tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-138736122024-03-14T13:49:33.010-05:00Losing The Up-To-Up-To-Side-To-Side Ropes(...and other things that aren't tied down)Deals On Wheelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08038285934290983581noreply@blogger.comBlogger1938125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13873612.post-35440813942325945452018-03-02T10:43:00.001-06:002018-03-02T10:43:25.133-06:00Twittering...You guys, I love this little blog. I know I don't post very often (read: hardly ever), but it makes me so happy knowing that my little piece of the internet is still here waiting for me to find the time to write again (and preserving my memories in the interim).<br />
<br />
In the meantime, I've branched out to twitter. Nothing special or even that much more frequent (in terms of posts), but it has definitely enabled me to - at the very, very least - keep up with the funny things the kids say and do. <br />
<br />
Anyway, if you are bored or just need someone else to follow, you can find me (occasionally) here: <a href="https://twitter.com/slowlyblinking">https://twitter.com/slowlyblinking</a> Deals On Wheelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08038285934290983581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13873612.post-35960354389188199392017-12-27T16:56:00.000-06:002018-03-02T10:31:18.704-06:002017 Kiddo Quotes<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><strong><u>BANNER</u>:</strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><em>After seeing a cop car pull over a van</em>: "I
bet he got into trouble for saying too many potty words while driving."</span></div>
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</div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Deep thoughts while on the potty: "Are only Spanish people allowed
in Chick-fil-A?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Trevor: "What? No. You've been to Chick-fil-A."<br />Banner: "Yeah, but I'm learning Spanish."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Trevor: "Those two things aren't mutually exclusive."</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">"Mom, pretty sure it is buddy day and I'm supposed
to wear jeans, red sneakers and a fire shirt instead of my uniform."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><strong><em>WITHOUT prompting, ask your child(ren) these questions
and write EXACTLY what they say!</em></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><strong>Banner, age 5 and one month<o:p></o:p></strong></span><br />
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</div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Q: What is something I say a lot?</span><br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">A: Weirdo<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Q: What makes me happy?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">A: When I say "I love you" to you</span><br />
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</div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Q: What makes me sad?</span><br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">A: When Schafer poops her diaper<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Q: How tall am I?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">A: Fifty<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Q: What's my favorite thing to do?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">A: Sit on the couch<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Q: What is my favorite food?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">A: Soup</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Q: What is my favorite drink?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">A: Water<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Q: If I could go anywhere, where would it be?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">A: To Tacos. Or Colorado.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Q: Do you think you could live without me?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">A: No.</span><br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Q: How do you annoy me?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">A: Doing bad stuff, but you still always love me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Q: What is my favorite TV show?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">A: It is a bad compliment or maybe Star Wars or paw patrol</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Q: What is my favorite music to listen to?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">A: Adele</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Q: What is my job?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">A: Put my clothes away </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Q: What is daddy's job?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">A: Daddy's job is nothing. Or maybe
putting lunch away. Which is harder than nothing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Q: How old are you?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">A: Five<o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Q: What's your favorite color?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">A: Purple<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Q: How much do you love me?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">A: One hundred forty two </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Q: How much do you love daddy?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">A: I love daddy a ten. Or maybe a
tendy eight.</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Banner: "Sometimes when I wake up from nap time I feel miserable."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Me: "Do you even know what 'miserable' means?"<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Banner: "No. I just like saying it."<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">"Daddy had to go to the doctor and they had to let some
bleed out of him with a noodle!"</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">(Bleed = Blood, Noodle = Needle)</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">"Mama's pinky swears don't work like daddy's."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">"Jeep, I'm sending you feeling hots!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"> (Feeling Hots = Healing
Thoughts)</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">"Remember the time I picked up a bee and put it in my
underpants?"<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">"Mama, can you have another baby and name him 'Lady Gaga'?"<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><em>On electrocution</em>: "Mama, you know that thing where you are
a human. And then a skeleton. And then a human. And then a skeleton."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">"Mama, sometimes I just want to look in the mirror and see
what's in the mirror but my head is always in the way."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><em>On skiing</em>: "I bumped my chin really hard on the beanbag."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Me: "I think you look very handsome."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Banner (whispering): "Don't tell daddy that."<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">"Mama, you know how some people get allergic to different things? Well, I'm only allergic to sharks."</span><br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><em>On meeting someone new</em>: "Hi. I am Banner. I'm five. I use the bathroom by myself."<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<o:p></o:p><br />
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<o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span></o:p> </div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><em>On having a big belly after dinner</em>: "I'm pregnant, right?"</span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span></o:p> </div>
<o:p></o:p><div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Banner: "Dad! The music is messing me up!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Me: "Wow, buddy..."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Banner: "Mom! Now you messing me up!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">"My grandmas can't do the obstacle course. They are too old."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span></o:p> </div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Becepts = Except</span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Me: "What did you think of the first day of summer camp?"</span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Banner: "I loved it."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Me: "What was your favorite part?"<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Banner: "I played basketball."<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Me: "But it is a super hero camp..."<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Banner: "Mom, I have to tell you something. Mikela's birthday is in five days."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Me: "Oh?"<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Banner: "Yeah, she told me. I want to get her a present. Something for grow ups. Like a watch. Or some electricity. Yeah, electricity. I just worry bc I don't want to "electric" myself getting it for her. Also, maybe you and dad can get another babysitter so you can go to her birthday party at pump it up."<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Pat-er-in = Pattern<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Dos it = Does it<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Pill-llano = Piano</span></span></div>
<o:p></o:p></span><div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<o:p></o:p></span><div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Me: "Did you toot?"</span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Banner: "Nope, that's just my sunscreen."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><em>On cockroaches</em>: "I love cockroaches. They are my friends. I just want to hold them. That cockroach I held at camp was a cool guy."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">"Mama, this is true: when your house explodes, your toys do too."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span></o:p> </div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><em>Trevor on saying goodnight prayers with Banner</em>: "We just prayed to Santa Claus to bring him presents."<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><em>On driving with his family</em>: "I'm just going to listen to the view and ignore people."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><em>On grocery shopping</em>: "Mama, are we going to go to the tom foot or the store with the free samples?"</span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><em>On driving around town</em>: "Hey, look! A van. Wonder where it came from? I’m thinking probably San Diego."</span><o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><o:p></o:p></o:p> </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><strong><u>SCHAFER</u>:</strong> </span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><em>On Trevor offering her waffles</em>: "No. stop. Be nice."</span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">"Sad, sad, mama."<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Me: I love you so much!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Schaf: I love you, too.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">(I almost died) 4/21/17<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Airplanes = Pains</span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span></o:p> </div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Cocks = Socks</span> </o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">"Jeep? Where go?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><em>During her Adele phase</em>: "Hello. It's me."<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">"Wook, Mom! Dis has pink in it! And
dis! And dis! PINK!"<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">No nuts = Doughnuts in Schafer</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">"LET IT GO! LET IT GO! LET IT GO!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">[Turns on Let It Go]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">"No! NO! NO LET IT GO!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">[Turns off Let It Go]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Wailing: "LET IT GOOOOO! ELSA! LET IT GO!"<br />[Turns on Let It Go]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">"NO! NO LET IT GOOOOOOO!"</span><br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><em>Crying hysterically to her teacher</em>: "Alice poop in my pants!!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Ms. Tara: "Alice pooped her pants?"<br />Schafer: "No, Alice poop in Shaper's pants! No nice, Alice! Sad, sad!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">(Schafer pooped her own pants, but blamed Alice. Alice was confused why Schaf was suddenly mad at her. Ms. Tara couldn't stop laughing.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Me: "Schaf can I brush your hair?"<br />Schafer: "No, you brush your own hair!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Schafer: "Mama, I want milk."<br />Me: "What do you say?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Schafer turns slowly to me on the couch, leans in close, gently cups my cheek with her hand, looks me straight in the eye and whispers: "Mama, I want some milk."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">"I goin' on a lion hunt. Got my bi-noc-cool-ares."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">"Jones bite." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Gac-A-Know-Lee = Guacamole </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><strong><u>THE HOLIDAYS WITH BANNER AND SCHAFER</u>:</strong> </span></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span></o:p> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Christmas Eve: Banner, armed with a pen, decides to
label his bathroom sink and cabinet as his own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Boxing Day: the 2yo learns to remove her sleep sack,
pants, and diaper and celebrates by screaming like a banshee for an hour past
her bedtime.</span></div>
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</div>
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</div>
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Deals On Wheelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08038285934290983581noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13873612.post-15779493477699516782017-12-22T15:06:00.000-06:002017-12-22T15:06:18.983-06:00Thanksgiving...Trevor and I are adding on to our house, which is significant if you consider how much I hate to commit to anything new. And about right if you consider that we are doing only half the project because I drug my feet for so long that everything suddenly cost twice what it did when we first started chatting with a designer and architect literal years ago. <br />
<br />
(Trevor loves to point out that if we had just run with the plans when we first had them drawn up, we’d be done with the whole project – as opposed to only halfway done with Phase 1. Thanks, Trev.)<br />
<br />
The good news is that Trevor is getting his new kitchen, my aunt is getting a powder bath, and I won’t have to do laundry in the breakfast nook anymore. The bad news is that my kitchen is now in my dining room and I can’t park in my garage. But it is temporary. Plus, it has given us a very good reason to go through things and purge.<br />
<br />
Which leads me to the point of this post.<br />
<br />
Remember <a href="http://blinkyblinkyblink.blogspot.com/2011/08/remembering-gran.html" target="_blank">Gran</a>? Trevor’s grandmother who passed away in August of 2011 when I was pregnant with Banner? Well, she donated her body to science and was gone for about two months before coming home in a USPS box (which I always thought was perfect somehow. She would have loved seeing how the postal system works from the perspective of a package, I’m just sure of it). I can’t remember when exactly, but we either scattered her ashes at Thanksgiving or Christmas of that year. I was uncomfortably pregnant at the time and my memory has never been what it was prior to March 2011. All I remember for sure is that Spence made a half joke about what would happen if Camilla’s garden statuary started moving DURING THE ACTUAL SCATTERING OF GRAN'S REMAINS in the ivy on the northern side of their backyard.<br />
<br />
What I don’t remember is that we evidently didn’t scatter ALL of Gran that day. Had you asked me at the beginning of November, I would have sworn we did.<br />
<br />
Apparently, half of Gran’s ashes went home with Trevor’s uncle, Randy. He may/may not have scattered her at his house (no one knows for sure, but the presumption is that he most likely scattered some of her there). When Randy passed in May of 2016, Camilla wondered what Randy had done with their mother's remaining ashes. She sort of assumed she'd find the USPS box while cleaning out Randy's house last year. When that didn't happen, she presumed he scattered the rest of her in his yard. This stung a little when his house was sold and later demolished by a developer. A McMansion is going up on Randy's old lot now, and Camilla had lamented earlier this fall about part of her mother being built on top of and surrounded by total strangers.<br />
<br />
But, surprise! Randy actually gave what remained of Gran to Trevor.<br />
<br />
Trevor only has a vague memory of this transaction, which suggests that it occurred when Banner was brand, spanking new and we were in the throes of first time parenthood. It is even possible that he didn't register what (or who!) was in the USPS box when Randy handed it to him. The only thing we know for sure is that Trevor immediately forgot he was in possession of the box/his grandmother and left it/her in the garage where, six years later, he was very (VERY!) surprised by the contents of a seemingly ordinary USPS box that he unearthed from a particularly cluttered corner of our garage.<br />
<br />
(Oh, Tweb-bee...)<br />
<br />
And, yes, admitting that my husband forgot his grandmother’s ashes were in our garage makes us terrible people. Who does that?<br />
<br />
(Answer: Us.)<br />
<br />
In my defense, I never knew that Gran’s ashes came back to our house. If I did, she would have at least been kept INSIDE the house. Heck, both Gypsy and Haskell’s ashes are in personalized cedar boxes under my side of the bed. That’s where they always hid when they got scared, and it seemed fitting (and a personal comfort to me as I adjust to life without them). That said, I think Trevor’s grandmother would have found the entire situation comical, and quite possibly orchestrated it from beyond on purpose (it certainly seems like something she would have done). If nothing else it probably explains a lot about various things that have happen over the course of the last six or so years (namely Schafer, who also happens to be Gran’s namesake).<br />
<br />
Cut to Thanksgiving. My BFF, Jacq, had come into town to spend the holiday with us and we were about to leave for dinner at Camilla’s house when Trevor grabbed gift wrap out of the attic and covered a certain nondescript USPS box in brightly colored Happy Birthday paper. Then, once we arrived at his mother’s house, Trevor proudly presented the package to his brother as a 37th birthday gift.<br />
<br />
That's right. Not only are we the kind of people who forget about loved one's ashes in our garage, but - when we find/remember - we also gift wrap them and pass them along to unsuspecting family members.<br />
<br />
Y’all. I’ve never consumed a glass of wine as fast as I did that night.<br />
<br />
Spence started to open the “present” as Beverly reminded everyone that her birthday actually came a full two weeks before Spencer’s in mid December ("Where is my present, Trevor?"). The wrapping paper fell to the floor and Spence ripped open the top of the USPS box, and then blinked a lot as his brain registered its contents. Trevor started to giggle, I poured myself a second glass of wine, Camilla rolled her eyes, Spence slowly lifted the ziplock baggie of ashes out of the box with a look of confused horror on his face, Banner piped up to ask why daddy just gave Spencer dirt in a bag, and poor Jacq just looked around at us all like we were certifiably nuts.<br />
<br />
The one thing everyone agrees on is that Gran would have loved the whole thing: “hiding” in our garage for years, being passed from one loved one to another, being a literal gift that keeps on giving – all that was/is right up her alley. As weird as the whole situation was/is, it also resurrected Gran in a way, and got us all talking and sharing memories about her again. In my mind I can imagine her in her bright pink boa, declaring herself to be the Best Present Ever, and thinking the entire situation was "absolutely wonderful" before chuckling to herself and taking one more long, deep sip of Jack and Coke. <br />
<br />
And, yes, there are also plans to spread the rest of her ashes in Camilla’s backyard at a future date when the whole family can be together again. I'm looking forward to telling Banner and Schafer about their great grandma and remembering Gran some more. That woman was fabulous and the closest anyone has ever come to being literally awesome.Deals On Wheelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08038285934290983581noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13873612.post-85131528680027287372017-08-31T12:33:00.000-05:002018-01-09T15:38:18.590-06:00Durango Quotes, August 2017...<strong><u>BANNER</u>:</strong> <br />
<br />
"Mom, it is not nice to smile when someone drops their hotdog on the floor."<br />
<br />
<em>Banner while looking at a picture of Ann Kennedy</em>: "She is just so-so adorable. I want to marry her."<br />
<br />
"Thanks for sharing mom. I already know that."<br />
"It's just because I haven't picked my nose until tomorrow or today."<br />
<br />
"I like Poppy. She acts like a cat."<br />
<br />
"Look mom! It is Timmy and Gerald!" (Timmy and Gerald = Tom and Jerry)<br />
<br />
"This is so en-tire-ish."<br />
<br />
"Okay, girls. I'm only going to pull you to my shoe because that's real life."<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong><u>SCHAFER</u>:</strong><br />
<br />
Sock = Cock<br />
<br />
Ner = Banner<br />
<br />
<em>Wakes up screaming</em>: "But I is me, Mama! I is me!"<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI84Lsq8IkaBIjW_bcMlc-fTRWSGmTWi27Zojm6jna_Y2HMMErxFZ27p26SSyFFDHHSyChwXZ_I5zUxbTQSwqR16lbCoQGEku6kATDGQjyg9WFp4oLbz4pv7vQpyq3aRexLq9e/s1600/IMG_2096%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI84Lsq8IkaBIjW_bcMlc-fTRWSGmTWi27Zojm6jna_Y2HMMErxFZ27p26SSyFFDHHSyChwXZ_I5zUxbTQSwqR16lbCoQGEku6kATDGQjyg9WFp4oLbz4pv7vQpyq3aRexLq9e/s400/IMG_2096%255B1%255D.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Deals On Wheelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08038285934290983581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13873612.post-18192825039063284642017-03-05T16:45:00.000-06:002017-04-21T10:50:52.646-05:00Valentine's Day...The Saturday before Valentine's Day was a big day. Well, actually it was rather ordinary in terms of Saturdays but then BIG things happened. Namely, my little guy scored his first basket in a basketball game.<br />
<br />
Why is that significant? <br />
<br />
Because we had to lie about Banner's age so he could play (the YMCA mandates that players be 5 by November 1st, but Banner didn't turn 5 until January), and basketball requires so much more coordination than, say, soccer. I had never thought about it before, but dribbling is a legit skill. As is shooting a relatively large ball overhand into a smallish hoop perched high up in the air.<br />
<br />
I've posted this video before, but this is how the season started:<br />
<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6w_apPngSnc/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6w_apPngSnc?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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We've spent the last couple of months working on dribbling and moving forward (at the same time), and have seen definite improvements in that department:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GCHnX_A1HYA/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GCHnX_A1HYA?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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Coach Paul's goal is to have every boy score at least once in a game, but we are rapidly nearing the end of the season. And Banner...well, Banner gets so frustrated. I was starting to worry it wouldn't happen.</div>
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But then it did:</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/O-eKwckgXDA/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/O-eKwckgXDA?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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Riding that post-score high, Banner left the court at the end of the game, walked right up to his buddy, Nolan's, big sister (she's in 2nd grade), and professed his love for her. I didn't witness it, but Nolan's parents did and told me about it.</div>
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Cut to the end of basketball season party, when the entire team (and their families) was invited over to one of the player's houses to play, eat pizza and celebrate. Nolan's big sister was there, and - kid you not - Banner ignored his teammates for most of the party in order to follow her around like a puppy. They played pushy-pushy on the swing, tag, slid down the slide - if she was doing it, Banner was right there at her side. Funny thing was that you could tell that she enjoyed the attention...if for no other reason then she was the oldest at the party with a bunch of five year old boys. I'm sure if it hadn't been for Banner, she would have spent most of the party playing by herself.</div>
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Of course, it sort of backfired in the end. When it was time to leave, Banner was devastated because he "didn't get to play with my basketball friends, yet". </div>
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Oy.</div>
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At least Banner hasn't succumb - like many of the other boys on his team - to that whole "girls are gross/have cooties" phenomena?</div>
Deals On Wheelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08038285934290983581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13873612.post-72019661503456872022017-01-12T11:50:00.000-06:002017-01-12T11:50:45.684-06:00That time it was winter for ONE day...Last Friday we had a dusting of snow. Actually, I'm not even sure it qualified as a dusting, but it was just enough to make everyone in Dallas freak out, and turn my afternoon commute into a 3 hour ordeal (and I didn't even get on a highway!).<br />
<br />
When I finally got home, Banner immediately asked if he could go play outside in the "snow", and promptly ran out the side doors into the backyard.<br />
<br />
He was back inside less than 90 seconds later.<br />
<br />
<strong>Me:</strong> "Back so soon?"<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Guess what, mama?"<br />
<strong>Me:</strong> "What? Too cold for you out there?"<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "No! It is great! But GUESS WHAT?!"<br />
<strong>Me:</strong> "You built a snowman?"<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "No! I finally did it! What I always wanted! I made yellow snow!"<br />
<br />
<em><strong>#lifegoals</strong></em><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkzMnmii5W_2zT9vPPRXXR9HFeDbxGlu6winwY3QrfB8OMQs5iC0uhL5lxdGi_P-2w4xX1D9qq2wf3kNhPYyruKbLUPAVdKmuQXBJYgu_1xD5cS-qq0-VNGUdsasxDWNlIEXaz/s1600/IMG_2865.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkzMnmii5W_2zT9vPPRXXR9HFeDbxGlu6winwY3QrfB8OMQs5iC0uhL5lxdGi_P-2w4xX1D9qq2wf3kNhPYyruKbLUPAVdKmuQXBJYgu_1xD5cS-qq0-VNGUdsasxDWNlIEXaz/s400/IMG_2865.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little boys are so weird.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Deals On Wheelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08038285934290983581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13873612.post-9476334817328510662017-01-10T23:23:00.000-06:002017-01-12T11:25:04.466-06:00"Mama, it isn't nice to laugh at people who got hurted."<strong>From</strong>: The School Nurse<br />
<strong>Sent:</strong> Tuesday, January 10, 2017 2:19 PM<br />
<strong>To:</strong> Me<br />
<strong>Subject:</strong> Confidential - Medical Event Notice<br />
<br />
<strong>Your child visited the school clinic/office. Below is a copy of the report:</strong><br />
<br />
Jan 10, 2017<br />
<br />
<strong>Time In</strong><br />
1:57<br />
<br />
<strong>Time Out</strong><br />
2:00<br />
<br />
<strong>Temperature</strong><br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Description</strong><br />
clipped a binder clip to his bottom lip; small cut with a little redness and swelling on bottom lip; minimal bleeding; clip was removed before he came to the clinic<br />
<br />
<strong>Treatment</strong><br />
cleaned; ice pack<br />
<br />
<strong>Outcome</strong><br />
back to class<br />
<br />
<strong>Staff</strong><br />
nurse<br />
<br />
<strong>Person Contacted</strong><br />
email parents<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<strong>Time Contacted</strong></div>
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</span><br />
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<strong>***</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<br />
<strong>From:</strong> Me<br />
<strong>Sent:</strong> Tuesday, January 10, 2017 2:43 PM<br />
<strong>To:</strong> The School Nurse<br />
<strong>Cc:</strong> Trevor<br />
<strong>Subject:</strong> RE: Confidential - Medical Event Notice<br />
<br />
I’m a terrible mother. This just made me laugh out loud.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<br />
<strong>***</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<br />
<strong>From</strong>: The School Nurse<br />
<strong>Sent:</strong> Tuesday, January 10, 2017 2:52 PM<br />
<strong>To:</strong> Me<br />
<strong>Subject:</strong> RE: Confidential - Medical Event Notice<br />
<br />
You are not a bad mother…. Kids do funny things! I am not sure why he decided to try that, but I don’t think he will try it again! :- )</div>
Deals On Wheelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08038285934290983581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13873612.post-57176057122464922202017-01-01T21:35:00.000-06:002017-01-01T21:50:25.227-06:00And just like that, another year bites the dust...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Because I'm big on recaps this week, here's a photo recap of the very end of 2016 and the beginning of 2017 (otherwise known as yesterday and today).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihQa5djutiVMDPAK2iDxiafBe_pQKKx0zvZTefsJ1_yd7_VqzrECIHXzdPmpMALCeIgGJym8Fkw2okGKrFsDhaX86-8214G-60n167fUaSQUHHO2i_7dkRuY05Lfv7ud7vvTmi/s1600/IMG_2459.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihQa5djutiVMDPAK2iDxiafBe_pQKKx0zvZTefsJ1_yd7_VqzrECIHXzdPmpMALCeIgGJym8Fkw2okGKrFsDhaX86-8214G-60n167fUaSQUHHO2i_7dkRuY05Lfv7ud7vvTmi/s320/IMG_2459.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boo.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQlGSK-lQ6_Q-VHK3nQr6RaSp33JEFW6v8QyRTfXAx5l8lwkRcVmFUbq7_4zTtp0aNiJeI-LM2Ra-j35hpVQMk0SLwg6aoT9uiVk1aN8a5GaWj61Tccen-MOr67SjVgCeueHKV/s1600/IMG_2471.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQlGSK-lQ6_Q-VHK3nQr6RaSp33JEFW6v8QyRTfXAx5l8lwkRcVmFUbq7_4zTtp0aNiJeI-LM2Ra-j35hpVQMk0SLwg6aoT9uiVk1aN8a5GaWj61Tccen-MOr67SjVgCeueHKV/s320/IMG_2471.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">G.K. Woo has started sleeping like this in her old age.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGC76vcnNFEXuSBeG5hFFnDuh8CHkAm3zdohgEyFvCtVyOTrEezDPu2N4mNtS76bJ4LMzs0IStqIY4_mH8kXSM5vG-wuutydVGaKfpawulLA7pDyCbtR4EOi_UEEz5peaNen4e/s1600/IMG_2478.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGC76vcnNFEXuSBeG5hFFnDuh8CHkAm3zdohgEyFvCtVyOTrEezDPu2N4mNtS76bJ4LMzs0IStqIY4_mH8kXSM5vG-wuutydVGaKfpawulLA7pDyCbtR4EOi_UEEz5peaNen4e/s400/IMG_2478.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Schaf is fearless. #Athena<br />
She bounced, climbed and slid down the slides with the big kids.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Such a weird photo but love my lil batman. <br />
He was so excited to have a "paint face".</td></tr>
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After bounce houses and face painting, we briefly visited a friend of mine who - kid you not - has a bounce house set in her living room. My kids now have life goals.<br />
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None of us made it until midnight. In fact, none of us made it until 10:30 PM. Which was a good decision because there is nothing quite like dogs, small children and fireworks to keep you up pretty much all night. The best sleep of last night came in the hour and a half BEFORE the ball dropped (note to self, I don't care how beautiful it is outside, NYE is not the night to sleep with all windows open). <br />
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New Year's Day was spent circuit training, nature walking, fort making...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Banner made a fort and asked Haskell to guard it during nap time. <br />
Haskell took one look a blanket and two over-sized pillows on the floor and was all over it. <span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">🙄</span></td></tr>
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...brunch eating, coffee drinking, nap taking, grocery shopping and BIKE RIDING!<br />
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That's right. Today was the fateful day that - just three days before turning 5 - Banner made the decision to take the training wheels off his bicycle. And I mean that literally. I walked out to the driveway to discover the kid pulling the training wheels off of his bike with his bare hands and tossing them into the grass. The Hulk is strong with this one.<br />
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After a little air in the tires and a push from Trev, Banner was off. <br />
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I don't know why, but I assumed it would take awhile for him to get the hang of it. But no. Less than thirty minutes later, he was a regular expert. At least as far as pedaling and steering were concerned. </div>
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Now, getting ON the bike without training wheels is going to take some practice, but if the kid applies the same perseverance to bike riding that he has applied to learning to snap and whistle this fall (omg, the kid is persistent), I think he will conquer that in no time as well.<br />
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<b>Happiest of New Years to you and yours from the four of us in Big D!</b></div>
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Deals On Wheelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08038285934290983581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13873612.post-19265065144252360922016-12-31T16:18:00.001-06:002017-01-04T10:44:35.909-06:00A to Z in 2016...A friend of mine <a href="http://www.youretheheartofus.com/the-best-things-in-life-are-3/" target="_blank">did this</a> on her blog, and I thought it was a brilliant way of recapping the year. Especially since I haven't exactly been a prolific writer in 2016.<br />
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(Yeah. Truly sorry about that. Clearly I peaked as a blogger before I had children.)<br />
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So without further ado:<br />
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<strong>A is for AVOCADO and the ARBORETUM.</strong><br />
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<strong>AVOCADO:</strong> Just like with Banner, we waited six months to start solids with Schafer, and - when we did - I again opted to start her on baby oatmeal instead of rice (neither one of my babies ever had rice cereal. It just made me too nervous). Unlike Banner, however, Schafer wanted nothing to do with solids and refused almost everything until she was closer to 8-9 months in age. Girlfriend just preferred her boob milk, and - looking back on it - I'm so happy I never had to give her formula. There isn't anything wrong with formula at all (Banner had it!), but Schafer is just one of those kiddos who doesn't do change well and I was lucky that I was able to give her exclusive breast milk for her first year and then some (14 months to be exact, but the last two months was mixed with cow's milk as we slowly weaned). <br />
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But I digress. Schafer's favorite food (first and current) is avocado and we have so many pictures of her completely covered in green from the last year. Even when we are able to get her to eat nothing else, we can usually get her to eat avocado. <br />
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<strong>ARBORETUM:</strong> Seriously. One of my most favorite places - especially with two very mobile kiddos.<br />
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<strong>B is for BASKETBALL and BAPTISM.</strong> <br />
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<strong>BASKETBALL:</strong> We had to lie about Banner's age because he (technically) had to be 5 before November 1st in order to play for the YMCA. But - let's face it - Banner is taller than some 7 year olds we know, and the YMCA doesn't check IDs (nor are they in the habit of telling little kids that really, really want to play that they can't because of an eight week age difference). Banner overheard us discussing this and immediately assumed he was really about to be 6 in January (spoiler alert: he is still 4, at least until next Wednesday). <br />
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But the white lie is totally worth it because of videos like this:<br />
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<strong>BAPTISM</strong> is in honor of Schafer's baptism last January (the 10th). She was the first baby baptized by Mother Rebecca, and baby girl has the best Godparents anyone could ask for.<br />
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<strong>C is for CHRISTMAS and CAMPING.</strong><br />
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<strong>CHRISTMAS:</strong> As much as I had always hoped for a screaming child on Santa's lap photo, both my kids love the jolly ole' elf. Especially Schafer. She actually toddled up to the Women's Club Santa this year and said, "Up" and then contentedly sat in his lap until she almost fell asleep (she wasn't feeling the best that afternoon).<br />
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Meanwhile, Banner continues to be awed into silence around St. Nick. He saw the big guy three times this year (Neimans, Brook Hollow and Candlelight), and was finally able to blurt out, "I want a dinosaur" at the very last second on the very last Santa.<br />
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<strong>CAMPING:</strong> This was also the year that we introduced Banner to camping (he technically camped right before Schafer was born, but it he really started to get into it this last spring). It has almost exclusively been in the backyard, but there are plans to take him offsite (state parks and whatnot) in 2017.<br />
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<strong>D is for DOGS, DENVER and DAYCARE.</strong><br />
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<strong>DOGS:</strong> The Awesome Pawsome continues to thrive, but with increasing health issues. Gypsy is 13 (and completely deaf), Alley is 12 and Haskell is 11, though, so it is to be expected. In the last year or so we've have everything from allergies to thyroid problems to ear hematomas to unexplained weight loss to tumor removal and redevelopment. Despite their declining health, they continue to be the best dogs on the planet.<br />
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Also, 2016 started with Alley giving us quite the scare by disappearing for three days. Apparently, she followed one of our neighbors home on Saturday afternoon after my MIL accidentally let her out, and spent the entire weekend being called "Greta", lounging in peace without small, screaming children, and sleeping IN THE BED with her savior and a small dachshund named "Tuff". All this took place about five blocks away, and - even though the sweet neighbor posted Alley's picture on FB, no one shared it or made the connection to our posts (also on FB and NextDoor) looking for her. Finally, Monday afternoon, the neighbor, thinking Alley was a stray, took her to Operation Kindness, a local no kill shelter, where they scanned her for a chip and we were all reunited. While it is unlikely Alley learned any kind of lesson from the ordeal (or at least not the one you'd normally learn after being lost for three days and two very cold nights in a big city with cars and coyotes), we were all very happy and relieved to have her home safe and sound. She now has a pink collar with her name and number embroidered on it (as do Hasky and GK Woo).<br />
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<b>DENVER:</b> Banner and Trevor went to Denver to spend a boys weekend with Trevor's brother, Spencer, over TX/OU weekend back in October. For a little boy, it might have been the Best Trip EV-VER. Banner not only got to "fly" the plane, but he also got to ride the Georgetown train, hold snow, pan for gold, visit Red Rocks, look for dinosaurs and "camp out" in a tent and sleeping bag in Uncle Spencer's living room.<br />
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<strong>DAYCARE:</strong> August marked the end of Banner's daycare days as he transitioned in to Pre-K at "big boy school". He can technically drop in until he is six, but - really - I don't foresee him dropping in very much (if at all) in 2017. It is the end of an era.<br />
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<strong>E is for EASTER.</strong><br />
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In hindsight, Easter was one of the hardest times of 2016. Trevor was traveling a lot for work, Schafer was suffering from horrible chronic ear infections, I developed a painful blood clot in my lower leg, the museum lost another director, I was still waking up every morning to pump at 4 AM...there was just a lot going on and I was exhausted. I think it was the thinnest I was spread all year long, but I learned a lot and endured so I'm just gunna' go with that.<br />
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Plus, the pictures were cute. You'd never know from looking at them that anything was amiss.</div>
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<strong>F is for FOUR, the FOURTH OF JULY, FAMILY and FIRST DAYS.</strong><br />
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<strong>FOUR: </strong> Four is a great (albeit whiney) age. Banner is definitely a kid now. It seems like things fall into place at four - like putting train tracks together in loops, big arm strokes and side breaths in swim class, writing, phonics, simple math concepts, etc.<br />
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<strong>FOURTH OF JULY:</strong> We did what we always do and it was perfect.<br />
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<strong>FAMILY:</strong> I looked out my dining room window last spring and captured this image of my favorite people on the planet. You know how sometimes you stop and realize you are truly happy? This was one of those moments.<br />
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<strong>FIRST DAYS:</strong> 2016 was a year of new beginnings, new bosses (I had three and I'm still at the same museum that I started at in 2004) and new schools. Here is my BIG BOY on his first day of PK.<br />
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<strong>G is for GIRLS WEEKENDS, GROCERY STORES and swim class GRADUATIONS.</strong><br />
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<strong>GIRLS WEEKENDS:</strong> July was a big month for spending time with some of my besties. Right after the Fourth, Jacq, Little and Anna came down to visit from Baltimore and D.C. Seven people and three dogs all under one tiny roof. It was crazy and loud and full of laughter (ordering ice cream in the drive through at the TCBY might be the hardest I laughed all year) and just what my soul needed.<br />
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Then, at the end of the month, I went to Hot Springs with Hilary and Melissa for three much needed nights away (it was my present to myself after being tied to a breast pump for over a year; including over 12 months of waking up at 4 AM to make Schafer's breakfast). Lots of reading, late morning sleeping, wine drinking, good food eating, thermal water soaking, Gilmore Girls watching and August birthday toasting.<br />
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<strong>GROCERY STORES:</strong> True story. Life is so much easier when both kids like riding in one of these:<br />
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Related: Two kids eat you out of house and home. I feel like we are always going to the store or planning to go to the store. And when we DO go, Trevor and I will spend more time looking for a cart with steering wheels than actually shopping. Because passing a race car shopping cart with steering wheels in the store while your kids are in a regular old shopping cart? Yeah, significantly less pleasant than if you had the race car cart to begin with. I've actually <s>stalked</s> followed other parents in the parking lot and asked for their cart after they've loaded their car. <br />
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<b>Swim class GRADUATIONS: </b> Mostly I just wanted to share this:<br />
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<b>H is for HALLOWEEN and HAND, FOOT AND MOUTH.</b><br />
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<b>HALLOWEEN: </b> Banner has wanted to be Batman since LAST Halloween. Trevor was proud he chose the old school Batman over the Dark Knight. Schafer was initially going to be a puppy (because of her adorable "woof woof"), but she threw such an epic tantrum at the store that a skunk seemed much more appropriate for our little stinker.<br />
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<b>HAND, FOOT AND MOUTH: </b> We dodged this bullet when Banner was a baby, but were not so lucky with number two. Poor Schafer got it in July (days after her last breastmilk bottle - talk about irrational mama guilt) and looked absolutely horrible. For the record - if should totally be called Hand, Foot, Mouth and Butt disease (the butt part looked like it felt the worst too). Luckily, she seemed happy despite looking like a mess and recovered fairly quickly.</div>
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Biggest post HFMD surprise? Her finger and toenails coming off a few weeks later.</div>
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<strong>I is for IMAGINATION.</strong><br />
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We made it<strong> </strong>NINE MONTHS with this huge cardboard box in my living room. They literally played with it until it fell apart. It was amazing how many things a box can become for a child. Best toy ever.</div>
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<b>J is for JEEP and Grandpa JOE.</b><br />
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<b>JEEP: </b>2016 was full of Grammy Pammy sleepovers and pancake breakfasts. She has also been teaching Banner to cook, and the two of them can make a mean potpie. It has been so sweet to watch her with her grandkids. Banner and Schafer get so excited when they see her car in the driveway. So precious.<br />
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<b>Grandpa JOE: </b> After years and years, Trevor's father reappeared in our lives this year. Twice, actually. I literally hadn't seen him since Christmas 2002, but Banner got to meet him at a family reunion back at the end of April. Then, surprising everyone again, he came to Dallas for his high school football reunion in the fall, met Schafer for the first time (who proceeded to throw up all over Buzz Brews) and attended one of Banner's soccer games. So glad both kiddos have gotten to now meet their paternal grandfather and have photos with him.<br />
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<strong>K is for KARATE.</strong><br />
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<strong>KARATE:</strong> It is amazing what two years can do. I never took karate as a kid, but I'm an absolute believer in it now. Granted, the program is geared towards little ones, but the growth we saw in Banner between white belt and white belt with a black stripe was unbelievable. Karate taught him discipline, manners, respect and confidence, and - while he is now in a different self-defense centered program through his school - I think we will be returning to this program in 2017.<br />
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<strong>L is for LAUNDRY and LOVE.</strong><br />
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<strong>LAUNDRY:</strong> Dude. Four people create a lot of laundry. Especially when one of the members is four years old and has to wear white to school. Seriously, WHY? No one in the history of ever who has come in contact with a four or five year old boy thinks white is a good idea - especially if they are going to be in a situation where they will be intentionally and purposefully armed with things like markers, paint, ketchup and BBQ chicken.<br />
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Banner started school at the very end of August and I had to order six new shirts...FOR OCTOBER. <br />
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<b>LOVE: </b> Specifically between siblings. These two love each other so much. No one can make Schafer laugh like Banner. When I take one to help pick up the other, they reunite with big hugs and smiles. They play and share and worry about each other and genuinely want to be together. It makes my heart swell.<br />
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<b>M is for Banner's first MOVIE, MUSIC and half MARATHONS.</b><br />
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<strong>MOVIE: </strong>Banner's first movie was FINDING DORY. We took him to Alamo Drafthouse in July with my friend Lane's little girl, Peyton, and my mom (who had never been to a dinner and movie establishment and really got into the whole "you can order WINE" bit). Overall, he did very well, and only got antsy towards the end. He has been asking to go to another movie. It hasn't happened yet, but I think there are plenty of movies in his future.<br />
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<strong>MUSIC: </strong>Banner and Schafer have a playlist on my cell phone ever since I got my new car last December and we listen to their songs all the time. Banner's favorite songs of 2016 include I LIKE TO MOVE IT (from Madagascar), LOST BOY, HANDCLAP, UPTOWN FUNK and WAY DOWN WE GO while Schafer is much more of a Bee Gee (specifically, STAYIN' ALIVE) and Meghan Trainor fan.<br />
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Here is a short clip of girlfriend dancing:<br />
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<strong>Half MARATHONS:</strong> Trevor and I ran the half last December (2015) and again this year (2016). Both times I trained for the race in less than six weeks, and both times I finished without incident. The biggest difference was - last year - I was still nursing and training was hard to schedule around pumping every 3 hours. I'd be in the middle of a long training run and my milk would come in and it was downright painful. But when I would go to pump afterwards, the calorie burn during the run would have decimated my supply - sometimes for hours or even days. Luckily, I had built up quite a supply in the freezer, but it was still stressful trying to run and be Schafer's primary food source. I've never been so hungry in my life.<br />
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This year, on the other hand, was brilliant. My finishing time was no where near my PR pre-children, but it was about 10-15 minutes faster than last year. I also discovered caffeinated Cliff Goo around mile 7 (right after the naked cowboy on Greenville) and my fastest miles were the final 6 - accidentally leaving Trevor behind (oops). If it weren't for my veins (see V) I'd seriously consider running a whole this spring.<br />
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<b>N is for NIGHTS.</b> Specifically THREE WHOLE NIGHTS away together in San Francisco. It was the first trip Trevor and I had taken - just us - since Banner was nine months old and we went to Cleveland for Susie and Aaron's wedding. It was fabulous and well overdue.<br />
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<b>O is for ONE.</b><br />
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<b>ONE: </b> Schafer turned one at the end of May. She took her first steps around 11 months, but really took off a few days before her birthday. Banner wasn't a good walker for 4 or so months after he took his first steps (also around 11 months), but Schafer was a good walker almost immediately. Her main goal has always been to catch up to big brother, and girlfriend is DRIVEN.<br />
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Here she is two days before her first birthday:<br />
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For her first birthday, we threw a party for Schafer at the house and over 40 people showed up. Because of the number of RSVPs, we had food catered from Matt's. A bunch of kiddos were there too (the biggest difference between Banner's first birthday and Schafer's first birthday is the number of tiny people that have been added to the families of our friends), and the grown ups threw an after party that involved lots of wine and card games. It was a blast.<br />
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Her smash cake was an owl and we also had adorable owl cookies made to celebrate the occasion. #Athena<br />
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If I had one word to sum up the first 6 months of her second trip around the sun, it would be OPINIONATED (another O word but quite possibly nothing else sums up Schafer quite as well). I'm going to sit back and watch girlfriend change the world.<br />
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<b>P is for PUMP IT UP.</b><br />
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<b>PUMP IT UP</b> is an indoor inflatable bounce house party place. We had Banner's 4th birthday party at Pump it Up, and then attended approximately 25 birthday parties there over the course of 2016.<br />
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The place is fun and the kids love it, but - quite frankly - I am pumped out. Especially after a close friend of Banner's was injured there in September at another kid's birthday on my watch (long story involving a fall, a concussion, an ambulance ride and a 5 hour ER visit - all on my first - and possibly last - play date where I was the parent in charge). <br />
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All that said, the place is great if you have a bouncer or a climber. Accidents can (and will) happen anywhere.<br />
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<b>Q is for QUOTES.</b><br />
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<b>QUOTES: </b>Banner (and, increasingly so, Schafer) says the funniest things. Feel free to review some of our favorites <a href="http://blinkyblinkyblink.blogspot.com/search/label/Bannerisms..." target="_blank">HERE</a>.<br />
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<b>R is for REUNIONS, RANDY and Alan RICKMAN.</b><br />
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<b>REUNIONS: </b> Trevor went to his dad's family's reunion in April and saw family members he had not seen or heard from in decades (including Trevor's dad, Joe). He and his brother, Spencer, took Banner down to the family farm (which has been in the family since the 1800s), and spent the weekend hanging out and catching up. <br />
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It was also the weekend when Banner caught his first fish in the G-Wink family pond with several of his cousins.<br />
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Neither here nor there, but those shorts he is wearing in the reunion photos? Those were the unofficial Banner shorts of 2016. He literally wore them until they fell apart. I should have them bronzed. That shirt, too, now that I think about it.</div>
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<b>RANDY: </b> Uncle Randy passed away at his home in early May; just before Schafer's first birthday. He was a gentle giant who wanted Banner to call him "Uncle Ran-Ran". He lived only three or four blocks from us, and would randomly bring presents over for the kids. Banner's favorite was always the treasure chest Randy gave him one Christmas. We used it until it fell apart to store all of Banner's costumes and masks.</div>
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I could go on and on about Randy, but I'll conclude with how much we will miss him. Seven months later and Banner still asks about him and points at his house when we drive past.</div>
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<b>Alan RICKMAN:</b> Speaking of loss, it is no secret that we have lost a lot of people in 2016 - including a bunch of celebrities. For me, the hardest celebrity to lose was Alan Rickman. It is silly, but he was in a bunch of my favorite movies over the years from <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0177789/" target="_blank">Galaxy Quest</a> to the Harry Potter franchise to <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102798/" target="_blank">Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves</a>. A part of me feels like he narrated my childhood and early adulthood. RIP.<br />
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<b>S is for SOCCER, SHOES, SQUEEZIES and SLEEP.</b><br />
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<b>SOCCER</b> was Banner's first team sport and he started at the end of August. To say he loved it would be the understatement of the year. And - even better - the kid was good (well, good for 4 years old, at least). He scored a goal in his first game and then in almost every game thereafter. <br />
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Once we were late to practice and he chastised me because he missed warm ups. Kid is serious about his team sports.<br />
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<b>SHOES and SQUEEZIES:</b> a.k.a. two of Schafer's most favorite things. She calls shoes "shhhhhoos" and squeezies "Zees". The only favorite thing that doesn't start with a S is "books". Book was actually one of her very first words (after "uh oh") and girlfriend prefers to do the "reading" herself instead of being read to. There is a bookcase in her closet that is filled with board books. It was hidden until November behind toys that are now in the attic. When she first saw the bookcase it was like that scene in Beauty and the Beast when Belle first discovered the Beast's library. Her favorite thing to do is go in her closet to "read" while simultaneously trying on "shhhhhhoos".<br />
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<b>SLEEP: </b> Thanks to Schafer, we still aren't getting much. But it is slowly improving (knock on wood). That is until it isn't (like when her allergies flare).<br />
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<b>T is for TUBES and TRAIN TABLES. </b><br />
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<b>TUBES: </b> Schafer had to get tubes in April after seven months of ear infection after chronic ear infection. No wonder we never slept that first year of our daughter's life. Schafer was in horrible pain.<br />
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In March, right before we made the decision to meet with an ENT, Schafer ended up at the pediatrician's office for the third time that month. The ear infection had stopped responding to the antibiotic that had been previously prescribed so the doctor ordered a different antibiotic be injected into her thigh to wipe it out. Trevor was out of town on business, and my sweet girl was exhausted, hot and screaming from the pain in her ears. The antibiotic, when injected, is apparently rather painful, and Schafer screamed so hard that she passed out. I've never felt so helpless in my life and broke down in the office in front of all the doctors and nurses.<br />
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Once we were told to get tubes, I called the ENT every day to get on the list for an appointment. I was persistent and it paid off. Before an ENT will put tubes in a child's ears, they require a hearing test, and it was only then that we realized how much the ear infections had compromised Schafer's hearing. It was heartbreaking to discover but - thank God - not permanent. I'll never forget getting into the car for the first time post surgery, and Schafer startling to the sound of the radio.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY27gYpmAesWh3DB9gZKbHoLoDqzSM4E2omb4Uv0WRvtV4PmjzpPwJ6UxgTXUUhX36p5uR5UDhPYG1Zd4teYP-ZuWhYV8CTsnh82-QUpyZs9E34AEvSzAvkaB5CT3ifyuhypz7/s1600/IMG_5383.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY27gYpmAesWh3DB9gZKbHoLoDqzSM4E2omb4Uv0WRvtV4PmjzpPwJ6UxgTXUUhX36p5uR5UDhPYG1Zd4teYP-ZuWhYV8CTsnh82-QUpyZs9E34AEvSzAvkaB5CT3ifyuhypz7/s320/IMG_5383.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA0EdCWi6Q4TQWmLfPkdUHFeOaWU7wGFmpRfvUmUJZR1hkpq8gqDX2hzold-RlDv7EhiRbVKinDKe7A0FvdcbXwczBDEaooRFCokilhbv5x9O82Pxtnz7ANReJiM7LwP8MS5xA/s1600/IMG_5384.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA0EdCWi6Q4TQWmLfPkdUHFeOaWU7wGFmpRfvUmUJZR1hkpq8gqDX2hzold-RlDv7EhiRbVKinDKe7A0FvdcbXwczBDEaooRFCokilhbv5x9O82Pxtnz7ANReJiM7LwP8MS5xA/s320/IMG_5384.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Schaf almost immediately started sleeping better (well, better for her), and hasn't been on antibiotics since. Tubes were a total game changer for her (and us), and - as of her 18 month appointment - are still in place. Hoping we can get at least through the winter before they fall out.<br />
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<b>TRAIN TABLE: </b>After witnessing Schafer climbing on top of the train table in the playroom/office several times, we made the decision to give it away for free to another family who would love it as much as we had for (just over) two years. Banner had a hard time letting go (as did I). We adored that thing.<br />
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<b>U is for UNIFORMS.</b><br />
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<b>UNIFORMS </b>were definitely an adjustment from this...<br />
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Even months later, he occasionally still tries to sneak the wrong shoes or socks passed me on the way to school because, "Mama! I wore that yesterday!" Cracks me up.</div>
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Banner also requested I buy him more size 6 skinny pants for Christmas. He is thin and didn't like the regular size pants because he said they were too fat ("fat" as in too big, not fat-fat). The size 5s were starting to look too short so I was happy to oblige, but even the size 6 slims have to be taken waaaaaay in at the waist. Thank goodness for adjustable waist bands!</div>
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My favorite uniform incident was the day I picked him up and discovered this:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJjOIe6igTDjsyr56IY5jtT86FXIprz0drWr0dhUBrUO_IWGq2bcpJRdxTxVlGDuywF53nNiUskwXTaV03cBDxfuzDh48eR-B3ILAIqPNl_8UfFJ5ryn79nU-t2bsF5ZgVAWRl/s1600/2+HOLE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJjOIe6igTDjsyr56IY5jtT86FXIprz0drWr0dhUBrUO_IWGq2bcpJRdxTxVlGDuywF53nNiUskwXTaV03cBDxfuzDh48eR-B3ILAIqPNl_8UfFJ5ryn79nU-t2bsF5ZgVAWRl/s320/2+HOLE.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Still have no idea how that happened, but I totally should have bought stock in white polos with three buttons.</div>
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<b>V is for VEINS and VALENTINES.</b><br />
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<b>VEINS: </b> My veins caused me a lot of discomfort while pregnant with Schafer, and I knew I'd have to have them fixed again. Sure enough, ultrasounds confirmed that I was a good candidate for three additional surgeries, but had to wait until 2016 to do it because - before the doctor would operate - I had to be cleared by a hematologist because of all my clotting issues. <br />
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The first two surgeries (and a phlebotomy) were performed in February and the third in March. I was in support hose for six weeks, and then had to spend the rest of the spring going back and forth to the doctor for other minor procedures. But it was all worth it when I developed a blood clot in April. Granted, it probably formed because of all the work I had recently done on my veins, but the surgeries themselves actually kept the clot from moving or doing anything dangerous. Still, I learned first hand how painful they can be, and - if you leave a clot to reabsorb on their own - you run a fever.<br />
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I went back recently for another ultrasound and it looks like I'll be back in support hose in 2017. Sigh.<br />
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<b>VALENTINES: </b><br />
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<b>W is for WATER.</b><br />
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<b>WATER: </b> Just like Banner, I started Schafer in swim classes when she was about 15 months old. She's picked it up quickly and loves the water just like her big brother. I'm looking forward to this summer and spending lots of time at the pool and splash pad with my two water bugs.<br />
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<b>X is for X-TREME. </b><br />
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<b>X-TREME:</b> As in Schafer. Love that little girl so much, but - wow - her tantrums are epic. I think we hit the terrible twos early. Possibly at birth.<br />
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This specific tantrum was because she wanted to leave the ENT's office back in November. She was screaming while the doc was asking me a million questions - one of which was about words Schafer knew and could say. Because of all the noise, though, I couldn't think of a single word or phrase. I stood up to try and get her to calm down so I could think and - in the process - unblocked the door that Schafer had been trying to get to for the entire visit. Without so much a pause, Schafer stopped crying, marched to the door, opened it, said, "Buh-Bye" and walked out. I sighed and said, "Well, she can say 'buh-bye'." The ENT just started laughing.</div>
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<b>Y is for YUCK. </b><br />
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<b>Yuck: </b> Specifically, snot and vomit - my least favorite parts of parenthood. Schafer is definitely my pukey kid. She isn't the best chewer and has a tendency to choke, gag and empty the contents of her stomach all over everywhere. <br />
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She also gets carsick. <br />
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The pediatrician says she'll probably always be a pukey kid so I'm trying to get over my disgust and my tendency to sympathy puke/gag. If only Schafer would do me a solid and learn to blow her own nose. Because snot. Ick.<br />
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<b>Z is for ZZZZZZzzzzz.</b><br />
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I just love pictures like these after a good, long, fun day.<br />
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See you all in 2017!</div>
<br />Deals On Wheelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08038285934290983581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13873612.post-53461725986710489242016-12-25T20:39:00.002-06:002016-12-25T20:39:32.624-06:00Because everyone needs a little more Frosty...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Especially on Christmas night.</div>
Deals On Wheelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08038285934290983581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13873612.post-72205002480825739332016-12-25T15:46:00.001-06:002016-12-25T15:46:58.635-06:00Merry Christmas!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Deals On Wheelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08038285934290983581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13873612.post-54580592881134102832016-12-24T22:11:00.002-06:002016-12-25T15:37:06.097-06:00Merry Christmas Eve...<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCSBdmXobsEUVVGs6j1LvHLkPCIiA9qboCkaOc6JYkTtCzv2gASl3PPkYkkiqvEd2aZgRPesugabUb3nzJBGukpqciKAL-5u6cA_ZdXz6QZ4S89qmpnxgA1FtvrBMIrWOdBgz7/s1600/thumbnail_IMG_2369-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCSBdmXobsEUVVGs6j1LvHLkPCIiA9qboCkaOc6JYkTtCzv2gASl3PPkYkkiqvEd2aZgRPesugabUb3nzJBGukpqciKAL-5u6cA_ZdXz6QZ4S89qmpnxgA1FtvrBMIrWOdBgz7/s400/thumbnail_IMG_2369-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Terrible picture but Banner decorated the front of our house this year.<br />
On the snowman family: "Look, mama! It is you, me, daddy and Schafer!"<br />
On the pig in the Santa hat: "And, look! It is Haskell!"</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Schafer Art...</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6WlkYz7UEYloXlPrM9Fktc_jBvHZUTLb1r4hdoqRREOi78OqBzEdDB57RuxeKA7ssYs2mzNADGDhUinxInv7UJ-q7FB2Q_qvb9itEjnLZoTjByHU467w3fZHwlKLvcXYT4N5T/s1600/thumbnail_IMG_2372.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6WlkYz7UEYloXlPrM9Fktc_jBvHZUTLb1r4hdoqRREOi78OqBzEdDB57RuxeKA7ssYs2mzNADGDhUinxInv7UJ-q7FB2Q_qvb9itEjnLZoTjByHU467w3fZHwlKLvcXYT4N5T/s320/thumbnail_IMG_2372.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Banner Art...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Milk, cookies, Santa letter and reindeer food...</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMsaORS0lJHT9YuzmNf-SZT-pzLVAMpJ66DfeUOUzne-dMR5SaiXYG1ED-EMDCKysHXbHjhSoWCm-tOVO3Qkyykxqt6X62FIZPE8rdGtxeFdjh6P2Muksy70TeSRwIUNcLqyaJ/s1600/thumbnail_IMG_2358.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMsaORS0lJHT9YuzmNf-SZT-pzLVAMpJ66DfeUOUzne-dMR5SaiXYG1ED-EMDCKysHXbHjhSoWCm-tOVO3Qkyykxqt6X62FIZPE8rdGtxeFdjh6P2Muksy70TeSRwIUNcLqyaJ/s200/thumbnail_IMG_2358.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxkX2u-4X077Uu9nZi803lhPjhIsiHJtDFgyaIX6pPR-_qBMup_90ScUm-QehyphenhyphenPCZtO1YSDSkknIeRX0rZc_-VP0fmMQprksimKX6IoTYF-xLp8jjt76wlwVM34QYQF6kVB_F7/s1600/thumbnail_IMG_2361.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxkX2u-4X077Uu9nZi803lhPjhIsiHJtDFgyaIX6pPR-_qBMup_90ScUm-QehyphenhyphenPCZtO1YSDSkknIeRX0rZc_-VP0fmMQprksimKX6IoTYF-xLp8jjt76wlwVM34QYQF6kVB_F7/s200/thumbnail_IMG_2361.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgER522kGAsk0Ndy-7bnIAHOCu-w-RBXIbJFHc6sRoOdSsiSJtmK1XL89YbG5W-M_HznwjuymrQUFsTT7j11bDIaCS2X_xBcNkxcXBzluJP-FNg1bhuChRAyCfFpDS2JTWanZ4q/s1600/thumbnail_IMG_2362.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgER522kGAsk0Ndy-7bnIAHOCu-w-RBXIbJFHc6sRoOdSsiSJtmK1XL89YbG5W-M_HznwjuymrQUFsTT7j11bDIaCS2X_xBcNkxcXBzluJP-FNg1bhuChRAyCfFpDS2JTWanZ4q/s200/thumbnail_IMG_2362.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Envelope: "For Santa" </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Letter (Side A): "Dear Santa could you please bring me a" </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Letter (Side B): "Banner" (with a picture of a dinosaur and another picture of him playing with a dinosaur on Christmas morning)</span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc5Eg74UNWZ9ywHxyp-xTvgdF0frc0Juw_VvtFCgXCQ6DIpt29KwdABaN6qQqvAqrER-Y295v3XrALIHs6D1on0JCa1haoZjJ8F3AJbX1GxexPQQqWGBCkoy2dnzUsw5rILbYI/s1600/thumbnail_IMG_2364.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc5Eg74UNWZ9ywHxyp-xTvgdF0frc0Juw_VvtFCgXCQ6DIpt29KwdABaN6qQqvAqrER-Y295v3XrALIHs6D1on0JCa1haoZjJ8F3AJbX1GxexPQQqWGBCkoy2dnzUsw5rILbYI/s400/thumbnail_IMG_2364.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Banner made our angel this year. <br />
He said it is his brother in Heaven.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Deals On Wheelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08038285934290983581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13873612.post-47201712541309501402016-12-01T16:16:00.000-06:002016-12-22T11:01:40.012-06:00Bannerisms: Summer-Fall Edition...<strong>Banner:</strong> "Dad, do you know it's raining and froggy outside?" <br />
<em>(Note: He meant "foggy".)</em><br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "That was the best time riding around, dad!"<br />
<strong>Trevor:</strong> "Then why did you whine and complain the entire time?"<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Wow! I must've eat too many green beans! My hair has really growed a lot!"<br />
<em>(Note: No idea why the kid thinks consuming green beans will makes his hair grow, but - who cares? He is eating a vegetable.)</em><br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Mama, I gave Schafer a bean so her hair will grow."<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Don't worry, Schaf. I'll protect you from the storm."<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Mommy, I hit my brain with the book and it hurted."<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "But everyone will be like 'where's Banner' and then they won't be able to start the movie because no one will be able to find me because I'm here in the car and not there!"<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Mom, the weather told me that there's going to be thunderstorms this weekend."<br />
<strong>Me:</strong> "Really?"<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Yeah, the weather told me."<br />
<em>(Note: He was right.)</em><br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Hey! That's not a boat! That's a rhino!"<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "There is good sugar and bad sugar, right mom?"<br />
<strong>Me:</strong> "Yes, that's right."<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Fruit has good sugar. Donuts have bad sugar."<br />
<strong>Me:</strong> "Yep."<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "You know what also has good sugar? Hot chocolate."<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Don't make me throw up, dad."<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Knock, knock."<br />
<strong>Trevor:</strong> "Who is there?"<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Things."<br />
<strong>Trevor:</strong> "Things who?"<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Orange."<br />
<strong>Trevor:</strong> "Wow."<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Knock, knock."<br />
<strong>Trevor:</strong> "..."<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "If no one is there, I'll need to go check another house. Okay, going to another house."<br />
<strong>Trevor:</strong> "Okay, great. Go ask someone else."<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Knock, knock."<br />
<strong>Trevor:</strong> "Aw, man."<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Mama gots it, dude."<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "I'm daddy junior."<br />
<br />
<br />
<em>While watching America Ninja Warrior:</em><br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "I can be a ninja. If I can put my muscles on first." <br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "But I don't like consequences!"<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Daddy is making a cut shut because the other way is so long. <br />
<em>(Note: He meant "Shortcut".)</em><br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Daddy! You need to tippy top so you don't wake Schafer! Tippy top!"<br />
<em>(Note: He meant "Tiptoe".)</em><br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Chickens pop eggs out of their bottom. Pop!"<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Me:</strong> "What did you learn about at camp today? The ocean?"<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Think we forgot to talk about the ocean again today, mom."<br />
<em>(Note: Camp was called "Ocean Commotion" and he had come home with a shark hat and jelly fish art project.)</em><br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Me:</strong> "So what animals live in the ocean?"<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Whales, turtles and buckets of treasure under the sand."<br />
<br />
<br />
Banner's magic trick involves him presenting his two fists to you and asking you to point to the one with the bird in it. You point to the first fist, and he opens it. It is empty. Same thing with the other fist. When you look at him confused, he smiles and says, "See?! It's magic!"<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "The shitties are twisted."<br />
<strong>Me:</strong> "The what?"<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "The shitties! But I'll fix it! I'm a strong boy!"<br />
<em>(Note: Shitties = Sheets)</em><br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "My shitties were upside down but I turned them back over."<br />
<br />
<br />
<em>Banner on Trevor's driving:</em><br />
"Nice turn, dude." <br />
<br />
<br />
<em>Banner after peeing on a tree in the backyard:</em> <br />
"Okay, momma. You don't need to water this tree for awhile. It just had a lot to drink."<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "I love Schafer and her chiben cheeks."<br />
<em>(Note: He meant "Chubby Cheeks".)</em><br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "I want daddy to read me a story. And at least Haskell can't talk."<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "I want mamato soup!"<br />
<strong>Me:</strong> "No soup for you!"<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Nooooooo!"<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "I need glasses."<br />
<strong>Me:</strong> "Why?"<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Because I no see very well!"<br />
<strong>Me:</strong> "Really? You seem to see okay to me!"<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "No I don't because I no have the big eyes."<br />
<br />
<br />
<em>On why he can't pick up the little Legos:</em><br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Schafer can see the little Legos on the floor because she has little eyes. I can't because my eyes are too big."<br />
<strong>Me:</strong> "But I don't like it when she picks up the little Legos because she could choke or eat them."<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "I know, but I lost my Joker bad guy's head. If I watch her really closely, her little eyes might find it."<br />
<br />
Later...<br />
<br />
<strong>Me:</strong> "Buddy, I'm going to take away your little Legos if you can't pick them up and put them away. Schafer has nearly eaten a tire and two Lego blocks in the last 20 seconds."<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "But did she find Joker's head?<br />
<br />
<br />
Banner thinks the Nike Swoop is The Flash.<br />
<br />
<br />
<em>While break dancing to the opening Olympic ceremonies in Rio:</em><br />
"Look! I'm dancing just like them on TV."<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "But mama! I thought you said you loved me."<br />
<em>(Note: It was time to leave the splash park.)</em><br />
<br />
<br />
<em>Banner on school uniforms:</em><br />
"But mama! I wore that yesterday!" <br />
<br />
<br />
<em>An actual text I sent Trevor:</em> <br />
"Banner told me he is going to talk to his teacher and find out if he really has to wear the same thing or not everyday (good luck, buddy). He also shoved a belt in his backpack because his shorts have belt loops so he should be allowed to wear a belt. Explained that there was nothing about a belt in the handbook for PK and he argued that I really didn't know what I was talking about because 'you no a student there, mama. I am!'. Maybe he will be a lawyer one day?"<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Maybe sometimes we can buy a sellascope and look at space? You can look really far away with a sellascope, and can see the stars!"<br />
<br />
<br />
<em>Banner on Schafer's hunger mid-growth spurt:</em><br />
"If Schafer grows up to be a kid we won't have no more food."<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Mama, I need a ba-sage please."<br />
<em>(Note: He meant "massage".)</em><br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Banner on girls:</strong> <br />
"But mama! The girls beat the boys all the time! They are smarter than the boys too. It's not fair!"<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Banner on aftercare:</strong><br />
"But mama! I wanted you pick me up the latest! Like 800!"<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Me:</strong> "Wanna read this book about what little boys are made out of?"<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Mama, I already know that little boys are made of frogs!"<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Because if I don't wear my hat my ears will turn into ice pickles?"<br />
<br />
<br />
<em>Banner on reindeer:</em><br />
"What do you call those sticks again? The ones stuck on his head? Branches?"<br />
<em>(Note: He meant "Antlers".)</em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>Banner on Christmas music:</em><br />
"Mama, it is not 'Feliz Navidad' is it 'fellas mommy-dad'. I know this because I speak Spanish."<br />
<br />
<br />
<em>And because Schafer cracks me up, too:</em><br />
Schafer yells "boo" every morning when Trevor walks in her room to get her up and ready for school. To his credit, Trevor always acts surprised and exclaims, "Oh! You got me!". She thinks this is hysterical. Boo is definitely her favorite game.Deals On Wheelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08038285934290983581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13873612.post-53609747901708571562016-11-30T15:11:00.000-06:002016-12-21T16:37:19.741-06:00Annnnnd he has been a daddy for 4.5 years...True story:<br />
<br />
Earlier this fall, Trevor put Schafer to bed without a diaper and then - kid you not - searched her crib for it (as if she MacGyvered her way out of it without unzipping her footed PJ and sleep sack) when she woke up soaking wet and freezing in the middle of the night. Deals On Wheelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08038285934290983581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13873612.post-41727684334343769342016-09-07T13:27:00.000-05:002016-10-18T14:39:32.133-05:00Athena...When I was pregnant with Banner, we called him <a href="http://blinkyblinkyblink.blogspot.com/2011/08/31-and-thor.html" target="_blank">THOR</a>. So, obviously, we needed a superhero alter-ego for our daughter while she was in utero as well.<br />
<br />
After much consideration and research, we landed on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athena" target="_blank">Athena</a>, Greek Goddess of Wisdom. She is symbolized by the owl and the olive tree, and all that seemed perfect for our baby girl.<br />
<br />
It was only after Schafer was born that we realized that Athena was also the Goddess of War, which totally makes sense (girlfriend is feisty). Schaf came out with her little fists clenched, and still to this day will not settle for anything less than <em>exactly</em> what she wants. I fully expect her to grow up to be a Supreme Court Justice. And you think RBG is notorious! Just wait until you get a hold of the tenacious JSG!<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6mfirO6lk3-PVrp3vY3dgJrlRR587PHkvac4LkZUs0P3xczjbt-I7dAOepvfx34WTlLExptnaO-HWGzmA0oregMZZx48TJkChH0BdKMjFZsri788vZ_fJX3Kw6ZBgFBJXmzlo/s1600/IMG_9866%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6mfirO6lk3-PVrp3vY3dgJrlRR587PHkvac4LkZUs0P3xczjbt-I7dAOepvfx34WTlLExptnaO-HWGzmA0oregMZZx48TJkChH0BdKMjFZsri788vZ_fJX3Kw6ZBgFBJXmzlo/s320/IMG_9866%255B1%255D.JPG" width="232" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK5xG_7-_g7I9qSxzZKECzYh4Bye8xfCjc-p82MKzOVA1IYE2cQmuw8UOfTxUFAu4uancBVoKe2XYfU6F_jJPKCAgSzVfqKqnLRYgidQ40pUcfX2veSQSBib1wAdNB6o_uWx3y/s1600/IMG_9850%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK5xG_7-_g7I9qSxzZKECzYh4Bye8xfCjc-p82MKzOVA1IYE2cQmuw8UOfTxUFAu4uancBVoKe2XYfU6F_jJPKCAgSzVfqKqnLRYgidQ40pUcfX2veSQSBib1wAdNB6o_uWx3y/s320/IMG_9850%255B1%255D.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Favorite little muppet, hands down!</div>
Deals On Wheelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08038285934290983581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13873612.post-26000776674891449422016-08-20T15:51:00.000-05:002016-10-18T16:15:28.261-05:00Banner Quotes: Durango Edition 2016<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFhRwTYvuqBrf4M0q1H3iK-gmRNn2qXxTTKUXPqjYr55f6BhNxT0rBvcJEySLtvhLGveY39oRyRNhLSFp2ju4UKVIeElfkAw_t3lYKbCrGoaMAqgK0yiimGBFUlBmZNuNrfCV1/s1600/IMG_9031%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFhRwTYvuqBrf4M0q1H3iK-gmRNn2qXxTTKUXPqjYr55f6BhNxT0rBvcJEySLtvhLGveY39oRyRNhLSFp2ju4UKVIeElfkAw_t3lYKbCrGoaMAqgK0yiimGBFUlBmZNuNrfCV1/s400/IMG_9031%255B1%255D.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><strong></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><strong>Banner:</strong> "Okay Jeep! We gotta' lot of superhero books. Which one you gunna' choose?"</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdMiWp8P4I7_oxro23qIqqEV1Jl_3byFS0Xb3UxdNIARvbc4ntBgXVyrLWlZ5UW6CBz4gQ6WauQ64nntfszbATeE2R-9A32BSHUJScmQcsqvXF4rAAarz0eqzHm6RNMMSAywLd/s1600/IMG_8807%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdMiWp8P4I7_oxro23qIqqEV1Jl_3byFS0Xb3UxdNIARvbc4ntBgXVyrLWlZ5UW6CBz4gQ6WauQ64nntfszbATeE2R-9A32BSHUJScmQcsqvXF4rAAarz0eqzHm6RNMMSAywLd/s400/IMG_8807%255B1%255D.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Mama, take my picture standin' on this rock."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
Neither here nor there, but am I the only person who didn't </span>realize it was Neapolitan ice cream, not Napoléon? Anyone?<span class="st"><em><strong><span style="color: #6a6a6a;"></span></strong></em></span><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikidk34pUJluveaeNwUEbOaw48Ias5D3CdJg8brsLMH59C10mE2tmx-MSkm2Zit1O_gItDyoC8jympidqa8z5C_pozOt_q7Zq0bdxBOPfNXZhfUYgpiAiZuNwLFuA_8Vur3rd0/s1600/IMG_8666%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikidk34pUJluveaeNwUEbOaw48Ias5D3CdJg8brsLMH59C10mE2tmx-MSkm2Zit1O_gItDyoC8jympidqa8z5C_pozOt_q7Zq0bdxBOPfNXZhfUYgpiAiZuNwLFuA_8Vur3rd0/s400/IMG_8666%255B1%255D.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Maybe Schafer will love you when she grows up, mama."</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy33X9lvUcZJtBbOeuQP4px2BXlnakwacxEl3TgLYnWB5oxj7_ExwydNdsdYR-lMocgsTB1NXiChpvMNKrmGqW30EyCWlF8O-f1OZiBKjLXtxfQkZEVuQGIDGA6L7R3jFLHuMk/s1600/IMG_9071%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy33X9lvUcZJtBbOeuQP4px2BXlnakwacxEl3TgLYnWB5oxj7_ExwydNdsdYR-lMocgsTB1NXiChpvMNKrmGqW30EyCWlF8O-f1OZiBKjLXtxfQkZEVuQGIDGA6L7R3jFLHuMk/s400/IMG_9071%255B1%255D.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Hey! My room has one of those log things too!" </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">(Note: It's a log cabin)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "I can really smell it."<br />
<strong>Jeep:</strong> "Smell what?"<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Your coffee."</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnzbpB_Kd8thWtjCsynI7jA5u3U2m-C8XZPj-kvu2BN1aS286exr01Ejcr1yKmRZGyMczAu5jiRvQVslk8oul1QsvrOeAi9Wq2Qihx1i_-wdZtrRGTGiauSUwtnV3dZ0_KNWM8/s1600/IMG_9160%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnzbpB_Kd8thWtjCsynI7jA5u3U2m-C8XZPj-kvu2BN1aS286exr01Ejcr1yKmRZGyMczAu5jiRvQVslk8oul1QsvrOeAi9Wq2Qihx1i_-wdZtrRGTGiauSUwtnV3dZ0_KNWM8/s400/IMG_9160%255B1%255D.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"But the map says we need to go over there!"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Daddy! Do I have to keep my underwear on?"<br />
<strong>Trevor:</strong> "Yes!"<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Okay, I will."<br />
[Two seconds later...]<br />
"They're off!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Mom, is daddy going to get your cake?"<br />
<strong>Jeep:</strong> "Yes, but it is a secret, Banner. Don't tell mommy!"<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Oh, okay. Shhhhhhhh!" </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">[Then in a LOUD whisper to jeep...] </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">"Cake!!!!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "I'm going to detect mama."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">(Note: He meant "protect".)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "I can hold the Randells." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">(Note: He meant "handrails".)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Quick! Tip-Top so the monsters can't hear us!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">(Note: He meant "Tip toe".)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Mama, I'm cooler than you."<br />
<strong>Me:</strong> "Oh really?"<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Yeah. I mean, just look at me!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "I'm sorry my mommy kicked you, little rock. Mom, why'd you kick Kevin?"<br />
</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL3av3LlqCt9ZOlwP5J25RimOHGAoVvG3LF4T1j7WwbjkuuP-C17ZIlirllbpgJoR6V_4NNWmgJu11Ay63JH3Vr-lMf1_yqnVuVFcJTsOgUoo2-lnHl-zKvLrLlc92sx6MieNf/s1600/IMG_8519%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL3av3LlqCt9ZOlwP5J25RimOHGAoVvG3LF4T1j7WwbjkuuP-C17ZIlirllbpgJoR6V_4NNWmgJu11Ay63JH3Vr-lMf1_yqnVuVFcJTsOgUoo2-lnHl-zKvLrLlc92sx6MieNf/s400/IMG_8519%255B1%255D.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Kevin"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
Banner thinks he mastered skipping rocks in Durango because, when he throws a fist full of pebbles all in at once, there are lots of "skips".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<strong>Trevor:</strong> "Look! There's a guy on a bicycle."<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Yep! He is trying to catch up to the Olympics!"<br />
(Later when he saw a larger guy on a bike...)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">[In a whisper] "Mama, I don't think he's gunna' make it."</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgayM34WmN1FgGeVTheTllHqmvJ2sdjUxZKltCtpE51pCqtE7R-2MHr8AQlEvqrBqMcTxo-ZEuQXbO7Y1KlhcGo3WkX38CBC_amDkSXFQoAP1UCiVt0KMMArJKFF0LpzT4JPPNl/s1600/IMG_8668%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgayM34WmN1FgGeVTheTllHqmvJ2sdjUxZKltCtpE51pCqtE7R-2MHr8AQlEvqrBqMcTxo-ZEuQXbO7Y1KlhcGo3WkX38CBC_amDkSXFQoAP1UCiVt0KMMArJKFF0LpzT4JPPNl/s400/IMG_8668%255B1%255D.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Mama, take my picture sittin' right here on this bench."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<strong>Me:</strong> [Sneezes]<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Mama! Be careful! You actually scare me!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Booty, booty!"<br />
<strong>Me:</strong> "That's enough of the potty talk."<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "That's not potty talk, mommy. That's Spanish."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
Banner thinks puddles after the rain in Colorado are called "mirrors".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<strong>Scott:</strong> "See that blue pad? That's where I sleep when I go car camping."<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Camping? With who?"<br />
<strong>Scott:</strong> "My friends!"<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "What friends?"<br />
</span><br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilRPhQ12cMvAtyg9xQcy4GdGbCgCtBDWTURAEpRRA0GQp5ZqGAWkeF0F2R73qasViG_N2cMRWK0hDWvPRC6NIZBTg_fkHWMu1OyKAgj7ZqQoUGlYFOQ1fkCs5_aBUflXCtm0P1/s1600/IMG_8956%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilRPhQ12cMvAtyg9xQcy4GdGbCgCtBDWTURAEpRRA0GQp5ZqGAWkeF0F2R73qasViG_N2cMRWK0hDWvPRC6NIZBTg_fkHWMu1OyKAgj7ZqQoUGlYFOQ1fkCs5_aBUflXCtm0P1/s400/IMG_8956%255B1%255D.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Banner - 0; Mountain - 1</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
[Noticing him having a hard time buttoning his shirt]<br />
<strong>Me:</strong> "Ban, do you need help?"<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "No."<br />
<strong>Me:</strong> "Are you sure?"<br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "No."</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGHowcF_Ks_qnBWGyUpD47f2214VY9LKfxCRxew1STYQBzAiJwH03Sa0BrHB6_CYsJLIQHrFss8DM8qLICNzNkRVmbnaL3a9efoxtLPzv4Qg8OLAjVI02Cq-7JAGYCRRtZ0BkQ/s1600/IMG_8864%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGHowcF_Ks_qnBWGyUpD47f2214VY9LKfxCRxew1STYQBzAiJwH03Sa0BrHB6_CYsJLIQHrFss8DM8qLICNzNkRVmbnaL3a9efoxtLPzv4Qg8OLAjVI02Cq-7JAGYCRRtZ0BkQ/s400/IMG_8864%255B1%255D.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"I'm not tired. I'm really not."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
The kid kept putting avocados in his hiking pack.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgURXNRPDkmS4MXWuAj38fqw4kz5DYBkRBGz9Z7s1QsZ8MhWOGmYo4HoqBTMpkOUeeIFJeCU-5oypSrh3fhpGY7aLWIgjiVakSZ1McZp9Q-eqVRkJwQKg4VbhEA7mwMdOD0EIuW/s1600/IMG_9217%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgURXNRPDkmS4MXWuAj38fqw4kz5DYBkRBGz9Z7s1QsZ8MhWOGmYo4HoqBTMpkOUeeIFJeCU-5oypSrh3fhpGY7aLWIgjiVakSZ1McZp9Q-eqVRkJwQKg4VbhEA7mwMdOD0EIuW/s400/IMG_9217%255B1%255D.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "36, 37, 38, 39, 80! We are here!"</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH1ciTIB9GWr3iVmku5QZrMh4LN_2RBpIUUk6pNuYxHip_7LXA9HoExmR1vmtyVVG-oFrCZI4N-P2yajPdkXKascnV-8ZLZS3yjJ7nvACtAkMvZXcYPRZhCOnWdGlbHXBL9uTC/s1600/IMG_8917%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH1ciTIB9GWr3iVmku5QZrMh4LN_2RBpIUUk6pNuYxHip_7LXA9HoExmR1vmtyVVG-oFrCZI4N-P2yajPdkXKascnV-8ZLZS3yjJ7nvACtAkMvZXcYPRZhCOnWdGlbHXBL9uTC/s400/IMG_8917%255B1%255D.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Daddy just wants me to be careful so I don't die."</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiIDSUiBpPKQndI_GDQ8gU_7J1sZ05DChlrfDj4hCCuTh0EsFjREwXZbBcz7gfbJ7GM_vHMzAM9ASKz1Nhbt_RaP4-frYIfTdhjNit9Ds3FVnb7iagj5BsA4gQF0apn6idI5br/s1600/IMG_9226%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiIDSUiBpPKQndI_GDQ8gU_7J1sZ05DChlrfDj4hCCuTh0EsFjREwXZbBcz7gfbJ7GM_vHMzAM9ASKz1Nhbt_RaP4-frYIfTdhjNit9Ds3FVnb7iagj5BsA4gQF0apn6idI5br/s400/IMG_9226%255B1%255D.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<strong>Banner:</strong> "Mommy you want to play with us? We are having delicious fun."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
Schafer learned to say no in Colorado. It quickly, at fourteen months, became her favorite word.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirXgb4mG6mZd3oGfDCQXUVCStEq7J7lI-E2vtcGoeHtocF5uGBIQo2dVJ79oRpteWT8TVHl_ifkbLb4RWBeWgmI9hU_1tn8_c4RBnYs3n-rurJbe_Q4fsgOjKAvBtLKCVnvzUy/s1600/IMG_9231%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirXgb4mG6mZd3oGfDCQXUVCStEq7J7lI-E2vtcGoeHtocF5uGBIQo2dVJ79oRpteWT8TVHl_ifkbLb4RWBeWgmI9hU_1tn8_c4RBnYs3n-rurJbe_Q4fsgOjKAvBtLKCVnvzUy/s400/IMG_9231%255B1%255D.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"No."</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Are there schools in Durango?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<strong>Banner:</strong> "Mama look at all my rocks! I'm so good at finding awesome rocks. Mama, why you
no good at finding good rocks?"</span><br />
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And juuuuust for good measure, my favorite lil dude singing his favorite Christmas song. In August.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zNM35GrNZ-g/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zNM35GrNZ-g?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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Love him so.</div>
</span><br />Deals On Wheelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08038285934290983581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13873612.post-6907757293063227752016-06-28T20:59:00.000-05:002016-06-28T21:00:16.722-05:00On miracles, Part III (the long awaited birth story)...Because of the high risk nature of my pregnancy with my daughter, Schafer, in 2014-2015, I am only now getting around to telling her story. Click <a href="http://blinkyblinkyblink.blogspot.com/2015/11/on-miracles-part-i.html" target="_blank">HERE</a> for Part I and <a href="http://blinkyblinkyblink.blogspot.com/2016/04/on-miracles-part-ii.html" target="_blank">HERE</a> for Part II in this series.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
***</div>
<br />
And, yes. I know I promised it by her first birthday. Better late than never?<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
***</div>
<br />
My pregnancy with Schafer was the exact opposite of my pregnancy with her brother in 2011-2012. <br />
<br />
With Banner, my pregnancy was easy. I had the clotting disorders then too (of course), but didn't know about them. Having never experienced a pregnancy loss, I didn't worry or stay up at night with all the "what ifs" going through my head. I was simply pregnant and excited to meet my little boy. As weird as it sounds, I didn't even worry about giving birth because I had faith that he'd arrive safe and sound one way or another. That said, I really wanted a natural, drug-free experience.<br />
<br />
I carried Banner nearly 42 weeks. We were going to induce on January 6th, but <a href="http://blinkyblinkyblink.blogspot.com/2012/01/banner-birth-it-was-pretty-much-exact.html" target="_blank">I went into labor</a> on my own on January 3rd. Everything was progressing as it should until the doctor broke my water and saw blood. Still, I was allowed to labor without medication until the bleeding increased dramatically. The doctor gave me an ultimatum: either get an epidural or risk missing the birth of my son (since they'd have to gas me to preform an emergency C-section). I still (naively) hoped for a vaginal birth until Banner refused to drop and his little heartbeat dropped below 60. I was wheeled into surgery, and became a mother at 5:46 AM on January 4th. My placenta had abrupted and I had lost over two liters of blood, but Banner was fine so nothing else mattered.<br />
<br />
Cut to 2015 and my pregnancy with Schafer. I was considered high risk from the get-go thanks to several clotting disorders that were discovered after <a href="http://blinkyblinkyblink.blogspot.com/2014/03/always-my-baby-youll-be.html" target="_blank">losing a second little boy</a> in the spring of 2014 and nearly losing Schafer six months later. Even though, at the time, I was only seven weeks pregnant with her, I was immediately put on an aspirin regimen and had to learn how to give myself shots of anticoagulants in the abdomen daily. Those shots were increased to twice a day as my pregnancy progressed and the baby became viable. The area around my navel became dark, tender and discolored and a large knot developed just under the surface of my skin. If you look closely at my <a href="http://blinkyblinkyblink.blogspot.com/2015/06/belly-shots.html" target="_blank">belly shots from last year</a>, you can see it just below my belly button. It was much more visible in person, and very tender to the touch. Even now, a year later, you can still see some hints of black and blue and feel the remnant of my bump's lump if you look at or palpate my abdomen.<br />
<br />
I knew Schaf would come on or before June 1st, 2015; despite the fact that her official due date wasn't until June 8th. Because of the clotting issues and anticoagulants, they didn't want me to risk going into labor on my own. My doctor wouldn't even do internal checks towards the end of my pregnancy to see if I was dilating because he didn't want to risk doing anything to encourage labor. Everything about Schafer's delivery was planned and scheduled. I'd stop taking/injecting any and all anticoagulants three days prior to my c-section date, check into Baylor Hospital early in the morning on June 1st, and she'd be delivered sometime later that morning.<br />
<br />
With Banner, I got three untrasounds. One to confirm the pregnancy, one to check development and to reveal gender, and one last (unexpected) one to check fluid levels around 38 weeks. With Schafer, however, I got sonograms all.the.time. They were looking for a host of problems: placental abruption (because I have a history), blood clots (because I have a predisposition), any evidence that the baby wasn't growing or was in distress (because blood clots in the placenta can cut off nourishment to the fetus), etc. Good thing too, because it was a sonogram that sent us across the street to the hospital on May 28th, 2015. Four days before I was scheduled to have her on June 1.<br />
<br />
In hindsight, that last sonogram was off. Erin wasn't her usual lighthearted and chatty self. She didn't tell us how much Schafer weighed or make any comments about her nose or inter-uterine fluid levels. She didn't print us off any photos. Instead she seemed fixated on the placenta before muttering a quick and muffled, "She's ready to come out". We assumed that at 38.5 weeks, Erin meant that in a general sense. After all, 38 weeks is considered full term and we had been watching Schafer take practice breaths for weeks. It was only after we had been ushered across the hall and into an exam room that the doctor came in and said, "It's baby day."<br />
<br />
Me: "I know! June 1st is Monday! Almost there! Wait...what?"<br />
Doctor (gravely): "You are going to have this baby today."<br />
<br />
He then proceeded to explain that they were seeing something on the sonogram that they didn't like. Everything pointed to a blood clot or another placental abruption, and they needed to take the baby immediately. <br />
<br />
Trevor: "So we should leave here and go to Baylor at what time?"<br />
Doctor: "Now."<br />
Trevor: "Oh."<br />
<br />
Trevor and I had arrived at the appointment in separate cars. He had gone to workout that morning and met me at the doctor's office dressed and ready for work. And, of course, I had planned to go to the museum afterwards as well (unbeknownst to me, my coworkers had been planning a baby shower for that very afternoon which I never got to attend). So, we had to drive our separate cars across the street and park them in the hospital garage (to keep them from getting towed/ticketed when our meters ran out). I was hysterical, and barely remember calling work to tell them what was going on.<br />
<br />
It wasn't that I wasn't prepared for Schafer to come early. We had known this was a very real possibility almost from the get-go. In fact, my doctor said it was a miracle she didn't come weeks earlier, because - after we hit viability - that is most likely what would have happened if a clot had formed or was detected on an ultrasound (because clots can very quickly lead to stillbirth). And, really, I was prepared for delivery (or as much as you ever can be). Instead, it was the realization that things weren't going according to plan that sent me over the edge. My doctor had emphasized over and over again how they wanted - NEEDED - everything to go as scheduled, and now Schafer was coming before she was supposed to. Granted, they had put me on twice daily Heparin injections because that particular anticoagulant has a short life and an antidote that can be administered in an emergency. And, even if everything had gone according to plan, my OB kept reassuring me that he would have extra platelets ready to administer to me if needed in the delivery room (not sure why he thought this bit of info would comfort me, but he kept repeating it last spring). Still, all I could think about as I drove across the street was that my baby was in danger, I might be bleeding internally, needed immediate surgery, and I had shot myself full of a blood thinner not ninety minutes earlier. <br />
<br />
And then my mind drifted to Banner. My dear, sweet boy. He and I had been snuggling in bed that very morning. I remember watching him breathe and pulling him a little closer to me; knowing the moments of him being my one and only were numbered. He, not understanding why his mother was being abnormally clingy, chirped, "Mama! Stop messing with me!" <br />
<br />
My appointment wasn't until 9:30 AM, so Banner and I didn't have to rush quite so much that morning. It had been so nice to take it slow. Still, as I was driving across the street to Baylor, I recall wishing I could do that whole morning over again....just so I could savor every last moment with my little boy. Because that was it. Everything would be different after that today. And I just hoped Schafer and I would come both out on the other side of delivery okay, so I could hold both my babies in my arms and finally breathe again. <br />
<br />
I've heard a lot of my friends worry about the transition from one kid to two, and how their first child would handle it. Would they feel replaced? Unloved? I've also heard stories of second time mothers concerned about bonding with their newest edition. Could they ever love another baby as much as they love their first? What if there wasn't an immediate connection? And I can honestly say none of those thoughts ever crossed my mind. My biggest concern was always getting Schafer here safe and sound. The doctor once asked Trevor how I was holding up emotionally, and he responded with, "I don't think she'll ever relax until the baby is here and breathing on her own". And that was very true. But I was also very worried about the "what ifs" if I did not survive the surgery. After all, I lost a lot of blood giving birth to Banner, and that was without being on Heparin and an aspirin regimen. If the worst were to happen, the last thing I'd ever want was for Schafer to grow up feeling responsible, or for Banner (or Trevor, for that matter) to blame her. These were the thoughts that kept me up countless nights and headlined my nightmares. I only tried talking to Trevor about it twice. Once at home one night as we got ready for bed, and once again after we parked the car and headed down the parking garage stairs in the direction of Labor and Delivery. Both conversations were fractured and tear filled on my part, but he said he understood. Although I would never want to leave them, I would gladly give up my life for my babies. I know it sounds cliché, but in that moment - as we were heading to check in for surgery - it somehow felt very real and very possible.<br />
<br />
Upon arriving at the hospital, Trevor and I were immediately ushered into a room and I was hooked up to a bunch of machines to monitor both me and the baby. I had been having mild contractions for awhile, and a couple of them even registered on the machine (albeit barely). I remember wanting to believe that - even if I hadn't had the sonogram - Schafer would have decided to come that day anyway. Funny how some of the irrational thoughts from my first pregnancy refused to go away completely. Like the baby choosing her own birthday was somehow important in the grand scheme of things (it isn't). Or having an unmedicated vaginal birth (who really cares when all is said and done if baby and mom are okay?). Even though I got the impression that no competent doctor in his/her right mind would allow me to even consider delivering vaginally, it was still something a (teeny tiny) part of me (secretly) wanted to experience. <br />
<br />
Of course, I'd never-ever risk the life of one of my babies. It was mostly about irrationally mourning the feeling I had when I was pregnant for the first time with Banner; that ridiculous notion that I was somehow in control and calling the shots. Mourning the idea of having a birth plan with a music play list or being able to choose to have a home birth, and having it go just like I wanted. Rationally, I know that those things are, in the grand scheme of things, silly and about me selfishly wanting to prove something (mostly to myself), and the most important thing is delivering a healthy baby in the end. But, still. There was a simpler time when I thought things like unmedicated, vaginal births with music playlists were important and something to strive for, and it is still hard for me to fully accept (even now) that - 100 or even 50 years ago (or today in another part of the world) - having babies would be a lethal proposition for me.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzyZ0O2BPLb1LRVwZMFWTGPzO8byus-x4m7MxZwvOxpsxlgNrddwwwFJbjiwxCzkEhwaMtmVLAPa8y48iNqcUqRqsNc545lwLJTNAy9M2sG2hAnKNU_wbwyup-ko17S_tgy6qE/s1600/IMG_0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzyZ0O2BPLb1LRVwZMFWTGPzO8byus-x4m7MxZwvOxpsxlgNrddwwwFJbjiwxCzkEhwaMtmVLAPa8y48iNqcUqRqsNc545lwLJTNAy9M2sG2hAnKNU_wbwyup-ko17S_tgy6qE/s320/IMG_0001.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting for surgery...</td></tr>
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<br />
But I digress.<br />
<br />
Since the baby was, for the moment, stable, the c-section was pushed back until the latter part of the afternoon to give the Heparin as much time as possible to wear off before surgery. Which gave Trevor and me plenty of time to make phone calls to let day care know what was going on, arrange for my mom and sister to pick up/take care of Banner, cancel my dental appointment for that afternoon (ha!), alert my neighbor, Becky, to tend to our dogs (especially important because of the weather forecast), etc. Trevor's mother showed up to help us pass the time, and we just...well, waited. I had made the epic mistake of not eating or drinking before my doctor's appointment, and - once admitted to the hospital - I was no longer allowed to eat or drink. While nerves took the edge off of most of my hunger, I was still pregnant and suddenly very aware that my next meal of solid food was at least 30 some odd hours away. <br />
<br />
And little did I know that when I was finally permitted to eat again, the hospital would serve me a hamburger covered in sautéed onions. Trevor thought this was hysterical. #thanksTrev<br />
<br />
The surgery was initially scheduled for 4 PM, but my doctor ended up pushing it back another hour to 5 PM. Since Schafer was still stable I was all about it. <br />
<br />
About a month before Schafer was born, Trevor took Banner to the ranch for a boy's weekend and left big, ole' pregnant me in Dallas unattended. In the process of using a hand saw to cut down a problematic tree limb (yeah, I know. Shut up. Clearly, pregnant me requires constant adult supervision), I sliced my finger. Holy moly, was there a lot of blood. Not only that, but it took forever to get it to stop bleeding. Granted, the wound was pretty superficial (not deep enough to require stitches, but not a scratch either), but it gave me a healthy appreciation of the power of blood thinners. In my mind (which has no medical training whatsoever), every minute that the Heparin was allowed to wear off was good. <br />
<br />
Plus, time is a wonky weird thing in hospitals. Since I was dreading the surgery (I just wanted it to be over!), 4 PM was there before I knew it. The hour between 4 and 5 flew by too, but I remember trying to breathe and appreciate every last kick, roll and nudge from Schafer on the inside. I didn't have that time to process what was happening when I delivered Banner, or to relish in the last few moments of my pregnancy. Not that being in labor allows for much reflection, but emergency c-sections, in my experience, are down right traumatic. <br />
<br />
With Banner, I was wheeled into surgery on a gurney, and he was born just a few minutes later. It was all panic, sweat and rushed directives. All around me were people racing around in a blur of movement in the operating room. There was no small talk. No time to explain what was going on or answer questions. And the actual removal of Banner from my body was an almost violent experience. That may sound weird, but I honestly do not know how else to describe it. My mom told me much, much later that when Banner was born, he didn't move or cry right away and was immediately handed over to the team ready to receive the baby. Of course, Banner ended up being just fine, but - for a few horrible moments - she thought he was stillborn and wondered how she was ever going to break the news to me.<br />
<br />
Schafer's surgery was also technically an emergency (at least in the sense that it wasn't planned to take place that day), but everything about it was completely different. I was allowed to walk myself to the operating room in socks, where they administered the epidural and prepped me for surgery. The mood was lighter. The doctor joked with the anesthesiologist and the nurses. There was music playing. My doctor told me when he was starting to make the incision (with Banner he just cut. They didn't even have time to put up a proper curtain), and everyone seemed relaxed. My mom - who was present for both c-sections - commented later that she didn't realize how much of a true emergency Banner's birth was from the get-go until she witnessed Schafer's. She remembered feeling in the way when Banner was born, and thinking my doctor was rude. With Schafer, however, she stood there next to Trevor the entire time and participated in the chatter.<br />
<br />
The surgery itself also took a lot longer. That might sound awful, but it wasn't. <br />
<br />
I'll never forget my OB referring to his cauterization tool as his fire stick, me calling him on it and then having him (jokingly) chastise me for listening to his banter as he worked on the other side of the curtain.<br />
<br />
Schafer was born at 5:48 PM. She came into the world screaming mad with her little fists clenched; ready to take on the world. Almost immediately she started to pee, and I remember one of the nurses saying, "Oh, no! Not before we weigh you! You are losing weight!" <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZcQ6t99mEWOz5upKpgpecBZaYvRsFh2irz3ileVpgnT7w6Lc6UY3PM9tVuTed4g6sTWEUooof1flawT63wXxrZw4IdqQcFrxAM_o8dFzurdGDGcZudtefXomCNR6KKgLge8c-/s1600/IMG_0005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZcQ6t99mEWOz5upKpgpecBZaYvRsFh2irz3ileVpgnT7w6Lc6UY3PM9tVuTed4g6sTWEUooof1flawT63wXxrZw4IdqQcFrxAM_o8dFzurdGDGcZudtefXomCNR6KKgLge8c-/s320/IMG_0005.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
Trevor captured the whole thing on camera. He had stuck his cell phone in the breast pocket of his scrub and hit record. Since he had already seen his wife fileted open on an operating table once before, he had no problems going behind the curtain to watch his daughter breathe in her first breath and witness the doctor cutting the cord. And, of course, the camera in his pocket was also there to document the entire experience (even though Trevor had long forgotten it was even there; much less recording). <br />
<br />
I've seen the footage exactly once. While I'm happy the footage exists, it was hard to for me to watch. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNVFSkdXM5h_64TMnpHYM3Ea8ZuMb_IlXwbrR111wblVt9AqxI2kSkO-ijW2K9dBFqo5dVD0XEFU5YzaZTkMbJeddeGrmmE2n7TV8TAsSs_ACQ_hae0GJkstK-qzq-Odg0WV92/s1600/IMG_0009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNVFSkdXM5h_64TMnpHYM3Ea8ZuMb_IlXwbrR111wblVt9AqxI2kSkO-ijW2K9dBFqo5dVD0XEFU5YzaZTkMbJeddeGrmmE2n7TV8TAsSs_ACQ_hae0GJkstK-qzq-Odg0WV92/s320/IMG_0009.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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In the end, Schafer weighed 6.11 pounds and was 19.75 inches long. Upon seeing her for the first time, I said "Hi, baby". When I had said this to Banner after he was born, he immediately stopped crying and stared at me. Schafer, on the other hand, just continued to wail. "She's mad", my mother kept saying over and over, and it was true. The girl was born with a strong set of lungs and wasn't afraid to use them. Still isn't, if you want to know the truth. She's opinionated, that one.<br />
<br />
My placenta had not abrupted, nor were there any signs of blood clots. Instead, what the doctor discovered upon delivering my daughter, was a separation of the amion and chorion. What Erin had seen on the sonogram earlier that morning was actually the amniotic membrane free floating. Because it is so rare (they apparently don't even keep stats on how often it happens) - especially in later stages of pregnancy - my doctor sent a sample off to pathology, but told me I'd probably never know how or why it occurred. The membranes are supposed to fuse to the wall of the uterus by week 18, and stay that way. When they don't fuse, a pregnancy is automatically labeled "high risk". But my membranes HAD fused, and then - for some unknown reason - come unfused (is that even a word?) which, obviously, isn't supposed to happen. That said, it was very good they delivered Schafer when they did. The membrane separation may be rare, but apparently the risk of stillbirth and/or fetal entanglement skyrockets when it does occur. My babies must have very diligent guardian angels watching over them. I like to believe that the baby boy we lost just over two years ago had a hand in getting Schafer down to us all safe and healthy.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid3sp2LtPshAa6dpf_bMbpSZWtBAuiN9if2JKME20W1tcX-4HGhkHBfslHXCtF6eifxH6zjifumRaREIbIYrYEMEkRk6spjHQUGbL0QR_sJKpLIk9uRxmKhV-n74GBSX_0j1e0/s1600/IMG_0008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid3sp2LtPshAa6dpf_bMbpSZWtBAuiN9if2JKME20W1tcX-4HGhkHBfslHXCtF6eifxH6zjifumRaREIbIYrYEMEkRk6spjHQUGbL0QR_sJKpLIk9uRxmKhV-n74GBSX_0j1e0/s320/IMG_0008.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My sweet little squeaky baby.<br />
Seriously. She made noises like a baby bird.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I wasn't allowed to hold my daughter for nearly an hour as the doctor put me back together. But, once I could, Schafer stopped crying almost immediately, lifted her head and started to try to crawl up my chest to nurse. Girlfriend was hungry! Everyone talked about how alert and strong she was. Even the nurse in recovery commented on how determined Schafer was to get to my boob. Apparently most babies don't have an agenda so quickly after being born, but both of mine came out starving with well developed rooting instincts, latched on like champs and started to nurse right away.<br />
<br />
After Banner was born, I felt completely overwhelmed almost from the get-go. I was desperate to protect my baby, but didn't know what I was doing and everything felt like a deathtrap. After Schafer was born, though, all I felt was peace, love, happiness and relief. At least until the panic attacks started on day two. But they had nothing to do with Schafer. In fact, one of the only ways I could keep them at bay was to hold her skin to skin on my chest. We slept that way for a couple of nights after I realized what a calming effect she had on me physically. In fact, she spent almost all of our hospital stay - except for Friday night when the panic attacks were at their worst - on me. I didn't even know the password was "snail" one day until the nurses came to take Schafer to the nursery for a checkup.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjJXmi6Wa5cPotBCNikkxEtOWveW6Y9zI8cnXEz8-1t4HMsqCo0aqqOYqn-2aqNe0qU4TxH2gH7rr908IoklM2f70q-kqewxu-jcUH9ScLPKzqZiR934sZgiDiBBBzyra5WhEJ/s1600/lab.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjJXmi6Wa5cPotBCNikkxEtOWveW6Y9zI8cnXEz8-1t4HMsqCo0aqqOYqn-2aqNe0qU4TxH2gH7rr908IoklM2f70q-kqewxu-jcUH9ScLPKzqZiR934sZgiDiBBBzyra5WhEJ/s320/lab.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
One of Schafer's name sakes was a favorite cousin of mine who died not long after Trevor and I were married. She loved labyrinths. During one of my panic attacks, Trevor took me outside in a wheelchair to get some fresh air (he did this a couple of times actually. Once at 3 AM as a thunderstorm approached and the sky was lit up with lightening). When the panic attacks were at their worst, I felt like the room was closing in on me and like I couldn't breathe. Being outside helped to ease those irrational feelings of claustrophobia. <br />
<br />
Anyway, Trevor didn't know where he was going. We were just walking for the sake of moving, and all of a sudden we came upon a labyrinth on the hospital grounds. I know it sounds crazy, but it felt like we were lead there. And walking the labyrinth had a profound calming effect on me. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTe0jl5WlNSnMTP63uyxKc4wv6LPMK9GuSbhg9T3oHvyojXC0kWknJPnJeTBq1Clz1LTJBjxVVF4LTX2zjriXKb0EC2z3Z11ePT6axwbEIcVfpqKLzFIh5ue3NLjStLBUksYqu/s1600/IMG_0027.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTe0jl5WlNSnMTP63uyxKc4wv6LPMK9GuSbhg9T3oHvyojXC0kWknJPnJeTBq1Clz1LTJBjxVVF4LTX2zjriXKb0EC2z3Z11ePT6axwbEIcVfpqKLzFIh5ue3NLjStLBUksYqu/s320/IMG_0027.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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But I digress again. It is why this story has taken so long to tell. I remember so much, so vividly, and I want to be able to tell Schafer one day without losing all the little details that time has a habit of stealing from memory. </div>
<br />
After an hour or so in recovery, Schafer and I were wheeled up to Truett's 7th floor and into room 710, where Amy, Adam, Banner and my mother were waiting to greet us and meet the newest addition. Banner was so happy and just kept giggling and "booping" Schafer's tiny little nose. You could tell how proud he was of her from the first moment he laid eyes on her. My heart just swelled. It was like they already knew each other, and had been patiently waiting for time and space to reunite them. Even today, thirteen months later, you can see how much they love each other simply by observing them together. It is the most precious thing I've ever had the privilege to witness.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2MQ4kQrsFfywv42EEOVDKYHyVhtYmZyml1TGHbJwIj8vX5l2lRVISrDGGENXlPc6kM8m0FyamCFyN2Awhj161hfdCX9IJHM_l0Mn9HrZYLDCb_liXSSdvAewpsASJ8JxPb-uM/s1600/IMG_0019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2MQ4kQrsFfywv42EEOVDKYHyVhtYmZyml1TGHbJwIj8vX5l2lRVISrDGGENXlPc6kM8m0FyamCFyN2Awhj161hfdCX9IJHM_l0Mn9HrZYLDCb_liXSSdvAewpsASJ8JxPb-uM/s320/IMG_0019.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He dubbed her "spider baby" in the hospital.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Banner, with help from my mom and Amy, threw Schafer a birth day party that evening. It was complete with cupcakes and balloons. Banner even picked out a book for Schafer. According to Amy, she and Adam didn't even have to help him choose. He simply walked into the store, and made a beeline to a board book about female superheroes entitled GIRL POWER. Could not have found a more perfect gift from him to her if I had tried. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjUofB3FbCg5bId9ZzfgOmJNJ9SAJ6uG5UqiOkRmtO1yuJjepnUo_27WQQLGS7wpHJV3wY5Bu1Xym85lyrk-zY8WxhcqXzMbQgBRkYROW1ucW9t1Za38yrY4pTgPgRDVg6-Mn_/s1600/IMG_0010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjUofB3FbCg5bId9ZzfgOmJNJ9SAJ6uG5UqiOkRmtO1yuJjepnUo_27WQQLGS7wpHJV3wY5Bu1Xym85lyrk-zY8WxhcqXzMbQgBRkYROW1ucW9t1Za38yrY4pTgPgRDVg6-Mn_/s320/IMG_0010.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvJJ6qpbW_OfQTk_W744WMsVVDwFtas1dsx-HmmB711pXDGeLNUgorPMyVJfc2H_y3ysnPgn2cC0cxRVrjUY6rx4IjHjDRVJxGTD7oODCUuzrFwC2-zhlAG2QNaSMns3hbSqYT/s1600/wine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvJJ6qpbW_OfQTk_W744WMsVVDwFtas1dsx-HmmB711pXDGeLNUgorPMyVJfc2H_y3ysnPgn2cC0cxRVrjUY6rx4IjHjDRVJxGTD7oODCUuzrFwC2-zhlAG2QNaSMns3hbSqYT/s320/wine.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
Schafer and I spent three days in the hospital, and were released from Baylor on May 31st. My milk didn't come in until Sunday, and - as a result - Schafer lost just over 11% of her body weight. Consequently, we found ourselves at the pediatrician's office early on Monday morning, June 1st (a.k.a. the day she was supposed to be born). I was worried the doctor was going to insist on giving her formula until my supply matured, but luckily by then her weight had already stared to rebound - and with a vengeance. It was such a dramatic gain that the doctor even said I didn't have to wake Schafer up every 2-3 hours overnight, and could let her sleep until she woke up naturally.<br />
<br />
Whew.<br />
<br />
My relief was palpable which is silly, because - again - stuff like formula versus breast milk really doesn't matter. The most important thing is that babies are fed. That said, breastfeeding was important to me. For no other reason than it was simply something I wanted to be able to provide my children. Banner received my breast milk exclusively for over six months, and then mixed with formula for an additional 2.5 months (until he was nearly nine months old). Honestly, I wanted to go longer, but I got sick and antibiotics all but dried me up.<br />
<br />
I'm very proud of the fact that Schafer never needed a single drop of formula. The doctors and nurses were forced to give Banner formula when we were still in the hospital because his jaundice levels were so high and my milk took so long to come in the first time. And we were almost at that point with Schafer and her post birth weight loss (they start to worry when the baby loses any more than 10% ), but then my milk came in and all was right with the world. I only intended to provide her with breast milk exclusively for six months (like I did for Banner), but made it over a year. Schafer is actually still getting breast milk today - 13 months later - because I was lucky and always made more than she needed. The excess I froze and stored in freezers all over Dallas (thanks, dad and Amy!). So she's still getting my milk even though my last day to pump was technically two weeks ago today on June 15, 2016.<br />
<br />
As for recovery from surgery, I remember my recovery following Banner's birth being hard, but mostly because I was so weak from the blood loss. It took awhile for the feelings of lightheadedness to go away. <br />
<br />
I didn't have vertigo following Schafer's birth, but - in many ways - it was harder to recover the second time around. Part of that had to do with having to resume the shots of Heparin in the abdomen almost immediately. It made it hard for my body to heal since it couldn't clot, so healing simply took a lot longer. I also wasn't allowed to take ibuprofen or any NSAID pain killers because of the injectable anticoagulants, and - regardless of the fact that I had half as many staples (only 26 versus over 40 with Banner) - Tylenol just didn't make a dent in the pain and swelling department. What I would have given for a proper dose of Advil! It also didn't help that I had a three year old who's world was just rocked by the introduction of a baby sister. Sweet boy wanted mama to pick him up and snuggle him, too, and that same mama kept forgetting that lifting a forty pound boy so soon after major abdominal surgery had painful consequences. <br />
<br />
Despite all the pain and anxiety, I do it all again. Getting Schafer here safe and sound is literally the hardest thing I have ever done - mentally and physically. And it makes my heart so happy to see her shine; my beautiful rainbow. A catastrophist by nature, it isn't lost on me what a miracle she is, and how many things could have gone wrong. So many women with conditions like mine suffer miscarriage after miscarriage to no avail, and somehow I have two healthy, happy kiddos sleeping away down the hall from where I type at this very moment. I consider myself one of the luckiest mamas in the world.<br />
<br />
This was taken one year ago today. It really does go by so fast:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNjvdSSA0DgqMFD_sLc5pABrx8Yn7aeQkeM6P4Iy5-hUblhaJP9Hm85f3evueKj0hMpygK6zfSLJj1tTK4vr8LbR2yMy-x1P4JxySV55lkRQBUvcCP0KSx2SGTMm83yLfEpwgy/s1600/IMG_0134.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNjvdSSA0DgqMFD_sLc5pABrx8Yn7aeQkeM6P4Iy5-hUblhaJP9Hm85f3evueKj0hMpygK6zfSLJj1tTK4vr8LbR2yMy-x1P4JxySV55lkRQBUvcCP0KSx2SGTMm83yLfEpwgy/s320/IMG_0134.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">#thor #athena</td></tr>
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Deals On Wheelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08038285934290983581noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13873612.post-65020261848119722772016-05-19T15:04:00.000-05:002016-05-19T15:04:20.238-05:00Banner on the (now infamous) Rangers versus Blue Jays game...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvIYm2w-ECJINvnpouE3Yp8voiZ_b9hSQFHmBk1DXXDPA7koKO5SGW_IJol9E-PX3dVntvh4bWBpZruZmtJwLnnIt3Zfw2hdLQf80MqdNNQjijakojMwD1vQFVIpVvuAvDNkwE/s1600/IMG_6285%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvIYm2w-ECJINvnpouE3Yp8voiZ_b9hSQFHmBk1DXXDPA7koKO5SGW_IJol9E-PX3dVntvh4bWBpZruZmtJwLnnIt3Zfw2hdLQf80MqdNNQjijakojMwD1vQFVIpVvuAvDNkwE/s400/IMG_6285%255B1%255D.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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In case you missed it, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY7cvcPgBAA&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">THIS HAPPENED</a> at the Ranger's game on Sunday.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_KNNfwxP3VgsNqCjNk0QmqwqZSZygUd2gvcl4HonefORZiYVdYPmdCNop6emCPITZhroZzy6V3hAbgTHsjv9rYdx9kkQ0KKAw9CVBWzDNgGeteyAtOrprFbli0KwOKVzI4fUL/s1600/IMG_6357%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_KNNfwxP3VgsNqCjNk0QmqwqZSZygUd2gvcl4HonefORZiYVdYPmdCNop6emCPITZhroZzy6V3hAbgTHsjv9rYdx9kkQ0KKAw9CVBWzDNgGeteyAtOrprFbli0KwOKVzI4fUL/s400/IMG_6357%255B1%255D.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is what the brawl looked like from our seats...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Banner's thoughts on the game and fight (in no particular order):<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>"The Good Guy got The Bad Guy out."</li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul>
<li>[On baseball turning into hockey and both teams running on to the field] "That guy just needs a hug."</li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul>
<li>"Maybe there was a spider on The Bad Guy's face and The Good Guy was just trying to be nice by punching it off."</li>
</ul>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGsbNZ8de58yZIVJ47omMZ0TJTpHNQLzTNAeA8F5Vc8biQZsesYYFISQWr1569rZOJjKGqCwj5kD6sonlZy2ywm1OXqP0UF17xlUd-2q5E7Icd1XvZCzWmvtjZEg6qnblSyqsa/s1600/IMG_6417%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGsbNZ8de58yZIVJ47omMZ0TJTpHNQLzTNAeA8F5Vc8biQZsesYYFISQWr1569rZOJjKGqCwj5kD6sonlZy2ywm1OXqP0UF17xlUd-2q5E7Icd1XvZCzWmvtjZEg6qnblSyqsa/s400/IMG_6417%255B1%255D.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Deals On Wheelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08038285934290983581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13873612.post-62754432194765464082016-05-12T14:45:00.000-05:002016-05-24T15:35:52.431-05:00Banner Quotes, Spring Edition...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8D9eIXULjUEgh8I6w9hAZXptI0h3Skz7CQ8tfxF3qTM95KjVH0Ovo4l_Wqb18SdtgUWmVPxbeF207OIEMFPCa3HQzHrAFW8Rar66YFgQrdKGMAIW5zvsJ1Ax30qubQ1xEaCWQ/s1600/IMG_4965.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8D9eIXULjUEgh8I6w9hAZXptI0h3Skz7CQ8tfxF3qTM95KjVH0Ovo4l_Wqb18SdtgUWmVPxbeF207OIEMFPCa3HQzHrAFW8Rar66YFgQrdKGMAIW5zvsJ1Ax30qubQ1xEaCWQ/s400/IMG_4965.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
Mr. Garcia: "Who lives with you at home?"<br />
Banner: [Raises hand] "I brush my teeth by myself."<br />
Mr. Garcia: "Good job, Banner, but who lives with you? Or, rather, who feeds you?"<br />
Banner: "I feed myself."<br />
Mr. Garcia: "Fair enough."<br />
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<br />
Schafer: *Sneezes*<br />
Banner: "Mama, Schafer got bless on me."<br />
<br />
Banner: "Don't worry mama! I being careful!"<br />
(He was on top of his dresser trying to get something off the very top of the armoire.)<br />
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<br />
Banner: "The doggies no like to go to bed, either."<br />
Me: "Not true. Haskell loves his bed."<br />
Banner: [After a long pause...] "Well, Gypsy and Alley no like to go to bed. Haskell just lazy."<br />
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<br />
Me: "What did you learn about in church today?"<br />
Banner: {shrug} "Jesus?"<br />
<br />
Banner: "I want to be a police officer priest...as long as I can have my own phone."<br />
<br />
Banner: [Pointing to a stained glass window] "Daddy? Is that Jesus?"<br />
Trevor: "Yes."<br />
Banner: "So, Jesus wears flip flops all the time?"<br />
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<br />
Banner: "I never-ever pick my nose."<br />
<br />
Banner: "Momma, I need a new superhero picture thing for the wall because it is almost Thursday."<br />
(He wanted a new calendar.)<br />
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<br />
Me: "Banner, I love you all the way to Pluto and back."<br />
Banner: "Is that far?"<br />
Me: "Yes, it is an unfathomable distance."<br />
Banner: "Oh, like the ranch or Durango?"<br />
Me: "Sort of."<br />
Banner: "If you can't get there when you want, it's far."<br />
Me: "Fair enough."<br />
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<br />
Banner: "Mommy, I sorry. I poot on you."<br />
Me: "Ew. Really, Ban?"<br />
Banner: "You can't be mad because I already say 'sorry'."<br />
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<br />
<br />
Banner: "You can't talk to strangers because you don't know their names."<br />
<br />
Banner: "If you are a stranger, how you going to make any friends? Because you are a stranger, you don't have any friends and nobody want to talk to you because you are a stranger!"<br />
<br />
Banner: [to ATT guy, Bo]: "So, you are a stranger."<br />
Bo: "Yes, I guess I am."<br />
Banner: "So you no have any friends?"<br />
Bo: "No, I have friends."<br />
Banner: "No you don't. You are a stranger. No one talks to strangers, so you no have any friends. You can't have friends if no one talks to you."<br />
Bo: "But you are talking to me."<br />
Banner: "I only talking to you because my mama is right there. Not because we are friends. I can't be friends with a stranger."<br />
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<br />
Banner: "Mommy, I brushed my hair to get the angles out."<br />
<br />
Banner: "Kids just don't know things."<br />
(After being reprimanded for doing something he knew he shouldn't do.)<br />
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<br />
Banner: "Boys are the best soccer players. Not girls."<br />
Me: "Actually, buddy, girl soccer players won the World Cup. They are the best soccer players in the whole world."<br />
Banner: "Not they aren't!"<br />
Me: "Yes, they are. I can show you pictures."<br />
Banner: "Well, I can show you boys!"<br />
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<br />
Banner: "That's funny. I don't like funny things."<br />
<br />
Banner: "Ew! What's that smell?"<br />
Me: "What smell?"<br />
Banner: "Daddy."<br />
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Banner: "Mama, Pluto is not a planet. He is a dog and he lives at Mickey mouse's playhouse."<br />
<br />
Banner: "I just kissed myself because I am one of the dudes."<br />
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<br />
Banner: "I no nap at school today because I was busy protecting all my friends."<br />
Me: "From what?"<br />
Banner: "Probably spiders."<br />
<br />
Banner: "Knock, knock."<br />
Trev: "Who is there?"<br />
Banner: "Pizza."<br />
Trev: "Pizza who?"<br />
Banner: "Flower."<br />
Trev: "I don't think you understand how knock-knock jokes work."<br />
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Banner: "Mama, you know how you call me 'peanut'?"<br />
Me: "Yes."<br />
Banner: "I want to be your pumpkin. Not your peanut."<br />
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Banner: "Mama, I want you to know that I chose you to be my mama. I looked down and thought to myself, '[my full name]'. She knows me."<br />
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Banner: "Mama, did you know that dinosaurs can't sneeze on girls or pick on boys?"<br />
<br />
Banner: "I can ride a motorcycle because I'm the smart one."<br />
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Banner: "Mama? Why that bird running when it can fly?"<br />
Me: "Dunno, buddy. Been wondering the same thing for years."<br />
Banner: "Yeah, because birds run funny."<br />
Me: "I was thinking more along the lines of 'why run when you can fly' but sure."<br />
<br />
Banner to Schafer: "I love you fat, little girl!"<br />
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Banner refers to both his wallet (that Gram gave him for Christmas) and the pockets on his over-the-door shoe organizer in his closet as "envelopes". <br />
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Banner: "BUT THAT IS SO FAIR!"</div>
Me: "Isn't fair?"<br />
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Banner: "NO! It IS fair!"</div>
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Me: "Okay. Then why are you upset?"</div>
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Banner: "It is just too fair!"</div>
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Banner: "Maybe ice cream will make it all better?"</div>
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Banner: "Is it still Mother's Day?"</div>
Me: "No. That was just Sunday."<br />
Banner: "But I want it to still be Mother's Day!"<br />
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Me: "Well, it will be Father's Day soon..."</div>
Banner: "When is it going to be Kid's Day?"<br />
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Deals On Wheelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08038285934290983581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13873612.post-58236620517306641882016-04-15T12:21:00.000-05:002016-05-19T15:04:02.767-05:00On miracles, Part II...Below is the continuation of the story started six months ago<a href="http://below%20is%20the%20continuation%20of%20the%20story%20started%20six%20months%20ago%20here./" target="_blank"> HERE</a>.<br />
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***</div>
<br />
I remember walking out of the sono tech’s room to discover Deandra waiting patiently for me to emerge outside the door. Tears were still streaming down my face, so I’m sure she assumed the worst. Without saying a word, she embraced and held me long and tight. Overcome with emotion and unable to speak, all I could do was sob into her shoulder.<br />
<br />
“Everything looks great. Baby is measuring just over seven weeks,” chirped Erin from the doorway. <br />
<br />
“Really?! See? Didn’t I tell you about miracles?” Deandra said as she held me tight. “I told you not to give up hope. Let’s get you into an exam room.”<br />
<br />
I followed her down the hall, and into a room. I was clutching the line of ultrasound pictures Erin had given me; still marveling at the tiny little blob with the miraculously beating heart. I was in a state of disbelief, and shaking from adrenaline.<br />
<br />
After Deandra collected my vitals, she left to get the doctor. For a few minutes, I was alone and tried in earnest to compose myself – at least enough to call Trevor. But, of course, the second the phone started to ring, I lost it again. So, when Trev answered, all he heard was me crying on the other end of the line.<br />
<br />
“It’s going to be okay. What did the doctor say? Did you schedule a date for the surgery?”<br />
<br />
“It…It…It…,” I choked through tears, “has a heartbeat. Our baby is alive. Erin said everything looks perfect.”<br />
<br />
One of the best moments of my life was being able to deliver this good news to Trevor. The pic from <a href="http://www.blinkyblinkyblink.blogspot.com/2015/11/on-miracles-part-i.html" target="_blank">THIS POST</a> is the actual image I sent him after I hung up.<br />
<br />
(I also felt incredibly guilty for him not being there to witness it in person.)<br />
<br />
Not long after, my doctor walked in to the exam room. His smile was from ear to ear as he congratulated me.<br />
<br />
And then things got serious.<br />
<br />
The results from the Total Loss Panel revealed several problems; including three different clotting disorders and a gene mutation. I had asked myself WHY repeatedly after losing the baby in the spring of 2014, and now I had my answer. Most likely a blood clot formed on my side of the placenta, which – ultimately – killed him.<br />
<br />
The chances of it happening again, I was told, were great, and I was immediately put on injectable blood thinners. Not five minutes later Deandra walked in and showed me how to give myself shots in the abdomen…something I would do multiple times daily throughout my pregnancy and for months after delivery.<br />
<br />
Had you asked me before that day if I could give myself injections, I would have told you “no”. It is amazing what you can do when you have to.<br />
<br />
I was also given a regime of pills to take. During my pregnancy with Banner, I took nothing except my prenatal and the occasional allergy pill. I remember sobbing when I was told that I needed antibiotics to treat a bladder infection when I was about seven months along with Ban. And, yet, here I was just over seven weeks and taking more in one day than I probably took in 41+ weeks with my son.<br />
<br />
I felt like I was on a rollercoaster. The low of thinking I’d lost another baby, the high of hearing the heartbeat, the low of realizing was essentially a walking blood clot. And that was all before the doctor leveled with me about my chances of miscarriage or stillbirth (both very high). Suddenly I was back in that place where I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Even thinking about how much time I had left before the baby was viable (much less term) sent me in a place of panic. I’ve never been so terrified in my life.<br />
<br />
I told no one anything except Trevor. I refused to share our news, because it all seemed impossible somehow and doomed to fail. Even today, when I think back and reflect upon my pregnancy with Schafer – even knowing what I know today – I still feel queasy, nervous and, strangely enough, grief. I would see other friends post about their pregnancies and feel sadness. Not because I was pregnant. But because I could never feel excitement…only terror. I’ve never been so scared of losing something in my life.<br />
<br />
Two of the clotting risks were being caused by Protein S and Protein C deficiencies. According to my hematologist (because I have a hematologist now), people who are deficient in S and C are either deficient in either S or C; not both. A fact that, according to her, make me "medically interesting". <br />
<br />
To date, I've found very little good in being labeled "medically interesting". Just to START the process of getting my veins fixed again (because - wow - did they make my pregnancy with Schaf super uncomfortable towards the end) took three months, two trips to the hematologist and about $5,000 in blood work. I was told I needed to get my veins treated, because - not doing so - increased my clot risk. But so did the process of...you know, actually fixing them. And that's just for a routine, outpatient procedure.<br />
<br />
Just for the record, I also experienced my first blood clot in my lower, left leg at the beginning of April (2016). The pain was intense and came out of nowhere. The terror of being home alone (Trevor was in Detroit for work) with two kiddos was breathtaking. I think that part of the reason Schafer's story is so hard for me to tell is because - in so many ways - the story didn't end with her birth. I'm still trying to get my mind (and body) around my new reality. A reality I may have never known about if I hadn't lost that baby boy back in March of 2014. <br />
<br />
But I digress.<br />
<br />
Back in October of 2014, all this information was overwhelming. Toss in the pregnancy hormones and I could barely function. I seconded guessed everything I did. Sleeping was impossible because I couldn't turn off all the "what ifs" shouting in my brain. In many ways, I was just going through the motions of living between injections, taking pills and taking care of Banner.<br />
<br />
Then our twelve week appointment rolled around, and I just about made myself sick with worry. It was, of course, the same "end of first trimester" appointment that we learned we lost the little boy earlier that same year. So, when the doctor couldn't find the heartbeat right away, my stress started manifesting itself physically. My blood pressure and heartbeat skyrocketed, which - of course - made hearing the baby's heartbeat nearly impossible. I started to cry and hyperventilate; convinced that I had lost this baby too. My doctor actually apologized, and said - considering my history - that he should have just scheduled me for a sonogram. It was the longest two minutes of my life, but then - just as he was about to give up and send me back to Erin - he found it. My blood pressure and heart rate started to subside immediately as my tears turned to sobs of relief and joy.<br />
<br />
Because of the high risk nature of the pregnancy, my doctor ordered a bunch of tests. One of them checked on the health of the fetus. So, just before Thanksgiving 2014, we learned two things. 1) that the baby I was carrying was healthy and free from whatever number of genetic abnormalities and malformations they can test for; and 2) was a girl.<br />
<br />
I can't prove it, but I already knew long before the results were back that I was having a daughter. Just like I knew she'd be born in May.<br />
<br />
When my doctor called to tell me the baby was healthy on the day before Thanksgiving, he asked if I wanted him to write the gender down and leave it in a sealed envelope for me to pick up at his office. That way I could open it with Trevor over the Thanksgiving holiday. Initially, this sounded like a plan, but then I just couldn't stand it and told him to simply tell me over the phone.<br />
<br />
I know, I know. I probably should have gone and picked up the envelope, but I wanted - NEEDED - to hear my doctor say the words out loud.<br />
<br />
(Sorry again, Trevor.)<br />
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Don't worry, though. When Trevor came home that night, I had decorated the kitchen with giant IT'S A GIRL balloons. We later took each of our parents the same balloons in boxes with a balloon inside as a way of letting the family in on our little secret. It was both a "Surprise! We are pregnant!" and a "Surprise! It is a girl!" all rolled into one. We told our mothers on November 27, 2014 in Dallas, and Mimi and my dad on November 28, 2014 down at the ranch. Again, I can't prove it, but I remember thinking she would be born six months later on May 28. I just couldn't get that date out of my head from the second I learned I was pregnant; even though she technically wasn't due until June. <br />
<br />
Speaking of due dates, Schafer was due on June 8th. Exactly 8 months after the due date of the baby we lost (he was due October 8th). My favorite number is 8. Even though all that could be chalked up to coincidence, I clung to it as a good sign during my entire pregnancy.<br />
<br />
That and the song <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Sw9Fh6uk4Q" target="_blank">ODDS ARE</a> by the Barenaked Ladies. Because difficult times in life needs a mantra.<br />
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***</div>
<br />
My goal is to finish telling Schafer's pregnancy and birth story by girlfriend's 1st birthday. So stay tuned...Deals On Wheelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08038285934290983581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13873612.post-37588104781503068612016-04-04T14:32:00.000-05:002016-05-19T15:03:52.567-05:00That's my girl...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
"Schafer had a happy day, and drank her bottles like a champ (Yay!). She enjoyed our sensory experience (exploring a tub of ice cubes) but got <u>very</u> annoyed with the ice for slipping through her fingers when she tried to grab it. She was so annoyed that, by the time she did manage to get ahold of one, she threw it in frustration. It was kind of hilarious. -Kat"Deals On Wheelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08038285934290983581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13873612.post-66688150626926138722016-04-01T14:16:00.000-05:002016-05-19T15:03:45.376-05:00The Moo and The Schaf...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
One of the most unexpected joys of having babies is, for me, seeing reminders of loved ones lost in their faces and personalities.<br />
<br />
I've thought for awhile that Schaf resembles my paternal grandmother, <a href="http://blinkyblinkyblink.blogspot.com/2010/09/happy-100th-birthday-moo.html" target="_blank">Moo</a>. Especially in the mouth (Mimi and I refer to it as "Moo Mouth"). But it also goes beyond that to the point that I sometimes joke that Schafer is my grandmother reincarnated. <br />
<br />
Just a few ways examples:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Schafer is HIGHLY opinionated about ALL the things. Moo wasn't a wallflower, either.</li>
<li>Some of Schafer's noises (baby babble and verbal sound effects) remind me of Moo. Not sure if it is the pitch or what, but it is definitely there.</li>
<li>The PINCHING. Moo was a notorious pincher. So is Schafer.</li>
<li>The mischievous look in Schafer's eye when she does something she knows she shouldn't. Moo's father called her "Pest", and I'm definitely getting this vibe from my daughter (Related: Moo called me "Worry Wart", so this might be a dominant genetic trait).</li>
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Deals On Wheelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08038285934290983581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13873612.post-24635105188212996852016-03-31T12:55:00.000-05:002016-05-19T15:03:38.302-05:00On Easter...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH3wdwNmStql5HA-Cl6xvS_qN_mm66bTQUQ0frdp7yygclYvlmwi-Fv165dtWIen7jdMd955ecwxvrBoDG0B_KLoP3tNN9dn42iIR-N8CHYPTmmJecHkM4R-k5hnmgyV4sXOiy/s1600/IMG_5036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH3wdwNmStql5HA-Cl6xvS_qN_mm66bTQUQ0frdp7yygclYvlmwi-Fv165dtWIen7jdMd955ecwxvrBoDG0B_KLoP3tNN9dn42iIR-N8CHYPTmmJecHkM4R-k5hnmgyV4sXOiy/s400/IMG_5036.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cue soundtrack from Psycho.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFFhdSMHdu0zTTRduSdgBzoPSX6LqY5WoV_b3h2CoFyrEuwaVA2xiNqi3FSaLCn_kgZHTgQYUQqQwErRdGlK52aE0D9M3b8jiQ0clGDUe1Al1-rF5sl-28wB_m9VYiWS5SeKuZ/s1600/IMG_5037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>
Deals On Wheelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08038285934290983581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13873612.post-66883006644429107202016-03-19T14:20:00.000-05:002016-05-19T15:03:25.902-05:00Schafer on avocado...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTRm3dQuDcCwtLV0qkHh5P3LPsYINe1pXTUhohdOCi37VclGKIdlfVvVYTUhh57Iq5eSeJqK40FczCqRZOJFdw8K4NM_nGH1SMuQOl_AgvcLEGc20Z1F9U51N6mtSH6hqN86up/s1600/IMG_4655.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTRm3dQuDcCwtLV0qkHh5P3LPsYINe1pXTUhohdOCi37VclGKIdlfVvVYTUhh57Iq5eSeJqK40FczCqRZOJFdw8K4NM_nGH1SMuQOl_AgvcLEGc20Z1F9U51N6mtSH6hqN86up/s400/IMG_4655.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />Deals On Wheelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08038285934290983581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13873612.post-56344589037241723192016-03-04T14:19:00.000-06:002016-05-19T15:03:19.998-05:00Mimi and Bud: Only getting more fabulous with time...<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg12AcCMhf-l62ngpSok-Dwf1d8DFISCIBtmKe4miy57jE4l6NgWHoWtQVuAmzNHnOA775CZyAkbLDxr1E6Xcw9eiJRwENKUkebHZQi8zgPvROWS-32I8l5XN3PojtU5FI9Reh3/s1600/IMG_4287.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg12AcCMhf-l62ngpSok-Dwf1d8DFISCIBtmKe4miy57jE4l6NgWHoWtQVuAmzNHnOA775CZyAkbLDxr1E6Xcw9eiJRwENKUkebHZQi8zgPvROWS-32I8l5XN3PojtU5FI9Reh3/s400/IMG_4287.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo credit: Uncle Bud</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Deals On Wheelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08038285934290983581noreply@blogger.com0