Good Kid

The past week has been a rough one on Little Miss.  She's been busy and staying up late.  She's been a real trooper, handling it all better than I have.  It has started to show a little last night and this morning, but she's kept herself mostly in check.  

So, this morning, I told Little Miss that she has been a good girl this week.  She said, "It's because I'm 7."

Well, I hope this is indicative of how the 7th year will go!  

Milestone

Well, a milestone for me anyway.

Baby was in the jumper loving life until he wasn't.  I walked by and, done with playing, he turned to me and lifted his arms to be picked up.  So, of course, I did.

Open letters to hairdressers

Hairdressers:

Hey, thanks for making my hair pretty.  Really.  Thanks for assuming I spend time on it and making it all pretty and creating an appearance that will vanish forever once I leave your front doors.  Thank you for spending the time to wash and condition my hair thoroughly.  You've already spent more time on my hair than I have since the last time I cam here (which is longer than the 4-6 weeks you recommended).  Thanks for pretending you don't know that I just wear it in a ponytail everyday between visits.  

Now that that's out of the way...  I have a few grievances.

1.  I'm going to shampoo my hair daily.  Sorry.  It's thin.  I touch it a lot.  I have kids who chew it, play with it, put God only knows what in it.  It's getting washed every day.  This is to prevent small things living in it, small things sticking to it, and to fake a general sense of hygiene to those around me.

2.  Stop selling me stuff and telling me that everything I ever use is horrible for me.  I don't use product.  I don't dye my hair (yet).  I don't always blow dry my hair.  It's in relatively good shape.  I'm going to continue to use whatever shampoo I want.  It changes often from drugstore, Pantene, some coconut oil organic gunk, whatever.  I don't understand that no matter what I respond that I use, it's ALL BAD.  I'm not buying the miracle serum you're trying to sell me.  Give up.

3.  I love that you try to make me look better.  I do.  So, stop trying to point out all my insecurities first.  My hair is thin.  My hairline is high.  My face is round.  You sure you still want bangs?  I know all these things and yes, I want bangs because my hairline is high.  It cuts down on the forehead real estate.  I'm sure, with these great limitations, you can still manage to make me look halfway decent.  

Look, I am one of the lowest maintenance clients ever.  I just want my hair shorter.  I don't care if you layer it, razor cut it, or do whatever it is you do.  I'll rarely complain if I don't like it.  I just don't need a lecture.

kthxbye

Week 24

Week 23

Another One Bites the Dust

The tooth fairy made another visit!  As with me, Little Miss waited until the new tooth evicted the old tooth so there's hardly a gap.  It happened at school, and her friend helped her take care of the tons of blood (that's how vivid the recap was when she got home).  The school gave her the cutest little tooth container to hold her tooth until she got home.

Cranky Rolling

Baby was super cranky last night - overtired basically.  He's been a bear to feed lately.  So, we kept him up to fill his tummy before he took his long evening rest.  This is what happens if you keep a member of our household from napping.  That said, it shows what an expert he is at rolling over... and over... and over.  He'll roll from one end of the room to the other if you let him (I usually correct him as soon as he rolls off the blanket).  He also rolls all over in the crib.  He's everywhere and loves to be moving!  The sound works on the Vine app, but I don't think it works on the blog.  Be thankful.  *g*

Books Read in September 2014

1. It’s In His Kiss by Jill Shalvis (NOTE: This is part of Lucky Harbor series. The order of which can be found here.)
2. One Night Rodeo by Lorelai James (NOTE: This is part of the Blacktop Cowboys series. The order of which can be found here.)
3. Festive in Death by J.D. Robb (NOTE: This is part of the In Death series. The order of which can be found here.)
4. Heroes are my Weakness by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
5. Paper Towns by John Green

Less books than August, but I did ok. They were all good books, too. I don’t think Paper Towns was my favorite of John Green’s books so far, and I’m curious how it will do as a movie, but I liked it. This current month is pretty sad in terms of reading, but I have time. Sometimes, I read the most in the second half of the month. We’ll see. I’ve jumped full into romance novels lately so that speeds things up.

Weekend Updates - Three for the Price of One!

Quickly catching up on weekend updates.  The weekend after the baptism was a low-key, quiet one.  That Friday, we were discharged from the hospital.  We stayed close to home.  Little Miss went camping with my parents at Hershey Park.  She had such a great time, she only called home to talk to us once. 

The first weekend in October, Little Miss and I ran some errands.  We had to buy a birthday gift for a friend of hers and a baby shower gift.  Then, we went to her friend’s birthday at a nearby park.  She had so much fun, she wouldn’t stop playing to eat.  On Sunday, she had a playdate with a friend and didn’t want me along.  So, she was gone all day long.  They all went into the city to the Air & Space Museum, had a picnic, and did all sorts of fun things.  In the meantime, I tidied and did no fun things.

Last weekend was our 15^th anniversary.  We went out to dinner and had a very pleasant evening and then came home with Baby and rented a movie.  Little Miss had a sleepover with the In-Laws where she got her birthday presents early (a little shopping spree).  She got a mix of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle toys and Frozen dress up clothes.  On Sunday, it was a lazy quiet day.  I would have preferred a little lazier, but I got talked into bringing Little Miss out with her bike.  So, I wore the Baby while Little Miss rode her bike.  We were out for a couple of hours.  She made friends at one point.  Then, we went home, and she made her birthday party invitations.  She really wanted to make them this year so I just made them on printer paper and she cut around the printed section and glued onto orange and black construction paper and added a sticker or two.  It wasn’t a big deal, but she had fun.  It was cheaper than buying invitations, and I have a billion sheets of construction paper left for future crafts.  This is partially because I misordered, but we’ll use it.

October is probably going to be our busiest month all year.  During the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, I go out of my way not to overplan so things aren’t so busy, but October is crazy.  Plus, it’s a month that culminates in bags and bags of candy.  Nutso.

More Pictures!

I compiled the photos from the christening and made a photo book. 

You can see a sample of the photos my sister took here.

Week 21

Week 21 has been a rough one. After a really nice weekend, Baby had his surgery.

On Tuesday, we went to the hospital to begin his cleanse. I stayed the week in the hospital with him while Husband kept Little Miss on her schedule as much as possible. The cleanse was rough on everybody. He just pooped on everything. At midnight, food was cut off. 

The surgery was postponed about 2 hours so he was one hungry and cranky baby. He went into surgery at around 11:30. We got to be with him right up until he went into the OR. The surgery was supposed to take between 2-5 hours, but we got notification that he was in recovery around the 3 hour mark or so. We got to be with him in post-op where a nurse held him until we got there. He quieted down once I got to hold him. In post-op, he got a little treat for being such a good boy. Back in the room, we saw his little bottom which looked great. All the stitches are on the inside so you can't tell much from the outside. He got some heavy drugs, but he was a trooper, not needing the drugs as often as he could have them.  The night of his surgery, he was slept with the help of morphine, but he liked to be held as much as the last two nights. He wasn't a fan of the hospital crib so I relaxed my co-sleeping views. 

 The next morning, he got the catheter out and got to start some food. He was a bit disgruntled that he couldn't eat as much as he wanted, but he seemed thrilled to get real food. He immediately started peeing which was good. The new bottom didn't get to work until the middle of the night, but the nurse and I applauded for him. 

 With everything in working order, we were told we could go home on Friday, but it took forever for the surgeon to get out of surgery and discharge us which was frustrating, but we understood. Regardless, it's been great being home. We were worried Baby wouldn't like sleeping by himself in his crib, but he slept 8 hours last night. He's increased his food level by a lot. He doesn't like napping by himself, but he is right now so it may just be a process. He doesn't seem to be bothered much by the bottom. We've given him some Tylenol every so often, but I don't know if he even needs it. Better to stay ahead of the pain though. So, we're almost done. He will have a surgeon visit in a couple of weeks as well as follow up with the pediatrician, but I suspect he'll knock those visits out of the ballpark. It's been nice having our little guy home again. 

 There will be some maintenance with the new bottom, but hopefully no lasting side effects. We won't know for sure for a couple of years, but he's done such a great job with everything so far, surpassing all the goals the doctors have given him, I have no doubt he'll rock the next stages, too. 

 Otherwise, he's still rolling back to belly and occasionally belly to back. He is now up to 36 ounces a day versus 24. He loves "jumping" and has enjoyed time in his swing today. No complaints. He's pretty much acting like he didn't just spend 4 days in the hospital.

My Favorite (Recent) Picture

Baby loves the swing.  He always did like it, but we put it away for a time for more floor space.  It takes up a lot of room, but nothing was settling him down the other night unless we were holding him or walking him around.  Husband took to walking him around our small apartment in his stroller before bringing out the swing.  The swing saved the day!

I'm in a Swing

Baby loves the swing. He could live in there if you let him.

 

Movies Watched in August 2014

1. Guardians of the Galaxy
2. About Time
3. This is the End
4. American Hustle

Improving. I loved Guardians of the Galaxy. Husband was disgruntled because About Time wasn't funny yet was billed a comedy. I liked it quite a bit though. We both liked American Hustle. It was a good date night - rental and popcorn is the best.

Movies Watched in July 2014

1. Sex Tape

I got to see this one in the theater with friends. Meh, but I had a good afternoon out at least.

Books Read in July 2014

1. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell 
2. Cowboy Take Me Away by Lorelai James  (NOTE: This is part of her Rough Rider series.  The order of which can be found here.)
3. Then Came You by Jill Shalvis (NOTE: This is part of the Animal Magnetism series. The related books can be found here.)
4. Straddling the Line by Jaci Burton (NOTE: This is part of the Play by Play series. The order in which to read the books can be found here.)

Decent month full of quick reads.  I'm enjoying my romance run.  All of the books were solid with great stories and characters.

Weekend Update - Baptism

Picture alert!

Last weekend, Baby was christened.  It was a beautiful day.  He was really good.  Little Miss was super helpful while we set up the room and got ready to host a little gathering and get to the church on time.  There were many children to be baptized, but it went smoothly.  I was surprised there were no criers.  It turned out that's because we were the crying baby.  He settled down right afterwards though and kept smiling at the priest throughout.  I think it was just the awkward angle. Plus, he's the type of baby to always love being upright and moving.

Below are half of the cousins on Husband's side of the family.  The love is strong between the two.  They were fantastic in church and played very nicely with one another all day.

 Sister was very ill when Little Miss was baptized so this is the first picture (in a church) of Little Miss and her godparents.  So, it is both kids with all of the godparents. 

 Below is Husband's family all together.

 Below is my family excluding the Nephew.

There are tons of pictures and every combination of family member grouping you can think of.  I'll frame some of them eventually.

Afterwards, we had everyone to the community room and some of our good friends who could make the event.  We made food up ahead of time so everyone helped out to assemble and lay out everything.  It was a nice relaxing day.  I definitely deserved the nap later in the evening.

On Sunday, I went out with friends to a winery.  It was another beautiful day.  We sat outside, snacked and enjoyed some wine.  There's no better way to spend a Sunday.

Week 20

I'm behind a week, but I hope to catch up this week.  Baby is rolling over onto his stomach like a pro.  He can occasionally roll back onto his back.  He's been sleeping and eating regularly, no changes.  He's a good, smiley boy.  He's starting to play with things.  He has a few toys that he'll grab and cuddle or chew.  

I think he may be teething.  He's always been fairly drooly, but he's added the chewing.  He always soothes by sucking his thumb, but now he's gnawing feverishly.  Funny how he is preparing to grow some teeth while Little Miss is busy losing hers!

Books Read in August 2014

1. Bound by Lorelai James (NOTE: This is part of The Mastered series. The order of which can be found here.)
2. Unwound by Lorelai James (NOTE: This is part of The Mastered series. The order of which can be found here.)
3. Saddled and Spurred by Lorelai James (NOTE: This is part of the Blacktop Cowboys series. The order of which can be found here.)
4. Will Grayson Will Grayson by David Levithan and John Green (NOTE: This is not really part of a series, but a sequel or related book about a secondary character is coming out soon.)
5. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
6. Frog Music by Emma Donoghue
7. Wrangled and Tangled by Lorelai James (NOTE: This is part of the Blacktop Cowboys series. The order of which can be found here.)

Solid month filled with the mediocre and the fantastic, the fast reads and the very slow. I also began utilizing my library. The deadlines kill me, but I like the variety.

Movies Watched in June 2014

1. Admission

Still a pathetic time for movies. I watched this one on HBO Go. Meh.