Mavis Turns Two and I Better Get Some of These Mavis-isms Down

Mavis is two now and that makes her officially a kid.  Mezmur and Mavis are always together and below...you will see Mavis, in her Wilco ("ice-cream") shirt...in her I'm-just-checking-out-my-surroundings-look.  She usually will look like this when there are other people around.  She can be very quiet, but when she is home with just us...her personality really comes out.  Her personality that she models after her older siblings...you know, telling me to shut-up and such.

Below, are two photos of Mavis pooping.  Yes, pooping.  She likes privacy when she does her business, which makes me hopeful for an early potty trainer.

Mavis LOVES Yo Gabba Gabba...I mean, who doesn't?  Am I right?  I mean, Dan has been bugging me to put a YGG disk on hold at the library for days.  It was a YGG birthday for Mavis...

 ...it was also an Easter birthday for Mavis.  Because, her birthday was on Easter. 

Here is Mavis enjoying one of her favorite snacks...a clementine.  This is just to balance out all of the Easter candy she got on her birthday. 

This isn't the greatest photo in the world...with all the trash in the background, but I love how happy Mavis and her cousin Lucy are.  Built in best friends! 

We had a fun family BBQ on Easter.  It was a beautiful day for late March...it felt a bit like summertime.  I wasn't even going to make a cake for Mavis' birthday, but then a friend gave me the idea to make a Easter bunny cake.  Duh. 

It turned out so cute and Mavis LOVED blowing out her candles.

Here are the Lapour kids enjoying their cake.

Mavis is such a sweet girl.  She learns horrible things from her older siblings, which makes me so sad.  I think our whole family dynamic would be sooooo different if she was born first, but alas...she learns so much from her sassy and naughty siblings...not to mention, I'm burnt out and Mavis just doesn't get the same treatment the first and second got.  Mostly the first, with all the walks to the park and library storytimes.  Mavis' outings mostly consist of ANOTHER trip to the grocery store and going to drop off, drop off, pick up, and pick up her brother and sister from school.  It's really that many drop offs and pick ups...that's not a typo.

 

Below are some interesting facts about our Mavis:

 

She is obsessed about "guy-guys."  Translation- a zombie or equally scary guy.  Recently, Rhett painted a zombie and showed it to Mavis.  She has been obsessed with it for weeks.  She tells everyone she sees, "Rhett make guy-guy...too gary."  (gary = "scary") She also wakes up in the middle of the night screaming, "Rhett make guy-guy," or just, "Guy-guy!"  She is a sensitive girl.

 

This brings us to Mavis' sleep.  She still wakes up once or twice a night...usually due to nightmares.  She is still in our bed...due to nowhere else to put her at the moment.  She usually wakes up asking for "nee-nee-time."  Her main source of comfort remains my boobs.  "Nee-nee-time" means she wants her hand on my boob.  My mom finds it "weird", but I see it as a comfort that only I can give her and the last line to my baby Mavis.  She won't do it forever...duh.  She's only two.

 

Mavis is obsessed with Yo Gabba Gabba and Carly Rae Jepsen.  Yes, Carly Rae.  Dan started to play Call Me Maybe for Mezmur and Mavis caught on.  She would ask to hear that song all day long.  She called and still calls it "Oh, Baby."  We were told to play "Obaba-Oh-Baby," (Obama sings Call Me Maybe) or "Guy-guy-Oh-Baby," (Darth Vader) or "Cookie-Elmo-Oh-Baby." (Cookie monster sings Call Me Maybe)  She was obsessed.  Thankfully I convinced her I didn't have those songs on my phone...that they were only on Dan's phone.  Dad's a softy when it comes to Mavis.  Thankfully she has moved on to the new Muppet movie songs, The Flaming Lips Yeah Yeah Yeah Song, and Bjork's Oh So Quiet song.  Oh, she is also fond of Suit and Tie by Justin Timberlake.

 

I am loving Mavis' language development.  She has many of her own words that I understand.  Like, "avee" (water), "uck" (chip), "mow-mow" (cat), "Nonie" (Mezmur), "A-E-I" (when she wants to write or do art)...I know there are a ton more, but I can't think of any right now.

She calls herself "Mimi", which is so fascinating to me.  Mimi is Mezmur's middle  name and the name we called my Grandmother growing up.  Also, Mavis doesn't sound too much like Mimi, so how she started calling herself Mimi is a mystery.  I love it and I hope the nickname sticks.  We have two Mimis and I call both Mavis and Mezmur Mimi sometimes.  It gets a little confusing at times.

 

My wish for Mavis on her second birthday...my favorite age by the way...I wish that her sister won't teach her how to call me stupid and that her brother won't teach her to yell at me and say I'm the worst mom ever...at least not until she is three.  I just want one more year of a sweet baby.  Because three is my least favorite age and the countdown has already begun.

Ventral Hernia Repair And Abdominal Plasty

It's done!  I no longer look pregnant.  Not just that, but now I can sleep on my back, feel my abdominals working when I laugh, can fully stretch those muscles in the morning, I have more support when I stand, oh, and I DON'T LOOK PREGNANT!

                                                                           Here is the lovely front view.  Notice the extra skin?  That is why the Abdominal Plasty...tummy tuck. 

 If I didn't have the tummy tuck...it wouldn't be pretty.  It just sucked that insurance didn't cover that part...oh, well.

 Surgery day finally came!  I was nervous, but thankful Dan was there.  The Dr. came in right before the surgery and marked me...Nip Tuck style.  I was wishing Dan had taken a photo.  He cut out a 4" by 12" section of my skin.  Or as my brother likes to say...48 square inches.  That's a lot of skin!  Good riddance.  See the lovely accessory?  That's my drain bag.  It will be a part of me for almost three weeks before it comes out.  I'll just say...I won't miss it and leave it at that.

 I may have mentioned here that I wouldn't have a belly button.  Well, that's what he told me up until the morning of the surgery.  I think he is a prepare-you-for-the-worst kind of surgeon, because when I asked him after the surgery about the belly button he said, "I just did what I always do...saved your belly button."  Ok.  He's sort of a magician.  Notice the eyes Rhett gave my creepy 22" stomach smile?

This surgery is a life changer for me.  It not only makes me feel better physically (regardless of the recovery) and feel better about myself.  I don't have to worry about the looks from people who are likely thinking, "Wow.  That woman is having a forth child?  She can't even control the three that she has."  Or the suspicious looks from waitstaff when I order a cocktail and I won't need to hear the "fabulous" extensive non-alcoholic menu anymore.  I felt compelled to show the nurse in the hospital before pictures of me and she was shocked.  I teared up telling her that it was a life changer...

 

I really do feel great physically.  It's almost 5 weeks since the surgery and I feel great.  I did get a blood clot after the surgery, which added months (!) to the recovery...regarding swelling and drainage.  I'm just so relieved that it is over with!  I was really anxious about the surgery and recovery.  The second half of the life changer is all the people who came out to help me.  Dan was home the first week, but after that he went back to work.  I was still barely able to walk, so I needed help with everything.  A dear friend cleared out her whole schedule for three whole days to help me with all of my needs.  She blew me away.  She has two teenagers at home (teenagers I once nannied!) and she was still able to help with everything...from speech therapy to changing diapers.  For three whole days!!! 

 

Another friend did ALL of my drop offs and pick ups...ALL of them for two weeks!  Other friends brought meals.  That was such great help!  We just got our last meal last night.  Other friends and family helped take the kids off my hands for a couple of hours here and there...that was huge.  Such generosity and it made me realize how many people love me.  Such a great feeling. 

 

Life changing...all of it.  Thanks to you all. 

Adventures In Hair

The adventure really comes down to having enough bribes and just the right shows and movies to get us through.  I would do her hair all day long if I could, but its the begging to let me finish "just one more twist" that will drive me crazy.  She really does great most of the time.  This took 10ish hours and I would say 9 out of the 10 were smooth sailing.  She is a tv junkie, so getting to watch tv all day while I do her hair is a great privilege.  But that one hour was enough to give me a pulmonary. 

The idea was for me to do a great hair style that would last for weeks into my recovery.  This should do the trick.  Then when we take them out it should give me at least one more week of awesome twist outs.  I'm sort of giddy about what that will look like.  I love twists. 

Mezmur picked out the rainbow yarn.  I thought it would make it extra fun for her.  The goal is for her to love her hair and she sure loves her hair right now...especially the rainbow yarn. 

 

 I love that girl and her hair.

Me Now

No.  I'm not pregnant.  I just have the largest diastasis ever seen.  So large it "acts like a hernia."

Twenty days from today...it will be gone.  And my body will be replaced with the body I'm supposed to have.  I have to put it like that otherwise...it sounds like I'm pretty vain.  It is a cosmetic surgery after all.  It is "not medically necessary to repair."  Apparently, living with a huge whole in my belly allowing my organs to push forward protected only by a layer of "too thin" tissue is no biggie.  The only pain I get is from standing for too long.  My back starts to hurt and don't even get me started on when my bed mate (Mavis and Dan, but I'm talking about Mavis) kicks me in the stomach!  Yowza. 

I feel like the last eight years (It did get much worse after Mavis, but it has been since after Rhett) is just a season of my life and it's about to end! If only the medical field and insurance companies weren't run by men...then, maybe I wouldn't have to pay a crazy amount out of pocket for a necessary surgery.  Yes, half is covered (Which happened with a lot of work and effort from us.), but the other half is a tummy tuck (Which is a very necessary part of the surgery...trust me.) and nowhere in the history of tummy tucks will insurance cover it.  Which doesn't seem fair to someone like me where it is necessary because of a medical issue, but whatevs.  I'm just a lowly woman who chose to have a couple of biological children.

 

Right now I feel a combination of over the top giddiness and over the top nervousness.  I'm just nervous of the recovery...will it be quick and painless or linger on for months (or even a year as I hear is possible)?

 

One thing that has been super annoying over this season of my life are all the other woman who say, "That's what I have!"..as I look at their flat stomach.  No.  I am not trying to say I have it worse than anyone else, just that I'm an individual and what I have is unique to only me.  The most fun I've had with this situation was at Dan's work Christmas party.  There was a very pregnant woman who couldn't keep her eyes off of me and all the wine I was drinking.  Ha.

Rhett Turns Eight

R H E T T    T U R N S    E I G H T !

This is his "on" year for a birthday party.  He chose a Harry Potter themed party, but wanted to watch a movie with his friends.  No pinata, no games, no dressing up like your favorite character...that is all so "babyish" to this eight-year-old.

We decorated the cupcakes with Golden Snitches that we made out of Ferraro Rocher candy.  The party favors?  We went to Portland's Peculiararium for the party favors.  We searched for the most Harry Potterish things and we came home with 9 boxes of edible bugs, viles of unicorn boogers, and death mints. 

Rhett and I printed out some Harry Potter labels.  The kids got such a kick out of the Butter Beer labels!  It's the simple things, I guess.

Our Vernon owl fit the Harry Potter theme nicely.

I found this Hedwig at Goodwill a couple of months ago.  Rhett is not into stuffed animals anymore, but he liked this one.

Hedwig watches over the Snitches.  I tried to frost the cupcakes with gold and maroon...you know, Gryffindor colors, but they turned out orange and purple.  No one cared...I even let it go.  I also made the cupcakes from a box.  I've come a long way people....

We borrowed a projector and watched the movie on a big sheet in the Living Room.  It definitely made watching a movie more fun.  This was the storm before the quiet.  All nine boys watched the first hour of the movie without making a peep.  Then slowly...we lost them.  I would say only four watched the whole movie.  I still call the party a success!  Rhett had fun, although he doesn't show us that he is having fun these days.  A sign of weakness?

One boy ate the bugs!  I tried to tell Rhett that Henry's new nickname should be Cricket, but he thought I was being "dumb."

The day before his birthday we let him open his present.  Just look at that face...the face of a boy getting just what he's always wanted...the thing that "all" of his friends have.  The thing that I hated buying for him, but...look at that happy boy.  A Wii.

This boy is happy with it too.

 Rhett didn't want us to sing "happy birthday" to him, he didn't want me to bring treats to his class ("that's what all the little stupid girls do"), and his morning request was his very own latte.  Eight going on thirteen. 

He requested Pok Pok chicken wings for his birthday dinner.  He has very good taste and is very mature these days...until I tell him he has to get off the Wii.

Christmas With Mezmur, Rhett, and Mavis

Awww...Christmas.  This year we spent Christmas Eve in Salem with Dan's Dad.  We had fun tearing up Aunt Anne and Uncle Ryan's house while they were out of town.  We sat on all their fancy chairs and drank all their fancy wine (at the perfect temperature).  Just kidding.  But we did eat their chocolate and catch their toaster on fire.

 Murray and Dobby got lots of people food.  Not by choice!  Boy, they sure act out when their parents aren't home.  Sorry, A and R, but you may need to retrain your dogs when you come home.  I think their Grandpa is too lenient.

 I found this dress for Mavis at Goodwill a couple days before Christmas.  I love it!  I also love her muddy knees before church. 

 We ate chicken potpie and watched A Muppet Christmas Carol.  After the movie the kids put on their mama made Christmas pjs.  I LOVE how Rhett's turned out, but I don't love the girl's.  Too much fabric and not the cutest results.  I used Rhett's old Pac-Man sheets for the big kids.

It has a cute classic look, but not very practical and a little "itchy."

 Mavis was a royal wreck on Christmas Eve.  She wouldn't pose by the fire for me.

By the time we got home from Salem...I was spent.  I got the big kids to bed and was getting ready to take a breather to watch an episode of Revenge and make a Christmas pickle, then I remembered...we forgot milk and cookies!  Now, do I get Mezmur out of bed or do I just forget about it?  I was so close to skipping milk and cookies, but I got her out of bed and just her and I put out the Santa treat.  It was a sweet moment.  I'm glad I got her out of bed and was glad to put her back in bed.

 The tree.  Before the day was over...one of those tea party cups will be broken, due to a little girl (Mezmur) "slamming it down."

 Here is Mavis' finished Waldorf doll.  I crocheted for the first time ever to make the hair and knit her a sweater.  Her pjs even match Mavis' Christmas pjs.

Christmas morning.

 Thank you sweet baby Jesus.  A piano I don't have to hear ALL DAY LONG.  Don't get me wrong,  I LOVE hearing Rhett play the piano, but we have a very small house and the piano is very loud.

 This was the year of Hello Kitty and Barbie for Mezmur.  She asked Santa for a Barbie for Christmas.  I was resistant, but I figure...I'll be messing her up a lot more than a Barbie ever could.  I searched Ebay for one that didn't look too much like a street walker and we ended up with a 1984 black astronaut Barbie. 

 Mavis liked her doll I made for about 2 minutes then she wanted me to take off all the clothes then she threw it on the ground and grabbed the doll she got last Christmas.  Oh, well.

Christmas was another success.  I made brunch for the family (mom, grandad, and Jay), which included our Christmas cranberry coffee cake, leek and asparagus frittata, bacon, sausage, and fruit salad.  For Christmas we got a Rancilio Silvia espresso maker!  Yes, we did!!!  Today (the day after  Christmas) I made us the best lattes ever!  Ever!  I can't wait for tomorrow morning, so I can do it again.  We stayed home in our pjs the whole day and went to Portland International Raceway to see the lights.  I'm not going to lie...Christmas day felt like the day that would never end, but I'm sure there were lots of memories made.  Like taking turns diving the car at P.I.R., learning what techno music was and learning about how to play the theme to Seinfeld on Rhett's new keyboard, and finally sitting down to watch another episode of Revenge while I worked on a Christmas gift for a member of the family for a later Christmas celebration...see?...the day that may never end.