First Day of School!

C had a great first day of school! We had a rough start because he wanted more breakfast and we didn't have enough time, so we will have to start a little earlier today :) Don't worry, I didn't let him starve! He ate a nutra-grain bar and some milk in the car. Once we got to school, he was very excited to find where his hat went "Where hat go?" Once inside Ms. T's class, he wasn't so sure, but quickly started playing, even through some tears. The key to stop crying you ask? The playground of course! The rest of the day was smooth sailing. He did some work, made a few new friends, ate lunch and even took a great nap! I wasn't able to take any pictures after I left him in the morning (well, I did sneak in a nap time!) because if he saw me, the tears would have started again, but hopefully we will have more pictures to share of his classroom soon!

Illness, Preschool, Nails, Eyebrows and Stuff

I feel like it's be forever since I've written!  You should really thank me though, I have been moody!  Poor C is feeling better, but he's still not sleeping well.  Which means that I have not been sleeping well.  Totally not Hubby's fault, he tried to help, but C has decided he is totally in love with his Mama (yes, he will now call Mama, just not to my face, currently I am "That" to my face.)  I love my little guy being in love with me, but really?  It gets old when you are the only one that can get up with him 500 times during the night, the only one who can talk him down from a crying fit, the only one that can cuddle with him when a million things need to get done around the house...you get the point.  Anyway, C only wanting me in the middle of the night means that I am getting little sleep (I am hoping his good sleeping habits come back soon!) and leave me moody during the day.  I cannot even nap if he is awake because he wants to watch TV and play on the bed while I nap. 

C is feeling much, much better.  A little over a year ago we had tubes put in his ears, and he has not had a hint of an ear infection.  However, he did have a small infection in both his ears with this last illness :(  The doctor said one tube has already fallen out, and the other looks like it will soon.  So now, we are on ear infection watch.  If he starts to get them often enough, back to the ENT for more tubes.  Poor guy.  Hopefully it won't be a problem, but I'm not holding out too much since he has already had a slight double ear infection and they aren't even completely out yet...come on ears, prove me wrong!

Anyways....we decided to put C in preschool! Previously I have mentioned that I was nervous about sending him to school, even the one I work at. But, the director gave us an offer we could not refuse, so off to school he goes. We are very excited! He will still be with my mom 2 days a week until I go back to work after my maternity leave, but I know she's sad and he will miss her. But, Hubby and I both think he will benefit so much from being with non-family members and around other kids. I am still nervous about sending him to school, but his teacher is actually a good friend of mine and that helps, plus because of so many allergies in the school, we will be completely peanut and tree nut free! Previously, the director has allowed staff to have this stuff in the staff room...not ideal at all. Even though nuts are not his "big" allergy, egg is, I am feeling pretty comfortable. Anyone have a good egg, peanut and tree nut free recipe for cupcakes or brownies that freeze well??


My mother-in-law treated me and my sister-in-law to pedicures and eyebrow waxes over the weekend! I have not had a pedicure in so long! In an attempt to save money, I stopped going (granted, I was only getting them done every couple of months.) I cannot express how good it felt! Someone else rubbing me feet (Hubby does a great job, but usually gets distracted, totally not complaining though!) and calf's, putting lotion on them (my toes are no longer dry from wearing sandals all summer!) and then the hot towel at the end? Oh my goodness, talk about a little bit of Heaven! I wanted to try the shade of polish that Becky suggested, but they didn't have it, so I ended up going with the same as my in laws...and if you know them, you will not be surprised at all of the color choice...

Yes, Virginia Tech Hokie colors! I cannot remember the name of the shade off the top of my head, but it is bright orange! I even got a VT tattoo put on my big toes, cute huh?

My poor eyebrows though...I loved my eyebrows. They have a nice natural arch to them, and really only need to be touched up, which is great for me! The nail place had a new eyebrow person. When I went in, I made sure to point out that I only wanted I touch up, I do not want thin eyebrows. She said okay, and complimented the nice natural arch of my eyebrows. So, I'm laying there and she waxes, and I cry a little because it HURTS!!! And then she starts to pluck (okay, this is normal) and pluck and pluck and pluck and waxes again (?) and plucks...at this point I start to get a little worried...but really what can I say? Please stop so my eyebrows are completely uneven and only half finished. So she finishes and says...are you ready...she says "I went ahead and made them thin because your eyebrows are so close to your eyes." WHAT!!!!!! I reminder her that I didn't want thin eyebrows, but apparently she knows much better than me, and even said that it's trendy now to have thin eyebrows. I looked in the mirror and wanted to cry. Yes, they looked great, yes, I could see what she meant about them being close to my eyes...but A. I am too lazy busy to maintain thin eyebrows, and B. I am too cheap to upkeep thin eyebrows! I even responded to her "Thin eyebrows are trendy right now." I said "I don't care about trend, do I look trendy?" Her response?? This really made me angry..."Well, they will grow back." AAAAHHHHHHH!!!! If someone else hadn't been paying and I was trying not to make a scene...I try really really hard not to make scenes in front of my in-laws (my family has no problems with creating scenes, in fact, I think we seeks them out)... I would have said something to the owner and left no tip...bitchy? Maybe, but I just wanted to cry and couldn't believe that instead of saying sorry or anything even hinting that she heard me, she said THEY WOULD GROW BACK!!!

Like I said, they don't look bad, but for someone who didn't want thin eyebrows, they are way too thin!!!

And sorry about the bad pic...it's about 10:30 at night and no make up!

Okay, sorry...moodiness, I told you, it comes out of nowhere sometimes! Seriously though, my eyebrows do look nice...but I HATE maintenance...I'm lucky if I put make up on twice a week! And now when they do start to grow back I even have to MAINTAIN them, or let them look all hairy for a while until they fill back in again...and who can guarantee that they will fill in the same again!!!

Man, this was a really long post. If you read all of it, you deserve a prize. Thanks for reading and letting me complain and be excited! I am so excited about C starting school! I will be sure to post pictures and let you know how his first day goes! Hope everyone has a great day. And Go Hokies!

Mommy Guilt

Mommy guilt got me bad yesterday.  As I had to leave my sick little boy at my moms house while I went to work.  I was mad, I was angry, I was frustrated, I was sad.  I've never had to leave him when he wasn't feeling well before.  I work in the office of a school, and school starts next week...so really this is a the worse week ever for C to get sick.  Luckily, I have a great boss who understands needing to take the little guy to the doctors, but there is so much to do that I just cannot take the day off.  (Obviously, if there was a big emergency, or C was even sicker, I would work something out and stay home.) 

Leaving a crying child behind is hard enough, C doesn't cry often when we leave him with our parents, but he does sometimes and it's not easy.  However, leaving a child who just wants to cuddle because he's not feeling well, and you're leaving to go to WORK...just SUCKS!!!!  I couldn't imagine anything that felt worse yesterday.  Of course, I know that we are so very lucky to have what we do, there are people who are so much worse off than we are...but that thought was not helping at all yesterday.  But, mommy guilt, not a nice thing at all!

Luckily today, Hubby is able to stay home and take C to the doctors...again.  At his check up yesterday his oxygen levels were still not the best, but they did respond to his treatment.  The doctor kept mentioning he might need to go be monitored at the ER if his oxygen levels didn't get better.  He's also not able to make it the 4 hours between treatments without going into distress (meaning his body is relying on the treatment to help him breath, not using it a tool to get better.)  He started yet another med yesterday, an allergy medicine this time to try to knock out the congestion to see if that helps.  So now is on 3 oral medications and his breathing treatment. 

I hate giving him so many meds.  How could a good mom let her child get to the level of needing so many meds???  One of which is a steroid and another is helping him breath.  I know, logically, that there was nothing we could do to prevent this.  When kids get sick, they get sick fast and big.  But, mommy guilt is not a nice thing at all!

So, today should be a full day at work getting things done around the office that have been pushed aside while Hubby stays home and helps C feel better.  Hubby is a WONDERFUL father.  I could not have asked for a better partner.  But, I can't help but be angry that I have to go to work.  I can't help but feel jealous that Hubby is able to take a full day off while I was only able to take a couple hours.  I can't help but feel upset that I feel this way. 

Mommy Guilt....not a nice thing at all...

Sick Kid

Having a sick kid is never fun!  Having a sick kid the week before school starts is just mean and cruel.  Poor C started having a runny nose on Saturday, we're pretty sure because of allergies.  On Sunday morning he woke up with a fever and cough.  We were still thinking allergies just getting out of control so we started him on some breathing treatments, and that seemed to help with his nap.  But at bedtime, his cough was worse, his fever was higher and the treatment only helped for a short time.  Poor guy was up most of the night.  We finally brought him to our bed because then we could at least sleep and he could sit there looking us...seriously, that's all he really wanted to do (well, that and watch a movie.)  Basically between Saturday night with his runny nose and Sunday night with his cough, no one in the house got much sleep (except maybe the dog!) 

I took C to the doctor yesterday, and she agrees it probably started as allergies, but quickly evolved into something else.  Either bronchitis or pneumonia (don't worry anyone we saw on Saturday, pretty sure he was not contagious then, just developed quickly due to allergies.)  So she prescribed some pretty heavy duty things to help knock out bronchitis and we go back today to see if it's working.  I think it is.  His fever didn't get as high last night, and he slept a lot more last night.  If we go back though and he's still wheezing, and not responding at all to his treatment like yesterday, he will be sent for chest x-rays :(  Fingers crossed!!! 

Anyway, sorry if this was jumbled.  While I slept more last night than the two nights before, I was still up a couple times listening at the door to make sure he was breathing okay.  Can I just say that one of the saddest sounds in the world is the sound of a little guy not being able to breath...especially while they sleep. 

C insisted on doing his treatment himself!  What a big guy!

A lot has happened since my last post, and I hope to get something up soon!  Life is crazy, and I had hoped for a few more months before I lost so much sleep at night!  Hope everyone is having a great week and someone out there is getting all the sleep I am not :)

Third Trimester!

Eeeeeeeeeekkkkkk!!!!  I cannot believe that I am finally there!  28 weeks!!!  Third trimester!!  Crazy!  Sometimes I feel like this pregnancy is going too fast, there is still soooo much to do...but other times, it doesn't seem to be moving at all!  But third trimester, that's huge! 

I had an ultrasound on Friday and to say it went well, would be an understatement!  I don't remember ever coming out of one these appointments with C feeling so good about the pregnancy.  Baby is actually measuring right where he should and was wiggling around like crazy!  I do have to say, I did wonder just how big his is measuring because both the ultrasound tech and doctor said "Okay, looks great.  He's measuring 2.5 pounds.  How big was your first?"  "4 pounds, 14 ounces."  "Oh, hmmmm, well, he (pointing to the ultrasound) looks great."  What does that mean???  Is he a monster baby or something??  I looked it up and 2.5 pounds is right on for 28ish weeks, maybe a little closer to the 29th week end, but considering they moved my due date to a week later, I think it sounds pretty good to me!  Now I just have to wait 4 more weeks to make sure he's still growing like he should. 

I had the nicest ultrasound tech though.  She was very talkative, asking about C, and telling me about her own daughter and how different it is now than it was 18 years ago.  Then, she gave me a big surprise!  Their machines are able to do 3D ultrasounds, but they don't do them for everyone.  I guess they mainly use them as a diagnostic tool. But, she took a quick look for me!  It's crazy what you can see!  I think he already looks like his big brother!

Now that I am in the third trimester, I am hoping to move on from this gathering mode, and into full on nesting mode!  Of course, that involves getting baby things from my grandparents garage, and doing something with our dining room table.  Hmmm...maybe a couple more days of non-nesting mode is in order :)

Weekend Recap!

What a great weekend!  I hope everyone else had a wonderful weekend filled with friends and family.  On Saturday, I went to another book club meeting.  This time we discussed The Last Child by John Hart.  It was a great book!  There were 6 of us at the meeting who had read the book, and we all agreed it was fantastic.  Sure, it had some parts that we all could have done without, but it was written very well and provided lots of thought and discussion.  I highly recommended it!

Saturday night, we went out to eat with Hubby's family to a wing place.  To say I was excited to be eating wings is an understatement.  Someone at work mentioned wings at work last week, and ever since, I have HAD to have them!  Yummmm...wings :)

Sunday was all about C and Hubby (and Copper too!)  We had a relaxing day at home.  I did feel bad for C though.  At one point Hubby and I thought C really needed to get some energy out, so we got C dressed, sunscreen on and ready to go....only to realize once Hubby and C got to the door that it had started raining!  Oh no!  Since it was a calm rain, Hubby decided to take C on a walk in the rain.  So they grabbed an umbrella and off they went!  It was such a relaxing family day.  I hope to have more in the future!!

Crazy Mushrooms growing outside our building!

Things that make me smile...

I've been having one of those weeks.  You know the kind...everything seems to be working against you, you're always tired, and people just get on your nerves!  I realized I was in this mood, and was thinking about what brings me out of it. 

Here are a few things that make me smile...

• C waking up in the morning.  He really is the best at waking up with a big smile and long snuggle.
• Baby Elmo-my mom has a baby Elmo from when my younger sister was little, and C has discovered it.  He loves walking around with him, huging him, and whispering to him.  So sweet!
• Hubby coming home with a bag of Pretzel M&M's!
• Walking in the door at the end of a rough day, and having C run up to me with his arms out and a huge smile (usually he ends up turning around and running away before he reaches me, in case I try to pick him up, but still makes me smile!)
• Watching C and Hubby together. 
• Feeling the baby kick and know that soon he will be here.
• Knowing that I can come home after a rough day at work to my guys and they will take care of me.
• Snuggling on the couch (with either C or Hubby) and watching a movie.

These are just a few things.  They might not be big, but they help me see the light through my bad mood.  I have another ultrasound this afternoon to check on the baby.  He is moving like crazy these days, and I am so excited to see him!