Sunday, February 20, 2011

My sick boys....

Well, this weekend has gone from bad to worse. I'll start from the beginning.....when everyone was healthy.

Wednesday we took Carson to the doctor for his 9 month checkup. He's doing great: 20 lbs (50th percentile) and 27 inches long (70th-80th percentile). The doctor said he is "perfect"....her words, not mine! :)  Of course I have to agree though!

Ok, back to why the Hodges household is a DO NOT ENTER zone right now.

While in the waiting room at the doctors office, Carson was playing with the toys. His version of playing right now is trying to put everything in his mouth. We can only stop him for so long before he beats us to the punch, therefore, some of the toys made contact with his mouth.

Everything was fine on Wednesday and Thursday, but then around 12:30am Friday morning, he started crying. That is not like Carson so we knew something was wrong. I went in there and rocked him back to sleep. I thought I smelled spit up so I checked his bed and sure enough he had thrown up all over his crib. My first thought: he picked up a bug at the doctors office....ick. So, now we get to wake up daddy! As I'm holding Carson and waking up Greg, he throws up all over me (Carson that is). So, as Greg changes the sheets, I change my clothes and Carson's clothes. Back to the rocking chair with Carson. I'm about to put him back in his crib and he starts coughing and throws up on the both of us again. So, we change clothes....again. Finally, he went back down for the rest of the night, or should I say morning.

The plan was to use our babysitter, Tara, on Friday night, prior to all of the puking. Greg calls me after lunch and says we need to cancel - Carson has blasted through four diapers and had to change clothes all four times, plus he's already taked two baths. Poor Greg, Carson was either puking or pooping all day. By time I got home from work, the worst was over. Greg kept asking me if I smelled poop but everything smelled fine to me. But, once you get it on you, there's no getting that smell out of your nose (those w/ kids know exactly what I'm talking about).

Carson made it through the night and was in great shape yesterday (still kind of runny diapers, but I wasn't too worried). Then 3:30am this morning hit. Greg made a beeline to the bathroom.....guess who has it now? Poor guy. And, to top it off, when I went to get Carson this morning he had another runny diaper and it was all over his crib! Therefore, another bath this morning. He surely has to be the cleanest kid on the block right now!

So, nurse Bonney is in full force today! I'm just praying that I don't get it. I don't know how we could maintain if all three of us are sick. Carson's attitude is good - I think his is wrapping up. Greg, unfortunately, I think is just getting started. I've locked him in the bedroom and I keep bringing him fluids and checking on him. Erica - where are you?? I need a REAL nurse in the house!!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

This past Saturday I kicked Greg out of the house...

 That's right, you heard it here....I kicked Greg out of the house!

But only for a few hours. I decided that Greg needed some time to be, well, Greg. Not daddy...just Greg! So, he decided to go for a bike ride along the beach. This was also a good time for just Carson and I to hang out. I honestly don't know the last time it was just the two of us.

The weather was perfect, so we took full advantage of it! After lunch, Carson and I loaded up and headed up to Manhattan Beach to do a little window shopping. Carson is such a good boy when we're out and about. So many things to look at - people, cars, skateboards, bicycles, dogs and bright colored clothing! We were able to sit outside for lunch and do some people watching too!

Late in the afternoon, we met up with Greg at the Redondo Beach Pier to watch out friend Jacky sing at a local restaurant. (I used to work with Jacky at ISN). We heard a few songs and headed home - Carson needed to crawl around and burn some energy.

We all had a great day! Although we love hanging out together as a family, I was excited that Greg could have some time to himself and that it could just be me and Carson for awhile too!

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Hair, Texas and Chaps...

How do all of these words relate? Well, I'll tell you how it all came together today.

I got my hair cut and colored today. This is the second time I've been to this lady, Angela. She's petite, somewhat quiet and English (Missy, you would love her accent!). While she was coloring my hair, we were comparing notes on local restaurants and places to check out in the area. Side note, the great thing about the area we live in is there are very few chain restaurants so lots of new places to eat!

Angela mentioned this place called Texas Looseys. I was sold, obviously, since it had Texas in the name! So, we decided to check it out for dinner tonight.

We pull up and it looks like a fun place to eat and hang out! We walk in, still looking good - like a good old fashioned Texas restaurant. Then our waitress shows up.....in a cowboy hat and chaps. Yes, short shorts, a tiny top and chaps. I could barely order a drink - I was so confused. So many thoughts were racing through my mind. Sweet, British Angela recommended this place? Is this what Californians think Texas is like? Do they think we all walk around wearing chaps and cowboy hats? Surely the owner of this restaurant isn't actually from Texas? Thank goodness they weren't very busy - I'd hate for anyone to see us here!

So, we went with it...knowing we'd have plenty of laughs to share! And honestly, the food wasn't horrible, however, we agreed that we probably would not be making a return trip anytime soon!

Friday, February 11, 2011

Chase the ball!

We'll start this with a thank you to Granny for the loud rolling balls that go with the cement mixing toy truck. These balls haves been quite the hit at the Hodges house lately. They are loud and roll very easily on the wood floors - double bonus!

Here's a video of Carson playing his new favorite game!!

Party at our house!

Oh, how I've missed having people over to the house. Cooking, watching the game, having a few drinks, talking, laughing, etc. Since we've been in California, we haven't had much of an opportunity to entertain guests. But, that all changed when we had a Super Bowl Party last weekend!

Jacky (a sweet girl I used to work with that now lives in LA) and Chris (my current co-worker) were both able to come over. It was great that they could meet each other. Chris is new to town and Jacky's been here for a year - she can show him the ropes and introduce him to some people. Plus, they know a lot of the same ISN people.

In true Hodges fashion, we had plenty of food! Chips, salsa, guacamole, corn dip, fajitas, sausage and ribs. And most importantly, black and white bread pudding for dessert! It was all SO delicious!

At a meeting this week, I was joking that I probably only saw about 5 minutes of the game because I was too busy talking (shocker). Someone in the meeting told me that there's only 11 minutes of actual football play time in any given game. Sure enough, that's true. Now my story sounds much better...I saw half of the game! haha Here's an article I found from the Wall Street Journal last year backing up this information: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704281204575002852055561406.html

To end the evening, we ate dessert on the patio! How fun is that?! Here's a few pictures of our new patio furniture! We just love it!



We had a great time and will hopefully have a few more get-togethers at our house soon! We've met two couples that have kids close to Carson's age. We're ready to introduce them to some Texas style (Hodges style) kinda cookin'!