Friday, July 22, 2011

Long day

Wow. Today has been one-of-those-days.  You know, the kind where at the end of it all you really want to do is crawl under the covers with a bottle of wine (unfortunately not an option at 6.5 months pregnant!). I'm ready for today to be over. I try on this blog to mostly write about the good and the fun things that we do. This is for two reasons, first off, who really wants to record the bad times, and two, I really try to find the good and the fun and the special in our everyday life. The good days by far outweigh any bad days we have, and the laughter and the hugs and the kisses outnumber the tantrums ten fold.

Except for today.

And I"m going to write about today because you can't really appreciate the good days without having a few bad ones thrown in the mix. And it's not like anything really bad happened today. It was just a long, long day and L was a terror though all of it. And the thing is, is L is a really good, easy kid.  I know we are really lucky, but today he decided to remind it just how bad it could be. All day today there have been tantrums. Pretty much the only words I have heard are "no" and "mine", both of which have been shouted at me continuously. At our playgroup he refused to share with the other kids and threw a fit if anyone tried to play with the same toys he was. (Normally he is amazing at sharing). He went into a full kicking and screaming fit in the library when I couldn't pick him up. Nap time was a battle of wills, which he eventually won. Dinner was the same.

I am exhausted and frustrated and have cried three times today. And I know that L is exhausted and frustrated and cried out to. He's just having a bad day, which we all have, but it's so hard at this age for him to communicate exactly what is bothering him. Today was the kind of day, where as a mom I wish I could have done more. I feel like a failure because I couldn't turn this day around for either of us. Instead of finding some genius solution I just sat down and cried right along with him.

But tomorrow is another day, and I know (hope?) that my sweet little boy will be back. We are entering the "terrible two's" stage and I know there will be more days like this, but I'm also just as certain that the "unicorn and glitter" days will outweigh the "tiny little person screaming at me" days.

So today is done, L is about to go to bed, and I"m going to settle for some hot tea instead of the wine. And I'm looking forward to a clean slate tomorrow.

Goodnight all!

Friday, July 15, 2011

Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday S!

Today is my hubby's 27th birthday! We (I) love birthdays round here. Really I love any kind of celebration that I can wrap presents, bake something, put up decorations, etc. I had planned on putting L down for an early nap today so I could wrap all the presents, bake and frost cupcakes, and shower and be all dressed and pretty by the time S walked in the front door from work. Unfortunately my day was somewhat derailed when......

I FELL DOWN THE FREAKING STAIRS!

Um, yes, you heard my correctly. L was still asleep when I got up this morning so I decided to pile my arms high with all our laundry and run it downstairs to start a load before he woke up. Unfortunately, with a massive pile of dirty clothes in my arms, not only could I not hold on to the handrail, I also couldn't totally see where I was stepping. Not to big of a deal on a normal day, but at 6 1/2 months pregnant, with my balance way off center, it was not a good idea. So down I went. Clothes flew everywhere and I tumbled. Luckily my butt took the full brunt of the fall (trust me, I have a huge bruise to prove it) and then I went backwards on to my back, but it still wasn't pleasant. I immediately panicked and called the triage nurse at my Dr. Office. Now, pretty much from the moment I fell, the baby started kicking me (I think he was mad about all the jostling around!) so that eased a lot of my worries, but I wanted to check and see what she said. She didn't seem overly concerned either, since I didn't fall on my stomach and I could feel the baby moving but she still recommended I come in for an ultrasound just to make sure everything looked OK. Long story short, we got checked out, the baby is fine and I am fine except for a bruised bottom and a slightly bruised ego.


But back to S's birthday. He still got cupcakes (they just weren't frosted when he got home) I got pretty and showered, but not until later, and his presents ended up in gift bags instead of being lovingly wrapped. Oh well, that's life, right?

But still we celebrated. We headed to a local Mexican restaurant that S likes for a big family dinner and rented a movie for us to watch after L goes to bed. Not exactly hitting the town, but I would rather be home with my two boys anyway!







So, S, Happy Birthday! L and I love you so very much.

Oh, and I think today's little "incident" is the universes way of telling me to let you take care of the laundry from this point on!

Friday, July 8, 2011

Suzie Homemaker

I'll be honest, I'm not much of a cook. That's not to say when I do cook that things don't come out OK, I"m just not one of those people (Hi, mom!) who can open up the fridge or the pantry, see what I have on hand and then throw together a delicious dinner with no recipe. No, I need recipes, preferably with directions that have been written in a way that a young child can understand. I need to know when to chop, how to dice, what order to do steps in and precise timing. The thing is, is I actually do kind of like cooking, I just feel like it takes me so much time and effort to make something nice, that in the past I have been much more likely to throw together sandwiches or quesadillas or order something in.

However, now that I am staying home I am really trying to channel my inner-housewife. I subscribed to "Taste of Home" magazine, broke out my cook books, and have made myself familiar with our local Trader Joe's. Because it's summer I've been doing a lot of yummy marinades and having S grill up the  chicken i prepared when he gets home, but tonight I got a little bit adventurous.

A little bit of this:

And this:

And you get this:


Pita pockets stuffed with pear Waldorf salad and a light lemon dressing. Super yummy, super light for the hot weather, and easy to make. Also, very cheap. I had pretty much all the ingredients in my house all ready!

And for dessert?

This:

Plus this:

Equals this:


Blueberry cobbler, served with a little bit of vanilla bean ice cream. Heaven. I have memories of my mom making cobbler when I was kid and it was always the most delicious thing ever. I also always thought it was so exotic so I like that it's actually pretty easy to make.

What can I say, just call me Betty Crocker. Or Bree Van De Kamp (Desperate Housewives reference). Your choice!

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Happy fourth and a vacation update!

Happy later 4th of July everyone! Sorry for the delayed update, but we were on vacation all weekend down in California. It was fun, but unfortunately L had a pretty major fever for the majority of the trip. It was actually kind of weird. First of all L hardly ever gets sick, and if he does it last maybe a day. On Thursday he was running a low grade fever (like really, really low grade, 99.4 or so) and we just chalked it up to teething because his canines are coming in. On Friday morning the fever was still low but still there so I decided to take him in to the doctor just to be safe since we were leaving that afternoon. Of course, as all spontaneous doctor appointments seem to go, by the time we got there he had no fever what so ever and was the happiest boy you have ever seen. The doctor agreed it was probably teething, and maybe a virus so to just keep an eye on him. We packed up the car and were on our way, with my fears completely alleviated that he might be sick. L slept most of the six hours in the car, which we were grateful for, but when I got him out of the car I noticed right away that he was hot. Really hot. A quick temperature check revealed a fever of 103.8, highest he has ever had. Of course I freaked out and was ready to rush him to urgent care then and there, but S gave him a cool bath and some Tylenol and we managed to bring it down. But this was how the next three days went, the fever would spike, I would freak, we would bring it down, it would like he was getting over it, and then it would spike again. None of us slept very much, I worried a ton, and my poor baby was miserable.

Finally, when I was at the end of my rope and putting my foot down about taking him to urgent care, the fever broke for good and we managed to have one good day. There was a lot to fit into one day but we did out best:

We did some swimming. L seemed to be a little bit concerned about going into a pool that was not the temperature of a luke warm bath, but I guess living in Phoenix will do that to you.




He played on Grandpa's tractor, which I am pretty sure he thought was the best toy in the world and that he will be asking for one for his birthday. I guess maybe we could get some yard work out of it, right?




L loved chasing around Elli, who is one of his grandparents three dogs. I'm not sure why he took such a liking to her, but I think it was because she was a mutt and bared the closest resemblance to Charlie.



We helped Daddy celebrate his 27th birthday (which isn't actually until July 15th) with his family. His sister made him a guava cake and L helped him open all his presents.



And then we ended the night with L playing us all a jaunty little tune on the toy piano Grandpa pulled out of storage for him.


And then there was the fourth. Can you beat a view like this for the fourth of July? The weather was a beautiful 80 degrees, it was sunny, and my child was healthy..... can't ask for more then that. 





I love this last picture. L with his Daddy, grandpa, aunt and uncle.

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This update is rambling on pretty long already, but in a quick, unrelated update my last official day of work was last Thursday. I have officially started my life as a stay at home mama and I am so excited! I'll keep you posted!