August 23, 2006

Morning Annoyance...

Ok... Often, I have reason to stop and get gas on the way to work.  This gas station is the nearest one to Dulles Airport.  AND there are 2 types of people that MAKE ME CRAZY  often there...
 
Type 1: don't know what side gas tank is on!  HELLO?  How hard is this?  EVEN IF it's a rental, they put a triangle on the gas gauge POINTING at the side of the car the tank is on.  It kills me when I see people trying to fill up w/the tank on the far side the car w/the pump hose stretched way over the trunk.  Often, they have to get back in the car and drive to another pump, which, being a very busy gas station, drives everyone crazy.
 
Type 2: People that leave their car at the pump and go into the store.  I'm not talking about people going in WHILE the car fills.  I'm talking about people that fill the car, then unhook the pump and F-ing go shopping.  MOVE YOUR DAMN CAR.  Like I said, this is a crazy busy airport, and very often, I'm waiting for a pump, when there are 3 or 4 unattended cars NOT BEING FILLED taking up spaces.  And if you have to prepay because you use cash, DON'T.  This is a huge waste of time for everyone - and don't lie to me and tell me you don't have an ATM card or a credit card.
 
Anyways, these people bug me, so if you could please pass the word along so that portion of the world's population will start behaving like intelligent beings, I'd appreciate it!

August 22, 2006

Nothing new to report right now...

work is HECTIC - getting ready for our first production release of the software. Which is exciting, but exhuasting!
 
BabyT is refusing baby foods.  So we're going to start trying more people foods tonight - we'll see what happens!
 
We are also getting ready for our big yearly DisneyWorld Trip in 2 weeks!  And BOY, doesn't THAT sound like a lot of work!!!! ;-)
 
I'm so glad they caught that crazy guy down at VA Tech yesterday - I can't imagine how I'd feel if my kids were down there (which they will be someday) and this nut was on the loose. 
 
Back to coding for me!

August 21, 2006

Virginia Tech...

Anyone keeping an eye on the drama going on down there???  I cannot believe my ears!

August 18, 2006

Recover from the vacation!

Gosh, it has been almost a week and I'm still not recovered from my "vacation" (which was wonderful, but took SO MUCH ENERGY). Laundry is 1/2 done, house is a mess(this is also the month my cleaning lady decides to take off the whole month!). We've eaten out or eaten junk most of the nights this week.

I've been so busy - it seems like BabyT might be on the road to sleeping well again - the vacation and the teething took quite a toll! I think he's cutting his 4 top teeth all at once.

Big news coming, I promise!

August 15, 2006

Tuesday Morning!

BabyT is about to get at least 2 top teeth (maybe 4)...which I HOPE explains the complete and utter lack of sleeping going on around our house.  PLEASE let it be the explaination, not that he forgot how.  ALSO he is now REFUSING baby foods.  Lips locked tight.  Only real people foods will get an open mouth, but there are like 3 things he can eat with NO TEETH.  Suggestions? Between being tired and him not eating, I'm going a little stir-crazy!

August 13, 2006

We're back!

Phew! After yesterday's 7 hour drive, we're back! THEN BabyT threw up his dinner. THEN BabyT exploded a diaper all over the walker (which he also did on vacation, btw).

There are 2 ways to slant the vacation --> how much fun we had (and we DID!) and how much god-awful-lot of work it was...

Fun:
- swimming out in the deeper ocean with Son. I would carry him out to 5 1/2 feet or so and we'd swim around together.
- watching the kids enjoy their extended family
- going to the Pavillion and watching Son ride the water ride (a big person ride) AND LOVE it
- taking Son to play Mini-golf
- watching BabyT in the sand! SAND!
- getting a few relaxing rays of sun (like 2 seconds worth)

Hard Work:
- carrying 42 pd son out into the wavy ocean trying not to get dunked!
- BabyT not sleeping well at all
- keeping BabyT off the gross floor at the beachhouse
- occupying babyT w/out the usual array of "baby stations" (ie. exersaucer, living room basket, activity center, etc)
- trying to feed both kids at once while everyone else is also trying to get breakfast
- BabyT throwing up a couple of times (reflux)

BUT it was a blast and I wouldn't change a thing (ok, maybe I'd trade the throwing up for some chocolate or something!)

August 10, 2006

Still alive...

Just because someone sleeps thru the night at home is no guarantee that they'll do so on vacation!
 
For instance, last night we had a 1 a.m. bottle wakeup call, a 3 am nightmare, a 5 am wet diaper leak and a 6:15 am wake up for the day!
 
BUT even without sleeping for a whole week, we're loving the beach - Son and BabyT!  You should see BabyT CRAWL AROUND IN THE SAND...it's so cute (as long as he's not eating it, ew gross!)

August 04, 2006

Prepare yourselves...

Our yearly trip is here - Myrtle Beach here we come. Thinking we might have too much to fit in our car (a Yukon XL) hubby bought a tailgate rack.

Thinking we STILL have too much to fit in the car, I've cut out a whole large suitcase and box of stuff. We'll see. My mom is bringing herself (which takes up a seat) and a very large suitcase (funny, the clothes for ALL FOUR OF US, plus some towels fit into a large suitcase also, but whatever).

Wish us luck packing!

So far we have:
2 large suitcases (ours + mom's)
1 box towels/sheets
1 pack&play
1 backpack carrier
2 sunshades for on the beach
1 baby portable highchair
5 people!
1 golf clubs & bag
1 small clothes basket of shoes
1 toiletries bag
1 box misc (sunscreen, TIDE, baby oatmeal)

We'll see!

ALSO! Congrats to JENN on having her twins! YAY JENN and I can't wait for pics of those cuties!

August 03, 2006

Happy Birthday TO ME!

Today is my birthday! I'm 33! So far, it's great!

Hubby & Sons got me an IPOD!
Mother-in-law got me Cheryl&Co birthday cookies!
Hubby's Dad and L got me earrings!
Work group got me an ice-cream brownie!
My Mom gave me spending money for OUR VACATION NEXT WEEK! YAHOO! MYRTLE BEACH, HERE WE COME!

And BabyT gave me the best present ever - 2 full nights of sleep!YAY for small miracles!

August 02, 2006

Check out FLICKR!

This weekend, in PA, a bat decided to sleep on one of the entrance gargoyle's at Aunt L's house!  It's very cool!  I will upload a bigger version of the pic later or send me an email and I'll send u a link to a bigger one!

August 01, 2006

Did I commit a faux pas?

I was at a specialty shop yesterday acquiring hubby's birthday present. 
 
As the cashier was ringing me up (SLOWLY!) I notice a newspaper on the counter.  It was set so the guy in the line to my right could read it, so I cocked my head a bit so I could just take a peek at the headlines.  A few seconds later, the guy notices I'm (GASP!) reading his newspaper (remember, just with my eyes, I wasn't going to touch someone else's paper!) and jerks it away so I can't see it.

Seriously? What is his problem?  It's not like the paper can only be read once then the words go away or something...who cares if I was *looking* at it.  What an ass.

July 28, 2006

GAH! Blogger eating my posts!

I just checked and ALL The posts I sent this week aren't here! Where did they go??

It was a busy week - we're building our code base for the beta release TOMORROW so I've been crazy busy at work, yet unable to stay late due to other obligations (like a pedicure appt Wednesday after work that I couldn't miss due to the fancy awards dinner for my hubby after work Thursday)...and forget squeezing in a workout!

AND I called my OB since the Metformin isn't doing a good job at regulating my cycles, so she upped my dose (we are NOT trying to get pregnant -but our birth control method is "charting" and if you don't ovulate regularly, it's a pain in the ass)...

We're leaving tomorrow to see our fabulous relatives in PA and I haven't packed a thing yet, but home w/the 2 kids all day today, I will more than likely NOT HAVE TIME to pack! Yikes!!!

Both kiddies are doing great! TMan pulled into a sitting position yesterday, and is wobblying up on his hands and knees, ready to fullon crawl any day ( he does a pseudo commando crawl now, and he's DAMN FAST)...

July 25, 2006

TEST!

TESTING!  Is this thing on?  Two posts I sent yesterday never made it!

July 20, 2006

Thursday Update!

*Sigh*  I can't get ahead can I?

I have to work tomorrow, to make up for missing Monday at work.  Boo hiss.

Saturday we have family portraits, which while exciting!  Is a lot of work.  AND it's going to be seventy-bajillion degrees.

Sunday, we have a birthday party for one of Son's friends that recently moved.  And this party is very far away.  And late in the evening.  SO I will be very tired, esp. when i have to get up the next day at 4:30 a.m.  AND since we have to leave the house much earlier than party start time to get there on time... it all makes for a long day!

BUT hopefully hubby and I will get some house organization done this weekend, so there's that ...right?  right?  Cleaning out the playroom is fun, yes?  No?

ALSO - my baby has super human powers!  Remember, he's exactly 7 months old.  HE GOT OUT OF HIS EXERSAUCER.  It is unbelieveable.  I have no idea how he did it, but he did!  So I guess no more putting him in it while I go shopping at the mall anymore huh?  (hahaha, just kidding!)....

July 15, 2006

Kid's Product Review: Kelty Convertible Stroller

Ok. Son is 20 pounds. While the Baby Bjorn is rated for that, it HURTS to carry BabyT in it! So we bought this:



We LOVE it and so does BabyT. The little bag is a great size and you can put stuff in the stroller basket even when it's on your back. AND Hubby can put the baby in it and get it on all by himself! What a great product!

July 14, 2006

Virtual Stock Exchange

We're playing this game - wish me luck - we each get a virtual $100,000 to invest and see what happens to it through December!
 
 

July 13, 2006

funky shoe day!

I saw 2 people yesterday with funky shoes...
 
There was a guy dressed in a VERY NICE blue dress-shirt.  With french cuffs and cuff links.  Nice dress pants.
 
AND black leather sandals.  AND SOCKS (which were white and black patterned).
 
THEN
I was walking behind a guy wearing the little dress boots (instead of shoes).  They are just above ankle-height.  Which is a trendy shoe option, apparently.  BUT he had LIFTS in his shoes, that were SO TALL his heel was NOT IN THE BOOT AT ALL.  Which is why he caught my attention, because something didn't look right as I walked in behind him.  So he was pretty much walking on stilletoes (stiletos? stillettoes?) all day.  Now I know women (definitely me included) wear heels all the time to be taller (the shoes I have on right now are Born Sandals with a 4 inch heel) - but it's obvious to anyone and everyone that I am not normally 5'9".  Seems kinda sneaky for a guy to be doing it, eh?  What do you think?

July 12, 2006

Cute Things Son Said This Weekend...

*  when drawing a picture of Darth Vader, he said the arms were crossed because "Darth was covering his peepee"
*  while we were playing BINGO, he got the ball for "N 40"...which he tried to figure out what "40" was by himself, as "zero-ty four?"
 
 
bloody hell, I can't remember the rest right now!

July 10, 2006

Suprise Day Off!

Hubby and I had to switch days off this week to accomodate a class schedule of his - so I'm home with the kiddies! AND BabyT slept from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. this morning, then he went back to sleep until 7 a.m.! We are all well rested today! (of course, I could get called into the proposal room for this evening at any time, but, LALALA! I CAN'T HEAR THE PHONE RINGING!)

BabyT had his 6 month check last week! 90% in weight. At 20 POUNDS, I find it hard to believe that 10 % of children weigh MORE than he does. Good golly, that's a lot of weight to be hauling around! He's NOT EVEN ON THE CHART IN HEIGHT, coming in at 29 and 1/2 inches...NOT ON THE CHART. Amazing. He and son both have December birthdays, so I thought all of son's clothes would be perfect for BabyT, as they should've been close in size. But BabyT is now wearing the clothes Son wore in his SECOND SUMMER, when he was 18 months old! Dang!

July 07, 2006

OMG! BLOGLINES!

I am a total LOSER. I just figured this out! How GREAT is Bloglines! I can see who has updated by only visiting ONE PAGE. It is Genius, with a capital 'G'!!

SO! You're mission, if you choose to accept it, is to DELURK and leave me your URL so I can add you to my bloglines! Just like my TIVO, I can be SO MUCH more efficient if I only have to visit sites that have updates!!!! LOVING IT!

July 05, 2006

4th of July!

I hope everyone had a happy and safe fourth!

We went to Purcellville, VA for the Loudoun County 4th Of July parade.  It was great, as usual (we've been EVERY year they've had it - my grandma lives in Purcellville and her birthday is 4th of July, so we're in PVille wether there is stuff going on for the 4th or not)...Even BabyT loved the parade, which surprised us because it was so loud with all the emergency vehicles in it!

Then lunch at grandma's.  Then off to Leesburg for a pool party / BBQ.  Also, fantastic!  We love those particular friends of ours and Son had a BLAST swimming in their pool!
 
What did you do?

June 29, 2006

Work! And more work!

UGH!  This week, I've been working (IN ADDITION TO MY REGULAR JOB) on a proposal back at my company's HQ (I'm at customer site for 40 hrs per week).. and it's killing me.  Working from 6 a.m. until 8:30 p.m. or so.  KILLING ME.


BUT

Hubby has been doing a GREAT job - having the kids all by himself all week!  He's been taking them to my mom's before work, picking them up, taking older Son to swimming lessons.  AND keeping the house super-clean to help my sanity level (dirty house = crazy mom).  I am SO AMAZED.  He's been washing all the baby bottles and even DOING LAUNDRY.  And not ONE SINGLE complaint.

So, hubby, if you read this, thank you.  For being so wonderful.

June 27, 2006

As seen today...

*  Young lady in nice red, sleeveless dress.  Nice tradional, classy brown leather purse. AND MOTORCYCLE BOOTS.
 
*  Roughly 35 year old man.  In need of haircut, looking quite shaggy.  That or he didn't comb or shower his hair after rolling out of bed.  Black suit pants, which are too long and look as if he stores them rolled up in his nightstand.  NAVY BLUE pin-stripe suit jacket, which also looks like he stores it in his car glove compartment.  Black casual shoes (NOT SUIT SHOES).
 
 

June 25, 2006

I can't win, can I?

Ok...last week, I read something/figured out that BabyT needs a bit more food during the day, and that will help with the night-wakings to eat. I can do that, sure!

So Thursday we added 1 ounce to each bottle feeding and one more solids feeding per day.

He threw up Saturday.
He threw up TWICE today (Sunday).

I think it's because we're over feeding him, but it's confusing since TWO of the vomit-blasts were at the BEGINNING of a feeding, when he was very hungry. I would think it would be at the end of a feeding or shortly after. So, for today anyway, we're scaled back to 4-5 ounces at a feeding and only 1 solids this evening. If all goes well, we'll be back on our old scheule, with maybe just the addition of the one extra solids meal. We'll see. The real bummer is that Thursday night, HE SLEPT ALL NIGHT. Damn. Friday night too.

June 21, 2006

Gosh...where was I?

Oh yes!  San Jose!
 
After our wonderful trip to G00GLE HQ, we returned to our hotel  (see this link! The Wild Palms, baby. http://www.jdvhospitality.com/hotels/hotel/20 It was GREAT! )
 
Where we lounged by the pool like the bathings suit beauties we are (HA!).  Then showered up for dinner at a fabulous restaurant, where my girlfriends kept trying to take pictures of a waiter that bore a STUNNING resemblance to Orlando Bloom and yes, you read that right.  We also had a baby shower for SMG there - and showered her with tons o' girly baby clothes for her new little one. 
 
Then - back to SMG's house for drinks and hanging out, after yet another fun girly trip to the grocery store, where I'm sure we conviced all the employess that we were CRAZY.
 
And - our rental car was a mack-daddy tricked out 300M.  We were quite the scene!
 
More tomorrow - we still have to cover Saturday's events!
 

June 20, 2006

Gosh...where was I?

Oh yes - the trip.  Due to recent events, I cannot post the rest of the details here.  If you are interested though, I am writing it up and will email it to you, just email me or post a comment.
 
Oh, and BabyT can say MAMA!!  And it is SO CUTE I can't stand it!  Watching him practice pursing his lips trying to do the MMMMM sound is so cute and amazing!  Then to HEAR him say it!  When hubby held the phone up to his ear and I talked to him, he said it!  Think he knows what Mama means?!!

June 19, 2006

Another Great Weekend...

A great weekend all around!  I'll be posting some choice pics over there in the sidebar (FLIKR!) later!  Keep posted!
 
Hubby LOVED his gift - a leather bound album, to be updated each year, with the handprints and a picture of his 2 beautiful boys!  (there'll be a picture of that posted too!).
 
We had a nice time and visited w/my grandparents then had his dad over for a BBQ of yummy smoked filets, homemade mac&cheese, wild rice, cake and beer!  Yay beer!

June 15, 2006

Commerical Break!



Oh.My.

(actually, I sent hubby to store to find Edy's ice cream sandwich ice cream but he came back with an acceptable substitute!)

Update: here's the link for the ice cream sandwich ice cream! http://www.edys.com/brand/grand/flavor.asp?b=134&f=1610

June 14, 2006

Friday in San Jose...

Recap: me and girl friends have arrived in San Jose to have a girls'
weekend and baby shower!

Friday morning: after going to bed at 3 a.m. local time (6 a.m. East
Coast Time!)... my friend that lives in San Jose, SMG, arrives after
dropping her son off at preschool at 9:45 a.m. She finds me and other
friend SK in bed.

We sit around and have girly-chat time for 2 hours! Soon we are
joined by other friend SB. Who knew we've all discovered Secret
deodorant stops working after a time and you need to alternate it w/a
different brand for effectiveness! Also discussion on Brazillian
Laser Light treatments ensues (verdict from friend having it done: by
treatment #2 out of 5, the light is turned up so high it's quite
painful, but yet still NEAT-O).

Decide to go visit SMG's hubby, who works at G00GLE and have lunch
with him there (we love her hubby, he's great!).

There's not much I can say publicly, except that it was SO COOL I
cannot even begin to express it in words. By far, the hit of the day
( other than the FREE FOOD CAFETERIA stocked with organic foods of
your choice and free Ben & Jerry's ice cream ) were the Japanese
toilets that they had installed there!

Please see this picture that someone else :
http://www.theinquirer.net/images/articles/Google_toilet.jpg

These are GREAT! So we 5 ladies tromp on in there and as each of us
sat down, there was an audible "oooooh!" when we sat on the WARMED
TOILET SEAT! How nice! Especially since the building was freezing!
THEN, one by one my friends pressed the "front" button, or what they
thought was the front, but I guess they each accidentally pressed
"rear" and then an audible "hey!!!!" from each as the water turned on!
It was HILARIOUS (I did not partake in the washing though, I didn't
trust that they dryer would work well enough for my taste and who
wants to be wet down there wandering around?)

BUT MORE HILARIOUS was when we exited the restroom and there was SMG's
hubby sitting outside the door wondering what the HELL-a was going on
in the bathroom - apparently he could hear quite the commotion. It
was so funny!!!!!!

More later - this is a long entry...coming up, dinner and a baby shower!

June 12, 2006

And another weekend!

Oh what a GREAT weekend!

For starters, BabyT has returned to 1 wake-up a night, which is
totally tolerable! Yay Sleep!

Friday, hubby got off work early and we met him at ToysRUs so that son
could get his first bike!!!! SO amazing! And of course, he's a great
rider! So now we can be the cute family riding bikes w/the baby on
the back!

Saturday I got to sleep in a bit - then just hung out with the kids
all day. I had a 6:30 appt to get a pedicure...then on a whim picked
up dinner to go at Chipotle! We had never eaten food from there
before and ....WOW! That place is GREAT! Hubby and I are SO PICKY
about what's in our food, most mexican places put too much stuff in
the food that we don't like - but at Chipotle, I get to decide! No
veggies and veggie-like toppings for us! Meat, cheese and rice!
Fabulous!

Yesterday we had the sitter come for a trial to see if she could
handle both kids - she did GREAT. Son loved her and so did we (BabyT
did too, but he likes everyone in the world, except my Grandma). We
got SO MUCH done around the house. Hubby picked up blinds from Lowes
and put them up, along w/our custom window treatments from our old
house from our old family room into our new bedroom and they look
GREAT (I'm loving the all-caps today!). The blinds make such a
difference (we had paper blinds) - it's like real adults live there,
not just hubby and me!

And the summary from the California trip is coming soon I promise,
just need some time to write it!

June 08, 2006

those crazy people!

The past couple of days, people seem to not be looking in the mirror -
or maybe just not caring anymore?

I've seen
- lady in a red tank sweater with black dressy pants....and OLD TEVAS!
- lady in nice dressy black skirt, with a white top made of very thin
fabric - so muc so that the seams appeared SUPER WHITE because the
rest of the shirt was so thin. AND old ratty flip flops?!
- young woman in cool multi-length trendy skirt, little jean
jacket....and tennis shoes???
- a woman in a white dress, once again in such thin material that any
seam or area of double material (like around the neck, where they sew
the tag in) is SUPER WHITE because it's 2 layers of white material and
TENNIS SHOES

Why dress so cute if you're going to wear shoes that undo all the cuteness??

June 07, 2006

NewsFLASH!

Surprise! Not only can BabyT sit unassisted (for short amts of time)
he CAN CRAWL/SCOOT! I thought babies could only do one or the other
until they perfected the first skill. Either that is not true or
I've given birth to a super-genious (which is ENTIRELY possible :-)

Let the fun begin! We've scheduled a babysitter to come Sunday so we
can make the family room "BabyT friendly" - meaning moving all of
son's toys that are a choking hazard out of that room (like Star Wars
Figures guns, Lego pieces, etc.)...

So exciting moves afoot in our house!

June 06, 2006

And on Thursday Night, they arrived...

So - last Thursday all us girlies arrive in San Jose! SO much fun!

We were supposed to go right to bed (11 p.m. San Jose time) and meet
our friend that lives there in the morning (the pregnant one!) - but I
needed snacks from the grocery store, then the sisters decided we
needed wine...and you can guess the rest. We went to bed at 3 a.m.
local time (6 a.m. my time!!!) -yikes! It is SO NICE to just hang
with your girlfriends and chat and hear what's going on in there lives
(my friend E is being chased by an VeryImportant Internet CEO! SO
COOL!)...

More later - gotta get back to work! Watch for Friday's events recap
coming soon!

June 05, 2006

What a weekend!

I don't have time to blog right now, but here's what's coming....

- what happens when 5 women encounter the fANCY Japanese toilets at
Google headquarters!
- Monterey is GORGEOUS!
- more evidence that people on planes are asses
- why I love my girlfriends!
- what I ate this weekend and why I'm happy about it!
- how one can be up for 26 HOURS straight!

June 01, 2006

Girls Weekend!

This weekend is it! We're all flying to see my girlfriend that is
pregnant to have a baby shower and a girly weekend! I can't wait - am
almost packed and ready to go for my flight tonight!

I already miss my kids and hubby - that part of the weekend will be
really hard. But of course, I will struggle through. :-)

Have a great weekend!

May 30, 2006

Somebody help me!

HELP! My DS (born 12/17/05) was sleeping THRU THE NIGHT until 3 weeks
ago when a certain someone brought over her damn kids and they had
colds. Well, shockingly, the baby caught their cold. So throughout
his cold, he had to get up twice a night just to take cold medicine
and go right back to sleep. This was fine, as it was like getting up
for 5 minutes twice a night. No problem.

Well. Now he's all better, but he's getting up FOUR TIMES a night.
The first time, just to be rocked. Once to eat (about 1 a.m.).
Another time to be rocked. Then AGAIN to eat (Like at 3:30 a.m.).
And with each of these wake-ups. he is screaming hysterically, like
someone is cutting off his arms w/a dull knife. We do try to see if
he'll go back down w/just rocking instead of a bottle, but he tries to
fling himself out of our arms with back-arching if he's wanting a
bottle instead of being rocked. And continues screaming until his
bottle is ready.

So - crying it out isn't a solution for us, not w/the hystericall-ness
he's displaying.

Anyone have suggestions, please??!!! I have to getup for work
everymorning at 4:20 a.m. and it's killing hubby and I (I take the 11
p.m. - 2 a.m. shift and he takes from 2 a.m. on)...

May 25, 2006

A little bragging on my older son!

  • He got a perfect report card!
  • When the DR asked him to write his name at his 4 year checkup, Son and the DR were sitting across from each other at a table. He wrote his name on the paper upside down so it would be legible from her seat.
  • Son also got 4 shots at that appt. Shots his father told him about ahead of time, which did not cause him to fuss about going to the DR or cause him any fear. Or tears for that matter, when it came time for the shots.
  • We figured out why all the kids in Son's soccer class are so much taller than he is (although he is BY FAR the most coordinated child and athletically advanced on the field). They are all age 5 to 5 1/2 - which puts them a YEAR older than my Son.
  • At today's end-of-year party, he was the most well-behaved child. Putting his trash away, washing up, helping wipe down the tables, etc. Without being asked!

    BTW - did anyone see Lost? Quite the episode - though not all the questions were answered like they said they would be!
  • May 23, 2006

    so let us ponder...

    Scene: you are in the building cafeteria. You would like an
    EverythingBagel. You slice it open at the slicer counter and move
    along to the toppings bar. There is whipped butter and whipped cream
    cheese - each w/a spreading spatula stabbed into it.

    Do you:

    A. Use the spreader to put a topping on your EverythingBagel,
    depositing pieces of garlic, onion, and poppy seed into the cream
    cheese with every swipe?

    B. Get a "topping container" and fill it, put a top on it, then use a
    plastic knife to actually spread the topping on the bagel once seated
    at the breakfast table?

    If you said A, PLEASE STOP IT NOW. IF I WANTED GARLIC AND ONIONS IN
    MY CREAM CHEESE, I WOULD NOT BE USING THE CREAM CHEESE LABELED "CREAM
    CHEESE" BUT INSTEAD WOULD BE LOOKING FOR THE "GARLIC & ONION AND
    VARIOUS OTHER PIECES OF SOMEONE ELSE'S FOOD" BIN.

    Thank you.

    May 22, 2006

    As Seen In Parking Lot...

    A lady wearing
    <li>light blue ankle boots w/heel
    <li>light blue panty hose
    <li>denim skirt, slightly above ankle length, but not tea length.
    Skirt has flower print and slit up the back.
    <li>light blue turtle neck
    <li><i>sante-fe print vest</i> (note: this is not the sante-fe vest
    lady from before)

    So. Obviously this person spends some time on how they look. How did
    they decide on this particular combination?

    May 18, 2006

    And then....less sleep

    SOMEONE SHOOT ME NOW.

    Both boys started having cold symptoms IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT.

    Here's how our night went:

    10 p.m. Lights out!
    11 p.m.- I have to get up to turn Baby T over.
    12 a.m. - Get up with Baby, notice he's stuffy. Give bottle and worry,
    as I have no cold meds in the house (the last time he got a cold, he
    was too young to have meds).
    12:15 - hubby gets up to give tissues to Son who is also awake and stuffy.
    2 a.m. - Roll baby T over again.
    2:45 a.m. - Son requests someone cover him with blankets.
    4:40 a.m. - Baby T fussy due to congestion. Thankfully hubby brings
    him back into our room because I am getting ready to oversleep AGAIN
    and have to get out of bed to make room for Baby T.

    So, to sum it up, I'm TIRED!

    But there is some good news! Apparently Baby T sat unsupported
    yesterdeay briefly!! YAY! Go Baby T - sitting at 5 mos is a little
    early, but WONDERFUL! (Note: I WILL NOT be ecstatic when he starts
    crawling, and hopefully that is MONTHS away. Our house is a safety
    nightmare w/Son's toys everywhere and they all have teeny-tiny
    pieces...UGH!)

    May 17, 2006

    I don't remember it that way...

    My alarm went off at it's usual time, preset to give me enough time to
    blow dry my hair (which, BTW, is 4:25 a.m.). I turned off the alarm
    but do not remember either laying back down or making a decision to
    lay back down (many mornings I <i>will</i> have discussions with
    myself about when I should get up vs. when I want to get up).

    The next time I looked at the clock, it was the time I would get up if
    I did not want to blow dry my hair (BTW, 5:11 a.m.). I cursed and
    told my husband that I'd overslept. Once again, I do not remember
    making any decision to either lay back down or even the laying back
    down.

    The next time I looked at the clock, it was 5 minutes past my usual
    "leave the house" time (BTW, 5:33 am). Crap. So, I got up finally.

    Oh well. It's only my coworkers that have to suffer the visual
    assault of the wavy hair. And I got extra sleep out of it!

    May 16, 2006

    mmmm...chocolate!

    did you know a frosted chocolate cupcake has 1/2 the fat and calories
    of alittle baggie of Doritos? Did ya? I just found out and AM LOVING
    IT. And I'm sure I'm losing weight because of this new information!

    PS. If you've commented lots and I "know" you, I have a great pic of
    the boys in their Mother's Day outfits! (hahaha, like I ever get LOTS
    of comments!)

    I finally ordered a new bathing suit for my girly-weekend coming up.
    Having to wear a bathing suit in front of my 2 girlfriends that
    haven't had kids and my one friend whose body LOOKS THE SAME after
    giving birth to THREE is really stressing me out. But I found a
    nice-looking tankini at Macy's in "chocolate" that should look nice.
    So we'll see when it gets here (notice my tie in of chocolate, I am SO
    CLEVER). I've already vowed to stand as close to the pregnant friend
    at all times and in any picture so at least I'll be more shapely or
    people won't notice me while looking at her.

    Off to eat that yummy cupcake!

    May 15, 2006

    Monday Monday..

    At about 4:15 a.m. this morning, I noted that it was POURING rain.
    Well. My original plan was to get up at 4:20 am. and motor into work,
    goto gym, then start my workday at 6:30 a.m. Well. That would
    involve carrying my gym bag, my purse, my workclothes (on hangers), my
    worklunch bag and an umbrella in the pouring rain at about 5 a.m. I
    don't think so. I 'slept in' until 5:05 a.m. then got up for work. I
    guess I'll have to try and squeeze in a workout this week, which is
    usually IMPOSSIBLE with our schedules, but whatever.

    I'm also thinking about a jog-stroller. This way, I could get a
    workout in AND take care of the baby at the same time! Genious!

    Anything going on in your neck of the woods? Not much in mine this
    week...just working as previously scheduled! ;-)

    May 13, 2006

    Well!

    What do you think?

    Thanks to Zoot for the great template design! BUT I have to redo my blogroll - since I'm redoing it, anyone I should add that I forgot last time??

    Later...

    May 09, 2006

    Because you are lazy that is why...

    Why would someone call a number, realize this is NOT THE RIGHT number
    for the pesron they want to reach, and leave a message asking the
    current-phone-number-holder to locate the person they were looking for
    originally and have them return the call?

    Jeesh. I am not your (or his) damn secretary or receptionist. When
    you realize you have the wrong damn number, look up his new number
    your damn self.

    May 08, 2006

    A strange week...

    Hubby has training this week - so I've got today off to watch the boys and have to do pickup and drop off of the boys at my Mom's Tues/Wed/Thurs. AND this is Son's last soccer week, so I have to go to that Wednesday afternoon and tape it. AND Son's preschool is having a "Mother's Day Tea" Thursday morning so of course wild horses couldn't keep me away from THAT. So, looks like I won't be at work much this week, boo hoo! Of course, that will be reflected in my paycheck because I don't have any leave, but who the hell cares with kiddies like this!

    Son has a playdate today w/my best friend's son, who is also WAY into Star Wars, so we should have a good day!

    May 05, 2006

    He's a grower too!

    Well! Tyler had his 4 month checkup today (he's a tad over 4 months, but they were booked).

    17 pds 4 ounces. 27 3/4 inches tall. That's 95% folks. A big boy (Amalah's Noah was 15 pds and 27 1/2 inches at 4 months). He's my only basis of comparison right now, as all the other babies are either a lot older or a lot younger, but her stats are in the archives! So thanks Amalah - which is pronounced AIM-a-lah if you read her Smackdown (which I did, of course). I would never have pronounced that right in a million years. I'm loving all the posting she's doing, she's so funny...

    Anyway - back to the porker, I mean, baby! Adorable! He got 2 shots today which REALLY PISSED HIM OFF based on the quantity of red-faced yelling he did about it. Then 2 more in 2 weeks when Dad can take him! The nurse didn't put his bandaid on right, which I only found out too late when he'd bled all over my new white polo shirt.

    Hubby is a bleeder. Whatever amt is normal bleeding, he is usually running about double the blood loss. When he had knee surgery, and i needed to change the bandage after the first few hours, it literally SHOT blood across the room, like in a movie. Ditto on the wisdom tooth extraction. Apparently BabyT has the same gene.

    Otherwise, a good visit. THOUGH when my older son started at this Pediatrician office, they had very few patients because the were new and took everyone's footprints to put on the wall. Now they have a ton of patients and need to repaint and THEY ARE GOING TO PAINT OVER THE FOOTPRINTS, OH MY GOD. Which is exactly the reaction the receptionist had when I told her I was running out to the car for my phone to take a picture. HOW CAN THEY DO THIS? I have no idea, but in 2 weeks, hubby is taking the good camera in case the painting hasn't been done yet!

    May 02, 2006

    This one, he's an eater.

    Well. Everyone tells you how your two kids will be so different from each other. And you don't really believe them because how can a child coming from the same gene pool raised in the same house be different from the first one that came along?

    But they are. They SOOOO are.

  • Son is a tall skinny kid. Like he's going to be a rocking football receiver. Baby T is a very tall, 'stocky' baby. He weighs 18.5 pds at 4.5 months. Son was 19 pounds AT ONE YEAR OLD. Amalah talks about the big Noah, but when she posted his 6 month stats (Baby T was maybe 2.5 months old), he wasn't much bigger than BabyT was THEN.
  • Son slept thru the night at 9 weeks. BabyT proved he could do it, starting at 8 weeks, but consistently wanted a bottle once thru the night until 4 months. Gotta get those daily calories in somehow.
  • Son NEVER spit up. NEVER. BabyT has a touch of reflex and does little spit ups all the time - and as I JUST learned recently - if you spit up after eating peas, it comes out GREEN. And smells nasty.
  • We thought Son was a happy baby. Smiling all the time. BabyT smiles MORE than that.
  • Son REFUSED to entertain himself, even for 1 millisecond. BabyT INSISTS we put him down and leave him alone a couple of times a day. This is puzzling to us, to put a crying baby down and have it actually work!
  • Son never eats/ate green veggies, even as baby food. Baby T cannot get enough of this yummy new food I started giving him Saturday - PEAS! LOVING THEM, EVERY BITE.

    The only thing not different is the startling-ly fierce love I feel for each of them.
  • April 30, 2006

    Think again, young lady!

    Well...so much for that idea!

    We had a LONG day playing in the cul-de-sac w/the neighbor kids (which left all of us, including the BABY, with sunburn, earning me WORST MOTHER EVER status!) and drinking beer (beer for the big kids only ;-)...Well, at 6:45 p.m. Son falls asleep on the couch so hubby puts him in bed. We look at each other with hopeful eyes - an evening w/out the kids? Dare we dream it so? Since baby T's bedtime is usually 8, it seemed like a very real possibility - then when Baby T was SCREAMING for his bedtime bottle at 7:30, we were almost giddy! Like schoolgirls I tell you!

    Well...that was a funny plan, while it lasted. Baby T wouldn't go down until 8:30 p.m., which isn't bad, but Son woke up at 8:10 pretty much beside himself w/crankiness. He fussed and cried all the way into bed at 9 p.m. I hate to see him like that - so tired he can't even stand himself or communicate what might calm him down.

    And we're all funny looking tonight because of our sunburns. How Baby T and I got burned I have no idea - Baby T took TWO naps under the umbrella, and then hubby and I took turns sitting UNDER the umbrella with him while we were outside. So imagine our surprise when the redness on his cheeks didn't go away when he cooled down. Of course, my face is ON FIRE as I type this!

    April 26, 2006

    Allergies! And Pollen! and sneezing, oh my!

    Yikes! Yesterday son came down w/a HUGE CASE of allergies. Like
    swollen face, red squinty eyes, sneezing and a river of snot ("mommy!
    The boogies won't stop coming!")...

    So I made an emergency appt w/his DR for today to get a script for
    Zyrtec. They helped him IMMEDIATELY. Love modern medicine sometimes
    (I'm still questioning of DRs in general, but when it comes to
    allergies, I know my stuff and generally lead the DR down the path I
    have chosen of treatment).

    AND last night? Was the 3rd straight night of sleep in the Princess
    household, Hooray! Let's go for 4!!!!!!!

    April 25, 2006

    Goings on...

    Grrr…so some person in a Passat got pulled over on the main road
    outside our development this morning. At 5:15 a.m. It is one lane
    in each direction at that point. There is an office complex directly
    on the left, with a HUGE parking lot. So where does the lady decide
    to pull over for the cop? On the 'shoulder' of the road, except there
    is not enough shoulder for her TINY car or the large Tahoe that the
    County Sheriff was driving, so both of their vehicles were ½ out into
    the travel lane of the main road. Nice. Even at 5:15 a.m., there was
    a HUGE traffic jam because those of us traveling east-bound couldn't
    drive by them if there was any oncoming traffic. I don't know why she
    didn't pull in the parking lot or why the cop didn't TELL HER TO MOVE
    her car into the lot, for the safety of both of them.

    BTW – this is night #2 of Baby T sleeping all night un-interrupted!
    Please, please, let's make it three!!!

    April 24, 2006

    Monday Update!

    Well. A lovely weekend!

    Baby T slept all night last night! Hubby had to go in a couple of times and roll him back onto his back, but I guess around 6 a.m., he found a way to get comfy on his belly and settled down (Baby T, not hubby! ;-) Let's hope this trend continues! We are SO TIRED between getting up to feed him and having to work, it's exhausting to put it mildly. Of course, this doesn't fix the exhaustion that comes from having to get up at 4:30 a.m. Monday thru Thursday, but it could help a lot!'

    My SIL had her baby shower yesterday - she's due at the end of May w/my little nephew. I can't wait! My brother put on the Baby Bjorn w/Baby T in it yesterday to see how he'd like it and it wasn't too bad it seems! I love this thing - one thing we cannot live without. And the food there was awesome, so much for my diet!!

    I did get a run in on Friday and a lifting session and elliptical today (never as long as I'd like, but once again, I'll take what I can get!).

    OH! And I found a new show "Honey, We're Killing The Kids!" - it's a show about totally unhealthy kids and their families. The DR shows the parents where the kids diet and lifestyle will take the kids when they are 40. It is AMAZING how some parents let their kids live. Of course, we let son eat quite a bit of sweets and play video games, but he spends roughly 2 hours a day (AT LEAST) outside running around at home, plus soccer once a week, plus he only gets 'dessert' if he's eaten his fruit for the meal. Anyway, the DR tries to get the whole family unit to change their ways. It's interesting - some parents give in and let the kids eat junk during the show anyway...some parents do really well. You should check it out!

    April 19, 2006

    Now with Updates!

    Hi there y'all!  Now I can send in updates by email - so we should be seeing them more often right?  I hope so!
     
    Baby T - man he's growing so fast!  He's so big and everyday learning new things.  It's amazing to watch him put things in his mouth, look for people, recognize people he knows, find new things to see on his exerasaucer!  He even sat UNASSISTED yesterday for a few minutes!
     
    Son - he's growing like a weed too!  All his winter clothes are way too small...I saw him kicking around the soccer ball yesterday and he IS a soccer master!  He's amazing at it - esp. considering he's only had TWO classes and is only 4 years old.  He's got dribbling (do they call it that?) down pat, as well as evasive manuvers in case someone's trying to take the ball way.  SO cool to watch!
    Test blog entry from email!

    April 17, 2006

    Congratulations!

    To Sara on her newest little addition...

    And to Bugs on hers!

    All these babies, oh my!

    Happy Easter!

    Happy Easter to you! We are recovering from a traveling weekend - and having to work today means little time for blogging...more later, I promise!

    April 14, 2006

    My gosh!

    We were SO BUSY last week I totally forgot to post!!! SORRY about that!

    Congrats to Girl and Erika on the birth of their absolutely adorable little ones!!!!!!!

    April 07, 2006

    Oh dear lord...

    all the kids that Son was playing with yesterday have CROUP today. CROUP. Pray for us... I hope we don't get it - esp. Baby T.

    April 05, 2006

    SHOES!

    YIPEE! I had a pair of sandals in my shopping cart for zappos.com for a week now. I decided to buy them today and BOOM, they're sold out. Boo hoo. After much intense searching, I found them at another website and just bought them already. I don't want to lose out again!

    They are the Born Farlow sandals and they are SO COOL I can't stand it! (BTW, did I ever tell you I LOVE sandals!). I got a pedicure last weekend and even though it SNOWED this morning briefly, I wore sandals so as not to rub the whites off my french manicure. No tomboy in me, that's for sure!

    April 04, 2006

    oddly enough, still busy...

    My schedule was 8 am to 6 pm for work, but that was getting me home so late, hubby and I switched this week, to 6 am - 4 pm. Which means I get up at 4:30 am and BUST ASS to get to work by 5:40 am or so. BUT I get to pick up the kids and get some more time w/them each day, so it's great. Loving it.

    The things I see at work have me laughing all the time. There was a guy delivering machines around to people today, and one fell off his cart. HUGE sound when it fell - he didn't even notice. Some guy going the other way in the hall stopped him and pointed it out. Ten bucks says there is a user somewhere trying to figure out why his computer doesn't work!

    I also love the "fashions" that one sees in a building mixed w/people of different levels and positions. Today's lovely was a TEAL long-sleeved t-shirt dress with a red flannel shirt UNDERNEATH and red clogs. Very classy look, if you're going for farmers wife.

    Stayed tuned tomorrow for an update on the weirdly dressed.

    April 01, 2006

    I don't think so pal!

    Scene - my house. Lazy Saturday afternoon. ALL THREE boys are sleeping (includes hubby!)...While piddling in Baby T's room, I hear a truck. I look out the window and see one of those trucks that sells furniture out of the back parked on our street, in front of my house and see the driver headed to MY DOORBELL to see if we want to check it out.

    Not only do I NOT want to buy any of his crappy, no name furniture, if he rings that doorbell I'm going to have his head. I RACE through the house and rip the door open just as his finger reaches out for the doorbell.

    "No thanks - my entire family is sleeping." And shut the door. They are JUST as annoying as telemarketers - what gives him the right to interupt my Saturday at home???

    March 31, 2006

    And yet, busier...

    Ugh. So much to do. At work, I am the only UI developer. So I have to write the entire client. Which is due for DELIVERY on May 31. Which means off to test maybe by May 15? So, I have a bit of work to do! Thank goodness the ONE server developer we have is great and does the design to help make my life easier!

    Baby T starts cereal tomorrow! I cannot believe he's that old, but lo and behold, 15 weeks tomorrow! The DR said 16 weeks, but who's counting!

    Girl, Sara and Erika STILL haven't had their babies - here's hoping for a productive weekend for them!

    Son started soccer this week. Even though he's the youngest in the class, he's apparently already the soccer master! (no, I'm not a wee bit overly proud!)

    March 28, 2006

    Overly Busy...

    Yikes....

  • Work is crazy. We deploy MAY 31 and the entire client is being coded by ME. And we have nothing so far. Yikes!
  • Hubby and Son have been fighting colds for a week now.
  • Baby T got the cold with a VENGENCE last night. Apparently he is too little for decongestant. We had to do nasal saline drops and nose sucking. Yuk. He didn't like it either, judging from the FIT he threw. I'm not suprised to see that he didn't like it AND that he's got quite the temper.
  • Tonight, we did a steam shower and a warm mist vaporizer in his room. Let's hope it goes better!
  • Surprisingly, I'm tired and have had NO TIME to work out. This sucks. Next week, hubby and I are going to try an alternate schedule to see if it doesn't suck a bit less.

    Over and out.
  • March 26, 2006

    Roll On Baby!

    And Baby T has discovered the joys of rolling over! He can roll from his back onto his belly on either the right or left side! Way to go Baby T!

    Also - I left him Saturday to entertain himself in the bouncy seat - when I returned, he was a FOUNTAIN (A FOUTAIN I TELL YOU) of vomit! It was STILL coming out and he had the hugest grin on his face, like "Mommy, look at my trick!". It would have been funny if we weren't on our way to a surprise party where it is sort of important to be on time. AND when I went to throw him in the shower with Dad, I discovered a massive poop too! Ah, the lives of parents of young children! Never a dull moment!

    March 24, 2006

    Swiffer Duster!

    Oh man! Have I been wasting time vacuuming baseboards, lampshades, doors and chair rail! I bought this today as I am facing a severe shortage of cleaning time... and got the WHOLE HOUSE done in just about 1/2 an hour (in short spurts) as opposed to dragging the vaccuum around and the duster reaches behind and under things much better! I LOVE it and highly suggest it!

    Also purchased - size 3 nipples! Baby T had a 6.5 ounce bottle in 20 minutes! Go Baby T!

    AND

    Our Bumbo seats came today! LOVE THESE. Baby T loves the new position and it keeps him occupied for a while - and he can see what we're doing better! I highly HIGHLY recommend them for once the babies get their head control (somewhere between 2.5 months and 3 months!).

    March 21, 2006

    A List (because I'm Tired)

  • Work is progressing.
  • I LOVE working in the same building as hubby!
  • Why did Baby T sleep thru the night ALL LAST WEEK and not once today?
  • My mom witnessed her first reflux attack while watching Baby T today.
  • Baby T has almost rolled over. As soon as you lay him down, he rolls onto his side to continue trying to get all the way over.
  • Son starts soccer next Wednesday. Is he already old enough for organized sports? Apparently.
  • Go Erika and Girl! They'll be having their babies soon enough!!!!
  • I got a coupon for 25% off at the COACH store! Yipee!!!!!
  • I seriously need a pedicure.
  • and some sleep.
  • and a couple more hours in the day to get things done.
  • and time to work out.
  • I have lost TWO MORE POUNDS by going back on my PCOS medication! AND I haven't worked out since Sunday!
  • My work pants are getting seriously too big - but they have to last until it's warm enough for spring clothes - should I eat MORE??!!
  • March 20, 2006

    Work..

    The new job should be great - my new boss, turns out to be an old boss of mine from years ago! I never ran across his last name in our chats w/my contracting boss and he never ran across mine, so that was a pleasant experience today.

    BUT 2 developers (out of 3!) quit today. They are young guys and got HUGE offers from smaller contracting companies so we'll see. Hopefully I don't get dumped on!

    And my contracting boss is a gem. Love her lots.

    Gotta run though - the house today, after Dad and two boys alone in it all day, is a MESS.

    March 19, 2006

    Sun Won't Come Out Tomorrow, Tomorrow...

    Tomorrow is my first day back at work. :-( I am SO dreading this. Yes, being home w/the kids is exhausting. And can be a lot of work, and hard to juggle the needs of a 4 year old and a 3 month old. And often times, I need TWO showers a day. BUT that is the best job I've ever had. I love it. And taking care of my boys. And being the one they have to run too all day.

    So tomorrow is the end of my maternity leave and it sucks. Luckily, I only have 4 day work weeks, but still. That's 4 days more a week than I was spending away from my boys! The idea that for 10 hours tomorrow, I have to go be with STRANGERS (I'm starting on a new contract) rather than my kids, is killing me.

    March 17, 2006

    Sleeping!

    Baby T has been asleep for 9 hours and 1 minute as I sit here and type and wait for him! It's 6:50 am and I am stunned! AND he only had 2 ounces before bed last night, so I was SURE he was going to get up around 3 am! So fantastic!

    I just ordered 2 of these (one for my mom's house)...



    Will let you know how it works out.

    3 months old is TOO YOUNG for the exersaucer though, just FYI. I did try it yesterday and it didn't work.

    March 16, 2006

    Weekly Laundry...

    Here's what I do in laundry...

  • 1 load darks for Son
  • 1 load sheets/towels for Son
  • 1 load underwear for Son
  • 1 load underwear for adults
  • 1 load darks for adults
  • 1 load lights for adults
  • 1 load sheets/towels for adults
  • 1 load lights for Baby T
  • 1 load darks for Baby T
  • 2 loads towels/spitup rags/etc for Baby T
  • 1 load dishtowels

    That is a good week. Many weeks include an extra load of undies for Son or an extra load of darks for adults (if Baby T spits up on us A LOT that week).

    So I am pretty much always spinning something in the washer!

    And this week, add

  • 3 loads of ski outerwear from last week
  • March 15, 2006

    Loving Fisher-Price!

    We bought this for Baby T in January and didn't put the toy bar on until he was 2 months old: he loves this VERY MUCH, btw

    Ocean Wonders Bouncy seat


    Well, a week after putting the toy bar on, when it blows the bubbles, it makes this HORRIBLE noise. SO LOUDLY.

    I just called Fisher Price and they are sending a new toy bar! Yay for good customer service!!!

    We rented this seat while in Beaver Creek, CO, and he LOVED it as well. The only issue is that it is smaller than the Ocean Wonders one and when he gets taller, he'll outgrow it faster, but man did he love that little bird!

    Flutterbye Bouncy Seat!


    Because he loved that bouncy seat so much, but it is too small to justify buying, we bought this Monday... (Flutterbye Deluxe Soft Gym)



    And, of course, he loves this too. (that is NOT BabyT in the picture! That is Amazon's picture)

    March 14, 2006

    Working Sucks!

    I had to go into my new job today to do some stuff to get ready for next week (there is something that can only be done on Tuesdays - if I waited until next week, I couldn't do the "thing" until Tuesday and not start work until Wednesday. Since they want me to start on Monday, I had to do the "thing" this Tuesday).

    MAN does hauling 2 kids to my Mom's house early in the morning SUCK. It is depressing and I hate it already. Next week is REALLY GOING TO SUCK.

    That is all. Tomorrow I will be spending another glorious day with just my two favorite little boys!

    March 13, 2006

    And...

    We're Home! Man, what a trip to get here! Our flight was delayed for TWO HOURS!

    My husband is a tall guy. And well built. So on a plane, his knees literally have to be tucked in behind the seat in front of him. And it is quite uncomfortable for him if the person in front of him puts his seat back on most planes. Well, this one was really bad. The guy in front of him reclined his seat into hubby's knees. When the guy didn't get what he felt was the full recline, he kept trying to jam it back (I could see from across the aisle that he WAS fully reclined, BTW). Hubby pointed out that the continued rammning would do no good because his seat hwas now resting on his knees, the guy kept doing it for THREE HOURS. AND hubby was holding Baby T (his arms are more comfy for sleeping than mine, go figure). Nice huh? I wanted to get up and smack him. Even the stewardesses noticed, because they were quite rude to him (at the end of the flight, one stewardess put his seat up for him, while he was sleeping!)

    Anyway, it's so great to be home! After having 2 kids in a hotel room all week, simply being home feels like a great luxury!

    March 11, 2006

    Ugh! A new diagnosis...

    Ok... about once a week or so, BabyT would throw up at least an entire feeding, or what looked like 2 feedings. Really gross. Generally we'd attribute it to not getting that last burp out, or moving him around too much after eating...Well.

    Since we've been in Colorado, he's had a LARGE, force-full throw up once a day. And boy is that fun when you're traveling, with limited change of clothes, and trying to not make a mess in a super fancy hotel room! So I called the pediatrician last night and she said he sounds like classic silent reflux. It doesn't bother him at all, but the food comes up very easily. Great. And my gut is telling me also that the altitude is making it worse, which is why we're up to throwing up once a day instead of once a week. Please join me in praying that once we get back to a non-high-altitude area, he gets better. Please, please, please. Having a child that throws up at the drop of a hat is an enormous amount of work and stress.

    Other than that, traveling w/a 12 week old is fine. Actually much easier than I thought it would be -except for having to wash bottles ALL THE TIME because I didn't bring enough and trying to keep bottled water handy for mixing formula!

    And the renting of baby accessories (bouncy seat, stroller) was a GREAT idea. I don't know what we'd have done w/out the bouncy seat, which he LOVED (it's the Fisher price Flutter & Chime I think, we have Ocean Wonders, and he loves the rented one just as much!)

    March 08, 2006

    CTTS

    or Cute Things They Say...

    at dinner last night...

  • My son, when L got a glass of wine --> "L! Who drank out of your glass? It's already half gone!" when he saw that they only gave the wine glasses half full.
  • After falling asleep on the bench before dinner came and being carried home, where he woke up, he asked "Why did we not eat dinner? We only got drinks!"... He missed the ENTIRE meal sleeping in his seat! And this was the 4 year old! (and a $30 kids steak thrown in the trash to boot!)
  • "I'm farting on you!" as my husband SKIED DOWN THE MOUNTAIN CARRYING THE 4 YEAR OLD AND HIS SKIS!

    Stay Tuned!
  • March 06, 2006

    New Discoveries...

  • Wealth apparently can turn people into serious assholes. We have run into some people that take themselves VERY seriously and do not have any consideration for others whatsoever.
  • I like staying in posh resorts! (we are traveling w/my in-laws)
  • My son is a natural athelete!
  • Who apparently can live off of no food for many days (this is day 4 of almost no food. Go figure. I have NO IDEA why he won't eat and why he's not hungry??!!)
  • I got to workout this morning! GOOD NEWS! My knees didn't hurt! I took it easy, but I think they are healed!!!
  • The babyBjorn is a lifesaver for wandering around w/the baby. The stroller would be so cold for him, so it's nice to have the chest carrier. I turned him facing front yesterday and he LOVES it.
  • The food here is so good, I'm going to have to workout every darn day.

    more later!
  • March 04, 2006

    On a little trip...

    and noticed these things on the plane...

  • the couple with 4 children. They had 4 girls, where the OLDEST one was 4 years old and the youngest was 3 1/2 months (I asked! She's MUCH smaller than Baby T, who is 2 1/2 months). The middle children appeared to be 18 months (she didn't have her own seat, so she must be younger than 2 years old) and the other one maybe 3 years old? Goodness.
  • The 4 year old girl. She wet her pants in the seat. Gross (I KNOW kids have accidents, but gross!) - so the stewardess gave her a blanket to sit on - which is EXACTLY why I never use those blankets. Yuck.
  • These people also felt it was ok to let the 2 oldest girls run around the airplane unsupervised, because they each had their hands full w/the smaller ones.
  • Some jackass w/a backpack hit me on the head w/his backpack while turning around in the aisle. Oblivious jerk. Why is it hard for people to compensate for the backpack space needed when they are wearing one? Why???
  • The lady in the seat in front of me was SO HEAVY that when she reclined her seat, she actually got it to recline like 10 inches and...seriously...her seat was IN MY LAP it was reclined so far. So that was fun.

    But today? We are at the resort and it is fabulous. There is the CUTEST crib ever in the room for Baby T, and the bouncy seat and stroller we rented are so much nicer than what we expected! The bouncy seat is actually brand new. So that is also great.

    Watch this space for more updates!!
  • February 28, 2006

    Various Notes...

  • Dear Baby T - It was GREAT sleeping through the night. Can we return to that schedule please?
  • My boss wants me to start work on March 13 instead of March 20. We are now in intense negotiations.
  • Lake Placid. This is a movie starring Bridget Fonda, Bill Pullman, and Oliver Platt. All are stars that I thought would be WAY above a movie like this. Apparently there is a 30 foot crocodile in some lake that the townspeople wanted to call Lake Placid until they were told that name was taken. Apparently the character played by BETTY WHITE has been feeding WHOLE COWS to this croc. It also has a taste for humans, apparently, having eaten her character's husband and a local fisherman. It is a TERRIBLE movie w/TERRIBLE effects... but at 1:45 a.m. you don't get much choice...Actually I was pulled in by the awfulness of it...
  • My older son didn't get into the local preschool (we were hoping to switch to a closer one for convience sake, even though we LOVE the one he's in now).
  • Baby T is 10 weeks old. Man, what a baby! He's so smiley it's amazing. He constantly tries to sit himself up. He loves his toys!
  • Fisher-Price Sights&Sounds monitor is CRAP! We bought it when Baby T was born and just replaced it this weekend - it SUCKS. The interference on it is TERRIBLE.
  • Baby Bjorn! I just tried it this weekend and I can't BELIEVE no one told me about this miracle thing when I had my first son! How great is this thing? I love it and so does Baby T. Everyone - go buy one!

    and so I'm done as I hear Baby T on the monitor is up and I have to start our morning routine to get my older son to school on-time. Bye!
  • February 25, 2006

    Well Damn...

    it's time to admit it - last Friday, I ran outside around the neighborhood. 30 minutes! And today I admit, after spending $100 on new running shoes, I gave myself Runner's Knee. Damn. Nothing to do now but SIT and wait for it to go away. I am on an Advil regimin as well as icing...so we'll see.

    February 23, 2006

    2 Month Checkup

    I forgot to update you guys! Baby T had his 2 month on Monday, 13 pds 11 oz! 24 3/4 inches tall, though I think the nurse didn't get all his height, she wasn't stretching him very tall.

    We only did 2 of the 4 shots - we go back in March for the other 2. It just seems to me to be too much medicine for such a little body - when you dose something like Tylenol, it's about 1/2 of what the shot volume is...and it's just Tylenol - so we split up the shots.

    She said he looked fabulous! And was measuring perfect for his growth curve...so yay!

    AND - Last night hubby and I went out and picked out my "birthing present", with a little extra for "my wife had a baby and I left town for a month" money added to it! Thank you hubby, it is lovely and I will cherish it always.

    February 22, 2006

    Well.........duh

    You scored as Mathematics. You should be a Math major! Like Pythagoras, you are analytical, rational, and when are always ready to tackle the problem head-on!

    Mathematics

    100%

    Engineering

    100%

    Sociology

    33%

    Philosophy

    33%

    English

    33%

    Chemistry

    25%

    Psychology

    25%

    Art

    17%

    Anthropology

    17%

    Theater

    17%

    Dance

    17%

    Journalism

    0%

    Linguistics

    0%

    Biology

    0%

    What is your Perfect Major? (PLEASE RATE ME!!<3)
    created with QuizFarm.com

    Congratulations Also!


    To Corinne and Forrest on the birth of their new son, Shepherd, who arrived almost right on time on Monday!!

    Congratulations Corinne! Now the fun begins!

    February 21, 2006

    Light Blue

    Please drop over at Navy Blue's place. She just had her baby girl early at 25 weeks, and both are doing well so far. I continue to keep all of them in my prayers and am hoping for more updates soon.

    February 16, 2006

    Love On The Rocks

    This is another reality show I've found. Basically, couples in trouble have cameras installed in their home, and 2 doctors help them fix their relationship.

    In the latest one, Tony and SomeChick are a couple. He is an avid mountain climber (please note that this is NOT a paying job). His "work" is construction. She is a real estate investor (read that: has money).

    Their relationship is rocky since they moved in together (shocking, I know). He YELLS at her all the time. He is actually downright nasty and condescending. (if he acted that way to me, he'd be collecting his teeth on his way out the door). They fight all the time.

    She wants to get married and have children. He has a college age daughter at UCLA and wants to be a tour guide in Nepal (or something similar to that, you get the idea). He would like to move to be near his daughter, as he says she is his #1 priority. She does not want to move there. She likes the house that she currently lives in (that he moved in to).

    She would like an engagement ring. He says she'll get one as soon as SHE BUYS them a house near his daughter, and not one minute sooner.

    They show lots and lots of footage of him being an ass and yelling.

    Then the doctors bring them in for counseling. It is pretty funny - you can tell both doctors think he is a LOSER with a capital 'L' and are working hard to point that out to her without actually saying it in front of him. The lady doctor does an exercise with SomeChick to point out the differences between them, listing things like: HE wants to climb mountains, SHE works hard. He wants her to buy house, SHE wants them to buy house together. He does not want children, SHE wants children. ETC. They try and point out to him that he's being an ass and yelling. Not only volume, but what he says as well.

    THEN the couple break up - she seems to realize they are not on the same 'path'. A week later, she says she misses him, but is so much better off without him.

    You guessed it, three months later, they're back together. They cut to footage of him on his construction site, where he's being a smart-ass saying the DR should look deeper into the person, and that he only yells because he's so used to it from work, and if they'd paid any attention to the 'real' him, they'd know that is why he yells, not because he's an inconsiderate mooching ass or anything.

    February 15, 2006

    YAY!

    1.5 pounds more gone!!! Yesterday's weigh in, 131.0 pounds! Down from 132.5 last week! THAT is why my jeans now fit (actually I tried them over weekend)...Running and strength training is really working! (I am still eating like crap: ice cream, candy, cookies, etc. --> goodness knows how much I'd lose if I stopped eating all that junk!! )

    February 13, 2006

    Two Nights!

    He slept from 10 pm to 4:50 am! It would have been more, but he threw up his feeding right before he fell asleep. He did it tonight too, so we'll see....

    February 12, 2006

    And in the EIGHTH WEEK

    he rests.

    Please note, at exactly 8 weeks, 0 days Baby T sleeps through the night for the first time. From 10 pm to 5:09 am. Heaven, let me tell you. Of course, I woke up at 2, 3 and 4 am checking to see if he was awake. He had some awake periods where he was making noises and talking to himself and went right back to sleep.

    I can only PRAY for a repeat performance tonight. We'll see.

    Also - in the eighth week, Mama discovers that her work pants are a little loose (yee haw!) and her cool Gap jeans fit again!!! Yipee kiyay! Of course, the little tops don't quite fit right yet, but we're working on it!!!!

    February 11, 2006

    The Post Office...

    they are dumb over there.

    When my husband was away (for a 2 week trip that got extended to 3 weeks) he ordered some toys for our son. He paid for 2 day delivery so that son could enjoy them right away. When my husband got home, he found out no toys had been delivered (well, no toys from THAT order, all the OTHER orders he placed, they arrived on time)...

    He called the toy company. They said they mailed it and confirmed the address. My husband got the tracking number - according to the USPS website, it was delivered to the wrong zip code. What? The odds that our unusual street name existed in a neighboring zip code are slim to none. Where did the package go? My husband called the main Post Office number and they gave him the local number. The local number goes to a machine that gives the main number. Nice. So he calls the main number back and explains that. They find out that the zip code it was delivered to is actually a special local zip code for State Department packages to be shipped out overseas. Lovely. BUT where the hell did OUR package go, if it went into that part of the post office? He decides to GO DOWN to our local post office to find out. He waits in line. The post office lady says she doesn't do package tracking. He explains that he doesn't need tracking, it's in this building somewhere, in a big pile probably. She says she has other customers to help. WTF? So he, that paid for 2 day shipping, is NOT a customer? He tells her to find someone else to help him. She refuses. She says he needs to use the "white courtesy" phone to call someon. He can see the guy he needs behind her 1/2 door. He tells her to just yell over to him. She refuses. He goes to get him himself - telling her that if she won't do her job, he'll do it for her.

    He leaves his info w/the other guy (who WAS the right guy, btw). That night we get a phone call from a very nice employee who says, that once things go into this "State Department" black hole, they are as good as gone and we should file a claim.

    The next day, the package arrives! Interestingly enough, it DID have our zip code and address on it correct. No idea where it had been for so long.

    THEN yesterday's mail brought me a postcard. It was a postcard my sister-in-law filled out for a scrapbooking magazine where, on the BACK, she puts her name and address as buying a gift subscription for me, and gives my name and address. On the front is the magazine's address, the return address, and a postage stamp.

    Guess where they delivered the post card? To the address, my address, on the back, even though the stamp is on the FRONT. And on the front where the stamp is, is a post office mark of which zip code it should go, listing MINE instead of the one that is 1 inch away from the mark, with the magazine's zip code.

    It must be WORK to be that incompetent, no?

    February 07, 2006

    Workin' Out!

    Yay me! I ran on Saturday (1/2 hour of intervals!). Then went to the trainer yesterday...I was back down the 2.5 pds I had gained! Yay! So 132.5 pds for me it is! I did a HARD leg workout w/the trainer today and will run 2 more times this week, plus 2 sessions of ab work on my own. I can't wait to see what the scale says next Tuesday! (of course, a relative JUST sent us a Valentine's set from Cheryl&Co, which is AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS. I don't know how they get packaged cookies to taste better than homemade from scratch, but they are some DAMN good cookies!

    February 03, 2006

    Thank heavens!

    Baby T returned to only getting up twice last night. I put him down at 10:30 pm and he got up at 1:50 and 5:45. Then for good at 8:45. So that was VERY NICE.

    Today has been HECTIC! I was feeding Baby T and he threw up what looked like his 9 a.m. feeding (we were almost done) and his 5:45 am bottle all over me (I used myself to shield my new family room chairs!). So then it was 2 bottles worth of time re-feeding him all that food. THEN I'm trying to get the last of the house picked up so the cleaning lady can clean, Baby T decides today is a GREAT day to test not having any morning naps (he usually takes 2 or 3!). Then I notice that Son hasn't picked up his room and now I have to do it (no time to spend supervising him doing it)... Of course, Son would like breakfast at somepoint as well... I start to make fried toast for him, the bread is moldy. I talk him into yogurt instead, it is expired. Finally, I get him to eat some turkey bacon and cereal bars. Nice choices there, huh? Next thing I know, it's lunch time and we have to do the whole "what does Son want to eat that I actually have in the house?" routine again. Whew.

    FINALLY Baby T is down for a nap, but the cleaning lady is still here so I can't hop in the shower!

    Oh.. the training session went GREAT yesterday, except I weighed myself. Since hubby has been home, I GAINED two pounds. So we're back to 135. Oh well. I'm trying to talk myself into a run later this afternoon. We'll see.

    February 02, 2006

    Egads Boy!

    Baby T wanted to eat last night at 11:30, 12:45, 2:50, 3:30, 4:50 and 6:30. I would be understanding and thinking this was a growth spurt...but he ate ONE OUNCE at each feeding. Let me tell you, it really sucks putting him down after eating ONE OUNCE because you KNOW that he's getting right-the-f back up in about an hour (OR LESS)... we tried EVERYTHING to wake him to finish the feeding...and nothing worked...changing diapers, laying down and picking him right back up, tickling feet, tickling hands, chin, etc. NOTHING would work, he was SO TIRED. So we'll see what tonight shall bring (it better be our regular schedule of only TWO wake-ups between 9 pm and 6 am!!)...

    January 30, 2006

    Proud Mama...

    :-)

    Today I had a parent-teacher conference with my son's teacher. It went very well!

    Academically, he's doing excellent. He knows all his letters, numbers, can write his name without help, understands how numbers correlate to the actual # of objects, etc. He is in the three-year old class because of his late birthday (he's 4, turned in December) - and said he's more advanced than most of her 4 year old class (they don't all know their letters, etc. Most cannot write their name without help). He does very well at story time, and can repeat the story back to the teacher and answer questions about what happened in the story. He scored outstanding on sharing, listening, following instructions, etc.

    She said he was very mature for his age, and a total joy (of course, I already knew all of this). Her daughter saw his picture and thought he was the cutest! Then when she came to the class to help out, she was taken in by his great personality and charm! :-)

    January 29, 2006

    Sunday Listing...

  • FINALLY got all the Christmas decorations re-organized and put back in the basement. I was SO TIRED of looking at them...
  • Cleaned out the laundry room.
  • Packed away ALL the newborn clothes.
  • Washed and put away all the 3-6 month clothes, some of which already look a wee small. I remember when my son was that size, how we thought we had too many clothes for him. Now with Baby T, he has all of son's old clothes + new ones other people bought him and it truly is excessive. The child has 10 pairs of jeans, 10 overalls, 4 JACKETS (like he's going outside to play!), 3 buntings, but only 2 pair of socks that stay on!
  • I worked out yesterday!
  • I'm going running tomorrow! For the first time since October of 2004!
  • First workout with trainer at 1:30 pm Tuesday!

    AND THE BIG ONE...
    Baby T started really cooing at us today!!!! It's great to hear him trying out his voice for something other than screaming for food or yelling at us (!) when we stop the feeding for a burp. Baby T is ALL ABOUT his food.
  • January 27, 2006

    Friday Update...

    Saw this last night The Pasta Express. Please. Even I can boil water and make pasta - is this gadget really, really necessary??!! They say one of the big advantages is that you don't have to break the spaghetti noodles in half - is this a big problem?

    Also - I LOVE MY WASHING MACHINE. When my first son was born, my MotherInLaw broke my washer - so we bought the Kenmore HE3T front loading machine. I LOVE IT. Last night, Baby T pooped. So I was changing him and took the old diaper off and he was laying on his outfit and the changing pad when he POOPED SOME MORE. And got that dark brown/green baby poop all over his NEW white baby outfit (a gift) and the changing pad cover. UGH. THEN I rubbed it in really good trying to wipe it all off. So I poured Dreft right on the stains and threw them in my wshing machine. Checked them this morning, not even one hint of a stain! How fabulous!! I have said, not one item of our clothing has stains on it, no matter what the stain. I've gotten out ground in mud, blood, poop, vomit, red juice, carrot juice, ketchup, BBQ sauce, etc. Next time you need a washer, I highly recommend it. Also, it is SO GENTLE on clothes because of the way they designed the drum. Our clothes never look old by the time we're done wearing them (either because they are out of style or outgrown)... Oh, I remmeber, the deck stain my hubby got on his shirt didn't come out. That's one stain. :-)

    January 26, 2006

    Personal Trainer...

    I had my appt w/a personal trainer yesterday - I've LOST TWO MORE POUNDS! Yay!

    I officially start training with her on Tuesday. I cannot wait! To get my body back, after all this time! I haven't worked out since I changed jobs last OCTOBER and didn't want to get a new gym membership because we were trying to get pregnant.

    Apparently, after going thru her tests, I am still in pretty good shape. My resting heart rate is low (59) and it takes a lot to bring it up, but when I stop it goes right back down (which is another indicator that you're in shape)... my strength is low, but that is no surprise and my abs are all shot-to-shit (duh!).

    So - here are my starting facts:
    Weight: 133 pds
    Body fat: 27.5% (YIKES!) --> after I freaked about that number because for me that is AMAZINGLY HIGH, she reminded me I just had a baby and hadn't worked out in OVER a year.
    Goal: 120 pds (which may or may not be possible, this is my end-of-college weight)

    So - here we go! Wish me luck!

    January 24, 2006

    One Month Checkup

    I took Baby T for his 1 month checkup today. He's doing GREAT according to the DR.

    97th percentile for height and 90th for weight.
    Height: 24 inches
    Weight: 11 pds 12 oz

    He got a shot - where he screamed and cried like a madman. This is odd to me (and unexpected and QUITE unnerving, to hear your child cry like that), as my older son has NEVER cried at a shot - he would just grunt and give the nurse a dirty look, like "Hey, what the HELL do you think you're doing??!!".

    She said he should continue eating like crazy until about 8 weeks, when it'll taper off a bit. And as long as he's not spitting up, feed him as much as he wants. Also, maybe all his mucous-y sounds are "silent-reflux"

    He's HOME!

    YAY! Hubby got home last night! And because he was still on the other time, couldn't sleep, so HE got up w/Baby T last night so I could sleep! Man do I feel great today! BUT three weeks of laundry - some of the STINKIEST I have ever smelled - I'm working on load #2 right now.

    Then he took Son to preschool, leaving me and Baby T alone for quite a few hours! I do not know how I found this to be a lot of work when I was home on leave w/my first son - having only a newborn seems so easy compared to being home w/a newborn and a 4 year old! Cake I tell you! I managed to clean up from breakfast, do laundry, feed the baby, have a shower, give the baby a bath, drag up the rest of the infant toys from the basement...

    I registered at Similac.com for more formula coupons and got quite frustrated - they require a strong password than my work network! A capital letter, a lowercase letter, and a number. Jeesh - heaven forbid someone hack into my Similac account and do what? Change Baby T's birthdate? Add more kids? WHAT could be so dangerous?