Thursday, December 2, 2010

Holiday Pictures

Eric's elementary school had a photographer come to take pictures while giving all his proceeds to the school. I thought he did a great job and wanted to share a few here since I couldn't send them over email.


So happy holidays everyone! I hope you are further along on your shopping than I am and far less stressed! :-)

Monday, November 8, 2010

Halloween Pictures (finally)

Trick or Treat!




It's the Wiggles!!! :-)

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

KIds say the darndest things...

As you can see, I haven't been keeping up with this blog very well. This is a season of my life where I feel like my faith is being tested and is growing, but I don't want to get into details. I do, however, want to write about the kids. If nothing else, I want to keep records of things they are saying and doing. Here is the latest:

1- Eric is now speaking in complete sentences. He has a cold today and a horrible croup cough. Rachel is now sick too. After cleaning up vomit and wiping noses, I go into the living room to discover poop on the carpet. I'm not pleased.
"Who did this?"
Eric looked at the spot on the carpet. "Uh oh..."
"Did Rachel do this?" I'm talking out loud as I keep the kids away from it.
Eric looked down. "No."
I look at him. "Did you do this, hon?" Seriously, I'm not mad, just afraid someone might have gotten some on their little hands and now I'll be dealing with rotavirus.
Eric smiles. "Caillou did it!"
I look right him. "Caillou did NOT come into the house and poop on our carpet!!!"

2- Rachel is very violent to her favorite stuffed animal, a little pink bear that we call Binky. Everytime she gets it, she makes the poor thing sniff her feet, then she bites it, hits it, and throws it on the floor before body slamming the little guy. The last few times she has gotten Binky and started abusing it, Eric has said "Help!" for Binky as she bites and hits it. Guess Eric is our pacifist.

3- Yesterday John got Eric up in the morning, and Eric wanted to bring his favorite stuffed animal "Cat" and his Blankie downstairs. So Eric hands Blankie to Daddy. Then Eric hands Cat to Daddy.
"Oh no," John says. "You need to hold something too."
Eric looked right at him and said, "Too heavy."

4- I know Rachel loves me, but whenever I get her up she calls for Daddy and sometimes Laurie, a friend of ours who sometimes stays the night. Today was no exception.
Rachel looked at me. "Daddy?"
"Daddy's at work honey."
"Laurie?" (Sounds like Wha-Ree)
"Laurie's at work too."
"Daddy?"
(I'm gritting my teeth now) "Daddy's at work."
"Laurie?"
"Laurie's at work."
She looks at me for a second. "Mommy?"
[sigh] "Yes, Mommy's at work too." (Though how many times do people ask me when I'm "going back to work" as if I'm on vacation!)

5- Rachel has started scratching her behind at the top of her diaper. I'm guessing the fabric is irritating her skin, poor thing. So today I notice her scratching and say, "Here Rachel, let me get some cream for you."
Eric looks interested. "Rachel has owie?"
"Yes, Rachel has an owie on her butt."
Eric looks thrilled. "Eric kiss and make better!"
So I look over my shoulder and see him kissing her butt.*

Ah... kids.

* This is nothing compared to when my mom was babysitting Eric and before his bath, he was sitting on the potty complaining that his penis hurt. He also asked her to "kiss and make better." My mom called me and said, "I did not sign up for this!"

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Yes, that's my kid...

When I was single, B.C.* I would go into grocery stores and inevitably I'd hear toddlers screaming their heads off about something. I would think to myself I wonder why those moms can't control their children.

Karma was listening. Stupid karma can read your minds, so anyone who's ever judged a mom and is considering having babies... you have been warned.

The kids and I made a Wegman's run today with Daddy. Usually, when Daddy comes to the store with us, Eric and Rachel have a grand old time. Especially Eric. Because when Mommy goes shopping, ALL babies go into the cart. But Daddy lets Eric run around. And this is when we ran into trouble. Because Eric decided to run around like a manic mobile air raid siren

Eric: "Choo-choo?? Choo-CHOO??!!!"
Mom: [audible sigh] "We will see the train as soon as I buy some fruit."
Eric sees the produce scale: "1-2-3!!! 1-2-3!!! Eric want!!!"

He ran into carts, people, and then tried to single-handedly knock over the planted herb table. So Mom decided that it was time to put Eric into the cart.

Eric: SCREAM!!!!!!!!!!!!

Everyone stared. And I realize that karma sucks.

The only thing that stopped the crying was when we walked past the eggs. The eggs for goodness sakes. We never buy eggs because no one ever eats them.

Eric: "Eggs?"
Me: "What?"
John: "What?"
Eric: [sniffling at the injustice of riding in the cart] "Eggs?"
Me: "No, honey. We don't need..."
Eric: "WHAAAAAAAA!!!"

Then we finally got into line, and the woman in front of us was unloading groceries alone with her four young kids. God bless her. Someone always has it rougher than you.

*Before Children

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

The beach!


I have been MIA for a while now. My lovely daughter has decided that she is ready for only one nap a day. Of course, she is a mess without that second nap, but don't tell her that. So now Mommy has no time to post to her blog. After the kids go down at night, I am officially "Off Duty," which includes a glass of wine and/or chocolate and my HGTV fix. 12-hour days really suck. I tell my husband, "At least you can use the bathroom when you need to."

But I digress. We just got back from Myrtle Beach. Note to other bunchers out there, especially those who can't use a portable DVD player to turn the screaming munchkins into zombies: 8 hour car rides = hell on earth. And I don't care how many diapers you pack, you WILL run out.

Anyway, here are some cute shots.

Eric couldn't get away from his numbers, even at the beach. The boy is obsessed!

Rachel thought the salt water was pretty tasty!

Eric liked the water, but wasn't the fan that Rachel was.

Eric loved the idea of riding rides, but freaked whenever he actually got inside. Rachel, it turns out, is our fearless child.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Why I Chose Home Birth

A year ago today I gave birth to my beautiful daughter Rachel. I chose home birth after such a traumatic hospital birth with Eric. I thought I would spend this day reflecting on my experience and sharing with everyone why I chose to do this.

If someone had told me I would have a child at home, without pain medication or the reassurance of doctors nearby, I would have said they were insane. I am not the granola-crunchy type, but I became intrigued by unmedicated child-birth, thanks to Karen. When I was pregnant with Eric, she asked me to read this book, and since she was waiting to adopt a child of her own, I figured I owed it to my best friend to read it. Before I read the book, I remember telling her, "You know the first words out of my mouth when I get to the hospital will be 'Get me an epidural, right?'"

The book changed the way I viewed labor, and I decided to try for a natural childbirth in the hospital. Unfortunately, it didn't work out well. Because I received pain medication during transition, Eric was born sideways and had to be vacuum-extracted with NICU intervention.
The nurses were surly and literally disappeared while I was pushing. John was the only one in the room when Eric crowned. The OB who delivered Eric was a complete stranger and butchered my episiotomy. I had severe postpartum depression and horrible infections, among other things that are far more unmentionable. I told myself I would rather give birth in a corn field than go back to that hospital.

When I found out I was pregnant with Rachel, I felt I owed it to her to do everything in my power to make sure she had a better start in life than her older brother. I wanted to allow my hormones to work with my body in order to bond with her and to help me heal after child-birth, something that epidurals can impede from happening, at least with me.

Rachel was born one week after her due date. At 41 weeks I was willing to do anything to get her out of me! The day before I went into labor, I made "start your labor" cookies (very spicy ginger cookies, which John devoured by the way), drank caster oil (this caused cramping all right... I don't recommend this), and walked as much as I could. I'm not sure what put me in labor, but at around 2 a.m. on April 11, 2009 my contractions had gotten increasingly stronger. After so many false alarms in the prior weeks, I finally knew I was in labor.

John called the mid-wife on call at the Birthing Center in Alexandria (an amazing place for anyone considering a natural childbirth in the DC Metro area. You can drive to their center or have home births; I highly recommend them) and to our birthing assistant. We then walked downstairs to the basement where my parents were sleeping and told them what was happening. We planned to have the baby in our finished basement- plenty of room and a bathroom nearby, and most importantly- we wouldn't wake up Eric. My parents traded places with us, but I barely noticed. I tried to concentrate on getting through each of the strong contractions on my birthing ball. After going through labor once, I knew there wasn't anything I could do to make the pain go away, I just had to work through each contraction. Some people can Hypnobirthing. I read the books. I even tried the methods while birthing. Didn't work for me. The only book that really helped with my labor was based on this philosophy. I read the book, but sadly, there were no classes near me at that time.

The mid-wife showed up around the same time as our birthing assistant, a woman I had never met, but the Birthing Center insists on having an extra set of experiences hands at the birth. At 5 a.m. I noticed that John and I were no longer alone. I honestly don't remember much though. One of the joys of natural childbirth is forgetting the pain and working with your body through labor.

I remember feeling empowered that I could do this. When I was in labor with Eric at the hospital I had felt helpless and alone. And since I had wanted to birth Eric naturally, I felt like a failure when I got the epidural. I realized after the fact how ridiculous that was, but that was how I felt. Something you should know- I think it doesn't matter how a child is born, what pain methods are utilized, as long as both the mother and child are healthy and happy. So please don't think that I'm preaching that natural childbirth is the only way to go. But I came to the decision to birth at home because neither Eric nor I WERE healthy or happy after his birth.

I remember going through transition. The first time with Eric it was insanely traumatic. I couldn't get on top of the contractions. I was screaming in pain, and no one knew what to do with me. This time I asked that everything be calm and that no one speak because I now knew that I could not work through the pain with any distractions. Some people want their back rubbed or need someone with them when they are ill or in pain. I hate having people near me, and I abhor being touched when I'm weak or in pain. And unlike my "birth plan" at the hospital, everyone in that room read and understood my needs and did everything I asked for in advance.

The labor wasn't about "rescuing" Rachel from my body. At the hospital I was a prop in a drama that starred my son and the doctor who delivered him. This time it was about respecting that this time was for both me and my baby.

After going through transition, there is a period of pure lucidity. In my case, the contractions also stopped for a brief time as well. I looked up at John (who still talks about how I bit him twice during labor- like I remember that!) who was sitting on the bed in front of me. I was unclothed and covered in sweat. I saw the candle and the water fountain behind him on a nightstand. I heard the soft trickle of the water flowing over the rocks. I looked John in the eye and said, "I don't think I can make it through transition." He chuckled and that's when I heard the two women behind me, my guardian angels through the whole process, softly laugh. John said, "Honey, you just went through transition." I turned around and saw the women both smile and nod. What a difference from being alone in a cold hospital room and having only John there when Eric crowned. This was a loving atmosphere, filled with competent and caring people who were not only there for Rachel but for me.

I don't know how much time elapsed between transition and the second stage of labor. It seemed like no time had passed at all before the time came to really push. I had begun pushing during transition because midwives encourage you to do what your body is telling you to do. With Eric I was told not to push and it put me in even more pain.

I didn't want to get off that birthing ball, and I remember it being painful and difficult to move from the squatting position to the bed. I thought I could push there, but it didn't feel right. I remember telling them "no" and everyone followed me to the floor. John sat in front of me and I simply held onto him and pushed Rachel out. It wasn't an easy process, but I don't want to get too graphic. She was a big baby- almost 9 pounds. The midwives had told me that women who birth naturally tend to have bigger babies. I remember gaining 5 pounds in that 41st week with no change to my diet or activity.

Rachel was born with a shock of black hair, dark eyes and dark skin. The first words out of my mouth were to John: "Honey, I swear she's yours." :-)

Hey, I would never cheat. But we did have our friend Ky stay with us for a few days when I was about 2 weeks pregnant. So... I thought I would reassure my husband. :-)

And since Ky looks like this...And Rachel looks like this...... you know. :-)

About 30 minutes after Rachel was born, I was taking a shower. Maybe it was too soon; I almost passed out, but it felt so good to be in control of my bodily functions! I felt great. It took weeks for me to feel that good after having Eric. All the horrible aftermath I had with him- the scarring and infection from the episiotomy, the hemorroids, not being able to rest... nothing like that happened with Rachel. And while I DO remember telling myself while in labor with her "Jen, you never want to go through natural childbirth again," I still don't remember the pain.

John and I will not be having any more children. Unless an act of God occurs, we made sure of that. :-) But I will always remember the night Rachel was born and what a beautiful experience it was. The female body is miraculous and women are capable of so much more than society gives us credit for. If there is anyone out there on the fence about having a home birth, I promise you will never regret your decision!

Saturday, April 10, 2010

It's Tax Time...

I really hate tax season. I guess I hate it the way everyone does- fear of audits, afraid of making a mistake on the return, getting pissed off that the freaking printer always decides to stop working right before we have to print out the stupid return.

I also hate it the way only a mother of 2 toddlers can- I am watching the kids without a break on a Saturday. Ugh. I mean, I love my kids but I really look forward to the weekends when I can actually talk to an adult. And possibly sleep in.

I hadn't posted about this before, but we had some serious problems for the past 2 weeks regarding a leak from our only bathtub. The home warranty covered a plumber coming out to repair the problem, but there is mold in the dry wall underneath the tub. We are praying that the plywood under the tub doesn't have to be replaced, or we could be without a bathroom for awhile. Eric had no problem bathing Japanese-style in our shower for 4 days, but Rachel flipped out. The contractor comes back on Monday, right after Eric's speech and motor therapy session at the God-awful hour of 8 a.m.*

Basically, if I'm not posting, life is good. Or really, really bad.

On a happier note, tomorrow is Rachel's 1st birthday. We're having a smallish party here at the house. Rachel is walking everywhere now. Her favorite word is "uh-oh" followed closely behind by "yeah" and "bye." It's so interesting to see how quickly she learns language. Maybe it's because Eric is delayed, but seeing her mimic and repeat phrases so fast... makes mommy want to clean up her profanity.**

I hope to post pictures soon. I spent any free time I had today pruning bushes, doing laundry, vacuuming, and cleaning the kitchen. I really miss the good old days of relaxing weekends.

*I think she judges me for answering the door in my bathrobe. If she had 2 kids in diapers she would realize that after awhile you just don't give a crap.
**I'm not that bad... well, maybe when driving. But if you live in D.C. you understand. John has already mentioned (repeatedly, I might add) that when we get the inevitable phone-call from a teacher about bad language, I will be the one to have to go there and explain. I think he's being a bit dramatic.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

A-B-C-D-E!!!

This is the title of Eric's favorite show. He got addicted to it at my parents' house because they lack Sesame Street on-demand.

I'll give you a hint: it comes on every weekday evening.

One more? It's "America's Favorite Game Show."

Yep. Wheel of Fortune.

Every day when he wants to watch t.v. he walks up to it and looks at me with those big, blue eyes and says, "A, B, C, D E?" It really does no good to tell your toddler that his show only comes on for a half hour on week nights, and that the Game Show Network doesn't have reruns.

Because we have never let me watch "regular" television ("regular" meaning television in real-time with commercials), Eric has no idea why these annoying 30 second shows come on in the middle of his show!

A commercial will begin, and immediately it's "A-B-C-D-E? A-B-C-D-E?" over and over...
"Eric, it's a commercial."
"A-B-C-D-E?!"
[BIG sigh] "Honey, A-B-C-D-E will come back on after the commercial."

I've actually started recording the stupid shows for the weekend because I figure he won't be able to tell the difference. Or he'll get really good at "guessing" the letters. Maybe we can invite some friends over and take bets. We could use the money. :-)

Friday, March 19, 2010

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

John Fights Sexism

I should have posted this on Sunday...

So Sunday we're driving back from the latest church service we could go to because we forgot all about daylight savings, and John was listening to a sports talk radio show. I know... I am the Best Wife Ever. But I digress...

The commentator of the show was talking about Natalie Randolph, who was hired by a DC school to coach... boys high school football. This woman (who of course was repeatedly referred to as a "girl" throughout the radio show by the commentator and call-ins) played for the DC Pro-womens' football team and is a science teacher. She was an assistant coach in DC for boys football at a different high school. But God forbid she attempt to be a head coach. I can't believe that people can't see the link between racism and sexism in our country. Most of the arguments made against her have been made towards African-American players and coaches in the past.

So this commentator (I'll refrain from the profanity- it's Lent after all), goes on a rant and then says he would have a huge problem with his sons being coached by a woman. He claimed that every father in his right mind would feel the same way. I was frothing at the mouth by this point, and when I hear crap like this, my natural response is to simply turn the freakin' radio or t.v. off so these idiots won't get the idea that this kind of stuff lures in listeners or viewers.

But John, God bless him, says "I wouldn't mind Eric being coached by a woman."
So I picked up my cell and called the show.

John was put on hold for about 10 minutes or so, and they never let him make any legitimate argument that might make the commentator look like a jackass, but John was on the air. And he did say he had no problem with Eric being coached by a woman in high school football.

So... way to go John and all the other non-bigots who called in. I say who gives a darn what gender someone is? Let's see what she can do. And I hope to God she blows the competition away in the fall!

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Friday, February 26, 2010

Dear Think Geek...

I call BS on your little "spill-proof" bowl.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Snowpocalypse Pics

As temps soar in the 60's starting early next week (and all of my firewood sits lonely on the deck), I thought it would be the perfect time to relive the 33 collective inches of snow from the past few weeks...
The snow is baby-high!

View from the front door. Our poor shrubs are toast.

View from the kitchen window.

And even though I'm happy not to be home-bound for days on end and am really looking forward to spring, it was fun for awhile. Laurie got to even come and stay with us and the kids for the last week. I am really looking forward to summer though...

Friday, February 12, 2010

Congratulations M and Lewis!!

M returned from Nigeria and her boyfriend proposed at the airport! He held up this photo collage (it's hard to see, but it says "Will you marry me?"). Should John and I be given props for introducing them to each other? I think so... ;-)

Then to commemorate the event, Lewis pierced M's tongue with a 3 foot icicle. Thankfully, he was on his cell with a professional. Good job, Lewis!

(More pics of Snowpocalypse coming soon!)

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Because my "Facebook Status" only gives me 420 characters...

Dear Snow,

You know I love you, right? After all, you have gotten me out of school numerous times (including that week and a half during my senior year over my birthday.. that was awesome). You came and closed Massaponax High School many times over the years so I could catch up on my grading and sleep in (with no make-up days that I can remember) which I appreciated. I am always glad to see you, even when you piss off everyone else. You even came to me in Shizuoka, to a place that almost never drops below freezing, to make me happy. Some people may hate it when you come on strong, but not me. I have always stood up for you.

But now hear this- My best friend of 20 years is leaving Virginia and may not be coming back, all because you have to drop another 2 feet on us tomorrow. I have no idea when I will see her again. All because of you. Therefore, you are now on my shit list.

Love,
Jen

P.S. You can tell your friend Winter to go screw himself, too. I always liked Summer better anyway.

Sunday, January 31, 2010

29... Plus 5

On Monday I turned 29 for the fifth time, and I finally got the birthday present I've always wanted. Or at least the present I've been wanting for the past 2 years. I got a day off.

I've been really fortunate to have friends and family who love the kids and who are willing to watch them for an evening or over a weekend. But the weekdays come, John goes to work, and I start another routine 14-hour day of wearily changing diapers, feeding kids, and trying unsuccessfully to keep the house from looking like a demilitarized zone.

Monday morning I let John sleep in, and I had the kids until he came downstairs at around 10am or so. I'd like to say that I had no problems letting my husband sleep in and was chipper about spending my birthday doing what I do every day. But I was surly and felt utterly drained. When John came downstairs he told me that one of his birthday presents to me would be to come home early. I looked at him and cried.

Probably not the reaction he was expecting. I begged him to take the day off instead of coming home early. And then something happened that I had not expected. He agreed.

It's funny what hope and optimism can do for one's energy level. Instead of being (and looking like I was at) death's door, I suddenly bounded into the shower, put on nice clothes, and barely said goodbye before hitting the road. I felt like I had been let out of prison. Instead of asking Eric "Do you want to eat some oatmeal for breakfast?" I was asking myself, "What do you want to do today?"

And sadly... I really didn't know.

I decided to hit a bookstore and perhaps use free WiFi in a Starbucks to Skype some friends who live overseas, but the bloody coffee shop was full of retirees on their own personal computers and every chair was full. Huh. Now what? Shopping? Hey! The kids aren't with me! I can run errands!

Every person in the world with kids is going, "That's exactly what I would do." And every person without kids is saying, "Are you nuts??? Do something YOU want to do!"

I actually did go to places like Babies R Us, and then felt foolish after the fact when I called John and he mentioned he had taken both kids to run errands in my place. What a guy. After running around for a few hours, I got my second greatest birthday present- a phone call from my friend M who is currently in Nigeria. I got to talk to her uninterrupted for an hour . It was awesome.

I finally spent most of the late afternoon in another bookstore's coffee shop, curled up with a Stephanie Plum novel. A nice but misogynistic man sitting next to me decided to give me his long, but lovely theory on how children have gone to hell since women started working outside of the home. Had it been any other stressful day in my life, I would have stabbed him in the eye with my plastic straw and run him over with the double-stroller while screaming, "You do know I'm a woman, right?!" But I was feeling relaxed and happy so I smiled and nodded while thinking of stabbing him with the straw.

Unfortunately, the day ended on a sad note. John called to tell me Rachel had a fever of 104 degrees. 3 days later she had sores inside her mouth which means we have yet another round of hand, foot, and mouth disease to contend with. This time it wasn't from the play area of the gym but from the church nursery. Good grief, doesn't ANYONE sterilize play areas anymore?? Another 2-3 weeks of mommy being home-bound, and that's IF Eric doesn't get it again. No play-dates, no Bible study with free childcare on Wednesdays. What a pile of suck. I am now looking forward to one of my best friends coming in from Kansas City on Tuesday. I have this fantasy of John coming home early and taking the kids, putting them to bed by himself without difficulty while I go out to dinner at a restaurant without crayons. I keep sane by looking forward to these moments that come every so often. It's the little things...

Sunday, January 17, 2010

The Time of My Life or I Need to Get Out More

Have you ever wanted to relive the last few days of your life? Whenever I have an awesome weekend (it's usually the weekend), and I know I'm about to head back to work or into the normal stress of my life, I wish I could just take a giant remote and rewind my life. I would definitely rewind to last Friday afternoon. Then I could have the whole glorious weekend once again in front of me. My only complaint about last weekend was that we didn't get another 2 feet of snow. Because then I'm pretty sure I could have talked John into staying in Baltimore an extra day.

After dealing with a few errands and meeting up with some of John's old friends, we headed into Baltimore. Traffic was good, and we checked in a little early. This was important, as I had requested a $20 cheese plate* to be delivered to our room as a way of celebrating the beginning of our mini-vacation away from kids. This hotel was pretty darn expensive, and I had made a point to request a feather-free room ahead of time. I called, I got an email confirmation, and then I emailed again to make sure poor John wouldn't have to check all the pillow tags by hand.

We check into the room and... have feather pillows.

Back downstairs to the front desk. I giggled that we should have stayed at a Holiday Inn Express. When I explained** that we had feather pillows, they saw the multiple requests on their computer, apologized profusely, and sent us to another room 2 floors up from the previous one. We made sure the cheese plate would make it upstairs because you don't want to spend $20 and not get any food, and then headed on up.

We waited outside of the room for about 10 minutes, but felt so grateful that we were in a public place without the kids we could have waited for an hour and not cared. A sweet woman named T knocked on the door next to ours with chocolate and wine. I smiled and told her how good that looked. She laughed and said that she loved delivering chocolate. Since I love eating chocolate, I thought we could be soul-mates, but I was afraid John might get the wrong idea.

When we finally get into the room, the cheese was delivered right on time... with a fruit tray and wine. ?? So I call down and they said everything was correct, so I enjoyed getting free wine and fruit. About an hour later, there's a knock on the door. It's T- with free chocolates and wine. I LOVED this hotel, guys. We packed 2 bottles of wine and checked out of the hotel with 3. And the cheese and chocolates never showed up on our bill. AWESOME!

One more small thing...

We decided to eat at a tapas place that had free shuttle service to the restaurant and back. While waiting for the shuttle a white stretch limo pulls up. I make a comment about how it must be nice to ride in a limo. We didn't even have a limo for our wedding... So we walk outside and... the limo WAS the shuttle service.

I got pictures to prove it.


Then I got a little drunk and this was the view from lying prone on my back from the seat.
(The car was moving. I swear I wasn't that drunk)

[sigh] Life really should have a rewind button...


*$20 is ridiculous I know, but when you don't have to change dirty diapers for 48 hours, it feels like you've been released from prison. So it's ok to splurge.
** I really was nice about it. I mean, this happens ALL THE TIME to me, so I would be shocked if I ever checked it and it didn't have down pillows and blankets everywhere. Down must feel awesome because every hotel in the world has it.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Guys, I'm not depressed. Really.

Seriously, this year is looking up. Or maybe it's all the steroids I'm on to deal with my eczema flare-up. But with all this energy, who cares??

OK, so here's the short and sweet version:

1- Doctor's appointment went well. The doctor (I'll call her D) walks in and says "I haven't seen you in awhile! I've been wondering how you were..." (sees my skin)... "Okay. So... back for steroids?"
She wrote not 1, not 2, but 5 prescriptions. The student intern with her just stared at me bug-eyed as D filled out the little pads of happiness and joy. D was telling her, "Now, normally, we don't give cortisteroids for eczema flare-ups, but as you can see, Jennifer is an extreme case." And I just thought, 'That sums me up pretty well. Extreme case.'

2- I'm a part of a local yahoo Mom's group, and I finally got to a Mom's Night Out. This month is was at the Melting Pot, my favorite restaurant in the world. I think John and I must go once a month... But this did not work in my favor for a couple of reasons...
A) I was a little high on the drugs, and therefore more assertive and verbal than usual.
B) I couldn't keep my big mouth shut about all the fondues that suck and I think I may have pissed off some people... or it could be that I'm paranoid because of all the drugs.

... I'm starting to see a theme here. Maybe I should title this one "High on Steroids" and see how long it is before Child Protective Services comes to my door to take away the kids. Then I can either show them to prescriptions and be like "Haha CPS!! It's LEGAL!" or say, "Can you take them for, like, a couple of days so I can get some sleep??!!"

3- I was prescribed some Benedryl-type pills so when the steroids wear off I CAN get some sleep. Last night I settled down with a glass of wine and started to take those pills.

I said, "I can take 1-3 depending on the itch. I think I'll take 3."
John [looking up from the computer]: "Are you supposed to mix that with alcohol?"
Me: "No. So... 3, you think?"
John: "I would take 1 and see how you do..."
[I pop 3 pills in my mouth]
John: [sighs] "Okay..."

I have such a nice husband. And I actually slept for 6 consecutive hours!!!! See, this is why I can never take those butterfly-vampire sleeping pills because I would get addicted. OK, so I was still tired when I woke up, but after taking the steroids, I was fine.

What number am I on again?
4?
Whatever.

4- Tomorrow John and I head to Baltimore to stay in a hotel on the Harbor (which we wouldn't normally do, but the rooms are like 70% off with this party-group discount, when they're normally $350 a NIGHT. How ridiculous is that??? $350 a NIGHT??!! Maybe if the room came with your own cook, butler, and a free massage...). Hopefully, we'll get some much-needed down time. His company is having their holiday party and since my birthday is coming up, my folks are once again being incredibly generous and watching the kid for us. I'll have to post some pictures. Especially if I can manage to shove my hips into the awesome pre-preggers dress I want to wear. Stupid steroids make you gain weight... Wait! I know...

Starvation diet!!

Kidding. Really.

I love chocolate too much.

Friday, January 8, 2010

I was a better blogger last year

I was reading over some old posts and thinking 'Wow. I actually wrote a ton and some of it was even funny!' Another child later...

I'll keep this one brief because I have no time today. Kids still have a bad cough from their Christmas cold. Eric isn't napping or sleeping well at night. Turns out that Eric was found eligible for services for language delay, etc. Still don't know if this is covered through our insurance though. And we didn't put a ton on the Flex card because we had way too much on it this year.

I've been having panic attacks at night. I'll wake up consumed with worry and can't go back to sleep. For some reason I'm having trouble napping during the day when the kids actually have overlapping naps. I just can't sleep. If anyone out there could say a prayer for me, I'd be grateful!

Thursday, January 7, 2010

2 Under 3

Doesn't sound as good as "2 under 2" does it? [sigh] Well, anyway...

Today Eric had his official 2 year check-up. He is officially in the 60% for weight, 85% for height (as is his sister). He is also officially language delayed. Eric had his initial assessment with the county to possibly get services for this, but we won't know anything for a month or two. In some ways I hope he's eligible. In other ways it would be expensive if insurance doesn't cover it. And such a pita to get him there while dragging his sister along.

It's 10pm. Where does the time go? Need to sleep. John worked late, so I had to put the kids down. They decided not to nap. Then they decided to take a bath together. Then Rachel decided to poop in the tub. Can I just say that all single moms out there are my heroes? Trying to clean kids, clean out tub, stop Rachel from EATING... well, you get the idea. Mommy needs a drink.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Where Were You 10 Years Ago?

A friend from my mom's group posted that question and lit up the boards. Many women wrote about everything that had happened in the past 10 years, how their careers had changed, how they met their husbands... And almost every theme was the same: Everyone seemed to be much happier now.

But I don't feel that way.

I became so sad reading those posts. I felt like I was at a fabulous party where everyone was nicely snookered and having a great time, and there I am standing alone.. and in desperate need of a drink.

Which reminds me of where I was during the big Y2K scare on New Year's Eve 1999.

So on December 31st, 1999 I was standing in line for the women's restroom at a bar in New Orleans, wondering why there weren't a ton of people in New Orleans and why all the people who WERE there seemed to all need to use the restroom at the same bloody time! (It took 35 minutes with all us ladies taking over the men's room as well). It's was like a very lame Mardi Gras. Which I have never been to, by the way, but I digress...

I look back on the last 10 years very wistfully. I'm cursed by nostalgia to begin with, but back in 1999 I was a high school teacher in my first year, single, and able to travel and do things without obligations (or having to rob a bank to pay a sitter for my 2 kids). Looking back makes me wish I could relive the last decade. I love my kids, but there are times when I would give anything to just hop on a plane to somewhere (probably not New Orleans though, as my bladder isn't what it used to be). I miss being able to call up some friends and say "Anyone up for seeing a movie?" and just being able to GO, dammit! And restaurants without crayons?? OMG, there are restaurants without crayons??!!

Am I the only one out there who feels this way? If so, don't hate on me.

Which makes me think of the awesome Glee CDs John gave me for Christmas.

Which makes me think of how much I miss Glee. Coming back in April. And... that's right! LOST comes back next month!!! :-)

So I guess 2010 may not be all bad.