Go big, or go home

I am one of those people who does dramatic things, because what's the point of doing something small?

The best example is my hair. Though I currently hate it, (it's a cross between this and this... seriously, and is in no way like the picture I took in.) I did it. My hair was long, and I wanted a change. Why get an inch chopped off when I can get a completely different look? I guess I like to get my money's worth... even if I sometimes don't like the results.

Luckily, Bob seems to have my mindset, or at least he tolerates it.

We bought our fixer-upper house with the intention of truly making it ours. And a coat of paint just wouldn't do.

Since we had just had Baby Plum, and school was in full-swing, we've had to take our time about getting to our big projects.

Bob and my dad attacked the boys' bathroom over Thanksgiving and Christmas. They gutted it, and the only original item is the cast-iron tub.

It's Spring Break for us this week, and Bob and I have started re-doing our kitchen. When I say we, I mean Bob. With two little ones (one of whom wants to eat and be held all the time) I'm not much help.

And this is not a slap up some paint job. No, while we aren't changing things structurally, we are making HUGE changes.

When we bought the house, the kitchen had lovely dark paneling, dark wood cabinets, peeling linoleum floors, an odd layout, flourescent lights (like you see in a school) and an odd cow border featuring cows with tiny heads and huge rectangular bodies.

We aren't finished -- and won't totally be for a while --but our kitchen is already a lot different. Once we get the cabinet doors back up, the ceiling patched (oh yeah -- Bob's re-wiring, too!), and the pots and pans put away, then I'll post some mostly after pics.

What makes us happy...

Baby Plum: No diaper!
Little Elvis: Wearing his "King" robe.

Daddy: A sunny day at the park with the family.

Mommy: A sleeping baby...

...and a baby who has decided that oatmeal is tasty! He cried between each bite, because he wasn't getting it quickly enough. Hooray!

Darn cats

"Hey, you! Get outta my bed!"

"This bassinet's not big enough for the both of us."

The cats have chosen sides.

Slappy is a Baby Plum fan, while Wally likes Little Elvis.

Wally wouldn't stay out of Little Elvis' crib when he was little. Now, he spends most afternoons snuggled up at the foot of Little Elvis' bed. Little Elvis currently isn't a fan, though they used to be big buddies. We made a music video about their friendship.

Slappy will not stay out of the bassinet. One night I had to wake up and fuss at her to keep her from joining a finally sleeping Baby Plum. She also tries to share my lap with him and the computer when I feed.

Ring the Gack

On the way home from pre-school last week, Little Elvis said, "Let's go home and play a game called 'Ring the Gack." Pretty much quoting a line from, "One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish," one of his favorite books.

Once we got home, I pulled out the base of his flashing stoplight (we have no idea where the light is) and some vintage plastic bracelets we found in the attic last week.

It worked.
Baby Plum was impressed with our new game. He's really enjoying watching his big brother these days. Little Elvis is happy about this, he helped me catch the smile on camera.

Interesting discoveries

Bob made some interesting discoveries in our attic this week -- a whole bunch of vintage things! Lots of cool dresses, costumes, books, magazines, toys, purses, and lots of other things.
The toys are most likely from the 50s, while most of the clothes seem to be from the 4os, 60s, and 70s. There are two navy coats from WW2 (seriously!) that are in decent condition. The magazines are mainly from the 60s.


We've got several pieces of clothing, some purses, lots of paper dolls, lots of vinyl album covers (big Elvis fan -- no surprise here!) some old dolls that look really bad -- along with doll accessories, some old games, several old books, and lots of issues of teen-ish magazines. There's also an old bow and 4 arrows and a few pieces of costume jewelry.

I plan on keeping at least two wool suit jackets for myself (from the 40s -- I love peplums!) and am desperately trying clean a really pretty cotton eyelet dress, but want to sell most of the other stuff. Probably going to attempt ebay, though my luck there isn't great.

Any suggestions on what to do with our loot?

Feeling better

All of us are feeling better now. Little Elvis still has ear medicine to take, but he doesn't wake up saying, "I hurt. I'm sick." He's good at being pitiful, but I much prefer him being active and hyper.
"How cool is my daddy?" Bob's classes did experiments to see how many helium balloons it took to float different objects. He brought the balloons home that evening. Sixteen balloons easily floated Little Elvis' pink Disney castle...
... and his hair. Also his spirits. He was SO excited!
We've been working on getting dressed. He put his undies on all by himself.
This pretty much sums up Baby Plum's feelings about cereal. But we're working on it. He did a much better job last night.
He likes going for walks with Daddy, though.
Wearing cute tow truck overalls for Mommy.
But most of all, he likes his feet!

This is not good to me either and either!

Little Elvis has an ear infection. It popped up around midnight last night, and I took him to the pediatrician this morning.

My usually hyper, loud little boy was very somber this morning. Once we got into our private room, he climbed into my lap and we all napped (Baby Plum in his carseat.)

The doctor was surprised that he's only had one other infection, and that it just popped up last night. I knew it had to be bad, because he's never been so adament for such an extended period about any pains.

They tested him for the flu as well by swabbing his nose. He told the nurse, "This is not good to me, either and either!" He loves to throw in an either whenever he wants to get a point across. Two eithers means he's very serious.

It took quite a while for his prescription to get filled (computer or internet error) and he kept going to the pharmacist window to say, "I sick. I sick."

Poor little boy. I really enjoyed holding my feverish little napper at the doctor's office, though. I can't remember the last time he slept in my lap. He has the most beautiful, long, black eyelashes. And a sweet little freckle on the tip of his nose. I know he has these, but I enjoyed re-discovering them this morning.

His medicine is already doing some good -- he's napping right now. None of us were able to sleep much last night because his ear hurt so much.

This is not good to me

Sometimes you have to ask for help. Even if you have no idea what's really wrong.

With both boys, I'm tempted to call the doctor (or consult Dr. Google) over minor things. This isn't the case with my health.

It hurts to feed Baby Plum. He eats all the time, and has been gnawing. I assumed this caused the sores. Yeah, sores. I've been using Baby Anbesol before each feeding, and it wasn't working. It's the second time this has happened.

On Friday I called my doctor's office to get the number of a lactation consultant. She was very friendly, and informed me that Baby Plum's thrush (and my thrush) had never really been healed. And although his mouth isn't white, his throat probably is. My thrush has escalated, hence the sores.

I now have a stronger prescription, and have renewed Baby Plum's medication as well. I also have a 10 step process to go through when feeding. Which frustrates Baby Plum to no end.

On top of this, Baby Plum does not like rice cereal. We've been trying and working with him. Sometimes he won't even open his mouth. But last night, he seemed to get the hang of it, and enjoyed the process more.

Little Elvis, takes pain about like his Mommy, and he's just as clumsy. He cries when he hurts himself. He tells me he does not like the hurt, and asks me to take it away.

When it's really painful, he'll say, "This is not good to me!" I think that about sums up my feelings on these sores.

The medicine and new program are working. Hopefully I'll be sore free by the end of the week... just in time for those teeth to pop through!

Here are my two big boys. Little Elvis just loves to hold his brother's hands.