2008

Everyone is doing it so I figure what the heck....I've got another 40 minutes till the ball drops, ringing in 2009 so why not post a blog about 2008. Hopefully I won't bore you to tears!! This last year definitely was an interesting one for sure. I remember exactly where I was this time last year. I just had found out I was expecting baby #2 and had no idea what the heck was going to happen. Mr. X and I really didn't know each other that well so I was terrified he would take off like Monkey's dad did. The thought of being a single mom of 2 is a bit scary although I'm sure I would have figured it out if it had come to that. But that's not the issue so enough of that.

I would say that everyone's goal for each year should be to end it on a better note than it began. Right? They always say go out with a bang. Wait, I think thats what they say...I think I may be too tired from staying up this late! Anyways, this past year definitely had a rocky start. Mr. X and I stuck it out and it was definitely rough going. I had to get past my issues of not having control over every single aspect of my life and he had to get used to the idea of a ready made family with another on the way. It turned out ok though.

January and February are a blur as I had horrid morning sickness. March was spent making up missed sleep and packing up my condo. By April Mr. X and I were living together. We found out in May that baby #2 would be a boy and spent the remaining months "debating" over his name. In June Monkey finished pre-k. In July we moved into the new house. August I transfered to a new office location closer to home. Finally in September Toots arrived. September and October I got to stay home on "maternity leave". Yes, I quoted that b/c I was never really and truely off. I was still dealing with work stuff from home. Returned to work end of October and by November had rearranged my work schedule to now work from home. Then of course the holidays through November and December. I lost someone very near and dear to me in December and got to make an unexpected trip home which also meant my family got ot meet Toots afterall.

2008 in all it's glory has been a very long yet very busy year. Honestly....I don't know that I ever thought we would be where we are now. I have to say that I'm happy though. I'm glad that life has taken me down this path and brought me to where we are now. Sometimes I like to even think Mr. X is happy too. LOL Really, he is though. At least thats what he says when it's just him and I snuggled up at the end of the night.

Content. Thats another word I would use. I don't even regret or miss my old lifestyle. I'm perfectly happy to stay at home with the kids and Mr. X just relaxing or something. I love cooking again and trying new recipes. I get to spend way more time with the kiddo's than I ever did when Monkey was a baby.

Over all I'd say that my year is ending better than it began. And if the trend continues...then that means 2009 will be even better!

Happy New Year to Everyone!

Coming Soon....

So Monkey got to meet with the rep at a modeling and talent agency last week before Christmas. I've wondered how people got their kids into it but never really pursued it either. Monkey has big beautiful brown eyes that just stand out and she loves posing for the camera. So it makes sense that it would probably be something she is good at. Well the agent thinks so too. So in March she goes through a 9 week course that teaches her all the specifics. Once thats done she'll get professional photo's done which will be submitted to companies to see if they want to work with her. Companies like Macy's, Dillards, Target. It could be anything from a catalogue to bridal show runway stuff, even commercials. They are a pretty big company, they represent Chad Michael Murray from One Tree Hill. I think it will be pretty cool but we'll have to monitor it really closely. If at any time she stops enjoying it we'll pull her out. Any money she gets from jobs will go straight into savings for her college fund. So be on the look out!! I'm sure if she lands a job I'll be posting it so everyone will know though! LOL

And It's Over

Wow...an entire year building up to 1 day and it's over. Now we start again!! LOL Christmas yesterday was OK. I think I had put too much expectation into it though which won't be repeated in the future. To start off Mr. X was waking me up at 5am saying "Is it time yet?". Uh no. Even Toots let me sleep in till 6am again. Monkey slept till 7:30! By that time I was considering getting her up. She never sleeps that late and I was shocked she had. The first thing she did when she got up though was come out ot see if Santa had arrived. Then came to our room and said "mommy Santa came!". Mr. X wanted to make her wait through a shower but that would have been another 45minutes (he likes long showers) and I didn't want to torture her so we headed to the living room to start. Here's some photo's!

Christmas eve in front of the tree

Monkeys letter to Santa. I cant read it either

Opening her stocking

Chomping on his new toy

The Tag reader

Her favorite toy of all

Chomping on another toy

Playing with Tag

Opening his big gift

Realizing I double wrapped it

And its the Xbox 360!

And then Mr. X got commissioned to make breakfast. His amazing bisquits and gravy. I managed to snap a pic of him cooking in his new Xbox fleece pants he got.

As for me...well I got a picture frame and a copy of a DVD.

Hey Everyone!

We hope your Christmas day is wonderful and magical and creates lots of amazing memories!!!

Is it time yet??

Huh? Huh?? is it time yet? Where is Santa at? Has it made it to our country yet? It's getting dark out so it must be time!

Haha......thats Monkey all worked up about Santa. Me? I'm just ready to go to bed!!!

Santa Bail Out Hearing

Thanks Robyn!

Playing Santa

Well really Ms. Clause if you want to be technical. But Christmas is getting more and more complicated the older Monkey gets. As I was wrapping presents today i had to think about various things. Like the fact that she is learning to read. That means I can't leave packing labels on boxes anymore. All those Walmart site to store labels...I had to pull them off the boxes I was using.

Another thing is I had to buy gifts for Toots to put under the tree and in his stocking. Originally I wasn't going to get him anything. He's 4 months old. He's not going to know any different. But for Monkey how could Santa possibly forget Toots!! So he's getting a couple toys and some rattles/teethers. We even had to include the 2 cats in the stocking line up which meant getting them a couple things. So basically monkey is costing me more money too. LOL

Over all though I'm excited. I so can't wait till Christmas morning that even I find myself counting down the days. I picked up the last of her ballet stuff tonight. Well, I still need to get her ballet shoes but she really needs to be with me to make sure they are sized and fit properly. I'd rather not guess on those. I know she is going to be thrilled when she finds out she starts lessons in January. She is constantly twirling around the house and running around in her little leotard. Plus it's something just for her. She won't have to share with Toots in any ways.

So is everyone else ready for Christmas??? It's only like 48hrs away!

Google by Another Name

We're all familiar with Yahoo, AOL, and Google search engines. Everyone has their own preference on which one works best for them. Personally, I've been using Google these days. Mostly because I use the gmail email now. I LOVE their spam filter. Yahoo's couldn't hold a candle too it especially with how bad spam mail is these days. Anyways, I got a chance to check out Shiny Search to see how it worked and such. Honestly, it looks like google with another name. The difference is I can completely customize how the page looks. I chose the super mom one. Pretty fitting don't you think? You can also personalize it with a name and there are various links right from the search engine page. Also, it appears they use google as the actual search engine too. Bottle line though is they all go to the same place in the end. It's just how do you want it to look when your typing in what your looking for I suppose. It should be interesting though to see if they expand the site at all from where it's at now.

A Neat Game

I recently got the opportunity to check out a new game system from ActionAllStars.com. For those of you who are myspace or facebook fans you may know of Yoville?? Well this is similar to that but it is sports themed and specifically targeted to younger kids. While the younger kids would probably find this fun older teens and adults would probably get bored rather quickly. A few things to point out about the site.

First it is free although there appears to be an option to upgrade to premium services. I don't see where it is necessary to upgrade as I was able to play the games and earn tokens on the free version.

Second it appears to be fairly safe with various safety measures in place. When I first registered it asked me for my "parents" email address to register. It then emailed the parents email for permission to join the site. Obviously any smart kid would know how to get past this but I do give them kuddos for trying. Also for safety they have 2 levels the parent can choose from when it comes to chat. One lets them have basically complete freedom while another limits the type of words and such that can be used. So for a parent setting up the account you can try to be sure your child won't be exposed to foul language and such.

Third there are a decent amount of options available. The player can participate in baseball, snowboarding, and basketball. Games centered around the sports teams due to partnerships with MLB.com and NBA.com I'm sure.

Overall it's a neat little game community for those younger kids who would like to participate in online games but who aren't quite ready for the more adult geared versions.

I've been what?

Let me back up here. Over the weekend Mr. X made a comment to me that has made me really think over the last few days. I was in the kitchen and he came up behind me and said "Do all your friends know you've become domesticated?". "What ever do you mean dear?" I asked. Well, not really like that. It was more like a "Huh?". And then he said "It's Saturday morning and your baking.....Sugar cookies. From scratch". Then it dawned on me. Oh crap!! LOL This time in any years past I would have been sleeping in most likely because of a late night out the night before. If monkey got up early she would just snuggle up with me and watch cartoons from bed. Instead now I'm in bed by 9pm at the latest and up by 6am. I often make breakfast including homemade pancakes or muffins. No box stuff over here anymore. To top it off I was making sugar cookies. Something I have NEVER done before. LOL Did I mention I made the homemade icing too?? Even colored it in 2 colors for christmas. Yup, it's bad. I am completely and utterly domesticated now. I won't even go there about dinner....have you seen my recipe blog lately??? LOL

Can we ban commercials?

I know over the years there have been tons of studies done about the effects of movies and tv shows on kids and teens. About how they mimick actions they see and thats why it's recommended to monitor their tv usage and the programs they watch. There is even programming available in cable and sattelite boxes that let you restrict channels based on ratings. Now the question is...do they do the same for commercials? The recent Levi commercial is the talk of the week around here. If you haven't seen it yet check below. Frankly my jaw hit the ground the first time I saw it. If you have never seen it before the last thing your thinking is it's a blue jean commercial. Second....are they blatantly encouraging sex on the commercial?? And not only that....between 2 very young looking people??? There are so many "messages" in this thing it's not funny and they aren't good. Seriously....when do they draw the line???

Sailors Mouth

Note to self: I curse too much. How do I know?? Monkey and I are watching Chronicles of Narnia as part of the 25 days of Christmas. I'm on the computer surfing the net when I hear...and this is word for word.

"A horse person? What the hell is a horse person??"

Ya, we need to re-think some of the phrases we use in this house. Before long I'll have Monkey and Toots talking like a sailor. I should add I had a very hard time keeping a straight face while correcting her language. It was just her tone that had me cracking up. She was so serious!

A New Wish

These days everything is all about technology. The latest, greatest, fastest gadgets. Up till recently our house wasn't full of those things although it's slowly changing with the recent addition of the Wii. (I'm still holding out for the Wii Fit too!) While online I came across this really cool digital photo frame. I know what your thinking. There are photo frames all over the place...whats so great about them? Well this one has wi-fi capabilities. That means that when you set up the plan then anyone from your family or friends can send photo's to the frame, regardless of where they are. Why do I think that is great? There is a chance that Mr. X may stay in the military next year and if he does it's basically guaranteed that he will be deployed somewhere. What better way to send him all kinds of new photo's of the kids with out even having to log into a computer. Plus, he doesn't have to have computer access to get the photo's. It would be a win-win situation for us. The photo frame is made by CEIVA. They have a really cool web page up right now that lets you load a picture and "sit" on Santa's lap. You can check out the website HERE. They have a good deal going on where you can get $100 off the purchase of the frame. Plus they have a contest going on where you can register to win $500. You can't beat that now can you? So go check it out and be amazed as I was. Besides Santa wants to know...have you got a wish?

Away he goes!!

You can hear me laughing and yes, I realize he was getting frustrated but he was trying so hard to get over that boppy!!

I gotta wonder though, if he's doing this at 3 months....how soon will he REALLY be on the move?

Let it Snow!

So we went back home this past weekend due to my step-mom's passing. It was an interesting trip. Very long and tiring but I'm glad I got to see my family and be with them as we celebrated her memory. On the way home though the weather got interesting. It had started to snow before we left so we decided to leave several hours earlier than planned to try and get ahead of it. So didn't happen. 12hrs into the trip and we still weren't even in Virginia. Didnt' help we were only going 25mph and sliding down the side of a mountain. I got X to agree to a room for the rest of the night and we crashed. Finally made it home 24hrs after we 1st left for home. Here is a pic of the snow the next morning.

I definitely don't miss all that snow. And the cold!! While we were home I ran out one morning to get things for breakfast. Sporting my typical flipflops and it was 11 degrees out! My car was completely frozen over and I of course don't own an ice scraper. Needless to say...I like being back home. Ya, it's a bit chilly but at least I don't have to let my car warm up for 30 minutes before I can go somewhere.

December 2, 2008

I didn't get a chance to post this yesterday. It was a pretty emotionally and physically draining day and by the end of the night I just wanted to crash. Needless to say it's now 3:30am and here I am blogging so go figure.

Yesterday morning started like any other morning. Got Monkey off to school and headed up to walmart for a couple things before I needed to head into work. While in Walmart my cousin called although I didn't get it right away. Darn signal. I knew something was up though when I got the voicemail and text. Something not good and it wasn't. She was calling to let me know that my stepmom had passed away that morning.

S was mom to me though, probably more of a mom to me than my own mother was. There are so many memories I have that involve her.

She married my dad when I was 3 and I was their flower girl. Even now I remember shopping for my dress which really wasn't a dress. As a kid I was very tall but even more skinny so finding clothes was a huge pain. I ended up wearing what was actually a silk nightgown with these flowers on it. It had this pretty robe that went over it and tied with a thin ribbon. In the pictures it really does look like a dress, only we knew differently.

I remember when I asked shortly after the wedding if it was ok to call her mom instead of by her name. How she hugged me and she she would love that.

I remember when she started teaching me how to type when I was in third grade. Telling me knowing how to type quickly would open doors for me later on in life. I remember thinking it was crazy being able to type 100+ wpm and now knowing how right she was.

I remember my first lesson in cooking. Peach cobbler. How she just handed me the recipe and sat back and watched as I dumped every ingredient into the bowl. Only to find out after it was in the oven that not everything was supposed to go in at one time. Then I watched as she still tasted it even though I had screwed the whole thing up.

I remember how she could step out on the back porch, hollering our names into the neighborhood when it was time to eat or come in for the night. Her voice carried so well and it was better than any phone.

I remember how she swore her hearing was so good she could hear all three of us breathing upstairs and knew when one of us woke up before our feet even hit the floor.

I remember when my dad left. How she took all of us across the alley to grandma's to break the news. And how she let me stay with her even though I wasn't her natural child. She kept me as though I were. I remember how she cried with me at his leaving.

I remember the holidays, birthdays, weekend BBQ's with friends. Everything with her involved. The late night chats or being able to sit for hours when we would visit home, talking about our lives and remembering things from the past.

I can still hear her voice as she told me she was proud of me and what I had become. That I had made mistakes but we all do. All we can do is learn from them.

In recent years those chats were fewer with more space between. I lived 750 miles away and had my own responsibilities with my family and work. The days just blurred by and as so many relationships do it eventually was left to holidays and special occasions. Sometimes those nothing more than quick chats as time was always limited.

I hope she knew though that she was always with me. Every meal I made I thought of her and the lessons she had taught me. Every holiday holds a memory that involves her. Every major milestone in my life she touched somehow. When I think of the lessons I want to pass on to my kids I think of the things she taught me.

I will forever miss you mom and I hope that you knew how much you meant to me. I wish that I could tell you now but I know that your suffering is over and your in a much better place. From now on, you'll be my angel and I hope that you will watch over Monkey and Toots. I hope that I continue to make you proud and that the things you have taught me are reflected in them and their upbringing. One day when they are older and ask who taught me these things I will tell them about you. And although there will be sadness that you are no longer with us, there will also be happiness for the memories that we do have. You are gone from the earth, but you will never be forgotten.

"I thought of you with love today

but that is nothing new

I thought about you yesterday

and days before that too,

I think of you in silence

I often speak your name

Now all I have are memories

and your picture in a frame

Your memory is my keepsake

with which I’ll never part

God has you in His keeping

but I have you in my heart."

So Excited!!

I haven't blogged in a few days. Things have been pretty busy around here over the Turkey day holiday. I had to work on Wednesday plus grab all those last minute things needed for Thursday. Thankfully Monkey was feeling better from the bug she had on Tuesday. I was seriously worried I'd be dealing with a sick kiddo for the holiday. Must have just been some 24hr thing. Wednesday night I prepped as much as I could for the next day. Made both pies, got the turkey soaking in the brine, prepped the sweet potatos and green bean casserole. Thursday was still busy with all the baking and such but the food turned out really good. Especially the turkey. I have to say I have probably found how I will make our turkey every year.....yum!

Now onto the best part. This year I got to really participate in black friday shopping. In prior years I've been able to pick up a thing or two. Finances really limited what I could do though. This year...I did all my christmas shopping on Friday. So I am officially done. Well, I need to grab a couple stocking stuffers but thats nothing major. I'm so excited about what we got though. Toots of course will be not quite 4 months old on Christmas and totally oblivious to whats going on. I wanted to put something under the tree though in keeping with the whole Santa story. I could totally see Monkey asking why Santa didn't bring toots anything. So I got him this walker toy. He totally won't use it for several months but it was only $10 on Friday. I figure we'll wrap it up and just save it for later. I'm sure he'll put it to use before his birthday anyways.

For Monkey I ended up doing more than I originally intended. First I got her the Leap Frog Leapster. I ordered that sucker online cause there was no way I was battling people in the store for it. At 1/2 off it was a good deal. On top of that I found games for it at $5 each instead of the normal $24.99 so she got three of those. She also got the word launch. I had a $25 gift card for target so that was a freebie. Then we have some DVD's like The bee movie, Surf's Up, Barbie Mariposa, hmmm I think I'm forgetting one. Lastly we have clothes. Walmart had a lot of $4 items so we stocked up on hoodies, jeans, and most of all Pj's. The girl is still wearing her 4t pj's that although fit fine really the pants are like 2inches to short. I almost forgot too...the ballet stuff! I am going this week down to the studio to do the paperwork to sign her up for the classes to start in January. I've already bought her pink leotard, just need to pick up some pink tights and look into the shoes. I'll do that after talking to the instructor though cause I'm clueless on that count. I also need to get the duffle bag to a friend who is going to embroider her name on the side with some little ballet shoes. Now I just have to think of a creative way to tell her about the classes but in a way that she will understand to. Any thoughts??

As for Mr. X...well I can't put any of that here. Such a bummer but I know he knows about the blog and I don't want to spoil his christmas morning by listing it all here. Suffice it to say I think he will like it. I'm just excited for him though. He's told me in years prior he bought his own christmas stuff. Nobody did things for him. I know the feeling so I think this year will be special in more ways than one.

So thats it!! Today, and yes it is today cause it's 4am, I'm goign to get the tree put up and decorate the house. I have a bunch of outside lights and everything and I can't wait to see it all put up. I got a bunch of stuff yesterday to make a wreath for the front door plus new stockings for us all. Some snowflake things to decorate the windows and new stuff for the tree. I still need to get the kiddo's ornaments for this year but there is still time. I think I'd also like to get one for X and I as well. It's not technically our 1st christmas since we had last year, but it's the 1st one we'll be together on.

Ok, I'm done. Going back to bed now to see if I can't get a few more hours in before the kiddo's are awake. Funny though, blogging at 4am!!

Garfield on the Oil Crisis

A lot of folks can't understand how we came to have an oil shortage here in our country. . . . . . . . Well, there's a very simple answer. ~~~ Nobody bothered to check the oil. ~~~ We just didn't know we were getting low. ~~~ The reason for that is purely geographical. ~~~ Our OIL is located in ~~~ ALASKA ~~~ California ~~~ Coastal Florida ~~~ Coastal Louisiana ~~~ Kansas ~~~ Oklahoma ~~~ Pennsylvania ~~~ and Texas ~~~ . . . . . . . . Our DIPSTICKS are located in Washington , DC !!! Any Questions ??? NO? I didn't Think So.

Ok ok...I get the hint

I figured I'd through a bit of humor in here for a change. And of course it centers around toots. Granted, I may not do the story justice with my words but I will certainly try! On Tuesday I had to go to court with my sis over an issue with her ex. It was pretty much an all day deal and so I took Toots with me. He did AMAZING all things considered. Then again I've quickly learned that it's easy for me to quiet him when he gets fussy. Lets just call them my secret weapons. LOL Thats not the story though. Court took so long that we ended up having to grab a bite for lunch during recess and then go back afterwards. So the three of us trucked across the street to McDonald's. Yes I know, not the healthiest thing but it was the closest and we didn't have THAT much time. So we get lunch and sit down to eat. Of course Toots decides he must eat right then too so I feed him. During which he decides he also needs to clean out his system. I swear he is a grown man in an infants body. Shortly before we had to be back to the courthouse we head into the bathroom to get him changed. I should have known when I saw the yellow splotches in teh back of his shirt....it was going to be messy. I get the shirt pulled up and quickly realize......he has leaked out of his diaper. BAD. Like so bad it was almost to his shoulders. And what hadn't made it that far quickly did as we struggled to get his shirt off with out spreading it everywhere. So there we are in the bathroom. Toots stripped naked and me going through 100 wipes trying to get all of it off him. IT. WAS. EVERYWHERE!! At one point I hear my sis say "EW EW EW...it's on my finger!!" She then proceeds to sit him on his blanket which I used to cover the changing station to which I'm yelling "I haven't wiped his butt yet!!". Oh ya, now ti's all over his blanket too. You guessed it, she doens't have kids. She's not used to this kind of dirty. We finally get it all cleaned off him and thankfully I had brought a spare onsie and his pants were salvageable. Got Toots all bundled up in the moby and he was good to go. Fastforward to later that night. I hear those telltale signs while we're eating dinner and go to change him again. And there it is....the wet onsie half way up his back. AGAIN! Only this time it's me and X and a warm bath. So much easier than the wipes in a public restroom. Thats not it though. night comes and Toots goes down as usual. Then is up at 3am for his feeding and I change him. The next mornign I go in to wake him up so we can take Monkey to the bus. He is SOAKED. I mean literally SOAKED. Through the diaper, onsie, pj's, the bed sheet, the mattress protector. EVERYTHING. I knew it even as I walked into the room and smelled it. Ugh! So needless to say I got the hint. Those size 1 diapers just were not cutting it. So now my once oh so small baby is in size 2's which look so huge but at least I'm not scrubbing crap out of everything. LOL

Young Talent

It seems like more and more each day the talent showing up in music videos and TV shows is getting younger. Granted there are some serious child prodigies. Anyone watched Oprah lately?? I saw this one girl play the piano the other day. The girl has some serious talent and I think she was not much older than Monkey. Anyways, we caught some of the video on YouTube of the Naked Brothers Band which is Nat & Alex Wolff. Monkey's favorite song was "The Girl of My Dreams". You can tell they are younger boys but listen to the lyrics. It's a simple song but considering these boy ages...heck I can't even do that! Apparently tomorrow night, November 22nd, they will be premiering on Nick. I think Monkey and I might check it out since it comes on at 8pm and Toots will already be in bed for the night. Have a little bit of mommy and daughter time. I'm curious anyways because the episode is titled Operation Mojo and I can't help but wonder what his "mojo" is!! It's Nick so I imagine it will be child related but hmmm....what kind of mojo could a boy that age have?? I guess we'll tune in to find out!!

The Belly Battle

Now that Toots is almost 3 months old I have been thinking it's about time to really start focusing on losing the rest of my "baby weight". I paraphrase that cause we all know it aint all baby weight. Anyone who gets preggo around the holidays is dealing with a bit more than that. I think I had gained about 10lbs when I found out we were expecting and that was only about 4 weeks into it. Recently I found something called the Flat Belly Diet and after taking a look at it I think I'd like to try it out. It focuses on loosing in that specific area, the belly, which is my biggest issue after the kiddos. It also focuses on certain groups of foods containing healthy fats (MUFA's), one in particular being Dark Chocolate which is my favorite!! It also includes things like olive oil which we have converted to, and peanut butter which I like for the protein. I figure since we recently started cooking more from home that this might be a great way to incorporate some of those healthy fats into our diet. And since it looks pretty easy I'm sure I could get X in on it with out him even realizing it!! So we'll see what happens. If I get the invite to participate in the program I'll be blogging about how it goes so anyone who reads can see for themselves how it works. Keeping fingers crossed!! You can check it out below if your interested too!

Score!!!

I think this has got to be all time best deal scored. I don't think I'll ever be able to top this one. LOL What could it possibly be you ask?



This

That my friends in the Britax Marathon convertible carseat. Holds kiddo's up to 65lbs. Normal retail is $279.99. Yes, you read that right. People actually pay $280 for a carseat. And thats BEFORE taxes and shipping. Now you must be thinking I'm crazy enough to pay that much as well. I know I know...You can't put a price on your kids safety. I don't do that but I do know there are safe options that cost a heck of a lot less. Anyways....whats the big deal??? I DID get that carseat. But I DIDN'T pay $280. I paid............. $90.28. FOR TWO!!!

Ok you can applaude me now! LOL

Ready for the Holidays?

I wish I could be one of those people who planned all through the year for the holidays. And when i say that I really mean buying Christmas gifts and plannign travel. That is so not me though. I am a total procrastinator. Well, maybe not entirely. I have a very hard time getting things for the kiddo's and not giving it to them right away. I mean, I bought Monkey's new bike for her birthday ON HER BIRTHDAY. I couldn't be trusted to get it before then. LOL This year will be no exception. I know what I'm doing for Monkey and Mr X. Those will get ordered at the end of the month. I'll just need to find a place to hide them for the 3 weeks till Christmas. Its going to be very hard to keep it mum though. Have I mentioned I talk in my sleep. Wait, maybe i shouldn't mention it. Now I'm goign to be woken by Mr. X whose trying to get me to tell him in my sleep. Ugh.....holidays.

I do love them though. I wish that my kids could experience the type of holidays I grew up with. Ones where our entire family got together at my grandma's house for good food and fun times together. The kids played with the toys that Grandma found at the local thrift shops. Barbies and Lincoln Logs galore! The adults usually ended up in a game of penny poker as we all nibbled on the sweet treats still set out like Grandma's fudge. The food was always amazing. Grandpa's ham......my mouth waters thinking of it. Pickled eggs, green bean casserole, potato's with gravy. Ok, i gotta stop my tummy just growled. The biggest thing though was just the happiness and fun. Maybe I missed any issues but it always seemed like everyone has such a good time. The laughter and contentment is what I remember most. Ya, it was crowded but it was worth it. My kids will probably never experience that unless it's when they are older and have kids of their own and we all get together. I hope that we do! It's one holiday tradition i would love to establish again.

Military and iLasik

I know several people who have gotten Lasik surgery and swear it was the best decision they ever made. Mr. X even has mentioned he is interested in getting the procedure done. Now apparently the Military and NASA are considering making it standard procedure to have "mission-critical personnel" undergo the procedure. Does it make sense to have them do this? After doing some research on the LASIK technology I would have to say I think it does. According to the article 100% of aviators who had the procedure would recommend it to others. 95% were able to achieve 20/20 vision. How could it not make sense? Service members in criticaly important positions would have perfect vision. Not relying on commercial products like glasses or contacts which have their own flaws. Glasses can become scratched and/or broken, and even little old me manages to lose contacts. Those darn things will fall right out of my eyes! Can you imagine doing something highly important in the military or with NASA and suddenly realize your contact fell out?? Man that would suck. Not to mention the cost of maintenance and upkeep. I imagine the procedure would pay for itself over the years as the person no longer has to buy new frames, lenses, cases, cleaning clothes, contacts, contact solution, etc. So ya, I have to agree with the statement that Lasik exceeds all standards of safety and effectiveness. Now everyone run out and let them laser your eyes! If you would like to find out more check here for more LASIK information.

Did you Notice?

There are advertisements on my page!! LOL I got linked up to get paid for the advertisements and figured what harm could it do? Well maybe besides annoy some of you who hate seeing them all the time. The good thing is I completely control how many, what type, and where. Pretty cool huh? And heck, if I can make some spare change too then why not. As for the money making part it's based off of clicks. Doesn't show me who clicked what, when, where, or why. Just that one was done. So any of my friends who click no fear, I won't even know who it was!

Inspiration

Now is about when most parents start agonizing over what to get their kiddo's for christmas. Well maybe not agonizing but certainly it's on their mind. I am no exception. Especially since we really need to watch our budget. The plan I think is to get one large gift and then a few smaller things to go with it. Originally I was thinking the Ninetendo DS for Monkey. Then after X and I discussed it that was nixed. Granted she's 5 and it seems like every 5 year old we know has one. But Monkey tends to lose or break things and considering those things are $130 just for the system....well I think we'll wait a bit before doing that. So then i was back to square one and completely clueless. Then tonight while cruising Ebay an idea hit me! Right before Toots was born I had asked on my playgroup about local dance/ballet classes. I had then promptly forgotten about it until tonight. I went back to check the responses and one of the ladies pointed out a local studio that offers dance/ballet classes for $16 month. You pay monthly instead of per class which could certainly get good reviews. Several other mom's chimed in that they are good so first thing Monday I'm going to call and find out about getting Monkey signed up. Granted to start after the holidays. Now I just got to figure out a neat way of putting that under the tree...any suggestions?? To go along with it I'm already cruising ebay for things. I found the cutest tote bag with little ballet shoes stitched on it. She will need a bag to carry her things so it should be perfect. Once I know about the dress code I'll snag a few tights and suits and shoes. I think I may even try to find a charm necklace with ballet shoes on it. I think she would really love it.

As for Toots I doubt we will really do anything. I have some toys that are being given to us for him and a cute little pooh exersaucer. Would it be to cheap to pretend those are for him for christmas??

And lastly X....well I can't discuss that on here as I know he reads this thing periodically. I'm definitely open to ideas though!

Proof

Who says we can't multi-task???

2 months old

Well our "little" boy is getting older and is officially 2 months old now. Really he's 9 weeks but doctors go by calander months. Man time has flown! He had his well baby check and he is now 11.8lbs and 24inches long! My tall and skinny boy. I was looking back and compared to monkey he is lighter but taller than she was at this point. Monkey was just shy of 14lbs by her 2 month appointment. But alas he is healthy and growing well. Poor guy got 3 shots though which he was not happy about. It was almost comical to watch but I'll never admit to laughing. Now wouldn't that just be the mean mommy thing to do? He had no idea what was coming as he layed on that table smiling at me. You could see though when that first needle went in. He flinched and his face immediately turned beet red. Then just he started to calm down the 2nd one went in. Then repeat again for the 3rd. I think he's going to end up with my temper. For a few hours after the shots he would just start wimpering like he was having flashbacks and letting me know he wasn't happy about it. Today, he's been fussier than normal and just doesn't seem to feel well. thats to be expected though so we're dealing. Course I resigned myself to having to hold and nurse him a lot too which helped. Amazingly though I still managed to bake an apple pie in the middle of all his fussing so I guess maybe he hasn't been that bad!

He Made Me Steal!

Ok so I'm confessing something here and honestly, give me your feedback. What would you REALLY do?? Here's the situation. There have been 2 times when I have had both kiddo's with me at the store. When I have them both Monkey sits in the little seat thing of the cart and Toots is in the basket part in his carseat. I'm not brave enough to let Monkey roam free and Toots carseat never really sits right on top of the cart. Anyways, those two times resulted in Toots totally freaking out about still be strapped in his seat. Screaming at the top of his lungs like he's being pinched or something. I swear people thinking I'm torturing him as they hear his hollaring across the store. Anyways, I'm frantically grabbing the couple things we need and rushing to get out of there and hopefully get Toots to stop screaming. Which he inevitably does as soon as we're in the car driving home anyways. So we go through check out and I swear I check the basket to make sure we got everything. Toots must have a hidden compartment somewhere because 2 times I've found something that didn't go through the check out, once I was getting everyone loaded into the car. So the dilema....do you go back inside? Both times Toots was seriously screaming bloody murder. My head was pounding at the screams it was so loud. I know thats no excuse but in my defense I didn't even realize the items were there until much later when silence had returned and my sanity with it. And what were they?? A small bottle of hand soap and a can of frosting. They apparently rolled underneath his carseat so i didn't see them when I was getting things out of the cart. So what would YOU do?

Another Must Try Recipe

I don't put these up often but this is definitely a must try recipe. We had it last night and it is so Yummy! It's titled as BBQ chicken Casserole but really it was like a sweet and sour chinese chicken. I'm not normally a huge fan of sweet and sour but I can make an exception for this. Even Mr. X and Monkey loved it and went for a 2nd helping. So try it....you LOVE it!

Barbecue Chicken Casserole

Taking A Moment

Up in the wee hours with Toots and watching all the election coverage. It's too early to really go into a lot of detail on my thoughts, I'll proably do that later when I'm thinking more clearly. All I can think of is...well I just can't think right now. My heart is heavy and yes, I shed a tear or two. I only wish they were tears of joy!!

I do congratulate Obama for becoming the first ever Black President Elect. While it is certainly a historic event, I fear that it will not be the answer to our problems that so many people are hoping for.

**Sigh**

Happy Halloween!

The night is finally here!! The night we get to set our little cheerleader and horse loose to descend on the neighbors and raid their candy. Ok, well we won't set them loose but they will be raiding the neighbors. All for candy and goodies that we seriously don't need in the house. Oh well, it's al for the fun of it and the experience. Halloween was one of my favorite holidays growing up. Getting all dressed in crazy costumes and going out with our cousins in the neighborhood. Even if it was 30 degrees out. We were troopers for sure! So I hope all of you who do go out have loads of fun, stay warm where the temps have dropped, and stay safe. You never know where a ghost or goblin will pop up!

BRRRR!!!

It's cold out there!!! Last week we were in the 70's and 80's. This week...the 50's and 60's. Taking Monkey to the bus stop this morning it was 41 outside. We had to bust out the winter jacket to stay warm. To backtrack a bit on Monday night I needed to run and do laundry since I didn't get it done on Sunday. I couldn't put it off another day either cause we seriously needed some clean clothes. One day soon hopefully we'll have one in the house but until then, it's off to the laundrymat. Course the night I go it's like 30 out and raining. Cold, wet rain. Yuck!! I always take Toots with me, especially that late so X can get to bed and I can feed Toots if need be. Since it was really nasty out I got out the Bundle Me that our friends got us as a baby present. I LOVE it!! Anyone who has dealt with infant seats know it is a pain in the hiney to get them strapped in with coats and such. Blankets will blow off with the slightest wind and no matter what their face/hands always feel cold. Not with this!

it's a super soft fleece bunting style that goes into the seat first. then baby goes in and gets strapped in. then zips up around them. No jacket required. He was so warm and cozy in there he passed out with in minutes. Definitely a great investment in colder climates!

Giddy Up!!

Mr. X thought this was funny last night. The cat....not so much. Toots? He could care less I think.

Burn Baby Burn

Did you know that Tator Tots can catch on fire?? I don't mean, yes they will blacken in the bottom of the oven. I mean they burst into flame, catch in fire, could burn down the house. Seriously. How do I know this?

Sunday night Mr. X made us dinner. His version of tator tot casserole which was good. I'll probably always make mine with green beans but I may add cheese in the future. Anyways, back to the story. Apparently while putting the dish in the oven he knocked one of the tator tots off and it fell into the bottom of the oven. Being the typical male, I'm sure there is a female or two as well, he didn't REMOVE it from where it fell. Yes, it got LEFT there.

Fast forward to the next night. I decided to make a chicken enchilada of sorts using some left over chicken, tortillas, and then enchilada sauce. I started the oven to get it preheated and started the enchilada sauce on the stove. It was one of those that you just add water and tomato sauce and heat it up.

So I get to cutting up the chicken and I start smelling like something is burning. Totally not even thinking about the oven I kept checking the sauce. Even wondering in the world I could be burning water and seasonings. Stranger things have happened I guess. Then it dawned on me....open the oven. So I did.

Out rolled black smoke. When it finally cleared enough to see there layed the offensive tator tot in the middle of the bottom. You know how coals have those glowing red embers when they get hot enough?? This looked like one of those. So I'm thinking there is no way I can just leave it there, it will only get worse. I so grabbed the metal tong things, slipped on the oven mitt and went oven diving.

I managed to snag the tator tot and started to pull it out. To my horror I bumped the rack and it fell back in. And rolled right UNDER the hot coil. With in less than second it burst into flames. It was burning like a marshmallow over a camp fire!! Now there really was no option to just leave it be as I had no idea what kind of damage an actual flame in an electric oven would do. So I went after it again.

Got it out this time and went to the sink....which had tupperware and bottles in it from earlier in the day. So with my flaming tator tot in one hand I'm frantically trying to move dishes to one side so I won't ruin any of them. I finally get it cleared and throw it in the sink. It's still flaming!! So hosed that sucker down as it hissed until it died out. So thats the story.....tator tots really do catch on fire. In the mean time I'm left with this...

Can you see the resemblence??? Brings a whole new meaning to burning dinner huh?? Now here is a real funny for you. You know your a true blogger when you see stuff like this and think "I need a picture so I can blog about it!". And your an Ebayer when you think "I wonder if I could sell that on ebay?" Hey, why not.....stranger things have been sold!

Just for fun

You don't have to be registered to listen to this. Just don't laugh too hard!



http://ksolo.myspace.com/actions/showSongProfile.do?rid=611574&sid=24216&uid=5547274

Donating Milk

One of the girls in our playgroup had posted a notice that she had been approved to become a donor of breastmilk. After reading her story and doing a little research I thought "You know that's a pretty amazing idea!". For those of us who seem to have an over supply of milk, the likes of which we will NEVER go through ourselves, why let all that "liquid gold" go to waste. And in our household, if we keep up at our current pace thats exactly what will happen. I have upwards of 200oz in the freezer. Each day I pump in the morning and at while at work. I'm only working about 3hrs a day in the office so we only need enough for one 4oz bottle and since I can pump anywhere from 4-7oz at one pumping session....we get way more than we need.

Anyways, about a week ago I went to the company website and went through the extensive intial interview asking questions about all kinds of things from our history. Today, I got the email saying that we have moved to the next step which includes a sign off from both our physicians and then the physical exam, drug testing, blood testing, etc. If we pass all of that then we will be approved to become a donor and will be sent all the supplies for storage and shipping of what ever extra milk we have to donate. I consider myself fairly healthy and Toots is certainly thriving so I'm really not too concerned that we wouldnt' get through this next phase. I'm not sure how long it might take but keep your fingers crossed for us!!

Here's a little info about what the company does and such.

As a result of the ongoing donations from generous donors and supporters like you, International Breast Milk Project is able to continue providing breast milk to babies in Africa affected by HIV/AIDS. Through May 31, 2007, IBMP donors had generously given 55,000 ounces of breast milk for our cause! 100% of the breast milk donated through May 31, 2007 has been shipped to Africa. 5,000 ounces of the breast milk was shipped in May of 2007, while the remaining 50,000 ounces was shipped in October 2007. IBMP is grateful to Prolacta Bioscience for working with us from the very beginning to collect, process, and package all of this donated milk. Due to the program’s great success and growth, IBMP is able to continue its work under a business model that ensures sustainability for the organization, so that we may continue helping infants affected by HIV in Africa. At IBMP’s request, Prolacta will continue donating their services at no charge to IBMP. Under this agreement Prolacta will collect, process, and package 25% of all breast milk donated after June 1, 2007. This donated milk will be provided to babies affected by HIV, poverty, and disease in Africa. The milk that is shipped to Africa for infants affected by HIV/AIDS is donated and not sold to the babies or orphan clinics. The remaining 75% of donated milk will be processed by Prolacta to make pasteurized human milk and to create the only available human milk fortifier made from 100% human milk, H2MF, for premature and critically ill babies in neonatal intensive care units in the U.S. For every ounce that remains in the U.S., Prolacta will provide $1 to IBMP. International Breast Milk Project requested this balance of milk and financial support from Prolacta to maximize our potential to fund local healthcare initiatives in Africa, including local milk banking, while also providing immediate relief for infants suffering from malnutrition. This partnership of a non-profit with a for-profit organization provides a model that creates sustainability to provide for a critical need in Africa. IBMP is pleased that the new model is working well: Breast milk donations made after May 31, 2007 have resulted in another shipment to South Africa sent on May 20, 2008, consisting of over 43,000 ounces of milk! This is equivalent to over 10,000 infant feedings.
Prolacta’s human milk fortifier is the only fortifier made from 100% human breast milk, which is added to a mother's own milk, or to donor milk, providing a critically ill preemie with the nutrition necessary to support appropriate growth and development. The human milk fortifier is concentrated human milk that meets the nutritional needs of premature and critically ill infants, as prescribed by neonatologists. Premature infants miss out on significant in-utero growth because they are born too early, and human milk does not have enough calories and protein to sustain the growth rates required for these babies to catch up with their full term peers. Feeding these babies more volume does not work since their stomachs are too small. The solution to this problem is to concentrate their food. The current standard of care is fortification using bovine (cow) milk products. Prolacta Bioscience is offering an alternative by making a concentrated fortifier from 100% human milk, as opposed to cow milk. Prolacta is the first and only company to provide human milk fortifier from 100% human milk for critically ill babies in the NICU. International Breast Milk Project is a federally registered 501c(3) organization. We will publish our milk shipment reports and our yearly financial information at www.breastmilkproject.org. You will know that every drop of your milk is making a difference for infants in need.

Grandma Tells All

Keeping Score?

Here is a touchy subject for you. For those of you who have kiddo's, do you and your significant other keep track of who goes out more with out the kids? This has become an issue for us, well maybe just me. X gets to go out quite a bit. The last few weekends he's been gone Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Then this week he was gone Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday night as well doing his gaming thing I guess. It doesn't really bother me that he goes out, we all need to still have our own thing that we do. What did bother me is that it was so much and I was left stuck at home with the kids, one of which wouldn't stop screaming. On top of that Tuesday I heard the comment "You get to stay home and lay around all day". That alone was enough to irritate me cause it's so not true. Granted, I'm not working 8 hours a day anymore, I only go into the office for about 3 hours each day. Even at home though I'm still working answering emails and phone calls that get forwarded to me. Things I have to continue doing to keep up the arrangement I have with my boss now. On top of that I have to take care of Toots and then Monkey when she gets out of school. Keep the house cleaned up, make dinner, clean up from that, etc. Anyone who stays home knows it's not just sitting around watching tv all day. At the end of the day I'm wiped out so it's no wonder that most nights I pass out shortly after Toots finally goes down for the night. Needless to say it's just frustrating because in all that I have not been able to get a break at all. I've got bookclub this Sunday night, which I can take Toots with me but not Monkey. I got resistance to that idea and really it's not even difficult keeping Monkey. When I leave she's only got an hour before bed and she can pretty much put herself to bed. At least I haven't left him with both kids to handle...Even I get overwhelmed with that at times.

So how do you guys do it? Or does it really just not matter? Don't get me wrong, X is awesome with Toots. When he's here he holds him, burps him, rocks him, etc. I've never once had him refuse to take Toots even when I interrupt one of his computer games so I can get 5 minutes to go to the bathroom. I just wish I didn't feel like I was still on my own so much and had a chance to get out a bit more.

Beating My Head On A Wall

Don't let the smile fool you....



I finally caught one on camera but we've spent the last 6 hours alternating between eating, diaper changes, and screaming. He only slept about 45 minutes total in that entire time. I hope he'll sleep really well tonight! And who could possibly stay frustrated for too long with smiles like that mixed in.

Give me your ideas....please??

I need some recipe ideas!! We get WIC and every month I get 2lbs of raw carrots and a bag of dry beans. This month I picked up a bag of the split peas thinking...oh split pea soup. Never had it but X says it's not the best. I'm not really crazy about waisting ingredients on something we probably won't like, not to mention basically making two meals in one night. We all still gotta eat right?? So I need ideas for what to do with those split peas. As for the carrots, any recipes/ideas you have involving carrots throw them at me. It might not sound like it but 2lbs in a decent amount. Sure we can eat them raw or I could make a carrot cake but that will get old fast. So let me see what ya got!!

Great Invention

I think this had to be a mom invention. Someone who knew and understood the problems/concerns with getting nursing babies to take a bottle when needed but also not refuse to nurse. The most common issue is nipple confusion and lazy babies. Bottom line, regular bottles make it too easy and it's a different type of sucking. And since it's human nature...who wouldn't take the easy way out.

Toots was having bottle issues. He had taken some bottles ok and then wouldn't have anything to do with them. I can't leave him to starve all day and on occasion need more than 2 hours away. No a friend of ours suggested these bottles.

1st Years Breast Flow Bottles

You'll notice that the bottle itself looks like any other bottle. The actual genius in this set up is the nipple itself. It's kind of a double nipple of sorts. The inside one is fairly like a regular nipple although made out of a harder plastic. The outside one is the soft silicone but has a shorter tip and more "natural" shaped area behind it. The way it works from what I can tell is when you tip the bottle up the milk fills into the area between the inner and outter nipple. Baby has to both suck on the nipple and compress the larger area making it just like nursing. It has the exact same latch in that they use their tongue/lower lip as well.

Yesterday was our first trial run with these bottles and my sitter was bending over backwards thanking me when I picked him up. I imagine after listening to his scream for the 20 minutes it took me to get there anything would be amazing. But she contributes it to the bottle. She said that the first time it went in his mouth he kinda turned away but then got a taste of what was inside and went to town. He sucked down a 4oz bottle in 10 minutes and then was the happiest most content baby. He even gave her a few smiles and lots of big burps.

The one down side to all this is that when I have him home he wants nothing but me. Last night X tried to give him a bottle b/c I was taking care of Monkey and trying to get some things done too. It was the late night one right before bed but Toots wanted nothing to do with him. As soon as I picked him up he stopped crying. So we have to adjust to that aspect. I've heard that nursed babies will be more attached, especially int he beginning, after being away from mom for a bit. Hopefully though he'll start to realize that I always come back. Although for a 7 weeker I imagine we have awhile before thats the case!

Rolling Over

Isn't it the cutest thing??? Just ignore the crying at the end...

Because I Just Cant Resist

You can thank Mr. X for that one.

A Funny

When your significant other ticks you off don't yell, don't scream, don't argue.

Get Even

How???

Glue his flipflops to the floor.

Fall Festival

This morning we attended our playgroups annual Fall Festival. Our friend Jennifer and her son Justin tagged along too and hopefully they had fun like we did! There were crafts and games for the kiddos, a costume parade, trunk or treating, and yummy food. I personally loved our beer bread....YUM! There were some amazing sugar cookies and this hashbrown bake with corn flakes on it. We were eating going thats for sure.

During the party I snapped a few pic's of costumes the kiddo's were wearing. I narrowed it down to my top 2 favorite but first, here are a few others that were too cute.

First of course, my horse and cheerleader. Don't mind their facial expressions. I don't even attempt to try and get Monkey to make a straight face and Toots...well you know. He's ONLY now quite 7 weeks now.

Then we have Justin as Elmo. It took a good bit of coaxing to get him to wear that costume but he finally did and got to participate in the trunk or treating.

Here we have the cabbage patch kid. I couldn't get close enough to get a pic of hte kiddo inside but rest assured she was more adorable than any doll. I gotta say though, the real doll has got to be huge to justify that big old box!

Here we have a monkey with the chubbiest cheeks. Makes ya just want to squeeze him. And gotta love the little details like the banana sticking out of his pocket.

And here we have the fisherwoman with her catch of the day. I gotta commend the people who come up with these ideas!

And now the leaders.

The peacock. Sorry the picture isn't that great, I was trying so hard but Toots was eating like he is a starved baby and I was operating the camera left handed. Doesn't work so well for a right handed person. This costume was absolutely adorable though, right down to her orange tights and her feathers all puffed out around her. She was the prettiest peacock ya ever did see!

And finally, the one I think I do have to label the winner. Basically for originality. I'm pretty sure this was a home made costume, if not I'd like to know what store makes costumes like this! I don't think words could do it justice so here ya go....

Neat isn't it? Not only is that a washing machine but it's complete with Tide and Clorox and the assorted clothing as well. I hope though that the clothing was at least clean for the demonstration...especially the underwear on his head. Now what I really want to know is how they got their young son to wear that willingly!

Busy Busy!

We are going to have a jam packed fun filled weekend! First my good friend Jennifer and her son are coming up to visit. We haven't seen them in like a year so it's a long over due visit. So happy they will be able to make it!! Saturday morning/afternoon we are taking the kiddo's to a fall festival that my mom's group is hosting. The kids get to dress up, play games, trunk or treat, etc. Should be fun! Either tomorrow night or Saturday night I think we'll hit the Greek Festival going on near our house. The food sounds yummy, is reasonably priced, and admission is free. I think the kids would enjoy it too. On Sunday we're heading to another playgroup event to decorate cookies with the kiddos. Needless to say we have plenty to do!

First Day Down

It didn't go bad at all. A lot better than I anticipated actually. I went last night and set up the pack n play and a few other things so I wouldn't have to worry about it today. Especially since I knew I would be runnign late already because of what time Monkey's bus gets here in the morning. Sorry, I'm not paying someone to watch her for 15minutes in the morning. We'll just call it even with all the extra hours I've put in over the last 6 years. Anyways, got in and Toots slept most the morning. I wrapped him up in the Moby and he was perfectly content to sleep on me. I was able to get a lot done, to the point I'm not sure what I'll have to do tomorrow. Surf the net?? LOL Over all though it really was easy. He only got fussy really once when I changed his diaper but thats cause he still wanted to eat more and I was taking too long. I asked my coworkers at the end of the day if they had been bothered at all and they said no. If every day goes like this then we should have no issues! Yea! I do still want to look into getting the Ergo carrier. At $100 though it's an investment that will have to wait a couple weeks when I'm getting a paycheck again. It really is worth every penny though. Shh....just don't tell X how much that sucker costs!!

My Final Night

Well, the moment is finally upon us. Well me anyways. Tonight is my last night before returning to work. Can I say I'm a bit nervous about getting ready in the morning?? I've done as much as I can tonight. Laying out clothes, packing bags, etc. There is still the issue if juggling getting myself up and ready, dealing with Toots who will wake up screaming to be fed, and getting monkey fed/dressed for school. Oh ya, getting her to the bus on time! Toots is going to work with me. Should be interesting to see how that works out. The plan is to have him with me Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Those days I'll be at the office doing paperwork, system maintenance, mailing letters, the occasional call. On Tuesday/Thursday I'll use as my days to run where needed or do appointments. I've got the moby wrap for carrying him while awake and hte pack n play set up for when he sleeps. Thankfully I have my own office so I'm out of the way of the other agents in that location. I'm really hoping it works and is manageable. At least until Toots is a bit older an dmore mobile. Then we can look at other arrangements if necessary. I just woudl rather have him with me as much as possible while we're nursing to help keep it going well. Granted I've been able to pump pretty well but I still have concerns that it will dwindle due to him being in daycare all day. We'll see though.

Course, I really should get to bed. Here it is 11:30pm and I'm up on the computer. Man, this is going to be an adjustment.

Boppy Time

Yesterday I was sitting on the laptop, can't even remember what I was looking for now. X had been rocking Toots (this is pre-swing time) and I guess he had calmed down enough so he had layed him in the boppy. Toots seems to like being propped up some so that he can see the world I guess. The boppy was sitting right next to me so I was glancing over on occasion to check on him. When X put him on the boppy though it wasn't in the traditional way. He actually layed him across it instead of in the hole. Toots was just laying staring, not squirming so I didn't correct his position right away. Anyways, I glanced over at one point and this is what I saw...

He had managed to turn himself 90degrees, with out me noticing at that, and then promptly passed out. Even the paci was long forgotten. And for those not familiar with the boppy, this is actually the opposite of how any other baby lays in it. In essence he is laying down with his feet propped up instead of his head. And for baby safety...we'll just ignore how close we are to the edge of the couch....Shhhh!

Early Start

X and Monkey should thank Toots this morning for this nice hot breakfast. I've been up since exactly 3:10am when Toots decided it was time for a late night/early morning snack. Gotta love that swing though, knocked him out in less than 10minutes. If only I could have crawled in there too cause I am wide awake. Must be the fact I actually went to sleep shortly after him and got a straight 6 hours which I'm thankful for. Course, I'll probably get sleepy again sometime in the next hour when it would be time for me to normally get up and start our day. Oh well, at least they get to benefit. X is back at work today too so maybe I can even squeeze in a nap. Oh the things we wish for!

Swing Heaven

Robyn had given us a travel swing to use for Toots but for what ever reason he screamed when ever we put him in it. I don't know if it's the way it sat, the clicking noise it made, the height....who knows. So since he wasn't liking it we passed it back to her so maybe someone else could use it. Well, the last few days X has been swinging Toots in a way that kinda imitates a swing and it would soothe him when he was fussy. Course his arms could only take so much so I put out some feelers and was given one of the Ocean Wonders Aquarium Swings. Got it tonight and put it together right away, plopped him in and he just sat there swinging away. Took him out for a minute to move it to a better location and he immediately started screaming. Put him back in and with in 5 minutes he was passed out asleep. So needless to say, he likes this one. I have no clue what the difference in the two is. Maybe it was just a fluke. Either way, now I have one more way to soothe him when I need to get something done. Yea me!!! Course, it would have been nice to see X get some toned up arms after all that swinging. LOL

Cooking Again

One good thing about me being off work these last weeks is I've been more willing to cook again. Unfortunately I'm afraid I've just spoiled Monkey and X cause when I'm back at work I hardly think it will continue. At least during the week unless I can find even more easy, quick recipes. What I've found though is I'm actually starting to prefer making things from scratch. Bisquick pancakes??? Not us! This morning is was homemade pancakes with fresh strawberries. Pre-packaged muffins?? Not when I can whip together some banana chocolate chip ones. How about easy stroganoff for dinner??? So yummy! I find myself browsing recipes online looking for things that look good and a little different than our norm. Even adding additional basics to our grocery item instead of buying the usual ready made stuff. Over all it's cheaper anyways and it's kinda fun to experiment. And my favorite recipe site has user reviews and suggests that help as well. Even better is it's coming up on the holidays. Best time of the year for baking and making the house all warm and good smelling. Better than any candle you can buy!

And if you didnt notice I've changed my recipe blog over as well. You can find all the things we've tried lately and some old favorites HERE. Well almost all the old ones, I'm still transfering things over.

**Sigh**

Almost 6 weeks now.

Isn't he getting so big? Those are 3month clothes!

Half smirk, not quite a grin. We're getting there


Her face cracks me up. I think even he was wondering what her issue is.

Your Kidding Right?

I'm sure anyone who has kids has deal with the "Is IT a boy or girl?". First, you gotta love how baby is now an IT. Like he/she is no longer human when someone doesn't know their gender. Course, I shouldn't be too judgemental. I've probably done the same thing with our realizing it.

Here is the thing though....there are certain people like me who will dress their children so that it is apparent what gender they are. If I see a baby dressed in pink and purple them I'm pretty much going to assume that they are a girl. If the baby is in blue then most likely they are a boy. Course, there are some exceptions to the rule. I'm sure their are some parents who don't care what color their child is wearing. yes, I've seen boys in pink and purple. Not my boy of course...LOL

Today one of our neighbors had a party for her son's birthday so we went down for awhile. They had one of those big blow up bounce house things which Monkey loved and I'm hoping will now result in her sleeping very well tonight. Anyways, I dressed Toots in a blue onsie, blue jeans, and blue/white socks, and had a blue blanket with little puppies on it. And still every single person that came up to us asked "Is it a boy or girl". Grrr.....seriously people! Do I need to table a post it to his forhead??

Sweet Sleep

I'm probably jinxing myself but Toots actually slept in his crib last night! Totally unintentional on my part. During the day I've been trying to put him to sleep in there and at night in the pack n play next to our bed. Last night I laid him down about 8pm in teh crib thinking he would wake up about 10pm to eat like normal. I laid down on the couch with X and promptly passed out. At some point X went to bed but Toots didn't get me up till around 2:30am to eat. After I fed him I put him back to sleep in the crib where he slept until almost 7:30am. I would absolutely love it if we could get into that routine every night. Course I would need to make a point of getting to bed earlier but on that schedule i could get much needed sleep. In addition I'd have time to get up and get ready for work in the morning before having to get the two of them up and ready as well. One can hope right??? I have to say it was nice not having him right next to the bed where we could hear every sound he made. In the crib I could hear him actually cry on the monitor bu tnot every single grunt and groan. I'm sure X is now going to insist he sleep in the crib EVERY night. We'll see though.

Farewell

It's always sad when family or friends move away. Monkey is experiencing it for the first time. Granted we have had people leave the area over the years but it was either when she was too little to understand or we really were not that close. Last night we went to visit with her Aunt, Uncle, and 3 cousins as they are leaving today. Her Uncle is in the Navy and they have been transfered to Guam for three years. Monkey knows that they are moving away and that we will not see them again for a long time. We spent a couple hours there and she had so much fun playing with her cousins and eating pizza. When it was time to leave though it was so hard on her. All I kept hearing was "but I don't want them to move!". On the drive home we talked of nothing more than sending letters and emails and lots of pictures. She doesn't understand why they have to move only that they are. Since they are the only link to her fathers side of the family at the moment I think she is taking it even harder. She knows who her dad is, meaning his name, she doesn't know him as a person. I've always explained his being absent was because he lived so far away. Now I think she is assocating that distance that she will no longer know her cousins. Hopefully that won't be the case.

It's a Conspiracy

Babies must be born with the ability to just sense when you want to get something done. It never fails. On days when I'm feeling pretty lazy, just not wanting to do anything Toots is more than willing to sleep all day long. So much so that I find myself making sure he's still breathing because he's so quiet. Then on days where I have a lot to do he won't sleep and pretty much cries non stop. Of course these also are the days it's just him and I so I have nobody to take over to give me a bit of a break too.

Take today for instance. It started off well enough. He was actually agreeable with letting me get monkey ready for school even though she was determined to be really slow. Got her off on the bus and came home. Took some time to check my email and a few message boards. Changed and fed Toots thinking that surely this would put him to sleep so i can tackle monkey's room and getting rid of toys she doesn't play with. He drifted off to sleep and then 20 mins later was screaming. Just as I had gotten everything dragged out to the living room to sort through. Tried everything and the only thing he wanted was to eat so did that again. He dropped off to sleep, layed him down with some lullabye music, 20 minutes later he was screaming agian. The was teh case all morning. I did manage to get a little bit done but it was like a race of how much I could get to before he woke up again.

So this afternoon got lunch and then ran up to Walmart to pick up some photo's I had printed. Toots fussed as I put him in the carseat, picked it up and he was passed out before i got the front door locked behind me. Slept the whole 20 minutes it took to get back home and then was screaming as we walked into the house.

So what gives?? How the heck do you get a baby to sleep for longer than 20 minutes at a time??? I think part of his problem is just that he isn't sleeping right. So it's making him crankier than normal and in turn keeping him up more. I seriously can't sit on the couch all day with him attached to me. And I can't listen to him scream so much. For my own sanity if nothing more!

So appropriate

Toots nickname is definitely appropriate. In the last 5 minutes as I'm sitting here editing some things on the blog site he has "tooted" like 10 times. I guess I should be greatful though, at least they don't stink. YET!!

First Road Trip

This past weekend we had our first road trip with Toots. He did pretty well considering he's only a month old. On the way up he managed to sleep the entire way. A relief because I had been worried I'd be stopping every hour due to a screaming baby. Even Monkey slept most the way and we made good time. Had lots of fun visiting with Robyn and her boys. Can't believe how much they are growing up! Robyn even got some cute shots of the kiddos. You can check them out on her Photo Blog. Coming home was a pretty good too except for the last 10 minutes. Toots apparently had enough of the car at that point and screamed like he was being murdered. I could hear monkey in the back going "It's ok...don't cry...it's ok..". Ahhh sibling love. We'll see how long that lasts.

Child's View on Politics

Whether Democrat or Republican, you should get a kick out of this! A little boy goes to his dad and asks, 'What is Politics ?' Dad says, 'Well son, let me try to explain it this way: I am the head of the family , so call me The President . Your mother is the administrator of the money, so! we call her the Government . We are here to take care of your needs, so we will call you the People . The nanny, we will consider her the Working Class . And your baby brother, we will call him the Future . Now think about that and see if it makes sense.' S o the little boy! Goes off to bed thinking about what Dad has said. Later that night, he hears his baby brother crying, so he gets up to check on him. He finds that the baby has severely soiled his diaper. So the little boy goes to his parents' room and finds his mother asleep. Not wanting to wake her, he goes to the nanny's room Finding the door locked, he peeks in the keyhole and sees his father in bed with the nanny. He gives up and goes back to bed. The next morning, the little boy says to his father, 'Dad, I think I understand the concept of politics now.' The father says, 'Good, son, tell me in your own words what you think politics is all about.' The little boy replies, ' The President is screwing the Working Class while the Government is sound asleep. The People are being ignored and the Future is in deep poo .

Underwear Dust

One evening a husband, thinking he was being funny, said to his wife 'Perhaps we should start washing your clothes in Slim Fast. Maybe it would take a few inches off of your butt!'

His wife was not amused, and decided that she simply couldn't let such a comment go unrewarded.

The next morning the husband took a pair of underwear out of his drawer. 'What the Hell is this??' he said to himself as a little 'dust' cloud appeared when he shook them out. 'April,' he hollered into the bathroom, 'why did you put talcum powder in my underwear?'

She replied .'It's not talcum powder......It's "Miracle Grow".

R&R....Please???

Thats what I need. Plain and simple...I need sleep!!! E has fo some reason decided he either doesn't want to sleep at night or he needs to wake up every hour. The latter meaning that just as I'm dozing off he wakes me up again. This makes for a very long night and me resorting to some drastic measures. Like co-sleeping. That big no-no that I would never in a million years admit to his pediatrician. Not that I understand why they need to know anyways. I always swore I would never co-sleep. No way do I want to share my bed/sleeping quarters with a baby until he's school age. I've heard too many people that are dealing with getting the kiddo out of their bed. Yet here I am doing it. Why?

I need sleep. I need every little second that I can squeeze out from one crying fit to another. Another reason I dread going back to work. How can a person be fully functional after 2hours of sleep every night. Something has got to give eventually and we know it sure as heck won't be the baby. He's as stubborn as I am in that department.

There is convenience in it as well. No getting up and stumbling from one room to the next. I hear a wimper and just pull up the shirt. Problem solved! Course it also results in wet spots for the wrong reasons....LOL

Yes we have the pack n play with the bassinet which I try to use often but convenience wise it's just not cutting it. We unfortunately have a platform bed. For those who don't know it's a bed that sits really low to the ground. So to get him out I've gotta drag myself up, climb over the side of the pack n play and drag him out of what ever corner he has wedged himself into. Then when finished repeat the process. See what I mean now? Its no wonder I'm sleep deprived.

I'm at that point where I fully understand why parents would offer up their savings or a limb just to get a full nights rest. Even a straight 4 hours would be nice. I've even tried taking a nap durign the day while J is in school and E is sleeping. Its inevitable that X will get home early though and bug me till I wake up. Or he messes with the baby and wakes him up. Ugh. It's a losign battle for me. I just try not to think about how long it could last!