Friday Funnies: 2009 Photos

If you follow my blog you know that I post funny stories and pictures every Friday and I call it "Friday Funnies." I thought I would combine that concept with a recap of this year. I dug out some of the "blooper" pictures we took in 2009 that may not have made it to the blog before.

I will never forget the night N got ahold of a bottle of lotion..




Building forts ....Who's in the fort in this picture?? Is that Daddy??



Bowling with N's cousins when they were here for Easter. To this day every time we drive past the bowling alley N still says "That's where we went bowling with B and R and J and B and G and G...." And I always think of the Chevy Chase movie where the kid says "Look kids, it's Big Ben!"


I had an awesome time at the Pussy Cat Dolls/Britney Spears concert with my sis.....and I was three months pregnant. Ha! (P.S. That's a guy dressed like Brit)



This picture was taken at a 5K that D ran in. N and I, being the loyal fans that we are, got up early that morning and went to support Daddy in his race. N was excited to spend time at the race until it actually started and Daddy ran away from us. That was the point at which N started screaming and crying because he thought Daddy was running away from us and never coming back. There wasn't anything I could do to convince him otherwise until the race was over and all three of us were back in the car together on our way home. Needless to say, that was the last race N and I attended in 2009. Sorry Daddy!



Getting into trouble...but I just had to take a picture of it.




I cannot tell you how many times we found N sleeping on his floor this year. D and I refer to it as N's nest. N would put all of his blankets and pillows behind his door and create a nest for himself to sleep in..We'd place him in his bed before we went to bed. Come to think of it, N hasn't done this in a long time. I'm glad I got a picture of it when I did!




N got to spend lots of time with Grammy this year. She spent a lot of time at our house while I was on bed rest and she's still a big help. Thanks again, Grammy! Here they are sitting together blowing bubbles.



This was NOT funny the day it happened, but it is now. N pulled every single article of clothing out of his dresser one day during what was supposed to be nap time. I sat in his room and made him put it all away. I took a solid 40 minutes, but he's hasn't done it since.



This is a picture of N playing with the breast pump I was using at the time. N said he was using the pump to air up the tires on his toy Jeep.




N and Daddy introducing L to monster trucks.


It's been so much fun to watch D and N play in the snow. N really likes it, but I think D likes it just as much. It totally brings out the little boy in Daddy. Too cute!! Here they are making snow angels. :)



Here's to finding the fun and funny moments in 2010. Wishing you a happy healthy New Year!

Santa and Fist Bump

I was going through all our pictures from the month of December and found this funny picture. N was too scared to sit on Santa's lap, but I was able to talk him into giving him a fist bump. I'd say this Santa is pretty hip for knowing what a bump is. Ha!

Magic Reindeer Dust

Just came inside from sprinkling "magic reindeer dust" in our yard. We put oats, red and green sprinkles, red glitter and popcorn in our reindeer dust. The "recipe" we found online does not call for popcorn, but N said Santa and his reindeer like popcorn, so we put that in our dust for good measure. We're also going to leave popcorn for Santa tonight. N tried to talk me out of putting sprinkles in the reindeer dust. He claimed sprinkles only go on donuts.. Too cute!!

All week N has been looking up into our chimney to see if Santa's in there. I think N thinks Santa is going to come during the day and play with him for a playdate or something... He's been saying "We should have Santa over sometime, Mom." I keep telling him Santa comes at night while you're sleeping. I told him Santa can't stay and play because he has to get to everyone's house, but that Mommy and Daddy will play with him. I hope that will suffice. Ha!. Christmas is so much fun with a toddler around!!

Today we are getting out stockings and preparing for my sister and her hubby to stay with us.Busy day.

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Santa!!

We had a great time at our moms' group Christmas play date. We even had a special guest!!! L didn't mind him, but N preferred to view him from a distance.

Gingerbread House

Daddy drove three hours north to pick up three Power Wheels from three separate locations yesterday. One of the PW's is the power wheels of all power wheels. It's a Bigfoot that's 20 plus years old. It's never been used outside. The kids only drove it in the basement and it's been stored in the basement, so it's in mint condition. D is super excited about this find. He's like a kid in a candy shop when he talks about it. I have a sneaking suspicion the kids won't get to drive that one too often because I think it's D's all time fav! N and I decorated a gingerbread house while D was gone. We also played in the basement, watched tv and played with L. Below are some pix of the gingerbread house. N didn't seem too interested in it at the time, but he keeps telling anyone he talks to all about it...So, I guess he liked it after all.

Friday Funnies: December 11

So, I know this "Friday Funnies" is a little late, but I think it was meant to be because of this story.... Last night...well, early this morning I was up to feed L. Before getting back in bed I decided to put on some lotion. In the dark and only half awake, I reached into the cabinet under my sink and pumped out some lotion. My skin is already getting the yearly winter dryness, so I decided to lather on the lotion extra thick. As I got back into bed I realized the lotion had a nice smell to it. I didn't recall my lotion smelling like that, but took an extra second to enjoy the aroma then went back to sleep. I still smelled lovely this morning when I woke up, so I went into the cabinet to see what lotion I used. That is when I realized I had lathered my body in Bath and Body Antibacterial lotion soap instead of my non scented generic cetaphil! Ha!! No wonder it smelled so good...and it smelled so good so many hours later. Ha! Apparently that soap is pretty mild because my skin suffered nothing from being drenched in it all night long.

The other day N was using the potty. He was standing up "like Daddy" this time. He stood there and waited. Nothing came out....he waited some more and when nothing came out he looked at me and said "Oops, it doesn't work." He pulled up his pants and ran away.

I am working on potty training with N. I am trying to teach him that there are restrooms in public places (he claims there are not) and that we can go potty at places other than our home...Every day when I pick him up from school I take him to the bathroom to use the potty there. He was a very good boy this particular day and went potty w/o any fuss. I gave him a miniature candy cane as a reward. He loved his treat and said to me, "Mom we should grow a candy cane field behind our house. Then we can eat them any time we want!"

Turning a corner

I think we're turning a corner at our house...two corners actually.

Yesterday was the first day I have taken L out of the house while he was awake and he was not crying (or on the verge of crying). Yay!!!! For the past nine weeks L has cried almost every time I sat him in his car seat. That means every time I took N to school and every time I picked N up from school we had a special little chorus of "crying baby music" coming from the back seat..I felt like I had to rush N to school and rush home to get L out of car seat. I didn't even think of running any additional errands while we were out. I wondered if something in/on/around the car seat bothered him. I had a friend suggest it might be his acid reflux. She thought maybe the position in which he sits in his car seat was forcing his food out of his tummy and into his throat. This could very well have been because he almost always threw up when he was in his car seat. I padded the seat and that helped a little. I wondered if there was something in the fabric of the seat/seat cover bothering him so I took it apart and washed it. I thought the seat belt was too tight, so I adjust it numerous times. I thought maybe the air from the heater in my car was blowing on him causing him discomfort. I tried many, many things, but all in all I think he was crying from his food sensitivities. He was uncomfortable and crying to begin with , so belting him into a car seat made him more uncomfortable and angry. Now that we have him on soy formula I think (knock on wood) he is a happier baby and doesn't mind riding along in the car. Not only did L and I take N to school peacefully yesterday, but we also ran three errands peacefully... Thank goodness! I wasn't sure how we were going to get Christmas shopping and errands done, but I think we can get them done more easily now. First corner turned.

The next corner? N peed on the potty at school! When I picked him up from school I asked him how his day was and he said "I peed on the potty." I told him good job, but I wasn't sure if I should believe him (he's a really good story teller these days) so I asked his teacher about it. She said yes, he did. Yay! Good job, buddy!

Medical Moment

D took this entire week off for Thanksgiving. He has vacation days he either needs to use or lose before the end of the year, so he is using them up the next few weeks. It's been wonderful having him home! N loves all the attention and I love all the help. Our big plans for the week were to get N potty trained and to figure out what formula is best for L.

We've been potty training N since the beginning of time...Just kidding. We started last September and we're STILL not 100% in undies. I think it's been a combination of stubborness on N's part, my being on bed rest and us having to spend so much time with L the last eight weeks. Now that we're getting L's needs figured out things are going much, much better (more on that in a minute). We've moved N up to the big potty. We hung a sticker chart in the bathroom. He gets one sticker for going #1 and two stickers for going#2. I think he enjoys getting stickers as rewards and he likes to see the stickers on the chart and feels good know each stickers represents the number of times he's gone on the potty. I have confidence that we will get him trained! There for a while I thought I was going to be sending him to college in in diapers.

As for L...As I mentioned above these last six/seven weeks have been very rough! L was really good at breastfeeding. He had the mechanics of it all figured out. He latched on beautifully the first time he tried! It was amazing. We had a great routine down, but he just kept spitting up. So much so that he lost weight and wasn't putting it back on at the rate he was supposed to. I took him to the doctor for a check up and talked to him about that and he said he thought L had acid reflux (AR). He said it's very common in newborns. He was concerned L wasn't gaining weight properly, so he prescribed Zantac (AR med). We tried that for two weeks and saw very little change. L continued to spit up ( projectile vomit really), he cried and cried all day and night and he kept his legs pulled in tight to his belly. We took him back to the doctor and the doctor ordered a GI Scan to see if his GI anatomy was developing correctly. It was, so that ruled out a couple things. He was put on a stronger AR med. That helped reduce the amount of vomiting, but he was still crying all the time. I was curious to see if L was sensitive to milk protein, so I went on a dairy free diet as best I could for several days. L seemed to be doing better when I steered clear of dairy, but after several days on the diet I ordered a sandwich and forgot to ask them to remove the cheese. L cried and cried the rest of that day and into the next day, so I figured that was his reaction to the dairy. I also discovered he was sensitive to caffeine, eggs (more crying) and cinnamon (diaper rash). So, for a few days I was trying to eliminate dairy, eggs, cinnamon, caffeine and anything that would set off acid reflux (pop, coffee, spices, citrus, tomatoes, peppers, etc). What's left to eat? Graham crackers and beans?? Oh, no wait. Too many beans are bad too. Ugh!!! That's when we decided to try formulas. The pediatrician gave us Gentlease to try. We gave that three fulls days. We saw a reduction in the amount he spit up, but we saw new symptoms appear such as trying to stick his whole fist in his mouth, an increase in saliva and slobbering and bumps on his skin...All of which are reactions to either acid reflux or a milk sensitivity or both. We'd about had it with all the crying and lack of sleep, so three days was enough for us to realize that, even though the Gentleease (milk base formula) had the milk proteins partially broken down they weren't broken down enough for L, so we switched to a Soy formula.

I know there are lots of articles out there that state that when Soy enters the body it has a chemical reaction in the body and " the plant like materials act as estrogen in the body." I'd heard that and was concerned about the long term effects of that in a boy's body, but as I've read in several articles...the boy needs food. Period. So, we've been on a soy formula for almost four days and these have been the best four days in a long time! I'm almost afraid to post that because I really don't want to jinx it, so I guess I'll knock on wood. L doesn't spit up nearly as much. He's not crying more than a normal baby. He doesn't insist on being held all the time like he was before. He has relaxed and his legs are not pulled into his tummy anymore. He's not trying to suck on his whole fist as much anymore. It's so nice. We've actually had many occasions where we sit in front of him while he smiles and coos at us. It's wonderful.

However, now that it seems we've got the formula situation figured out, he's sick.. L's had congestion and occasional coughing (signs of milk intolerance or acid reflux) for a while, but it got considerably worse on Thanksgiving day. I took him into the doctor yesterday because I was concerned about the cough's frequency and sound. The doctor diagnosed him with bronchiolitis (which I read is very close to RSV). Eeek! He's responding well to the treatments prescribed, so I think we caught it early enough that it won't turn into anything too scary.

If you have tried to call or email us, we're sorry we haven't gotten back to you but, after reading this, I'm sure you'll understand we've had our hands full! Please bear with us. We will get into a normal routine soon. At one point L was crying so much I felt like I couldn't take him anywhere. I wasn't even able to talk on the phone because of all the crying. Now I have confidence that we'll get to the point where we'll be more sociable.

Friday Funnies: Swamp Creature

I was teaching N about Thanksgiving the other day over an afternoon snack. I had printed out a coloring page that had a pilgrim and a Native American (to be pc) on it and we were looking at it while we ate. I was telling N that the pilgrims came to America and the Native Americans taught the pilgrims how to grow and catch food. I told him they prepared and ate a meal together using the crops/ animals they grew and caught. I said they ate corn, squash, nuts,berries and fish. I purposely did not say anything about the turkey thinking I could let him say that part. Then I asked N "What else do you think they ate?" N said" oranges and lemonade and swamp creatures!!!" I laughed and said "Swamp creatures? Really?" N said, "Yes, swamp creatures are fish, so they ate swamp creatures." The conversation continued on for quite some time. In the end we determined that swamp creatures are fish and they eat frog legs, then people eat the swamp creatures with garlic. Oh, and, spiders eat ghost tongues, but I'm not so sure that part of the conversation relates to Thanksgiving. I honestly got a little lost at that point. Ha!

Cabinet found...however

So I found the perfect cabinet (picture below) to put in our living room (as mentioned in the previous post).It has seven drawers that hold just the right amount of clothes, burp clothes, diapers, etc for the boys. It's the perfect height, width and look.. However...it has a terrible varnish smell. I put the kids' clothes and diapers in the chest yesterday afternoon and twenty four hours later they all smell like they've been soaked in a bath of varnish. Bummer Dude! (as N would say). Does anyone have any suggestions for eliminating this odor??

ISO

I am in search of a piece of furniture 23-25" wide and no greater than 54" tall to put in my living room. I'm looking for something with multiple enclosed storage areas (i.e. drawers, shelves behind doors that I could put baskets on) where I can keep diapers, wipes, burp clothes, bibs, clothes and jammies for the boys in one central location on the first floor of our house. Below are a couple examples to give you an idea of what I'm talking about. Email or call me if you have something like this you are looking to get out of your house/storage or think of me while you are out shopping and let me know if you see something like this in a store. Thanks! -C

GI Scan

L spits up every time he eats, almost every time you burp him, really. We have been back and forth to the doctor a couple times to figure out what's going on. The doctor was concerned because L isn't quite gaining as much weight as he should be, so he prescribed an acid reflux medicine. L's been on that for over two weeks and it hasn't done much of anything to reduce his crying or his spitting up, so our pediatrician ordered a GI scan to take a look at L's "GI anatomy" (as the doctor said) to be sure it was laid out correctly. The scan showed that L's anatomy is perfectly fine. L's tummy and all the muscles in his tummy are in their correct places, they are functioning well and his food moves through his tummy just like it should be.. Our next step is to talk to our pediatrician about what other options we have to improve the situation. We sure hope to find something that works for lots of reasons. The main reasons are for L to feel better and for everyone to get more sleep!!!!! L's medical situation isn't really that bad compared to what other children are going through (see below), but the lack of sleep that comes from it is really starting to wear on D and I.

I have been following a friend of a friend's two and a half year old boy, Dax's effort to fight cancer for some time now. Unfortunately the family was recently told that the medical community has done all it can for Dax and he's only been given one to two more months to live. It is so sad!!! It's just not fair. In an effort to support the family and make Dax's last months here the best they can be, people are putting up their Christmas lights for him to look at. Please check out their website and either put up your Christmas lights or send up your prayers for this family....And, as Dax's mom says with every blog entry she posts..."Cherish every moment" you have with your children and your families.

http://www.decoratefordax.com/

Funny Things Friday: November 6

The other day N pushed the chair over to the computer desk, climbed onto the chair, pushed the button to turn on the monitor, jiggled the mouse and looked at me and said "It's my turn on the computer. I'm checkin the weather."

The other day L was crying. I asked N what he thought L needed. N studied L for a second, then very matter of factly (is that a word?) said, "He's got a fever. He needs medicine" and walked away.

The other day N and I were walking under a great big tree trying to catch the leaves that were falling down. I said, "N this tree is such a pretty yellow color! What do you think makes the leaves turn colors?" N said, "The rain falls from the sky and paints the leaves."

N was standing next to me eating a snack while I was nursing L. I had forgotten to get a drink out for N. He turned around, looked at L, looked at me and said, "Mommy, can I have some too?"

Happy Halloween_II

We went to yet another Halloween party this morning.This is our third and final party. N wore his ghost costume and L wore his "I want my Mummy" t -shirt. Everyone brought food to share and there were games to play. N was really excited because the kids got to break another pinata...He still hasn't mastered saying "pinata" yet, so he says "minata" or "pee-aw-tta." D and I decided that pinatas will become a tradition for N's birthdays (and possibly any other holiday celebrated by Americans....and Dutch...can't leave out the Dutch now that we have one in the family) now because he likes them so much. Here are some pictures of the boys from today.

Happy Halloween

N and I went to a really fun Halloween party through our neighborhood Moms' group this morning while Grammy watched L. Thanks again, Grammy! The children dressed up in their Halloween costumes and paraded through a nearby assisted living facility. The elderly people loved seeing the kids. In fact, they were so excited about our visit they planned their Halloween party around it. They even made treats to share with the kids.

...Side note...N has talked about being a ghost for Halloween for months and months. At first we were excited when he chose a costume that sounded super easy to make, but then we realized the challenge this costume was going to be when N refused to wear anything on his head (a sheet, a hood, a stocking cap, etc, etc). So, D, the family costume maker, came up with a plan. He decided to buy a woman's sized white sweatshirt, cut the arms and bottom and drew the ghost face on the shirt. No hat needed. I was both relieved and happy when we showed up at the event today and everyone immediately knew what N's costume was w/o us having to explain. Good job, Daddy!

After parading at the assisted living home we went to one of the mom's homes for lunch and games. The mom who hosted the party loves Halloween. She decorates her house (inside and out) with Halloween decor galore which made the party that much more fun. Everyone brought some sort of treat or party favor to pitch in for the party. The kids played with homemade play-dough, made a bat craft, broke a pinata and walked through the little haunted house that was set up in the garage. N had lots of fun.

I think his favorite part was the pinata. He's been talking about it all day. He thought it was so cool to hit the pumpkin (the pinata was in the shape of a pumpkin) and "it breaked open and the candy falled out!!" When all the candy fell out all the kids dove to the floor to grab as much candy as they could get. Most of the kids raked candy into their pockets and bags. N got to the ground and picked up candy, but he didn't push or shove anyone to get anything. He ran out to me really excited with the candy he found: one Hershey kiss and one sucker. He tore into the sucker and popped it in his mouth. Then he reached out his hand with the Hershey kiss in it and said "this is for you, Mommy." Sooo sweet!!! N was happy with his sucker while all the other kids had gobs of candy. One of the other moms came over to me and gave me a handful of candy and said it was N's..That was sweet of her, but N seemed pretty content with the sucker he got. I took the candy so N would have a little something to take home.

I really enjoyed meeting the neighborhood moms and N liked playing with the kids. This was actually my first time to meet most of the moms. We are located in the newest addition of the neighborhood. We only have two other houses on our street (one more in the works) so we don't see the other women in the neighborhood too often. This was a great chance to do that. I hope to make it to more activities in the future.

Hope you have a good Halloween! Hopefully we'll stay warm and dry this Halloween. :)

Day #1: Home Alone

Today was my first day home alone with both boys and I am very happy to say it went very well....I even got a shower before either of the boys were awake. For those of you SAHM reading this, I'm sure you understand how exciting it is to get a shower in when your home alone with two kiddos. L was up bright eyed and bushy tailed before N, so I got him fed. I ate a bowl of cereal while I fed him. (I'm getting good at nursing and multi-tasking at the same time.) N woke up shortly after L was done eating, so I got him dressed and fed and then we were out the door to get N to school. We were a couple minutes late, but that's not bad for our first day w/o Daddy or Grammy here to help. I was so pumped about the day going so well that L and I went to Wal Mart for a few groceries before heading home to feed him again. Then it was time to pick N up at school. My adrenaline rush started wearing off after lunch, but I pushed through it for a couple more hours and got N down for a nap and L fed before I laid down for a bit. Before I knew it, it was time to feed L again. My neighbor called and offered to let N play outside at their house while I stayed home with L. At first I thought all three of us were going to get to go play at their house, but L was hungry again, so I sent N down their by himself. N was really sad when I told him Mommy couldn't go to the neighbor's house to play because I had to feed L. He sat in his little power wheels jeep with his shoulders slumped over and said he was sad I wasn't coming... That broke my heart, but I knew he'd have fun, so I pushed him to go and he did...and he had fun! (Thanks again for watching him, M. He had fun!) Then it was time for dinner and the night progressed from there. It's amazing how quickly the day goes with two kiddos to take care of. Holy cow! It's a lot of work. I was seriously wiped out on the couch watching Pinocchio with N at 6:30. I'm so proud of how well today went. I was kind of nervous about taking care of both kids by myself, but I did well today. I'm sure we'll have rocky days, but we'll get through them. The one thing I think is going to take me a little while to figure out is how to find time to prepare a decent supper for my family. (Thank goodness my friends are making us some meals the next few weeks. )I just keep telling myself that this is a new routine for everyone in our family and that we are all learning as we go. I'm taking one things at a time and I'm happy with every little accomplishment at this point. :)

He's here!!

Our baby boy, L, has arrived!! He's such a little sweet pea. He was born at 9:11pm last night. He weighs in at 7lbs 4 oz and is 19 inches long. He looks EXACTLY like his big brother when he was born. He doesn't have quite the same tint of red in his hair. It's more of a dirty blonde color. This has been a completely different experience than when N was born because Mom and Baby are both healthy. D and I are grateful for L's health and are enjoying the fact that we get to hold him any time we want. We walked by the nursery N had to spend some time in when he was born. It brought back memories of his six day stay in the hospital and made us thankful that we aren't going through that this time around.Thanks for all your phone calls and messages. We want you to know we are recieving them but haven't had a chance to get back to everyone yet.

Well, I better get some rest while L sleeps. He is a big eater. I need to be sure to take care of myself so I can keep up with him!!

I can see the light!!!

I can see the light!!! I had a doctor's appointment today. I am dilated to a five, cervix is really thin and the baby is really low. My doctor is concerned with all three of these factors that I may dilate and deliver so quickly that I may not make it to the hospital in time. So, induction it is. I'm scheduled for a 2pm appointment tomorrow, but will get more info as the day progresses. (They have to play it by ear since women come to the hospital in labor all the time. The women who are already in labor are the first ones assigned to open beds.)

We'll keep you posted. :)

Hallelujah!!!!!
C

Happy Anniversary

Some of you may not know this, but D and I started dating in high school, thirteen years ago! We could say we are high school sweet hearts, but we broke up for a few years in college. I tell people that we took a three year sabbatical to attend college and have our own/separate life
experiences before meeting up again. The story of our paths crossing after that three year break is an interesting one..sad, but interesting. I had returned home one weekend from college to visit my folks. My mom told me D's grandpa passed away. I knew D's Grandpa held (and still holds) a special place in his heart. I knew his passing would be difficult for D, so I decided to attend the visitation and pay my respects to the family (whom I hadn't seen or really talked to in well over two years).. I was really nervous to attend the visitation because we hadn't talked in so long and because, I must admit, I was the one who broke up our relationship. Shame on me. :) I had my mom attend the visitation with me for my own moral support.... Anyway, I went through the receiving line and his family was very gracious, but D was especially sweet. (D teases me that I caught him at a weak moment....)We talked outside the viewing room for quite some time, exchanged emails and phone numbers and went on our way. I was super excited to have seen him and have talked to him. I was hoping I would hear back from him in a few weeks, so I was surprised when I heard back from him just a couple days later! Yay!!! Our first date was to a minor league baseball game. We attended with one of D's friends and that poor guy. He may as well have stayed home because D and I were so caught up in each other's company that we hardly even talked to him. (I do recall meeting D at his apartment. Our plan was to meet there then ride over to the game together. I was so excited to go on our date that I tripped walking up the stairs to his apartment!!! I totally, flat out bit it walking up those steps. Several weeks later D told me he heard the entire incident happen but didn't want to say anything to me about it that day because he didn't want me to be embarrassed.)

Today D and I celebrate our seven year wedding anniversary. We got married at a really cute chapel on a college campus. My friends were instrumental in getting the church and reception decorated for us. Thanks again, girls! You were incredibly helpful! Various family members were helpful in several "to do's" that I needed help with (thank to you). We had gorgeous warm, sunny weather and everything went off w/o a hitch. The past seven years have flown by. D and I have many fond memories with all our friends and family. We've been fortunate to take a few trips, attend many concerts, live in two houses and have two babies...Well, we've had one baby and will have the second any day. Today would be nice. That'd be a nice anniversary gift. Anyway...

Happy Anniversary, Babe. Love you! -C

Funny Things Friday: Sept 25

Holy cow, I can't believe it's September 25th!! Here are some "funnies" from this week.

D and N were changing into their jammies in the master bedroom the other night while I was resting on the couch. I purposely had the TV/radio/computer off so I could listen to their conversation. This is how it went:

D: Your little brother's going to born soon.
N: Ya, I will play with him!
D: What are you going to play with him?
N: Baseball and he could dig in the dirt with me.
D: It will be a while before he can do those things. You'll have to teach him how to crawl
and walk before he can play with you.
N: Well, maybe he will eat with me.. He could eat hot dogs, cookies, apples...
D: Well, it's going to be a while before the baby can eat hot dogs. He won't have any teeth.
N: "Is he gonna have a tongue??"
(Said in a tone like "well, if he can't play and he can't eat then what the heck can he do??)


On Thursday N kept telling me that he is my grandson. He even used the word grandson. After about five minutes of trying to explain to him that he's my son I realized that I was trying to rationalize with a toddler and that just isn't possible sometimes. I changed the conversation to monster trucks and the grandson conversation was over.

This is gross, but funny. The other day N pooped on his little potty. He stood up, turned around, took a good look at it and said "It's a doughnut, Mom!!"

Have a good day,
-C

Funny Things Friday: September 18th

A few months ago N started a routine where he asks whoever is laying him down for a nap or for bed time to lay down with him to talk or sing songs. The other day I was laying him down for a nap and he said, "Mommy, let's sing for the baby. You sing a song and I will rub your belly." N laid his head on my chest and started gently rubbing my belly. I said, "What should we sing to the baby?" He thought about it for a minute and said, ""Hey Good Looking Whatcha Got Cooking." Too funny! I started singing and pretty soon N stopped rubbing my belly and sat up. "No, Mom. You not sing. I sing." Okay, okay. So he laid his head back down, resumed rubbing my belly as he sang every word and the melody to "Hey Good Looking Whatcha Got Cooking" without missing a beat.


The other day N was playing with his toy cars in the dining room. I was walking past the dining room heading towards the kitchen to get a drink and this is what I hear from N, "Mommy come in here. We need to keep an eye on you." So sweet!! He has become really sensitive to how I'm feeling and is more and more concerned with my well being. Sure, he still has his toddler moments, but he is definitely in tune with others' emotions.

And finally...
N and I decided to eat a gondola (or "different sandwich" as N calls it) at a favorite local restaurant for lunch one day after school. I parked the car at the restaurant, walked around the car, opened the door and started to unbuckle N from his car seat when he put out both arms and said "No, no. Wait, wait." I waited without saying anything and he continued with, "the baby's movin in my belly. I'll get out when it's done movin." I laughed and went along with his story. Then I asked him "Is the baby a boy or a girl?" He said, "It's not a boy or a girl, Mom. It's just a baby." After a few seconds of sitting in the car he said "Okay, we can go now. The baby is VERY hungry!!"

Take care. Have a great weekend,
-C

Power Wheels Mania

D let me copy most of this post from a message he put up on the power wheels message board he belongs to...Yes, yes. You heard it right. D has been bitten by the "Power Wheels bug"" and belongs to a power wheels chat board. And, of course, you can't belong to a PW message board without having one, or two, or FIVE power wheels! We now have a total of FIVE at our house:two four wheelers, one jeep, one tractor and one Grave Digger (N doesn't know about GD yet.). D has managed to find three of the five for free, my sister gave us one and D paid for one. I will say the one we paid for is the best shape, but it is used and he got it at a good price...a very good price. All the free power wheels were picked up from people who thought they were broken, but D managed to get them working....Here is what he posted, although I modified it a little.

This afternoon after D finished mowing the yard, he cut a "race track" in the tall grass in the vacant lot next to our house. N really enjoyed it this afternoon, but the best entertainment was when the neighbors came over tonight. N got out his Gaucho (large jeep) and Power Pull (tractor) and the neighbors brought over their Raptor (four wheeler) and Enforcer Junior (small jeep). We had six children using four PW at once, although "going" might be a strong term to use for the Enforcer (small jeep) in the grass. It was loads of fun for the kids , and the adults too. It helped that the kids shared surprisingly well.

At the rate he's going, D will have one Power Wheel for every kid on the block pretty soon. :)








All the kids got "off the beaten path" from time to time, but "L" got stuck near the wood pile and needed help out. His face is so cute. His expression speaks for itself saying "Someone, please help."

We are really starting to look like red necks! Wood pile, five power wheels..what next? Washer and dryer on the front porch as my neighbor suggested?

Funny Things Friday

Is it Friday already? Wow. That snuck up on me. Here is this week's quote from Mr. N.

When I pick N up from school I'm always excited to hear what he did with his class that morning.
I often find myself asking him 'What did you do today? Did you play play-doh, did you color or paint? Did you play in the activity room?" I try to be sure that I leave a little space between my questions so he can answer, but sometimes I realize I am throwing lots of questions at him at once. His response is usually something like "I don't know" or "nothin" or "ya."

The other day I decided not to ask him so many questions to see what his reaction was. I stood outside the door of his classroom. I always stand there quietly and watch him play if I can. I'd love to be a bug on the wall to see how he behaves at school. I waited and waited until he saw me. We he realized I was standing there he jumped up, ran to me and said "Mommmmmmyy!!!" Then gave me the best hugs. I loved it. On this particular day I said " I missed you. You must have had a good day," and didn't ask any questions. We walked down the hall quietly...got into the car quietly and drove quietly. Half the way home he started talking and this is what he said:

N: "I missed you today."
Me: " I missed you too, honey!"
Pause
N:"I had a good day at school, Mom."
Me: "Good, honey! I'm glad you like your school."

We entered the house and got seated for lunch. I kept quiet and didn't turn on the TV. After eating a few bites our conversation continued.

N: "A boy put a cracker in his nose at school today."
Me: "Oh gosh, he did? Did it get stuck?"
N laughed: "No,silly.... but it was yucky so he didn't eat it.." Then without pause, " We painted at school today. I used yellow and blue and red.. I painted on a plate and it was fun.. It's still drying. We get to bring it home later...." He went on and on about school while we ate lunch. It was so sweet.... So I learned that sometimes adults just need to give children a little time to process their thoughts and put them into words before we start asking questions.

I had another doctor's appointment today... The appointment was originally scheduled for Thursday, but I was having some concerns so I got in one day early.After looking things over my doctor decided to let me off bed rest. She said the baby and I both look good so I can resume my normal acitivity. If I go into labor she will deliver the baby. I was totally shocked! I thought for sure she was going to put me in the hospital on bed rest there until Monday (when I hit 37 weeks gestation), but she didin't!! I'm excited at the thought of being able to have the baby, but I'd personally prefer to wait until at least 37 weeks or a little longer to give him some more time to gain weight (he's approx 5lbs now) and fully develop.

After being out and about today (for my dr's appointment and lunch) I realize that my tolerance for noise and commotion is much lower. I haven't been out of the house as much this past month, so the world just seems to be moving really fast and I not moving that fast. Ha. As I was telling D, I still feel the same. Just because bed rest has been lifted doesn't mean my symptoms have magically gone away. My plan is to gradually get back into my normal activity...as "normal" as I can be this pregnant. If I find that I can't do something I just won't do it. Like I told D, I'm not going to go out and jump on a trampoline to get things to progress!!

Cold Season

Bed Rest: Day 24

N has come down with the cold bug that is going around. Now that all the kids are back in school they are sharing germs. I'm sure this was bound to happen, but right now? Seriously? I don't want to get sick!! I've got enough goin on!

I had D take N to prompt care this morning to get some meds for him. N's not super sick, but he does have a runny nose, a cough and is starting to touch his ears. This seems to be the same old cold he gets a few times every year. I've learned in that past that if I let this type of cold go too long it turns into an ear infection and an upper respiratory infection. I was really
hoping the doctor would prescribe some meds so we could prevent N from getting worse and prevent me from getting infected, but the doctor wouldn't do it. D said that from the moment he saw the doctor he could tell the guy was either going to say "Sorry, no can do" or he was going to hand D
a script so he'd just get the heck out of the office.. The guy is working on Labor Day after all. Unfortunalely the guy did not empathize with N's history of ear infections or the fact that I am on bed rest and do not want to get sick. He also must not have put it together that, because I am on bed rest I cannot take my child to the doctor...Or that I need N to get well and stay in school so I can rest while he's there. (That sounds selfish, I know, but it's the truth.) The doctor clearly did not put it together that if we have to return to the doctor in as little as 24 hours when our son's cold does turn into an infection that my husband will likely have to take time off of work to return to our son's pediatrician for the script this guy should have written us in the first place! Erghh! But, then again, I suppose doctor's at prompt care centers (who are not your regular family doctor/pediatrician) are taught not to over prescribe meds...They may even have lingering fears of law suits in the back of their mind for handing out a med a child didn't necasarily need (which I strongly believe N needs these meds for the reasons mentioned above)....How 'bout a law suit for a woman going into labor because she had to take her son to the doctor because you didn't give us meds we needed in the first place?? Ehem. That's what the really sinical little devil on my shoulder is saying, please excuse her.

Anyway... How am I doing, you ask? First of all, I'm really not so worked up over the lack of meds from the Prompt Care doctor (as mentioned above) that I'm having contractions. So please don't fret. I know we'll work something out, Nick will get meds and we will all get better. However, for some reason my body is getting more sensitive to physical activity especially at night. Walking and sitting are causing contractions and a couple other side effects that aren't happening as much when I lay down. Therefore, I am spending more time laying down these days. But, laying down has it's side effects too. It causes my back, neck and hips to ache. I also find that, the more I lay down, the more tired/fatigued I am. Weird. Laying down is proving to reduce the number of contractions I'm having so I guess that is what I must do to make it as far along in the pregnancy as I can. I find that if I lay down for, say 30-60 minutes, then I'm okay to sit up for 10-20 minutes as long as I lay down again after that.. Alternating between the two seems to alleviate some of my back pain while keeping my contractions controlled. I'll continue with this "method" as long as I can.

My next doctor's appointment is Thursday. My doctor is closed today due to Labor Day and her office is closed on Tuesdays for hosptial visits and surgeries. I'm making it a goal to lay down as much as I can until my next appointment or at least until Wednesday when the office is open again. We can always head to the hospital if my symptoms progress, of course. I would never wait too long to see a doctor. I would never jeopordize my health or the health of the baby just to meet a self imposed goal. If I need to go in, I need to go in. I just find that setting goals for myself helps me stay in bed and stay rested so I can make it as far along in the pregnancy as possible. A friend who was on bed rest said she and her doctor set daily and weekly goals to get her through the mental task of bed rest. She found it helpful and rewarding to achieve her goals and I am too.

So there you have it. We have both everything and nothing going on at our house at the same time. :)


Take care and stay well!
-C

Date Day

Bed Rest: Day 21
D took the day off today. We've had SUCH gorgeous weather lately that I think he's getting spring...err...fall fever. It occured to me the other day that this could be one of our last weekends to go on a date before "Baby" is born, so I proposed a date day. Grammy was coming to help out around the house today anyway, so we asked her if she could pick N up from school while D and I ran a couple errands and went to lunch. She said she'd be glad to. (Thanks, Grammy!) The errand at the top of our list was to head to Best Buy to look at cameras. My camera pooped out and D's is on the fritz...perfect timing, right? D and I found the manual wheel chair at Best Buy and he pushed me through the store. What a sweetie! Oh, and he dropped me off and picked me up at the door, too. He's a keeper. :) We looked at cameras for a bit and learned which one(s) we like knowing that we are going to buy one online using our credit card rewards points. Now we just need to get it ordered so it will be here in time to snapshots of "Baby."

D also pushed me in wheelchairs through Target and Kohls to make some quick returns. (I think that is a new record for me spending the least amount of time in Kohls! That place is usually a black hole for me.) We found that the manual wheel chairs are MUCH faster than the electric wheel chairs!! We ran into my sister and brother in law's neighbors at Target. Never fails..I don't leave the house that often, but when I do I always run into someone I know. They must wonder how I can possibly be on bed rest if I'm out of the house... but after 21 days of being at home a girl could lose her mind! I was thinking about it this morning and counted that I've been to five stores in the last 21 days. I could do five stores in one day...okay, maybe two days when I'm in good health (and not toting a toddler with me!). All of these trips involved a motorized or manual wheel chair, so I'd say I am doing pretty good at abiding by my bed rest rules. I know my body's limits by now and I know when enough is enough. (I did opt to sit in the car while D ran into Toys R Us to look for something.)

We were hungry after running our errands, so we went to Olive Garden for lunch. We chose that restaurant because we like it but don't get to eat there too often and because I have a gift card to use up.....However, I completely forget to get the gift card out when it was time to pay. oops!! i guess we'll have to go back sometime before it expires.

Today was sooo nice but I was tired when we got home. I laid down for three solid hours to get recharged and rested. I sat around quite a bit tonight. I've been propping myself up with pillows on our front porch wicker furniture so I can watch D and N play and so I can enjoy the weather comfortably.

I hope your enjoying this weather too!
-C

Funny Things Friday: September 4th

Children say the funniest things! I started jotting down the funny things N said throughout the week and posted them to the blog for the first time last Friday. I'm calling it "Funny Things Friday." Here are N's "Funnies" for this week.

The other day N woke up from his nap and was VERY chatty! I laid down in bed with him and we had an extensive conversation about "when Santa comes." Don't let me confuse you, this is September. We have many, many weeks before Santa's arrival, but apparently my child is already excited for Christmas!! What happened to Halloween and Thanksgiving I do not know..Anyway... Our conversation went like this.

N: "Mommy, Santa comes when there's snow outside and it's very cold and he brings us somethin." (Somethin is a new word he uses a lot, but he leaves off the "g" at the end)
Me: "Yes, Santa brings us presents doesn't he? Do you think we should leave him somethin to eat when he visits?
N: "Ya. We should leave him cookies"
Me: "Do you think the reindeer will be hungry? What should we leave them?"
N: "Popcorn... But I need to eat some first and they can have the rest."
Me: "Should we leave them something to drink?
N:" Ya. I'll leave Diet Coke for Santa and very, very, very (this is a new fav word too) cold water with snow in it." Then he said without taking a breathe as toddlers seem to do.. "Maybe Santa would play in the snow with us and make sand balls.'
Me: Sandballs or snowballs?
N: "Oh Man!!! (Said like Swiper on Dora if you are familiar) Snowballs!! Teeny tiny snowballs."
Me: "Maybe Aunt Jenny could come to our house this winter and play in the snow with us!"
N's face lit up and he exclaimed, "Holy Smokes, Ya!!!"


Another discussion happened a few nights later and it went like this...
Me: What do you want to be for Halloween?
N: Dora
Me: Well, Dora's a girl. Diego's a boy. Do you want to be Diego?
N: Nope
Me: Hmm..What should Daddy be for Halloween?
N: Dora
Me: How about the baby? What should he be for Halloween?
N: Pause....a Teeeeenny tinnnny dora.
Me: Laugh..What should Mommy be?
N: Without hesitation. Boots! (Dora's pet male monkey who wears over sized rain boots)

Funny Things Friday #1

Children say the funniest things! What I am going to start doing is jotting down the funny things N says throughout the week and post them on Fridays. So, for this week, N has said the following:

D and I were having a "current events" conversation about the recent release of the Lockerbie bomber from prison on "compassionate grounds." We were talking about how he should not have been let go because of the terrible crime he committed. I said something along the lines that releasing the L.B. from his life sentence sets a "precedent" for future releases of prisoners. N was sitting there while we were talking and interjected with "President Obama??" He picked up on the word precedent thinking I said president..D and I were both stunned that he used the word President with the correct/current President's name. Aunt M would be proud!!

D and N were drawing with chalk in the driveway the other day. D was spelling out N's name aloud while writing it on the ground. D wrote and spoke the first two letters of N's name and w/o hesitation, N said the remaining letters.

A friend and her children came over the other day to bring us a meal..Thanks again, J! The Chili Mac was delicious!..They hung out with us for a little bit. My friend's little girl's name is Maddie. N invited Maddie and the rest of the crew to play downstairs. We all headed to the basement to play and as we were walking down the steps N said, "Maddie, you look SOO GOOD!" J and I laughed hysterically. I'm not sure if N meant exactly what he said (Maddie did look very cute, as usual) or if he meant "It's so good to see you." In any case, it gave us a good laugh!

Happy Friday!
-C

Just Eat It

I had another doctor's appointment today. Everything is going well! The baby's heart rate is really good and he's very active. As I said in the previous post, the number of contractions I am having has drastically reduced. The doctor wants me to continue bed rest as it is working really well. She said she doesn't need me to come into the office for two weeks (unless I need to before then)!! That's great news! Making it past the 34 week mark is a big milestone because the baby's lungs and liver are developed far enough that, if he is born early, he is more likely to respond to treatment. I have actually lost 4 pounds since I was in the hospital. Weird, I know! I was afraid I'd pack on weight laying around all day, but apparently I'm not. The doctor said to add more carbs to my diet. She'd like the baby to gain a little more weight in the next couple weeks. So basically my job now is to lay around and eat! Great! Never thought I'd have a doctor tell me that. :) The theme song at our house right now is"Eat it" byWeird al Yankovic. I say that because N is being a bit of a picky eater (or he's easily distracted at meal times) and the doctor just told me to eat more. Therefore, D found the "Eat It" music video on Youtube and played it during dinner tonight. N responded to it very well! D and I are finding that you've got to have a sense of humor to make it through bed rest. It just makes things easier.

Sweet Idea

Bed Rest Day 10

I have recently made a few online purchases. Man, is it easy to shop online! Maybe too easy. I'm excited to receive the packages in the mail, so I check the front porch a couple times a day to see if they have arrived.....Side note... Our package carriers (UPS, FED EX, US Postal Service) all used to ring the doorbell every time they left a package on our door step. It never failed that one of these package carriers would make a delivery during nap time. And, as every stay at home mom knows...Nap time is so precious! It's the time we get things done or take a nap ourselves. So whenever the doorbell rang I would jump to answer it in both excitement and frustration. I was excited to receive my package, but frustrated at the thought that the mail person woke my sleeping toddler. So, for quite some time I hung a homemade laminated (therefore weather proof) sign on the front door reading "Child sleeping, please knock" in hopes that my orders would be left quietly at my door. Well, it worked! I have all my delivery personnel "trained." Ha! They no longer ring the doorbell and if they need me to sign for a package, they knock.
Great!!....Anyway, this is why I don't hear a box being left at my house even though I'm home....

Well, as I preparing to go upstairs to get a few things done this morning, I checked the front door to make sure it was locked and I peeked out the window to look for any potential packages. And there was one! Yay! Could it be the diaper bag I ordered or the books I bought?? No, it's addressed to both D and I and it's from 'Old Time Candy Company." Hmmm... This sounds yummy! I lifted it to take it inside and realized it's a bit weightier than I anticipated. I check the mailing information and it says it's slightly over five pounds. Wow, five pound of candy??? Could it be? I debated about waiting until D gets home from work to open it...for like 10 seconds, then I got the scissors out and tore into it. My reasoning? My toddler was a little on the difficult side this morning. I deserve to open this package! After scooping out the packing peanuts and removing the bag-o-candy from the box I find the note inside. It's from my sister and her hubby (who live overseas). She says" I hope this candy brings back good memories of the pool, walking home from school, football and basketball games and trips to our local caramel corn store. Your friends might like to try their old favorites again, too." So sweet! My sister and her hubby recently left for an extended trip "down under" in Australia. She emailed me as she was packing and said part of her wished she was packing to come to my house to hang out with me and to help me out while I'm on bed rest...That was very thoughtful and sweet of her, but I said.. No! You go on your trip, savor every moment and send me pictures. You would be far too bored laying around with me. :) As I look at the packing list spelling out each candy sent I do have memories linked to some of them....and I figuratively "have my name on a few" that I for sure want to eat!! (Thanks, sis! What a fun gift idea! I'll share them with my friends.)

Bottle Caps: My twin sister loves these
Charleston Chews: Snack time at the pool every summer
Combos: D and I had a roommate who ate Combos and a Mt Dew for BREAKFAST every morning! Yuck!
Cow Tales: The Dairy Barn in our home town
Mr. Goodbar: Mom and I always called dibs on Mr. Good bars when we bought those bags of assorted miniature sized candy bars.
Pez Dispenser: N will love this... We'll use this for potty training.
Teaberry Gum: My Grandma loved this gum. My mom searched to the ends of the earth for this gum every year at Christmas to put it in Grandma's stocking.
Zero: Another favorite pool snack
Whatchamacallit: A candy bar I'd buy walking home from school sometimes. This one definitely has my name on it!!

The only candy bar I would say is missing is a PB Max. Remember those? Aaah, man those were so good! They had a cookie bottom, peanut butter middle and were covered in chocolate. Delish!!! What candy memories do you have? Fun thing to think about, isn't it.


I added the coffee cup to the picture to give you an idea of how big this bag of candy is.

This package of sweets comes on a day that I'd like to celebrate. Today we've made it through 34 weeks of pregnancy. Yay! I'd like to celebrate the fact that, while bed rest has it's pros and cons, it is working. I have gone from having 20-30 contractions per day (that's one contraction every 20-30 minutes) to having 5-10 contractions per day. I'm grateful that we've been able to reduce the amount of contractions w/o meds thus far.