Growing and Growing

Today my youngest boy Gabe hit the two-month mark. We commemorated the event with a visit to the doctor's office for his well-child visit, where we learned he now weighs 11 pounds 5 ounces (when we brought him home he was only 5 pounds 10 ounces) and measures 23 inches (up from 18-3/4 inches). I'd say he's doing just fine in the growing department! LOL Yep, I can tell this kid is going to take after his momma. Aside from his temper (I don't know where he got that from...ahem!), he even looks more like me!

Gabe gave Dr. J a couple of big, gummy grins. I was a little surprised because most of the time, I can only coax a smile out of him if he's trying to do his business in his diaper (that would be "nappy" for my British pals). *grin* He'll look you in the eye and smile a nice big smile, and then his face will go a little red as he strains. But a smile is a smile, right? We'll go with 8 weeks as the official achievement of this particular milestone. He'll still give you a smile if you play with his chin, something that can now be replicated on most occasions if he feels like flashing you some gum.

So anyway, back to the doctor visit. Everything is going well, he's in good shape and alert and happy. Then in comes the nurse with no less than THREE syringes. Now I think of myself as an informed, experienced parent who has been through this before with Zeke and understands the necessity for good preventive medicine. But you still feel a pang of guilt as you get ready to hold your unsuspecting, oh so trusting child down, those little eyes gazing up at you with admiration, and the moment of impact when those same little eyes tear up and admiration turns to disbelief and disillusionment: "Mommy, why are you letting that woman hurt me??"

If you've been through this, you know exactly what I mean. Ugh! Heartbreaking stuff.

After the beet red hue of his head subsided, the sobs began. (Gabe, not me.) Great big tears ran down his cheeks, and all I could do was hold him and kiss him and tell him everything was going to be alright.

By the way, the picture of Gabe was not taken at the doctor's office, but rather was at home the moment he decided to let me know he was hungry and wanted something to eat...like RIGHT NOW!!! Geez. Don't kids know about the two-minute warning?

Tonight Gabe is with my parents because I'm taking Zeke to the aquarium in Chattanooga tomorrow. It's another one of our Mommy and Me excursions, and it will be a whole lot easier on everyone if Gabe sits this one out. Hubby's headed up to Indiana again this evening, so trying to maneuver two small children singlehandedly through that place will be more stressful than delightful.

And anyway, it's time to catch some shuteye before the big day, so on that note, goodnight! *smile*

Gabriel - Age 2 months

"You'd better not laugh!"

Sometimes it's hard to keep a straight face when faced with your preschooler's genuine emotions. Tonight I had spent quite some time getting Gabe to settle down for the night, when Zeke requested over and over his desire to hold his baby brother for a while.

"He's going to wake up and fuss," I told him.

"I wanna hold him!" was Zeke's reply.

"I just got him to go to sleep. You can hold him tomorrow."

"I wanna hold him!"

"I'm telling you, he's going to wake up and cry and I don't wanna hear it!"

"I WANNA HOLD HIM!!"

"Okay," I said calmly. "Then he'll start to cry, and I'll be mad because you didn't want to listen. Alright?"

I stood up and brought Gabe over to where Zeke was sitting on his bed and placed the sleeping baby in his big brother's arms. About 5 seconds later, "WAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"

"See? He started crying. Are you happy now?" I asked in the calmest possible voice I could muster.

I felt a small twinge of guilt as Zeke hung his head and that bottom lip started to quiver. Great. I'd made my 3-year-old cry. Fan-bloody-tastic! Now I've got two of them to listen to. I put Gabe in his crib with his pacifier and patted him on the back to help him calm down. Meanwhile, Zeke proceeded to tell me how it wasn't him that made Gabe cry and, of course, that I was a meanie and he was no longer my friend. I had to try not to laugh.

I sat down in the glider. Zeke went and stood just outside his room and wouldn't look at me despite my asking him to come back inside for a talk. After some coaxing and threats to cancel an upcoming trip to Atlanta, he finally climbed onto my lap, where I proceeded to explain very calmly why I didn't want him holding his baby brother at that particular moment. He said he understood, that I was right and he was wrong, although he still wasn't my friend, and he wanted me to stay with him and let him sit in my lap. Gotta love the conflicting statements!

Before I knew it, a small chuckle escaped from my lips.

"It's not funny!" said Zeke firmly.

"I know," I said with a grin. I chuckled again, a little louder this time.

"It's NOT funny!" he said again. This time the right corner of his mouth curled up a bit. I pointed at it.

"You'd better not laugh!" I said, trying to sound serious but failing miserably. I burst out laughing. So did Zeke. We laughed and laughed until I had tears running down my cheeks. Zeke hugged my neck and told me how silly we were and that he would stop being so mean.

"Are we friends now?" I asked. He nodded and hugged me again.

A few minutes later, the lights were out, Gabe was sleeping soundly in his crib, and Zeke was doing his best to lie in my lap like he used to when he was little (granted he's a bit tall for that now). It only took a couple of minutes before he was asleep, and I carried him over to his big boy bed and covered him up.

Kids. Sometimes they just crack you up, no matter how hard you try not to.

But at the same time, I think that can be a great thing, too.

"Excuse me?"

Kids say the darnedest things. Oh so true. And you don't realize how much of it comes out of your own mouth until you hear it regurgitated from those innocent little lips. Now in all fairness, we have been very good about watching our p's and q's around our little fella because it appears he has very keen ears and a memory like an elephant!

Allow me to elaborate. Yesterday evening, Zeke and I were going through our usual bedtime routine. We had just completed reading a couple of stories when he decided to share a word with me that sounded of Spanish origin. Being a Dora the Explorer fan (Zeke, not myself), I figured he'd picked up a word from one of the shows and was somehow mispronouncing it. I asked him what it meant, and he said it didn't mean anything.

"Why would you say a word that doesn't mean anything?" I asked.

Zeke looked at me for a second and without missing a beat, "Just to make you ask 'Why?'" he said in a very matter-of-fact tone.

I opened my mouth to say something in protest but stopped. He jumped down from my lap and started rummaging through his book box, and I found myself smiling. A little. I do recall using that same line just a day or two before, and I know my husband uses it all the time when he finds himself bombarded with near impossible "Why?" questions in rapid succession from our very inquisitive preschooler. (If your kids are old enough to talk in good sentences, you know exactly what I'm talking about.)

He said something else to me yesterday that almost caused me to laugh out loud, but I bit my tongue. It was right before leaving the dinner table, and to be entirely honest, I don't recall the details of the conversation. All I can remember was hearing my once quiet, babbling little baby say, "Look, Mommy, this is what's going to happen," right before he explained in what sequence we needed to get things done once we left the table.

I look at Gabe and know this non-argumentative and innocent little baby isn't going to stay that way either. Pretty soon he's going to be telling us how things should be and how we--his aging parents who don't know any better--need to do things. Can we see ourselves in their shoes once upon a time with our own parents? Perhaps even now?

(Can I get an "Amen"?)

I didn't get onto Zeke about saying what he did last night. That was actually kinda funny, though I'd never tell him that, of course. And who knows what the next thing will be out of that kid's mouth?

I certainly don't!

Mommy and Me

I got to spend some much-needed one-on-one time with Zeke yesterday. My parents had offered to keep the baby for a couple of nights, and since DH was headed to Indiana for a couple of days, it was just going to be the two of us.

I must admit I tend to spoil him a little at times like these, especially now that his little brother needs so much more attention. So after picking him up from the daycare, we stopped by McDonald's for dinner and some time in the play place. While I sipped my caramel iced coffee (I hadn't yet digested my lunch from Pete's Sushi and Thai Restaurant for my mum's birthday) and worked the crossword puzzle from The City Paper, Zeke crawled and climbed and ran around with his newly made friends. He had a great time--we both did--and he was so tired afterwards that it only took a couple of minutes to fall asleep after bedtime stories and lights out!

The key here is energy expenditure. Keep that in mind, folks!

The plan for today is a good, home-cooked meal (I think lasagna is on the menu), a movie rental (I agreed to stop and pick up Scooby Doo from the Red Box today), and popcorn in the living room. We may even invite some of his stuffed animals to join us for the group discount. *grin*

I think we both needed a break and time to reconnect. Besides, they're only young once. Better enjoy it while you can!

What's For Dinner?

I deal with this question on a daily basis now. Long gone are the days when Darling Hubby was home before me on week nights and had supper on the table by the time I got home from work. (Seriously, I had to be the luckiest woman alive!) Now that he's on the road, the task falls into my lap. I don't mind cooking; it's figuring out what to cook that drives me bonkers!

I used to plan meals for the entire week and shop accordingly. I really should get back to doing that, and one of these days I will, by God. But in the mean time, I'm left wandering through the kitchen, trying to decide what I feel like fixing that my not-so-picky-but-rather-opinionated little boy will eat.

By some twist of fate, I came up with this concoction that seemed to fit the bill. It has protein, starch, and a serving or two of vegetables in each bowl, and I believe it's relatively inexpensive to make. Since I'm in a generous mood, here's how to make it:


Ingredients

• 1 box mac 'n' cheese
• 1/4 cup margarine/butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
  
• 1 can petite diced tomatoes
• 1 tbsp salt-free garlic herb seasoning blend
• several dashes Worcestershire sauce
• 2-3 cups fresh spinach leaves, rough chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. In a large pot, prepare mac 'n' cheese according to package directions (add margarine/butter and milk; amounts may vary depending on preparation instructions).
   
2. In a separate skillet, brown ground beef together with onion; drain well. Add to mac 'n' cheese.
3. Stir in tomatoes, seasoning blend, and Worcestershire sauce, and season to taste.
4. Stir in spinach and heat just until leaves start to wilt.

Makes 4-6 servings.


If you're like us, you like your mac 'n' cheese really cheesy, so I added 3 slices of American cheese (I didn't have any Velveeta on hand, but you could use that, too). Zeke cleaned his plate, so I'm guessing that's a sign he liked it. It's sort of like fixing Hamburger Helper, only you take it up a notch with the extra veggies and seasonings.

I think this recipe's a keeper. *wink*