New look and new name

OK. A few changes. I changed my blog template as I do from time to time, but I also changed the title and address. I got tired of the play on the word pisces, and I just wanted a change. I've also heard some warnings and have been given some advice about changing your blog address from time to time, especially if you post pictures of your kids. I chose this name because I frequently call Madelyn "pumpkin." And she tells me, "I'm not pumpkin. I'm Madelyn." So, I thought how about using "pumpkin patch" as the title. Right now, we have a little patch, and I'm not promising that it will grow any time soon either...NO, I'm NOT pregnant!!!

Thanks to the Felts for teaching me how to do this! Sorry for the inconvenience, everyone!

Spaghetti and Raspberry night

Working with Daddy

Peter Pan

My parents bought Madelyn Disney's Peter Pan DVD. Madelyn loves it! I like watching it, too. It really is funny to see all of the non-PC things in the movie. At the beginning of the movie, Mr. and Mrs. Darling leave for the evening and leave the children alone in the house. Child protective services...hellloooo??? Normally, they would let Nana, the dog-nanny, watch the children, but she was being punished and was banished to the yard. Later in the movie, during a scene with the INDIANS (not Native-Americans) a song entitled "What Makes the Red Man Red?" is sung by the Indians. I chuckle every time I hear it, and I've heard it a lot lately.

Madelyn asks to watch "Peter Man" pretty frequently. Tonight while she was watching it, I heard her say in a pretty good British accent, "Peetah, it's Peetah Man."

Haircuts

My parents came up last weekend and saved us about $30! Both kids were in desperate need of a haircut and my mom served as stylist/barber for a few minutes. Here are the action shots:

Madelyn's hair is much easier to brush and Pierce no longer looks like a dandelion when he wakes up. Here are the end results:

Can siblings read each others' minds?

I ask this as an only child. This has happened a couple of times now and one of those times was yesterday afternoon: Both of them decided to boycott their afternoon naps. You might think that they heard each other in their rooms and decided that they would rather play together. But, no, this is not the answer because I keep a fan on in Madelyn's room and Pierce has a noisemaker. Both do a very good job of drowning out noise.

Madelyn's normal routine on school days is that she comes right in and we go straight into her naptime ritual (potty, read, pray, sing song). Then she goes to sleep/stays in her room for about 3 hours. I had to go into her room several times yesterday to ask her to calm down, read silently (she can't really read, but you know...), and stop singing. She finally crashed at 4:00, which isn't great because I had to wake her up soon after that just so she would go to bed last night.

Around 2:30, Pierce went into his whiny spell, which usually means "Naptime, please." For whatever reason, he did NOT want to sleep. So, after about 20 minutes of really fussing, I got him up. Thirty minutes later he went into his whiny spell again, so I took him back to his bed. He might have slept for 30 minutes.

This made for the longest afternoon/evening in my nearly three years of motherhood. I woke Madelyn up at 5:00, and she was soooo upset with me. I really don't think she said a word to me all evening that wasn't in a whiny, nasaly pitch. Meanwhile, all Pierce did all evening was cry and whimper. They both wanted to be held all evening. Now, they both went to bed at 7:00, and I did not hear a peep out of either of them until almost 8:00 this morning. That was very nice, but the afternoon it took to get that 13 hours of peace was not worth it.

The little things

Last night during dinner, Pierce started coughing and gagging. I thought, "Oh no, here we go again." Well, it turned out to be nothing, and Pierce has always had a strong gag reflex, but once he was finished with this little episode, Madelyn exclaimed, "Yeaaaa, Pierson! You didn't throw up!"

Yeaaa, indeed! I think last week's illness has made a lasting impression!

Sick Day

Thankful

I think we are finally on the tail end of this terrible stomach virus. For the first time since Sat. afternoon, we've gone over 24 hours with no throwing up! Madelyn recovered very quickly--really just about a 12 hour thing for her-- but Pierce has really struggled. I've been in tears more than once. I've felt frustrated, sad, scared, and helpless. Helplessness is a terrible feeling for a parent to have. I'm a control-freak by nature, so when things are out of my control, I have a hard time dealing with them. I just want to fix things. I want to fix Pierce. I want to make him feel better, but I can't. This has been a very good reminder for me. I am NOT in control of most things in this world. These are the times when I should turn to the Lord more, but more often than not, I continue to worry and jump to crazy conclusions. Fortunately, I married a very level-headed man who tries his best to keep me grounded.

Anyway, all this makes me very thankful that I have healthy children. I don't know how parents with chronically ill children manage. This week has seemed so long, and it was only a week. What would I do if it were a way of life??? Hopefully, I will never know that, but I am in awe of those who are able to handle it.

Another sick kid and sick mommy

I took Pierce to the dr. today. I was just a little concerned because this stomach bug has been very persistent. He's still throwing up. I guess I've watched too many episodes of House because my thoughts have consisted of all the weird parasites/exotic illnesses he could possibly have. The dr. was reassuring about Pierce, telling me that it was probably just a viral illness that would have to run its course and he said that most important thing was to keep him hydrated.

As we were walking through the waiting room to leave, Madelyn pretty much confirmed that this is a contagious viral illness. She threw up all over the waiting room and also in the bathroom that we rushed her into.

While I haven't thrown up, I did wake up around 1:00 this morning feeling very nauseous. I'm feeling much better now, so hopefully I had a very mild version of this thing. Anyway, it's pretty yucky around here, but for the time being, the babies are sleeping peacefully.

Sick Again

Pierce has another stomach bug. For those keeping count, this is the second one in three weeks. This one is more persistent, as we are going on hour number 41 of throwing up. He doesn't have a fever, but the only thing he can keep down is Pedialyte. It's funny, though, because he can chug that stuff without a problem. However, if I give him just one ounce of formula, it ends up on the carpet 10 minutes later. The rest of us are healthy for the time being. Hopefully, that will remain the case. I called the dr.'s office and the nurse I spoke with told me to start giving him small doses of diluted formula this afternoon.

I believe one of the most pitiful sights in the world is a small child throwing up. Pierce's whole body heaves and then he just gives me the saddest look. He has to be wondering what in the world is going on. Anyway, I'm praying he feels better soon. I think it's harder on me than it is on him.

December pictures

are posted here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cmtaliaferro