a little bit Lowder now...

stream of consciousness

2010-12-05T11:24:00.000-06:00

i'm bored. mike is at the flat making some repairs with his dad. we got an offer on the flat and we hope to close on dec 20! this is huge and will really help b/c i've been on disability and probably will be until i come back from maternity leave. i'm going to miss the place, but we haven't lived there in 4+ years and we're ready to not be landlords anymore.

i have NO friggin' idea of what to get mike for christmas!! we agreed to just do $20 stocking stuffers this year. given that i can't really shop and he's given me NO hints ... I AM CLUELESS! any ideas?

Claire and i just got our hair cut. Claire's is a little shorter than i anticipated but it looks pretty and healthy and we can actually get a comb through it without all the tangles she had with her long hair. she looks older and taller *tear*.

OB update: i've gained about 3 lbs back since the 7 or so i gained at the hospital. i've had a picc line and tpn for a little over 2 weeks and i'm very slowly making progress. mostly it looks like less nausea in the mornings, but i'm still pretty sick at night. baby girl is doing well and we get to have another ultrasound on Dec 6 to see how she's growing. lots of ultra sounds are one benefit of having a high risk pregnancy i guess!

today after mike gets home we're going to another thanksgiving at his mom's house. here's hoping i can eat one of my favorite meals!

it's been a while

2010-11-14T09:50:00.001-06:00

i just read my last post. i had forgotten how good i felt right after getting the pump. things are pretty different now. i had to go to the ER for the third time on Oct 23 and they ended up admitting me to antepartum for 3 days. i gained some weight back in the hospital, i was down over 22 pounds. my OB put me on bedrest, so i've been at home for the last 3 weeks or so. the nausea and vomitting has actually gotten worse, but in general i think the bedrest is really good for me. it was getting increasingly difficult to maintain a regular work week much less a work day. now all i have to worry about is resting and trying to eat.

in the hospital we found out we're having a GIRL!! everyone is super excited to have another little princess around the lowder house. we got to see some 3D images of her and i think she's beautiful. although i readily admit the 3D pictures are fairly creepy.

my mom has come up the last two weekends and that's been a huge help. mike's needed to do some work on the flat in the city, so i'm not alone with claire all day. last night she made my grandpa stallone's sauce and meatballs and i wanted to eat it soo bad. so i did! and actually kept it down. that's huge for me as i haven't been able to eat dinner in weeks and rarely keep stuff down in the evening.

so i'll probably be home until baby girl arrives. company and phone calls are always welcomed! it helps to break up my day.

2nd time in ER :(

2010-09-16T12:04:00.000-05:00

I had a fairly good weekend of laying around, getting good rest, eating some IHOP chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, etc. But things took a turn for the worse on Sunday afternoon. I started vomitting around noon and did every 40 minutes or so for the next 8-9 hours. I had to break down and call my mommy b/c with Mike sick with a bad cold/allergy thing and did i mention i have an energetic 4-year who can only entertain herself for so long!? Mom came to the rescue - literally and drove up on sunday night from columbia. By the time she got here I was in worse shape and we quickly realized I needed to go back to the ER. I was worried the next step would be the dreaded zofran pump, but i knew i needed help holding down fluids and my medicine.

So mom drove me to St. John's late Sunday night. After a barfing pit stop on the side of the highway :( i was treated for dehydration and nausea for several hours. Mom and I got to see another ultra-sound image of the baby. The ER doc warned us that it was too early to probably detect gender, and he didn't see any privies, but he did specifically mention that the baby had "big, beautiful hands". He (the doc) was really cute and sweet to me during my stay and was genuinely excited to show me the images on the screen. It really does make you feel SO much better! The baby was just as active as last time, moving all around. Made me really happy to see and I'm glad mom could see it too.

I spent the next day sleeping most of the day on Monday. My OB told me to start the process of ordering the zofran pump when i returned from the ER. By Tuesday I was back at work and that night the home health nurse came to hook me up to the pump. Mike was a sweetheart and he relearned how to use all of the medical equiptment and give me the injections I'll need every 2-3 days. It hurt, but not as bad as I remember. The system is a little different than it was 4 years ago with Claire. The pump and carrier are WAY bigger this go around, but the good news is that we don't have to constantly refill the medication syringe every 10-18 hours - I get one full week's worth of medicine at a time. The home health nurse will make a home visit every Tuesday and give me a new kit. So now I have this big ol' fanny pack on my hip, I can also carry it as a purse or over my shoulder like a medicine bag, but I guess I like the hip the best b/c it's the most hands free. Claire has tons of questions about the pump. "Mommy is your boo boo better? Why is the medicine clear (she can see the liquid throught the tubing) Are you OK? Does is hurt? Why do you have it?" and on and on and on.

On an awesome, stupendous (as Claire would say) note - I have been feeling wonderful!!! I mean, I can't believe it. The night I first got the pump I ended up puking twice after the nurse left. But the next day we had an all-day staff retreat at work and in the afternoon I actually went bowling with my co-workers! I even got a strike baby! I couldn't believe how good I was doing. When I came home from work that night I skipped my usual nap and went downstairs and started painting a gift for friends who are having a baby soon. I've been meaning to do it for weeks and have just not felt up to it.

I'm writing this on Thursday afternoon and I feel great! I'm hungry, going to meet a friend for lunch at Westport and we have plans to take Claire to see "Disney on Ice" tonight - which I didn't think I would be able to attend. I'm so excited! and I really hope it's not a fluke and it's a result of the medicine pump. It's a fashion faux pas and a real pain in the ass (or thigh), but if I feel this good the rest of the pregnancy it is DEFINATELY worth it!

Thank you friends and family for all of your kind phone calls, emails, facebook messages and prayers. They really do make a difference.

First Hospital Visit

2010-09-03T13:16:00.000-05:00

Tuesday started out as a normal day. Went to work, ate a good lunch, even went shopping for my much needed maternity pants. It wasn't until just after dinner that I couldn't stop puking. unfortunate timing b/c mike was having the guys over for band rehearsal and i was adding my own soundtrack in the hallway bathroom. It was pretty much relentless all night. At one point, poor Clairey came running down to get Mike in the basement going "Doctor! Doctor!". There wasn't much to do but watch my pity party, location - bathroom, VIPs - one (and 1/2).

That evening I literally got ZERO sleep. nada. i eventually got up to make myself some hot tea and watch some trashy reality tv b/c i thought that might make me feel better. But it seemed that every time I moved i would get sick. the tea was no comfort going down or coming back up. i literally stared at mike's alarm clock and when it graciously beeped at 5:45am I told Mike we needed to go to the ER so I could get on an IV for fluids. I stalled as best as I could until we took Claire to preschool at 8am and then I got checked into the Women's Evaluation Unit at St. John's Mercy. Going down those hallways in a wheelchair feeling like I did was like a bad dream and I finallly lost it and started crying like a baby. Those nurses at St. John's are like angels, I don't remember what exactly the nurse who was wheeling me to the room said, but it made me feel better and calmed me down.

I had two bags of fluids and they put some zofran in my IV since I couldn't keep my medicine down and was starting to feel a little better and really wanted to rest in my own bed. Mom's friend Anne came to visit me and gave me a good "mom hug", which I really needed. Since I thought I was going to get to go home after my second bag of fluid, i sat up in bed and started talking - and that just did it. I don't know what I even had left in me but I started getting really sick and before I knew it they put a third bag up on my IV and I was staying a little longer.

Mike was such an awesome husband and daddy during this time. he didn't complain once and was at my beck and call for every extra pillow, bed position movement and request for ice chips. we both got a treat and got to see another ultra sound image of the baby. I'm 12 weeks pregnant, so the baby's about as big as a large plum, 2 - 2.5 inches long depending on what website you check. But at this stage it's fully formed, just needs to keep growing. It was like a little jumping bean! Moving his (or her) arms and legs everywhere! It was such a blessing to see and for that 5 minutes I didn't feel sick at all! Ultra sounds and doppler heartbeats really help you feel connected to the baby at these early stages of pregnancy. Even though I'm starting to show b/c it's a second pregnancy, it doesn't really 'feel' real until you start feeling the baby move inside, so every ultra sound is a huge treat!

I eventually got to go home around 2 and konked out for most of the night. I was keeping my meds down with just a sip of water but couldn't stand the jello i tried to eat before bed. I took a sleeping pill (ok'd by OB) and got some much needed rest and then slept most of the day on Thursday. So far - I haven't had any vomitting and I've eaten some cheez-it's and peanute m&ms (? i don't knoow, they sounded good and were there?). Today, Friday, I'm dressed in a cute maternity outfit, actually have make up on and worked a half day. Taking this ironically titled "Labor Day" weekend to do NOTHING!

thanks for your prayers, facebook posts, texts and calls during this week. I can use all the prayers and positive vibes you can send me! I'm thankful b/c i know things could be worse. By 8 weeks pregnant with claire i was at the hospital for dehydration for the first time and had to spend the following month of bedrest with a zofran pump. So comparatively, I'm doing really well. This baby is a trooper and I"m a fighter. Now I just can't wait to have this baby outside my body come March 2011!

Bad Week/Good Week

2010-08-19T10:17:00.000-05:00

Last week I missed a concert for one of my favorite bands, but by the end of a week of self-imposed bed rest, I was able to roadtrip to Chicago to see another favorite band(s) play! Allow me to explain.

Last Monday, the 9th, was one of the worst days of my pregnancy so far. I made the mistake of going to the grocery store to get cereal and something else that sounded good for me to eat. Claire went with me and that's never a fun time. I could barely walk down the aisles. Everyone was probably scared of the death rays coming out of my eyes, it was bad. I took Claire to the library to get some books and couldn't even read them to her. I felt so bad because we usually do fun stuff on our Mommy Mondays. But I was in a bad way. I went home, set her up on the couch with a Kids Cuisine and Phineaus and Ferb and konked out in my room for almost 3 hours. By the time I woke up, Claire had gotten her princess pillow and fallen asleep on the couch, so I didn't feel like the worse, most neglectful mom in the world.

Mike and I had tickets to see Phoenix at the Pageant. I was really excited to go b/c I don't think they have ever come to St. Louis and the tickets were fairly expensive. By the time Mike came home from work, I was seeing stars with a horrible headache and wanted to hurl everywhere, so we had to miss the show. Booooo. We tried to give the tickets away on facebook, but no one took the bait. I hate having to miss stuff because I'm pregnant and sick! With Claire I had to miss seeing "Wicked" at the Fox with a bunch of friends and I'll never forget it!

I tried to go to work the next day, but only lasted through my first meeting. I spent the rest of the day in bed. Later, I got a phone call from the NP at my OB/GYN office regarding some blood test results. Apparantly I'm not immune to chicken pox even though I officially got them when I was in 3rd grade. So I have to steer clear of any little rugrats with chicken pox or anyone that has shingles. I'm guessing it's just active cases? She also told me that my progesterone was low. This concerned me a lot, but she said my levels weren't that bad and they were prescribing an oral hormone to take every night "because it will make you nauseas and sleepy". I'm like "Wait - you already realize I'm ridiculously nauseous and sleepy already?!? right?!" Well obviously, this was too important not to treat. So I was really looking forward to those side effects!

After talking to my supervisor at work, we agreed that I would take a week's vacation to rest at home. It was really what I needed. I took Claire to Grammy's every day and then would come home and either take residence on the couch and catch up on my Bravo Reality TV, or take hours and hours of naps. This is in addition to sleeping my 12 hours each night mind you! The exhuastion this time around is unbelievable!

By Friday I was feeling very well rested and that was important. Because Mike and I were planning on driving to Chicago to see some old friends play a reunion show for Dovetail Joint and Ivory Wire. The venue was blocks away from Leah's apartment and she and her boyfriend, who was also a big fan of the band. I was so proud of how well i did on the majority of the car ride. I even drove for a couple of hours so Mike could take a nap (he had played a show the night before). But after getting slowed down at no less than FIVE construction zones on 55 and TWO accidents, it took us over 7 hours to get into the city! I wanted to punch someone in the neck! Leah ordered take out, I had two bites and then - you guessed it, went to bed. With a bag of frozen berries on my head no less.

Saturday Mike, Leah and I went to see "The Other Guys" at a big movie theater downtown. It was funny. The show at Lincoln Hall was fantastic! Leah called ahead to reserve me a seat (she used this pregnancy card more than I have!) and Mike was front one. There was a lot of hooting and finger pointing going on. Rock signs were thrown. I stayed up until like midnight! Couldn't believe it.

Our Good News

2010-08-04T21:53:00.001-05:00

in case you haven't heard yet, the Lowder's are expecting! Yep :) I'm 8 weeks pregnant, due in mid-march 2011. we had our first ultrasound last friday to make sure i wasn't having twins because of my history of hyperemesis. just one baby in there! claire got to see it too and she thought it was cool, but i think she was expecting a miniature fully-formed baby!

a lot, i mean a lot, of people have been asking me about what my chances of getting hyperemesis or preeclampsia again. as my OB says about hyperemesis, "If you're a puker, you're a puker." So I can expect to have some issues with naseua, vomitting and/or dehyrdation during this pregnancy. I'm preparing and counting on it in fact, not to be morbid, but I guess I'd rather be pleasantly surprised that it isn't happening.

The chance of someone developing preeclampsia in subsequent pregnancies after having it during your first is 33%. So my chances are better there, but at least we know the signs to look for. Last year with Claire I developed preeclampsia and HELP syndrome with Claire at 32 weeks and we wouldn't have caught it so fast if I hadn't been weighing myself every day, which I was doing as a part of my hyperemesis protocol. I had lost 20 lbs in my first trimester, and it took me the rest of the pregnancy to gain it back. I gained like 8 pounds in one weekend and that's what concerned my nurse and prompted me to go in to my OB and eventually get admitted to St. John's...and 5 days later Claire Michaella was here!

SO, so far so good. I'm taking preemptive Zofran. Research is showing that is can stave off symptoms of hyperemesis or prevent them alltogether. So I'm fairly naseuous, I probably have average first semester morning sickness. The exhuastion is overwhelming though. I can't believe how sleepy I am! I go to bed early and sleep until the last minute. At least one day a week I'm going home early just to take a nap and every night after work i'm napping. as Aunt Jackie says, "making a baby is hard! every time you're taking a nap, think about making a cute nose or a little heart..." So on that note, I have some fingers and toes to make, I'm going nighty night!

Vacation in Paradise!

2010-07-01T15:54:00.002-05:00

LIDO BEACH

Mike and I took a couples vacation to Sarasota, Florida over Father's Day weekend. We flew to Tampa on Friday June 18th and rented a convertible (!) to drive the approximately 50 miles south to Sarasota. We arrived at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Sarasota and immediately unpacked, took in the view from our balcondy (complimentary upgrade!) and hit the town.

Our first stop was St. Armand's Circle, a small boutique shopping district near the beach. We shopped for souvenirs and scoped out places to eat lunch and dinner over the weekend. Then we drove the couple blocks to Lido Beach and sat and watched the sunset. Dinner that night was at the Salty Dog. It was directly on the bay and had nice scenery, but gross food. That was surely a dissappointment as I planned to eat good seafood every single meal if I could help it!

ROOM WITH A VIEW

Saturday morning we got up bright and early and went fishing with Captain Charlie to fish in the Bay and the Gulf. Cap. Charlie was so fun and friendly and a really good teacher. I hadn't fished in years and years, so I wasn't sure if I could do it. But we did! I caught several bait fish in the bay (4 on one line my first cast), and a king mackeral in the gulf and a trout in the bay. I even got a little bruise on my tummy from stabilizing the rod when I was reeling the king mack in - ouch! Mike caught a spanish mackeral and some bluerunners as well as a trout I think.

We were wiped out after fishing and I was starting to get a little seasick and a storm was brewing over the Bay, so we bid farewell to our fishing captain and had lunch at the hotel and took a dip in the saltwater pool. Then it was nappy-nap time! That sun really takes it out of you. After our nap we drove to a seafood resauarant favored by the locals Phillipi Oyster Creek Restaurant. Holy mackeral it was so delicious! It was a traditional floridian seafood shack; long shared picnic tables, adjacent to a creek, HUGE menu and scrumptious food. I had lobster, shrimp and scallops sauteed in butter and thought I had died and gone to heaven in the sea. Then we drove around in the convertible with the top down all around town because it was nice out. We were definately loving the feeling of Sarasota. Very laidback but with tons of things to do if you wanted to. It didn't have a very touristy feel, which we both liked. It's called the "Cultural Coast" of Florida because of it's abundance of art museums, botanical gardens, live music venues and other performing arts activities. After grabbing an ice cream cone at St. Armands Circle and calling Claire in St. Louis we turned in for an early bedtime. Vacationing is exhausting!

THIS IS WHERE THE FABULOUS PEOPLE SWIM

AREN'T YOU JEALOUS OF US RIGHT NOW?!

Sunday morning was Father's Day and we decided to go to the beach. Lido Beach was just a short drive away and after a beautiful breakfast, we rented some chairs and an umbrella so Mike wouldn't spontaneously combust in the sun and chilled out. Perfection! We snorkeled in the clear, shallow water and even saw several dolphin swimming not 50 yards away from us. We collected lots of beautiful shells for Claire and some of my clients back at work. Then we dried off and had lunch at the Crab and Fin, one of the premier restaurants in town. We thought lunch would be more affordable than dinner and we were right. I had a delicious authentic Caesar salad with an achovy on top! We were going to go to the Botanical Gardens, but it was too costly and almost closing, so instead we hit up a Tiki Bar in the Bay called O'Leary's. We met a fabulous older couple named Dave and Gerry who had moved to the area from New Hampshire a few years ago. They were a riot. Gerry was proud to tell us they had "six children...all very successful, doctors, lawyers, alright?!" We chatted for quite a while and they gave us their calling card in case we "ever need anything". They were super sweet. Meanwhile, 3 margaritas later, this little lady needed to take a walk around the bay to sober up! Mike took me to Columbia Restaurant, the oldest eating establishment in Sarasota since 1905. They specialized in Spanish food and it was ridiculously good! I was a little tipsy and didn't even know what I was ordering, but a beautiful red snapper with red peppers and rice appeared on my plate and I was a happy senorita!

COLUMBIA RESTAURANT SINCE 1905

I can't remember what we did that evening, it's all a blur...

Monday was our last day in Sarasota : ( We checked out of the hotel, which we found to be lovely and the staff was really gracious. Beautiful fancy room and free gourmet breakfast every morning. I had researched that the Ringling Art Museum was free on Mondays, so we went there to check it out. The estate is where the Ringling Family retired in the 1920's. The lush grounds feature a mansion, several museums including fine art and circus exhibits and a performance art theater. After that we had lunch downtown, which reminded us of Clayton, finally had some authentic Key Lime Pie (it was yellow, not green!) and made the trek back to Tampa.

RINGLING ART MUSEUM

I was seriously bumming that we had to come back to St. Louis and considering running away to join the Ringling Museum Circus exhibit. But Mike was my rock and let me bitch and moan and got me a huge fountain Diet Coke as soon as we got invasively frisked and xrayed by the Tampa International Airport. What the heck?! We had a fabulous time and can't wait to return.

WE HEART SARASOTA!

Thanks to Grammy, Nana and Pop. They made this trip possible by watching Claire and Brody. It's so nice to get away and have some adult time (although we talked about Claire nonstop) and know that your flesh and blood is safe and sound with your family!

Book Review: "The Hour I First Believed" Wally Lamb

2010-06-24T11:00:00.002-05:00

The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

i listened to the audiobook of the newest book from lamb. i think that helped beat the trudgery and boredom that others readers experienced. this was classic wally lamb. long, gritty and detailed. it involves a main character the reader really doesn't like at all and by the end you understand them much better and thus like them more as well. lamb fully finishes the book and you get a sense of closure with all of the characters. i didn't realize how much it would involve discussion about ptsd, as this is a mental illness i work with considerably during my day job, it wasn't the 'escape' i was hoping for. but a really sympathetic, compelling story.

View all my reviews >>

things

2010-06-15T14:48:00.001-05:00

here are some things going on at le chez de lowder:

1. claire had her first ballet and tap recital. it was darling! we will be having a dvd viewing party, so don't worry if you missed it :)

2. the weather here alternates from oppresively hot to southeast asia monsoons.

3. claire has started swimming lessons at Fenton Riverchase. She's a level II goldfish. That's level II sir! She started her first lesson scared of going in the water and all the "splashing", but reports from her second class show significant progress. She's going under BY HERSELF! and jumping in from the side. Pink goggles have been purchased and used to practice in the bathtub twice in the last 18 hours.

4. mike and i go to sarasota, florida for an extended weekend this week. staying at the hyatt regency and it looks niiiice! i want a beach day at Lido Beach and shopping at St. Armand's circle and maybe some snorkeling. Mike wants to fish, so we've chartered a boat and are going to fish for tarpon or something?

5. We saw Karate Kid over the weekend and it was Awesome! I want Claire to marry little Jaden Smith someday. He is precious and Will and Jada could pick up the wedding tab! Win-Win!

Little girl gives herself a pep talk

2010-05-21T12:20:00.001-05:00

Check out this great MSN Video: Little girl gives herself a pep talk

magazine coasters

2010-05-12T11:04:00.000-05:00

I stole this "make-in-front-of-the-TV" craft from this blog - "How About Orange"
I think I'm going to make homemade magazine paper bows for gifts next! stay tuned...

Falling in Love

2010-04-29T09:09:00.000-05:00

Our Parents As Teachers Educator, Karin, has a 4 year old named Jack in Claire's class (see pic in post below of Claire and a little boy holding hands on the way to school). The other morning on the way out from dropping Claire off she stopped me to tell me THE cutest story.

A few days ago they were driving in the car and Jack asked his mom "Do you believe that we can fall in love?" Karin said "Well yeah Jack, I fell in love with your dad." Jack goes - "Well I think I'm falling in love with Claire!"

Later when I told the story to Mike, who couldn't stop laughing, I glance over at Claire. She has this smug look on her face and nods confidently and says "I'm going to marry him".

At least she has good taste! We know the family and they're great and Jack is as cute as a button. We asked all the important questions and he shares his toys at school, tells funny jokes and plays nice. Love is in the air!

Turtle Rescue

2010-04-16T22:42:00.000-05:00

Claire and I were on our way to Grammy's house this morning when I passed a turtle in the middle of the road. My dad would always, I mean always, find a good old turtle in the road and I thought of him when I pulled over to the side of the road. Unbuckled Claire from her carseat and we ran to the scene. The little turtle was saved from certain death when I moved it safely to the grassy edge of the sidewalk. Claire was giddy with excitement. She wanted to watch the turtle walk away, but it was freaked out and hiding in it's shell so we waited patiently...and waited...and waited. Finally "she" scampered away to "find her friends". I asked Claire why she thought the turtle was a girl? and she said, "because I could see she had eyelashes!"

Here Comes the Child Bride

2010-03-30T15:48:00.000-05:00

Claire informed me this morning that she had had a sleepover the night before and that they were getting married and moving "next door for 3 years"! (she showed me 3 fingers because she meant business) Don't I have like 13 more years to worry about that crap!? Who is this romeo? None other than..............................

...........................................................................Phineas of "Phineas and Ferb" fame. He's the dreamboat with the triangle for a head.

Before she would allow me to get her dressed for school, she scavanged a costume jewelry ring from my jewelry box and went into the bathroom with her white, longsleeved, flannel nightgown with ballerinas on it to say "I do" to Phineas. And that was that. She said their next step was to move out! I said, well aren't you going to miss me? Claire replied "It's only going to be for 3 years. I mean 3 days!" Where are you going to live? "Next door at Mr. Nathan's house." Who's going to tuck you in? "I won't need that anymore, I'm married now!".

WELL! So I guess we have a new 'family member' to welcome. The happy couple is registered at Disney.com

But I have to disclose that this was the scandalous scene when Mrs. Phineas was dropped off at preschool this morning and saw one Mr. Jack Cason, age 4. I guess the honeymoon is over triangle head!

You are Invited!

2010-03-28T20:05:00.001-05:00

Together! Engaging Women/Empowering Girls

Be a Part of the Third Annual Together! Brunch Presented by EkonBenefits

Calling all St. Louis women, ages 10 to 110! Safe Connections invites you to join us on Saturday, May 1 for our celebration of the strength of women. Together! offers a morning of camaraderie culminating with the first-hand stories of successful women who are living exceptional lives. Get ready to be inspired, educated and entertained!

All proceeds benefit Safe Connections and its mission to reduce the impact and incidence of relationship violence and sexual assault through education, crisis intervention, counseling and support services. This event is made possible by our sponsors:

Presenting Sponsor: EkonBenefits • Silver Sponsor: Missouri Foundation for Health • Bronze Sponsor: S.M. Wilson & Co.

Meet This Year's Together! Panelists

Holly Cunningham, owner of Holly Berry Baking Company

Natalie Hornsby, 24-year-old marketing guru behind the wildly popular Zhu Zhu Pets

Kim Massie, renowned R&B and jazz singer

This year's "Oprah style" panel discussion will be preceded by musical entertainment by vocalist Chi Mathias, a silent auction featuring everything from travel packages and one-of-a-kind experiences to great gifts for Mother's Day and Father's Day, a chance to purchase raffle tickets and a delicious and healthy brunch.

When: 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturday, May 1, 2010

Where: Sheraton Clayton Plaza Hotel

7730 Bonhomme Avenue

St. Louis, Missouri 63105

Cost: $50 adults; $25 youth (25 and under)

RSVP: Online now or contact Deb Cottin at 314.646.7500 x101

I've gone every year and I usually fill a table with girls I used to counsel at St. Vincent Home for Children. St. Vincent no longer houses adolescent girls any longer, so this is a good year to host a table of family and friends. This is such an empowering, positive event. Plus you get to have a yummy brunch, bid on fun silent auction items (Fleur de Liz Designs will probably be featured!), and hang out with me! I hope you will RSVP with me directly to sit at my table. You can send me your check for your seat at my home address: 54 Francis Avenue, Valley Park, MO 63088.

the countdown begins...

2010-03-28T09:24:00.000-05:00

look! claire can write her name. she just thought you should know there are 11 shopping days left until her 4th birthday!

Pinkies Up!

2010-03-27T15:56:00.001-05:00

After work today I took Claire to "The London Tea Room" for lunch. I told her it would be like a real tea party like in Alice in Wonderland. We had Cream Tea; a real china pot full of tea (Monk's blend) and all of accoutrements - sugar, cream, authentic blueberry scones with strawberry jam and devonshire cream. Claire got a kick out of having me pour her a real cup of tea. I let her add all the cream and sugar she wanted. She didn't really like it, but she loved the scone and kept saying "Can we come back here tomorrow?" and doing these fancy hand gestures like a princess. It was so sweet. We split a croque monsier for lunch and brought a huge piece of chocolate cake home for Mike.

I prefer Jabbawokey

2010-03-14T14:50:00.000-05:00

Try explaining to Claire after leaving the theater where we saw "Alice in Wonderland", that although that lady in the lobby's hair bears a striking resemblance to Johnny Depp's 'Mad Hatter', we shouldn't point and scream that outloud.

And if you were Mike, who was the only one not in shock and able to respond. You would start with something like "Good observation honey but that might make someone mad."

Nana asked Claire this morning what her favorite part of the movie was. Claire's immediate response was "the part where Alice gives the big monster his eyeball back and he licks her boo boo." Nana replied "his eyeball back?! That sounds like a very interesting movie!"

Oh! And now Mike wants to name our next kid Alice.

our kid is a genius

2010-02-27T12:18:00.000-06:00

Claire had an annual evaluation from Parents As Teachers last week. Our representative, Ms. Karin, whom we love for numerous reasons - one of them being her adorable son Jack who is also in Claire's preschool class, came over to go over the results. I don't have the paperwork in front of me, but if I did I'm sure it says somewhere "Claire is a friggin' genius. Officially." And Mike and I are like "DUH!" :)

She scored at the 6 year range in language and speech! 5 year range for object comprehension (or something like that) She was the only kid that Ms. Karin answered correctly what the picture of a thermometer was AND said it properly!

I didn't realize how quickly my child was learning, she is really smart. We've been writing letter and doing sounds together and she know ALL of her letters. She can write them and knows their names (we're still working on all the sounds. everything usually says "bah or keh". I taught her fun little tricks about C and G, M and W and R and P because those pesky letters can be tricky!

I'm beaming with joy for my little brainiac.

identity crisis

2010-02-11T15:30:00.000-06:00

As I was dropping Claire off at preschool this morning she said hi to one of her classmates Noah. I remembered there being another Noah in her class and asked which one that was. She said "There's Noah and Noah Finn. That was Noah". I asked her how she knew the difference? She said "Because they're two different people." (Duh mom!) I said - but how can you tell them apart? and she goes "They're like Sami and Jack. They don't match." !!!!!

I thought that was so cute! and made perfect sense!

On a sour note - I got a call from Cindy this morning that she knocked her teeth on a bookshelf and school. Mike and Cindy had to take her to Mike's dentist because she was complaining that they hurt and her two front teeth were loose. Thankfully the dentist said she'll be fine and she has no trauma to the area. He also noted that Claire obviously takes very good care of her teeth! Mike is so proud :)

How I'm Feeling

2010-01-31T11:06:00.000-06:00

i had my tonsillectomy on wednesday morning. it was quick - but NOT painless. I felt surpringsingly well on Wednesday. Mom came into town to help take care of me and Claire. Thursday I slept most of the day. Watched Seven Pounds and 500 Days of Summer. Friday was getting worse and by Friday night I was in so much pain it was scary. The surgeon's nurse called to check on my on friday and I told her i was concerned because the pain meds I was prescribed to take every 6 hours were only lasting 4. She said to go ahead and take a dose every 4 hours. Within 24 hours of that phone call I was needing to take the hyrdrocodone every 2-3 hours. that's what i mean by scary. mom called the surgeon on friday night and he recommended that we go to the ER so we could get a stronger narcotic like percocet - which he couldn't call in. Saturday around noon, Mike took me the MoBap ER and they took good care of me. It was kinda funny, they took me to triage with two male nurses, a female ER doc and Mike and asked me a bunch of questions. the first being "So you're having throat pain?" I'm like - yeah! That's an understatement. I don't think she saw that I had just had a tonsillectomy. By using hand signals and facial expressions I told the nurses' about my symptoms and current medications. Every once in a while I would need to rely on Mike to talk to them. The funniest part was when the nurse asked when my "last menses" was. I looked to Mike and showed him 3 fingers for the 3 years i've had an IUD. He looked at me like i was crazy, i don't think he heard the question. so the male nurses were probably like - oh geez! dude doesn't know what menses is. I just held up three fingers and looked at them all hopefully. the nurses think it's an auction. 3 days? 3 weeks, 3 hours? Finally Mike gets it and tells them 3 years. We all had a good laugh. Then a new male nurse (many male nurses here) gave me the quickest and painless IV i've ever had. He was done before I was able to exhale. I want to hire him as my personal IV'er! They took me to a private ER room that I immediately recognized as the one they put psych patients in because it had no windows, artwork, doorknobs or tv but instead had a camera to record all my crazy behavior. Tony, the IV nurse said he was going to give me naseua medication b/c the pain meds might make me sick. He gave me dilaudid and said I would start feeling it within 15 seconds. I'm like feel something good or bad? He said I'd get really dizzy and lightheaded until my equilibrium caught up with me. He was very right. Around 15 seconds later I go "WHOA!". my legs and arms felt like they were floating and i asked mike to come over and "rub my legs so they stop floating". I'm sure he was amused. That was SOME GOOD STUFF! The pain went away within 5 minutes and I was feeling good! They observed me four several hours and gave me some IV fluids and another dose of the good stuff and then sent me home with liquid oxycodone and a liquid steroid. so all these medicines make me really sleepy. mike and i watched Taken with Liam Neeson last night. it was horrible acting and an unbelievable story and i fell asleep an hour into it but i was happy to hang out with Mike because I've been spending so much time alone lately. This morning my mom leaves :( She's probably sick of this high-maintenance household! She was such a big help! I want Mike to go and get my coffee ice cream and another flavor but not sure yet. I also want a peanut butter milkshake - yay! Ok - back to nappy time.

Dubliner's

2010-01-21T08:00:00.002-06:00

Mike's work organized a post-holiday party at the Dubliner off Washington in downtown Saint Louis. What was the theme you ask?...well "fancy hats" of course!! With less than 2 weeks notice to assemble a "fancy hat" AND an outfit that could accompany a "fancy hat", I was scrambling. Luckily, my girlfriend Carrie went through a self-proclaimed 'hat phase' in college and lent me one. It was more 'funky' than 'fancy' but it all worked out. When we arrived at the party we were greeted by Mike's co-workers who were donning construction hats, beer can hats, sombreros and even a handmade Cap'n Crunch hat! Pints of Guinness were drunk and so was Mike :)

Good Read

2010-01-20T17:14:00.000-06:00

I just finished reading "The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger over the weekend. It took me a while because I was ill the entire month of December...but not because of the book. It was interesting, unique, gritty, riveting and so romantic. I just wanted to cry tears of happiness when I flipped the last page. I haven't seen the movie yet, it's on my netflix queue, but i'm hoping it will live up to the expectations laid forth in the book.

Plus Eric Bana's in it. mmm!

Under the Knife

2010-01-15T00:09:00.000-06:00

I am totally bummed to report that I need to have a tonsillectomy on Wednesday, January 27th. (Happy Birthday to you Jenny!) The tonsillitis I had in December was just too killer and the ENT Specialist I was sent to thinks it's for the best. I have to take TWO WEEKS off work, which sucks because I'm not even going to be on a tropical beach or anything! Just laying in bed catching up on The View and eating ice cream. Now normally, this would be fairly appealing, well the ice cream part anyway. But I'm not cool with wasting 2 weeks worth of vacation time on being sick. thumbs down.

Claire keeps asking to check my tonsils. I guess she wants to take full advantage of looking at them while they're still there. I keep reminding her the doctor's gonna cut them out and the look on her face is just priceless!

One cute reason

2010-01-15T00:00:00.000-06:00

The other morning, Claire and I were in my newly painted bedroom. Claire looked around and said "Our house is beautiful! Let's stay here for a while!" And that's why I love being a grown-up!

1 down 3 to go!

2009-12-24T14:22:00.002-06:00

We had our Stallone Christmas Eve Eve Strikes Back last night. Leah was in town from Chicago. She and I ran errands after dropping Claire off at preschool. Leah served as my chauffeur yesterday because I am still suffering from a viral eye infection that is distorting my vision and causing light sensitivity. So if you see me with sunglasses on inside or even at night - you'll know why. That's how I roll.

After preschool Leah and Claire took their nappy naps. Mike got the house ready and I wrapped for hours. Grandma and Grandpa Stallone, Dad and Pat, Dana, Denny, Brian and Tiffany and Aiden all came over and we stuffed ourselves silly with yummy appetizers and Grandpa Stallone's red sauce and meatballs recipe. I've been making it on Christmas Eve Eve for a few years now and I must say I'm getting pretty good at it!

Claire got tons of presents: princess tennis shoes that light up, a princess phone, tinkerbell car keys, snow boots, a really nice Raggedy Ann and Andy doll, Dr. Suess book, a piggy bank that makes noise when you 'feed' it money. Lots of cute clothes. It was a wrapping paper frenzy! Claire and Aiden played really well together and were so cute. It's so cool to watch them grow up together. They're buddies.

I was too busy to take pictures, so if you were there and you did - please email me some!

Sick of Being Sick

2009-12-08T00:47:00.003-06:00

The Lowder House has just been full of sick, sicky, poo-faced, sick babies. It's been NO fun! It all started with Claire waking Aunt YaYa (that's Leah) up in the middle of the night at Nana and Pop's house the Friday night after Thanksgiving. She was writhing in pain because her tummy hurt and it freaked everyone out. After a call to her pediatrician's exchange, Mike, Nana and I packed up the car for the 20+ minute ride to the ER. I had to sit in the back with Claire because she was crawling out of her skin. It was horrible. After 5 or so hours in the pediatric ER, two x-rays and a CT scan later, appendicitis was ruled out. A viral gastrointenstinal infection was their best guess. She bounced back the next day playing with Jack and having fun. Sunday we drove home and she was still groovy. We decorated the tree and everything. Still smiling.

Monday she was a tired ballerina after her 2 1/2 hour long dance class. We rested. Tuesday I dropped her off at preschool. An hour later the nurse called and said she needed to be picked up because it appeared that she had pink eye. I had already scheduled her a follow up appointment with her pediatrician to check on her since the ER visit, so with Grammy's help she was picked up from school and sent to Dr. Terrill...where she was diagnosed with double pink-eye and a double ear infection. Two different antibiotics. I took the rest of the day off and we rested.

That was almost one week ago.

Since then she's been up almost every night with fevers of around 101 degrees. She wouldn't eat or drink until a couple of days ago. She finally requested macaroni and cheese on thursday night around 10:30 pm. And you know we made her some Macaroni and Cheese! Today her spirits were up and she was more like herself, thank god.

Meanwhile, I've been getting sicker and sicker. I called my doctor last tuesday for him to call in a prescription, it seemed as if i was getting a sinus infection. Felt horrible. During this sick den, Mike and I were still trying to work most of the week, but that was hard. This weekend I had a meltdown on the phone with my mom because we all had cabin fever in addition to actual fevers. I had to go to work but REALLY didn't want to because I was sick and exhausted and I knew Claire would probably give Mike a hard time. When I came back from work with my head absolutely pounding out of my skull - Mike told me that my parents had come to the house with some groceries! I almost cried. Sherbet, pasta and sauce, cereal, apple juice, etc. It was so thoughtful and appreciated! (But as Claire reports "no pizza"!)

I took her back to the pediatrician today. They think she's making slow and steady progress. On the drive there, I asked Claire if she hurt anywhere and she said "Moooom! You're not the doctor. You're just a mom." Hmph!

(Sound familiar Nana!?!?!?)

I am getting worse by the minute. I feel like I have Strep and am getting Claire's pinkeye. My glands are SO swollen I feel like I'm gonna die and my ears are killing me. I was running a low fever today and went back to my doctor. They switched my antiobiotic to a $50 version. So THIS one better be worth it!

I'm so exhausted. But I can't sleep. It makes no sense. I lay down dog tired and then I just toss and turn. When will this end? I have SO much to do this time of year. Selfishly - I'm bummed because we had to miss my work's holiday party and I had to cancel a potentially very cool Christmas Market show. I feel like everyone's sick of us being sick, but we're just not getting well fast enough. I'm supposed to work a full day tomorrow and can't even imagine running a support group at 6pm tomorrow night. ugh.

Please keep us in your prayers and feel sorry for us. Ok. I'm kidding about the last part.

And I better be well in time for my birthday!!! :)

Darndest Things

2009-11-25T00:31:00.001-06:00

Mike told me this funny story about driving with Claire last night. "Claire thinks Tom Petty is singing 'Running Down A Drain'. I asked her what the song is about and she says 'Taking a bath and getting sucked down the drain'. Kids."

Our busy weekend

2009-11-15T17:46:00.002-06:00

Fleur de Liz Designs did two craft shows this weekend. Friday night at the Incarnate Word Academy's "Girls Knight Out" event for Moms and Daughters. Saw Jeff's sister, Laurie there. Only sold one clock - but hey first clock sale. It was so cute. Sold it so fast I didn't get a chance to take a picture beforehand.

Saturday the family and I headed out to Boone Elementary in Wentzville. Didn't do very well in sales there either. Kinda discouraging. I can't tell if it's the economy, a poorly advertised craft show, or that my stuff just sucks. Should I go back to my day job?! Oh well, each show is a learning experience and I know what to do differently next time.

I'm starting to sell handpainted, personalized ornaments now. $8 each. I'll get pics up later.

Today I woke up and was supposed to have lunch with Tammy and Mary E. I was a bad niece/cousin and cancelled. I was just SO exhausted from this weekend. I looked outside and saw gloom, so I thought it would be fun to take Claire to see A Christmas Carol at the theater. We couldn't convince her to go - which is probably for the best. She's not fun to be around in a theater if she doesn't want to be there. But I was bummed. I LOVE going to the movies. So instead, we bought Mike some work clothes at Kohl's for his birthday. I also got Claire a cute Christmas jumper and a $5 Christmas song cd with artists like Death Cab for Cutie and Guster. Should be less nauseating than the typical Christmas music blasting the airwaves these days. Then we went to lunch at Red Robin - I do NOT recommend the turkey burger there. Disappointing. When we got home, we started a fire and it's been blazing all afternoon. Naps were taken, relaxing happened. Now Mike and Claire are starting a pot of mashed potatoes and I'm going to try a Martha Stewart recipe for Vinegar Glossed Chicken. Impressed yet?!

Spooky Preview

2009-10-28T17:55:00.003-05:00

I took Claire (aka "Cheerleadow") to her school Halloween party last night. It served as a dry run for her costume that Uncle Mike and Aunt Tammy got her for her birthday. She had fun and can even do a cheer or two. The "pom pompts" were left at home in favor of the candy bag - you can tell where her priorities are! Candy!

Say what?!?

2009-10-21T00:01:00.002-05:00

Claire and I were in the car the other morning getting ready to go to the library and rent a free movie. Part of our neighborhood is blocked off for tree cutting and I had to turn around and go the other way. Claire goes "We're taking a detour." Very matter-of-factly. I couldn't believe it! She told me she learned the word on Caillou. God I hate that show, but I love that it's serving as a thesaures!

Bugsy Eyes

2009-10-12T13:53:00.000-05:00

This is Claire watching "Bedtime Stories" with Adam Sandler. For those of you that have caught this flick, it features a pet hamster (or guinea pig - i mean, what's the diff?!) with unusually gigantic, 'bugging' eyes = hence bugsy. Claire likes making this face upon request. Especially when she's trying to change the subject.

Dream a little

2009-10-08T09:56:00.000-05:00

She looks so pure and sweet and innocent. DOESN'T SHE?!?! Well she is...when she's sleeping! This photo was taken on an especially naughty day. What's going on in that little brain of hers anyway?

Rain, Rain Go Away!

2009-10-07T13:45:00.001-05:00

I am sad to report that Harvest Day, what was to be my first Craft Show featuring Fleur de Liz Designs new Home Decor items, was rained out! Heather and I (and Mike - don't forget Mike...and my mom who drove out the sign featured in the picture b/c I ran out the door without it) set up and we showed our wares for about 90 minutes. I received a handful of compliments and appreciated all of them. But no one bought anything before the sky opened up and rained buckets and buckets! We were quick to realize that it wasn't going to stop anytime soon and packed up anything and waited for Mike to come and pick me and the tent Carrie lended me up.

"Wah Wah" :(

Oh well, it was a learning experience. Now I know how to set up better next time and NO MORE OUTSIDE CRAFT FAIRS. I can't take it!

Beth Berry Photography

2009-10-06T13:51:00.000-05:00

Check out our pictures from a really fun photo shoot with Beth Berry Photography. This is one of my favorites. We went to Main Street in St. Charles and this is right on the Missouri river. go to www.bethberryphotography.com, select her blog to see more (scroll down a bit, it's a few entries down). Thanks Beth!

How 'bout them apples?

2009-10-06T13:41:00.004-05:00

We took Claire to Eckert's a weekend or so ago. Apples were picked, tractors were riden, funnel cakes were eaten, cool plants that look like orange, fuzzy, caterpillars were purchased. Good times.

Another prize

2009-09-23T08:19:00.001-05:00

Claire is rocking the reward system we've had going for several weeks now. Her last prize was a sheet

of Barbie stickers. She was ecstatic!

I mean, they're BARBIE. STICKERS!

Craftastic!

2009-09-22T11:11:00.002-05:00

Have I mentioned I'm doing my first Craft Fair this Saturday? Well I am. And I'm starting to freak out. Here's how you can help...

Come out to Harvest Day in Maryland Heights on Saturday, September 26th from 10-3. My cousin, Heather Wehmer of Daughter Designs and I, with Fleur de Liz Designs will be hosting a craft booth. I have no idea what i'm doing but i've been painting my booty off!

Harvest Day
Date: 9/26/2009 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Cost: Free
Location: Vago Park 2700 Fee Fee Rd Maryland Heights , Missouri 63043
Mark your calendars now for our annual Harvest Day Celebration. We will have a flea market, craft show, garage sale and farmer's market. In addition, we will host live entertainment, a variety of food booths and a children's area. Games and activities for the whole family will take place throughout the day.

Smooth Move

2009-09-21T16:22:00.000-05:00

My friend Suzanne hooked me up with a FREE Keratin Complex Smoothing Treatment a couple of weeks ago. The process took 3 hours and meticulous flat-ironing. For the following 3 days I couldn't put anything in my hair, wash it, put it in a ponytail or even behind my ears! I looked like Wednesday Adams or something! But it was worth it. I got a cute cut the other day to trim my split ends. I have no more frizz! I don't even have to flat iron it after blowing it dry (but sometimes I do because old habits die hard). I lurve it!

Teaser

2009-09-16T11:11:00.001-05:00

BEST. VACATION. EVER.

When I have time (?) I hope to give detailed updates and pictures of our recent trip to Disney. We had a wonderful, magical, family-bonding time! Can't wait to write all about it!

Regression or Hilarity?

2009-09-15T16:05:00.000-05:00

Last night, before dinner Claire asked for us to fill up her "Kitty Kitty" (read Hello Kitty) water bottle. Then she freaked out because she could "do it herself!" Like we've never heard that line before. So she fills up her bottle from the fridge door spigot and goes on her happy little way. The next time I go check on her, this is what I see.....

Picture Perfect

2009-08-29T21:01:00.006-05:00

#1. "Bluebird" Frame (5x7 photo)

#2. "Lorraine" Frame (holds 4x6 photo)

#3. "Paris" Photo Stand (8" tall)

#4 BATHtime Frame (4x6 photo)

I could use some help figuring out pricing for each item. Do me a favor and give me your opinion on a dollar range for each item. Thanks!

For Rent

2009-08-29T20:25:00.002-05:00

Our ground level 2 bed 1 bath apartment is available. Send us your nice, gainfully employed, clean and responsible tenants!

Seriously. Send them.

Countdown

2009-08-25T16:03:00.000-05:00

10 days left until our vacation to Disney World!

chicken ala Lowder, basterds and cartoons

2009-08-23T17:05:00.008-05:00

We had a very eventful weekend at the Lowder house. Friday night, Mike's band had a gig at "Q", this new, trendy, fabu club on Main Street in St. Charles. So I deemed it "Girls Nite" for Claire and me. The plan was to go to Schroeder Park to see the movie "Finding Nemo" outside with a picnic dinner. The plan didn't include a ginormous stormcloud planting itself right over the park shortly after we arrived. We ate our picnic dinner in the car together and hoped that the rain would pass quickly, but alas - it did not. The crying started pretty quickly (from Claire obviously) so I eased the pain with a kids sprinkle cone from DQ. Does the trick every time. I also thought our own movie 'slumber party' might make her happy. We had "The Little Mermaid" at home from Netflix, so we popped that on upstairs after we got in our jammies and watched it in bed. It was fun. I remember loving that movie when I was a pre-teen. You know - before I understood the blatant misogyny and stuff. (I mean she has to choose between her legs or her voice to be on land to cozy up to Prince Eric? He doesn't even have any chest hair for god's sake...) But I digress.

Saturday I had to work. As usual. I have a new MSW Intern starting, so I trained her on our Saturday Social Programs. Today was supposed to be Yoga, but no one came. Free Yoga people?! Come on! I guess the awesome weather was keeping everyone away. It was beautiful outside. I want to live somewhere where it's like this every day.

We hired a babysitter for Saturday night. That allowed us to go to church with Jenny and Matt and then dinner at The Kind and I for Thai food. Good spring rolls, not so good Cashew Chicken. Then we took an exorbinant amount of time with at least two people checking their iPhone at a time to schedule a movie. We figured the guys would want to see one thing (District 9, G.I. Joe) and the ladies would want to see a 'chick flick' (Julie and Julia, The Time-Traveler's Wife). But after 40 minutes or so ( I wish I were kidding ) we all agreed to see "Inglorious Basterds" with Brad Pitt. It's a Quentin Tarantino film and I warned everyone that I was likely to 1. cry, 2. freakout, 3. vomit or 4. leave, if they violence got to be too much. I've been known to do at least 3 out of those 4 during showings of previous Tarantino movies. Mike and Matt were like "but they're killing Nazi's! It's for a good cause! It's just a movie!". Lovely. What made matters slightly worse is that the theater was so packed we had to sit in the second row. Literally. Even lovlier! I have to say though - the writing and story was really good! Brad Pitt's character had The Best lines. I had to cover my eyes several time (and my ears) but it was worth it. Awesome movie! Long live Aldo and Shosanna!

Sunday morning Claire and I woke up early and talked Mike into going to the Festival of the Little Hills in St. Charles. We stayed for like 4 hours in the beautiful sunshine. Claire got a butterfly lollipop, I got a handmade wrought iron towel holder thingey with Fleur de Lis and Mike got a berry crisp for $1 at Tiffany's work. Oh yeah - we got to eat lunch in the shade at Garden ala Fleur Cafe, where my sister-in-law Tiffany works. Best red pepper bisque ever. I wanted to get a pretty necklace with polished stone and my monogram, but the wait time was really long and we were really tired.

Mike's mowing the lawn, Claire's playing with neighbors, and I'm watching Melissa D'Arabian cook chicken ala'orange. Could I make that? I have everything needed but the chicken. And the oranges. Maybe it'll be tilapia ala lemon. But what I really wanna eat is fried chicken. Time to bribe Claire to ask if we can go to Cracker Barrell. It's always more cute when she asks anyway :)

My new hobby (and income stream)

2009-08-19T08:26:00.003-05:00

Many of you know that I started a little card design business last October called Fleur de Liz Designs. I recently went to the Big Ass Indie Arts and Crafts Fair and was inspired to add picture frames, plaques and other home decor to my repetoire! Above are my first two products. The one on the left was a gift for my friend, who is giving it to her friend with a baby girl named Quinn. The one on the right is a gift I gave to Jenny and Jeff for their beautiful baby girl Madison. Check out my etsy page for the official listing. I LOVE doing custom orders :)

First Day of Preschool!

2009-08-18T07:39:00.002-05:00

My little baby girl starts school today at Valley Park Preschool. Her teachers' names are Mrs. Grellner and Miss Lorraine. She has a cubby and a hook to hang her awesome personalized bookbag I got her. Claire was SO excited this morning. She got dressed, ate Lucky Charms (I would have made her a special breakfast, but that's what she picked out), brushed her teeth - no problem. I like this trend! Mike and I both went to drop her off. She went right in, put her bookbag away and started playing. Barely looked up when we gave her a hug and kiss goodbye. No crying! Now Mike and I almost shed a tear. I just can't believe I have a kid old enough to go to preschool! Wasn't she just my chubby-cheeke, little bald-headed baby? Grammy gets to pick her up this morning. I'm so jealous, I can't wait to talk to her tonight and find out how her first day went! You're a 'big girl' Claire 'Kella Lowder!

Fire Girl Claire

2009-08-15T11:04:00.000-05:00

Claire got to sit in an actual Valley Park Fire Department Fire Engine thanks to Fire Fighter Jeff at the Valleypalooza a few weekends ago. I see a future career path...modeling at car shows. No seriously, she's into "Fire Girls" right now.

Also, please note: she is terrified of the Fredbird mascot. Disney World shouldn't be traumatic at all!

I'm cute, yes?

2009-08-13T00:38:00.000-05:00

"Fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa"

2009-08-13T00:02:00.000-05:00

Live on the Levee featured one of my favorite bands in college. Sorry for the crappy picture, but Claire couldn't stop shaking her booty. She was literally putting on a show of her own. Guster was beautiful, it was a nice balmy evening under the Arch and Claire cried

during the fireworks as usual.

Fresh Squeezed

2009-08-11T00:18:00.000-05:00

Claire and I were watching cartoons the other night and Blue on "Blues Clues" was telling her audience where orange juice comes from. Actually it was Steve that was explaining that oranges grow on trees, you pick them, cut them, squeeze the juice into a cup and drink it.

Very helpful AND informative.

Claire's so cute, this morning she came to me with an orange from the fruit bowl and a pot (?) and asked if we could make juice, like Blue. It was messy and yummy! Claire might be getting a juicer for Christmas this year!

Good Choice!

2009-08-07T00:31:00.007-05:00

Claire has a sticker chart in the kitchen. She gets a sticker every time she makes a 'good choice' (no time-outs, doing a chore like feeding Brody, getting ready in the morning without stalling for 55 minutes and making Mommy late for work). Once she gets 9 stickers, she's at the end of her row on the chart. Then she gets to pick out a wrapped gift (that she has already picked out at the dollar store).

Please notice the luxurious red sparkle braided "Ariel" wig above.

Hot mess or adorable Little Mermaid lookalike?

The Stork

2009-08-07T00:13:00.004-05:00

Welcome Miss Madison Rose Scherr

August 4, 2009

Proud parents, Jenny and Jeff Scherr.

You did good guys! :)

Mean Girls

2009-08-06T22:33:00.005-05:00

Last night Mike and I met at Vlasis Park in Ballwin with Claire and some finger lickin' good dinner. Somehow, Claire managed to resist the curley-cue slides long enough to gulp down some corn and a chicken tender only to meet the meanest, little, bitchy, snob-toddlers on the playground! I'm talking mini-Rachel McAdams in "Mean Girls" mean.

There were two of them. Both with bobbed haircuts and knock-off Children's Place back-to-school outfits. And both with bad attitudes. At about 5 years old tops, they were "big kids" compared to Claire, but she tends to hang with a more sophisticated crowd so she can roll. Usually, when approached at the playground by a sweet, cherubic little blondie like my Clairey, kids are friggin' psyched to play with her! Claire's usually the leader of the pack. But not this time. "Can I play with you?" was met with a "Uh? No? We don't play with babies?!" proceeded with a hair flip and lemon pucker look. WTF?!?!?! Oh, it's on Hannah Montana times 2!

Claire comes running back to me almost in tears. "Those kids won't play with me!" I flashback to the bible school my mom used to send me to before Leah was born and I had no neighborhood kids to really play with. I approached the 'cool girls' on the jungle gym and asked them if I could play with them (what's with the asking, just start playing! we're kids!) Anyway, they said "no" and I was crushed. I mean, I'm typing about it 28 years later, so... Back to Vlasis Park or the latest Lindsay Lohan movie...whatever. Claire, like a glutton for punishment, keeps trying to get those bitchy girls to play with her. She was obsessed with getting them to like her. They must have made fun of her hair or outfit or something because at one point she runs over and cried "They said I'm not pretty!! waaah!!".

OH NO YOU DIDN'T?!?!

It was a constant battle in my brain trying to allow Claire and the bratty twins to let it play out on their own and swooping in and rescuing her from the future nail technicians with multiple baby daddies. "Claire, why don't you go find some nice, friendly kids to play with?" Meanwhile Mike suggests "kicking them in the shins".

Luckily, a really nice, beautiful red-headed family with 5 kids - all with normal names - appeared from the heavens. Luke, the patriarch, must be able to feel the heartbreak on all of our faces each time Claire runs over and tells me Taylor and McKenzie or whatever their annoying names were, had made fun of her again. So anyway, Luke introduces his lovely 3 year old curly redheaded daughter, "V" (for Veronica which is not annoying at all) to Claire. They become fast friends, running and skipping and playing hopscotch and approving of each other's wardrobe choices and everything. Yay!

Well before we know it, she's managed to sneak away from V and is climbing up the clubhouse tower thing. Mike and I can tell it but Claire can't, she's about to cross paths with Kortnee and Brittnee!! Beware Claire! Before I realize it, Kortnee or Jaydyn or whatever her stupid name is, flipping body checks Claire! I MEAN GETS IN HER FACE! I literally scream at the top of my lungs from 2 floors down "OH NO YOU DON"T!" It wasn't pretty.

Within seconds, Claire pushes the girl away from her and secretly I'm like "damn straight" but on the outside I'm like, "playground onlookers are NOT going to mistake my angel-baby who is just defending herself for the troublemaker. Hands to yourself Claire!" It was ridiculous! The next thing we know V has rounded up all the colors of Benetton (it's a very diverse park population, which I appreciate) and they are crowding around those finger-snapping snoots and telling them off. It was awesome! "you're not being good friends...I AM big enough...you shouldn't be mean..." It was like an after-school special. The mean girls were outnumbered. The nice girls had HAD IT! It was so rewarding...for me, I guess for Claire and V and the rest of the good kids, who won't get caught stealing press-on nails from Walgreens in 6 years by the way, which I CAN'T say for you know whos. I was like "take that beeyotches! Have fun selling wings at Hooters in 11 years."

The best part? As we're leaving the park, little Paris Hilton bites it and falls down flat on her face. "Why did the mean girl fall down Papa?" without skipping a beat Mike replied, "Karma sweetie".

Kung Fu Claire

2009-08-01T08:08:00.000-05:00

"Karate Chop!"

Sweet Lemon Herb Marinated Shrimp & Mahi Mahi

2009-07-29T22:09:00.000-05:00

1 lb fresh deveined shrimp (tails or no tails - you decide)

2 defrosted Mahi Mahi steaks

1 cup of olive oil

1/3 cup of honey

1 T of fresh parsely or Italian parsley, chopped

1 T of fresh thyme

2 fresh garlic cloves, minced

lemon zest (key ingredient)

one hearty squeeze of fresh lemon juice

1 t kosher salt

1 t pepper

Marinate for at least 30 minutes. Up to 3 hours. Thred shrimp on skewers with red peppers, yellow peppers, onions and whole mushrooms. Grill for a few minutes on each side for kebabs, Mahi Mahi will take a little longer.

I served the kebabs with angel hair pasta and sauteed crushed tomatos, more garlic, lemon and a little white wine. DELISH! Even better for lunch the next day.

Viva la Vida!

2009-07-26T20:13:00.002-05:00

What a magical night at Riverport on Friday night. Yes, finally, my sweet Chris Martin and the guys from Coldplay came back to St. Louis after a loooong 4 years. The last time we saw Coldplay was literally the day before I found out we were pregnant with Claire. We've seen them for a total of 3 times now. Mike and I fell in love to the soundtrack of "Parachutes", we put one of their songs on our wedding cd and we generally just adore this band. I compare their concerts to having a religious experience. There is usually goosebumps and even tears of joy. Friday night was no different.

We got a great group together on the lawn; my sister, Leah, Carrie, Jason, Jenny and Matt, Eric and Suzanne and we even got to see Aunt Jackie, Sami and their family from France! The coolest part was that halfway through the show, the guys walked out onto the lawn and played some acoustic songs from a mini-stage. I gravitated for the spotlight following the band like a moth to a flame. I got SO close to them! It was unreal. They played "Green Eyes", the dummer Will played guitar and sang a little ditty and Chris broke out into a "Bille Jean" Michael Jackson cover. The crowd went wild. In all of my years going to shows at Riverport (technically it's Verizon Wireless, but it'll always be Riverport to me...) and I've never known a show to go out on the lawn. Considering lawn tickets were a reasonable (?) $60 a piece, I thought that was pretty cool. We also got a free live cd "Left Right Left Right Left", which has some great live tunes.

Besides the 60 minutes it took for us to exit the dang parking lot - it was a magical night to remember. I can't wait until they come back!

Oh! and by the way - a friend of Carrie's got this photograph and autograph from Chris Martin after the show. Who's that girl in the limo? And is Chris not wearing a shirt? Gwyneth?!....

Flower Power

2009-07-26T20:12:00.000-05:00

Most evenings after we all get home, Claire has been running through the backyard and handpicking flowers for me. She takes this task very seriously and fully expects me to place them in a vase with water - which I do of course. The next day, the 'flowers' are brown and shriveled, so she treks out to the backyard again - a virtual 'flower' garden if you will. And I love every bouqet she picks for me.

Chillin

2009-07-23T17:06:00.001-05:00

Claire has just been really cute lately.

Nothing specific.

That's all I got!

Losing

2009-07-23T16:13:00.005-05:00

So... a lot of people in my life don't know this yet, but I joined Weight Watchers 8 weeks ago.(thanks to Jenny!) I am proud to announce that I have 15 fewer pounds of fat on me than I did when I started. I have a lot more to go until I reach my goal, but I am super proud of myself! I've lost over 5% of my original body weight and about 17% of my ultimate goal. (I would like to weigh 5 pounds less than I did on my wedding day).

Wanna know what 1 pound of fat looks like? I thought so...

Nullah

2009-07-02T09:45:00.000-05:00

Friday night we used Mike's new grill for the 3rd time this week and had the Steelman's over for turkey burgers.. Then we watched "Australia" with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. It was SUCH a wonderful movie. Compelling story, beautiful cinematography, excellent acting, adorable little boy that somehow reminded me of Claire. It was very long though, I'm surprised the boys stayed awake, meanwhile Jenny and I were tearing up. Good flick - highly recommended!

Father's Day

2009-06-29T09:35:00.003-05:00

Don't I have the prettiest nieces ever? That's Vivi, Claire and Chloe modeling their fashionable foam visors they created on Father's Day. PawPaw's even getting in on the action.

Mike's 'surprise' Father's Day gift was a gas grill. He LOVES it!

ankle mystery

2009-06-18T15:31:00.001-05:00

We had to take Claire to the doctor for a weird ankle injury the other day. I was visiting Baby Zane at Meg's house when I noticed that Claire's left ankle bone was sticking out and had a bright red, inflamed circle encircling it. It literally almost looked like someone had placed a red, round sticker on her ankle. She wasn't in any pain, but I'm a good worrier. So we brought her into the pediatrician. (Note to new moms: 4 times is the magic number when you insist on being seen within the hour). The doctor examined, rotated, pressed, lifted, had Claire jump up and down...and found nothing wrong. She said we were to do nothing, just keep an eye on it to see if the red area got larger or started itching. She even looked for a puncture mark to rule out a bug bite. It's a mystery.

the swollen ankle

Baby Zane

2009-06-05T15:53:00.005-05:00

Ugh! My ovaries just groan when I look at pictures of this precious baby. Claire and I got to meet little Baby Charles Zane Jones, Erin Ferrell-Jones first baby boy! He is absolutely darling and such a good little baby. He barely cried and when he did it sounded like a little bird. Erin graciously let Claire help feed him his bottle (go figure - this prompted shirt lifting and requests to "suck on my boobs" from Claire) NOT EMBARRASSING AT ALL!

Erin says Zane doesn't look like her, more like daddy Chad. I think he looks like an angel from heaven. They chose the name Zane after Erin's late father, Tim Ferrell. Zane is the Gaelic name for Timothy. Erin also looks fabulous! She's back to running, biking and swimming.

Congratulations Ferrell-Jones'! Welcome to the world Baby Zane!

(watch out for that Lowder kid...!)

The Cobb Twins

2009-06-05T15:45:00.004-05:00

My good friends since high school, Shari and Jon Cobb, just had babies #3 and #4. Yep, that's right. Twins. Twin boys. TWIN. BOYS! We went over to the Scherr's to watch the Ultimate Fighting Championship, which against my better judgement, I was actually very fascinated with. Matthew is the "bald one" and Michael is the "cool one" according to their dad. I got to hold both (but not at the same time as demonstrated excellently here by Mike!). Claire kept asking to hold her favorite baby - Matt. There was cheek squeezing.

Claire was stupified to watch how Shari masterfully breastfed both twins at once with the help of pillows. Claire tried to pull up my shirt and masterfully breastfeed from my out-of-business mammories. We had a little talk about that...

Which hue of blue will do?

2009-05-21T23:04:00.003-05:00

I need help picking a wall color for our bedroom. From left to right:

Dutch Blue

Greek Sea

Meditteranean Blue

I don't want the room to look to dark or small. I'm going for a refreshing and energized feel.

And I know Mom - but Lowes doesn't carry Benjamin Moore/Buxton Blue and I refuse, I said REFUSE to patronize Home Depot.

Flower Power

2009-05-21T23:00:00.003-05:00

My front porch garden. Knockout rose bushes that have exploded with blooms and pansies - my newest favorite flower. They're always so hard to find every year,

but they're all mine this Spring! Beautiful.

First Fish

2009-05-21T07:20:00.000-05:00

Here's a picture of the first fish Claire caught at Pop's lake. This is not the fish that "bit" her finger because it thought it was a worm. For the record.

Go Cards!

2009-05-15T12:22:00.000-05:00

We got free tickets to the Cardinals game on May 6th, 2009. We played the Pirates I believe and we won (of course!) The highlight was when Puljols hit a homerun right as we entered the stadium and BIG, LOUD fireworks went off and Claire Lost. It. She immediately started crying and screaming "I wanna go home!". From that point on, every time she Cards hit the ball, Claire looked around the sky in fear waiting for the scary fireworks. She had fun. Ate a hot dog and a HUGE ice cream and fell asleep in the car. GO CARDS!

App that!

2009-05-14T14:26:00.000-05:00

Mike got me an iPhone for Mother's Day. It has totally changed my life. And by changed my life I mean, now I can check my Facebook or email whenever I want, find out the weather forecast for Paris whenever I want, and lookup a satelitte picture of my old house off Vista Ridge (i've done it) whenever I want. The iPhone also cures dandruff. It's that cool.

Chugga Chugga Choo Choo

2009-05-13T15:52:00.000-05:00

"Mommy Monday" is the weekday of the week I'm off of work and I try to do fun stuff with Claire on those days. We started by visiting my friend Liz's new baby daughter Natalie Lucille (LOVE the name!) in the hospital. I think I need to put the kibosh on bringing Claire to newborn hospital visits because she's super intense. And by super intense I mean, likes to grab and squeeze newborn baby feet and possibly tear them right off and put them in her pocket. It's fairly scary. But it comes from love. She really wants a little sister and Mike and I would love to give her that. But now I'm afraid for my future baby's appendages!

Anyway - after Attack of the Toddler at Missouri Baptist Hospital, we drove to the Saint Louis Zoo because it was a beautiful day. We usually have our routine, River's Edge, Seals, snack/lunch, Build-a-Bear store, Fragile Forest (all things monkey), then the bears and we're out. But I had an idea to take the Zoo Railroad, which I haven't taken in at least 25 years. She loved it! Except for the three times the train takes us through the small, dark tunnels. Then she scooted close to me and held my hand (adorable!)

She also made a friend (see below)

Pedi-cute!

2009-05-12T19:20:00.002-05:00

The other morning I was touching up my toes with some mismatched nail polish because one of them was chipped. It had Really Been Bothering me since it happened like the day after I went to VIP nail salon. Anyway, Claire saw me doing my touchup and asked if we could do her 'tootsies'. She was so good and sat very still while I painted each tiny little nail a bubble gum pink color. After they dried she asked if she could wear sandals. I explained to her that after you paint your toes you MUST wear sandals!

And the winner is...

2009-04-24T10:12:00.002-05:00

Emmy, Brian and Baby Nomi!

They're the generous mystery gifters. THANKS GUYS! :)

Checkup

2009-04-24T09:55:00.003-05:00

Claire had her 3rd year checkup at the pediatrician's office yesterday. We LOVE Dr. Terrill! She's sweet, knowledgable, understands being a new mom and really cares about Claire. Claire weighed in at a whopping 29 pounds and measured 37 inches tall! That put her in the 30% for her weight (up from 4% last year!) and 45% for height. She's a growing girl!

Dr. Terrill asked Claire to stand on one foot, do jumping jacks, stand on her tiptoes, on her heels, etc. She commented that Claire was "very coordinated for a 3 year old, most 5 year olds can't do all of that." I was thinking more along the lines of Elaine dancing from Seinfield, but I digress.

When asked what the best part of being 3 was by the Doc, Claire replied - "Cake."

Well played dear.

Photo Essay by Claire, age 3

2009-04-18T21:06:00.009-05:00

Mommy and Clairey

A Towel

A Pillow in the Bed

A Toy Storybook

My Shoes in Boxes

My Book, My Toes and My Pajamas

Pink ( a self portrait )

All photos taken and titled by Claire Michaella Lowder.

Looks like?

2009-04-18T20:49:00.002-05:00

I think it's the hair!

Mystery Gifter

2009-04-18T11:48:00.004-05:00

A very generous person had FedEx deliver several birthday presents to Claire! Yay! However, no card was attached, so we don't know who to thank! Boo! Who would like to take credit? They were from Toys 'R Us, giftwrapped and included three things:

Puppy Stuff

Garden Stuff

And one other item....?

(I obviously know what it is...but do YOU?)

If you were the gift giver - Thanks!

Please identify yourself and provide proof by revealing the third item.

(I don't trust many members of my family apparantly, plus i like to come up with annoying little games to amuse myself)

my little ballerina

2009-04-18T11:33:00.004-05:00

Focus Claire. FOCUS!

these little piggies

2009-04-15T20:21:00.003-05:00

Claire and I were in bed this morning and I playfully took her foot in my hand and acted like I was gonna munch on her feet.

"Don't eat my tootsies Mommy!"

"Why?"

"Because then they'll go in your tummy! (under her breath) and then you can't tickle them..."

3's a Charm

2009-04-11T23:27:00.002-05:00

Birthday pancakes (with candles!) Presents from Mama and Papa - puppy dog toy, Sesame Street flash cards, Fancy Nancy book. Story Time at STAGES St. Louis (Knuffle Bunny Too). Craft time (bunny paper plate). Lunch and TONS of games at Chuck E Cheese. Pizza. More games. Funny pictures. Prize (purple comb = 77 tickets). Big ol' nap. More presents. Pink leotard, pink tights and hair barrettes. First Dance Class! First. Dance. Class. People. Ballet/Tap Combo at Technique Studios with Ms. Kim. 8 adorable ballerinas spazzing out. Two separate incidents when Claire broke away from the group, ran out of the studio, found me and exclaimed "I love dance class Mom!" Trip to Head to Feet Dance Store to purchase first pair of ballet slippers and tap shoes. And a glittery tutu. Dinner at O'Charleys. (She was extra hungry after class by the way). Free ice cream at Cold Stone (I had a birthday coupon). More presents from Old Tom and Lake Gramma (clothes, Dora coloring book, activity book, etc.) Bedtime.

This was the BEST birthday EVER!

Party Time! Excellent!

2009-04-11T23:03:00.003-05:00

Claire's 3rd birthday party was on saturday the 4th at our house. The Lowder's are blessed to have an ENORMOUS family and the party gave me the same feeling as my wedding. I kept losing my drink, never really got to sit down and enjoy myself, and somehow didn't get to visit with anyone. Claire had the most fun ever though. About 15 of her cousins and friends were there and they were wound for sound.

Special thanks:

Pop for trying to untangle 24 mylar balloons for over an hour. Unsuccessfully.
To Nana for talking me off the ledge. Multiple times.
To Sam's for the bumblebee and ladybug cupcakes that everyone thought I baked.
To Grammy for picking up the ledge.
To Brian for giving me a drag.
To the Columbia contingent for driving up just for the party.
Whomever gave Claire the HUGE Princess coloring pad. It's really awesome. (Claire likes it too)
Mike for being the Grill Master

God for blessing us with our Claire Bear for another year!!!

Sweet Home Chicago

2009-03-28T22:29:00.003-05:00

Claire, mom and I drove to Chicago to see little Leah for her birthday this weekend. So far it's been an adventure in toddler-mania. Friday night we went to The Most Crowded Pizzeria Ever and had a yummy pizza. But since I have M.S.A.D. (multi-sensory agitation disorder - mike and I invented said diagnosis especially for my neurosis), I likened my dining experience to eating in a war zone. There had to be fire code violations all over the place.

Saturday, we picked up Mary and went shopping. But not until Leah full-on rolled the window down and yelled at a young gentleman driving a BMW that STOLE HER PARKING SPOT. There were words, there was embarassment, we had to park like 2.5 miles away from the restaurant. Only to be seated in a booth right next to BMW parking spot stealer. It was hilarious. I thought Leah was gonna crawl under the table.

We went to Target, b/c you know they don't have those in the 'Lou. (actually Leah's is usually better than ours). I got 3 boring yet comfortable T-shirts, a new turqouise leather wallet, amethyst drop earrings and two cute shirts for Claire. Mom got her some games to keep at Leah's house to keep her entertained, Go Fish, Memory and a puzzle. Because everything takes longer in the city, we got way off schedule and Claire unfortunately missed her nap. She quickly turned into a drunk sailor - spitting out food, yelling uncontrollably, hoping on people's laps, it was madness. She was overtired and had hit the wall and there was no turning back. She would only eat the crusts of my bread and dip them in spaghetti sauce. She was getting time-outs during her time-outs. FUN! Eventually, I had to break out the big guns and call Papa. She missed him and started crying. Mike sang her songs and was babysitting our niece Zoey and they got to 'chat' (I use that term loosely) on the phone. At one point Claire told Papa she was going to "punch him in the face" (thanks Aunt Ya Ya!) Thank beejebus she's sleeping soundly now, but she'll probably be up at 5 a.m. ready to party.

What's that? IKEA? I know, I miss you too. I long for your enormity and low-priced Swedish merchandise. I'm certain I could find just the right ergonomic watering can for $1.99 or streamlined ottoman I didn't even realized I needed. I can hear you calling my name! I can't even pronounce the names of 70% of your products! But I don't know if it's meant to be this trip.

5th Anniversary = Wooden Gifts

2009-03-22T17:43:00.005-05:00

Beautiful day, yummy noodles at Bobo, my first trip to the History Museum and 100th to the Art Museum, yummy cheese & chocolate fondue at The Melting Pot, beautiful wooden inlay watch from Michael, champagne toast, TONS of fun at Jive and Wail with awesome friends, many, many beers, MIZZOU fight songs, singing "watermelon" with my girls, shots from Nancy (Rebelettes forever!), free drinks all night from Eric, the Cobbs appearance (they just had twins for god's sake!), dueling pianos, downtown hotel room with perfect view of the stadium, SLEEPING IN!, crepes at Rooster, 3 hour nap. wheh!

What a perfect way to ring in 5 years!

Special thanks to Grammy and GG & Bobbo for watching Claire overnight!

Happy 5th Anniversary to Us!

2009-03-19T21:38:00.003-05:00

March 20th, 2004.

Happiest day of my life.

(Most people say the birth of their children is the happiest day of their lives, but anyone that remembers what that day was like for me would understand my rankings.)

Parent of the Year!

2009-03-19T21:33:00.002-05:00

As I sweetly tuck in Claire for the night (in my room b/c Mike is playing), she says,

"Mama. Will you clean my room please?"

"Yes, honey. Why?"

"So I don't trip over anymore toys."

This is just sad.

Holes

2009-03-17T21:23:00.005-05:00

To help relieve the guilt I feel every morning when I leave for work, I've explained to Claire that at work I "help people". This makes me feel better, teaching her altruism and all and I'm explaining to her about the helping profession I am so proud of.

So lately, when I leave and Claire asks where I'm going I remind her "to work". Claire will say "oh, to help people?" And I respond, "yep, to help people". (It's very Mary Tyler Moore/Peace Corp volunteer of me).

So the other day I ask Claire what Mama did to actually "help" the "people"?

She quickly responded.

"You help get them out of holes."

A few days later I ask again.

Same answer.

"No honey. Mama talks to people. That's how she helps them."

Few more days.

"Mama? Are you going to go help people? Help 'em out of holes?"

"Err, yes honey. I'll see you when I get home. Hey! By the way, how does Mama help the people get out of holes exactly?"

"You pull 'em up!".

"Why are they in the holes Claire?"

"Because they're stuck."

Duh.

a girl after my own heart

2009-03-12T22:57:00.004-05:00

Yesterday Claire was begging for a snack. I knew what she wanted, but I wanted her to have something healthy. I offered her lots of choices I knew she liked. Here's how this exchange went down:

CLAIRE: I hungry mama.
MAMA: OK, how about a banana?

CLAIRE: I don't want a 'nana! I want Diego Snacks!

MAMA: No, you've already had Diego Snacks today. How about some applesauce?

CLAIRE: NO! I want something else.

MAMA: What about some yogurt?

CLAIRE: I don't like yogurt! (yes she does!) I want Diego Snacks!

MAMA: Honey, you don't need more junk. You need something healthy.

CLAIRE: I DON'T WANT SOMETHING HEALTHY! I WANT SOMETHING YUMMY!

Spoken like a true Stallone.

For the record she settled on applesauce. But at one point I had to sprinkle "fairy-dust" on it to get her to finish it. What?! Stop judging me.

Blatant Request for Gifts

2009-03-08T15:00:00.008-05:00

MawMaw and PawPaw got Claire a kitchen set for Christmas last year and since she had received one the year before we got the receipt and finally took it back to Toys R Us. I had something special in mind. Dollhouses have changed tremendously since my days! We got her a Fisher Price Loving Family Grand Dollhouse.

It's pink - Claire's favorite color. : )

The backside of the dollhouse is all kinds of tricked out! Mike wanted to get her the deluxe version that included 'all the pieces you see here!" b/c he's a sweet dad. But I'm old-school and I thought she needed something to work up to. "save your pennies Claire and you can buy a mini refridgerator for your dollhouse!" I mean, it's real-life money management skills as far as I'm concerned.

So, Claire's 3rd brithday is coming up (April 8 - if you don't know that you probably shouldn't be reading this, or you have a bad memory) Anyway, Mike says she needs more furniture and apparantly not milk crates and particle board bookshelves like when we had our first place. He's so uppity. So check out Toys R Us. Anything "Fisher Price/Loving Family" will suffice.

While I'm thinking of it, other listables include:

1. X Binoculors

2. Penguin-related things (her favorite exhibit at the Zoo)

3. "Wall-E" dvd

4. Gift certificates for clothes (her size is usually so inconsistant,

but i'd go with 3T b/c we don't have to worry about

length during spring and summer; current shoe size is 7)

5. Anything Princess-related (especially Sleeping Beauty) I almost vomitted as typing this b/c I am normally anti-princess, but you can only fight gender

conditioning for so long right?! (A Princess who's "true heart's desire" is NOT to get

married to a douchebag prince at a young age would be preferable....to her mom)

6. Gift Certificate to Technique Studio in Valley Park for her dance classes

or Stages St. Louis for singing classes.

Quadruple Birthday Dinner

2009-03-05T18:24:00.002-06:00

We had a quadruple birthday dinner for my Grandma Stallone (Feb 11), Grandpa Stallone (Feb1), Mother-in-Law, Cindy(Feb 8) and Father-in-Law Ron (Feb 14) about a month ago for my homemade lasagna. Grandma and Grandpa Ellsworth came too. It was really nice having everyone over to the house and celebrating the plethora of February birthdays. Grandpa Stallone gave my lasagna props, which made me proud! We had four different desserts for the birthday peeps so they could all blow out their own candles. Lemon tart with raspberries, cheesecake, chocolate cake and carrot cake. Yummy! Happy (belated at this point) birthday everyone!

Gingerbread House

2009-03-05T18:18:00.002-06:00

We bought a Gingerbread House Kit last December and hid it as to not torment Claire until it was time to build the masterpiece. And then we forgot we had the thing. Mike put it together with her one morning while I grocery shopped in peace. Claire gazes at it lovingly when she's hungry.

What a week!

2009-03-01T20:27:00.008-06:00

This has been one crazy week! The best news of the week...I got a promotion! My new title will be Support Services Coordinator

. I will basically be supervising my department now. Really excited and nervous about this new change, but mostly proud. A year ago I was at a job where I was miserable and now I really feel appreciated!

Saturday night we went out with our friends, the A

ustin's. We met Laura and Brady Valentine's Day of '08 at the Bissell Mansion Dinner Theater. They were seated at our table and the dinner was kind of weird and hilarious and so was our conversation. We had lots in common, Mizzou, 2 year olds, similar ages, similar wedding anniversaries, etc. So they graciously invited us over to their house for pizza and margaritas. Their 2 year old, Tyler, got along famously with Claire. They're both very intense, talkative and don't understand personal bubbles. It was like death match one minute, a fairy tale the next. At one point, one (or both) of them pushed over a brand new standing lamp and broke it. It wasn't embarassing at all. It was mortifying. God, I hope JC Penney has a leniant return policy.

Sunday we rode the parent train to two kiddo birthday parties. Nina turned one at her dad's restaurant, Jive and Wail. Shout out to the homemade red velvet cupcakes. I mean, real red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing. We had to skip out early and missed Nina tearing into her strawberry shaped cake to go to my niece, Viviana's, 4th birthday party at Monkey Joe's in O'Fallon. If you're not familiar, this is basically a monstrous gym with a dozen or so 'bounce houses'. Claire had a spastic time climbing and jumping and sliding and bonking around with her cousins. Unfortunately, the purple monkey "Monkey Joe" made several appearances and it probably scarred her for life. I mean, are they even trying to make this character appealing to kids?! I don't think so.

By 6:30pm Claire was asleep and Mama had a migraine. I'm watching the L word and calling it a night.

let them eat cheesecake

2009-02-24T16:15:00.003-06:00

Claire and I went to visit my mom in Fayette this weekend, while Mike painted her bathroom. It looks totally rad and exactly how I pictured it 2.5 years ago when we first moved in! :) I will post a picture of here when I have a minute.

Claire had tons of fun playing with her 2nd cousins Jack and Sami (and the other boy "Nickel" aka Jack's friend Nick King)

Jenny and I had a girls date on Friday night. We went to this cool restaurant called Triumph Grill. We had drinks and 1/2 price apps and then saw "He's Just Not That Into You", which I highly recommend. I laughed, I cried, I was riveted. Afterwards, we went to the Cheesecake Factory for some lima beans...I kid!....for some cheesecake! mmmmmmmmm. Jenny was jealous of my hot fudge and I was jealous of her ganache. It was a fun girls nite and we vowed to do that more often. Then I left my cell phone in her call for the remainder of the weekend and finally got it back Tuesday afternoon, so if you tried to call me on my cell...

beef tips and egg noodles

2009-02-17T20:19:00.003-06:00

Claire runs upstairs to get me on the computer

C: "Mom! Dinno's ready!"
E: "OK, I'm coming. What is it?"
C: " LUNCH!"

and scene.

Valentine's Day

2009-02-15T00:05:00.005-06:00

Claire raked it in this year for Valentine's Day. Here's the lowdown
-cute felt totebag full of candy and Sleeping Beauty bubble bath from Grammy
-little stuffed bear and money from Great Grandma and Grandpa Stallone
-sweet card and more moolah from MawMaw and PawPaw Lowder
-Dora underwear and sweet tarts from Nana and Pop
-Princess stickers from Mama and Papa
Thanks everybody!

Mike took me to Iron Barley for some Schnitzle. I'm serious, and it was seriously good! Then we went to Cold Stone Creamery and snuck it into the movies to see "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". It was a very fun date night. Just what we needed on Valentine's Day.

Thanks for watching Claire Nana!

2009-02-12T21:48:00.001-06:00

2009-02-12T21:45:00.001-06:00

2009-02-12T21:33:00.000-06:00

Wordle

2009-02-12T21:20:00.000-06:00

Toilet Humor

2009-02-08T23:57:00.004-06:00

Claire wanted to play a little role-reversal game this morning at breakfast. She told me I was Clairey and she was Mama. Here's how our conversation went:

"Mama": eat your pancakes sweetie
"Clairey": i don't wanna!
"Mama": honey!
"Clairey": i want something else!
"Mama": what else do you want?
"Clairey": Gummi Bears?
"Mama": No, we no eat Gummi Bay-o's for breakfast.
"Clairey": It's not fair!!
"Mama": OK - you can have some!

Wow! That was easy...and scene.

Then "Clairey" (this is still me acting like Claire people) has a freak-out because she really has to use the potty.
*"Clairey" jumps up frantically from the kitchen table*

"C": I gotta go potty! I gotta go potty!

*"Clairely" runs and sits on the potty. (i really did have to go pee if you must know)
*"Mama" follows me in the bathroom with a super bedside (pottyside?) manner.

"M": It's gonna be ok babe. ("Mama" holds my hand lovingly.) Don't push too hard.

AND scene. true story.

Life's not fayo.

2009-02-06T20:53:00.006-06:00

Things have been pretty dramatic in the Lowder household lately. Full of piss and vinegar...almost literally. We're going gangbusters with this potty training and Claire's been doing very well overall. But I'd be a liar if I didn't admit that we didn't have some big, fat puddles on the floor...especially in the last couple of days. Just tonight she peed so much on the kitchen chairs that it spilled down on the floor and Mike looked over and thought she had spilled her cup of water!

Claire's 'DIVA' personality is really coming through lately too. She's so dramatic. Cindy and I were teasing her this afternoon that she better take us to the Academy Awards when she's nominated for her first Oscar!

One day last week she gave me The Hardest Time getting ready in the morning. She fights me during the entire process. She Hates taking her PJ's off. She Hates going potty. She Hates putting pants on, her shirt, socks, shoes...it's endless. She started getting really rowdy and hitting me, so instead of trying my old standard "Supernanny-Approved Time Out" and decided to try a new technique - really hitting her where it hurts - her toys. I told her I would take a toy away every time she hit. The first time it was her precious baby doll crib. "NO! Not the crib. Where are you taking it?!" I hid it away in the office where she couldn't get it. Claire smartly retaliated by, well hitting me again. Away goes the baby stroller. (See ya piece of plastic crap I've been wanting to get rid of anyway). Claire sees Mama means business and follows me downstairs and starts to calm down. But before we can get out the door she slaps me in a fit of pop-tart deprivation. "Bye-Bye Dora Backpack". Claire LOST IT. I mean, Meryl Streep would have been jealous. There was flailing, kicking, screaming....my new disciplinary technique must be working! :)

I have to physically chase her through the snow-filled front yard and wrangle her into the car seat. She was bawling and bemoaning the loss of her toys. She howled to call Nana on the phone. I needed a witness, so I was happy to accomodate. We called my mom on my cell phone and I put the call on speaker.

CLAIRE: "Waaaahhhhhh. Nannnaa Mama mumble took toys mumble put 'em in the offish. uuuuuuhhhhhhhhh!"
NANA: "Oh honey, Liz what is she saying?"
ELIZABETH: "Mama put her toys in the office because she was h-i-t-t-i-n-g me."
CLAIRE: "IT'S NOT FAIR!"
NANA: "Oh honey, what did you do to make Mama take your toys away?
CLAIRE: "I dunno. It's not fayo. hmph!"
NANA: "Mama loves you, don't be upset. Put a little sunshine in your day today."
*Claire looks outside to the overcast sky outside the car window*
CLAIRE: "There's no sun Nana."
*We drive past Lone Elk Park, where we sometimes see deer in the forest*
CLAIRE: "I don't see lions, or tigers or elephants or nothing! irreverant mumbling
ELIZABETH Hysterically Laughs until a little pee comes out!
ELIZABETH "Mom - did you hear that? We're driving past that park off Highway 44 and she doesn't see lions or tigers or elephants or nothing!"
CLAIRE: "...or monkeys or cows or nothing. It's not fayo."