Popeye Diagnosis

I've finally found out what afflicts Popeye. It's called Bell's Palsy. Its a sudden onset paralysis of one side of the face, very often with no known cause. It usually goes away after a short time on its own, but Popeye obviously has a permanent case. Interesting enough, it tends to afflict pregnant women at a higher rate then normal.

I yam what I yam!
That's the diagnosis I was given as well.
Yesterday I woke up with a fat lip and put it down as a reaction to a plant I was trimming. It couldn't be the mango, I insisted although mom was doubtful. Then this morning, my right eye had trouble watering (and apparently blinking) and I had trouble chewing because my jaw felt tight. A little nervous, I called my doctor and they advised going to the emergency room. That was really upsetting. So mom came and watched Meghan while Kyle took me. Luckily it seems to only be Bell's Palsy and should go away on its own. They did give me some drugs to take although I wonder if it is really necessary.

Here is mom telling me to smile. My reaction: "I am smiling!"

But that made me laugh.

And here I am trying to close my right eye. It won't close on its own.
So have fun laughing at the diseased pregnant lady, you mean person you.

Better than Television

The house we've moved into has a shed, but unfortunately the shed is full of rats. So Grandpa and the boys came to help clean it out of junk and rat poo. Meghan was so excited that her uncles had come to play with her. But when they went outside and she learned she couldn't go too, she had a royal fit. So, we rigged her up in her high chair with some snacks so she could watch the action. We had a good view and it was very entertaining.

The boys would come up to the window and wave to Meghan. She tried offering them grapes, but they were not interested.

All of a sudden, a high squeal rang from the shed. Grandpa had found the rats! Hans the Hunter took care of one of them with his dual knife skills. It takes lots of talent to kill rats with just knives. They finished emptying the shed and sprayed it down.

Meghan was glad when the boys came in to entertain her again. They clapped for her and Hans belly danced for her. Meghan kept trying to make his stomach stop wiggling by hitting it but it only made him laugh.
All in all it was a fun day - at least for those of us not cleaning out the shed.

Meghan's New Desk

Meghan got a desk from a garage sale. Unfortunately, the only thing she does with it is climb in it. Here she is with her "look, I'm being naughty but I sure am cute" expression.

Pretty Pink Dress

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Here is Meghan in a pretty pink dress her aunt Sonia gave her.

Laying Carpet

Since our new house is entirely floored in tile, we decided to purchase a rug for Meghan to play on. Well, Meghan plays on it all right. I think she might be aiming for a career in carpet laying. One of her favorite things to do is roll up the carpet and she gets mad at us when we unroll it.

Our New House

After a year in Maryland, Kyle decided to head south to warmer weather. We have moved to Florida where sunny skies and sandy beaches fulfill the most seasoned tourist's daydreams. And apparently, renting a place for 6 months or less is one condition of being a tourist which will result in an 11% tourist tax. So here is the picture of our house, at least for the next 6 1/2 months until we figure out exactly what we're doing down here.

Justice is Served

Three of the boys flew up from Florida to help us move. On the drive home, not only did I get lost and end up in Washington DC, but a huge storm hit. There was blinding rain, bumper to bumper traffic and the occasional tree branch in the road. It was the tree branches that caused the most concern to the boys. "Pull over Tanya! We can get that out of the road!" Stressed as I was by the traffic conditions, I refused. "They pay people to do that," I snapped. At that point I was lectured long and hard by three angelic boys who sincerely believed in serving others and being good Samaritans. "You better pull over for the next one, or you'll be punished," they said. "A tree branch will fall on your car." Knowing there was no way a tree branch would fall on my car, I drove past three more fallen branches. The boys bemoaned my compounding sin and escalated their prophecies of punishment. "A tree branch is going to fall on your house!" After two or three hours of driving, we finally made it home and to my despair, I discovered that I had been punished.
Two large tree branches from the neighbor's huge tree had fallen and smashed part of the fence. They were so big that the boys were only able to move one of them. We moved out of the house two days later so we didn't have to worry about it too much.

At the Pool

Meghan loves playing in the water. Here are some pictures from the pool at our house in Maryland.

Nom Nom Toes!

We're testing the new-fangled video embedding that Mom has mastered. Here is Meghan having an afternoon snack.

Kyle's New Guitar

Kyle's old guitar has started having problems and to repair it would be more than it is worth. This new one guitar is so that he can continue to enjoy his online guitar lessons. I think it is a very pretty guitar, for an electric guitar that is.

Crib Bottle

Meghan gets a bottle every night in her crib. Sometimes, in the morning she decides that she wants juice from her bottle. The only problem is that the bottle won't fit between the crib slats. Being the clever girl that she is, Meghan quickly found a way to still get her juice.

Toilet Paper Rolls

Meghan likes to play with toilet paper rolls. Here is her with one on each arm.

More Cuteness

Wearing Mom's Sunday Shoes

Crashing on the Floor

Not Wanting to Eat an Apple

Strolley!!

Meghan loves the stroller. She will climb in on her own and then get mad at me for not taking her on a walk. Here she is taking her baby for a walk.

Happy Birthday to Us!

Kyle and I celebrated out birthdays last month. For Kyle's birthday, he got online jazz guitar lessons. For my birthday, I got several movies: The Thief and the Cobbler, The Return of the King (cartoon version), Chocolat, and one more that hasn't come in the mail yet but that I suspect is The Pebble and the Penguin based on what Kyle has been singing for the last week or two. Kyle also got me an ice cream cake! I have always wanted an ice cream cake for my birthday and now I got one! It was delicious. Meghan liked the candles a lot. She even managed to blow one out! She is a very talented little girl.

Update: OK, my last movie wasn't The Pebble and the Penguin. Kyle tricked me. Instead it was A Troll in Central Park. Tricky Tricky Kyle.

Playing Outside

Meghan LOVES being outside. And the weather has finally warmed up enough that she can be outside to her heart's content. Well, she's never there that long because she always screams when I bring her in for trivial things like dinner or to stop her eating dirt. "Outside! Outside!" is on of the many phrases I hear everyday, along with "Strolley?" "Walk!" and "NO!! NOOOOOOOO!"

These little garden statues are some of her "babies." She loves her babies although her loving has caused tippages and broken babies.

And this is Meghan's favorite activity. Digging in the dirt. I frequently have to sweep the patio because she likes to fetch it from wherever she is digging.

Baby #2

24 Weeks Pregnant

Well, I guess I forgot to make an official announcement. Baby #2 is on its way! August 21 is the due date, but since due dates are really just approximations (Only 5% of women deliver on their due date), I generally say I am due in August.

So is it a boy or a girl?!?!?!?! We don't know. We had the ultrasound, but the baby was very shy. I've heard that if its legs are together then its a girl and if its hand is down there its a boy. But Baby had both its legs together AND its hand down there, so either it this is a case of identity confusion or the baby just doesn't want us to know.

I do have ultrasound pictures, but since I don't have a scanner, you'll have to be satisfied with a generic picture.

Swiss Family Butt

We're going to live in my parent's treehouse! Well, we would if it looked as cool as this. Florida has enticed Kyle with its siren song promising warm, sunny beaches and verdant growth. So, we are moving south in June. Don't worry, we won't be destitute bums living off my parents. Kyle has a job lined up. Now my only problem is finding an ob-gyn who is VBAC friendly...