Sick Pseudo Snow Day

If I were working, we'd have a snow day today. We had an ice storm last night. Our yard has about 3-4 inches of wet, heavy snow. Because it also rained, our snow is so wet there's actually actually yellow colored icy pools in the snow. A wet, sloppy, mess.

We've had quite the...to put it nicely...indecisive morning. I'm ready for it to be over, and I need to find the positive in my day today.

Good thing we're stuck inside with a sick little boy. Good thing we have Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Curious George for entertainment. Good thing I stocked up on cold, soft snacks yesterday even though Colin isn't eating much yet. Good thing I got that dose of antiobiotics in him last night so we wouldn't have to pack up 2 kids for the long, treacherous drive {across the street} to the doctor for a shot of penicillin today as an alternative. Good thing I'm planning on Colin taking a nice, long nap in the near future. I need one too. Good thing I have wine in the fridge so I can indulge in a glass tonight.

He's lying on the living room floor watching George with his pillow and blanket. This may just be one of the handful of times he falls asleep in the living room. It really only happens when he's sick.

Sleep, little boy. Sleeeeeep. Please.

2 goods, 1 bad

The good news:

1. Ben slept through the night last night from 9:15 pm-6:00 am! Of course I did not get 8+ hrs of uninterrupted sleep. Colin came into our room to sleep with me sometime after 1:00 am. I thought he'd sleep with us until Ben woke up, then I'd put him back in his bed. Since Ben slept all night, that didn't happen. So I "slept" (not really) until 4:00 when I just couldn't take the boob pressure anymore and got up to pump. When I looked back at the bed, Colin was spread out on my side, so I lay down in his bed and "slept" (again, not really) until 5:55 when he came looking for me. Time to get up. But YAY for Ben! Let's hope this is a consistent thing :)

2. Ben drank from a bottle! I had a meeting at work this afternoon. I didn't HAVE to go to it, but took the opportunity to take Ben to Sandy's house just for a few hours to get his (and my) feet wet with the whole Ben's-in-daycare thing. We've been struggling with Ben taking a bottle. He's taken one a few times from various people from various bottles, but hasn't been consistent with it. While Ben was with Sandy this afternoon, he drank a bottle without a problem! He was all smiles and coos while he was there. Oh, and also I didn't cry when I left him with her. It's so much different when you've developed a relationship with the daycare provider instead of dropping your child off with people you don't know. Hopefully I won't cry on Monday when I go back to work either.


The bad news:

1. Colin has strep. Again. He had it a month ago too. I pat myself on the back for tuning into his horrid smelling breath both times and taking him in. Last time he had Amoxicillin and he wouldn't take it straight up, so I had to make smoothies or mix it into pudding 2x a day for 10 days. This time we have Zithromax. Tonight, after mixing it with strawberry applesauce he didn't eat, I had to pin him down and kneel on his arms and force it in him. Good times. At least this one is only once a day for 5 days.


At least the good outweigh the bad, right?

You know I love me some e-meals!

Groupon has an e-meals deal! $29 for a year (regular price is $58 for a year). You have 2 days to buy it, so hurry! And you have until September 5, 2012 to redeem it.

Why do I love e-meals? Here's my Top 11 List.
1. Simple, no-brain meal planning.
2. Easy to make, fresh, homemade meals.
3. Tasty (for the most part)!
4. Variety of food--American, Italian, Mexican, Asian...
5. The meals make a TON of food! We are on the 2 person plan right now, but it also feeds Colin and sometimes some leftovers for one of us. The "sides" are very generous.
6. Inexpensive. Both the meal plan itself and the ingredients.
7. Includes sides, not just the main dish.
8. Variety of stores to choose from--Walmart, Aldi, "any store"
9. Variety of dietary needs--low fat, low-carb, portion control, vegetarian, organic, gluten-free
10. No need to make a shopping list. You just print your e-meals sheet off!
11. We don't eat processed food (on a daily basis)

Seriously people, if there's ever a time to try e-mealz it's now. Go to groupon and take the plunge. Let me know how you like it once you start.

Hodge Podge

Not much exciting is going on around here. So just a quick little hodge podge of news for you...

Ben is good. He takes a 3-4 hr nap every day, which allows me to either be hyper-productive or anti-productive (sadly, I've been choosing the latter recently). He's been sleeping pretty well at night. Not all the way through, but just waking once to eat and going back to sleep right away. Once he starts "snacking" vs. eating, we'll try to wean him off of waking up altogether. Although I'm hoping he'll just do that on his own :) We've set a goal to get him to drink from a bottle once a day for these next few weeks because he starts daycare on the 5th and he's not so much loving the bottle. We're working on the details (like a date!) for Ben's baptism. That's my goal before maternity leave is up--to get that on the calendar and the people in place for it.

Colin is good. He's had jumping beans in his pants the last few days. Cabin fever or something. We're struggling with him getting down from the table and jumping around rather than eating. We've threatened to get the booster seat back out and strap him in it during supper time.

I'm good. My maternity leave is coming to a close quickly. I go back the 5th (less than 2 weeks away!) and I'll do a "reverse shadow" for 2 days. It will help me ease back into it, Since, you know, I can't just leave 20 6 and 7 year olds unattended to pump for 15 minutes! It might be rough those first few days having to hold out until lunch or prep, so if I need to leave my long term sub will be there for back up. Whew! Spring break starts the 12th so working just 1 week will be good way to ease into it again. I'm ready to go back. The only thing I'm not looking forward to is being so goshdarn tired and working through it and pretending to not be tired. Not that I nap a whole lot at home anyway. Ben will do great at daycare, Colin will enjoy having him there, and I know he'll be in good hands.
My decluttering frenzy has died down a bit because I decluttered a lot already! Right now I'm working on the basement storage room. My mom came up over the weekend and helped me get rid of some stuff. I need to find the right organizers for some things, and then I'll be ready to tell you about it.
I'm going to hold another introductory session to recruit one more class of piano students. Hopefully I'll get a few more kids. I'd love to have 3-5 more.

Kevin is good. He's starting up a blog :) No, it's not about his adventures in fatherhood, although that might be...entertaining. It's work-related. When it's up and running I'll share the url with you and you can visit him.

Rocket's good. I think he's ready for spring. He misses lying in the grass basking in the warm sunshine. Aren't we all?

We're all good.

You good?

2 months!

Ben is 2 months old.
Say what?
How quickly time flies!

Ben is such a happy little guy. When he's not sleeping (which he does a lot) or eating, he's smiling and just going with the flow. When he's fussy he's usually either hungry or tired. He naps for 3-4 hr stretches sometimes with a cat nap here and there. He's typically awake for 2 hrs at a time.

He sleeps exclusively in his crib at night time now, and has for over a month. He goes to sleep for the night anywhere between 8:30 and 10:30 depending on how much sleep he got during the day. During the night, he usually wakes up once between 2:00-4:00 and sometimes again between 5:00-6:00. He eats and passes out. When I put him in his crib and re-wrap him, he stretches and wiggles around a little bit, but rest assured, he goes right to sleep. Kevin found him on his side last night, which is a little concerning. Hopefully he's not trying to roll over already!

He's a sweaty little guy, especially in his car seat. The temperatures have dropped a little these previous weeks, but I still don't bundle him up in a lot of layers when we go out because he'll just sweat through his clothes. A hat and a fuzzy warm blanket seems to keep him toasty enough.

He's just starting to get into size 6-9 month clothes (the hand me downs from Colin are from the fall/winter season, which is perfect), but can still squeeze into some 3-6 month stuff. I'm disappointed he didn't stay in the 3-6 month clothes range long enough to wear some of my favorites. :(

No belly laughs have emerged from him yet, but we've heard a few sharp inhales that sure sound like the start of a laugh.
Ben, you bring us so much joy with your carefree nature. I'm so proud of you for thriving but if you could slow down a little, I'd really like that.

I'll let Ben tell you about his rolls...

My rolls keep me warm! My rolls make people smile!
See my big muscles?
Side shot. I love raspberries on my belly!Mommy has been bad about remembering to give me tummy time. I can hold my head up if I rest it on my arm!
You'd have a hard time holding your head up too if your neck looked like mine!I hope you can appreciate my rolls as much as me and my mommy do!
P.S. I had to go to the doctor today. Read about it in the previous post!

Ben's First A+

Ben had his 2 month pediatrician appointment today. Here are his stats:

Length: 23 1/2 inches (74th %ile)
Head circumference: 16 1/2 cm ( %ile)
Weight: 17 lbs, 14 oz. He's in the 100th percentile! He is way off the charts. The top line of the growth curve for 2 months old is between 14.5-15 lbs. Dr. C. said not to "let the moms at Target" make me feel bad about having a big baby. He's thriving and at this point in life can't be overfed.

Ben is usually well clothed at home, he doesn't just sit around in a diaper. At his appointment, all he wears is his diaper, so he was sitting on my knees facing me and for the first time I saw his unclothed chub in all of it's glory. He has the cutest little love handles.

He asked how Ben's sleeping. After I said he typically only gets up once a night, he advised that once Ben starts snacking instead of eating a full meal, I stop feeding him and just soothe him back to sleep. Makes sense, right? It's just unfathomable to me that he might just sleep through the night soon. It's a good thing, obviously! I guess I just set myself up to getting up multiple times per night for months.

I asked about the little bruise Ben has on the bridge of his nose. Dr. C. said it's a type of birthmark that involves blood vessels and as his skin thickens it will fade. He added that as a teenager if he's working out or he's angry or something that bruise might be visible. That's funny to me :) I can just imagine it being an indicator of how angry he is. "Ooooh, Ben's getting angry! I can see his bruise!"

Ben also got his DTaP shot. I was so impressed with how quickly and efficiently the nurse did his shot--so much quicker and less to-do than at the clinic we took Colin to as an infant!

Hurray for good pediatrician appointments!

Foot, meet mouth. Mouth, meet foot.

During my pregnancy with Ben, I often said, "I don't make big babies." I was going off Colin's 6 lb birth weight.

I bought a size 0-3 month winter outerwear for Ben to wear, calculating that it would take us through March which would be perfect timing. Someone gave Ben another fleece outerwear thing in size 3-6 months after he was born, and I thought there's no way he'd be using it this year.

Others gave him some long-sleeved 3-6 month outfits and hoodies and I said, "Oh, this will be great for spring!"

I advised Laura to not get the Snugride 35 car seat because she'd never carry around a 35 lb baby. Colin weighs 33 lbs and he's almost 3. No way would you want to lug him around in an infant seat. No need for the 35 lb weight limit on that car seat. She bought it anyway, because she's smart like that. I'm super jealous of the cute pattern, too :)

I should have known better.

Ben started off at 8 lbs. He weighs a whopping 18 lbs now. This is how much Colin weighed when he was 6 months old. Some kids don't get to 18 lbs before their first birthday. I do make big babies.

Ben outgrew that cute little fuzzy bear-hooded winter outerwear thing I got him within a few weeks. And not only that, but we didn't use it a lot because he gets so darn sweaty in his car seat, he was miserable in it.

Those 3-6 month long-sleeved outfits are going to be stored away in the next month or so.

And while it's true that one would not want to carry around a 33 lb 2 1/2 year old in an infant seat, Ben is only 4 lbs away from outgrowing his car seat with its 22 lb weight limit. At his current rate of growth, he'll be there in 3 more weeks. I'm not so sure I'm ready to carry around a 2 month old in a store. I'd love to be able to wait until he can sit up in the shopping cart seat, but that won't come for another 3-4 months!

Lessons learned:
1. Shut up because you never know what's going to happen.
2. Feet don't taste very good.

Weekly update

I really do apologize for the lack of posts, and the fact that when I do post I just can't shut up :) Colin has been uber-territorial and obsessive about my laptop and his YouTube videos of Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Even if I were to start a post, it would be a battle to finish it. It was getting ridiculous. We've decided to take an "out of sight, out of mind" approach. The laptop is stored on top of the fridge (until nap time or bed time if I need to use it). If he wants to watch something, it has to be on TV or one of his DVDs.

So, in a nutshell...
Ben has been growing. What else does he do? He's gaining weight quickly and we'll find out the official stats next Thursday at his 2 month appointment. He continues to be a good sleeper. I usually wake up about twice during the night to feed him and I'm typically only up for about a half hour. That is, if I am awake enough to go to back to bed. I often pass out in the rocking chair and wake up after an hour or more. Ben is smiling and "talking" more and more every day. His little "laugh" is emerging, but for now it's just a deep breath in with a little noise.
My favorite view:
Colin is ready for spring to be here. He needs to get outside and run off some energy. Some days are more challenging than others, but hopefully soon his cabin fever will be cured. Speaking of cures, he had strep last week. He's finishing up some Amoxicillin, which has been a chore to give him. He refuses to take it straight--he'll fight us, even if we pin him down, and he'll purse his lips together so we can't get the syringe in his mouth. Even if we do manage to get the tip in, he'll spit the medicine right back out all over us. We've been creative about mixing it with other things. We've made strawberry banana smoothies and eaten a lot of strawberry pudding over the last week!

I just finished typing up some loose recipes I had floating around in my cabinet. I'm going to print them and store them in plastic page protectors in a little binder. Aside from giving my neighbor 3 grocery bags bags + 3 small appliances for donation, that's the only decluttering thing I've worked on the last week. I am tossing around the idea of adding another class to my piano lessons. More about that later...don't want to talk (err...read) your ears (eyes) off!

Kevin is working more in the office. No more taking advantage of his help while he's working from home. :( He's been busy working and helping me with the boys.