Germaphobia

Definition of Germaphobia/Mysophobia: Mysophobia is a term used to describe a pathological fear of contact with dirt, to avoid contamination and germs. Someone who has such a fear is often referred to as a mysophobe. The term was introduced by Dr. Kaitlyn Gallagher in 1879[1][2] when describing a case of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) exhibited in repeatedly washing one's hands. This phobia is sometimes referred to as germophobia (or germaphobia, not to be confused with Germanophobia), a combination of germ and phobia to mean fear of germs, as well as bacillophobia and bacteriophobia.

I'm sure you're wondering why in the world I would randomly educate you on the terms germaphobia and mysophobia. Well, I fear that Lola has potential of being one. Oh yes...she is showing all the signs. It's actually kind of funny. Well, as long as it doesn't become a true OCD issue. Anyway, for a while, anytime Lo's hands get dirty (specifically when she's eating) she'll reach out and say "here'ya, here'ya, here'ya" and wants me to wash her hands off. This really happens when she eats avocados as they can get real messy. I would always wash her hands with little wipes but that's not good enough for her anymore. Now, she actually wants to run her hands under the faucet and wash them with soap. Over the past couple weeks, I've seen Lo's need to have clean hands escalate to another level. If we are eating or putting on lotion or just heading out the door to go to school, she'll say "wash hands" and reach up. So, I put her hands under the faucet and then she feels all better.

I must preface, Lola has never been afraid to dig down deep and play in the mud, sandbox, etc. as noted in these pics taken yesterday in the yard:

Dirty girl!!!

Slipping and getting more dirty!

Slipping and now have a dirty dirty bum!

Now, it's garden time!But, the other day when we were playing with the hose, naturally, Lo's feet/sandals got a little dirty. She tried to spray them down with the water hose but wasn't able to get them completely clean as she was standing in a puddle of muddy water. Then she said "Feet...dirty, dirty" and proceeded to head up the stairs, take off her shoes, walk to the front door, went in the house and then straight to the bathtub. I guess it was bath time! She again said "Feet...dirty, dirty" and threw her leg over the tub trying to get in. So, I started running the bath water and got her in the tub. When she got in, she immediately started putting her feet under the faucet and obsessively washed her feet over and over. I wonder if she fears having permanent Safeway meet like her mama has???? Anyway, it's all pretty funny. When we went to school the next morning, she saw her sandals on the front porch and once again said "Shoes...dirty,dirty". Then when I picked her up from school she was playing outside and her shoes were dirty and she wanted them off as soon as we got in the car. She's a real hoot isn't she!!!!! Here's a pic of Lo washing her feet off after her mud fun yesterday:

With this, do you think we have a potential germaphobe on our hands?????

Tree swing...no more!

Well, I have some very depressing news. Something that no woman would ever want to admit. But, in order to move forward towards closure, I figured I would go ahead and be open and honest about yesterdays happenings. Lola and I were swinging on our fab tree swing (seen in the "Great father/daughter moment" post on 7/15). As we were swinging along having a glorious time, the swing made a funny noise then suddenly busted out of the tree causing us to fall to the ground right on our bums. My tailbone doesn't feel too good today. Yes, it completely busted when we were swinging on it! Can you believe?!?!?! When it happened, Lola's eyes were wide open and she said "Swing broke...OOOHHH NOOO!!!" and continued to say this over and over. I wonder if she was trying to rub it in my face? Ha,Ha. I know she wasn't intending to do that but I do wonder if the swing busting out of the tree should tell me something???? I mean it can sustain my hubby who weighs 225 lbs but it can't hold me...hmmm...that's interesting. Over the past 6 weeks, I've gone down a size in clothes so I thought I was doing good but the swing has proven me wrong. Guess it's time to really buckle down on the diet and exercise!!!

So, while I have you here and have revealed my very depressing news, I guess I'll go ahead and reveal some uplifting news too. Adam and Brana found out they are having a baby girl! YEA!!! So, now Lo will have a boy cousin and girl cousin close in age. We're elated and are all in high spirits! Brana's due date has also been moved from December 14th to December 7th. Oh, how a week can make such a big difference towards the end.

In honor of cousins, I thought I would attach a couple cute pics of Lola and her cousin Doss. They are so cute together! Doss is 7 months and is growing like a weed. I continue to tell Tia Molly and Tio Ben they'll be amazed by all the wonderfully exciting things Doss will start doing over the next couple months....crawling, pulling up, saying words, etc. It's all too much fun! Enjoy the pics....

Lola and Doss rockin' out with their head phones. Very cool and just perfect for a concert going baby. The headphones help protect their little eardrums when the music is loud.

Uncle Clay and the babies.

We're all taking the babies for a stroll in the wagon. Lola kept stealing poor baby Doss's hat. I swear my waist isn't as big as it looks in this picture. Doesn't the camera add 10 lbs??? Or maybe it's the dress? Either way, I don't think I'm as wide as this picture portrays. Molly was also complaining about the way she looked in her dress...she too thought she looked wide but I thought she looked slim and trim.

Ahhhh...the sweet babies!!!

Lola got on the ground with Doss and Guthrie. She was being very sweet and gentle thank goodness as that's not always the case...she patted him and tried to give him kisses.

Our bundle of joy...

See the joy written all over her face...lovely!!!

Our little bundle of joy has officially become a true toddler and this is clear by the lovely fits she gives us often. Lately, it seems the "joy" part is not always there.

Now, what do I mean by this? Well I mean if Lola isn't clinging on to my leg or doesn't get exactly what she wants at a particular moment, she has a tendency to either whine and/or give out red faced blood- curdling screams and at times will even throw herself on the floor in the process and when you try to "redirect" her to something else she rolls around shouting a sharp but loud "NO"..."NO". She's thrown one or two of these lovely fits in public which I won't tolerate. In addition to all of this fun, she's still hitting (usually me or poor lady bird) and throwing things (usually at either me or poor lady bird). To make matters worse, she will no longer stay put long enough in a restaurant for Clay and I to enjoy a meal. It doesn't take long before she is whining and then starts swinging her whole body from side to side in the high chair. What else? Well, she won't stay still long enough for me to change her diaper...she actually runs from me which translates into lots of tinkle on the floor. She also isn't content in the car seat...if she's not sleeping or eating in the car then she's whining or once again throwing a fit. Finally, when it's time to go to bed she's screaming at the top of her lungs and resists it until she finally knocks herself out for the night. Lets see...is there anything else??? Or, is this enough?!?!?!?!? AHHHHH!!! HELP ME!!!

Here's what I know. Lola is almost 18 months and has always been a little explorer. She's gaining more and more independence with age which means she doesn't like to be confined and when she does feel confined or restricted she becomes frustrated which can typically lead to a fabulous fit. Now, this is all understandable right. Unfortunately, Lo's still not mature enough to know what is good and what is bad and is still searching for those boundaries. So, when she doesn't get her way, her reaction can be a little volatile.

I know this is all natural but what do you do about it??? I've googled and done my research and every site seems to have something to say but is there really a solution???? Or, is time the only solution??? I want to know how to control the fits but still let Lola continue to be herself. I don't know exactly how to do this but starting this week I plan to find out. We're buckling down!!!! I will take no more from our little angel face who I'm now starting to think may be a "Damien" child (remember the movie....evil genius). Not really. I should give her a little break b/c she is so adorable and we love her more than anything in the world but I fear she is becoming a brat and it's all our own doing.

Surely this isn't the case. So, in the meantime, I'm going to become a strict mommy. No more laid back/easy going mom...it's time to get serious about this parenting thing. Well, I'm obviously already serious about being a parent but I'm just not going to let Lola get away with some of the little things....those things that I sometimes just let fall by the wayside without a mention b/c I'm too tired to address it at the time. Not anymore, we're going to be consistent and try to get this all under control asap. Otherwise just think what we would be dealing with when she is two or three...Yikes!!!

As usual, any advise you have would be great. I'm thinking I may go buy Tori Spelling's new book "Mommywood". I'm slightly obsessed with the Tori & Dean show and I've seen their little boy, Liam, throw some pretty gnarly fits so maybe she would have some good advice...you never know!!!

Now, enough is enough with the complaining. You wouldn't know it by this blog but we do still have constant irresistible moments. Like when Lola goes to pick "matos" (tomatoes) from the garden with Clay and then wants to hold and coddle them all night long. When we finally put them up on the counter, she'll start screaming "matos, matos, matos". We actually have to cover them up at night and say "night, night" to the matos before Lola will go to bed. Or, another cute moment was when Lo took off my flip-flops, looked at my Safeway feet and said "dirty, dirty" while waving her hands at them and then continued on to say "nasty" about my feet. Or, the moment captured in the pics below. Lola got her sunglasses, keys, purse and strangely a pink shovel which she placed in her purse and she was ready to hit the road!

Lola is putting on her sunglasses. Then she would push them up on her head. I wonder where she gets this from???

She's ready to go! She was saying "Keys...Going to car... " while waving and saying "Bye, Bye!".

After she was unable to open the front door, Lola decided her little race car will have to do and hops on for a fun ride.

Great father/daughter moment

I just hate that I wasn't able to get a blog out last week or this week for that matter. So much has been happening! Little Miss Lola gives us something new to laugh and boast about every single day. It's just amazing! I feel like I want to freeze time and stay in this stage forever...it's just too much fun! So, I'll have to give you the low-down on everything new with little Miss Thing. Also, Beans and Uncle Adam are taking some vacation days and are spending some time with us this week. Unfortunately, I may not be able to get to all of that today. Too much to do and too little time. However, I will talk about a new "phase" Lo has been going through as it's been tough on both me and Clay.

Lately, Lo has really been favoring women...specifically me. Obviously, I love the fact that she wants to be with me all the time...hugs on me, kisses on me, plays with me, etc but her time she wants to spend with me has continued to become more extreme and I think (actually I know) it's really starting to hurt Clay's feelings a bit. He is such a good dad and makes a point to spend quality time with Lola every day starting from the minute she wakes up. Once Lo wakes, Clay takes her in the bathroom with him while he gets ready, then he drops her off at school. Although Clay has to work long hours, he always makes it home to spend more time with the baby girl (even if he has to go back to work afterwards) and my favorite part is he puts her to bed every night.

Well, lately, every time Clay picks up Lo to start winding her down for bedtime she goes NUTS. Screaming at the top of her lungs and reaching for me saying "MERE'YA, MERE'YA, MERE'YA". Clay finally gives in and lets her run to me. This has been a huge change and it's really been disheartening for Clay. She's actually been better when he takes her upstairs and away from me but it's been a tough couple weeks. In addition, if I leave the house for a bit, Lo has been known to scream the entire time...just lays on the floor and is inconsolable. It's actually real sad. What do you do about this???? Man, it's been rough...specifically for Clay!

Anyway, I'm sure this like all the other phases will be short lived but it's been hard on both of us. So, in honor of Clay, I thought I would post some pics of Clay and Lo having a great father/daughter moment. Lo loves to swing! She is usually yelling"weeeee, weeee, weeee" the whole time.

I heart Rachel Ray!

Have I ever told you that I LOVE Rachel Ray? Well, I do. I love her even though she is a bit obnoxious and has a tendency to use acronyms a little too much i.e. EVOO - extra virgin olive oil. Seriously, how tough is it just to say "extra virgin olive oil"? Do you really need an acronym for this? Anyway, I initially developed my Rachael Ray "crush" when I was on maternity leave. I discovered if you focus, you can actually catch her on the tube 3x a day. Yikes! Oh, and I took advantage. I watched her morning show at 9:00 am, 30 minute meals at 1:00 pm and 30 minute meals again at 5:00 pm. What I like about Rachael is that she has great 30 minute meals that are fantastically flavorful (like this term?) yet easy all at the same time. Clay tends to be the cook in our household. He loves to cook b/c it involves two of his favorite things: 1) Thinking and 2) Self indulgence. I'm not much of a cook but I can handle Rachael's meals. Ever since maternity leave, I still try to catch an occasional 30 minute meal on the Food Network and I buy her cookbooks and LOVE to cook her meals.

Here's how this very random blog and random obsession with Rachel Ray apply to today: Clay has had a tough couple weeks. He's been studying non-stop for his architecture license and has actually pulled off taking 3 exams in less than a month. In addition to this, he is stressed at work and has been working very long hours. Poor thing...yesterday he had to drive to San Antonio to take another exam at 6:00 pm. He finished that, drove back to A town and then had to go back to the office to work through the night. Oh, and then when he got home, Lo was awake and was hysterical as her little ears were hurting (Yes, she has ANOTHER ear infection). It can be tough on him. On top of all of that, he has to deal with me. Yea and believe it or not I'm not always easy to deal with. For some reason lately I've been a horrible wife and have done my fair share of snapping his head off and yelling at him for no good reason. Not sure why....going through a "phase" I guess.

So, today I decided I was going to try to make it up to him and I busted out the Rachel Ray cookbooks. I was ready to cook a fab meal for a fab hubby! I started prepping this morning at 11:00 am. I picked the perfect dish. Then, I went to the grocery store to pick up all the ingredients and some wine of course. Then, it was time to start preparing the meal. I felt like I was a contestant on Top Chef. It should be noted that as I prepped and began cooking, I was watching none other than the first-class Rachael Ray. Yes, one of her shows just happened to be on...gotta love it! Here is what I cooked:

• Prosciutto-wrapped halibut (they didn't have halibut so I substituted with sea bass) with tortillas (homemade), savoy cabbage (wasn't sure what this was so I just went with green cabbage...I chopped/shredded myself. This was quite a big accomplishment considering I'm not a real good veggie chopper), and warm cinnamon-chipotle tomato salsa.
• Saffron and olive rice
• Black beans and I also prepared (i.e. opened a jar) green chili tomatillo sauce b/c it's Clay's favorite.
• Garlicky Guacamole, chips and homemade durros to add an extra special touch.
• For dessert...butterfingers. Yummy! I may have even had one or two while prepping/cooking the meal.

This wasn't one of Rachael's more simple meals and definitely wasn't cheap but I wanted it to be special so I gave it a shot. Now, I have to admit that I didn't know what half of the ingredients were, I had to look up some of the "culinary" terms (such as "dredge") on foodnetwork.com to make sure I was doing the right thing and I had to continue looking at the picture to make sure mine looked like hers (it didn't) but I still managed to pull it all off thanks to the astounding Rachael Ray!!! By the time Clay got home, I had cleaned the house, picked up Lola and put her in a very "Clay" outfit (black shirt and striped pants), lit the candles, put flowers in the vases, had everything cooked and beautifully displayed and most importantly wine in the glasses. It was absolutely delicious!!! Clay went on and on about how proud he was of me for producing such a fabulous meal. I'm certainly glad it all paid off and he enjoyed it!