Randon Dozen

Wow, two posts in two days! What is this world coming to?!? Lid at 2nd Cup of Coffee does this Random Dozen thing. After many weeks of lurking and watching, I've decided to participate. I was never one for jumping in on my own without a little shove, but today I am.

1. Tell me the absolute best way to watch a movie.
Laying down on the couch, snuggled under a blanket, with a cup of hot tea and some snack near by. Also, with my iPhone near by, just in case the movie is boring or someone texts or something.

2. Do you ever think about your own funeral? If so, do you have specific ideas about how you would like it to be?
I have to admit, I've never thought about my own funeral. I never though about anyone else's funeral either. Sorry, I'm not in to that...

3. Are you more of a giver or a taker?
I'm a giver, I think. I like giving things.

4. Vacations: planned activities and schedules, or play it by ear?
Considering I've been on one real vacation (Christmas doesn't count to me). We had a flexible schedule, like certain things we'd do on certain days, but the times were played by ear. We had to. There were a toddler and two infants involved.

5. What is one often overlooked item in your home that needs to be cleaned regularly?
ONE?! you want me to name one!? How about sheets? I hardly ever change the sheets. I guess I just never think about it. The stove is another one. But it's more of a choice to over look that one...

6. Name a cause that means a lot to you.
I don't really have a cause. I mean, I feel for all the preterm babies, cause I worked on a High Risk OB floor. I'm participating in a Heart Walk for heart disease. But neither of those really "mean a lot to me."

7. Do you eat a regular old peanut butter jelly sandwich, or do you customize it? And by the way, jelly or no jelly?
If I have stuff to customize it (bananas, or coconut) then I do. And you can't have a peanut butter jelly sandwich without jelly. Now, you can do a peanut butter honey or peanut butter fluff or even a peanut butter sandwich that don't have jelly. But a peanut butter jelly sandwich has to have jelly.

8. If we were having a conversation in person, how would I know if you were nervous?
I don't say much except, "yeah" or "hmm."

9. Do you have an elaborate bedtime routine, or just the basics of toothbrushing and jammies?
For me, it's just the basics. But since my son is 11 weeks, we have a nice elaborate routine with him. It's a bath and jammies, a book, some time in the rocking chair, some music. Supposedly I'm to brush his gums...haven't yet.

10. Have you ever regretted something you wrote on your blog?
Nope, not really. The beauty of writing (for me, versus talking) is that I can change it, delete it, rewrite it, or post it when I feel like it.

11. Has anyone ever told you that you look like a famous person or celebrity? Did you agree?
Oh my goodness. Remember Christina Aguilara (or however you spell it)? Some guys in my youth group (when I was a youth) called me that and decided I was her twin. Yeah, not so much, they're just flirting. So, of course I didn't agree.

12. If you were going to dedicate a song to a loved one or friend, what would the song be and to whom would it be dedicated?
Like if I called in to a radio station? Cause that's the only way I'd dedicate a song. I'm not a singer, nor am I a song writer. I guess if I had to choose...I have honestly no clue. There's so many songs out there. Maybe to my son, or my husband, or one of my sisters... I know, I'd find a song and dedicate it to my friend Elizabeth. The song would be something about waiting for the best day of your life and how it was worth it. She's waiting for her son to be born, who was "due" last week. She's puffy like the aunt on Harry Potter, and she lives in the South-think hot, humid, and stuffy.

There you have it.

Not Me! Monday

I'm trying something new. Confession is good for the soul right?

• I did not look at the kitchen and the stove and consider just throwing the dishes away instead of washing them. Not me!
• I did wake up in the middle of the night, hearing my son cry without his pacifier and contemplate duct taping it in for the rest of the night. Not me!
• I definitely did not change the bambino's diaper at his 10pm feeding, realize it was completely dry, then save it for use in the morning (we use the expensive ones at night, they don't leak). Not me!
• I certainly did not take Benadryl for my cold so I could breathe whilst laying down and hope that I wouldn't wake up when the boy cried at 3am. Not me!
• And I did not dress BamBam in an outfit just so he could wear it before he out grew it, even though the weather is a little chilly for that. Not me!

This is fun! I feel like a burden has been lifted! Now, if only I can remember to do this each Monday, I should never have a guilty conscience again!

I've made it! I think!

Two months! We've survived two months! I honestly did not think we would survive this. There were times when I just wanted to give up and call in some help. There were times when I wanted nothing more than to sleep through a night (I still want to). But then he smiles at me, and I think "wow, this is so worth it!"

Who swapped the babies?

I'm guessing it's a combination of the cold and change in schedule from vacation that has turned my happy, non fussy baby into a gremlin that refuses to sleep although he can hardly keep his eyes open, that is screaming hungry yet when offered food, eats for 5 mins before he starts screaming again. He slept the entire car ride from our house to my parent's house (2 hours). He hadn't eaten since two hours prior to that. After crying that he was starving, he only ate for like 15 minutes (He normally does at least 20-25). Since he practically slept all day, he wasn't tired when bedtime came around. Then he woke up to eat like normal at 3, but unlike normal he didn't go back to sleep! Thankfully, my mom offered to take him if he decided to have a midnight party. I tried for about 30 mins to get him to go back to sleep, finally surrendered him to Mom, and slept myself. She said he finally fell back asleep about 5. Today, as of right now, he's had about a total of 2 hours of sleep, and it's going on 5pm. He's been awake this stretch for 2 hours, and although he's starting to stare off in the distance, he shows no signs of closing his eyes to sleep.

I am desperately hoping that this is just a combination of not being home and being sick. Tomorrow, I'm headed with my friend Brie to her bridal dress fitting, so I hope we're doing better then.

As for now, I'll keep on loving this gremlin until my baby is returned, because even baby gremlins need loved.

a few pictures

I had a thought-Cynthia would be perfect to try the sling with. We rocked that sling in dowtown Chicago!

Uncle Mark

Oh, look! He's awake!

Brendon and Molly, the spittin' cousins

Molly is almost 6 months old. Brendon is 7 weeks. Although they're the same size, there's obvious differences in developmental age. Molly is just about sitting up on her own, Brendon just about holds his head up on his own. Molly will smile and respond to you, Brendon just stares. They do coo and grunt at each other occasionally though.

Family Vacation

Greetings, Earthlings. Heh, I just need some way to start writing, then it flows. Seems like the hardest part is the beginning. That's one of the reasons I disliked writing papers so much. The beginning of the paper, paragraph, or even sentence. Teachers frown on starting each paper/paragraph/sentence with "so" or "this book was about..." I find myself wanting to start each post with "so..."

Since this past Thursday, the little family and I have been on vacation in Illinios visiting Mark's family, his sister and brother-in-law and their two girls. His mom and dad came down from WI (mainly to see the bambino again) and his other sister drove up from SC, as well.

We flew.

With a newborn.

(Ready for the experience?)

BAM was actually pretty good-or so other passengers and airline staff said. I'm sure the staff knows good ones from bad ones. BAM slept pretty much the whole time. And I let him. He'd have enough wake time later. He started crying and fussing really only on the last few minutes of the last flight. I was actually the one that caused the trouble. I had kept the bambino up from his regular naptime so he'd sleep better. I wore my sling with him once we got to the airport (I was anticipating lots of standing time in the security lines), so he was asleep before we even checked out bags. Note to self: don't ever worry about lines in the middle of the day on a Thursday. There was no one in line at the ticket counter. There was no one in line for the security screening. That means we got to the metal detectors in about 5 minutes from the time we left the curb. Checking in at the counter took longer than the security check.

Well, it *would* have taken longer, if I didn't have to get the third degree from the beeping wand lady. See, BamBam was asleep, and I knew if I took the sling off, he'd wake up and be fussy cause he was tired. So I left it on. and it beeped (stupid metal rings!). I was dragged away from asked to leave my items on the belt and step into their glass cage. Good thing Mark was there to watch the diaper bag with my valuables extra change of clothes in it. She waved her magic wand up and down and across and around my arms, legs, and child. I have never, ever, ever beeped the metal detector like I did that day. Of course, the sling's rings beeped. My earrings beeped (what in the world?!). The studs on both of my pockets beeped (I usually wear jeans to fly in-extra warmth!). Something between my right knee and right ankle beeped (there was NOTHING there, promise). It took about 10 minutes for her to wave her wand/pat me down before she determined that I was not carrying anything detrimental to the other passengers on the flight. I was actually more concerned about the milk I had, than anything else. I had a bottle, just in case I didn't have enough time to fully feed BAM before we had to get up and move. I might have been a little too over-zealous in letting the security guards know it was breastmilk. As the one lady led me away, I made sure to tell the guys examining the bags of milk that "It's breastmilk!" "it's just breastmilk!!" I think they got the hint...

I used it, it came in handy and did the trick of keeping him content, once when we were at the gate getting ready to board, and again on the ride to the Smiths' from the airport. I'm going to have more this time, going home, because I think BamBam's growth spurt has stopped. He eats about half of what's available right before bed, in the middle of the night, and in the morning, so I have extra to store for when...i...go...back...to...work....*sniff*

On one of our flights there was this really obnoxious guy who would *not* stop talking. He thought he was just the best thing ever. Kept trying to make all these witty remarks to make everyone laugh, but he just came across as annoying. I really just wanted to shut him up.

Cynthia, who is almost 2, just loves Brendon. She always asks "I'nna hold him?" or wants to kiss him, or "hi Brendon." In addition to all the love she's given him, I think she also gave him his first cold :( He's been really cranky and and stuffy all day. I got a huge wad of snot out of his nose this morning. If he's still cranky tomorrow (cause the doctor office isn't open today), I might call his pediatrician to see what I can do, if I can do anything. He sounds so pitiful when his nose is stuffy :'( I had to pass him off to Grandma for a while cause the crankiness was wearing off. He seems to be doing alright now. I think he's transitioning to a 3 hour schedule :) and only waking up at night around 3 or 4.

I'll upload some pictures after I feed the bambino.