An Ode to Teething Rings

Here’s to the ring,
Made of plastic and gel.
Built to withstand
A teething baby hell.

From sweet little angel,
With gums oh so pink!
To two new little teeth,
In which they seek things to sink.

Poor mommy and daddy!
Bites marks on their arms.
They saw the cute baby smile
And fell subject to his charms.

A giggle, a coo!
A sweet little grin.
In a biting contest ,
The tiny tot would sure win.

So we seek to protect
Our skin and our clothes.
As the new little biter,
Wiggles and grows.

We applaud his great effort
At chewing his meals.
But we shove a frozen toy in his mouth
As soon as he squeals.

The great teething ring,
What better a tool!
‘Tis much much better
Than bite marks and drool!

Kelton's Head Band

Kelton was fitted in his DOC band this morning. This is to aid in the proper development of his skull due to some flattening on the back of his head and on the right side. We’ve heard that he may wear this anywhere from 6 – 12 weeks. A growth spurt will speed the process along. He fiddled with it at first and then decided that toys were more fun. He’ll be 8 months old a week from today.

This was a quick snap shot with the camera phone.

I don't know where he gets it from...

Where does my child get that fascination with being in front of the camera??

What a ham!

Kelton is definitely enjoying camera time now that I'm using something that isn't so imposing. I captured a few candid moments the other day...

Recipes Galore

I'm a recipe junkie. I can find hours of entertainment just reading cookbooks! My favorite in high school was this huge Southern Living cookbook that my mom received in the mail by accident. I grew up cooking in the kitchen with Mom...that's just what we did after school (she taught 5th grade). Part of cooking was sampling the individual flavors and then trying to identify them in the finished product. So, when I read a recipe now, I can almost taste the different ingredients and have a feel for what the end product will come out like. That's how I pretty much cook now...read a recipe, get a general feel for it, and then start throwing thing together - no measuring because that just cramps that whole creative thing.

The ladies over at The Secret is in the Sauce have set up a new blog (Saucy Eats) uniquely for recipes from the ladies that frequent there. It's still in sort of its beginning stages but is coming together nicely. My favorite recipe so far is the parmesan potatoes. Simple and easy yet flavorful. I love that combination!

Saucy Eats is also currently hosting a contest for a $50 Williams Sonoma gift card!

Grocery Shopping

I took Kelton grocery shopping with me Monday after work. He did well and discovered that the stuff behind him in the grocery cart was MUCH more interesting than staring at my chest. So, he commenced to arrange his little self cattywompus (anyone know a different spelling for that?) in the cart seat and start rifling through what I had been accumulating while traveling up and down the aisles.

His first target was the bag of oats...so I set those in the seat with him. Next was the plastic bag that the produce was in. Then he discovered the box of colon cleanse. Why that??? He derived great fun from picking it up, shaking it around, and throwing it on the floor - for.everyone.to.see. Ya know, I've grown out of my utter humiliation at having to purchase femine products. I'm not shy about that jumbo package of toilet paper I purchase on a regular basis for our little household. I even dare the cashiers to question my need for the economy size of benefiber. But, I draw the line at having my colon cleanse box tossed about the store in such a frivolous manner. I gave him a box of Lipton soup mix instead that mildly entertained him while he figured out how to pick up the jar of jalepenos, which were thankfully too large for him to palm and chuck out.

Yeah, notice what aisle we were on for this picture? I kid you not, I snapped this, closed my phone, went to push the cart on down the aisle, and could smell the chocolate from inside the box!!!

***please forgive the image quality. Pics are courtesy of my camera phone. ***

Reunion Time

Like I posted earlier, we had our reunion this past weekend. Well, it was my side of the family reunion. Bless Hubby's sweet heart, he went with me both days and mingled and visited. And when we left, we had plenteeee to talk about. You know what I'm talking about...that "Oh my gosh! Did you see so and so? And what was her cousin wearing? How could I be related to that one?" conversation. It made for some entertainment to say the least. Here are some pics from our weekend...we're really pretty normal. At least that's what I keep telling myself.

K-man and his grandmama

Little guy getting passed around

Aren't I clever? I took a picture of someone taking a picture!

How'd that get in the photo list???

Our family quilt. They're adding another row to it for next year, so I need to get busy andmake us a quilt block.

'nuff said.

Is it wrong that I wanted to wear the red cowboy hat?

Monday got its revenge

Why is that a really cool Monday is always followed by a spiteful Tuesday?

Kelton made it back in the bed with us last night. It's the only way any of us are getting any sleep. Of course, the only thing keeping any of us awake is the little dude screaming in his crib. And with him in the our queen size bed, suddenly what was plenty of room is now barely enough room. How did that happen? And there's nothing like getting smacked across the cheek (or boob) out of nowhere. At least he's not feeling around as much as he used to. I think that was the best night's sleep we've had in about 5 days. Things were gettin' a little stressed around our household and sleep was definitely needed.

And as such when you're in desperate need for more than 3 consecutive hours of sleep, when you finally get it, you're dead tired when it's time to get up. So, when the alarm went off this morning at 5:45, I snoozed...then snoozed again...and again....and finally rolled out of bed at 6:30. dammmmmmmm. Then we jumped in to action. My clothes that I washed last night (you know, the ones on gentle cycle with woolite so that you don't have to pay the dry cleaners but you can't throw them in the dryer so you have to leave them laying out on the couch?)....they weren't dry this morning. So I chucked them in the dryer to "fluff". I got my toe nails painted between make-up applications so I could wear my new wedges to work. Hey, I even shaved my legs last night so I could wear open toe shoes - this is a big deal. Got the baby's diaper changed - how does that boy pee that much? Put my slacks on...then pulled off the dry cleaning tag attached to the inside tags. Put my new shoes on - thought they fit a little funny but was in too big a hurry to think much else about it. Grabbed the baby, grabbed my cell phones, forgot to charge the ear piece, almost fell in my stupid shoes while holding the baby. dammmmmmm. He thought it was funny.

I fished my things out of the dryer - only to discover that they were still wet. dammmmmm. I got a few things put in the vehicle and was getting ready to go when I remembered my sweater. So I went back in to get it (in a hurry, of course). We have a shelf that sticks out part way over the dryer. It's in a really bad spot. This wasn't the first time I slammed my head on it while standing up from bending over to get something out of the dryer. I'm convinced that the shelf is situated such that when you nail your head on it, it hits that part of your brain known as the "piss me off" spot. I grabbed the stupid sweater, my vitamins, and my water and got in the vehicle. My wise husband took one look at my expression and ran like hell. Good man.

Since we left late, every red light and stop sign was backed up and delayed our arrival at daycare. Traffic was also backed up coming in to work. I had to slam on my brakes because of an 18-wheeler, which led to the contents of my purse being dumped on the floor board. dammmmmm. The kicker so far this morning? Even after trying them on in the store, the reason they felt funny this morning is because - my shoes are too big. dammmmmmm.

This makes a great Monday!

I won the apron from Mama Kat's Losin' It!!! Waaaay freaking cool! Here it is!

I got caught up with a family reunion this weekend - and took lots of pictures. I got them all downloaded yesterday, so will work on getting some new posts up and going. Little Man was the star of the show - I revelled in it. "Oh yeah...that one's mine...he's so cute...takes after his mama, huh?" Made me want to have another one...just kidding. Too soon to be thinking about that.

Since I emptied the memory card on the camera, I'll be taking some apron pictures. Wonder what I should make first while wearing it? Any ideas?

Doin' the Award Dance!

Yippee! Two in one day! It's the little things in life, ya know? Like getting cool looking little icons to stick on your blog site because there are some very sophicated, intelligent, and tasteful people out there who think your blog is worthy of recognition. (ssshhh...I have them fooled!)

Val over at Stinky John Jones gave me this! Thank you!!!

So, here are the rules for the award...

1. Put the logo on your blog.

2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.

3. You must nominate fellow bloggers for this award.

Kaycee at Life as a Mom at 21

Mama Kat over at Mama Kat's Losin' It

Chris at Weather Moose

Joanna at Sidewalk Chalk and Sippy Cups

4. Add links to the recipients. (done!)

5. Leave a comment so the recipients know they have received an award.

The Tale of the Cheerio

My husband thinks I've gotten a little carried away with my blog. He's right. I'll admit it - especially after I found myself taking these pictures so I could post them.

Hubby says I have monkey feet because I'll pick things up with my toes. I've discovered that I'm not the only person who does this, I just happen to be the only person in this house. It's really a handy trick to have...see?

Things about This Blogger

This should be boring...someone else did it on their blog...I'm copy-catting because this is filler blog since it was one of those days when I'm utterly empty of anything useful or interesting to say.


HEY! I heard that remark from the back!


Here we go...

1. I'm 5'1"



2. I was valedictorian of my high school class



3. There were 24 people in that class



4. I knew all of them



5. I raised goats for stockshows in high school



6. My favorite one was named Nanna and she would tap dance on her goat shed in the backyard



7. I can milk a goat



8. I went to college 3 hours away from where I grew up



9. I majored in chemical engineering



10. Every now and then I go on sugar fasts to break myself of sugar



11. I get jiggy without sugar and start frothing at the mouth (okay, that's an exaggeration)



12. I love coffee



13. I married the love of my life



14. I have a c-section scar



15. I didn't know big babies ran in my family until 4 days before the c-section



16. I wasted a lot of time researching natural childbirth



17. Breastfeeding is waaay harder than it looks



18. Breast pumps are torture devices



19. I want to raise a steer and take it to the butcher so I can have a freezer full of natural beef



20. I know I'm kidding myself...I could never kill Sirloin the cow.



21. Blogging is an addiction for me - I'll go join a support group but I won't stop



22. In college, I could run 2-3 miles a day.



23. I get winded jogging to the mailbox - at the end of the drive



24. My chair at work has butt indentations from me sitting in it all day - I like to think of it as custom molding



25. I'm an only child



26. Cellphones are annoying...I hate talking on them but I do it a lot anyway


27. Horseback riding is one of my favorite things



28. A horse knocked my front teeth back into my mouth 6 weeks before I turned 21



29. I drank beer on my 21st birthday with a bunch of metal in my mouth holding my teeth in place



30. Dentists scare me, horses don't



31. I used to do my own plumbing all the time (now I have a hubby, but that's not why I married him)



32. I refenced my little 2.5 acre plot in west Texas by myself with only the help of my truck, a come-along, a chain, a t-post, fencing pliers, and my leather gloves.



33. I learned that you don't fence with barbed wire while wearing shorts and flip flops



34. Every now and then I check out and go into hysterical giggling fits



35. My husband worries about me when I do that wondering if his wife will come back from la la land.



36. I'll wear socks until they have holes in them, but panties are chucked the minute the elastic starts sagging



37. I hate clutter



38. My house is cluttered



39. I love my husband's noggin...I don't know why, but I just want to cuddle his head to my chest. He doesn't mind that.



40. I take a salt bath at least once a week



41. I ate Turkish food for the first time last week....I'm hooked.



42. I hate it when I forget to put deodorant under both arms

TV in the breakroom

It's been busy today. We took K-man in to get fitted for the head band this morning and this afternoon has been a blur. After getting to work, I mosied into the kitchen to get some coffee. They keep the tv in the kitchen on a news channel (I'd rather have free food than cable in the breakroom). As I meandered out of there slowly sipping my treacherously hot drink (don't want to leave burn marks on the monsters), the last thing I heard from the tv was, "Viva Viagra!"

Yeah, yeah...where's the free food?

An Award!

I have that wonderful warm and fuzzy feeling right now!! It's because John Deere Mom gave me this...

Thank you so much!!

I love spreading that good feeling around, so I'm passing this on to some of my favorite reads, too. I have about ten blogs that I frequent almost daily...these are just three of them. If you get a chance to stop by, take a moment to leave a comment - we all love those comments!

• Melissa Lee over at Stretch Marks
• Bridget at Equilibrium (the first blog I ever read!)
• Kimba at A Soft Place to Land

Crockpot Give-away!

Stephanie over at A Year of Crockpotting is giving away 10 crockpots! I love her blog. She has me hooked on cooking with the CP every weekend, and she was on Rachael Ray this past weekend. Click HERE for the link to her giveaway. And if you have time, peruse her list of recipes...it's amazing what you can do in a crockpot!

A new chapter

We have noticed over the past several months that Kelton has a slight flatness on the back of his head. We've been questioning the pediatricians since he was 3 months old. Well, let me clarify that, we questioned each pediatrician that we went to...the one when Kelton was 3 months old was different than the one we're at now. That's a whole 'nother post on pediatricians though.

At his last check-up, our current pedi brought up his head shape and said that although there doesn't appear to be anything significant that would affect cognitive development, that we might still want to visit a physical therapist or consult with a head banding office for an evaluation. Our concern at the time lay in the fact that Kelton wanted only to sleep on his back. To sleep on the tummy was a most preposterous and infuriating idea to him. Our appointment was made with a physical therapist to see if she could teach us ways to encourage different positions with him.

About 10 days ago, Kelton decided that he loves tummy time and sleeps oh-so-well on his tummy and/or side. So I called the PT office Thursday morning to cancel our Friday afternoon appointment. I took Kelton in to the pedi's office Thursday afternoon for a vaccine, and the Dr. took the time to come in and suggest that I reconsider the PT appointment. Her point was that even if we came away with only one exercise to encourage equal development of neck muscles then the appointment would have been worth. I was an easy sell with that reasoning and I got our appointment back.

Friday afternoon wasn't anything like what we expected. Jane, the PT, was wonderful and was able to point several things out to us regarding Kelton's range of motion to the left, and the flat spots (plural) on his head. She encouraged us to pursue the headband. 40 minutes later, after more discussion and looking at what the path of head banding entailed, we were in full swing of getting an appointment ASAP with the head band clinic and obtaining a prescription from the pedi. We go in Tuesday morning at 8:30.

Kelton also has jaw pain that seems most present when he's on his back (with pressure on the back of his head). As soon as he is set up or rolled on to his side, he quits fussing with his jaws. My mom-intuition says that there's something correlating between the mis-shaped skull and the jaws. The PT concurred with that. So, Tuesday morning we'll start down the path of getting our little boy into a foam helmet of sorts.

From the website of where we're taking him...

Kelton has a mild form of Brachycephaly - Something as simple as sleeping on the back can cause brachycephaly. The head flattens uniformly, causing a wider and shorter shape. Increased head height is also common in children with brachycephaly.

Before (not Kelton, but this is pretty darn close to what his profile looks like)

After - the goal of a more rounded head

Friday's Favorites (late but here)

It was a busy weekend, but I still had in mind what to post for my Friday's favorites.

California Baby and Burt's Bees Baby Bee products. K-man has really sensitive skin with eczema and these products haven't bothered him one bit. The apricot baby oil in his bath water is awesome.

The PedEgg! It's great. It's disgusting. It's a food grater for your feet. It works like magic.

A temporal scanner thermometer. This has been great with the baby. Rectal thermometers are way over rated. (we had to do that a time or two when he had strep, but this has served well otherwise)

My favorite lamp - my husband hates it because he can look at it from across the room and it will topple over. Note the small base. BUT, it's hand crafted Texas mesquite that I bought at the Texas State Arts and Crafts Festival 3 years ago. We're keepin' it!

Casserole - Part 2

Continuation from earlier's post...





The chicken enchiladas in the crockpot were very tasty!! A few things of note...the original recipe said to cook on low - I second this motion. I cooked it on high for a shorter time interval, and my good friend Pam is the only reason I'm not in the kitchen scrubbing instead of blogging. I added in some flour tortillas with the corn - I like the different textures - but apparently I didn't add enough tortillas of either kind because we had chicken enchilada soup for the most part. And apparently my breasts weren't as large as Angie's - chicken breasts, that is....ya'll quit thinking like that. I used two...next time, I'll go for three (maybe four depending on the size). I also used Hatch green enchilada sauce and their Texmex enchilada sauce...the end result had a pretty good kick to it.


Here's what little mister did while I chopped and thawed and stirred and smeared.

Casserole Conundrum

Last night as I was perusing through some of the blogs I frequent, I remembered that John Deere Mom had made a crockpot enchilada casserole (click).

So, I gathered all of my ingredients before bed...plus or minus a few from her recipe since I was adjusting for what I had on hand, and I put chicken breasts in the fridge to thaw. That's a joke...nothing thaws in the fridge overnight like you want it to. I had to enlist the help of my trusty microwave to complete the thawing process this morning. Just as I got into chopping my onion, Kelton let loose with a WAH!. I had him on the floor playing on his mat with the toys that I brought back from Target last night. (off the subject, why does Target close at 10?? I still could have spent another 30 minutes and added to their profit for the day!) So I picked him up and talked to him and he slumped in my lap with a big ole yawn...Nap Time!

Then I went back to my casserole business. After messing up my layers...scooping layers off...pulling out pieces of tortillas drenched in a enchilada sauce...feeling something on my shirt that I had to move my boob to see only to realize I had stuff on the back of my hand and now have sauce all over my monsters...going through 3 spoons, 2 spatulas, and a pair of oversized tweezers (tongs), and almost grating a fingernail into the whole shebang...I just finished setting the crockpot and can now await the results.

I'll post a picture in 3.5 hours.

And the entire thing about the layers...it's a casserole...it probably really doesn't matter. But you're reading a blog written by a girl who had a 3 tab Excel spreadsheet with tons of rows and columns to plan her wedding. I'm weird that way...

Today's Devotion

I have started a new habit. Every morning that I am at work, I pull out a little book entitled "Wisdom for the Way" by Chuck Swindoll and type in the next page's devotion into an e-mail and send it to my husband who receives it on his blackberry. We both get our little devotion for the day that way.

Here's today's....

Five Cheers for Mom

"She looks well to the ways of her household:...her children rise up and bless her, her husband also."
-Proverbs 31:27-28

What does motherhood require? Transparent tenderness, authentic spirituality, inner confidence, unselfish love, and self-control. Quite a list, isn't it? Almost more than we should expect. Perhaps that explains why Erma Bombeck used to say that motherhood takes 180 movable parts and 3 pairs of hand and 3 sets of eyes...and, I might add, the grace of God. If you happen to be a mother, here's one guy who applauds your every effort. Five cheers for all you do!

Remember the Skin Horse in The Velveteen Rabbit? All his stuffing was starting to come out, his hair had been "loved off", but how valuable he was!...Carefully kept mothers don't have secure kids. Carefully kept, untouchable "velveteen mothers" turn out fragile, selfish, untouchable children. But unselfish, giving, secure moms somehow manage to deposit healthy, wholesome kids in our lonely, frightened society.

You know what I was doing yesterday evening? I was teared up because I was tapped out. After 3 nights of bad sleep, I picked up the baby from daycare yesterday afternoon. This interrupted his nap - that was a bad thing. I then juggled him at the pediatrician's office, helped give him his 2 vaccines, and took him home where he absolutely did not want to take a nap - never mind the fact that he was so tired he had rubbed his eyebrows to a bright red. He didn't want to lay down, or swing, or bounce, or play - he wanted to be carried around. He ate a little here and there and fussed and fussed and fussed. I knew he was tired and didn't feel good. By the time my husband got home, I was ready to hand the baby over for a little relief for my back. And then came the poo...all that poo that needed to come out of the baby for the past few days decided to make its grand, stinky entrance. Let me tell you, that takes two people to handle especially since Kelton wants to roll over (and over and over) once he's finished his business. All I wanted was to just sit (or lay down) for 15 minutes with no fussy baby so I could get a grip, but it was one of those evenings where it just wasn't happening and I was ready to cry. And then I felt like a heel...what kind of mom am I that I needed a break from my baby? I felt selfish...I felt mad at myself...I felt exhausted...I felt like curling up and crying and getting it all out. I can usually put myself back together after a good cry.

And then I read this morning's devotional. I want to be and I pray to be the mother that God intends me to be. I know that He blesses us with children, but they're effectively on loan from Him and it's our job to raise them so that they are equipped to know Him and follow the paths He has set for them. I want our son to be a whole person. I want him to know and practice love, faith, compassion, loyalty, grace, hope, and peace. I want to be that unselfish, giving, secure mom that Chuck Swindoll talked about above. I need His grace and His blessing in order to be that, because I sure can't get there by myself.

Ride 'em, Cowboy!

Darn...of all the times I wished I had a baby cowboy hat!

Picture Posting

I've been blog delinquent! I've been busy reading everyone else's blogs. And I just don't think I really have that much to talk about at the moment, but let's see what I can come up with.

Kelton had his first outing a restaurant where he sat in a high chair. He was playing cool daddy...

Neal cleaned out a couple of closets on his days off this last go-round. There is now an amazing amount of room in the two spare closets, but to get to that point, he had to empty them all out. Things get worse before they get better, right? Here's the proof...

Yes, those are Christmas presents in the last picture. My mom shops for Christmas in January....or maybe the October the year before...something like that. She's in the process of moving, so she sent us our Christmas presents for us to hold on to so she didn't have to pack them. That gives me plenty of time for shaking, weighing, measuring...x-raying...ya know.

We got a wading pool for K-man to "swim" in. It's setting on the back porch...full of water...not been used. Hopefully we'll get to do that this weekend. We also found a little bite on K-man Sunday evening. We think it was a spider. So that instigated the absolute cleansing of his room and the removal of all furniture. Which, as most of ya'll know, you start with one room, and it spreads to the rest of the house. (I didn't know I could use three commas in one sentence...don't know what my English teacher would say, but I'm kinda proud) I'll post some pictures of the present state of chaos in our house. Hopefully the after pics will be worth the mess.

On my office wall

I have this posted on my office wall on a small bit of paper. In the scatter on my desk and the clutter on my wall, every now and then it pops out at me and is a good reminder...

We need a balance between work and play, between kindness and firmness, between waiting and praying, between saving and spending, between wanting too much and expecting too little, between warm acceptance and keen discernement, between grace and truth.
- Chuck Swindoll

"Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is my portion. "
- Proverbs 30:8

True Grit - Texas Monthly

My family has the blessing of having a very talented writer in the family. His name is Elmer Kelton, and he writes western novels and narratives. He has won dozens of awards over his lifetime for his writing. He has also written for the Livestock Weekly and the San Angelo Standard Times. Most of Elmer's material comes from our family and the time he has spent in the world of the cowboy. The real cowboy...the kind of person who lived true to his word and knew how to put in a full day's work. It is fun for us, as his family, to read his stories and know that this is our heritage. Living in the middle of the Metroplex sometimes feels about as far away from my roots as I can get, but you really never leave your roots behind, do you? They're always a part of you. So, if you have the time, check out the cover story on this month's edition of Texas Monthly...Elmer titled it "True Grit". Here's a small excerpt...

To me, the word “COWBOY” calls to mind a long and noble tradition of hard work and honesty. But every time I turn on the news, I hear it thrown around as a pejorative, hijacked by pundits and politicians to refer to arrogant, reckless types who go it alone and break all the rules. If any of these folks had ever spent a day with my father on the McElroy Ranch—or with the thousands of working cowboys in Texas—they might have a different idea.

There was a time when the word “cowboy” evoked respect, even envy. In ranching circles it was an honorable label that had to be earned. One proved himself worthy of it through character, deed, and skill. Many a wannabe ranch hand—like me—never acquired it. Yet regrettably, in recent times “cowboy” has come to denote rashness, a shoot-from-the-hip readiness to use force without regard to consequences—in short, a total reversal of the word’s original and true meaning.

Friday Favorites

I'm making it just under the wire, but here are my Friday Favorites for this week...

OPI nail polish...between the natural base coat and the shiny top coat, I can have decent looking nails without having to make an appointment. Manicures are fun (pedicures are more fun) but sometimes, ya just ain't got time. Plus, OPI has no toluene, DBP, or formaldehyde.

Louisiana hot sauce. Our favorite over Tabasco because there's no vinegar over powering the flavor. (never mind the Oreos in the background, but they're a favorite, too)

Burt's Bees Garden Tomato Toner - I love this stuff because it cleans your pores without drying your skin. And it has a fresh smell that doesn't leave you running from one end of the house to the other trying to keep the wind blowing in your face to waft the fumes away. (don't picture that, please)

And finally....

The sleeping baby. Our very favorite this evening because he's been up since 4 this morning with little more than a few 30 minute naps today.

Happy 4th of July!