Camp Backyard '08

sleeping bags? for all three of us? check.

tent? for all three of us? check.

lantern? check.

snacks (in the form of chips)? for all three of us? check.

drinks? for all three of us? check.

movie on portable DVD player? check.

sleepover, here we come.

or not.

little man lasted until 1030. ten minutes after our movie was over. he wanted to sleep in his own bed "without all the outside. it's too dark out here."

right. camping? you understand the concept, right? outside and all?

remember the lantern? and your parents who you are sandwiched in between?

little man still scared. bless his heart. so we went inside for the night.

but the anticipation of it all was so much fun. seriously, buz and i LOVE this kid. LOVE him.

all star

...or something.

i am so tired. but i have. to. post.

tonight.

big things going on at the wisner house.

big h? started t-ball tonight.

Lord have mercy.

technically, big h has never done any sort of organized anything. i mean, he goes to preschool. he obeys the rules. he follows directions. but as for organized activities? never been one for those.

take gymdandies, for example. bff, you can attest to this, right? a place where you take your kid to run around. first fifteen minutes you run around a gym with riding toys and balls. second fifteen minutes you go into a room the size of your own living room and sing "where is thumpkin." last fifteen minutes you go back to the gym and play "popcorn" with the parachute. understatement to say big h didn't care for those so much. also didn't care for the parks and recreation music class we took when i was THIRTY-SEVEN weeks pregnant. again, with bff. you'd think she'd get the idea and not ask us to do anything anymore. i'm pretty sure we spent twenty of the forty minutes outside having "discussions."

let's just say big h hasn't done well with the whole organized thing.

until we asked if he wanted to sign up for a sport. his choices were soccer, baseball, and basketball. when we looked around, basketball wasn't being offered until much later. and we had just missed the soccer deadline. so baseball it was.

and then, we asked him if baseball was ok.

because we're thoughtful.

seriously, buz and i have been praying non-stop for the last several days. about the season. about practices. about games. about the whole notion of teaching him to not be a quitter. to stick to something until the end. all those parenting fears. you know you have them too.

tonight was the night. first night of practice. buz and i definitely had reason for anxiety. when buz showed big h his glove, he said, "oh, i don't need the ball catcher. i'm just going to be the batter."

yikes.

so buz went to practice. goo and i had girls' night in. we enjoyed a lovely meal of angel hair pasta with parmesan, shrimp, and steamed asparagus in lime/butter sauce.

we're refined.

i don't have to tell you how badly i wanted to go. but i knew it was best for this to be a daddy/son thing. not to mention i would spend the whole hour chasing sassafrass around.

but i made buz promise he would take the camera. (i don't have to lie. i SO assumed he would "forget" and leave it in the car.)

he didn't. that husband of mine. he's such a catch.

and i have to tell you that as dorky as this sounds, i'm teary at these pictures. probably just as teary as every other mother of a boy or girl who has ever played a sport or participated in an organized activity.

per buz, big h was die hard set on wearing his "game pants" during practice. i love this little kid so much.

and the belt? it's actually the belt that goes with his baseball pants, but big h improvised. see how it's belted? like you belted your sorority jersey over a khaki skirt in the late eighties? i love a man who knows his accessories.

he was really friendly to all of the other little boys. and the highlight? "all of the home runs i went on tonight."

(meaning he ran the bases and touched all of them, too.)

seriously, i am in love with this kid.

oh, and buz? thanks for taking such great pictures tonight. it means the world to me. i love you, babe.

fashion fiesta

well, God help us all. yours truly is participating in a blog post about fashion.

my sweet friend, big mama, is hosting a little fashion party.

because she's cute like that.

i know.

and i got ready to start taking pictures of everything. and then that cute, little insomniac came and ruined it for me.

so i'm going to do my best with what's out there.

first, i'd like to mention that i haven't really shopped, like for outfits, since before my wedding.

seven years ago.

i did quite a bit of shopping for a certain article of clothing that as far as how much i love it, comes in a close 2nd to God and my family. seriously, k, my north face is my new best friend. i mean, as far as clothing is concerned.

but, in case i haven't mentioned it here before, i despise hot weather. despise is the nicest version of the word that comes to my mind when i am reminded of what texas' summers are. trust me -- summer janet is so NOT fun.

because if i could, this is what i would wear every. day. of the year.












i know. i'm a delicate flower.

but in the spirit of the fashion fiesta, i feel it is my responsibility to best represent what i will be wearing everyday from may until december.

oh, i kid.

may until late november.

most likely these.



or these.





and because i'm out here being honest, my wardrobe everyday, no matter what (unless it's Sunday, and i give my best to Him), these are the critical pieces.
















it's femininity rolled into a ball.

seriously, people. there is no point in dressing up in the summer. it is so stinking hot (emphasis on stinking).

oh, and another tidbit. the hair is ALWAYS WORN CURLY. no sense drying it straight and having it go curly the minute we walk into the garage.

if i go on a date with my sweet buz, i usually try to go with a cute and girly top with some trouser jeans and some fun shoes. a shirt like this, perhaps.



this happens about once every four months.

and the one piece of "clothing" i never ever want to be without. and neither does my closet.



and finally, the piece de resistance. the new find for the summer. i just got it three nights ago. i say nights because that's how many times i've slept with it and its buttery leather goodness. seriously...can you smell it? can you feel it?



big mama, am lovin' your little fiesta of sorts. thanks for letting us participate. i know for sure that i've started some trends on this very night.

i hate to toot my own horn

actually, no. no, i don't.

i will toot it.

with confidence, in fact.

yesterday was one of those days that was just fun to be a mommy. didn't do a whole lot. took the kiddos to breakfast. in our jammies. came home. played. finally put goo down for her nap. the anxiety that goes along with putting goo to sleep is almost unbearable. but she went down ok.

normally, this is the time when we have room time. big h plays in his room, and mama gets something accomplished. most of the house was picked up. i knew what we were going to have for dinner already. so i just wanted some big h time.

so naturally, we headed for the legos box.

lately, we (buz and i) have been building big h spaceships every morning or every night. i have always felt a sense of insecurity when it comes to this stuff. give me some hair to french braid. or a play kitchen to pretend in. but legos. tinker toys. building materials, in general. i get nervous. self-conscious.

this is what we started with.

until lately. and i'm going to be honest. i've been kicking some lego-building tail. it's like i've come into myself. and the reward? big h's response. "oh mama, that is one cool spaceship. dad is going to be so serfrized."

yeah, i own that. i worked it.

seriously. look at that thing.

anyway...toot toot.

speaking of dad. it appears he's been teaching goo a thing or two lately.

here are the books in goo's normal rotation. notice brown bear, a little sandra boynton, goodnight moon, typical board books.

then, some puzzles. two christmas books. because we're into the spirit all year long. an awesome book about trains and a thomas book. because you may not know this about big h. he is a recovering train addict. sober for about a year and a half. and of course, you'll notice pink blankie right there in the middle of all the action.

and in her bed? some dr. seuss books. an additional copy of goodnight moon. and a little story about the wemmicks. along with baby tad. who has been with us since before big h's arrival. he's a staple around these parts.

and now let's look closely. is that a brett favre book, i see? why, yes. yes, it is. buz? he's a smooth cat, that husband of mine.

and a lovely picture of big h just preparing for summer. (that red thing? yeah, it's his oxa-juh thing.)

and finally, i'd like to introduce you to our white trash neighbor's house. oh wait. that's our house. (buz has been doing a LOT around the house. but the bulk trash guy doesn't come for a couple more days. too bad i was taking the picture. because you couldn't see my white ribbed tank top and too short jean shorts.)

and just to let you know. things have been a LOT better around our house. here is evidence.

i'd like you to meet "sweatshirt head guy." name given by big h himself. he's one of those creative types.

and goo tickled with herself. pleased that she managed to convince mama that she needed (and HAD TO HAVE) pretzels.

public service announcement

this is who i get to see in three days.

oh, jim, how i've longed for this day.

and here we are with an anticlimactic report

it's friday, and we here at the wisner house have experienced something different and refreshing these last four days.

sleep.

several consecutive uninterrupted hours of this stuff called sleep.

let's give Jesus an Amen.

Amen.

i have to say. the milk detox program at Milk Anonymous has gone so well. and to be honest, i feel like that may be the answer to some of our problems.

because goo? has slept through the night four consecutive nights. i mean, sure, she's gotten up earlier than she used to before all this began. but uninterrupted sleep is magical. magical.

she's been milk free since monday morning, and every night has been great. she still cries when we put her down, but i have a feeling that may be more developmental than anything. because, really, i'm a developmental expert and all.

now, for what you've probably been waiting for. the chiropractic visit. probably the most uneventful half hour i've experienced in a while.

in a good way.

her daughter was there. same age as goo. was watching baby einstein when we got there. goo went right back to the back and introduced herself. (or not. really.) they had some magnetic darts that big h played with. so the chiro (as i like to call her) took about forty minutes to do a thorough evaluation and just talk through goo's history with me. then, she "adjusted" her daughter first so goo could watch. afterwards, she did the same with goo.

i'll be honest. i was nervous that goo was going to flip out and ruin the whole experience for herself. but her face looked as if she was getting a hot stone massage. my daughter. she's high maintenance like that.

rubbed her back. massaged her neck. and after approximately ninety-six seconds, she was finished. and got a sticker for it.

and then big h asked to have "that done."

sorry, charlie. we're not made of the green $tuff.

and that was it. we headed to mcdonalds to play with friends and have lunch. nothing to report.

see what i mean about the anticlimactic nature of the visit? but that's good, right?

and the icing on the cake. today, i took my shower while goo was napping and big h was at school. didn't realize my cell battery was dead. when i finally recharged, there were two messages from a number i didn't recognize.

dr. g. who was on vacation all week. back in the office today. just called because goo was on his mind and he wanted to check on her. (dr. g called. himself. not the nurse. or anyone else. dr. g. himself. on my cell phone.) i told him about "park angel" and then instructed him not to call CPS because i swear i wasn't smoking anything. he laughed but we talked more about the whole milk detox thing. he was on board with it and was excited to hear of her progress. honestly, i didn't tell him about chiro because i didn't want him to think i was cheating on him. plus, i felt like the time would be right once we decided to go ahead with seeing her. anyway, we had a great conversation and he was so excited about how things had been going this week.

oh, and he had a great vacation in Jamaica at his brother's wedding.

next thing you know we're going to be vegans.

public disclaimer:
the following information you are about to read is of personal opinion. i am in NO WAY writing to offend ANYONE. i promise. remember. this is my own little journal of sorts. and this is "where we are" right now.

who knew i was the type to need a disclaimer on this here blog o' mine. but you know me and my notwantingtooffendpeople issues.

so we begin a new journey here in the wisner house. yesterday was Day One Of The Wisner Lactose Free Journey. or at least it was for the goo.

a little background to help keep people up to speed. goo? not herself. hasn't been herself for i don't know how long. and buz and i have tried almost everything we can think of to "fix it." and honestly, i don't know what "fix it" looks like other than sleep. lots and lots of sleep. or "yots and yots of syeep" as big h calls it. he's missing it too. we all miss it.

The Fall of '08, which resulted in an ER trip for some dermabond and a permanent scar that she'll be forever trying to cover up with Maybelline as well as a sedated CT experience. good times. grumpy goo. don't care for her. so more times to the pedi than we care to admit. ear infection. check. another ear infection. check. one or sixteen more. check. daddy and mommy reaching their limit. check.

off to our third surgery center for tubes. (you know, one of the ones in the metroplex that we hadn't tried yet.) that was a monday. no sleep that night. interesting. cranky for three more days. and no sleep for three more nights. more and more interesting. pediatrician on thursday to see what's wrong. almost consider bringing him a gift card of some sort because...well, i don't know why. but we choose not to seeing as how we personally make sure his family has food on the table each month.

he says ear infection. i say what the ____!

sorry. this is a family-friendly website we're running here.

don't think i didn't want to have the guts to say what the ____, but decided that "seriously? are you kidding?" was more appropriate.

antibiotics. again.

let's stop here. and talk about the fact that since the goo was about eight or nine months, homegirl has taken something out of a syringe at least once a day everyday. everyday, people. to say that the goo does NOT like taking things that taste like powdered toilet cleaner disguised as a starburst is a bit of an understatement. kinda like me saying i don't really care for the summer months so much but they're ok.

so on to more antibiotics. buz and i have high hopes that once the antibiotics do their thang, we'll have old school goo back. no such luck. still sad and grumpy during the day. still not sleeping. no one. and we're actually cry it out (or CIO as they say on the internet) people. so buz and i are going in there several times during the night. actually, let me correct myself. buz is the only one going in there because goo automatically wants more from me than she does with buz. he can pull off going in there and resting his hand on her chest for thirty minutes or three hours. remember...this guy has to go to work the next morning.

well, blah blah blah. i've just read all of this. and whew...talk about a glass half empty post. cut to the chase, janet.

fast forward to this past sunday. she is up a LOT saturday night. sunday we miss church. so we head to the park. buz and i have talked a lot lately when we're praying at night that we just want the Lord to reveal something to us. anything. so we get to the park and there is one other family there. somehow the mom and i begin talking because she has a son roughly goo's age. it turns out she's a holistic health care provider.

i know. work with me here.

after our conversation, her two suggestions are

1. take milk away from goo's diet. mainly just the drinking it in a cup part. but try hard not to have anything else in it either (cheese, yogurt, etc.). do this for ten days. see if we start to notice a difference. on the eleventh day, reintroduce it. she's almost positive we will notice a difference.
2. take her to a chiropractor. she begins to tell me that she thinks goo's second vertebrae might possibly be "out of whack" and may be pinching her eustachian tube, causing ear infections.

she says a lot of other things that frankly i don't understand.

before i go any further, here's a little shout out to my buddy, angela. hey angela, i know you're a lurker. know that after this post, i am expecting either a comment or email about what kirk's take on this whole thing is. deal?

so today was Day Two of Goo's Lactose Free Journey. we're doing fine. lots of lemonade and juice and water.

and thursday at ten-thirty in the morning, we head to our first holistic experience. goo's first chiropractic appointment. and i'll be honest. i'm pumped. i'm trying not to get my hopes up. but i really feel like this could be a great thing.

rest assured. i'm not going to stop shaving my legs or start making our whole family wear these.