BBQ and other items of importance

In relation to my post yesterday...

Christy: Why do you ask a question when you already know the answer?
Owen: Because I like to talk.

Also, I made Charlotte laugh a few minutes ago. Almost made me cry.

And now to the reason I wanted to blog...BBQ. Will and I were watching a show on Food Network last night and the subject was barbeque. I watched in horror as they slathered beautifully smoked pork in red, goopy sauces. But then they commited a true offense. They showed someone pouring a dark red sauce on a plate of pulled pork and labeled it as "North Carolina style." Is this some North Carolina in Asia that I don't know about? You know, like Georgia. I have eaten barbeque all over the fine state of North Carolina, and at no point have I ever poured a dark red sauce on that yummy meat. Sure, some of the OPTIONAL vinegary sauces might have a dark hue, but they aren't thick and masking of the barbeque's exquisite smoky goodness. So of course I had to go online and see if there is some new variety of BBQ that I don't know about, which is how I happened upon this. You see, the state of North Carolina takes barbeque so seriously that they are busy discussing it in the House.

Can you tell that I miss my favorite NC food here in Norfolk? And on a related note, here's the song that Will is trying to get Owen to learn next.

Growing

They grow too fast. Tomorrow they'll be going to college. May God grant me the ability to appreciate each day, not wishing for next week (so I can go on vacation) or next month (so Charlotte will be doing new and more exciting things) or September (so Owen can go back to school and stop asking me every single morning, "Where are we going today?!").

For those who want to know, we've had a lot going on with Charlotte and doctor visits. The visit to the orthopedist was very encouraging. She should be a great candidate for pollicization when she is about a year old. We also had a visit with the geneticist. They have connected us with a physician at the NIH who is doing a study on VACTERL. Charlotte only has three of the seven birth defects, but they are still interested in having us participate. This means more doctors, possibly more advanced tests, and hopefully more answers. As for her heart, she will have to have a repeat cardiac cath in July. The scar tissue in her aorta is not stretching as they would like, so the plan is to balloon it open during the cath. Please pray for her. We have so appreciated your prayers up to this point and truly need you to continue to lift us up.

On the non-medical front, Charlotte is doing really well. She has found her hands, so she spends lots of time holding them or sticking them in her mouth or reaching for her giraffe and spider (on her play mat). She loves looking at funny faces, rewarding us with huge smiles, or watching us make noises. What do you call those anyways? Seems sort of crass to call them fart sounds, but that's the best descriptive I've got. She's even pretty good at replying with her own.

As for Owen, he's always very busy. And his mouth seems to be lacking a mute button. I got so tired of the non-stop soundtrack one day that I asked him to tell Charlie, our dog, about it instead. So he did. He's really interested in letters right now. He wants to know every word I can think of that starts with P or B or whatever letter he is currently interested in. Also, we're learning to tell time. Mostly so I can get him to stay in bed until 7:00 am. He's really sweet with Charlotte. He wants to hug and kiss her all the time. Whenever I put her in a dress he declares, "She's a princess!" Such an amazing little boy.

Well, I have a squirming little girl in my lap, so we're off for nap time.

George Clooney

Our nine year anniversary was a few weeks ago. We got all dressed up because we were going out to a nice restaurant and to a Broadway show. I had no idea that a suit without a tie would be much to notice, but as soon as Will walked downstairs with his open-necked button-down and beard, I thought, "Hmm, that's very George Clooneyesque." By the way, the Broadway show was Wicked, which you should consider selling one of your vestigial organs in order to get tickets.

ShamWow

No, we did not buy a ShamWow. However, we know all of the words to the commercial. The story goes like this...one day we had the t.v. on and the SlapChop commercial came on. I stared at the screen, fascinated, waiting for the spoof to end. But it wasn't a spoof. This was a real-deal commercial. I expressed my shock to Will, who said, "Of course not, that's the ShamWow guy." The what?? He then pulled up this video for my viewing pleasure:

Owen happened to be in the room while we watched and immediately fell in love with this song. Nearly every time Will is on the laptop he asks to hear "The ShamWow Song." Thus, we all know the words. Charlotte's going to join in soon.

The Cold Side

Owen has a bedtime routine. Put on pajamas, brush teeth, read two books, pray, go to sleep. My favorite part, of course, is curling up in his bed with him and reading together. Tonight, I had just finished the books and was about to pray when Owen said, "Wait! I have to turn my pillow." He flipped his pillow over and lay down with a smile. This aroused my curiosity, so I asked why he had to do that. His reply was, "Because I like it cold." I just had to laugh. I never would have thought that a three year old could appreciate the difference between a warm and cold pillow. I smiled and told him that I like my pillow cold too.

Blessed

Sometimes I'm overwhelmed by God's blessings.

I Like Corndogs

If you haven't been living in your bomb shelter during the past few weeks, you may have heard of the swine flu. Due to my husband's profession, I've actually had several people ask me about said "pandemic" over the past few days. Here's what I have to say, and I feel as if I'm channeling my husband as best I can here, so go ahead and picture a subtly incredulous stare...it's the flu.

The flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses. It can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death. The best way to prevent the flu is by getting a flu vaccination each year.
Every year in the United States, on average:
5% to 20% of the population gets the flu;
more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu-related complications; and
about 36000 people die from flu-related causes.

This was written on the CDC's website before the "outbreak," regarding the regular ole' flu. 36000 people a year die from the run-of-the-mill flu, and we're up in arms over this one because it has the word "swine" in it? On a swine flu website there was even a list of possible questions the public may have and their corresponding answers including "Can I still eat pork?" Are you kidding me? Please go out and buy yourself a corndog. So listen carefully, unless people start dropping like flies around you, please do not commandeer your neighbor's motorcycle and head to Nebraska to prepare for battle against Satan's minions in Las Vegas. It's not time.

M-O-O-N, that spells flu.

Chocolate Yoohoo

In the ongoing battle with poop, we have a temporary solution. Owen will go in the potty if he is not clothed. This means that if you drop by my house any given afternoon (he can wear clothes in the morning because he's not a morning pooper), you will find Owen minus pants. This has gone very smoothly as long as you don't count the following situations:
-Ninth grade girl drops by my house to pick up something. I hurry to meet her in the yard so as to avoid awkwardness. I turn around to go inside and find Owen on the front porch, waving, exposed. Ninth grade girl's mom stares incredulously.
-Lunch time today. Chocolate cake for dessert. Owen is not a pro at eating anything with icing. Icing all over his face, hands, arms, and.... Oh well. That's what washcloths are for.

On an entirely different note, I have a question. Will and I were at Baxter's (a sports bar) last night. We ate dinner and then asked our waitress about renting a pool table for an hour. She said she would transfer our bill "over there" so that we could pay all at once. When we got to the table a different waitress approached who asked if we needed anything, to which we replied "no." When we were ready to leave I asked Waitress #1 if our tip would go to her, and she said "no, it will go to [Waitress #2]." In my opinion (as a former waitress), this is total crap, but Will assured me that all is fair in tips and the sports bar. I thought we should have left our tip off of the credit card and given Waitress #1 a cash tip. What do you think?