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!

November 2007

November 04

DIY....WHATEVER!!!!

okay...so yesterday we decided that enough was enough.  we needed to fix the freaking dryer.  mostly because i'm getting lazy about hanging the clothes up...it's a little hard while trying to keep an eye on a running toddler.  getting him to help only lasts for a bout 2 minutes before he starts throwing the clean clothes onto the dirty ground.  so ANYWAY, i look up changing the belt on a dryer and find that (supposedly) it's not that hard.  so step one is done, the instructions are printed out and ready to go.  this morning i get up and we decide to at least get the front cover off the dryer and get the old belt off so jerry can go get a new one while elijah and i are at a birthday party.  while this wasn't the easiest thing to do and the instructions (which were generic and not specifically for our model...hmmmm) weren't spot on, we accomplished this task.  i'm feeling all good about this thing and feeling the sense of pride that fellow blogger claire talks about when she achieves some household task.  so we go to the party and jerry goes to lowe's (home depot didn't have the part...) and all is good.  elijah falls asleep on the way home and i come in and put him to nap in his bed.  jerry had the belt and we go to work.  after a couple of hours and many cuss words, we realize that we need to pull the dryer out and use the back access panel to get the freaking belt on the pulley and engine drive (look at my use of dryer parts....oooohhhhh, aaaaahhhhhhh....).  by this time said toddler is up and cranky and hungry and demanding attention from father and mother who are trying to not say cuss words around said toddler and not slice their arms off from the sharp edges and random dryer parts.  finally with my last bit of energy (no nap for mom today) i get the !@#%$% thing to go on like it is supposed to and jerry can goes attend to a now very poopy toddler and get said toddler fed.  while he does that, i put the dryer back together (sounds easier that it is, but  I DID IT!!!!) and we load up the dryer and test it out!!  while it running nice and quiet i go and get ready to shower, because i have been lying in dust and grime behind the dryer and while we vacuumed back there, we don't have a fancy dyson and it doesn't clean as well as the fancy (read really want a fancy) dyson would....sigh...  i have just gotten my hair down and my sweater off when i hear a squeak come from the dryer.... i stop and think, it's just adjusting itself.... nope.... it gets louder and if at all possible louder than it was before we "fixed" it... SUPER SIGH.... so i get in the shower all annoyed, with a headache beating in my head and try to ignore the squeaking.  jerry finally goes and shuts it off, because really it's just that annoying.  after the shower we talk about what to do and decide to go look at dryers at lowe's...nothing... sear's...nothing...  well i say nothing, and i mean nothing we want to spontaneously spend money on.  so we decide over dinner at the food court in the mall that we will tough it out until january when all the after christmas stuff goes on sale, and we can get a dryer we really want and do some research on which ones are good and which are not... 'til then, i'll be in the back yard hanging out clothes if ya need me!

November 07

YAY!!!!

I just heard today from my friend Laura that her sister just had her twins.  I think they were only a couple of weeks early and apparently she was to be induced, but went into labor on her own!!!  Anyway, she gave birth to the baby boy around 11 (weighing in at a whooping 7 pounds!!!) and the baby girl at 11:30 (weighing in at 5.9 pounds!!!!!) both were delivered vaginally!  I'm just so freaking impressed by that and I hope they don't mind me sharing.  I've been telling everyone I know.  I mean first to carry twins that long is fantastic and then to give birth in such an amazing way.  I don't know if she had drugs, but either way...DANG!!!!   I think it's great that she was given the option.  When I freaked out for a few minutes about possibly having twins, that was my biggest concern, that I would automatically have to have a c-section...I was calmed down by several people that told me that it was possible and happens in this county, so that's good to know...not that we're having twins, but ya know...  ANYWAY, the kids and mom are doing fine and that's great news too...and I guess the most important thing...ya know all healthy and stuff.  Just wanted to say great job and announce the arrival!!!!

November 11

lazy lazy sunday

i am still in my pjs and it is 4:45.  i did do the laundry and finish up the kid's in the family's christmas gifts.  but that's about it.  elijah is still in his pjs too.  jerry is in comfy clothes.  he did go out and get us sandwiches (i am CRAVING egg salad so he got me one... nice hubby.)  elijah has played hard all morning but inside. we broke out the potato head full of potato heads and he has gone crazy with putting those together all afternoon.  he took a really good nap and i watched heros on the web while jerry watched football.  after elijah woke up we pulled out the air mattress and feather blankets and now we are chilling on that watching football and playing potato heads.  elijah thinks it's all funny.  we've needed a break.  jerry and i have both been really tired this week, so doing absolutely nothing and staying in our pjs all day has been quite nice.  part of me feels guilty that we stayed in on such a nice day, but the other part of me is completely fine with taking a day off.

anyway, it's been a nice weekend too.  yesterday we went out for breakfast and then to a park.  jerry had to go into work for a bit while elijah napped, then we just hung out.  next weekend will be more hectic.  i am going to pass your plate to get our months food on saturday.  i need to finish the rest of the family's christmas gifts as we will only see them at thanksgiving.  sunday we are going to see jerry's folks.  sometime in there we need to do all the laundry and get the house ready to go.  we leave on thursday morning and will have thanksgiving on friday afternoon.  i need to make a pumpkin pie and a pecan pie before we leave too.  when we arrive i will make a sweet potato casserole and a green bean casserole.

this past week rachel and i threw a baby shower for a woman in our play group.  we were a little worried since it was outside, but the wind died down and it was quite nice. and everyone had fun i think.  i did have a little traumatic moment.  we were playing on the playground and i was talking to another mom.  elijah moved out of the way to let another kid go down the slide and all of a sudden i see my kid falling.  there was an opening on the other side of the slide.  i thought my heart was going to stop.  however, he fell in the best possible way.  he step backwards and there was no floor (obviously) and just fell straight down and landed on his feet!  then his knees buckled and he fell backwards onto his head.  i did the stupidest thing possible which was grab up my crying kid.  i should have let him get up and come to me to make sure there was no spinal injury, but hindsight and all.  anyway, he's obviously okay and was just shaken.  it was a big fall...about 7 feet.  i was scared that he might not want to play on big slides anymore, but he was fine at the park on saturday.  it just scared me lots!

i feel like i'm fighting a cold.  my throat has been scratchy for a few days and i just feel worn out.  i went to the doc earlier this week for my eczema.  i have it on my eyelids and it is not comfortable.  unfortunately since i'm knocked up and all the only thing i can do for it is hydrocortisone cream.  so far that seems to be helping, i just look all rough and scaly around my eyes... oh well... there are worse things in life.

speaking of the baby in the belly.  i have bee feeling some beginnings of movement.  not like kicks yet, but definite movement in the belly area.  this morning in particular.   it's just so cool.  i didn't feel elijah until about 16-18-ish weeks.  i don't know if i ever wrote about it.  but when i was about 16 weeks with elijah i had to go get my heart looked at to make sure things were okay.  i guess i was the healthiest person they had seen all day and the ultrasound woman let us see the baby after finishing with my heart.  elijah was kicking my placenta at the time.  jerry said the other day that maybe that was the beginning of his happy feet (we say show us your happy feet and he starts dancing this little run in place dance.)  anyway, it was really sweet...

okay... the boy child needs attention apparently...

November 18

hmmmm...

Where did this week go?  What did I even do this week?  I'm sure we did something.  Let's see... I have decided to not make slings to sell anymore.  I couldn't find anyone who would insure me and I'm nervous in this sue happy world.  So I was a little bummed, because I had all these materials and nothing to really do with them.  The fabric I can of course find something to do with, but the rings...  Apparently the Maya Wrap was recently recalled due to some faulty rings.  Carmen was bummed because that was one of her biggest sellers, so she ended up buying all my supplies off of me.  She's going to make them herself to sell.  So that was sweet!

So with that money I got supplies to make Christmas Ornaments to sell in Carmen's shop.  I need to finish a batch tonight so that she can get them out by Thanksgiving.  I'm also knitting little bells to sell there too.  While we are away for Thanksgiving I'm going to work on some more hats and mittens.

I don't remember the rest of the week really... Thursday was rainy and then it got really really cold, and then this weekend has been a whirlwind.  I went to Pass Your Plate on Saturday and made our food for the month.  Today we went to see Jerry's mom.  His dad had to have his other leg amputated earlier this week and is in a rehabilitation facility to learn how to walk and take care of himself and whatnot.  This is a great thing, I only wish it had happened after the loss of his first leg... but everyone (including his dad) is very positive about this and I am encouraged as well.  I hope that this is a new beginning for them all!

This week is going to be a little crazy.  Elijah needs a haircut, I need to bake some pies for Thanksgiving, we have b-day party on Tuesday morning, and I need to get us all packed to leave early Thursday morning.

Elijah's sleeping is getting better.  He's staying in his room until at least 5:30-6:00 in the morning.  Last night he only woke up twice and it took less that a minute to get him back to sleep.  I hope that this trend continues.  We are still in his room while he falls asleep, but I sit in there and read my book and Jerry just sits in there.  It seems to be working.  He signs that he wants to go to sleep in his bed for nap, but he plays and gets hyper, so we bring him back out to rock for a bit and then after he settles down he gets to go back to his bed.  This is taking longer than I would like for him to settle down, but I think that it will get better soon.

This baby in the tummy is a crazy movin' baby.  Especially if I drink OJ or coke (I treat myself once a week)...man, I can't imagine what my tummy will look like once this kiddo gets bigger and I can see the movement.  It'll be like an alien....now it just feels like one.

I guess that's it.  I'm really tired this evening.  I guess even this short trip today wore me out...even though i slept a bit with Elijah at nap time...hmmmm... I may not make it through The Amazing Race tonight...we'll see...

November 20

emotional ball of...well, emotions

Today I went to pick up Rachel and MR to go walk before a b-day party of a friend.  When I walked in Rachel told me she had a present for the baby to be.  What a nice surprise.

I need to stop and give a little back story for this to make sense... Jerry wrote about this a while ago on his blog...see his fatherhood link and then scroll down to "froggie"...ANYWAY, we bought Elijah this little frog toy when he was really little and he played with it all the time.  We used it in the car to keep him calm and hooked it to his play mat and to his stroller.  On a walk he figured out how to get it off and it became lost.  I was really upset about it and maybe even cried a bit... I know it sounds dumb, but I really liked that stupid frog.  We have called Elijah our little tree frog from day one...symbolism and stuff....

So to my surprise... I have talked about this frog for ages.  And Rachel found one in a used kids store here and got it for us!  It was so sweet and I just started crying.  Rachel is used to my little outbursts.  I know that I wear my emotions on my sleeve, but when pregnant or breastfeeding, it's much worse.  I cried at a stupid Bud commercial shortly after Elijah was born...sigh...

But this is getting ridiculous.  There is a Sear's commercial out there about a little girl that loves clothes, but she has to wear a uniform to school, but next year she won't and so her mom buys her this wardrobe as a surprise for Christmas... stupid Sear's commercial...

Then I was dumb and watched Akeela and The Bee... stupid heart warming movie...

I've started ignoring commercials because I am betting that during the dumb holiday season they are only going to get worse...

Anyway, thanks to my friends for putting up with my emotional butt and a big hug to my hubby for not making too much fun of me... of course, he knows he's got to live with me for the next 24 weeks...

November 25

Turkey Day Adventures...

So we left on Thursday morning to go to my folks.  I thought that surely there wouldn't be that much traffic, and for a bit there wasn't.  But we hit Raleigh and from there until Greensboro it was slammed...moving, but slammed.  We got to my folks in about 6 hours (not bad with 4 stops.)  Elijah did really well and immediately felt at home with my folks.  He was wandering around their house finding the toys they have for him.  My folks just got a brand new TV (about time as their other one was about 25 years old...not kidding, it was at least that old...so old that Habitat For humanity wouldn't take it!!) It's really nice...flat panel, HDTV, HUGE!!!  It was difficult to come back to our boring TV today...hehehehe....

I made the sweet potato casserole that evening and unpacked the pecan and pumpkin pies.  My mom and dad made us spinach pie (one of my favorites!!) and we had dinner then chilled out with the big TV.  Elijah didn't sleep very well and gave Jerry a hard time the first night.  But was a happy guy by breakfast time.  On Friday we went to meet my Aunt and Uncle for breakfast (we left Jerry to get some rest) and run some errands at Ingles (I miss Ingles!!!)  then came home and played at the park with my little cousins.  We came back up to the house and went on and fed Elijah lunch so he could take a nap.  He only slept for about 45 minutes before he was up.  He knows how to open the doors at my folks house, so there was no going back to sleep.  But he was fine.  It was a good day.  We did a little Christmas gifting and enjoyed (way too much) yummy food.  That evening as I was brushing Elijah's teeth, he kept crying and grabbing his cheek...the whole day he had been doing odd things with his tongue...yeah, the elusive 2 year molars we have been waiting for are suddenly making an appearance.  I have been feeling his gums back there for weeks and there was nothing there...Friday night...there's a huge gaping hole with a tooth sticking out... no wonder he didn't sleep well.  Luckily we had IB with us and he got a dose of that and fell asleep and slept well for the night.

Saturday was the laziest day ever.  Elijah is all about fire lately.  When we read Goodnight Moon, he points out the fire on every page it appears.  Friday dad made a fire and Elijah woke up on Saturday and immediately started signing, Opa fire.  My dad went out in the freezing cold (before eating his breakfast) and made a fire for Elijah.  Elijah is very timid of said fire, so he stands across the room and stretches his hands way out.  It's very cute.  He'll point to the fire and say, "hot hot!" so I guess it's good to know he realizes it's hot.  Mom took Elijah out on a walk in the woods, which he wasn't thrilled about, but was fine.  Meanwhile my dad and I sat around the fire and were lazy while Jerry worked on a computer program he's developing.  We had planned on going out to a movie, but nothing looked appealing...well, we didn't want to watch anything too in depth like American Gangster, or scary like The Mist...so we just went out to lunch at My Father's Pizza (super yummy!!!) and came home to put Elijah down for a nap.  We did watch Spiderman 3 during nap time.

We drove home today and man, it was a long drive.  The weather was all dreary....yawn.  We did stop and see my other aunt and cousin for breakfast this morning.  So that was fun.  But still....

I must say that both Thursday and today the police force was OUT!  We saw a TON of people pulled over.  We also saw a bunch of dead deer on the road.  I know that it is that time of year, but there were some gruesome looking road kill on the side of the road and I just know that those had to be bad accidents.

Oh...funny story...

Thursday evening we were sitting down stairs watching football and just hanging out.  There is a big window looking out onto a footpath and my mom;s cat jumped up at the window.  Elijah loves looking at this cat (though the cat is skiddish...but through the window is okay.)  Anyway, my dad is not the biggest fan of cats (or at least acts like it) and has always threatened the cats in our lives...never hurt them, but definitely threatened them.  Anyway, the cat was clawing at the window screen.  We had just been talking about the cat's name (kitty...) and dad said, "You know what that cat's name is going to be if it doesn't stop scratching at the window..."  and I giggled and said, "dead cat dead cat..." Elijah looked right at me and then at the cat and said (and I kid you not) "deadcatdeadcat..."  I thought we were all going to die from laughing so hard.  Here is a child that doesn't say that much, and clear as day says dead cat of all things!!!   At least I didn't say something a lot worse!!!

November 27

Why don't these things come pre-programmed...

Ahhhh, potty training...sigh... so this morning marked the beginning of the training.  Here is my day so far:

8:00 - out of poopy diaper and into big boy training undies (love these because while the absorb very little, so little on can feel wet/dry, they have a vinyl outside to keep my couches from being ruined.)

8:30 - go on a walk, return home go immediately to potty.  dry undies, no pee in potty.  put undies back on...

9:00 - go to potty...wet undies, manages to pee on rug in bathroom...sigh...why didn't i already remove rugs?  oh well, they needed to be washed anyway.  boy child refuses to put undies back on... fine naked boy running around...closed all rooms with carpet in them.

9:30 - pees on floor, put boy child on potty immediately and back on with 2nd pair of undies (why do we only have 4 pairs?) he pees two drops in potty whilst i clean up pee on floor...

10:00 -  after asking every 5 minutes if he needs to pee, (answer always "no") we go sit on potty...low and behold the undies are what? wet... (liar) we sit and read and talk about wet and dry and he refuses the undies again.  fine...

10:15 - after a juice and asking every 5 minutes, boy child runs to potty and sits and goes!!!  he leaked on the way to said potty, but he almost made it... success maybe?!?!

10-30 - starts to pee while playing and i look up at the sound and cheer him on to the potty where he pees an extraordinary amount considering he's left a puddle the size of a small lake (well to ant it would be a lake) on the floor.  stays on potty while i clean up another mess... really happy the weather is warm enough to have the windows open.  both times he's peed in the potty he gets to "wipe" and flush the big potty as a reward.

11:00 - boy child says he's hungry and i convince him (after much struggling) to put on undies before eating...don't want to have to wash the high chair cover too.

11:30  - lunch... again every 5 minutes "do you need to potty?" "no"

12:00 - getting ready for nap...into a diaper... out of what? soaking wet undies...sigh...

12:30-2:23 - nap...no pee to clean up...wahoo!!!

3:00 -  convince boy child to get out of diaper and be naked again...not very cooperative...doesn't want to stay off furniture...sits on potty for almost 1/2 hour with no success...super sigh...

it is now 3:52.... he had an orange for snack and i am betting that he is storing up the pee.  if he would pee in the potty we could go outside for a bit in undies, but alas alack there is no rationalizing with toddler boy child.  i'm doubting my stamina for keeping this up for the next few days.  it's exhausting.  maybe if jerry were home it wouldn't be so bad... why don't they come out trained?  where is evolution in this matter?  opposable thumbs were more important than learning to pee in the toilet?  whatever!!!  maybe things will go better tomorrow... we are definitely having a bath tonight... i feel gross... i know pee is sterile and all, but that doesn't make it any better...

November 28

well, everyone needs a break...right?

well, elijah did well this morning... of course, rachel called and we decided that playing downtown was much more fun than potty training.  so jerry and i decided that this weekend we will tag team the training and we are resorting to bribery.  we are going to make a chart and get stickers for the chart and elijah.  it'll be easier with two.

so jerry's coworker, bonnie, had her twins yesterday via c-section.  she was scheduled for next week but went into labor yesterday.  as far as i know both mom and the the two girls are doing well.  we'll go visit tomorrow or the next day.

on monday, i took care of mr while rachel and erin went in for their 20 week ultrasound and they found out that....they are having twins!  what is the likely hood that i would know three people who have had/are having twins.  this is insane.  but also really cool.  so many babies!!!

we go to the midwife on friday for a check up and to schedule our own ultrasound.  i'm excited.  i really like seeing the baby on the screen...

okay... that's it...elijah is sleeping and i think i may join him...we got in a little late, but i always like putting him down late sometimes.  it makes night a little more difficult, but it makes the afternoon go so much faster!  be well!

November 30

It's Friday...WAHOOOOO!!!!!

So the potty training is getting better I guess.  He had no accidents yesterday evening (we had playgroup in the morning) and this morning they were limited.  He runs to the bathroom after he lets  little pee out... still cleaning up behind him...sigh... anyway, we have the chart up and that's a huge hit, so we'll see.

This afternoon we picked up Jerry, dropped Elijah off at Rachel's, and headed over to see Mary the midwife.  Everything is going smoothly.  Strong heartbeat (only ONE!) and I measuring perfectly.  We made an appointment for our ultrasound for the 14th of December.  I'm really excited!  We didn't do an early ultrasound...didn't feel that there was a need.  I am looking forward to seeing the little one on the TV.  The place we are going is a place where we went last year for some extra ultrasounds (docs thought there was something wrong with Elijah's kidneys...he just needed to pee...hmmmm....isn't ironic?) and it's really nice.  You get to see the baby on a TV screen placed above your head so you don't have to crane your neck to see the screen.  The only problem is that the appointment is at 1.  That sorta sucks.  I don't really want to take Elijah with us, but I also don't want to have to put Rachel out.... hmmm, I wonder if my folks would like to come down for the weekend... mom... dad...?  wanna come down for a long weekend?

We are getting our Christmas Tree tomorrow!!!  That's exciting!!!  I have almost all my shopping done.  We are doing only Made in the US/Europe or second hand stuff for Christmas.  This has been challenging to say the least, but I finally finished Jerry's shopping, and now it's just Elijah left.   We were thinking the Rody but now we are thinking not so much...space issues, rowdiness issues, he already has ride on toys....though nothing that bounces...hmmmm....  so now we are stuck.  I found a kitchen set that was made in the US and I went to take a look at it and the store was sold out and they weren't sure they were getting anymore...sigh... we have found a little basketball goal...that's a possibility... he just has so much already.  Well, see...

Okay...I need to check on my latest addiction....Facebook...so easy to get soooo sucked into...