The Long and Winding Post.......

I mentioned the other day that I wanted to get away from using initials for my kid’s names. I’m pretty set on calling CA “Lucy” as that is what I call her at home anyway. The Bean will be Olivia because we can’t use it but I love it. Much like choosing a boy’s name though, choosing a pseudonym for ED is excruciating! Nothing fits. He is nothing to me other than his name. I call him Handsome and Bud at home, but those don’t fit here. I should just say SCREW IT and go back to using their real names. Everyone knows them anyway. It’s just the whole searching thing. If someone searched all 3 kid’s names, surely they would find this Blog, correct? This is stupid. And hard.

I’m ready to stop working now. Really really ready. The official countdown is 99 days! DOUBLE DIGITS!! But I anticipate giving birth between 7/21 and 7/28 which puts us at about 11-12 weeks to go. (Watch me go like 10 days overdue or some crap) Seriously though, with how low she is, my back is killing me consistently, I have my usual pregnancy related hip pain, and now I have this hernia to contend with, which is actually pretty sore. Work is also ridiculously busy and stressful on top of it, so it seems like a good idea to be done sooner than later. I’m at the point where I would be paid for any time off as long as it was medically necessary and documented (2 weeks per year of service times 8 years=16 weeks of paid time off prior to Maternity Leave) I planned on working at least through 7/15 and friends, I don’t think it’s going to happen. My issue is with my monthly bonus—I have to work at least one day in the month to qualify for it. So….June 1st? July 1st? I have 9 vacation days plus Memorial Day off in May so I think I can get through it.

I also have until tomorrow to decide the kid’s summer daycare schedule. When I had CA, ED was still at the old center and they were very flexible. I dropped him down to 2 days a week to get him out of the house as well as to give me alone time with CA. The new center, not so flexible. They can go MWF or T/THU. I think that for consistency, the MWF is the best, and I do receive my full pay while I am out, so no big deal. I just wish we could go Tues/Weds/Thurs instead and then have them home Friday through Monday. 3 days on, 4 days off, you know? Maybe if I sat down and talked with the director……but I really don’t want to.

Hub’s birthday is Friday; he will be 32. I still have not got him a gift. I still don’t know what to get him. I actually know what I want to get him, but I think he will be upset with the cost. I don’t know. I have the day off and we are planning on doing lunch at the Casino where they have a huge buffet. We go there exclusively to eat, we almost never gamble. Then we’ll have cake at home after we pick up the kids. Is it wrong that I’m stressing out about not being near the computer all day for Swistle’s Big Reveal? Thankfully, I can check email and read Blogs through the internet browser on my phone. I just can’t comment.

My mother really irritated me on Sunday which I neglected to mention yesterday. ED was being a real pisser at dinner, pouting and just being nasty overall. After Hub said something he didn’t like he said “Well FINE THEN!” I’m, not eating!!” Hun took his drink away, stating the obvious—he wasn’t drinking pop if he wasn’t eating dinner. ED broke down in hysterics so Hub took him out of the restaurant. My mother was appalled “all of that for a little bit of acting out?” I told her it is the only way to deal with him; the only thing that works. “I think it’s too much and it really bothers me.” Again, you do not deal with this kid on a daily basis. When he gets in this sort of mood you have to physically remove him from the situation in order to break it. “So what, now they’re not going to eat dinner??” They will be back in a few minutes; ED just needs time to relax. “Well, it really bothers me.” I wanted to say really hurtful things, relating to the way my youngest brother acts and behaves—that maybe if she had used some different tactics he wouldn’t be the way he is. But I bit my tongue. She feels bad enough about my brother as it is. And sure enough, Hub and ED returned less than 5 minutes later, with ED happy as a clam. I don’t appreciate my parenting being criticized. Here’s the thing—we will put up with silliness, and we can tolerate moods/acting out to an extent—it is typical preschool/toddler behavior. But when it turns in to total bullshit, it is plain not allowed. We have happy, well adjusted, and for the most part, very well behaved children. I felt like she was implying we were beating them or something……we don’t even spank them. I feel better getting that out---much better.

I am treating myself to Burger King for lunch today. Hub picked up food for himself and the kids yesterday but nothing for me because 1. I haven’t been eating much for dinner and 2. He didn’t know what I would want. Of course, this put me on the warpath……but I can recover by getting my own Whopper today. I’m excited, which in a word, is sad.

Finally, out of the mouth of my baby, I offer you three recent revelations. The first, after hearing someone on TV mention their boyfriend: “I have two boyfriends, Merrick and Davin……” At dinner on Friday she stood up, pointed to Hub and said “what the hell is the matter with you!!” (That one is all me…) And on the way home the other day “Mommy, we don’t say sum of the bitch, we say sum of the gun, right?” (I take no credit for that one though…she heard it from my dad on Easter…one time…and has been obsessed ever since.)

Random Crap and a (somewhat) Rhetorical Question

I promised ED I would take him to buy flip flops tonight. Do you think he’ll forget? Since we started in the kitchen, he’s been wearing mine……apparently, he hates his slippers now and he NEEDS flip flops. From “Oh Maybe’s” [Old Navy] Ok then Mr. Opinion. CA, I’m sure, will insist that she needs some as well, even though I just ordered her some from TCP……they just haven’t arrived (or even shipped for that matter and it has been 10 days) yet. I hear that Payless is doing BOGO right now though, so maybe I can score some new (ahem--slightly larger) summer shoes while we are out.

I had my glucose tolerance test this morning and it was horrific. My old doctor had this backwoods formula that involved drinking a can of orange crush ½ hour before your appointment and then she drew your blood when you came in. The new doctor…not so much. That bottle of orange melted freezy pop with extra sugar was enough to take me over the edge. Vomit city. I thought it was maybe like a shot of something, a sip or two-but a WHOLE BOTTLE?? Yuck. About 20 minutes after I drank it, I started feeling shaky, dizzy and nauseous which does nothing but leave me to wonder “is my body processing this correctly or incorrectly??” I don’t even know what I’ll do if I have to go back for the second test. I was nauseous until a few hours ago.

Have any of you given any thought to the kind of parent you will be when your kids are grown? I imagine myself having weekly family dinners, with a house full of grand kids, and daily phone calls. I can’t imagine not touching a piece of their life on a daily basis. These may be high hopes on my part, but do you get what I’m saying? If one of my kids had the evening off, and her husband was working, and my only plan was to go up to the casino—I would jump at the chance to meet up with her and her kids for dinner--ESPECIALLY after I just got back from a week in another country—I can go to the casino anytime, right? But apparently, this isn’t how all parents operate. Some value their own time. I’m just sayin’. (Jaded much, Sara? Bitter much?) Maybe I’ll feel different when I’m in my 50’s and my kids have lives of their own. But I can’t imagine that I will.

The work day has gone fast and soon I’ll be leaving to get the kiddos—apparently we will be dining on our own. Wish me luck in navigating the store with them!

P.S. thank you all for your comments on yesterday's post. You all are the bomb digity!!

Oh the H O R R O R

I struggle with how to even write this. First of all there is the sheer horror of the situation, and then there is the fact that I'd like to avoid weird googlers. I guess I'm still in shock.

So anyway, here goes.

We had dinner at Hub's grandmothers, who lives in senior housing where many of her things are hospital grade, last night. I had CA in the bathroom, washing her up from dinner, and ED came in to pee. It took all of a second, CA and I were laughing at the sink, and suddenly, ED was screaming; shrieking even, and was holding his, um, stuff.

I remembered hearing the toilet seat slam a second before....I asked him to move is hands in all of his hysteria, and there was blood....not a ton, but enough.

He had got it stuck.

I called Hub in to look just as it started forming a huge blood blister. His mother, a nurse, took look as well. It wasn't good. He couldn't pee. We weren't sure if it was because he was scared, or if the hole had swollen shut, or if something even worse was going on inside of there.

ED's biggest concern---not getting his underwear dirty. He insisted on wearing a washcloth on the inside.

FIL met us at the ER to take CA home and we spent the better part of the evening at the hospital. ED was actually in pretty good spirits as he had calmed down, and spoke with the doctors and nurses candidly. All of the doctors were in to see him, to the point that when the girl who was just taking some info from us did not ask to see the boo boo, ED questioned why.

I'm proud of him for doing so well. The doctors measured the cut that runs right across the tip...just over a centimeter; I think to decide whether or not he needed a stitch or two. I think Hub was ready to throw up just thinking about it. After about an hour, having taken Tylenol with codeine as well as having a numbing agent placed on the area, ED peed and we were cleared to go home.

We have an appointment with a pediatric urologist in few hours to determine if there actually is any damage or if it is just bruised and cut. ED is telling everyone that we are going to the we.in.er doctor.

He is gun-shy about peeing, having only gone once since we got home from the hospital over 12 hours ago. He is very sore, obviously, and needs help getting on the couch and laying down. He doesn't have much of an appetite, with the exception of eating M&M's. But overall, I'd say he is doing well.

I'm nervous about the urology appointment. We've seen one once before, as ED's circ was a bit botched at birth. His bedside manner---not great. This is a different doctor, but in the same practice. We'll see how it goes.

I'm trying to think of the upside....yesterday was the first night ever he stayed dry all night. Maybe this will help him learn to hold it. And also, if he does need surgery, we can have his circ fixed and get it taken care of all at once.

Most of all though, I am hurting for my baby. He is brave though. On the way to the hospital (or hostable as he says) last night I said o him "I'm so sorry this happened, buddy." And do you know what my big boy said? "You didn't do it Mommy. I did."

Prayers and happy thoughts are appreciated. I will update soon.

Friday Fun with a Twist!!

Mommy Brain tagged me like 2 weeks ago for the 7 facts MEME which I have already done here, so I thought that I would give it a little twist. Here are 7 fun facts about each of my family members.

Hub

1. He has been in business for himself as a carpet cleaner for the last 7 years. As a previous “corporate whore” he says there is no way he could ever work for “the man” again.
2. He loves to cook and is really very good at it. His favorite thing to make me is broiled fish, which I love. But he ALWAYS forgets to buy a lemon.
3. He aspires to be handy around the house. His problem---he has no patience. He is getting better though.
4. He was a Theatre Major in college and acted in several productions.
5. He was also the stage manager for the college dance troupe.
6. He always read the paper while we are watching TV and I never tell him that it drives me crazy.
7. He is more family oriented than I ever thought he would be. He’s always the one to suggest fun family activities.

ED
1. He weighed 10lbs 2 oz at birth; his cheeks were so fat they looked like they would fall right off of his face.
2. His favorite way to comfort himself is to twirl my hair around his fingers; he is a mama’s boy through and through
3. Like me, he is extremely over-sensitive and has a tendency to be shy until he knows people---then he will talk your ear off. It is very hard for him to be in awkward situations.
4. He and Hub’s dad are like kindred spirits or something. They are the best of friends. (It’s cute, but also annoying)
5. His first sentence, at 11 months old was “More corn please.”
6. Corn is one of the only veggies I can still get him to eat. He used to eat EVERYTHING. He is finally getting better though, especially if I let him help me cook.
7. He refuses to answer to his full first name (E.dmu.nd) or to write it out when his teacher tells him to at school. He’ll say, “No, there’s another D and an I and an E.”

CA

1. She was covered in hair from head to toe at birth. I felt funny putting her in sundresses because of her hairy shoulders.
2. She is the best eating 2-year-old I know, asking for things like salad and fruit. When we go to a restaurant, she orders broccoli. The one thing she hates: tomatoes.
3. On her first birthday, she only had 2 teeth. She popped the rest of them last summer just before she turned two. I could tell when she was getting molars because she would run a high fever and throw up every time.
4. Like her father, she is very outgoing and talkative. For a two-year-old she has an amazing vocabulary. She really talks constantly.
5. Still like her father, (and not at all like me) she is a determined go-getter. She potty-trained herself in one day just after she turned 2, both day and night time. It was her decision, not ours. She has always been that way, doing what she wants when she wants to and doing whatever she can to get her own way.
6. When she is not talking, she is singing. She especially loves to sing in the car and will serenade us for hours on end. She totally gets this from me.
7. She also loves dancing and gymnastics. Her favorite dance: The chicken dance. Her favorite part of gymnastics: jumping on the trampoline and somersaults down the ramp.

More Random Crap

CA has green goop leaking from her nose and right eye. It is not at all charming. She was up several times during the night and ended up in our bed after Hub left for work at 5AM. I’m waiting for a “post-naptime come and get your sick child what were you thinking sending her today” type of call from daycare.

ED will tell anyone of his love of “brown” and “pink” pop tarts. Sadly, Hub bought the wrong pink ones, strawberry instead of cherry. The frosting on the strawberry is white, making them “not pink”. I argued with ED about it being the same thing, and my last words before getting in the shower this morning were “It better be gone when I get out.” It was, and I asked him about it. Was it good, etc. I noticed there was no pop-tart mess on his face and questioned him further. He insisted it was “all gone”. I asked him to why there were no pop tarts in his teeth and was told “Because it’s all gone in the garbage can, not in my belly.” What kind of 4-year-old can play the semantics game? Mine can!!

We are grilling tonight, and I am excited. The weather has been great the last few days, and though it is dreary today, it is still warm. I’m going to be bitter when it sleets and rains this weekend.

Backtracking a bit, Hub took the kids to the children’s museum yesterday and spent a good 5 hours there. He called me several times with updates. My favorite one “This place is a haven for SAHM’s! I wonder if I could join the Mommy club!”

We’ve been having quite a bit of dialogue about what to do with the kids while I am on Maternity Leave. I think it’s important for them to continue with daycare---it won’t be any fun being cooped up in the house with baby and me all summer. When pre-school changes to summer camp in late June, we have the opportunity to modify their schedule until September without losing their MWF slot for the fall. The problem is that they would change over to 2 days per week BEFORE my leave (I plan on working thru 7/15) and they would change back to 3 days per week probably a full month before I am back at work. This whole business of not being able to hold our slots for us is a bit ridiculous. I get that they are in the business of making money, but seriously, come on.

We haven’t told them yet that we don’t plan on enrolling The Bean until she is a year old; when ED is safely in kindergarten. They are starting to look at me funny as I waddle through the halls with no mention of my pregnancy. Whatev.

Have I mentioned that we are considering traveling to Atlanta at the end of May? When I will be starting my 8th month of pregnancy? Oh yeah!! I wonder if it will be worse than VA was in June when I was pregnant with CA.

And finally, I found out late last night that the gutting of my kitchen is happening tomorrow. I am not at all prepared. Nothing like a little bit of notice!!

Oh, and a last minute FINALLY!! Hub just brought a Ford Edge by to see if we really could fit all 3 car seats in the back. WE CAN!!! It’s an 07 so I think we can get a pretty good deal. YAY! YAY! YAY! Next to the El Camino this is my dream car!!

I slept hard all night last night without even getting up to pee. If the kids woke up, I didn’t hear them. We woke up this morning to a blanket of ice and snow that took over 30 minutes to scrape/melt off of my car. I never did get it off of my side mirrors. Hooray for March!! (oh, that was sarcasm……)

Yesterday, after starting off quite badly, continued to get worse. I had to let one of my associates go, which is rare in a specialty group such as mine with senior associates. Unfortunately, it was more than warranted. Seeing anyone lose their job, sucks. Being the one to do it sucks more. Firing someone with whom you have worked for over 4 years; someone with whom you have a personal connection to the point where you know their family, sucks even worse than that. Firing someone who is so nice and so sincere, that on his way out the door for the last time he says “Thanks for everything Sara, good luck with the baby” is like a punch in the gut. I felt like throwing up all day long.

I met Hub and ED at Tae Kwon Do last night to find ED crying hysterically. Apparently, he was in trouble for kicking the wall. The teacher asked him once to stop, and when he did not, Hub stepped in. After all of the progress on Monday, you know, the progress that prompted us to pay $600 to cover the next 6 months, he refused to take the class yesterday. There is only one other child in the class and he doesn’t want to do it when she’s there. We are working on it. The teacher is doing a private lesson for him this afternoon. This poor child has inherited my childhood wallflower personality. He gets uncomfortable and embarrassed so easily (which is why it took him 4 months to adjust to his new daycare) but in familiar situations, he is a completely different kid. We still feel like Tae Kwon Do is what he needs, but it sure is frustrating to see him behave this way after doing do well.

I feel like I need to point out that I don’t think that I can go to Tae Kwon Do anymore because of the teacher, and his man feet, that get way too close to me for comfort.

In a bout of pregnancy induced stupidity, I almost climbed in to someone else’s car. It was the same style and color of mine and when I walked up to it and saw the number pad under the door handle I did not think “oh, this can’t be my car; we don’t have that”, but instead thought “Hey, when did we get these???” and proceeded to try and unlock the car with my keys. Yes, I am an idiot.

Finally, ***FINALLY!!!!!*** tomorrow morning is my appointment. It is at 9AM, so as soon as I am back at work, (we are taking the kids and will probably get breakfast afterward) I will let you know what we found out. Use your superpowers and will the baby to be gracious for me. I’ll be doing the same thing!!!

Oh, and P.S. please say some prayers for my blogging pal Bananafana who is 33 weeks pregnant and had some complications last night. We really need for her and the baby to be just fine. You can read all about it here.

15 for Friday

1. Yesterday was hellacious, though I did find a cute blouse at Target to wear with the blazer I already had (unbuttoned, of course) and I spent $35 instead of the anticipated $100 or so. I even wore earrings and make up---and heard from ED—“I am not kissing you goodbye with those things in your ears!” and inspired panic in CA because she couldn’t find her clip on earrings to be just like Mommy. I can’t win. The visit went well, but after a day on my feet in heels, I was dead by the time I got home.
2. ED took his second Tae Kwon Do class yesterday—he doesn’t want to interact with the class at all; he wants to do his own thing and then do the kicks and punches when everyone else has left. We’ve told him that tomorrow is his last chance. If he participates the right way, he will get his uniform and can keep taking the class. If not, he is done.
3. CA starts her gymnastics tomorrow—YAY! It is a parent participation class though so we’ll see how it goes. My pregnant ass isn’t getting on a balance beam.
4. Between the kids classes, a chuck e cheeses play date and Sesame Street Live, we have a very busy weekend ahead of us. This is the second year we are doing breakfast and Sesame Street with my 2 cousins and their kids. It’s a fun time.
5. Tim Horton’s is pissing me off and not because I haven’t won on RRRoll Up the Rim to Win yet. I have been ordering an onion bagel with butter every morning. The bagel ends up being nearly dry…just a smear of butter. So this week, I started ordering extra butter and still, nearly dry. By yesterday I said “can you make sure there really is extra butter on it??” ‘Sure we can!’ I can not win. I am tired of dry bagels. But I also don’t want to make my own breakfast in the morning.
6. I’ve seen a few people writing sweet things about their husbands. Here is what constitutes sweet for Hub and me: Him: Man, I still can’t believe you’re pregnant! What a whore!!” Me: “ME???? You should probably learn to keep it in your pants!!” and we both laugh hysterically. Our relationship is based solely on sarcasm and humor.
7. I ordered lunch from Panera (and a drink from Starbucks) and it is taking forever!! I want to eat now! Asiago Roast Beef and French Onion Soup! And Green Tea!! YAY!!
8. Last Sunday, my MIL came over for dinner. I was arguing with ED about something and told him that he wasn’t going to get any dessert. He looked me dead in the eye and said “I don’t need your cookies; Grandma always brings me a treat!!” He is pushing it with his attitude and he is only 4! I don’t even know what to do because honestly, I’d like to laugh in his face.
9. Then there is CA who is obsessed with my breasts, only she calls them buttons. And asks “Why are your buttons so big, Mama?” Sigh……
10. Less than a week until we find out boy or girl! I’m dying!! With my luck, because I’m so excited, they won’t be able to tell. Keep your fingers crossed for me. I keep having dreams that it is a boy (probably because I’m stressed about names for boys) but all of the old wives tales and Chinese gender predictor say girl. Either way, whatever, I just want to know! I need to buy our matching Old Navy outfits soon!
11. Then I see the neurologist on Friday about these migraines. I’m thinking I might ride them out another month or so, rather than starting some new drug. We’ll see.
12. My lunch just came and my soup has 3 croutons on the side. Seriously. THREE! And no spoon. WTF? I’m not having good luck with food, it would seem.
13. I have a whole lot of blogs to catch up on. I’ve actually most of them, I pull up my RSS reader on my phone (Hello Saly, you are a loser. A really big loser) at home. But I’ve not commented. I’m all about doing that today.
14. You may have picked up on this, but my pregnancy craving has been onions. I picked up a big bag of the pre-chopped frozen ones when I got groceries this week and I have every intention of sautéing them in butter and just eating them like that. Hub joked that when my water breaks it will smell like onions. Maybe it will!
15. And now I’m going to eat! I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

Rambling on About My Sucky Weekend and Corporate BS

I think that I had mentioned that I was off on Friday, having worked the previous Saturday, so I did have a 3-day weekend, this weekend past. We didn’t do much on Friday other than going out to breakfast and finalizing our kitchen plans (it should be complete by the end of April!!! WOOT!!) Hub had a chiropractor appointment and I passed out on the couch for the better part of 3 hours, never even hearing him come home and go back out again.

We picked up the kids later than normal and stood around for a while talking with the assistant director about CA’s teacher (the one who came from the old center) who mysteriously disappeared, and ED’s “manny”, who we actually do like quite a bit now. (It turns out, Beck, that he actually does work there as part of a work/study program; he is studying to be an elementary teacher.) It was mentioned in passing that CA had a low fever at about 6:00 but since it was nearing pick-up time, they hadn’t called us.

The low-grade fever was actually 102 and she looked like death when we picked her up. We got her home and the coughing, sneezing and fever progressed through the night. The fever got up to 103 and we could not get her to sleep except for being propped up on me on the couch. I stayed with her all night, barely sleeping myself, medicating her on an off, just making sure she was comfortable. Thankfully, ED slept the night so I only needed to worry about her.

Morning came, and she was no better, so we had to cancel her very first gymnastics class and postpone until next week. She didn’t eat much and was lethargic and mopey. Hub took ED out to a train show that was in town and to get a hair cut, so CA and I took a good three hour nap. She woke up feeling much better, thank goodness, and after contraband Robitussen and some Motrin, she was behaving pretty much like herself. We decided to go bowling for a bit because being cooped up in the house hadn’t been good for any of us, so once Hub brought ED home and showered him (because he refuses to wear the cape at the barber) off we went for a bit. It was actually fun, and we were home after about 2 hours. The kids were in bed early and Hub and I watched some TV before going to bed pretty early ourselves.

CA slept on her own until about 5 on Sunday morning at which point I relocated to the couch with her. We slept until about 8 and once everyone was up, I got out the waffle iron and made some waffles. Hub did some running around while the kids napped and I folded a crapload of laundry. I braved my chicken-phobia and fried up chicken fingers for dinner, complete with a buttery hot sauce. They turned out well, but my breading kept falling off. The Bean rather enjoyed the hot sauce, and wiggled around for a good hour after I went to bed last night. My stomach did not enjoy it so much so I was up for a few hours in the middle of the night with horrible reflux. YAY.

Today I’m back at work dealing with the bunch of shit that accumulates when you take a day off, and keeping it in the back of my mind that I need to clean and take down my way too many pictures and kid’s artwork because we are being evaluated by a transition team this week, from our newly acquired company (yes, we acquired them, but we have to prepare for them to come in….what kind of sense does this make? NONE!!), which will determine my site’s future. Apparently, desks that look lived in and personalized will not do……our work environment needs to be sterile. We are also required to be in full business dress when the team does their walk thru on Thursday—which makes no sense to me since we do not see customers. I can tell you this though—I am not buying a maternity suit. I have a nice button down and dress pants and I will wear heels and stockings, but that is all THE MAN is getting. Official day one of this transaction occurs July 1st and I plan on being off preparing for the baby by 7/15. Here’s the thing—I do not care at all if they close my office, so long as I get my full maternity pay. If I never had to come back here……well, that’s a story for another day. There’s so much more to it than I can even get in to here anyway.

Ok, you’ve heard enough from me!! I need to eat lunch anyway.

Deep Calming Breaths

I figured I should take a few minutes and sit down and write because I have been on a horrific rampage here at work today. Note To Self: It is never acceptable to stand up and yell “Hey Ass-wipes!!” in the workplace.

I worked yesterday, President’s Day, in order to gain a future floating holiday. It was dead, and I did absolutely nothing. Glorious. I left around 4:30 though because I had a conference set up with ED’s teacher. Typically, I avoid daycare parent/teacher conferences, because, well, it’s weird—but I decided to do this one since it is a new school and I don’t get to talk to his teacher often like I did at the old place. I fully expected to hear that my son was a gifted genius, but all I got was “he is one of the smartest in the class……” I was pleased to hear, however, that ED is the best mannered 4-year-old she has ever encountered. We are big on the polite thing in our house (well, all of us but CA who seems to think it is acceptable to bark orders on a wide variety of subjects……but that’s a story for another day) so it’s nice to hear that he carries it over to school. The good things she said: he is very bright, he can count to 30 and identify numbers up to 99, he knows all of his colors (which he has since he was like 18-months old) both in English and in Spanish, he can identify a few words—his name, cat, dog etc by sight, he can write his name and the majority of his letters, he excels in computer class (seriously, you should see this kid at p b s dot com) and he gets along well with the other children. Her concerns: he is something of a know-it-all, shouting out answers before the other kids can and he holds his pencil in his fist rather than the right way. I asserted that it may have something to do with him being a lefty and she agreed. She is starting a name book with him where he can work on printing his full formal first name on dotted lines. First he’ll be tracing and then he will write it out on his own. In all, I think it went really well. It was nice to have a little one-on-one with her.

I picked the kids up then, a full hour early, and ran in to the CA’s infant teacher from the old center; apparently, her daughter goes there. She told me that she can’t believe how big CA has gotten, and that it’s funny to see how much the same, personality wise she is as she was as a baby. (She wants what she wants, when she wants it and will do whatever it takes to get it) She said there’s no word to describe her except to say “she is such a CA”. Indeed.

So, like I said, I’m reasonably miserable today. Hub has had the flu since Thursday and hasn’t been sleeping well, which means I haven’t been sleeping well either. My mother is having a jewelry party tonight, which I am skipping, because Hub has to work, but also because of my sinuses-I don’t think I can deal with the cigarette smoke, even if she didn’t smoke inside at all today.

Tomorrow I will be 16-weeks along, so maybe I’ll post another belly shot, for your enjoyment.

Toodles, for now!

I was going through my old diary account and came across this entry from when I was about 4-months along with ED:

I heard baby's heart beat!!! Saturday, July 19, 2003
I did, I did!! it was 143 beats per minute, and per old wives tales, that means a girl. How fun!!
The midwife says it sounds like a very happy baby in there! She found the heartbeat EXACTLY where I always feel baby kicking me. How funny. I can't wait until my ultrasound. I need to know what this bundle of joy will be!!
I treated myself to a decaf Starbucks on the way to work, and had an amazing day knowing for sure that baby's heart was beating and that I wasn't imagining those little kicks. It was a triumph. I only wish Ed could have been there; he was working out of town.
I'm going to a giant craft show with my parents tomorrow, and I'm pretty excited. I don't get out and do too many things any more. Besides, they always feed me.
It's funny how our relationship has changed since I've been preggo though. They always greet me and see me off with hugs and kisses. We haven't done that since I was about 5.
On a side note, if my mother refers to my baby as 'our baby'(our including her....) one more time, I'm really going to slap her. She wants to know if she can be called Nonnie now. I just roll my eyes in silence.
I think that's about it, I want to organize my clothes so that m maternity clothes are accessible, and everything else is out of the way for now.
TTFN!
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It’s funny how hearing the heartbeat is still an amazing thing, even the 3rd time around. It further amazes me that I worry as much this time as I did the first time. I wonder if it ever stops. I know we’re ok, but I worry about this baby constantly. Will it be healthy? Will it end up in the NICU like CA did? Will it be gigantic like it’s brother? Will it be a champion nurser like both of it’s siblings. How will it change our family?


Of course, only time will tell. I just wish I could shut my brain off in the meantime.

Happy V-Day to You

I picked up a valentine for each of the kids yesterday, a Spongebob one for ED and a Diego one for CA. Each came attached to a small box of chocolate. I had the kids in the grocery store with me last night and as they hounded me for candy, I repeatedly told them “no, you don’t need any candy.”

I left the valentines in the kitchen so that Hub and I could give them to the kids together before I left for work today. CA was asleep on the couch when I got in the shower this morning, but when I peeked my head out to check on her as I dried off; she was wide awake on the couch and greeted me with a huge smile. She climbed down and ran to the bathroom.

“You said at Tops we couldn’t have any candy but you buyed us candy!!!”

“What??”

“You did leave us candy on the kitchen table!!”

I got dressed and followed her to the kitchen where she showed me what I bought her.

“Diego for me! Spongebob for Eddie!! Can I eat it now??”

By this time ED was up and came out to see what we were talking about. Both kids were accosting me with “when can we eat our candy? Now?? Now?? NOW!!??” I told them for a snack after lunch.

When I was in the bathroom getting ready, I heard ED tell Hub “My mother said I could eat this for a snack after BREAKFAST!!”

Sigh. They are making valentine cupcakes with Hub today since they don’t go to daycare on Thursdays and will miss their parties.

In other Valentines Day news, apparently telling Hub I didn’t mind if he picked a job up tonight was the WRONG ANSWER. We initially planned on celebrating on President’s Day but due to volumes, my office is open. I decided to work because I get a floating holiday now, that I can add on to my Maternity Leave. I also work this Saturday, so I have next Friday off as a comp day. The kids are in daycare, so I figured we could do something then.

Again, wrong answer and apparently, I suck. Whatev.

I left him a card and a candy bar this morning so hopefully that makes up for it some.


Finally, because this is high school, we sold carnations at work for a fund raiser. I bought one for each of my 18 associates. I received one from my boss and from our site manager—pity flowers if you ask me. I never was the most popular girl in school……

More on Night Time Potty Training

Let’s start by saying that ED recently turned 4 and has been daytime potty trained since he was 2.5. (For the record, CA has been fully trained, day and night, since she turned 2 and she did it herself. Girls really are easier) I had heard of the “waking up” method before, but refused to try it. The majority of things I have read have said that it is especially hard on boys, and that it may take until they are 6 or 7 years old to fully outgrow it. I was ok with this. I actually talked about it on my old Blog. So what changed??

Hub took ED to the pediatrician last week for his 4-year checkup and saw the famous and apparently hot Dr. Jen. I’ve never met her because she is actually an NP and I prefer to see the actual doctor when it comes to checkups but ED and Hub prefer the pretty girl—which is another issue in itself. Aaaaanyway……among other concerns, Hub brought up the bed-wetting (which I don’t even consider bed-wetting since he is only 4, but whatev.) and the pediatrician recommended waking him up nightly. This reinforced what Hub read in a John Rosemond column and apparently Hub feels the way about John as I do about Catherine. So he came home with the attitude of “we are going to do this and it is going to work!”.

We are 2 days in and I want to die. DIE. Setting my alarm to get up 2 times a night is killing me. Hub is getting up too, but ED only wants me. This kid is not easy to wake, let me tell you, and he is not nice in the middle of the night either. I think that’s part of the problem anyway, him being such a hard sleeper. I have to carry him from his bed to the bathroom and back as well, which probably isn’t the best idea right now; he weighs 40lbs.

The bottom line is that I am committed to trying this for a week. If it doesn’t work out, so be it. Perhaps we can try it again when I’m already up 3 times a night nursing a baby. At least we have plenty of sheets and he still has the plastic toddler mattress. It won’t matter much though when I go out and pick up some more pull-ups on Friday.

Handling

About 30 minutes after I had put the kids to bed last night (and I was half way through my second bowl of ice cream) ED came out in the living room.

“I keep forgetting to ask you 2 questions!” he says

“Ok”, I say, and notice how well spoken he is for a 4-year-old. He really is a boy now.

“I need to know how the baby got in there Mommy. And how are you going to get it out.”

Ice cream falls from my spoon back in to the bowl and my mind starts racing. What am I going to say? He is rather grown up, as far as four-year-olds go…should I give him some details? Should I make up some crap about the stork? He already mentioned that he knows that doctors deliver a baby (but then asked where exactly, they deliver them to? To their mommies at the “hostable”?) I really don’t want to use the word vagina. Am I sweating? Oh my GOD!

I told him that I need to think about it since it’s been a long time since I had a baby, and I really don’t remember. This satisfied him (for now) and he went back to bed.

I don’t know why Hub and I have not discussed, what, or how much, if anything we are telling him. I also don’t know what we were thinking getting pregnant with a very inquisitive 4-year-old around. This was a lot easier when he was just a year old and I was pregnant with CA.

I’d be curious to know what information you all gave your older children in this situation. Or what did your parents tell you about babies.

My mother was pregnant with my youngest brother when I was 10. She answered my questions by giving me a book, and sending me to my room to read it myself while she and my father watched the football game. Seriously. When she was pregnant with my 1st brother, she gave me the cock and bull “mommy has a seed and daddy waters it” which I repeated to ever last person I came in to contact with, since I was, you know, 2. This is the kind of situation I don’t want to get myself in to; ED blurting out something completely embarrassing in public. (more embarrassing than asking me loudly in a public restroom why grownups are “a little bit hairy”. Yeah.)

On a complete side note, CA was up at about 11:30 last night and couldn’t go back to sleep so I brought her in with me. She slept with her head propped on my belly (until I started choking on stomach acid) and later rolled next to me. I woke up at 2:30 AM finding her curled completely in to my side, with ED sleeping in between my legs and the cat sleeping in between his legs. Apparently, my bed is the community bed when Hub works overnight. I think I’d be better off on the couch.

Aaaaaah

That was exactly what I said as I slipped in to my favorite pair of maternity jeans this morning. So what if I’m only 11 weeks along? So what!! I am so done with buttons my friends. Besides, it is painfully obvious that I am with child, so I might as well flaunt it.

We had a very busy weekend, with the double birthday parties. We also told my family, to which my mother replied over and over again, “I am in shock. I’m just in shock.” At least it was still about her. She also commented that she would need to increase her direct deposit to savings in order to afford Christmas next year.

Yeah.

Hub’s mother assumed that his whole family knew and began talking about it during the party yesterday. His Grandmother kept telling everyone that she just knew because of a look Hub and I had shared on Thanksgiving Day when our niece was crying and carrying on uncontrollably. Funny, since WE didn’t even know we were having a baby on Thanksgiving, so I’m not sure what look she was referring to. Hub’s cousin K, who has a 6-year-old boy and whose daughter is the same age as ED is having a baby as well—2 weeks before us. Due to her “advanced maternal age” (she’s like, 36) she’s already had an amnio and knows she’s having a boy. This is the cousin who has given us all of her baby clothes and ETC because she “was done.” Hub wants to buy her a whole new layette to repay her. I don’t know how necessary that all is, I agree with a nice gift, but, whatever.

Needless to say, I am completely family-ed out.

I’m quite excited for Saturday, when Hub and ED will be heading north to go to the Monster Truck Rally. CA and I will have the day to ourselves. I fully intend on taking a long nap and then shopping with all of my Christmas gift-cards. Yay.

Ok, this is a mish/mosh, I know. I am dying for a cheeseburger. Sounds like I’ll be taking a drive for lunch.

Finally, here are a few birthday photos, taken by my dad. I’m going to try and post some of ours tonight, because seriously, you need to see this cake Hub made for ED.

Happy Birthday!

I’ll have to admit that I was a bit sad last night, putting my boy to bed for the last time as a 3-year-old. He turned 4 at 2:13 this morning. 4 seems like such a big number to me, compared to 3. At three, I could still hold on to his baby-ness a bit, but at age 4 I feel like he’s a real live boy! He will start official preschool in the fall, and he can play tee ball this summer. Turning 4 is a really big deal!

He accomplished much this year, mastering questions (Why Mommy? But WHY because???) and learning to write most of the letters in the alphabet. He can take just about anything apart and put it back together again. He loves working in the garage with daddy, helping mommy in the kitchen and playing with his sister. He can be bossy at times and is very opinionated. He would follow his grandpa anywhere, especially to “the brown park”. He's never met a truck that he didn't like and is a huge Jeff Gordon fan. Above all, he is still a mama’s boy.

Happy birthday my sweet boy. It doesn’t seem like it has been 4 years since you made your debut, but at the same time, I can’t remember you not being here. I love you so so much.