May Treyisms

These are a little early but I have a busy weekend ahead so I thought I should get them posted. Enjoy!

1. "I want to op". Translation: he wants to mop using one of his favorite toys, the janitor cart. Grandma lets him op her patio. The only problem is he has been known to pee on the patio so he can op it again.
2. "I'm a MAN!" he declared after peeing off the edge of the patio. (Of course his thomas train underpants were twisted around his ankles as he said this)
3. Picture this: family gathered around the table, aunts, uncles, the works. Someone comments what a nice boy Trey is. About that time, we all glance out the patio doors. There's Trey. Well, at least his bare butt. Guess what he's doing. (It seems to be a theme of this months' stories.) He finishes sprinkling the yard and catches us all looking at him. "What?" he asks innocently.
4. "Sister doesn't like toys" he said as he sat in a pile of her toys and she sat crying on the other side of the room.
5. Trey was insisting he wanted to eat at King Burger. I finally figured out he wanted Burger King.
6. I found Trey leaning over Kayelynn making this awful "phlipht pphhhlipppphhht" noise. I inquired as to what he was doing. "I'm teachin' sister to spit!l
7. When we rode out to wade in the creek, I took off our shoes and we rolled up our pants. "We're naked! We're naked!" he sang. 8. Trey is getting to be a pro at pooping in the potty. But he thinks he has to inspect the product when he's done. After having a looser than normal stool he declared, "oh no! My poopies melted!"
9. Trey is learning some spanish. When reviewing numbers I held up 3 fingers and said "tres, like you are". He laughs and says "I'm not tres! I'm Trey Stroud!"
10. Grandma took Trey to McDonalds one night while Rex and I went to do rounds on the inmates. One of Grandma's friends asked Trey where mom and dad were. "They at jail" he told them matter of factly. Grandma had some explaining to do then!

They grow so fast.....really.

It was almost a year ago that Rex and I decided to add some goats to our farmyard friends. We started by going to Dinky's Auction Barn and buying 2 baby goats, Willie White and Betty Brown. But it turned out that Betty was really Billy! That wasn't a very good way to start growing our goat herd. So a few weeks later we went to a local farmer and bought Betty Black (she was really a betty this time), Gertrude, Woolly, Inky and a bottle fed runt we named Cindy Lu. Trey loved Cindy Lu instantly. He spent most of last summer feeding her bottles daily. Today, she had her own babies, two little nannies, Cindy and LuLu.
Thank goodness my babies don't grow as fast as goat babies!

(Trey holding LuLu, me holding Cindy)

Its TWINS!!!

Goats that is. Stroud Farms welcomes Cindy and Lu-Lu. Trey is very proud!

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?

OXLEY STROUDPANTS !!!

What not to do...

Trey has had many learning experiences this month. He loves to educate others on what he has learned. Here are the top 3 lessons learned:

1. Never play with fire! There was a fire in the neighborhood. When Trey saw the house he knew right away something was wrong. He's been warning everyone about the dangers of fire. (Even people in the grocery store)

2. Gasoline will burn if sprayed in your eyes. It will also cause Mommy to take all of your clothes off and throw you in the shower. She will then try to spray water in your eyes even if you scream and cry for her to quit. It is very traumatic. Do not try it.

3. Do not ever get under the car. (Even if the cat is under there taunting you). Getting under the car is very bad and will cause Mommy to yell and scream for quite some time. Then you will have to promise a hundred times never to do it again.

Oxley

Today Trey went to visit his Great Grandma Oxley. We do this from time to time but try to make the visits brief because Trey gets stir crazy. But today something very exciting happened. We found this little fella scampering across the side walk. Trey "loved" him immediately and it was decided he should come live with us. Naturally he was named Oxley since he was found on the Oxley homestead.
I have a few wishes right now. First, I hope Oxley will live a long life. Second, I hope he doesn't get loose in the house. And third, I hope he doesn't grow up to be a snapping turtle!

Trey's idea of Beautiful

Kayelynn's idea of Beautiful

Rex's idea of Beautiful

My idea of Beautiful

OUR idea of Beautiful

Proud Mamma

This is Trey's bath tub work of art. There were many more squiggles and zig zags. But, can you see what I see? He wrote his name! Now he didn't simply sit and write it. (He's not that much of a genius) He asked me about each letter. He knew the order to write them. But he wanted to see me demonstrate each letter before he tried on his own. So I would wave my finger thru the air to show how the letters should be drawn and then Trey copied it. I think he did good. I couldn't be more proud!

Worming 101

Trey still has his worm friends. The more I landscape, the more worms he collects. Here he shows his cousin Leah his "friends". Here are some worm tips from Trey.
1. Know your worms. There are mommies, daddies and babies. The babies will be near the mommies.
2. When pulling the wormies out of the dirt be careful not to "broke" them.
3. Listen carefully. See if the worms sound hungry. If so, feed them a small amount of coffee (grounds).
4. Tickling worms will make them "wiggle wiggle" which leads to wormy happiness and possibly longer wormy lives. (The studies are still out)
5. If you collect enough worms you can sell them to get money to buy a swing set. (If this is true we will be digging worms all summer!)

Read to me Brother

Squeaky Clean

Both of my kids LOVE bathtime. I am so glad. It can be a wonderful way to unwind together. So, why no adorable picture of Kayelynn in her towel? Because she screams her head off as soon as I get her out of the tub! So much for unwinding.

Losing touch with coolness

OK, that in itself is no shocker. I am a thirty something stay at home mother of two. Its hard to keep up. I was at McDonalds today (there is nowhere else in Petersburg) and I saw something that got my crazy brain going.
There were some kids hanging out. (That's not the crazy part. I understand hanging out.) There were two girls and a boy. They looked very young. I'm not good at guessing ages but I really don't think they were old enough to drive. How did they get there? They didn't seem to be with anyone else. There were no bikes or scooters or alternate forms of transportation that I could find. I guess they walked from somewhere. Good for them. (That's not the mind bender either)
The 2 girls looked to be 13ish. They were both skinny little things. Their clothes made them look even smaller. They had on tight t-shirts, short jean skirts and leggings. (They really kinda looked like they had raided Madonna's closet back in the eighties.)
But something didn't seem right (besides the clothes) Each girl had a huge can of Red Bull. These cans were bigger around than their arms. I finally decided that was part of why the scene seemed odd. Secondly, they were using these drinks as a prop while they charmed this young fella. If you were spying on a dinner party of rich people talkin' it up, the girls were holding their drinks just like the richies would hold their cocktails. From time to time they'd take an oh so tiny sip. No offense to the Red Bull people but doesn't that stuff taste like cough medicine?! And what do a couple of little girls need a supersized energy drink for? Red Bull gives you wings but these girls were tiny enough to take flight if they walked into a breeze.
I guess I'm just not sure. Was this strange sight what all the kids are doin' these days? I sense that I've gotta lot to learn before my kids get older

One Closer

I am sun burned and tired and I have a to do list a mile long.  Even with all of that, I am enjoying all the sunny weather we are having.  I love to be outside digging in the dirt, pulling weeds, doing odds and ends.  It doesn't really matter what I'm doing as long as I'm out of the house for a while.  Chasing kids and doing outdoor work does wear a person out (at least a certain mommy named Heather).  And as much as I wish I was, I am not a morning person.  So, imagine what a pick me up it was to see that I'd uped my follower list to 19!  I don't think I've mentioned it before but I have this goal of reaching 24 followers. (now I am one closer) Why 24?  I dont know.   Its just a nice number I picked out in my head.  I thought 2 dozen followers sounded achieveable and somewhat important.  Getting followers is like a game that I play in my head.  What can I do or write that will entice people to want to follow my yammerings?  You know what would be really cool?  50 followers, then 100, then 150, then maybe I'll believe I have the knack for writing and I'll think of other things to write.  Maybe one day I'll eventually be the Writing Mommy Nurse or Mommy Nurse Writer, or Nurse Writing Mommy.  Maybe I stayed out in the sun too long yesterday!

A treyism

At the Mothers day Tea we attended, Trey was very impressed with the food. "This cheese is AMAZING!" He wasn't talking about the taste. He was amazed by the pretzel stuck in the cheese cube to make it a finger food!

Too much lotion

I have decided that nothing good comes out of naptime at Grandmas. But Trey begs and begs to sleep in Grandma's bed. He loves to crawl up on her big squishy mattress and snuggle down into her fluffy feather pillows. He sinks right down into a soft spot and looks so content. So, I gave in today and let him sleep there. I wanted to use the computer at Grandma's anyway. So, I figured I could do that while he napped.
I don't know how many of you remember the "starving for kleenex" problem that took place in Grandma's bed. It is still very fresh in my mind. So when Trey called out, "I think there's a problem here." I got nervous.
I went to her room to check on him. "I sink (think) this is too much lotion". He was right. He was sleeping in a pull up and t-shirt. Every inch of him that was not clothed was covered in thick, greasy, grandma lotion. He was so slippery I had trouble lifting him out of bed! We wiped off the excess and had a talk about not wasting Grandma's lotion. Then he was eager to go outside.
So now, as I type this, he is fully moisturized, mowing hay with daddy in the big blue tractor, smelling like a grandma.

Kayelynn's photo shoot by Mommy

Wearing a dress Mommy thinks is adorable but Daddy says is too low cut. Come on Dad! I'm just a baby!

Dressed up for mothers day banquet

I think they were both feeling silly. Wish I could've fixed the red eye

Make it Stop!!!

My baby will not stop growing up. What am I going to do? I remember this with Trey. It felt like for the longest time he was a little baby. He didn't do much, eat, sleep, eat again...Then one day, I woke up and he was sitting, crawling, talking walking. Now he even poops on the potty by himself (of course, that was a welcome accomplishment) (and we are making headway in the bathroom department...4 days in a row now without complaining. Lets hear it for Trey!) Back to my original thought. My Kayelynn, my sweet baby girl keeps doing new things, one right after another. I see what's happening. Its like Rex keeps saying, tomorrow we'll wake up and she'll want to go to prom!
Here's what the princess has done today. She ate peas for lunch (she loves them, started them yesterday) She has now figured out how to eat without thinking she must touch every bite before it goes in her mouth. (that's really for the best too) But, as if that wasn't good enough, she drank water from a sippy cup today. She didn't just chew on the cup either, she really drank from it. I am sure about that too because she spit it up on me later. Then, she was mocking Grandma and clapping her hands. Then, she went from the sitting position to the crawling position. She didn't go anywhere,but still! I might have just melted to the floor if she had crawled. She is also getting better at pulling herself up if she has a hold of someone's hands. She was all into besting herself today. So, after pulling up she had to take about 8 steps (while holding my hands) to show off for Grandma. Make it stop! Make it stop! I love her and think she is adorable while she is working on all of her new achievements but with each achievement I know that she leaves part of her babyhood behind. *sigh*

The da da debate

It turns out that I wasn't hearing things yesterday. This morning Kayelynn did a repeat performance of her da da skills. Rex was in the kitchen with us when she was "talking". However he is not impressed. "She's not talking to me" he said. This is true. She appeared to be giving one of her rattles what for "da da. Da da da!" I thought this was a wonderful achievement.
"No, that doesn't count" Rex insisted. For emphasis, Kayelynn threw her rattle on the floor and looked down at it, "da da" she said plainly. "Maybe," I said, "she is just telling her toys about you". Rex still didn't buy it. I'm still sticking with the story that her first word was da da. There isn't a law that says a baby has to be able to define their first word. Is there?

Should I believe my ears?

This morning Trey was playing with Kayelynn. She was making lots of baby sounds and I thought I heard a "da" slipped in there. I kept listening then but didn't hear it again.
This afternoon I was talking to her saying Da-Da and Mum-Mum. She likes to mimic so I thought maybe that would work. Nope. Nothin'.
Then after she ate she was all smiley and happy. I swear I heard a Da-Da. I was getting excited and saying Da-Da to her. She thought this was funny but again said Da-Da. I'm sure this is what I heard. I pull out the video camera; I turn on the voice recorder on my phone. What do I get? About thirty minutes of me saying Da-Da. Now I have no proof. Trey was napping so I don't even have him as a witness. Rex thinks I'm crazy. Even I am starting to think I'm hearing things!Kayelynn has been looking smug all evening. I think she enjoys making me look silly.

Go to jail go directly to jail....

....do not pass go, do not collect $200.

This post is for all of you who are wondering what kind of things Rex and I have been up to. (And I think jail stories are funny)

My part in the whole process is very simple. When the inmate first comes in, I check their vitals. If they need labs, I draw those (my favorite part!) I am the standby for any exams on females. I bandage wounds and those sort of things. But mainly, I get to listen to all of the complaints of the inmate.
The number one request: "Doc, I'm feeling anxious, uneasy. Can ya give me something for my nerves?". Ummm, no. You're in jail. People get anxious here.
The inmates have to fill out a form listing their complaint if they want to be seen by the doctor. My favorite so far is the guy who said he needed us to take his feet off. (He had some other issues too...)
There is the woman who has no health care so she keeps getting arrested for the medical care. Right now she wants a hysterectomy. I don't think we'll be able to work that out.
There was an itchy guy who heard voices, a guy with a tumor in his jaw who thought he had tmj. There was the gnarly broken hand, the face which collided with hand that broke, guy who branded his own leg and MRSA, MRSA, MRSA.
There was the lady who couldn't stop moving her tongue outside her mouth. Was she supposed to be on meds? Yes. Did she know what they were. No. Could she call someone to get her meds. Well, she doesn't know any numbers. Hmmm.
There was also the girl who called my husband every name in the book. (Even a couple unique ones). She'll be talking to her lawyer. (Sure...) And that was all over a benadryl.
I'm sure there were a few others that I'm forgetting. But that at least gives you an idea of what we've seen. Every week as we leave, I look at Rex and say the same thing, "wow, never a dull moment. "

What if I wasn't a Nurse

I was reading a friend's blog the other day and something occurred to me. I have rarely known a nurse who hasn't at some time in her (his) life said, "if I had it to do over again I'd ....(Fill in the blank with a new occupation)". I know a nurse (she was an awesome nurse too) who put herself through law school. She left nursing behind her. I know a nurse who became an architect. I know one who became a photographer. There's even one who decided to deliver pizzas (and earned a salary very close to her nursing one!) I know a nurse who says she'd rather work at a grocery store but she hasn't made that move yet. I could go on and on about why nurses trade their stethascopes in for other things. I could probably write a whole book on the disillusionment of nursing.
I've had my share of career what if's. And I've spent countless hours trying to figure out what else I could do that wasn't nursing related. From the time I was in middle school, I remember thinking I'd be a nurse. My mom (a nurse) kind of tried to talk me out of it. I couldn't understand why. I thought about being a writer but that didn't seem very reliable.
Then, right before I graduated from high school with a nursing scholarship, I had a major crisis. Maybe I wanted to be a teacher. I liked kids. I liked school. I might even like teaching kids with disabilities. I struggled with what to do. Also, if I was going to be a teacher, I could go to college at the same school that Rex and some of my other friends were at. That school didn't offer nursing classes though. When I was able to stop thinking about going to college with my friends and boyfriend, I finally decided nursing was what I really wanted out of life. But, how many summers did I drive to work thinking, "I could be on summer break right now..."?
Still, if I hadn't gone into nursing, I wouldn't have met a lot of really great people. I wouldn't have been able to help some people during their times of need. I wouldn't have been able to witness the miracle of birth over and over again (it never gets old for me). Most importantly, I wouldn't have the opportunity to be working with my husband right now and I am really enjoying that.
Isn't it funny how things work out?! My husband originally went to school to be a teacher. When I decided on nursing, I never dreamed our career paths would cross. Now, we can bond over draining and culturing a wound. We can discuss broken bones and nasty discharges over dinner. I can stay home with my kids during the day and go on a medical call with my husband in the evening. Nursing is not the perfect profession. But I am happy for the perfect way it seems to keep fitting into my life.

things I want to remember about my baby

1. The way her skin smells after her bath
2. How soft and smooth and flawless her skin is
3. Her huge toothless smile
4. Her adorable chub
5. The smell of milk on her breath when she sighs cuddled up next to my chest
6. How relaxed and at ease she feels as she falls asleep in my arms
7. The way she plays with her foot when she starts nursing then pulls at her ear as she gets tired
8. The way she looks up at me (upside down) from the floor
9. The way her face lights up when I come to get her from her crib
10. The way she "growls" with Daddy

Did God Make a Mistake?

I have a list of questions to ask the creator one day. Here is my latest one. Why do children have so much more energy than adults? I think energy levels should increase as you age. Why do little ones need all that spunk anyway? Couldn't they just lay around a little bit more? Wouldn't teens stay out of more trouble if they were tired by 9pm? Just a thought.

Trey loves to play with Poppy

Trey and Poppy had a big time playing outside on mothers day. He wanted sun glasses on to look just like Poppy. Give them some hats and we'd have the Blues Brothers!

What a Big Girl!

Here is Kayelynn's new trick. She thinks she needs to be up on her feet all the time.
While playing with her cousins she was even trying to take steps.
Somebody,please, make time slow down!

Ah-Ha!!!

I finally found it! (well, my mom did) You'll have to read the prior posts to see what this is all about. But let me point out a few things about this lovely picture. (and or dress) First, don't you love the prom decor! Is that really the image you conjure up in your head when you hear the phrase "paradise lagoon"? I loved my dress at the time. I felt very Scarlett O'Hara in it. But looking back, maybe it wasn't the timeless classic I thought it was. My sisters die laughing every time they see it. If only you could see the back....it showed a lot of my back and then there was a bow the size of Texas on my butt. I had red and white flowers and ribbons in my hair. From the back they looked liked the streamers young girls put on their bikes. And the shoes! Do you think the redsequins were too much? My mom thinks that when I left the house that night my shoulders were more covered. (I am sure she is right) I vividly remember yanking all those ruffles down after getting in the car with Rex. He took me to eat at the once classy Executive Inn. I don't remember what I ate that night but my sophisticated date ordered a cheese burger! Most horrifying was getting pictures taken with his family outside of the auditorium that night before we went in to the dance. I was so nervous to see them. We didn't know each other very well yet. And I was feeling insecure in my fancy duds. Cue the lights, the disco ball and the music blaring "Lady in Red". That was my first fancy date with Rex!

My (somewhat strange) mother's day tribute

Rex took me out to eat last night for Mother's day. We enjoyed a nice, kid free, dinner. Well, kind of...we were free of our own kids but the restaurant was filled with young prom goers. Seeing the girls all dressed up in their fancy attire reminded me of one of Jill's posts of her old prom dresses and my promise to post some of mine. So, I started digging out old pictures and I found more and more and more. Hope everyone gets a good laugh or a trip down memory lane. That's my mother's day gift to all of you today. I was going to do a big mushy tribute but I was more in the mood for this today.

The picture above is me and my mommy. I'm not sure how old I am. I'm going to guess 4-6 months. My mom is 23.
The other picture is my mom at her senior prom. That was back in 1972! Not sure about the fella. He's not my daddy but as a young girl I remember looking at this picture and thinking he was a cute guy. Do you all see the family resemblance between me, my mom and maybe even Kayelynn?

My Formals

Cotillion 1992, I was 15, with Tim Butler. It was my first formal.
Voted most hideous dress. (by my sisters) Still 15, waiting on Rex to arrive to go to his senior prom 1993. Can't find my professional picture. It's driving me crazy!
Rex and I 1993 Cotillion. I hate my hair here.

Formal Tea at Oakland City University 1996.

More Old Prom Pictures

This is me and my friend Lindsay at our Senior Prom (1995)
This is me and my friend Vanessa at our Senior Cotillion (1994)

Cheerio Girls

This is my group of gals from high school. Sorry for any of you who didn't want to be blogged. In the top picture we are sophomores going to our Christmas Cotillion. In the bottom photo we are at our Senior Prom. Our school had "Spartan Games" every year. (that has nothing to do with prom, just throwing it in) Our team was always the Cheerio Girls, I don't remember exactly why.

For Jill

My Junior prom, with Rex. This is the dress that reminded me of Jill"s. But really, now that I know Jill's dress was long, I'm sure they don't really look anything alike.

Happy Mother's Day

Thank you, God, for allowing me to be a mommy. It doesn't seem like I should have my own day. Each day I have with my kids is its own little celebration (even the bad ones). My mothers day wish is for my kids to continue to grow strong, smart and healthy. If they lead long happy lives, I will be happy also.

My cheese for the day

Twilight Soundtrack $11.88
Twilight 2 Disc Special Edition dvd $24.95
Help from little sis downloading Twilight ringtone...you guessed it... Priceless!

Outside

This is Kayelynn with her Nana and cousin Caleb (who had a runny nose). We had our first mothers day get together with my mom's parents. This is the only pic I got because my camera was acting up. : (

I Need Advice

Here is my adorable daughter who is 7 months old today. When she was born I came to the hospital with a pacifier. As soon as she proved to me she could nurse, I was giving it to her. I hadn't been sure if I should give it to Trey but it turned out to be my saving grace as he grew up. Kayelynn (being her own person, totally different than Trey) wanted nothing to do with the binky. She would gag on it and make terrible faces. But I wanted her to take it. I wanted the pacifier to make life easier. But she thought it was a medieval torture device so after a few months I gave up.
Today, Trey found this binky somewhere and gave it to Kayelynn. She loves it! She smiles when she sees it! Its like a new toy. I think she's teething and she seems to chew on it more than suck on it. So now what? Do I keep it around or throw it away. I can't decide.......

The Snugabye

At the risk of sounding like an infomercial, I've got to rave about this sleep wear. You can look at www.snugabye.com too. As far as I'm concerned these are the best sleepers, especially for in between weather like we are having now. My kids seem to out grow their sleepers feet first and this totally eliminates that problem. The footie part of the sleeper will cuff up once or twice for the perfect fit. They are soft, cute and come in several different styles. We have a few sleepers and a pajama set. I found these at Kmart. They were very affordable and so far have held up really well. If you have a baby or are buying for someone with a baby, I highly recommend you check these out. Kayelynn gives them the (slightly soggy) thumbs up too!

I Think I Have Swine Flu

Ok. Not really. It just seemed like a good title. I do have a cold, so do the kids. That paired with the rainy day has made today quite miserable. I've decided that Trey needs at least 2-3 hours a day to run aimlessly outside, jumping, whooping and hollering, and throwing things. If this rain really persists for the rest of the week, I may buy him a rain coat and send him on his way. We can't survive cooped up in the house together much longer.

A Public Service Announcement....

....about ticks. They are bad little bugs, right? When you see one pick it off and dispose of it so you don't get any crazy diseases. Well, after our time in the woods today I found one. I put it in the sink and washed it down the drain. I took a shower. After my shower, I notice this crazy tick crawling up out of my sink. (So, word to the wise, sink method, no good) I smashed him a bit and then threw him in the toilet and flushed him (I wanna see him crawl out of that!) So, we here at Stroud Medical support the toilet flushing of ticks for everyone's health.

Trey's new pets

Let me explain what you are seeing here. These are Trey's new friends as he says. It is a Cool Whip bowl full of earthworms (or what Trey refers to as good worms). He collected about 2 dozen worms today and wanted to keep them. So, we made them a nice little bowl of dirt to live in. We punched holes in the lid for air. Trey decided he needed to engrave a "T" on the lid so we'd know those were his worms. (Like there would be any confusion). We had it on good authority that worms liked to eat coffee grounds. So we made a pot of coffee so Trey could feed his worms. He wanted to take them to bed but I was afraid of waking up to worms crawling around and dirt ground into the carpet. So the worms will sleep in the kitchen tonight. This was great entertainment for him. He carried this dish around with him all day and periodically took the lid off to see what they were doing. "Awww. Look Mommy.
They so cute" he would say. Cute? Hmmm.

Pranks

Sometimes, when I'm in an especially good mood, I get to feeling mischievous. Today I pulled a pretty good prank. I thought I'd share in case anyone else would like to try.
First you need someone who is addicted to facebook but only knows enough about the computer to be dangerous. When said person is not around go to their facebook site (which is always up because they hate to log in and out). Then go to settings and change the language to english pirate. ( I know, who knew that was a language option?!) After that just sit back and enjoy as that person goes crazy trying to figure out why facebook is talking like a pirate to them. Hee hee. (Sorry mom) : )

THIS is why I love being at home...

Trey is finally big enough that we can go out and stomp through the woods or wade thru the creek. Today we did more stomping than wading. We checked things out real good. I'm not sure who had more fun; Mommy or Trey. (Or our dogs)