Homemade Pedialyte

If you've ever had a sick little one in danger of dehydration, you're probably familiar with Pedialyte. Sam has needed it a couple of times, and yesterday at the doctor they told me he had double ear infections and bronchitis. Ouch. After I got him home, he threw up and has since been having near-constant (ahem)... diarrhea. Poor little guy.

Before making the trekk out to pick up some Pedialyte, I thought I would do a little looking around online for alternatives... mostly because the price of Pedialyte makes me think it's actually unicorn tears or something. Lo and behold, I found a recipe to make it yourself! I made a couple of minor tweaks, and wanted to share it with you.

Homemade Pedialyte

2 quarts water

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

7 Tablespoons sugar (I used Stevia for something more all-natural, or you could use honey, but ONLY for a child over one year old)

1 packet sugar free Kool-Aid (or I used 2 Tablespoons of flavored gelatin)

Heat the water in a large pot over low heat - just enough to help other ingredients dissolve. Whisk in remaining ingredients until dissolved. Allow to cool, then chill.

You can pour some into ice cube trays to help keep their drink cold, or freeze with toothpicks to make homemade pedialyte popsicles. I poured some into an ice cube tray, covered it with press n' seal, stuck toothpicks down into the seal to help them stand up straight, then put it in the freezer. After I made it, I thought about adding some kids Emergen-C since that has electrolytes, antioxidents, as well as vitamins and minerals. I'll probably try that next time.

Hopefully you won't need to use this anytime soon, but if you do, I hope it helps!

First Haircut

A few weeks ago, we decided to give Sam his first haircut. It was starting to get pretty long and unruly in the back. I thought about just letting it go and rolling him a rat tail or something, but Mike nixed that idea. He can be a real dream stealer sometimes. (See how cool they can look? If Marty with a rat tail can't convince him, I don't know what will.)

I won't say who accidentally shaved a small bald patch in an unfortunate area, but Mike did mumble something about banning me from the razor for the rest of eternity. Hey, it was his idea to go with the haircut... I'm the one who wasn't afraid to be edgy with the rat tail. Anyway, here's my sweet boy and the wiz hair-stylist in action:

He loved watching himself in the mirror. So much fun!

This was our trick for getting him to sit still. As long as the toothbrush was turned on and buzzing, he was putty in our hands.

Look at how cute he is! Just smiling away at his reflection.

The finished product. You did a great job, Mike! Sorry I called you a dream stealer. In reality, you make all my dreams come true.

The Boy in the Red Pants

*** Warning: this post is long. I tend to word vomit when I haven't blogged in awhile and I'm truly sorry.

The weather was glorious today, so Sam and I tried to make the most of it and spent the afternoon at the park. Sam ran around and had a great time. I could tell that some of the kids and parents thought he was a little too 'friendly', but when did crawling over the other 3 children in the plastic tube over and over again become socially unacceptable? I guess they don't call him "The Bulldozer" in the church nursery for nothing. I apologized as much as I could. I can't decide whether to be excited or worried that he seems to have developed a shoe fettish. After bulldozing a crowd, he'd go back to each of them, point to their shoes and yell "Doooo!!". I know it sounds a little obnoxious, but somehow that seemed to make some amends for the 'dozing.

Anyway, that's not even what I wanted to post about. On to the real story...

While Sam and I were walking around, we kept passing a large group of boys who were running around like banshees with sticks. They were yelling, hitting each other, and just being true boys. I could tell they were trying to form teams for some type of game. I was able to decipher that the team leaders were Jonathan, Drew, and someone who was only referred to as "the boy in the red pants". I wouldn't have thought much of it, but I noticed their voices lowered at the very mention of him. Everyone wanted to be a part of his team. Poor old John and Drew weren't getting much love. I skimmed the crowd of dirt covered shorts, but didn't see any red. Eventually I heard someone ask, "Where is he? Where is the boy in the red pants?". He almost whispered it. You would have thought they were talking about Lord Voldemort or using curse words or something. My curiosity was piqued. No one seemed to know where he was, and at that point Sam decided he wanted to swing, so I lost out on the rest of the conversation.

As Sam played on the swings, the banshee party eventually dispersed among us peasants. I kid you not that I continued to hear whisperings of the red pant-ed mystery. It was pretty amusing, and I got sort of caught up in watching them play. There's something about little boys that just blesses me. The wild abandon, the energy, the enthusiasm, and the rough and tumble-ness of those little hunter-gatherers is just something I love to watch. I guess God really knew what He was doing when He gave me a son... imagine that!

It was getting time for us to leave, i.e. Momma was flat worn out, when it happened. I heard a low rumble forming from the banshee crowd. I looked up and the boys instantaneously formed into groups and were all running towards the creek. In a flash, there he was - the boy in the red pants. There was no question it was him. Time seemed to stand still. His red pants burned my eyeballs. I would have cried if I could have, both because of the emotion of the moment and the fact that his shirt had orange in it and not red. A true crime of fashion. He seemed to move in slow motion as he leapt over the creek in a single bound, stick suspended from his hand. He slashed and burned his way through the rest of the boys like I can rip through a bag of Oreos. He was glorious. Within a minute or two, the massacre was over and he and his men had taken the creek. Victory. The fallen John and Drew clans knew they were beaten, but seemed satisfied in their defeat. It was all over as soon as it had begun, but from the look on the boys faces, history had been made that day.

I packed Sam up and we got in the car. Before we drove off, I looked behind us at the group of warriors, but couldn't spot the boy in the red pants. He had vanished. Gone the same way he came, I guess.

Driving home, I felt blessed to have been a fly on the wall to such a momentous event. I also felt blessed that it was naptime and I knew Sam was good and tired. The boy in the red pants had really taken me back to that time of wonder and imagination as a kid. It's exciting to think that I probably have a guaranteed good seat to more stick fights in my future. And who knows, I might need to buy the 'dozer some red pants one of these days.

When it's grey outside...

... this is one of my favorite things to do:

Fresh homemade cookies somehow make the grey seem ok. Especially when Mike makes a fire in the fireplace. The glorious, simple pleasures of home!

I love having a full jar of cookies on my counter. But the BEST part is definitely this:

Isn't he getting so big? I gave him his own big cookie and he was feeling pretty special. Gosh, I love that boy.

What it's all about

Well, we had a busy weekend, but a really good one!

Have I mentioned that our small group at church is really awesome? Well, it is. We're blessed to be a part of a great group of people who truly love and are seeking after God. It seems like the group as a whole has developed a desire for service to those around us, particularly those in need. We've become involved with a local boys' home, and the guys in the group regularly go to visit and share with them, and many of them have accepted Christ. I've heard the guys talk about them a lot, and I was so excited that this past Friday night I got to finally meet them.

We held a Christmas party for the boys, and it was great. We had dinner, took a "Christmas quiz", had karaoke, a message from our old pastor, and gave them some gifts. Sitting at our table was a boy named Austin who had just turned 14. He was shy, and SO sweet, and I just wanted to take him home with us so badly. There was also a boy named Calvin who was hilarious and so much fun. He totally tried to cheat on the Christmas quiz, but we love him anyway.

Probably my favorite moment of the whole evening was this:

(sorry these pics are so dark. I think our camera's on the fritz)

This boys' name is Cody, and early into the party he came and asked Mike if he would play guitar for him while he sang 'Amazing Grace' on stage. Trust me when I say that this sweet guy probably couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, but his heart was 100% into it. I have no doubt Jesus was smiling and soaking it up. It totally made me cry. My other favorite moment of the evening was probably the kid singing 'Annie are you Okay' on karaoke. Nothing says Merry Christmas like that. Good times.

Here's Mike with Calvin:

And here they all are, along with a few of our guys:

Our group has also adopted a needy family in our area as well. This family has 8 children and the Dad was in a motorcycle accident about a year ago which has left him paralyzed from the chest down. They just have nothing, and I mean nothing. So we all got the opportunity to buy the family Christmas gifts this year, and on Sunday afternoon a few of us were privileged to go and deliver them. Boy does it put things in perspective!

The whole family
Iris in front of all the presents!

I'm so grateful to have opportunities like these, especially at Christmastime. As far as honoring Christ, His birth, and what He came to do, I don't know if there's much that's more fitting.

Brotherly Love

Sneaker and Sam have become pretty good buddies!

I thought it was pretty cute and got so absorbed in taking pictures, that I forgot about my sandwich on the stove and ended up with this for lunch:

Oh well, it was worth it!

A Few of My Favorite Things

Since it's Christmastime and all, I thought I should reflect on a few of my favorite things, and the things that I'm really thankful for... in no particular order.

* Sam dancing

* Our laptop with wireless internet

* A fire in the fireplace

* The health of my family

* Multiple cup holders on our stroller

* The sound of the garage door opening and knowing Mike is about to walk through the door

* Online shopping (see post below)

* Sam laughing

* Good friends who spur me on in my walk with the Lord

* The glee at bathtime

* Mike, in every way

* Sermon podcasts, particularly those by Matt Chandler

* Peaceful naptimes

* The childcare workers at church

These guys pretty much sum it up. Mike's getting some Sam kisses :)

Adventures in Christmas Shopping

Sam and I ventured out today to try and finish up some Christmas shopping. He's a typical boy and doesn't usually enjoy our shopping times together, so I've learned to keep it to one stop. He'll only take so much in-and-out of purgatory, i.e. his car seat, so I've learned to use strategery when it comes to this.

Today I pushed it past the once in and out of seat norm, and suffered the consequences. I don't know that we'll be allowed back into the JCPenney on the service road ever again. Sorry, my fellow shoppers. I should have known better than not to disrupt the car seat gods on such a busy shopping day whilst nearing nap time.

After arriving home in a pool of sweat, blood and tears I have vowed to do all of my Christmas shopping online next year.

That's all I have to say about that.

P.S. I just found out that there is a Hobby Lobby going in right near the house... within like a 5 minute drive!! It's a happy day after all.

Anybody still out there?

Again, I'm sorry I haven't been around lately. The last month and a half or so, we've been doing the rounds of sickness and I've also been doing some work for my old employer during my "down time". But I'm hoping all of that's dying down now, and posting will pick back up!

We had a great Thanksgiving with the Pruitts on the farm! Sam loves being out there where he can roam free outside, play with all 3 dogs, terrorize the one poor cat, and go up and down and up and down and up and down the stairs.

With Grandma on the all-toys-are-now-ruined-for-me stairs

Exploring the vast wilderness with his awesome new wagon

Here we all are on Thanksgiving day!

While we were in town, we went out to the Woolaroc Wonderland of lights

Corraling Sam in one of the museums. They have a narwhal horn here, which always impresses me

We got our Christmas tree up, and I'm proud to report that Sam is pretty well tree-trained! We still have the occasional stealthy ornament kidnapping, but overall he does really well around the Christmas tree, and seems to be enjoying it.

The fireplace. I'm still trying to figure out how to hang the stockings. Any suggestions?

The kitchen table. Most of our Christmas decor has been put roughly 3 feet high or more.

And, if I can get the video to load, here's a clip of Sam "finishing" his dinner last night. He just caught on to this trick, and we still get too much of a kick out of it to really do any reprimanding, i.e., responsible parenting.

Hope ya'll have been doing well!

Great Weekend in the 'Ville!

Last week, Mike took Friday off and we packed up the whole family, including our poor dog who has been neglected of late, and headed to our hometown to visit family and have a little down time. Luckily, Mike's parents were also off work last Friday, so we dropped Sam off with them on Friday morning and spent the majority of the day by ourselves. It was awesome. We had lunch at one of Mike's favorite home-town dives, did a little shopping at the mall, took an awesome bike-ride on a beautiful trail, and just basked in each other's company. It was really great, and was a good reminder for me that we need to find a local babysitter and get more one on one time. It's so important, and so refreshing. Of course, by the time we went to pick Sam up, I was missing him terribly, but I had a good time nonetheless.

I think the mall shopping was one of my favorite activities, mostly because I got the opportunity to try clothes on without a stroller taking up 90% of the dressing room. Normally I'm crammed into the corner, trying my best to entertain an impatient Sam, while shimmying into the clothes and trying to make a decision within 5 seconds in an effort to not push Sam into full melt-down mode. I learned my lesson after the unfortunate Kohl's meltdown of '09 a couple of weeks ago.

We stayed with my parents and got some good visit time with them, and also got to spend some time with Mike's fam. Sam really enjoyed seeing everyone, and did SO GREAT on the trip. We discovered the he loves to climb stairs, and LOVES all the attention that comes with being around lots of family.

Sam wearing Grandpa Pruitt's boots

Getting into the true spirit of being on the farm

It was a great trip!

To make up for the dryness around here lately... a super long post.. almost as long as this title, but there are baby pictures so stick with me

I know I’ve neglected my blog lately, sorry about that. Sometimes life gets a little bit crazy and I let it slip. Other times we get our new Office Season 5 DVDs in the mail from Amazon and I spend every free moment I have watching deleted scenes and gag reels, and otherwise just being a nerd. But I’m back and loaded with updates!

First off, I know I promised some new house pics awhile back and never delivered. I've decided to wait until I get the house decorated for Fall before I take any pictures. Because frankly, right now there are no decorations whatsoever, so the pictures would be really boring. (Sorry Chris, I really am!!)

There are so many Sam updates and stories that I can’t possible tell them all here, so I’ll just highlight the big one. My boy is WALKING!! I don’t mean kind of taking a step here and there, I mean full-blown, my life is over – WALKING. I suppose we have officially entered into toddlerhood, so your prayers would be much appreciated.

Sam beating up some balloons at Aunt Christina and Uncle Brandon's house!


On the subject of Sam, (I knew I wouldn’t be able to just tell one thing), he is a sick little hombre right now. The doc says it’s not the flu, but he’s running a fever, and has bouts of acting lethargic. I never thought I would use the words Sam and lethargic in the same sentence, but there it is. He’ll actually crawl up in my lap and lay his head on my chest… this, I am not complaining about. But I do hope he gets better soon. When I took him to the doctor, I was waiting for the lady to get to the check-in counter when Sam starting throwing up all over both of us. The waiting room was packed and people were watching us in horror. A kid who I’d peg at about 8 years old started gagging, and I just knew we were about to start the puke domino effect. A couple of kind souls offered to go get paper towels for us but frankly, I don’t think a paper towel would have removed all the puke from my hair, let alone the rest of us. We got whisked to the back in our full glory where we were brought wet towels, so regretfully, I didn’t stick around to see whether or not we’d set off the puke wave. [Update: I wrote this paragraph before the latest episode of ‘The Office’ where there was an actual puke wave… just thought you should know. They must have been in the dr.’s office that day.]

I don’t know how to transition from ‘puke wave’ to my next update, so I’ll just skip right to it.

Weekend before last, some of the girls from small group rented a cabin in the wilderness of the Davis area, and just got together for good times. I got to go on Friday and spend the night with them, and it was really great to have a night away and hang out with some really great girls. We ate, played games, did karaoke, and danced. Well, they danced… I made a fool of myself. It will shock you to know that I didn’t get any pictures, but there are plenty of embarrassing ones floating around out there (you know who you are), so if you are on facebook, I’m sure you can get your fill.

Saturday morning Mike and Sam came and picked me up and we drove to the Dallas area to visit my sis and brother-in-law and their new baby boy. Ya’ll, it was amazing. When I got there, Isaac was sleeping in his crib, but my sis let me go in and peek at him, and I was just overwhelmed with emotion. He was laying on his side with his little arms folded up by his head, and he was so perfect that it just didn’t seem real. (Go visit her blog and you’ll see a pic of what I’m talking about). It really was a special moment meeting my sister’s son for the first time. Very surreal, and so exciting. Isaac is the most laid-back baby I have ever been around. He just let me hold him for the longest time, without making a wimper, and only fussed a little when it was time to eat. My sister says he’s sleeping well and eating well, and so basically, they have the perfect baby. I am just so thrilled for them. I would say I am 95% thrilled for them, and only 5% jealous. Maybe more like 80/20. I can’t wait until Isaac gets a little older and can go on adventures with Sam. I’m hoping they’ll be good buds. That’s why I'm only 30% jealous…

Holding Isaac for the first time. He's awesome!

Well, I think this post is already past way too long, so I will leave it until next time. Hopefully next time won’t be too far off. Although we did just get DVR, so I can’t promise anything.

Have a great week!

Aunt Stephanie x 3!

At 12:30 a.m. yesterday morning, my newest nephew was born! His name is Isaac Aiden Ritter, and he weighed in at 8 lb. 4 oz and 21 inches long. Praise the Lord for a big healthy boy!! My sister is amazing, I am so proud of her. She did this with NO EPIDURAL, PEOPLE!! Let me repeat that: NO EPIDURAL.

We got a text message Sunday night that they weren't going to be able to give her one, and let me tell you something, I started sweating bullets. Sometimes my sister and I have this strange twin-like connection about things, and my stomach started churning and I felt like I was about to have a nervous break-down. I thought surely I was somehow feeling a smidge of what she was feeling. And then I talked to her the next day and found out that she had been completely mellow and calm about the whole thing. Well then. I guess we know who the more stable sister is.

Feast your eyes on this precious boy, and my gorgeous sister, somehow looking totally beautiful after having given birth to a big baby boy with NO EPIDURAL.




I can't wait to go visit and get my arms around them. I love you Ritters so much!!

I Love Ya Tomorrow, You're Only a Day Away

The weeks of torturous waiting are almost over... I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. The new season of The Office starts tomorrow. TOMORROW! NBC Thursdays at 8. Don't miss it!

They really don't pay me, but they should.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Earlier this week, our little family got to go out to a Redhawks game downtown. Mike's work has a box at the stadium, so we got to watch the game in style. They even gave us a parking pass - the "GOLD" pass, which is right by the entrance to the stadium, so we didn't even have to walk to get there. It's a good thing, because normally I'm not inclined to exert much physical effort to watch baseball. (It's a totally different story with Sooner football, by the way, and I am PUMPED about watching the first game of the season this Saturday!)

When we made it to the box, we got to visit with some of Mike's co-workers, and chow down on the food provided. We even got a visit from Rowdy the Redhawk. Sam got a kick out of him!

It was great to casually walk outside and pretend to pay attention to the field, but then retreat right back to the air-conditioning and partake of the munchies. We felt so VIP, even though we're so not. For example, I mistook the honey mustard salad dressing for dip for the chicken fingers, because how on earth could you possibly eat chicken without gravy or some other such cream sauce? We had a great time, and I hope we get to go back again sometime, as long as Mike's work doesn't get stingy with the gold passes.

Birthday Bash

Well, we're all moved in! At least, all of our stuff is here. It will probably be awhile before everything is actually put away and set in place, but at least we are functional at the new place. We moved in on a Saturday and the next Saturday we had Sam's birthday party here. I don't know what we were thinking either. There's been a wee bit of psychosis on my part the past week or so. And more Dr. Pepper and Oreos to help it go away.

The party went well, and I think Sam had a good time. He downed his cupcake and ice cream like a pro. My genes really shone in him during that moment and I was so proud.

I think the sugar crash came about an hour after everyone left and the house was quiet again. In time he'll learn that's a sacrifice you have to make to enjoy the good stuff in life, like Dr. Pepper and Oreos.

It was really special to us to have so much family at the party. Both sets of Mike's great-grandparents live within a day's driving distance, and made the trip to be here, and we're so glad they could make it. I have to give a big shout out to Mike's parents for coming early to help around the house before the party started. I don't think I could have pulled it off without your help, Cindy! My Mom was home recovering from surgery, so I'm glad they didn't try to make the trip, but we missed them anyway. I hope you're feeling better and taking it easy, Mom!

Here are a few more pics from the party:

Sorry to disappoint you, but my baking skills are not for hire. This is supposed to be a white, cock-eyed teddy bear face, not a pig as my father-in-law thought. Easy mistake to make. Sadie in her birthday hat. She was the only child who wore one without complaint. Isn't she precious?

The birthday boy was not so compliant.

In true one-year-old fashion, he enjoyed eating the cards and wrapping paper more than playing with the toys.

And this pic wasn't taken at the party, but it seemed appropriate since it looks like he was having a little too much fun at a party and took a pic of himself.

And in totally unrelated news, I am extremely pumped because I have found THE BOOTS I want for this Fall/Winter. My boots are very important to me and play a huge role in my Fall/Winter life, so choosing them is like looking for a best friend. At least until a cuter, more stylish friend comes along in just the right shade of brown, in which case the old boots are toast. Anyway, here they are:

Aren't they cute?

Well, I'd better get back to unpacking while Sam is still napping. I'll post some pics of the new place soon, promise!

Samuel Keith

August 25, 2008

One year ago today, my life was forever changed. At 6:35 p.m. I was doing some of the hardest physical work I've ever done, and through the blur of pain, a sea of medical staff, and near-mental shut down I heard Mike say with a broken voice, "He's out Steph, he's out!". In that surreal moment I looked to my left and saw my son. Oh, my heart.

Before my mind could really register much besides "SAM!!!", I heard all of the nurses (I think there were approximately 237 of them) start saying "Woah he's HUGE!", and "Wow, look how BIG". All I could think was that he was perfect. They put him on the scales and sure enough, he was a whopping 10 lbs 5 oz. My big Sam boy.

I'd say that's a pretty accurate overall description of him. He's a big boy physically, but also in personality. He's loud, he's fast, he's active, he's strong, and boy is he ever cute. I think as a Mom you always feel like you come up about 1,000 times short of expressing how you feel about your child, but suffice it to say that I think he's the greatest thing on the planet and it feels like my heart is physically outside of my body. He just rocks.

Happy first Birthday, my sweet Sam! I'm forever grateful and proud to be your Mom and you'll never, ever know how much I love you.