The Pedicure

I love girls' weekends! And by the time I made it to Sarah's in-law's house in San Antonio... I was needing one badly! It was so great to catch up with my sweet friends, and to have an opportunity to breathe slowly, and thank God for my little family each time I realized how much I missed them. It was a lot harder leaving them than I thought it would be, but that made coming home a really great experience. Not like I was gone for all that long- it wasn't even 48 hours. And I called home several times, too. I guess I was a little sappy to begin with, and then calling home and having Collin cry into the phone saying, "You just leaved me here," didn't help much. All in all- wonderful experience for me. Lots of relaxation, talking, chex mix, meals without bibs, and laughter. Thanks girls! And we missed those of you who couldn't be there!

What is always typical of our girls' weekend is that something blog worthy happens. Last year, it was Sarah's fender-bender, in previous years Mal has wrecked her car, Sherry has had hilarious conversations with hotel employees, and we've wandered around the alleys in Boston at odd hours in the freezing cold. This year- it was the pedicure. Our one outing the entire weekend was a movie/pedicure run. I was so thrilled to be seeing a movie that didn't scare me to death (David got a Netflix subscription and his choices leave something to be desired) ...add a pedicure on top of that- this was an off-the-charts experience!

So we find our little nail place and are all pleased to see four recliners in a row. We settled in, noticed the big screen TV in front of us, and promptly began messing with our back massagers like we hadn't been our of the house in several years. This was going to be great. Conversation, a little TV, AND a massage...simultaneously. What bliss!

Should've known we were in for it when we saw the list of available movies: Die Hard with a Vengance, the War, Bourne Supremacy, etc. I was hoping for something starring someone from Dawson's Creek, a little Julia Stiles movie...something! Not so. We watched The War. Here's the basic plot: naked girls, gangsters, subtitles, more naked girls, shooting while naked girls run around, law enforcement, tattooed man and naked girl shoot more people, people die, something else about gangs...and that's just the first hour. Makes conversation a little awkward to say the least.

THEN, I had the good fortune of the screamin'-nazi-back-massager-lovin' pedicurist. I had just decided that I would turn off my entertaining yet not all that soothing chair when my manicurist walks over, commands that I put my feet in the water, smashes in the "percussion" button on my chair and screams "YEAH!." I chuckle, and turn it off a couple of seconds later, all the while looking awkwardly at the nail polish I had selected to avoid the gruesome/nude scene on the TV.

I had ordered the sea salt pedicure. I never saw any sea salt...just greenish, grainy stuff. It was okay, but it took off about three layers of skin from my legs. Still, I thought to myself, a little exfoliation is good for the blood flow. Oh no, she has noticed that my chair is off. She jumps up, hits "percussion" again, and screams "YEAH!" Seriously woman, I have equillibrium issues. The swirling of the water, banging on my back, and freaky movie are all making me a little nauseated. Plus, my legs are trying to regenerate some skin which is making me exhausted. No relief. She's hard core about this back massaging thing being on.

So, I relent and try to focus on a ceiling tile to avoid puking. Then comes my favorite feature of the pedicure. I'm not exactly sure what you would call the blue stuff she put on my legs but I'm pretty sure that the label would read: 1/4 Icy Hot; 1/4 antifreeze; 1/4 blue jello; and 1/4 coconut oil for that oh-so-touchable glow. My first question is why my legs, which are raw from the "sea salt that wasn't really sea salt" had to be exposed to this mess...wasn't this a pedicure after all? So, she slathers this stuff on Sarah and me at the same time. We kind of laugh..."what is this?"..."it's okay, it feels good." BUT IT DOESN'T FEEL GOOD AT ALL. Sarah and I start to giggle/cry a little bit, and then we both lose it completely. By the time the Icy Hot/antifreeze concoction is washed away, we're laughing so hard that we can't even see the TV behind our tears. My face is green, my eyes are watery, my legs are aglow with blue goo, and I'm noticing that I had too much Diet Coke at the theater with free refills.

My feet look great though. The weekend was great. Girl friends are great. Coming home to my precious family is even better!

Catching Up

Wow! Long time, no blogging! We've been having too much fun around here I guess. Our 2008 is off to a great start. Collin started preschool and is so fortunate to have my friend, Carey, for his teacher. She didn't even send me a nasty note when I sent him to school the day after giving him Miralax. SO sorry about that, Carey. After the initial shock of starting preschool, he is settling in and really enjoying it. It helps that Henry and Lexi are there with him and apparently will sit with him while he cries through chapel. That's what family's all about! Here are some pictures from his first day, and some pictures with his best bud, Hank.

And sweet SK! She is growing to say the least. So far, she hasn't met a food that she doesn't love. I guess when you set the bar so low with nasty broken-down protein formula, a child will really eat anything that doesn't smell like parmesean cheese. Anyway, I'm still hoping that she'll have David's metabolism and my charm, but we'll have to wait and see. As you can see from the pictures below, she looks more like Cybill Sadie than either one of us. (that's a throwback CPK favorite for those of you who weren't fanatical like me.)

I will have to say that having Collin in school has given me a strange sense of grown-up-mommyness. It's weird to have a child in school and to push around a double stroller with only one baby. I love having some time alone with Sarah Kate, though! We have so much fun on Mondays and Thursdays, just us girls.

I've been reminded by all of my friends/family who are either pregnant or brand new moms that I need to cherish every moment. She is already so big compared to my friends' babies, and I really don't know where the time has gone. I'm headed to get her picture made tomorrow because this last week made me a little nostalgic...congrats to Shanta and Allie on the births of Campbell and Will- two beautiful, beautiful babies! It's strange to think that I'm likely done with that stage of my life unless the Lord has something different planned for us. So keep on liking to be held, and fed, and talked to Sarah Kate. I'm not going to rush you at all!

I had to hurry and get this post in before this weekend...headed to Sarah's in-laws' lakehouse for some much needed time with the girls. Will post about that later!

Our Little Prayer Warrior and Sarah Kate's Smiles :)

David and I have been so entertained by Collin and Sarah Kate lately. And although we enjoy talking with one another about the funny things they do, I'm not convinced that our conversations will be enough to make me remember everything. Here's Collin's latest prayer:

(to set the stage, we're all at dinner, with hands folded in the manner most pleasing to Collin on this particular day, and David has started to pray- when Collin interrupts with eyes closed tightly)

"Dear God, thank you for all the bessings that you give to me...and God (pleading) I just really want a helmet. And maybe a firetruck (that's a new one...oh no!), but I REALLY want a helmet."

Then, turning and looking across the table, whispering,

"Dad, what do you want?"

Apparently, sitting on Santa's lap and telling him what you would like to get for Christmas is okay, but for those of us with divine access it doesn't hurt to place your list at the feet of the Father, either. Great faith...the theology will be hammered out later I guess.

And our precious Sarah Kate is changing by the day. She has started to roll over, babble, and respond (good and bad) to those around her. She loves her brother, and gets so excited to see her Daddy come home. But my favorite, VERY FAVORITE, thing about her right now is her smile. It is one of those smiles that completely takes over her entire face and it comes at the most unexpected times. It never fails that when she's crying in the morning for me to come and get her out of bed that when I peek over the crib to say hello, she busts into her sweet little smile, and immediately stops crying. It absolutely melts me. She is so easy-going and patient with us! What a blessing!

And on a brief parental side-note: here are seven words that you NEVER want to hear your two-year-old say: "I want to watch Yo Gabba Gabba." AGHHHHHHH! I don't know if that made me more afraid for Collin, or myself.

RSV, RX, NFL, and R&R

Those four acronyms pretty much sum up the last few days at the Blackstock house. Collin has been under the weather since last weekend, and because he is such a loving brother, he shared his little cold with his sister. Come to find out, his 'cold' is RSV for her. Still, we're keeping things in perspective- she's able to rest and recuperate at home which is a huge blessing! And typical of our sweet Sarah Kate, she's still laughing and smiling between coughing spells! She also decided to cut her first tooth. Wish I could post a picture, but I can't...BECAUSE IT'S IN THE SIDE OF HER MOUTH:

Yes...I actually had to LOOK UP which tooth just came in- the canine, I believe (M on the diagram). I guess I won't know for sure until I see where all the other ones come in. Is that freakish? Anyway, when I found the thing she got so excited. She looked at me as if to say, "Now you know where to put the Orajel!" Ooops. I guess I just figured the front two would be the first- then again, she has been full of surprises ever since she's been here!

So we add Orajel to the long list of medications that are being dosed out at our house between the two kids. SK has her list of daily meds for both of her refluxes, milk allergies, etc. and toss in some nebulizer treatments, and Collin's laundry list of "candy medicines" and we're a regular pharmacy- a feeling so many of you can sympathize with, I'm sure.

The odd thing about all the illness is that it has given David and me the time and the opportunity to be in the house, just hanging out with one another all weekend. It has been so nice. Friday night we made Collin his first cup of hot chocolate and watch a Christmas movie with him. It was so much fun! We've gotten more sleep than usual, had all of our meals as a family, watched a lot of football, and played more with Collin than we've been able to in a long time. And Sarah Kate has gotten her fair share of TLC as well! It has actually been "just what the doctor ordered." (that's almost too cheesy to even put in there- but oh well)

So, don't remind me that Christmas is only a little more than two weeks away. Right now, we're enjoying house arrest and remaining blissfully unaware of how much there is to be done!

Also, I'm really playing catch-up with pictures here. Yes, there is one of SK in her Halloween costume (how sad!)...the others are more recent. If you want the best though, go see my friend Sarah's photography blog. There's a link from her website at http://www.sjphotos.net/ She took some pictures of them recently and I was so thrilled with them! She is truly amazing at what she does. I've always known she was talented and creative, and then she started photography and has taken her talents to the next level!

Here are the pics as promised...

Our sweet little butterfly!

Pictures from our trip to the American Girl store by the Galleria...these girls were SO geared up!

Taylor showing Sarah Kate the ropes!

And little Lexi with her favorite doll...
Pictures of Collin just being Collin

And the kids in some Christmas pjs that their aunt Angie gave them! Merry Christmas!

Cousins

Okay, I might be stealing some of my mom's christmas card thunder here, but I had to post these pictures of all of her grandkids. I love them- both the pictures and the kids! I love having pics of all of them together because it reminds me of how truly blessed Collin and Sarah Kate are to having such loving families to support them. And all of these kids are so precious to me personally. I remember each of their births, and love all of the little oddities that make each one special.

Haleigh and Bret were born when I was still in high school, so they have always been so special and so spoiled by all of us. Haleigh is driving now, and Bret is getting so big that I don't even recognize his voice anymore. They are also two of the most polite, loving teenagers I have ever been around. Hats off to my brother and his wife on raising respectful kids!

And Taylor and Chandler were the first "pair" of the family. These two have been so fun to watch grow up together. Chandler with her boundless enthusiasm, and Taylor with her genuine sweetness. I love them both so much, and appreciate their willingness to let their dorky aunt sit in on their High School Musical parties and go to the American Girl store with them. (Love HSM by the way- and have a t-shirt to prove it!)

Colton and Patton were the next pair and what I love so much about these two right now is how great they are with Collin. They make him feel like he's a real "big kid" and always let him tag along. Colton is constantly giving Collin his toys!

Lexi, as she says, doesn't have a partner like most of her other cousins, which suits her perfectly. She definitely makes a statement on her own! She is the funniest little girl EVER, and keeps us on our toes all the time!

Parker, sweet Parker! He was a royal pain while Brittany was pregnant, but has been proving everyone wrong since. He's another geuninely sweet little boy- he's one of the only three-year-olds I know that will give hugs and kisses on demand.

Then there's Hank- whata sweet boy he is too! He and Collin are going to have so much fun growing up together, and from what I can tell so far, they may get into some trouble along the way too.

Just wanted to jot down a couple of things about these kids- they are such a huge blessing to our family, especially Collin and Sarah Kate. They have brought so much joy to my life, and gave me the opportunity to test out some of my parenting theories before I actually had kids of my own! I love you all SO very much!

Why I'm not a doctor, and Collin's prayers

After you have your first child, you kind of begin to think that you're getting things figured out- or at least I did. Sarah Kate had what I thought was a stomach bug last week- no big deal, right? Then, the fever lingered over the weekend, so we ended up taking her in on Saturday to an urgent care place by our house. I was sure she had an ear infection or something else like that, and that the stomach bug was pretty much gone. This is the first point at which I should have reminded myself that I'm not a doctor. The doctor we saw declared that her ears were clear, I began to pack up the diaper bag, and then he announced (after several minutes of taking her pulse and playing with her skin) that he was sending us to the ER because she was dehydrated. Proof: I am NOT a doctor. More than that, I felt like an awful parent! She didn't cry a single tear the entire time we were at the ER. Very, very sad. So they fixed her up, sent us home, and we thought all was well. Some of the tests later showed that she had an infection. Again, no big deal. Proof again: I am NOT a doctor. We went in to our pediatrician's office the next day for what I thought was a simple you-were-in-the-ER-so-I-have-to-see-you visit, but as it turns out, little SK needs some more tests run next week. I really think everything will be fine, but it has been an interesting ride. I usually think that I run to the doctor too quickly for little things, so this has been completely out of character. Anyway, we'll know more next week. Keep us in your prayers.

As for Collin, he has really been enjoying bedtime prayers and songs. Lately, his prayers are absolutely adorable. I promised myself I would start writing some of them down so that I could remember them.

- "thank you for Mommy taking me to class" (the gym)

- "thank you for that guy, and that guy, and that guy" (the sports figures in the pictures on his wall)

- "help me to stop hitting" (admirable, and also a prayer of mine)

- "my tricycle"

- "thank you for Santa bringing me a saw" (counting his chickens before they hatch I suppose)

Here are some recent pictures...

First Game!

Here are a few belated pictures of Collin and Sarah Kate's first baseball game! We went to Houston to see David's parents for the weekend and had an awesome time. The game was great! Lots of hitting, 2 homers, and a farewell salute to Craig Biggio. I also thoroughly enjoyed the air conditioned stadium! Check out our little fans...

And another picture from the weekend of little Sarah Kate. She is so precious!