Poop and Dogs....but not Dog Poop

I haven't been feeling so hot the past two days and luckily, I got to have a little break, thanks to my mom. Langston spent the night with her and Jeff and I missed him like crazy, except when I was getting all of the beauty sleep I have been missing out on recently. Even though it was nice to get a break, it was so good to see him again and bring him back home with me.

Langston was full of energy, so we put him in his exersaucer. This is where he has been pooping lately. Not sure why, but his last few episodes have been in there. I call them episodes because they happen about once a week. That's right, you heard it, er, read it. Once a week! Not sure why, and the pediatrician says it's ok as long as he's not uncomfortable. The good thing about it is we go through less diapers and wipes. :) I also don't usually have to worry about him pooping when I leave him with one of his grandmothers. I expect it to come on Friday.

Well, Langston was in his exersaucer and we were watching TV. I looked over because I saw him grunting a little and staring off into space. He then looked right at us and flashed his big grin. I thought it was a possibility that there was a dirty diaper, but then realized it probably wasn't because it was only Tuesday. A few minutes later, I went to get him out so he could eat. As soon as I touched his back, I realized this was not pretty. He really had pooped and it wasn't all in his diaper. And you think that is the worst part, just wait!

Unfortunately, I didn't discover it all until I got to the bedroom so I yelled for Jeff to start the bath water so I could stick Langston straight in it. I literally had to take the child's diaper off while he was on his tummy. There was no way he could lay on his back for this. So gross! I rolled the diaper up and set it aside so I would remember to take it to the trash.

We got to the bathtub and got all cleaned up. Langston ate, and we moved back out to the living room to watch some TV. When I finally got Langston to sleep, I moved him back to our room for the night. As I walked down the long hall to our bedroom, I saw the back of a black dog that happened to belong to me (tonight, I wished he didn't). Rusty was in the bedroom just eating away at the dirty diaper. I literally wanted to throw up in my mouth! There was NOTHING left of the diaper except the part where the tabs are. As soon as Rusty saw me, he squatted down because he knew he was in trouble.

I used to love that dog and I used to consider him part of the family, but that's just too gross! I may have to rethink all of that.

My heart was full today...

This afternoon, Jeff, H, E, and I all participated in the Three Trees Event at our church. It is the name our church uses for the angel program. At Langston's baby dedication several weeks ago, there were paper angels on the steps of the stage for people to grab. Each angel had an age of a child with the desire for a $20 gift to be purchased. H picked a girl angel of a 4-5 year old. E picked a boy angel of a 6-12 month old. We bought our appropriate gifts this weekend and took them with us to the church. This picture below definitely does not do the event justice, but the entire stage was filled with toys to be picked. I got this picture with my phone and all of the toys were washed out because of the bright lights, but it was definitely a neat sight to see!

A person I know, who would like to remain anonymous, and who is very dear to me donated these books to be given to the families at the event. I'm so happy to say that every family went home with one of these books. The children's books are all about Psalm 91. What a great message!

Jeff, the kids, and I volunteered as a host family. That meant that we were paired up with a family who was coming to get gifts for their children. We started out at 2:45 in a training that basically told us where to be and how everything was to run. Because I speak Spanish and there was such a high need for Spanish speakers, we were paired with a Spanish speaking family. The family we had included a mom, 7 year old son, 4 year old daughter, and 1 year old baby girl. (Dad was working at the time and wasn't able to attend.) After meeting the family, we immediately took the girls to the nursery and then the son to the children's area. E decided that he wanted to stay with the little boy while we took the mom "shopping". There were people EVERYWHERE! Fortunately, it all ran very smoothly and we were one of the first families into the sanctuary to pick gifts. That meant that Mom had plenty to pick from. Jeff, H, and I helped her pick her gifts out and it seems that she was able to get something that each one of the kids wanted. :)

After picking out gifts, we headed to the gift wrapping station to drop off our gifts. After that, we were able to take mom to have cookies and refreshments. During that time, I was able to talk to her and find out a little more about her family. She told me that she was so thankful for this experience because she had been very worried about how she would get gifts for her kids. She said she often is counting pennies to be able to get food for her kids and make sure that she can even buy milk. It was a very touching story to learn more about her life.

After about 20 minutes of chatting with her, we picked up her gifts, as well as her kids, and then helped them carry everything to their car.

As we walked back to the church, I thought to myself how lucky our family is. There are so many suffering families out there and it becomes very real during this time of year. I'm so thankful that we were able to participate in such an awesome event. I only hope that H and E were able to get a little taste of how much more important it is to give than to receive.

Langston spent the day with my mom and after the event was over, I headed to her church for a famiy dinner. It was great to see lots of people from my hometown that I have not seen in so long. Langston was a hit, as usual. People love his gummy smile and he loves to flash it to everyone. I had to include this picture. Langston was standing with my mom and smiling as he was watching the boys play basketball. It's only a matter of time before he can stand there on his own and take off! Oh goodness!

My new free toy

I love my cell phone. I love that it's an iphone and I can do so many things with it. However, one thing that is really hard for me to do is have any sort of conversation when I'm dealing with Langston or have to fix dinner, etc. etc.

I even got in trouble by the crossing guard when I crossed 10 feet into the school zone at my old school while hanging up with my mom on the phone. I am definitely in favor of this new school zone cell phone law, but it sure does make it hard to abruptly end your conversation when you see that you are entering one.

Saving with Shellie sure did make it easy for me to find a solution. She informed me of a free (after rebate) Samsung bluetooth that I could order from adorama. I thought, for free, why not?!

I immediately ordered it because it seems that deals like that always seem to sell out before I can jump on them.

It came in the mail the day before yesterday and I was so excited. I let it charge overnight and of course, the first phone call I made to try it out was to Jeff. He said he could hear me just like I was talking using the phone. Yay! My last one, that no longer works, did not sound so crystal clear. I tried it out all day yesterday while Langston and I were at the mall. It was wonderful!!!

I mailed off my rebate form that I printed off from here and I should get my $20 back in about 8 weeks, I think.

I honestly get a thrill out of getting great deals on cool stuff! Langston isn't the only one that loves new toys. :)

Chug Chug Chug Chug Choo Choo!!!

On Tuesday, my girlfriend, Christy, and I decided to take Langston and her two kids, Cooper and Gracie, to see the The Trains at North Park. It was so neat! Even though Langston is only 6 months old, I think he enjoyed it, too. There was SOOOOO MUCH to look at. They really do put a lot of detail into everything and it's neat to see the 40 different trains going in all different directions.

Here are Cooper and Gracie wearing their cute conductor hats. Too cute! Langston spent most of the time in his stroller but we did get him out to check things out for a bit, too!

I hope this is a tradition we do every year with Langston. I know he will love it!

He will probably eventually be asking to have a similar set up in his room. I can only imagine!

6 month well baby check

We had our 6 month dr appt today and it was so neat to see Langston sitting in only a diaper on the exam table. Usually, I have to hold him or keep my hand on him so he doesn't roll off. Today he was just too cute sitting there all relaxed watching everything the nurse was doing.

Everything looked good. She even told me he had a perfectly shaped head. :) Haha!

Here are his stats:

Height-27in (71%)

Weight-16lb 3oz (25%) :(

Head Circum.-18 in (93%)

As I'm sure you know, I'm still nursing so his not so good weight gain (9oz in a month) kind of concerned me. It didn't really concern the dr because she said he's gained 2 pounds in two months. However, I've noticed that when I pump at night, I only get 2 oz from each side, so I really feel like I'm not making enough. She suggested I try Fenugreek, so I headed to Sprouts right after our appointment. Hopefully it will work to "rev up" my milk production. That sounds so funny!

I did a little research on kellymom to learn more about Fenugreek and when reading about dosage, this is what it had to say.

"One way to determine if you're taking the correct dosage is to slowly increase the amount of fenugreek until your sweat and urine begin to smell like maple syrup."

Hmmmmm, that will be interesting. I didn't know it was possible for your pee to smell like maple syrup.

I'm also taking Omega 3 vitamins, flax seed oil (to get the little guy to poop!), and probiotics (for digestion health, but really good for anyone).

Hopefully these vitamins make a difference! We shall see!

5 years ago....

from yesterday, a tall, dark, and handsome man caught my eye while out with friends. I looked over my shoulder and there he was with his "big as Texas" smile. I was immediately smitten!

We went on our first date three days later. I knew immediately that I liked him but I didn't think I wanted a relationship at the time. I tried to push him away and was successful for about two weeks, when I realized I missed him. After contacting him through email, we reconnected and have been inseparable ever since.

Here are some early pictures of us.

Hard to believe it's been five years. Time really does fly when you're having fun!

Tina's Take on Things Giveaway

A blog I recently discovered by way of my friend Lauren is hosting a giveaway. Granted, the majority of this stuff is for girls, but I still love all things monogrammed. Boys can have cute things that are monogrammed, too! I love seeing Langston's name, so the more things we can have monogrammed, the better! :) This blog is only hosting the giveaway and the goodies are actually being made by Uniquely Monogrammed.

I have entered this giveaway, but by posting it on my blog, I earn another entry. So, here I am, telling you all about it. If you choose not to enter, that's ok, too. A bigger chance for me to win. But, I understand if you still want to enter, this stuff is ca-uuuute!