Like mother, like son

Just in case you weren't sure whether or not this cute, blonde hair, blue eye, babe was really my baby, I have some proof for you today. 

But first off, we got a new high chair, and he's really excited about it!

And now, here is the proof.

Here I am as a sweet little baby girl, happily eating my dinner:

And here is my sweet little baby boy happily enjoying his dinner:

Really enjoying his dinner:

Really, really enjoying his dinner!

Can I have a bath now, mom?

Did y'all catch the resemblance? 

I'm proud to say that I'm a firm believer of allowing my children to play with their food.

At least until they get old enough to understand what they're doing.

But then again, that never stopped me from playing in my food...

I still do.

Love you all and Happy Saturday!

Lost and Found in Chicago

Several years ago, a very close friend of mine invited me to visit Chicago with her and her parents. I was so dang excited! I'd never been there, and it was exciting to be going with such a good friend!

Now, if you don't know anything about Chicago, you should know that they have a subway system there that runs through the city, called the "El." Pretty much to get anywhere you have to ride that train.

We had just arrived in the city and were headed to our hotel, I think. I can't remember exactly, but I know we hadn't been there long. When we got off the train, my friend realized she had left her wallet on the seat in the El. In such a big city, with so many people, and such a big subway system, it would be nearly impossible to recover it. But we tried anyway. After no success, we carried on with the evening.

That night and the next day we did some serious praying to find her wallet. Aside from the money it contained, there were other things in the wallet that were special to her. Well, that day, either the day after or 2 days after she lost it, I got a phone call from my dad. It went something like this:

"Is your friend missing a wallet?"
Yes...
"Did you write her a check for something?"
Yes... 
"Well, someone turned it in to a bank (store?) and they have it."

Turns out that someone had taken the wallet, extracted all the cash from it, and then turned it in to a bank (or some other store) and told them he'd found it. For some reason I had written her a check for something, and my home phone number was written on that check. The people who recovered the wallet called my parents house and asked them if they knew whose wallet it was. After some back and forth phone calls, we went to the place and got the wallet. Nothing else had been touched except the cash taken. From what I remember, no credit card information had been stolen either.

It was quite a miraculous story. I wish I could remember all the details, but I'm old now.

I'm almost 30.
...in almost a decade.
But I'm closer to 30 than 15.
...thanks for reminding me, mom.
But it's only by 1 year.

Anyway, I love remembering that story and believing in the power of prayer. I don't remember all the little details, but I do remember at the time it was such a testimony building experience for me. I knew without a doubt that the only reason we were able to recover the wallet was because we prayed for help and had faith that Heavenly Father would help us. And He did.

Now that friend of mine is married to a really great guy, who I've never met, and has a super cute little boy! It's so fun to look back on the younger years and think about how much we've grown and changed since then!

Source

A toilet!! A toilet!! We have a new toilet!!

A toilet! A toilet!

I've never been so excited to see THIS in my bathroom!!!!

And THIS on the curb by the dumpster!!!!!

Why am I so excited you ask?

Well, I'll you why. But it's a story. Here we go!

We moved into our apartment last August. We specifically got a 2 bedroom 2 bath because we wanted a toilet/bathroom in our bedroom because it would be super helpful right after having a baby so I wouldn't have to share a bathroom with visitors. You don't really need to know why I wanted my own bathroom after having a baby... Anyway, we moved in and realized our master bath toilet didn't flush well. We are really lazy proactive, so we called the management staff about 3 months after we had moved in. It wasn't thaat big of deal, at the time.

They sent a guy over. He plunged it. Cue Asian accent:
"There you go. It fix now. It work. It just need plunge."

That lasted a couple days.
We called back again a few weeks months? later.
They plunged it again.

Keep in mind that we're not stupid.

 We had plunged it a billion times before.

We even bought a new plunger.

That lasted a couple days.

So we called back again a bit later.

They came again, this time with a "snake."

They stuck it down the hole and scratched up the ceramic real good.

That lasted a couple weeks.

So we called back again.

They came and plunged it.

So we called back again.

They came and pulled the toilet off the base, stuck it in the shower, looked down the drain, saw nothing and said it still didn't work but the supervisor didn't want to replace it so to call the office. Again.

That made it worse.

I called the office. For the 5th time.

Then I met the Supervisor on the sidewalk that week.

Gave him a piece of my mind.

Threw a couple punches.

Knocked him out.

Just kidding, I'm nicer than that.

He said:

 "it's a brand new toilet, there's probably something stuck. It doesn't need to be replaced" about ten times.

I said: 

"It does NOT work. It does NOT flush. We have called 5 times. Something is wrong. It needs to be replaced." about ten times.

He said:

"we'll try to have a plumber come look at it next week. It's brand new. It doesn't need to be replaced"

I said: 

"Okay. Fine." and thought in my mind how I wanted to yell my brains out at him and tell him how wrong he was. But I didn't. I'm nicer than that. 

Well, moral of the story is, a week after that conversation, they finally replaced that stinky (literally), old, non flushing, good for nothing toilet! TODAY! I'm not sure what happened after that conversation with the supervisor, I don't know if a plumber came or not, but I don't care. I have a new toilet!

AND IT FLUSHES!!!!!!!!

After almost a year has passed.

After we've been paying for a 2 bathroom and using 1 bathroom.

After we complained 5 times. 

After I had to share a bathroom with visitors after I had a baby.

After they finally realized that we were right. 

Like I said, we're not stupid.

I think I'm gonna go do a happy dance!

Then make some fajitas!

And have a Mexican Fiesta!

Title? Who thinks of good titles?

Once again, thank you all for your love and support! And words of encouragement.

Just in case you were wondering, yes, this past week has been a tough one for me (if the blog posts didn't lead you to believe that). I figured I was about due for a trial, and boy did I get a doozey. I'm still working through everything but I have realized a few things:

-I have an amazing husband.
-We have been blessed with an amazing, happy, and easy baby.
-God is always there, and answers the call when you need Him most.
-I am so grateful for the priesthood. And priesthood blessings.
-I am so grateful to be able to receive inspiration from the Lord.
-Even if I feel like I'm alone, I'm not.

I owe alot to my dear sweet husband. He has been so patient, loving, and kind this past week. He totally stepped up to the plate and helped out. He is just awesome!!!

I also have an amazing mother. It was so helpful to talk to her and get her side of things.

Sometimes the medical and pharmaceutical field amazes me. In a bad way. I was shocked to find out a nurse who talked to me on the phone for less than 4 minutes could "diagnose" my problem with one assumption, proceed to not ask anymore questions, then call in a prescription for a serious drug, without even talking to my doctor first. When I found out exactly what she had called in, I was appalled. And stunned that she had the "capability" of doing such.

Anyway, I have made some changes and we're making progress and this week has been MUCH better (so far)! Hopefully things will continue to improve and get better each day.

Remember how I said I wish it would cool off and not be so hot around here? Well, after a week of 95+ degrees and humidity, it has been cloudy and rainy for the past 3 days. I'm grateful for the cooler air, but I want the sun back so I can go to the pool! :-) Am I fickle, or is the weather?

Some things you should know

First off, THANK YOU so much!! to everyone who left such sweet, encouraging, supportive, comments. It's so nice to know I'm not alone in this whole mom thing. I really appreciate the kind words. Thank you thank you! And love you all!


Here are some things you should know about me:

1. I cannot function on less than 7 hours of sleep. And I am not saying that just to say that. I get delirious, depressed, looney, sick to my stomach, head achy, weepy, and everything in between. When I get 5-6 hours a sleep for 3 nights in a row, all hell breaks loose. Which is what happened this week.

2. It takes me at least 30 minutes to fall asleep. 60 minutes if I'm exhausted. Over 90 minutes if I'm exhausted and Mister Man is studying in the other room. (which happened last night. after 3 nights of 5 hours of sleep)

3. I'm actually a really shy person. Shocking, I know.

4. Sometimes when I have a really bad day I feel the need to shop. Even if it's just grocery shopping. But shopping at the Loft is much more fun. Except that I cannot afford the Loft. Unless they have a major sale and/or coupons for money off. Both of which happened the other day. It was a glorious day for me. I was able to get 4 shirts for $14. Even the cashier was shocked and double checked to make sure she did it all right.

-I feel like my life is being threatened by a horribly loud and unknown banging noise coming from just outside my front door. In reality I think it's actually people pulling heavy, rolling, suitcases down the stairs without lifting them up.-


5. Me and hot weather do not coexist very well. I can stand 85 degrees and humid, but anything over that with humidity over 40% for longer than 24 hours makes me want to fly to Antarctica and dig me an ice cave.

6. It drives me absolutely crazy when I know my baby is tired but he won't fall asleep. Speaking of baby, he gave me the most awful hickey on my neck last night. And no, I'm not using him as an excuse for anything Mister Man did. It really was my baby. I thought it was funny and thought he might've given me a little hickey, but then I walked in to where Mister Man was and I said "did The Babe give me a hickey?" and he said: "Ohhhh yeah." Then I looked in the mirror. Oh great.

And now my friends, I must catch up on all the housework I've neglected this week: laundry, dishes, sweeping, moping, organizing, etc. My house apartment is a wreck. Happy Friday!!

P.S. any great suggestions for exciting, creative, no money involved, stay-at-home (or leave) date ideas?

First pool experience. Ice cold. Fingers in mouth the whole time.

Someone was apparently not ready to be awake yet.

First shopping cart experience.

It's impossible to live in St. Louis and not be a Cardinals fan!!

I just need a moment

Disclaimer: Do not continue reading if you are going to read and think I'm a horribly depressed person who does not enjoy being a mom and staying at home. Of if you'll think I'm really selfish. Or think I'm whining and complaining about nothing.  I just need a moment.

(and I'm running on 5 hours of sleep and tears falling out my eyes)





When is it going to get better? I know so many more people who are more justified to complain about things that are way worse than me. But I need a moment.

 I'm just so frustrated. I feel like our baby has been teething forever. Especially the past week. Especially the past 3 days. And not only have we felt like he's teething, he's suddenly decided he hates sleeping. What the crap??! When he was only a few weeks old he was sleeping 8-10 hours!!! What happened? Friday night we had to let him cry for 45 minutes before he finally fell asleep. He only slept about 6 hours. Saturday we bought teething gel in hopes that it would help. He was still fussing and crying and didn't go to bed easily. Sunday he was awake from 7-10:30am. Then slept 45 minutes. Then didn't sleep again until about 2:30 pm. Of course we once again had a battle getting him to sleep that night. Monday he woke up around 9 am, I fed him and we went to the gym. He was exhausted. By the time I could finally give him a nap he was over tired. So he screamed in his crib for 30-40 minutes. He had a hard time calming down in my arms. Then he slept for 45 minutes. After being awake for almost 4 hours. Then he didn't want to eat and he wouldn't go back to sleep, but he wasn't really happy. Finally Scott came home and rescued me. He swaddled him and put him in the swing where he slept another hour and a half. I put him down for bed at 6:30. He woke up at 7:45pm to eat then fell back asleep. And guess what? He only slept til 1:40 am. I binked him and he slept 45 minutes. Then he continued to fuss and cry from about 2:15 til 3:30 am. Mind you I could not sleep this entire time. I tried the binky a few times, then gave up. Scott went in and held the binky in and tried to get him to sleep. Didn't last longer than 10 minutes. Finally at 3:30 am I went in to feed him. He ate and then finally slept. Until 4:45 am. Binky. Slept until 5:45 am. Binky. Finally he stayed asleep until 9 am. I fed him and he's been awake since. It's now 11:00 am.

If you were able to follow all of that, basically what I'm saying is:

-he suddenly fights to sleep at night
-he won't take a morning nap
-he won't sleep longer than 6 hours consistently
-he's cranky. alot.
-I only got 5-6 hours of sleep last night.

And I'm so frustrated because he's such a happy baby!!! When I'm not trying to put him down for a nap. Ugh. I felt like such a crappy mom yesterday because I was thinking I had done a bad thing by starting to go exercise or do things in the morning, preventing him from napping right after his 9 am eating. I know it's an important nap, but I also need to do things for me. I can't stay at home all day every day. It doesn't work for me. And I need to exercise. I need it. And the child care is only open til 12. Then again at 3. Unfortunately the perfect time for us to go would be noon. Except now everything is messed up.

I feel like it's all my fault. That I got selfish and messed everything up for him. I don't know how to get it back. I know what the perfect schedule would be in my mind, but I don't know how to make it work. And I can't really make it work because everything revolves around him. I just wish he would figure out how to go to sleep! I know he's capable of it. But like I said, I messed it up because I wanted to do something for me. I don't want every day to be a battle. This morning I decided to stay home and try to bring back the nap at 9:30 ish. Not working.

I can't tell if he's crying lately because his mouth hurts or if there's another reason. He just cries so much more than he used to! (good thing he wasn't colicky early on, I might've died) And it seems like there's no reason. I can't tell if he's over tired all the time and can't sleep. If he's not as tired as I think he is. If he's mad that I leave the room. If he's not getting enough food (which doesn't make sense because I feed him and he's the one that refuses). Of if it's just his teeth. I don't know. But I do know I don't want him to have to always be swaddled and in the swing to sleep.

I'm just tired of the battle. I want some predictability back. I'm trying. I'm trying hard. And it's not working. And that frustrates me.

Thankfully I have the most amazing husband who is a great problem solver and always makes me feel better. He always knows what to say in situations like this to make me feel like I am a great mom and like I am not selfish and that I do need to do things for me. And that one of those things for me is exercising. You might think it's lame, but it's really really important to me. And not just to look good. It's to feel good too.

And now he finally fell asleep in the swing (ugh. oh well.) so I'm gonna take a shower and try to make this day better somehow.

Vote for Us!

Well, to start off the post, I would encourage all who are able to vote for our dear sweet baby! He was chosen to be in the running for a weekly finalist and perhaps eventually win the grand prize for Parents Magazine Cover contest. If we win the weekly contest we could get $250. If we win the grand prize it's a trip to New York and his face on the cover of Parents Magazine. So please vote! You can copy and paste the blue hyperlink to a new browser and it should work. Thank you in advance!

	Vote Today! Congratulations! Thank you for entering the Parents Magazine Cover Contest! Your photo is currently in the running to become one of our weekly Reader's Choice finalists! Each weekly finalist will receive $250, plus have a chance to be one of the 10 finalists chosen to travel to New York City for the Parents Cover Contest photo shoot. Official Rules Come back daily! Voting ends 06/12/2011. Get your friends and family to vote too! Just forward this email to them or share the link.http://photos.parents.com/category/vote/photo/899338 Parents Deals - Save up to 70% on Baby Products and Family Deals in your area. Sign up now for deal alerts! Photo Faves Email Preferences | Other Email Preferences | Update E-Mail Address Meredith Corporation, 1716 Locust Street, Des Moines, IA 50309 &#169 Copyright 2011. All Rights Reserved |Privacy Policy| By using this site you agree to our Terms of Service. facebook Twitter

And in other news, I have an update.
Remember how I kept writing all the time about needing to go to the gym and that I was re-committing to going? And then how I didn't. Because I'm great at excuses. And because I'm lame. And because a baby is a great excuse?

Well, that changed. My dear wonderful hubby kept reminding me that we're paying for the pass and I either need to go or cancel the pass. So I decided to suck it up and go.

And I did.
And it was amazing.
So I went again.
And it was amazing.
So I went again.
And it was still amazing.

And then I decided that I really, really enjoy exercising. And that it makes me feel really great. And that it makes me look better. But mostly I just love the way I feel before, during, and after exercising. And I think I got all of these things from my mom. Because she loves exercising too. And I love that she loves it. And I love that I love it.

And I love that it's summer!!

p.s. I'm watching Bachelorette and Bently is the most horrible jerk-face guy I've ever seen on any episode of Bachelor!!! AHHHH! Pretty lame that he could lead a girl on and convince her that he really liked her, then leave and tell the cameras that he thought she was an ugly duckling and he wasn't into her at all. But tell her that he was leaving because he missed his daughter. Ugh. Makes me sick.

Milestones!!!

Well, our baby is now 4 months and 3 weeks. He will be 5 months on June 7. I can't believe how fast time has flown by!! I also cannot believe what I found this morning (with the help of a friend).

Inside our sweet baby's mouth was a small, white, pokey, brand spankin new....

TOOTH!!!!!

That's right, my friends, our baby cut his first tooth today. Or last night. Or this morning. I'm not sure exactly when. But it definitely explains all the drooling, constant chewing, constant fingers in mouth, lots of weird fussiness for no apparent reason, bouts of screaming when hungry then refusing to eat, and everything else that has been out of the norm the past few days. We've suspected he's been teething for a few weeks, but that it just hadn't popped through yet. Well, today it did. I can't believe it!!!

Other fun things he's doing:

-rolling over like crazy. Every time he's on his tummy he rolls over. Fast.

-trying to roll from his back to his tummy

-moving around like crazy laying on his back (he can almost spin himself in a 360 on his back in his playyard thing)

-spins perpendicular to the position I lay him down in his crib

-has learned how to blow raspberries and spit with his lips and tongue. Especially fun when eating rice cereal!

-eats rice cereal like crazy.

-grabs faces, hair, and anything he can possibly reach.

-can go to sleep unswaddled

-has figured out to arch his back and press his legs out to stand when he doesn't want to sit

-went in the pool for the first time on May 30

Life is so fun with a baby! We sure love him. :-)