Leaving the house was a success today. Wesley was a total angel and charmer at the doctor's office. So much so that my midwife said he was "so well-behaved. It's amazing!" Now I understand why moms would always counter my compliments about their sweet children with "Yeah well, you should see him/her.... etc." But yes, today, he was amazing.
In other news, any tips on how to stop hating your husband's job? Advice from anyone who has been there will be greatly appreciated.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Leave the house? Why?
Today Wesley and I left the house for the first time in about 3 days. I had 3 errands to run and as usual, had it mapped out for optimum timing and effectiveness. Wesley whined the whole way through the first store, squirmed and whined through the second store and at the third store? Well that was when he wouldn't let me hold him, ran around with me chasing him and threw a full-blown tantrum. All the while, Mrs. Snooty Old-Ladyton hurried to get in front of me in line so that I had extra long to wait while holding my purchases, other bag, purse, squirmy/screamy toddler, and belly. (I wasn't actually holding my belly, I just needed you to get the visual of my burden). Thanks Snooty.
On top of this, Wesley managed to offend all 3 cashiers (one per store) by scowling at them when they tried to say hello. Seriously. With a face that cute, he should be making friends left and right. Not this kid. He likes to scowl at people who offer friendship.
And did I mention the bribery needed to get him buckled into his seat 3 different times? Each time he was all screamy about getting into the car.
This is why I only leave the house every 3 days. Unfortunately, I have something scheduled for tomorrow so I will be forced to leave 2 days in a row. It's during Wesley's daily meltdown hour no less. Wish me luck!
I should mention that Wesley was exceptionally crabby today. Like most toddlers, I'm sure, he has days where he is the sweetest angel and others where he loses all communication ability and only knows how to scream and flail. I should also mention that I really don't mind not leaving the house. I quite like it here. :)
On top of this, Wesley managed to offend all 3 cashiers (one per store) by scowling at them when they tried to say hello. Seriously. With a face that cute, he should be making friends left and right. Not this kid. He likes to scowl at people who offer friendship.
And did I mention the bribery needed to get him buckled into his seat 3 different times? Each time he was all screamy about getting into the car.
This is why I only leave the house every 3 days. Unfortunately, I have something scheduled for tomorrow so I will be forced to leave 2 days in a row. It's during Wesley's daily meltdown hour no less. Wish me luck!
I should mention that Wesley was exceptionally crabby today. Like most toddlers, I'm sure, he has days where he is the sweetest angel and others where he loses all communication ability and only knows how to scream and flail. I should also mention that I really don't mind not leaving the house. I quite like it here. :)
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
So the doctor said I wouldn't have so many nosebleeds if I could just keep my finger outta there!
(For those that aren't either my siblings or huge Simpsons geeks, the title is a quote from Ralph on the Simpsons)
Last Saturday night, Wesley woke up crying at around 5ish am. That's not completely out of the ordinary, it still happens sometimes. Usually he won't go back to sleep in his own bed afterwards and I'm forced to bring him into our bed. Normally I don't mind, but this was actually the only night that Eric and I had to share a bed for quite some time and neither of us sleep quite as well with Mr. Squirmy in there too.
Well, I tried, but he wasn't going back to sleep so I brought him in with us. Around 7:30 he stirred/woke up and I noticed blood ALL over his face! It totally freaked me out! I jumped out of bed and grabbed a warm wet wash cloth to clean him up. I figured out he must have had a bloody nose and that's what caused the wake up/freak out in the wee hours. I went into his room and saw this:
It seriously looked like a scene from a horror movie with the bloody handprints on the crib... eww. I don't do blood. I procrastinated cleaning it up for a few days but thanks to the miraculous combo of Shout + Oxy-Clean it came out in just one wash!
He got another spontaneous nosebleed at church later that morning. We've since started putting Aquaphor in his nose at night and that has actually drastically cut down the nose-picking! Thank goodness. Funny thing is, he loves it when we put the Aquaphor in his nose. He even requests it. :) Hopefully that means no more nosebleeds!
Oh baby!
The other day I was all bugged because I was so dang uncomfortable and feeling huge. I kept thinking I wasn't far along enough in my pregnancy to be feeling like this, and then it dawned on me: At some point without noticing, I have entered the THIRD TRIMESTER!
This led to all sorts of other epiphanies and minor freak-outs.
1) I have just over 10 weeks to get ready for this little girl. This caused me to make a list of my top 10 sewing projects that I hope to get done before baby comes. (And other goals... but mostly sewing projects).
2) I only have 10 weeks left of just one kid!! I really am freaking out quite a bit about this. I can meet the needs of one child rather adequately while also taking care of myself and the household, but can I do 2? I mean, it is the little logistics like: what do I do with the tiny one while I'm taking 15 minutes to rock the big one to sleep? Will I ever shower again? How am I supposed to run errands with a car seat and a tantrum-y toddler that may or may not sit in the cart when asked?
3) I still haven't found a pediatrician I like and I don't like my baby doctor place either. I only get to birth this baby once and I really want it to go well. I wish I could have my Utah or Vegas baby people here in Connecticut. Why are all the other birth hippies in the west?
4) I need a bigger freezer so the meals I make now won't go bad and I can take a break from thinking about food when I'm adjusting to life with 2 babies.
5) I need a bigger budget so I can get all the things I need/want and worry less about paying stupid east coast doctor/hospital bills.
And so on, and so on. I'm such a worryer. It's in my genes. I wish I could trade in some worries for excitement. I am excited to hold and snuggle a little baby girl. I've been watching older videos of little Wesley and getting really excited for another little tiny. One thing I remember from my BYU (or high school) science class is that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. I feel like right now for every excited feeling about this baby, there is an equal and opposite anxious feeling.
So basically, I need some advice and reassurance. People all over the world have more than 1 kid and survive it and usually even thrive. I know it can be done... So please let me know your secrets! Any tips for letting go of the fear and anxiety?
And to end on a high note, here's a super adorable picture of two of my most favorite people.
This led to all sorts of other epiphanies and minor freak-outs.
1) I have just over 10 weeks to get ready for this little girl. This caused me to make a list of my top 10 sewing projects that I hope to get done before baby comes. (And other goals... but mostly sewing projects).
2) I only have 10 weeks left of just one kid!! I really am freaking out quite a bit about this. I can meet the needs of one child rather adequately while also taking care of myself and the household, but can I do 2? I mean, it is the little logistics like: what do I do with the tiny one while I'm taking 15 minutes to rock the big one to sleep? Will I ever shower again? How am I supposed to run errands with a car seat and a tantrum-y toddler that may or may not sit in the cart when asked?
3) I still haven't found a pediatrician I like and I don't like my baby doctor place either. I only get to birth this baby once and I really want it to go well. I wish I could have my Utah or Vegas baby people here in Connecticut. Why are all the other birth hippies in the west?
4) I need a bigger freezer so the meals I make now won't go bad and I can take a break from thinking about food when I'm adjusting to life with 2 babies.
5) I need a bigger budget so I can get all the things I need/want and worry less about paying stupid east coast doctor/hospital bills.
And so on, and so on. I'm such a worryer. It's in my genes. I wish I could trade in some worries for excitement. I am excited to hold and snuggle a little baby girl. I've been watching older videos of little Wesley and getting really excited for another little tiny. One thing I remember from my BYU (or high school) science class is that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. I feel like right now for every excited feeling about this baby, there is an equal and opposite anxious feeling.
So basically, I need some advice and reassurance. People all over the world have more than 1 kid and survive it and usually even thrive. I know it can be done... So please let me know your secrets! Any tips for letting go of the fear and anxiety?
And to end on a high note, here's a super adorable picture of two of my most favorite people.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Car. Vrrom!
I titled this post what Wesley would have called it. He loves to say that little phrase. Cute.
Eric's job requires him to travel quite a bit, as you probably have figured out by now. :) With the move to Connecticut, about half of the traveling he does is driving all over the state. After polling pretty much everyone we met that knows more than us about Connecticut, we decided that his little front-wheel drive pickup was not going to cut it through the winter. That and the fact that the clutch and tires were up for replacement, we lost the shell in the move, and it only seats 2ish people. We crammed all 3 of us in there and the more pregnant I got, the less fun that was. Anyway, Eric began the hunt for an acceptable replacement given our criteria and budget and we found one! We bought a Ford Escape to replace his truck. It was the same year as his truck, far fewer miles, 4WD, and actually has a back seat. All pros.
This makes the 7th car that Eric and I have shared in the 3 years we've been married. I think we have a problem. No but really, there is a good explanation behind every car change. That's another story for another day.
So we get our little Escape and it has a tough time starting at the dealership. Hmmm. That hadn't happened when we had test-driven it. I thought maybe it was just a fluke since it was a colder day than before or who knows what. Anyway, it turned out not to be a fluke. Every time we tried to start it, she struggled. And it got worse each time. Worse and worse until the check engine light came on and it nearly died at stoplights. That's when we called the local Ford dealership to get it looked at. We made an appointment for Monday morning, but when the time came, the ol' car wouldn't start at all. We tried jumping it with our other car. We tried giving it snuggles and loves and lots of gas and nothing worked. Crap.
Here's where the miracles start: So I start praying lots. We really can't afford to put money into the car, which is why we traded the truck in in the first place. I don't want to pay to have it towed to the shop but the thing won't start. We feel a little stuck and not sure what to do. Later that day I went to magnet something to the side of my fridge where I saw the first answer to my prayer. The phone number for Geico and our policy number... Oh yeah! We have roadside assistance with Geico! A phone call later, they towed the car for free off to the repair shop.
Naturally, the people at the repair shop assumed we were idiots and let us know the battery was dead and that's why it didn't start. We knew that... we killed it by trying to start the car all day. Well they soon figured out we weren't idiots when they thought they fixed the problem only to have the car break down on their post-fix test drive and ended up pushing it back to their shop.
Well after a battery charge, a new coil for the 3rd piston in the engine (or something like that), a new fuel pump and $1000 later, she's as good as new! But yeah. It was a thousand dollars. I'm convinced cars will never break down for less than a grand. I hope to someday be proven wrong.
So I stressed about that a lot. We haggled down the price quite a bit to make me comfortable with buying it in the first place and we felt like we got a really good deal. Until we ended up paying $1000 more than we expected. I was trying to come to terms with that and accept the fact that 1000 hard earned dollars were disappearing from savings and going toward something totally unexpected and then...
Naturally we had been in contact with our salesman through this whole process and kept him informed of what was happening. Fortunately, the dealership is one that Eric works with and this guy really liked us. However, he was not returning our phone calls or emails lately and we were getting a bit nervous. Today we got a hold of him and found out that he got approval to reimburse the entire amount of the repair! WOW!!! They'll be sending us a check this week. That is the answer I was hoping for in all my praying.
Let me just say, ask and ye shall receive. Pay your tithing and have faith. Never give up hope because the Lord knows you and your needs and just what you can handle. We would have been happy with much less-- but that's just the way the Lord works. He will bless you more than you expect if you let him.
Eric's job requires him to travel quite a bit, as you probably have figured out by now. :) With the move to Connecticut, about half of the traveling he does is driving all over the state. After polling pretty much everyone we met that knows more than us about Connecticut, we decided that his little front-wheel drive pickup was not going to cut it through the winter. That and the fact that the clutch and tires were up for replacement, we lost the shell in the move, and it only seats 2ish people. We crammed all 3 of us in there and the more pregnant I got, the less fun that was. Anyway, Eric began the hunt for an acceptable replacement given our criteria and budget and we found one! We bought a Ford Escape to replace his truck. It was the same year as his truck, far fewer miles, 4WD, and actually has a back seat. All pros.
This makes the 7th car that Eric and I have shared in the 3 years we've been married. I think we have a problem. No but really, there is a good explanation behind every car change. That's another story for another day.
So we get our little Escape and it has a tough time starting at the dealership. Hmmm. That hadn't happened when we had test-driven it. I thought maybe it was just a fluke since it was a colder day than before or who knows what. Anyway, it turned out not to be a fluke. Every time we tried to start it, she struggled. And it got worse each time. Worse and worse until the check engine light came on and it nearly died at stoplights. That's when we called the local Ford dealership to get it looked at. We made an appointment for Monday morning, but when the time came, the ol' car wouldn't start at all. We tried jumping it with our other car. We tried giving it snuggles and loves and lots of gas and nothing worked. Crap.
Here's where the miracles start: So I start praying lots. We really can't afford to put money into the car, which is why we traded the truck in in the first place. I don't want to pay to have it towed to the shop but the thing won't start. We feel a little stuck and not sure what to do. Later that day I went to magnet something to the side of my fridge where I saw the first answer to my prayer. The phone number for Geico and our policy number... Oh yeah! We have roadside assistance with Geico! A phone call later, they towed the car for free off to the repair shop.
Naturally, the people at the repair shop assumed we were idiots and let us know the battery was dead and that's why it didn't start. We knew that... we killed it by trying to start the car all day. Well they soon figured out we weren't idiots when they thought they fixed the problem only to have the car break down on their post-fix test drive and ended up pushing it back to their shop.
Well after a battery charge, a new coil for the 3rd piston in the engine (or something like that), a new fuel pump and $1000 later, she's as good as new! But yeah. It was a thousand dollars. I'm convinced cars will never break down for less than a grand. I hope to someday be proven wrong.
So I stressed about that a lot. We haggled down the price quite a bit to make me comfortable with buying it in the first place and we felt like we got a really good deal. Until we ended up paying $1000 more than we expected. I was trying to come to terms with that and accept the fact that 1000 hard earned dollars were disappearing from savings and going toward something totally unexpected and then...
Naturally we had been in contact with our salesman through this whole process and kept him informed of what was happening. Fortunately, the dealership is one that Eric works with and this guy really liked us. However, he was not returning our phone calls or emails lately and we were getting a bit nervous. Today we got a hold of him and found out that he got approval to reimburse the entire amount of the repair! WOW!!! They'll be sending us a check this week. That is the answer I was hoping for in all my praying.
Let me just say, ask and ye shall receive. Pay your tithing and have faith. Never give up hope because the Lord knows you and your needs and just what you can handle. We would have been happy with much less-- but that's just the way the Lord works. He will bless you more than you expect if you let him.
Friday, December 10, 2010
A dear family friend died today.
There is never a good time for a family to lose a mommy/wife/best friend, but as I listened to Christmas music today, I couldn't help but imagine how hard it would be right now. My heart aches for those kids and poor Jared and especially on Christmas morning without this amazing woman.
For some reason, I just can't stop crying for them right now. I do take comfort knowing she is in a much better place and her cancer battle is finally over. She was so blessed to have as much time as she did in the face of terminal brain cancer, but knowing all that hasn't helped me handle it better. I don't really handle death well. Does anyone?
Anyway, I just needed to write this. Pray for Jared, Jacob and Emma.
There is never a good time for a family to lose a mommy/wife/best friend, but as I listened to Christmas music today, I couldn't help but imagine how hard it would be right now. My heart aches for those kids and poor Jared and especially on Christmas morning without this amazing woman.
For some reason, I just can't stop crying for them right now. I do take comfort knowing she is in a much better place and her cancer battle is finally over. She was so blessed to have as much time as she did in the face of terminal brain cancer, but knowing all that hasn't helped me handle it better. I don't really handle death well. Does anyone?
Anyway, I just needed to write this. Pray for Jared, Jacob and Emma.
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