They all said it, but it's true!

Brendon has been growing and growing and growing. I know they're supposed to do that, but so fast?! He sits up well, in his bumbo chair. Here's a picture of him looking like he's just lounging around. He grabs at toys and actively plays with them.

Sometimes he gets them in his mouth. Sometimes, he looses them. He turns 4 months on Wednesday. Looking at pictures of him just a few weeks ago compared to pictures now, he has exploded! He loves his soft blankets. I have to put a soft blanket down in his crib for him to sleep on. And when I bundle him up in his carseat with a blanket, he grabs it in his hands and rubs it against his face.

I still have a hard time comprehending that this is our son. I never have to send him home or pass him back. I'm sure eventually I'll wish I could, but for now, I'm enjoying it! Sometimes, I rock him to sleep just so that we can snuggle and nap together. When he's awake he's just so interested in doing other things that he doesn't want to cuddle or sit still.

He loves to sit up, anywhere, on a lap, in his bumbo, in the carseat (if it's sitting up), especially on the couch! If he's reclining on the boppy, he'll lift his head and shoulders trying to sit up. He thinks his such a big now!

The other day, we met daddy out at the "chicken farm." It used to be a chicken farm, but now it's just a huge plot of land that's overgrown with trees and bushes and old trucks. BAM said he wanted to drive the crane, but his arms were too short. So we got a picture instead!

Work is going. I applied for a job at another hospital, but they didn't hire me :( I'm going to apply again. There were two other jobs that I was interested, I think I'm going to go apply for those. I also applied for an ICU job at my hospital. I haven't heard anything from them, yet, so I'm going to go investigate.

As for the bambino surviving my working, he's doing really well. He spends his days at my friend's ctygrl's house. Her son BEE is almost 6 months old. They play together, nap together, and I'm sure cry together. It's neat watching BEE develop and learn things, then watching as the bambino follows a few months later. Sometimes, though, I forget that the bambino is younger and not going to start sitting up by his own, or whatever, until it's time for him to do it.

We didn't really do much for Halloween. I was working, besides, we're not big into dressing up. Maybe next year when it'd be more for him. I did get him a little costume. It's a black suit with a glow-in-the-dark skeleton on it. I did get pictures taken, so we'll at least have a little memory of it.

The teens at our church were having a hide-and-seek game at the mall last night. We went along as the hiders. Just an excuse to walk around the mall and do some shopping. Some adults really went all out with wigs and disguises, but, eh, whatever floats their boat. We got some nice dress clothes for Brendon. One is a green and grey plaid button-up shirt with black corduroy, another is a white dress shirt with black pinstripe pants and a blue striped tie. There was a cute pinstripe hat, but it was too small for him. Compared to his size, his head is on the normal size. So even though he's wearing mainly 3-6 (emphasis on the 6) month clothes, his head is 3 or 4 month size.

I tried making new things to eat around here. One was a batch of beanless chili...I didn't have any chili seasonings, so it was kind a bland. Plus, the rice soaked up ALL the liquid, so that was kinda mushy and dry at the same time. Another thing was two types of cookies. One was peppermint chip (they turned out flat and crunchy), and another was some sort of oatmeal/walnut/chocolate chip. They turned out crunchy and crumbly. MCM really wanted me to try those, so I did. We'll see how he likes them.

I was woken up in the middle of the night, ok 5am, with a phone call that I didn't need to go in to work today. Not only could I not go back to sleep after that (I was imagining my to-do list that I could do now), but I was seriously craving a grape Fanta. Not the ones here from the USA in a plastic bottle, but from Grenada in glass bottle that you'd need a bottle opener to open. Instead, I have sugar-free generic Crystal Light grape...stuff to drink.

Now, what was I saying about that to-do list...?

Randon Dozen

1. What was the last song you listened to?
Well, see I have the radio or a CD always going in the van when I drive. The silence (when it's just me) makes me think too much. I don't always pay attention to what I'm listening too, but I think the last song I realized I was listening too was Taylor Swift's You Belong with Me.

2. Have you ever had “buyer’s remorse” over anything?
Better question...what have I NOT had buyer's remorse over....our glider (rocking) chair....our bed :)...the epidural when Brendon was attempting to NOT BE BORN!

3. What is something in your life that you are thankful for now that you didn’t think you would be at the time of the event? (Something that seemed ill-timed, inconvenient or hurtful which turned out to be a good thing)
I must have missed this question when I was going over the preview...I'm going to go with the sappy and say when Mark started pursuing me :) I'm thankful he never gave up, although there were times I wished he'd get swallowed up by the black hole. Hi, Mark! I love you! :D

4. Do you watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade every year? If so, do you have a favorite float or balloon?
I think I've watched it twice...once was by choice, and once was cause it was on the TV at someone's house where we had Thanksgiving dinner.

5. Share a quote, scripture, poem or lyric which has been an inspiration to you lately.
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. Eleanor Roosevelt

6. This is meant to be a fun question, and this is a G-rated blog, but please share a “guilty pleasure,” something that you enjoy that’s probably not the most edifying, time-worthy or healthy thing you could be indulging in. Did I mention this blog is rated G?
Coke. Straight up CocaCola Classic.

7. What Thanksgiving food are you looking forward to?
I'm not sure I'm looking forward to it, cause I have to cook it all. I'm looking forward to the experience and the smells (those last almost forever!) But if I eat it, it means that I have to clean the dishes...But really? The sandwiches the day after. It'd be best on homemade bread, but store bought will work. Then you layer the turkey and stuffing. Mustard on the bread next to the turkey and on the bread next to the stuffing. Maybe put some cheese in between the two, if not, than gravy will work. Next to the sandwich, you need the mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberries, and a nice helping of sweet potatoes. If there's any room left, the green beans compliment it all. Maybe I am looking forward to it all :)

8. What is your favorite book to read to children, or what was your favorite childhood book?
I forget the name of it, but it was a pink cover (came with a necklace) and was about a girl that was so clumsy her cat ran away. Her grandma gave her a necklace, and with that she wasn't clumsy any more. That was one of my favorite books. Another one was the Very Hungry Caterpillar. Now, my favorite one to read to the bambino is Good Night Moon.

9. Do you collect anything? (Feel free to post a photo.)
Hair balls, dirty laundry, spit rags...just kidding, those things just *happen* to find themselves in big piles around the house. When I was a kid, I had the most amazing collection of frogs. Not real ones, but glass, plastic, fluffy...yeah it was huge!

10. Gift bags or wrapping paper?
While gift bags are quick and easy, I like the satisfaction of getting the wrapping done perfectly. Besides, it's so much more fun to open something that was wrapped, than to take tissue paper out of bag. Plus, I could never get the tissue paper to look just right. It was either sticking 3 feet out of the bag, or you had stick your head down inside the bag to be able to see that were was tissue paper in there.

11. Share an after-school memory from when you were younger. What was your routine like on an average day?
heh. I was homeschooled when I was younger. After lunch was "after-school." I guess I did normal kid stuff. Mess my room up, clean my room up, hide so I could read my book...

12. True story: Once, in a job interview, I was asked this question and told there would be no clarifying; I simply had to answer the question: “When you’re fishing, do you feel for the fish?” So what about you? Do you feel for the fish??
When I first read this question, I was thinking feel for the fish meant like you had a sense to be able to tell where the fish were. You know, feeling for fish...I read someone else's blog, and they have a totally different approach. Well, I'm going to go with my first thoughts. I'm not a big fishing person. I wouldn't know where the bad places were, I couldn't tell you where the good places were. No, I don't have the "feel" for the fish. Besides, I'm bad at guessing anything. And I hate waiting. I'm awful at being patient!

Randon Dozen

I'm slacking, I know I am. You don't have to wave your signs at me. You! Put the sign down!


1. It's early morning, about 2:00AM, and you're driving home. You come to a red light and sit there. There is no one in sight for miles around. Do you wait it out or run the light?
I sit and wait impatiently. What if there is a cop just begging me to run it, so he can have something to do? What if, I run it, and I get into an accident that I would have otherwise avoided? What if I run it, and at the last minute a car flashes through the intersection and hits me? What if?!

2. If you had the chance to re-do the last 24 hours, would you change anything?
I probably wouldn't have changed Brendon's diaper when he woke up to eat at 530 yesterday morning. He didn't go back to sleep after that....


3. When you reply to someone's comment on your blog, do you reply in your comments or go to her blog and comment? (Or email her)
*if* I reply, I'd reply in my comments...unless I knew her email address

4. Your favorite Disney movie is: Beauty and the Beast

5. Do you recycle? nope, this part of VA isn't big in to recycling. I would if the city gave us bins, but they don't. And I honesty don't have the want-to to remember to take it to the recycling place.

6. Games of strategy or games of chance?
for me, strategy is all about chance

7. Do you have any recurring dreams?
no, but last night, I dreamed that I kept having to pee every 5 minutes. I had to use the kid's bathroom (it was kids size, too) because the adult bathroom had no toilet paper. and the guy's house I was visiting, didn't trust me.

8. What did you learn from your first real job?
I have a very high work standard

9. Do you buy or borrow most books?
Probably about half and half. Which reminds me, I haven't bought one in a long, long time. Thanks!

10. What fashion trend of the past did you say you'd never wear again but did?
well, since I never really got into the trends of the past...

11. When do you start Christmas shopping?
what Christmas shopping? I havent' started yet...see first sentence of this post...

12. Have you ever been so happy that you literally jumped up and down for a few seconds? If so, what was the occasion?
yes, I have. But I can't remember what it was. Probably when my family showed up for my birthday last year as a surprise, and I told them I was PG! Family, if you're reading this, it's not happening again!! Just so that we're clear on that part!

Bubbles nicely placed

Randon Dozen

1. Candy corn: Your thoughts?
nastiness in a brightly colored wedge

2. Briefly, what was the first conversation you ever had with your spouse? (or best friend, if you're not married.) (Or someone significant, like your librarian.)
....... (yup that's about it)

3. Could you ever become a vegetarian?
nope. i'm not a big fan of veggies. i'd probably end up eating carrots and green beans...and cauliflower. i don't like salads if there's nothing besides protein-less items in it. And I don't buy the whole tofu, soybean thing, sorry

4. Have you ever dressed up your pet in a costume?
yes. we had several dogs, and we'd tie towels and blankets on them to make them...something else

5. Name something about childhood that you miss (like Clark Bars, Teaberry Gum, Malibu Barbie, cracking fake eggs on people's heads with your fist and "It's the Great Pumpkin" airing only once a year).
great, now my mind goes blank.....playing with my sisters, being able to spend the whole entire day reading a book, breaking only for lunch and dinner

6. Have you ever won a trophy? If not, what do you deserve a trophy for?
I played tee-ball when I was little. Our team lost, but we all got a little trophy. And, I participated in a "walk-a-thon" (it was mandatory during school) and I got a trophy for finishing.

7. When do you think is the appropriate time to begin playing Christmas music each year?
As soon as I finish eating Thanksgiving dinner, I think about what I want to listen to

8. What's your favorite board game?
Ah, the possibilities. Scrabble, Sorry, others that have eluded my grasp

9. How do you feel about surprises (receiving, not giving)?
As long as I don't know they're coming, they're wonderful! But if someone tries to hint that they have something for me, I can't wait and I hate that feeling! So, imagine how I felt when I was awaiting the arrival of the bambino. the surprise of WHEN just about drove me nuts!

10. Is it easy for you to say, "I'm sorry?"
not really, nope, but I try.

11. What is your favorite candle scent?
Something light and airy, could be a little fruity, but not strong or too lasting after you blow it out. Otherwise, I'll end up with a migraine :(

12. October is traditionally "open house" time in public schools. If you had a literal open house in your home (like a reception) what light snacks would you serve visitors and what would you show them (as in art projects, graded papers) that would uniquely represent you?
cheese and crackers-every one likes those. how about little mini pigs in a blanket?...maybe some Coke or juice. and projects? I had a few good art projects in high school. One was a sculpture of an infant on a quilt with a bottle blocks and a rattle. One was a pastel drawing of a book and a cuppa tea. Another one was a water color painting of a sunset over a river. As for writing, I wrote a book of poems that I thought was quite nice, and a short story, too. They're all from my senior year of high school, because I was homeschooled the other years and my mom didn't have time to teach/grade/supervise 5-7 kids projects

things to think about

No, they aren't originally mine, but I have thought about most of them! Especially the Google map, the red light, and the remote ones!

* More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me.

*Nothing stinks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

* Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.

* I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

* The letters T and G are very close to each other on a keyboard. This recently became all too apparent to me and consequently I will never be ending a work email with the phrase "Regards" again.

* Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.

* There is a great need for sarcasm font. [TRUE!]

* I think everyone has a movie that they love so much; it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.

* How are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

* I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

* I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

* The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.

* Was learning cursive really necessary?

* Lol has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".

* I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

* Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.

* Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart," all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart."

* How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?

* I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a doofus from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

* MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

* Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

* I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.

* Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

* I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

* Bad decisions make good stories.

* Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from; this shouldn't be a problem....

* You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything
productive for the rest of the day.

* Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.

* There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

* I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

* "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.

* I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishingwe weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'

* I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Crap!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

* I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

* I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

* Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles...

* As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

* Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

* Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.

* I wonder if cops ever get annoyed that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.

* I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with {anything else} than Kay.

* The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimated that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There's nothing like being made to feel fat before dinner.

Unfounded fears

I've been threatened with my life if I every post pictures of another blow out. I'm not posting pictures, just posting about it! :D The bambino and I went to to Wally-World today to get some much needed groceries. If you were to open my fridge, you'd see...1) milk...2) that's about it. So yeah, it was a much needed trip. Anyways, I knew it was the bambino's naptime, so I took my Moby wrap, which I pretty much love, and slid him in it to do our shopping. In spite of the cart that would not steer straight, I managed to get almost done before BamBam started to stir. He made his little grunting noises, then I heard it.

*insert suspenseful music here*

He pooped. And not just any poop. This poop was all the poop since Sunday some time. He's gotten in to this bad habit of saving his poop for several days then letting it all out at the most inconvenient time (to be changed and cleaned up). A wedding rehearsal, Wally-World, Sunday school...yeah, not so cool. Anyways.
I spent about 2 minutes hoping that it wasn't a lot, just like, the overflow (graphic I know!). However, the smell....need I say more? The smell made it clear that it was not, and could not be contained in a Huggies size 2 diaper. My 11 1/2 week old son will not be deterred by a mere diaper. Oh no! I peeked at the fabric covering his back, *whew* nothing was showing on the outside layer. I lifted that one up, uh oh...I saw some wetness...not good. I skipped right to looking down the back of his shirt. OH MY GOODNESS!
I should not have done that...the smell was worse than the sight! I calmly replaced all the fabric and decided to finish up shopping. I mean, he was already dirty, it had already leaked out and on to my wrap. It's not like I was going to save something from getting dirty, was I? *shrugs* I think my imagination went into overdrive after that. Every little look from other shoppers was a "ew, what's that?!" Every little laugh was "she's got poop leaking out!"
I was trying to remember if I had some clothes in the car that would fit him, and all I could think of was this "super baby" out fit under his seat. It was, well, still is, a new born size. Yeah, I don't think he'd enjoy being stuffed in that so much...so then, I was at Wally-World, right?! They'd have some clothes on sale that I could use to get him home in. Yeah, not so much. NOTHING! It was either way too big (think 24 month or 4T) or way too small (think preemie). Or, it was girls clothing. I wasn't THAT desperate yet...I found nothing.
Well, in the end, I wrapped him up in a receiving blanket so he wouldn't get any residual poop on his carseat. We came right home and I dumped him in the tub. He was probably thinking, "wait, it's not bedtime yet!"

You know, I almost *almost* didn't bring a diaper bag. *almost*

Oh, big news! This wedding I was at this weekend, I was a bridesmaid in it. I hung out with the bride and the other maids, so I left the bambino with my parents a lot. Thursday night was the rehearsal and dinner and Mark wasn't going to be in town yet, so I left the bambino with my parents for the night. That night HE SLEPT THROUGH THE WHOLE NIGHT! Did you catch that?! Oh, you missed it!? He slept through the whole, entire night! It was probably about 9 or 10 until 6. Yeah, he was up at six, but that's ok (my parents are early risers) because he didn't wake up to munch at 2 or 3 or 4! Sure, he wouldn't do it for me or his daddy, but he'd do it for gramma and grampa. I was happy, but concerned that it was a one night stand thingy. It wasn't he continued to sleep through the night even when I stayed with him. That's the big news! My baby is sleeping through the night! Right before I went back to work. I had nothing to worry about, I guess!
Another milestone we reached was my first day back at work. It was a good day to start on. I only had 5 patients, two of which left the floor before I got there. One of those never came back, the other didn't come back until 1130. I was hoping things have changed for the better. Not so much. There were two new people (at least two) hired since I've been gone. One just got off of orientation; the other is still on it. But it wasn't as bad as I worried it would be.
I guess this post is long enough, besides I have to go start dinner else we might end up eating pancakes...AGAIN! :)