I did a great job of getting to bed at a decent hour last night! I was in bed by 9:15, and looking forward to a solid night of sleep, which I especially needed to help fight off a cold. Ava had a meltdown at 10:00...I figured she just had a bad dream or something, however, this was followed by NO LESS THAN FIVE MORE MELTDOWNS. Here's a list:
10:00---first one, I assume it's a nightmare and rock her back to sleep. Cries when I put her in the crib, stops when I rub her tummy for a few min.
10:30--next meltdown...I give her a bottle and then notice she's somehow peed all over her sleeper, there must've been a gap in the diaper somewhere. Change her clothes and put her back to bed. Cries when I put her down, settles down with a few minutes of rubbing her back.
11:00--I bring her to bed with me after this meltdown. She flips all over the place, scratches at the pillows (I think she liked the texture), and kicks me; and starts having a coughing fit. We go downstairs and cuddle on the couch for about a half hour while she coughs, I give her Tylenol in case all of the coughing is hurting her lungs. Bonus: the Tylenol seemed to help coat her throat and ease the cough as well. I rock her to sleep but she again cries when I put her down, rubbing her back helps.
12:00--I let her cry, she eventually stops.
12:30--Starts babbling to herself, then sobbing her head off. I go into the room and she has thrown Duckie over the side of the crib, and has pooped. Retrieve Duckie, change diaper, put her back down. Cries, gets back-rubbing for a minute or two, calms down.
1:00--Cries. I leave her alone and this is the last meltdown until she starts fussing at 5:00
At this point I could've worked in about four hours of sleep, but no, I am sick to my stomach for the next hour. (This sometimes happens from the drainage when I'm fighting a cold....FUN!) So when all is said and done, I end up with roughly 2 1/2 hours of sleep. I considered staying home today but Ava did not have a fever this morning and nobody was throwing up, and those are now my only two conditions for staying home, since I can't afford to use up all of my sick days. I've already used more in less than one semester than I usually use for the entire year!!! Ugh. Please cross your fingers/hope/pray that things go smoothly tonight, or I will completely snap....
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Trip to the Mall
I know--two posts in one day--I'm so ambitious! Ava is down for her afternoon nap (a little late, oh well!) so I thought I'd post a few pictures. We had fun walking around the mall: I'm on a sort-of mission to find a green sweater to match a skirt that I have, but I didn't find anything and I'm not even looking that hard anyhow. I did find a cute outfit for the kid, and I think I want this GAP dress for her first birthday:
It's so cute! I even found a little black shrug sweater in Macy's that would match....but I'd really like for them to go on sale first (the dress is already, not the sweater...although I could probably find a cheaper one elsewhere). Anyhow....here are the pictures:
Ava, playing on my bedroom floor while I got ready this morning
Happy and silly at the mall:
I'm not sure what was going on with her in the mall pictures--I bought a pretzel (didn't share, it was way too buttery so I gave her some of her Gerber crunchies and juice) and we sat down so I could eat, and she was being very silly...turning her head sideways and looking at me, giggling, stretching out her neck and smiling. It was pretty cute, but of course not long thereafter she started fussing so we headed home for naptime! It was a good day overall, and a nice treat to spend it with her in the middle of the week.
It's so cute! I even found a little black shrug sweater in Macy's that would match....but I'd really like for them to go on sale first (the dress is already, not the sweater...although I could probably find a cheaper one elsewhere). Anyhow....here are the pictures:
Ava, playing on my bedroom floor while I got ready this morning
Happy and silly at the mall:
I'm not sure what was going on with her in the mall pictures--I bought a pretzel (didn't share, it was way too buttery so I gave her some of her Gerber crunchies and juice) and we sat down so I could eat, and she was being very silly...turning her head sideways and looking at me, giggling, stretching out her neck and smiling. It was pretty cute, but of course not long thereafter she started fussing so we headed home for naptime! It was a good day overall, and a nice treat to spend it with her in the middle of the week.
Then and Now
So, we have today off from work (Happy Veteran's Day!) and I was just thinking how funny it is, the difference between a typical day off now and how I used to spend those days:
THEN
1.) Sleep until 10am
2.) Lunch out somewhere with a friend
3.) Going to the mall, looking for sales at Ann Taylor
4.) Watching movies and wasting time on the computer
5.) Making a nice dinner
NOW
1.) Up around 5:30am
2.) Breakfast at home with a baby, something for lunch if I'm lucky
3.) Going to the mall, looking for sales at Baby Gap
4.) Watching Baby Einstein and keeping the power cord from the computer out of Ava's mouth
5.) Completely unsatisfying and un-nutritious dinner after the baby is in bed
I'm not complaining...it's just amusing! Ava and I are actually having fun so far, and later I will take her to the mall, she loves to people watch and I have to start thinking about holiday shopping (yuck). We'll probably share an Auntie Anne's pretzel: last time I got one I gave her a few little pieces and she loved it! As her mother, it is my duty to introduce her to all kinds of things, including the exotic cuisine of...the mall food court.
That's about it here! The day off will make the week go by a little faster, and then we'll only be one week away from the Thanksgiving holiday (yay!) and my impending 30th birthday (boo!).
THEN
1.) Sleep until 10am
2.) Lunch out somewhere with a friend
3.) Going to the mall, looking for sales at Ann Taylor
4.) Watching movies and wasting time on the computer
5.) Making a nice dinner
NOW
1.) Up around 5:30am
2.) Breakfast at home with a baby, something for lunch if I'm lucky
3.) Going to the mall, looking for sales at Baby Gap
4.) Watching Baby Einstein and keeping the power cord from the computer out of Ava's mouth
5.) Completely unsatisfying and un-nutritious dinner after the baby is in bed
I'm not complaining...it's just amusing! Ava and I are actually having fun so far, and later I will take her to the mall, she loves to people watch and I have to start thinking about holiday shopping (yuck). We'll probably share an Auntie Anne's pretzel: last time I got one I gave her a few little pieces and she loved it! As her mother, it is my duty to introduce her to all kinds of things, including the exotic cuisine of...the mall food court.
That's about it here! The day off will make the week go by a little faster, and then we'll only be one week away from the Thanksgiving holiday (yay!) and my impending 30th birthday (boo!).
Monday, November 10, 2008
Welcome!
If you are reading this, you got my invite! (DUH.) I got sick of random, stupid people leaving me snarky comments. Seriously...if you don't know me, don't understand my sarcastic humor, and don't like my blog, why don't you go away? Is it necessary to send me a comment? So, I decided to just do away with open blogging. If you know people who read and I didn't send them an invite, just email me. :o)
breaking news--Ava has a cold!
Because that's, like, unusual. RIGHT. I'm going to start making announcements when she ISN'T sick. Anyhow, either because of the not feeling well or by coincidence, she did NOT want to nap or go to sleep all weekend. By Saturday afternoon I found a simple solution--I had to give her some significant cuddle time or rock her in order to get her to sleep. I'm not complaining!! I've tried rocking her before just so we could have that time together but usually she stands up on my lap and jumps up and down (apparently I am a trampoline?) and tries to rip down the curtains behind the rocking chair. So, cuddling/rocking it is. :o)
In other news, I apparently speak Chinese or babble like a moron, or speak in a frequency that only dogs can hear. There is a particular math concept that some of these kids keep wanting to make up fake shortcuts on. I've explained that it DOES NOT WORK...that by using the shortcut they are trying to use, they can't even get the right answer by accident...that's how far off base it is. I say, "DO NOT DO IT THAT WAY! I PROMISE YOU, YOU WILL NEVER GET THE RIGHT ANSWER THAT WAY! THERE IS NO SHORTCUT....YOU HAVE TO DO IT THIS WAY TO GET THE CORRECT ANSWER!" All they hear is, "blahblahblah do it however you want..." UGH!!! You want to know why I'm now getting copious amounts of gray hair? THAT is why.
In other news, I apparently speak Chinese or babble like a moron, or speak in a frequency that only dogs can hear. There is a particular math concept that some of these kids keep wanting to make up fake shortcuts on. I've explained that it DOES NOT WORK...that by using the shortcut they are trying to use, they can't even get the right answer by accident...that's how far off base it is. I say, "DO NOT DO IT THAT WAY! I PROMISE YOU, YOU WILL NEVER GET THE RIGHT ANSWER THAT WAY! THERE IS NO SHORTCUT....YOU HAVE TO DO IT THIS WAY TO GET THE CORRECT ANSWER!" All they hear is, "blahblahblah do it however you want..." UGH!!! You want to know why I'm now getting copious amounts of gray hair? THAT is why.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
First Halloween!
I didn't realize it had been awhile since I updated! The last week or so has been exhausting and it doesn't look like things will slow down anytime soon. I'll try to give a play-by-play of what's been going on, and I'll end with some pictures.
--Halloween was okay. I'm not a big fan of it...I hate dressing up in costumes and as an adult, the thought of an entire holiday in which kids go door-to-door and get complete strangers to give them candy seems pretty absurd. (I know, it's almost like I'm a cranky old woman trapped in an almost-30-year-old's body... ;o) But, whatever...I'll get into it for my kids, I suppose--this being Ava's first Halloween, we didn't do much: I borrowed a ladybug costume from a friend and she wore that over a shirt and jeans...I didn't even get black pants to make it match. It stayed on for maybe two hours. Anyhow, I DID get some cute pictures! There were a lot less trick-or-treaters this year...not sure why. Usually I buy a bunch of really good candy so that I have good leftovers to snack on, but I didn't feel like spending the money this year (and there's usually little left) so I bought the gigantic bag of cheapo candy and....we have most of it left. Ugh...thank goodness for teaching, I can take it to work and give it to the kids! I think the best part about Halloween was that at Ava's bedtime, we put a note on the door requesting that people knock quietly and not ring the doorbell and EVERYONE was kind enough to respect our wishes--they even whispered when they said "trick or treat!!" I put "baby sleeping" on the note as well and one little girl said, "I hope your baby stays asleep. I LOVE babies!"
--Ava helped me vote on Tuesday! It's so funny, I remember after the 2004 elections I said to a friend that the weirdest thing would be that at the 2008 elections, I'd probably be dragging a kid along when voting! Indeed...
Anyhow, we were very fortunate that there was NO wait. None at all...only about three people were even there...the most time we spent was talking to the workers, who were gushing over the youngest voter they'd seen that day. (Ava...not me! ;o)
--Only two weeks until the family arrives for Thanksgiving! Thus far it will be my parents, Billy, Lauren (Billy's girlfriend), and I have my fingers crossed that Michael will be able to make it as well.
--We've chosen colors for the siding, trim, shutters, stone, and brick on the house, as well as picked the style of window...they should be breaking ground any day now! This whole process takes forever and involves a lot of fighting with stupid builders who are trying to get out of building the house according to the blueprints we agreed upon, and now probably won't be done until April or May. What a pain....I just want to be moved already!
--Ava's favorite thing is a little blankie we call "Duckie." Duckie is a soft little blanket (about 1 sq. foot) with a duck head on one end...it's like some new thing so that babies don't carry around big old mangy security blankets, I guess. We try to restrict Duckie to the crib, but will sometimes bring it out if we want Ava to settle down in preparation for bedtime...it's like a signal to her that it's time to go to sleep, and she'll cuddle it and suck her fingers. Well, the original Duckie was given to us by Craig's Aunt Liz, and was purchased at a little boutique up in MA where she lives...so when I set out to find another one as backup I had no luck! Anyhow, Pat (Craig's mom) asked Liz about the duckies and she was kind enough to go back to the shop and find/send us two more! I gave all three Duckies to Ava at once and she was overwhelmed...she immediately started sucking her fingers and grabbing at each of the duckies! Ha!
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--Halloween was okay. I'm not a big fan of it...I hate dressing up in costumes and as an adult, the thought of an entire holiday in which kids go door-to-door and get complete strangers to give them candy seems pretty absurd. (I know, it's almost like I'm a cranky old woman trapped in an almost-30-year-old's body... ;o) But, whatever...I'll get into it for my kids, I suppose--this being Ava's first Halloween, we didn't do much: I borrowed a ladybug costume from a friend and she wore that over a shirt and jeans...I didn't even get black pants to make it match. It stayed on for maybe two hours. Anyhow, I DID get some cute pictures! There were a lot less trick-or-treaters this year...not sure why. Usually I buy a bunch of really good candy so that I have good leftovers to snack on, but I didn't feel like spending the money this year (and there's usually little left) so I bought the gigantic bag of cheapo candy and....we have most of it left. Ugh...thank goodness for teaching, I can take it to work and give it to the kids! I think the best part about Halloween was that at Ava's bedtime, we put a note on the door requesting that people knock quietly and not ring the doorbell and EVERYONE was kind enough to respect our wishes--they even whispered when they said "trick or treat!!" I put "baby sleeping" on the note as well and one little girl said, "I hope your baby stays asleep. I LOVE babies!"
--Ava helped me vote on Tuesday! It's so funny, I remember after the 2004 elections I said to a friend that the weirdest thing would be that at the 2008 elections, I'd probably be dragging a kid along when voting! Indeed...
Anyhow, we were very fortunate that there was NO wait. None at all...only about three people were even there...the most time we spent was talking to the workers, who were gushing over the youngest voter they'd seen that day. (Ava...not me! ;o)
--Only two weeks until the family arrives for Thanksgiving! Thus far it will be my parents, Billy, Lauren (Billy's girlfriend), and I have my fingers crossed that Michael will be able to make it as well.
--We've chosen colors for the siding, trim, shutters, stone, and brick on the house, as well as picked the style of window...they should be breaking ground any day now! This whole process takes forever and involves a lot of fighting with stupid builders who are trying to get out of building the house according to the blueprints we agreed upon, and now probably won't be done until April or May. What a pain....I just want to be moved already!
--Ava's favorite thing is a little blankie we call "Duckie." Duckie is a soft little blanket (about 1 sq. foot) with a duck head on one end...it's like some new thing so that babies don't carry around big old mangy security blankets, I guess. We try to restrict Duckie to the crib, but will sometimes bring it out if we want Ava to settle down in preparation for bedtime...it's like a signal to her that it's time to go to sleep, and she'll cuddle it and suck her fingers. Well, the original Duckie was given to us by Craig's Aunt Liz, and was purchased at a little boutique up in MA where she lives...so when I set out to find another one as backup I had no luck! Anyhow, Pat (Craig's mom) asked Liz about the duckies and she was kind enough to go back to the shop and find/send us two more! I gave all three Duckies to Ava at once and she was overwhelmed...she immediately started sucking her fingers and grabbing at each of the duckies! Ha!
BubbleShare: Share photos - Craft Ideas
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Magic Butt Cream
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)
Ah well. I got a good laugh out of it. ;o)
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