Well then....

I made it to the (crappy) home computer, and now it just seems like there is so much to write and not enough time to do it. Christmas was drama filled, but good for the kiddos. Things are good right now. I've been on vacation for 10 days and am exhausted. The baby has learned how to get really pissed off, which is fun....or not. Lucy has been pretty sick, but seems to be better today, and Bud has an issue with sneaking junk food when we aren't looking. I need a Valium or something.

So here are some Christmas photos with an empty promise of posting something real at some point this week. Or the 2008 year end survey meme. Or whatever the hell I feel like doing.

Failed Christmas Card Attempts, and then the actual snowy one







Liv gets a taste of cookies:



Christmas Morning (Lucy's Cabbage Patch Doll (Roseanna)looks just like the one I had as a kid. And yes, they are all in matching jammies. SHUT IT!)







Lucy makes a good Snow White, huh? Also, Liv enjoyed her 1st Christmas.

Bullets!

I can not believe my lack of posting. Especially since there is a lot going on. But alas, work is ridiculously busy too, so I have not been able to write or comment. I’ve been reading though, all of your holiday preparation stories, all of your tweets, and I am hoping to catch up on commenting today. Anyhooskers, today seems like a good day for a list:

• Last Thursday was a bad day which inspired my post on Friday. Things are fine. I have a great husband who really enjoys taking care of our kids. He just really irritates me sometimes. A LOT.
• I applied and interviewed for a new position within my company this week. I’m not actually sure how I feel about leaving what I do now. I’m an awful interview anyway. I have a really hard time tooting my own horn, you know? I hear myself speaking and I sound like an idiot and I get nervous and short of breath……almost to the point of panic. Inside, I am screaming “This is so STUPID!! You interview people ALL THE TIME!!” but on the outside, I’m all “ah…duh duh”. So I guess we’ll see how it plays out, but it’s not looking good.
• After one month (+) of trying, and many washed clothes and sheets, we’ve decided to put Bud back in to pull-ups at night. He just can’t do it overnight. I kind of wish we hadn’t stopped because of the mixed message it sends, but I was starting to feel like it was cruel to have him sleeping in a wet bed all night because no matter what happened, he did not wake up. Poor pumpkin.
• Liv has finally gotten over her horror cough and cold. She is trying really hard to roll over but hasn’t been able to do it yet. She has plenty of other tricks though which include blowing very large spit bubbles, pulling on everyone’s lips, nose and hair, and throwing herself backwards when you are holding on to her. And she thinks all of it is hysterical.
• Lucy has caught the horror cold, complete with fever. This should put me in line to get it, oh, right about Christmas.
• Hub was reorganizing the basement last weekend and thinking out loud as to whether we should keep Bud’s and Liv’s outgrown clothes or just plan on buying all new clothes should another baby come around. He then tells me that if we’re going to have one more baby, we may as well have 2. How can you go from saying NO!!! to saying 2 more? Maybe he was trying to scare me?? The thought of 5 honestly scares me. 4 is my number. And honestly, the more I think about it, 3 might be my number. I feel like going from 3-4 equals a lifestyle change whereas going from 2-3 was business as usual. I don’t know. I change my mind every day.
• We are buying Bud and Lucy new beds for Christmas. This will allow us to put all 3 kids in our master bedroom while we take their smaller room that leads to the upstairs while we start remodeling up there. The end result will be to have the girls share a room and Bud on his own. I’m not exactly sure how this is going to play out.
• I will leave you with some kid speak:

Lucy: When I grow up and become a mom, will I be a mom forever then?
Me: Yes, once you are a mom, you are always a mom.
Lucy: I can’t wait to be a mom FOREVER!!
Bud: You can’t be a mom forever Lucy because someday YOU WILL BE DEAD!

Justified Rage

My kids go to pre-school/daycare 3 days a week, and Hub stays home with them 2 days. It is actually a pretty good set-up, and we save the expense of full time care. The kids get the benefits of interacting with other children and preparing for kindergarten along with the benefits of having a SAH parent.

Being the parent who works is actually pretty hard on me—and not for the reasons you might think.

When I drop them off at school, I am done. I know that they will be fed, cared for, napped and engaged all day long. I don’t have to think about anything, (though I do occasionally call to see how Liv has eaten) I can watch them online, and I receive a handy dandy progress report when I pick them up at the end of the day.

On the days that Hub is home, it’s a little bit different. I need to give him props because he does just fine with the big kids—probably better than I would even as far as keeping them on a schedule. He does great with playing with Liv and keeping her happy. What he does not do though, is pay any attention to her schedule, what she has eaten, how she has napped or when she was changed. He calls me at work to find out what and when and how—even though I make all of the bottles before I leave in the morning, and leave out the fruit/vegetable du jour. Even though he knows she is on a 4-hour schedule as far as bottles are concerned. Even though I tell him before I leave when she should eat next.

This is more than frustrating for me, and it peaked yesterday, when at 4PM he called me at work to ask ME how much Liv had eaten so far……

I’m going to pause here to let you take that in.

How in the hell would I know??

We then argued because he couldn’t get past that if he was telling me there were 2 bottles in the fridge, I couldn’t tell him how much she had eaten. I couldn’t get past that HE was the one who fed her and he didn’t know the answer to his own question. AND then!! It turned out that there weren’t even 2 bottles left in the fridge—which explained A LOT!

This is insane, right?

The subject has been dropped, but not resolved. I think I just need to suck it up and realize that whether I am home or not, I am in charge of the baby. Regardless of it being ridiculously unfair.

I am going out tonight, right after work. She needs to have cereal, 2 medicines and one bottle before bed. Would I be wrong to ask him to fill out a sheet like daycare does?

Something tells me that wouldn’t go over very well.

Great Giveaway from 5 Minutes For Giveaways!!

Win this great Evenflow Car Seat!!!


But don't really go enter because I :SO: need this for Liv!!

Friday Free for All- A Tale of Two Memes

Yes, I am doing Memes today to take my mind off the crap and the stress a la Sarah. I did have a really nice relaxing night last night though which included all children sleeping before 9, hot chocolate and whipped cream, and being in bed in time to watch Seinfeld at 10.

Favorite Christmas Carol: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings mix by BNL and Sarah McLachlan
Favorite Christmas Cookie: peanut butter blossoms
Favorite Christmas Movie: A Christmas Story—We watch it through Christmas Eve at Hub’s cousin’s house and keep it on at home too.
Favorite Christmas Tradition: Selecting “the perfect ornament” with the kiddos each year (we are going tonight!), our annual Christmas morning Brunch where my parents and Hub’s parents come to eat and exchange gifts
Christmas Dinner: Usually ham, My Aunt Lisa makes an excellent Christmas Dinner every year
Best Childhood Christmas Present: Definitely the original Nintendo. There was one gift left under the tree and it was marked for my mom. She asked my brother and I to open it for her. It.Was.Awesome,
What do you do with Christmas Cards? Up until this year, I put them in this card tree we had, but they always fell out. So I threw it out. I have no idea what I am doing with thme now.
Sitting on Santa's lap: fun or scary? Scary!!!
What is the best gift you've given? Hmmm, I got Hub a TiVo and if that isn’t the gift that keeps on giving, I don’t know what is.
What is your favorite Christmas book? I can’t even think of a Christmas book…..
When did you find out the truth about Santa? I was about 8 and my 5-year-old brother told me. Naïve much?
Where is your favorite place to celebrate Christmas? I like what we do, which is Hub’s family on Christmas Eve, home with the kiddos in the morning, then family brunch, and then my Uncle’s house on Christmas night. I also enjoy “fake Christmas” with my mom’s side of the family.


And now for something completely different……

I saw this over at Pocklock’s Blog and thought it was really interesting. Basically, you ask the Meme poster to assign you a letter, and you write about 10 things you love that begin with that letter. And so I commented, and she assigned me “S”. That being said, if you would like to do this one, leave me a comment, and I will assign you a letter.

So, here I go, 10 things I LOVE that begin with the letter “S”.

1. I love Seinfeld. Seriously, if I had $200 to drop, I would buy the complete series on DVD. My life is peppered with quotes and actions from the series. There are many photos from my wedding of me dancing as Elaine. Oh yes, Seinfeld. I love you. (I would love to receive “Scene It—The Seinfeld Edition” for Christmas)



2. Stern. I love you, Howard Stern.


3. And on the same token, I love my Sirius Satellite Radio. The 90’s alternative station always takes me back to high school.
4. Sebastian, my crazy old cat. He has kept me entertained for the last 8 years. And I love him even though I have to keep my toes tucked in tight under my blanket all night long, for fear that he will think we are playing some sort of crazy, toe biting, night time game. (I love you too, Oswald)
5. Starbucks. There is not a day that could not be made better by a fancy Starbucks drink. My current favorite?? The Peppermint Mocha Twist. Yum.



6. Samantha, my sweet niece.
7. Soup, especially this time of the year. For the record, one of my favorite meals is canned chicken noodle soup and a bologna sandwich on white bread with mayo. The sandwich is, or course, dunked in the soup.
8. Sisters. I don’t actually have a sister, but those that I consider to be my sisters, I loves you muchly.
9. Sleep. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways… (I miss you………)
10. Shot glasses. We have close to 150 in out collection


So there you have it…and wouldn’t you know, I DO feel better. Happy Weekend!!

Suck It

Today started at 1:42 AM, thank you very much. Lucy had wet the bed, for the second time in her life, and was very upset about it. So there was half asleep sheet and clothes changing and cleaning up before it was decided that she would just come back to bed with Hub and me. Lucy contorts herself in an odd fashion when she sleeps, so Hub had her feet in his face for a while, and I had her bony elbows. Needless to say, I didn’t sleep well, and I am pretty exhausted.

I’ve felt like I’m in a funk all week so far. It’s grey, dreary and cold. I dread driving home from in the dark where it’s easy to get caught up in negative thoughts or scary “what if” scenarios. By the time I get home, I am physically and emotionally drained. And then there is dinner, baths and laundry to deal with……

I’ve been making it to bed by 11:30 or so and can barely drag myself out of bed in time to shower and start a bottle for the baby before we leave. I’ve worn jeans and sweaters to work every day this week because the thought of stockings and heels seems too overwhelming. It is typically frowned upon to see management in jeans all the time, but everyone is so wrapped up in their own crap that they haven’t noticed.

I’m hoping that I’m just adjusting to the winter weather and time change, you know? I want to be curled up under blankets on the couch all the time, drinking cocoa with loads of whipped cream watching TV or reading books, and clearly, that is not an option.

We do have something fun planned for this weekend though, which involves a trip in to Rochester for a birthday party, and then driving out to Syracuse for dinner and “Lights on the Lake” which is a drive-thru light display at a state park. We are also taking the kids to pick out their Christmas ornaments on Friday night.

Hopefully the fun filled holiday activity will snap me out of it, but until then, today can suck it.

enLIST

Ugh, I am avoiding work today, and I have a lot to do between now and what is my end of the month—which is 12/19. There’s no better way to procrastinate than with a list, right? So here is some randomosity at its best.

• My mother is being a drama queen and I can not deal with it. I don’t think it’s acceptable to tell your mother to just shut up already, so I’m sucking it up. But my, she is annoying me. Completely unrelated—she has taken to adding curry powder to everything she cooks. Deviled Eggs? Mac and Cheese……you name it. I LOATHE curry powder. Plus it does not agree with me at all. I’ve sent her an email to please not make curried deviled eggs for a family get together and she’s not answering me. Which possibly means that I have offended her. Or that she’s not home. Whatever.
• Bud has been complaining of chest pains recently, and yesterday was in tears about it so we got him right in to the doctor (he was originally going on Friday). The verdict is indigestion but we have to take him for an EKG and ECHO to be sure. In the meantime, he is on Children’s Prevacid for a week to see if it makes any difference. I hope it does. It’s scary when your kid tells you that his heart hurts.
• I have no holiday shopping done. This is not unusual for me, but I am feeling kind of unsettled about it. Bud is finally at the age where he wants VERY.SPECIFIC.THINGS! and I’m worried we won’t find them. Lucy, thankfully, couldn’t care less about what she gets. And Liv, clearly, will get a few small things, you know, for the sport of it, but will have no clue. Anyway, holiday shopping time makes me want to punch people in the throat more than any other time of the year.
• When Lucy was a baby she had this shirt that said “Daddy’s Little Present” (which I maintain is 99% cute and 1% creepy) and I have been looking all over for it to put on Liv. I know I have seen it recently but it is nowhere to be found. We only have a small window of time for her to wear it people!!
• I think that I had mentioned before that Lucy’s pants were not fitting her right. All of these places, trying to do the skinny style for these little girls with their jeans and dress pants. They don’t work on Lucy. 3t’s are too tight in the thighs and 4t’s are just too long and too big in the waist. She is wearing stretch pants and leggings pretty exclusively. I don’t know what else to do!!
• My head is about to explode so I need to end this. Besides, I need to figure out just what the hell I am doing about our Christmas cards. HELL.

Flying Time

So, everyone had a busy weekend, huh? We spent Thanksgiving with my parents this year, and then I cooked at home on Friday. BIL, niece, and MIL came over and it was a nice time. I love turkey sandwiches.

The baby turned 4 months old on Saturday and had her regular 4-month checkup. It went well; she weighs 15 lbs and is 26 inches long which explains why her toes are trying to poke out of all of her jammies. When I spoke with the doctor about her spitting up, she decided that it was not just “normal” because of it’s frequency—she spit up 4 times while we were in the office alone—and prescribed Zantac. She gets a teeny tiny baby dose twice a day. I’ve seen no results so far, but the doctor said it could take up to 2 weeks. She seems to hate the taste of it though, which is peppermint. And if I were a baby, I might not like peppermint either. We got the go ahead to start solids, but if I’m being honest, she’s been getting cereal for about a month already, and we started fruits about a week ago. So far, she’s had applesauce and bananas and she loves them. We have one more day of applesauce and then I think I’m going to do squash. I’m glad she’s a good eater.

I thought of Sarah when we were there because the nurse said “so she’s rolling……” as if it were a fact, not a question. And when I said no, she looked alarmed and said “not even one way??” No, not even one way. Then she told me that I needed to put her on her tummy more often. To which I replied that this is my third baby, and I’m pretty sure that 1. I know what I’m doing and 2. she’ll roll when she’s ready. Er…emmm…except that I didn’t. But I totally cursed her out in my head though my lips just made a straight pressed line on the outside. She really wants to roll but her chubby legs seem to prevent her from doing so. I’m not worried about it.

We spent all day with the Christmas decorations yesterday and it was probably the least fun I’ve had in years. The kids were just on my last freaking nerve the whole time. Bud broke 2 ornaments and Lucy was overly whiny. Hub, who was putting up the outside stuff, checked to see how things were going at one point and all that I could say was that I needed a drink. STAT. I finally shipped the kiddos down in to the basement and finished it myself. You can tell how tall the kids are because the ornaments on the top half of the tree are sparse……but it looks good. And we only had to tell Bud to get out from under the tree one time…

And today I am at work. I am here for the next 3 weeks and then I am off for 2. I hope the time flies!!!