Resting

P's family just came over for New Year's Eve.
It's been nice. Really nice. I'm enjoying their company.
Drama free, which I appreciate.
P made the most fabulous dinner. This am we ran to AA to Whole Foods and Zingermann's and spent more than I care to admit on dinner. He made bacon wrapped scallops, buttermilk mashed potatoes, Zingermann's mac & cheese (with cream and a pound of raw milk cheddar), salad, and flourless chocolate cake with chocolate truffles from San Chez. I ate a lot and all was good. I cleaned up and we are all hanging out in the living room.
Vi skipped a nap today. Sigh. It's 8:45 and she really needs to settle down for bed. She's been quite friendly to everyone.
Two days of vacation left. Sniff.

Some Christmas Pictures

The Christmas picture dress:


The Hartstrings Christmas outfit with matching, shirt, skirt, sweater and tights (not in picture) for a bargain price of $4.00.

again, taken with my IPhone, so not so great quality.

Tidbits

Or leftovers, the Thursday night edition, since tomorrow is Christmas Eve.
* Just gave my little babydoll a bath. I put a tiny drop of curling cream in her hair and it is curly (what there is of it!)
* It's Christmas Eve Eve. Some people say Christmas Eve Adam. I think that is lame.
* Off work for a bit. Grateful for a job with paid holidays.
* It's been an EXTREMELY STRESSFUL week. My family is quite upset we will would not be there on Christmas Day (it's a 10 hour round trip) as we wanted to spend it in our own home. We couldn't agree on when and how to get together over the holidays and they were pretty unyielding about their desires including refusing our invitations to come here. My error is not being more up front with them about everything, but still. Listening to your mom cry about it and getting nasty text messages from your sister is NOT COOL.
* The stress from all this caused diarrhea, nausea, stomach pains and anorexia. I hadn't felt great starting earlier this month, but now it is a full fledged attack. I talked to the doctor and nurse. They think I have Crohn's Disease. That is pretty upsetting.
* P went to the grocery store to buy food for tomorrow and Christmas Day. He is going to beat the crowds. I have "Best of Elmo 2" video on. I recommend it. It's really cute. At the end of the video Adam Sandler sings a song that rhymes "Elmo" and "Smellmo".
* V has some sort of post nasal drip and has been up coughing the last two nights. I'm tired. I'm ready to go to bed now to be honest.
* The potty training is not realy coming along well here. I'll post more about that later.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone! I am looking forward to sitting around, some gym workouts, eating, Wii, hugging, kissing, and playdoughing up my baby, and not getting dressed.

Hello!

I've been having some computer issues with my netbook. It constantly redirects me to weird sites, is slow, and has been shutting down. I'm sure there is some adware lurking in there, and I am going to have P look at it.

I baked cookies last week. It was an easy shortcut. I used the refrigerated cookie dough already broken into segments (it saved me making and rolling and cutting dough) as I am not the best baker. This morning V and I decorated cookies. She did not say a word the entire time, she was very intent and very busy. Some decor we sprinkled from the container, and some were in a large container that I let her apply with a spoon.





Someone even ate one halfway through.....



The finished product:

Recap of the week

We're back! We flew in yesterday afternoon and my child absolutely screeched and screamed when she saw us. My sister had her waiting at the door for us. (My sister made her very first appearance at our house in the almost 8 years we've lived here. Wonders never cease).

Our vacation verdict:
It was wonderful to talk to my husband.
It was wonderful to walk around most of the day.
It was wonderful to sleep in.
It was wonderful to eat Gluten Free things and not have a toddler climbing all over you, throwing food, and spilling her water.
It was wonderful to not have to worry about bedtimes. Or lunches. Or sippy cups.
It was wonderful to be romantic.
It was wonderful to have some sun.
It was wonderful to read THREE books! - Whistling Dixie in a Nor'easter by Lisa Patton (grade A-), Ill Never Be French no matter what I do Living in a Small Village in Brittany by Mark Greenside (grade B), The Almost Moon by Alice Seibold (grade C).
However, the weather was cold in Florida. Very cold. I had brought a winter hat (ugly one), winter coat, and gloves for the airport. I ended up wearing them for five of the six days we were there. I was still freezing. That was a big disappointment. It was too cold for the pool.

Our Child Being Away Verdict:
I missed her terribly. Especially the first day, and 2nd to last day. My mother sounded pretty tired when I talked to her. V sounded sooo happy whenever I heard her, so I was thrilled. I think my sister's family helped out a lot. When they had school/work I could sense the fatigue in my mother's voice. She seems fairly untraumatized, but quite clingy. I think she survived on a diet of Gerber Ravoli, applesauce, and graham crackers. My mom was obviously tired. My mom also only gave her two baths the entire week - ewwwww. But like I said, I think my mom was pretty exhausted.

Would I leave her again? Yes? But for not as long. And maybe with someone else.

Update

The "baby" - aka my child slept the entire 2.5 hour trip and woke when my mom pulled into the driveway. My sister's family came over, entertained her, read her books, fed her the "precious" ravoli and bananas along with a cookie. My mom found my nephew's old Magna Doodle which she loved and the old Fisher Price Little People schoolhouse with the magnetic letters and chalk.

When I called I could happily hear her chattering away in the background! She was too busy to talk to me.

Prayers are still appreciated :)

Thanks for listening everyone.

just did it

I just drove up and met my mother and nephew and dropped off my precious baby. It was so difficult you guys. My husband is being very supportive which I appreciate. I couldn't eat any lunch, and I had diarrhea and vomiting from the stress. Have you ever became so distressed that you became physically ill? I don't recommend doing it. I have a long history of this stuff, dating back to slumber parties when I was in grade school. It's no secret that I have an anxiety disorder.

I met them in Sam's Club and V was immediately suspicious and clingy. I went to the bathroom without her and my mom brought her in crying. That wasn't a good start. In addition, she was up a great deal of the evening with a loud, barking cough, but no fever. She coughed steadily the entire 1.5 hour drive up there. I was going to take her to urgent care there, but once walking around, she really improved. The car seat was finally installed in my mom's car and I was worried that she would bawl when I pulled away. I stopped to buy gas and my nephew called me and said she had fallen asleep right away! I was so relieved!!!

I talked briefly to my sister on the way home and she made me feel better saying that they were really looking forward to having her and would help my mom (my mom isn't well.....). I'm home bawling for a bit and missing V. It's just so strange to be without her, you know? I took half a Klonopin so hopefully that will help calm things the heck down. I know she will have fun there, my mom has lots of toys, and just bought her some new books and Elmo videos. That will help. I even caved and bought her one of those darn Pillow Pets (the knock off from Amazon that is smaller and half priced) to keep as a lovey.

Well, wish us (me) luck and I'll keep you updated. Anxiety stinks.