Saddam hanging party here

Mike and I were on our way from picking up new dishes (another story I'll post later) and we passed by a bar in Jacksonville with a sign posted with the words (Saddam hanging party here...come inside!).  To even type these words makes my blood boil.  I am sure this post will offend some, and though I am usually one to offer an apology before I approach my soapbox, this time I will not apologize for my opinion.  My first reaction was complete disgust...Saddam was a horrible man, yet he was HUMAN.  To see or hear about someone celebrating the death of a human is disgusting and really shows how far some in our society have fallen.  My second reaction was actually a tear...yeah, I know a tear for a tyrant...how can that be.  My tear wasn't necessarly for him but for his family.  Despite the way her ruled his country he was still a husband, a father, a brother and a son.  To someone he was everything, and now he is gone.  So even though I had much more to say I am stopping...instead of venting I am heading to bed early and will say a prayer for his soul, and for the pain his family is now feeling to cease. 

The crazy things people do for milk

So I am still breastfeeding...I am actually celebrating this b/c by this time with Andrew I had switched to formula.  But not this time...in fact since I am not only feeding her but getting the opportunity to pump in the morning before she awakes (ok it's not really an opportunity...more like necessity...she is sleeping through the night and if I don't pump before she gets up I literally drown her)  I now have a stock pile of breast milk....at last count around 500 oz of milk in my freezer...I have filled up the bottom shelf and am now moving onto the next shelf. 

BUT...2 weeks ago Iz got RSV...and she decided to nurse a little less...I mean who can blame her, she was sick, but b/c she was nursing less I was making less etc etc..so now I needed to ramp up my milk machines...so I bought this magic herb Fenugreek.  I had heard great things about it increasing your supply and once re-established you don't have to keep taking it.  Which leads me to my next problem...

I SMELL LIKE PANCAKES...What in the hell is she smoking right? Apparently one of side-effects of the herb is you can start to smell like maple syrup since the herb is used to make artifical maple syrup....oh the other side effect...sweating...so the smell comes from your sweat...and I am now producing more of it...so I now smell like pancakes. 

Word of the day.....Virus

ok...Andrew was never sick....besides his eczema...I mean he had 1 ear infection and that was it besides a common cold hear and there.  Isabel has viral meningitis at 5 weeks and we spent 2 nights in the hospital...then came today...thats right my bab has another virus....what viruses this time?  RSV  Yeah a nasty little virus that is a real pain in the butt.  It all started Sunday...she started with a runny nose...then all day monday it was a little runny nose and coughing and a slight fever...so I made her an appt for this morning.  Then last night she started running a higher fever...it never got above 103 but it wouldn't go down with tylenol either...she did wake this morning with a lower temp, but the runny nose was back.  when we saw the ped.  he said it just looks like a cold b/c her chest is clear.  So I told him that she was couging up HUGE amounts of snotty material he decided to test for RSV anyway.  1 hour later after walking ALL OVER the hospital we went to check the results...and he came in with face masks...which he said did us no good b/c we had been walking all over the hospital for an hour so we could have spread it to anyone anyway, but he told me and Isabel to go to the car and for DH (dear husband for non-babyzoners) to go the pharmacy to pick up an inhailer and we have to come back on thursday....oh then he added we all are probably going to be sick in the next day or two...which was funny b/c I woke up this morning feeling ill...Happy Christmas you stinking virus...

Crazy people are taking over the world

So as many of you may or may not know, Andrew has been battling eczema since he was 4 months old.  Some days are good, some are not so good.  While I know eczema isn't a "disease" it is a skin condition and we have been battling it for a long time.  So last week I had to take Iz in to see the Dr b/c she had a rash (turns out she can't wear clothes that are dry cleaned....which means she won't get to wear her new silk christmas dress again)...anyway the dr she saw told me that Andrew and Iz's Dr has left the ped clinic, so they don't have a dr anymore.  so I asked Dr Little if he was their new dr (he's the one who treated Iz when she was hospitalized at 5 weeks...oh and he's kinda HOT) anyway...he didn't know, but if I wanted I could request him...so I did, and he is now their dr, but back to my story...I mentioned that Andrew's eczema wasn't getting much better so he said for me to make an appt so I can get a referral to take him to a dermatologist.  So I did, but Dr Little was booked up till mid dec (apparently eczema isn't a condition that warrants quick care...the appt lady asked me if he was running a fever...then he could get seen faster...lol...) so anyway I decided to let him see this nurse practioner lady...I have seen her before...she's alright...just is a little grumpy at times...anyway...by the time we got to the appt his eczema was better (which it is ALWAYS better in the AM...and gets worse by night) anyway she scolded me for bringing him in when he looked fine to her...I showed her some of his red patches and she told me they weren't big enough to treat in her opinion.  I told her I had brought him to his regular dr many times when he was covered in it and yes he did look better, but the dr told me if it wsn't GONE to bring him back in, she then tell me to stop treating him all-together...let it get really bad...then bring him back in and she would see what she could do.  I raised my voice and told her I wanted a referral NOW...that I was not going to let him get all red and irritated b/c he scratches it till it bleeds, and then wait another 2 weeks to get another appt.  I told her she was crazy and she could give me a referral or bring in a dr that would.  I also told her his PCM told me to make the appt to get the referral so that was why I was there to begin with.  She then got rude with me and basically told me I was waisting her time and she filled out the paper work for the referral and left without saying another word.  Grr the nerve of that old lady. 

Anyway...now that I have vented...Andrew's eczema acted up the next day...so I took pictures of it to show the Dermatologist in case it is gone again at the dr appt.

Santa and the potato

Saturday we took the kids to see Santa at the USO... We had breakfast first





Then the kids got to see Santa, no matter how we turned Isabel she wouldn't look at the camera...not even when..Andrew got on Santa's lap with her







Andew opened his gift...What did he get?<a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank">MR POTATO HEAD
He has spent hours now playing with Mr Potato Head





most of the time..he uses the tongue as a mohawk



Yeah I know...all this talk about Andrew and the Potato and what bout Isabel?.. She got a crinkle ball...I know no where as cool as a Potato, but we'll make it up to her

Christmas photos of the kids