I admit that one of my guilty pleasures is a little dab of country music now and then. There's plenty of it that annoys me, but I like the storytelling genre and the less twangy/more cheesy stuff is tolerable and even enjoyable. So one of the stations programmed into my radio buttons is always a local country station, which is checked every so often to see if they're playing one of the songs I find myself singing along to.
Recently, I was flipping through the stations and caught only the end of a song. It was a male performer, and I was pretty sure the part I was hearing was the end of the chorus. I could have SWORN he said, "I'd like to walk you through a field of wildflowers, and I want to check you for ticks." Ticks? Those little bugs that suck your blood? Surely I heard that wrong. But the song was over and I moved on. Still, I could not get it out of my mind. Who sings a love song about checking someone for ticks?
As I am somewhat obsessive, I continued my internal questioning about the song out loud, singing what I heard for Peter, who agreed this was probably a mistake on my part. "To the Internet!" he exclaimed. Sure enough. There is a song--a whole ALBUM even--called "Ticks" by Brad Paisley. The song carries a great deal of innuendo about checking one's love interest for ticks, because they hide in the hidden places (wink, wink). Attached is a link to the lyrics of this song.
Only a country song could possibly have ticks as a theme. Can you imagine Led Zeppelin writing a song about bugs on someone's hidden places? I think not.
Video Link--Yes, those dancers are dressed up as TICKS.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Molly and Papa
Here's a blog posting courtesy of my Dad:
As I was shaving this morning, getting ready to take Molly to her Y summer camp and go to work, Molly started chatting with me. She started reminiscing nostalgically about some things she remembered, and I told her I was impressed with what a good memory she had. Then:
“Papa, do you remember everything about when you were a little boy?”
“Well, I don’t remember everything, but I remember some things.”
“Some things?”
“Uh-hunh.”
“Can you tell me about such a time, one that you remember?”
“I liked to play like I was a cowboy. I had a Superman cape, and as you know, I still like to play Supergirl with you. And I had an electric train I really enjoyed.”
“An electric train? One that went on a track?”
“Yep. I used to play with that for hours at a time.”
“Where did you get it?”
“It belonged to my brother Bailey. He’s older than me, so when he stopped playing with it, he let me play with it.”
“Will you get me an electric train some day?”
“Well, I might. We’ll see if you want one.”
“Oh, I’ll want one.”
“All right. We’ll see.”
“And then when I stop playing with it, I’ll let my younger sisters play with it.”
“That’s nice, Molly.”
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
A Glimpse into the Future
The Marsh Ladies have been super-busy again, and I am getting a taste of life in Memphis when Peter is out-of-town for work and the girls need to be chauffered to various events while I have to work. This is going to be quite a juggling act--that whole "Memphis support network" is already being tested! Thank goodness I am only working 2 days a week.
I started orientation at the hospital in Jackson this week, meeting with the midwives and staff at the clinic in addition to the oh-so-exciting OSHA-required trainings about not picking up broken glass and chemicals with your bare hands, wearing gloves, smiling at patients and being part of the "family" at the huge-gigantic-behemoth hospital.
Keep in mind that Jackson is over an hour from my parents' house, so I am out of the house at 6:30, leaving the girls with their grandparents for getting ready for the day. The night before, I lay out their clothes for them to wear to their respective day camps as well as packing lunches and writing notes of instruction for the dropper-offers. Sunscreen and mosquito repellent are set out for morning application. Molly goes to Day Camp at the YMCA, where she swims and plays outside all day, as well as apparently playing with basketballs, watching a movie "where aliens suck the energy out of the people," having water Olympics, enjoying craft time. Rebecca is attending "Nuts About Nature" camp at the same montessori school where she will be in preschool starting August 13. She also plays outside and does crafts, sings and dances, and on Fridays will have movie day also.
So they have to be in two different places, one at 8:15 and the other by 9. Then they have to be picked up, one at 2:45, the other by 5 (or earlier). Mom and Dad have been running carpool duty for both girls, both ways, since I am gone before I can possibly take them and do not return to Memphis for a full 12 hours and since Peter has returned to Iowa. After these long days, they go to VBS at Mom and Dad's church for dinner at 6 (I catch up with them there by 6:30), followed by the program until 8:30. By the time we all get home, everyone is exhausted, the kids have to go straight to bed, even though they really need a bath, and we start all over again.
This has been a two-day routine and I am already pooped out. But the girls are both enjoying their days, even though I never see them, and I am off tomorrow and Friday so I will actually get to take my own children to camp and Granna and Papa can focus on just going to work as usual and not which lunch bag belongs to which child!
Ahhh-I though summer was supposed to be easier!
I started orientation at the hospital in Jackson this week, meeting with the midwives and staff at the clinic in addition to the oh-so-exciting OSHA-required trainings about not picking up broken glass and chemicals with your bare hands, wearing gloves, smiling at patients and being part of the "family" at the huge-gigantic-behemoth hospital.
Keep in mind that Jackson is over an hour from my parents' house, so I am out of the house at 6:30, leaving the girls with their grandparents for getting ready for the day. The night before, I lay out their clothes for them to wear to their respective day camps as well as packing lunches and writing notes of instruction for the dropper-offers. Sunscreen and mosquito repellent are set out for morning application. Molly goes to Day Camp at the YMCA, where she swims and plays outside all day, as well as apparently playing with basketballs, watching a movie "where aliens suck the energy out of the people," having water Olympics, enjoying craft time. Rebecca is attending "Nuts About Nature" camp at the same montessori school where she will be in preschool starting August 13. She also plays outside and does crafts, sings and dances, and on Fridays will have movie day also.
So they have to be in two different places, one at 8:15 and the other by 9. Then they have to be picked up, one at 2:45, the other by 5 (or earlier). Mom and Dad have been running carpool duty for both girls, both ways, since I am gone before I can possibly take them and do not return to Memphis for a full 12 hours and since Peter has returned to Iowa. After these long days, they go to VBS at Mom and Dad's church for dinner at 6 (I catch up with them there by 6:30), followed by the program until 8:30. By the time we all get home, everyone is exhausted, the kids have to go straight to bed, even though they really need a bath, and we start all over again.
This has been a two-day routine and I am already pooped out. But the girls are both enjoying their days, even though I never see them, and I am off tomorrow and Friday so I will actually get to take my own children to camp and Granna and Papa can focus on just going to work as usual and not which lunch bag belongs to which child!
Ahhh-I though summer was supposed to be easier!
Thursday, July 19, 2007
I Grow Big Babies
Went to my first OB appt here and all is well. Had another ultrasound (with my weight loss and dehydration, wanted to make sure the house-like appearance I have achieved isn't just me but also the baby continuing to grow), which confirmed the girl gender and showed one measuring two weeks ahead of schedule in the 99th percentile for weight/growth. As I suspected, she is doing just fine in there! She has round cheeks and chubby thighs, like her sisters when they were born, and weighs close to 3 pounds already--at 26 weeks. My blood pressure is fine, and I have gained one pound since my last visit a month ago (total of 5 lost in the pregnancy to date, but we're back in the positives now). We are holding off on any further GI-related testing as I am stable for now. I like this new provider a lot, so all is well.
The girls were able to play with their cousins Caroline and Hallie while I was doctored. Rebecca immediately put on dress-up clothes (and, in fact, had lost her actual shirt when I came to pick them up and rode home in one of Hallie's shirts!), and Molly watched her favorite show "Hannah Montana." Rebecca was stung by a wasp (or, as she keeps calling it, a "moth") on her neck, but Aunt Laurie said she was very brave and didn't even cry. She got a band-aid and candy "to make me feel better," so all is right with the world. Now that both girls have been stung by something, we are assured they are not allergic (looking on the bright side?).
Tomorrow is The Big Day. An invitation arrived in the mail from Once Upon a Time (the previously blogged-about "princess store") addressed to both Molly and Rebecca. They will be attending the Breakfast with Belle and Mrs. Potts in the morning. I have the video camera charging to capture live footage, and of course, will bring the digital camera.
We are hoping for a visit from Daddy this weekend. He is flying stand-by so we'll see if it works out. I didn't tell the girls about the possibility, to ward off disappointment if things don't go as planned. He's awful lonely up there ("for about two days it's cool to be so free, and then it just isn't anymore"), and we're missing him a bunch down here, so waiting 3 more weeks just doesn't seem fair. We now have Webcams to see him (and so he can see us), but it's not the same.
Hope everyone is having a nice summer, staying cool and finding fun things to do. I know we are!
The girls were able to play with their cousins Caroline and Hallie while I was doctored. Rebecca immediately put on dress-up clothes (and, in fact, had lost her actual shirt when I came to pick them up and rode home in one of Hallie's shirts!), and Molly watched her favorite show "Hannah Montana." Rebecca was stung by a wasp (or, as she keeps calling it, a "moth") on her neck, but Aunt Laurie said she was very brave and didn't even cry. She got a band-aid and candy "to make me feel better," so all is right with the world. Now that both girls have been stung by something, we are assured they are not allergic (looking on the bright side?).
Tomorrow is The Big Day. An invitation arrived in the mail from Once Upon a Time (the previously blogged-about "princess store") addressed to both Molly and Rebecca. They will be attending the Breakfast with Belle and Mrs. Potts in the morning. I have the video camera charging to capture live footage, and of course, will bring the digital camera.
We are hoping for a visit from Daddy this weekend. He is flying stand-by so we'll see if it works out. I didn't tell the girls about the possibility, to ward off disappointment if things don't go as planned. He's awful lonely up there ("for about two days it's cool to be so free, and then it just isn't anymore"), and we're missing him a bunch down here, so waiting 3 more weeks just doesn't seem fair. We now have Webcams to see him (and so he can see us), but it's not the same.
Hope everyone is having a nice summer, staying cool and finding fun things to do. I know we are!
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Walkin' in Memphis
We've now been here for nearly 2 weeks, starting to feel less like a visit and more like what it is: a return "home."
My illness has limited some of our activities during the day, but the girls have been quite flexible with me (they are infinitely fascinated by vomit, wanting updates from me on the color), and Dad has been coming home for lunch and/or meeting us out somewhere for lunch to give me a little downtime. I am always better in the evenings, when Mom and Dad and I just sit in the den and chat after the girls are sleeping. I am no longer taking the H. pylori medicine, as after 10 days of a 14-day cycle, I could no longer keep it down, symptoms were bad, and the GI doc's office advised me to just stop, as the diagnosis was a "presumptive positive" anyway. So we're back to not knowing what's going on. But the diarrhea part is better (probably thanks to the acidophilus but maybe from the meds?), and the other part is certainly not what it was a month ago. I see a new OB here on Thursday and will determine if I want to pursue further testing while still pregnant or just wait until after this girly gets here!
Recent fun events: storyhour at local bookstore Davis-Kidd; visit with Papa to awesome children's bookstore (think "You've Got Mail") Pinocchio's; Memphis Farmer's Market for fresh fruit and veggies; downtown trolley ride; lunch at historic Arcade restaurant on Main St.; more swimming in backyard kid pool; playing with Kennedy from next door; sidewalk chalking, baking brownies with Granna; touring the YMCA where Molly will go to summer camp next week; visiting with nearly-99-year-old Bom-Bom (my grandma, their great-grandma); dinner with Aunt Jo--the list grown daily!! Eventually, I guess the kids may have to get used to the fact that everyday cannot have a planned thrill-a-minute activity, but it's summer so they're having a ball.
You'd like this blog more with pictures and I guarantee I will get them here!
My illness has limited some of our activities during the day, but the girls have been quite flexible with me (they are infinitely fascinated by vomit, wanting updates from me on the color), and Dad has been coming home for lunch and/or meeting us out somewhere for lunch to give me a little downtime. I am always better in the evenings, when Mom and Dad and I just sit in the den and chat after the girls are sleeping. I am no longer taking the H. pylori medicine, as after 10 days of a 14-day cycle, I could no longer keep it down, symptoms were bad, and the GI doc's office advised me to just stop, as the diagnosis was a "presumptive positive" anyway. So we're back to not knowing what's going on. But the diarrhea part is better (probably thanks to the acidophilus but maybe from the meds?), and the other part is certainly not what it was a month ago. I see a new OB here on Thursday and will determine if I want to pursue further testing while still pregnant or just wait until after this girly gets here!
Recent fun events: storyhour at local bookstore Davis-Kidd; visit with Papa to awesome children's bookstore (think "You've Got Mail") Pinocchio's; Memphis Farmer's Market for fresh fruit and veggies; downtown trolley ride; lunch at historic Arcade restaurant on Main St.; more swimming in backyard kid pool; playing with Kennedy from next door; sidewalk chalking, baking brownies with Granna; touring the YMCA where Molly will go to summer camp next week; visiting with nearly-99-year-old Bom-Bom (my grandma, their great-grandma); dinner with Aunt Jo--the list grown daily!! Eventually, I guess the kids may have to get used to the fact that everyday cannot have a planned thrill-a-minute activity, but it's summer so they're having a ball.
You'd like this blog more with pictures and I guarantee I will get them here!
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Hunka-Hunka Burning Up in Memphis
We continue with summer adventures! Today I took the girls to the Caterpillar Club at the Memphis Botanic Garden (where Peter and I got married!) for a Kids Beach Party. (There's no beach or water there--except in fountains--but that was the theme.) They had a blast making sun visors, decorating canvas beach bags, choosing a beach ball (princess for Molly, Nemo for Becca) and wearing leis. Then we all trekked to the Japanese area to feed the very hungry and very chubby koi fish from the red bridge. It was steamy hot, but the kids didn't mind. I got to meet some other parents and chat about things to do in Memphis.
We extended our exciting day by driving to the "princess store." We'd tried to go there Monday but our flat tire kept us from accomplishing that goal. The store is called Once Upon a Time, it's in Bartlett, and it's a little girl's dream come true. There's a store in front with unique princess-themed gifts and adorable clothes (mostly smocked, which is a style I love for little kid clothes) and the entire rear of the store is a party center. There are flower-shaped tables, glittery and velvety benches and walls, a throne and a lovely dress-up room. Parties can be held there--and the store itself is having several parties this summer. We're having trouble deciding which one to go to, but you'll be updated when that decision is final! The place has been open for 4 months, is operated by a nice woman named Becky and her daughter Rachel. They wanted, Becky said, "a place where children would ooh and aah when they came in." Mission accomplished.
Photos to follow when I figure out how to upload them to a computer that isn't mine!
We extended our exciting day by driving to the "princess store." We'd tried to go there Monday but our flat tire kept us from accomplishing that goal. The store is called Once Upon a Time, it's in Bartlett, and it's a little girl's dream come true. There's a store in front with unique princess-themed gifts and adorable clothes (mostly smocked, which is a style I love for little kid clothes) and the entire rear of the store is a party center. There are flower-shaped tables, glittery and velvety benches and walls, a throne and a lovely dress-up room. Parties can be held there--and the store itself is having several parties this summer. We're having trouble deciding which one to go to, but you'll be updated when that decision is final! The place has been open for 4 months, is operated by a nice woman named Becky and her daughter Rachel. They wanted, Becky said, "a place where children would ooh and aah when they came in." Mission accomplished.
Photos to follow when I figure out how to upload them to a computer that isn't mine!
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Goin' to Graceland...
We have arrived safely and happily in Memphis! We're mooching off of--I mean, staying with--my folks for a month until we can get into the apartment (and hopefully our house in Iowa will sell or we will find someone to rent it). I think the girls are wearing them out, but they are being very gracious! So far, we have already seen a Memphis Redbirds baseball game with fireworks on the 4th of July; played mini-golf and bumper boats at Putt-Putt; played with cousins Hallie, Caroline and Annsley; gone to the zoo; played at the water spray park in Collierville and had a nice dinner out without kids (P and me!). It feels surreal to be "home" again--so many familiar things but so much that is new and expanded as far as the city goes. It still feels like we're just here to visit the family.
I have been diagnosed with H. pylori, a bacteria in the stomach which most commonly leads to ulcers. Don't know if I have an ulcer (i don't have the pain normally associated with ulcers), but am getting treated for the bacteria either way. It requires large pills (8 per day for 2 weeks), which can be a challenge for one already so nauseous, but I am feeling MUCH better. I am also feeling pleased that there is something causing all this--I was starting to think I was crazy!
Work starts up again for me on July 23. We move into the apartment on August 8. Both Kindergarten (Molly) and montessori preschool (Rebecca) start August 13. Until all that, we're going to get to know Memphis again and eat Granna and Papa out of house and home!
I have been diagnosed with H. pylori, a bacteria in the stomach which most commonly leads to ulcers. Don't know if I have an ulcer (i don't have the pain normally associated with ulcers), but am getting treated for the bacteria either way. It requires large pills (8 per day for 2 weeks), which can be a challenge for one already so nauseous, but I am feeling MUCH better. I am also feeling pleased that there is something causing all this--I was starting to think I was crazy!
Work starts up again for me on July 23. We move into the apartment on August 8. Both Kindergarten (Molly) and montessori preschool (Rebecca) start August 13. Until all that, we're going to get to know Memphis again and eat Granna and Papa out of house and home!
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