The Commercial Break.... :-S

Today was kind of a rough day. No nap for baby, sick dogs, overwhelmingly dirty house... you get the idea. I decided it would be OK for Nicholas to watch a little TV while he was in his highchair in the hopes that he would sit in there a little longer than normal and give me time to mop the floor (again) to clean up the dog's unfortunate accident. After that was done I couldn't help getting sucked in by a episode of The Wonder Pets. First of all is there is dumber show on TV.... besides Dora the Explorer I mean? Anyway while I sat there stunned by the sheer silliness of this show (Nicholas grinning like a idiot and enjoying every minute of course) the commercials came on. First one was for cereal, Cinnamon toast crunch to be exact. Pretty innocent right? Uh hu, until I paid closer attention. Two squares of cereal are in the bowl, no milk just in case it matters to you. While one square looks the other way the other sticks out it's tongue and licks it's friend. Ummm gross lol. Then it acts like it did nothing. The second square looks away again and we see the first start to stick it's tongue out again for another lick and BAM, the second square turns around and in one bite EATS his licking friend! OMG.... !!!  In the same commercial break we watched another cereal commercial. This one for Trix. We've all seen these right, where the white bunny just wants a bowl of cereal and the kids won't let him have one. This has been going on since I was a little kid, and maybe even longer. Poor rabbit. This time the rabbit seems to accept that he will never get a bowl of Trix and just shrugs and says " A rabbit can dream can't he?". What on earth??? Isn't that sending the message that sometimes you just can't achieve your goals, hopes, and dreams? Gosh. It's been like 20+ years, give the damn rabbit a bowl of cereal already. Chances are he won't even like it. Seriously have you tastes Trix? Yuck :P lol. We also watched commercials for some crazy toys and Trojan condoms. Speaking of the last one, maybe that is there to remind you about birth control so you don't have to watch stupid shows like this for any longer than you have to (like you would if you had another baby) LOL. Or maybe it was there to rub in the fact that you forgot to use one that one night and now look what you have to watch on TV. :p

So I'm thinking I may DVR the Wonder Pets show for future TV days and then I can fast forward through the commercials. I pay attention to the subject matter of the shows I may allow him to watch but I can't factor in commercials. It doesn't do a great deal of good to do research and pre-watch some shows to make sure you are OK with letting your creature watch them when the network is going to put inappropriate commercials into the mix :P

NO, Momma I don't want to smile! :p

I have such a little flirt/ham of a toddler. Really he smiles at everyone (except walmart cashiers??) and plays shy baby and flirts and puts his hands out. He is sooooo cute, not that I am biased or anything. Just today he walked right up to two lady's working at a jewelry store and pretty much demanded that they notice him and he just broke out the biggest cutest cheeeeeeese smile he had. We were walking around the mall today which is how he walked up to them. We were following behind him holding onto the other end of his toddler leash. Yeah, yeah, I am one of those mom's who believes in toddler leashes. If you don't well.... bite me, or get your butt down here and come to the mall with me and it can be your job to chase after Nicholas when he doesn't want to ride in his stroller. :P Anyway back to the story. We were at the mall to see the Easter Bunny and hopefully get a photo with him. It took us a while with all the detours and what not that Nicholas wanted to make but finally we located his bunny-ness and yay there was no line at all to take pictures. Poor Easter bun bun was sitting there looking quite bored in fact lol. We selected the package we wanted, just the one photo and then let the lady talk us into buying a photo frame for a dollar more and the photo would be free. *Shrugs* what's a photo without a frame right? Anyway I walked up and showed Nicholas the big bunny and then plopped in down in said bunny's lap and step out of the camera's shot. Now the rule here is you are supposed to SMILE for the camera, right. Hahaha, NOT Nicholas. As soon as I plopped him down the smile vanished and a very serious look came over his face. This is normal. It is amazing difficult to photograph Nicholas. He just seems to know when you are about to snap the picture and stops smiling and/or turns his head away. Nice. I was just happy he was directing his serious look towards the camera. The ladies taking the photo though weren't busy and didn't have a line of people waiting so they were not going to accept a non smiling photo. They jingled keys, waved toys, played peek-a-boo, flashed the flash on the camera, sang, called his name.... the works. LoL. Nope, not gonna happen lady. I am not going to smile at YOU. Never mind that I was smiling 10 seconds ago. He even decided he had had enough of looking at the camera and turned to look at and smack the Easter Bunny. :/ great I have a kid who has violent tendencies towards mascots lol. We got a couple of shots of a less serious look, almost a smile but no real smile. Even I couldn't get him to smile by making funny noises or talking to him. At that point I called in the big guns, AKA Daddy who without fail can usually get a smile out of little Nicholas. Poor daddy... today was not his day lol. He played peek-a-boo, made all sorts of crazy sounds, jumped around, danced... haha he seriously worked up a sweat and probably got a good start on a workout in before FINALLY we got a brief smile. *snap and flash* YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS we got it! Whooo hooo. Nicholas took that opportunity to take another swipe at the Easter Bunny's nose and as I swooped in to pick him up. Thankfully the photo is nice and clear and he's looking directly at the camera and has a BIG grin on his face :) YAY! I don't think we have gotten as nice as photo as this one. Certainly not with Santa, but then there was a huge line of people waiting and that one was free so they weren't inclined to be as patient I suppose. From the photographer's standpoint all of Daddy's hoping and yelling and crazy noises attracted the attention of several other parents who brought THEIR kids over to meet and have photos with the Easter Bunny as well. Hummm, they should have given us a commission or something lol.

So we are officially ready for Easter now, we have seen the bunny, and we have plans to dye eggs and make a little baby Easter basket and preserve the memory on film :) Maybe on Easter morning I can get a couple more photos of Nicholas smiling lol, we'll see. Sure wish somebody would tell Nicholas that smiling for the camera is a good thing!!! I guess he'll get better at that with time.... at least I hope he will !!!  

Of course I will share our Easter picture with you all :) Come on, all together now, Awwwww :) This is a snap shot of the photo that I took with my blackberry which is why it is a bit dark and not perfect quality. You can still see the smile though!

Baby Nicholas goes to Hooters!

Ok, so I was raised to believe Hooters was a bad place, just one step down from a strip joint. You go there to look at boobies and butts and you justify it by saying the food is really good whether it is or not. It's a sports bar, a guy place.... the ultimate man cave. Except for one thing, the wife and baby you brought along b/c this is actually really and truly a family restaurant. Surprise! lol. Never mind that a pretty decent number of playmates and Hefner girlfriends have been hooters girls, and never mind that they require all sorts of ridiculous dress and behavior of their employee's. Honest to goodness this is daddy's favorite family hangout. I found that out today when my husband and I decided to take our weekend trip out to lunch and out of the blue he said "why don't we go to Hooters?" I had made mention a time or two about the rumors of good food and said I had never been before. Off we went :D


Yay arrival at last, I get to experience the hoot. We walk in the door and first impression was yup it's a sports bar type place and ummmmmmmm is there a hostess on duty or can we just go sit down? About .003 seconds later a cheery chorus of "Hi, WELCOME to Hooters!!!" Well, ok, so we've got friendly folks in here I guess. :) The hostess comes bustling up gives us a nod and a smile I guess to show that she is not totally ignoring us as she by passes me and heads straight to.... nope, not the husband. NICHOLAS! "Oh my gosh, heeeeelllooooo, aren't you a little cutie pie! Yes, you are soooooo CUTE!" With no hesitation she holds out her hands and to my extreme surprise takes my son right out of my husbands arms and continues to fawn over him. Make no mistake here, she didn't just steal him or anything, I think she may have asked if she could hold him I don't really recall. My husband handed him over no doubt just as surprised as I was lol and inquired if they had highchairs. The reply he got was "Of course we do, we just wuv widdle babies like you handsome boy!" lol. She carried Nicholas all the way to the table and expertly plopped him into a highchair and helped buckle him in. All the while keeping up a steady conversation along the lines of welcome to hooters with a fair amount of what a cute little boy this is and a mention of her own daughter loving to come eat here at  hooters b/c of the lights around the windows looking like Christmas lights. Nice. A few seconds after being seated we had our drink order taken by our waitress and magically crackers appeared at the table for Nicholas brought by the hostess. Another waitress brought over a yellow balloon and tied it to the highchair for Nicholas to play with. So adorable since Nicholas and daddy were wearing their matching yellow polo shirts today :) We order our fried pickle appetizer and crayons and a coloring page appeared at the table. Nicholas was in heaven with all the girls paying attention to him. He is such a flirt. He chowed down on some fried pickles and when our meals arrived the waitress has brains in addition to her boobs and made sure to place the plates OUT of Nicholas' reach. I cannot tell you how many dumb waiters and waitresses out there (probably those who do not have kids) put a scalding hot plate of food down practically right in front of Nicholas. Ummmm hey genius, babies tend to grab things and this has one of two outcomes. Either the plate is hot and will burn him (Mexican places) or he will mange to get a hold on it and WILL pull it into his lap and thus dumping food all over the floor, and possibly burning himself in the process and almost certainly will break the glass plate. Thankgoodness this lady has some sense. She was also nice enough to offer to refill his sippy cup with water when he had drank most of what we had brought for him. There is a first! All throughout our meal Nicholas babbled at and flirted with the waitress who kept in a good mood so mommy and daddy could actually eat for a chance. He hadn't even had a nap and between the food, crayons, balloon and wait staff Nicholas stayed entertained and happy without being over stimulated. Apparently the staff at our local hooters is extremely baby friendly. Definitely a win. I have to say it was a nice change from other places we've eaten where the staff could care less and you have to be on the lookout for things than can wrong during the meal.

The most surprising thing about this whole experience was guess what, the food IS really good. I was surprised. They have more than wings as well which also kind of surprised me. I had only ever heard about their wings. The staff was friendly and yeah they were dressed in a way that would certainly add fuel to a man's imagination but hey, at least they are covered. There are way worse things for my husband to be looking at and they were wearing little shorts under their ridiculously short school girl inspired skirts so nothing was showing that shouldn't be. I have to say we will definitely be back. Yum yum and lots of fun. :) I'd call this a hidden gem, who knew?? :) This is my kind of place..... now if I could just magically look like a hooters girls we'd be all set :P Hahaha, 

Healthy Mom In the Kitchen Recipe Challenge

Help us cook and eat healthier (or for that matter at all lol) I plan on compiling and then trying out as many new recipes as I can with my family and writing a review of how it went. Me ... in the kitchen..... you won't want to miss this ROFL.

Recipes need to be
- reasonably healthy, (Even better if they happen to be vegetarian or easily converted to veggie)
-all or in part toddler friendly
-easy to prepare. No crazy prep instructions if you please, if I try and flambe something I am likely to set my house on fire.
-NOTHING fried, see previous comment and friend foods aren't super healthy anyhow.
-inexpensive to prepare. No 8.99 a pound lamb or anything. :P
-preference will be given to clean fresh ingredient recipes over recipes that contain or are based on store bought mixes or soups. These types of recipes may take longer to prepare but that's OK. That is part of the challenge.

You can e-mail your recipes to Trainer@Blacktiekennels.com (please put recipe challenge in the subject line) or you can leave them as a comment here (comments won't be published for viewing)

Shut it and ring me up Mr. Walmart cashier

Good lord, sometimes you just want to smack people.

I was in WallyWorld this evening to buy dog food, which in my case means 20 lbs of chicken quarters (more on that in later post). My husband and I decided that since we were in the store on our own without baby Nicholas we could spend as much time looking at whatever we wanted to as we wanted. Somehow we ended up in the craft section on the way to electronics and I decided I would go ahead and buy Nicholas some crayons. I was reading in the WTE the toddler years book that it is never to early to introduce art and Nicholas is much better about not trying to eat everything he picks up so we are going to give the crayons another try. I bought a small pack of the large ones (I was looking for the uber large ones but I guess they don't make those anymore???). We looked around some, picked up the chicken, and proceeded to the checkout. Because we only had three items we went through the express lane. We were in a hurry to go and pick Nicholas up from Granny's house since it was getting late. The cashier was a nice older gentleman who was just a little to nice. He was taking FOREVER to ring up the two ladies (who were together but buying their items separately). He was talking about each item and flirting and OMG.... just HURRY up! This is supposed to be express checkout for heaven sake. COME ON! Finally it's my turn and he acts like the two bags of chicken are just sooooooooooo heavy and comments about how I must like big meats. First of all you're in your 60's at least and I'm a 20 something. I'm not discussing what kind of meat I like or how big I like it. Hey, though I'm kind of a bitch so sure I'll play along. To throw him a curve ball I commented that I was a vegetarian and didn't eat meat (partly true, though I had just come from a nice dinner with the hubs where I had eaten a medium rare steak lol). He almost dropped the second bag of chicken and just looked at me. Ummmm k, now whatcha gonna say gramps? Anyway he then started commenting that the bags were very heavy and he was only going to put one each in a shopping bag. Sure, that makes sense to me. Ever try and carry 20lbs of anything in a little plastic bag? Then we get to the crayons. You would have thought I was buying beer and condoms or something when he saw those. "ohhhh crayons huh?" Ugh, can I hit this guy? JUST RING IT UP AND LET ME PAY!!!! He makes a big production about the crayons and my husband pipes up and says that they are for our son, his first set of crayons dontcha know. No comment from the cashier. Weirdo, apparently walmart is all about hiring geriatric deviants to run their registers??? Anyway he then kind of refuses to put the crayons in their own bag and tosses them in with one of the bags of chicken. *smacks head* hey mister, you ever hear of salmonella ? Thank goodness these are nice thick bags and didn't have any leaks in them. He could of put them in one of the little tiny bags before he stuck them in with the chicken. OK so finally our purchases are rung up and I am paying and we should be on our way. Nope, this is walmart we're talking about here nothing is ever that easy. He takes forever to count out our change. OK so he wants to make sure he does it right, that's fine. What was not fine was that he took the time to look at each and every coin front and back (WTH??) and same with the bills. Like do we have a money fetish?? There was a stamp on one of the dollar bills he pulled out of the drawer that said something like "track this bill" and had a website to log onto. He made a big deal about that too reading it out loud to everyone standing in line. OMG, seriously it's my money give it to me and let me out of here you freak. Nope, not so fast. Now he wants to have a discussion on what this might mean. Kill me... we are never getting out of walmart, tell Nicholas I loved him and was buying him crayons lol.

Finally we were able to leave and head to the car after it taking us almost 10 minutes to check out with three items. Incredible. Nicholas was happy to see us when we arrived to pick him up. It was nice to go out without him but I was glad to have him back as well. Thank god he wasn't with us in walmart. He's not the most patient creature and having to sit there while Mr crazy guy checked up out would have been a real experience. Then again he would have probably started throwing a fit and maybe the process would have been a lot faster :P

The dollar bill by the way is a neat thing. The website is www.wheresgeorge.com and you enter the serial number of the dollar bill you've received and you can see where the dollar has been before it came to you. This one has traveled 99 miles in about a month, the last entry was in Mobile AL which is a couple hours from here. Interesting. :P

Becoming a little person

Nicholas has crawled, crab walked, and toddled into toddler hood full tilt. It's amazing how quickly he is changing and learning new things. I have always heard that newborns change the fastest and the first year of life is the most amazing thing to witness. I respectfully beg to differ. The second year so far has been WAY more exciting than the first and we are only two months in. Of course the first smile and the first laugh, and the first time he rolled over or played with a toy will forever warm my heart but frankly toddlers are just more fun! People have cautioned me to "watch out" and used phrases like "oh boy, you're in for it now!!" whenever I've spoken about things like Nicholas learning to walk. Puhhh- leease!! That's a bunch of nonsense. He started walking independently about two and a half weeks ago (he's been walking holding onto things since October I think) and since then he's been tons of fun and a lot less trouble. He can get from point A to point B faster, is more keen to follow me when I need him to, and I can now let him play in the yard without having to worry as much about what he may eat. Fact of the matter is when you're standing up you are to busy to try and stuff handfuls of grass into your face or grab teeny twigs and try and jab your eye. We did have a dirt eating (please god I hope it was just dirt) incident last week. I think that was a special case though. He is happy to run around the backyard exploring and no doubt learning tons about the world. Not to mention walking is cleaner than crawling. Only his feet get dirty now, at least until he learns to make mud pies ;)

Walking isn't the only change we've seen in the last few weeks. Little things like picking up an object and handing it to mommy or daddy have become some of our favorite games. It was ultra adorable the first time he did it. He would hand first to daddy, take it back, then hand it to mommy and take it back and so on. Minutes (which in toddler time equates to hours) of entertainment for him and for us. Earlier this week he started pointing to himself in the mirror in imitation of what we do when we point to the mirror. I should probably explain that every time we pass a mirror we point and say things like, "look, look, there's a baby" or "Look Nicholas, it's the baby in the mirror". Recently we've begun naming the baby in the mirror Nicholas since that is who it is. He LOVES the baby in the mirror and will grin his biggest grin and wave and sometimes clap and now he will also point at the baby as soon as he seems him. Super cute! Yesterday we started learning to turn the light to the nursery on and off :) As soon as the light goes on (or off) he smiles and might even giggle He is really into cause and effect type games right now. We spent a good 10 minutes yesterday standing next to wall pressing the light switch and watching what happens. He doesn't always push it hard enough to turn it on but he's showing that he understands how it works at least a little bit. Our new routine is to have him turn the light on when we head in for a diaper change and to turn it off when we leave. He loves it! Today's big accomplishments were climbing up onto his toy train by himself and learning to kick a little foam basket ball that he got for Christmas. I was showing him how it could roll and he could chase it when by a lucky chance his foot connected with the ball and sent it across the living room. He was fascinated and we played that game for a good long while until something on the bookcase caught his attention. Gotta love how quickly a toddler can shift his focus.

We also have a favorite book all of a sudden. I believe he got it for his birthday though I have no idea who gave it to him. It's called Where's My Puppy and it's a little peek-a-boo book and it has a hole in the middle of a lot of the pages. Nicholas is fascinated with holes for some reason. If he can poke his finger in it he certainly will !!! This applies to noses, mouths, eyes, water bottles, soda cans.... you get the idea. He sits in your lap and lets you read the book while he jams his little toddler fingers into the books holes on each page. It's one of the few times he is stationary while awake.

soooooo big!

Honestly when babies are first born they are really more like high maintenance pets. You have to keep them clean, feed them, provide stimulation and love. Even when they start crawling they are still kind of like a very very involved and demanding pet. With the coming of toddler hood Nicholas has begun to blossom into a little person who each and every day acts more and more like a little kid. He laughs and smiles and shows what he likes and dislikes. Tantrums aside (which we really haven't gotten into yet) I think toddler hood is awesome and way more fun than having a newborn/infant. Sure it's a little more work but it's fun work and watching him learn and figure things out is a way better pay off than I got when he was an infant. Not to mention that after a year of practice I am much much better at dealing with him in my own way.  I kind of wish other people would see that  and understand that I've got this (for the moment) instead of telling me that I was "really in for it now!" That sort of statement just isn't helpful or appreciated. Haha, it was more appropriate when I first found out I was expecting. :P

Craziness at Golden Corral

Hahahaha, we ate out this past weekend and it was quite an experience. We went to Golden Corral b/c it is super easy to find something for Nicholas to eat on a buffet and there is no waiting for food to be delivered which also makes dining with Nicholas an easier experience. First thing, as most buffets of this sort go you have to wait in line and then pay before you can enter over eaters paradise, (aka the buffet). While waiting in line I noticed a sign that read " for your convenience plates and utensils are located on the buffet islands. These items are strictly optional".  Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ???? Optional ??? So I can just go up to the buffet and grab the whole (probably scalding hot) platter of fried chicken and maybe some containers of veggies and bring them back to my table? Or I can just pull my chair up and eat directly off the buffet (with my hands??) ?? Since when is a plate optional at a restaurant? I can see maybe some paranoid type people bringing their own silverware but plates??? That is just weird, but then we were in Pensacola and there are some ummm interesting folks living there. Thankfully all the patrons I observed were taking advantage of the optional plates and silverware.

Next thing I noticed, and maybe this is a regional thing, but since when is it acceptable to head out to the golden corral in full blown hooker I'm ready to get laid and paid attire.... in your 40;s ?? YIKES!! My husband spent a fair amount of time staring down at his plate to avoid having his eyes seared out of his head but a particular patron who didn't get the memo that just because you can stuff your cellulite in those leggings doesn't mean you can go out in public wearing them. Newsflash, men don't want to see a morbidly obese woman's butt crack or lumpy butt and NOBODY want to see the pantie line of your g-string or it poking out above the tops of your waaayyyy to small pants. The people who sat down right behind us were extra special too. Again, when you turn 35 and you look 45 it's time to start dressing like an adult. Sorry, I don't make the rules. :P These people had two children with them grade school age, and they were really raising them up right. Little girl, about 8ish was a little hooker in training in her outfit. Since when are F me boots made in kid sizes??? She also had her hair dyes (with roots grown out about an inch and a half in true redneck fashion) this god awful maroon red color that some many people seem to find attractive. It matched her mothers lol. It was awful. Come on people, don't do that to your kids. Let them have a natural hair color, kids that young don't need makup and sexy clothes. And we wonder why teen pregnancy is such a big issue... HELLLLLLOOOO??  The little boy had the honest to goodness strangest haircut I have ever seen in my life. I have to wonder who's idea it was. He had a patch of hair about the size of a half dollar right in the middle of his forehead where the hair was grown out and allowed to hang down right between his eyes. The rest of his head was shaved bald. It was sort of like a reverse rat tail. I don't even know what to say about that?? I just hope that it was the little boys idea and he liked it.

The extra special people behavior wasn't limited to just the eating area of the restaurant. I had to go to the bathroom near the end of the meal and left Nicholas in daddy's care to go take care of business. Wow.... Just wow.... I found myself in a stall between two teens who were texting each other while they were doing whatever it was that needed doing and giggling like they escape from the mental ward of the local hospital. Umm why not just sit next to each other and talk ?? Weird. Then comes in a lady who heads into one of the stalls and is interrupted by her cell phone ringing. Now my view on this is let it ring. Take care of yourself and then call whoever back. It'll only take a minute. Don't answer your phone, this is just NOT classy. Well, nobody ever told this lady that and not only did she answer but she answered and put her phone on speaker. WOW! Guess who was calling?? Her husband, and he was calling from the table to tell her to hurry it up b/c he wanted to go and get ice cream and he couldn't b/c he was stuck sitting with their kids. WOW!!! Really? She proceeds to have a fight with him in the bathroom on the speaker phone about how she'll take as long as she damn well pleases and there is nothing he can do about it. I couldn't help it. I was finished but I sat there an extra minute or so just for pure entertainment value. LoL. On the way out of the bathroom the sign on the door read " if this restroom has not met your expectation please notify a member of management". ROFL, oh I think we've more than met my expectations!

Oh the way out to the car I almost felt the need to pay an extra dollar or two for the show. I mean I didn't realize entertainment would come with the meal. For once Nicholas wasn't the funniest thing in the place, though he was the cutest :P I will definitely be back here!! The food was actually pretty good and the wait staff was great as well. Easy place to take baby, good food, good waiter, and a dinner show. What more can you ask for ?


I'm soooo probably going to hell.....

Ragamail :D

Ragamail calllllll, ragamail, ragamail, hot diggity dog it's ragamail! :D

Yup I got new diapers yesterday and of course they were the bestest most awesomest diapers in the cloth diapering universe (even if they don't have puppies on them lol). They were well worth the wait.

Ragababe has been busy busy coming up with new color options for their diapers and hopefully will reopen for sales sometime this month. They have introduced a new darker tie dye print and added black to their all in one solid and two step diaper. I know I kind of said in my last ragapost that I likely wouldn't be forking over the cash for any more two steps ( as awesome as they are) but with the option of black and pick your own snap colors. How can I resist?? I have the BEST idea for a pattern made from the snaps on a two step and I want, I want, I want. Of course the last time the opened, for about 15 minutes, I was only able to get two diapers ordered. Granny was buying Nicholas two new rags for his birthday and I was going to use my own card to buy some additional ones. Of course by the time I got the first order finished and went back to do my second the site was no longer live and all the diapers were out of stock. Bummer. Maybe next time though :)

I'll be happy with these two for now :)

What's going on with us

So, I haven't been able to write much for a while. Partly because I have been super busy and mostly because I no longer have my own computer. I am kind of hoping that the mother's day fairy will bring me one in May but who knows. For the moment I have hijacked my husband's laptop and I must be doing something right after hours because he doesn't mind. :P  My laptop was on it's last legs and finally died... not only did it die but it also literally fell apart. :/ Sucks to be me sometimes lol. Oh well. Anyway like I said I've jacked my husband's and am sitting here at my newly cleaned off kitchen table with a a cat (who isn't supposed to be up here) sitting next to me watching the words magically appear on the screen and four dogs supervising my writing from the floor both in the living room and right here under the table at my feet. No word on where to demon cat from hell is hiding but I am sure she is around somewhere, oh wait, never mind there she is sleeping in the chair across the table from me.

Anyway a lot has happened like I said. Besides losing my computer and (OMG) ALL of my photos from the past four years (I can still retrieve them so yay for that!) we have begun the journey into toddler hood with Nicholas. He's taken his first steps but still isn't really walking on his own yet. He is happy to walk holding onto things (walls, couches, tables, pants legs, toys he can push) but rarely will he venture out on his own and when he does it's only a couple of steps at a time before he sits and down crawls. Guess he doesn't want to grow up any more than I want him to :P I don't know when he'll begin really walking but I am hoping it is soon b/c walking means getting to go and play outside more which is a huge plus.

In January we welcomed 6 little chicks into our family after decided we'd like to raise a few laying hens for eggs. Fresh eggs coming soon. The chicks are 8 or 9 weeks old now and not old enough to lay yet but are doing well. We have two Buff Orpingtons, three Black Australorps, and one Silver Laced Wyndotte. I think one of the lorps might be a rooster but I hope not. If it turns out to be a roo he's outta here I'm afraid. In the meantime they are all living quite happily in a coop in our backyard with most of the day to free range and my my how friendly they are, but that's another post. We'll see what happens and I'll keep everyone updated on the "Chicken Project" :) In related news we also welcomed a duck named Daisy into our feathered family in Feb. Actually on Nicholas' birthday lol. I'll make a separate post about Daisy's story later, it's kind of sad, but she is happy and well cared for and lays an egg a day for us almost without fail. She is also super friendly lol and living in our backyard eating bugs and fertilizing the grass.

We are trying to be a little more self sufficient I suppose and in addition to the new feathered friends we are also planning out a large veggie/herb garden. I am about ready to get seeds and am super excited reading articles on canning and preserving fresh home grown food. It's going to be exciting. I am planning to do a lot of container gardening in addition to the little plot of land we've fenced off to be the traditional veggie garden. I figure the more crop I can grow in containers the more ground space that frees up for other plants. All of my herbs will be in planter boxes that my husband is going to put up on the fence. We have one of those hanging tomato contraptions and will put it to use and plants like peppers and more tomatoes do very well in containers. It'll be fun and will help with out quest to cook and eat healthier at home.
Speaking of eating healthy we've decided to begin a more vegetarian lifestyle. Hubby is surprisingly supportive of the idea as well as of the idea that I would like to be more strict about what I eat and hopefully lose a little weight. Hummm... I wonder if his support is his way of agreeing that I am fat.... A-hole. Anyway that aside I'm appreciative of the support regardless. As of now we no longer purchase any type of beef and we don't cook or eat beef at home. Now when we are out my husband can eat as he pleases, though we've never discussed such a thing. I figure though that that is fair and if he wants a burger or a steak so be it. I'm sticking to chicken which I don't tell jeepers and peepers who are residing the backyard lol. Eventually I would like to eliminate chicken and pork as well for most meals. We'll see how that goes. I could do it but could hubby? lol.

In the spirit of fun and reclaiming some of my old seld we've decided to set some goals with our dogs in the form of switching them to a more natural diet (raw foods in this case) and doing some more serious training to get two of them ready to compete in AKC obedience and Rally-O trials. That will be fun. We already have one who has a Rally title so I'm hoping the other two can follow in his paw prints. Now that Nicholas is more agreeable to staying in his play pen for a little while out in my grooming area I am also working on some niffty haircut for the two poodles as well as grooming more of my client's dogs which is helpful when it comes to purchasing dog food.

Nicholas got to meet his first international travelers this past week when some friend's of my mother's arrived on a visit from Scotland. He was very put off at first by the odd (to him) accent but over the last week he has decided that at least one of the two guests are ok in his book and he is happy to smile and interact like he would with somebody he's known for ages. I sure wish he hadn't just started teething right before they got here and he would be in a more pleasant mood. Poor guy. That bitchy tooth fairy took her sweet time in delivering his 7th and 8th tooth this past weekend and today. Hopefully they'll hurry up and come all the way out and he can be done with this nonsense. (by the way, children's Advil you suck). I can't wait to see his bright smile with two new teeth in it :)

Hummm.. well I guess that brings us all up to speed on what's been happening lately in this crazy life plus baby. I am hoping to continue with my chicken and garden project posts for a little change of pace as well as of course my slightly warped observations of the world around me. Hopefully I won't offend anyone but I guess if I do... well to bad. I am who I am *shrugs* lol Stay tuned :)

Birthday Fun

Nicholas turned a year old on Feb. 3rd and the event was not without celebration. We woke Nicholas up that morning with a great big HAPPY BIRTHDAY little man and proceeded to crackle barrel for a big 'ol country breakfast and a happy birthday wish and photo over our eggs at exactly 9:23 am. Then to Great Grandma's house to say hello and deliver an invitation to be bestest toddler party this side of the of the Mississippi :P The grandparents surprised us by taking us all out for Pizza for lunch, which having had a HUGE breakfast we weren't really hungry for but it was fun anyway. Well... it was until I was standing in line behind some old lady who took half (which happened to also be all that was left) of the only pizza I was up there to get. Freakin- A!! Anyway. Then on to LaRumba for dinner and cake and a HUGE mess lol, then to Granny's for a cup cake that Nicholas was allowed to make a mess with all over the floor. Nice. He passed out major when we got home but had to get up early the next morning for his date with the doctor for his check up and shots. Poor guy not only got shots but also more blood work :( It was traumatic so on the way home we stopped by Krispy Kreme for a hot fresh doughnut. He made tons of friends with the staff there and entertained quite a few customers as well. :) He never ceases to be adorable that is for sure!

In the midst of all the fun we put the final touches on Nicholas' birthday party. It was being held on neutral ground so that all of our various family units (as well as our friends) could come and get along and hopefully help us to celebrate. We ordered food and decorated and of course had some decent music playing in the background. We bought out party city's 1st birthday decorations and had fun hanging and taping them everywhere. Nicholas had his very own (healthier) banana birthday cake with cream cheese frosting. He actually didn't eat any of the cake haha but he did have a blast smearing frosting EVERYWHERE. As soon as I get a new computer (mine has crashed along with all the photo's of the last year -YIKES) and can pull the photos off the old hard drive I will be sure to post a few for your viewing pleasure. We ended up having to wash him down in the big sink in the kitchen to get all the sticky frosting off before heading home. Nicholas got tons of gifts (thank you all) which daddy had to open for him.Those photos are on the old hard drive as well :/

All in all the weekend was SUPER busy and SUPER FUN. I couldn't believe a whole year had gone buy so quickly. The challenges we faced in the past year have been tough but we made it. Now on to TODDLER HOOD :)

This time last year....

A year ago today I found out that your arrival was imminent. You weren't supposed to arrive for at least another week but when we went to our doctors appointment mommy's blood pressure was WAY WAY to high and she had a headache and you weren't moving around very much. It was time, the doctor said we couldn't wait any longer and gave mommy the news that you would be here the day after tomorrow. I just blinked at her, I wasn't sure what to say or how to feel about that. The whole plan had changed. My whole week had been planned out and now the plan didn't matter. All of a sudden the reality came crashing in on me that I was going to be a mother. Everything seems so much more real than it had ever been before. I was overwhelmed. With the receptionist I canceled the rest of my weekly visits and scheduled a check up for two weeks then left the office with well wishes from the nurse and the reception staff. I manage to not cry in the elevator and when I got to the car I send daddy a text message to tell him what the doctor had said, he working downstairs in the main part of the hospital and was really excited. I sat in my car and cried for a few minutes before heading home. I cried off an on all the way home. I guess I was just scared. When I got home I did a little housework and a little more crying and took a nap. A nap always makes things better when you are pregnant :P
I didn't tell anyone other than daddy. Not granny, or Red, or Buff, or Luvie or Big Daddy, or my poodle friends. The only people I told were my mommy friends on WTE and discovered several other mommies has received the same news and I would not be a lone in labor and delivery, at least not in spirit. I couldn't even tell my mother over a happy meal at McDonalds. I sat there and talked about the need to go ahead and meet with the pet sitter "just in case" and acted like nothing had changed.
Of course I HAD to tell our pet sitter the next day so that she would know to come on Wednesday instead of Saturday to take care of the pups.

It's so strange to think back and compare what my thoughts and feelings were then and what they are now. Now I am super excited for your very first birthday, which is the day after tomorrow :) Or if I don't type a little faster it'll technically be tomorrow lol. Then I was frighten and not sure what to expect. Nervous that this was IT and it was almost time. I cleaned and cleaned, and cried, and cooked and cleaned and cried a little more though I tried not to do it in front of daddy. I didn't want him to think I wasn't happy, I was just nervous and overwhelmed. Sort of like how I was overwhelmed when you were born. I couldn't believe how quickly the months of pregnancy had gone by and I wasn't sure how good a mommy I'd be. Hopefully I'm doing OK now :)

 

It's amazing that you are almost a year old now.... where did the time go? Just like how pregnancy flew by so to has this first year of parenthood. Simply amazing :)

Ragababe Organic Two Step Diaper Review

Better late than never, but here goes. I received this diaper and two inserts from Ragababe back at the end of October so this review has been a long time coming., (sorry Joy). The problem I had with testing this diaper has absolutely NOTHING to do with the diaper itself, it was a problem of my son being a mind reader or something who seemed to just know whenever this graced his bottom and would poop in it. Darn it! So for over a month this was basically an all in one type diaper b/c after a poo a two step dipe has to be changed cover and all. Ugh. The past couple of weeks though, he seems to have been limiting his poops to other brands of diaper and I finally got my full Ragababe 2-step experience. :)

I am no stranger to 2 step diapering systems, I simply adore my flips diapers and for the sake of fair comparison left them out of the my original all in one review. Now that I have a two step rag the flips are no longer safe from having to go head to head with the awesomeness that is a Ragababe diaper.

For the uninformed, a two step diaper is basically a fancy prefold with cover... just slightly easier. The cover is water proof and wipes clean after your baby wets it. An insert that is formed to fit in the crotch of the diaper is removed after it is wet and changed while the cover is reused. When the baby poo's the entire package must be changed and put in the laundry. A two step system is for me anyway great for travel because the inserts take up so little space compared to a pocket or all in one diaper (I have never used prefolds and covers so I don't know how much space they take up). They fit easily in the diaper bag without being bulky and also fit nicely in my travel size wet bag without filling it up. Two covers and four or five inserts is good for an afternoon out. I often switch off between an all in one type diaper and the 2 step diapers during an outing.

OK so let the opinion's fly.... ;)

First off, looking at the photo's on the website website the first few times I visited I thought the Ragababe two steps fell short in the style department. My flips covers are a solid color, like most of my diapers, and I like it that way. Who wants a white diaper with little dots of color (the snaps?). Haha, who indeed. :) Turns out those little dots are pretty darn adorable and don't blend into the diaper the way the yellow snaps do on my yellow flips cover which is a HUGE plus for my color blind husband who cannot see the snaps on the flip well b/c they blend in with the diaper. Hummm, who woulda thunk? Ragababe kicked it up a notch in October and offered customers the ability to choose their snap color from a rainbow of options. Any color or color combination goes. THAT, was a BIG hit with customers and I am pleased to say they made that option a permanent thing. Whooo, show me a Florida State 2 step and I'd knock you over to be the first to order it. :P The custom snaps are a great way to show off how unique a Ragababe diaper can be.  My two step diaper happens to be Red and Blue snaps which the good folks at Ragababe called the spiderman diaper. I'm not a comic fan so when I saw a photo of it on their facebook page my mind jumped to red white and blue = Patriotic and of course my very favorite rag is my Hero all in one. I expressed my extreme desire to rob a bank so I could purchase that diaper and Ragababe took pity on me and included it with my "it's my birthday and I'll buy diapers if I want to" order. I was SUPER excited!!! So, OK, my first impression of the two steps was dead wrong, they are just as adorable as the all in ones and the extra cool part is you can personalize them. What other brand of diaper does that?? ;)

Construction and features would be the next observation I made, after I got over my excitement at having new diapers anyway lol. Here we have a diaper that is sized but fits a huge range of sizes from very tiny all the way up to 40 lbs. There are three size options to choose from. Size 0 fits babies 4-18 lbs, Size 1 fits babies 9-30 lbs, and Size 2 fits babies 15-40+ lbs. Can we say wow. I REALLY hope that by the time Nicholas is 40+lbs he is not in diapers haha. I don't think I want to heave him up onto the changing table at that weight. Anyway in a stroke of brilliance the Ragababe sizes overlap each other so that you are assured of getting the best possible fit. Each of the size's weight ranges are also fairly large so you don't have to worry about your child growing out of the diaper in a matter of weeks, which is what happened to me when I bought my very first cloth diaper. :/ I can say you'll get your money's worth as far as how long you can use these puppies which is a good thing because they aren't the least expensive option out there. As with a lot of items though you pay for form and function and the Ragababe's certainly fit the bill. The inserts for these diapers are amazing. According to the website, "RagaBabe Inserts are made of ultra soft, absorbent organic cotton Sherpa with layers of lightweight bamboo rayon inside. The insert snaps into the back of the cover and is held in place by the flap in the front." To some people, like myself for instance, what the product is made of is of less importance than whether or not it does what it says it will do. This one's a winner. Just like the all in one diaper, the sherpa inserts are the bomb when it comes to absorbing. I haven't tried it yet but I'd imagine doubling them would give a heavy wetter nighttime protection. I use pockets overnight though. The inserts themselves are sized to fit into the diapers depending on which of the three sizes you have chosen where the flip insert is made to be a one size insert which accounts for the added length (and bulk) of the insert. The really nice thing about the inserts in Ragababe is that they snap in.

This isn't a new concept or design but it IS a handy one since the insert won't slide around or bunch up while you are putting the diaper on. My poor husband experience the cure of the sliding insert on Christmas eve as he tried to wrestle Nicholas into his flips cover in the backseat of the car all on his own. Oops! So yay for snap in liners that alone makes these daddy approved. The inside of this two step is lined with a soft suede cloth. It is supposed to be softer on the babies skin and is a stark contrast to the Flips cover which isn't lined at all. The liner in spite of being a soft cloth can be wiped clean with a baby wipe between changes and dries pretty quickly.  The Ragababe signature star is held in place with their out of this world Velcro closure. Just like their all in one diapers this stuff stays stuck and closed for as long as baby is wearing the diaper. The laundry tabs function as they are intended and thus far I have not had issue with them in the laundry. I will say though that if you forget to stick the laundry tabs together and they get stuck to oh say an insert... hahaha well lets just say you'll get a glimpse of just how strong this stuff is! My husband has fallen in love with the Velcro on these diapers. He now HATES snaps and won't use anything with a snap closure if he has the choice. It certainly makes diapering a wiggle worm a bit easier.

My poor, once beloved, Flips diapers now seem kind of second rate to me. I still love them of course but I have a new main squeeze in the Ragababes and the husband certainly likes them better. The one and only sore spot with me and Ragababe is the price point. At $29.95 a pop these fabulous diapers are a tad out of my price range for now. The Flips day pack (2 covers and 6 inserts) runs $49.95 for the regular and $59.95 for the organic. The same deal on Ragababe would cost you $95.70 with two size 2 covers and four additional inserts (two inserts are included). Of course, you definitely get what you pay for. Ragababe goes out of their way to source the best of the best in organic materials and as a mother of children with allergies Ragababe creator Joy is very mindful of her materials.  Also my Ragababe two step has been getting washed A LOT in recent weeks and I feel comfortable saying it's received almost as many washes as my Flips cover and already the Flips is beginning to look worn and has a few threads sticking out  here and there. As somebody who looks a everything and assumed she will save it for the next baby a durable product is a must. That puts the price for rag's in prospective a little bit and if you are planning for more children to cloth diaper I'd put my money into the Ragababes.... if I had any to spare at the moment. ;) This is truly a case of you get what you pay for. 

While we are on the subject of value I'll state that between the two different styles of Ragababes I personally prefer the all in ones as my favorite diaper of all time and happily they are not quite out of my price range, though I do still have to save for them. My husband also prefers the all in one b/c what husband wouldn't really? Anything that functions just like a disposable is all good in his book :P Each type of diaper has it's uses, as I mentioned at the beginning of my post I like how well a two step fits more diaper changes into a smaller amount of space in my diaper bag. 

My experience with the Two step rags has been a good one overall. The great features and wonderful construction of this diaper make it a real winner. I do want at least one or two more of these diaper covers for days when a 2 step is more desirable so that I can switch back and forth between covers more easily. Like I said... show me maroon and gold - Go FSU !! :P The addition of the second cover however will likely have to wait until I have my next order of all in ones home safe and sound. Those are for my husband and encourage him to help change baby diapers lol. All of the Ragababe diapers have been holding up well to wash and wear where as I mentioned with the flips it is looking a little worn after only a couple of months. 

I think all I really need to say here to let you know how much I love these diapers is to say that I used to have money set aside as a "diaper fund". My diaper fund has converted itself into a Ragababe fund... I simply LOVE these diapers. 

oh and just a side note, Ragababe also has awesome cloth wipes- I got one as a sample and like it - and just recently introduce a Ragababe blanket made from their organic cotton that will DEFINITELY be on the shopping list next time we are expecting. Don't forget to that they run a different special every month which allows discounts on some of the items you may be purchasing and as always their shipping is a flat fee of 2.95 for your entire order. :) Just try and find a better diaper made by a better company... I Dare ya! :P

Adventures in people watching

Sorry in advance for the judgemental tone of this post, I can't help it. I'm sharing my experience as I experienced it. Anyway, people are always judging ME for my parenting, I feel like that allows me to express my "wow you're a piece of work" observations here. If you don't like it well that's tuff close the page and don't read the rest of this post.. ;)

Today was a big day. Went to see Santa, went to pet smart, went to the in laws.... that kind of thing. I am an avid people watcher. I'm probably going to be in trouble with Saint Peter when my times comes for all the impolite observations I make about the people around me but I can't help it. The in laws gifted us with some $$$ to go out for a nice dinner. Since we had baby Nicholas with us we chose to go someplace where it would be very easy to find him something to eat. This means Golden Coral since you can always be assured to find something for everyone on a buffet. I was just returning to the table with a plate full of YUMMY! and see a skinny bitch (and I mean that in a nice way... oh OK, who am I kidding, I hate skinny people at a buffet. They make me feel fat...er) leaning over Nicholas' highchair. As I get closer I realize she is holding a toddler in her arms right in Nicholas' face. I;m a don't touch me kind of person and I usually extend that to don't touch my baby either. I am also a try and be polite in public kind of person. I greeted the toddler who's mouth was stuffed full with a pacifier and he looked at me with big huge "please get me out of here" blue eyes. He was kind of cute, mop of curly blond hair, nice skin, pleasantly plump... you know the look. The lady starts asking about what Nicholas' name is and then begins rattling off everyone she knows who is named Nicholas and tells us that her baby's last name is Nicholas. Oh... I don't really give a crap... my black eyed peas are getting cold. She then launches into the same spiel every parent I meet tends to give me telling me how old her son is and how big he is and his full name and all his nickname... again... black eyed peas getting cold, not cool. I politely nod make uh hu type sounds and smile. She then jerks her kid back out of Nicholas face and says "I don't want to get him sick... Kaden here might have a cold, his nose has been running. I was going to let them hug but well, ya know just in case.. I won't.
*moment of completely speechless*
K, crazy goober you don't want to let your kid touch my kid b/c he might be sick but it's A-OK to stick him right in Nicholas' face, like nose to nose, and let him breath all over him? Are you insane. Good lord, it's cold and flu season and YOUR kid is older and goes to day care where as my, much younger child stays home right now. Great, just Great. If Nicholas is sick next week for his very first Christmas we'll all know where he might have contracted the death flu from... Thanks a lot lady! How about this for a radical idea, how about you ask if it is OK if you get down in my space or my child's space before you just do it? I might not be a friendly person. Fat people aren't always friendly... especially at buffets right :P ROFL. Anyway how about the idea that ME, MYSELF AND I might be sick and could be coughing all over your kid?? Show a little common sense, golly!
Oh the fun didn't stop there, when this chicka walked off my husband leans over the table and says they are sitting right behind us.... as in BE POLITE AND DON'T EMBARRASS ME BY RUNNING YOUR MOUTH! LoLHahaha, wow!!! She then spent the rest of the meal complaining about how hyper her son was all the time. Hahahaha, ya think??? This poor kid though, really, he's in for a rough ride I fear. He was just fine, eating candy off his plate not doing anything to bother anyone and not being loud and not throwing food. His mother did nothing but yell at him to be quiet and to stop that and comment to her partner that ugh! sometimes she just couldn't stand the little boy. WOW! I wanted so badly to say something but well, what could you say for one and two it isn't my place. I wasn't trying to hear every word she said or really watching their table. I couldn't help it though, she was really loud and really hyper herself and I have never ever seen somebody so jittery. I dunno what drug she was on but wow. She barely ate two bites which would explain why she was skin and bones and just couldn't settle down. She also kept coming over to talk to Nicholas. Whoa.... back on up there crack hoe... these aren't the droids you're looking for. They weren't there very long, which was a relief. It takes us forever to eat b/c we share so much with Nicholas and we chat with each other and such. These people were in and out like they'd just wolfed down a happy meal at McDonald's. Nice. It was a relief when they left b/c she was starting to stress me out with all the yelling and constantly coming up to invade MY personal space. I waved bye bye to the little boy b/c she walked up to make him say bye bye to Nicholas. I understand his big please help me eyes now and feel sorry for him. Hopefully momma is just having a rough day and she isn't like that all the time.... Hopefully!!

GOSH! what is up with people today. Is it just me or does the Christmas spirit come down and sprinkle crazy dust over a bunch of people this time of year??

Oh and just a random thought. Why does the spell checker on this program think that when I type "Hahahaha: I am trying to type Chihuahua? Weird.

People, PLEASE chill... it's only Santa...

God Almighty... Some parents are freaking PSYCHO! I made this observation today while waiting in line with baby Nicholas to get a photo with Santa Clause.... well his very excellent impostor anyway. You see being Nicholas' very first Christmas I simply was AMAZINGLY excited to have his photo made sitting on Santa's lap. Excited enough that I dressed him in a little black and white plaid baby suit complete with matching bow tie. Go ahead, everyone say it together, "Awwwwwww" :) Anyway back to the point, we get to bass pro shop, ( they had FREE Santa photos, why go to the mall and pay??), and there is a line backed up about a 30 people long. Not horrible but not an in and out kind of thing either. I didn't mind waiting in line, this is SANTA after all. I was bouncing up and down like a five year old and no doubt mortifying my very tolerant husband. It wasn't long before there was a family in line behind us with two children, a boy and a girl, who were at the oldest 6 or 7 years in age. Here it is important to note that this line to see the big man was moving pretty quickly. We waited at most 15 minutes and it didn't seem like that long at all really. Now in this Bass Pro Shop they have circular clothing racks down the main isle in the area where we were waiting in line. Not a big deal, plenty of room to move around them and the line, even with a stroller. Also plenty of room to avoid the time share people who harass you near that area of the store trying to get you to go on a tour and buy stuff. :P So there we are standing in line, Nicholas making faces and waving at the two children behind us and loads of people ooohhhing and Ahhhhing over his seriously adorable outfit. Cue the crazy psycho mother with her umbrella stroller. She walks up obviously intent on taking her child to see Santa as well and realizes she has passed the end of the line and at the same time realizes that it is a rather long line. She asks the father with the two kids standing right behind me if he is in line and he replies yes. She starts to push her stroller through the opening between the clothing racks but finds the man's young son standing there. Instead of just going around on the other side of this rack she insists on trying to go through. God in heaven forbid even ONE more person should get in line before she does and cause her to wait a whole 60 seconds extra to get her photo. (*cough cough* bitch). As any sane parent would do the man asks his son to scoot aside and let the lady through on her chosen path. The little boy backs up out of the way... or tries to. In her haste to get in line behind us psycho mom rams her stroller (with a kid in it of course) between the two clothing racks and runs over this poor kid who can't back up quickly enough. When I say run over, I do mean RUN OVER. As in knocked the little critter to the ground..... >:( Are. You. Kidding. ME??!!! Mother $%#@^* !!!! As god as my witness I have beaten this lady to a pulp (yeah I know, maybe I should get that anger thing check out but seriously, what would YOU have done?!?). After knocking this poor kid, who by the way didn't even want to see Santa in the first place, to the ground she gets in line and then gushes a somewhat polite "Oh I'm so sorry" the the kid's dad who to his credit said nothing at all until his wife arrived and he, seething, told her what had happened in as polite and quiet a tone as he was capable of. I really admire this dad personally, b/c at that point an I'm sorry wouldn't have cut it. Hi, I'm Leia and this is my Attorney... my poor kid hit his head on the ground and now Christmas is ruined.... that'll be ohhh ummm the value of your house I should think :P Haha, Merry Christmas Bitch!

I have to say I was completely dumb founded. I asked if the boy was Ok and he was but... wow... just WOW!! Now listen closely parents because this is something I feel is important. 1) It is only Santa, he'll be here till 4 at which time he goes and "feeds his reindeer" and then he'll be back again until 8 or so. You'll get your chance. He's not gonna suddenly run off.
2) You children, even infants which this lady's child certainly was NOT (she was at least 3) learn from what they SEE. The person they look up to the most is usually you. Do you really want to teach them it is OK to knock over other people, be they children or adults, in order to get to something they want? Wow, that could be translated into some really serious life situations now couldn't it. That's real climbing the ladder kind of stuff. Really, be a role model of what they SHOULD do rather than an Asshole.... and for heaven sake, if you are reading this you're an adult, don't act like a spoiled child and DON'T do anything that could HARM either your own child or somebody elses. Seriously, this guy was in Bass Pro Shop wearing camo... she's lucky he didn't jerk a deer rifle down and shoot her!

Oh and here is the photo of Nicholas and Santa :) Isn't he adorable?????? Yeah, I know, right!! :) He wasn't sure what to think of Santa though. He really liked the Easter Bunny when he got his photo made with him and he REALLY LOVED all the characters at Disney he met in October. Santa... ??? Not so much lol. We plopped him down and he turned to look at this strange person and then back at us and he started to cry but then thought better of it and just turned to stare at Santa. Then photographer couldn't get his attention so he just said to hang on a second, there was no hurry. His finger was on the shutter button and we'd have the shot just as soon as he looked back in our direction. Of course when he turned around he didn't look as happy as he could have looked but oh well... he isn't screaming which is more than a lot of first timers can say :) Maybe we'll take him back or to the mall and try again. Maybe not since neither of us want to die in case we meet up with more crazy peoples... lol. ;)

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!

Love Leia and Baby Nicholas :)

(and remember Santa is watching you, so don't be a jerk!!)

Reflections in the night

The past several weeks have been hell. Baby Nicholas is having trouble sleeping to say the least. My once peaceful dreamer has turned into a screaming, crying, wide awake nightmare who no longer has any sort of schedule. This makes for a REALLY tired mommy. It also means friends and relatives are rising up with their uneducated opinions on child rearing in an effort not to help Nicholas in any way but to get ME a couple extra hours of sleep. I am 27 years old and fully capable of taking care of myself. Nicholas is 10 1/2 months old..... am I the ONLY person who see's a problem with all the advice geared towards making ME happy and better?

Last night he woke up earlier than normal about midnight, (the night before it was 4:30am), and when I did the math on how long he'd been asleep it didn't escape my notice that it had been awhile since his last dose of Tylenol to help with the teething pain. Matter of fact it was right on the money time for another dose. Another dose is just what he got along with a diaper check and a big hug. That wasn't quite enough to put him back to sleep but it was enough to make him stop crying.

At this point I had two choices to make. Put him back in bed wide awake and still hurting (since the meds of course take a little bit to help) and let him cry. OR park my butt in the antique maple rocking chair that my grandmother gave me for the nursery and offer up some additional comfort. I chose the rocker, which my sleeping husband who works a 16 hour day starting at 10 till 4 in the morning probably appreciates. It didn't take long really for a serious case of the drowsies to set in and after a few changes in position baby Nicholas was well on his way back to dreamland. I rocked back and forth and back and forth and thought about how much he's grown and how I used to be up about this time of night every night to feed him as a newborn. Oh how tiny he was.... :) That's when the thought hit me that he's really growing up. Already he's gotten so big, though still small by some standards he looks big to us. He's finally grown out of the 0-3 month sized clothes that he was in until around 7 months old. I hear him from time to time over the baby monitor waking up at night and moving around in his crib. He puts himself back to sleep though on his own, in the absence of the teething monster of course. I sat there for a long time still rocking back and forth and back and forth just watching him sleep and thinking. This stage of life may be tiring but it is also so very short. In no time at all he'll be a whole year old and not long after that he'll be headed to preschool. College is just a hop, skip, and a jump away. A high school friend has a newborn who incredibly is already 7 whole weeks old. She's just starting to see how quickly these days fly by while I sit here rocking back and forth with my sleeping baby hardly believing that he isn't just 7 weeks old anymore. The clock on the mantle in the living room chimes, and for god sake honey change the poor thing's battery it sounds awful lol, it's 1:00am and I'm pretty sleepy but I don't mind sitting here for another few minutes rocking. Nicholas twitches every now and again in his sleep but is peaceful and I wonder at the mothers who choose to stick to CIO schools of thought and have to listen to a baby who is upset and in pain when it is so much more peaceful to sit here in the rocker in the dark with the sound of the ocean coming from the sound machine on the window seal. They have to be frustrated by being awakened in the middle of the night by the teething monster and laying there wishing baby would just shut up, wear himself out already and go to sleep.They just have to lay awake and wait for him to settle down. That's the advice I got recently. "Just give him the Tylenol and let him cry until he wears himself out". humm that doesn't sound peaceful to me and anyway his crying is going to wake everyone up so if I'm going to have be awake anyway why not go in and help him go back to sleep? Turns out that he was asleep pretty quickly as opposed to an hour or more (and yup we've tested this that's how long he would keep it up)of desperate crying. The clock chimes.. well tries to chime again, it's 1:15 am and I suppose I can put him back in his crib now so I stand up and walk the two steps or so to the edge of the crib. Nicholas stretches and smiles in his sleep and I lay him down. What a cutie.

Nights like tonight aren't going to last forever. I realize that I spent a little over an hour in the nursery when it feels like only a few minutes. Time really flies. I'm sleepy but content when I crawl into bed to go to sleep. I keep seeing that sleepy little smile and I'm glad I could make him happy tonight. It won't always be so easy to please him and while I would rather sleep I don't mind these few night wakings so very much after all. I realize it won't be long before he doesn't need me to cuddle him to sleep anymore and I know that, as much as I enjoy a full nights sleep, I will miss these quiet moments in the dark. I think some mother's loose sight of that fact, that this is just a short stage of life. Getting up in the middle of the night is part of parenthood in general and in their quest for an extra hour or two of sleep they forget that their baby needs them in a way tonight that he won't always need them. I can completely understand the need for a good night's sleep but I cannot understand putting myself before Nicholas in this situation. Now if Hubby wakes up with a toothache in the middle of the night... well he's on his own! Momma is going back to bed! :P

Ugh, Shut up Stupid Family Friend

Sometimes, you should just keep a thought to yourself. Or sometimes, and hey this is a really novel idea for some, you should get the facts on a topic before expressing an opinion. This especially applies when said opinion is 1) negative in any way or 2) judgemental in any way.

The past week has been a nightmare. Honestly, as much as I enjoyed Thanksgiving, I can see the value in not celebrating holiday's with a family meal. Nicholas ate quite a bit on "Turkey Day" and our reward was an upset tummy. For a week we had loose watery poo several times a day but  not enough to really call serious. It was enough however to give us a terrible diaper rash. He was a little red the day after Thanksgiving but the morning after that we entered diaper rash hell. That morning he had pooed in the night and it had dried to his skin. When he woke up in the morning he was VERY upset which is understandable. Daddy had to bath him to clean his rear end up. Poor poor Nicholas. We tried several different cremes and eventually realized we were going to have trouble keeping up with all the diaper changes in cloth and having enough liners to protect our cloth diapers so we fell back on disposables for a week. It didn't help much. We went through several five alarm meltdowns that usually happened whenever he had a wet diaper and it was burning his rash, We were doing everything right to treat the rash, various skin cremes, baking soda baths, and frequent diaper changes. Meanwhile we were also trying to normalize his pooping habits with a bland diet. It took almost a week but we finally got it taken care of.

About mid week we went grocery shopping and Nicholas was a happy camper off and on sitting in the cart helping us make healthy food choices. A family friend happens by and comes over to say hello. Nicholas knows her and likes her. He of course spit up on my shirt right on cue when she walked up but other than that he was a good boy meeting her again. lol. She asked how he was, he was happy enough to say hello to her but she noted that he wasn't as smiley as he normally is. It was later in the evening so being tired had something to do with it but I also explained that his hind end was a little sore so he wasn't quite 100%. Instead of asking what had happened or offering some motherly or outdated advice on treating diaper rash she gasped loudly and said "A diaper rash??? SHAME ON YOU MOMMY!!!!"
Now, pay attention students, this is the point at which a family friend goes from friend to evil hateful bitch and could wind up injured by an over tired emotionally strung out hormonal first time mother. That's not usually a good thing, especially in WalMart with witnesses. It might be a good idea to find out a few more details before you shame somebody. Not to mention her reaction was just plain RUDE. Come ON!!! You don't notice the unbrushed hair, spit up on shirt, red rimmed eyes of both parents??? Seriously? Oh that's right, you were probably a simply stellar mother who's baby never cried, got sick, had any issue whatsoever, and certainly never had diaper rash on his plastic diapered bottom. Ummm... what was that?? You don't have kids?? Oh that's right, I forgot. You're children have four legs and fur. (honestly this lady might have children, I don't know, but they certainly aren't anywhere under the age of 35 or 40 so it's been a while to say the least)
I almost couldn't speak to her after that but politely said goodbye and then cursed her all the way up the next isle. I actually quite proud that I wasn't rude right back but I did cry when I got to the car. As if my week wasn't crummy enough this lady had basically implied I was a bad mother because I couldn't control the fact that he was pooping (and wiping) more than usual and our good friend Desitin wasn't clearing it up like we thought it would.

The moral of the story is to be careful not only what you say but how you say it and make sure you understand the situation before you stick your foot in your mouth. You could really ruin someone's night and damage a first timers already shaky confidence as a parent. Better to just express a polite awwww or that's to bad or say nothing at all even than to be rude and hurtful like that.

Oh and did I mention we are also teething.... *sigh* Welcome to our little private slice of hell :)

Baby's Firtst Thanksgiving

We had a pretty good thanksgiving and Nicholas says he is ALL FOR holidays like this that are kind of about food. He had his first bite of turkey and he liked it but doesn't mind being vegetarian lol. Those sweet potatoes were YUMMY. At least Grandma's turkey wasn't dry as a bone this year :P He also ate green bean, corn, and broccoli casseroles, sweet potatoes, stuffing, mashed potatoes, carrots and cherios lol. Always have to have cherios on hand. Now I am not the one who gave him ALL of that, family members kept sneaking him stuff. As a baby he's all to happy to put anything you offer him in his mouth lol. The downside to all the feasting is that he experienced some tummy issues that hopefully are clearing up. We've had our first night since thanksgiving that he didn't poo several times and need changed, and our first normal looking poo diaper this morning. So yay. If we can keep him normal that will go a long way in helping the rash, which was getting bad but this morning looked tons better and is almost gone *knock on wood*

Can't wait until christmas!!!

Attached Thumbnails

         

By By Breastfeeding - Forced Early Weaning

Ahhhh so it is time I suppose. We are weaning. We tried to go the whole year with breast milk and the girls (my boobs in case your not up on mommy speak) just won't cooperate. :( My supply cut itself in half just before we went on vacation in October. I went from 12+oz a day to 6. I was just starting to recover it seemed when we went on the family vacation of doom. Well the vacation was fun but unfortunately I was unable to pump during the day and it just isn't practical to set an alarm and get up three or four times at night when you're sharing a tiny room with your husband and baby who was having trouble sleeping in the first place. So I pumped in the morning before going to the parks ( we were at Disney World) and then as soon as we got back to the hotel and again before bed. Then pumped and pumped and pumped and pumped all the way home and over the next several weeks. No go. I'm not recovering. I just couldn't understand it. Then it started to dawn on me that I had heartburn, and was SUPER tired and there might be a hormonal reason my supply dropped on it own. So the thought came- OMG I'M PREGNANT!!! SHIT! *freaks out* Lucky me the baby gods aren't paying attention to me at the moment and the heartburn was just indigestion and the super tired was cause by Nicholas going through a stage of hyperactivity, and according to Clear Blue I am not expecting another creature. Thank you baby gods! Not that I don't long for another baby, I just can't handle one right now and feel like Nicholas needs me and isn't ready to share me yet. Maybe we'll spawn again in 2011, we'll see. Back to weaning, I can't justify ordering a drug from overseas that may increase my supply - maybe, if I am lucky, because I just don't take drugs all that often for one and two it would cost money and may not work. It would cost more money to get it here in the states. I am going to have to fall back on formula. We signed up for WIC and now receive 8 cans of formula and 32 cans of baby food a month. Nicholas' doctor, who is 98% the reason I had to go from nursing to pumping and now to weaning early wrote us a Rx for Neosure, which is the formula we'd been supplementing with, so that we could get that instead of Good Start formula. I guess this is an illustration of how supplementing can interfere with breastfeeding. It starts with a bottle here and there and the baby decides the bottle is easier to drink from than mommy and then begins refusing to nurse. In just one short week of pumping to measure just how much Nicholas was eating (doctor's orders when she diagnosed failure to thrive) we totally ruined any chance of continued nursing. Nicholas would no longer nurse, and would only take a bottle. Couple this with the fact that a pump is not able to remove as much milk as a baby can from mom and we were doomed with supply problems right off the bat. Where before supply wasn't the issue it was now and now we HAD to have the supplements. Some people can adjust well to exclusive pumping and can provide all the milk and more that their babies need. Some people cannot, these people are known as poor pumpers. I fall into the poor pumper group so pumping was really really bad for my supply. It's kind of sad that the more my doctor tried to help us gain weight the worse my milk supply got. I'm not saying my doctor is a big meanie or anything. She made a bad call, though who knows if she'd ever come out and admit that? My supply was fine, lack of enough milk was not the issue with Nicholas' failure to thrive. Reflux was. Once that got under control his weight took off but the damage to the breastfeeding relationship was done. I'd never say to not follow your doctor's advice but I will say to be sure they know what the problem really is before they give you advice. I have learned a lot of things that I will not do and will not allow with the next baby, which is not on it's way right now and I've got the cramps to prove it. : p I suppose we did better than most. Some don't even try, some only make it a few days or weeks. So I'm PROUD that I did everything I could to provide the best for my baby. I will be able to look at him and know I did what I was supposed to. (sorry formula mommies if that offends you - tough). At least I have been drying up slowly this past month. I guess that makes it a little easier to take, though frustrating to watch. At least it wasn't overnight and I didn't have to go through some of the painful things like blockages and engorgement that other mommas go through. So there is that :)

So here I sit looking at the breast pump and wondering where to put it so that it will not get damaged or lost and can be ready for when I need it again.  I am also wondering if I can give it one more try... Maybe the girls will suddenly decide to get up off their worthless little asses and do their job. Unlikely... but ya never know I suppose. Maybe I'll just go have a drink... hey I could have more than one now. Ah, my evening is looking up already... oh darn... we don't have anything good to drink haha

We made it 9 months, 1 week, and 2 days. :)

Baby's First Halloween and 9 months Old :)

We went to the doctor on friday for our 9 mo well baby check. Holy cow he's gonna be 9 whole months old in just three days!! Anyway he weighs 15lbs 9.6oz now. Still below the 5th percentile in growth BUT growing He is still on meds since he still seems to need them but it won't be forever We had to do blood work which was awful. I am a wuss and made John hold him for that. I He had this GIANT bandage on his poor little finger where they poked him b/c he wouldn't stop bleeding. So we got a bit of blood on our first halloween onesie :( but hopefully I can wash it out. We'll see. Afterwards he chowed down on a whole banana which was cute and funny. Oh yeah, that reminds me he's sprouted teeth!! He started that about a month ago and has two so far and I won't be sad if the rest of them take their seet time coming in. I am DREADING the day when he has two that come together - ouch! The bright side to that is he is learning to chew/mash with his gums so he's eating more of what we eat at dinner. I don't have to make baby food so often now and we've only bought canned food once to take into the parks at Disney this past month.

Halloween was fun. We started celebrating early a couple of weeks ago at Mickey's not so scary halloween party at Disney. Oh yeah, we took him to Disney haha, but that post is still being written and will have cool photos :)

 

Last week I joined a new mommy group made up of moms "like me" for lack of a better phrase. Attachment parenting, babywearing, cloth diapering, peacful parenting type ladies. It was really interesting to get to talk to them and realize that I am nowhere near what extreme could be in any of those concepts He also got to play for the first time with other kids and he's never met a stranger. He was the youngest and the smallest and he crawled right over (oh yeah he's crawling and cruising heaven help us!!) and jumped in with both feet. He's so social. He smiles all the time and loves to interact with people so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that he is the same with people his own size/age. He went with me on Thursday to the fair to talk to people about responsible dog ownership. He spent a lot of time playing with Jazz and trying to slobber on granny but when he wasn't busy with that he was smiling and flirting with strangers.

Tonight we went trick or treating for a little while and everyone loves his costume. He was in two costume contest thingies and looked adorable for both. He also played in the little baby playground and met a couple of other kids to interact with. It was cute!

So of course you opened this to see pictures not read about us lol here they are :P Pics below are of ;
1-3 today at mall
4 is him with our pumpkins before heading out for trick or treating

Attached Thumbnails