Down with the sickness.

Sick. That's how it's been around here lately. Just sick. Like disgusting, rumbling, tumbling belly sick. And it's been going on for too long. First it was Zeke, then me. I'm reallllllly hoping it's goes right past Pauly and out of this house for good. Today's the first day I'm feeling like the real-deal Nancy again...with some minor adjustments. For one: I'm not real jazzed up about food yet. I can only get down about 1/4 of my usual amounts of food (no comments from all you smart-a's out there.....), and I still feel some slight stomach terror once I do finally eat. But honestly, anything is better than the weekend I just had. Puking until dry heaving? It puts a big damper on a weekend with a quickness. But...that's in the past and today made me feel like all this HORRIBLE winter weather/sickness/boredom/madness has finally lifted. What a great springy day it was and what a nice way Zeke and I spent it - with a bunch of friends at the park in the sunshine! Here's to many more days like today!!!

Green around the gills.

It's day 6 of the stomach bug. Zeke is improving - I'd say he's about 80% - but I swear the smell of vomit is permanently stuck in my nose. In turn, it's making me feel nauseated. I've been playing head games with myself all week - do I feel sick? Is my stomach feeling strange or is it just my imagination? I just got off the treadmill and I feel like a truck ran me over. I certainly don't feel the "exercise high" all those whack job gym people speak of. Just the opposite - I feel like I should have skipped that workout altogether. So, here's my plan: I'm going down to the basement to clean up some toys, scrub a spot on the carpet where I swear I can STILL smell puke, vacuum everything down there, then it's ME time. I'm headed to bed to settle in and watch American Idol. As for Pauly and Zeke: they can join me or they can play Wii in the basement. I just don't feel like Wii'ing tonight...

Vomitus Maximus

"I want mac and cheese. I want Chinese food. I want noodles with butter sauce. I'm really, really thirsty...may I have some more water? No, make that orange Juicy Juice. Or maybe Lemonade. Now I want a bagel and cream cheese. "

That's all I've been hearing for the past 8 hours. And every time I give Zeke a tiny scoop of whatever he's craving...he pukes it up. You see, he has this remarkable way of making it seem like he's on a fantastic rebound from the horrible stomach flu he's been dealing with since Friday. One minute he's vomiting up a kidney, the next, he's ready for a pizza with extra cheese. And each time, I admit it, I'm hoodwinked. I think we've hit the end and the flu is gone. But then he eats a bit...and kaaaabaaaam - up it comes. And somehow the force with which it comes up makes it dreadfully hard for me to escape it's route. Yep, I've been splattered with puke many times in the past 72 hours. Ew. The smell is what gets me, I think. I can deal with a lot - dog puke/poop/hairballs. Kid doodie/vomit/dirt...but the smell - OMG, it gets me. It's rotten. Like, seriously rotten. But how can it be?? That which is being puked only went down about 10 minutes prior. It's an enigma. Maybe when this stomach flu has left our home I'll take an advanced physiology course just to find out how Gatorade goes down into the belly, gets regurgitated 5 to 7 minutes later, only to smell like 3 week old milk that's been basking in the Arizona sun...

Rolling down the highway, veggies under my seat.

I try to stay ahead of stuff around here, I really do. And because of that, some things get pushed to the bottom of the priority list. Take for instance, my car. With the weather being so cold and with us all spending so much more time indoors lately, my car has had little to no attention paid to it. First of all, if I'm going to be in my house more, I want it clean. And secondly, if it's supercold outside, I'm sure as heck not going to be out there freezing my fingers off trying to clean the car. Sorry, it just doesn't rank up there. But yesterday, the car lucked out. The house was clean, laundry was, well, whatever...and it was nice out!!! I was suddenly motivated to finally clean out the dumpster I'd been driving. Here's what I found as I pried further into the pits of hell or, rather, Zeke's area:

Now, let's dissect this picture carefully. I know, it's a bit tough to see what's going on here, but let me describe the madness. What you're looking at is the underneath part of Zeke's seat. And yes, that red card with the heart...that's a Valentine that never got opened because it was swallowed up by the abyss. Sorry Anna - it was a really cute Valentine too. Can you see the Nerds, the loose change, the lonely potato chip (sour cream & onion because that's all Zeke will eat), and most appealing...the pretzel salt mixed with hair???? Even better were the 4 petrified baby carrots that I found under MY seat that happened their way there. I guess I'm no innocent in this story either. One good thing: I found a Nintendo DS game that Zeke has been searching for since January, one of my awesome MAC makeup brushes, a nice Burt's Bees lip balm, and about $23 in loose change. Here's the bummer part of it all: it's only about 26 hours post cleanup and I'd say if you were really, really hungry and had nothing at all to eat, you'd already be able to find a small meal lying in the dark corners of my car. That's just how Zeke and I roll these days.

Strange but true. But why?

Ok, so I know it's pretty difficult to see in this picture...but look very, very carefully. Do you see the teeny tiny little chihuahua above? Yep, I know he's stunning. Aside from that, check out his paws. I know, I know...there's nothing really too abnormal or super-duper about them. They're just typical chi-chi paws. Tiny and cute. But here's the deal: they're now referred to as taco bells in my house. And, no, not Taco Bells but taco bells. You see, they're not related to that disgusting taco chain...they're just taco bells. Chihuahua feet are taco bells for some reason. At least according to Zeke. And if I pry into this taco bell situation, Zeke gets very agitated. Agitated as if I should know all about taco bells and it's a waste of his time to have to go over and over it with me. Bizarre.

Add to the Bizarro List:

-Zeke was waiting at the deli counter with me today and proceeded to sit on a bag of rolls that was on a shelf in front of the counter. I immediately told him to get up before he squished the rolls. He told me he couldn't because he was hatching the rolls. ??????????

-Another anatomical anomaly: when you point to the bridge of Zeke's nose and ask him what it is he'll tell you it's his roots. Please don't ask me how this all happened. I'm trying my hardest here, folks. I really, really am.

Seems like yesterday.

I've been nostalgic the past few days. I think it's because of all this Facebook junk. Facebook is crazy. It has connected me with friends I knew back when I was literally in first grade. And just a day ago, one of the nicest girls I hung around with all through grade school had her first baby. I found out via Facebook and I was so happy to have gotten the information. Congratulations Kelly and Baby Tessa!!! But since then, I've been thinking about babies. Babies, babies, babies. And more babies. Now, I don't really want another baby, but I do sort of miss all the baby stuff. I miss packing a diaper bag. I used to LOVE packing my diaper bag for some reason. I'd pack and re-pack it every single night. I guess my love of bags extended to the diaper bag family. But yes, my diaper bag was prepared for any mishap Zeke could have brought my way. I think he and I could have survived a combo diaper blowout/nuclear attack with all of the goodies I carried with me each day. Preparedness was the name of my game.

But now, alas, my bag now is simple a purse, albeit a large one, and all I need as far as essentials is some Purell, tissues, and Nintendo DS. A 3-1/2 year old doesn't require much as far as "essentials" go. My friends will tell you though, I still over pack. If you search my purse you'll also find a first aid kit, children's motrin, baby wipes, a toy motorcycle, and the emergency candy stash. What can I say, I still like to do the "diaper bag" thing...

So, in the spirit of walking down memory lane, I searched my old pix and found this one of Pregnant Nancy. Now remember, I HATED being pregnant. I was a horrible pregnant girl and was miserable the whole time. I think this picture captured the one and only night I actually had a fun time being pregnant. So, thanks Penn Ladies! You guys rock. Do you guys remember this party??? Memories, huh???