Poo poo surprise!

We should have paid attention to the signs....little baby farts....little smells that stunk to the high heavens. We're professionals now, we should have seen this one coming.

I suppose like all parents do at times, we let our guard down and it bit us. Our little angel took advantage of our naivety and we had the first poo poo surprise......in the bath tub.

How does one deal with a poo poo surprise you ask? With something resembling shock and awe...a small gag reflex, and then some amount of instinct kicks in. It all started with the squash. Reese is eating baby food twice each day now. Tonight, she ate squash and while it went down, I don't think it was her favorite. I'm sort of shocked by that because anything would taste better than that swill called formula ever could. Squash was creating a bit of a gag late in the game and we decided that it was probably enough for the evening and gave her a little rice cereal with apples and she woofed it down.

We go to the Family Tradition for dinner and Reese was a little ham...just smiling away, playing her game of drop the clean toy on the dirty floor. Everything was fine. We come home, get prepped for a bath....and commence to soaking with the bath toys. A couple toots rang out from Reese's behind and like Pan playing the flute we were laughing and giggling, dancing wildly into trouble.

Bubble, bubble....braaaampft.....the tub rumbles from underwater noises. I laugh because the bursting bubbles reveal an aroma unknown to my nose with Reese...."DAMMIT!" I exclaim...."That smells HORRIBLE!" Kim comes back laughing...hehehehe hohohoho...ah......oh no....OH.....OH NO!

Reese was pooping in the tub. The poop had not broken form just yet and so the thought was that maybe I could lift her out of the sewage tub now with no issue.....I lift Reese....the poop breaks form. Almost like a drop of dye in a cup of water, the poop races to every corner of the tub and becomes all encompassing. Toys are mired in a soggy concoction of poopy bath water...Kim picks them out which I find amazing. Ask us two years ago if we will pick up poopy toys in the bath and our response is probably something along the lines of "those toys don't even make it to the trash...we burn 'em."

Kim, brilliantly, lays out a new diaper for me to toss Reese upon and then we ponder what to do with the stew left before us.....It DARE NOT go down the sink. Too messy to poor into the toilet. Outside....that's it, but how? I'll carry it Kim, you open the door. Kim works toward the back door for which I immediately think of Baxter....he would eat it. I know he would. Bax is disgusting when it comes to food. If he'll vomit and then eat that....he'd eat wet baby shit for sure.

Out the front door.....Isn't there some saying about throwing the baby out with the bath water?? Well, we tossed the former contents of the baby out. I wonder if the Cleyera bushes well grow to a lush deep green color now, or will they wilt from the funk?

Ahh yes....the joy and wonderment of parenting. If I could narrate this story and choose a background song, I would choose the Doobie Brothers "Black Water" and in a voice like Larry Munson....that voice could really add some drama to the text don't you think?

We're officially disgusting.

Behind....waaaaay behind.....

HAPPY SIX MONTHS REESIE PIE!!!!!!!

I'm late on updates for several major reasons....1st - the father figure has been out of town again and in keeping with not advertising that to the entire world via the web - Posts have been delayed. 2nd - when said father figure is out of town, it is ALLLL she can do for the Mother figure to keep the world straight at night - much less post....Reese is a handful for one person now. 3rd - when said Mother figure and Father figure have their beautiful daughter in the bed...the parental units tend to want sleep as well so late night posts are slipping a skosh.

So it's update time and the first order of business is that Reese went to the Dr. today for her six month appointment. She weighs 20 lbs 10oz and is 27 1/4 inches long. The rampant weight gain has stopped (Thank you Lord) and her length/height is still moving upwards. All signs are good and we are now cleared for baby food twice a day! We may even drop one bottle every day now - ooooh wouldn't that be nice!

We have had a sleep issue since Saturday night that Kim got to work out while I was gone Sunday until today. Reese woke up Saturday night all sorts of cross threaded on her breathing and spit up. She was coughing, gagging, spitting, sneezing, tearing up, her head was all splotchy like she was almost having an allergy attack. It was pretty rough. The poor thing would gag and cough and she just couldn't get out of this funk and Kim basically hung with her Saturday night ALL night since I had to leave Sunday morning. They both slept periodically but Reese didn't want anything to do with laying down for most of the night. Well, that led into fears about Sunday night with me not here and Kim being the lone ranger. Nothing significant happened but Reese acted a little hesitant about going back to the bed....aka the Choke Chamber - for her anyway.

Sunday and Monday were better and now as I post on Tuesday night, Reese is sleeping in her bed and actually went down reasonably well considering the issues since Saturday. Our Doc says its nothing to worry about and we could add some cereal to her last bottle in case this is acid reflux....I don't know what cereal will do to stop that but it's not the first time I've heard the cereal thing either.

Back at the homestead, I will be taking off the next two weeks on Thursday and Friday in order to finish a bathroom remodel that we've teased. I hope his goes well because Kim will probably shoot me if this goes on for much longer. I'm so glad to take some time off no matter if I'm working or not around the house. I'm just toasted with work and I need some down time. Hopefully tile work is soothing for the soul - somehow I doubt that it is but it has to be better than the norm.

We'll hit up a What is Reese Doing Now post in the next few days so keep checking in.

Just pics

New schedule....

We're trying something new right now...Nope, no new food or a new outfit or anything like that but a new schedule. We're so hoping this doesn't back fire.

Reese just seems so sleepy in the mornings and the thought process is that she isn't quite getting the sleep that she needs. Naps are a little less frequent and the "quality" of the nap is sort of on the low side. So we thought this out....just let her sleep until we have to wake her and send her off with a full belly to Krissy's. She'll essentially sleep - uninterrupted - for an additional hour and change. All total the only gain is around 30 minutes in the morning but in the evenings, because of the later bottle to start the day, she really gets to go to bed about an hour sooner. Meaning this schedule is netting her an additional hour or two of sleep every day.

Now...all of this costs something. A full bottle. Again, there is hope that the Dr. will allow additional rice feedings or maybe baby food feedings can start and these will sort of keep her fire stoked in terms of chow and maybe the "lost" bottle will not be missed.

Good Lord....feeding a baby is like figuring an algebraic equation right now.

On an entirely different note, the flood waters have receded and I was actually able to mow the yard today and I noticed a rampant amount of fungal activity in the yard. Dollar spot, fairy ring, leaf spot, etc.....I'm certainly not complaining because many families are dealing with true life disasters so my yard is nothing more than an observance and not in any way a notable issue. It was just nice to see the sun and mow again. Here's to hoping that the sun brings brighter days to those affected by the flooding.

15 inches in 24 hours....

yep...you read that correctly. This is basically a pic post of some of the flooding close to home today. The flooding was spread all around but locally the impact was pretty large with a major highway that joins into I-75 flooding completely at one spot.

Sunday Summary....

Kim and I have been contemplating our next move...I'm thinking if she gets a few animals and I grab some, we should be able to find a make-shift Ark to float away on because if the rain doesn't stop soon....we'll be looking for higher ground.

It wasn't many weeks ago that the local news corp was preaching that it might take YEARS for Lake Lanier to fill up because of the EPIC drought we were in. Uh....yeah, about the drought....its sort of over and to think some folks were flipping out that the State declared the drought over not too long ago. If it wasn't then...it is now.

Now, tie this together with my bike ride on Saturday and you have a total wash out from word go. It rained on the way to the ride, it stopped ever so briefly right at the beginning of the ride, and then it started around mile 4. Not just a light rain....a mist or anything...no, a downpour. It did that until one of the rest stops and then it started right back at the decision point to ride 48 or just skimp and ride 31 miles.










The decision point is the big pic and the small one on the right.....uh......torrential DOWN POUR. So I chilled for a bit and talked to a couple other riders and then it just hit me....do it. Go ahead, you're wet already - how much worse can it get? So I took the 48 mile path and fortunately it didn't get too much worse but all in all it was a super wet ride. I started to hit the wall again around mile 34-ish....because I hadn't really stocked up on food but a rest stop saved me and I ended up peddling right at 50 miles (because of some rest stop detours) and kept a pace around 14.8 miles per hour which I thought was pretty respectable. What I did learn is that I am slow, I have the wrong equipment, I have very little stamina, and girls were CRUISING past me keeping up with amazingly fast guys and I was just blown away. Not that I don't think ladies can hang but I was just impressed all to hell with some of these women. They were super fast and none of the A/B riders even looked winded in the late miles. Amazing.

So I've got a goal to work toward.....

Now, to family matters. Reese dressed in appropriate attire for a young lady on Saturday's in the south by wearing her new UGA outfit - supplied by the very soul that tarnished the family with a Tennessee outfit. You have indeed made amends for the travesty and can now be invited to our home for a future game yet to be decided. Prior to the love offering, it was going to be dicey. (I'm so just kidding....thanks again Robin for both outfits :D)


The Dawgs pretty well decided that defense was simply unnecessary in Arkansas so they showed up with offense...thank goodness. The UT / FL debacle took place Saturday as well and I was impressed with the showing that UT made against the Army of God....hmph..sorry....Tim Tebow's team. But Reese told me that she didn't see much to cheer about so she took a nap.

Sunday has been another wash out. Just a complete mess. In some ways I'm actually looking forward to the work week because there is a chance that we'll have a day with no rain later on in the week. And another milestone happens this week. Reese turns six months old! I don't know that you throw a party for a 6 month old but what stinks is that I'll miss most of the day with her. I suppose that Reese will be fine without me that day but it's just an amazing thing that she is 6 months old now. The time is just flying by and there is no real way to slow it down.

In any case, we hope its a good week for everyone and that it stops raining at some point!

Prepping for Saturday...

One more day and I have to do this for real....I have to ride in a pack of - more than likely - well trained cyclist and keep pace. Oh I'm sure that there will be enthusiasts there...stroller types...Sunday poke arounds...but there will be a large number of real riders as well. I'm a little nervous about this. I don't have a road bike...I ride a hybrid which isn't all that great for road OR trail but could feasibly do both if asked to. Am I going to stand out like a sore thumb in a crowd of bike jersey wearing go fast types?

I haven't ridden any miles since the Friday that I attempted the 48 miles until tonight and I went out and blistered my lap of Towne Lake with a 28:57 performance...my best time ever. Two weeks off kept my legs from responding to the burn but I was gassed at the end which isn't all that normal now. But I can't keep that pace Saturday....

Only riding 7 miles tonight and then trying to pull off 48 Saturday....I'll need to pace myself...listen to slower music...fall in with a decent paced group...but will "my pace" exist? We'll see. I'll finally learn if I'm ok at this new hobby or if I need to train like hell through the winter and try again in the spring.

I'm excited about this but I almost liked the solitude of the ride two Friday's ago. No pressure, no idle chat when I didn't feel like it, no pace to keep....just my legs begging to pull over and something in my head saying nope...not yet. I like that. I haven't had that feeling in a long time in a "sport". So don't look for me in a brightly colored jersey and blowing the doors off of the pack....but look for my big butt to finish this ride and toast a cold beer when I'm done.

I just hope it doesn't rain on me...that would suck.

My girls...

Toe' up from the flo' up.....

For those that don't speak the tongue....that says "Tore up from the floor up", which is the world that we have been living in - well, in terms of our master bath at least. When we moved into this house, we immediately recognized the long vanity in the master bath as something from Munchkin Land. Only little people would be suited to use the sinks and the tile was a mix of new, old, cracked, and ugly. Needless to say, the bath didn't seal the deal - but it is big and that made it tolerable. With that in mind, we decided to finally do something about the situation a couple weeks ago and hired a pro to re-do the shower and the tub surround. I'll attempt to handle the floor and vanity replacement along with the gigantic mirror above the sinks.....See before, during, and almost done (phase I anyway)
















The grout lines are cracked badly in the floor of the shower, the tile line is less than head high in the shower as well, there is a tacky step into the tub which is dangerous at best and useless at worst, and then that brown paint....ugh.

















Step gone, mold cleaned up, subfloor was surprisingly ok...thank you Lord.









Backer board applied, pan set, sealed for moisture, taped and ready for tile.










Tile surrounding the tube and working up the shower....













Getting higher...And almost done.

I'll save a complete pic until the entire room is done but you get the idea. This is SOOOO much better than where we were. I imagine that another month will do it.....yeah, pause for a minute and absorb that. I'm taking time off to do the floors and the vanity will not be here for another three weeks. We'll be able to use the shower on Wednesday but my intent is to start pull tile from the floor ever so slowly over the next few days. We'll see if I'm handy at all.

Quick update on other things, Papa and Gramma came down for the first time since Mom's second knee surgery and they enjoyed a little time with Reese today. She was in a really good mood and just her happy normal self. We've truly been blessed with a great little girl and we're just so happy to be her parents. Nothing major outside of the bath remodel....we'll update later in the week.

Just pics....

I've been out of town again and Reese is so much more of a handful for Kim so posts have been behind. In fact, I'm just going to post a few of pics from late in the week and today's visit to Scott and Michelle's for the game. Hopefully the Dawgs can pull it off....More on Sunday.

Labor Day....

We're coming off of a 4 day weekend and we have pushed Reese all day everyday. Friday was bike day and Kim took Reese to Calhoun, then back up there for Nana's retirement party on Saturday, then over to Cartersville for a surprise birthday luau for Auntie Nadine on Sunday, and FINALLY a day that wasn't all that scripted and we still did some running around with Pooks.

Sunday night....she was TY-RED.
She slept in very well this morning giving Mommy and Daddy a small break from the norm and she played with puppy. Check the hair and her Mommy's puffy morning eyes.....
Even Bax decided to relax today...
Some of the pics from yesterday include hanging with Nana and with Mommy and Celeste.










And Daddy trying to make the same face as Reese....
We've had an awesome weekend and I'm not ready for it to end. I believe in an effort to deliver a better work / life balance, we should only work four days every week!