We went outside...WooHoo!

Today it was in the 80s outside!! It felt great... there was hardly any humidity.  We had to go to the dermatologist today... Grammy came with us, of course.  When we came out, it felt sooo good that I felt guilty bringing him home.  So I wanted to go sit outside and eat lunch.  Little did I know that it was EXTRA cool in the parking garage because it was shaded...duh.  So when we got to the restaurant, it was hotter than I thought.  Tripp's feet were starting to sweat, so we moved back inside.

                                        

                                         

Then when we got home, before we did his bath, we went outside on the front porch...

                                           

                                          

                                

Then we went outside AGAIN when daddy was doing his baseball lessons... that's 3 times in one day!! WOW!  I don't think I've ever been so excited about the cool weather before.

The dermatologist gave him some medicine today for his itching, and he said it would make him sleepy... and he was right.  He's passed out now, so I better get some sleep... not that I will because I'm too nervous about him having a reaction to it, or being too sleepy that he won't wake up to eat. O well... Goodnight!!

Speidi, KCav, & and Whit...OH MY!!!!!

Image borrowed from The Insider.


It is gloomy outside today. The kind of gloomy that really makes you want to do nothing but simmer autumn potpourri on the stove, drink hot tea, and mull over how delicious both are. I am also pouring over the latest Better Homes & Gardens and MS Living for fall decorating ideas.

Becks is napping {thank the Lord} and I'm repeating a dinner we had recently again tonight, completely understanding why the Diva has this dish repeated on her monthly menu. I tell you what, BFFs, you truly are a source of inspiration for me.

Speaking of Mr. B, that child is really testing my patience lately. He has learned the word no. And uses it frequently. It's very entertaining to see him developing into this headstrong little man, no-no-ing us as he protests being picked up or defiantly pointing to the electrical outlets while repeating this phrase. I actually think he thinks they're called no-nos.

All things electronic are still of great interest to him, and not a day goes by that he doesn't snatch our cell phones and dial insane number combinations and babble to the Verizon lady as she says, Your call cannot be completed as dialed. We've managed to lose three of the four remotes that we have for the downstairs TV. And by lose, I'm mean completely disappear without a trace. They're not even in the deepest depths of the couch cushions or in the toy bins. Completely lost. This is very frustrating when we want to adjust the volume, which now must be done manually on the actual TV. Ah, we are a world of convenience...

Lastly, while the outdoors may be cold and gloomy, my mood is not because...
THE HILLS and THE CITY are on TONIGHT!

Oh, sorry, got a little excited. Had to erase twelve a couple exclamation points there, lest you think I'm even slightly obsessed with either of these shows. Which I'm not. At all. I would never plan to "work at school" tonight around 10pm so that I could take advantage of their cable TV while "prepping my room" for tomorrow. Nope. That wouldn't be me.



Come back tomorrow {or tonight if I feel like posting} so that we can dish about these not-favorite shows of mine, mmmkay?



[That's not me you hear singing Unwritten as I type. Promise.]

My Little Muffin Eats a Muffin (and mom bakes again!)

My little muffin eating, no less, a delicious pumpkin muffin baked in the new oven!


While Beck attempts to non-nap (i.e. reading Goodnight Moon or The Very Hungry Caterpillar in babyspeak instead of napping), I'm going to entice you with a delicious fall meal prepared by your's truly.


I wouldn't say that I'm a superb cook by any stretch of the imagination. I wouldn't even say I'm a good cook. I can just follow a recipe, that's all.



My mom is the chef of the family, and I'm really content to let her be so that I don't have to learn how to cook a Thanksgiving turkey any time soon. Thus, it was by her recommendation (and many taste tests of her leftovers) that I came across this recipe for Butternut Squash Soup.


And, you all, it is a-mmmmmm-azing.



Ingredients

• 6 tbs chopped onions*
• 4 tbs butter/margarine**
• 1 whole butternut squash peeled and cubed
• 3 cups water***
• 4 cubes chicken bouillon
• 1/2 tsp dried marjoram
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp ground cayenne pepper
• 2 8 oz pkg cream cheese****

* I used pre-chopped frozen ones from a bag

** I used butter

*** I would recommend more since mine was the consistency of cheese sauce, but still delish.

**** I only used 1 pkg otherwise it would have been OVERLY rich. Promise.

Serves 4.

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, saute onions in butter until tender/translucent.
   
2. Add squash, water, bouillon, marjoram, black and cayenne pepper.
   
3. Bring to a boil and cook 20 minutes until squash is tender.
4. Puree squash and cream cheese in a blender or food processor until smooth.
   
5. Return to saucepan and heat through. Do not boil.
6. Serve! Mmmm!
   

The critics say...

Abby = I could eat the entire pot by myself!

B = Bleh! I hate any type of vegetable that isn't corn!

Beck = Mmmm! I'll share a bite with you!

Hot Dog, Hot Dog, Hot Digity Dog..

Randy, Tripp, and I have a new favorite dance... Check it out.

Next time anyone visits, they will have to perform it for Tripp.. haha

Rotten Boy

It is official:

I cannot feed my son through his feeding tube without playing the "Big Green Tractor" song. It is unbelievable. He can be screaming bloody murder and I play the song on my phone or my computer, and he immediately starts cooing. It's like he's singing. SOO adorable... and not to mention a Life Saver! Thank you Jason Aldean! WATCH:

This child is so rotten that it's almost not funny. This morning he was so fussy and I rocked him for a good 20 minutes... I mean, he was passed OUT. So I laid him in his swing and his eyes popped wide open and he started screaming. I gave him about 5 min to see if he would calm down and go back to sleep before I picked him up. I held him and laid on the couch with him face to face, humming a little bit and he was back asleep within 5 seconds. Rotten. But I'm okay with that... what else do I have to do than snuggle my little man? I guess that's why he's rotten to begin with. Oh, and I'm pretty sure he has like a sixth sense or something because every night when he's in his crib, he will start fussing. I wait a little while if I know it's not time for him to eat to see if he falls back asleep. Then as soon as I get up and stand over his crib- he stops. I stand there for a while to see if he will start back. THEN... I go get back in bed, put the pillow back between my knees, lay my head down, and.... he starts again. I did that at least 8 times last night... no lie. I think he would like it if I just stood over him all night. I mean, I would do anything for him... but I think that's impossible.

Nanny stayed the night last night. We had fun. I miss the good ole' days when we lived together and just laid around and goofed off all day, so I enjoy when she comes to play! Grammy and Papa came over too. Papa wanted to go eat dinner...and take a wild guess where we went? Olive Garden! UMM... Randy had a bachelor party for his friend in Grand Isle, so he missed out on dinner. Needless to say, he's not feeling well today. So our Sunday consists of this...

Cute huh?? Like father, like son... and BOY is that right. It's almost scary. At least it gives me some time to write.

We booked our flights to Cincinnati. We are leaving Wednesday, October 14th and coming back Friday the 16th. It's going to be a REALLY busy week. The golf tournament is the 12th, my birthday is the 13th, we leave the 14th (Tripp's 5 month birthday!), and come back the 16th. Not to mention while we are there on the 15th... this is our itinerary for the day:

9:00 appt with ENT

10:15 appt with Ophthalmology

1:00 appt with Dentistry

2:00 EB Center meeting... which they said will last AT LEAST 4-5 hours.

(at least they gave us a chance to eat lunch.. ha)

SO, we will have a pretty full day. Poor man will be exhausted!! Thank GOD we got non-stop flights there and back. Last time was a pain having to keep going up and down with all the stops. So please say a prayer that we have a safe trip and get at least a little bit of good news.

I know this is sad, but you know what the highlight of my morning was... I got to hold Tripp belly to belly with his head on my shoulder. I don't usually do that because of his tube, but I bent his little knees so it wouldn't touch me... and I snuggled him tight. It felt good... like normal. His tube site is looking pretty good. It is actually closing in and "somewhat" healing around it. Still really red and raw, but looks better than it did. So maybe once it heals some more poor man can get some tummy time! That will be something I'll have to ask in Cincinnati. I guess I should start making a list of questions to ask... I'm not good about doing that.. then I'll get there and forget everything I wanted to ask. Oh well...

Here's some recent pictures...

THIS is why he has bo-bo's on his face... because he is constantly rubbing and there's no stopping him without a straight jacket!

"Mom, really? That's enough..."

I am totally baking this afternoon!

If you're not aware already, our house is in a constant state of remodel and upgrade. Only weeks ago did we finishing ripping up carpet that we started pulling up almost a year ago. It's difficult to do anything with a one-year-old on your hands, and since we try to be DIYers our time scale is s...l...o...w. We take our time (accumulating funds) and recruit lots of help for our projects that don't cost more than our great company ;) Except for the installation of our new AC, my father-in-law is usually present for anything we tackle. And we couldn't thank him enough.

Anyway, this past week we added a new ceiling fan to our new old bedroom and I am forever grateful for its installation. I am totally a fan sleeper, and need at least the noise to lull me to sleep every night. Since we moved rooms three weeks ago, we've been fanless so I had to rely on Becks' monitor to channel his noisemaker noise into our room. It worked well, but now I have noise and a breeze. Perfection.


Several months ago I talked about our Granmother Range. Besides pop out chocolate chip cookies and meatloaf, her main objective in our kitchen was to really enhance the ugly. And that she did. I don't think any other appliance could pull off Harvest Gold quite like she could. She provided us with two years of great service, along with the 30+ that she gave to the previous owner(s). However, it is with great glee sadness that I inform you of her passing. She bit the dust and left us for that Great Gas Range in the Sky about a month and a half ago. Fortunately, we've supplemented by grilling out and just decided to wait to purchase a new one until fall rolled around.
In the meantime, B's parents decided to gift us this beauty as an early Christmas present! We were so pumped! And while she hardly fits into our waaaaay dated kitchen, she adds a little glimmer of hope for what's to come. Visions of stainless steel dance in my head...

Anyway, hope y'all are having a fantastic Saturday! Go Cats & Wolverines!

Debbie Downer

I hate to be Debbie Downer, but I told myself I would make this blog so I could express how I feel.  This stinks.. not for me, for my poor baby.  I'm just not sure I really understand why my precious man has to suffer so much.  I guess I just have really good days and then every now and then some bad ones.  It kills me every time I have to feed him and he's starving, but he can't suck the bottle.  It's like he looks in my eyes and is thinking, "Why don't you feed me mommy?"  And then when he does smile it breaks my heart more because I know he's hurting and has no idea what it feels like not to have pain... but can still manage to smile at us.  He is just so beautiful.  I don't even see his bandages anymore when I look at him.  I don't see the bo-bo's on his cheeks anymore, or on his ears.  It's just normal to me.  I can't imagine looking at him with his arms and legs showing.. or looking at his little hands and seeing fingernails.  I just can't imagine what is feels like to have raw, bleeding fingers and ears all the time.  Or what is feels like to get new blisters everyday, or to be wrapped up like a mummy all of the time.  I have been praying and asking God to make him comfortable... to take his pain away.  But I guess I am just hoping that God gave him a very high pain tolerance along with this cruel disease.  Now don't take this all the wrong way... I am OKAY.  I totally get that God won't give me anything that I can't handle... I know that, and I can definitely handle this.  But I will have bad days sometimes... and it's not because I can't handle it, it's because I feel for my little man and when he gets sad, I get sad... and when he hurts, I hurt.  But I don't want my mom and Mrs. Pam to take Tripp from me, ha... they've told me before if I get all depressed on them that they're going to take Tripp and run - JOKINGLY of course.  It's just hard to imagine what he goes through unless you see it on a daily basis.  And my God... he couldn't be a better baby (or a more beautiful one)... But when I wonder why God gave him to ME??  I read this over and over.  It is something given to me by my aunt Judy, who can surely sympathize. 

What God Sees When He Delivers a Handicapped Child

Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by special pressures, and a couple by habit.

This year, over 100,000 women will become mothers of handicapped children.  Did you ever wonder how mothers of handicapped children are chosen?

Somehow I visualize God hovering over Earth selecting His instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation.  As He observes, He instructs His angels to make notes in a giant ledger.

"Armstrong, Beth, son, patron saint, Matthew."  "Forrest, Marjorie, daughter, patron saint, Cecilia."

"Rudledge, Carrie, twins, patron saint, giver her Gerard- he's used to profanity."

Finally, He passes a name and smiles... "Give her a handicapped child."

The angel is curious.  "Why this one, God?  She is so happy."

"Exactly," said God.  "Could I give a handicapped child to a mother who does not know laughter?  That would be cruel." 

"But does she have patience?" asks the angel?

"I don't want her to have too much patience, or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair.  Once the shock and resentment wear off, she'll handle it."

"I watched her today.  You see, she has that feeling of self and independence that is so rare and so necessary in a mother.  You see, the child I am going to give her has his own world, and that's not going to be easy."

"But Lord, I don't think she even believes in you."

God smiles, "No matter.  I can fix that.  This one is perfect.  She has enough selfishness."

The angel gasps, "Selfishness!  Is that a virtue?"

God nods, "If she can't separate herself from her child occasionally, she'll never survive.  Yes, here is a woman I will bless with a child less than perfect.  She doesn't realize it yet, but she is to be envied."

"She will never take for granted a 'spoken word.'  She will never consider a 'step' ordinary. When her child says 'Momma' for the first time she will be present at a miracle and know it!  When she describes a tree or sunset to her blind child, she will see it as few people ever see my creations.  

"I will permit her to see clearly the things I see... ignorance, cruelty, prejudice... and allow her to rise above them.  She will never be alone.  I will be at her side every day of her life because she is doing my work as surely as she is by my side."

"And what about her patron saint?" asked the angel, pen poised midair. 

God smiles, "A mirror will suffice."

So, isn't that awesome?  That's enough to get me through the day.  That and knowing that my little man needs MORE love, MORE hugs, and MORE smooches than ever!! And I know that I have to be strong for him. 

SOO... on a Positive note... check this precious little man out!! 

HOW CUTE IS HE??

Goodbye, Baby B

I'm having a hard time calling him Baby B these days.

When he does big boy things like place very important phone calls. Probably to China, running up my minutes without me even knowing it. And look at him. I mean, he's not a baby anymore. Despite what his mama says.

I read many blogs where parents call their kiddo by his/her real name. And, if you looked hard enough through archives, or took the many hints I've given that lend themselves to discovering what we call him in real life, then you probably already know that he's at least named after a famous soccer player.

And, no, it's not Ronaldo. Or Pele. Though, there is a certain ring to Ronaldino. Maybe if we ever have another son...

So, anyway, I'm stalling. And I don't know why. Like it's a big reveal or something. I mean, I blog. I can't be too private, right?

His name is Beckham. Named after, no lie, the delightfully charming and delicious David Beckham. B and I picked out that name my junior year of college. I remember the phone call specifically. It was snowing. I was holed up in the ADPi house with one of my two roommates, and I think we were both on the phone with our significant other since we couldn't see them in person due to the treacherous conditions. We somehow got on the subject of children, and both agreed that Beckham was a fantastic name for the son we might have together someday. And then, four years later, we signed a birth certificate and gave that name a real meaning and permanency in our lives.

So, there you have it. And just like that old Beanie Baby you have from 1995, Baby B is now retired. He will, from this point forward, be referred to lovingly as Becks. Since, that is what we call him on a daily basis when he's being cute or getting into trouble or snuggling in our laps. And I no longer have to backspace every time I write his real name in a blog post.

And let me just throw it out how weird it is for me to even see his real name on the screen. It's like I've suddenly changed the main character in a novel.

Am I over dramatizing this a smidge?

Sorry.

So, without further ado, our life in pictures as of late. Or, Becks' life in pictures, at least.

Because no toy box should be left un-sat in. Of course.

Summing up the past week...

It's been a crazy one... Let's see, maybe we went a little overboard for Tripp's "4 month birthday," but when the doctor in Cincinnati told us we would be lucky if he made it to his first birthday... we then decided every single birthday would be special.  And it will be.  He liked it.. and of course I liked the fact that my aunt Mary made him a cake that I ate pretty much ALL of.  

Football... Ahhh.  So glad Tripp likes it too.   

Ready to get wrecked by a rookie? ha

Here's some with his toys, and of course with Baloo... those are my favorites!

This one was adorable... He was staring at it like, "What's your problem, horse?"

And these, haha!  Iwanted him to try and hold his head up to help heal the sores on the back.  Needless to say, he  didn't do it for very long!

Sitting up on the couch like a big boy!!

These are pictures with Daddy... Mommy doesn't get many pictures because she's always taking them.  I know, welcome to motherhood.  It's not about me anymore... ha

So, we had a great weekend... little man was pretty fussy, but as I always say... I don't know how he isn't fussy all day every day- I would be if I was him.