#TBT on my Blog

For those who are not super Facebook savvy, let me explain the title: TBT is "Throwback Thursday" and people use it when they post an old picture on Thursday on Facebook. And the hashtag? This is how my friend Carrey put it: "So if you hashtag something, it makes it, like, a thing?" That's right.

So I was looking through old blogs, trying to find posts about my gum surgery that I had in 2006. My sister-in-law Julie has to have this surgery soon so I told her I would find my--what I though would be very detailed and informative--reports. As it turns out, it's more about the food I ate while recovering and how foolish I acted while on the drugs. Not sure it will be much help to her.

Taking this trip down Memory Lane made me think it would be fun to post an oldie but goodie. And lo and behold, it just happens to be Thursday! #PerfectTiming

July 12, 2006: 

So Long, Soft Diet

Yesterday I went to the periodontist to have the last of my gum bandages removed (some had fallen out on their own) and for a check-up. This would signify the end of my soft diet.

The last time I was at his office I was quite loopy from the drugs so I felt a little embarrassed as I walked in yesterday. “Well, hello there, Elsa,” the receptionist said with a giggle. I vaguely remembered saying to her when I first got there two weeks ago, “I need to go the bathroom. Gimmee that toothbrush key!” (The key to their bathroom is on the end of a toothbrush). And then I think when I returned it I said, “Don’t worry. I didn’t brush my teeth with it,” but I may be imagining that.

Then the hygienist came out and greeted me in the same way. I barely remembered her. She said that during the first part of my surgery (which was really just a deep gum cleaning) I kept saying, “I don’t like that…I don’t like that.” As she told the story the receptionist AND insurance lady both laughed and said, “I remember her saying that!”

It’s sad that some minor gum surgery is rivaling my 21st birthday.

The most embarrassing thing was seeing the doctor. I remember when I was in the midst of the surgery, he and his assistant (what’s up, Luther?) were over my head, discussing Grey’s Anatomy. I soooo wanted to be in the conversation and I kept trying to comment. But since all this stuff was in my mouth and I was really out of it, all I could get out was, “MigDeemy!” Translated into English that’s “McDreamy!”

So the doctor would ask Luther, “So isn’t the main girl in love with her boss?”

And I would say, “MigDeemy!”

Then Luther explained how Meredith slept with George but she started crying. The doctor said, “Why did she do that?”

I sputtered, “Beguz see of MigDeemy!” (Translation: “Because she loves McDreamy!”)

“Quit talking, Elsa!” the doctor and Luther said simultaneously.

So seeing the doctor yesterday was a little weird but he didn’t comment on my McDreamy outbursts. And he gave me the green light to eat anything I want. I had started to adopt this policy in the last week anyway. I moved on to chewable soft foods about a week ago but stayed away from crunchy foods like Kashi and chips.

Now I’d like to briefly reflect on my soft diet and point out one highlight and one lowlight:

Highlight:
I invented this fantastic new smoothie: Blended bowl of Kashi
It’s everything you would put in your bowl of Kashi (milk, Kashi) plus a banana. Oh, and I throw in some flax seed as well. Whoever got us that smoothie maker as a wedding gift, we definitely gotten your money’s worth.

Lowlight:
When Frank stole my cupcake.
I bought Frank these awesome cupcakes from Wal-Mart for his birthday but I couldn’t eat any. So when I started eating soft chewable foods I decided that one of those cupcakes would be my first splurge. I can’t tell you how excited I was to bite into this cupcake. It was chocolate with creamy pink icing on the top. Oh, and there were sprinkles. Sprinkles! My only regret was that it wasn’t bigger. I thought, “This cupcake will be gone soon so I better enjoy every bite.” So when Frank asked for a bite I was a little bummed. He’s always so nice about sharing with me that I caved. He bit into it and when he gave it back to me all that was left was this thumb-sized bite of the chocolate part. No icing! No sprinkles! I freaked out. “I can’t believe you ate my whole cupcake! I haven’t eaten in a week! I was so looking forward to that cupcake and its icing! You suck!” I think there may have even been tears. Lucky for him, we had more.

So let this be a lesson to you: If a girl has been on a soft diet for a week and finally gets to bite into something, don’t take it away from her! I’m pretty sure MigDeemy would never do that.

Weekend Hodge Podge

This weekend we went to the Downtown Frisco StrEATs festival where we ate, drank and listened to bands. The boys (all three of them) really enjoyed the kid bands from School of Rock. I agreed that they were talented, but a little loud and heavy for this mama.

Leo always loved the book I Love you More about a mother and son but I just read it to Gus on Saturday. He did the same thing Leo used to do where he hugged me in the part that says "And he wrapped his arms around her and with all the love that he had…" It was pretty freakin' sweet:

During Sunday mass we usually send Gus to the nursery and Leo to preschool faith formation. It's been working pretty well for us. But this week they didn't have FF because of Palm Sunday so Leo came with us to "big church." He loves to color during church but we told him that he should try to stand as long as he could during the long gospel. He did his best but about halfway through he asked if he could color again. "I've already heard this story two times," he told us. After, he said that he WAS listening and he was following along in his Easter coloring book. He showed us how he colored the crown of thorns, the tomb and Pilate. We were impressed (and we think that totally made up for him not standing up during the gospel). 

Wrestle Mania

I grew up with a sister. Never ONCE did we do this! But apparently this is acceptable behavior for brothers. Who knew? 

Gus Hits the Jackpot

This is Gus' report from preschool yesterday.  It is my favorite one yet because he excelled in all the important areas. I would call it "the trifecta," except our overachiever did FOUR awesome things and I don't know the word for that. I'm just calling it the jackpot. 

1. Behavior--Happy 

It actually always says happy so that was no surprise  :) 

2. Lunch--All 

I've maybe seen "All" circled two times. It's often "most" and sometimes just "some." 

3. Made-- Pee pee and "dry all day!" 

This is a first! Gus wears his Pull-up to school and often uses it, even though he KNOWS how to use the potty. This was the first time he used the potty at school for the teachers. Hooray! 

4. Nap-time--Slept 

He does this most of the time but a good nap just rounds out his perfect preschool score! 

Go, Gus. You are ready for college! 

Leo says--can you believe it?--even MORE darndest things

UPDATE: If you have already read this blog, read it again. Well, at least the first part. I realized I left out a good darndest thing so I am adding it here at the beginning: 

While en route to Houston a couple of weeks ago we stopped at a McDonald's, temporarily forgetting that Leo is not a fan of the restaurant's mascot. "But Ronald McDonald does lots of wonderful things, Leo," I  said after Leo refused to eat because of his dislike for the clown. "He has this charity called The Ronald McDonald House and it helps families of children who are sick…" This went on for a few minutes, almost bringing me to tears as I thought of all these poor families. When I was done with my monologue, Leo said in a low, gruff voice:

"Look, some people just don't like clowns. You got it?"




That Leo. He is a big fan of Jesus. So here he is retelling the story of Jesus' crucifixion. It drags a little but stay with it, he gets to the point eventually. I was impressed with all the details he remembered from his faith formation class:

My other two examples are more your usually "darndest" style Leo comment:

So I call Leo "The King of the Boo boos" because he always has some injury or ailment to complain about. I often try to tell him the story of the boy who cried wolf and sometimes change it to "the boy who cried boo boo." I did this the other day when he was SCREAMING about an injury and I really had no idea if it was serious or minor (but I suspected the latter).

"Leo, I see you're upset but I can't tell if this is actually a big boo boo or if you're just overreacting. See, you act like this over EVERY boo boo. So it would be better if, when it's just a little boo boo, you just said 'ow' instead of whining and screaming about it. Then, when you DO have a big boo boo, I'll give you lots of attention. Does that make sense? Can you not make a big deal unless it's a big boo boo?"

And then he said something smart:
"Well, maybe all my boo boos are big boo boos."

Darn. Stumped me again.


And lastly, while shopping at CostCo with both boys Leo was riding in the main part of the basket and I kept telling him to sit down.

"Mommy, life is not all about sitting down!"

Don't Give up on Giving up

It's Lent, so a common topic in my Catholic circles is, "How are you celebrating Lent?" or "How are you teaching your children about Lent?" When I respond with, "My husband gave up soda; I gave up TV; Leo gave up cookies and Gus gave up diapers," I'm pretty sure I see the hint of an eye roll.

See, it's not cool to give up things anymore. 

You gotta DO something. They'll come back with, "Well, in my family we're not really 'giving up' anything. We're…"

• Praying the rosary every day 
• Giving to a charity
• Doing the stations of the cross every Friday 
• Building houses for Habitat for Humanity 
• Feeding the homeless 
• Sheltering the homeless 
• Clothing the homeless 
• Reading the Bible 
• Meditating 
• Learning about a new saint each morning
• Saving the world 
• Etc. 

They'll say that they feel like DOING something strengthens their relationship with God more than merely 'giving up' something like dessert (insert more obvious eye roll here).  I have also seen lots of blog posts geared towards this topic: "Instead of just giving up something, which has no impact on your walk with God, try DOING something this Lent." This is followed by a list of ideas to replace such a silly idea like giving up Facebook. 

So here's my response--my theoretical response, if I really felt like stirring up a holy debate, which I don't, except here on my blog:  

Hey, that's great. DOING stuff is always a good thing. That's definitely a part of Lent. We're even DOING something at my house by reading a little story every day and opening windows on this Lenten ark, much like an advent calendar.

But let's remember how it all started. Jesus GAVE UP food for 40 days and nights in the desert.

So first, it's a sacrifice. When we give up something we enjoy--no matter how trivial it seems compared to what Jesus did--we too are making a sacrifice. And that sacrifice is a tribute to Jesus. So no, giving up dessert doesn't necessarily mean we're going to spend that dessert time praying more. But I believe everything doesn't have to be so directly correlated. It doesn't have to be so obvious like "No chocolate = more Bible reading." But if it does, that's just a bonus.

Second, it's a tradition. Giving up something is as traditional as exchanging presents on Christmas. You could argue that giving and receiving presents on Christmas doesn't strengthen your relationship with God either.

And last, giving up things helps you to learn how to withstand temptation. During Jesus' 40 days, he was tempted three times by the devil. We are tempted all the time in our daily lives. And trust me, during Lent I have been tempted to turn on the TV. Frank has been tempted to drink soda. Leo has been tempted (probably the most!) to eat cookies. And Gus. Well, there are days where he would probably love to throw in the towel and wear a diaper. But every time we don't give in, we are getting stronger. So when bigger temptations come our way, we will have the strength to withstand them.

So sure, go out and DO, DO, DO but remember, don't let that right hand know what that left is doing (winky face: it's not a competition about who is doing or giving more). And then ask yourself, WWJD?

He would GIVE UP something. So should we.

DFW to ATL

We are getting to be regulars on this route. Just look at Leo here, my seasoned traveler. 

Sierra Mist is his drink of choice on the airplane. 

On this trip it was just Leo and me. We LOVE visiting our old friends in Atlanta, especially our besties, John and Ms. Claire. Here is a sweet moment when Leo greeted John as he was getting off the school bus.

Claire and I took the boys to Chattanooga for a little overnight excursion. They had SO much fun at the Children's Museum.

We played for three hours and would have stayed longer except we were hungry. So we went to Blue Plate, a restaurant we had all been to before and liked in Chattanooga. John snapped this photo of the mommies. (Yes, we needed beers after a morning at the museum with those two.) 

Here are our two almost-six-year-olds running around by the river; Isn't Chattanooga pretty?

Friday night I got to catch up with some of my favorite Atlanta girl friends: Carrey (one day over due when this was taken!), Maress, Chantal, Me, Monica, Claire and Amy. It was so fun to chat and laugh with these ladies.

On Saturday Leo and John were so brave and tough as they climbed Stone Mountain! 

Our last night, John reading Leo a bedtime story :) 

This trip was our last time to stay at John's house in our old neighborhood. They are moving at the end of April to another house in the area. "How will we know where their new house is?" Leo asked. "Hopefully they will give us the address," I told him. I think we are good enough friends for that!

The Question Game + A Questionable Art Project

Leo started asking me questions today and I didn't turn the camera on until it got funny. So we had to go back and redo some of the prior questions. He says it's a game he made up where I have to answer his questions with ten seconds or else…I forgot what happens but he seemed to be keeping score. 

Listen for my favorite question about which type of bread I prefer. That one is a keeper. 

It cuts off at the end because I ran out of storage. But consider yourself lucky. The game started to take a strange turn. 

And speaking of strange things...

Leo had "free art" at school today and he drew a picture of me IN THE SHOWER. I am grateful he--although very talented for a five year old--is not an advanced artist. I'm happy to just be a blob in this case.  If you can't read the words (that Leo had his teacher write for him), here you go:

Mommy is in the shower
Mommy saw a mummy and said, "Ah! A Mummy!"
Mummy said, "Ah! A Mommy!"

Yep, he's a questionable kid alright.