The long- awaited (since Friday) update

So we did it! We moved Henry OUT of his crib on Friday night, and into the bottom bunk of the bunk bed with nary an issue. Frankly, I’m a little flabbergasted that it went so well. Friday when I got home from work, we took down the crib. I was a little melancholy about it, so we went out to dinner and then to the Disney store so the boys could both pick out a new stuffed animal for the transition – Donald Duck for Henry and Dory from Finding Nemo for Spencer.

Saturday I took the kids BY MYSELF to Ikea and Target to get new furniture and fun things for the room, and then set it all up so they now have a fully functional bedroom. Do I hear the angels singing, Hallelujah? Some things were just fun stuff, like a drawing easel, and some were necessary, like a piece of furniture for toy storage. Overall, I’m pleased with the arrangement. I think the kids are too.











SUNDAY I again took the kids out by myself (football, baby) and we went shopping for clothes for them. Last week we had a mild cold snap which reminded me that they have very little long sleeved shirts and Spencer has no fitting pants to speak of (long and skinny is surprisingly hard to dress). It was a successful trip, with many pairs of pjs, shirts and jeans.

And a mini pie maker for me.

Today I’m going to try to start reading Game of Thrones. I don’t know how I feel about this. I have never seen the show, and I don’t know if I’ll be interested in the book at all, but people talk and therefore I listen, and now I have Game of Thrones on my desk awaiting lunchtime. And if I don’t like it, Savages is waiting for me at the library.


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Sleep and other bits

I went to bed early last night. As I was nodding off into that twilight between awake in asleep, I remember distinctly thinking “I can’t believe I’m going to bed this early on a Friday”.

So … you can imagine my frustration this morning when I woke up and it was STILL FRIDAY! But I got over it, and actually got to work on time. I was then also thinking that the department assistant would see that I was on time, but SHE’S OFF TODAY so no one was here to witness my feat. Today is not going good yet.

The plan was that today C was going to take apart the crib while he worked from home, and then Henry would be forced to sleep in the bunk beds tonight and we could transition him there this weekend. This morning I was holding him about trying to talk it up.

“Henry, you want to sleep in the big-boy bed tonight?” (I point to the bunk bed)
“No, sleep there” (points to his crib)
“but baby, don’t you want to be a big boy?”
He shakes his head.
“Sleep over there? We’ll put all your stuffed animals and your blankets and you can sleep below Bubba?”
“No, there” (points to crib)

So … I think it’s a no-go. He does love his crib. My coworker suggested converting it to a toddler bed for a little while to get him used to getting in and out of bed himself but I just don’t know. I probably should, but the whole point for ME of moving him to the bunk bed is getting rid of the crib all together. I hate that there’s no space in their room. I hate that they can’t really play in there, that there’s no room for their toys in there … although I guess a month of toddler bed might not hurt if it moves him over.

We went to one of my favorite healthy-eating establishments last night (it’s becoming a habit, Thursday kids eat free, hurrah!) and they misspelled one of the soups: “Potato and Leak” hehe I didn’t correct them. If we had been sitting inside I would have taken a picture but it’s so beautiful out that we snagged one of the last tables outside. One of my favorite things about it is that you get free frozen yogurt with every meal, and I had non-fat Pumpkin frozen yogurt last night. Yum!

But today is almost over, work wise, and I went out to lunch with a friend and sat outside soaking up the warm-but-not-hot, zero humidity afternoon and now it's all I can do to wait to get back out there. Gorgeous!

Happy weekend, y’all!


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Things I’d like to know (a potluck)

Do you make a mess when you brush your teeth? My husband doesn’t, he can walk around with his toothbrush and there is no mess. Me? Toothpaste running down the toothbrush, spatter on the mirror, drips out the side of my mouth into the sink … I don’t understand how clean brushers DO it. I try, but somehow if nothing else it still leaks down my toothbrush and hand and I have to clean everything off when I rinse out my mouth. Do you have these issues?

Are you capable of cooking without harming yourself? I love to cook, I do it as often as I have time for. Last night I made a delicious soup that Caitlyn posted on Twitter (seriously, it was delicious) as well as two pans of Ina Garten’s Eggplant Gratin and I did well on the soup – no pain whatsoever. I burned both my hands pan frying the eggplant though, and grated my knuckle along with the Parmesan cheese. My husband was helping chop onions for the soup and afterward scooped some waste up, catching his finger on a tomato can top and slicing it deep. This morning I burned my fingertip on the toaster getting my bagel out. So obviously, this is a running issue. Do you have these issues?

At what point did you move your child to a bed? I’m getting impatient with having the crib in the boys room and I really want to move H to the bunk beds. I don’t know if he’s ready, and he really loves his crib so this is completely selfish on my part. But the room is so cramped and uncleanable and I really want to make it fun which I don’t feel like I can do until they have more space. I don’t want to create sleep problems though, and H is giving up his naps altogether so he really truly needs his nighttime sleep. Should I wait?

I should point out this wasn’t a problem with Spencer. I moved him out of the crib at around two because he was climbing out, and also I was three months pregnant and wanted an earlier transition so I wasn’t snatching it from him when his brother was born. It went very smoothly. Henry is just so much more headstrong and stubborn and doesn’t like to stay put so I’m more concerned it will be an issue.

What are your feelings about homework? My son is four. He is still in daycare and not in pre-k, but the home daycare he goes to is very highly regulated and a county person comes out for testing and puts the kids on curriculum. There are two daycare rooms in the home – a “classroom” with a computer, and a “playroom” with all the toys and a small tv. My son does schoolwork (kindergarten work, right now) in the afternoon when the before and after kids come home from school, and he has one-two worksheets that come home with him. Sometimes these worksheets take a very long time, and sometimes he’s done with them before we can explain the directions. I think we’re very lucky that he gets the school attention that he does, considering he’s in a home daycare which is usually code for “babysitting”. My question is this: do you have the patience for homework? I feel like any instruction I give ends in barking to focus. Right now my husband helps with homework. Is this normal? Should I try to help more, or just leave it to C? Should I feel guilty for my annoyance with homework?

How do you cut your dependence on sugar? I know I feel better when I don’t have refined sugar. I sometimes (most times) crave something sweet in the evening. If I go for the healthier choice – fruit, mostly, it doesn’t always curb that craving but I feel better. If I go for the m&ms or the cupcake I feel physically ill lying in bed before sleep. I don’t think this is in my head, I think I have an adverse reaction to sugar – especially at night. I don’t have this issue with carbs (although I’m not necessary a HUGE carbs person. I love my bread, but I don’t need to eat a ton of it) but I have it with sweets. But my question is, I know the craving is a physical reaction too – how to you cut it?

And finally, can someone please tell me what a merkin is? I feel so lost on Twitter these days.



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Friday bits

My neighbors put their house up for sale. This wouldn’t really be newsworthy except these are the ONLY neighbors that we associate with. We hang out with him, go to parties at their houses, invite them to ours, occasionally babysit their 18 month old … and they never said a word. As a matter of fact, they invited us over to play Spades tonight, and they invited us to a Halloween party on 10/27 … but they haven’t mentioned putting the house up for sale (the sign went up Tuesday afternoon). Very strange.

In separate but related news, who the heck still plays Spades? We accepted because, well, it’s the neighbors, but really? I played in high school, and C knows people that played when we were in college, but I feel a little old to be sitting around drinking playing Spades. Maybe I should be drinking Hennessey? Would that better put me in the mood? I guess at least I’ll get the dirt on their house-selling plans. (edit, I’m now asked to bring “bar food”, so I guess I’ll be stuffing some mushrooms when I get home)

Last night we got a babysitter and went out with a very good friend that lives far too close to see as seldom as we do (apparently last time we saw each other was July 2011). We got to meet her boyfriend that she’s been with for over a year now, and spent hours drinking wine and blowing our diet on excellent food and getting as much great conversation in before having to retreat to real life. It was so much fun, and so amazing, and so … Just so. The first thing C said when we left was “I like him better than D already” (her last boyfriend). And while I liked D and was personally heartbroken when they called it quits, Nick is pretty awesome and I just love seeing my friend SO happy. And there may have been discussion about my trouble breast feeding and the size of family members private bits, so now we know each other VERY well.

My prediction on Wednesday about today being a repeat was exactly right. Thankfully it went fast! I have a crazy busy weekend planned, full of dinner with inlaws and baby showers and Korean BBQ with old work friends of C.

And I have nothing else to add, so I'll just mention that I used the peehole in my spanx for the first time ever today. I think that pretty much covers everything.


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'twas a dark and stormy morning

So can I tell you that this morning, when I drove to work all by myself in the dark and rain will probably be my favorite part of the day?

The kids woke up late, per usual, and since C works from home on Wednesday he is able to take them to daycare instead of me yelling to get moving and get dressed and stop playing with your pee pee and please eat your waffle. I left reasonably on time and made my way to work in the rain and there was NO traffic (I hear it was otherwise coming the other way to the office, but since I’m usually the one with the traffic I will simply say HA).

I had yesterday off so I could take my mom to her follow up surgeon appointment. It was a disappointing visit because mom hasn’t been able to quit smoking and therefore her reconstruction was put off until some later date that she is able to stop. We went to lunch and then I took her back home and crawled back into my Gilmore-Girl marathoning hole and stayed there pretty much all day (finished season one. People becoming less irritating, might be growing on me).

Henry woke up around 9:45p snotty and uncomfortable and calling for Daddy last night. While the consensus is that I should embrace that I don’t have to take care of these things, it made me a little sad. H was a born at a time when a) C was upset because Spencer was joined at my hip and he wanted a kid that wanted him and b) C was laid off and thus became the primary caregiver/middle of the night waker. Even though he got a job again about six months later, he has remained these things, especially for Henry (S still joined at my hip, unless it involves playing baseball). I am usually okay with his (I already have one attachment) but I enjoy the sick snuggles and it depressed me when Henry wanted nothing to do with me last night while we waited for the Benadryl to kick in (except to wipe his snot on my dress).

Since I took yesterday off, today is bound to be not super great. And tomorrow I’m out of the office for a work thing, so while I’ll be working I won’t actually get anything done and Friday will be today, repeated. Yay!

Also on today’s schedule: my first mammogram. Because of my mom’s early onset cancer, they have decided to smash my boobs for a baseline. I’m resigned to this if not particularly happy about it, but it’s still another thing to deal with. C’s cousin just had a double mastectomy last week at 36, so … yeah, it needs to be done.

And at the end of all this, I’m stopping for Greek salads for dinner. Because I’m not putting my boobs in a vice and then coming home to make dinner. Case closed.


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Books I read: September

The Chaperone - Laura Moriarty I wasn’t sure about this so it lazed in my room until it was nearly time to go back to the library, but I loved it. Simple and interesting.

American Empire 1945-2000 - Joshua Freeman this is when I finally admit to myself that no matter how interesting the history actually is, I am not capable of making it through a history book. Blah.

Broken Harbor - Tana French I didn’t love it as much as The Likeness, but it was still excellent. Tana French is an awesome writer.

Emperor's Edge - Lindsay Buroker I downloaded this free because Ordinary Girl had posted on goodreads about the whole series. I was not disappointed – it was fantastic. If you like fantasy/YA/action type books, download this today. And then download the rest of the series (I’m working on that)

Simply Irresistable - Jill Shalvis Cute, and without depth. Slightly smuttier than most chick lit. Perfect for what I needed.

Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn I was not as big a fan of this as everyone else seemed to be. It was good, yes. But ... I don't know. It just didn't stay with me that much.

Cold Kiss - Amy Garvey ugh, this was not great. I kept reading because I wanted to know what happened and then I was just glad to be done with it.

Outlander - Diana Gabaldon okay, so I really hate “period” pieces, and I really hate books where I have to think too much about wording and dialect because it takes me too far out of the story but I LOVED this. There was an interesting gloss over that I’d love to discuss with somebody but none of my IRL friends have read it, so … any takers?

The Surgeon - Tess Gerritsen Our book club book this month was supposed to be The Silent Girl which is the ninth in the series and I didn’t want to read that one without some background so I got the first from the library (MamaFuss has been recommending this series for months). I loved it. So much so that I’m working through the rest of the series via library ebook. They changed the Book Club book mid-month, but I’m still going to read Silent Girl when I get there in the series.

The Sinner - Tess Gerritsen see above

Body Double – Tess Garritsen see above

It feels to me like I read more than this, but this is all that’s on my list. I have a couple books on my nightstand that I haven’t gotten to, or have read a couple pages of, but every time I list a book that I’ve started but not completed, I never go back to it. So this month there’s none of that. If I actually read them, I’ll list next month. However, I’m working my way through the Gilmore Girls and the archives of the bloggers that will be at The Blathering so maybe October will be a light month. Time will tell!



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There goes another month!

I know that the internet is a broken record on this subject, but how is it October already? I seems like just yesterday it was mid-August and we were battling the oppressive heat and humidity while we played in the great outdoors. Now it’s October and … wait, we’re still battling the heat and humidity. Nevermind, October is but a name, but surely it’s still summer here.
My September was not as busy as I felt. My work calendar was empty, which was so very nice. Still, end of month on Friday was a mass of finishing up projects and bills and things I should have finished.








Home … home has been good. The boys have been in the splash pool as often as possible, and since it take next to nothing to fill it up it doesn’t bother me if they are done playing in 20 minutes. (usually they’ll be in for 45 minutes though, which is excellent on wearing them out a bit.) They are getting along fantastically, except that H seems to be getting his two-year molars in (somebody, stop the TEETHING!) and so he teeters between great and a child in cahoots with the devil. Plus, somehow he has gotten off the good-sleeper train and even though he wants to go to bed, he then spends 45 minutes whining about his stuffed animals not being lined up JUST SO and last night he lied to me about being poopy so I would get him up. Bah. Thankfully, Spencer falls asleep about 30 seconds after laying down and a freight train through the middle of the room wouldn’t wake him up. Don’t have to worry about room-sharing here.
Henry also decided this week to give up his nap completely, even at daycare. It’s been rough (this is earlier than S gave his up, even though he gave it up early too) but I don’t think it’s worth fighting over. He does sleep in the car, so on longish trips he’s getting a good nap, but otherwise no-sleeping, not no-where, not no-how.
This weekend we decided to drive down to Sarasota to check out the new Trader Joe’s. It seems a long way to go for a grocery store (it is) but I wanted to do it once. Now I’m content to wait until we get one of our very own, that I can visit at odd times when it’s not so blessed busy. We bought a lot of frozen (and brought them home in our large thermal tote) but this was the coup de gras (for Spencer, anyhow):

(photo: traderjoes.com)
Have I mentioned Spencer’s newest obsession with shrimp? I don’t know when it happened, but he now wants shrimp for pretty much every meal. We went for Chinese the other night – he and his brother split shrimp fried rice. He ate the shrimp and his brother ate the rice. Last weekend he was hungry on the drive home and had me drive thru Long John Silver for popcorn shrimp and then ate nearly the whole box. So we saw these at TJs and I had to get them for him. He had one with dinner Sunday night and proclaimed them delicious.
I skipped blogging about #cbdiet on Thursday, mostly because my Monday post was about #biggestbloggingloser and I really didn’t want to turn this into a diet blog. I am not a dieter, and I don’t really want to seem like someone who obsesses about my weight and food intake because I don’t. It’s always in the back of my mind, but there’s an awful lot of other things back there keeping it company. I had intended to blog about other things last week too, but we all know about the Road to Hell. But I did well last week, especially with keeping myself on track with how MUCH I needed (or didn’t need) to eat. I didn’t restrict myself completely (Tijuana Flats chicken flautas, anyone?) but I made smart choices over all and didn’t overeat or eat when I didn’t need to. At my weigh-in this morning I was back down under 150, which made me feel like I was doing something right.




(I have no idea why my pant legs look of different colors. I swear they're both gray)
And lastly, I got new shoes! I’ve wanted cream colored heels for a long time, and while I’m pretty sure they’re currently out-of-season (with it not being summer and all) I don’t care. I live in Florida, dude. It’s summer 10.5 months of the year. They’re high but comfortable, they’re pretty, and best of all they’re open while still covering most of my eczema. AND! $18 on clearance, so score!
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