Not. Again.
Yesterday morning Logan was out in the back yard while I was getting everything ready for us to go to the gym to train photographer friend (I've pretty much stopped lifting now & just walk for 45 minutes - more on that later this week). I could see him through the living room window as I packed up the backpack. Suddenly, I got "The Mommy Feeling", where I knew something wasn't right & he was getting into trouble.

I walked out in the back & ask him what he's doing. He points to his nose.

"NOT AGAIN!", I freak out. "WHAT DID YOU PUT IN YOUR NOSE THIS TIME!!!!??? YOU KNOW YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO PUT ANYTHING IN YOUR NOSE!!!!!". I tilt his head back & take a look.

"OH MY GOD! YOU HAVE A ROCK IN YOUR NOSE!"

I had no idea how I was going to get it out. There was no scraping this thing out with a bamboo skewer, no sucking it out with the nasal aspirator, no doing the "nose maneuver" because I was afraid that it would tear the inside of his nose. I thought I was going to have to call photographer friend to cancel our workout so I could take Logan in for an emergency visit to get a freakin' rock extracted from his nose.

I took Logan upstairs into his bathroom, yelling at him the whole time about putting things in his nose. I got the nasal aspirator just to clear out the snot so I could get a better view. While yelling at him, he was crying & began to cry hard enough that he started coughing & gagging. The force of one of his coughs made the rock explode out of his nose & it landed in my lap.

I don't feel the least bit sorry for making him cry so hard.

An email not meant for me
In the last week, I've mentioned that there's some interesting stuff going on with the in-laws. No extreme drama, but interesting nonetheless. It certainly doesn't help the current situation & is concrete proof of how they really are.

At the end of May I received an email from Grandma L that wasn't meant for me. It was meant for Aunt Ju-Ju & it seems that when she was adding her email address, she accidentally added mine. Our email addresses must be right next to each other on her contact list. This kind of mistake happens occasionally (it's happened to Bill at work & it's happened to me when I sent out the email to friends & family after we found out that Carter was a boy). Apparently Cousin B is having some problems with hitting & either Aunt Ju-Ju doesn't know what to do about it or Grandma L is just sending unsolicited advice on how to correct the situation.

Now, when it comes to my parenting techniques, if I'm unsure of what to do, I figure it out for myself. It's just how I am. I've checked out many books on toddler behavior, tried different tactics, talked to other moms in The Club at playgroup, Googled for help, read blogs of families in the same predicament or checked out Baby Center (among other message boards). I don't ask Grandma L & this seems to offend her & Aunt Ju-Ju to the core. On the flip side, I don't offer "assvice" unless specifically asked for it, either. Especially to family.

So, Grandma L found some kind of information on Baby Center (either from a message board or a blurb with a parent's first hand experience on what they did with their hitting toddler) & sent it to Aunt Ju-Ju ending with a very snide, mean-spirited comment making fun of me & how I choose to figure things out for myself. It was completely unnecessary.

When I first read this, I felt hot with anger. My stomach tightened, my heart began to pound, my breathing became shallow & Carter was doing flips from the stress induced adrenaline spike. You have got to be kidding me!, I thought. Now, it's no surprise that they talk about me behind my back & poorly at that. I've overhead conversations before. I'm not shocked. But they've always denied it, especially Grandma L, claiming that's it's "not in her nature to say these things". When confronted about it, she claims that I make up these stories & that I need "help", insinuating that I'm crazy. Well, now I had physical proof of her "nature".

However, I didn't do anything with it.

I knew that this was small potatoes compared to what we've dealt with in the past & that confronting this issue would do nothing. I didn't bring it to Bill's attention because I figured he would just say, "So what?" & tell me to ignore it. I did save it though. The only action this provoked from me was further separation from them. And this is how it was brought to light.

After I made Logan's montage of him disc golfing on Father's Day, I found out that Grandma L had seen it. The agreement that Bill & I have is that he is the one responsible for sending his family pictures & videos. I have no problem with that, but I don't want to share the special things that I make (montages, specifically) because I spend time & love on these. I don't share things like this with people who treat me with such disrespect. Plain & simple. He had sent it to her & "forgot" that we had talked about this.

We had a conversation about it (a very productive one) where I explained how I felt. He didn't think that his mom disrespected me that much. I printed out the email for him to read. At first, he reacted just as I thought he would, telling me to just ignore it. Then after talking a bit longer, he got it & understood how these actions effect me & our family. We still decided not to do anything about it since so much time had passed, but Bill assured me that he has my back & that if anything like this happens again (which it undoubtedly will) he will stand up for me & tell his family to knock it off.

With all of that, they will be here for a visit over the holiday weekend...

A nice compliment
The other day I mentioned Logan's massive temper tantrum while we were at the farm. He was throwing sand after being told not to. I put him on time out & he wouldn't sit & listen, screaming & crying hysterically. Finally, after telling him if he didn't straighten up we would be leaving early - we did. We were there with a few other moms from the club, including one mom's in-laws. Logan got to show his "special" side to everyone, but we still went through the discipline drill as if we were at home.

We went to playgroup at the park yesterday morning. The mom who brought her in-laws to the farm was there & we were talking as the kids played. "My mother-in-law was really impressed with you yesterday", she told me. "Impressed with what? That I didn't beat the living snot out of Logan right there on the spot?", I said half jokingly. "No", she laughed. "Impressed that you followed through with everything you said. From time-out to leaving early. Most moms don't stick to their guns like that".

I thought that was a nice compliment. In the midst of public tantrums like this, mothers, especially me, feel like the eyes of the world are on them with glares wreaking of judgment. It's not a fun position to be in & all you want is for your kid to just stop & behave like a civilized person. To know that in reality, there are people watching & impressed with the discipline techniques - from a mother-in-law no less, really makes me feel a little bit less frazzled.

Too bad my own mother-in-law would rather make fun of my parenting skills rather than complimenting them*.

*More detail on what happened here later*

The funniest thing I've heard in a while
This morning I was in the bathroom getting ready & dressed for the day while Logan was jumping on our bed & running around. I was putting on my shorts then Logan hands me my bra exclaiming, "Mommy's backpack!"

I just about died laughing.

Brain dead
There's a bunch of stuff I could write about today, like how I'm just about to hit the third trimester milestone & I'm already feeling "done" with pregnancy, or how I'm getting a little weirded out by body image right now. Then there's some small stuff with the in-laws that is pretty interesting, or how the marriage slump is making great strides (pretty quickly, I might add). I've been meaning to get video of Logan having a conversation, making sure he uses the words 'butterfly' & 'motorcycle' because they sound so funny. I want to get video of Carter doing somersaults since it's clear as day when he moves (as we were watching him turn last night while watching American Gladiators).

But, I'm tired. I've been up since 5:00 to train a client at 6:00, Logan had school at 9:00, then we went to the farm at 10:00. He threw a massive fit for hours (we left the farm early because he was throwing sand, not listening & not sitting on time-out) & continued his tirade in his room, overturning his rocking chair, tossing clothes out from his dressers & basically leaving me halfway dead. I bought him "surprises" like I do every time he goes to school (today was stickers & a Lightning McQueen sandwich box from Target's Dollar Spot) - but he did not get them because he was behaving so badly. He also didn't get snacks or lunch & was sent to his room.

Bill has his disc golf league tonight which means I'm handling Mr. Grump all on my own until he goes to bed. I'll have to muster up the energy to form coherent thoughts tomorrow. It's just not happening today!

This sucks
Potty training is going nowhere. Just when I think we're making some kind of headway, we take two steps back & we're right back to where we were before. First it started with Logan asking to use the potty a million times a day. He didn't poop or pee, but sat there. That got old, but we kept taking him. Then he peed on the potty twice in one day. We thought "This is it! He's doing it!". He hasn't peed on the potty since then.

We've been putting him in underwear on the weekends, starting slowly from there. Last weekend we would ask if he had to use the potty & every time he would say no. He was starting to put up a fight about sitting on it every now & then, "No potty! No potty!". So we didn't force it. No potty, no underwear & that's that. There were times he peed & pooped in his pants & where he once before was bothered by it, continued to run around in the back yard playing.

This weekend I thought we were getting back on track. We bought him gummy dinosaurs for going pee & suckers for pooping on the potty. He stayed dry all day yesterday, but didn't go on the potty (going in his diaper at nap time & bed time). I thought that was a little bit of progress. Then this morning, same thing - for a while.

I kept asking him if he needed to go potty, he would say no & I would drop it. About every 45 minutes or so I would taking him to the bathroom to sit only to have him freak out "NO POTTY!" & climb right back off the seat. I didn't push it much farther. Then not too much longer after that, he came waddling in with heavy pants. He pooped & peed.

AGH.

So I got him cleaned up & put on a diaper. I told him that Cars underwear was for big boys & when he was willing to cooperate & tell us when he had to go, then he could wear his underwear again.

Back at square one. Actually, we're in the negative because he's starting the power struggle. Potty training isn't going to work if he fights it like this & I'm not in any mood to argue with him about going potty. So, I think we'll hold off for a couple more months & see what happens.

Try, try again
I'm back to looking for another house cleaner. I don't understand why I can't find a reliable person. I mean, really! How hard is it to be courteous of other people's time? A simple phone call is all it takes.

I was training our house cleaner on Wednesday mornings at 6:00. After her session she stayed to clean from 7-10:00. I thought it was a great schedule & everything would work out well. Her references checked out great, with them telling me that she would probably need a detailed check-list to work with & the only problem was that she does not have reliable transportation. OK, got it. I can be flexible with that.

She came the first week & the house looked good after she left. She did a great job & I was so happy to have some help. The second week she cancels because she needed to have some dental work done in the morning. OK, fine - dental appointments are hard to come by, especially when they are for emergencies. Well, the third week I wake up at 5:00 to get ready for our 6:00 session. 20 minutes later, I'm still waiting in the kitchen drinking my coffee. It's now too late to actually train her in a decent session, so I write a note to stick on the front door. Hi "House Cleaner", I waited for a little over 20 minutes & decided that I was going to get ready for the day since I haven't heard from you. Please don't ring the doorbell since everyone else is still asleep. Thanks! Kristin

I jump in the shower & get ready. Logan woke up at 7:00 & I change his diaper & begin to get him dressed. Then I hear a car engine in our driveway & as I'm walking downstairs, I see the house cleaner drive away. So, she shows up an hour late, no phone call & doesn't even bother to knock on the door. I don't hear from her, so I call her later that afternoon. "Hi House Cleaner. I'm just calling about our missed session & cleaning appointment this morning. I can train you on Friday morning if that works out for you. Call me back & let me know if this trade is still going to work out for us. Thanks."

She never called me back.

So now I'm back to square one, putting out an ad again & conducting interviews for next week. The good thing is that I have three interviews scheduled. So, it could be a whole lot worse. I just wish she would have called me to let me know she was running late (Hey! I understand! I have a toddler & I'm rarely on time anywhere!) or even given me the courtesy of call back (or even an email) to let me know this wouldn't work out for her. No calls, no shows are just plain rude!

28 months old, another haircut & I don't even have the words...
This afternoon I took Logan to get his haircut because it was just getting too shaggy & out of control. I promised him a sucker if he was really good & stayed awake in the car. He made sure to be on his best behavior.

While waiting for 15-20 minutes (because we were walk-ins), he played with the train set & watched a Sesame Street video that was on. He was so cute waiting patiently for his turn to get his haircut & most importantly, the sucker. When the stylist was ready for us, Logan sat nicely in the little yellow car, watched the Sponge Bob movie he had picked out & was incredibly cooperative. I was more than impressed with him. The stylist was too.

She did a great job on his hair & he looks like a million bucks! He was happy when he got to pick out his sucker at the end & was still very good all the way home & during lunch time. I emailed Bill to tell him about our time at the kids' salon & he asked me to send him a picture. This is what happened when I asked Logan if he wanted to take some pictures to send to Daddy:

This is such a great picture & I WISH part of my head wasn't cut off

Saying "cheese" with a big cheesy grin

Hanging out & looking like a big kid

He decided he wanted to lay on his belly, I didn't tell him to pose like this. The only thing I told him to do was stay still

Acting silly

One of the cutest pictures ever! I never get shots like this!

It was just a great day overall & it was all because Logan was such a cute, well-behaved kid today. He played nicely at a board meeting we had to go to & listened to me when I told him he had to sit next to me to eat his snacks rather than spread them all over the house where the little kids could get to them (& choke). He willingly held my hand in parking lots, actually telling ME that there were cars & we needed to hold hands. He stood in line at the store where I had to return a dress & he was very good about staying in line or sitting on a bench - not running amok around the customer service area. He was perfect when getting his hair cut & he was nice about going down to take his nap. Days like this rarely happen! And it's days like this that make me so proud of Logan & the great kid he's growing up to be.

Getting bigger & more uncomfortable
While I don't look huge, the belly is really starting to get in the way now. I can't wait for Carter to drop because he is so high up in my rib cage (just like Logan was) that it's causing me some pretty intense pain. My rib attachments on the right side feel like they're bruised & the cartilage is breaking down or has a grinding sensation. Not a pleasant feeling.

In addition to rib pain, my mid back just aches at the end of the day (from under my shoulder blades to the middle of the small of my back) & it's all from spreading & carrying high. My diaphragm is squished which is making my exercise-induced asthma kick in more often (like when I'm not exercising). I guess the downfall of Carter dropping is that he'll be resting on my bladder. I'm not sure which is worse, losing bladder control or the rib pain. At least there is a solution for the bladder thing, still haven't figured out what to do about the ribs other than tough it out.

It's more difficult to put on my shoes, give Logan a bath, change his diaper & pretty much everything else other than sit on the couch (which actually makes the rib pain worse). I'm having to rely on Bill a lot more when he comes home from work to take over the nightly routine with Logan.

Carter is getting stronger by the day & I can actually see him moving around now. I'm totally going to try & get video of it. His kicks are becoming strong enough to make me jump (like last night while I was trying to sleep). I can start to figure out his activity patterns (mid morning around 8-ish, 1:00 or so & 7 or 8pm & 10:00pm). He kicks & rolls all over the place.

Logan is still adamant that Carter is a sister, no matter how much I try to get him to accept a brother. I don't know what this is all about, but whatever. He is always wanting to feel the baby belly, often keeping his hand on my stomach while he watches Sponge Bob before bath time.

Nesting is getting more intense as the weeks go on. I found an amazing deal on a crib & mattress for $75, now we just have to keep looking for sitting room furniture so we can get the computer out of Carter's room & get it set up. It's ridiculous how this getting-the-room-ready feels like an emergency situation.

26th week pictures...Logan was napping (I wish he were in these with me).

You can't really see the belly here too much


There's the roundness!

Not the treatment plan I had in mind
Logan has had a terrible cough for the last week. It's been thick & rattles when he breaths in deep. It sounds horrible when he wakes up & he has a hard time catching his breath when he coughs after a tantrum. I'm afraid he's developing asthma.

My poor baby. He has egg, garlic, yellow food coloring (not tested, but obvious to me) allergies, environmental allergies, vaccination reactions & eczema. He has a family history of food allergies, eczema & asthma (on both sides, including both Bill & myself). It was just a matter of time before he developed more hypersensitivities & weakened immune system responses.

I've been pretty stingy with the medication for him, usually only giving him Benadryl for his hives when they get bad (that still pop up fairly regularly). The Doctors have been telling me to give him Claritin for a while & I held off on it until I really felt like Logan needed daily medication - which is now. He's been taking Claritin for a week & a half & it hasn't helped at all. We're now going to switch to Zyrtec & see how that goes.

I took Logan to the pediatrician this morning to have him checked out & see where we go from here if he is developing asthma. The Doctor prescribed Flonaz in addition to Zyrtec (& Benadryl for hives) & said that if things aren't better in two weeks, we would re-evaluate & start talking about Albuterol (a heavy steroid).

This goes against the grain of my health care beliefs. I cannot accept that my two year old is going to be on three if not four daily medications to suppress his immune response. We are not a pill popping family & this treatment plan feels so very wrong to me. He's being over medicated & drugs aren't always the answer. While this is the treatment plan for now, I'm looking into other options & opinions. I'm getting back to my chiropractic roots to see if I can fit it in our budget (because let's face it, we're not going to be able to get blood from a stone). I'm meeting with a Doctor next Monday. I know this is going to be a better plan than drugging up my child.

The many hats of Mom
Moms do many things, wearing many hats. House cleaner, baker & cook, librarian, teacher, chauffeur, the list goes on. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that one of the many parts of my role as "Mom" would I ever be an expert in object extraction or a pseudo-nasal surgeon.

Saturday night Logan was eating his dinner & I was sitting at the table with him. Since his many "nose incidents" he is no longer left to eat without a watchful eye on him at all times. Before, he would sit at the table & eat while I would be in the same room, unloading the dishwasher, talking on the phone, reading a magazine, whatever. But now? Somebody sits with him & watches every single bite that goes into his mouth. This night we decided that after Logan was finished with his dinner & going to bed that we would indulge in some of the best burritos in town (Logan never eats them, so we don't bother getting him one anymore).

I sat with Logan the whole time & when he finished, he was still hungry & asking for more. I made him a second helping of vegetables & told Bill that since Logan was pretty much finished with dinner, I was going to go ahead & pick up dinner. Bill sat with him at the table (I assume) & I left.

On my way home, Bill calls to tell me that Logan had stuck a pea up his nose once again & didn't know how to get it out. Feeling irritated, but confident that I could get it out, I told him that I would do the "nose maneuver" when I got back in two minutes as I was just down the street. I come in to see Logan naked after his bath standing on the stairs telling me that he has "pea in nose". I scold him in an exasperated tone, knowing that this was going to happen again, but irritated that he hasn't learned his lesson & the lecture from the Doctor when she pulled a band-aid from his nose was pointless.

I get him in his room & start puffing in his mouth to get the pea to pop out. Logan is freaking out & screaming. I have no sympathy at all. "Well, maybe you should stop putting things up your nose & we wouldn't have to do this!", I tell him. I even tried digging it out with a bamboo skewer (much like I did with the toothpick & the eraser head), to no avail. After a few more attempts it becomes clear that this pea is stuck & we'll have to go to the Doctor in the morning (SUNDAY MORNING - FATHER'S DAY) for an emergency visit to get it out. I am more than upset with Logan, I am furious. His insurance just rolled over to one plan (he was insured on two) so now we have a 20% co-pay rather than free visits. An emergency trip to get a stupid pea removed from his nose AGAIN would cost us a chunk of change. After yelling at him about it all & getting him to bed, I come downstairs in tears because now we're going to have to pay more for his visits like this & he should have caught on about how bad this "habit" is already.

The next morning I get up with Logan so Bill can sleep in for Father's Day. I get his diaper changed & figure I would try to get the pea out again. I would much rather try again when fully rested & less hormonal than have to take him to the Doctor that morning. So, I get the nasal aspirator & the bamboo skewer again*. After ten minutes of sucking it out as far as it would go & then trying to pierce it or hook the skin of the pea with the skewer, I finally got it out in two parts. Relieved, I still scold Logan & tell him that if he ever, EVER puts anything up there again, he will not watch cartoons, play with toys or go to playgroup for a whole week. He will lose everything he has (like a two year old understands this concept, but whatever).

I am so fed up with this stage & I know no other kids like Logan who are equally as obsessed about sticking things up their nose. It's to the point of ridiculous now. I am, however, now a skilled expert in removing various objects from my toddlers' nose. I wonder if I could ever put this on my resume.

*Disclaimer for parents who are digging things out from their kids' noses: I don't recommend using sharp tools like tooth picks or bamboo skewers to get whatever it is out. It's better to let the Doctor's do it for you because you could either make the situation worse by shoving the object farther up the nose (resulting in a surgical removal) or you could injure or damage your kids' sensitive nasal cavity. Unless you have had a year of practice like I have, take them to a real professional.

Father's Day 2008

Today was a really fun Father's Day. We didn't think it would be that great since Bill threw out his back yesterday & pretty much figured the day would be with him laid up on the couch with ice packs (do your core exercises, man!). Miraculously he woke up feeling pretty good & wanted to get out & spend some time together.

After sleeping in & giving him his presents (a framed story board, picture of he & Logan at the family photo shoot last fall & a framed finger painting that Logan did in his preschool prep class), we ate breakfast & decided to start a Father's Day tradition of going out to play disc golf. Bill has been playing off & on for years (16, I think?) & has recently been on another kick, joining a league & playing in tournaments. He even has a portable pin that he sets up in the back yard to practice & teaches Logan how to throw. This is something that he really enjoys doing & it's something that he & Logan can do together (even more so as the kids get older).

There's a really cool course in one of the next towns over that Bill wanted to go to. It's short (9 holes?) & in the woods. It was a perfect "hike" for a 2 year old son & a 6 month pregnant wife to tag along with. It was gorgeous! The day was great for being out in nature (& for disc golf conditions), with large cottonwood trees & a stream flowing next to the course. Logan had a fun time throwing discs, often swearing right after Bill would when he missed a shot, making us reconsider the tradition & grunting while taking the same wide-legged stances that Bill does for some holes. It was hilarious & we couldn't help ourselves from laughing the whole time (when we weren't getting on Logan to listen & keep up with us).


Logan, like any typical 2 year old boy, would find sticks & rocks to play with, throw dirt & wander off, going on his own adventures in the woods. The kid was filthy at the end of the course. I was lucky to finally get some good video of him throwing a disc at the end, where you can clearly see his quickly developing skills. Bill is certainly training a PDGA prodigy here & he couldn't be more proud.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Happy Father's day Billy! Thanks for waking up with Logan, making his breakfasts & watching morning cartoons with him while I sleep in (& memorizing Dora songs that Logan dances to). Thanks for teaching him fun things like how to play disc golf & being a hell of a lot more patient with him than I am. You make bath time fun because you don't care about messy splashes & you read to him at night when I'm too tired to do anything more for the day.

You are an awesome Dad & it's clear how much Logan loves & idolizes you. When we drop you off at work in the morning, all Logan can talk about is picking you up after nap-time. He wants to spend every waking minute with you & it's the cutest thing ever. I can't wait until Carter is here to follow in your foot steps too & for you to have another little boy who loves you to the ends of the Earth.

Someone's in the kitchen
Erica tagged me for a cooking meme, which is great timing for a hot Saturday afternoon! Here's the deal:

1) Answer all the questions honestly.

2) Tag at least three people.

When was the most recent time you were burned?
Hmmm, not sure. But the most severe burn I got while cooking was when I was pregnant with Logan & trying to make steak on the stove top. The grease popped & burned my hand really bad & I still have the scar.

Can you cook?
Sometimes I like to believe I can.

If yes, name your specialties (three max.)
Maybe Chicken Noodle Soup, Beef Burgundy & mini-pizza's

If yes, do you like to cook?
I love it, even if I'm not the best at it.

If no, do you want to be able to cook?

What color is your kitchen?
Grey-Blue. Not a bad color, but we might change it.

Do you bake?
Yes & I'm a much better baker than I am a cook.

If yes, specialties (max 3)
Oh, wow. Only 3? The lemon bars I just made the other week were to die for, Cupcakes with butter cream frosting if I keep it simple & pumpkin pie from scratch, maybe?

If yes, do you like to bake?
Love, love, love it. But it's not so good if you're trying to stay in shape.

If no, do you want to bake?

What color is your apron?
I have a full-wrap red one & a half-waist turquoise & brown floral-type. I think they are equally used.

OK, I'm taking the easy way out here. I'm tagging anyone who is in need of blogging fodder or any of the new bloggers that I just added to the sidebar.

The second baby-boom
It's crazy how many people are pregnant right now. For the year of 2008, there is a birth every month in The Club. Not only is it a boom for my friends, but the family as well. We're expecting two more cousins to join us soon.

So, here we have Logan being the first kid born in the family, followed by Cousin B (from Aunt Ju-Ju, or Bill's sister for the new readers) 9 months later, then Cousin M (from Aunt R, one of my sisters) a few weeks after. Now we have Carter coming at the end of September AND NOW more babies after him! Aunt R is pregnant again (not sure if I ever mentioned this before) & due at the end of November. We just got word a few weeks ago that Aunt Ju-Ju is also pregnant again, expecting at the end of January (on Logan's birthday, believe it or not). This doesn't count births in extended families farther down the branches of the family tree. There MUST be something in the water. Seriously.

Not only is it crazy that there are so many kids being born into the family, it's crazy that they're all so close in age & their birthdays are back to back (Logan in January, Carter in September, Cousin B in October, Cousin M in November, Cousin ? & Cousin ? in November & January). Talk about birthday extravaganzas right around the holidays.

So, here we go with the next wave of kids in the family!

I'm getting antsy
Nesting is starting to kick in & it's kind of driving me nuts (& Bill too, I'm sure). We haven't cleared out Carter's room to get it ready for him yet because it's still being used as the computer room/library. It's killing me.

When we moved into our house, we decided that we would use the extra room as a computer room rather than a guest room. We've since changed our minds & now the front room is going to serve as the computer room/library, we just need to find an armoire for the computer rather than the desk we already have. I want it to look more like a sitting room than a computer room & everything is hinging on finding this one piece of furniture.

I've looked at every website online & every show room in town. The problem is, we're being cheap. I'm not spending $2,000 on something the kids are going to drive their matchbox cars all over & ruin in two years. We have a price range in mind & instead of buying from a manufacturer or paying an insane amount in shipping costs, it looks like we're going to have to wheel & deal with someone who's selling one. Now we just have to find someone who's selling an espresso or dark wood finished armoire - not pine, oak or anything else (which there are a lot of) so it will match our bookcase & the rest of the computer room furniture.

So, I look for one every day & never find a seller. As time goes on, I get more & more antsy about it. To me, it's starting to feel like an emergency that this room is not finished & we haven't started on Carter's room. It's a nesting crisis for me. Yet, we still have a solid 3 months before we really need to have the room ready for him.

Ugh. I hate feeling this way & just want the damn rooms to be furnished & decorated.

Progress
Over the weekend, Logan wanted to try potty training some more. For a while, it was still just him requesting without any action behind it. But, we humored him anyway as tiring & annoying as it was.

Then,while in his Cars underwear, he began to wet himself & I jumped up from the couch as fast as my 6 month pregnant self could & rushed him to the bathroom. He was able to hold it until he got on the potty & HE PEED ON THE POTTY! By himself! Twice! We laughed & clapped & were all excited for him. He flushed, washed his hands & got two pieces of candy. We were very proud of him.

I think this is it. He can control his bladder enough to stop mid-stream & prevent himself from wetting his pants any further.

Yesterday, he had a cookie & was all cracked out on sugar, so no potty training that day. There was no getting him focused as he ran around in the backyard screaming at the top of his lungs for hours (I'm sure the neighbors just love us). This afternoon at our MOMS Club meeting, he asked me to go poop on the potty. Not taking him seriously, I told him he wasn't wearing underwear & we would go later. A friend sitting next to me who is having a difficult time potty training her three year old turned to me & said, "DON'T TELL HIM NO, GO TAKE HIM NOW". Point taken, so off to the bathroom we went. No poop, but at least we tried.

He didn't nap much this afternoon & I was flat out exhausted from being up since 5:00am, run ragged this morning for our schedule, so no potty training today. I think we'll spend all day on Saturday & Sunday seriously working on it. Hopefully he'll be day-trained by the beginning of next week!

9 years together
Friday was our 9 th year anniversary. 9 years just blows my mind. It's hard to believe that it's been that long.

In all honesty, I'm having mixed feelings about our anniversary this year. I mean, let's keep it real here - marriage isn't always rainbows & fluffy bunnies. Much like life, there are highs & lows & right now, we're working on a low point. I've often mentioned that there are very few topics that are off limits to me & our relationship is one of them. However, just skipping a post about our anniversary & how I feel is something I just can't do. I feel like I have to write about it because, it's our life. It's what's really happening & if we do pull through this (which I'm sure we will), I want Logan & Carter to read about the realities of marriage & family & what their parents' lives were like. Most importantly, I want them to know how much work it is & what being a spouse is really all about. Not this fantasy version that we so often read about.

First, for the happy go lucky version of our beginnings, go check out our 7 th year anniversary post on the side bar, "The Wedding Story". I read that remembering the chemistry we had, the starry-eyed innocence about us, how young we were & clueless to what the world had in store for us. At one point in our life, we did have a fairy tale marriage with me often referring to Bill as my knight in shinning armor. But, there's evolution in all things. The only thing that's constant is change. We have changed a lot since then. Hell, we've changed a lot over the last three years, let alone nine. And this is where I struggle.

We are not the same people we were when we got married. In difficult stages in our marriage, I can no longer stop & ask myself why I wanted to marry Bill because after 10 years, many of those traits aren't there anymore. It's not a good thing or bad thing, it's just the way it is. People tend to change a lot between the ages of 19 and 30. I'm not the same person either & it's ridiculous to expect that we would be the same people throughout time & all eternity.

A complicating factor to this change is that we are totally different people. Polar opposites, if you will. At times in life, this is a positive. Bill often keeps me grounded or is the voice of reason. I get him to step outside the box a bit or add some fire to the family (sometimes not in a good way). Being opposite already & then moving towards an even bigger difference with natural change creating a huge chasm between us, we're at the "what the hell do we have in common other than our kids" point in marriage.

I'm sure this is a natural stage of evolution for all married parents, but we seem to always hit the extremes. When we first moved to our town, all we had was each other. Bill wanted to go out & pursue hobbies & life outside of the home & I joined our MOMS Club. Soon we moved from not having any interests outside of the four walls of our house to being so involved in our individual lives that we have nothing in common but the DNA linking us together.

This is the rut of all ruts.

We did have some big plans to celebrate our anniversary with a concert, dinner & a night out on the town in Boulder, but all was squashed when we realized that we have to be responsible parents. With the cost of gas for the trip, the concert tickets, the price of dinner & the $70 plus it would take just to pay the sitter, we couldn't do it. Expecting a baby who needs a new crib doesn't help either. In retrospect, we sorely needed that night out. It was something that we used to do when we were younger (Holy God on high, I can't believe I'm old enough to say that) & it was something that we do still have in common outside of parenthood.

So, I guess we're going into our 9 th year of marriage trying to close that gap, rekindling what we once had & finding a connection all over again. On one hand it sounds exciting, like discovering something new, on the other hand it sounds like serious work & almost impossible to do with how extreme our differences are.

This truly is the definition of growing old together & it's not quite as romantic as we all make it out to be.

24 weeks pregnant
This morning I had my glucose test done. Talk about gross. It was a better experience than the first time though, where I was almost in tears trying to choke it down since I was still pretty sick. I dropped Logan off at daycare, made sure I took a zofran before hand & hung out at the OB's office for what seemed like hours.

The appointment was rather uneventful with Carter checking out OK, measuring right on track & kicking up a storm. While waiting to get my blood drawn, I sat in the waiting room watching a spectacle unfold before my eyes. A woman came in for an appointment pretty late & tried to check in. One of the receptionists told her that she was late & the woman gave a super snotty excuse about being stuck behind the train & other stuff going on. Now, I've been stuck behind the train many times before, often leaving me very late to whatever appointment I was going to. In fact, I've been late to an OB appointment because of a slow moving train (after a funeral procession) before & almost wasn't accepted in. But not once did I ever think about going off on the receptionist. Not this lady. She had a massive attitude problem & stormed off to another part of the scheduling area, practically yelling at the next receptionist. I was almost tempted to say something, but kept my mouth shut & hid behind the magazine that I was reading. It sure did make the time fly by though!

After getting my blood drawn, I decided to take advantage of Logan being at daycare & ran a few errands. Before the glucose test, I was instructed to not eat anything high in sugar (carbs, fruit, etc.) so as not to chance failing the test, otherwise I would have to come back for the three hour test. I had coffee & a piece of string cheese. It escaped my mind while shopping that this was the only thing I had eaten today & as I was walking down an isle, I felt my arms go numb, my lips go numb, I got hot & clammy & knew that I was headed toward a blood sugar crash followed by passing out in the middle of Target at any minute. I almost ran to the checkout lane so I could get to my food & water I left in the car (which I usually carry with me in the diaper bag/backpack) & praying that I wouldn't black out in the toy section. There wasn't a big line in the express checkout & thankfully I was able to get out to the car before making a scene. It was a really close call.

Exciting stuff, huh?! So without further ado, here are some 24th week belly pictures...

Looking exhausted because Logan never took a nap


I swear I look bigger in person. The camera adding 10 pounds apparently only applies to my face

Logan trying to listen to Carter, whom he still insists is a baby sister. Too cute!


I love this picture!

Oh My GOD - two ways
This morning was the first day our new house cleaner started. Remember a little while ago when I interviewed someone to trade with & I was pretty certain it would work out? Well, it didn't. Her husband ended up convincing her that she didn't need a personal trainer & that she could do it on her own (this is a great rant for another day). So, I continued my search. About a week later someone else wanted to interview. She works professionally for a new company here in town who does background checks & they gave her a really good reference. She's a little odd (like ADD eccentric), but I hired her without hesitation.

I trained her here at home in the playroom (I'm not going to build a studio) & afterward she stayed to clean everything from top to bottom. I had to leave her here alone while I dropped Bill off at work & trained photographer friend at the gym. I was only going to be gone an hour, so I felt OK about leaving her for the first time. However, when I was getting Logan ready for the morning, I noticed that he had something stuck up his nose AGAIN & knew he would have to get it extracted at the Doctors office.

On the way to Bill's work, I called the pediatrician whom I have on speed dial specifically for this very reason. I got him scheduled for after the gym workout. I thought it would only take a few minutes (like it did when he had to get the corn kernel extracted). But it didn't. This time was a little more complicated.

At first glance, it looked like he had a pasta spiral stuck up there. It was far enough in that I couldn't reach it, but close enough to see. I didn't think it was that big of a deal. This stuff up the nose business is old hat for us. The shock has worn off. When we were escorted into the exam room, we were soon moved to an operating-type room. There were tools of all sorts to pull things from toddler's noses. Unlike the kernel incident, there was no knitting-needle-like tool in sight. It was all tweezers, syringes & suction machines. After the Doctor took a look at it & thought it might be a pea (again) she decided to use the suction machine.

First she put some numbing medication in his nostril because his nose was swollen from being irritated (clearly, this had been in there for a few days). She tried to suck it out, but it was wedged in there pretty good. Logan never cried, never flinched. Just sneezed a couple of times. They tilted his head back & used the long tweezers to pull out...

Now, Logan has had all sorts of things suck up his nose. First, it started with a pea & leaning the "nose maneuver". Then it was the dried corn kernel that had to be extracted by the Doctor. A couple more peas went up that I was able to pop out, then the eraser head that I pulled out with a tooth pick. But this. This beats them all.

A Sponge Bob band-aid.

I am not kidding. The second it came out, I put my hands on my face McCully Culkin style practically yelling, "OH MY GOD! IT'S A BAND-AID!" The Doctor was equally as shocked & disgusted. I'm sure this was a first for her.

She actually thought it would be a prudent decision to check his ears since he's been packing them with sand (they checked out clear) & she gave him a lecture about putting things up his nose. The first time he's been sternly lectured by someone else other than me. He nodded yes, gesturing that he understood, but I highly doubt this will be the last thing that gets pulled out of his nose. He's also now lost his Sponge Bob band-aid bribe for naps & bedtime. I'm going to have to find something bigger than his nostril.

An hour later we finally drove home to check on the house cleaner. She was still working hard (very hard). I packed some snacks & we headed off to playgroup while she finished, leaving her to escort herself out when everything was clean.

After playgroup, we drove home, parked the car in the garage, opened the back door & again, I put my hands on my face McCully Culkin style, "OH. MY. GOD! My house is sparking clean!" The sliding glass door to the backyard was spotless without a sticky hand print or muddy paw print in sight. The floors were shiny, the bathrooms smelled wonderful. I almost fell over with happiness. A HUGE burden had been lifted from my shoulders as cleaning this house has weighed heavily on me (& Bill). With her help every week, it will be so much easier to keep the cleanliness at a level that I prefer, but am unable to maintain.

Today has been shocking on both ends of the spectrum. That's for sure.

Still growing
This weekend we did some more yard work & finished the flower beds in the front yard. There's still one flower bed left on the side yard, but we're undecided about what to do. I want to plant spring bulbs there (daffodils, iris, tulips) so that they'll bloom next year, Bill wants to plant some aspen. Maybe we'll do both.

Bill did a great job of making the grass super green & trimming the hedge down quite a bit. Logan was good while I planted the flowers, playing with his cars, helping me pull weeds & finding inch-worms to squish (gross). I do have to say, I'm pretty proud of the way it turned out. There are some things I'll do differently next year, but for the first year of really gardening, it's not half bad. We'll see if it's still alive mid-summer when we hit 100 degrees.

Here are some of the 'Before' pictures

Here are the rest...

Bush taking over the whole front of the house & the five different door mats that the previous owners left (who on Earth needs that many for one door?)

Found out that the previous owners just laid sod over the flower bed. Some kind of flower grew through it, but I didn't know what it was, so we dug it up.

And now for the after...

Hedge trimmed, door mats gone (except for one) & pretty flowers in a row

Gerber Daisies, Plumed Celosia, Poppies & Dahlias

Planted, trimmed & all done. One of the best yards on the block, if I do say so myself!