Tales of a Crafty Mama

30 days of gratefulness :: 24

Just a quick one - I am super tired + my cozy bed is waiting...

Today I am grateful that my little Elliot is home safe and sound. We had to take another trip to the ER this afternoon because of breathing trouble and I thought for sure that we were going to have to spend the night there. But thankfully after a little medication and breathing treatments, and four hours of observation, he was given the okay to sleep in his own bed tonight. Which, of course, also means that I get to sleep in my own bed too!

{Thank you, Lord, for once again keeping my baby safe and giving me the wisdom to take him in when he needed it.}

What are you grateful for today?

you know it is going to be a long day when...

                            

      Your one year old is ready for his first nap before 7:30am

and

it is currently only 8:00am and your three year old has already (all initiated by her):

painted with two different kinds of paint

played with stickers + paper

colored with markers

written with chalk

and is now playing with playdough (which thankfully has kept her occupied for 10 minutes now-apparently she is making "sandwiches").

We have been stuck in the house all week with sick Mr. Elliot and we are obviously getting some cabin fever! I'm thinking a quick little Starbucks run later today might be good for all of us...

 {photo via A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words}

a lovely quote seen on my Starbucks cup yesterday

"The good mother is a great artist ever creating beauty out of chaos."

- Alice Randall

P.S. I was drinking a pumpkin spice latte- my current favorite. Believe it or not, I never liked them before this year and now I am kind of addicted!

{Photo credits via Flickr: 1. love, 2. We called it 'Fort Happiness', 3. lunch, 4. feet, 5. summer is..., 6. Farmer's Market in the Kitchen, 7. First day without tights :), 8. a new toy, 9. pentax.3}

a little update on Mr. Elliot

Thank you all so much for your sweet thoughts and prayers for Mr. Elliot! He is doing so much better! At his follow-up doctor's appointment yesterday, his doctor was shocked that:

01. He was in the hospital at all.

02. That he was in the hospital for something other than his weight- which is still pretty low for his age and height (just a little over 19 pounds).

03. That the team in the ER did not give him oxygen when he first got there- his levels were definitely low enough.

I had wondered the same thing- why they didn't give him oxygen at the hospital. But all I can say is that God completely took care of my boy. I am so thankful that He kept Elliot safe and that He gave Erik and I the wisdom to take him in. So, so thankful.

So for now, the doctor wants us to finish out the medication they gave us at the hospital (some kind of steriod), and continue using the Nebulizer, slowly weaning Elliot off of it. She wants to see us again next week, just to make sure that he does not have another flare-up after the medication wears off- which I guess happens a lot. She agreed with the hospital doctor- she does not want to call it asthma...yet. However, she definitely thinks that Elliot is a potential canidate for asthma- both my dad and his cousin had or have it, I have always had bad allergies, and he had a bad case of eczema last winter...which are all related to each other. I am praying that he does not get a full-blown case of it though. He is such an active little guy- he desperately (we desperately!) need him to be able to play sports as he gets older- something to use up all crazy energy in a positive way!- and I would hate to see him have to sit out of things because of asthma. 

I am closing with a link to Elliot and my special song. I wanted to find an actual video of it to post here, but I there wasn't one. This song has made me think of Mister ever since the very first time I heard it, and whenever it comes on, I always stop what I'm doing and go dance with him. 

Here it is: Elizabeth Mitchell's: Little Sack of Sugar (you have to click on the song title to hear it play) 

weekend change of plans...

 

{Me +Mr. Elliot on Audrey's 3rd birthday} 

After a long day on Friday dealing with a sick Mr. Elliot and an over-tired Miss Audrey, my plan for the evening was to put the kids to bed and to hang out with my friends over at the shower blog. But that was not to be...

My poor little Elliot got really sick Friday night. He had been dealing with a cold ever since late Wednesday- runny nose, fever, no appetite, the usual. But about an hour after he went to bed on Friday, he woke up crying and then threw up. Erik and I started mentally preparing ourselves for what we thought would follow: a long night with a pukey kid, followed by a long weekend because once one kid throws up, you know the other is bound to follow suit. 

He threw up again shortly after we had cleaned him up from the first round. I quickly put his beloved blankie in the wash, and sweet, sweet Audrey offered to share hers until Elliot was clean again. He cannot sleep without his blankie, yet for some reason in a pinch, Audrey's will suffice.

After we cleaned him up a second time, we noticed that his breathing was not normal. He was really laboring to breathe- he was grunting a lot, taking short, rapid breaths, and his stomach stuck out with each breath because he was using those muscles to help himself breathe. We decided to take him in to the emergency room- we were definitely worried, but I honestly didn't realize how bad it was. I thought that we would just go in there and they would confirm that he had a bad cold and tell me that he was okay. I really think that God in His grace just kept me from really realizing how sick Elliot was, because if I had known, I certainly would have gotten much more worried and scared.

I took Elliot in to hospital (a half an hour drive away) and Erik stayed home with Audrey. I was so surprised when we got into a room and the nurse told me that his oxygen levels were low. I guess the normal range (for both children and adults) is between 90-100. Elliot's was 85- not super low, but low enough to treat, and definitely low enough to confirm that it was very good that I had brought him in. 

Our quick trip to the emergency room quickly turned into about four hours in the ER and another 14 in an actual hospital room. The doctor on call wanted to keep Elliot overnight even after his breathing was stabilized, just to make sure that he didn't have another flare up and so that he could have more breathing treatments with a nebulizer. I was completely unprepared for an overnight stay in the hospital- no change of clothes, no diapers (which of course they have there), no contact stuff or glasses, no snacks...Needless to say it was a very long Friday night and Saturday.

Elliot, understandably, wanted absolutely nothing to do with the hospital crib, so I held him for pretty much the entire 18 hours we were at the hospital- minus a few bathroom breaks. I didn't get much sleep at all, of course, but thankfully he was at least able to sleep a little in my arms. My sweet sister-in-law brought me a snack Saturday morning, as well as a much needed diet Coke, but other than that, it was just me and Elliot the entire time. While I loved being able to spend some much needed one-on-one time with my little man, I wish it could have been a more of a fun date, like this one!

Finally, late yesterday afternoon, I was able to bring my little Mister home. We were sent home with some medicine, as well as our very own nebulizer. The doctor on call did not want to call Elliot's breathing episode on Friday night asthma- at Elliot's age they want to see more episodes before they label it that. And the chest x-ray on Friday turned up not to be pneumonia. So the final diagnosis was that it was just some labored breathing brought on by a really bad cold. I am just so grateful to be home and that my sweet boy is okay!

Today, he was completely back to himself- running around the house, terrorizing his big sister, and standing up on the coffee table dancing. In fact, I actually think that he felt better than anyone else- Audrey has a cold, Erik has a cold, and I am still recovering from not sleeping on Friday night. I actually went to bed at 8:30pm last night, which anyone who knows me is insanely early for this night owl! And then I took two naps today...

Thank you all for your sweet thoughts and prayers- I know several of you heard about our little hospital stay via the shower blog or facebook - we appreciated them all so much.

such a little boy

For seemingly forever I have tried to get Elliot to read with me. But the boy does not sit still! He is constantly, constantly moving and therefore reading together has been pretty much impossible.

Then today he discovered this book: My First Truck Board Book- a random book in our collection that we picked up when Audrey went through a very short-lived "I love trucks" phase around 20 months. The boy is in love. The first time we read it together he literally sat on my lap for almost half an hour, flipping through the pages, pointing and talking. And he has carried the book around with him all day! I love how little boyish he is- he loves cars and trucks and wheels and getting dirty. And I am so excited that we have finally found a book to read together!

a date with my girl

Yesterday my almost three year old daughter got her very first haircut. We never planned on waiting three years- I mean, geesh, Elliot has already had like five haircuts and he is only 14 months old! (Speaking of which, I really need to post some photos of his haircuts...) But for some reason we just let it get longer and longer and longer. I loved the ponytails and the braids and of course, the little buns. Those were an Audrey staple the past couple of years. But it was time. Her hair was getting more and more tanglely and it was getting harder and harder to pull those long locks into the cute little buns I loved so much.

So I made an appointment at my salon and yesterday was the big day! I think that I was probably more nervous than she was. She insisted on taking today's favorites inside with her: chapstick, my bottle of my B&B hand sanitizer, and (no joke) a candle stuck inside a toliet paper tube. We went inside and Natalie, my hair stylist, got her set up in the chair, using an old vintage blue suitcase as a booster seat. And bye bye went almost six inches! I surprised myself- I thought that since I cannot take risks with my hair, I might not be able to with my kids' either, but I guess I can. In fact, I even asked Natalie to go a little shorter than she had wanted to.

Miss Audrey kept a stone face the entire time that she was getting it cut. I could tell that she was not afraid, but beyond that I wasn't sure what she was thinking. But as soon as Natalie was all done, she jumped up and started laughing and smiling and talking nonstop and looking and looking at herself in the big mirror. She loves it. And I do too.

 

Pre-cut at home yesterday morning. Totally blurry picture, but it was impossible to get her to sit still.

Pre-haircut at the salon. Can you believe how long it was?

The first cut. A little unsure about the whole thing.

A little bit more. Still stone-faced. I, however, was beaming behind the camera. Doesn't she look adorable?

And one more shot of the finished back...

 After the haircut, we had a little date planned. I took Audrey to one of my favorite little cafes and we had lunch together, lesuirely taking our time to eat and chat. It was so fun! Then we headed to the scrapbook store to pick up some purple cardstock for her upcoming purple birthday party. After that we stopped at the grocery store to pick up cookies and grapes for a bbq we were headed to later in the day, as well as a few "back to school supplies"- construction paper, popsicle sticks, stickers, and lined writing paper. And last but not least, a quick stop at our beloved library to drop off a couple dvds. It was such a special treat to get to spend the whole afternoon with just my girl. No interruptions. We definitely need to do it more often.

Picking at her lunch. She was humoring me, eating just enough so that she could have her promised soda and brownie.

Giggling about something!

Our yummy lunch- Chinese chicken salad

Audrey's lollypop from the salon, saved on a napkin during lunch

The long-awaited soda in hand

She really, really enjoyed it!

Our amazing brownie

One last bite...

my girl *hearts* purple

Photo via marthastewart.com

Ever since she was about 14 months old, Audrey has shown a very clear preference for the color purple. It has grown to include the color pink, but her first love remains purple. I find the purple passion kind of ironic because it is one of my least favorite colors, therefore, I never really dressed her in it when she was a baby. Yet somehow, somewhere, she discovered purple and fell in love.

Of course, now I encourage it. I love that she has a "favorite" and how she always reminds me of it, just in case I have forgotten. "Pink and purple are my favorite colors," she tells me multiple times a day.

Audrey's third birthday is coming up next month and inspired by this, I have decided to give her a purple themed birthday party! Even though I much prefer pink or green or blue or yellow...to purple, I can't wait to see my girl's face light up when she sees the purple wonderland I will create for her. She is going to be beyond thrilled.

However, I need some help from you, my dear readers. I have tons of ideas for decorations and favors, but not so many for food beyond grape-based things- jam, the fruit, juice...Can you think of any other purple foods that I could serve? I would appreciate your imput so much!

random things on my mind today

 

I do still love to scrapbook. This last year it has just been a constant struggle to find the time/energy to do it. But now that Elliot is a little older and officially not sleeping in our room, I am rediscovering how much I love paper and glue. That coupled with the fact that I finally, finally have a friend to scrapbook with! My dear friend Courtney and I have been getting together every couple of weeks at a local coffeeshop and scrapbooking together. It is a super fun way to get to know each other better and have a little time away from the kids and create! I treasure our little dates so much. I made this card when we met last Friday night. (Sidenote: I used one of this sweet friend's yo-yo's- currently one of my favorite embellishments. You can buy them in her Etsy shop).

Thank you for all the encouragement regarding our (gulp) mouse situation. I have seriously never been so grossed out in my life. I know that almost every one deals with them at one time or another, but this was my first time and I was not a happy camper. It all started with the random stashes of rice we found on Saturday morning in Elliot's dresser drawer (yuck, yuck, yuck). Then on Saturday night we found the evidence of the big party the little stinkers had thrown while we had been in Montana in my pantry. Thank you, thank you to my sweet mother-in-law who spent hours cleaning up that disaster with me. After locating a couple of other spots they had been, I think we have somewhat "dealt" with the problem...hopefully. And thank goodness that even though there was evidence that they were in our room, they did not raid my patterned paper or fabric. Whew.

But the animals were not done with us! On Sunday night, Erik almost got attacked by a random Cockatiel in our front yard who had obviously escaped from some neighbors or something. Yesterday afternoon I arrived home to a baby pig huddled by our garage, from another neighbor we're assuming. Remember, we do live in the country...Then this morning, Erik opened the front door to see the biggest beetle I have ever seen- and I have traveled in both the Philippines and Mexico! It was seriously the size of one of our little mice...What the heck is going on around here lately!? Have I mentioned that I am totally not an animal person? This is crazy!

On a completely different note, my little Elliot has been really sick lately. He came down with it right before our vacation and it has continued for the last couple of weeks. He acts okay most of the time, but something in his body is not right because, well, he has to go to the bathroom a lot. I took him in to the doctor right after we got back from Montana and found out that he had lost a pound, which is not good because the boy does not have any weight to spare! The doctor gave me a dietary supplement to add to his food to pack on the calories. We went to see her again yesterday- he has put on 1/2 pound since Friday (putting him at a whopping 18 pounds), but he is still pooping a lot. They are doing some tests now to see what's up because 15 days is too long for just a normal virus. Tonight I noticed that he is getting some big molars, so part of me is wondering if maybe he had a virus at first, and now he is just reacting to teething. I don't know. I would appreciate your prayers though!  

I had a fun little late night date with Erik tonight. We went out after 9:00pm- so late!- to dinner and a drive through one of our favorite local neighborhoods, dreaming of living there someday when we can afford to buy a house. Can I just tell you how much I love hanging out with my man? Even when it is way past his bedtime and he chooses to drink diet Coke instead of beer in order to stay awake on our date, he is still my favorite person to be with.

I am currently obsessed with eating Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds for breakfast.

I missed playgroup this week because of Elliot's doctor's appointment, but can I just tell you how excited I was to hear that my friends sewed while the kids played? Seriously made me so happy.

My kids have been napping at the same time in the afternoon lately which means that I get lunch to myself and a short nap. Bliss. I have decided that if the opportunity to take a nap presents itself, I have to jump on it. A happy, rested mama is much more important than a spotless house.

Oh, my goodness! Did I forget to tell you that we got a new car? Well, actually it is a...minivan. Yes, I totally have a real mama car and I am not the least bit embarassed of it. I am actually quite in love with it.

Oh, geesh. Here I am again, staying up way too late. I better sign off. Hope you are all having a happy week!

the Mother's Day post

Hello dear friends. And happy late Mother's Day to all of you mamas!  We are still waiting for our new computer to arrive, but I have posts galore written in my head (including my very late May Ten on Ten that I actually participated in but haven't gotten around to posting...) so while Miss Audrey is napping, Elliot and I have snuck upstairs to the in-laws computer to do a little blogging. We'll see how much I can get written before Audrey wakes up or Elliot gets tired of playing with his cars and blocks...

The past few weeks I have been reading selections from one of my favorite parenting books before I go to sleep: Mitten Strings For God by Katrina Kenison. I love that book so much. It doesn't seem to matter how bad of day I have had, reading a little of this sweet book of essays on being a mother always lifts my spirit and gives me strength to be a better mama. I always find myself nodding my head in agreement to Kenison's lovely writing- she so beautifully captures in words what my heart is feeling. If you are a mama and have not yet read this, please do! Don't be swayed by the cheesy title...

Anyway, last night I reread her final chapter called "Wingbeats" and I cried because again her words echoed my heart. The past few weeks have been hard as far as parenting goes- a combination of a 2 1/2 year old going on 14, my post-partum crazy hormones, and one very active little boy who is thisclose to walking. Yet as hard as the days can be, I still get weepy when I think about how very fast these days with my babies are going. I want to treasure each and every moment, but it is so easy to get caught up in getting through the day and not savor time with them. So I find myself clinging to their babyhood, willing them in my heart, in my prayers to stay young, to not grow up, while at the same time delighting in their newfound skills and growing personalities. Oh, being a mama is such an emotional thing, isn't it?

Here are Kenison's words from "Wingbeats" (I have bolded the sections I really loved):

Just when I figure out how to mother a kindergartner, it seems, I have a first-grader standing before me instead. I have just learned how to love and live with a nine-year-old when the nine-year-old vanishes, leaving a preadolescent in his place. They don't stay still long enough for me to have my fill of them ever, at any stage. "Stop!" I want to shout. "Let's just do it this way for a while, let's stay right here." But the movement is inexorable- up and out, away, into the future. I remember how I felt driving to the hospital to give birth to my first son, wishing even between the pangs of early labor that we could just continue on the way we were for while more. I had gotten good at being pregnant, had learned how to care for a baby in the womb, was not at all sure I was ready to have one in my arms. Little did I know that the yearning to seize life in a freeze-frame would never really go away, or that my desire to hold on to whatever we had and whatever we were at any given moment would always be in conflict with my sons' own natural instinct: to grow up, to live, to fulfill their own destinies on this earth. Sometimes, it seems there are discernable changes overnight. The boy who meets my gaze at the breakfast table is not the same one whose cheek I kissed the night before. And even as I marvel at the latest incarnation, I grieve for yesterday's child, already a memory. To love them is always to let them go, bit by bit, day after day.