Chia Pets

     Can someone explain Chia Pets to me??   They have been around a long time.  So, someone buys them!

     You know what scares me?  The commercial says, "Collect them all!"  You KNOW

someone does!  Someone, somewhere has every variation of the Chia Pet sitting in their house.

     See, I found this picture on google!  Proof!!

   

     So, do you have a Chia Pet?  Do you know someone who does?  Better yet, do you know someone who has mulitple Chia Pets?

     I went to look up some information on the ever-popular Chia Pet and now I am feeling a little guilty.  Apparently, the Chia Pet is saving lives.  Who knew??

    This is the beginning of an article I found about Chia Pets:

     Recently U of T researchers discovered that eating a certain variety of grains similar to the variety found in Chia Pets significantly reduces the risk of heart disease in individuals with Type 2 diabetes.  (Click to read the rest of the article.)

    Is there other information I am missing on the Chia Pet?  

Crap!!

**** Bold, italicized words are links****

     Crap is not a very lady-like word, but there are times when it is the only word that will do. And, there has been some crap at the Isaacs' house.

     Quick update: Shelby has had two concerts with the Children's Choir, Emme had a "procedure" done at the hospital, and I am addicted to Pathwords and Sweet Potato Fries.

     How's that for quick??

     If you are nosey like me... that is not nearly enough information.

     Shelby has had 3 choir rehearsals and 3 concerts in a week. I had no idea when she tried out for this choir in '07 that they were : A) so amazing B) so professional C) so Christ centered.... at least the Christmas concerts have been. I am blown away by the training that she is getting for $330 a year. The concerts have been a perfect way to worship and truly get into the season for the right reason. (Yea! I made a rhyme... or rather... I stole it!)

     Last Tuesday, Emme had an endoscopy. In this the procedure, they knocked her out.... with bubble gum flavored air and ran a camera down her esophagus, into the stomach and into the beginning of the intestines. Poor thing was so hungry (procedure was at 11:15, she had not had food since 3:30 am. I told her it was her fault. She got us into this mess.:-) (Just call me Mercy Mama) she passed out licking the gas mask.

     The procedure was scheduled for 44 minutes. I think it took 12 minutes. When one has about 6 inches from the mouth to the intestine, I guess it shouldn't take long.

     Everything looks great.... EXCEPT.... the hole at the beginning of the stomach is supposed to close after food passes through. Her hole does not close. It has atrophied. In time, it should fix itself, but until then, things come up very easily. Add that to her aversion for food, the mere sight of the baby food jars induces gagging and coughing... and you have... lots of laundry.

     The next step will be to assign her to a feeding team. She needs her mouth desensitized. Basically, she needs to learn how to eat. How ironic! I need to learn not to:)

     If you've been lurking around for any length of time, you know that I have lots of quirks. One of them is I have some addictions. I have tried to confess my sins. It's not working for me.

     One of my addictions is a game called Pathwords. It's all BooMama's fault. I am not taking any responsibility. Don't go there! And, if you do, don't blame me.

     My other quirk... because one always has to involve food... just ask Paul or Gina...sweet potato fries. For the record, until about 2 weeks ago, I hated, with every fiber of my being, sweet potatoes. I really don't even know what possessed me to try them. It was probably my vitamin deprived body screaming out for some nutrients. Nonetheless, I tried them.

     I cut up one sweet potato, skin intact. Drizzled it with olive oil... one tsp. Rolled it around in the olive oil so they all got coated. Added some sea salt. Baked on 400 for about 3o minutes. And, the love affair began.

     This is going to surprise you .... but, I eat them EVERY day!!!! Today, I ate them twice. I am pretty sure, by Christmas, I am going to be orange.

     So, there you have it.

      Since I took a little hiatus, I can't wait for all the comments about how much you all missed me!!!

   

Yum!!  Yum!!!  Yum!!!

     Emme at the hospital.  Doesn't she just look pathetic?


     Crap!  Yes, that little pile behind her foot.  She threw up, so Paul took her clothes off , sat her down and went to get her towel.  When he came back, she was standing in a puddle laced with her own fecal matter.  

     Emme in her own personal spa bath, aka The Kitchen Sink.  See the cutting board??  We always have to throw something out of the sink because these situation don't come at convenient planned times.

Fashion Faux Pa

Now, I am clearly not setting the fashion industry on fire, but I'd like to think I have a little common sense and hopefully some class when it comes to dressing.

So, I am officially calling myself the fashion police of my hometown and I am making a law. 

The law states: a woman over the age of 20.... (should be younger) is not allowed to wear leggings and a regular length sweater.... and then..... go out in public!!!

Yesterday, we went to my son's Winter Carnival at his school. I saw a mother, working at the carnival no less, wearing a Christmas type sweater with ..... drum roll please.... you guessed it....leggings. Now, it would be one thing if it were a long sweater and that sweater covered up her oversized bootie. But, it's altogether different when, the sweater, at best, comes to the middle of the bootie. Then, to top it all off, she didn't have on some cute little flats that would not draw any extra attention. She had on some type of big Adirondack- looking socks that kinda matched the sweater and rose just above her brown fur boots. And, the brown fur boots had long tassels hanging off of them... the kind with the little fur balls.

Wow!!

So, being the ever gracious Proverbs 31 woman that I am... I looked at my good friend, Jennifer and said, "She might as well be naked."

Jennifer said, "She wore the EXACT same thing last night!"

Rule#2 Do not wear the outfit two days in a row!  For the love of Pete!!

So, for your viewing pleasure, I will now show you some unacceptable outfits featuring the ever-popular leggings. Enjoy!

     There is NEVER a reason to wear gold leggings!  I won't even address the other issues.

     WHAT IN THE WORLD!!!!!?????   This is bordering on pornographic!  

COME ON!!  Would any man EVER be caught dead wearing this??

Conversations with and amongst little ones

     That's a rough looking bunch isn't it???  The was the morning of Black Friday when I was out and about.  I can always tell when dad has been left in charge.  Emme's in a box!!   

   Stick a bow on her!  Could there be a better gift??

     Last night, Jackson and Gracie were sitting at the kitchen table having a snack. 

Gracie says, "Jackson, when is your library teacher going to have her baby?'

J:  "I don't know."

As he goes about eating his snack,

J:  "But, I bet it's going to be a boy or a girl."

Really?    

Then, yesterday, I asked Shelby....

"Shelby, do you know someone in Dad's ministry named Camy?

S: "No."

S: "Why?  Do you think he's cheating on you?"

Me:  "No Shelby!  She left a note on my blog and I am trying to figure out who she is."

(Sorry Camy!  Sometimes I have brain farts... can you throw me a bone?)

So, one can tell that I am intellectually stimulated on a daily basis.  Am I  even going to know how to act when I have to venture out into the adult world again someday? 

I think I'll stay right here for as long as I can and enjoy these conversations:-)

The ailments of the Isaacs

     Even Christmas ornaments at our house have ailments.  Do you see my headless reindeer??

This is his Christmas debut as he was purchased after  Christmas last year.  Poor fellow.  I am not even sure super glue is going to help.  His stinkin' head weighs 10 pounds!

     And, this picture is from Thanksgiving with the Chinese students.  Why, because I didn't put it up with the Thanksgiving post.  It's my blog, and I can do whatever I want.

     We need some excitement around here, because there is nothing going on around this house.

     In the last 3 days, we have been to the hospital twice and to the doctor once.

     The details:

     On Monday morning, Emme had to go to the Children's Hospital for an upper GI.  The good news is, anatomically she is perfect.  On Tuesday, we went back to the same hospital to see the GI doctor.  Let me tell you, this girl is HM (high maintenance). 

       Emme had the attention of two doctors, a dietician, and a speech pathologist.  She is going to have at least two tests.  The first one is a swallow test.  She will drink some barium and then a doctor and a speech pathologist will watch her swallow.  Then she needs to have an endoscopy.  During this test, they will put her to sleep, run a camera down her esophagus, into her stomach and then into the small intestine.

     The dietician gave us a recipe to take her formula from 20 calories and ounce to 24 calories an ounce.  Then, we will increase from there. Doesn't seem like much, but the theory is, too much of a caloric increase will make it all come back up.   I am also to add a tsp of olive oil to her food.

     Finally, she needs to see a speech pathologist.

     Meanwhile, I was barely able to stand at this appointment because my body was so weak and  AND my throat felt like it was swallowing razor blades.  I had taken 3 Motrin to get me there.  By the time I got home, the Motrin had worn off and I needed 3 more.  By the end of the day, I had taken 9.

     This morning when I woke up and could barely swallow, I thought is was time to go to the doctor.  If you click here, you can see what my throat looked like (although, I only had one pus pocket on the back of my throat.)  I also had very enlarged and tender lymph nodes.  I was given an antibiotic, magic mouth wash (good stuff- numbs the throat) and I was told to buy some musinex to help with the STUFF that was just hanging in the back of my throat. Yum!!  I know you are loving these descriptions.  I was also told to rest a lot and drink lots of water.  After I picked myself off the floor from laughing so hard (rest... she has apparently never been to my house), I went to Target to fill my prescriptions.  I then came home and rested as much as humanly possible to do in this house.

     And, let me say this, when one is sick, calories should not count.  When my throat hurt this bad, I want two things: fizzy, fountain Coke and ice cream.  Neither of which is healthy or good when one needs to shed some pounds.

     Is is just me or do we seem to have an inordinate amount of things going on at this house?

    I am not going to lie, when I was trying to get dinner for the kids because my husband had to bail someone out of a mental health facility (don't ask) and the kids were arguing, I was wishing I was a horse and someone would just shoot me.

    God's mercies are new every morning, right??  Someone, remind me of that!!

I am now a tree hugger... and white trash

     If you are a new reader, while we were in China (see our adoption story at http://milesandmilestomylei.blogspot.com- look in the September archives), Hurricane Ike hit our house.  And, we live the MIDWEST- for crying out loud!!  That beautiful tree split and landed on our house.

     It's sad because it was a big (sniff)  ol' beautiful (sniff) tree and (sob) now, it's gooonne!  I had no idea I was a tree hugger.  

      To be honest I am probably more sad because when Gracie turned 5, I bought her a round, wooden swing ($19.99 on sale at Target).  We then went to Lowe's and bought a rope for $10.00.  We swung the big rope over a big branch on the tree and wa-lah!!!

     It was an instant attraction.  Parents brought their children from miles away asking and offering to pay to ride that swing.  Once the child payed, we would secure their hands on the rope, tell them to cross their legs, and then tell them to hold on for dear life.  The child would sail high in one direction, descend, and then swing equally as high in the opposite direction.  It was no match for an ordinary swing.  Not even an ordinary swing on a really cool swingset.   

      Oh, and the whole paying for rides and coming from miles around, well, that may be a slight exaggeration.

     We did have every kid in the neighborhood riding it.  They rode it so much that they wore away the grass and left a bare spot in our yard.  At first we frowned upon the beating our yard was taking.  But, then we looked at the bare spot as a badge of honor.  After all, kids are only little once.  Besides, we relished in the fact that we spent $30 on a swing that brought hours and hours of entertainment.  Kids would fight over who was next.  Screams of "Higher, higher" echoed through yard.  Meanwhile, the really cool looking swing set complete with a slide coming out of a  wooden house and a price tag of $2000, sat in our neighbors yard jealously looking at the kids, longing for the same attention.

  

     Can you understand the despair I felt being halfway around the world and seeing this tree on my house?? I knew the days of the swing had come to a screeching halt!

     If you look hard, you can see the lonely rope awaiting it's fate.

     Two months later, we decided it was time to part with the tree.

     We called in some professionals, Nate and Tyler.  Ok, maybe semi-professionals.  How long does it take to become a professional?  They cut down several trees last year in Tyler's yard.  Does that count? 

     I'm afraid of heights.  There!  Add that to my list of quirks.  I HATE seeing people climb trees.  But, on Saturday, I decided there was something I hated more than seeing people climb trees.  It's people climbing tree with CHAINSAWS in their hands!!!  Lord have mercy!

     Now, be honest, doesn't that make you a bit queasy?

     At least he looked serious.  He had that going for him!  Which was nice.

     Along with the first big cut, came the first big crack.  It was a pretty cool sound if I do say so my (nervous) self.

     Now when I snapped the above picture... I was not happy.  I knew what was going on.  See, you can fool some of the people, some of the time... but it's hard to get one past this girl.  

     I knew Tyler was giving some instructions to Paul.  But, there was no need for instructions. There was no need  because that morning, before our professional, I mean, before our friends arrived, I had told Paul, "No climbing and no using a chainsaw."  What would he need instructions for?

     See, my love for Paul runs really deep and I couldn't stand to see anything happen to him.  Plus, he has no life insurance!  (He can't get life insurance because of a childhood illness.)  He is worth way more to me alive, than dead.

     Can't you just feel the love?

    "So, what you do Paul, is you take the chainsaw....."  

 

     ARE YOU SERIOUS???
     Meanwhile, Nate not a bit worried that my husband has no life insurance or the fact that he has NEVER used a chainsaw, just cuts away on the easy stuff while my husband risks his life.

     See!!  Tyler even has to carry the chainsaw up the ladder.  This IS NOT how a first tree- cutting- chainsaw -lesson should start.

     Tyler yelling, "OK, NOW LEAN OUT REALLY FAR AND MAKE SURE YOU DON'T SLIP AND AND LET THE CHAIN HIT YOUR BODY?  ANYWHERE!  KEEP IT ON THE TREE!"

     I mean does that look safe to you??  If one goes down, they're both going down!

     "Ok, see that little knot above the bark, you want to cut right there!!"

     Oh, brother!

     I like the views from farther away better.  I should have just stayed in the house.

     CAREFUL, OH, CAREFUL!!!!!!!

        One more big limb.

     I started feeling really good at this point.  Everyone was still alive... including the 12 kids running around the yard.
     We were able to chop up all the limbs and lay them in 4 foot stacks along the curb outside our house.  We'll make a call and the city will come pick them up.

     The big logs were cut up too.  However, by the time we were ready for the big trunk,  darkness was descending rapidly and the temperature was plunging.  So, we quit.

     And, now, we have that large trunk laying in our yard.  Presently, it is snowing and windy and cold outside.  We are officially WT (white trash) until we get that big stick out of our yard.       

     A few other scenes from the exciting day.
     Times were tough and the excitement level was low when the kids lined up to merely climb the ladder.... to nowhere.

     The death of the swing hit hard by the looks of this scene.
     Jackson was distraught.  He didn't know how to handle his feelings so he bugged the life out of his sister.  I am pretty sure she cold cocked him about that time.

     And, the little neighbor boy behind Jackson, I think he just had to pee.

     Emme is oblivious to the whole scene.  She didn't get to experience the pleasure of the swing.  She was just glad she didn't have to eat right then! 

     "I am so glad I get to sit in the wagon.  It's way better than the high chair.  The nerve of these people trying to shove food down me.  They act like I am 15 months old and only way 13 pounds 11 ouces!"