Saturday, October 31, 2009

Friday, October 30, 2009

"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.

Monday, October 26, 2009

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.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

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.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

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.

Monday, October 19, 2009

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."

Thursday, October 15, 2009

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.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Update

My ute got her act together, and is now trying to kill me. Ugh. Stupid short LP and cramps and stuff.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Come ON, Uterus. Get it together.

What the effing hell. This is ridiculous. Uterus, either start bleeding or stop being a pain in the...well...yourself. Dammit. Chart in post below, it's really lovely. My temp is now going up again. WTF.

In related news, when C and I had sex the night before my temp first dipped, it was not enjoyable. It did not feel good. Last time that happened was when I was pregnant with J. Yikes. Ugh.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Juju Please!

Here are some random juju/prayer requests going out into the Blogosphere and Interwebs:

1. Nephew Nick has H1N1. He had a high fever, and is getting better, but speedy recovery juju would be appreciated!

2. C still needs a job. Seriously, any job juju/prayers/whatever would be awesome.

Thanks!

Ok, Body, WTF Are You Doing?!

I am 8 DPO (days post ovulation), and my body seems to think that is a good day to start acting like the end of my cycle. I've been crampy, my sciatica is flaring up, I'm breaking out like a teenager with really bad skin, and at about noon today I just about fell asleep sitting at my desk. I also have a headache but I don't think that's related. The last few cycles I've had obscenely long LPs (well, 16-18 days) and now all of a sudden my body is misbehaving. Ugh.


I suppose it's possible that I am actually 13 DPO (if I ovulated on cycle day 15), but my fertility signs don't exactly agree with that, and it would be a slow and erratic temp rise. *sigh* I think I just need to go to bed. I want my ibuprofen to kick in. If my period starts tomorrow I will say that I ovulated on CD15 and just override the chart. If my temp goes back up, I will sigh, say WTF, and hope I am not pregnant (but hey, thanks to that deal I posted below, I could find out in a few weeks for free).

ETA: Ugh ok, temp stayed down. I guess I did ovulate on CD15. Bleh.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Odd Fixes

When J is on the verge, or in the midst, of a tantrum, there are two steps to calm him down. Both are required.

1. Remove his shoes. If he's not wearing shoes, well, he isn't really throwing a tantrum. I don't think.

2. Hug him so he's laying on your chest, rub his back, and sing Mama's Gonna Buy You a Mockingbird.

Nice to know that the same song that soothed him as an infant still works (and possibly quicker) on him as a toddler!

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

21 Months


J is 21 months old today. Above is a picture of him reading in the car this week.

It's hard to believe that one year ago, he looked like this:


(Squeee! Look at that chubby little face! He was so bald! And his teeth weren't all the way in yet, and oh my gosh he was such a baby still! Yeah, I do get a little too into Halloween. I haven't gotten him Halloween socks yet this year simply because all the $1 toddler ones Target has are pretty girly, and they don't have any skull ones in his size)
And even harder to believe, TWO years ago, he looked something like this: (I had actually just had my glucose tolerance test, and would soon find out that I had gestational diabetes)


Ok so technically those are from my 32 week ultrasound, but that's way closer than my 19 week one, so there you go. Wow. He was throwing a fit in the bottom right picture, by the way. He really hated ultrasounds and things like that. He still makes that face when he's crying.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Nightmares

It seems that the mid-cycle nightmares are back.

Night before last it was pink and purple mice spreading some sort of flu-related plague where basically people became zombie-like with horrible lesions all over their skin, and the "cure" was fire. The mice were really sweet and nice, so everyone wanted to pet them, which is what made the disease spread. So lots of burning of my friends. Then we (humanity?) figured out an actual prophylactic measure that was basically bathing in an acidic solution of some sort. Lovely. But at least it kept us from dying off in horribly painful ways.

Last night I dreamed I was 30 weeks pregnant with my second son and I went into early labor and delivered him at my parents' house. He died. I spent the whole dream crying and screaming and raging because I hadn't gotten to hold him and nobody kept any pictures of him. My mom had taken some (of other people like C and some random woman holding his little body) but deleted them because "she knew he was going to be dead so she needed to delete them."They buried him without ever letting me meet my dead son.

There's some fucked up stuff going on in my head at night. Fun, eh?

Monday, October 5, 2009

Pity Party for One, Please

I'm just going to be whiny for a moment.

1. Someone stole my purple mug that C got me in graduate school, for me to keep at my desk so I could drink tea and write, research, etc. This pisses me off. I want to kick them in the nuts. If they have nuts.

2. I have GAINED probably 15 pounds since J turned one. This makes me very sad, because I am now back to where I was when I got pregnant, but it's worse because I have this stupid post-baby flabby belly so my pants don't fit, and I have a muffin top. I feel fat and disgusting. C likes that my butt is bigger (well, he says it's perfect, but I am not happy). I just feel gross and fat and like people are judging me.

3. We have no money. I want C to just get a fucking job already. I *know* he's trying but I think I could try better. Scratch that, I KNOW I could try better.

4. I think I forgot to take my meds this morning. Pretty sure I did. Maybe that's why I'm so effing cranky. That and I may have forgotten on Saturday too. Ugh.

Update:
I got my mug back and left the postdoctoral fellow who took it the note that I had previously posted on the cabinet. Unfortunately I didn't get to confront him directly as he was not at his desk. That bastard better leave my stuff alone. I do not tolerate that kind of violation of my personal space. Here's the note, if you are interested. The mug had been in a cabinet in the break room, with our lab's name on it and a label that says "Private, do not take."

Dearest Thieving Ingrate who took my mug:

I understand that in this economy it can be difficult to find the money to purchase things like mugs for you to use at work. However, I would hope for your mother’s sake that you had better manners than to steal things that do not belong to you. My purple mug does not belong to you. I did not bring it here for you to use and to take without permission, and I assume your mother raised you better than to think that you can take whatever you please without asking.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Tena

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Want. This.

Picture from t-mobile.com, this is the new My Touch. *le sigh*