January 2008

January 02

the zoo

So the trip to the zoo went well. Elijah and I hit the road after lunch. I set up a bag of toys within his reach. I made it about an hour before needing to pee. So we stopped and I went, however, when we went to get back in the car, Elijah started crying and continued to do so for 45 minutes, at which time we stopped again. So I picked him up and we went inside. On the way out I told him that we were going to get in the car and he was going to take a nap (it's now 2 and an hour past nap time...he was sooooo tired....) and lo and behold, the child was asleep within five minutes... He slept the rest of the trip and woke up right as we pulled into the hotel. Sweet! I got a call from mom that she was going to come and meet us at the hotel for the night. So we went and played in the pool and got a shower and waited for her arrival to go eat. After dinner, back to the hotel to get ready for bed. What should have been a no brainer, took until 9:15 for Elijah to fall asleep. Sigh... I guess it was so much excitement plus a new place and all. Anyway, mom and I read a bit and then piled into bed. Elijah in the middle and the adults on the ends. It was a huge king sized bed, but that didn't stop Elijah from attempting to kick me out of bed. Then little Gracie decided that this was a perfect night to kick all night long... not such good sleep for Erin, but mom and Elijah slept well and all in all, what's one night.

So after eating breakfast we head on over to the zoo. They have a playground within the zoo and while we waited for the rest of the crew we went and played. My stupid rechargeable batteries didn't charge and the gift shop only had AAA batteries... so I bought a disposable camera... my mom had her camera, so there were some good pics, but the disposable camera pics were not the best....sigh...

ANYWAY, after everyone got there we set off for the 5 mile walk of the zoo. I brought the stroller, though Elijah walked almost the entire day. I think he really liked the zoo. He loved hanging out with my folks and it was great to have them there. It meant I got time to spend with Laura. Laura's mom came along too and it was really fun. I thought that Elijah would pass out after lunch, but he stayed awake until we got back in the car. It was a lot of fun over all.

I was beat on the way home. Elijah, thankfully, stayed asleep in the car through Raleigh which was what I wanted... I hate the traffic there. I got him an early dinner to eat in the car and then headed home. He got upset about the last 45 minutes and was only clamed by me singing either The Wheels on the Bus or Twinkle Twinkle Little Star over and over and over again... I think he was mostly upset at it being dark out and him being tired of the car and from the day.

Overall, it was fun. I think that next time I would drive up really early in the car and then stay the night after the zoo. I was beat by the time I got home.

So the pics are over on the side as well as some new belly pics. We are at 22 weeks now. I have a MW appointment on Friday. I am sure we will talk about the ultrasound, though I feel if there was something wrong she would have called. Little Gracie is kicking up a storm and thinking my bladder is a soccer ball... between her and Elijah it's a wonder my bladder still has any function.

okay, so that's the zoo story...which overall is a little boring... but it's my blog so

PS the entry right below is probably much more interesting...hehehehe

Ahhh 2008....

While people are contemplating resolutions for the New Year... I am simply making wishes this year.

I wish for a healthy baby to be born (Jerry really loves me and says that this baby is going to be a nice 6.5 pound baby with an easy labor...isn't he sweet?)

I wish of an easy labor and a 6.5 pound baby.

I wish for Elijah to continually sleep through the night.

I wish for my house to magically organize and purge itself.

I wish for healthier cravings...I really really really want a box of Swiss Cake Rolls with a side of Fudge Rounds right now... sigh... oooo.... and maybe some salad and breadsticks from Olive Garden... Man, I just ate (well, three hours ago...)

I wish for weather that will make up it's mind. It's FREAKING cold right now but by Monday it's supposed to be back in the 70s! sigh...

I wish for better painting skills...not art like... just painting a wall... why is it so hard and what is the point of painter's tape if it doesn't keep the paint out? super sigh...

I wish to live closer to my folks...

I wish to be more positive this year (not starting off so well...maybe less cynical would be better...)

I wish for a decent president to come into office.

I wish for patience with my toddler.

I wish for the writer's strike to end and then for some decent TV.

I wish to become a better mom and wife.

I wish to be a better friend.

Hell, whilst I'm wishing... I wish for someone to give me the winning lottery ticket.

I wish for better traffic patterns in the city.

I wish for more patience for the idiot drivers in the bad traffic patterns in the city.

I wish for decent sleep...not to be disturbed by my bladder or my child or my dreams or my cravings for Little Debbie's Evil Snack Cakes....

I wish for my husband to be happier in his job and to find a new passion with school starting back up.

I wish for my kiddo to potty train himself, because, quite honestly, I'm too freakin' lazy to be doin' it right now.

I wish to not stress over things I have no control over.

I wish to walk more.

I wish to find more time to myself.

I wish to find more time with my husband.

I wish to work harder on getting my inventory built up.

And, of course, I wish for peace in the world and for the ignorant to wake up and realize what we need to do to keep our nation united and the people of it safe, fed, and healthy.

So that's it for now. I'm going to write another entry about the zoo trip, either tonight...or soon...

I hope that everyone's New Year was safe and happy...I was in bed by 10:30 and asleep by 11. I hope that 2008 ROCKS!!!!

January 09

Birthdays, Weather, and Cravings... oh my

I CANNOT believe that Elijah is going to be 2 on Sunday. It just doesn't seem possible. There are days (such as today) when it seems he should turning 16, and others when I can't believe he's up and walking...running... hopping... whatever! He has become much more of an independent kid and while that's really cool, I still enjoy the times he comes and snuggles in my lap or sleeps beside me. His signing and speaking vocabulary has increased so much, I can't even keep up with a list anymore. We show him a sign and he's got it. He tries words he hears and mostly comes out with a humorous rendition of said word. He is a kind and loving little guy and has learned the meaning of the word share. He shows concern when someone is crying and offers hugs to someone he loves or who he has hurt (usually me...sigh) The kid could hold his own in a hopping contest and has inadvertently learned to gallop. He can undress himself (and does so immediately when really mad) and readily (most of the time) helps to dress himself. He puts his toys away and likes to "help" around the house. He has all but three of his teeth for his age (the last three molars are being extremely stubborn.) and has more hair that I know what to do with. He would rather be outside playing than anything else. He loves making cookies or bread or anything that may require the use of the mixer. He can (unfortunately) open doors, which has prompted remembering to lock bathroom doors unless you don't mind being surprised. He still has allergies, but I feel like they are getting better and hope that very soon he will grow out of them. He is wearing at 3T but many of there are short on him...though big in the waist. He brings us books and sits through them either saying the words he knows or signing them. He loves Wheels on the Bus (though I am close to tracking down whoever came up with this song and pounding on them a bit) and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. He knows the signs to the aforementioned as well as Happy Birthday. He is a superb climber...sigh...which we encourage and then roll our eyes at ourselves when he climbs his dresser or toy box to get to whatever...super sigh... Overall, he still amazes us. He is going to sleep in his bed without us in the room...though this takes some time. He still wakes up twice a night, but goes back to sleep easily. He has a great curiosity, but usually stays close by. He is walking backwards over to me right now. We love our little guy and are so happy to see him growing so well! His party is going to be at the Railroad Museum on Saturday... I can't freaking wait!!!!

On to the weather....

It's freaking 75 degrees. I'm sitting outside typing this in a tank top and linen pants... sigh... it's great, but it's also January....

Let's talk about these cravings...

It started our with nice healthy things...and now...

oranges

pasta...well chef boy-r-dee

peanut butter sandwiches

little debbie snack cakes (the woman really should make a variety pack)

cake in general... but ohhhh, Boston Creme Pie is super yum-o

olive Garden's soup, salad, and breadsticks

Atlanta Bread Company's Chopstix Chicken Salad (OMG, my mouth is so watering right now!)

hot dogs

french fries (but only from McDonald's)

Egg McMuffin

turkey sausage (don't ask...)

It's not like it's do or die...well, sometimes it is... I have definitely sent Jerry out for Swiss Cake Rolls... but man once I get it in my mind, it's all I can think about. I still haven't had the OG's SSand B...sigh... With Elijah is was ice cream and egg's benedict (mmmm, that sounds good right about now actually... TANGENT... on vacation last summer we ate at the resort restaurant the day we left and they had this roasted tomato with poached egg and basil hollandaise sauce on it served over homemade hashbrowns.... holy moly... i wanted to bring that cook home with me and eat that everyday...it would be really really good right now...END TANGENT) but that's really it. I mean I had more food aversions with him than cravings. It's amazing I haven't gained tons of weight... I do try to eat something healthy before pigging out on whatever the latest craving is...but ya know...

That rounds up that blog entry. I've been thinking about this one a bit... I think of blog entries all the time, but I don't write them down and then I forget....sigh... but how can one forget their kiddo turning two? He's my little guy...

January 19

What a week!

So, my folks arrived last Friday and I feel like I haven't stopped since then! On Saturday we woke up to rain...yuck! But at least it wasn't freezing. We headed out with all the goodies to the RR Museum. A friend of mine met us there with the cake she made (which, by the way was AWESOME!!!!) so we set up. They have this little caboose for the party. The only thing is that they don't have lights in it...so it was a bit dark... oh well, we were just in there to eat. Our play group has a no presents rule, so that makes parties move right along. After we cut the beautiful cake and had some snacks we went into the playroom to play. This place is really cool. They have all sorts of toy trains for the kids and a big set up of electric trains that run in the playroom (behind Plexiglas) that the kids can start. It's really neat. The playing was the coolest part of the party, I gotta say...well, besides the cake...I'm still in awe... anyway... So after the party we got some food and went home to eat and nap. That afternoon Jerry and I went to see Sweeny Todd...very good movie! And then home to put the kiddo down for bed.

I guess Sunday was rather lazy. Mom played lots with Elijah...jumping in puddles and all. So that was nice. I had listed a chair on craigslist and someone was supposed to pick it up, but didn't... that annoys me... they could've called. It took almost all week with these people and I eventually told them I was contacting someone else...who came and picked it up that evening...sigh...ANYWAY, that's a tangent.

All day Monday my dad and I painted the living room. Quite a task. We got two coats up and it looks great! Mom entertained Elijah at the park and playing...very helpful. We went out to Olive Garden (finally!) for dinner and then too bed...(after American Idol of course!)

Tuesday we ran errands...not so exciting, but ya know. My folks made us some really yummy baked beans for dinner... I think it will become a regular in our house. My folks moved into their hotel that evening (didn't want to impose...whatever...)

I don't really remember Wednesday except that we made a huge freaking dinner. So maybe that's all that we did...though I sure we did something else...

On Thursday, my folks decided they were going to leave a day early (Friday as opposed to Saturday) due to the bad weather they were supposed to get. So, Jerry and I rearranged our days. Jerry was going to take Friday off for his b-day and we were going to have a whole day of grown-up time. We were going to kick the whole thing off with a early b-day dinner on Thursday evening with our friends and my folks. We also planned on visiting the aquarium on Thursday morning. So while mom was on the phone with Travelocity rearranging stuff, I was on the phone canceling dinner and Jerry was arranging to take half a day on Thursday, instead of a whole day on Friday...sigh...

So after all that, we headed out to the aquarium, picked up Jerry's b-day cake and then Jerry and I went to see National Treasure 2....super sigh... We had planned on seeing Cloverfield...oh well, there's always video... and then out for a quick bite. My folks had Elijah in his PJs by the time we got home, so that was easy enough..

On Friday my folks stopped by to say goodbye. I took Jerry to work via McDonalds. Came home and started to sorta get the new nursery in order. I was in the process of getting some balloons for Jerry when he called to go to lunch. So I called Rachel and we arranged to have Jerry's b-day dinner at their house. Erin got the pizzas and I still had the cake. After Elijah's nap we got the balloons and I picked up Kalhua and Vodka for Black Russians (One of Jerry's favs)...side note.... wanna have some fun...walk into an ABC store while pregnant, carrying a toddler and buy copious amounts of alcohol...or just two bottles... I think it would have had an even greater effect if I had looked more tired and ragged...hehehehehe....end side note... Then went over to Rachel's to set up. Elijah was ecstatic since it had been a bit since he had seen MR and he knew we were going there, so he played HARD! I went and got Jerry from work and we had a very nice little party. Elijah crashed shortly after returning home. So at least there was something fun for Jerry's b-day.

This morning we had another person come to get measurements for a fence...WAHOO!!! It is rainy and cold today...sigh...we tried to find a few places for Elijah to play and ended up at Barnes and Noble with the train table. He's snoozing for now. It's so dreary outside that I wouldn't mind cuddling up as well. I feel, though, that I should be doing something productive...sigh... but I think that sleep...or at least being lazy will win out! I guess that's it... I have other pics on the camera... I'll add them later.

January 22

Two Year Well Check

So we are back from the doctor's office for the kiddos 2 year well check. He's in the 75% for everything. He's 31.5 pounds and around 3 feet tall... He's a perfect kiddo health wise. His eczema is still bad, but we are still hoping that he'll grow out of it as well as the food allergies. The doc suggested vitamins...but I have issues with that and since we are outside daily... (vitamin D is the biggest deal.) The doc said we were doing the right thing offering food to Elijah and if he doesn't want it to let it go...obviously the kiddo isn't undernourished. Everything looks good from his head to his toes (though Elijah was not thrilled about having his ears looked at.) I'm so glad that we didn't have to do shots. I am hoping that by the time shots come around again (at 5 years) there won't be any trouble with going to the doc's.

We got another quote on a fence for the backyard and it came in 1000 less than the first quote! That's insane. It's the same thing...how can it be 1000 bucks different? Obviously we are going with the cheaper fence. Then we will look into a Step2 swing set thing-y. Our hope is to have all this done before Grace makes an appearance. This way I can sit on the patio and let Elijah play. It would also be easy to let him go out and play while I'm making dinner. A fence is the biggest thing.

I still have a ton of pics on my camera and I really am going to down load them. We also got Elijah's 2 year pics made. I'll add some of those soon too.

I have some things to do while Elijah is napping. Hope your day is going well!

January 26

Ahhhh the belly...

So I added new belly pics. I also added belly pics from Elijah's pregnancy to compare. I hadn't looked at them in comparison. I knew that I was carrying little Grace awfully low, but man you can really tell. She is constantly kicking/punching me in the cervix and that is quite painful. It's like she wants out... hold your horses kiddo... it's not time. believe me when it is, I'll let you know. She is an active child...as was Elijah...which is all good. But being so low if it's not my cervix, then it's my bladder and dang... otherwise she's just turning flips and that's fun too! I think she must be long ways still, though she really likes to curl up in a ball on my right side, so low and lopsided... lovely... At night when I am reading in bed and lying on my left side, she gets all agitated trying to stay up on her right side...it's kinda funny... I usually end up just rolling over to my right side. So far, this has been an uneventful pregnancy. All my appointments have been normal. I'm measuring normal. So I'm hoping this all continues along the same track.

This week has been difficult on me. My folks haven't been here to help with Elijah. It's funny how easy it is to get into someone to help you around the house...sigh... I still have hopes that the perfect job will come along for Jerry nearer to my folks. Anyway, it was back to the grindstone for me. We also didn't go to Pass Your Plate this month since we still had food leftover from last month...but now we are out. So I actually had to come up with dinner a few nights. I made a spinach pie which was yummo (I ate all but 2 pieces of it......I could probably eat another one...) But cooking with a toddler and being preggo isn't the most fun I've had. I don't know when we are going back to PYP, but I hope it's soon. We can't afford to go out as much as we have been and I really don't have the energy to cook everyday... How lazy does that sound? Ahhh, well... think what you want... I don't care! Elijah did help with the pie though.

I have felt tired all week... I guess I am entering the last trimester. sigh... I took a nap with Elijah almost every day this week. I missed out today and I'm feeling it. He is insane right now. It's been raining all day and now he is zipping through the house on his scooter running into everything (including Jerry, who, I'm afraid is about to lose his patience with him...) and cutting corners quite close...sigh...

I'm starving, so I need to go see about what we are doing for dinner before I break into the sweets we have lying around...

January 30

Welcome to the third trimester!

So here we are in the home stretch I guess. I have to say that if I were a bit bigger and much closer to the big date, I would think that I was about ready to have this kid. I have been nesting and cleaning like crazy... I even mopped today...maybe that's only saying something to TJ and my folks (only b/c TJ put up with my mess for two years...though I always kept it on my side of the room...for the most part!!!)but I really don't clean that much. I like to have the kitchen clean... and I would like to clean my bathroom more often, but I just don't...playing with Elijah is always more fun! But today I swept, mopped, cleaned the kitchen, and cleaned Elijah's carpet. I guess I was antsy waiting for the fence guys this morning, but I really wanted to clean. Elijah was great playing on his own and not whining. When I moved into the living room, he got his broom and helped me out with the sweeping (he likes to sweep stuff into the dust pan and actually does a decent job with it.) It was impossible to keep him off the mopped floor, but it dried pretty quickly with the windows open and the ceiling fan on. We went through Elijah's toy box and put all the "baby" toys into Grace's room and put all the bugs/animals/dinosaurs into another box which fits into the toy box, but it makes it soooo much easier to find things.

Elijah's nap has gotten shorter lately. He wakes up after 1 hr 15min - 1 hr 30 min completely happy... so there ya go. About twice a week he sleeps for about 2.5 hours. He's sleeping longer at night though...so I guess it's all good. Speaking of which, (I'm scared that I'm going to jinx this by saying anything but...)he's going to sleep in his bed without us in the room!!! We say night night to toys, get ready for bed, brush the teeth, relax with 5869375682907 books, then 2-3 books in bed, lights out, a lullaby or 70327475 and then good night kisses from mom and dad. We leave the door open, and he definitely gets out of bed, but we only go in to tell him to get back in bed and that's rarely more than 2 times now!! If he calls for us and stays in bed we go in and re-tuck to reinforce the good behavior of staying in his bed. He still wakes up about twice a night (which the ped says is perfectly normal for this age.) But he goes back to sleep pretty quickly. Though my defenses are down (and apparently so are Jerry's) because at about 5 or 6 if he wakes up, he's usually sitting there with "skunky" (a stuffed pillow that used to be mine) and looks up at us when we come in and the following conversation happens:

Jerry/myself: Lie back down in your bed, elijah.

Elijah: Mama/Dado bed?

Jerry/myself: You want to come to bed with me?

Elijah: Yes, peees, bed, Mama/Dado?

Jerry/myself: Okay, come on...

At which point he grabs skunky and stumble walks to our bed and climbs in. It's just too freakin' cute and he only does it at that last wake up in the morning... and by doing this we are almost guaranteed that he will stay asleep until about 7-7:30...sometimes even 8!!!! I figure that it's okay. When the baby comes, Jerry and I will switch nights again (him bringing the baby to me to be fed and then take her back), so it'll be a nice treat for Elijah to be able to come to bed in the morning with either Jerry or myself for some snuggle time. I have to say that the snuggle time has made a difference in Elijah's attitude during the day too. It used to be up and play, and he would have a tantrum for no reason except he wanted our attention. So I've made a point each morning to snuggle with him, even if it's 5 minutes and he seems to be such a happier little guy!

okay, I'm going to wrap this up. It is such a nice day, I think we will head out to the park and play for a bit! Hope the weather where you are is as nice!