Water Fun!

This past Christmas, my sister-in-law gave V a rigid kiddie pool. I decided that, since we already had two inflatable baby pools, we might as well pull out the new pool, too, and have a baby pool party in our backyard. Earlier this week, I was sweeping out the garage, and I realized that V really needed something to keep him entertained. I love the fact that we have a water faucet and a hose right in our garage. I inflated one of the baby pools, drug out some pool toys and V's Elmo sprinkler, and let him have at it. He loved it, and I realized that our driveway would be a much better spot for the pool party than our backyard, especially after all the rain we've had lately. For the pool party, I filled up the big, rigid pool and the two baby pools, and the Elmo sprinkler was turned on full-force. I also provided a bucket of water and some paintbrushes, so the kids could water paint on the driveway. There was sidewalk chalk for them to use, as well, but I think it just ended up getting all wet (and eaten, by some of the smaller babies). I provided the standard, long, skinny ice pops for the kids and some gourmet, raspberry-mint ice pops for the moms (here's a link to Giada's Italian Ice Pops). Some of the moms even packed a picnic lunch, and we sat out in the front yard or in the driveway to eat. It was so much fun, and I plan on doing more water fun days, this summer. (Below are some photos of V enjoying his pools. For privacy purposes, I'm not going to post pictures from the pool party.)

And All That Jazz....

We're back from our vacations to Chicago and Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg. B and I had such a lovely time in the Windy City. I kept myself very busy while he attended his conference lectures. I discovered on my own that Millennium Park was only two blocks away from our hotel and a very short walk from there directly to the lake! We had a great time walking the Magnificent Mile on Michigan Ave. and window shopping along the way. I took the time to get a facial at our hotel spa. It lasted TWO HOURS and consisted of two different masques, a hand massage complete with paraffin gloves, a foot massage, a scalp massage, and eyebrow waxing. The girl who did my facial was simply amazing. If you're ever in Chicago, I highly recommend Spa Chakra! And, The Palmer House Hilton, where it's located, is such a lovely hotel. After my facial, I enjoyed a high English tea in the gorgeous lobby of the Palmer House. The tea included an exquisite Earl Grey loose tea (with milk, of course!) and a selection of mini cucumber sandwiches, scones, and delicious petit fours. I took the bus one morning to the Museum of Science and Industry to witness firsthand "Harry Potter: The Exhibition". It's a definite must see if you're in Chicago, especially for any Harry Potter fan. The props, costumes, and set decorations on display were beautiful, and I couldn't believe how much detail was put into each movie. Though the exhibit wasn't huge by any means, I stayed in it for about an hour and a half, taking notes and sketching details from some of the costumes. I spent the rest of my day walking around the other exhibits in the museum, which were also pretty amazing. That evening, B and I were able to meet up with some of the doctors he worked with in Ohio, one of his old attendings and two of the girls who were in his residency year. We had a wonderful dinner, and it was so nice to catch up with people we hadn't seen in a while. On B's final day of his conference, he decided to spend the day with me at the Art Institute of Chicago, since it was also only two blocks away from our hotel. I got to see my favorite painting, "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" by Georges Seurat (think: the painting Cameron stood in front of in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"), as well as many other great works of art from a wide range of time periods. Afterward, we decided to see Chicago from the SkyDeck of the Sears Tower. It's such a lovely view, and you can see for miles in all directions! That night, we had the best meal of the trip at Moto Restaurant. It was an amazing experience, and I wished I'd taken pictures, but I'm not sure if it would have been allowed. The chef specializes in molecular gastronomy and "playing with food". To understand that, you'll have to watch this clip on YouTube. It was the perfect way to end our trip in Chicago. V had fun staying with my parents, and B and I had fun enjoying some time alone together. We ended our week in Pigeon Forge with my in-laws at their cabin in the mountains. We helped them do their annual massive cleaning, and then, we did some great shopping at one of the local outlet malls and my favorite pottery shop, Alewine Pottery. Mr. Alewine is a true artist, and he makes beautiful, functional pieces from clay. I brought home a kitchen utensil holder, a sugar bowl, a creamer, an oil lamp (a gift from my in-laws for my birthday), a batter bowl complete with a whisk, and two mugs. I've used just about every piece so far! I didn't get any pics while in Pigeon Forge, but we had a good time. I also ended up meeting a Twitter friend who happens to live in the area and her husband. He's a doctor as well, so we had a lot to talk about. He and B talked about their occupations, while she and I gabbed about our family lives. All in all, we had a great week. I'm glad to be back home, but I'm also happy that we were able to make so many lovely memories.













The front and back pictures of me in the brown top and skirt were taken after our dinner at Moto. I made the top over the course of several sewing lessons, and I made the skirt at home on my own. I was so happy to be able to wear something I've made in public, and the ensemble worked very well for our outing! I'm looking forward to my next sewing lessons, during which I'll be making a black cloak for myself and a blue one with sleeves for my husband. I've also got an idea (and fabric) for a costume I'll be making for GenCon. Should be fun!
Amanda
Amanda

Murphy's Law States....

That whenever something major happens with my son (illness, accident, whatever), my husband is working and in the middle of something, so he usually can't get away to help. This was the case, yesterday. V and I had a great morning babysitting two of his little friends from my moms' group while their mother spent time unpacking and baby-proofing their new home. Then, we were supposed to go to our neighbors' house for a dinner party. As we were walking over to their house and across their driveway, which is concrete embedded with stones, V tripped (over his feet or on the driveway, I don't know) and fell. He smacked his forehead against the rocks in the driveway, and when he stood up screaming, the wound started bleeding like crazy! I dropped the salad and dressing I was carrying on the driveway and ran him back over to our house, which is just a short distance away from where we were going. After wetting a towel and cleaning his face, I realized the wound was just a small gash in his forehead. However, it was open enough and deep enough that I was afraid he might need stitches. I didn't know if I should take him to the ER at the hospital where B was working, or if I should take him to the much closer Promptcare. After calling and getting through to B, I decided to just take V to Promptcare, even though B volunteered to look at him himself. B was in the middle of a delivery, and I didn't want to take him away from his work, so I rushed V over to the closest Promptcare (after giving my neighbors the salad and dressing I'd left on their driveway, still in one piece, thank God!, and explaining what was going on), all the while making sure he didn't fall asleep on me. I found out later that it would have been fine if he fell asleep; it's only when a person has had a concussion that you want them to stay awake. The ladies at Promptcare were all super nice, from the receptionists to the nurses to the doctor. I think it helped that we'd been there before on Halloween, when V dropped the pizza stone on his toe. There was very little paperwork for me to do, and we were taken back to an exam room very quickly, at least, within ten minutes of getting there. V fought and screamed the moment we went back, when they tried to weigh him and get his vitals, while the nurse and an assistant cleaned his wound, and when the doctor came in to look at it. She said we could do stitches or Dermabond, and even though she asked me which one I wanted done, I think she had already pretty much decided the Dermabond was the way to go. It's a liquid skin adhesive that basically helps glue the edges of a wound together. It's clear, so you can still see the wound through it after it's applied. Plus, you don't need to numb the wound site to apply it, which means, no shots! It took me holding V's hands, the nurse holding the rest of him down, and the doctor standing over us to get the Dermabond on his forehead, but she managed to get it done quickly. Once it was over, there was a little more screaming while she tried to check his pupils, his ears for bleeding, his back for any other injuries, and his lungs. The doctor was amazing (she told me she had a grandchild his age), and she used stickers to make sure he was coherent by asking him the names of the characters on the stickers. Then, she held them away from him and moved them to watch his eye movements and pupils. Once she was sure he was just fine, she wrote me up some instructions for wound care and head injuries, and we were done! Both V and I were glad to leave and go home. We changed our clothes, since we were both covered in his blood still. I noticed, then, that he had really scratched up his face around his right eye under the forehead wound. We went ahead and walked back over to our neighbors' house, anyway. Luckily, they hadn't started dinner yet, even though it was over an hour later than when it was supposed to start. The other family that was coming for it had to come late, too, so we were all able to relax and let the kids play before we sat down to eat. The evening ended on such a lighter and happier note than it started, even though B never made it to the dinner. He was able to come home after the delivery, and amazingly, he didn't have any calls during the night! It was nice to be able to sleep all night long. V fell asleep in my lap almost as soon as we sat down on our couch after the party, he was so worn out from the day. Now, we're just hanging out in the family room watching some TV. We haven't had a good, relaxing morning in a while, and it's nice to be able to sit in our PJs for a bit. The day looks like it's going to be a beautiful one, and I hope to get him outside to play, maybe even at one of our local parks. I'm a little nervous about getting him out in public with his fresh head injury, since it's very noticeable through the Dermabond. Oh, well. I guess if anyone has any questions, they can always ask me. Kids have accidents all the time, and even though I was upset that it happened, it's just one of those things. Luckily, it wasn't any worse than it was. This coming Friday, B and I leave for Chicago for a few days, while my parents watch V for us. I'm really looking forward to a mini-vacation free of stress and kids for a while! ;) I love my son, but I think we need a break from each other. I'm sure I'll miss him while we're apart, and we're going to spend the end of the week with his other grandparents in Gatlinburg, so we'll have plenty of opportunities to have fun as a family over B's week long vacation.
Before I go, here's a pic of the morning after V's accident. Yeah, it ain't pretty!

Hope you're all having a better weekend than we've had!
Best,
Amanda

Happy Easter!

I just realized it's been a while since I posted here. We've been busy, especially with traveling over the past few weekends. We're still not done, either! This weekend was Easter at my in-laws', which was so much fun! Next weekend, we're going to spend some time near Louisville with our college friends at "Thunder Over Louisville", a super awesome, super LOUD fireworks display that kicks off the festival leading up to the Kentucky Derby. The next weekend, we'll be close to home because B will be on-call, but the first weekend of May, he and I will be going to Chicago for five days ALONE for the annual national OB/GYN conference. V's going to stay with my parents while we're away, and I think everyone is going to have fun in their respective locations. I've already made reservations for an awesome restaurant called Moto, which specializes in molecular gastronomy (think "high-tech" and "chemistry" meet "food"). Should be lots of fun, especially from what I've heard from people who've been there. I've also been looking into other restaurants close to our hotel, the shopping on the Magnificent Mile, and the spa at our hotel! I'm hoping to spend one morning getting pampered with a massage, facial, and whatever else I can dream up. If you can't tell, I'm really looking forward to it, especially the ability to sleep in! Since we put V on his new bedtime routine, he's been waking up earlier in the morning. However, I've not been going to bed any earlier at night. I know I must change that, but it can be hard, especially when I'm in the middle of a great sewing project! Anyway, here are some Easter photos from the past week to make up for the lack of recent posting. Hope you all had a great weekend!
Amanda

Operation: Sleep Schedule

Two nights ago, I finally got fed up enough with how we've been sleeping (or, not sleeping, as the case may be), and I decided it was time to enforce a sleep schedule. I don't know why I didn't do it sooner. Well, I do know why. When my son was smaller, I hated letting him "cry it out". He's so stubborn, he'd cry for two hours straight and still not be tired. However, two nights ago, I decided that it was time, even if it meant he'd need to cry it out. Around 10 pm when he was still very much awake, I put him in a fresh diaper and jammies, tucked him into his toddler bed (which is still in our bedroom), read him a story twice, and said goodnight. There were many tears and loud protestations and banging on doors from his side of things. He managed to get out of the room once, so I calmly walked him back in and put him back in his bed. I had the baby monitor on, so I could hear the whole thing. At one point, I had to hold the door closed, so he could get the idea that he was to stay in the room. I felt equal parts guilty for shutting him up like that and glad that I was finally doing something I should have done a long time ago. Amazingly enough, he quieted down after about 45 minutes. I came into the room later to find him asleep in our bed. Apparently, he'd climbed into it during his crying fit. I moved him to his own bed and went to sleep. He woke up and came over to our bed twice in the night, and both times, I walked him back to his own bed and explained that that was where he was to sleep from now on. He stayed there until about 9:30 in the morning! Yesterday night, with some help from my husband (who'd been gaming with friends the night before), I enforced the ten o'clock bedtime again. And, again, there was much crying and banging on doors. Actually, I think there was more, and it was much louder! However, he did manage to quiet down and go to sleep, again, in our bed. We moved him to his own, and although he woke up a couple of times last night, he never moved from his bed. Also, over the last few days, he's been taking pretty consistent naps. What a difference it's made in my little guy! He seems to be happier, and though he still has the cough from a lingering cold, it doesn't seem to be as bad as it was before. Since we've had such success, we did it again, this evening. He started showing signs of being sleepy at around 9:30, so I decided to start the routine a little earlier. I changed his diaper and clothes, helped him brush his teeth, tucked him into bed, and read him a story. From the first mention of "night-night time" from me, he started crying, but he went along with it. He even lay down in his bed, even though he was still pretty upset with me. He only listened to the story half-heartedly, and it when it was time for me to kiss him goodnight, the tears flowed again. I closed the door and stood in the hallway to make certain he'd stay in the room. I heard a lot of "Mommy, Daddy, Mommy, Daddy" over and over, but no banging on doors. I think he actually stayed in his bed this time! I guess B and I will find out when we go to bed in a little bit. We've had the monitor on, and he has awakened at least once crying and coughing, but it hasn't taken him long to settle himself back down. I feel the need to go and check on him, but I really want him to learn to fall asleep on his own and stay asleep through the night. I think it'll make a world of difference for all of us. I know it was a big mistake not to start him on a sleep schedule earlier in life, but hey, I'm not a perfect mommy, and it's never too late to learn from our mistakes! Hope you're all getting more sleep, too.
Best,
Amanda
P.S. B just came down to tell me that V's asleep in his own bed! He also told me that I may need to turn one of our bathroom lights on low, so V has a little light in the room when he goes to sleep. I guess I didn't realize how dark it gets in there with the door closed, because we always keep it open with a nightlight on in the hallway. Oops! Poor little guy. No wonder he hates "night-night time". Well, now I know.

Ride 'Em, Cowboy!

My sewing teacher asked me last week if I wanted to make something for my son during my next sewing lesson. She had a cute pattern for a denim cowboy vest, and I was immediately excited about finding the fabrics and notions, because it included adding fringe and fun buttons to the front. Like my last sewing lessons, I was able to get the vest finished with help from my teacher, and I added the fringe and buttons at home this evening. V immediately put it on and posed for pictures. He thought it was great fun to pretend to be a cowboy, though the only thing I have remotely close to a "horse" for him to ride is my moose-shaped footstool. The outside of the vest is a lightweight denim. The inside is lined with a blue calico fabric printed with darker blue stars. I'm not sure what the fringe is made of, but it looks like faux suede and feels like very thin velvet. I really loved the buttons when I found them. They look like old-fashioned star badges. I had some extra fabric before I went to my lesson because I'd found a great calico fabric with a bandanna print last Friday. I decided to sew some of that fabric into a small square that, when folded in half, can be worn as a bandanna. It was a little too small for V's neck, but it fit my moose just fine!

It Has Begun...

A little while back, I posted about a crazy idea I had rattling around in my brain. Well, today, I made it happen! I had a little more time on my hands, since V woke up not feeling the best, and we decided to stay home instead of go to the scheduled meet up event for my moms' group. While cleaning the house, I started thinking about what I might do, and then, I just did it! Behold: "Ask The OB's Wife"! I've already posted the answer to the question, "Why Do Men Become OB/GYNs?", since I wrote a guest post on the subject recently. If you have any specific questions or comments you'd like to send my way, feel free to leave them in the comments section of my new blog or email them to me at asktheobswife@gmail.com. I'll continue to update this blog on all things related to my little family. Thanks for reading!
Best,
Amanda