A few things I've learned this week

1.Okay, peanut butter doesn't always cure hiccups.
Cee had a good case of them last night. I gave her PB twice, but she likes to hoard food in her mouth, so the effort was completely wasted. I sang to her as we rocked to sleep and that knocked her (and her hiccups) out.
2. Younger brothers can make really good relationship decisions.
We met my brother's fiancee's family this weekend. Cee and I had gone down to see the folks for a few days. It was my little sister's 3rd birthday too. My brother is 21 and getting married to a girl who's a few years older next August. The LT and I, and maybe Cee, are all in this ginormous wedding. It's going to be a hoot. Especially if my married sister and I are pregnant or have newborns at the time. Anyway I got to see my brother and his fiancee together and they are really great. It's kind of weird seeing a girl look at your brother with total love and devotion, especially since I changed his diapers and gave him baths and bottles, but it was really great too.
3. I can't remember what else I've learned, but there's probably a ton. Mothering a toddler is good for learning, even if you can't always remember what you've learned.

A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down

And a spoonful of peanut butter makes the hiccups go away. I have no idea how.
Cee isn't really bothered when she gets the hiccups, but she gets them a lot at bedtime, where they understandably interfere with falling asleep. A couple of months ago, we were rocking for almost half an hour with hiccups when I remembered the peanut butter cure. Sure enough, a toddler-size spoonful of PB and Cee was asleep within minutes. I've used it several more times, including today right before naptime.
Wikihow.com has many methods of curing hiccups and puts the peanut butter cure at #44. The instructions are simple and has appropriate warnings included so people who have peanut allergies and those who aren't used to swallowing peanut butter without choking are forewarned about the risks inherent in this cure.
And speaking about being forewarned, evidently 16 adults need to be told that riding motorcycles in driving rain, cloud-to-ground lightning, and gale-force winds is a stupid idea. But we did it anyway and miraculously survived, although many brain cells were killed in the partying that ensued once we reached the hotel later that afternoon.

Babysitting is a dangerous job

But I hope it won't be when Grandma Debbie is here to take care of Cee for a few days while the LT and I take a little vacation. Grandma Debbie offered to watch Cee and the 3 dogs at our house, which was really nice of her. I suppose the only danger will be the fact that 18-month-olds don't sit still, and GD hasn't chased one around for 3 days at a stretch in several years. Cee can be tiring.
I've got lists of everything typed up (in a large font to GD won't have to put on her reading glasses). Cee's routine, how to make her cheesy bread, the fact that since she's GRANDMA, it's okay to spoil Cee. I mean, come on, an extra sippy cup of juice won't make Cee obese. Also how to care for the dogs and my plants and the fact that it's OKAY to run the air conditioner. The air's practically solid this week.
I've never been away from Cee overnight before, so this will be something new. We'll be gone 2 nights. I'm not at all worried about Cee. She just adores Grandma Debbie. Cee has also begun realizing that when Mommy goes away, she comes back. We've left her for a few hours with different people, and she doesn't really cry when we leave anymore. The only thing that might be tricky is bed time. Cee's never been put to bed by anyone but me. Also, she's not the most reliable sleeper in this world, even though she'll be 18 months old this week. But I know they'll muddle through, and it is only for 2 nights.
I'm really looking forward to 3 days and 2 nights with the LT. We haven't had much "us" time since Cee was born, so this will be fun.

Help Wanted

MJ over at Note to Self is part of a blogathon (boy, what a world we live in) this Saturday to raise money for HUGS (Helping Uplift Grieving Survivors) which helps families of police officers killed in the line of duty.
She has more details on her blog, including how to donate, so please check her out.

We thank Thee for Thy bounty

So said Pa (Charles Ingalls) at the end of The Long Winter when the family sat down to Christmas dinner in May. They were thankful for having enough food after almost starving during the winter.
I really try to remain thankful for everything I've got, even though I've never come close to starving. Cee and I went for a walk this morning, since it was so gorgeous out. I was telling Cee that she was a lucky girl to live in the country where we could take long walks and hear the birds and the bugs and smell the fresh air and not have to worry (much) about our safety.
We're also really lucky that even though gas and food prices are rising, we're still managing to get by on just the LT's salary. I'm spending almost $10 a week just on milk, which is enough to make you want to get your own cow.
We've also got an incredible family on both my and the LT's sides. Cee has great-grandparents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, dogs, and me and the LT. I hope she never has to wonder if she's loved.
We live in a really nice community with a fantastic school and a great church with our fantastic pastor. Cee is the darling of our congregation, and she runs around our church as if she owns the place.
We have our nice home that we are making various small, inexpensive improvements on, like new flooring, paint, and our sunporch (which was kind of expensive, I guess). Our home owner's policy covered getting a new roof and gutters after a massive hailstorm last August, and we had absolutely no problems with the insurance company.
We always have plenty of food on the table and no one ever comes to our house and goes hungry.
We're very blessed and I hope to always remember to thank God for His bounty.