9 Months Old

Baby Girl turned 9 months old recently, I just wanted to recap what she is doing.

• Crawling everywhere.


• Doing the "bear crawl" with her butt in the air and legs straight.


• Pulling up.


• Talking! She has 3 official words: Mama, Dada, bye-bye, plus a few that I think she's saying but I'm not 100% sure about: Nana, hi, BuBu (for brother).


• Eating real table food and feeding herself.


• Since her teeth finally came in (she had three come in at once, poor thing) she's sleeping from about 7:30-6:30.


• She has a pretend cough/throat clear thing that she does when she wants attention.


• She loves getting into her brother's toys.


• She loves trying to get into the fireplace, I think because she know she'll get picked up. She'll look at us, smile, then crawl fast as she can to the fireplace.


• Talking to herself and playing in the crib when she wakes up instead of crying.


• She's discovered books and loves to "read."


• Waving bye-bye.


• She and Little Man now take baths together and she loves kicking and splashing at him.


• She still takes two naps a day which is oh so lovely.

Here are her stats: 20 lbs even, 28 inches long. The doctor says she is doing great and is actually talking early. I think she's going to be a little social butterfly, she never meets a stranger and "talks" to and engages everyone she meets. She's still nursing and as of yet has never been to the doctor for a sick visit (BIG knock on wood).

Good Intentions...

Today I am reminded of the children's book, Why I Built The Boogle House, where the little boy says, "I had trouble, lot's of trouble."

Like most families these days, we are trying to pinch pennies wherever we can. Having one parent stay at home with the kids instead of earning an income has many advantages, but having extra money lying around isn't one of them. So we watch our spending, I cut coupons, wait for sales, etc. The Husband calls it our "Austerity Plan." Anyway....I recently cleaned out the kids' closet, which was absolutely bursting at the seams. I had a big bag of things to save, a bag for Goodwill, and a bag to take to our local children's consignment shop. I love the consignment shop, it's one of those where you drop off your stuff and they pay you cash on the spot. No waiting for the items to sell and no hassle. Also, this store is in a more affluent part of town, so I can usually find boutique clothes at super nice prices. Anyway, this morning I took a big box over there and had absolutely no intention of buying anything, I wasn't even going to browse. But the store had racks and racks of fall and winter clothes, which weren't there the last time I shopped. So, of course, I browsed... and picked up...and tried on...and ended up spending $75.00. Oh I know that sounds bad, but it wasn't. Listen to what I bought with a measly $75.00.

• black patent leather Mary Janes from Stride Rite $2.75- whoo hoo!


• a smocked Christmas outfit - $7.50!


• a Christmasy dress - $8.50!


• 2 winter dresses - $14.50


• 3 Oxford shirts (one which will match Baby Girls hand-smocked Christmas dress - not bought at the consignment store) - $17.50


• 2 huge floor puzzles that Little Man has been eyeing, I'm saving those for Christmas presents - $13.00


• Sunglasses for Baby Girl - $4.00 - not so cheap, gently used, or on sale, but she needed them :)

All of it name brand, which I care nothing about, but I like knowing the clothes will hold up all winter, and in excellent condition! With tax that adds up to about $75.00 - most definitely a bargain! Now to the "I had trouble, lots of trouble" part. Well...I wasn't supposed to spend any money, any. We just had Little Man's birthday and we're going on vacation soon, so any shopping whatsoever was a no-no. Actually, I went to the consignment store thinking I'd earn a little pin money for the week. Oh well, maybe we can keep this between you, me, and the blog.

Am I a Birth Junkie?

Ok, I'm totally stealing this, but I'm giving credit, it's from one of my favorite blogs, EnjoyBirth, who posted a link from WomanToWomanChildbirthEducaton. Looks like I'm a little bit of a birth junkie - proud of it!

Here it is, my comments are in bold and parenthesis:

With a tip of the hat to Jeff Foxworthy of “You Might Be a Redneck…” fame, I thought of a series of things that may be tip-offs that you just might be a birth junkie. (By my definition, which is, I suppose, an infatuation bordering on addiction [if not actually there] for birth and all things related to it.)

Without further ado…You might be a Birth Junkie…

• if you blog about birth (more than just your own birth for historical purposes) or if your birth story is at least two pages long


• if you failed math, but can quickly convert grams to pounds and ounces (approximately)


• if you can say “vagina” in a sentence without blushing (YEP)


• if you can correctly use “os” in a sentence (YEP)


• if you can’t remember who won any gold medals for the US in the last Olympics, but you know US statistics for maternal and infant mortality, and the national C-section rate (bonus points if you know your local hospital(s) epidural, induction, and C-section rates) — if you’re not from the US, insert your own country (SOME OF THEM)


• if you can list the mother-friendly and baby-friendly guidelines from memory, and know which hospital in your area (if any) fulfills those goals (SOME OF THEM)


• if you can recite the midwifery model of care (CAN'T RECITE IT, BUT KNOW THE GENERALITIES OF IT)


• if when you’re discussing something related to birth, you receive those polite but puzzled looks… right before your conversation partner moves away (OH, MOST DEFINITELY!)


• if you see a circle about 4″ big, and you think “that’s fully dilated” (NO, BUT I GUESS FROM NOW ON I WILL!)


• if you have birth-related artwork somewhere in your house (includes placenta pictures and belly casts, etc.)


• if you currently have or ever did have a placenta in your freezer


• if you have ever consumed placenta


• if you have a model of a pelvis, uterus, or some other female organ


• if you always keep honey sticks on hand


• if you’ve ever gone to the bookstore and hidden “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” (or some other similar non birth-junkie book) and replaced it with some pro natural-birth book (HAHA- YES! AND I TELL ALL MY NEWLY PREGNANT FRIENDS UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD THEY READ THAT BOOK!)


• if other women get tired of telling you their birth stories before you get tired of hearing them


• if you have a library (or would love to acquire one) of birth-related books and videos (YEP, AND I RE-READ SOME OF THEM JUST B/C I LIKE THEM)


• if you have 10 or more birth-related videos saved to your account on YouTube


• if you appear on any YouTube (any internet) video talking about birth, in labor, or giving birth (picture montages count)


• if at least half of the blogs you regularly read are birth-related (YEP)


• if someone tells you she “had to have” a particular intervention and you can come up with several alternatives that were never mentioned to her (bonus points if she doesn’t get mad or defensive) (HAVE DONE SO, BUT DEPENDS ON THE FRIEND - THE LAST THING I WANT TO DO IS MAKE HER FEEL BAD ABOUT HER BIRTH - PLUS SOMETIMES INTERVENTIONS *DO* NEED TO HAPPEN, AS I LEARNED WITH BABY GIRL'S BIRTH)


• if you refuse to play the “my birth was worse than your birth” game (I NIP THAT IN THE BUD, ESPECIALLY SINCE THAT TALK USUALLY HAPPENS AROUND PREGANT WOMEN)


• if you feel like you know your fellow online birth junkies (even though you’ve never actually met them) better than you know some of your flesh-and-blood friends


• if ten or more of your Facebook friends (or other equivalent) are people you’ve never actually met but know them through birth-related functions (blogs, email lists, etc.)


• if you’ve ever gone to a birth conference


• if you’ve ever emailed, mailed or called your state or national representatives about a birth-related matter


• if someone tells you her baby is breech and you give her names (bonus points if you know phone numbers) of chiropractors skilled in the Webster technique or people who can perform moxibustion


• if you know what counterpressure is and how to apply it (bonus points if you’ve done it) (YEP- BONUS POINTS!)


• if you know what a rebozo is (bonus points if you’ve used one)


• if you encourage your children, especially young children, to watch birth videos (I JUST LET LITTLE MAN WATCH THE BIRTH SCENES FROM "BUSINESS OF BEING BORN" AND THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD THING)


• if you can get hoarse from watching TV birth shows (like A Baby Story), because you’re yelling through the screen at the woman or her care providers (WELL, I DON'T YELL, ACTUALLY I DON'T WATCH THOSE SHOWS B/C ALL THE INTERVENTIONS RAISE MY BLOOD PRESSURE)

And finally

• if you regularly read this blog, you know you’re a birth junkie! What others can/would you add to the list?

Birthday Blues

Apparently birthdays make me crabby, or maybe it's the fact that Baby Girl is teething, and has been teething, for about 2 weeks. Yes I feel sorry for her, poor thing is cutting 3 teeth all at once. I feel sorry for me, too, since I'm the one up all night with her, and then up all day with Little Man. Can't seem to get these two to coordinate their sleep schedules. :(

My point is there's one birthday toy that I'm not in love with. In fact, I'm not sure it will live to see another day. It may somehow make it's way into the garbage can tonight....

It's one of those Matchbox toy City Blox playsets...and it's a piece of poo. Little Man has a few of these at Grandma's house, and she's a saint for putting up with them - I just don't have the patience for it. I don't know why Matchbox can't make a toy that actually works, but it seems that they can't. It doesn't do anything it's supposed to do, one side of it is constantly falling down, and other pieces are always falling off. Little Man is a little too young for it as well. I think the box was marked 3+ years, but maybe Matchbox meant the latter part of the fourth year. Whatever, all it does is cause Little Man frustration, he's cried way too much and had way too many tantrums over trying to get this toy to work for my taste. Anyway, if I'm nice it might, might go to live in the attic for a year....

or not.

We are also having a hard time using the potty today. Little Man has spent a lot of time with Grandma lately, and for some reason she's kept him in diapers while at her house. It's a little bit frustrating, but I'm not complaining, Grandmas are meant to indulge, right? Well, now that Little Man is back at home we are having a battle of wills over diapers, underwear, and the potty. He's REFUSING to sit on the potty, and throwing a fit over wearing underwear, instead he keeps asking for diapers. I'm not sure if I'm doing the right thing, but I'm also being stubborn - no diapers for him, no way!

Hmmm, at least I caught up on some sleep yesterday. I fell asleep at 8:00 while The Husband was getting Little Man read for bed. Next thing I knew, I woke up and it was 11:00. I completely missed the bath, stories, songs - everything. Little Man didn't seem to mind, I think I was more disappointed than he was. Thank you, Husband, for understanding and not waking me up.

At least today's been nice. It's been an unusually cool day for July, and we've had the nicest rain. Actually, the rain's making me sleepy...

Now to muster up some energy to clean this house - company's coming over tomorrow!

Still Works...

Fist off, a little warning. This post is a bit TMI, so if you don't want to know too much, just skip this post entirely.

Now that you're completely intrigued, here we go...

Well, Baby Girl is almost 9 months old now, and except for a few lingering pounds, my body has fully recovered. Things are back to normal and right on schedule....and when I say that I'm referring to, well, you know, the little gift a girl gets each month. Thankfully it had been gone for a blissfully long time, but when it came back, it didn't feel so good. Let's not sugarcoat, it hurt.

Now, most of my close friends know that I did something a bit off the beaten track for Baby Girl's birth. I wanted a natural birth with both my babies, but when, after more than 24 hours of "slow" labor with Little Man, the doctor began a pitocin drip, I ended up requesting (begging) for an epidural. This led to more and more interventions, and several small complications that I would never wish on anyone, and I vowed that for my next birth I would be better prepared and avoid the epidural at all costs. So when The Husband and I started getting baby fever again, I started researching the Hypnobabies program. I have a degree in psychology, and hypnosis has always fascinated me, so from the start it was a natural fit and I knew I wanted to try this.

Long story short, I had a wonderful hypnobirth, no epidural, no drugs, very little pain, and a quick and easy recovery.

Fast forward to almost 9 months later....it was late at night and I couldn't sleep because of, ahem, cramping. I'm still nursing so I didn't want to take Advil, and Tylenol doesn't do much for me. I was desperate for sleep so I thought, "why not try my hypnosis?" It's important to say that I had not practiced this in a good 7, but probably closer to 8, months. In Hypnobabies, a mom is taught to instantly put herself in a deeply relaxed state (hypnosis) with a finger drop, so I did my finger drop. A mom is also taught to imagine anesthesia flowing through her body, and eventually she learns how to direct it to wherever she needs it. So I imagined my anesthesia down in my belly, and the cramping was instantly gone. Poof, 100%, completely gone. It was like magic. For some reason, even after my nearly pain-free, unmedicated birth, I was a bit skeptical. "Did this really just work, after not doing it for the better part of a year?" So I instantly brought myself out of hypnosis and, yep, that awful cramping was back. Needless to say, I did my finger drop as fast as I could, was instantly pain free, and soon fell asleep. Now I know that some will think I'm a bit "odd," and I know some people already do just because I chose Hypnobabies in the first place. I don't care, all I know is it worked during the birth when I needed it, and it's still working now.

The power of the mind is absolutely amazing!

Little Man Is Mad At Mama

Monday morning came around, and about 9:00 Little Man asked if we could call Grandma. Sure, I thought, so we gave her a ring. When Grandma answered, the first thing out of Little Man's mouth was, "I want to spend the night at your house!" Mama was surprised (Little Man, tell me these things first!) but Grandma was game, so after lunch and a nap we started packing for Grandma's. Well, when it was time to leave Little Man was feeling a little needy, and even though he knew his paci and lovey were packed away safely in his bag, he thought that he really needed them for the car ride over. So I give them to him and say, "Be careful to hold on to them, I don't want you to lose them because you'll want them for Grandma's house." Well, he held on to them until we got to Grandma's, but in his excitement at being there he threw them down and didn't pay attention as to where. So now it's about 8:30 and he's getting ready for bed. He and Grandma call to say goodnight like they always do. When I pick up the phone I immediately hear Little Man's voice, but he's not happy. There's no hello, no sweet words, instead it's this: "Where are paci and lovey, YOU LEFT THEM!" Oh, my, I was in shock for a few seconds, such an accusatory tone for a two year old to use with his mommy! He was mad at me! Well, I collected my thoughts and calmly told him they were indeed at Grandma's house, but I didn't know where, he would have to look for them. Then Grandma got on the phone, "Mama, I can't find them, either."

"Well h-e-double hockey sticks," I think. This is bad. Little Man WILL NOT sleep without his paci and lovey. We've tried and failed to wean him from them. Lovey is okay, but paci will have to go soon. Anyway, I tell Grandma that he had them when he got out of my car, so they had to be around somewhere. For good measure, though, I go out to my car with a flashlight and look around, but see nothing. I'm thinking I'm about to have to wake up Baby Girl, put her in the car (The Husband is out of town) and drive out to Grandma's house 30 minutes away just so Little Man can go to sleep. I'm mulling this over when I get another phone call. It's Little Man again, and this time he's happy. Again, no hellos or anything, but I hear an excited, "I found them!"

Oh big sigh of relief! Disaster averted! And thankfully Little Man's not mad at mama anymore!

"Where were they," I finally ask. "Oh, on the side table." Grandma says. Oh, the table by the front door, and the phone, and where Little Man usually puts his things when he walks in the door? That table? How did I know that's where they'd find them?

A Bit of This, A Bit of That

Today was one of those hodge podge days, full of errands and a to-do list a mile long. It started out by me washing baseboards. Yep, it was at the top of my to-do list. Not my "I want to do" list, but my "must do" list. So I spent the better part of the morning, and part of the afternoon, washing the baseboards, the trim to the doors and windows, the doors themselves, and the walls in the high traffic areas (pretty much all our walls). Before kids, this was something that was done on a somewhat regular basis, every other month or so, and since there were no messy kids around, it was pretty easy. Since kids, well, um, it's been awhile. Funny, that when you need to clean more than ever, thanks to a toddler who is somehow able to smear food and put greasy hand prints everywhere, you have less time to actually do so. But now it's done and the house looks so much better. It had reached the point where it still looked and felt dirty even after I vacuumed, mopped, and dusted, but now, thankfully, it's CLEAN!

Also on the list today was cleaning the blinds. I HATE to clean blinds, it's so tedious. Today I kind of cheated, but it worked, because they look good. I sprayed the heck out of them with Pledge, wiped them down, flipped them over and did the other side. I even decided to hit the blinds in the master bedroom, which are covered by curtains, so they usually get skipped. I thought since they were covered up they wouldn't be dusty. Oh my, how wrong was I. I can't believe The Husband and I weren't perpetually sick from the thick layer of dust on them. And the curtains. I'll be honest, in the three years that they've been hanging I never, ever thought about cleaning them. I didn't grow up in a house where a lot of cleaning took place (sorry mom), so sometimes I just don't think to do some of the deep cleaning/spring cleaning stuff. The top of the curtains had a good 1/2 inch of dust on them, it was so gross. I thought I'd just wash them, but they are silk, and the tag on them said dry clean only. Well, forget that, I thought. I threw them in the dryer with a wet washcloth and a dryer sheet, turned it on air dry and let them tumble for a bit. They came out looking and smelling great, and thankfully still the right length.

Then it was off to run errands with Baby Girl. I had worked up a big thirst and we were out of diet coke. Water and iced tea just wasn't cuttin' it, I needed that carbonation to hit the back of my throat. We were also out of ice cream for The Husband, which is a big no-no in my house. The Husband eats ice cream every day, and sometimes gets a little cranky if he runs out. Yep a trip to the store was a must.

About that time Little Man came home from an outing with Grandma, so my little OCD cleaning spree had to stop. Poor thing was in a rare mood. He didn't get a nap during the day, Grandma tried but something would always distract him. After a few time outs and temper tantrums he ended up getting put to bed at 7:00, about and hour and a half earlier than usual. Still, he passed out almost immediately, sweet baby.

Tomorrow he goes to school, I think I'll tackle the windows!

{ I can't believe I just wrote a boring post about cleaning, I think I may need some excitment in my life ;) }

We've Recovered...

After the whopper of a Friday we had, I was a little worried about what the weekend would bring. The Husband was planning to help his mom all day Saturday, and they didn't need any rowdy kids tagging along. Meaning, I was going to be alone with them all day.

Dun, dun, dunnnn...

However, the weekend went wonderfully. Things have been a little crazy around here lately. Baby Girl has recently started crawling, and Little Man is having a hard time dealing with it. I don't blame him, as her favorite place to crawl to happens to be wherever Little Man and his toys are. Sometimes it's just too much for an almost three year old to handle. So The Husband and I decided that Little Man needed some one on one time with his mommy and daddy and we planned a date. My parent's are always drooling over the idea of babysitting, so we called them over at the last minute to watch Baby Girl while Little Man, The Husband, and I went out for the night. First off, out to eat at Jason's Deli, where Little Man can ignore his entree and eat chips, fruit, pickles, and ice cream to his heart's content. He can also get a little rambunctious, as at 6:30 on a Saturday they are practically empty. Good times for a preschool boy.

After dinner was the main attraction, a trip to the zoo at night! Now the kids and I are frequent visitors to the zoo, but The Husband has only been once since he became a daddy. So Little Man got to show his daddy all his favorite exhibits, the farm, the elephants, the giraffes, the playground. We also went wading in the zoo's little model river, and it was precious to watch Little Man dance, laugh, show his sweet smile, and have a fabulous time in the water. It was a fun night, we were all silly and cuttin' up and had a great time together. It made us realize that alone time with mom and dad is a must. It also made us feel a little bad that it took us eight months to figure this out, but hey, we're learning.

Sunday was a lazy day. The Husband left in the early afternoon for a business trip, and the kids and I packed up a ton of gear and went swimming at a friend's house. This is my old friend (we're talking from junior high, here), and she only comes in town once a year, so we really enjoy our visits together. It was a wonderful night by the pool with my kiddos, a good friend, and her family. As her dad said just before we left (I'm paraphrasing, but you'll get the idea), "You were coming over here when you were in high school, and now you're bringing your children over here to play. All the little ones have such a good time together, it's what life's about, good friends and family." Couldn't have said it better myself.

Temper Tantrums

The kids are both asleep, a little early, but it was either early to bed or locked out of the house on the front porch. Yes, it was one of those days. Hmm, that doesn't quite convey the kind of day we had, maybe this will help convey how I feel: it was ONE OF THOSE NON-STOP, CRYING, FUSSING, ACTING OUT PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY GIVE ME FIVE MINUTES OF PEACE kind of days.

By the way, I'm just kidding with the front porch comment. It's a good fantasy, though.

I don't really want to go into details, but here's just a little bit of our day.....

I pick Little Man up from Parent's Day Out. As soon as he sees me he runs, not too me, but outside. Now I'm a few minutes late, so I know he's had ample playground time, but oh well, a few minutes outside won't hurt us. Well, when it's time to come in, he doesn't want to, so he runs, then screams, then throws a holy living fit right there on the playground for all to see. Nice..

We we have to go to Target, which is not far from Little Man's school. As we're rolling around the store, Little Man sees a plastic dump truck, and enthusiastically says, "I want that!" Well, little does he know that there's already one in our attic, just waiting for his birthday. So when I say, "Not today, honey," he throws another fit, right in the middle of the store. Turns out it was the first but not the last fit he would throw in Target today.

So we finally made it home and all was quiet for about an hour. Then I started dinner. Let me just say, I really, really, really dislike the dinner prep hour. I call it the witching hour. The kids are tired, a bit hungry, and mom's attention is on making dinner, not on them. Often a recipe for disaster, right? Well, tonight was no different. As soon as I got things going on the stove, Baby Girl woke up from a short nap. Then Little Man said he had to go potty. While I'm getting him on the potty, Baby Girl crawls over to the very full dog water bowl and tips it, sending about half a gallon of water over the floor, and giving her chin a pretty big wallop. Baby Girl begins to scream. Little Man decides to get off the potty and put his pants back on. A few minutes later he uses the bathroom in his pants. I could go on, there were two instances of Little Man hitting and/or stepping on Baby Girl, another potty accident, and all this happening while I'm trying not to burn the house down while cooking dinner.

So, I decide we are going to have an early bath, sometimes a nice, warm bath can change a bad attitude into a good one. About this time, The Husband calls and says he's swamped and won't be home until seven. I know what this means, he's notoriously bad about estimating how long it will take him to wrap up work, and I'll be lucky if he's home by eight. I won't pretend that I was nice to him, because I wasn't. Anyway, I'm about to put the kids in the tub when I remember that Little Man pooped in the bath last night. Yes, that's right, pooped right in the tub, and all of two minutes after I pulled him off the potty to get into the tub. So I go find the bleach and give the tub a good cleaning. During this the kids are going wild and, well, I'm losing my mind. Then, it happened.... I threw a tantrum. I'm not proud of it, but I had had enough. I actually balled up my hands, stiffened my arms, threw back my head, and screamed. Just like Little Man does. Actually, I did it twice. It felt kind of good. It's amusing, too, because we have relatively thin walls, and I could hear my neighbors outside. If I could hear them, they could hear me. Oh, well, they're parents, I'm sure they understood.

Wow, I said I wouldn't go into details, but trust me, I could have written much, much more.

Early or not, now I'm going to bed.

The Bed is a Dangerous Place To Be..

I think I may need a sign hanging across my bed,

WARNING: ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Usually my bed is my sanctuary. I love my bed. It's so soft and cushion-y, the sheets smell so good...

It was not so much a sanctuary, today, however.

It started about 4:00 this morning, when Baby Girl awoke. None of my usual tricks for soothing her worked, so I did what any sleep-deprived mama would do. I put her in bed with me, snuggled close, and let her nurse to her heart's content. Soon, we were both sound asleep. About 5:30 or so, I woke up just a little bit, Baby Girl must have been moving around, because out of nowhere my hand shot out and grabbed Baby Girl as she started to roll off the bed. Way to go mama instinct! I was mostly asleep, with my eyes closed, and still managed to grab Baby Girl as she was headed for a fall. The good news is that I broke her fall a bit, but, sadly, she got a good, solid hit by the nightstand on her way down to the floor. So Baby Girl, understandably, was crying. I assessd... she's okay... but she has a little bump and bruise on the side of her face. It could have been much worse, and she soon calmed down, so we tried to go back to sleep. Only Baby Girl would have none of it. I can't blame her, as she was just rudely awakened with a big ouchie to the head and an unceremonious fall to the floor. So we stayed awake until about 6:30. (did I mention that I didn't go to bed until midnight?) Finally, she managed to settle down and sleep, only to wake up again about 7:30. Now as any mama knows, when you wake up at 7:30, you better stay awake, or chaos will soon descend on your house in the form of children who are more awake than their mama. But I was so, so tired. So I gave Baby Girl the remote control, which she loves to play with, and closed my eyes for a few more minutes of blissful rest, until....WHACK! Instant, hot pain right in between the eyes. I was too stunned and hurt to make a sound, cry, breathe. She hit me with the remote and my word it HURT, HURT, HURT! A few minutes passed, and after I collected myself I looked in the mirror. Everything seemed okay, there was just a little red spot. I'm thought to myself, "I must be a wimp, because this sure hurts a lot worse than a little red spot.." And, well, guess what? A few hours later I looked again and saw the beginnings of two black eyes. Lovely...Actually it is a bit lovely. Thankfully they aren't "OMG, what happened to you?!" black eyes. Instead, they're a bit sultry and smokey. A little sexy, I guess.


I know one thing, though, for the sexy look I'll take makeup over this any day.

No one told me a two year old is a teenager in a child's body...

Seriously, two year old, or teenager. If a stranger were listening to me describe his behavior, he might be inclined to think I was talking about a 13 year old.

Here's a recap of only one of the many encounters Little Man and I have had over the past few days:

Me asking LM about his lunch at school (which I pack, so I know what's in it, I talk about it just to make conversation with LM): "What did you have for lunch today?"

LM: "Ummm, cheese, but I didn't like it, strawberries, and nuffin."

Me: "Did you eat your cheese?"

LM: "No."

Me: "Why not?"

LM: "I don't like it, it has peel." (LM actually loves cheese, but HATES peel of any kind, and imagines that things have peel when they actually do not.)

Me: "Cheese doesn't have peel, honey."

LM: "Yes it does."

Me: "No, it doesn't. It has a wrapper on it, and you take the wrapper off and eat the cheese, but the cheese doesn't have any peel."

LM: Lowers head, then shakes head, looks at me and says in the most serious voice, "Yes, mommy, it does. It DOES have peel."

Man, I'd been told. If only he'd huffed a bit and rolled his eyes, the scene would have been complete. How did I get through life never realizing that string cheese had peel? I really had no idea the "my mom doesn't know nothin' about nothin' " phase happened at two years old.

Heaven help me when he really is a teenager ;)

Mission Status: Failed

Little Man spent the night at Grandma's last night.

Joy of joys, I had a good night's sleep. Evidently, Baby Girl did, too, as she didn't wake up until 8:30.

So when a friend sent me a text at 8:40, "on our way to the zoo, want to meet," I was a little torn. YES, I wanted to meet her. She's a good friend, an old friend, and she lives overseas right now, so when she's in town for a visit I jump at every chance I get to see her. However, the zoo opens at 9:00, and it seemed like my friend would be there waiting at the gates for them to open, and at 8:40, I hadn't showered, hadn't eaten, and was about to feed the baby. Let me put it this way, I hadn't even made the coffee yet. I also had a million little errands I wanted to do since I only had one child with me. However, I decided to go. So I step it into high gear, and by 9:30 Baby Girl and I are strapped in the car and ready. I put the key in the ignition, turn it, and......nothing. Hmm, that's weird, let me try again. Turn the key.....nothing. I didn't mention that I'm in The Husband's car, as he took my car into the shop this morning, it needs new tires. So there I was, I already told my friend I'd meet her, I jumped in the shower, got myself and Baby Girl ready at lightening speed, packed a bag with snacks and water for the zoo, installed the carseat in The Husband's car (not an easy task!), put the stroller in The Husband's car, scrounged around for a spare pair of sunglasses and a hat, as I keep mine in my car.....and the car won't start.

Arrrrrgggggg!!!!

I call The Husband, and he's able to come home to take a look. Turns out he left an interior light on last night after cleaning out his car for me. He was able to jump the car and get it started, but sadly, the zoo trip was history.

Oh well, just another day in the life of a busy, young family. Better luck next time :)

Monster Trucks, Firetrucks, Sparklers, Oh My!

We had a busy Fourth of July weekend. As of Friday morning, we had NO plans. The Husband and I were complaining about it and feeling sorry for ourselves that no one liked us ;) Saturday morning dawned and we had a full two days of nothing planned, which never, ever happens. But then the phone started ringing and the days soon filled up with activities. We ended up going to two cookouts, and had a fabulous time. Last year, Little Man was terrified of all fireworks, and wanted to stay inside all night long. That suited his overprotective momma just fine. As far as I'm concerned, the farther away from a burning projectile he is, the better. This year, however, he was fascinated by them, and his daddy shot off a few with him. I mean, what car and truck obsessed little boy could resist monster truck and firetruck fireworks? Little Man had a blast, me, a minor anxiety attack.

Little Man and The Husband with a Sparkler

We all made it home safe, tired, and happy.