Manual Not Included

Sunday Picture Showcase: Going to the Drive-InPosted by Kara on March 6th, 2010

Puke LessonsPosted by Kara on March 5th, 2010

You read the title. So you know if you’re squeamish, now would be a good time to stop reading. That’s right, mister hair trigger gag reflex, move your mouse to the top right of your screen and click that little X-thingy. The two of you that are left, keep reading. I learned a few things overnight from about 10 o’clock pm to 5 o’clock pm the next day as Jim-Jim was puking up his guts. I don’t know if it’s useful information but it was learned that hard way, so I’m going to share.

1. I’ve heard that a house divided cannot stand. Now I know that a house with two squeamish people also cannot stand. It will not survive! I was sleeping soundly when I heard a panicked yell. I jumped out of bed and raced into Jim-Jim’s room thinking Jim had found the boy dead. That’s the level of urgency I heard in his voice. I opened the nursery door to Jim shoving a puking Jim-Jim in my face. I rushed the boy to the bathtub to help him finish, and I cleaned him up. Not long after, Jim came into the bathroom and apologetically said he needed me to clean up because he just couldn’t do it. So, I grabbed my Lysol wipes and got to scrubbing. After cleaining the room I moved on to the laundry. As I was rinsing puke from the boy’s sheets in the sink before throwing them in the washer, I heard Jim-Jim in the bathroom start up again. And then I heard Jim join him. Both of my boys were puking in the bathtub together, Jim-Jim because he was sick and Jim because Jim-Jim was sick. I don’t know what we would have done if we both couldn’t handle it. Move, maybe?
2. After going into JJ’s room 30 minutes after cleaning up the first explosion only to find him vomiting again, I decided we needed a new plan because we were fast running out of sheets. I laid on the couch, and JJ cuddled on top of me and fell asleep. I didn’t quite know how it was all going to work out, but I had a bucket ready at my side and my hand on his stomach to feel the contractions, hoping I would have enough time to get him over the bucket before the pyrotechnics started. As vomit ran down my neck and pooled behind my head, I decided I needed a new signal. That’s when I discovered JJ grinds his teeth before he blows chunks. I got so good that I could kneel him in front of the bucket before he knew it was coming. I’m sad to say, though, I had a lot of practice.
3. In the delirium that followed cleaning up puke for 19 hours, I came up with a few website names. The website would be dedicated to posts about hating vomit. I came up with:

www.partiallydigestedfruitsnacks.com
www.pukebomb.com

A fellow blogger has already taken vomitpopsicle.com, so that one’s out. Makes me wonder if she had a similar experience. What would YOU name your anti-puke website?

Why we’re going to end up in the ER more than youPosted by Kara on March 4th, 2010

The InsignificantsPosted by Kara on March 3rd, 2010

I admit it. There are times that I use God as my genie in a lamp. Not always. But particularly when traffic is thick and I’m running late or when I want a parking spot close to the entrance when it’s raining. Does God really care if I want to get somewhere on time or if I don’t want to walk far because I’d get wet? Even though He doesn’t always grant my ‘wish’, I do believe He cares.

Case in point: Jim-Jim and I went to the park to play and stopped by Wal-Mart to pick up a prescription on our way home. I let Jim know I was stopping by the store, and he texted me a list of items to pick up. You know, very important stuff like chips and ice cream. While wandering the aisles, I got a call from Lydia (Jim’s sister) letting us know they had made it into town from Louisiana and would need our pack n’ play for baby Elle while they stayed in a hotel during a conference. She was at Wal-Mart and would stop by afterward to pick it up. Well, no need! We met on the ice cream topping aisle, and I had my pack ‘n play in the car- it had been stuffed in my back seat since our Christmas travels. It was February.

How easy was that?! I do believe God pays attention to the seemingly insignificant details of our lives. And I’ve convinced myself that God used my laziness in not unpacking the pack ‘n play to bless Lydia’s life. You’re welcome, Lydia. I’ll be lazy for you any time!

Marriage WeekendPosted by Kara on March 1st, 2010

Nana volunteered to sacrifice her sanity to watch Jim-Jim and three of his cousins over the weekend while Jim and I escaped to a marriage conference in Louisiana. I discovered that a night away from the boy with Jim in a hotel room does just as much for a marriage as hearing someone repeat from their perch on a stage that we need to be less selfish and listen more. Though, we do. But secluding ourselves in a hotel room is a lot easier and way more fun than working on our characters.

We would be lying if we said we didn’t miss the boy. We made sure we got back to Nana’s in time for Jim and the boy to catch up over a glass of milk before Jim-Jim went down for the night.

It was extremely neat to see a bond begin to develop between Jim-Jim and Andrew. A bond I am excited to see strengthen as the boys grow up, and Jim-Jim is less into stealing toys and throwing tantrums and more into toilet papering houses and stealing Mommy and Daddy’s car to do donuts in the Dairy Queen parking lot. You know, stuff boys can really bond over.