World of Warcraft withdrawal...

Our prepaid game cards for WoW ran out the day after Thanksgiving, so we've been a WoW-free zone for almost a week now.

Overheard in my home yesterday: "I don't care if you sell your body for cheese, as long as it means I get to play WoW."

Addiction is an ugly thing...

Lesson #10

Any day that starts with a diaper change that requires two people to need their hair washed, creates an entire load of laundry, and has you contemplating how to get poop off the kitchen ceiling is probably NOT going to be a good day.

Lesson #9

If you tell your husband that empty soda cans are not to be thrown away in the very small bathroom garbage can he will, in fact, stack them on the back of the toilet.

Playing catch up... and just a bunch of randomness

Halloween (my absolute favorite holiday) is over and I feel like I'm completely behind schedule. What schedule, I'm not sure. But I'm definitely behind it..

Christmas is less than two months away and I have no idea what to buy for my kids, let alone actually started buying anything.

I can't remember the last time I cleaned my bathrooms. Quite honestly, I may need a hazmat suit to do it now. It's my least favorite chore, and obviously the one I do the most infrequently.

I have been incredibly moody lately to the point it's driving ME crazy. Or crazier, as the case may be. Seriously, I have spent two weeks being pissed that in all my pumpkin farm pictures the Princess is looking at my MIL and not at me. Granted, lots of pictures of the side of my kid's head may have been reason to be upset for a few minutes, but two weeks? I even considered taking the baby back just to get a better shot.

The Princess now wears a 12 months size and has no clothes that fit her.

Before Munchkin left with his dad this evening I had to promise to keep TR from eating his Halloween candy. I will probably have to hide it to accomplish this.

TR quit his M-F 7:30-4 job to be a manager at a new video game store. He's happier and less stressed. I haven't decided how I feel about the change yet.

Both kids go to the doctor on Monday. I am not looking forward to this. Thankfully, TR is going with us.

I have reached level 50 in WoW... not that anyone else cares, but it was all very exciting for me and thus, needed to be shared.

I am looking forward to the approaching holidays with all the excitement most people save for things like, um... root canals and tax audits. I dislike them and really wish I could go to sleep tonight and wake up in January.


My 10 year class reunion is next weekend. I actually graduated in 1998, but for some inane reason they (the idiots that planned this mess) decided we needed to combine our reunion with the class of 1997. I will not be attending for a few reasons:

• I did not like any of the people in the class of 1997 and have no desire to spend an entire evening with them.
• I think class reunions are just a way for those that have done well to show off and those that haven't to feel bad. Sort of like high school...
• With a few rare exceptions, I did not like the people in the class of 1998 and have no desire to spend an entire evening with them.
• I find the idea of spending $70 to hang out with people I didn't like 10 years ago absolutely ridiculous.
• The fact that I didn't like them 10 years ago probably means I won't like them now, and I have no desire to waste time and money to find that out.

The Princess now has two teeth and likes to remind me by biting down on my fingernails. Yeah, that's about as enjoyable as it sounds.

My moodiness has kicked my sarcasm into overdrive. This does not bode well for those that have the misfortune of pissing me off or irritating me.

I'm sure there are other things, but I'm tired of typing. So to end, a photo of my little fairy.

Some pictures

Just a couple pictures to fill in the void until I get a chance to update...

Uneventful weekend

Things were pretty quiet around here this weekend. My brother in law (known hereafter as Slug) came over to hang out with my husband Friday night. He's not my favorite person, but it was a fairly painless visit.

Saturday the baby slept in until 9:30, so that was a good time. Jr was home from college for the weekend so she stopped by for a little bit. The husband and I played some video games and went to bed fairly early.

Sunday, we had dinner at TR's grandma's house after watching the Bengals lose.

All in all, an uneventful and non-productive weekend. Ahhhh....

Next weekend? Pumpkin farm and costume shopping.

I miss me...

I looked in the mirror yesterday and realized I couldn't remember the last time I had done that. I barely recognized my own reflection.

Who was this tired, old woman with the frown and out of control eyebrows? Had she heard of a hairbrush? Didn't she realize there was some weird orange stain on her baggy t-shirt? Does she realize she looks like a before photo?

I miss the old me. The me before I had two kids and stayed home all day. The me that had highlights and waxed eyebrows. Nice clothes and makeup. An occasional smile and no frown lines. Who wore jewelry with great regularity, and whose main fashion accessory was not a bandanna tied around messy hair. The me that got to wash her hair more than twice a week and didn't have to plan ahead to shave more than the lower half of her legs. Whose day was more than dishes, laundry, and dirty diapers. Whose personality was something other than tired...

Yeah, I have kids. I chose to have them and I don't regret that. But why does that mean that I have to sacrifice absolutely everything about the way my life was before them? My entire identity? Why can't I be Mommy and still be me? Why can't I feel pretty and worthwhile and still be able to give my kids what they need? Why do the two seem to be mutually exclusive?

If I seem like I'm whining, it's because I am. But you know what? I listen to enough damn whining that I think I'm entitled to do it on occasion. If this seems selfish... well, maybe if I was just a little selfish once in a while, I wouldn't be so freaking depressed right now. Maybe.

Lesson 8

You will not truly learn how thoughtful your 1st grader can be until he brings you a lunch box full of trash home every day because he "doesn't want the lunch lady to have to throw it away" for him.

Halloween costumes

We've been discussing Halloween costumes (it's almost October!!!) lately. Generally that means Munchkin picks a cartoon character, we find a costume at the store, and we're done. Not so this year...

This year he wants to be a Night Elf. Uh huh, yeah, that was pretty much my reaction. How do I turn my 6 year old into a purple elf with glowing eyes?

Thanks to the power of Google, and hopefully a LOTR costume, I may be able to pull it off. At least well enough to convince him.

Also, I have to make fairy wings for a squiggly, not quite crawling 6 month old baby. Thanks in that category go to Martha Stewart and some pantyhose.

10 years ago I never saw myself as ever being a costume making mom... some days it still boggles the mind.

Lesson #7

Do not repeatedly mention to your wife that she should try playing your favorite online RPG if you are not fully prepared to give up your laptop when she wants to play it after being sucked in.

Also, do not whine that she plays more than you do or that she needs her own account. You should know there is no way in hell she'll start over after getting her character to level 21.

What to do, what to do

So I have a dilemma...

The story:

Once I had a best friend. She was the person I confided in. I talked to her about everything. We helped each other through some pretty rough times. We talked on the phone nearly every day. It was nice to have a good friend I could count on.

One day, this friend betrayed a very important confidence. I was incredibly hurt and called her out on it. She apologized profusely and I forgave her, but let her know that I no longer felt I could trust her. She said she understood.

From that day on, she stopped answering my calls. She stopped calling and emailing. She just stopped.

I was incredibly hurt. And angry. But mostly hurt.

When my daughter was born, I sent my former friend an announcement. She emailed her congratulations. I thanked her and let it go at that.

Since then we have exchanged the occasional superficial email. She asked about the baby, and wondered if she could see pictures. I sent her some.

Now after two months of no contact, she's requested photos again.

My dilemma is this: Why, if she has no interest in being my friend, does she want pics of my baby? Why should I send them?

I think that if I'm not "good" enough to be her friend, for whatever reason, then there is no reason she needs photos of my kids. Maybe I'm just being petty, but I don't think so.

Thoughts?

Under construction...

I'm starting to think I spend more time changing things than posting here...

Just because...

She's so damn cute!!

There's no escaping: Lesson 6

I'm lying in bed this morning (freezing my ass off cause I accidentally set the thermostat to 60 instead of 65) with the covers over my head when Munchkin comes in (trolling for food probably).

"Mom, why do you have your head covered up?"

"I'm hiding from the world."

"Well, the world can see your hair."

Lessons from my life: Lesson 5

If you buy a very expensive TV and do not have a strong enough antenna (and no cable), what do you get?

High definition static.

Changes around here

Okay, so I've been making a few minor changes around here. Some were things that just needed sprucing up.

1. I added a 3D version of myself from Meez.com. The real me has a much larger ass, but thankfully that's not an option on the site. Also, you can't see it, but my shirt says "I love Nerds"
   
2. I subtly pointed out that my husband has a blog he never uses.
3. I FINALLY re sized the Blogger search bar at the top so it wasn't covering stuff up any more.
4. I deleted the Weather Pixie cause she never had a temperature close to what it actually is here. Also, she dressed like a slut. Not that I have anything wrong with sluttiness, I just don't want another girl doing it in my space.

I think that about covers it for changes here in the blog world. Maybe tomorrow I'll get to the real- life changes.

Cake

Graduated!!

So, my baby is officially a 1st grader now. He sang his songs and shook hands with the principal. It was so cute. I'll admit I got a little teary- eyed more than once. It's so hard to believe he's growing up this fast. It seems like just yesterday he was learning how to walk, and now look at him. I'm so proud of you Munchkin!

Stressed? No, not me...

This week is a busy one for us. Munchkin graduates from kindergarten tomorrow. I had to go find something nice for him to wear because he has outgrown everything he has. He has a picnic with his class on Thursday so I've been trying to figure out what he can pack in his lunch since he's pickier than I am when it comes to food.

Graduation is at 9:30 in the morning so my husband can't get out of work for it. Which means I have to get up and get Munchkin to the bus by 8am, run home and get myself and the Princess ready to leave by 8:45 so we can be at the school early enough to get a seat. Then, an hour plus in an un-air conditioned gym (it's supposed to be in the 90's tomorrow) with 80 kids and their parents, grandparents, etc... All with a 2 month old baby that can't handle the heat. Yea.

Then, at 4pm I have a volunteer reception to go to at the school and have to take both kids- again, by myself. Not such a big deal except that neither one will probably get a nap with the graduation and various visiting family members.

On top of the various end-of- school stuff, I'm in a cleaning frenzy because TR's aunt is coming Saturday to meet the baby for the first time. I feel like I'm awaiting inspection. Seriously, do people with small children really have perfect houses?

I was going to participate in the town-wide yard sale this weekend and get rid of some crap from the basement, but it doesn't look like I'm gonna get to do that. Sigh. We have a baseball game Friday night too, so it's not likely I'm gonna want to get up early and do any more work on Saturday.

I swear I'm getting a job (at least on the weekends) just so I can get regularly scheduled breaks.

Off to wash the new "Graduation outfit." I'll post pics tomorrow from the festivities. If I get a chance to sit down.

I'm still here

So I didn't get rid of my internet... yet. It's still a possibility, but hopefully not one that will actually come to fruition.

The Princess is getting HUGE!!! She no longer fits in her newborn clothes- we're filling out the 3-6 months sizes quite well. She smiles and coos but spends a lot of time smirking like she knows a secret and isn't going to share.

Like her big brother (who loves her and gives her hugs and kisses a lot, but thinks she is slightly boring cause she doesn't "do" anything) she loves to be naked. Almost every evening she has "naked time." She also loves the outside and the sunshine. When naked time and the sunshine go together- well, she's a happy girl.
In other news, we're going to be moving in the fall. The big debate is whether we're moving to a new townhouse/apartment, or if we will be buying a house. My in laws are pushing (and when I say "pushing," I mean I'm falling over from the force) the house buying idea, and I think my husband really wants to, but I'm not sure I'm ready to go that much in debt and commit to living in one place for the next 20 years. I like the idea that right now if I hate my home (which I do) I can pack up at the end of my lease (August) and move somewhere I like better. With a house and a mortgage, I won't have that freedom and, quite honestly, that scares the shit out of me.

Munchkin graduates from kindergarten on Wednesday. He's so excited about 1st grade. I am so proud of him- he's been in the Accelerated Reader program for months and he's doing so well- yet it makes me a little sad to see him growing up so fast.

Other than all that, not much is new. I think I may have PPD, I have too much shit in my basement, and I need a visit from the money fairy. All in all, life is about the same. Chaos and crazy- the way it should be. Mostly it just makes me feel like this:

Leave of absence...

I know I haven't updated here in a while. Things have been busy.

I wanted to post one more time and let everyone know that I won't be here for quite some time (probably months) because I am cancelling my internet access for a little while.

I'll miss you all. See you when I get back.

~Katrina

Baby news... and blues

Tomorrow the Princess will be 3 weeks old. In the very short time she's been in the outside world she has accomplished quite a few things. These include:

• Sleeping through the night on the day she was born (Midnight to 6am)

• Trouble with digesting milk protein which led to:

1. Having tummy x-rays taken
2. Having blood work done
3. Having her formula switched to one with pre-digested proteins (YUM!)

• Spending a week on the above mentioned formula only to discover she also has a fairly serious milk allergy which causes:

1. Infant acne
2. Wheezing
3. Stomach pain
4. Gas
5. Spitting up
6. Crying
7. General fussiness
   

• Being switched to a specialty formula that has to be ordered through a pharmacy and costs nearly $40 a can

• Rolling from her stomach to her back (yesterday!)

In other news... it's also been discovered that I am allergic to the Princess. Okay not her, but the laundry soap her clothes are washed in (Dreft). So, along with having a fussy baby and very little sleep, I am also covered in hives from just below my ribs to behind my ears. All in all, not a very attractive sight at the moment.

Munchkin likes his baby sister, but is still unimpressed with the fact that she can't do anything yet. He does like to show her off, and wants to wear his "I'm the big brother" shirts as soon as they come out of the laundry.

Her Royal Highness is proclaiming it lunchtime so I've got to go before my eardrums start bleeding (this child would give the Banshees a run for their money)... more soon.

Photos... as promised

The Princess...

For those of you that don't know, (which would be pretty much anyone not related to me) I had a baby on Friday, March 30 at 11:31am. She weighed 8lbs6oz and was 20.75 inches long.

She shall from here on in be known as The Princess. Why? Mostly the sheer amount of crap the child had amassed before she was even born. She won't need diapers for 3-4 months or clothes for almost a year. I've actually packed up some of the gifts we got simply because I have no room for them until they are actually needed in a few months.

I will post pictures as soon as I get the blog switched over to password protected. Call me paranoid, but the whole stolen newborn thing in the the news lately has made me a little wary. Also. I've discovered that I am often visited by a few people I would prefer not to share news about my children with. Those of you that have already emailed me, I will put you on the list. Anyone else that still wants to visit needs to email me soon.

Times they are a changin'...

Within the next few days I'll be switching this blog over so that only those that I have pre-approved to read it will be able to. If you are a friend or family member that stops by regularly (or even not so regularly), please email me at: blueeyes180@yahoo.com and let me know which email address you want me to put on the allow list for you.

Bun in the oven=Urine in the fridge?

At my doctor's appointment yesterday I found out several things:

1. My iron level has at last reached an acceptable level and I will no longer be lectured about the dangers of anemia.
   
2. I'm having possible symptoms of pre-eclampsia and therefore will need to undergo an additional test(s) to determine if I do in fact have it.
3. For 24 hours, I will have to have a bio hazard jug of my own urine in the fridge which upon the 24th hour is to be driven to the hospital to be tested.
4. In addition to having pee in my fridge next to the orange juice and having to take it for a drive, I will also get to surrender an undisclosed amount of my blood upon arrival at the hospital. Yea needle!

Oh what fun it is to be pregnant. I also get to attend my second baby shower on Sunday afternoon. My mothers-in-law (yes, I have two) our hosting this one, and while I appreciate the time and effort that they've put into it, I really don't want to go. I dislike parties anyway, and really dislike ones where I'm stuck being the center of attention. My doctor diagnosed it as Social anxiety disorder years ago, which is a fancy medical way of saying that crowds (even small ones) of people make me have panic attacks, tense up, and just generally feel icky. Granted, this isn't something that's known by my in-laws. Being pregnant on top of the aforementioned ickiness, just makes for an even better time.

It's almost over, right?

20 days and counting...

So I have twenty days to go officially. While the convenience of April 9 is not to be disputed (it falls within Munchkin's spring break so I wouldn't have to worry about him getting to school) I am seriously hoping that it doesn't take that long. According to everything I've read, anytime after 37 weeks (that was yesterday) the baby is considered to be full term. Which means, in theory, that she can come out now. Or possibly next week.

Next week would probably be better. Munchkin has strep throat this week. I took him to the doctor yesterday for a sore throat and vomiting and within 10 minutes of swabbing his throat they had confirmed it was strep. Woo hoo. As a person who has had strep more times than I could even begin to count, I braced myself for the excitement of being both very pregnant and very sick. Since his symptoms showed up Saturday night, and he was given an antibiotic shot (no meds cause of the vomiting) yesterday, hopefully I'm in the clear (knock on wood!) and won't end up with it.

I finally got the downstairs bathroom cleaned up today. It's the one people will have to use if they come to visit after the baby comes and I have no desire to clean it up after having just given birth. So, I locked it from the inside and it will stay that way until she comes. A few people have asked why I don't just have TR clean it later. The short answer is: a boy version of a clean bathroom is not appropriate for use by the in laws or anyone not accustomed to using an outhouse- like facility. Also, living with two males makes cleaning the bathroom an adventure anyway. It's best for all involved if I just contain them to the upstairs for the next couple of weeks.

If you were a brand new baby sock and had been washed, only to turn up missing- where would you be?

Saturday TR and I packed the car full of blankets and pillows (and I do mean packed- 10 pillows, a body pillow, 3 comforters, 5-6 blankets, and assorted sheets, pillowcases, and mattress pads) and headed to the laundromat. I do have a washer and dryer here, but most of our blankets and such don't fit well and end up getting ripped so I always wash them elsewhere. The sheets, which get washed much more frequently, went along simply because I had no desire t o come home and wash more laundry later in the day. Approximately 3 hours and $60 in quarters later, all of the bedding in our house is clean and fresh.

Saturday night TR and Lola went to a St. Patty's thing at one of her friends homes. She dropped his mildly (or not so mildly) intoxicated self off shortly before 1am. While I'm glad he had a good time and didn't get into any trouble (always a minor concern with my crazy husband) I realized that sending your husband off to drink with another woman, no matter how long you've been friends with her (very nearly 17 years) is not a good idea when you are 8 months pregnant and hormones are putting the whammy on your emotional state.

I organized the linen closet, did laundry, started a sewing project, watched Survivor online, and played countless games of computer solitaire all the while imagining all the worst case scenarios of them being out. I think they were joining some freaky sex cult in my mind when he finally got home. Ugh. Pregnant crazy is a whole lot worse than my regular crazy.

I'm off to find a lost sock and load the dishwasher. Blah.

Ahhh, the power of Google...

I've had two visitors in the last two days that have found my blog by googling "furry armpit."

12 Steps...

Is there a 12 step program for bad bloggers? If so, sign me up. A whole month? Good grief.

Time to play catch up again...

I now have 28 days until our newest sprout is due. I am so ready to not be pregnant.

I attended the first of two baby showers on Saturday. It was fun, but by the end I was exhausted and more than ready to come home and go to bed.

I had to call the Midwife on call Saturday night because my feet and legs had swelled to the point where I had no ankles and could not get my shoes on. Kinda scary considering they've never swelled even a little before. I was told to keep my feet elevated and drink lots of water. Also, to call back if they didn't get any better or I started experiencing blurred vision or headaches. Thankfully by Sunday afternoon I mostly had ankles again.

Munchkin is anxious to be a big brother. He counts down the days and was practicing diapering on a teddy bear this morning.

TR is anxious to be daddy. He gets all misty-eyed and has been seen conversing with my stomach. Of course, as soon as he starts talking in the same room, the baby starts rolling around and kicking me, so I'm guessing the affection is pretty much mutual.

I had to have a 3rd ultrasound because there was concern that the baby had flipped over again and was now head up instead of head down. Thankfully she is head down.

I finished her "bedroom" in our closet. I have yet to take pictures. As soon as I do, I'll get them up here.

I realized that my due date is the day after Easter. This of course sent me into a panic which prompted early Easter basket shopping. I was convinced that Munchkin would be forever scarred if he not only got stuck with a new baby, but also got forgotten by the Easter bunny while mommy was at the hospital with the new baby. Of course now that I'm prepared, she won't come anywhere near Easter. Such is life.

I am attempting to get my house cleaned and organized before the baby comes. Notice the word "attempting."

I have been trying to make plans for Munchkin for when I have to be at the hospital. Unfortunately, this hard to do since the "when" is unknown. I'm gonna have to come up with several plans to fit a number of possible time situations. Blah.

We did pick out a name for the baby. No we haven't told anyone. For some reason this tends to piss people off. It's our kid, get over it. You'll know her name when she's here and you need to use it.

I have my hospital bag packed except for the few things that I use frequently like my contacts and the camera. I have the baby's bag packed too. Munchkin also gets a bag full of fun "I'm a bored big brother that has to sit at the hospital and listen to people ooh and ahh over a small, shriveled, old man- looking, baby that doesn't do anything fun," activities and toys. Also, candy.

I think that's about it. I will update again before the baby comes- unless she comes really early.

Valentine's Day trash...

It's Wednesday, February 14 which means two things:

1. It is Valentine's Day, and
2. Tonight is trash night

For the most part, neither of those occurrences mean much to me. I'm not big on the whole "There needs to be a special day to buy stuff to prove how much you love me" concept. If you love me the right way, then I already know it and don't need proof. And, TR takes the garbage cans out to the curb every week so I never pay much attention to that.

However... today is a different story. Sort of.

TR and I cleaned up a little last night. Mostly we just gathered up the random garbage that was sitting around and I had him take the kitchen garbage out to the can for me. It's not that far, but the ice storm, my natural gracefulness, and my current medical condition I thought it was probably best for him to do it. No big deal right? Uh-huh.

Fast forward to this morning. I'm sitting on the couch watching GMA and happen to glance over at the table next to me. I notice my engagement ring lying there amid the coasters. Not a big deal, as I often lay my rings there when I take them off. (Yes, I take off my wedding and engagement rings. If your hands swelled like mine do, you would too.) However, what I failed to see was my wedding ring...

Much panic ensues... All sorts of scenarios run through my head as I run around crazily trying to locate the missing ring:

1. TR found it and has hidden it. I say this because he's not fond of the way I just lay them down where ever I happen to take them off.
2. Munchkin has found it and hidden it. Many things in our house go missing this way. After several rounds of interrogation it is surmised that Munchkin has not seen the ring.
3. This is my least favorite scenario and unfortunately the correct one: I threw it in the trash while cleaning off the table last night.
   

I THREW IT AWAY!!! I found it stuck to the wrapper of a juice box straw in the bottom of a trash bag full of discarded pizza, paper plates with frozen ketchup remnants, and equally disgusting bits of trash. Fortunately it was the first bag of trash that I went through, as I'm not sure my queasy stomach could have handle any more.

Guess I win the "Sucky Valentine of the Year" award.

Good mail

I almost never get good mail. Usually it's "You're PRE-APPROVED" and "PAY US NOW BEFORE WE BREAK YOUR KNEES!" Neither of these things inspire warm fuzzy feelings or a desire to walk to the mailbox (it's about 50ft away, but still- it's the principle of the thing).


My birthday brought good mail. Happy, cheerful cards full of well wishes. Also, the occasional cash and prizes.


TR and I got a valentine from his mother (yes, the one who hates me) yesterday. She likes to send cards. We get one from her for almost every occasion you could imagine- and quite possibly a few you couldn't.

Glenda sends me cards at random times too. Usually when I need the most cheering up. Munchkin got a Valentine's package from her today that had fun stuff and valentine's for all in it. Very cool.


Last week I ordered baby stuff online. We're talking bed, car seat, swing, etc... I WILL be getting good mail this week. Not just mail- but packages. It doesn't matter what's in a package, there are always fun to get!


I plan to start getting the baby's "room" put together as the packages come in, so be prepared for before, after and in between photo updates.

Baby stuff...

So we had a sonogram on Friday. My doc thought the baby was measuring bigger than she should be so she wanted to check on ultrasound. The answer? We're right where we should be. So my due date is still April 9. Apparently she weighs 4.5 pounds- give or take 11 ounces. And she is definitely a girl.


I finally bought some baby stuff this weekend. So I'm feeling exhausted (I am sooo not a shopping person, even when I'm not pregnant!) but relieved to not be completely unprepared now. I am annoyed by the abundance of PINK and lack of other colors for baby girls. Why do babies need to be color-coded? I know she's a girl even without her wearing some cotton-candy colored monstrosity. And strangers? Why do I care if the germy old ladies at the grocery store don't know what sex my baby is? I have issues with strangers that want to touch other people's babies...

Supposedly we are in for an ice/snow storm tonight. Woo-ha. Hopefully TR gets home before it starts because there is NO food in this house. If we're stuck here for a few days because of 4 inches of ice and we haven't gone to the store, things could get interesting.

The joys of growing up... Lesson #4

It's been a long while since I shared any of the bits of wisdom I pick up in day to day life. So here we go...

Recently Munchkin has become obsessed with armpit hair. Don't ask me why, but the child finds it hilarious. Every time TR takes off his shirt (my husband is a hairy beast!) Munchkin giggles and points out, "You have hairy armpits!"

Friday afternoon TR was getting ready to shower after work and Munchkin stated the obvious once more, "TR, you have hairy armpits! Hahahahahahaha!"

I said to him, "When you grow up you'll have hair in your armpits too." He looked at me as if this concept was fascinating to him.

"Really?"

"Yep, you'll have furry armpits someday," I told him.


"YEAH, and a BIG PENIS TOO!" This declaration was accompanied by a forward thrusting of the hips and a Superman-like, hands on the hips pose.

Apparently even at six years old the prospect of a larger penis is exciting. Who knew?

Useless miscellany...

I have now been 27 years old for 50 hours and 32 minutes. Strangely enough, I do not feel any older.

As of today I am 30 weeks pregnant. I feel about 3 years pregnant. I've also hit that point (some call it nesting, I call it ARRRRRGHHHHHHHH!!!!) where I am panicking about all the things left to do before the baby comes.

I spent Sunday (my birthday, no less) making my husband help me empty our stuffed bedroom closet of all the clothes that we do not wear. A large box and two lawn and leaf size bags later, we have an empty closet. Why? Because I had the brilliant idea that our closet is the perfect place for the new baby.

Before you start calling CPS on me, let me explain our closet situation. Our closet is about 6 feet wide. It used to have these horrible floor-to-ceiling bi-fold METAL doors on it. When we moved in with a curious 3 year old, those fab things were quickly removed. Actually, all the closet doors in our house were removed. Cuts down on pinched fingers as well as hiding monsters. SO, now we have a 6ft space in the wall with a bar for hanging clothes on with a shelf above. This space is across from a 3 ft wide vanity counter with a mirror (anyone who knows me knows how much time I don't spend in front of a mirror). There is also a door next to the closet that accesses our upstairs bathroom.

If we (WE being my husband of course), block off that door it makes a space approx. 6'x6' with the 3'x2' vanity as a "changing area." That's what, 42 square feet of space? I think that is more than enough room for a baby and all her stuff.

What about mine and the husband's clothes you ask? What is left after the purge fits in a small 3 drawer cart and the closet on the other side of our bedroom that is a third of the size of the "baby" closet. It's amazing what you can get rid of when you try. I am down to 6 pairs of shoes. That's right, 6. Some of you may remember a time when I had nearly 60+ pairs. Gone are those days... sigh.

Going hand in hand with my "oh holy crap, we have so much to get ready!" panic are also my "we only have 10 weeks to go and we have nothing for this baby yet!" panic, and my "this baby is yet another opportunity to make my mother in law hate me" panic. If you aren't familiar with these, I'll explain.

1. "Oh holy crap, we have so much to get ready!" This covers the above mentioned need for space for the baby and her stuff. Also, the need to have things cleaned up and organized so when people drop in to see her I'm not running around saying things like "don't mind the underwear on the floor" and "pay no attention to the dirty dishes shoved under the couch." Also in this category is my need to have MY stuff ready for the hospital, labor and delivery. My labor was induced with Munchkin- so I knew I was going to be having the baby when I went- yet I took NOTHING with me. My mother spent hours running around finding clothes for me and Munchkin, the various feminine supplies I needed post-delivery, and the little things like his carseat that I left at home. Also I need to make a list of things that I expect to happen (or not happen) at the hospital. That way there will be no arguments with pushy nurses about how I want things to be. I got in a very heated disagreement with at least one nurse during my last delivery.
2. "We only have 10 weeks to go and we have nothing for this baby yet!" Seriously, not a thing other than a few outfits I bought with a giftcard I got at Christmas time. No bed, no carseat, no diapers, no blankets... See why I'm panicked?
3. "This baby is yet another opportunity to make my mother-in-law hate me." This is not so much a panic as it is a given fact. The woman hates me. Before you start thinking she's some horrible evil woman, let me assure you she isn't. She's very a very quiet, polite, nice woman. However, she greatly dislikes me and thinks I am mean to her son. He will deny that she dislikes me, but he's already told her to keep any negative opinion she might have of me to herself. So how likely is it that she'd make it apparent to him that she doesn't like me? Exactly. Besides the "mean to her son" bit, I have also declared my forthcoming daughter's world to be a "pink-free" zone. Thus angering the extremely girly mother-in-law even more. "You can't have a girl without having pink" was met with an emphatic "Oh yes, I most certainly can and will."
   

Panics aside, I am putting the finishing touches on the spreadsheet (yes, I can be a hyper-organized geek when I want) I created to keep track of TR's work expenses from last year. We're waiting on one paper to come so that we can file our taxes. Woohoo! Yea refund!!!

Okay, enough rambling for now. My brain is tired and my socks are wet from making the fatal mistake of walking through the bathroom after Munchkin's afternoon bath adventure. Puddles... blah.

Snow day!

No school for Munchkin today. He wasn't thrilled because he wouldn't "learn anything" today, but I was okay with going back to bed and sleeping in a little. He was happy to go out and play in the snow though, so I guess it wasn't a completely "wasted" day.

Today...

would have been my mom's 47th birthday. If you knew her, you know she'd have been less than thrilled about being that close to 50. I just wish she was here so I could pick on her for being so "old."

If she touched your life in any way, spend a moment today and think of a happy memory of her.

Catching up after the break... part 2

So the week after the "Week of doctors" was Munchkin's last week of school before Christmas break. I had a "slight" disagreement with his teacher over the way to handle a discipline issue. Seriously, every time I have to deal with the school I renew my interest in homeschooling.

All ended up okay and we finished the week with a class party. Nothing like 25 5-6 year olds hopped up on sugar and running around with glitter glue to brighten your holiday season. Ugh.

Munchkin made gifts for everyone this year. My carpet has yet to recover from the glitter.

TR and I completed all of our shopping in just one weekend! And it was still two weeks before Christmas. With a combined total of 9 siblings and both of us with step-families, holiday shopping is the biggest PITA you can imagine.

Our house got cleaned from top to... well, almost bottom. The basement is still a mess, but we'll get there eventually. With not feeling good (being pregnant will do that to you) and having a sick little guy, our house hadn't been cleaned in months. Yes, the dishes got done and the occasional necessary load of laundry, but actual cleaning? No. My dust bunnies had multiplied like... well, bunnies. Everything is clean and pretty again. Hopefully we can maintain that until we move. Move? Yeah, this summer. More about that another time.

Our tree (last year for a live one- no one needs a baby eating pine needles) was huge and decorated in its usual theme of blue, white, silver, and cartoon characters. Okay, so it's not your traditional tree, but we like it.

Christmas was okay. If I ever take them off my camera, I'll post some pictures. We all got things that we wanted (and will use), so that was good.

Munchkin spent New Year's weekend with his Nana (Glenda- my soon to be ex-stepmother, but that is an entirely different story) and TR and I stayed home and did nothing. It was relaxing. We watched the ball drop on tv and went to bed at 12:15. Maybe that makes us old, but it was nice not to have to do anything but relax after the hectic month we had.

So that brings us to the present. Hopefully I can keep up with things around here.

A less than brief hiatus...

There were so many things I meant to blog about but life sorta got in the way. It's been a whole month...

I'm not going to catch up in one post. I don't have the patience for that- or the dedication. I will start out my return by wishing everyone a Happy New Year and I hope you all had a good holiday season!

I'm also gonna share the reason that started my little mini-break:

My Munchkin got very sick back in December. It started out with a trip to Urgent Care on a Sunday and quickly worsened into an overnight hospital stay by Tuesday. We went home Wednesday evening only to be back in the emergency room Thursday morning.


The Reader's Digest version is that he caught a virus (they thought at first it was pneumonia) that aggravated his asthma horribly. The asthma set off a coughing fit that lasted 16+ hours and had him unable to talk and gasping for air. After being on oxygen all night, 25+ breathing treatments, and two rounds of steroids he was feeling much better by the following Sunday. He missed an entire week of school.

Needless to say, I got very little sleep and was not home much that week. Obviously blogging was not on mind. By the time we got that cleared up, it was onto other things that took up all my time and energy.


This photo still breaks my heart, even though I know things are much better now.