Happy Howl-oween!!

"Things that only a wife would notice"

It drives me nuts when C locks the drivers side door, with the car in the garage, and leaves the other 3 doors unlocked.

I hate it when C lays the dish towels on the counter, puts clean dishes on them, and doesn't ever put away the dishes or get out a new dish towel so when I wash my hands I can dry them.

It really bugs me when C gets snooty and suggests/requests that I do "something" in the way of housework while he's at a gig/work, when he hasn't done a goddamn thing while I'm at work.

It bothers me when I come home and the dogs are in their kennels because they were being "obnoxious" and all they needed was a nice walk, which C didn't give them (when the weather was nice).

I don't know why that man can't do a freaking load of laundry, start to finish (including putting it away).

*sigh* God give me the strength to keep from smacking him upside the head with a damp dishtowel.

A Whole Lot of Random

1. C and I have started implementing a "cleaning list" that I found on the Nest. Seriously some awesome stuff there. It basically breaks down the household cleaning so that every day there is one room to clean, and some stuff that happens every day (dishes, etc). Today was the kitchen, and while it's not perfect, it's a far cry nicer than it was! Sparkly clean appliances make me happy, apparently. They are just all nice and sparkly. Except the fridge..that's kind of ecru and dull, but it's clean, anyway. I even cleaned the washer and dryer, and the outside of the trash can.

2. J did not want Pooh Bear to go in the dryer. I had washed him because during a nap this weekend J peed on him (hahaha, he peed on Pooh...). J saw me toss the "Beaw" into the dryer, and immediately said "Beaw!! No!! Wet!" Puzzled, I fished out the bear, gave him to J, and watched as J laid him on the door of the dryer, proclaimed that he was, indeed, wet, and proceeded to march around the house clutching the slightly damp bear in a death grip until bathtime. By the time J went to bed, Pooh was dry, but boy did mama learn her lesson!

3. My iPod makes a handy phone, if a certain boy wants to call "Gma House" (grandma's house). In the future, however, I will be sure to lock the iPod before J tries to call any other edifices, as he managed to change the time zone and some other settings before he got bored of his game.

Sick on a Weekend= BOO

Someone up there has a sick (hahaha) sense of humor. I had plans for the weekend, and they did NOT include being sick.

Oh well. Bonus is that it's a sore throat and fever (off and on fever, not very high, so hopefully not the flu), and not a nose thing. YAY!

I'm going to go drink a gallon of apple juice and watch Rosemary's Baby. Then I will make some pumpkin-craisin-chocolate chip bread. Yummy!

On an aside, I gave J honey plus the tea tree oil rub tonight. The honey is harder for him to take simply because it is so thick, so in that respect the Chestal cough syrup was better. In terms of actual performance though, at this point they're tied.

Homeopathic and Natural Kiddo Remedies

Since J was born, it's been very hard to watch him suffer when he's sick without taking more than a painkiller. Due to the "ban" on cold medicine for young children, I've had to get creative with relief for him.

Once he turned one, I could use honey to calm his cough. I have been using Tea Tree Therapy Eucalyptus Chest Rub that I got at a local market instead of Vick's. I've actually been using it on us too, and it works very well without containing turpentine. Yep, Vick's has turpentine in it. Anyway, I know that the website linked above says not to use on children under 2, but the jar says nothing of the sort and J isn't allergic to any of the ingredients, so I'm not exactly concerned.
Today I got a pack of new Boiron's Children's Homeopathic cold products in the mail. (I believe I saw this opportunity on Money Saving Mom's blog.) C is a skeptic, but I say if we can't give J "real" medicine we may as well try the homeopathic stuff. The "sample" pack actually included the new kid's versions of the following: a 6-dose pack of Oscillo for flu-like symptoms, Coldcalm pellets for multi-system cold relief like a runny nose, and finally Chestal honey cough syrup. When I signed up to recieve this I was thinking I'd get small samples, not full-sized products. They sent me over $45 in medicine for free! (By the way, I know they say that these products are not for children under 2. However, J is almost 2, and having looked at the ingredients and knowing what I do about homeopathic medicine, I am confident that I am not putting J in any danger whatsoever by giving him the cough syrup now.)

I have only had J try the cough syrup so far, because he's still fighting a cough from the last cold he had from about a week and a half ago (poor boy!) and when he goes to bed at night he coughs for a long while and it keeps him up. I will reserve a full review of the cough syrup for this weekend, but I have to say that my initial impression was that it's about equal with plain honey. The second dose I gave him this evening was just about 20 minutes ago, and he's stopped coughing and now is sleeping. Considering that he went down at about 7:15 and with no medicine coughed off and on for about an hour, I'm pleased so far. I'm thinking I will try just honey tomorrow night to compare. We'll just have to see.

C HAS A JOB!!

After months of searching, applying, and hearing nothing, C found an open position at a neighborhood liquor store (one of the largest in the state, sweet!). Since he's recently taken a beer judging certification course, he actually has credentials for working there. So he applied, got interviewed yesterday, and got the job today!

It's going to involve a somewhat hectic schedule for everyone, but it will be worth it to have less financial worry. He'll be working from 3:30pm til either 7:30 or 9:30 at night for a total of 20-30 hours a week. This means that I will be working from 6:30am til 2:30pm. Yikes. However, that leaves me more time to spend with J, and take the dogs for walks, and keep the house neat. Another bonus? C is making more to start here than he did after 2 years at a national baby supply retailer. Um, yeah. Sweet! It's going to be rough for the first month, but then it's smooth sailing and we can even TTC when we planned to! Yay! Can you tell I'm just through the roof? I keep smiling like an idiot.

Thank you, Universe, for listening to my plea.

Brandi Carlile CD Giveaway!

Rachel is giving away Brandi Carlile's new CD until midnight on the 27th! Here's the linky:

http://schiranotriplets.blogspot.com/2009/10/music-giveaway-brandi-carlile.html

Good luck! (Well, I mean, I hope I win, but good luck anyway)

Challenges and Missing Out: The Joys of a Toddler with Food Intolerances

I just saw a coupon for free kid's hot chocolate at Barnes and Noble. Seeing that once again whacked me with the fact that J can't have hot chocolate unless we make it at home. Maybe ever.

I know I am probably being over dramatic, but given his skin reactions and diarrhea from cow's milk, and the horrible diarrhea and blistering diaper rash from 2 days on soy milk, he can't have any of the "fun" dairy-containing drinks at coffee shops. Since no coffee shops that I know of serve things with goat milk, J can have warm apple cider and that is it. I know it doesn't really matter in the long run, but it still twists me up inside when he so sweetly asks for a "sip please" of my beverage and when I give it to him he gets a rash around his mouth.

He also has an allergy to tomatoes/ tomato sauce. Yep, good times. It does basically the same thing to him as cow's milk- meaning rash where it comes into contact with his skin, and diarrhea. My niece has the same thing, and at the age of 8 she still can't have tomatoes. I've been hoping J would grow out of this, but seeing my niece (not biologically related to J, by the way) I'm not sure he ever will.

That means that whenever C and I want lasagna, spaghetti, or any other yummy Italian food with tomatoes in it, we have to wait until J is in bed to enjoy it because otherwise J will refuse to eat his food if it isn't the same thing Mommy and Daddy are eating. Also, no pizza for little J.

I really hope he grows out of this, or childhood is going to be a bit rough on him.

Woot! 6-0!

Yay Broncos!!

We love you even when you have ugly banana and poop colored uniforms (Seriously guys, there's a reason that they got new ones after only 2 years...) We love you even when you play like morons.

But we REALLY love you when you kick ass and take names.

Also, J calls you the "Bwonks."

Remembering Those Too Beautiful for this Earth

Today, October 15th, is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day.

Take a moment to pray for and remember anyone who has lost a child. Many people around the country will be lighting candles tonight in honor of those babies too beautiful to live here on earth.

I am thinking today of my mother, of the sibling I never knew, of my sister and the niece or nephew I never knew. I am thinking of my sister-in-law D, and the two babies that she lost before she got her sticky baby that is currently kicking around in her womb.

I am thinking of EasJer and her perfect little Gabriel, born and gone before he was even physically able to breathe.

I hope that everyone who has lost a child can find some peace on this bittersweet day of remembrance.