You know you're a Texan when...

...you are totally comfortable to go through your day in a cowboy hat

5 Years

Happy 5th anniversary to my husband!




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Thumbs Up Thursday

Thumbs Up for Fooducate!  Today I had lunch with three of my best friends from growing up, Stephanie, Emily and Christy (pictures to come as long as Stephanie sends them, no pressure).  Along with lots of laughs and catching up, we learned about this super fabo app from Christy.  While I haven't been to the grocery store with it, I came home and immediately invaded my pantry and fridge.  So what's is all about?  You scan the bar code of almost any food item and Fooducate immediately pulls up all of the hidden details about the product - what makes it good, what makes it bad, hidden ingredients that might not be so good for you, etc.  It grades the product and even gives a list of similar products that are much better for you.  WOW!  What an app!  So, of course, I scanned the foods I've been giving Harps on a regular basis.  Who would have thought Nabisco Graham Crackers would have earned a C+ because they contain hidden trans-fats???  So while I'm grocery shopping, I can now easily find products that are more natural with better ingredients.  Thanks Christy for the great tip!

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Stricken with Roseola

After 3 days of a low grade fever, (which I was attributing to the molar that appeared out of nowhere) Harper woke up with this rash covering her torso and neck.




I had a minor freak out and Saturday visit to Dr. Neheisel only to be told, "Don't worry, it's roseola. The majority of children get it before they turn 4".

So we now have a child with a rash that's spread to her face, two half front teeth, two full bottom teeth and one molar. She's looking a little like a rotting Halloween pumpkin but don't worry, she's not contagious anymore!

Harper Live

Just a couple of clips of Harper lately. She loves looking at herself on the iPhone or iPad now that you can watch yourself on screen. I, personally, hate watching myself but this little girl loves it! And the babble is almost constant when we're at home or in the car. She's starting to perfect her walking skills. While Jared and I watched football today, she made loops between the two arm chairs, the ottoman and the couch practicing for about 45 minutes. There's still some balance issues but for some of us (um, or just me) these issues never really go away.

Thumbs Up Thursday

Thumbs Up for last night's premiere of NBC's "Up All Night"!  I'm not sure if everyone will find this show as funny as I did but if you've had a baby in the last couple of years, I am willing to bet you will.  I'm wondering if NBC planted microphones in my house over the last year???  Seriously.  There are some word for word conversations that I swear took place in the Meabon household.  And not to mention that both Maya Rudolph and Christina Applegate are two of my Hollywood BFFs....but that's a-whole-nother post in and of itself.  So my advice is to try and catch the pilot and then set your DVR for Wednesdays at 8/7c.

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Thumbs Up Thursday - Pumpkin Edition

We've finally dropped below the 100 degree mark and fall is in the air!  I love the fall, the cool weather and the excitement that the season brings.  With the morning lows in the 60s this week, I am in the mood.  I dedicate this Thumbs Up to you, fall season!

Thumbs Up for Starbuck's Pumpkin Spice Latte.  Welcome back old friend!  I know fall is here when the PSL is back on the menu.  Although my order has the decaf thrown in the mix, the tasty goodness is still the same. Grande Decaf Pumpkin Spice Latte Skinny, No Whip please!

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Thumbs Up for the pumpkin decoration explosion on Pinterest.  I'm still trying to decide which of these pumpkins I will attempt to recreate and adorn the Meabon doorstep with.  Any preferences?

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Thumbs Up for Gayle Skelton's Famous Pumpkin Dip!  Gayle is a dear friend of mine who is amazingly talented in the entertainment department.  In our Four Seasons days together, Gayle marked the begninning of fall by bringing my favorite fall culinary treat into the office.  This is a must as we kick off the fall season!

Pumpkin Dip

Ingredients:

(2) 8 oz cream cheese
15 oz can of pumpkin
(2) cup powdered sugar
(1) Tsp cinnamon
(1) Tsp ginger
 

Whip and serve with ginger snaps.

Thumbs Up for the return of football season!  Here we go Steelers, here we go (clap, clap)!!!!

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And Wreck 'em Tech!!!

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A Marriage Crisis

I have my husband's full discretion as I write this blog post but this story must be recorded for future reference. It made us laugh so hard it brought tears to our eyes.

So you might have heard that pregnancy brings on a number of symptoms, including but not limited to a very sensitive sense of smell, a strangely reactive gag reflex, extreme hormones resulting in very fast mood swings and flatulence.  When these all converge at the same time, it can make for a very unpleasant household.

Over the last two weeks, Jared started experiencing unusual flatulence.  At first, I thought it was sympathy flatulence.  You know, some men gain weight during their wives' pregnancies?  Well, I thought Jared was passing gas as a result of his wife's pregnancy.  But when I say gas, I don't just mean your random man-fart.  Like the ones that happen every morning on cue when said husband makes his way to the bathroom for the morning release of the bladder.  These were knock-your-socks-off, hanging-in-the-air-for-hours, smelling-of-nuclear-waste-and-rotten-eggs gas.  B.A.D.

Now, couple said flatulence with the afore mentioned gag reflex, sensitivity to smell and raging hormones and there were some, um, interesting words exchanged in our household.  I might or might not have threatened to sleep in the guest bedroom, accused someone of intentionally causing me "pain and discomfort", kicked my husband out of the room I was occupying for a two hour separation period and been on the verge of tears a few times.  I admit, a little dramatic on my end, but I was dying!

I'm laying in bed one night after one of my four wake up calls due to my bladder, pondering what could have caused this sudden change in my husband.  Why would his bowels suddenly be hijacked by the San Antonio Sewage Department?  And could this horrible turn of events eventually be the end of our marriage as we now know it???  I was picturing having to buy two houses next door to each other and waving to one another as we came and went.  What a sad, sad future we had ahead of us!  I tried breaking it down, day by day.  What had caused such a horrible change?  What had gone wrong?

And it suddenly hit me.  So remember how I mentioned the sympathy weight gain earlier that some husbands go through?  Jared always does the opposite during my pregnancies.  He goes into workout overload and becomes rippling muscles and bulging bicepts as I become one, large, fat blimp.  A couple of weeks ago, Jared asked me to start buying him egg whites so that he could pack more protein in his diet.  What I didn't realize was that he was drinking the eggs....raw.  Ugh!  Now granted, I was buying pasteurized egg whites, greatly reducing his risk of salmonella.

So yesterday as we were out running errands, we have the following conversation:

Me:  "So I've been thinking..."
Jared:  "Uh oh.  What?"
Me:  "About this gas issue"
Jared:  "I'm sorry bubs!  I know its bad!"
Me:  "Do you think it might have anything to do with the raw egg whites?"
Jared:  "Hmmm, maybe.  I actually wondered the same thing myself.  Look it up."

As Jared drives, I proceed to look up "gas + raw egg whites" on my iPhone.  Low and behold, look at what I found on www.bodybuilding.com!!!

"I know you all want to be like Rocky and drink down the raw eggs but it won't be a good idea (he goes on to mention some down sides of drinking raw eggs).  The last thing you have to watch out for is the foul disgusting stench that will follow you around like you were concealing a New York sewer in your back pocket. The gas that you will get from doing raw eggs will keep you lonely many a nights, that is a guarantee. Your wives will be kicking you out of bed and you will be spending the night with your dog but even he won't be able to stay with you for long. Believe me it will be so bad you won't know what happened. To make things worse because of the sulfur content in the eggs the gas you have will not only be among the foulest things you have ever smelled, but it will linger forever. You will lay one on and twenty minutes later you will go back in the room and it will still be there. Believe me, your wife will leave you, your kids will disown you and even Fido will not want your companionship anymore. Not only that but in high doses the sulfur smell will even come out in your sweat. All around it's not a pretty scene especially for all your loved ones. Hey, you may like your own brand like Fat Bastard said in Austin Powers but believe me no one else will. So to keep the marriage in tact, and your kids still wanting you to show up at their baseball games, cook your eggs don't drink them."

Ta-da!  As you can imagine, not only were we laughing our faces off but we came to the conclusion that there will be no further raw egg white consumption in our household.  Marriage saved!  Thank you Anthony from Body Building.  And may I please share with you a picture of Anthony Ricciuto the World Deadlifting Champion/Marriage Counselor?

simply awesome

Numero Dos's Photo Session

We had our visit with Dr. Gordon and Dr. Higby, our perinatologists on Friday for the initial check on Numero Dos.  In Dr. Gordon's words, "Everything looks perfect."  May I present to you, Numero Dos!

They did the nuchal translucency screening and all looked good.  We're having them do the additional blood testing and we'll go back at 18 weeks for the anatomy scan.  So far, all is well and there are no signs of omphalocele or anything else at this point.

Now to be quite honest, I really feel like this time around, if something abnormal comes up, yes we will be sad but I don't think it would be as devastating as our initial news about Harper was.  For Harper's outlook to have been so negative and for us to now have the amazing daughter we have, I know that God is totally, 100% in control.  I find it hard to pray that this baby will be 100% healthy and born without flaw because I am so grateful for the "flaws" that Harper was born with.  Not only do I know that they made us better parents but I know that they strengthened our marriage.  My prayers tend to be more that this baby will be perfect for our family.  That we will learn and grow with this baby like we did with Harper but in different ways.  Maybe that's just the consequence of having a child born under abnormal circumstances but I don't expect perfection.  Knowing what I know through the experience the last year brought, I will love this child regardless of any "imperfections" it might have and will love those imperfections with all of my heart. 

I don't know if I'll be able to go into a check-up or even through delivery without expecting to hear some kind of news that things aren't totally "normal" but I don't feel anxious or scared about these feelings.  They are more matter-of-fact.  Chances are, we'll sail through this pregnancy and know what it's like to bring home a baby that's just days old.  Actually, that scares me more than anything!  I don't have a clue about what to do with a newborn!  

I wonder, do you other mothers of babies born under abnormal circumstances, whether it's a birth defect, prematurely or anything else, find this to be true???

13 Months + 1 Day

 

So they stopped making the t-shirt stickers at 12 months but since the Squirrel is still changing so much from month to month, I'm going to try to keep up these monthly updates.  We took full advantage of Labor Day weekend so my post is one day short but good thing since we have a big development in the last 24 hours.

Harps has started walking!  Well, it's more like stumbling, lunging and having her parents throw their hands in front of whatever object her face is careening towards.  We've been working pretty hard on this milestone and the girl was taking 3-5 steps between Jared and me .  But yesterday she was holding onto a piece of furniture, let go and made her first self-attempt at walking towards Jared.  As you can imagine, the cheers started instantly and I'm sure the neighbors must think we're really excited about the US Open with all of the excitement in our household.  Over the last 24 hours, we're still working on the walking and, although she resembles a drunk elf, I can officially say we have movement people!

Those two pesky top teeth finally popped in so we have a total of four teeth.

You'd think the lack of teeth would slow a girl down but our child is an incinerator!  She eats non-stop, has massive meals to the point that I think her little pot belly is going to pop open and now, when she sees one of her parents break out a snack, she scrambles over and opens her mouth like a little bird waiting to be fed.  Bad habit, yes, but how are we to resist that sweet little face?

Harps is a sleeping champion.  She goes down between 6:30pm - 7pm and sleeps uninterrupted until 7am.  She takes one nap a day from noon until 2:30pm or 3pm.

She's really into balls, books, anything with buttons, opening and closing doors and drawers, loves getting out of the house (and now that its down in the 90's, we hope to be doing alot more of this), has started dancing all of the time, likes her babies that make noises, especially when she can push a button to set the noise off and loves going through purses and bags.

She babbles non-stop when she's at home or in the car but it really doesn't have any meaning.    I'm working rigorously on naming and repeating everything but no such luck.  Everything is still "Uhhh, uhhh, uhhhh".  Come on Harper - I assume Harvard is going to need to hear you speak for your admissions interview.  She'll go directly towards the word I say but there is absolutely no repeating it or mimicking it.  Well, unless its Dadadadada.  She LOVES her Dadadada.

Harps has gotten REALLY affectionate in the last month.  She hugs and gives kisses randomly throughout the day.  Her kisses are still big open mouth kisses but they come at the most unexpected time, she'll pause what she's doing, lift her head to yours, open up her mouth and just wait until you kiss her back.  Then she'll repeat this about 3-4 times and move along.  Just melts a momma's heart!

We started Harper in the day school at church twice a week to get her good and socialized before Numero Dos comes along.  The school is incredible, fully accredited and one of the larger pre-schools in the area.  Ideally, we would have liked to start her at 17-18 months but I had to get in line to sign up at 5am on a February morning and got one of the last spots in her class!  We would have had to wait until the following school year to start her so she is officially the youngest child in the entire school.  The first day was a little rough but she's really adjusting quickly and just has tears when we drop her off in the mornings.  The teachers have commented what a sweet child she is and that she's one of the best eaters and nappers in the class...imagine that!

With Daddy on the first day, both looking a little overwhelmed

Meeting one of the teachers, Ms. Nellie

Happy 13 months Squirrely Whirl!

Snacktime

Someone in our house has clearly come to understand "snack" and recognize her favorites. This might be one of those videos that's boring to everyone else but hey, I'm her mom and if I think it's shareable, dang it, I'm gonna share.

Thumbs Up Thursday

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Thumbs Up for one of my new favorite local sites Little Daily Planner.  Sorry, non-San Antonio residents, this one is SA only.  This great resource has a weekly calendar of activities happening each day for kids.  Click on a link that interests you and you get all of the details for that activity - location, cost, recommended ages.  I take a look at the beginning of the week to see if there any must do activities for The Squirrel. 

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Thumbs Up for Crock Pots.  I guess these suckers are all the rage these days for my generation.  The Crock Pot Girls are making a huge splash in the social networking world.  I liked them on Facebook earlier last week along with 145,000 of my closest FB friends and they are about to hit the 1 million mark!  I see a cookbook in their future...or at least a really good PR agency.  I typically only break the crock pot out for the occassional Fat A%@ Dip or SuperBowl Soiree but they swear that all parts to a meal can be crocked and it makes life much easier on moms trying to put a hot meal on the table.  So I'm giving the ol' crock pot a whirl tonight and I'll let you know if it stands up to its reputation.  I didn't get my recipe from The CPGs but instead from this blog via Mrs. Boo Arnold.  And yes, I reverted back to the 1950's way of addressing your friends in honor of you dear crock pot (even though you were a 1970's creation).

And since it got a mention, here's the recipe for Betsy Nameth's world famous Fat A%@ Dip:

Ingredients:

Three 8 oz. Packages of Cream Cheese (I prefer full fat, hence the name of the recipe)

2 cans Rotel

One roll of Jimmy Dean Sage Sausage

One roll of Jimmy Dean Regular Sausage (I've also used Spicy and its equally as delicious)

Brown the sausage, drain and set aside.  Melt cream cheese and add two cans of Rotel.  Don't drain the Rotel.  Melt together and stirl.  Add sausage and crock pot until hot. 

Easy and fantastic!

I receive no compensation for these reviews - I just like the products!