Trunk or Treat

The girls went to "Trunk or Treat" at church tonight. Reagan, of course, enjoyed dressing up as Cinderella. (It's never a question of WHAT she will be for Halloween--it's only a matter of WHICH princess she will choose.) Presley dressed as Roo from the Winnie the Pooh series. She seemed to enjoy being in costume and really got into the whole trick-or-treat process. Both girls had a fun time!

Halloween

Here's Presley as Roo from the Winnie the Pooh series. Pictured with her is big sis Reagan as Cinderella. Both girls went to "Trunk or Treat" at our church for Halloween.

Halloween

Reagan went to "Trunk or Treat" at church tonight. Here's a couple of pictures in full Cinderella attire, the first with her "boyfriend" Curry (a vampire), and the second with Presley, dressed as Roo from the Winnie the Pooh series.

I Like Mike

It's no secret that I almost always vote Republican. There are numerous reasons for this, which I may go into in another post, but it basically boils down to which candidate shares most of my convictions, particularly on issues of morality and sanctity of life. I believe that many of the freedoms we cling to in America are being attacked in the name of tolerance. But this is a one-way tolerance; there is little tolerance offered to those of us who lean to the right.

I've been a bit disappointed in our candidates for the upcoming election. Rudy is pro-choice. Mit is a Mormon (sorry, but I still believe that's a cult). And though I like our former-senator Fred, he did date Lori Morgan, and that's a little disturbing. But one guy has recently risen to the top for me. I took a close look at his website--the Issues page, in particular--and I can't find one thing that I really disagree with.

If you're a conservative like me, who places faith and family high on your priority list, you might want to check him out.


http://www.mikehuckabee.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=Issues.Home

Screaming and Biting

Presley has picked up on two troublesome toddler behaviors: screaming and biting. So far only Mama, Daddy, and Reagan have been the recipients of a bite. She seems to only do it when she doesn't get her way--which explains why none of the grandparents have been bitten.

The screaming is a little less predictable. Sometimes it's in response to not getting her way. Other times, it seems that she just enjoys hearing how loud and high-pitched she can make her voice. With the mild weather we've been having, we've had our windows open most evenings, and we're a little afraid the neighbors might call 911 on us (seriously, it's that loud!).

Right now our approach to the biting is to loudly say, "No biting!" and immediately put her in time out (she just sits on the couch alone for a few seconds). The good news is that you can usually see it coming before she actually gets a bite in--she opens that little mouth wide! For the screaming, we try to ignore it. I think her goal is to get a response--any attention is good attention, in her opinion.

With the screaming and biting, can tantrums be far behind?

ER: Episode 2

This is a copied post from Reagan's blog about our "fun" weekend and a trip to the ER.

We made another visit to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital ER yesterday. Last year, we ended up there when Reagan had a respiratory infection and got severely dehydrated. This year, it was an intestinal virus. At about 12:30 AM Saturday, Reagan came into our room crying and said, "I throwed up in my bed." We quickly cleaned her up, got her a drink of water, and let her get in our bed. Then, I went to work on the middle-of-the-night laundry. Did I mention that she had eaten tomato-basil soup? Yep, it was disgusting. About 45 minutes later, she threw up again. (This time we were ready with the bucket.) Then again at 2:30. Then 3:30. After that, she seemed to settle down and slept for a few hours, but Mama certainly didn't.

The next morning, we thought the worst was over. She had begun to drink a little bit of water, but within a couple of hours she was throwing up again. They cycle continued for most of the day: she would perk up a little and drink, then within the hour she would throw up.

We had a memorial service to attend that evening, so Scott's parents came over to watch the girls. Reagan hadn't thrown up in a few hours, but she was very sleepy and lethargic. When Scott called to check on her, his mom said she had been asleep in her lap the whole time we were gone. We got worried (flashback to lethargic, dehydrated Reagan and our last trip to the ER) and came home. We arrived, roused her, and made her drink a little Sprite. Scott went back out and bought every variety of Gatorade under the sun. She, again, perked up and even sat up to make a craft for Ms. Sandy (our children's pastor, whose husband's memorial we were attending). But, ultimately, she didn't drink much and she was throwing up in the middle of the night again.

Sunday morning, I called the triage nurse and got a "re-hydration plan." Scott went to church to set up the computer (he was schedule to work in the booth, and I had already traded my nursery duty with another volunteer). We decided we'd wait and see if she could drink without throwing up, and then make a decision about going to the ER or immediate care. She did great for about an hour--every five minutes she had about a tablespoon of water--but then she threw up. I called Scott and he headed home. I left the triage nurse another message, Scott called his parents to come watch Presley, and we debated the virtues of immediate care vs. the ER. Finally, I called the immediate care center and they advised us to go to the ER, since they couldn't do IV fluids in their office.

We got to the ER around 10:00 AM, and Reagan threw up shortly thereafter. Fortunately, it wasn't crowded, and we were evaluated fairly quickly. Reagan even had to use the bathroom--she hadn't in about 16 hours!--so they were able to get a urine sample. It took a bit of waiting (isn't that always the way at hospitals?), but Reagan had an IV with fluids and some anti-vomit meds before too long.

Reagan was such a brave girl--she didn't even flinch when the nurse put the IV in! She did, however, ask for more stickers when the nurse gave her a few. She also got comfortabe enough to say, "Can you bring me a movie?" and a bit later, she said she was hungry and wanted a cookie! We started with apple juice instead, and then she got a packet of Teddy Grahams. After she finished, and after more waiting, we were released at around 1:30 with a prescription for anti-vomit meds and instructions to call our pediatrician on Monday.

We were a little nervous when Reagan was extremely sleepy on the way out, until we read the discharge notes that said the meds would make her drowsy. She slept a lot throughout the afternoon, but she finally woke up and drank a little. She also got to have that cookie she wanted, as well as a few crackers.

We gave her the meds last night so that she would sleep well, but this morning she is med-free and has eaten several crackers and is drinking water. She seems much more like herself (that winning personality that we all love), so we're hopeful she can get back to regular activities in a day or two.

ER: Episode 2

We made another visit to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital ER yesterday. Last year, we ended up there when Reagan had a respiratory infection and got severely dehydrated. This year, it was an intestinal virus. At about 12:30 AM Saturday, Reagan came into our room crying and said, "I throwed up in my bed." We quickly cleaned her up, got her a drink of water, and let her get in our bed. Then, I went to work on the middle-of-the-night laundry. Did I mention that she had eaten tomato-basil soup? Yep, it was disgusting. About 45 minutes later, she threw up again. (This time we were ready with the bucket.) Then again at 2:30. Then 3:30. After that, she seemed to settle down and slept for a few hours, but Mama certainly didn't.

The next morning, we thought the worst was over. She had begun to drink a little bit of water, but within a couple of hours she was throwing up again. They cycle continued for most of the day: she would perk up a little and drink, then within the hour she would throw up.

We had a memorial service to attend that evening, so Scott's parents came over to watch the girls. Reagan hadn't thrown up in a few hours, but she was very sleepy and lethargic. When Scott called to check on her, his mom said she had been asleep in her lap the whole time we were gone. We got worried (flashback to lethargic, dehydrated Reagan and our last trip to the ER) and came home. We arrived, roused her, and made her drink a little Sprite. Scott went back out and bought every variety of Gatorade under the sun. She, again, perked up and even sat up to make a craft for Ms. Sandy (our children's pastor, whose husband's memorial we were attending). But, ultimately, she didn't drink much and she was throwing up in the middle of the night again.

Sunday morning, I called the triage nurse and got a "re-hydration plan." Scott went to church to set up the computer (he was schedule to work in the booth, and I had already traded my nursery duty with another volunteer). We decided we'd wait and see if she could drink without throwing up, and then make a decision about going to the ER or immediate care. She did great for about an hour--every five minutes she had about a tablespoon of water--but then she threw up. I called Scott and he headed home. I left the triage nurse another message, Scott called his parents to come watch Presley, and we debated the virtues of immediate care vs. the ER. Finally, I called the immediate care center and they advised us to go to the ER, since they couldn't do IV fluids in their office.

We got to the ER around 10:00 AM, and Reagan threw up shortly thereafter. Fortunately, it wasn't crowded, and we were evaluated fairly quickly. Reagan even had to use the bathroom--she hadn't in about 16 hours!--so they were able to get a urine sample. It took a bit of waiting (isn't that always the way at hospitals?), but Reagan had an IV with fluids and some anti-vomit meds before too long.

Reagan was such a brave girl--she didn't even flinch when the nurse put the IV in! She did, however, ask for more stickers when the nurse gave her a few. She also got comfortabe enough to say, "Can you bring me a movie?" and a bit later, she said she was hungry and wanted a cookie! We started with apple juice instead, and then she got a packet of Teddy Grahams. After she finished, and after more waiting, we were released at around 1:30 with a prescription for anti-vomit meds and instructions to call our pediatrician on Monday.

We were a little nervous when Reagan was extremely sleepy on the way out, until we read the discharge notes that said the meds would make her drowsy. She slept a lot throughout the afternoon, but she finally woke up and drank a little. She also got to have that cookie she wanted, as well as a few crackers.

We gave her the meds last night so that she would sleep well, but this morning she is med-free and has eaten several crackers and is drinking water. She seems much more like herself (that winning personality that we all love), so we're hopeful she can get back to regular activities in a day or two.

Oh, How We Love Elmo

I don't want to jinx it or anything, but since we bought Elmo (and made a few other changes in her bedtime ritual), Presley has been consistently sleeping through the night. In fact, she's waking up later (around 7:00 or 7:30 most mornings) and taking longer naps! And she's just a happier girl, in general, because she's now well-rested. She does seem to want to go to bed a little later, but she's almost always asleep by 9 or 9:30 at the latest. Needless to say, Mama and Daddy are very happy!

Now if we could only get Reagan to go to bed later and sleep later. (She usually asks to go to bed at around 8 and is awake the next morning by 6:30.)

Night #2 with Elmo

Last night, things went even better. Presley didn't wake until well afte 5:00 AM, and she just cried a little bit and stopped. We didn't even have to go into her room. We finally went in at around 7:00, and she was standing up in her crib and looked happy. Hooray!

Presley's Favorites (And Sleep Talk)

Here's a list of some of Presley's favorites:

Favorite breakfast: a banana and a few Cheerios

Favorite words: uh-uh (for "no"), Melmo (Elmo), Mama, Dah-ee (Daddy)

Favorite toy: Mr. Potato Head

Favorite snack: shredded cheese

Favorite exercise: dancing

Favorite "lovey": her new stuffed Elmo

Now, about Elmo. We've been having the toughest time getting Presley to sleep through the night. She was great as an infant, but now she often wakes several times in the night and expects us to come comfort her. Being a tough mom, I refuse to pick her up, but that has lead to problems of its own. See, I have a hard time letting her cry for hours on end, so I've started sleeping on the floor in her room. It started with simply sitting with her a few minutes; then I took a pillow in; then a blanket. Now, there's a mattress on the floor in her room (I'm not kidding).

Finally, Scott and I decided this had to stop. The first night, we resolved to let her cry. (That was our whole brilliant plan.) But she cried for more than two hours, and it disrupted the entire house. She actually never really stopped crying; we just decided at around 5:30 AM that we'd call it morning. With her determination, we knew we were in for a battle.

This time, we were armed with a plan. First, I replaced her night light with a very weak one, hoping that the darker room would help her sleep better. Next, we ran our dehumidifier all night for "white noise." (This was more for Reagan's sake, to cover the inevitable crying.) But the key element of our plan was Elmo.

For months, I have been trying to get Presley to develop an attachment to a "lovey." Reagan has a cow she has loved and slept with nearly since birth. Cow is a part of our family. Whenever she is sad or lonely or tired, Reagan grabs her cow for comfort. Have I mentioned that Reagan is a great sleeper? We never set a bed time for her: she tells us when she's ready for bed--and it's almost always earlier than we would have asked her to go!

Here's where Elmo comes in. I've noticed that Presley has taken a recent interest in him while watching Sesame Street. This was confirmed on Monday when she tried to take a stuffed Elmo away from a little boy while we were waiting for Reagan at Kinderdance. So...ding! The lightbulb went on--Presley loves Elmo! Let's get a soft, cuddly Elmo for her to sleep with.

But this task was easier said than done. I went to three stores before I found him (most of the Elmos out there are the loud, active kind--not the warm, cuddly kind). I knew he was the one because Presley squealed with delight when she saw him. She carried him through the store and barely let go long enough for the cashier to scan him. Yes, he was overpriced. But he was worth every penny.

Last night, Presley slept until nearly 5 AM (this is quite good). Scott went in first, found her pacifier, laid her on her back, and made his escape. She cried. Ten minutes later I went in with the same routine, although I found Elmo and put him in her arms. She cried. Ten more minutes later, Scott went again. Again, the crying. The next appointed time to go in was fifteen minutes later (our master plan had a schedule!). But a funny thing happened--she had stopped crying by then!

Later this morning (7:30), I opened the door to check on her. She raised her little head, turned around and grabbed her friend and said, "Melmo!"

Ahhh...I'm thinking another night or two of this and we just might get to sleep until 6:30 or 7:00 every morning! At least we can pray that happens.

Reagan's Favorites (for now)

At four years old, Reagan still loves many of the things she has for a while now (princesses, Barbie, the Disney Channel, etc.). But now that she's such a big girl, Reagan's new favorite activity is playing on the internet. Yes, she can already navigate both the Disney and PBS websites without any help! She also enjoys Barbie.com and PollyPocket.com. She often says, "Mama, will you get my dot com up on the computer?" Unbelievable!

Here are a few of Reagan's other favorites, for the record:

Favorite breakfast: toast bread (her words) with a spoon of peanut butter

Favorite alone activity: doing "homework" (preschool worksheets)

Favorite activity with Presley: playing chase and squealing

Favorite TV shows: Super Why and Wordgirl (PBS shows)

Favorite hairstyle: braids

Favortie princess: Jasmine

Favorite friends: Morgan, the new Morgan (yes, she has two in her class), Langley, Moira

Favorite clothes: dresses and skirts (a true girly girl!)

Not Meant for Big Girls

Presley is obsessed with climbing in the doll stroller. She has done this repeatedly, despite the fact that I pile dolls and accessories in it, trying to deter the behavior. And, usually, she gets herself IN the stroller but can't climb OUT of it. I don't think the poor toy can withstand her 21-pound weight overload much longer.

And, even worse, she has even boarded the Ariel underwater carriage a time or two. This one is meant for a Barbie-sized doll!

Premier of Presley's Page

OK, so Presley is 15 months old now--about the age that Reagan was when I first created her blog. So, I thought I had better get going on this one. What is Presley up to now? She loves giving kisses and hugs. Her favorite words are "Mama" and "Uh-Uh" (as in, "no"). She also enjoys pulling the phone off the charger and pushing buttons. But perhaps the cutest thing she does these days is grab a purse (or two or three) from the toy bin, put it (or them) on her arm, and then wave and say "bye-bye." What a big girl!

And Then There Were Two

I guess we knew what we were doing when we bought two more goldfish a couple of weeks ago (so we'd have a "spare" if there was another tragedy). Yesterday morning, as I went to feed the fish, I noticed Jasmine floating behind the filter. :(

Since it was just a couple of hours before preschool, and I didn't want to "upset the apple cart," I opted to wait to tell Reagan, hoping she wouldn't notice. She didn't, and when I finally told her after school, she seemed rather indifferent--quite a change from our near meltdown when Aladdin died. You just never know how a four-year-old is going to react.

What am I doing to these poor fish? I'm following all the instructions, I think. I'm feeding them, keeping the tank clean. I'm having deja vu, remembering how I killed a series of fish when I thought it would reduce stress to have one in my office at work a few years ago. But instead it was extremely stressful, because they kept dying. (Every weekend, I would find my latest fish belly up. I even tried taking the fish home each weekend--which was a huge pain--but I still managed to kill each one off during the week.)

I guess this particular variety of goldfish just have a life span of 30-45 days. At least, that's the answer I'm going with.

Mom Pet Peeves--in Random Order

Don't you just hate...
...how the moment your food arrives in a restaurant, your preschooler announces that she needs to go potty--even though you asked her just moments before if she needed to go.
...when your toddler refuses to nap while the older child is at preschool--until, of course, it's exactly 15 minutes before you need to leave to pick the older child up.
...that your toddler will fall asleep anytime you're in the car--even if you're only two miles away from your destination--and will be grumpy that you woke her up upon arrival.
...when other people (grandparents, Sunday school teachers, etc.) give your kids sugar and then send them home with you.
...tattling (enough said).

But don't you just love...
...when you and your preschooler have your own personal "opera" time, when you both sing everything instead of saying it (are we the only ones who do this?).
...that the toddler can't stop blowing kisses because it's her new favorite skill.
...how sometimes Mama is the only one in the whole world who can make everything all better.

Fishy Situation

For her fourth birthday, Reagan got an aquarium and two fish, Aladdin and Jasmine. They both had grown rather fast, and they seemed to be doing well. They had even survived our two weekends away with automatic feeders, so we felt pretty confident that they were hearty and healthy.

Last Thursday was a particularly rotten day. Presley wouldn't nap, and I was exhausted. Basically, we were all cranky by that afternoon. I had just started cooking dinner when Reagan said, "Mama, look at Aladdin!" You guessed it--he was floating upside down in the tank. After gingerly explaining that he was dead, Reagan began hypothesizing about what had caused his demise. The only thing I could come up with is that I hadn't changed the water in the tank since our last weekend away. (Sometimes the weekend feeders can leave residue in the tank.) Well, upon hearing that, Reagan insisted that I clean the tank immediately so that Jasmine wouldn't die. Never mind that I was in the middle of cooking dinner, which was, ironically, FISH!

By the time Scott arrived home, I was covered in water from the rushed tank cleaning, and dinner was on the table. We had a few quiet chuckles about the fact that we were eating a relative of the departed Aladdin. When I prodded Reagan to eat her fish, she said, "The fish that was dead?" Oh, my.

After dinner, Reagan decided she would like to bury Aladdin (mostly because she wanted to dig). Of course, after he was securely in the ground and a short eulogy was given, she burst into tears and insisted that we dig him up and instead throw him in the trash. (I have no idea why, but we complied, since she was a bit distraught.)

On Friday evening, we again visited the pet store and purchased TWO goldfish (to have a spare), Jafar and Rajah, who cost us a total of 26 cents, including tax. (We went with the smaller fish this time, since the previous two had grown so fast.) For now, the fish seem to be healthy and growing. Of course, the pet store has a 14-day guarantee, so we can get our 26 cents back if they don't make it that long.

The Disney Blog Contest

Ok, so I'm kind of a Disney nut (mostly by association of my daughter), so I'm trying to win a fabulous prize from The Disney Blog. So, regular readers (are there any out there?), please bear with me while I answer the following questions. And if you're planning a trip to visit the Mouse any time soon (or if you just like reading about all things Disney), check out The Disney Blog at http://www.thedisneyblog.com/.


1. Have you ever celebrated your birthday at a Disney theme park? If so, tell us about it.
Well, sort of. Our last visit to Disney was about a week before my birthday in 2005. We took our oldest daughter, Reagan, for the first time and we came home with a little souvenir--we were pregnant with our second child!

2. What is your favorite or most useful tip for guests of Disney's theme parks?
I always encourage people to take their own snacks into the park--especially if you have small children. Another neat thing we did with our two-year-old is print up a label with both my husband's and my cell phone numbers on it. We put the label on Reagan's back, so that if she were to get separated from us, anyone could quickly locate us. (A little paranoid and overprotective? Perhaps.)

3. What is your favorite Disney theme park attraction or show and why?
I'm a sucker for nostalgia, so I still love "It's a Small World." But, among the newer (well, at least in the last 10 years) attractions, we love the "Beauty and the Beast" show. It's like a mini Broadway musical!

I'll update everyone if I do, in fact, win anything!

Sleeping Beauty

Reagan was playing quietly in her room--a little too quietly. When I went to check on her, this is how I found her. I guess playing dress-up can be exhausting.

Reagan's Barbie Birthday

This picture was taken just moments before guests arrived to Reagan's 4th birthday party. The party was in full Barbie theme, from the Barbie doll cake (made by Mama) to the pin-the-earrings-on-Barbie game we played. Even many of the gifts had a Barbie theme. All things considered, the party was a success. However, it was not without its drama.

Just after gifts were opened and hugs were given, as we were preparing to sing "Happy Birthday" and watch Reagan blow out her candles, the birthday girl started projectile vomiting in the kitchen...all over her cute Barbie ensemble that Mama had ordered online especially for the occasion. (And also all over the hardwood floors, not that it matters...much.) Daddy had to whisk Reagan upstairs and change her clothes (and his) while Mama ushered curious kids from the kitchen and helped Uncle Jason who had started cleaning up the mess--and, boy, was it a big one!

Believe it or not, the birthday girl emerged minutes later looking pretty well. We went ahead with the cake cutting (which hurt Mama's feelings a little, since she had spent so much time on the cake!), but Reagan just had a little ice cream. Afterward, everyone played outside in the "bouncy room" and seemed to be none the worse for the day's events.

Reagan did get sick a couple of more times after everyone left, so we now know it wasn't just nerves but rather a stomach bug. She still wasn't eating much on Sunday, but today (Monday) she woke up and asked for pancakes, and she seems to be just fine.

Her *real* birthday is tomorrow, and we have a fun day planned. We'll visit Nashville Shores, and when Daddy gets home we'll go to Chuck E. Cheese's. Finally, we'll go to the pet store where Reagan gets to pick out two fish for her new aquarium.

My Masterpiece

Ok, so it's not a work of art or anything, but this just may be the best cake I've ever done. This one actually hurt a little when I cut into it. It was for Reagan's 4th birthday party on Saturday. The Barbie-themed party was quite eventful (you can read about it on Reagan's blog at http://www.reagangibbs.blogspot.com/). Let's just say that we're praying that no one contracted the stomach bug that we now know Reagan has.