Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Touchy-feely Tuesday

Feeling sort of blah today.  Probably does not help that I have my period.

Had a great morning at a mother's group outing.  We went to a local duck pond and threw bread at the ducks and wandered around the pond.  I constantly had to keep Little Guy from actually going in the water and swimming with the ducks.  Other than that, a good time was had by all.  We then went to the BK next door and let the kids play in the kiddie area.  Freaked me out at first because the play area was huge, and I could not always keep track of Little Guy.  He was fine, though.  No problems, and once I realized that he could not really hurt himself, and he did not freak out, he did great.  He even came out when he was done playing.  I probably should have left, then, but I stayed a while to try to talk with the other moms.  It was nice to have a place to sit and talk with other mothers and worry too much about your children.  Overall, a nice outing for baby and mom.

I have been doing well recording food and drinking water.  I have tried not to fudge too much.  I do record almost everything I eat.  I usually will be lazy with the fresh fruits and veggies, as they are zero points.  I am really trying to do better.  I actually managed to get on a scale, and it said that I had gained a couple of pounds.  I am putting that down to water weight with my period.  At least I hope that is what it is.

Swim lessons are going fine this time.  I am trying them in the evenings, and it seems to work all right.  he is usually tired and hungry after class, so it is really easy to feed him and put him to bed.  If he wakes up in time, I try to work out before class.  Most days it comes together.  If he sleeps to late, I get a little grumpy, but there is not much I can do.  He needs his rest.

Thank you all for your comments on my last post.  It does make me feel better about how I acted.  My friend is taking me up on another visit.  It may not happen for a while, because July can be crazy for them.  Whatever.  I also mentioned the issue to Hubby, and he does not see anything wrong with what happened, either.  I think it may be that the expectations of the visit were not met.  That is why I offered another visit.  Hopefully I will have more time and energy for it.  But it leaves a bad taste in my mouth that my friend mentioned that she was "offended."  To me, that is strong wording, and puts me on the defensive because it makes me feel like I did something horribly wrong.  I thought it was a nice visit.  They day was beautiful, everyone got to see the boy, and everyone could see him happy and playing.  The adults got a chance to catch up.  The only thing missing was the dogs, and I think the mother wanted to meet the dogs.  Next time I will try to start inside, so that everyone can interact with everyone.  At the moment I am just letting it ride, and I am letting my friend take the lead in where it goes next.

I think that is all from here!

Monday, June 27, 2011

Feeling Bad

A friend sent me an email yesterday asking if I offended her in some way.

Her and her mother came over for a visit, and in true toddler style Little Guy made a bee line for the door. He was ready to be outside. He loves being outside, and it was a gorgeous day.

He was having so much fun outside, I did not think about bringing him inside,so we hung out in the front yard while he played.

I should have invited them in, so that the mother had more of a chance to interact with the baby. My friend felt offended by not being invited inside. Now I feel bad for offending my friend and her mom.

Sigh. I apologized and invited them over again, but I feel like I should do something else to make it up to them.

I feel bad about offending my good friend, and I am not sure how to make it better.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Lazy Day

I am thinking I done doing major stuff for the day. 

I have already put together enchiladas for dinner, vetted a sitter with the baby and the dogs, and fixed lunch for my parents.  I have to take Little Guy to swim class later, but that should be fun.  I am going to take this afternoon and sit on the couch with my no.ok and read dumb psychic romance novels.  Maybe I will eat a couple of peaches and drink some water.

Oh, and I finally got my etsy shop up, though I do not have a lot of things listed.  I also have a shop over at shophandmade.


You can find the etsy shop here.
(When I went to link to my shop, I could not believe it, but people have actually looked at my stuff.  One person even favorited one of my items!  Cool!  It remains to be seen if anyone actually purchases anything, but at least people are looking!)

You can find the shophandmade shop here.
(That shop is new today.  I am sort of trying it to compare to etsy, as it does not cost anything.)

Right now I just have swaddling blankets, but I hope to add lined zippered pouches soon.  Maybe OR scrub hats, too. 

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Touchy-feely Tuesday

Doing a little better lately.

I should not have worried about my certification running out.  There were seven of us who were sent home from work because we did not have the certification.  At least I can take the hit, sort of.  My next paycheck will sort of suck because I do not have a lot of hours.  At least I only had to miss one day, and I only work part time.  There were full time people who had to miss more than one day.  I need to keep some perspective about this.

I think I am almost ready to list stuff on et.sy.  I may also try shophandmade, too.  I just need to break out my camera and start taking pictures.

I finally had a week where my behavior mod worked!  I recorded food and drank all my water last week.  Now I get to buy a song off i.tunes as my reward.  I did not weigh myself this week, though.  Just could not do it. Maybe I will weigh myself next week.

For some reason, I have been holding a lot of tension in my shoulders lately.  I can feel my shoulders by my ears most of the time.  Not sure why.  Hopefully it will go away as I work out regularly again and give my tension somewhere to go.  I do feel better after working out yesterday.

We had our first experience with unexpected poo this weekend.  On Sunday, after nap time baby was not happy.  When I saw the baby, I was not happy, either.  I walked in to find baby naked and covered in poo.  There was poo everywhere!  Little Guy had undressed himself, and then pooped and got it everywhere.  All over him.  All over the crib, and everything in the crib.  It was insane.  Little Guy got a quick bath, everything in the crib got washed, and the crib got wiped down with bleach wipes.  (I luv clor.ox!)  Sigh.  I suspect it will happen again when we are least expecting it.


I think that is all the news from this corner of the world.
I hope everyone has a great day!

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Hooray for Dads!

I love my Hubby.  I think he is fantastic.  And the best part is that he is a fantastic father.

I know that he had doubts about what type of father he would be.  He still has issues surrounding his own father.  While he grew up mostly without a father, he did have some fantastic father figures.  I think that helped make him into the father he is today.

We are still new at this parenting thing, I admit.  But I think that Hubby is doing fantastic.  I could not do it without his support.

He enjoys playing with Little Guy, and he really likes seeing new skills emerge.  Little Guy really likes him, and misses Hubby when they are not together.

Right now Little Guy prefers Hubby over me, and both of us are enjoying it.  I enjoy the break, and Hubby enjoys being the center of Little Guy's attention.  It is so much fun to see them together.  They really enjoy each other.

Happy Father's Day to Hubby, and all other dads out there!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

A lot can happen in 2 years.

My BLS certification has run out and expired.  This means that I cannot work.  BLS is a basic CPR certification, and all nurses have to have that certification to work.

At first it pissed me off that I let it expire.  I used to be pretty good about keeping up with it.  I have to renew it every two years, so it is something which can easily be forgotten about.  But it is important to my job, and I recently had to get copies of my BLS and ACLS cards when I started my current job.  I should have known when my BLS and ACLS were about to expire.

Then I realized that I should cut myself some slack.  I have had a lot happen in the past two years.

When I renewed my ACLS and BLS cetifications, I was early in my pregnancy.  Since I got the certification I have:
  • Had a baby
  • gone back to work
  • started a new job teaching (and then stopped teaching)
  • started another new job at the ambulatory surgery center
Those are all big changes.  It is probably a minor miracle that nothing else more serious fell by the wayside.  I did remember to renew my nursing license, after all.

The unfortunate part is that the class is 5:30 on Monday, which is when the baby eats dinner and goes to sleep.  I guess that is is a small price to pay, but I am sad about missing his bedtime, even for one night.  I really like to be here for his bedtime routine. 

The silver lining is that I cannot work until I renew my BLS.  So I get to have Monday off of work. 

(Of course, my paychecks are going to look pretty sad the next time around.  But I can enjoy the time off with the baby.)

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Touchy-feely Tuesday

I stuff I want to say today, but I cannot seem to figure out how to start. 
So I guess I will just bullet everything.
  • Just got my car inspected, oil changed, and brakes repaired.  I needed to get all of it done.  Especially the brakes.
  • FIL is thinking of buying me a new car when the new models come out in the fall.  I am thinking Hon.da Odyssey.  Those are really nice, and I totally want a minivan.  For real, there is no sarcasm there!
  • Hubby has actually been able to talk about what sex we would "want" if we had another child.  I think that is progress on expanding the family.  He is still freaked out about having another one, but I am calling this progress.
  • Discovered that neither of us really care about a baby's sex, as long as it is healthy.
  • Baby is much better with napping now that everyone is home, and our routine seems to be settling out.  We get one nap in the morning, and a nap in the afternoon.  He really needs both still, because he is very high energy when he is awake.  He has two speeds.  Stop and go.  I am not complaining about the morning nap, as it gives me a chance to get myself together.
  • I really need to comment more, and comment more regularly.  IComLeavWe is great, and I may sign up for it next time around to get me motivated.  Though I have sort of found it to be more like a job, and not as fun as I expect. That can feel like a lot of comments to leave, especially if you only have a short amount of time to blog and read blogs. I always feel rushed with IComLeavWe.  I prefer to leave thoughtful comments come out of my response to the blog and the blog post.  Maybe I am just too slow for it.
  • I may try to start leaving one comment somewhere every day.  And try to explore a new blog every week.  That feels more doable for me.
  • I may blog about a site I love.  It is a really great way to share pictures and stories with family and friends.
  • I love the fact that my child still wants to be in the baby carrier.  I recently learned a new way to tie the mei tai, and I still use my ergo.  Carriers can be way easier than strollers!  It is a wonderful way to take everyone on a dog walk.  Though we must look sort of odd, with two great danes, and me carrying the baby on my back.
  • I am so excited to be able to use the mei tai in the summer.  It is so much cooler than the heavyweight ergo.
  • Maybe I should do a post on baby wearing?  What do you all think?
  • I think that we are planning a trip to see MIL after Christmas.  We are debating renting a house in Yorktown or Williamsburg.  I said that I am not doing a hotel room with the baby, so renting a house seems like the best option.  We may travel at night while he is sleeping, so that we can make the trip without too much drama.  Hopefully it will all work out, and then MIL will be able to see him.  Though I am still not happy about how she has treated us.
  • While we are out there, I am hoping to see my RE about starting FET using the embryos we have leftover from IVF.
  • Really looking forward to our stay-cation this year.  We are taking the week off at the same time, and baby is going to day care his regular days.  I think it will be more relaxing than trying to travel anywhere.  Traveling with the baby totally stresses me out.  And having two baby free days will be bliss.
  • Starting to get stuff together for an Et.sy shop.  It is slow, but it is coming together.  I want to make sure I have something to sell before trying to set up the shop.  That way I can have pictures of what I am selling.
  • I will probably start by selling swaddle blankets and zippered pouches.  I may give you guys a preview of what will be there.
  • I will definitely let you know when the shop opens.
  • Finally starting to do WW again.  I started recording yesterday.  I am also using the behavior modification for motivation.  I actually got a sticker yesterday because I drank all my water, and I recorded all my food!  Go me!
  • Realized that I am very active.  I work on my feet, walk the dogs, work out on my days off, swim with the baby.  I do not even count the housework I do!
  • Also realized that I really need to eat better.  My diet is not so great.  I need more water, and less food.  It is tough being a foodie on a diet.
 That is all I can think of right now!
I hope everyone has a great week!

Sunday, June 12, 2011

A boy and his dad.

I really appreciate all that Hubby does for me.  And Little Guy adores Hubby.  Right now, Little Guy prefers Hubby over mommy.  No one in this house is complaining!

Yesterday we went to the local transportation museum, and they had free train rides.  We rode in the caboose, and I think Little Guy and Hubby really enjoyed it.  I managed to catch a pic of them in the back of the caboose.  They both look like they are having a great time.



Just had to share the pic with you all!
I hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Oh Happy Day!

Hubby comes home today!  And it is Friday!  And we have a sitter for our date night on Saturday!

Things are looking up.

I really missed Hubby while he was gone.  I think Little Guy missed Hubby, too.

The only wrinkle in the happiness is that Hubby was up all night last night, and traveling all day today.  Which means that he is going to be exhausted when he gets home.  Hopefully, we will be able to put the baby to bed and get Hubby to bed soon after Hubby gets home, so that Saturday can be a good day with everyone.

But overall, I have a fairly good feeling about today, despite the hot weather.

I get my husband back!

Happy day!

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Touchy-feely Tuesday

Finally doing one on time this week!

Hubby is out of town this week, and I have a friend staying with me to help with the baby.  It is so nice to have an extra set of hands!  Really helps save my sanity.  (Hubby should be back on Friday by dinner, so he is really only gone for a few days.)

Little Guy really still needs the morning nap.  He can skip it occasionally, but he does so much better on the 2-3-4 schedule.  He is not feeling that great right now, as he has a cold and is doing a little teething.  So his sleep is still out of whack.  And probably will be for a while.

My college reunion was fantastic.  Though I was the only science person there.  It was great seeing other people from my class.  I probably ought to think about actually giving money to the college, and not just showing up for reunion.  It is sort of cool living right around the corner from my alma mater.  I keep thinking I should try to get over there more often.

At this point, I am trying to recover from staying out too late at reunion.  Getting my house back in order, attempting to catch up on sleep, and get over this small cold I picked up from somewhere.  I have a couple of mother's group activities I want to do this month, which should be fun.  I will probably also try to meet my local classmate this month. 

Right now, I think I am doing all right and holding it together. 

Friday, June 3, 2011

Friday!

I am exhausted after working two days in a row.  That is not something I want to do on a regular basis.  It does not help that I have a sore throat and feel the start of a cold.  I really hope I am not coming down with something.  I started taking vitamin C and I am drinking echinacea tea.  Hoping that will keep away the worst of it.

The other reason I am hoping that I am not coming down with a cold is that my college reunion is this weekend.  I am really only going today and tomorrow, and I do not have to travel anywhere because I live right around the corner.  But I want to be able to enjoy seeing my classmates.  Keeping fingers crossed that this cold will not get too bad.

I am trying to get the baby down for a nap before I start my day.  So far, he is doing a lot of playing and not a lot of sleeping.  I will give it another 15 minutes, but I think we are not going to get a nap in this morning.  At least I tried.  I suspect that he will nap very well this afternoon because there is no nap this morning.  Sigh.  Really beginning to hate the nap battles.  He is not crying yet, but he could use a nap and he will not take one.  The jumping up and down in the crib does not bode well for a nap.

If he does not nap, I think I can make it to the gym this morning.  At least that is something.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Touchy-Feely Tuesday, on a Wednesday

Because I have been distracted by psychic detective romance novels.  Sad, but true.  I just want to read and not think about stuff.

That does not mean that nothing is happening, it just means that I need an escape, at least temporarily.

I had a nice Memorial Day weekend.  I did not do much, and we tried to stay out of the heat as much as possible.  This becomes difficult with a toddler who wants to be outside all the damn time.  Then he gets cranky because he is too hot.  I have not figured out a solution to this. 

My college reunion is next weekend.  I am pretty excited to see some of my college classmates.  I think  it will be a great time.  Hubby and my mother are doing childcare for me for the weekend.  I figure it will all work out in the end, as he is going out of town for most of the week next week.

Thinking about starting an et.sy shop, now that I have more time.  I think I may do baby swaddling blankets and zippered pouches/pod bags.  Both of these things I had a hard time finding, and both of these things I really needed. 

I have been doing really crappy with drinking water and recording food.  Behavior modification has not worked, because I have not used it.  I really need to get off my but and do something.  I have the stickers, I really ought to use them.

I may join the mother's group I have been looking at.  I want to go to a business meeting before I truly commit.  I have only been to one event, but it feels right.  We will see if I feel the same way after the business meeting.

Hubby and I have been scheduling our arguments.  What that means is that we have a time once a week where we are allowed to voice our grievances.  When we start to argue, we are allowed to just walk away. 

During our scheduled "argument," we use a "talking stick" to determine who has the floor.  The person with the talking stick is allowed to finish talking, and is not interrupted.  Then the talking stick is passed, and the other person can respond, without interruptions. 

Another piece of advice was not to schedule the "arguments" after 8 PM.  No one has the energy to really talk and actively listen after 8 PM.

So far it has worked.  We are able to talk about our grievances without the emotion of the moment.   We are able to put off the argument because we know we have time to hash it out later.  Which actually is rather nice.

Anyway, that is what is going on in my little corner of the world.  I hope everyone is having a great week!