Checking for Ticks.

Tessa's birthday weekend was complete with a quick finale day trip to the lake. The kids played hard and parents continued to get all of our ducks in row for the summer to ensure lots of time lounging and imbibing. Anyways, about to toss Nate in to the shower last night and luckily my hand swept up the back of his neck cuz there was a blood-sucking tick hanging out, having a buffet on my little man. eeeeewwwwwwhhhh!! You'd think mom having nursing training would know exactly what to do but instead we decided to do what you are NOT supposed to do anymore. We broke out the matches and tried to burn the little sucker off of Nate' head...amidst all of his hair. A couple of tries, no luck and the scent of my son's seared hairs told me that this certainly is not the recommended way to get the tick out. So, while Troy tried to calm Nate and wipe his tears and nose between his blubbering of about a thousand questions about ticks, what they ate, where they live, why they latch on to people's heads and so on, I resorted to good ole Google. Nevertheless, the proper way to remove a tick is to grab it by the bootie with a pair of tweezers and pull it straight out. Nate was not down for this and confiscated the tweezers. He was also not down for leaving the thing burrowed into his head and sucking the blood out of him for dinner. Despite his fears and tears, Nate's creativity starting rolling and he suggested we make a concoction of oil, pepper and peanut butter and then hold the cup of tick lure up to his head and the tick would simply fall out. Hhhhmm? So Troy dutifully mixed the potion and held it up to Nate's head. With snot and tears covering his red face and cup against the back of his head, Nate held still and mom plucked the tick from his head...with tweezers as directed by dr. internet. Nate is convinced the potion worked sans tweezers and was quite proud of himself. Mom and Dad were especially happy that the tick was off of his head regardless of the method. So unless Nate tries to apply for a patent (to save him the embarrassment), oil, pepper and peanut butter will lure a tick's claws out of one's head. The pic below is the tick swimming in the tick lure.

Of course, Nate gets sent home from school the following day with a fever. So then we got to be paranoid that he'd contracted Lyme Disease. We decided not to self-treat this time, called the pediatrician, were given some symptoms to watch for and reassured that the fever was probably unrelated to the tick.

Summer recommendation: check for ticks. Keep peanut butter, oil and pepper on hand.

T takes the Trey!

Wow! Our beloved little diva is THREE! Cannot believe it for so many reasons. But mostly because it seems like yesterday that I was on all fours in the living room of our first home telling Troy that we best get to the hospital, peeling big bro Nate out of bed in the early hours of the morning/middle of the night in a wet diaper with the likes of a paper weight and his hair sticking straight up, trying not to have her in the front seat of our Explorer as Nate sat in his car seat having a very calm conversation with Troy about which direction we should be driving, being greeted by a four-hundred year old man pushing a wheel chair out to the circle drive of the hospital, not being able to speak and only able to hold myself and point up to the second floor where the birth center is located, holding my legs together on the elevator calling on the Lord, Jesus, Christ and anyone who would answer and then having a major panic attack about having a baby on the elevator, Troy ringing the bell at the nurse's desk a mere 75 times like he was sending out a Morse code message that somehow did not convey much urgency as the nurses sauntered out from having their 4am gossip session to try to stay awake for the remainder of their shift and were pry quite irritated when they noticed we had brought our kid to the hospital with us and how could we not have had a plan for this, being gently shoved onto a bed by one of those gossiping nurses after managing to squeak out that the baby was coming, Troy toting Nate and a pillow (not a camera!) behind me as we whisked into a room and somehow managing to toss Nate into the arms of a kind, gossiping nurse and make way to my bedside only to coach me to "breathe" (a little late for that!) as her head was being born, and then all 6lbs, slimy and pink and wailing from the shaking hands of an intern resident she landed in my arms...5/15/07@ 4:10am. Tessa Charlene. Our little girl!! Our little Taurus bull! She's smart and sassy and loving and adorable as ever. I don't doubt that three will be any less challenging than two.

She took Spiderman cupcakes in to school for her birthday treat. Yes, Spiderman. We promoted every princess out there but she kept insisting that she "didn't like that girl" and wanted Spiderman. So, Spiderman she got. I did make them PINK though! We also went to Jump City for an evening of bouncing and fun. And, upholding our Baughman family birthday tradition, she got to have cupcakes for breakfast on her special day. Apparently she was tired of hearing the Happy Birthday song as evidenced by her covering her ears on all of the pictures.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TESSA!

Mother's Day.

We had a very happy mother's day here. Nothing like getting breakfast in bed made by your 4 year old. Especially when you're already up and have to get back in to bed to let him and the two year old serve it to you and when the butter is piled on sooo thick on your "French Toast" (that is really just bread tossed into the toaster on the lowest toasting level...apparently that is how the French must do it.) your heart is already having palpitations from the cholesterol. What mother doesn't want Apple Jacks with a banana as a side and nice glass of chocolate milk that is 90% chocolate and 10% milk? Those fancy brunches are way overrated. I got lots of hugs and kisses and didn't have to yell too much the whole day!

Fire Up Dirtbag Fans!

Nate's tball season is off to a great start. His favorite positions are catcher, pitcher and first base. And, of course, he likes to bat. The catcher mask makes catching pretty cool. This is tball so the most action in the field is between the pitcher and first base. We'll still catch him practicing his batting swing and doing the potty dance in the outfield on occasion but he's getting better at staying in his ready stance. We've learned that a BIG Gatorade is a reward for after the game and is not recommended for hydration during the game. Otherwise, everyone is running to the bathroom and the batting line up gets all screwed up! Nate is getting used to running with a batting helmet on. He has a big noggin' as it is and to add a heavy helmet and the expectation to run as fast as you can has taken some time to master!

April Showers Bring...

MORE SHOWERS?!? But we just can't keep these kids corralled inside anymore!