PSA- Parents of Toddlers

I realize that there are a ton more serious things that could happen to your child. There are thousands of parents stressed over ailments that their children are going through. My girls have always been relatively healthy- except for the occasional virus or cold. 

I have also debated about putting this out there, I have beat myself up about it and surely didn't want DHR knocking on my door, but I figure if it could help ONE Mama out there, then it's golden. 

Friday morning, I was trying to drink my coffee and wake up so I could actually talk and not just grunt and point around (NOT a morning person) and I hear some gagging in the living room. I turn around and Claire has her fingers in her mouth. I go over to inspect. Open her mouth and she has her teeth clenched. I ask her if she has something in her mouth. I turn to Addison. I ask her. When I finally get an answer out of her, she tells me that Claire had a necklace in her mouth. I turn to Claire, and her teeth are now unclenched and there is nothing in her mouth. I ask her if she swallowed the necklace- Addison tells me that she doesn't think she swallowed it, so I asked her where the necklace is. We look around and Addison says with a shrug, "Well, maybe she did swallow it." I start to freak a little. Claire is breathing. She is actually smiling at me. I don't know what to do. It's 7am. I call Rebecca. She doesn't answer. So I call my sister. She hands the phone to Andy. He says he is going to call a surgeon friend. Becca calls me back, calms me down, and then Andy beeps in- he tells me to take her to Urgent Care to get X-rayed and then if she needs a surgery consult to let him know. Uhh.. okay. I call the only Urgent Care that has an x-ray machine. They don't open until 8. So, I  fix Addy some breakfast and we get on the road to Urgent Care at 8. 

The looks I get about this situation at the Urgent Care make me feel like a crap parent. I didn't chop my child's arm off, she just swallowed a necklace that she plays with everyday! 

Maybe now is where I should describe the necklace. Addison got it for her birthday. It's a silver chain with a heart shaped pendant that has a crown sitting on top with pink rhinestones. Let's think about how THAT felt going down and how it's going to feel coming out.

She gets x-rayed- it's definitely in there. They think I need a surgery consult. This where I really start to panic. My child made need a surgical procedure to get this out?!!? The surgeon that the dr talked to says to just give a day or two and see if it passes. Urgent Care Dr tells me to come back on Saturday if she hasn't passed it by then. Claire poops Saturday but nothing. We tried to pump her full of foods that normally make her go--let's keep in mind that this is the child that NEVER has a problem going #2 and we normally are silently cursing because we have to change yet another dirty diaper. 

We ended up taking her back on Sunday afternoon to be x-rayed again. The necklace is lower and looks like it's going to be coming out soon. She wants us to call if she passes it, but if she doesn't then she wants us to come back on Tuesday. 

The relief I felt when she said she definitely thought she was going to pass it- I can't even describe it. 

Anyway, we get no poop Sunday evening, all day Monday or even Tuesday. I start to freak. Is it stuck? Is it hurting her so she is holding it in? I decided that if she didn't poop on Wednesday that I would definitely take her back and insist that they go in after it. 

Good news, Super Nana to the rescue this morning. She passed the necklace, with no pain, either. The necklace is now part of the outside world again. 

And that my friends, is why you should always remember that though your child may seem old enough to not swallow weird things, that they will. We have since caught Claire with another necklace in her mouth, a dress up earring, and Addison's Hello Kitty necklace. I mean, hello?? 

Hide yo diamonds, Hide yo jewelry if Claire is coming to yo house. 

Also, for those of you who said that you did want to join the challenge.. it seems most of you are No Reply blogger e-mails and I can't e-mail you back. Will you please e-mail me at rayray.mcphillips@gmail.com

Very First Vlog

Okay, I'm really worried that I sound like a redneck. Also, I can't seem to stop playing with my hair.





So, if Nick Pappageorgio comes to look at your house, don't let him in!! :) I'm off to try to hang on to my sanity!

Rammer Jammers and Castrated Turkeys

That time of the year is upon us. When the weather starts cooling down and the leaves begin changing colors.

It's Football Season.

John and I headed to Atlanta this weekend for the Crimson Tide's opener vs. Virginia Tech. It was a much needed break since the girls have been sick this week and it's been extremely hard to contain a little girl who only wants her Daddy when she is sick. Anyway, we made it to Atlanta and waited on Joseph and his friend Brandon to go eat dinner at Maggiano's. It was delicious. It's a great Italian restaurant that you could eat for a week off of one meal. Brandon is one of the funniest people I know, next to John, so by the end of dinner, my cheeks were hurting from laughing so hard.

We were all staying in the same room which was supposed to have 2 double beds but it ended up with one king. We had them bring a pull out bed in there and John, Joseph and I slept in the king and Brandon slept on the pull out.

Saturday morning, we went Downtown to Centinnel Park where GameDay was. We ate lunch at Taco Mac and I ran into my cousin that I haven't seen in over a year. It's so weird to see people when you aren't expecting to. We went over to Fan day and the boys had fun kicking and throwing footballs. After that, John and I headed back to the hotel so I could pump. We rode the Marta since we were staying in Buckhead and it was crowded but not bad enough that we couldn't find some seats. So, we sat down and I noticed that the appeared to be a homeless person asleep laying down on the seats behind us. Now, I've never been in such close proximity to a homeless person. I live a sheltered life. In the midst of trying to get John's attention, I notice that the homeless mad has his hand down the front of his pants. It creeps me out a little bit. I am still trying to get John's attention. He appears to be doing some adjusting. About the time John finally looks at the homeless person, I notice that he is not stopping touching himself. Yes, this man, was having a private moment with himself in front of the entire train. No one else seems to notice or care that this man is touching himself inappropriately. John quickly tells me that he is not sitting next to this guy and so we stand the entire train ride back to the hotel in total disbelief in what we have just witnessed.

When we get back over the stadium, I see my cousin again! How weird is it to see a family member twice in one day that you haven't seen in over a year? Then, we see my internet turned in real life friend, Lindsey and her husband Jeff. I can tell that as the kickoff looms overhead that the trash talk is starting. We hear a lot of Hokie(which, by the way, was a topic of discussion as to what it actually is. We asked a Hokie fan and they informed us that our guess was correct and that it is a castrated turkey. Cool mascot.)
The game was a nail biter and I wasn't sure we were going to pull it off. Our offense looked like a mess and special teams wasn't that special but our defense is awesome and rocked those Hokies world. When we game was over, it was a nightmare trying to get out of there. The way the stadium is completely messed up and if you go out the bottom gates then you have to go up an escalator or a circular ramp to get up top. So, take a mental note, when leaving the Georgia Dome, go out the upper gates and avoid the nightmare. We ended up having to take a cab back because the Marta stops at 12:30. On Sunday morning, a wrong number called and woke us up at 10:53. Check out was at 11:00. I've never been more thankful for a wrong number in my life.

We had a safe trip back and all is right with world with football season being underway! Roll Tide!