Thursday Three: Great Days!

1) Today we had our court date to make everything official with the adoption!  Yea!  It was very low key and took about 5 minutes with the judge and our lawyer - including the time for the photo ops with the judge and the flag behind us...  

2) We are going on our trip this weekend - it's going to be great weather and everyone is finally all better!

3) And the weather...it's wonderfully cooler and the leaves are starting to change and fall.  What a great weekend to kick of Autumn! 

Wednesday Wears: Packing

We recently got a new suitcase that we are going to use this weekend!  It will be the first overnight trip with the baby!  I am very excited for many reasons...
• First of all, the suitcase is really cool.  It's made by Eagle Creek - they love lots of pockets and compartments, just like I do!  And it's got a really heavy duty zipper and reinforced corners, which I love, due to what happened to our old suitcase on our trip out west this summer.  Not pretty, hence the new one.
• And the trip itself is very exciting. We are going to a cabin in the mountains - it should be a great time of year for weather and leaves - and a great time to relax...
• After this week of vomiting - the whole house was sick - we are excited about getting away for a while and recuperating.

Tales for Tuesday: Badge #1

As one of my friends put it the other day, I got one of my first mommy badges this week.  I got vomited on - many times.  And I think that I've done about 15 loads of laundry, all sickness related.  But I think that's a low-ball estimate.  Over the weekend, Daniel and I had a stomach bug too. This added to the laundry situation.
After going to the doctor today for the baby, he thinks that she had the bug like we did, but unlike our 36 hours, hers is going to last about 7-10 days.  And on top of that, he thinks that the vomiting triggered acid reflux in her.

And I was thinking as I was looking around the kitchen during this week - trying to find things for me and Daniel to eat after being sick - about the meal plan I had made for the week and the grocery trip that I had just taken.  I saved over $40 this week on groceries, shopping the sales and using coupons.  But saving that money didn't really "save" much this week, since we aren't eating any of the food.  

Monday, oh Monday

Not much of a "making on..." today.  More of an addendum to yesterday.  About 10:30, the horrible virus struck Daniel.  And today, he has been out for the count.  It's been bad around here.  And the baby...  I thought she was doing better - it has gotten much worse.  She is not showing signs of the virus that we had, but something baby-related.  And tomorrow, we have a doctors visit (another one - she went on Saturday).  I am ready to have this behind us.  And have some answers.  And have all three people in this house healthy, happy and eating again!

Blessing & Gratitude: sickness leaving...

My blog for yesterday will just have to wait a week - I was too sick to get near the computer.  Both the baby and I have been vomiting this weekend.  Baby got a head start and started a little during the week.  It has been interesting around here.  Multiple loads of laundry, trying to choke down liquids to avoid dehydration and well, the obvious when tummy pyrotechnics are involved.
I am grateful that the sickness is gone for the most part - I think that baby and I are in the clear.  But Daniel is looking a little green.
I am also so grateful for Daniel - who has been amazing this weekend in caring for all his girls.  Getting me supplies from the grocery store - and bringing me drinks and whatever else I needed.  Taking care of the baby, including getting puked on, a 2 hour visit to the peds office solo, and then also all the daily feeding, changing and putting down baby for naps/bedtime.  And then on top of that, walking the dog and taking care of her (she can be pretty high maintenance sometimes...)  I was out of it - sleeping on the couch most of the time - and everything and everybody was taken care of.

Feats & Fails Friday

Fails: The tummies around our house this week.  The baby - and also mommy & daddy.  The baby was vomiting due to something totally baby-related.  The grownups, however, had some kind of bug that just makes you feel miserable.  I am the last to have the sick, and am still the proud owner of nausea.
However...
Feat: Made it through the first bout with vomit with the baby this week.  And now baby is feeling much better!  Happy day!

Thursday Three: fast version

1) TV premiere week

2) Hogwarts Castle Lego set!

3) Vomited on for the first (and now many) times by the baby.

Wednesday Wares: Monitor

We got a video monitor this week.  It's something that I had kind of wanted, but then kind of didn't.  I was wavering.  But we found a great price online, so I decided - yes, let's get it!
And now that I have it, I can't believe that I didn't want one or get one before now.  But I'm kind of glad that we didn't have one when we first brought baby home.  I don't think that I would have ever slept.  Just having the audio and listening for noises from the baby gave me a freedom to sleep those first few weeks.  But now that rolling is imminent, I like being able to check on her.  And especially during nap times, I don't have to wake her to check and see if the noise that she just made is just talking... or waking.  And today, she is a little sick - some vomiting this morning.  So during this naptime, I can keep an eye on her, without disturbing her rest.  Getting it this week and being able to have it today was PERFECT timing!
It is amazing - that even in a dark room, I can see her.  It's kind of creepy, but in a good way.  It's like night vision goggles on the baby!  It's great to be able to see just for a second, and not have to try to sneak in her room "quietly," which was sometimes done unsuccessfully! And there are no other babies or monitors in use on our street, so we don't have to worry about other babies on this channel, safety or interference.  This new monitor is so fun! Even on a day that really isn't.

Tales for Tuesday: Baby ESP

ESP for me these days means:  Eat Sleep Poop.  

I've heard from everyone - really for all my life - that babies mostly just eat, sleep and poop.  So I entered motherhood thinking this, along with the fact that "when baby cries, meet her need, which is probably one of those three."  Well, it's not a simple as everyone made it sound..
Here in our house at least, usually only ONE of those three are "normal" at a time.  Either she is eating well, but not taking very good naps.  Or she is napping & sleeping to the point that we have to wake her and then not eating much at all, even after crying her "hungry" cry.  When two of the three are not going as well as I would like, I start to worry. 


I'm a worrier by trade - I've always been one to over think, analyze, worry and ask WHY - I don't know if it's really actually true worry, even.  It's more of thinking and talking about something until the situation resolves itself or I come to acceptable conclusion or answer.  And for most things, I've been able to do that.  But with a baby - I've learned that they are one of the mysteries of the universe.  One of my friends has told me that babies will confuse and mystify you - and then once you think you've figured it out, they will have come up with another way to stump you.  So I've got to find a way to accept the daily mystery of BABY.  Maybe I do need the "real" ESP.  


One thing I have found out is that taking care of a baby has more waiting involved than I realized.  Waiting to see if there is a reaction to a new food or new product.  Waiting for the poop to come.  Waiting for the day the next size in clothes and diapers will arrive.  And with the waiting, you always have to be prepared for what you think will come - and what actually comes. And I've only got a 4 month old.  I have so much more to learn - to wait for - to wonder about - to be mystified by!  I do love my little enigma!  

Making on... Monday: nothing!

Well, I didn't really make anything this week - I have ideas, but nothing actually has happened.  I have been cooking more.  The e-mealz is nice to have, so I'm not having to be creative in planning a menu, I just cook it.  And I do enjoy the cooking.  

But I didn't cook anything on Monday!  Dinner brought by a friend that evening and I went out to lunch with my sister-in-law for her birthday!  A day completely out of the kitchen!  

Blessings & Gratitude

• The birdbath outside my window.  I take such pleasure in seeing the birds (and occasional squirrel) just dance around and drink in the water.  I'm not much of a "bird-watcher", but it's so fun to see them play!

• The fact that even if I'm freaking out about something (these days, it's baby stuff), Daniel tried to understand and has great patience with me.

• The music at church today.

• And that the Bucs won today.  2-0 for the season.  Compared to last years 3 win season, this is GREAT!

Systematic Saturday: Kaizen Kitchen

In order to make more room in the kitchen for baby bowls, spoons and cereal that will soon be used (in the next week or so!) I rearranged the kitchen.  Daniel "loves" it when I do this.  And this time, it was a big rearrange.  I moved the cups and bowls into an entirely different cabinet - which makes more sense.  The bowls are now near the cereal and the fridge (ice cream).  And the cups, too, are closer to the fridge - for better beverage-getting.  And now all the plates are together - in the other cabinet.  I did have them arranged by "style" - the blue ones and the white ones (that we use most often) separated.  But after several attempts at putting things here and there, I got it all to FIT (which was hard in itself) and now it makes sense.  Sort of.  Baby has her own shelf now!  

Now to just remember where I put everything.  

Feats & Fails Friday

Feats:
* I wore my new shape-up-like shoes to the mall today - to do a little indoor (cooler) walking and shopping.  They were fun to walk in and I did indeed feel the burn.  AND  I also got the last "pumpkin" hat they had - for baby - one thing that I actually went to get.
* Loved the coupon workshop last night.  I am so excited now about collecting coupons and NOT spending.  It looks like it's going to be fun and take some time to figure out, but well worth it - and fun for me!  And not being there at bedtime was hard, but I made it!


Fail:
* Not sure what happens between 2:15 and 3:15.  That hour flies by in about 10 minutes.
* My new insurance won't cover "maintenance" medication at the "retail" level for more than one refill.  So when I went to get my acid reflux medicine refilled, the very nice pharmacist told me that my insurance required this to be filled ONLY by mail order.  So now my stomach is torn up... and will be that way for about 5-7 business days.

Thursday Three: Busy Day

1) First, we had our second (and last) post-placement visit by our social worker - for the adoption.  It was low key and fast.  We just told her about our routines and how we are doing as a family of three...  We are doing great!!

2) Then baby and I went to Target.  And I got a curtain - unusual that I didn't get more than than, especially with a gift card in hand. I did get a white tank top.  Not very exciting...

3) And tonight, I'm going out with some friends to a couponing workshop.  Sounds exciting?  I am actually really excited about this!  I have my little system, but the world of couponing can be a little tricky.  And now that I'm not working, I want to save a little more.  And doing this kind of keeps my brain exercising - it's kind of fun to try to combine sales and coupons - and needs - to see how much I can save! It will be my first bedtime to not be there with baby.  But daddy will do an excellent job!

Wednesday Wares: Next size & highchair

Our little girl is getting bigger!  Recently, I have been trying on various sizes here and there to see how we were doing.  And today, the majority of the 0-3m onesies are just too short.  And not too roomy.  So I moved them out of the drawer, and started moving in the 3-6m onesies!  At four months she has finally grown out of most of the 0-3 clothes that we have!  But some of those 3-6m things are really roomy around the middle!  

We got the highchair today!  We ordered it online - and I love the design on it, which wasn't available in any stores.  Her pediatrician wants us to start feeding her rice cereal pretty soon.  So I did my research this weekend and found the perfect one!  It actually fits on one of our kitchen chairs - it's really cute and looks good in the kitchen.  We thought this one would be a perfect fit for us!  And baby LOVES it already.  No feeding in in yet, but we sat her in it, just to try it out, and she smiled SO BIG!  I think she's going to love the rice cereal too!  

Tales for Tuesday: Dangerous snacking

I have been so hungry recently.  Maybe more like really snacky.  Since I am starting my day earlier (not really by much, but in a more conscious fashion than I was), I am eating more snacks during the day.  I try to have something like a fiber bar in the morning (LOVE the Fiber Plus bar - don't really like the Fiber One bar, little too sweet).  And then I have a snack in the afternoon.  Sometimes it's fruit, but most of the time I'm craving something really salty - then a cup of coffee.  Odd combination...  There have been some dangerous snacks around here these days.  Dangerous meaning = things that I could probably eat in one sitting, but definitely shouldn't.

* Danish Wedding cookies - I love them!  Everything about them says I won't like them. Then why can I polish off that pink little box in one sitting?  (I haven't yet - I've come close in the past)

* Garden Salsa Sun Chips - with their LOUD compostable bag.  So good.  Another thing that I could polish off in a sitting or two.  And I do have at least 5 bags outside composting right now...

* Pretzel M&Ms - maybe not the whole bag, but a few more handfuls than I probably should. 

* Chocolate & Peanut Butter Bugles - Ok,when I first saw these, I though that maybe they would not be so great.  But the sweet & salty magic of these is wonderful.  

* Fiber One Honey Clusters cereal -  It's so yummy! And this is such a good one for a late night snack.  I love my bedtime cereal bowl. Cereal is one of my favorites and this one is one of the best! I probably could eat about half the box - but for several reasons... one bowl is enough! 

Anyone have a great snack that you could eat all of or all the time or something that I need to try out?? 

Making... on Monday: Baby Hat

So I found this cute little hat for baby - it has two little knots on the top.  Just a little pricey for what it was.  And I found a pattern for the same time of hat on etsy that I think I'm going to get.  That way I get to pick fabric and try a few sizes to fit the baby.  This all sounds great - and I think that I can do it.  So with my average sewing skills and carving out the time to do it (hello naptime) I think I can probably make this hat.  If not, I may be recruiting some of my craftier friends to help...

Blessing & Gratitude: The Hospital

Last night we had an adventure.  I woke up about 2 am with horrible abdominal pain.  Probably the worst pain I've ever had.  After a few minutes of trying to decide whether or not to go to the ER, I finally decided yes, when I was sweating and shaking from the pain.  I thought it might be a couple of things, both of which needed the ER.

So off we went.  We had to wake up the baby - poor girl.  She sleeps through the night and was so confused why we were dragging her out of her crib in the middle of the night.  I clutched a pillow on my tummy and we were on our way.  I also had a bucket, just in case.  The pain was so bad that I was feeling a little nauseous & I didn't want to puke in Daniel's car.  It still has that "new car" smell.
Grateful:  I didn't vomit, in the car... at all!

When we got there, I guess I looked pretty bad, because they took me straight back to a room and the nurse filled out the initial paperwork for me.
Grateful:  I went straight back to a room!

Because I was shaking so bad that I couldn't write.  Daniel was on baby patrol in the corner, while I got my Morphin & Phenergan in an IV.  After a cat-scan and a couple of hours, the pain was getting so much better and the results came back.
Grateful:
• The meds came fast and helped so much!  And it turned out that it wasn't appendicitis!  Yea!  The doctor said it was a ruptured ovarian cyst (about 5 cm) that was collapsing - BUT the worst pain was behind me!  (still really sore this afternoon, but I can stand upright, which I couldn't do last night)
• That the baby did pretty good!  She was super cute for the nurses, drank a bottle (cold, even) and took a little nap.  There was a little crying, but it was because she was so tired!  Daniel did great with her while I was passed out with medication.  And today, she is sleeping well and in a great mood!

We are so tired today.  Me from all the pain & medicine, I think.  Daniel, because he didn't sleep much when we got back and he's been taking care of his girls today.  I am definitely grateful for that too!

Systematic Saturday: cleaning

I have a daily cleaning schedule.  I have had one for several years.  I came up with it because I hate to spend a chunk of the weekend cleaning.  And really I don't LIKE to clean most things.  But I like things clean.  So I came up with a way to spread the cleaning throughout the week.  When I was working full time at my job, I made a plan to get a little done everyday - to just maintain the clean.  When I was working part time - two days a week - I grouped the cleaning into 2 days (bathrooms & floors) so that I wouldn't have to do cleaning on my workdays and I'd have a "free" day too!  Now that baby is here, I have made yet another cleaning routine.  I have one little task to do a day - that takes no more than 15 minutes.  This way everything stays clean, but I don't spend that much time cleaning.  I just take a few minutes, usually during nap time, to just do a quick chore.

I am a creature of habit.  If I don't form a schedule - read Pavlov's dog - I will forget.  I plan, I make a list/chart whatever (yes and that usually involves excel, or more recently apps).  Then I know that today is ____ task.  And that way I'm not cleaning for 2 hours on the weekend or not cleaning at all.

I do enjoy a clean house - not like white glove clean (nobody come looking for messes - you can find them) - but a neat house, mainly tidy.  This is good to have with a baby in the house.  And it helps to keep my allergies at bay.  And helps to keep my sanity intact (for the most part).

Feats & Fails Friday

Feat:  I actually have dinner in the crock pot. So dinner is pretty much made - the feat, that I remembered before 3pm that I wanted to cook dinner in the crock pot!

Fail: The waiting room this morning...

Today is baby's 4 month birthday!  And she celebrated it with a shortened morning nap, a long wait at the doctor and FOUR shots!  She did great, though.  Mommy, not so much.

Hopefully we will get some good snuggle time this evening to end the day on a great note!

Update:  In honesty, the shots really didn't upset me that much.  Baby cried, I consoled, then it was over.  It was all the time before seeing the doctor that I was emotional.  Nerves? Anticipation? Just all the waiting?  Who knows.

Thursday Three: Saved by the Bell

Watched the episode where the boys have the party to pay for the broken Elvis bust this morning:

1) How did they find the EXACT replica of the bust, so fast WITHOUT the internet?  

2) How did Zach know to have the "Happy Anniversary" sign ready, when the parents got home a day early?

3) Is it weird that I think that Tori Spelling is cuter as nerdy Violet than as Donna Martin?  

Oh, so many gaps in the logic of SBTB - but what do I expect.  It's hard to stop at three.  

Wednesday Wares: the spray

Ok, not really a "ware" so much, as something that I've wanted and I got today!  What is it....
Nose Spray!  Not the most exiting thing to get, but I am so glad that I got it - and that it was so easy to get!

I have been having really bad allergies every time it rains.  Not just one of those afternoon showers, but those never-ending, creek-in-my-backyard rains.  The day after the rain, it feels like my face is going to explode.  So I sneeze and blow my runny nose, down tons of juice, take vitamin C like I'm stocking up for a few weeks (love me some emergen-c) and then take some nyquil and go to bed just a little bit early.  And then the next day I'm fine.

I've been dealing with it for a while now, but recently it's become more noticeable and more of a problem.  My sneezing scares or wakes up the baby - sometimes both.  And I don't really want to be sneezing all day while holding the baby - or saying "hey, will you take the baby so I can go blow my nose" - it's annoying.

So I called my allergist today (I took allergy shots a few years back and they worked wonders!) to see when I could get an appointment.  And they had one for that afternoon.  Unheard of!  So I took it.  The doctor confirmed what I had suspected.  Mold spores - really bad this time of year - and they seem to be out to get me this year.  And he gave me a anti-histamine nose spray to use as needed - he didn't want to do any more allergy testing - and gave me a good-sized sample to try before filling the prescription!  

All in one day!  I hope this works.

Tales for Tuesday: green & gadgets

I have recycled for years - using the small bin at our old house, then when we moved here - taking them to a local recycling bin.  And then finally, after being one of the first to sign up in our neighborhood to have recycling picked up curbside, we finally have a large trash can size cart!  It's great! So now we have one can for trash, one for recycling in the kitchen.

I try to be as eco-friendly as I can.  I'm not what you would call "green" - but I like to do some things... But other things are just NOT going to happen.  I like things that are handy and make life easier.  I love gadgets and nifty little products.  Sometimes that makes me a little more eco-friendly, like my reusable bags for shopping.  They are so handy to shop with - it makes carrying things into the house much easier.  And the bonus is that you don't have all those plastic bags to either throw away or try to reuse (I rarely use them - but I do have a few on hand).  But I could never be considered totally green.  I use disposable diapers.  I don't think I would have the guts to use cloth diapers.  It's just not me.  But I am considering making my own baby food.  But then again, they have all this great organic stuff readily available.  What to do?

Really my problem of being green is this:  I love shopping.  Most of the eco-ness is to reuse, re-purpose, create.  These things I do enjoy - to a point.  But I do like finding new things.  Having this little thing that does this. Now that baby is here, the gadgets/helpful items are coming back on the scene.  Several years ago, my kitchen was the place for every gadget created.  But I've cut back a lot in there.  I am keeping an eye on the nursery.  Gadgets in moderation? 

Kind of on the same idea as a new gadget is a new product. I do like trying new products (like a lotion or a shampoo) that look  I've been thinking recently that I do want to kind of "green" up my cleansers - house & personal & baby.  But what is bad?  I thought this would be easy.  I've heard so many things about sulfates - that the lauryl one is bad but the laureth one is ok, but not great.  And these are the items that make suds.  No suds?  So there is another product out there that makes suds now.  Is it ok?  I have found answers of yes AND no.  I did find this great website: Good Guide.  But some of there ratings don't match up with other reports of what's bad.  One place will say use this instead of that.  Then another will say use that instead of this.  Is there a lesser of two evils?  A gray area?  Just go with what I like and hope for the best?  On the Good Guide site, they even give some "natural" brands a bad score.  And "natural" I know isn't really regulated.  But if the chemicals are bad and the natural stuff is bad, what's good?

And then there's food...  I just do the best I can.  Which probably isn't a good as I'd like.  The main problem. Price.  Such a huge difference on some things, it's just not going to happen.  

Making on... Monday: hot dogs

With the long weekend - and trips and visits with family, I'm not doing much making this week.  Also I'm looking forward to Wednesday when my first E-mealz subscription starts.  So I don't know WHAT I'm going to be making this week.

But in honor of the holiday, here's my favorite way to make hot dogs (a la Rachael Ray):

Cook hot dogs in about an inch or two of boiling water in a skillet - slitting the hot dogs several times so that they don't explode.  Then drain the water out and then spray with cooking spray and then brown - to desired brown-ness.  I like them when they get a pretty good "campfire" char on them.

Hot dogs - juicy on the inside, kind of crisp and grilled on the outside.  Yum!

Blessing & Gratitude: the little things

• So glad that even though yesterday was a weird day of not much eating and napping that the baby slept all night just like normal.

• Sounds silly, but I'm thankful for the Walgreens photo system.  I can upload prints then pick them up pretty soon after that at the store.  So easy to do - no fooling with printing here, with all the photo paper, paper not feeding and ink running out.  Pictures, an important part of life now!

• A little bit cooler weather - maybe just a sneak peek, but definitely saying that fall is near.

• Football season starts this week - the NFL in our house! Time for my car magnet!

Systematic Saturday: Kaizen

I love organizing and RE-organizing things.  Finding a better way to put things up so that the next time that it is used, it's easier to access.  A few months ago, Daniel told me about a concept that he had heard about at work.  It's called Kaizen.  It is a business practice used (and started) in Japan for continuously looking for ways to improve the way things are done.  Wikipedia  has a page explaining it. 

And that's really what I was already doing, and now it has a name.  

So when I move things, say, in the kitchen - finding a better place for them, a more usable place for them - to which Daniel usually says "where does it go NOW?" - I show the new place, tell why it moved, then say...

KAIZEN!

Feats & Fails Friday

Feats:
• Thinking - and actually believing - that something that happened was just a fluke.  That "today" is not how tomorrow WILL be.  A BIG feat for me.

• Signing up for e-mealz.  It doesn't sound like a feat, but relinquishing control and actually looking forward to next week's grocery list making IS.  And hoping to try out some new food, especially the side dishes.


Fails:

• Making Hamburger Helper - putting in the hot water.  It called for 3 cups of water, so I thought that I measured it out right.  Nope. Got to make sure to use the ONE cup measurer instead of the TWO cup measurer.  I thought that looked like too much water.

• Well....fells - Not my fail - or fall.  There were several HUGE trees cut down by my neighbor (the landscaper) this week.  Multiple chainsaws going for 2 days - with four huge BOOMS as the trees fell.  The one closest to our house - shook the house and rattle the dishes a little.  If this had been the first of the four trees, it would have really freaked me out.  And then the next two days after the chainsaws, were the days of the bobcat, the multiple dump-trucks and the boom of loading tree stumps into the back of a truck.  Why a fail?  Well, sad to see perfectly trees bite the dust.  And also all of these noises disturbed the dog (barking) and of course happened mostly during nap times - and gave me a constant headache.  If I never hear a chainsaw again, that would be great!


Fail & Feat:
Fail = our internet service for the past two days.  It's like we were on dial-up again.
Feat = it just got fixed WITHOUT a technician coming to our house.  Reported the problem via twitter (weird) and it was fixed the SAME day - within hours! And there was an actual problem on their end that they had to send a truck to fix.  Done!  Totally amazing and unexpected!

Thursday Three: Pop culture

1) The awesome cover of  Weezer's new album "Hurley"

2) The CW is replacing the Friends/Office block at 5pm with a Nancy Grace show.  Interesting and weird, I think.  BUT ABC family is going to start showing Friday Night Lights every weeknight at 5pm.  Perfect! And actually even better!  As much as Friends is quotable, maybe it is getting a little old - every night of the week.  And there's only those few Office episodes that I truly enjoy watching multiple times (and even then there are parts that I still avert my eyes, read: Michael).  I guess the CW felt the same way.  But to have great timing for something to replace it - so fun!!

3) The Emmy's were really funny (for the most part) - which surprises me because even though I do think that Jimmy Fallon is funny, he thinks he's funny too.  Sometimes not the best for comedic response.  At one point, our laughs from the den woke the baby - but just for a minute.

Word for Wednesday

A new word that keeps popping up in our house is:

piddly

I don't even think it's a real word, but it very versatile. It came up last week - in a good way - and we have started using it to describe lots of things - a fun word to use instead of little or pitiful. Piddly bottle drinker, when baby won't drink all her bottle. Piddly burp, when she is fussing and only a teeny one comes out.
My blog, a few weeks ago...