Concrete Slabs, Baby Teeth, and Other Matters

Here is a glimpse into the last month of my life.

There is an upper respiratory infection going around.  It also referred to as The Plague.  This thing is nasty.  And I have it.  I've had it for almost three weeks.  My sincere apologies to the Praise Team at church for making you deal with my frog voice.  I know it's not a pretty thing.

I've learned quite a bit about Alzheimer's disease over the last few weeks.  My grandfather has it, and has gone downhill before our eyes.  I thought we were prepared for this.  I mean, we've know for several years that this was coming.  But I've found out that you can't really be prepared for what this disease does.  You can, however, handle it with humor and lots of prayer.  My parents, aunts, and uncles are amazing people, and my grandmother is one tough, wise, ornery woman.

Cats are sneaky and will pee in corners that you never go near, so you don't know the pee is there.  Cat urine will soak through carpet, carpet pads, and into the concrete slab.  Cat urine is nearly impossible to remove from a concrete slab.  A mixture of baking soda, vinegar, and eucalyptus essential oil will remove it, but it requires significant time, elbow grease, and a stiff bristled brush.  Dogs will sniff the soda/vinegar/eucalyptus mixture and act like their nose is on fire.  THEN they just might decide it's a good idea to take a lick of said mixture.  That doesn't end well.

Despite all the warnings I've received - and despite every ounce of common sense in my brain - it is nearly impossible to NOT reach into my son's mouth and feel for teeth.  Surprise!  They're there.  They're like razor blades.  And seven-month-olds apparently have the bite strength of a 20 foot alligator.

Sam decided a few weeks ago that he needs to "help" us feed him by grabbing the spoon.  Nevermind the fact that it's really not so helpful at all.  We learned to get the spoon in and out pretty quickly.  Until he got the teeth.  Apparently the teeth have awakened his inner beast because now he bites down on the plastic spoon to hold it in place so he can grab with his hands.  Strategic thinking.  Nice.

Sweet potato Puffs are like oxygen to sleepy toddlers.  Just ask my niece.  But you might wait until after she finishes having a meltdown because I turned around to get a bowl for her post-nap snack.

Sam seems interested in the Puffs, but his "pinchers" don't work too well yet.  Currently his favorite thing to do with the Puffs is to make them stick to his damp hands and then flail, thus flinging the Puffs across the kitchen.  The dogs have figured out where to stand, and sometimes can even catch a Puff mid-flight.  How is it that they have figured this out, but still keep trying to lick the nose-burning soda/vinegar/eucalyptus mixture?

Tummy time has gotten much easier for Sam and everyone within a four block radius.  I'm sure my neighbors think I torture this child.  He can sit up completely unassisted, and he loves to sit on a blanket with his toys.  As long as I stay out of his line of sight he'll usually sit for 20-30 minutes and play.  If I walk in front of him he wails like a tornado siren.  I have learned to manage my tasks for the day so I can stay "downwind" as long as possible.

He still will not roll from back to tummy.  He can.  He just won't.  I've used every trick in the book, and he's just not interested.  Why should he work to roll for a toy when he can just play with his feet?  I thought maybe if he was around crawling babies it might spark his interest.  He couldn't have cared less.  It'll happen.  On his terms.  He's stubborn like Mama.  And until then I'm going to enjoy him not being mobile.

This week he finally - FINALLY - seemed to get the hang of taking naps.  Three days this week I strapped him into his swing and he slept for nearly three hours.  I use the swing because I have learned to not even think about putting him in his bed and walking away.  Tornado siren.  Immediately.  Unless it's nighttime and then he goes right to bed with no problems and sleeps for 12-14 hours.  Strange child.

Finding Nemo, Elmo, and Bob the Tomato are superheros in this house.

Sam's hair is still completely out of control.  It's bananas.

We're laying laminate flooring this weekend in the living room and hallway.  We found it on clearance and got an extra 10% off and 0% interest financing.  I feel guilty about the money, but when we pulled up the carpet and I saw what Sam would have (eventually) been crawling on I didn't feel guilty anymore.  I'm really really excited about the floors.

March Madness is almost here.  I'm the reigning champ in our church bracket group, and I'm thinking it's time to start talking some trash.  There's nothing like fantasy sports to bring out that Christ-like attitude, you know.

I'm going to finish prepping the house for the floor install and consider loading the dishwasher.  Here's a few recent pictures of the munchkin.