Daddy's Boy

Cooper loves his mama, but he is a daddy's boy.  He adores Karl and all things related to Karl.  This child will go crazy with excitement when Karl gets home in the afternoon, and throughout the day, he often looks at me and says, "Daddy work?" or "Daddy gone."  The other day as Karl was getting ready, we started our daily routine of preventing Daddy from leaving, so I broke out the camera to document a typical weekday morning in our house.

Little Man knows when Karl is getting close to leaving.  He knows when Karl puts his socks and shoes on, he is only minutes away from walking out the door.

So now Coop takes Karl's socks, shoes, phone, sunglasses, coffee, I-Pad, and everything else he can get his hands on to delay the inevitable.

As Karl puts on a sock, Coop will try to pull it off.  As Karl ties his shoes, Coop will untie them.  As Karl tries to walk to the door, Coop will wrap himself around his legs.  And when he has done all he can to prevent his favorite playmate from leaving, he resorts to his last attempt: He throws himself on the ground and cries.

And people say drama is just for girls!

The Beach Trip

Last winter my cousin Stephanie and I started talking about our little families going to the beach together.  We talked, planned, and daydreamed about this trip for months!  Her husband has relatives who have a gorgeous house in San Destin and were kind enough to let us stay there.  There was a pool in the neighborhood and a golf cart to use to get us to the beach.  Everything sounded perfect!  I was so excited that I started packing almost a month before we were supposed to leave.  I needed a vacation, and I couldn't wait for our families to spend time together!

Then the week of the trip finally got here.  And everything went downhill from there.  We were supposed to leave for the beach on Friday, July 13th.  The Sunday before we were supposed to leave, we noticed Cooper wasn't acting like himself.  He just seemed sluggish and not very spunky.  By Sunday afternoon, he had a fever.  Monday he was crying constantly, nothing made him happy, and his fever was getting up to 102.5.  Nothing rattles me more than when my little boy isn't 100% healthy, and thankfully, he is normally very healthy.  We went to the doctor that afternoon, and they said he had a fever virus, which is what I think they say when a child has a fever but they don't really know what's wrong.  They assured me he would be completely better by Friday when we were leaving.  As the week went on, Cooper continued to be majorly cranky, fussy, and more and more congested.  He was miserable, and it made for a miserable week.  Karl was super busy with work since he was going to be out for the following week, so I flew solo in caring for our sick little one and packing for all of us.  The packing was insane in itself.  It looked like we were moving, and I consider myself a "light packer."  Throughout the week, I kept thinking, "I just know Karl is going to catch whatever Cooper has.  He catches everything!  He's going to be sick our whole trip, and I'm going to have to do everything!"  Yes, I was tired and cranky and fussy too!  

When Friday finally got here, all our belongings were packed, and we were planning to leave at 11:30 so Cooper would take his nap in the car.  But just like all my plans that week, this one also got thrown to the wind.  Cooper was sicker than he'd been all week.  He wanted to be held constantly, hadn't slept well, and cried and cried and cried.  We called the doctor again because I was spiraling into panic mode.  He had never been sick this long.  They said it sounded like he had also gotten a cold or it was just the fever virus running its course (he had been fever-free since Monday night), and we should be fine to go to the beach.  We delayed going though and thought seriously about canceling altogether.  However, by around 3:30, the ibuprofen was doing its job well, he had perked up some, and we decided to go ahead and go.  If he was going to not feel well, we minds well deal with it at the beach, right?!  WRONG!  Sick babies need to be at home so we learned.  The comfort of home and your own bed is medicine in itself.  So, we got on the road, and Cooper napped for about 30 minutes.  Then he started crying, and it started raining, and then it started storming, and then the GPS got us lost, and then Cooper threw up on himself from crying so hard.  The whole time I wanted to just close my eyes, snap my fingers, and be back home.  We stopped at a rest stop, cleaned up Cooper and his car seat, and waited for the weather to improve some.  When it came time to strap Cooper back in, he started screaming crying and throwing himself around, and I couldn't handle it anymore.  I sat him in my lap in the backseat, put the seatbelt on both of us, prayed, and told Karl to drive carefully.  Thankfully, Cooper sat still and was happy, and God protected us in getting there.

Once we got there (finally), my cousin's boys were already in bed.  We got Cooper's pack and play set up, got him in bed, and I had a big, well deserved glass of wine!  If only that was the end of the stress!

Saturday we got up and got ready for our first beach day.  Karl and Brandon took a big load of stuff down for us.  Then they came back and got us and a ton more stuff.  I love the beach, but there is nothing relaxing or easy about going to the beach with little ones!  By the time we were suncreened, had the cabana set up, had the umbrella set up, had the little inflatable pool blown up and filled up, and had everything else where it needed to be, I was beyond worn out!  Karl, Cooper, Brandon, and Brady headed for the water while Stephanie, Paxton, and I sat down to just breathe for a minute.  And that's when we noticed the really black storm clouds rolling in.  They got closer and darker and more threatening by the second.  When I saw other mamas start calling their families in, I decided to follow their lead.  As the boys came in, the wind really started to pick up.  Then came the thunder and some lightening.  We decided that Steph and I would get the kids and the beach bags (which were very full and very heavy) and go while the men gathered everything else.  By this time, umbrellas were flying and people were starting to stampede off the beach.  Keep in mind, this all happened within a couple minutes though.  We of course weren't stationed close to the stairs to get off the beach.  That was the longest, hardest walk of my life!  Between the sand, the bag, and Cooper (and the urgency to get off the beach), my muscles were burning all over!  At least we got a little beach time and some cute pictures before the storm hit!  After that day, we never took as much stuff to the beach again!  LESSON LEARNED!

Cooper hated the sand.  If he was wet and it stuck to him, he would come unglued.
Thankfully, I had packed baby powder in our pool bag to get the sand off him.
He went around sprinkling baby powder on everything that had sand on it!

See those dark clouds?

Saturday night, Brandon't aunt and cousins came over to babysit so the four adults could go out.  The boys were already asleep when we left, so were able to just go and relax.  

Funny story-We asked a couple to take our picture.  We quickly realized they were heavily intoxicated.  Very nice though, and very talkative.  The man decided he wanted to be in our picture too.  At that point, I was panicking inside over the woman, who was the drunker of the two, handling my camera!

At dinner, I started feeling a lot of pressure in my face.  Then I started sneezing.  Then my head started aching.  Then I knew my words from earlier in the week were coming back to bite me.  It wasn't Karl who was going to be sick all week with Cooper's whatever-virus.  It was me--the ex-teacher with a self-proclaimed immune system of steel.  However, as all you mamas out there know, we don't get to be sick ever, especially on vacation when your child is still sick.  I got sicker and sicker as the week went on.  The pressure in my head would get so intense that I thought I was going to faint.  The most frustrating part was that I couldn't taste anything!  I had been looking so forward to the seafood and yummy fruity drinks.  I had zero taste though.  Zip, zero, nada!  That alone made me want to cry!  

This thing had to have tasted great!  It sure was pretty!

I felt beyond terrible, and so did Cooper.  He couldn't sleep, so we didn't sleep, and we just stayed sick and grumpy all week.  Cooper was beyond terrible everywhere we went.  I was so embarrassed.  Karl and I didn't know what to do.  We considered just coming home.  I felt like we were ruining the trip for Stephanie and her family because we literally couldn't do anything without Cooper having ridiculous temper tantrums.  Oh, those tantrums were TERRIBLE!  Karl and I didn't get to eat a single meal together.  We would tag team watching Cooper while the other one ate and took a quick break because Cooper would not even sit at the table for 5 minutes without having a meltdown.  

Our one and only family picture from the trip

Cooper pretending to chainsaw the wall with his fork at dinner.

This picture sums up how I felt!

While I ate one night, Karl took Cooper to play in the fountain.  In his diaper.

But then the diaper got too saggy, so Karl took off the diaper and put his shorts back on.  So, our son was playing and peeing in a public fountain diaper-less. We're classy and we know it.

The golf cart was Cooper's favorite thing about the trip.  In fact, he would cry for it when he wasn't in it.  

It was the hardest week of parenting Karl and I have had.  And most of it was our fault.  Cooper was so overtired and the pack and play just wasn't working for him.  In hindsight, we should have stayed home so that he could get the rest he needed, but until I got sick, I had no idea just how bad he felt.  My sweet cousin was so helpful and patient though.  She and Brandon never got frustrated or bothered by our screaming, crying, coughing, sneezing, whining, high maintenance family.  They are so wonderful and their two boys are so precious.  

About a week after we got home, I talked to my grandmother on the phone one day.  She said Stephanie had told her all about the trip and said that it was one of the best trips she'd ever been on and they had such a great time.  I laughed to myself.  Sweet Stephanie would say that.  She didn't tell her that my child acted like a spoiled, undisciplined maniac all week or that I was grumpy or that we had to leave every place we went because my family was out of control!  

You've been wondering where I've been, haven't you?

Hello again!  It's been awhile, quite awhile! We've been so busy playing, swimming, going to the beach, celebrating birthdays, getting ready for "school," practicing using the potty, and just growing up!  This mama has felt very stretched thin this summer, but we have so enjoyed these precious days.  I have a lot of catching up to do, and I will do it...soon, but Little Man just got up from his nap, so I'm off to have our daily popsicle date.  Until later, here is a snapshot of what we've been up to!

Just wanted everyone to know that we are alive and well...and exhausted from the past two months!

p.s. Thank you, Meg, for checking on us! :)

Play Dough--From Scratch

Hello Rain!  It is soooo nice of you to visit today!  We were hoping you would come soon, as we got our water bill in the mail the other day.  It wasn't pretty.

When we woke up to the sound of thunder this morning and an overcast sky, I actually breathed a sigh of relief and thought, "Maybe, maybe, it will rain."  And then it did.  Whew.  A much needed light rain has been with us off-and-on all day, and it has been so nice.  However, rainy days have the potential to be very boring, so as soon as the rain started falling, I started brainstorming things we could do inside.  

A few weeks ago on a particularly hot day that kept us inside, my Little Man and I made play dough.  I need to give a little background info on myself before I continue though.  Play dough is one of my least favorite things.  It always has, and still does, completely gross me out.  It stinks.  It's sticky.  It makes a mess.  In fact, I remember as a little girl, I would not go over to a friend's house anymore after she made me play with it.  Even when I taught kindergarten, I did not have it in my classroom.  My poor students were deprived of the creativity and enjoyment that goes along with play dough! I know it's good for little ones to play with.  It's good for fine motor development.  It builds creativity.  And supposedly it's fun.  When I found a recipe on Pinterest for homemade play dough, it intrigued me, and I decided we would try it, for Cooper's sake.  This has turned out to be mine and Cooper's new favorite thing! I like it because it doesn't stink (in fact, it smells really good!), it isn't sticky (more like modeling clay than typical play dough), and it's edible (although I doubt it tastes very good). Cooper loves it too, and it has held his attention longer than any other craft/special activity I've done with him.  We have cookie cutters, different sized containers, rulers, and other little things we use with it.  A favorite has been the tips to my icing bag.  We use them like stamps, and they leave neat shapes in the dough. We have played and played and played with this stuff!

Smelling, not eating.  In fact, he hasn't yet eaten any!

I love the way he sticks the tip of his tongue 
out when he's concentrating! 

When I saw the rain this morning, I decided it was time for some more play dough!  We still have our original blue play dough, and I bought a box of strawberry jello at the store the other day for red.  This stuff is so easy to make, and one of the reasons I like this recipe is because Coop can help me make it.  I love activities where kids are part of the whole thing!  

This was the only picture I could get of Cooper playing with his
play dough today, but it is a cute one!

For whatever reason, Cooper likes to pretend the play dough is a
band aid and put it on his "boo-boos" (which are also pretend)

Sadie enjoys eating it off the floor while we play.
It's a win-win for all!

My little buddy and me this morning: 

This little boy is my heart!

Play dough recipe:

• warm water – 1 cup
• white flour – 1 cup
• salt – 2 tbsp
• cream of tartar – 2 tbsp
• cooking oil – 2 tbsp
• Jello – 3 oz package (I buy the store brand jello)

Mix all of the ingredients together in a small saucepan.  

Cook over medium heat, stirring continuously until it thickens into a ball of dough.  This step takes a few minutes.  You'll know it's ready when you won't be able to stir anymore!

Once it has finished cooking, place the dough onto a floured surface and wait for it to cool some.

Once it is cool enough to handle, knead it, adding in flour until it is no longer sticky (I usually end up using at least a cup).  

When you are finished playing, store in the refrigerator in an airtight container (I put ours in a baggy and a container).  It will keep for at least a few weeks in the refrigerator.  If at any time it starts to be a little sticky, just add more flour!