That is the name of the prescription--yes, prescription--medication I picked up today for Ava's neverending diaper rash. It even says it on the label on the jar...you know, where prescriptions usually have more dignified things like, "Amoxicillin" or "Hydrocodone" written. Magic Butt Cream. It's like they have middle schoolers working for the pediatrician now...
Ah well. I got a good laugh out of it. ;o)
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
dodging the sickness bullet
Hopefully I'm not speaking too soon, but I think Ava and I are escaping with only minor colds this time! Her nose is still runny but with the Vick's plug-in, the humidifier, and keeping her head elevated; she's not faring too badly at night. The worst is when she's too congested to breathe out of her nose at all, because this prevents her from sucking her fingers, which is how she falls asleep. Last night she woke up around 10:30 and could not get back to sleep (she couldn't suck her fingers and I think she had a little bit of a tummy ache) so I just brought her downstairs with me...we cuddled on the couch and watched one of her Baby Einstein videos (one with just music, no talking) and this calmed her enough and she slept until 7:30 this morning! I don't like to get her off of her schedule and would've preferred to get her up earlier but she (and we) needed the sleep. She was much better today and has fallen asleep without any fuss....hopefully she stays down all night. I, on the other hand, woke up with such a miserable sore throat and headache that I thought maybe I was getting strep throat. I've never had it. I looked up the symptoms and it didn't quite seem to match so I just took a bunch of Tylenol and some throat spray and went back to bed--Craig was on baby duty so after I helped get Ava's breakfast ready (he didn't need the help but I wanted some hot tea for my throat anyhow so I just took care of it) I crashed until 10:00. Luckily, that seemed to do the trick and I felt much better today! (Plus, I took Zicam...I swear that stuff works.) Craig has graciously offered to man the monitor again tonight so I can get another night of rest under my belt and hopefully completely kick this cold. I have to say, he has really stepped up lately and taken on more baby responsibility, and I've been able to let him do it without trying to micromanage everything. It has made things much easier on me.
On another note...in four weeks my family will be here for Thanksgiving! Sadly, my aunt, uncle and cousin won't be able to make it due to my cousin's commitments at school; and Craig's parents won't be able to make it due to his mom needing back surgery. And my brother Michael might not be able to make it, but I don't want to think about that....I'm being optimistic on that one. Billy will be bringing his girlfriend, so that'll be fun and balance out the testosterone a little bit! ;o) Can't wait to see everyone!
On another note...in four weeks my family will be here for Thanksgiving! Sadly, my aunt, uncle and cousin won't be able to make it due to my cousin's commitments at school; and Craig's parents won't be able to make it due to his mom needing back surgery. And my brother Michael might not be able to make it, but I don't want to think about that....I'm being optimistic on that one. Billy will be bringing his girlfriend, so that'll be fun and balance out the testosterone a little bit! ;o) Can't wait to see everyone!
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Belated Grandparent Pictures
Sorry for the slacking...here are the pictures from when Craig's parents visited two weeks ago!
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I've been very busy since we tracked in two weeks ago, and am now getting sick, as is Ava. It feels like it never ends...we finally get better, and then everyone is sick again. She's also got a persistent diaper rash that whatever prescription they gave her a couple weeks ago did not clear up, so if it isn't gone by Monday morning I'm calling the doctor. Again. Because, why not? We practically live at their office. I should've married a pediatrician. No--I should have become a pediatrician and married a masseuse. Anyhow, I'm feeling very overwhelmed right now to the point where sometimes I think I'm just going to shut down. Between work and taking care of things at home by myself half of the time, it's really wearing me down...probably why I'm sick. I can't believe school has only been going for two weeks and I'm already in desperate need of another vacation.
Anyhow, aside from feeling like I'm going to collapse at any moment...today we met with the realtors and picked out the color of our siding (Hardieplank, not vinyl, so hopefully it won't grow algae or mold or whatever that green stuff is that grows all over half of the houses in NC...although, our house is going to be a light brownish-greenish color--it's prettier than it sounds-- so that should hide a lot of it anyhow). We also chose the brick foundation and the stone accents. Nice! We have to pick up paint samples and choose our trim, shutter, and eventually wall colors as well. Knowing that someone else is going to be painting the walls for me is such a great feeling!
All right, that's about it. My mom did point out that on Ava's nine month stats I listed her as being 19 3/4 inches long...no, she did not shrink from her birth length of 21 inches! It should have been 29 3/4 inches, oops! ;o) I'm going to bed now and hoping I can shake this cold with a good night of sleep, Craig has offered to man the baby monitor AND get up with Ava in the morning. Usually whoever was on monitor duty doesn't have to get up in the morning, since Ava tends to fuss at night and needs to be readjusted in her crib, especially when she's sick. We're trying to keep her schedule more consistent so instead of bringing her to bed with us after she wakes up for her bottle at 6am, we stay up with her and give her breakfast at 8am and she goes down for her morning nap between 8:30 and 9:00, just like during the week. It kind of stinks but at least whoever got up can go back down at nap time!
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I've been very busy since we tracked in two weeks ago, and am now getting sick, as is Ava. It feels like it never ends...we finally get better, and then everyone is sick again. She's also got a persistent diaper rash that whatever prescription they gave her a couple weeks ago did not clear up, so if it isn't gone by Monday morning I'm calling the doctor. Again. Because, why not? We practically live at their office. I should've married a pediatrician. No--I should have become a pediatrician and married a masseuse. Anyhow, I'm feeling very overwhelmed right now to the point where sometimes I think I'm just going to shut down. Between work and taking care of things at home by myself half of the time, it's really wearing me down...probably why I'm sick. I can't believe school has only been going for two weeks and I'm already in desperate need of another vacation.
Anyhow, aside from feeling like I'm going to collapse at any moment...today we met with the realtors and picked out the color of our siding (Hardieplank, not vinyl, so hopefully it won't grow algae or mold or whatever that green stuff is that grows all over half of the houses in NC...although, our house is going to be a light brownish-greenish color--it's prettier than it sounds-- so that should hide a lot of it anyhow). We also chose the brick foundation and the stone accents. Nice! We have to pick up paint samples and choose our trim, shutter, and eventually wall colors as well. Knowing that someone else is going to be painting the walls for me is such a great feeling!
All right, that's about it. My mom did point out that on Ava's nine month stats I listed her as being 19 3/4 inches long...no, she did not shrink from her birth length of 21 inches! It should have been 29 3/4 inches, oops! ;o) I'm going to bed now and hoping I can shake this cold with a good night of sleep, Craig has offered to man the baby monitor AND get up with Ava in the morning. Usually whoever was on monitor duty doesn't have to get up in the morning, since Ava tends to fuss at night and needs to be readjusted in her crib, especially when she's sick. We're trying to keep her schedule more consistent so instead of bringing her to bed with us after she wakes up for her bottle at 6am, we stay up with her and give her breakfast at 8am and she goes down for her morning nap between 8:30 and 9:00, just like during the week. It kind of stinks but at least whoever got up can go back down at nap time!
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Tagged by Emily!
1. Clothes Shop
Ann Taylor, Ann Taylor Loft...odds and ends at other places but mostly those two. Honestly, most of the clothes I buy now are for Ava. :o)
2. Furniture Shop
Rooms to Go and Target....Ava has beat the crap out of our cheap Target coffee table with her toys and it doesn't even have a scratch....awesome.
3. Sweet
I'm addicted hardcore. My addictions-of-the-moment are homemade snowball cookies and peanut butter M&Ms. Over the summer it was Swedish Fish and Haribo Gummi Bears. Yes, they had to be Haribo.
4. City
I miss living near Chicago like you wouldn't believe. Best big city ever! I love where I live now though too...but I miss it.
5. Drink
Hot tea, vanilla, cinnamon, or pumpkin spice lattes, Sierra Mist, grapefruit juice, raspberry wine. I like drinking things.
6. Music
Mostly rock/classic rock....Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi.
7. TV Series
The Office, CSI: Las Vegas, Desperate Housewives. I'm watching Heroes but not that into it this season. I guess I'll watch Lost when it comes back, and if they do any more Beauty and the Geek, I will be all about it!
8. Film
Star Wars (original trilogy, none of the new ones with the heinous acting), LOTR, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Goonies, Zoolander, So I Married An Axe Murderer, Billy Madison, MST 3K...you know, the classics.... ;o)
9. Workout
I carry Ava around, does that count? That's about all I get these days! Gonna start working on the abs any day now...
10. Pastries
Ohhhh I love me some cake donuts from Daylight Donuts.
11. Coffee
Already covered that. :)
TAGGED--Jen D, Christina G, Christie S
Ann Taylor, Ann Taylor Loft...odds and ends at other places but mostly those two. Honestly, most of the clothes I buy now are for Ava. :o)
2. Furniture Shop
Rooms to Go and Target....Ava has beat the crap out of our cheap Target coffee table with her toys and it doesn't even have a scratch....awesome.
3. Sweet
I'm addicted hardcore. My addictions-of-the-moment are homemade snowball cookies and peanut butter M&Ms. Over the summer it was Swedish Fish and Haribo Gummi Bears. Yes, they had to be Haribo.
4. City
I miss living near Chicago like you wouldn't believe. Best big city ever! I love where I live now though too...but I miss it.
5. Drink
Hot tea, vanilla, cinnamon, or pumpkin spice lattes, Sierra Mist, grapefruit juice, raspberry wine. I like drinking things.
6. Music
Mostly rock/classic rock....Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi.
7. TV Series
The Office, CSI: Las Vegas, Desperate Housewives. I'm watching Heroes but not that into it this season. I guess I'll watch Lost when it comes back, and if they do any more Beauty and the Geek, I will be all about it!
8. Film
Star Wars (original trilogy, none of the new ones with the heinous acting), LOTR, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Goonies, Zoolander, So I Married An Axe Murderer, Billy Madison, MST 3K...you know, the classics.... ;o)
9. Workout
I carry Ava around, does that count? That's about all I get these days! Gonna start working on the abs any day now...
Ohhhh I love me some cake donuts from Daylight Donuts.
11. Coffee
Already covered that. :)
TAGGED--Jen D, Christina G, Christie S
Monday, October 13, 2008
Nine month stats
As of last Wednesday, Oct. 8th; Ava is 21 lbs. 11.5 oz. (90th percentile), 19 3/4 inches long (97th percentile)...her weight seems to have slowed down a little bit but she's still getting so much bigger every day! A lot has happened in the last week...I'm going to make the update as short as possible, and I'll have to do pictures in another post.
First of all, the child care situation: a woman I worked with for four years, who now stays home with her two little kids, is Ava's new sitter! Ava has stayed with her three days now (two last week for my work days, and today when we tracked back in). She is having a great time playing with 2-year-old Will and 7-month-old Adeline, as well as chasing around some new cats. :o) She is happy and taking great naps again and we're very thankful to have someone we trust watching over her! Of course, she is protesting the change in environment (even though it's a good change) by not drinking her bottles while at the sitter's house...it's getting better, and I remember she did the same thing when she started day care so I'm sure it will pass before too long!
Next--Ava had some more visitors this past weekend: her grandma and grandpa on Craig's side. We very much enjoyed seeing them (it had been about six months) but unfortunately, Miss Ava decided to be a crabapple and fuss most of the weekend. :-/ I thought it was because of all the changes in routine--we quit day care, I was home on trackout, my mom was here for a week, the new childcare, etc.--but after some weirdness today on her part, it looks like she's going through a stranger anxiety phase, which my mom said is typical around this age. Hmmm.
Anyhow, that is about it for now....I have to go get dinner ready for the kid so I can get her off to the bath and bed. Picture update to follow whenever I get the chance! :)
First of all, the child care situation: a woman I worked with for four years, who now stays home with her two little kids, is Ava's new sitter! Ava has stayed with her three days now (two last week for my work days, and today when we tracked back in). She is having a great time playing with 2-year-old Will and 7-month-old Adeline, as well as chasing around some new cats. :o) She is happy and taking great naps again and we're very thankful to have someone we trust watching over her! Of course, she is protesting the change in environment (even though it's a good change) by not drinking her bottles while at the sitter's house...it's getting better, and I remember she did the same thing when she started day care so I'm sure it will pass before too long!
Next--Ava had some more visitors this past weekend: her grandma and grandpa on Craig's side. We very much enjoyed seeing them (it had been about six months) but unfortunately, Miss Ava decided to be a crabapple and fuss most of the weekend. :-/ I thought it was because of all the changes in routine--we quit day care, I was home on trackout, my mom was here for a week, the new childcare, etc.--but after some weirdness today on her part, it looks like she's going through a stranger anxiety phase, which my mom said is typical around this age. Hmmm.
Anyhow, that is about it for now....I have to go get dinner ready for the kid so I can get her off to the bath and bed. Picture update to follow whenever I get the chance! :)
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Your daily dose of Ava
I had an actual post written but somehow I hit a button and deleted it while trying to prevent Ava from biting my ankle. She went from cute and happy to mischievous and busy to cranky and whiny in the last hour. Yeesh.
Monday, October 6, 2008
A somewhat politically-inspired rant
(I promise--this should be safe to read no matter which side of the fence you are on! ;o)
I saw something today that touched off a nerve in a major way with me. It was on a random blog, but honestly, I would've expected better. The author of the blog was complaining about Sarah Palin, not because they disagreed with her politics (which they didn't), but because she's made the choice to have both a family and a career. Apparently it is wrong to do that and it means you are neglecting your family. Obviously as a working mom, that made me pretty angry. I am so sick and tired of this woman being judged by people on both sides for this! Her kids are FINE, the fact that she has a job is NOT going to hurt them....give me a break! (Yes, I know her daughter is pregnant but guess what? I know plenty of people who got pregnant as teens/before marriage who had stay-at-home moms, so clearly that has nothing to do with it.) I don't know much about being a governor orVice President, but I'm guessing it's not a strict 9-to-5 type schedule like mine (minus track-outs of course) and she'll still get plenty of time with her family. How much were Gore and Cheney harassed about how their jobs would interfere with their family time? How much are Obama, Biden, and McCain being harassed? Not to mention....HELLO! She has a husband, and last time I checked he wasn't in a vegetative state and is perfectly capable of caring for the children as well! Honestly, what century is this?!? I do most of the work with Ava, but that's because Craig is gone a lot and naturally it falls on me...but anytime I say, "Hey? Can you change her diaper/see why she's crying/take care of bath time/put her to bed/feed her/stop her from eating that power cord, etc.", he does it. (Okay, sometimes he tries to get out of it.... ;o) but he's CAPABLE of caring for our daughter and does a great job.)
Look--working moms work because they feel that, for whatever reason, it is the best decision they can make for their family. I work so that we don't have to live on a tight budget, so that we can afford to raise our kids in a nice, safe neighborhood, so that I can get them into an excellent school when the time comes, and so that I'm not giving up a great job when I know that in the future I"ll be paying for things like college. I'm sacrificing some time with Ava now (luckily I have a job where I still get lots of time with her!) but it will be so much better for her and any subsequent siblings in the long run. How is this in any way ungodly or wrong? Sarah Palin is doing the ultimate for her children--running for VP because she believes she can make the country a better place for them. I assume that's why both Pres/VP candidates are running, so that they can make things better in a way that they see fit...so why do we have to harass the lone female candidate (and not even Presidential candidate)? You don't have to agree with her politics or the politics of anyone else running this year, but LEAVE THEIR PARENTING OUT OF IT. For people to be that judgmental and act like they are somehow better than other people just because they don't work...that is so arrogant! Is Sarah Palin somehow neglecting or abusing her children because she works? Am I neglecting or abusing Ava because I work? HARDLY.
/rant. There....I feel a little better. Thanks for listening!
Oh, and to all of the wonderful stay-at-home moms I know who read this blog...THIS IS NOT DIRECTED AT YOU BY ANY MEANS. :o) You are very kind-hearted and are doing the best for your families as I am...this was inspired by a random blog so don't feel like I'm pointing a finger or anything! :o)
I saw something today that touched off a nerve in a major way with me. It was on a random blog, but honestly, I would've expected better. The author of the blog was complaining about Sarah Palin, not because they disagreed with her politics (which they didn't), but because she's made the choice to have both a family and a career. Apparently it is wrong to do that and it means you are neglecting your family. Obviously as a working mom, that made me pretty angry. I am so sick and tired of this woman being judged by people on both sides for this! Her kids are FINE, the fact that she has a job is NOT going to hurt them....give me a break! (Yes, I know her daughter is pregnant but guess what? I know plenty of people who got pregnant as teens/before marriage who had stay-at-home moms, so clearly that has nothing to do with it.) I don't know much about being a governor orVice President, but I'm guessing it's not a strict 9-to-5 type schedule like mine (minus track-outs of course) and she'll still get plenty of time with her family. How much were Gore and Cheney harassed about how their jobs would interfere with their family time? How much are Obama, Biden, and McCain being harassed? Not to mention....HELLO! She has a husband, and last time I checked he wasn't in a vegetative state and is perfectly capable of caring for the children as well! Honestly, what century is this?!? I do most of the work with Ava, but that's because Craig is gone a lot and naturally it falls on me...but anytime I say, "Hey? Can you change her diaper/see why she's crying/take care of bath time/put her to bed/feed her/stop her from eating that power cord, etc.", he does it. (Okay, sometimes he tries to get out of it.... ;o) but he's CAPABLE of caring for our daughter and does a great job.)
Look--working moms work because they feel that, for whatever reason, it is the best decision they can make for their family. I work so that we don't have to live on a tight budget, so that we can afford to raise our kids in a nice, safe neighborhood, so that I can get them into an excellent school when the time comes, and so that I'm not giving up a great job when I know that in the future I"ll be paying for things like college. I'm sacrificing some time with Ava now (luckily I have a job where I still get lots of time with her!) but it will be so much better for her and any subsequent siblings in the long run. How is this in any way ungodly or wrong? Sarah Palin is doing the ultimate for her children--running for VP because she believes she can make the country a better place for them. I assume that's why both Pres/VP candidates are running, so that they can make things better in a way that they see fit...so why do we have to harass the lone female candidate (and not even Presidential candidate)? You don't have to agree with her politics or the politics of anyone else running this year, but LEAVE THEIR PARENTING OUT OF IT. For people to be that judgmental and act like they are somehow better than other people just because they don't work...that is so arrogant! Is Sarah Palin somehow neglecting or abusing her children because she works? Am I neglecting or abusing Ava because I work? HARDLY.
/rant. There....I feel a little better. Thanks for listening!
Oh, and to all of the wonderful stay-at-home moms I know who read this blog...THIS IS NOT DIRECTED AT YOU BY ANY MEANS. :o) You are very kind-hearted and are doing the best for your families as I am...this was inspired by a random blog so don't feel like I'm pointing a finger or anything! :o)
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Two Weeks Down
I can't believe the first two weeks of track-out have gone by so quickly, and in one short week it'll be business as usual! Sooner, if you consider that two days this week will be devoted to workdays...but at least no students will be there. Anyhow, we had a great time with my mom: in addition to just spending time together, we also took Ava to the park (met a set of twin girls with the same exact birth date as Ava...her mom gave birth down the hall from me just hours before Ava was born!), went to a pumpkin farm, went out to lunch a few times, hit the outlet mall in Smithfield (worst outlet mall I've ever been to...I thought the purpose was supposed to be cheap prices? Hardly. Good stuff but I might as well have been to the local mall, which is five minutes away!), and had Ava's nine month pictures taken. Craig and I went to one more dinner (Cheesecake Factory) since it will likely be our late "date" until Thanksgiving break when the families are here and we go out to celebrate (or in my case, mourn) my 30th birthday.
That's really about it--Ava is finally done with her antibiotics and is all better, thank goodness! We still have the numbing eardrops so if we end up with any more ear infections, we can at least give her some pain relief until we are able to get her to the doctor for the antibiotics to clear it up. Hopefully it'll be a long time before that happens again. Or better yet...how about NEVER?
All right....here are some pictures from the previous week, mostly of the park and pumpkin farm....we took a lot more but I just don't have the time or energy to post them! I did get a chance to bake strawberry almond muffins today, woohoo! I miss that. I didn't get to work on my photo album over track-out, but I did work on organizing/writing down more recipes and got in a few baking sessions. :)
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That's really about it--Ava is finally done with her antibiotics and is all better, thank goodness! We still have the numbing eardrops so if we end up with any more ear infections, we can at least give her some pain relief until we are able to get her to the doctor for the antibiotics to clear it up. Hopefully it'll be a long time before that happens again. Or better yet...how about NEVER?
All right....here are some pictures from the previous week, mostly of the park and pumpkin farm....we took a lot more but I just don't have the time or energy to post them! I did get a chance to bake strawberry almond muffins today, woohoo! I miss that. I didn't get to work on my photo album over track-out, but I did work on organizing/writing down more recipes and got in a few baking sessions. :)
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