Just Like Daddy

18 months

You are now 18 months. A year and a half. Still a baby, yet also a little boy. You have such moments of sweetness, yet show a hot temper with tantrums often.

*Your favorite foods are watermelon, mashed potatoes, macaroni & cheese
*You love books. You love books! You walk up and shove a book into our faces to be read constantly. You aren’t always the most patient for the entire story however.
*You really aren’t into trucks or cars like most boys. You like books.
*When you dance, you bounce up and down and stick your butt out. It.is.the.best! Daddy thinks it looks like tw*erking.
*You can open door handles and love to run in on people in the bathroom.
*You love to be in the shower when mom and daddy take showers. You will sit outside the shower doors and scream until someone dresses you and puts you in. Then you sit right at the end of the stream and don’t move. Your sister hates showers so I am somewhat glad about this.
*You don’t talk that much but understand everything I say. Your most frequent words are “mama”, “dad-dee”, “ball” and “go outside”.
*You love outside. It is your sole reason for being.
*Every morning you and daddy share cereal/banana with two spoons. It’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.
*When you are hungry you come up to us in the kitchen and cry at us. You could use words.
*If anyone exists the building or goes in the basement and you are not “invited” you cry and scream and throw a tantrum. *Your weight is in the 10% and your height is in the 80%. The doctor wants you to gain some weight.
*If I feed you something you don’t like, you just open your mouth and let it fall on the floor.
*You like to wrestle with your sister and try to pull blankets away from her.
*You love the remote controls and carry them all around the house.

18 Month Old Comparison

These are pictures of both children taken at 18 months. People say they look alike, I do see some resemblance, but I see more differences. V is heavier than Benny, and looks more like a mix of us. Benny looks almost exactly like me as a baby.

Neither of them have tons of hair as you can tell :)

Flu Shots

Confession: I have never gotten a flu shot. My husband has never gotten a flu shot. My mother has never gotten a flu shot. I just never felt the need. When I did work around patients and on the floor, it was not a requirement at that time. There wasn' the gigantic push there is now. Now, I am a microbiologist by training and my Masters' degree IS in Public Health. Yes, I am strange. I wasn't against getting it, I just ... didn't do it. Oh and I had an Immunology Professor in college that called flu shots "Voodoo Black Magic".


V has gotten flu shots every year. Because she is egg allergic and the vaccine is grown in egg culture, I usually have to go to the Allergy Clinic and they give it to her there, then observe her for a while. It requires me to take a substantial time off of work. The past three years she's had no reaction. Except a behavioral reaction. Last year she freaked out, kicked the MA in the stomach, ran down the hallway and hid under a table, and dug bloody caverns into my hand, I still have the scar.

The MA appointments for immunizations are all prior to 4:00 pm. This again, requires me to leave work early (I have waaayyyy too many appointments between the three of us). Thus, I found out our clinic was having walk in Flu Shot Clinics. One on a Saturday morning! I decided we all would go.

Benny had his shot three months ago (And still came down with influenza). I was at the doctor for my torn bicep and received the shot (my 1st!). Two down, two to go.
We all went to the open clinic. The nurses freaked out when they found out V was egg allergic, saying there was no doctor on duty (there was so - liars). I told them she would be fine. It really helped having P there. I held her legs and he held her arms. I don't think the nurses were accustomed to dealing with small children; although there were many there. She did fine after some screaming. She was so proud of herself afterwards. Here she is hanging out (at my insistence) to make sure she didn't have a reaction.

Halloween

The last few years by the time Halloween has rolled around, we were trick or treated out. This year was kind of a bust due the Wee One that was sick. We missed most of the Trick or Treating downtown that we usually go to. We managed just the last 35 minutes or so when most things were gone, but V didn't seem to mind. We had to drag my mom along the entire time that was in town and complained. Usually we go with V's BFF and have a splendid time.

THen there is a Trick or Treat indoor parade at our local Rec center. I didn't buy advanced tickets in time and thus, didn't want to stand in line. So we didn't go. The daycare has a party during the day that V loved. Just loved. So that was good.

Halloween was big letdown. It POURED rain the entire day. Thank goodness the temperature was around 65F. Since we moved, I wasn't sure how much candy to buy. So due to the craziness and sick Wee One, I bought three bags of mini-candy bars and a 25 pack of teddy graham crackers. We ran out. Almost immediately. I was so embarassed to have to turn off the light around 50 min in. Since it was raining, I took V to about 12 houses with umbrellas, rain ponchos, and boots. She was more than happy. It just wasn't the fun Halloween I envisioned with the baby and V and P and I all out together. Halloween = Fail.


Anyhoo, V wanted to be Merida from Brave as soon as she saw the costume. The WIG was awesome and I enjoyed seeing her with hair. Benny is wearing V's old monkey costume. He hated it.

Toddlerhood Food Funnies

Every morning P and Benjamin eat cereal together. He sits on P's lap and B usually has Chex and a banana and milk with two spoons. One for Benny, and one for P. It's is the cutest thing I've every seen. Yesterday morning, while we were getting various things ready, Benny flipped open the dishwasher, grabbed a giant spoon, and ran as fast he could towards the cereal. Adorable.

The other night I was trying to hold off on his sippy cup of milk (time change - ugh) and he rummaged through the kitchen island drawers, and threw the lid of sippy cup in my lap. Sort of like - "get with the program".

Last night he went and got a plastic kid's plate out of a cabinet and handed it to me as I was making dinner.

I am convinced he understands 90% of what I say, but just doesn't feel like talking much. He communicates just fine though.

I love Fall

pics in our neighborhood.

SIck baby

Friday the 18th we had a nice afternoon and I was looking forward to the field trip for daycare to the local Orchard/Pumpkin patch.  Last year, I left the baby at daycare and took only my daughter and P was out of town.  P was home and we took the afternoon off to spend time together.  Benny had been sick the two days prior; he developed a honking cough and I took him to Urgent Care on Wednesday morning (my ped never has any appointments).  He was super jolly and diagnosed with an ear infection (again!) and croup.  I filled his amoxicillin and took him home.  I kept him home the next day, just in case.  Friday afternoon when we went to pick him up, he looked AWFUL.  I wanted to take him home right then, but we all rode together and I really wanted a family fun time.  He clung to me and cried the entire time.  That night he had a fever.




Saturday morning he wouldn't eat, but would drink thank goodness.  coughing, crying, won't get off laps.  He spiked a bad fever in the afternoon and I called Urgent Care.  Then brought him in.  There was no wait. 103.5 F. We did chest x-rays and there was some evidence of pneumonia. Both ears were now infected. They gave him a breathing treatment and I had to hold him down with my legs while basically following his head around and being his worst nightmare.(zero help from nurses. "Ill let you handle this" and ran from the room"). She gave him some juice and he actually drank it, but never really perked up. The extra Motrin finally lowered his fever. The MD on duty wanted to sent him to the ER in another town for a closer look. I went home, collected some items if I had to stay overnight and P came with me. (My mom was in town, and being pouty because I wasn't there to run her around shopping instead of caring for my very sick child).

He perked up on the way (of course) and they took us back right away. He sat in P's lap and clapped a bit. His pulse ox was 95. He perked up. I think the breathing treatment help. THe diagnosis: Influenza. Yikes! He had the shot 6 weeks before. The MD wouldn't swab him despite my insistence (Microbiologist here). So I kept him home Monday and P stayed with him Tuesday (they had a great day). Wednesday he went back to school.


Last Tuesday evening he had a slight fever, was listless and didn't eat. Ugh! I called his ped's office the following morning and got an appointment with the resident for 2:15. Yay! His left ear was still infected. He got some Augmentin (which he despises). A follow up to Otolaryngology - hopefully the go on tubes!

Quick Takes

• I am strongly considering moving my blog from Blogger. I am having problems posting photos and I don’t know why. I signed up for Google + because it said I could post from my phone, but I still couldn’t get this work. It’s frustrating. Is Wordpress better?
• V is really, really into Scooby Doo these days. The old episodes are way better than the new episodes. There are many of the old episodes that I remember from my childhood when I see them. There is a lot of this kind of stuff just floating around in our brains. Kind of fascinating.
• Like Dwij at HouseUnseen wrote about – September is such a great month in Michigan. My favorite month. Cold mornings, warm but not hot days, cool evenings, the trees are starting to turn colors, bugs are dying off, and the smell of fall is in the air. It is beautiful. Our new house has a large collection of trees. I have a feeling a LOT of raking is in our future. A lot! We do own a leaf blower so hopefully that will cut down on the amount.
• Benny sure loves to throw tantrums. They are so funny, it is difficult not to laugh. He arches his back and goes silent while the rage builds up, which he then screams out! They last 15-30 seconds. Usually due to 1. Wanting food, 2. Food isn’t coming fast enough, 3. A sippy cup has been sighted and is not in his mouth, 4. He wants to play in the yard or ride in the red car and is cruely forced to ride in the car instead, 5. He is being strapped in carseat in said car
• Paul took my on a surprise long weekend trip. I couldn’t believe how much I needed the break. I hired a Nanny for the kids instead of my mom, and I was finally able to relax. I’ll post more on it later.

We have our first steps (finally!)

Finally this kid is walking. He is only 16 months, one day old. By walking, I mean he took steps by himself several times around the living room. For over an hour. It’s so neat and yet to strange to see him doing this. He was very pleased with himself. He (we would join in) would all clap when he fell down after each success. It was great.

I took him to Early On last week and had him tested because of these delays. He was charming and fun and the three testers really enjoyed him. They didn’t think there was a thing wrong with him. Other than his feeding being a bit delayed because he won’t drink from a straw or a cup much. I got him to do it once. In McDonalds to drink milk. They are going to retest him in January. So that is good news 

Of course I don’t have a picture because Blogger stinks. It posts all my pictures sideways and I don’t know how to fix it.

15 Months

Oh that little face. I love it so much that I can’t stand it.
You eat. You eat so, so much. You pile it in your mouth and I have to slow you down and then you voice your displeasure at me.
Your favorite foods are still banana, watermelon, and graham crackers.
No more bottles. Just sippy cups. But not sippy cups with a straw. No siree. That will make you arch your back and scream. You are very good at that. With your tantrums. On weekends you have about four a day. They are short and sweet, and mama just walks away.
You’ve started pointing and babbling to try and tell me things. You can really only say mama, datdat still and I think I heard you say yes and grandma once this weekend.
You still love to look through books.
You don’t want to sit down for baths which you used to love. Instead, you hang on your knees over the side. So fun for mom to wash you.
You love to play with the water table on the deck. You can turn the handle and put balls down the ramp. If they get stuck you start making a whining noise and I fix it for you.
You crawl lightening fast, but are still not walking. Trying to get you walking by holding one hand instead of both as I steer you around.
Your sister was sitting in your little red car and you were so angry. You launched yourself at her and screamed until she got out. It is yours!
You love that car and being pushed around in it as well as being outside. You LOVE outside.

Medical Tests (long)

As I’ve written about in the past, certain members of my family, including myself, have a genetic mutation that involves colon polyps and missing teeth. Often, I have written about my dental adventures. My old geneticist (which I loved) left and have a new one that I don’t like as well. My last colonoscopy was in 2008 (yikes) and I’m supposed to have them every two years. Ooops. I’ve been busy with four jaw surgeries, a complicated pregnancy and a C-section. So shoot me. One was scheduled a few months ago, but P had to go out of town and I need a child wrangler and driver and meal provider.

Let me tell you what it is really like.

I finally had one scheduled for a Monday which means I could do the prep over the weekend and not have to take extra days off. This is my 3rd colonoscopy and my 5th endoscopy ( upper GI tract). All week I was apprehensive. I’m a worrier  The 1st time the prep was half lytely I think and went horribly – lots of cramping and vomiting and the prep was only “fair” (aren’t you glad you know this)! But no problems during or with results. All clear. (Except for stomach polyps – which apparently are no big deal). The 2nd one in 2008 went a little better. I had a two day prep – which means a laxative on the night two days before and a gallon of GoLytely the day before. This went better than the 1st one. Still had nausea and cramping and some chills. Again, no problems before or after. Prep was “excellent”.

This time I decided to eat a low residue diet two days prior to the prep. That means no fiber and is supposed to make things much easier. That is true! After Wednesday I had no fruit or veggies or nuts. I ate very lightly. Toasts, eggs, soup. Saturday and Sunday I had no food and I was SO HUNGRY this time. I had chicken broth, watered down Gatorade, Jello. I took Mirlax on Saturday and Sunday started the Gavilyte in the afternoon. The Gavilyte was a breeze! It wasn’t as thick and salty as the first two preps and I sucked down a cup with cherry flavoring (my own) every 15 minutes for two hours. Now I was supposed to get up two hours before the procedure and take the rest but I didn’t. I drank mine and kept drinking chicken broth and water until everything was clear. Then I stopped and just rehydrated with clear fluids the rest of the night. I felt fine! I even unpacked six boxes of moving stuff that day.

The next morning everything went fine and I was a little sniffly when they took me back. Sometimes (I’ve had “twilight” anesthesia eight times before) I get a little hit of something before they take me back to relax me. I remember the nurse giving me something and the room went kind of spinny. But then I woke up. OH YES I DID. Right at the start. And I was screaming. It was painful and felt like a truck was in my neither regions. They kept yelling at me to relax and I was in and out. Apparently they gave me another Versed and Midozlam to kill a horse. It didn’t work. They cancelled the upper endoscopy. Because of the sedation problems.

When I came out I was hardly loopy. I wasn’t happy either. What happened? The MD told me that either my anxiety caused the sedation not to work (WHAT????), or that I took a drugs and/or painkillers frequently (WHAT?????) so that may have not caused it to work. I am still so angry about it. Something happened. With the IV or the drugs or something.

I’m not going back here. Now I have to worry that IV sedation won’t work. I wanted an investigation to be launched, but I haven’t done that yet. I’m pretty angry about being treated like I was crazy.

The good news is that there were no polyps and everything was fine.

14 month Update

For some crazy reason, my pictures are posting sideways. Ugh.


14 months


You still only have four teeth. I thought more were coming, but have not yet broken the surface.
You can eat though. Oh boy, you can eat! I forget you had a swallowing and choking problem. Your particular favorites are banana and graham crackers. If you see anyone eating, you hang on their chair or lap like a little dog waiting for a bite.

You refuse to pull up to a stand often. You pull up to your knees all the time. You sometimes walk around on knees. BUT YOU WON”T WALK or cruise the furniture. At all. Or walk behind a push walker. Kid, let’s get a move on. I think both you and I would be happier if you were walking. But you get around. You crawl so quickly!


You still are not doing sippy cups for me. At school they can coax you into one.

You still only say a few words that I can tell, but you babble frequently. Mama, datdat, bub bye.

You still like to hit down block towers. I am going to cry when you tire of this.

Boy, does your sister bother you. Pull on you, take things away from you. I’ll be glad when you can give her a good clunk.

This holiday we went over to P's hometown which is a resort area on Lake Michigan.   The weather was great, 75-82 and sunny every day (we were there almost 5 days).  We did several fun activities, but really different activities than what we usually do there.  Young children now in tow perhaps.  The thing that has allowed us to enjoy our vacations the most there is renting a hotel room.  We used to stay with P's grandma that for some reason, doesn't like me, and keeps a very warm house when it is hot and insists on us being home for every meal, etc.  We really are too much for her.  P's mom has a small place and not much room.   So P got a hotel right near the beach and playground.  It had a little fridge and microwave and a small, baby-proofed patio that the baby loved crawling out to.  Oh and a pool!  A great heated pool STEPS from our door.  (Yes we used it - Lake Michigan is COLD). 

The best part of the vacation was just being with everyone for five days straight.  I am missing those kids and husband so much today as I am back to work.  :( 

Here are some pictures. (yes I look bad because my hair is full of sand, chlorine, lake water, and sunscreen.

PCOS and insulin resistance

I don’t talk about it that much anymore, but I have PCOS with insulin resistance. In college, I started rapidly gaining a lot of weight. I gained over 45 lbs over 4 years. I felt terrible all the time, was upper fat, tired, acanthosis nigricans, very moody, severe acne. Ugh. I don’t even want to relive that time via memories.
SO I finally figured out what was wrong with me. By myself. I graduated and got insurance (yay!) and then found a sympathetic doctor that sent me to an Endocrinologist. My testosterone was high. My insulin was three times the upper limit of normal. He gave me the golden ticket – Metformin. Everything improved and I lost 84 lbs. I’ve felt good ever since.

But, I have never ever been able to tolerate a lot of sugar or carbs without protein. I can drink a glass of wine, with a meal. I can have a little dessert, immediately after a meal. I cannot tolerate sugar drinks of any kind, including juice, regular soda, punch, especially warm sugary drinks like coffees and cocoa. If people go to have ice cream in the middle of the day or birthday cake, I can’t do it. I makes me ill.

For breakfast before I understood this problem, I would eat a bagel. Yikes! I’d be feeling clammy, and sleepy and falling asleep (I was in my internship at this time) and it was a bad thing. After I was diagnosed, I started eating protein. I’m a bit more lax now. Typically I have one of two things – cottage cheese with berries and walnuts or a boiled egg, a cheese, a banana with peanut butter and some nuts with a little dried cherries. The last week or so I have been becoming quite ill after breakfast. Falling asleep, clammy, tired, foggy-headed. It’s awful! I had been drinking a little bit of work coffee with breakfast, and I thought that was doing it, maybe it had some hidden sugar or something. Nope. I didn’t have it today, and it happened again.

What is going on? I feel strongly it is some sort of hypoglycemic episode. It did happen with both types of breakfast, so I am at a loss there. Has Metformin stopped working for me? Should I do a drastic carb cut?  Any thoughts? I *guess* I should go see the Doctor. Ugh.

Take as a positive or negative?

Some one told me that the baby's teeth make him look like SpongeBob SquarePants.   I admit they are a bit kooky looking.  I'm hoping he will grow into them.  Should I be offended by this or not?  Opinions please. 

13 months old

* This is the silly baby climbing into my lap to eat all my beans and rice and guacamole. He is absolutely delighted.

I forgot to write down a 12 month update!  My bad.  Benny will be 13 months on Friday!  13^th months.

·         Yes, we still do call him Benny.

·         Movement:  he can crawl on hands and knees now as well as army crawl.  He will walk around (mostly lurch around) when take his hand and help him walk.  But he really isn’t interested in walking at all.  He isn’t cruising the furniture yet at all either (take your time much, kid?).  He does pull up to knees on various objects.  I’m kind of ready for the walking stage so he can wear shorts, not wear through so many pairs of pants, and to give his little wrists and knees a break.  Even through clothing they look red and irritated.  I don’t think he will be walking for at least another month. 

·         Cute stuff:  He loves to lay on the ground, turn the pages in books, and “read” them aloud.  So adorable.  He also still loves to hit down block towers that I create.  He also loves to swing like his sister, and voices his displeasure and arches his back  when I pull him out of the swing.  Hitting down block towers is still a delight for him.  He likes Daddy now.  He likes to pull himself up to his knees at the end of Daddy's chair and wave at him.  He is a good waver.

·         Eating:  We went for the evaluation with the eating therapist.  She definitely thought he had some delays.  He wouldn’t eat mixed texture things for us, nor use a sippy cup nor feed himself.  He eats stage three foods now and anything I feed him!! YAY!  He still will NOT feed himself – which is crazy, or drink from a sippy.  It will be a cold day in hell before I get him to give up those bottles.  The eating therapist wanted to send him to occupational therapy for poor fine motor and I am still considering this.

Reflection

Being a parent can be tough. Often.  More than I anticipated.    Sometimes I leave work and think how nice it would be to go to the gym right after or go out with coworkers or go home and take a nap or make a gourmet dinner and hang out with my husband.   But those little faces are depending on me.  The school age popularity I yearned for all my life has come true.  I’m very popular with them.  They need me.  They need me to clothe them, bathe them, feed them, entertain them, reassure them, hug and kiss them, discipline them and love them.  But it isn’t an easy job.  I’d love to sleep all morning on a weekend or eat a meal in peace at the table without someone needing me multiple times  To spend a weekend doing all fun things instead of massive amounts of laundry.    Parenthood changes you.  I never feel like I’m doing a good enough job.  Time and patience are short.   I miss the all the attention and time my husband and I used to have for each other. 

But times change.  They grow up quickly.  When I’m an old lady I’ll miss wiping their faces and their hugs when I pick them up.  I’ll miss their snuggles and soft hair, laughs and complete dependence on me. 

Friday Night Leftovers

• Friday night, Friday night. Where has the Spring went? The weather has been so crazy here. Alternating hot and cold, downpours. We haven’t been playing outside much in the evenings. Our backyard is smaller and more wooded so there are more bugs, which totally freak out V and she adamantly refuses. The dog freak out has moved to bug freak out. Seriously. It is interfering with my enjoyment of the yard and definitely her enjoyment.


• Speaking of V, she has been having many “stressed” behaviors again. Tantrums out of nowhere, wetting her pants, wetting the bed, waking up really early and coming into our bed at 6:00 in the morning. It’s pretty rough. My heart aches for her and I really hope we can find out soon the best way to help her.

• The B man has finally started eating table food. Plus holding his own bottle!!!! Yay! He doesn’t feed himself though. Nope. Nor use a sippy cup. Baby steps people, Baby steps.

• P has been cooking up some delicacies lately. Pan seared copper river salmon. Filet Mignon. Chicken Enchiladas. Superb burgers. So good.

• Have some milestones coming up. P and I are married 13 years on Monday. My mom turns 70 on the 6th. I have a milestone birthday coming up as well. Soon.

• Every time I hear a news item about the baby in China whose mother let him go down the toilet drain I get so teary. Give him to me. Or another one of us yearning for a child. We will love him and squeeze and feed him.

IPhone Pics

It's been crazy.  Isn't that what I always say?  Still unpacking, day-to-day chores.  Feeling ill, MD appointments, visitors, a 1st birthday, dealing with behavior issues, fixing landscaping and planting flowers, Laundry!!!!!, and of course work.

Sitting in the Little Tykes Car

Here are some pics of the kiddos:

Having a Tubby.

Blowing Bubbles

11 months old

*Army crawls like a flash.  Likes to complete a loop around the house stopping to look at things along with the way.

*Loves to play with the “boing, boing” door stoppers that look like springs

* loves to stand on your lap and get pulled back and forth with his arms.

* Follows mama around the house and waits outside the door to the garage, the bathroom, and the shower.  You have to check carefully when you open doors.

* Has only pulled up to a stand once.  Not sure why he hasn’t done more of that.

* Not interested in walking behind the walk with help.

* Will not self feed, or East Stage 3 foods, or cheerios or puffs.  Will gag and throw up. (bit worried about this….)

* Will not put a sippy cup spout or straw past his lips

* Very, very clingy to mama when she is around.  Regards new people suspiciously before he decides he likes them or not.

* LOVES knocking down block towers that mama builds.

* Doing better sleeping (shhh), but still wakes up in the night or early in the morning (too early)

* Likes to squeal back and forth at his sister when she screetches at him.

* Does not really like riding in the jogging stroller

*Finally gave up the morning nap

* Has two bottom teeth and two front silly looking teeth coming in.

* Does not like to chew on toys (BIG surprise).  Does not put much in his mouth.

* Been out of the baby carrier carseat for around a month (thank goodness, my arm was shot).

Soapbox

Can I get on my soapbox for a little bit?  There are quite a few things annoying or bothering me or are things that I want to say.

1.        “Hipster glasses” – what is up with these big clunky plastic frames from the 1980’s.  They didn’t look so great then, and I think they are only marginally more fashionable now. 

2.       Cirumcision – oops. Biggie.   Since the birth of my son and the research I’ve done, I developed an anti-circumcism view.  I just don’t think it is necessary to electively operate on an itty bitty baby so soon after birth for in most cases, non-religious or purely cosmetic reasons.  I don’t judge those that do it, I just don’t believe it myself and I don’t like my tax dollars going to pay for it for patients born on Medicaid and I don’t think insurance companies should pay for it either.  That will decrease the practice in this country quickly.

3.       Gluten-free.   This does not pertain to the people that have gluten intolerance, or celiac.  It’s the people that think it is the “cool” “healthy” thing to do.  It is not a fun way of eating, it is highly inconvenient and socially crippling at times, especially for children.  It requires a lot of advance planning and feeling left out.  It angers me to no end that people say they are trying it because it “sounds interesting”.  GAH!

4.       Bright white tennis shoes.  With dress pants.  And bright white socks.  Especially on senior ladies.  It looks so silly.  Buy A colored pair of sneakers or one good pair of all around leather shoes like the Europeans do.  You will look so much better.  I even got my mom wearing black or gray shoes with black or gray socks.  It looks so much better.

5.       Other moms – We are our own worst enemies.  People thinking my baby should be walking by now or talking more by now or reading out loud or something.  He is a baby.  That the woman at daycare with the very chubby baby is doing something wrong.  She’s not.  He’s just a chubby baby.  He’ll probably outgrow it.  All kids are different.  Mind your own business. Don’t judge so much.

Had to be said.  Whew…..

House update

How are you?

Things again are crazy.  We are still trying to unpack from moving houses.  It’s difficult to get ahead without taking time off because there are all the normal things to do – laundry, baths, dishes, cooking, shopping, sweeping.  It leaves little time to cut into the bulk of moving chores.

We did finally sell out new house.  It wasn’t on the market very long, but we had to lower the price quite a bit.  We are supposed to close in a few weeks.  We’re really not making any money on the sale, but not losing any either, so I should be glad about that.  Oh and even though they new buyers don’t actually own the house yet – the tested paint samples in the kitchen.  Can you believe that? 

 I don’t quite feel like I belong at the new neighborhood yet.   I miss the schoolyard to walk down to with the kids or the park.  I miss chatting with neighbors in the evenings when we are outside and P works late.  Those are things about the neighborhood I miss, rather than the house.  I liked my old dishwasher better.  The front door is faded purple and I need to take care of that ASAP. 

The new house is very nice.  Laundry is so easy with the laundry room off of the garage.  No more racing up and down two flights of stairs.  The pantry is great – I can see what we have and keep the counters less uncluttered.  There are so many windows and we get so much more natural light.  The kids having their own bathroom with their bath toys is wonderful.  No more slipping on toys in the shower.  The linen closet is huge and I don’t have to stuff towels and sheet in there haphazardly to make them fit.  It’s great to have a kitchen island.  I don’t have to make a left turn at a crazy no-light intersection to get to daycare. 

Things are coming along.  I’m grateful for the opportunity to live in such a nice house.  This summer I hope I can meet some little friends for V.  IT’s difficult to break into established social groups.

I found this meme on a few blogs () and From Jamie at www.tatertwins.com decided I wanted to play along.




What were you doing 10 Years Ago?
10 years ago I was in living in the UK with my husband. We were taking super fun trips around Europe and preparing to move back to the US the coming summer. Childless. Our hobbies were so fun – hiking, cooking, reading, aerobics, travel. Siiigggghhhhh.


What 5 things are on your to do list?
Finish setting up V’s bedroom
Take back the returnable cans and bottles (Major $$ here in MICH)
Enroll V in karate
Schedule my colonoscopy/endoscopy (its been 4 years )
Find a babysitter so I can actually go on a date with my husband!

What are 5 snacks you enjoy?
Baked lays
Bananas (esp with peanut butter)
Trail mix
Popcorn
Cheese cubes

Name some things you would do if you were a millionaire.
Work out every morning with a personal trainer
Have massages every.single.day
Buy a house in a tropical climate (should be a multi-millionaire).
Get a tummy tuck/mommy makeover
Buy a baseball team

Name some places you have lived.
Not that many….

Alpena, MI
Canton, MI
Mt. Pleasant, MI
Flint, MI (the worst )
Cubbington, UK

Name some bad habits you have.
 Not wiping down counters
 Piling clothes everywhere
Apologizing too much
Keeping a messy, disorganized, dirty car
Yelling at my daughter

Name some jobs you have had.
Ice cream scooper (very hard on the wrists)
Server/waitress at Polish style weddings
Phlebotomist
Kmart domestics/fashions associate
Medical Technologist

Ear Infection - Take Three

Mr Benny ( yes, we do call him that) was acting strangely last weekend.  He has been sleeping well for the last two weeks, up two or three times a night.  I usually get up and feed him once and try to ignore him the rest of the times.  I’m still awake though L.   He started shaking his head vehemently and pulling at his ears.  No fever.  This kid NEVER gets a fever when he is ill.  I’m not sure why.  It’s abnormal and weird.   I took him to daycare Monday and then he coughed a lot all night long and had me up 3+ times.  P was going out of town Tuesday- Thursday so I took his sister to daycare and him to urgent care.  We waited three hours.  UGH.  The ear I thought was infected was infected and so was the other one which was worse.  Poor little guy L  I got his amoxicillin filled and took him home.  He seemed worse the next day, would hardly eat or drink.  I kept him home again and he slept for 5 hours.  Only on me.  With me holding him.   I was like a zombie.  The next day I took him back to daycare and he seemed fine.  This is the 3^rd ear infection he has had.  I think tubes are in his future.  If I could get an actual appointment at his regular pediatric group, maybe we could discuss it!

Oh to top off the crappy week, V started projectile puking Wednesday.  All over the carpet.  Dear Lord, help us.  Very craptastic week!

This kid!

Almost 10 months old!

Friday Night Leftovers - the About me Edition

• I miss exercise so much. So, so much. I walk at lunch and do stairs for 40 minutes a few times a week, but it isn’t cutting it. Between the baby sleep strike of 2013 and moving, it’s been pushed to the back burner. I want to lose 7 lbs so my clothes fit – leftover baby weight. And firm up my crazy midsection. I guess I could get up at 5:00 am and get to the gym or basement, but sleep is such a priority lately. I feel terrible about myself and my self image.
• Another one of my-in-short-supply teeth has went bad. The long time in braces has added to the decay. I went to have a filling and after 8 shots, it just wouldn’t numb up most likely due to the nerve injury from my prior surgery. My face was in pain for DAYS. They decided to do a root canal and after 9 shots (two in the tongue – horrible), the Endodontist ended up drilling a hole in the tooth and injecting the lidocaine directly in. The pressure was immense, and then went dead. I could feel very minor discomfort. It was easier than the filling! Did you know a root canal is $1000? Plus at least another $800 for the crown? Wow. I may need 6 more.
• My geneticist has been on me about having another colonoscopy/endoscopy. It’s been almost four years. Yikes. I’ve been putting it off. When am I supposed to fit this in?
• Where do you buy clothes? I tend to go to Kohl’s or Marshall’s because it is convenient, but I really love and wear the most often the things I get at the Gap. They are plain (I like plain) and tasteful. I wish there was an outlet closer to me. Where else is good for clothes? Most of my clothes are getting so worn out. I realized the other day I’ve had some of my dress pants for 8-10 years. I hate buying pants. And bras. And shoes. It is so, so difficult to find shoes I like and that are comfortable and decently priced. Someone help me.
• Lots of whining and complaining. Long term sleep deprivation will do that do a person. Oh yes it will!

Funny

My husband has been putting V to bed when he is home for bedtime. Someone has to lie down with her and read to her, then hang out in bed with her and snuggle until she falls asleep. Daddy is really good at this and she looks forward to this time. Lately, I’ve been joining them in bed (she has a big double bed – I highly recommend), and hanging out with them. My husband found this cool Disney short called “the Paperman” – and we’ve been watching in on the IPhone. She knows that daddy works and is a “boss”. In the short, the boss brings the man paper. “daddy, do you bring people paper?”. “No, not really”. So cute.

New House

So as you may or may not know, we bought a new house. It was kind of crazy how we found it. We went and looked at some in a three community area. We were looking for something bigger, a bit more wooded, close to everything we need, another full bathroom, and a 2nd floor laundry room. We looked at six different houses; fact finding, etc. One Saturday in early December I was driving to a hair appointment while P took V and the baby to gymnastics. I was sipping my McDonald’s Diet Coke and took a different route to the salon. I drove into a sub I’ve been in once prior and thought, “boy, this is nice”. I saw a house for sale with a wooded lot and woods across the street. I texted P – “I just found our next house”. I told him the address and he said “I’ve already seen that on Zillow a bunch of times”. I told him to drive by it. When I got home he arranged to look at it Sunday morning and we put an offer in on it. How crazy is that?!?

More about it later.....

Friday Night Leftovers

Friday Night Leftovers

• I’ve wanted to write so many times. Life is completely chaotic. My husband worked last Sunday and wasn’t home before 12:30 am the rest of the week. Completely crazy.
• We closed on the house last Wednesday and spent Thursday, Friday, Saturday taping and painting mostly. I despite painting. It makes my Fibromyalgia body hurt and the clean up and touch up is annoying. I would like to paint the entire house but we are going with just the most needed (and hated) rooms. V’s room will be light purple, Benny’s room is “Little Boy Blue”, the bathroom is “Irish Cream”, and our bedroom is going to be “Mercer Blue”.
• I need a theme for a kids’ bathroom (they will have their own bathroom!!) that has black countertop and peachy-sand color walls. P was thinking a beach theme.
• B is starting to crawl. He inched forward with his knee a few paces yesterday. I bawled. When did he get so old?
• Last week was rough. Besides the closing on the new house, B had to go to Urgent Care with croup, an ear infection, and a inflamed throat. Poor little guy. I was home with him Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday morning. He was a handful and very needy. Thursday-Friday I was off for the new house stuff. This week at work has made up for it.
• Michigan has had a crazy weather week. 55 degrees last Saturday, then snow, then more rain and 55 degrees, now cold and more snow. Seriously?

IPhone Camera Dump

Of course they are all on my phone because who has time to reach for a camera these days?

Yummy high chair. Still no teeth!!!

Daddy made V a fort.

We bought a new house. This is the view from the great room window. We are getting ready to put our house on the market and move the chaos to a new place.

Christmas sleeper with Grandma.

We went to the McDonald's playplace to get out of the house.

Baby will not sit up, but wants to walk. Seriously.