Well, my heart's good!

Do you ever worry about having something wrong with you that you are totally unaware of? I sometimes just want to be scanned and hear, "It's all good." I learned, recently, that it is called an executive physical. You can apparently pay big money for someone to tell you you're good. I found a free way while preparing dinner in the comfort of my own home this evening. The kids were playing in Lillian's room and I was getting dinner on the table (Peter was a work.). I heard a huge crash from the back of the house, the kind that sends you running. As I'm running, I hear Lillian screaming in terror. I arrive to find Grayson 100% under Lillian's dresser with drawers coming out. I really, really thought he might be dead or at least badly injured. Lillian was also screaming that she was hurt. I had to lift the dresser and drag Grayson out. He was alert with no blood, but silent. Silent didn't seem good. As I held him, he started to cry, but it was several minutes before he could say if anything way hurt. His eye was clearly hurt with a bump under the eye. After a little while, he perked up and started climbing again. Lillian was hit with the falling dresser in the arm and foot. She was okay, but very freaked out by the incident.

To be honest, I am still freaked out by the incident. It shows you how things can change drastically in an instant. I often worry about getting all sorts of things done around the house in a day, but sometimes say, "In truth, if everyone is alive at the end of the day. I did a good job." I hope I can keep those two relatively safe until adulthood. It is a full time job. I hope I can keep myself alive until they are adults. I am clear that my heart is in good condition because, otherwise, I would have had a heart attack, tonight. I really think I should seriously consider the helmet for Grayson's Christmas present. I don't think I'll be able to keep him from climbing. The dresser incident maybe slowed him down for thirty minutes.

This all leads me back to the sucker (lollipop) thing. The first time I took Lillian to the doctor was about a week or two after her birth. I hadn't taken her out much and definitely not alone. I got there on time and only forgot the diaper bag in the car. The nurse just said to take a seat. I felt like it was this huge thing and she didn't even acknowledge it. As Lillian got older and Grayson came along, I noticed that the kids get suckers for getting a shot, stitches, and all sorts of things. I don't want to be a jerk, but who really needs a sucker after something like that. (The mom!) I'm thinking about about getting myself a sucker jar for days like today, when I get to the end of the day. Somedays I just think... 'You dealt with some hard stuff like dressers on your kid and you still had to cook dinner, read books and put them to bed. Girl you deserve a sucker!'

Problems in Paradise

G's room.
Originally uploaded by Melanie Maynor.

I am still unclear why, but Grayson never went to sleep during naps. He is usually a great napper, but perhaps the cold medicine kept him awake. He played for two hours in his room without ever calling me. When it was time to get up, I couldn't get his door open. He had pulled everything in his room out including all of the clothes in his closet. This photo is the proof. When asked what happened, he replied, "We have a super big problem!" I thought he was going to be my neat child. I may need therapy.

Cold News

We don't have much to report here. The kids are both sick with colds and Lillian has a fever. I don't enjoy them being sick, but the extra snuggle time is wonderful. The stopped up noses make for very cute sounding wordage from them.
Grayson: Mama, my sick. My watch a moooooovie.
In a way, it is nice to have to stay home for a few days and not jump up to get somewhere. I worked, today, but plan a lazy day in my pajamas with them tomorrow.

I have been spending most of my free time sewing. I just finished my first quilt. It is a Christmas present for Lillian. See photos of the process on my flickr pics. I have made several bags and just finished a purse. I am really enjoying the creative outlet. I have just started to turn out things that I am mostly pleased with in the end. I keep asking Peter if he wants a man bag for Christmas. I suggested camo. He doesn't. I guess I'll have to learn to make boxers or something. Those seem hard. Well, I am worn out and am headed to my flannel sheets and electric blanket. They are two of the few things I like about cold weather.

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

We had a fun Thanksgiving with friends from church. We didn't eat until 4p.m. which proved to make for a fun filled day of cooking and hanging out with friends. All went well and we will be eating turkey for many more days. The night before Thanksgiving, the kids and I went to John and Andrea's for pie nite. This is about the best party ever. Everyone brings pie and you just eat pie with a few snacks for dinner. It was like a pie sampling. Oh so fun and yummy! I will definitely be kind to them this year to ensure another invite to such a wonderful event.

Friday morning we woke up to our second very cold morning in a row. We bundled up(Peter put on his normal 25 winter layers.) and headed to Lebannon, IL to cut down our Christmas tree. We rode in the truck and listened to Christmas music. We even saw a dusting of snow on the houses in Illinois. It was a fun trip! Lebannon is a cute little town that reminded me of St. Franicisville, LA (a town about five minutes from my dad's house). The Christmas tree farm was not the best, but the kids had hot chocolate and rode in a wagon out to the tree fields. We picked a skinny tree for our living room and were pleased with the way it fit upon arriving home. We trekked back to St. Louis for our second Thanksgiving of leftovers. Why are they always better?

For years, I have had a color coordinated "royal" tree with purple and gold and christmon (sp?) symbols. I was a little sad to make the switch to family tree. We ended up having plenty of ornaments from the kids and such to fill the tree. The best thing about this year was that Lillian helped me decorate it. I am glad to have someone as in to decorating the tree as me. We had a couple of minor altercations about placement. Peter suggested that we both wanted to be in charge. (Shocker!) All in all, it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas here at the Maynor house and we love Christmas!

Funny Moment

I got Grayson undressed for his bath the other night. He looked over his shoulder...
G: Mama, I have a bootie on my back!
M: We all do buddy.

Waiting

I suppose waiting is a fact of life. We all spend a lot of time waiting for all sorts of things. I am aware of all the time Graygray spends waiting. He spends time waiting for Lillian to come home from school and Peter to come home from work. On this day, Peter and Lillian had gone to run a few errands. G was beside himself for them to come home. I walked in the living room to find he had put a chair on top of the radiator and was waiting.

Narnia

Lillian, Peter and I took a trip to Narnia last night. A local church performed the musical. It was wonderful and really touched my heart. Lillian loved having a private date with mama and daddy. She really enjoyed the musical and didn't seem to get scared. It wasn't over until 10pm which was later than we had anticipated. She was sound asleep in her carseat before we were out of the parking lot. She choose the outfit featured in the picture because it reminded her of Lucy. Also note that Peter is sporting less facial hair.

Today's wordage

"Daddy Thomas Maynor, look at me!" - Lillian

Quote of the day

G is sitting on the potty. He says he has pooped. Peter says he hasn't and to keep trying. Very excitedly, G responds....

"My almost pooped, daddy. My almost pooped!!!"

All dressed up

All dressed up
Originally uploaded by Melanie Maynor.

Here are the kids dressed up with our friend, Emily. Lillian was a princess with purple hair and G was Mike the Tiger.