B Boy Charlie

This post is mostly funny Charlie pictures so I'll do a quick rundown of what's going on. Last week I was having horrible cramping and I almost went to the ER. I was able to hold out and went to the doctor the next morning. He gave me some medicine which helped some. I'm still having some cramping but hopefully it'll all work out.

Great news on the Etsy front! I sold 2 purses in one day! That was crazy. I've sold a total of 6. I'm working hard to make new purses for Hodgepodge and I'm excited but nervous about it. Wish me luck!

Last time I posted a picture of Charlie doing his "Joker face." Now, I finally got a picture of his "Batman face":



The Batman face is always mad yet slightly confused at the same time. When he's Batman, he always has to have a cape . . . and that cape must be his monkey blanket. No other blanket will do. The straw hat is a recent addition to his costume. He found it in a closet, put it on then did his favorite thing to do right now: he looked at himself in the mirror. When he saw himself in the hat, he said, "Look! I'm Joseph Smif!" (That's "Joseph Smith" in Charlie speak)

Here's another picture of his "Joker face" (complete with dark lipstick . . . a side effect from a grape popsicle):



If that wasn't scary enough, check out this face:



The one doesn't have a name, so I'll just call it his "Emo Face."

Charlie loves dancing. He loves to watch "So You Think You Can Dance" and imitate the dancers on that show. Right now he is very much into breakdancing. He is great at doing "flips" (somersaults). Here are some pictures of him attempting a "freeze":

Not bad for a 2 year old! He's been practicing this so long that he does get a little hang time in the air. Problem is, he has a bad habit of doing his tricks face first. Right now he has a scabby rug burn on his forehead from all the flips and freezes he does. I have a feeling we'll see him starring in "Step Up 14."

Primary Talent Night

Last Friday, the Primary at church hosted a Primary Talent Night. I'm in the presidency and we had been planning this for awhile. We were in shock at how many people showed up. We got about three times as many people as we planned for. It was great. The kids had such unique talents. We expected five versions of "Chopsticks" on the piano but got anything from a Spiderman gymnastics routine to a Shakespeare monologue.


John and Charlie watching Anna Ward and Kierstyn Meredith doing a gymnastics routine.


Miles Dexter burning it up on the guitar. He is so good! I bet all the little girls have a crush on him now . . . heck, I think I have a crush on him! He's so darn cute.

Charlie can't wait for his birthday next month. He asks every day for a "Batman" cake. We have the old "Batman" cartoons (well, the ones from the 90s) on DVD and he watches them and acts them out constantly. He wears his monkey blanket over his head for a cape and talks in a raspy voice when he's Batman. Occasionally, I get to be Robin or Catwoman. I need to get a video of his different "routines." The one he loves to do the most right now is to say (in his raspy Batman voice) is, "I am vengeance. I am the night. I . . . AM . . . BATMAN!"

He also has a "Joker Face":



I'm frustrated because potty training didn't go over so well. I don't think he's ready so I'll try again in a month or two. Hopefully I'll have a little more energy by then to deal with it! Charlie is a pretty independent kid and has always been good about playing by himself. Lately, though, not so much. He wants to play all . . . the . . . time. It's kind of annoying. I know that sounds mean but sometimes it's overwhelming when I've got things to do. Hopefully he'll get over it soon!


Charlie holding Tiger on his shoulders just like his dad does to him.



Great news in Etsy Land! I've sold 4 purses! I sold one this week literally hours after I posted it, which was super exciting. I'm having a good time making these purses and having a shop on Etsy. I've had a couple of blogs talk about my shop and that was nice too. One did an interview with me and the other was a nice little review from an old friend (her blog rocks . . . check out her other posts, too!). I'm planning on getting a booth at Hodgepodge (a craft fair here in town) in October. I'm going forward with it, even though my health isn't the greatest. Someone might have to prop me up, but I'm determined to make it--LOL!

I'm also working on a screenplay I'm planning to enter in the Nicholl Fellowship competition in May. It's hard to balance it all but I love it. Each of these things satisfies a different part of me. I'm grateful to have found these interests that fill my life and distract me from being sick.

'Roid Rages

Well, I've been totally neglecting this blog. This month has been kind of crazy. My mom got pneumonia so I've been trying to hold down the fort. She's still pretty sick and will go to a lung specialist this week.

As far as my health goes, I have good news and bad news that's actually the same news. Follow that? Last week I was scheduled to have my blood tested as I do every 6 weeks. It's usually to measure my TSH. At the beginning of the year when I was feeling horrible, one of my doctors found that it was low and put me on thyroid medication. Ever since then, my TSH has been "normal." This has been super frustrating because I've felt anything but normal. Not to mention, my endo said that my thyroid antibodies are super high and my thyroid itself is swollen. Those symptoms would point to thyroid disease, except for the fact that my TSH was normal. This has been so frustrating since I don't feel normal. Especially lately, I've had an increase of the symptoms, especially extreme fatigue. This time around, FINALLY, my TSH levels were low, even while on my medication. Of course, that's bad because it shows there is a thyroid problem. To me, it's good because we're getting closer to finding out exactly what's wrong. So, they upped my thyroid meds and hopefully, I'll start feeling better. It can take up to 6 months to feel the effects, so I'll try to be patient. It could take even years to get me on exactly the right amount. At least we're getting somewhere!

This past month I made two sales in my Etsy shop! One of them was one of my friends, but she paid so it still counts, right? LOL. I'm still trying to learn the ins and outs of Etsy. I'm grateful to have this random hobby to keep my busy when I'm not feeling so good. It's something that doesn't require a lot of concentration but does take a lot of time. Very good when you need to occupy yourself to try to forget how miserable you feel! I would like to have a booth at HodgePodge this year (a craft fair in town), but I'm hesitant because of my health. Keeping my fingers crossed I'll feel well enough to participate. I'm also working on a script, hoping that I'll have it ready on time for next year's Nicholl Fellowship Competition.

John is doing well at work as usual. He's started playing basketball at the church on Wednesday nights. It's a fun "boy" activity that he and even my brother Ethan have started to frequent. John also (gulp) got his first set of golf clubs with his birthday money. He got to play with his brother the other week and he said he needs to practice. We all know what that means . . . speaking of absentee husbands, doesn't football season start in a month? Oy, vey. Nice knowing you, John . . .

Charlie is cute as ever. I'm really enjoying him at this age. I hug him and kiss him all the time . . . he's very good about giving kisses on the cheek so I ask for them all day. I'm going to get them while I still can! I'm totally backwards . . . as a baby he drove me nuts and now as a toddler, I can't get enough of him! He always has something funny to say. He is so darn expressive. He loves to act out scenes from his favorite movies like "Wall-E" "Toy Story", "Up" and "Finding Nemo" . . . not to mention his current favorite, Batman. This week, he asked me to be Robin which made me feel pretty good! He's getting very good at using a "big boy" cup. We're creeping into potty training very slowly. John took him to pick out a special seat (Lightning McQueen, of course) and everything. Only thing was, he refused to sit on it for the first two weeks! I had one afternoon this week where I literally locked the two of us in the bathroom and proceeded to demand, bribe and eventually beg him to just SIT on it. Didn't work. Finally, I have gotten him to sit on it twice. Let's hope he warms up to it . . . I'm afraid he won't be able to serve a mission because he won't be potty trained.

Sorry for the lack of pictures . . . hopefully I'll do better this time!