Last Summer Swim

Last night our good friends invited us to go swimming for one last swim before summer is officially over. Emma and Aubrey hadn't gotten to play together for what seemed like months so it was a great time to get together.

Emma and Aubrey had a great time swimming. They were so funny to watch. At the end of the night, Emma and Aubrey were talking to each other in a language the parents didn't understand, but THEY knew what they were talking about! They also played follow the leader and they took turns being the leader. I thought that was nice. :) The grand finale of the night came when they gave each other hugs... of course the parents went wild over that!

Here, they are playing a game where they squatted in the water and said, "Walk, walk, walk..." Aubrey invented the game, then Emma copied her:

Emma's new backpack

Emma's favorite TV show is Signing Time on PBS. It's amazing how much she picks up on when she watches an episode. We have about 10 episodes saved on our Tivo and she usually watches 1 every day. If the episode is about Sports, she usually talks about sports the rest of the day. If the episode is about Family, she talks about family the rest of the day. Last week one of the episodes was about going to school. This was a great episode for Emma to watch because she will be starting preschool 2 days a week after Labor Day. The part she loved the most was when they introduced backpacks. She got so excited and kept saying "Packback" (She says it backwards, but I'm still impressed that she tries that word!) I told Emma that daddy had a backpack for his laptop computer and she thought that was so neat and tried to put it on.

I decided it was time to pick out a backpack for Emma to take to school (while she was still excited about it!) I had seen these really cute backpacks by Steven Joseph and I knew of a place in Tulsa that had them. The entire trip to the store in the car she kept saying "PackBack? PackBack? PackBack?" I assured her that we were going to get her a big girl backpack. They had several choices but she immediately loved the ladybug backpack. We ordered it with her name on it and she fell in love with it. She wore it for several hours after we took it home, then to church the next day. Who knew she would be so excited about a backpack? She's growing up way too fast.

Emma Gives Hugging a Try

Those of you that know Emma well know that she is not a touchy-feely kind of gal. She's very sweet, just not touch-feely. Many times when Robin or I put our hand on her back she reaches around and gently removes it. When other toddlers try to hug her, she backs up or turns around quickly and leaves them hanging (sorry Kylan, Avery, and every other toddler who has tried to hug Emma!) She's never really been a big cuddler, not even as a newborn (except with Pops, Robin's dad.) Typically the way you know that Emma really likes you is if she "leans" into you or tries to sit ON you. It's very funny. My mom is not touchy feely either so maybe that's where Emma gets it!

Well... on Friday night we were hanging out with some friends and Emma got to play a lot with Emily who is about 5 months younger than Emma. For the first hour, Emma had to warm up by standing very far away from Emily and her parents, displaying a very concerned look on her face, etc. Then, 2 hours into the night, Emma all of a sudden started hugging Emily. Robin and I cheered wildly! "Yeah Emma, keep hugging, isn't it fun, yeahhhhh!" So, Emma kept on hugging her. It was too precious. I don't expect the trend to continue- I think she was just giving it a try. I love her SO MUCH, cuddler or not.

Before Emma warmed up to Emily:

Emma starting to warm up to Emily:

Here's how the hugging started- I know it looks more like a head-lock, but trust me, it was really sweet:

Emma hugging Emily tightly from behind. So here's the proof ladies and gentleman, Emma can be very affectionate. :)

Treasure Hunt

Emma and I decided to enjoy the pretty weather and go on a treasure hunt on our street this week. I explained to her that we would be going outside to look for neat treasures to pick up and put in our 'treasure chest' and then we would talk about them when we got home. We did find some neat things but she got a bit distracted when she saw 4 dogs barking at us at a neighbor's gate. (I think she wanted to try to put them in her treasure chest.)

We stayed there for about 5 minutes talking to the dogs before coming home to talk about our treasures. Wanna know what our loot was? 4 leaves, 3 rocks, 5 acorns, a penny, 2 bird feathers, and a handful of grass. Miss Emma is very independent- she did not want my help deciding which things to pick up. I love that about her.

I think she had a great time and we plan to go on another hunt again next week.

Here is a picture of us before we went on the treasure hunt:

This girl likes to talk!

Emma has loved pretending to talk on the phone since she was about 12 months old but now she REALLY has a lot to say. She always holds the phone with one arm bent at the elbow up to her ear- has she seen ME do that? I hope I don't look like this when I talk on the phone! I'm not sure who she is talking to or what she's talking about in this video. The only words I can decipher are "house" at the beginning of the conversation and "sorry, sorry" at the end of the conversation. That's a word we've really been working on lately! I really had to walk fast to keep up with her during this filming.

Spinning Gone Horribly Wrong

If I haven't mentioned this before, Emma LOVES to spin. She spins several times a day. We think she may be an astronaut when she grows up because she spins really fast for several minutes and it doesn't even seem to affect her!

Before I finish the story, let me share a short clip of some of Emma's spinning (from a couple of weeks ago:)



SO, we knew it would only be a matter of time before Emma got hurt after one of her spinning escapades. We try to move objects out of her way so that she won't fall and hit her head but sometimes she spins when we aren't watching.

Tonight we were visiting Uncle Larry at his apartment when she started spinning and the next thing we heard was the loudest bang you've ever heard- yep, Emma fell and hit her head on Uncle Larry's coffee table. Next came that dreaded silence (where you know a loud scream is coming) then came the loud scream. Emma was so very sad, her lips quivered and she cried and cried and cried. Robin picked her up and it took a minute before I finally saw "the damage." She cut the corner of her right eye.


Sometimes I think it's helpful to be a nurse and a mom, then other times I think it works against me to have any medical knowledge at all. I thought to myself, does she need stitches? Would it be silly to take her to the ER? What would I advise another parent to do? As a school nurse my rule of thumb for stitches was:

1) is the cut gaping open? YES
2) is the mark on the face where a scar would be bad later on? YES
3) does it affect the eyes at all? YES

SO, off to Warren Clinic walk-in clinic we went. This is where our Pedi recommends going after-hours. It was 8:00 pm and they close at 9:00 pm. Phew, she cut her head just in the nick of time. :)


Luckily, the wait wasn't bad at all and we got right in. In the meantime, Emma was happy as a lark in the waiting room:




I'm thinking to myself, "Nice, we're probably going to be paying a million dollars for this visit and she is acting so chipper! Can't she at least pretend to be in pain?"

The Dr. was very nice. Emma really enjoyed all of the attention she and the nurse gave her. The doctor wavered back and forth about stitching the cut, using liquid bandaid, or using a steri strip and ultimately decided on a steri strip with glue. She said the cut was gaping, but not quite deep enough for stitches and she was afraid that a stitch in the corner of the eye would be a bad deal.

Emma was a great patient and we were out of there in no time. Here's a pic of Emma, Daddy, and Nana leaving the clinic as she's waving "bye bye" behind her:


And here is our sweet little patient at home in her P.J's after icing the cut for about 20 seconds (this is all she would allow) and dosing her up with Motrin:


I'd like to think that she'll be a tad bit more cautious with her spinning but something tells me she'll be right back at it tomorrow.

So, in summary, should we have gone to the minor emergency clinic? I'm still glad we did- mainly for my peace of mind. However, would I take my 2nd child if the exact some accident occurred? Probably not!

6 Random Things About Me

 

I was tagged by friend, Terra, for this game.  Six random things about me.  Here are the rules: Link to the person who tagged you, mention the rules, tell six quirky, yet boring unspectacular things about yourself, tag six other bloggers by linking to them, and then go to each person's blog and leave a comment letting them know they've been tagged.

1.  My middle name is Montgomery- this was my Grandmother's maiden name.  When I was a kid, I hated this middle name but now I love it. 

2. I LOVE really fast roller coasters.  The scarrier, the better.  My dream day would be to ride twirly, fast amusement park rides over and over again.  Too bad Robin is scared of them.  Maybe Emma will ride them with me one day?

3. I tend to exaggerate from time to time.  If you catch me doing it, please let me know.  It's my only fault.

4. Robin and I 'hung out' with Jessica Simpson in a small apartment in Waco in 2000.  We sat on the SAME couch together and she was "texting" her boyfriend at the time, Nick Lachey.  She was wearing her P.J's (no bra.)  I'm sure Kylie remembers this.  Something tells me Jessica wouldn't remember me.  Oh darn. :)

5. I love to watch football on T.V.   Fall is my absolute favorite time of year because it means football season has begun.  I learned the rules of football from my dad when I was about 14 months old (see-that's an exaggeration) and I have been watching ever since.  My favorite teams are: OU, Baylor (poor guys), and the Dallas Cowboys.

6.I made myself "President of the Bossy Club" with my neighborhood friends when I was about 5 years old.  Robin says I'm still President of the Bossy club today.  Boooooooo. 

I tag my friends Kylie, Christy, Carrie, Jessica, Becky, and Lorrie!

Root Canal and Nail Guns

Interesting blog title, I know, but this title pretty much sums up my day!  (Warning, this blog post has the potential to share TMI a.k.a., too much information!)

Do you ever have one of those days where you think could this day get any worse?  Today was one of those days.

I woke up with throbbing pain in my upper jaw that extended up to my head.  I had a filling done two weeks ago and my dentist said, "this cavity is extremely close to the nerve and you will probably end up a needing a root canal at some point."  I was hoping he meant like years from now, not 2 weeks! 

Luckily, an endodontist was able to see me today for a lovely root canal.  It was about as bad as I expected it would be.  I have a blood pressure problem where my heart beats really fast when it's having to compensate and apparently my body doesn't like the "lying on your back with you head almost on the floor and your feet in the air" position that is necessary during a root canal.   I was dizzy during the entire procedure, sweating bullets, and felt like I was going to pass out at any point.  They also place a rubber "dam" over your mouth (and nose) to isolate the tooth- this just made me feel like I was suffocating.  They also put safety goggles on my eyes- making me feel like I couldn't see out!  Added to that fun was the feeling that the dentist was driving a toothpick up into my brain over and over and over again.  Sound fun?

Here's a little visual image for you...

I wasn't QUITE as excited as this dude appears to be:

 

By the way, can someone explain to me why my husband and I drink the SAME amount of Dr. Pepper yet he's had like 1 cavity in his whole life and I've had about 40?  Seriously, I've had multiple fillings on every tooth- I think my mouth is worth a million dollars by now. 

So then I came home to rest peacefully and let the anesthesia wear off... but sleep was out of the question.  There are 3 houses adjacent to my mom's house that are getting new roofs due to the recent hail storm.  We were surrounded by roofers shooting their nail guns about 100 times/second.  On a positive note, Emma loves to watch the "wuhkers" (Nana told her that they were workers.) Many times today we sat on the porch (in the 102 degree heat) and watched the "wuhkers."  She loved the sound of their nail guns.  Mommy on the other hand didn't enjoy it quite as much!.  :)

Picture of 2 of the houses with roofers shooting their nail guns:

 

I will say that no matter how bad my day seems to be going, Emma always brightens my day.  She was really sweet to me today because she could tell I didn't feel well- she even gave me a couple of hugs!  I explained to her that mommy's tooth was hurting before her nap and when I woke her up from her nap she looked at me, pointed to my mouth and said, "Toof?"  She wanted to know how it was feeling I think.  :)

So, now I'm off to sleep with prayers that tomorrow is a better day!  Hey, any day without a root canal has got to be a better day!

Helping Nana at School

Can it really be time for school to start already?   Didn't summer just start?

My mom is a 3rd grade teacher at Jenks West and she is already back in her classroom, organizing, decorating, planning, etc. 

We visited her classroom on Saturday so that Robin could help her rearrange some of the heavy furniture items.  Emma LOVED trying to help Nana.  She kept herself pretty busy looking at all of the neat things in Nana's classroom.  I think she is really going to love school someday. :)

 

Congratulations Nurse Julie!

Julie walking across the stage to get her nursing pin and diploma!

 

Friday night I attended a very special graduation for my good friend Julie McBride.  Julie worked as the Nurse Secretary in the Nurse's Office at Jenks West when I was the School Nurse.  We shared a lot of great memories, and a lot of great laughs throughout the 4 years that we worked together.  It was a very stressful, tough job for both of us, but together, we encouraged each other and made the days manageable!  She was my right hand, my confidant, and my friend.

 

Somewhere along the way, Julie decided that she wanted to be a nurse- she might as well- she  had already learned SO much about health, science, and medicine from working in the nurse's office!  I was SO proud of Julie for deciding to go back to school because it was such a huge sacrifice.  She is a wife and mom to 3 school-aged girls.  She was accepted to OU's Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program (she already had a Bachelor's Degree in a different area.) 

 

It was a very intense 14 month program beginning last June and ending this July.  We kept in touch sporadically throughout the process and it was so neat to hear the excitement in her voice as she learned new things or had awesome experiences in the hospital.  While I could always hear the excitement in her voice, I could also hear the stress.  Nursing school is very tough to begin with but to pack it into 14 months makes it almost psychotic! 

 

I was SO excited to receive Julie's graduation announcement in the mail a few weeks ago. 

 

Caroline Curry (another good friend from Jenks) and I attended the ceremony on Friday night at the Victory Christian Center.  I cried as Julie walked across the stage.    I'm so proud of her for pursuing a career path that she will flourish in. 

 

Julie has already accepted a job at St. Francis in the Children's Hospital that begins this month. 

 

Don't ever let age, or life's circumstances stop you from following a dream!  Do you know what YOU want to be when you grow up?

 

Caroline, Julie, and Jill following the ceremony:

Playing at the mall with Nana

Last Thursday Emma, Nana, and I went to the mall to shop and we decided to let Emma have some fun at the play area for a few minutes. 

 

She didn't venture far away from Nana or me- she wanted us to be right next to her when she went down the slide or just walked around checking things out.  She's so funny.  She LOVES to watch the other children play.  She's a pretty observant little girl.  Here are a few pics from our day.

 

Casa Bonita Re-Opening

 

 

(this pic was taken on closing day in 2005)

 

Those of you who are native Tulsans probably get a smile on a your face when you hear the name Casa Bonita, right?  Casa Bonita is a restaurant at 21st and Sheridan that was pretty popular in the late 70's to late 80's.  It was right next door to Crystal's pizza (that place was awesome too!)  I remember feeling so cool when I got to go to either of these places as a kid.    They were somewhat magical with lots of different creative scenery, an arcade, puppet shows, a movie theater, etc. 

 

Unfortunately Casa Bonita went out of business in 2005 (after 35 years!)  I've heard that a different owner bought the space and turned it into Casa Viva from 2005-2007 which also went out of business.

 

News broke early this summer that Casa Bonita was opening again under its original owner's again late this summer!  Yipee! 

 

Last Wednesday night my mom, Robin, Emma, and I took Uncle Larry to Casa Bonita for his birthday.  It is very close to where Larry is living now. 

 

To sum up our evening, I think it should be re-named Casa Stupido.  It was mass chaos!  I don't think they were quite ready to open!  Our food came out cold, we were seated in a CAVE (literally) that had NO air conditioning, and the service was pretty poor.  And to top it all off, the prices were about double what they used to be.    After dinner, we went to the arcade.  I couldn't wait to show Emma all of the fun riding toys.  Unfortunately they said they hadn't figured out how to work the arcade games yet.  It was kinda bizarre. 

 

To be fair, it was opening week and had we known that we probably would not have gone.   However, shouldn't things be running top-notch during opening week? 

 

I guess the magic of Casa Bonita will have to remain in the 80's. 

 

(some of the magical wonder inside)

 

Emma hangin' out on a chair after we ate dinner.