Oh NO!

Oh no!

This is Lyla's newest sentence and she's ready to use it at all times. Unfortuantely that was my saying of this past week.

What a way to start my 31st year.... Oh NOOOOOO!

Friday morning we set out for a birthday weekend celebration at Crescent Bar. This is a annual trip that my husband and I take. Usually we go to Leavenworth (that's where I will go next time after this disaster, I think it was a sign). 

It all started out like the perfect little family vacation. We packed the car early, stopped for some wine tasting on the way and sang sing-a-long songs in the car as a family. 

When we got to the condo, we unpacked, and headed out for some pizza at a local joint. That was yummy! We then relaxed on the lawn, let Lyla play in the grass and then took a dip in the pool. We ended the night with a retro movie--- Caddy Shack. Good times.

The next day (Saturday) was the day for Diana and Doug (her boyfriend) to arrive. Their arrival time approx. 11am. So we had my home-made blueberry muffins for breakfast with some yogurt and headed out for a nice long walk. Lyla was a chipper as ever! When the gang arrived we quickly showed them the wineries that I loved (JONES in Quincy) and then hit the P O O L! The kiddie pool was calling Lyla's name. She sat, played and had fun. Nap time was soon to come, and she fell asleep on the floatie with da-da in the pool. After a quick nap and 3 hours at the pool we started to wrap it  up. I ran to the bathroom (literally) and opened the door so quickly and forcefully that I ripped off my RIGHT BIG TOENAIL! OH NO! This was just the beginning to my 31st year.... it only gets worse....
After I ran back from the bathroom to announce my major injury, I took one look at Lyla and knew something was WRONG. Her eyes were dazed, her face was beat red and she was starring at me with no hint of emotion. I announced "we must go back" "Something is wrong with Lyla".

The night proceeded to be projectlie vomitting, fevers of around 104 and higher, packing up the car to leave in an emergency, then un-packing when her fever broke, staying up all night with a crying sick baby who kept saying "Oh No" when she would wake up and them immediately sign milk. We made it through the night and headed home for the LONG drive on Sunday.
Happy Birthday SUNDAY... I turned 31, Lyla had a raging fever, we were exhausted and she wasn't looking any better. We took her to Children's and ended the everlasting weekend with a diagnosis of COXSACKIE virus aka Hand, Foot, Mouth disease. Oh No!
Today is Tuesday, she's still fighting the fever and the Doctor says it should only get better after today. She hasn't been eating much except she is nursing on a constant basis.

All I have to say is Jason and I are a good team. Oh YES! We made it through this difficult time of vomit, sweat, crying, no sleep, lost toenails and feeling scared out of our minds.

What did I learn?

• Guilt is paired with your child's sickness, what could I have done to prevent this? (maybe I shouldn't have set her on the floor of the above winery picture... germs galore!)
• When your baby is sick it literally feels as if it is the end of the world. Everything starts spinning.I feel out of control.
• It's hard to make a decision but always trust the motherly instinct. There really is such a thing as motherly instinct, I'm learning it.
• There will be far worse problems than this. This is merely training. Training for the flu, the first broken bone, and many other unimaginable things.
• Getting your toenail ripped off hurts. It is worse than giving birth, that was cake!
• Be kind to your husband, you must work well together.  It all starts at home.
• All we have is eachother, be there for one another. Family comes first. 
• Hugs and back rubs make the body feel good. Lyla told me.
• Birthdays don't matter when you have a little one, being a loving parent does.
• I want more vacations with just my hubby and baby! We have the best time together!

Oh by the way, we even nick-named ourselves the "FEVER CRANKS" due to the high fevers and crankiness... LOL!
That's all folks! We're on the MEND.... I can feel good things coming.... I know it! God is guiding us to bigger and better things.
Oh YES!

Baking brain lapse

I love to bake.
Now that I have Lyla, I have one more reason to bake and cook, for her enjoyment. I am lucky that I now have two people that love to eat the food I make. Lately I've been forgetting important steps in my baking. Do you think it is because I have a 13 month old running around at my feet pulling on my leg, saying "mom, mom, mom" or am I just getting Alzheimer's?

The first event was making yummy zucchini muffins, I tried to substitute whole wheat flour for enriched white (making it healthier for my babes), but little did I know I added a bit too much, so they turned out to be more like plain muffins with a tint of zucchini. I may have also not added enough zucchini. So, this time, my cake stand had leftovers (this is rarely the case!).

The next event was my famous banana crumble top muffins that are gone in seconds, this time I forgot to add the extra whole wheat flour so they were super sweet! Luckily, being too sweet is usually not a problem. Less than 6 hours later one mini-loaf and about 20 mini muffins were devoured by myself, my hubby and the little gal.
I learned through these baking extravaganzas that Lyla likes cucumbers! The fresh cucumber from the fridge kept her busy for a good ten minutes, just enough time to whip up some treats for the family!

I guess my skills will slowly start to come back. I'm already planning my whole wheat blueberry mini lemon muffins for our upcoming weekend trip. Lyla love them and they are a healthy version!

P.S. I also made the carrot chips from Weelicious and sat on the deck with my gal, ate chips, sipped wine, and enjoyed life!

3 Carrots thinly sliced (mandolin slicer)
Salt to taste
250 degrees for 45-55 minutes until the edges turn up and are crispy
Yum! I absolutely heart Weelicious !!!

News Update

So many exciting things have happened recently! I know, I know... I always say that.

The monkey walk

Last week on Thursday 8/5 Lyla and I were playing in the living room. I was eating a delicious mango Popsicle that I generously shared with little L, she was in mango heaven with me! She did her little scoot to the other side of the room, looked up at me, stood up and walked right over. Yes, that's right, WALKED right over. She was serious and wanted another lick of the treat! I hugged her and starting laughing and yelling with glee! She loves it when I laugh and she started laughing too and doing her cute little momma imitation yell as well. We simply stood there, hugged one another and enjoyed the moment. I then proceeded to place her back in her original position and tempt her with the mango pop... it worked! She walked again and then threw herself at me laughing and screaming, so I joined. What  fun night! Also, how lucky am I to see her first steps?! As a working mom, I never know what I'm missing and I like to keep it that way sometimes. So, if you know for a fact that she walked prior to this, don't tell me.

Signing up a storm

Lyla is excellent at communication. Her list of signs include:

Mom (smile)

Milk (she will sign this quite aggressively if needed)

More (more chicken of course)

Bed (yes, she now tells me when she wants to go to bed)

Bath (clean up that sweat from the day!)

One simple hand/wrist turn that I'm unsure what she is signing but is done quite frequently.

She also signs "MORE MILK"

I started teaching her sign language when she was born. I may not sign everything I say to her, but I try to do quite a bit of signs. She responds now and even imitates what I do. She's one smart cookie! Of course, every mother thinks their own kid is the smartest...right? But really, Lyla is the smartest one on the block (we have no other kids on our block). LOL!

In all honesty, I think that Lyla is so wonderful at telling me what she wants, and when she wants it. I'm officially raising a smart, independent, beautiful little girl that is amazingly happy.

One Year already?

Man, I brought Lyla in for her well-child-check and she was off the charts, literally! She was above the 100th percentile for height which she clearly doesn't get from me. She was around 90th percentile in weight. Dr. Eichner went on to assure us that we are parenting well and following all the proper guidelines that come with raising a child. Our grade: An A+, he actually did give us a grade.

Lyla had her shots, got a snoopy band aide and went home to cuddle up to mommy.

Every day I'm amazed at how fast the time flies (hence not having time to write as I would desire in this bloggy blog)

I enjoy having one child. I love spoiling her. I love working hard to provide her with the best life possible, and the best wardrobe... this  year is good.