Down...

It started on Saturday with a thick throat and headache. But I toughed it out and went to play putt-putt with Helen, Brad, and Cary. It was a wonderful time, and we played with hard bets: whoever won got to choose where we eat. Whoever loses, pays.

The competition was really between the brothers Brad and Cary. Or maybe the competition was between Cary and Cary. I love to see him get his competitive edge! Helen and I stayed close in score, all the way through. But after 1 1/2 rounds and 3 lost balls later (all but one retrieved or new ones fished out of the pond), I (the score keeper) determined that Cary came in first, Brad second (by one), and Helen and I bringing up the rear (again by one point each).

**Edit: reading the above makes it sound like I chose Cary to be the winner because I was the scorekeeper. Not so--his eagerness to get ahead and stay ahead is what put him in first place. Brad, though was very close to his score. And Brad helped with the scorekeeping. I think he added a few points to Cary's score, just to try to even it out some...


I'll just say that Helen beat me because she scored the 1st hole-in-one, Cary the second, and Brad the third. Me? Well. We'll just kind of put that aside.

The lunch that Cary had chosen was a hamburger place called Balls. After the GPS led us all through North Dallas and back again, the parking lot showing where the place should be, but no luck. But, fortunately, there was a Cici's pizza...and 4 starving people.

After we were satisfactorily full, we made the drive back to Cary's parents. With one quick side trip. As we came to the red light at Hard Eight Barbeque, someone pointed out that there is a geocache there. Which became our next treasure hunt!

45 minutes later and down in some ditch with who-knows-what plant and being bit by some unknown insect species, we did not have any luck finding the silver canister surrounded by grey rocks. So that makes Cary's and my treasure hunting at 3 and 1.

The headache and sore throat continued throughout the rest of the day, which made me cancel the evening plans of going to Addison and seeing my high school friend, Clay, again. I haven't seen him since little Brylee was born. I miss him!

I was, however, in bed by 9:30 that evening, and didn't wake up again until 9:00 the next morning. Sunday was our visit to Cary's parents' (Brylee stayed Saturday with her T-ma and B-pa, and we spent part of our day there as well), Monday was back to work, and the headache and throat ache continued.

Today, I stayed home from work with a terrible headache, and now the sore throat is a thing in the past. But my head continues to pound, and I hope another early night into bed will help that.

Here's to hoping!

Starting Off The Week With A Fiesta

This week is Cinco de Mayo, the holiday commemorates the Mexican army's unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.

This is a big celebration in Dallas, and you'll drive around and see restaurants advertising their Cinco de Mayo specials. Neither one of us are from Mexico, or have any blood relation, but it's not going to stop us from celebrating--eating style!

I don't normally post recipes on here, but I do want to share this one that I got off of allrecipes.com:

Easy Mexican Casserole

Prep Time:
20 Min

Cook Time:
30 Min

Ready In:
50 Min

Original Recipe Yield 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 2 cups salsa
• 1 (16 ounce) can chili beans, drained
• 3 cups tortilla chips, crushed
• 2 cups sour cream
• 1 (2 ounce) can sliced black olives, drained
• 1/2 cup chopped green onion
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh tomato
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook ground beef until no longer pink. Stir in salsa, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed. Stir in beans, and heat through.
3. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Spread crushed tortilla chips in dish, and then spoon beef mixture over chips. Spread sour cream over beef, and sprinkle olives, green onion, and tomato over the sour cream. Top with Cheddar cheese.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

Cary and I personally enjoy it without olives, but oh, the rest is so delish!!!!

Catching Up...

Yet another busy weekend...

Cary took off of work on Friday, mostly to relax and just have some time to himself. Actually, he and Chester went to visit his dad, and from description, it was a pretty nice, good day involving a car wash and a geo-cache hunt.

When I got home from work, I was surprised with the Sherlock Holmes dvd, 2 Alice In Wonderland drinking glasses, a yummy candy bar (never had it before--but I want more now!), and Brylee got an adorable little dress that Cary spontaneously purchased for us. Yes, we are very loved and spoiled!

We took the dress back to Target because it was a 3 month size, and while Brylee can wear it now, I wanted her to be able to wear it longer--it is so cute! So now, she has a 6 month size dress that is pretty big on her, but the bloomers crack me up because they are falling off of her little rear end! Cary has great taste--I think I'll have him pick her clothing from us from now on!

On Saturday, Cary and I took the two little ones to Cary's parents' house where we had a delicious meal of bar-b-que, mashed potatoes, and delicious Strawberry Shortcake for dessert. We played a couple of games of Bananagrams (if you've never played, it's so fun!), and then said goodbye to our sweet baby, dropped off Chester at my parents house, and went to church.

After church, we had big plans to go to dinner and then to swing dance, something we haven't done in over a year. I miss it a lot, and would do it more often, but the hard part is, they start so late at night. 8:00 for a trainer/refresher, and then the big fun starts at 9:00. And these days, come 9:30, I'm ready to sleep.

So we had dinner at Carinos, and by the time we were out, we were so drowsy from the food, we did exactly what I suspected we would do: went home and fell asleep. Alas, swing dancing, how I yearn for you--someday, I will be rested and ready to go again!!!

Sunday was a Jarvis family-chaotic fun day. Cary, Brylee, mom, dad, and I met my aunt Amy, cousin Stacy, and Granny at Fuddruckers in Grapevine for a delicious lunch of burgers. I love eating here, especially since you can 'dress' your burgers the way you want. The most memorable of the dressing? I happen to grab way more pickles than I wished. I literally had enough for the entire table! Mmmm...

Afterwards, we all headed to Grapevine Mills, where we managed to walk, lose someone who went into a store, find said person, start walking around again, slow down because we were all window shopping, see a train go through the mall about 5 times, hurry up just to slow down again.

Look for hats (for Brylee), found adorable hats (for Brylee), and never got said hats (for Brylee). See a little girl that didn't look much older than Brylee (must have been the lack of hair), but then when we saw her in the Disney store, she was walking! Mom found out that she is actually 1 year old! So, now we have a glimpse of what our little one will look like when she starts walking!


Oddly enough, I didn't get much in the way of pictures, but here is one of the 2 lone guys taking a break while the women went crazy at Old Navy. Cary found some coloring pages, and dad just went into his own world, probably glad to be free from the crazy ones for just a short time.


Old Navy is where mom found a couple of adorable outfits for Brylee to have and wear for the summer time. What a lucky kid!

In other news, we started Brylee on the fun colorful foods last week, starting with green peas. She was not the most fond of them, making faces every time we snuck a spoonful in. She would lock up her lips and refuse to take anything else in, just in case it was more green goo. We would alter the peas with her rice cereal, which she readily ate and was eager for another bite, but once the green snuck in again, her lips locked up once more...



On Sunday it was time to try a new veggie, so this time we opted for carrots, with a much better result. She still makes the occasional face, but I think it is because she is getting used to something other than bland. But she doesn't lock her lips up and willingly takes in more bites. Tonight we will hopefully finish up the last of the open carrot container, and then time to decide what to experiment with her on next!


Poor kid has been learning and playing hard these last few days.
I put her in her high chair last night to get ready for another feeding after she fell asleep in my arms. Oddly enough, the kid never woke up, and only did so as I moved her around to get a bib around her neck.



She's growing so much!

Successful Treasure Hunting

On Thursday, Cary and I stepped out once again to go geocaching, or as I like to think of it, treasure hunting.

We trekked back to the bus stop where we attempted our last hunt, and this time, Cary immediately saw it. How? It was a tiny, thin black box attached to a black bench!

But none the less: Success!

After signing the log and taking pictures, we headed home, plotting out our adventures for the future hunts. It gives a fresh look to going walking, making me eager to get out there, even as the summer heat looms in front of us.

On Saturday, Brad, Faith, and Helen came to Dallas for a visit, and Brad and Helen, being seasoned geocachers, decided that we should go on another treasure hunt. So during the rainy, cool afternoon, we all headed out to a location about a mile away seeking to get our hands and feet muddy. Ok. Not really muddy. But it sure does make for good writing!

We found the cache, signed our names (no hidden treasure--just a log), and walked our way back home, to where we found a sleeping baby, 2 grandparents, and some delicious food.

Sunday was almost another treasure hunting day, this time with my dad, but due to the rain, we decided to wait for a little less dampness.

I really enjoy this hunting thing, and maybe perhaps someday we will hide our own cache. Maybe I'll even dress as a pirate when we trek our way to 'find ye treasure'. Or, maybe I'll just hold onto Chester's leash or push Brylee's stroller.

Arrggghhh!!!!

Brylee Is 5 Months!

On Sunday, our little one turned 5 months!

I love this time in her life because she is changing so much, and everyday more and more personality bursts through.

According to www.babycenter.com, this is what we can expect to see in her:

Homing in on sounds

Your baby now realizes where sounds come from, and she'll turn quickly toward a new one. One of the easiest ways to engage her is to jingle a set of keys. Wind chimes are great attention-getters, too.

Your baby may now be able to recognize her own name and understand that you're speaking to her when you say it. You may notice that your little one turns her head when you call her or talk about her with others. If you want to engage and entertain your baby, all you need to do is talk to her. At this age, babies don't learn language from the television or radio, so turn them off and use real dialogue instead.

A growing range of emotions

Your baby can't express her emotions in the same complex way that you can. Although she can let you know in clear ways when she's angry, bored, or happy, her ability to show love and humor are just developing.

Your baby also shows a strong attachment to you by raising her arms when she wants to be picked up and by crying when you leave the room. She may also give you hugs and kisses. And she's beginning to get the joke — she'll laugh at funny expressions and try to make you laugh, too. Keep the laughter flowing with your silly faces!

• Brylee loves to smile--especially at her daddy, Opa, and B-Pa. She'll also watch every move her daddy makes with such interest, and no matter how much he tries to 'scare' her, she just smiles, giggles, and screeches at his attempts. Funny because when we don't intend to scare her, she is always jumpy!


• She is at a stage that everyone is amused by her 'talking', and her caretakers at daycare say that she is really funny because she entertains herself in her crib during naptime that way.


• She is showing some signs of teething, but from what we can tell, nothing yet. She is putting everything in her mouth, and seems to love when we give her a blanket or burp rag because she squeals and it instantly goes to her face to 'snuggle' (and go in her mouth).


• We borrowed a friend's exersaucer, and her Oma and Opa also got one. So, everywhere she goes, she has one to play in. The kid seems to love it, too!

This last weekend, while at the mall, we had our first 'accident'. We decided to get her out of her carrier and let her view the world as we walked around. I didn't have a sling to place her in, so I just held her close to my chest. Not a good idea after she eats because I did end up with spit-up all down my shirt.

But a little while later, I suddenly felt something warm...and wet. She had gone to the potty, but the diaper had moved from where it securly covered her, and ended up getting on her clothing and my hand.

As we walked through the mall trying to find the nearest restroom, people turned around and awww'ed at her. Kind of hard to let her stop and flirt when we were trying to get an emergency clean up! AND on top of that, it was the FIRST time I didn't have any back-up clothing! Needless to say, after a quick clean-up, we headed back to T-Ma's...

So, my question for all the moms out there:

She is currently eating rice cereal twice a day (about 1 1/2 teaspoons mixed with 2-3 teaspoons of formula). At what point to you introduce the colorful stuff? Do you want to wait until she eats more cereal and more frequently, or just jump right in and start playing with the veggies?

Life: Take 2

Chester's Not So Fun Day

(photo by Whitney)

Friday evening, our Chester officially became a special needs doggie.

He was set to stay at his T-Ma and B-Pa's overnight on Friday-Saturday, and at 4:00, I got a phone call from mom saying that he had another seizure. This was his first in over 2 weeks, so I was bummed that we had to log it and start the count over again.

According to the log I keep, he started having seizures every week and 1 day, and then it spread out to every 2 weeks. We were thinking he was starting to level himself out.

But not long after this seizure, I got another phone call from mom, who told me that he had another 'mini' seizure. And not even 10 minutes later, another call. This one was bad; he had vomited, and also had blood coming from his mouth.

I advised to have dad (who had just gotten home from work) get Chester into the car (as safely as he could considering dogs in seizure mode might bite unintentionally) and immediately get him up to his vet. Cary and I jumped into our car and drove there immediately, calling the vet on the way to let them know what to expect.

When dad got there, we fortunately were already there, and Cary helped Chester out of the car as I went in to let the receptionist know we were there.

At this time, the vet was set to close in 15 minutes, and I am so grateful that we had the opportunity to get there, and not to the emergency vet, which would have been a much longer wait, and much more expensive.

Doctor Cowser, the vet on duty gave Chester a intramuscular shot which went into his system to help stop the seizure activity immediately. Then he talked to us about starting the poor mutt on medication after this 'cluster' of seizures.

So today, as our puppy relaxes on the floor at my parents' house, I am saddened to know that he had to deal with that situation. But I am so grateful that there is medication to help him, and I do hope this stops this problem.

But I have to constantly remember that we are blessed that this has happened to our family pet, and not one of the human beings that do, or will, get behind the wheel of the car. While I have been aware of this fact since December 2009 when Chester first started his seizures, I am still baffled by the fact that this happened to a friend of ours, when her husband had a seizure as he was driving. Thank the good Lord that no one was hurt, and the passenger was able to control the vehicle and get the car safely stopped!

So now it is time to go find a tag to print out that states that he is epileptic and hopefully he will do well on the medication. Hopefully as he adjusts to his medication, we will see a sign of that lovable, goofy mutt again!

Why Read War And Peace?

When you live it 7 times a day?

1, 2, 3 O'Clock, 4 O'Clock Rock...

5, 6, 7 O'Clock, 8 O'Clock Rock

9, 10, 11 O'Clock, 12 O'Clock Rock

We're gonna rock around the clock tonight!

And that is exactly what we did--last night!

What was originally a plan to go to the McFadden's house to help set up a new tv turned into a skirt fest for the women.

On Monday I read that Brylee's daycare was having a 50's day on Thursday, and growing up, I LOVED the 50's and poodle skirts...so Brylee HAD to have a poodle skirt for herself!

Brylee's Oma used to make most of the McFadden clothes, so she has a lot of experience with making skirts. She even made her wedding dress! Me, on the other hand, have never touched a sewing machine in my life (except to go retrieve it for my parents...).

2 outfits that Brenda put together for her young ones!

I would love to learn how to sew, but just like learning how to knit, it is on the back burner for now, just because of obvious reasons. And after last night, I think I'll start with pillows...

Brenda was so wonderful, and seemed to be excited, too, about assisting in making this skirt. So on Tuesday, Cary, Brylee, and I went out to JoAnn Fabrics to purchase the needed supplies (felt, elastic, and the all-important poodle iron-on). On Wednesday, the pressure was on.

I was glad that I got to assist, but I noticed that I was slow, and not so strong with cutting circles out of felt. But I wanted to make sure that the entire task was not on Brenda. But she can cook (sew) up a mean skirt!

Of course Cary had to have his fun with all of it as well...



We finished last night about 8:30, and this morning, I was eager to get her in that skirt and see the magic occur.













Success!!!













Our little one looks absolutely adorable in her new skirt!!! And as much as I tried to help with the process, I want to make sure everyone knows that Brenda is the true star--she is incredible--and patient, especially with her daughter-in-law's persistence for a silly skirt at the last minute! Thank you so much Brenda!!!

Looking at the camera now at the daycare, they are showing off the skirt--they (the adults who know what is going on) love it!

Rock those socks off kid!

The No-Luck Geocaching

Ever done this?


You place coordinates into your GPS, and off you go treasure hunting!

My dad and mom has done this a few times, my brother-in-law and niece have as well. Last night Cary, Brylee, Chester, and I attempted our first 1st (and 2nd)...with no results.

The first one I can see why we wouldn't find right away. It is between roads on a little island that has trees and water. When it rains, the island floods, so I started wondering if it had been washed away. So after a short time of looking (we need more daylight, and an easier way to transport the kid across a super busy street), we went to the next location.

This one is located at a bus stop, but by the time we got there, it was getting pretty dark outside, but we searched until we (Cary) started getting bit by the mosquitoes. We dug through bushes, climbed on top of the bench...all to no avail. So we walked back home, disappointed, but already planning our next trip out. This time we'll remember a pen to sign the log!...if we find it!

Check out this site, and if you are interested in a small treasure hunt or two, grab a pen, your GPS, and a small little item to trade out in the chest. But, don't get ahead of me in the hunts, 'k?

:o)

Happy hunting!

Teaser

What do the McFaddens have to do with purple felt, elastic, and an applique?

If we're successful, find out later this week!