Mama and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Okay, okay, so maybe that is a slight exaggeration, but Monday was pretty much a fail.

It all started with a horrible night of sleep.  Horrible.  I have a new item added to my "things I despise" list and they are one year molars.  I feel like G has been getting his for weeks now.  They are taking
f o r e v e r to come in and the poor boy is miserable.  I am talking shirts soaked with drool, lack of appetite, whiny and sensitive about everything miserable.

With his misery comes waking up constantly during the night ... and you should know by now that little sleep makes this mama one über grouch.

Remember that picture I posted a few weeks back about co-sleeping with your baby?

That is our last ditch effort at times like this, and it never fails that I always regret bringing him in bed with us in the morning.  Yesterday morning I announced, "Never again!" (ha, yeah right!).

The more appropriate picture of what happens after co-sleeping with G and being kicked in the face, in the back of the head, and somehow only getting a sliver of our king size bed to sleep on would also include devil horns growing from my head 'cause I've been know to get a little grouchy!

R always manages these crazy nights with ease and isn't one to moan and grumble like I do.  At 6:30 a.m. after being kicked in the head again, I yelled at G to "stop kicking me!" (oops!  Sorry, Lovey!), piled up pillows on my side to book-end him in, and stomped out of our room and onto the couch.  R was kind of like, "Ummmm... seriously?"  But he let me lay there and wallow in self-pity while he entertained G and fed him breakfast for a good hour.  Yeah, I know.  I'm a lucky lady.

This past summer I went to one of those time share gigs where they use extreme sales pressure tactics to try and sell you a time share.  They rope suckers in, like myself, by promising us *free* prizes such as cruises, etc.

I had already done one of these with a different company a few years back, and while I hated sitting there and refusing to buy a time share for three hours, I loved getting my *free* cruise.  This time I got lucky and was paired with a young, newbie sales guy who had very little pressure sales experience.  They also didn't bother me much once I told them I was staying at home this year and would be making zero income.  That always seems to do the trick!

My last cruise was to Cozumel and this time we would be sailing to the Bahamas out of Florida.  I was so excited and decided to take my little sister along with me as a way of celebrating her finishing nursing school.  We had to select three dates from a short list of options and we diligently sent those in in early August.  Since then, we have been waiting patiently to hear back about which date was selected for us.  They reserve the right to inform you of your selected departure 45 days in advance, which doesn't give you much leeway in finding cheap airfare.

Well, I finally received the email and they hadn't given us a date.  I had to call and book the cruise with them... ummmm... what was the point of waiting four months for that?  So I called Monday morning after G went down for his nap.  The lady went through her schpiel and told me that once she did indeed have an offer, I had to be prepared by the end of the phone call to either accept or decline the offered date.  Okay, fine.  Not only were none of our three selected dates available (ummmm.... what?!?), but we would have to leave out of a different port than the one we selected at a different date (which was exactly 45 days from the email I received!).  My sister couldn't leave then because she is skiing during that time, so sadly, I had to decline the offer.  I was so bummed for having gone through all of that for nothing.  Grrrrr!

R felt sorry for me, so he suggested that we take G down to the children's museum and I happily agreed. Neither of them had been before and it was the perfect rainy day for an outing like that.  We bundled up and headed out, but first I wanted to stop off at the UPS store to mail a package to South Africa.

My good friend and I had spent some time purchasing some gifts for one of the mamas that works at the orphanage we had helped back in November of 2009.  We bought some things for her and for her daughter and wanted to get it mailed off to make it there as close to Christmas as possible.  UPS only offered one rate and it was ... $676!!!!!  I am not joking - I could not believe my ears when the chick told me that number!  I politely told her that I could hand deliver the package myself by flying there for not much more than that.  Ridiculous!  She said that while, yes, the post office would be much cheaper, that poor countries like South Africa have extremely corrupt postal systems.  Our package may take months to get there via the post office, or worst, may be stolen en route.  So now we are going to return everything and figure out a way to wire money to this sweet mama.  :(

If that didn't bum me out, then getting to the children's museum to find out that it is closed on Monday afternoons did the trick.  Awesome.  At this point, all I could do was shake my head and call it a fail.

I know I am not the only one who has days like this, and in retrospect, I am thankful that my "problems" or so minor.  One family that I am friends with since having their daughter in my class several years ago just received the worst news of their life.  Their son (just a couple of months younger than G) just had surgery to remove a tumor from his brain.  Wow.  Nothing like that to immediately put things in perspective and to remind myself to hug my family a little tighter each day.

And while I curse at things like one year molars and lack of sleep, I am so thankful for the reasons I do have those minor annoyances.  My blessings far outweigh all else in comparison.

Motivation

With the holiday season and holiday eating in full swing, I thought I would pin up some motivation for my amigos.

My 12-week personal training program was hated at times because it was not easy.  I hated giving up foods that I loved and thought I craved and I hated waking up early to work out.  But the end results?  I love them.  I lost 20 pounds that I have since maintained and have more confidence and feel stronger.  My endurance when I run or play soccer is substantially better.  Eater cleaner has cleared up my sensitive stomach issues (gee... imagine that!), and I am fine looking forward to my one cheat meal per week.  

I know it's about a lifestyle change - not a momentary "fix."  If I want to keep these results and even gain more, I have to live it day in and day out.  It isn't about looking good for other people.  It is about reaching the goals that I set for myself and for being happy with where I am at.

Yesterday evening, I stopped by Whole Foods (aka "whole paycheck" ;) ) for a few items before I headed home from my soccer game.  A really nice woman randomly asked me about salad dressings and which one was the healthiest option, etc.  I thought she was pretty trusting to ask a complete stranger for nutrition advice.  Then she saw me in the frozen section and asked me about what I was looking at (gluten free frozen pancakes), so then we got into a discussion about gluten, gluten free diets, etc.  

She was so appreciative of my personal feedback, and when I was leaving the store I couldn't help but think how good it felt to share some of my knowledge that I've gained through my own personal journey with eating healthier.  Last week I had my new job training for the childhood obesity intervention program.  We will be educating families on ways to implement healthier choices at home for everyone and emphasizing lifestyle changes, not diets.  (Confession: I stopped for a chocolate milkshake on my way home from training on the last day, but nobody's perfect, right?)

Now, I love me some pinterest, so I thought I'd share with you some work-out/healthy living inspiration:

Yes, genetics does play a role, but you do have a say in how you look and feel.  This post isn't meant to send the message that you need to be "skinny" with a six-pack.  Only that you have the power inside you to determine your own results.

Go get them.


**I've decided to not post my "before" and "after" pictures.  Not because I'm embarrassed (even though my "befores" are soooo gross.  My part-time jobs all involve working with kids in a school environment, and I don't feel that it would be appropriate to have pictures of me in a bikini online.

Jolly St. Nick

We are fully embracing the Christmas spirit at the W house.  Earlier this week we made a stop to Santa's little mall hut workshop.  I had been talking up Mr. C the whole morning, telling G excitedly that we were going to see Santa!

I had heard that this particular Santa location had zero lines, and I was not disappointed.  After all, what mama wants to wait in lines with a squirmy 16 month old?  Don't get me wrong - I think Jolly Old St. Nick is worth it, but I didn't think G would understand how badly we needed to see him.

G wasn't easily convinced, as you can see from the pics below:

"Wait, who is this guy?"

"I'm not so sure about this..."

Aaaaaand he's done!

He stopped crying immediately after finishing the picture and then pointed at the door, indicating he wanted to leave.  Ha!  See you next year, Santa!

Monday Musings

Whew, the weeks just keep flying by and it's hard to believe that Christmas is less than two weeks away now.

We finally had our family pictures done for our Christmas New Year's cards done after two reschedules... both because of rain ... when we've had a severe drought this year, nonetheless.  Go figure.

Attempt number one was on Thursday morning and it was in the low 30's.  G was not in a good mood and I felt terrible that he was probably so cold.  I didn't want pictures of us in coats, hats, and mittens, so we did our best to bundle him up in between shots but it just wasn't going well.  The photographer was really nice and offered to have us come back the next day and either try again outside if the weather cooperated or go indoors to her studio.  Fortunately for us, it was a good 30 degrees warmer the following afternoon and G was much happier.  I'm anxious to see how they turned out and to order our cards and get them mailed!  Note to self for next year: take family photos in October.


I attempted to be creative a la pinterest and tried taking some pictures of G playing with Christmas lights

My inspiration?

Adorable, right?

My pictures?

Things I learned:
(a) taking pictures of small children is harder than it seems
(b) I still need to learn how to use my camera
(c) there is a reason I'm not a photographer.

My last day of tutoring with my high school kids was today because I have job training for a new part time gig the rest of the week, and then next week they will be taking their finals (on my list of things I do not miss).  Next semester I will still be tutoring but also working 5-6 hours/week as a teacher assistant for a childhood obesity intervention program.

This past weekend I went downtown on Saturday night for a close friend's bachelorette party and left G with my parents (R was out of town).  Have I mentioned that I love having all of my family in the same town?  My dad sent me a text at 2:40 a.m. wondering if I was okay since I hadn't made it back yet.  This made me laugh at the fact that my dad not only texts and was waiting up for me to get home but I also appreciate that he still cares so much.

It's nice to have a reason to get dressed up and go out for some girl time, but I was quickly reminded that staying up late when you have a toddler has its consequences.  I made it to bed at 3:30 only to be woken up by G ready to play at 6:30.  I barricaded the play room by laying down in the doorway with a pillow and let him play while I was half asleep for another 30 minutes.  Have I mentioned that I love my sleep?  Guess I won't win the parenting award for that morning.

This has been a random enough post for one day.  Happy Monday, everyone!

I'll never...

Has anyone ever played the game, "I've never..."?  I think it's more commonly played as a drinking game (cough, cough), but the object of the game is to make an "I've never..." statement.  If you also have never done what that person stated then you do nothing.  If you have done it before, you drink (or whatever).


Anyway, the other day I was randomly thinking about all of the things that I had once proclaimed that I would never ever do ... in general and especially as a mom.  Working with kids, it is so funny to hear the things they say on a daily basis (even at the high school level) and to look back on my own list of things that I banned from my existence.

Such as...

• getting a tattoo (gasp!)  I have two and am seriously contemplating getting a third (as R cringes in the next room and curses under his breath).

• wearing skinny jeans (love them!)

• being a mom that co-sleeps (guilty for the first six months exclusively!)

• being that mom who coordinates things around her child's naps (guilty and not ashamed!)

• getting plastic surgery (lips are sealed on this one for the moment!)

Obviously, this is a short list of things that came to mind immediately.  I love how we evolve (hopefully for the better and more interesting) as we get older.  While I do believe that "a tiger's stripes never change," I also believe that we are capable of change.  

So, what are things that you swore up and down that you would never but later had a change of heart about?

We survived ... (I think), part two

The reason for separating my last post into two parts and the reason for taking an entire week just to write the first one?  (a) I was dealing with a sick toddler which = mama needs a drink big time and (b) I was lazy and had little energy for anything else that didn't involve laying on the couch in my pj's.

So there you have it.  Please take pity on me, or not, but I'll try to do better this month.

We stepped off the plane and happily headed home.  After a week of being away, I was looking forward to my small comforts - my bed, G's crib, our big bath tub, etc.

G was so happy to be home - his toys were on the receiving end of a longer than usual toddler attention span.  We were all exhausted from such a long day of travel, so I made sure to get everything packed and ready for "school"/work the next day.  When we were putting him down for bed we noticed he was much warmer than usual and took his temp only to discover he was running a fever.  No "school" for G or work for mama!

Of course running a fever usually means that he sleeps terribly, so my bed that I was so looking forward to was now being shared with a feverish and crabby baby.  Grrrrr...

On Monday he was the grumpiest I've ever remembered him being.  We are talking about epic meltdowns over anything.  He was so incredibly sensitive, but I knew he just wasn't feeling well at all so I tried my best to stay calm and collected.  His nice, long normal naps went out the window and by 6 p.m. we were both tired and cranky.  Poor dada.

His fever persisted all week long and I was grateful for when Thursday rolled around because we already had his 15 month check up scheduled.  It ended up being a sick visit instead, and we were there for two hours while they ran different tests to see what was wrong.  His symptoms: fever (getting worse as the week went on), runny nose, gross diapers, and lack of appetite (very unusual for my sweet boy).

Ever since he had his tear duct probed, G hates the dr.  Hates.  He clings onto me like a spider monkey the minute we walk into the small room.  He cries hysterically just getting weighed ... poor baby.  He does not like any of it.  Since we were not going to be getting any of the 15 month vaccines, I went in slightly relieved I wouldn't have to suffer through that with G.  But, it turns out he had to get a nasal swab to test for the flu, a finger prick and subsequent squeezes to check his white blood cell count, and then they put a urine bag sample in his diaper so they could test for a bladder infection.  That one kept us in that small room for a long time as we waited for him to pee.  Then most of the pee in the bag spilled on the floor anyways.  Fun times (and an interesting experience).

He tested negative for everything, so we left with a suspected virus and new antibiotic prescription in hand.  He is finally on the mend (no more fever!) and, more importantly, we are finally getting some much needed sleep in our own beds.

I had been looking forward to this past weekend for a long time because my entire family rented an RV and went camping.  We opted to stay home because of our sick little one.  It rained all weekend, so we ran a few errands but mostly just snuggled up inside.

We are ready to get back to our normal routine tomorrow and to stay away from the sickies for as long as possible!

We survived ... (I think), part one

Sorry for the long blog absence, amigos.  I opted to leave the laptop at home even though it pained me a little bit to be away from my computer for an entire week.  But, when you are traveling with a baby and all of the crap stuff associated with traveling with a baby, a laptop was the last thing I wanted to concern myself with.  With all of the gripes that are made about airlines, I do have to applaud them for flying baby items for free.  It's the little things, folks.

I was expecting the worst in terms of flying with G - last year he was only three months old and still addicted to the boob.  This year he is a squirmy, loud, and impatient sixteen month old that doesn't understand why he can't get his way all of the time.  I anticipated us having to take turns walking him down the narrow airplane aisle while he screamed and people shot us death looks.  Luckily, he proved me wrong and was as good as he could have been.  There were minimal outbursts and when there were, he was easily subdued with food (nothing changes).

Alright, I guess he fits...

We had a layover both ways but it worked out okay.  On the way to New York, we had a few hours to kill at the Detroit airport.  G was amused with the moving walkways and escalators and we were fortunate to have a kids' play area at our gate.  Bonus!  Oh the things you never notice pre-baby and the things you are so grateful for post-baby.  He was ever the social butterfly and made many admirers while happily walking up to complete strangers.  Yep, our kid has zero stranger danger.

My only quasi-celebrity sighting was at the Detroit airport - Carla from Top Chef!  Doesn't quite beat flying coach with Dan Rather a couple of months ago though...

The weather in New York was a-mazing and we were spoiled with elegant home cooked meals and wonderful company.  G was the center of attention, of course, and as one of his grandfathers so eloquently put it, "It was so nice of him to bring along his parents."  Ha!  One of the guests brought the yummiest whole cranberry sauce.  I'm usually not a big fan but I could not get enough - so good!  She graciously shared the recipe with me, and I'll post it soon in case you want to try it out for yourself.  I'm looking forward to keeping this one in the family for a long time.

Trying to snuggle with my toddler who doesn't like to sit still.... "No, you must stay with meeeee..."

The day after Thanksgiving we drove to Connecticut to visit with more of R's family.  They were all completely enamored and he won them over (like he hadn't already) with his infamous hugs and kisses.  The only unfortunate thing is that we do not see them more often.

G's first ice cream sundae, one of his many "travel treats" that he doesn't get at home!

We woke up at 4 a.m. to head home.  You should know by now that waking up early is not on my favorite list, but we were out the door in fifteen minutes and headed to drop off the rental car.  We drove up only to find Enterprise closed and R thought about leaving the car there and tossing the key (ummmm.. who does that?!?  and how would we get to the airport with all of our crap stuff?!?).  Haha... once we drove up to the their gate, upon further inspection we saw a sign that directed us to another parking lot not far that would take the car and take us to the airport.

What did we do before smart phones?  Write all of this down?!?

Whew... mission accomplished!  Until we actually got inside the airport and saw its crazy lines.  Here I was thinking that we were insane for getting up so early until to find the airport full of other insane people - who knew?  That morning, I made it a point to be thankful for R's priority access membership with American Airlines that got us up to the front of the check in line and also allowed us to be put on the list for upgrade to first class.  He got the membership with all of the traveling he used to do with his job, so I also made it a point to be thankful that he works from home now.

If you haven't seen any cranky/stressed out folks and ever have the urge to do so, I highly encourage you to go to the airport over any busy holiday.  The sun hadn't even come out yet and I saw one lady about to lose her s&*! at the airline counter, one lady crying on the phone talking to her mom because she may miss her flight, and one other lady about to go postal on a guy in the security lines.  Notice a theme here.. hehe.  Yes, I guess women are more susceptible to being emotionally driven.  There, I admitted it!

We made it through all of the lines unscathed (p.s. babies get to keep their shoes on - why aren't they suspected of being terrorists??) and to our gate only to find out that we had indeed been granted first class status.  And the baby angels sang hallelujah!  I made it a point then to be thankful for R's abundance of miles that gave us the bump to spacious seats and a free breakfast.  We were given the bulkhead seats which meant ample floor space for G to crawl around when the seatbelt sign was off.  Not so much of a bonus - two dirty diapers on the plane!  I am sure that all of the first class customers that actually paid for their seats were not very happy to be flying with a baby, but no one complained or shot us death looks.  At least not to my face.  Someone posted this link on FB and I thought it was relevant.

From Connecticut we had a layover in Dallas (so close yet so far...) for a few hours, and I was more than excited to see an advertisement for a *new* McDonald's children's play area.  Fail.  It was no more than a few video game consoles next to one of their restaurants.  Really, Mickey D's?!?

At this point, I was more than ready just to get on the plane and get home.  The last flight had R and I on two aisle seats, so I crossed my fingers that I would sit next to someone understanding and empathetic.  Imagine my surprise when it was a teacher from my school - with her three month old baby girl!  Her husband and son were sitting at the front of the plane and they were flying back from visiting her parents.  Such a small world and such a blessing to not only sit next to another mom, but someone that I actually knew!  It was great to catch up on school talk and it definitely made the flight home go by in a flash.

Our awesome pediatrician gave us his most important advice for new parents when G was just a wee little newborn.  He told us to remember that vacations aren't really vacations unless you travel without the kids.  So, with that being said, here is a list of things I learned about traveling with a toddler:

1. Changing poops on a plane is not fun.  At all.  
2. Traveling is exhausting enough but even more so when you have kids.  The days of relaxing and reading a magazine at the gate are non-existent until they are old enough to sit still.
3. It is really awkward when the couple next to you on the plane are asking the flight attendant before we even leave the terminal when they can get their free drink (at 6 a.m.!!!) and then proceed to make out for most of the flight.  
4. Bringing a pack-n-play is pretty much worthless when your toddler ends up sleeping in your bed anyway.  
5. I do not like sharing my bed with said toddler.  I am usually at the receiving end of his legs which are strong, aka I get kicked.  A lot.  
6. All I have to say is thank goodness for having a wonderful partner in crime who proved himself once again to be invaluable and helpful beyond measure.