WW ~ Easter Egg Hunt

Toddle Along Tuesday ~ Pet Peeves

I haven't done one of these in forever, so I thought I'd jump back on the wagon with this week's TAT.   Especially since it's about pet peeves and my cranky sickly self would like to complain  :)

I have many many pet peeves, but I'll stick to just a few so I don't sound too whiny.

1.  Lazy people at the store.
In particular I am talking about the absolute laziness when it comes to the parking lot.  Every time I pull into a parking lot at a grocery store, or Target or Walmart my blood boils when I see this:

Yes, that would be a shopping cart that some wonderful Walmart shopper decided to leave next to my car instead of returning it to the cart corral that you can see in the space directly behind my car.  WTF?  Is it really that hard to walk the 15 extra feet to put it where it belongs?  And I don't give people with kids a pass on that. When I'm carting my toddler around I still manage to return my cart to where it belongs just fine.  People in this country are just unbelievably lazy.  And I have flat out said "That isn't where that goes." to someone when I see them just shoving a cart up on a little median or in an open spot instead of putting it where it belongs.  One of these times I'm probably gonna get my car keyed.

2.  Cell phone conversations in public places.
Maybe I'm the only one, but I look back fondly on the days when people weren't reachable wherever they went.  Having to listen to other people's (normally loud) personal conversations everywhere in public is beyond annoying.  It's especially irritating at the gym and I have given more than one dirty look to people who walk around shouting into their phones while I'm getting in a workout.  I really want to tell them "You aren't that important.  I'm fairly certain that can wait until you are in a more private setting.".

3.  The dishwasher
Or more accurately, J's seeming inability to actually get his dishes in the dishwasher.  Not every dish that he uses, but I can't tell you how many times I have walked into the kitchen to find a glass or cup sitting on the counter directly above the dishwasher.  Half the time I will put them in (loudly) and the other half of the time I ignore them and leave them there.  I'm not a freaking maid.

I'm sure I have many (many) others, but I'll leave it at that.  So what about you? What grinds your gears, parenting related or not?  Link up with Toddle Along Tuesday and share your gripes.

Pregnant + A Cold = Hell

Uuuuuuugggggghhhhhhh!

I hate being sick.  Being sick when you can take good cold meds is sucky enough.  Being sick when you're pregnant and your options are severely limited all out blows.

Last weekend Andrew had a bit of a cold.  Nothing too bad, he was mostly just coughing but wasn't snotty or anything.  I should have known when he was coughing directly into my face while I was rocking him before a nap that trouble was on the way.

Last Monday it started - the scratchy throat and sinus pressure.  Last Tuesday I felt kind of crappy so I worked from home thinking that would probably be the worst of it.  I was wrong.  I still forced myself to do a couple long-ish runs last week hoping that I could sweat it out since I can't take any Dayquil or anything to help me out.  No dice.

Friday night the godawful congestion started.  I could deal with it when it was just one side because at least I could kind of breathe at night.  Now it's both sides and it sucks.  Oh, and the coughing started on Saturday, too.  Awesome.

Thanks for the germs, little buddy.

So now I am working from home again, drinking my tea and honey, rubbing Vicks on my chest and under my nose in the hopes that maybe, just maybe, it'll clear my nose a little bit, drinking orange juice, and going through tissues like you wouldn't believe.

Stupid compromised immune system...

How Is That Comfortable? And 15 Weeks

Last month Andrea sent J and I an email asking if we would be ok with them transitioning Andrew to napping on a mat instead of in the pack n play.  We said "Sure"  and "Good luck!".  I anticipated it being a train wreck and figured there is no way he would actually sleep since he would be in the playroom instead of the dark room that the other kids nap in.  I kind of thought that he would just sit there and play instead of napping, especially based on his antics when we put him in his crib.

Well, we were wrong.

It turns out that he has done great with it.  There have even been days, like yesterday, where he was still napping when I got there to pick him up.  I'm so happy that he transitioned well, but it amazes me that he can actually sleep, based on how he's doing it.  I walked in yesterday to wake him up and saw this:

He has his nap mat, a little pillow and a stuffed duck (yep, they have a duck for him there, too) but he lays perpendicular to his little mat, mostly on the hardwood floor.  How can that be comfortable??  He's napping just fine like that so I'm not worried, I just think it's really weird.  Then again, he's a weird kid  :)

Anyway, on to this week:

How far along? 15w0d and the size of a navel orange.  ~ 4 inches and 2.5 ounces.  Munchkin 2.0 might even be having hiccups in there at this point.  Andrew had them a LOT while he was in there and I wonder if this one will, too.

Weight loss/gain:  +8 lbs this morning. Ugh.  I take small consolation in the fact that a few pounds of that has to be in my bra. According to the one pregnancy app I have on my phone I should be up around 5 lbs right now.  Yeah, screw you Sprout.

Maternity clothes: Still no.  I'm going to need to drag out my box of maternity clothes and go through and see what will work for this summer, though.

Symptoms:  What I would give to be regular...

Sex (of baby):  Our pictures are 2 weeks from tomorrow - so excited!

Sleep: I'll admit that benedryl has been taken once or twice this week.  For the most part I sleep ok, I just wake up a bunch to pee even though I don't really have to go that much. It's my damn distended colon pressing on my bladder that makes me feel like I always have to go.

Best moment this week? Honestly, nothing much happened this week.  We did get the bedding in for Andrew's new room and I'm pretty pumped about decorating his new room.

Movement: Nope.  There have been a few times that I've wondered if I felt something, but I think it's in my head.  I won't count it until it is definitive movement.

Food cravings:  No one thing in particular, I just always feel hungry

Belly button in or out?  In

What I miss?  Not feeling like I have a bowling ball in my colon.

What I'm looking forward to?  Our pictures in two weeks.

Milestones:  Nothing this week.  I hit 15 weeks so I'm 3/8 through this pregnancy, that's about it.

What I'm nervous about:  Honestly? The weight gain.  As someone who dealt with an eating disorder for a long time I have a very hard time dealing with seeing the number on the scale rise.  It seems to be rising more quickly this go 'round and it scares me.

Still just doughy:

Worth Every Penny

I have mentioned our daycare here many many times.  We love them and think that they do such a great job with Andrew. He loves it there and they love him.  

Of course this year the cost went up, and not just a little.  I kind of freaked out, especially now that we have 2.0 on the way. Two kids in daycare will be more than our mortgage (yeah, that's a tough pill to swallow).  Because of that we have been exploring our options.  

Do we move Andrew to a traditional daycare center once 2.0 is here?  I would prefer the baby to be in the small in-home setting because I am more comfortable with that so basically Andrew would give up his spot to his little sibling. (He wouldn't have to really give up his spot, they have room for both of them). The baby will also cost less because right now we are paying $100/month for Andrew to be on the lunch program (which might seem like a lot, but he eats so much better for them than he does for us and she cooks them a real meal everyday - they aren't just eating sandwiches. It also includes all milk and snacks).

Or we could suck it up for a few months until Andrew is three and can go to pre-school.  There is one that is actually right by daycare that I have been meaning to look in to, but haven't gotten around to it.

I think by the time we would need to move him he would be fine at a bigger center with more kids (he'll  be almost 2 1/2), but then I worry about too much change at once.  His world is going to be rocked when the new baby arrives - something that causes me anxiety on a regular basis.

I really would like to keep him where he is until it's time for him to move on to pre-school.  He's comfortable, he's happy, and he's learning SO much.  Yesterday Andrea posted this video of my little smarty pants:

Yes, I realize that there is most likely some memorization going on there, but I did spell out a few of the words with his foam letters in the tub last night and he said them there, too.  I am amazed every single day at how much his vocabulary is exploding and at how much he is learning.  With only 4 kids at the daycare now he is getting a lot of one on one attention and it really shows.

So yeah, they may be a little more expensive than I would like right now, but I really think they are worth every single penny.

Update:  I realize now that the video is not working for others to see because of the privacy settings she has on it.  Bummer, because it's an awesome video showing him going through the "Baby Can Read" book and recognizing the following words:  eyes, clap, nose, tiger, cat, arms up, reach (and then messing up on a few other words).  I know he can't actually read yet, but I am so proud of him for starting to recognize some words.  I need to have her email me the video so I can get it posted another way.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Movie Time!

Nightly Craziness

You know how you see commercials with babies taking a bath and being all calm and soothed by it?  Yeah, those are crap.

You want to know what happens with MY kid after bath time?  We get this:

And this isn't just a one time occurrence.  This is pretty much every single night.  Bedtime bath apparently has the opposite effect on this munchkin.  It's like baby crack for him.

I've been trying to be better about calming him down after bath time and not letting him get wound back up so we can get him settled and ready for bed.  Yeah, it's not working so well.  I know I need to be more strict and not let him play like that, but it's so damn funny/cute that sometimes I can't help it.  Especially when he is hopping on the couch proudly proclaiming "I bounce!".  After the bath I take him out into the living room so we can lotion him up and get him dressed in front of the fire where it's warm.  As soon as I get that diaper on his bum he hops up and climbs the couch for some fun.

I know we'll regret not being more strict about bedtime later - especially when 2.0 is here and we're trying to manage bedtime for two munchkins.  For right now I'm just enjoying my crazy little toddler and trying to slowly change our routine to a more calm atmosphere.

He's a strange little munchkin  :)

MOTY and 14 Weeks

I think I officially earned my title of Mother of the Year this morning.

Last night at 12:30 Andrew woke me up (which hasn't happened in forever).  I went to check on him because I was worried he'd pooped since he's having a little bit of a diaper rash issue at the moment.  Nope, he'd just pee'd. So I got him changed and rocked in the recliner with him for 15 minutes before popping him back in the crib.

He slept through the rest of the night and I didn't hear much more out of him.  While I was getting his breakfast ready J went in to wake him up as usual.  He was a little fussy when J got him out of the crib, but he's not a morning person (just like his mommy) so that's kind of the norm.  I asked if he'd pooped and J said it kind of smelled like it, but there was nothing in there but pee.  He brought him out and put him in his highchair for breakfast. I noticed his hair seemed damp on one side of his head, but he tends to sweat when he sleeps so I didn't think anything of it.

He wasn't all that interested in his breakfast and only wanted to down his milk. He got mad when he finished it and I said he couldn't have more unless he ate.  He ate a couple pieces of pancake and I gave him a little more milk then some water. He was a thirsty little bugger!

While he was eating I went in his room to pull out an outfit for him to wear today. I noticed his room did smell kind of funny.  I looked in his crib and found out why - he had puked in there sometime after I put him back to bed at 1:00. Ugh.  I stripped down his bed and threw everything (including all his bedtime buddies) in the wash.  I went out to check him and he was still sitting there messing with breakfast. I took a quick whiff of the damp side of his head. Yep, it smelled like puke. Double ugh.

I debated bringing him with me while I came to the office to get my laptop and just keep him home with me.  If I had my laptop home already I may have kept him home. Instead I scrubbed him down, got him dressed and took him to daycare.  When I got there Andrea  informed me that Anthony is out and his mom had called her last night because he had a 102 fever. Awesome.  I told her that he was a little cranky this morning and hadn't eaten all of his breakfast.  I left out the puke part, but did tell her that I checked his temp and it was his normal 97.8 (which it was).  I told her if he started acting sick or she was concerned to call me and I'd come get him.

So yeah, I feel like a horrible mom because I sent him to daycare even though he puked last night. He didn't have a fever and wasn't just sitting there crying and being miserable so I don't think he is really all that sick.  I just hope she doesn't get a whiff of his head...

Anyway, on to this week:

How far along? 14w0d and the size of a lemon.  ~3.4 inches and 1.5 ounces.  Munchkin 2.0 has kidneys that are already making urine and may or may not be sucking it's thumb.

Weight loss/gain:  I hate my scale.  I weighed myself this morning and it has me up almost 8 lbs. WTF? I really need to get my eating habits under control (I'm just so hungry all the time) and be more active.

Maternity clothes: Nope - still sporting the regular jeans today.

Symptoms:  I also hate my GI tract.

Sex (of baby):  We will reveal later this month.

Sleep: I'm sleeping well in general, but I wake up multiple times a night. Last night was the first time I'd been up with Andrew in ages.

Best moment this week? Getting to hear 2.0's heartbeat at my appt on Tuesday.

Movement: No. If this one is anything like Andrew I won't feel anything for another 6 or 7 weeks. I don't know if I have an anterior placenta this time, though.

Food cravings:  Salt and vinegar chips. I really have to keep those stupid things out of the house.

Belly button in or out?  In

What I miss?  Feeling good.

What I'm looking forward to?  Nothing is really going on this week. We did order the bedding for when we move Andrew to his new room, so I'm excited for that to come in.

Milestones:  Hitting 2nd tri and getting to hear the heartbeat.

What I'm nervous about:  Still worried about telling work and I'm also nervous about telling my family. If they don't find out until Andrew's party I will be 18 weeks along. I wonder if they'll be pissed that I waited that long??

Still not much going on. I feel like I just look doughy.  It's an awesome look  :(

23 Months!

Are you kidding me?!?  How in the world is it possible that in one month I will have a two year old??  Where did this little guy go?:

It doesn't seem like it was really 23 months ago that we were snuggling that little guy and trying to figure out what the heck we were doing.

Not that we really know what we're doing now  :)

But now we have this crazy little kid:

I can't put into words how much he makes us laugh or just how much we love him. Even when he is driving me absolutely crazy I still feel like the luckiest person in the world to be his mommy.  He's a funny kid.

He repeats everything (even the things I would rather he didn't!)
He's talking up a storm and I stopped tracking his words on my phone once he surpassed 100.
He FINALLY called me mommy this past weekend and my heart about melted.
He loves his duck (still) and insists on having him before going to bed.
He has a newfound love for 'bankets' (blankets) and will drag them all over the house - even up the steps as seen above.
He loves to sing 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Ring Around the Rosy", sometimes even combining the songs.
He looks you in the eyes, says "I kiss!" and plants a big kiss on your lips.
He gives hugs with enthusiasm when asked.

And there are a million other things that make him the awesome kid that he is. The past 23 months have been a trip and I know the future will be even more fun.

I love you, Andrew  :)

One Down, Two To Go

Wow.  It seems crazy that I am already done with the 1st trimester. That means I am already 1/3 of the way done with this pregnancy. Yikes!

So far it kind of seems like it's flying by, but that's probably because I am so busy chasing after my little spazz that I don't have time to think about it. I also think it's flying by because I would prefer it to go slower. I don't feel the connection yet that I felt at this point with Andrew. That guilt is weighing on me, but I don't want to think about it so I just push it aside and ignore it. Healthy, I know.

I have my second OB appointment tomorrow and I'm hoping that I'll get to actually hear the heartbeat.  We only saw it during the u/s 4 weeks ago, so I'd like the reassurance of hearing it.

My family still doesn't know that I am pregnant and it appears that they won't until Easter weekend when we have Andrew's 2nd birthday party.  Yeah, I'll be 19 weeks then and there will be no hiding the fact that I am knocked up. I want to tell them in person and since my mom bailed this past weekend I didn't get to do it.  I keep living in fear that one of mine or J's friends will slip up and post something on facebook. Then I'll have to deal with my parents being pissed about finding out second hand.

Of course I do not have one single ounce of excitement in me about telling my sister that she's going to be an aunt again. I believe that she is currently avoiding me because she is in Disney right now with my other sister and my nieces and I'm guessing she might feel a little guilt about her obvious favoring of the girls over my child.  I'm to the point that I don't care anymore.  If the last two years have taught me anything (besides how awesome it is to be a mom) it's that she is a spoiled brat.

So yeah, that's where I am right now.  Starting 2nd tri, disconnected and still a little ambivalent.  I hope things change soon...