Website

I've read several ladies' blogs where they are sharing their dinner menus. The Kraft Foods website can give you a lot of ideas for dinner. Under the "Dinner" tab, there's a section called, "1 Bag, 5 Dinners" where it gives you 5 main entrees for the week, the shopping list, and the recipes that go with them. The site also gives you healthy meals, 15-minute meals, and lots of other stuff. I love it. If you're interested, check it out: www.kraftfoods.com

Fun in the Sun

The weather was absolutely beautiful today, so I wanted to take advantage of it. Gavin and I played outside some, and then Mom and I took him to Milliken to feed the ducks.

Dental Update

As if you really wanted to know my business...I survived the root canal today. My dad went with me to hold my hand - literally. I had to have something to squeeze when they put the shots in my gums. I hate needles. I didn't care for the doctor too much - Dr. Michael Zimmerman. He didn't say very much to me...just came in, did the job, and left...not even a "have a good day". He was real cut and dry. I guess he didn't care - he got his $600. (Jason and I are so in the poor house.) That's all.

Dental Rant

Right before I had Gavin last summer, one of my back jaw teeth started to hurt out of the blue. I went to my dentist to see what was going on, and he said that I had a pretty bad cavity that was deep and was on top of the nerves. He told me that I'd have to have a root canal soon. That was August...and now 7 months later I'm actually going to have to do it. I put it off as long as I could, but it started hurting me again last week - and I knew I had to do it. I'm on Spring Break this week, so I thought this would be a good week to do it. (I now regret this...spending a beautiful warm spring day in the dentist office.) So, my appointment is tomorrow afternoon. I got a message on my answering machine today confirming my appointment and telling me how much I'm going to have to pay. Ok, here's the kicker. She told me that they looked into my insurance benefits and my "estimated copay is $618, due tomorrow." WHERE IN THE WORLD DO I GET $618????????? Oh, that's right...it's in my back pocket!!!!!! And that doesn't even count how much a crown is going to cost me. A crown, I'm told, is like $700. Are you telling me that 1 tooth in my head is going to be worth $1000 when it's all said and done????? You know, a plain ol' extraction would be cheaper - I'd almost say just pull the darn thing, but it's a jaw tooth, and I need it. I need all my teeth, actually. But you get my point. Holy cow!!! I guess it's going on my credit card - there's nothing else I can do. Feel sorry for me, please. Pity me. And say a prayer that I survive. I'm really nervous.

Happy Easter

Here are a few pictures from our wonderful weekend: Playing at Nana & Pops's Playland:

Dying Easter eggs:

Hunting Easter eggs:

Our Easter family picture:

Busy Week in Pictures

We have had a very busy week. Here are a few pictures:

Storytime at the library

Gavin loved driving Karis's car at Kelli's house.

My aunt Luann from Kentucky was in town this past week. This one's for her.

Jason decided to play dress-up with Gavin. Don't you love the full Clemson attire?

You can't see it, but there's a tiger paw on the side of the jeans as well.

Today at church we dedicated Gavin. A friend of Jason's got him the outfit he's wearing. It's white and has his initials monogrammed on the front in baby blue. (Jason's hand is in the way.) So, I was really excited over him wearing this outfit, but we couldn't keep it buttoned together. We'd button it and then Gavin would start wiggling around and then they'd all come unsnapped. When the preacher called us up on stage, all 3 of the snaps came undone, and Gavin's diaper was hanging out. We just left it. There was no use in fighting it.

This is all of us on stage at church. Jason's mom is standing behind me, and the rest of his family is on the other side of the preacher.

Gavin's grandparents

Gavin's aunts and uncles - Jason's sister is in the pink. Isn't she pretty?

Gavin's cousins

We celebrated my birthday at Fuddrucker's tonight. I'm an old woman - 28.

Bath Pictures

Gavin just took a bath. Here are some pictures. I think he liked tasting his bath toys more than playing with them.

Just a Picture

I know the date on this picture is February, but I had to put this one on here. I just love it. Just look at those ears! (He gets those ears from his daddy's side of the family!)

Thursday Thirteen +1

Can I add 1 more to my Thursday Thirteen? - to make Thursday Fourteen? I also love Wednesday dinner. Mom usually cooks the ultimate meal for all of us - Me, Jason, Kelli, Paul, and the kids...all 10 of us. She makes the best pinto beans, mashed potatoes, and cornbread, with onions and homemade chow-chow. Talk about some good down home eatin'. :) That one is for you, Mom. Love you.

Thursday Thirteen

13 Things that I love:

1. El Mexicano - I love to eat either veggie fajitas or the quesadilla mexicana. I mostly love the guacamole salad that comes with them!

2. Food Network Channel - I love to come home and watch Rachel Ray, Sandra Lee, and Everyday Italian. I never cook anything they make, but I like to pretend I'm a chef.

3. The recliner - I love to fall asleep in the recliner at night while Jason watches TV. It's so peaceful.

4. Mondays - I love my Mondays with Gavin. And I really can't wait to do more things outside with him as the weather gets warmer.

5. Cooking - I love to try new recipes. Jason is always my guinea pig.

6. Soda - I love soda even though it's not good for me. Cherry Coke and Dr. Pepper are my favorites.

7. Black - I love to wear black. Yes, I know it's a morbid color, but it does wonders hiding the extra rolls. It makes me feel thin.

8. Hummus - I've gotten on a hummus kick. I especially love Chipotle Peppers, and Roasted Red Peppers. I'm not crazy about Forty Spices, though.

9. Yoga pants - I love to come home from school and slip into my yoga pants. No, I don't do yoga, but the pants are so comfortable.

10. Blogging - My new addiction, other than scrapbooking, is lurking on other people's blogs. I love to read what other people have to say.

11. Substation II subs - If you want healthy, eat at Subway. But if you want delicious, finger-licking good subs, eat at Substation. I get the #13, loaded but without mayo, and with pickles and peppers on the side.

12. Naps - I don't get them often, but boy when I do, I love every minute of it - usually only 30 minutes.

13. Jason's chocolate chip cookies - Even though it's regular Pillsbury dough, Jason can cook them just right. They're always soft and never overcooked, like when I cook them.

Quick Pics

Here are a few quick pics we've taken the past couple of days:

Sitting up and playing in the floor with his toys

Gavin says, "Here mom. Let me show you how to do it." Here is the picture of the allergic reaction Gavin had to Amoxicillin. I took this after we came home from the clinic. This is NOTHING compared to what it was.

Almost a Heart Attack

Ok, moms, I almost had a heart attack tonight. See if you can follow my story: First, some background information: Gavin is finishing up an antibiotic from his double ear infection - Amoxicillin. (Gavin has loved having bubble gum flavored milk, by the way.) He's been on it for a week and a half and has done great. He takes it in his morning bottle and his bedtime bottle. Today was going to be his last dose. So I gave him his morning dose as usual. Ok, so today was such a nice day that I met Kelli and Karis at Kids Planet and took Gavin so we could enjoy the warm weather. We had so much fun (pictures posted later - they're on Kelli's camera) and Gavin acted perfectly happy. We came home, took a long nap; but when he woke up, he wanted to be fussy a little. He watched me get dinner started in the kitchen for a while, and then he got fidgity, so I put him in his Exersaucer to play while I finished. In the meantime, he poops, so I changed his diaper. When I'm putting on his diaper, I noticed a large quarter-sized red blister on the side of his thigh. So, I'm about to freak out, thinking that somehow I've burned him while he was in the kitchen with me. And I feel his forehead, and he feels a little warm. I called mom and told her to stop by on her way home so she could look at it too. I left him completely without clothes, except for his diaper of course. And while I was waiting on her to get to the house, I look all over his body for more places - and I found another blister in the crease of his ankle on top of his foot. When mom gets to the house, we take his temperature, and it was 101 - but that's with a little Motrin in his last bottle. It looked like a spider had bitten him somehow(while we were at the park), but he was wearing a sleeper all day; completely covered. Gavin started acting sick, so Mom and I took him to the Pediatric Night Clinic in Spartanburg. There were a million people there ahead of us, but somehow we only had to wait about 15 minutes before being called. (That's another story in itself.) The lady checks his temperature - and once again, they did it in his ear - just like they did when we took him to the urgent care several weeks ago. It read 98.7. And I nicely explained to the lady that his temperature was taken twice at home right before we came and it was 101 - rectally - like our doctor told us to do. (She could have cared less.) But anyway, we took him into a room and she said to take his clothes off. When mom pulled Gavin's leg out of his sleeper, that quarter-sized red welp was now the size of my hand and all across his thigh! You're talking about heart attack city! Mom and I both yelled out, "Oh my gosh!" My heart was racing. I didn't know what in the world could have bitten Gavin! The nurse jumped up and ran to get the doctor. We told him all the info we could think of: that we were at the park today; that Jason and I both have had the flu this past week; he was finishing his antibiotic... And then the doctor looked at it, and quickly said, it's not a spider bite - there wasn't a puncture mark. It was an allergic reaction to the Amoxicillin! I was in disbelief. Gavin had taken that medicine for 10 days - and we've had no problems (except for some spit-up). Why would he just now react this way to it? And why late this afternoon - when he had it this morning? The doctor frankly said that he can have a reaction even 2-3 days after finishing it; he could get several spots on him; even his face could swell up. All we can do it wait it out, and give him a little Benadryl to help. Now, reading this story doesn't pack the punch as much as it would have if you were actually there. I mean, I was seriously about to panic when Mom pulled his leg out of his sleeper. I took a picture of it when we came home; but by that time, it wasn't as bad as it had been. (I'll post that tomorrow, if I get the chance.) Allergic to Amoxicillin? Who would have guessed after taking it for 10 days and being fine? You know, Gavin already has a touch of Eczema (which is an allergy) and now this? Is my child going to be one of those children who is allergic to everything? To life?

Wiggly Worm, Part 2

Gavin was acting sleepy this morning, so I put him in his swing for his nap. Ok, before I go any farther in this post, go ahead and ask the question: Do we buckle him into the swing? The answer is No. And I have good reasons for this, too - just like the bouncy seat thing. First, Gavin usually lies still when he's in his swing and just relaxes. And second, we've got the seat of the swing dropped back into a lying down position, so he's not sitting up. Anyway, it has some birds and leaves that go around in a circle and plays soft music - kind of like a mobile. I'm sitting on the couch eating my biscuit from Burger King (I prefer Hardee's biscuits, but there were a million people in the drive-thru this morning. Anyway...), and I watch Gavin reach up and try to touch the birds and leaves. I've never seen him do this, so I just sat and watched. He literally almost rolled out of the swing...while it's moving back and forth! Just a little more effort and I would have had to pick my child up off the floor!

What am I going to do with this kid?

I really do watch my child. I'm not a negligent parent. I keep him safe...most of the time. :)