Shallow

Politics aside, does anyone else get creeped out looking at John McCain? I'm just not sure I can look at him for the next four years. The teeth are creepy skeleton teeth and he has some sort of funny lisp. Both his hands work like the useless one Bob Dole has. When he smiles it seems like maybe I should turn around because there is a killer with a knife ready to get me.

Palin looks OK, but I'll always think Tina Fey got elected or maybe she should have.

I really don't know much about his politics, but as a person I'm a bit nervous to look at him.

Second Birthday Party

So last weekend was the birthday party with my family. The plan was relatively simple. We go to a park around 11 am to play, eat lunch and open gifts. Then we go across the parking lot to the indoor pool. Once everyone is done with that, they go home. This way my house doesn't have to get all messed up and I am much more relaxed with the (eight that can walk) kids being monkeys outside.

However, there were some problems. First the pool pass we were going to buy was not available so everyone was going to cost $2 more per person. Not a huge deal, but more complicated than with the pass. We worked around this. Second, my mother left me a voicemail the day before. Through her sobs she said she wasn't coming. I called my sister to get the story and through her sobs told me what happened. So I called my mom back and she was driving to my house. I won't go into the whole story, but for a few hours there was some serious drama. It all worked out, but it's not the way I would have liked. Third, one of the kids almost drowned. No really. He was alone and wandered to the lazy river and got swept away. He was bobbing along when Husband and I got to him and pulled him out. The lifeguard was just a few feet away not paying any attention to the three year old drowning in front of him. Once we got him out and gave him to his mother I yelled at him. I wish I would have told the manager. There is no excuse.

The boys had a great time and the adults enjoyed themselves too. I made a Spiderman cake that impressed the kids and made it all worth it. We were worn out and tired, but it was a total success.

Oh My!

So I feel pretty worthless right now. On Monday, Husband meets with his MBA group to study or whatever they need to get done. This makes the third week in a row that he has come home early to help. I can't seem to make it past about 6:00pm without intervention. One or both boys starts crying and I can't do jack to get them calmed down. Husband says he is on the way and things calm down.

I am no comfort to my own child. With Peanut all I had to do was pick him up and he was instantly calm. Holding him was all he needed. Even now that he is nearing 3 being held goes a long way with him. Thumper? Not so much. I hold. I sing. I rock, jiggle, sway, shush and a million other things. Unless he's hungry, it doesn't seem to be me he wants. That is not to say he wants Husband, but several times that has worked out OK for him.

Perhaps he has an ear infection or something else going on? When he nurses on my right side he seems less content. Maybe my right side tastes funny. I don't really know. The point is I don't seem to be able to relax him. Many a night he cries until he passes out from exhaustion. That is not the way I want him to learn to go to sleep.

This week I have no paint jobs or anything else planned. It is the week to get him sleep trained so he can put himself to sleep. All day I watched him and when he started to look a little sleepy I put him down. Poof. He would be asleep. Great. I didn't think he was trained and we were done with it, but then about 6 pm he started crying and would not be soothed. I gave him Tylenol and about 20 minutes later he nursed himself to sleep. Was is the Tylenol kicking in or the hour he fussed and cried that put him to sleep? Either way, it's not something I want to make a habit.

On one hand I'm happy Husband can get him to sleep, but on the other hand I want it to be me. So when Husband takes him from me and then puts him to sleep I'm jealous. The thing is, I've been having trouble with jealousy lately. A friend is newly pregnant and announced it after Peanuts birthday party. I wasn't really happy for her. I wasn't really sad either. Part of me is jealous that she gets to be pregnant and get the attention. She is the new cool thing right now. I'm a little sad it's not me. Especially since no one cared when I was pregnant. There is no sympathy for the second round. This is her second too, but because of who she is, I'm sure it will be a big deal.

Then last night I convinced her to play volleyball with me. She ended up hurting her ankle pretty bad. I felt really guilty. I didn't have anything to do with it, but felt at fault. After thinking about it I'm pretty sure I felt guilty because I was not happy for her pregnancy. It doesn't make sense, but that's how my moods/emotions are running these days. I feel quite damned if I do and damned if I don't. I'd like to paint, make money and get out of the house, but I feel guilty for hauling the baby out with me so much. My sister manages to make me feel guilty about not going, but yet tells me to take a day off.

I really need some time to myself, but feel guilty about it. Husband is supposed to have Monday and Thursday evenings for school. I play volleyball on Sunday and have a study group meeting on Wednesday. While I'm glad he watched the boys so I can attend both, it's not really a break. I get so busy for the hour I'm gone, that it isn't very relaxing. I'd love to spend some time at a spa or even home alone or out with a friend (if I had any that could go with me). I realize Husband spends the day working, not relaxing, but he still gets out of the house and away from the kids. I have at least one of them all the time. Of course I'm nursing so it's harder to get away.

First Birthday Party

Today we had the first birthday party for Peanut. He will be 3 next week. This party was for his and our friends. He picked a Batman theme so we had Batman plates, napkins and I make a Batman cake too. I'll try to post a picture later.

I've been under the weather so it was a little rough getting ready for today. We made it and had a good time. Then the kids got more wild and I started to feel nervous. There is something about all those people and rowdy kids that makes me uncomfortable. I went upstairs for a while and did OK until I started thinking of everything happening to my house while I was away. Luckily, folks started to leave not long afterwards.

Husband put Peanut to bed and the last thing he said was "I liked my party. I liked my Batman party, daddy". Sweet. He seemed to have a great time. He also got a few really cool toys too.

Next weekend is the family party. I'm not as excited about that one. My sister said she was flexible and basically left the planning to me. So I made a plan and then she acted like that wasn't going to be fun. Maybe I just caught her at a bad time, but she was pretty grumpy about it. Oh well. If the 3 other kids freaked me out tonight then what will it be like with 8 other kids here? Plus at least our friends do an OK job of watching their own kids. My sister just checks her mommy badge at the door. It's like because we're at my house she isn't responsible for them. It's like that wherever she goes. We joke that she is the 'tornado' family. When they come and go it's like a tornado. You feel run over. The house is a wreck afterwards too. My plan is to go to a park for lunch and open gifts then go to the indoor pool to swim for the rest of the day. No need to go to anyones house for anything. That way the wreckage is outside.

I'm wiped out. It's been a busy week. I've been painting and planning this party and trying to keep the house up and all sorts of things. There just aren't enough hours in the day for me to get it all done. I'm going to take next week off from painting to see if I can relax and catch up on laundry. Thumper needs some sleep training too. He doesn't seem to know how to fall asleep on his own. We get so busy with other things that we miss his (tiny) sleep window. Then he has to be rocked or nursed to sleep. I'm hoping to spend some time next week teaching him how to just go to sleep.

Overall today was good. I got to watch my boy have fun. Even better I got to help the fun be possible. It's great to give a gift like that. Nothing tangible. Putting a smile on his face makes it totally worth it.

Not Cohesive at All

So a lot of days are rough with an almost 3 yr old. Yesterday was a different story. Thursday is usually our difficult day because Husband is gone all day at work and late into the night with school. Instead of being hard though, it was a great day. Peanut only lost his mind twice and was easily calmed down. I can't even think of anything specific that happened, but it was relaxed and overall a great day.

Of course this morning when he got up he was grumpy again, but I'll take the time I get. It took us a long time to get to school.

I wrenched my back on Monday. I couldn't move much at all. Today it's better, but gets cramped up pretty easy. The worst part was yesterday when both Husband and my sister were like " aren't you better yet?" I understand being curious, but it came out more like they were done caring. Every time I think of talking about it or even mentioning that it hurts I bite my tongue. Then I get annoyed when I do wince or groan in pain and they are like "what's wrong". I'll say, my back hurts and they ask if it's again. No. Not again. Still. How about we not talk about it and I'll just let you know when it's right again?

Random Thoughts:

Why do we pronounce the name Herb with the H, but the seasonings we don't even though they are all spelled the same?

We're watching Posiedon (sp?) on television and it seems to have a few flaws in it. Wouldn't someone notice their ship having issues? I know it would take a while before they could get there, but wow. So are they all part fish? They seem to have a very large lung capacity.

Ok. I'm tired.

Mr(s) Clean

I went to a play date today. Peanut was in school, but I took Thumper with me. It was nice to hang out with other moms even if one kid was missing. Anyway, we went to this gals house and it was spotless. She made muffins and a coffee cake. The dishes were like fine China. Who lives like this? My house has toys and other junk all over. There isn't a room in the house that looks spotless. OK, yes, my house is bigger and allows for more spaces to house more junk, but how do moms keep their houses so clean?

I'd love to have a play date at my house, but I'm not sure I could get it so clean or make any type of edible food. I joined a mom group and once in a while I'll have to take a dish to the breakfast. I'm already wondering how to get dressed, get the kids dressed, get Peanut to school and feed Thumper so I can make it to the meeting by 9am. When do I make a breakfast dish? I guess maybe I could get a bunch of fruit or something.

No Names Please

I don't post often. This is my outlet. I talk with Husband and family, but there are times I don't want them. The Internet seems like a good place to vent things. I can print them and forget them. Sometimes people comment and that is nice. I read several other blogs, but rarely comment. I guess I'm a lurker.

Some blogs give names and places and practically an address to come visit. While I do write about my kids I won't ever post their names or where we are or any of that information. I don't think I have enemies, but I also don't want to find out. One of the blogs I read is shutting down because someone in her life can't leave her alone. They apparently use her blog to get close to her and harass her.

I'm sure everyone has heard the story of the blogger getting fired over what she wrote. I feel it's my right to say whatever I want, but would never want someone to hold it against me. Most of the blogs I read are fun stories and rarely about a specific person. I'll admit I do like to hear about their lives. It feels like a friend even though I've never met them. I love to read KD's blog because we are friends and it gives me a chance to keep up with her. We're both lousy at actual communication so blogs let us keep up a little easier.

I do read a blog about a family. They both post their names and the names of their children. I know the city where they live, but I don't know much more. I personally don't have the desire to find them, but someone might. There are people out there waiting for just enough information to pounce.

This morning I thought of posting a picture of my chubby baby. He is getting so big and fat. I wanted to post a picture of his several chins and thighs, but thought against it. There could be a person out there doing Lord knows what while looking at his picture. I don't want that for any child let along my own.

So if you read my blog, welcome. The posts are a bit vague and I don't use real names or places. I hope that some of it is still entertaining to you, but this is for me.

I Want a Makeover

I've been feeling down lately. Maybe it's the rain.

Peanut is doing very well potty training. We had a few accidents the first two days and nothing since then. He is not telling me he has to go yet, but we're getting there. At daycare he is pretty much done. He tells them he has to go and then goes. We'll get it.


I went to a mom group meeting yesterday. The meeting was OK, but I felt out of place. Sure I'm a mother and therefore I fit in, but I didn't know anyone. The lady next to me kept talking to the lady next to her since they were good friends. The gal on the other side of me was quiet and not into talking. The room was so loud I couldn't hear anyone else. Plus I had Thumper with me and I missed a lot of the meeting when he started to cry.


Lately, I feel so alone and left out. It doesn't help my mom is here to see us and spending all her time with my sister. She came for Grandparents day and I haven't seen much of her. She keeps talking about moving here so they go look at houses for sale. What no one seems to get is that she will never move here so they are all wasting their time. I would like it if she would move here, but she's been talking about moving for almost 12 years. It's not going to happen.


A lot of the ladies at the meeting looked so put together. The hair was fixed, the make-up looked good and the clothes were nice. I felt so sloppy and frumpy. I barely made it there on time as it was so I had no time to fix hair (pony tail), do make up (some mascara and lip gloss) or put an outfit together (jeans and t-shirt). I was clean though so maybe that's a start.


I never get the fab treatment. I know a girl that walks in to any salon and gets a great haircut. Maybe she just has the face for it. I go in to the same place and get something that looks like my 3 year old did it with his eyes closed. Perhaps it's low self-esteem. I should work on that. I keep thinking of cutting my hair, but in all my life I've only had a few good short haircuts. Plus, then I have to fix it all the time. At least when it's long I can throw it in a ponytail.

Husband keeps telling me to get some clothes so I can feel better in what I'm wearing. Sure I want to get back to my pre-baby size, but in the meantime I can look and feel good in what I'm wearing. Not a bad idea, but I'm not even sure where to shop. I used to be good at fashion and still am for other people, but when it comes to my own wardrobe I'm lacking.

I'm so happy it's Friday.

And It's Storming Here

Today is day three of illness. Peanut has a cough and a fever. He seemed better this morning. He played really well and was a fun little kid. The fever seemed to be gone. Then we hit some sort of pot hole.

He said he had a dirty diaper (no he isn't potty trained yet - you do it) so we went to change it. It wasn't dirty or even wet so I said "let's go potty". I figured he had to go since he was talking about it. So he sat and I gave him an Elmo potty book. It has lots of buttons that make sound effects. The story is something about Elmo and his dolly David getting potty trained.

Anyway, Peanut sat there quite a while and then said he was done. He tried to take the book to the living room and I told him it was the bathroom book to be read while on the potty. This would be where the pot hole was lurking. He wanted to get back on the potty to read the book. I was OK with this, but asked him if he had to go or did he just want to read. Then he got upset. He threw the book (breaking it) and the rest of the day went down hill.

We had lunch and he spent most of it staring into space. He was really tired. So I took upstairs to nap. We started reading books and one thing after another he lost out on the last two books. Crying. Two hours later, still no nap. Some time after that I realized he was burning up again. He sat next to me and put his little head on my shoulder. He only snuggles like that when he doesn't feel well. We watched television and a movie to pass time. He ate a bite or two of toast for dinner and we were off to bed.

Things were going so-so at this point. He was totally exhausted. His poor little eyes were all puffy from being sick and crying so much. Bedtime is usually 8:30pm, but tonight I started at 7. Good thing I did. We did the routine and got into bed. He started coughing and then threw up. So I stripped him and the bed, got everything cleaned up and started over. He freaked out when I left the room without taking his cup and cried for a minute, then passed out. Thumper started to freak out at this point too. I fed him to quiet him and that worked for a bit.

Both boys were out of sync today. When one went to sleep the other woke up grumpy (or didn't sleep). When I finally got one calmed down and situated the other lost his mind. I didn't have much time for anything today. At one point I had to pee and remembered like 3 hours later I never did.

I would love to send Peanut to school tomorrow so I can rest. Since he had fever and threw up tonight I think it's a bad idea. It's movie day though. They basically watch a movie, eat lunch, nap and then watch another movie. I don't think he would be over active, but he might cough on all the other kids. I'd hate to start some epidemic. I might go out of my mind though. The next school day (rest day for me) won't be until next Wednesday. Aack!

I just realized both boys are asleep. I'm out of here and off to bed.

On My Mind

First, my kid is sick. Peanut has had a runny nose for over a week and in the last few days a cough has developed. Today a fever popped up. It is low-grade, but will be watched. Tonight he was coughing so hard he threw up. He was pretty upset about it. Daddy did a great job calming him down and I changed all the bedding. During the day he would cough and look at me with tears in his eyes as if to say 'mommy, make it stop'. How I wish I could have. It really breaks my heart to see my kid sick.

So, no school for him tomorrow. As a mother I totally understand and he should stay home and I'll nurse him to health if I can. As an individual that is very used to sending him to school on a Wednesday I'm disappointed to have to give up 'my' day. Even though I still have Thumper I can relax quite a bit. Sure Thumper cries, but I feed him and put him to sleep and things are great.

Oh well. We'll probably end up watching television for most of the day. That's OK. Kids need those lazy sick days. It won't hurt him to be spoiled for an extra day. My concern at this point is to keep the other 3 family members from getting it. I pretty much get everything that gets anywhere near me so I'm probably going to get it. Please, please, please do not let the baby get it. That is the last thing we need.

Second, I am supposed to be helping my sister with a paint job. I did tell her ahead of time that this is her job and I would help when I could. I spent about 6 hours there yesterday and got 2 1/2 hours worth of work done. It's hard to work with a baby. He was extra fussy yesterday and didn't nap well. I was frustrated. When you have a baby you know you won't get stuff done, but you still want to. Anyway, I didn't work today and won't tomorrow or Thursday. So maybe on Friday if we all stay healthy I might get to work some. I have to keep reminding myself the kids come first and anything after that is gravy for me.

I told my sister tonight that I might have to stay home. She was pretty uncaring about it. She basically said 'whatever'. I was a little sad until I realized the other option is she makes me feel bad for not being there. Neither option was one I wanted, but I'm not sure there was one in between. Maybe she could have said something about she understands, but she'll still miss having me there. Yes. That would have been nice to hear.

Third. I'm tired. Have I mentioned that before? Oh. Well it's still true. I don't feel appreciated. Do I toot my own horn to get attention? That somehow feels fake. If no one notices what I do, then what's the point. I don't want to have to list what I do so someone can then say oh wow.

Fourth. Did I mention the cleaning people are gone? It was a mix up and I don't miss them really, but I miss having a clean house. We are total slackers when it comes to cleaning. Right now we have an excuse with the sick kids, but what then? I guess I'll try to find a new person soon.

Loads of Random

We've lived in our house for one year. We made the offer on July 4th and closed on my birthday. Then we moved in two days later. One month later I got pregnant. In the following months we've slowly painted and re-painted a few rooms. There is still a lot to do, but a couple rooms look pretty good. None of them are totally finished, but look nice enough for now. Maybe if I had mucho money to spend we could finish the decorating in a flash. I'm going as fast as the budget allows (which is pretty slow). That's ok. It gives me time to think of what I really want.

Why do smokers wear seat belts? Does anyone else think that's weird? Smoking slowly kills you whereas a car crash could kill you instantly. Are they afraid to die fast? I believe smoking causes cancer and other bad stuff to infect your body. Smoking will kill you. Sure, it's not immediate and some will argue that you will die anyway (although sooner if you ask me). A car crash would probably kill you pretty fast if not instantly. So smokers are ok with dying a slow cancer death but not a quick car crash death. Go figure.

I'm going to the dentist on Friday. I hate the dentist. Sure, I've never been to this one, but I already hate it. They clean your teeth and tell you how awful you are at taking care of your teeth. I do the best I can. Yes, I could do better, but I don't. So please don't make me feel bad about it. Just fix me up and send me on my way. Oh and could you just knock me out while you do the work? That would be fantastic.

My boys are growing so fast. Peanut will be three soon! It occurred to me he will be moving to a new room at daycare. He'll have a new teacher and be with new friends. Of course he has to be potty trained first, but I think that will happen soon enough. I hope he copes ok. Some of the kids in the 3's room he already knows from when they were in the 2's room. I'm not sure I can handle it.

The baby is growing fast too. I looked at him today while he was asleep on my lap. His head is enormous. I can't believe he is almost 3 month old. Where is time going?

My sister scored a couple of painting jobs. I do hope I can work some. I think it will be hard with the baby, but he does nap. Part of me doesn't want to work while he naps since that is my time. Making money seems like a pretty good motivator to do something though.

My cleaning service accidentally ditched me. I got a letter saying they were sorry I left when actually I never left. I told them to forget it. To me good customer service is making me feel like I'm the only customer regardless of how many they actually have. The gal started talking about how she has so many customers she can't keep track of them. Well, now she has one less. Apparently two less since some other person did cancel. She try too hard to get us back either. She said they could still come, but didn't offer to make it up to us in any way. I thought a little discount or something wouldn't have hurt them at all, but whatever. Saving the money is fine with me. We'll either find someone else or I'll try to get my butt in gear and do that on top of everything else.

Speaking of everything else...I've been doing the washing, folding and putting away laundry, loading and unloading the dishwasher, washing the other dishes by hand and putting them away, going to the grocery store, planning and fixing meals, generally cleaning up as well as trying to sort through the disaster that is the office and oh yeah, raising two children. Could I get a bit of appreciation? I'm feeling a bit overlooked. I think some of that comes from my sister. She asked me to help her design her daughters new room and I gave ideas and made drawings. She didn't really appreciate anything I did. Eventually, I sort of backed away. I wanted to help and be a part of it, but I also wanted to not be taken advantage of. So it's done or at least getting there. Some of it is how I suggested, but most of it is how her mother wanted it. So much for doing something the daughter wanted.

I've wrenched my back. I was on the couch and stood up with the baby and then it was stiff. It hurts to move. Guess I better figure out what medicine I can take. At this point I need a heavy dose of something.

Summer is almost over. I think we did what we could to enjoy it. Sometimes I think we stayed at home too much, but we made it to the pool quite a bit and did have some fun. Having a baby takes a couple options out of your life, but we tried to just incorporate him when we could.

I'm also attempting to sew again. I'm making new bedding for the baby. I've bought the fabric and I'm trying to sew a bumper pad and bed skirt with only the existing ones as a pattern. This should be interesting. I'll try to post a picture when they are done. If they are ever done that is.

I'm going to try to make this for a party this weekend.

All Around and All That

Thoughts on Olympic gymnastics.

1. Over the course of all these many years, why has no one designed an outfit that does not go up the rear?

2. One chick has a large forehead and a long nose. Wearing your hair poofed up on top only makes it all look that much larger.

3. Oh yah, the chick in #2 never smiles. I get you are nervous and all, but geez, look a little happy to be there.

4. Doesn't it hurt to land on the side of your ankles?

5. It freaks me out to watch the balance beam. I took gymnastics for a while and hated the beam part. Of course I have no balance so maybe that's why I didn't do so well. I can't imagine being there and going all those flips on something barely as wide as your foot.

6. I get that they are around the World from me and all, but does the stuff I want to watch have to be on at midnight? I have a baby for crying out loud. He's going to wake up soon and well, cry out loud. I need to sleep when he does, but this only happens every 4 years. It's not like I can catch the re-run.

7. Another chick has one eyebrow way out of sync with the other. It's annoying when they do a close up on her.

Go USA!

No One in the Bedroom

So, I had a baby not long ago. There are lots of books and whatever that says you should wait 6 weeks to do the deed after the birth. That's great. I was just sort of feeling slightly back to normal at 6 weeks. So here we are at almost 11 weeks and lets just say we haven't had 'relations' in a while.

On one hand I think we should sort of get it over with. The first time I mean. After that I think it will get better and we'll get back into the groove, so to speak. On the other hand I'm not interested so why force it? I guess because if we don't get to it, we may start having some issues.

I'm beat at the end of the day. Keeping up with the kids and the house is draining. Plus, Husband is in an MBA program and he is crazy busy with school. Two nights a week he is home late and the other nights he is usually doing homework. We rarely go to bed at the same time. Not much love happening there. I'm not complaining. I know he has to study to do well at school and I want him to do well. It's just that sometimes I want him to pay more attention to me.

I guess maybe 2 months isn't that long and I should give us a break. I was just thinking about it.

Water Boy

We went to the Lake over the weekend. I actually suggested it on Friday. I figured it would be one of the last weekends for us to go this summer. I told husband that it was a lot of work to pack the kids and dogs, but we should go anyway. In reality it's more work than fun, but it's nice to go to see my father-in-law.

So we left early Saturday morning and only had to stop once to feed the baby. Once we were there we hopped on the boat and went for a ride. It was great. FIL drove and we sat with the kids. Thumper sleeps and Peanut hangs on for dear life. He does great if he can sit on a lap.

Husband took Peanut on the Jet Ski. He loves it. Shortly after take off he starts squealing with delight. It's fantastic. He gets so excited about it. I swam with him a bit too. The water was warm like a bath tub. We both put on life jackets and floated about.

Saturday evening we went out to dinner and then started the fun over again on Sunday. It was a great weekend. I had a lot of fun. The boys both did great the whole time with minimal fussing. The weather was great for boating.

I got a glimpse of future visits. My boys are going to love going to Grandpa's house. Not only do they get to see Grandpa, but all the water activities are great too. Anyway, it was a lovely weekend. The ride home, not so much. We left late since we were having so much fun and Thumper had issues. We had to stop to feed him twice and he was grumpy for quite a while. I think he gets tired of being in the car seat and the car in general. Peanut did fine, he got to watch a movie on the portable DVD.

Lock 'Em Up

We went to the pediatrician for Thumper and ended up talking more about Peanut even though he wasn't with us. We asked about Potty Training and sleep issues. He didn't tell us anything new about PT, but did tell us about the sleep issues. He suggested doing the bed routine as normal and then closing the door and not going in. We've been doing it for almost a week and it seems to be working.

The nice thing about this is it takes us out of the equation. We don't give him any attention this way. Basically his room is on lock-down. No books, toys or anything. There's not even any light bulbs in there. I know it sounds crazy, but he got into absolutely everything. I don't care. If my child will go to sleep at bedtime I'm willing to keep it up.

Singing

Do you hear that? That is the sound of angels singing. Wonderful isn't it? No, really. It's the sound of both my children asleep. At the same time.

Nap time has become a struggle again. Last night I hit on something that might work for a while though. Peanut kept crying so I went in there and scooped him up. I sat in the chair holding him like a giant baby. He hated it. I told him if he acted like a baby he was going to be treated like one. He settled right down and said he was a big boy. Off to bed he went without a fuss. Of course this was over an hour after bedtime, but whatever. Today at nap it worked again, but it didn't take nearly as long.

You Go Poo in the Loo

Peanut has been going potty at school. At least 2 out of 3 times he goes in the potty. I think he would get that third time if they weren't usually outside. Anyway, the teacher suggested it might be time to start potty training. Gads. I have been waiting until he was ready and I guess he is getting pretty ready. At school he gets candy. One M&M for trying and two for going. He loves it. That's the first thing he tells me when I go get him. "Mama, I got candy today" I know some people think it's gross to get food for going potty, but for him it's a fabulous motivator.



I'm not sure how smoothly the training will go with an 8 week old. There are many times he is so upset I can't really put him down to take Peanut to the bathroom. I know it doesn't work if the parents aren't willing to drop everything (so to speak) and get the kid to the bathroom. I guess for a while I can live with putting the baby down. It's not like I won't ever put him down, I'm just saying there will be moments when it will be difficult. I hope those moments are fewer and far between.

Now that we have decided to start this weekend, he seems fairly against going. We'll start it and see how it goes for a while. I suppose if we have to stop we will.



I cannot believe my little boy is growing up so fast. Getting him out of diapers would be great, but this means he is a boy, not my baby. Even though I have a new one, he is still my little baby.



So any advice? I could use lots of suggestions and helpful hints. What made it go fast? What slowed you down? What would you do differently? I guess we'll start in the next week or two. We'll get all the supplies ready and talk to the school. Wow!

Clean it Up

So even though I'm not working and we bought a house, had a baby and bought a new AC all in the last year, we hired a cleaning service. See, with the new baby I wasn't getting any cleaning done. We put it off thinking we would get to it eventually. Months later (Eww, I know!) we still haven't gotten to it. Something about a constantly crying two year old, a breastfeeding newborn, grass that refuses to stop growing and just look pretty, an MBA to get and oh yeah, a full time job just makes it difficult to find time for anything else. I keep thinking 'this will be the weekend we get something done' and each weekend we do not get anything done.

To help with the dirty house part I hired someone to clean my house. It's pretty expensive, but about average as far as cost goes. It's a luxury I'm willing to spring for, for at least a little while. It's wonderful to have the bathrooms clean and the floors mopped. I only wish they came more often. So far it's every two weeks, but that is way better than what I'd be doing.

Some days I think I would really like to go back to work. Partly for extra money and partly for some 'me' time. Once the little one is a bit older I may try my hand at something part time. I really want to nurse him for about a year and I figure I may as well stay home and enjoy everything in that time. Our daycare doesn't take kids until one year anyway so I'm in no hurry.

Help Yourself

I wanted to shower today. Peanut was downstairs watching a kid show and Thumper was in the bouncy seat in the bathroom with me. I quickly showered and got dressed. Thumper was asleep so I went to check on Peanut, knowing how easily he can get into trouble.

He was sitting on the couch where I left him with a spoon in his hand. I thought it odd, but not really unusual. He has all sorts of odd toys. Anyway, there was also a phone box on the couch too. Husband got a new cell phone and the box was in the toy box to play with. Upon closer inspection of the box, there was some sort of goo in it. At first I was puzzled. What was it? I tentatively sniffed the contents and identified it as yogurt.

At this point I sort of panicked a little. How did he get it? Was there a big mess in the kitchen? I went in there and found the yogurt cup sitting on the counter. He apparently opened the fridge, got the yogurt, opened it, poured it into the phone box, grabbed a spoon and hopped back on the couch to finish the show.

I wasn't mad. I was more amazed he did all that without making a fuss or mess. I simply told him he had to eat his snacks at the table. He ran right in and finished the yogurt. I guess I'll have to shower at night when there is another adult at home to watch him. There is no telling what he could get into.

Geez! It's July.

Our AC went out. It is totally dead. We spent last night with all the windows open and several fans going. I won't say it was pleasant, but it was OK. Today was fine since the weather was cooler. We keep the lights off and the fans going and that makes a huge difference. Someone is coming tomorrow to install a new one. The stupid thing is we haven't even lived here a year and the thing was new just before we moved in. It's not even a year old and it died.

In other news, Peanut is becoming more testy. He tries at every moment to get away with things he knows are wrong. He is hitting more, yelling more and all around being testy. We're trying to be patient since we just brought home a little brother and all, but come on already. Plus we realize he is two and that's what they do. Still. It would be nice to not have a half dozen time outs during a day.

The baby is doing well. He's growing like a weed. We go for our first check on Monday so we'll see where we are on the charts. I think it will be just like Peanut and he will plot his own line in space. What is in my milk anyway? I should bottle it and send it to starving countries. Forget oatmeal and rice, have some fattening milk.