a cause that was hard won and should be protected at all costs.  8 years later, I say to people who would have us turn leave our conflicts around the world that without freedom the world can never have peace.  God Bless America and keep her safe from those who would do her harm.

“Freedom and fear, justice and cruelty, have always been at war, and we know that God is not neutral between them.’ -George Bush September 11 Address to the nation

“We’ve seen the unfurling of flags, the lighting of candles, the giving of blood, the saying of prayers in English, Hebrew and Arabic. We have seen the decency of a loving and giving people who have made the grief of strangers their own. My fellow citizens, for the last nine days, the entire world has seen for itself the state of union, and it is strong.” - September 11 Address to the Nation

“America will never forget the sounds of our national anthem playing at Buckingham Palace, on the streets of Paris and at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate. We will not forget South Korean children gathering to pray outside our embassy in Seoul, or the prayers of sympathy offered at a mosque in Cairo. We will not forget moments of silence and days of mourning in Australia and Africa and Latin America. Nor will we forget the citizens of 80 other nations who died with our own. Dozens of Pakistanis, more than 130 Israelis, more than 250 citizens of India, men and women from El Salvador, Iran, Mexico and Japan, and hundreds of British citizens.” -George Bush September 11 Address to the nation

“America is successful because of the hard work and creativity and enterprise of our people. These were the true strengths of our economy before September 11, and they are our strengths today.” -George Bush September 11 Address to the nation

“Each of us will remember what happened that day and to whom it happened. We will remember the moment the news came, where we were and what we were doing. Some will remember an image of a fire or story or rescue. Some will carry memories of a face and a voice gone forever.”  -George Bush September 11 Address to the nation

“On Tuesday, our country was attacked with deliberate and massive cruelty. We have seen the images of fire and ashes and bent steel.  Now come the names, the list of casualties we are only beginning to read. They are the names of men and women who began their day at a desk or in an airport, busy with life. They are the names of people who faced death and in their last moments called home to say, be brave and I love you.

They are the names of passengers who defied their murderers and prevented the murder of others on the ground. They are the names of men and women who wore the uniform of the United States and died at their posts.  They are the names of rescuers — the ones whom death found running up the stairs and into the fires to help others. We will read all these names. We will linger over them and learn their stories, and many Americans will weep.  To the children and parents and spouses and families and friends of the lost, we offer the deepest sympathy of the nation. And I assure you, you are not alone.

Just three days removed from these events, Americans do not yet have the distance of history, but our responsibility to history is already clear: to answer these attacks and rid the world of evil. War has been waged against us by stealth and deceit and murder.
This nation is peaceful, but fierce when stirred to anger. This conflict was begun on the timing and terms of others; it will end in a way and at an hour of our choosing.”                                                                            – President George W Bush, National Cathedral Speech

Since Mommy scared him by screaming “hot” when he approached the stove last week he’s labled everything hot.  Now anytime a noise is loud, or the sun is bright, or something is cold he says “dats hot”.  Next to “no” “dats hot” is the most popular phrase in the house.

As if his new Paris lingo isn’t disturbing enough I recieve this picture today…no pants…obviously hopped up on chocolate milk.  What’s a mother to do?

Tomorrow:  Photastic coverage of our company BBQ tonight…which was rained out but turned out to be a wild success.

 
Since most of us are veteran couples we wouldn’t make Here Come the Newlyweds but we can still but our marriage to the test. Around Valentine’s Day, I picked up a copy of Dan Carlinksy’s How Well Do You Know your Husband and How Well do You Know Your Wife at Barnes and Noble. For just $5 each these cute little quiz books test your knowledge about your spouse.
Techie and I sat down after the baby was asleep, filled out the books, then read the answers aloud and graded each other. We did well , each scoring above 850 on questions like “What was the name of your husband’s childhood pet?”

Also, if you are shopping for a cool bridal shower or engagement gift you can buy the Bride & Groom versions of these. As we saw from the show newlywed couples still have so much to learn.

I’d love to see a second edition of these books with even harder questions! Pick up your quiz books today and be sure to let me know how you do. Who knows, maybe I’m brewing up the next big reality show for ABC: Here Come the Not So Newlyweds.

My mother in law is coming this weekend for Easter Dinner.  As I sat down to write this post in my recently dusted living room which is strewn with various toy cars, plastic grocery items, and cheez-it crumbs, I realized that I’m going to have to dust again. 

It’s not just a light cleaning that will get me through a visit with friends, a play date, or even a visit from my mom ( light cleaning if she’s only stopping by, heavy duty if she’s staying for more than an hour) this weekend will require a full out top to bottom wipe down every knick nack, hunt down the dust bunnies, and scrub the toilet twice kind of cleaning.   

No my mother in law is not a neat housekeeper, in fact she is the opposite, but she does manage to be both apathetic and mean all at once.  Immediately upon entering my house she plasters on her fake smile all the while making sure that I know she doesn’t need or want a daughter in law as she already has the perfect daughter.

If I clean the house I will hear endless commentary about how “Martha Stewart” the house always looks.  Were the Queen of Clean to even set foot in my house I’m sure she’d break into hives.  Of course, let’s not forget muddled conversations about how nice it is that I have all this time to devote myself to cleaning (a moderation on the “gold-digger” theme). 

But I don’t dare not clean because then both she and my father in law will suddenly devlop x-ray-infared-dust-bunny-seeking vision and my “inability to keep up” will be the talk of the family.

Despite a power cleaning that could put a nesting prego to shame and the meticulous preparation of our clothes, the place settings, and the dinner I am actually looking forward to this visit from the inlaws. 

Mostly because I know my sister will bring wine but also because I can always count on my mother in law to say something completely stupid that I can use at an upcoming dinner party for entertainment.  A few years ago at a BBQ my husband mentioned that he’d been drinking low carb beer and my MIL, the lawyer, said “low carb…oh but I like the bubbles!”

I’m pretty sure Techie married me because of the spot on impression I do of his Wisconsin born mother; complete with her out-of-it mid sentance soap opera stare.  I’ve jump started many a dying social event with this particular skill and he still laughs because he knows that sadly it’s all true.  I love Techie to death which is why I mock his family so.  They are hilariously absurd, because it’s far better to laugh until you cry then cry until you laugh….better yet is to blog about it!

Wish me luck my dears, I’m off to starting having nightmares about Easter dinner disasters and my MIL mocking me with the Charlie Brown teacher voice.

Saturday, I stopped at the gas station to fill up the van.  Chib was in the back being a grumpus because he didn’t want to be strapped into the car seat.  No one else ever has that problem right?  So I start the gas pumping and peer into the tinted window.  Chibby laughs because peeking is always very funny. 

So I step back so that his view is blocked by the other seat then jump forward pressing my face against the glass and making googly eyes.  It’s cold and moving around is warming me up so I keep jumping back and forth, alternating between the front and back so he never knows where I’m coming from.

He’s laughing so hard and I so desperately want to avoid a toddler car-seat meltdown that I’m completely lost in my little game.  All of the sudden I hear this voice behind me say “There’s a bathroom inside you know!”  A truck had pulled up to the pump behind me and apparently the two men inside had taken as vote as to what the crazy lady was doing and the “pee-pee dance” was the winner.

I hollered (cuz that’s what we do in Nebraska) “No! I’m entertaining my son, he’s in the car-seat…” Nope. They weren’t buying it…neither were the three other customers who’d also apparently also witnessed my piddle prance.  Horrified I quickly hung up the nozzle and drove away.

PS.  Someone asked me the other day why we call our son Chibby.  It’s becuase he is simultaneously chubby and skinny.  It’s morphed into Chib in the last month who knows what we’ll call him next month!

 See you tomorrow, I promise.