Whirlwind Week in Illinois

This past week we drove to Illinois to celebrate Christmas with our family.  It was easier than previous years because we were able to split up the celebrations so there was one day per family (both our parents are divorced which equates to FOUR Christmases).  In the past, everyone wanted to celebrate ON Christmas Eve or ON Christmas Day.  That meant splitting up the visits into 4 hours in the morning and 4 hours in the evening on both days.  Crazy.  

It's been three years since we were in our hometown.  It was Alex' high school graduation.  Aiden wasn't even a year old yet.  It was strange to see the area.  It has changed so much since we were there last.  Tons of new construction.  It was sort of like playing an old video game.  I had some muscle memory about how to get around, but I couldn't lay out a map of the area in my head.

I spent a couple days with my friend Chrissie, who I miss dearly.  We have been best friends since I was in 3rd grade (she was in 1st).  We both live busy lives filled with work, family and a social life, so we don't spend a lot of time talking on the phone.  What I love about her is we can go months without talking, but when we do find a moment when we are both free to chat it's like no time has past.  Neither of us holds a grudge against the other for being out of touch because we are in the same chaotic boat of life.  It's the same way when we see each other.  We can immediately talk to each other about anything.  No limitations, no judgement.  It's liberating, really.  I hate that we don't get to do that every weekend. 

Thursday night Travis and I left the kids with my dad and went out for dinner and drinks with Alex, his girlfriend Laura, Chrissie and her husband Jordan.  We had SO much fun.  We went to a Mongolian barbeque place called 301 Mongolia in downtown Champaign.  Its a stir fry buffet where you physically pick out what you want (rice vs noodles, veggies, meat, sauce) then hand it to the cook.  The server brings it out to you when you're done.  After dinner we walked down the block to a bar where we drank more wine and played pool.  We skipped over to a pub at some point and tried a few fancy beers.  We finished the night at some greasy diner.  Despite both of us having a terrible cold, we were able to really enjoy ourselves.  It was fabulous.

I will have to post separately about our drive there and back.  For now, here's the rest of the week in photos:

Aiden, Travis, Alex and Callaway played in what little snow they could find.

Grandpa Ken and Mila really hit it off.

Aiden showed everyone his new LeapPad from Gpa.

Gaga and Mila meet.

"Christmas" dinner at Dad's

All bundled up with places to go.

Aiden and his Uncle Sean were best buds.

Damn smokers (Travis is just faking)

Christmas at Gpa's - his place is tiny, but it's homey.

Chistmas at Grandma Carol's - great food and tons of grandchild spoiling.

SHOPPING!!!

We had a much needed lazy weekend.  Last week we had Halloween and celebrated my sister's birthday.  The weekend before that was filled with lots of festivals.  The weekend before that I was in Florida for work.  BUSY TIMES.  This past Saturday and Sunday we took turns doing fun things.  Saturday morning Travis took Aiden and went grocery shopping while I stayed home with Mila and cleaned around the house.  Then he took Aiden to play golf in the afternoon.  They had a good time riding around in the golf cart and hitting balls.  I'm glad Aiden enjoyed it.  Maybe that's something they can grow to do together.

Sunday I met my friend Linsey for lunch and went shopping at the outlet mall that just opened last month - WITHOUT KIDS.  It was great to get in some conversation without interruption.  I am so excited to get some clothes for work that are non-maternity.  I started my new job when I got back from maternity leave.  My new job requires casual business attire, which is the complete opposite of my t-shirt and jeans level of dress at the previous position.  I had one pair of slacks and a few tops that fit the bill, so I have been long overdue for these new clothes.  Two and a half outfits are nowhere near enough to complete my wardrobe, but it's a good amount to get me started. 

Sometime Friday night/Saturday morning, Mila's first tooth broke through the gums!!  I can't believe it!  She's only five months old.  I know all kids are different, but Aiden was eight months old when he got his first tooth.  It's crazy.  Mila has been a little fussy lately between this teething and her mild ear infection, so I've been giving her Tylenol every day.  Not every four to six hours, but once or twice per day (usually before bed to help her get through a night of sleep). 

I did some online searches and found that other moms have found a correlation between Tylenol and constipation.  I could not find any reputable sites that said there is a direct cause and effect here, except with Tylenol with codeine.  I know these are just mothers' opinions, but I'm wondering if that might be what's going on with Mila.  She has been having bouts of constipation and it seems to be around the same time as when I give her Tylenol.  Only one way to check - cut out the Tylenol.  There's only two weeks until she's old enough for Ibuprofen, thank goodness.  

If she didn't have a proper bowel movement today at daycare, then I'm going to offer some watered down prune juice.  It's just so sad!  I did see a direct correlation between rice cereal and constipation, so I'm not offering her that anymore.  I'm so bummed that it seems like constipation is a common problem for my kids.  I was hoping they would get their bowels from their father.  HA.  I suppose if we physically worked our butts off all day long and ate as much spicy food as he does, we might be able to keep up.  Instead, the kids and I are stuck relying on yogurt, probiotics and bulk fiber to take care of things.  Sorry if that was too much for some of you, but it's just life.

I hope my baby girl is feeling better tonight!  It breaks my heart when she's not her normal perky self.  Both of the kids are getting over coughs as well.  I am ecstatic to announce that we've gone five days without waking up at night from a coughing fit.  Even if it's not a full eight hours, having a night of consecutive sleep can do wonders for a person's psyche.

Orlando

Okay, so I didn't go to the gym.  I enjoyed sleeping entirely too much to work out.  I didn't make my step goal two days.  It was hard since I was sitting for 8 hours three days in a row.

The travel itself was SUPER easy.  I checked both of my bags, so all I had to tote around was my small carry-on shoulder bag of entertainment.  A few days before we left, one of my co-workers recommended downloading a movie to my iPad to watch on the plane.  The concept of having to entertain myself had never entered my head.  So on the flight to Orlando, I watched Snow White and the Huntsman.  I thought it was pretty good.  I was worried about it since Kristen Stewart only seems capable of grimacing these days.

I flew on the same flight with 3 of my co-workers, so we all carpooled in a taxi to our hotel.  We stayed at a Hilton, so it was really fancy.  I had a room to myself, so I immediately unpacked everything after checking in.  After my first night there, I was ecstatic when I got back to my room to find the bathroom cleaned up and my bed made.  Housekeeping!  I totally forgot about housekeeping!  That's a luxury I miss most.  

There were many times I think they went overboard with the tidiness.  There were no trash cans in the conference.  There were hotel employees walking around constantly taking people's trash or finished plates.  We had a 15 minute coffee break in the morning and afternoon.  Every time I was at the coffee table, I felt like I was waiting for the employees to finish wiping up a drip of coffee, or grabbing someone's discarded sugar packet.  We're only out for 15 minutes!  This can't wait??

Also funny - they folded all paper products.  The toilet paper was folded into a triangle point.  They must have someone walk through the bathroom every hour or so because every time we had a bathroom break, the toilet rolls were folded again.  The tissue paper dispensers had tissues fluffed to look like a flower on top.  The paper towels were folded neatly.  It was nutso.

The hotel and conference center was on Disney property, so I could see Downtown Disney from my room.

In the evenings I hung out with various members of my group.  The first two nights we went to Downtown Disney for dinner. The third night we stayed at the hotel and had sushi.  The last night, I went with some new friends I made at the New Member Meeting and Opening Session (for the rest of the conference) to Universal City Walk for dinner at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville.

The landscape was beautiful - this golf course was visible from the foyer where we ate lunch.

The pool had a lazy river, a giant slide and beach-like access.  Bummed I never had a chance to take a dip.

One of my friends called this the Torture Conference.  There were all these beautiful views outside each window, but I barely got to go out and touch it.  HA.  Maybe I will find more time when I go back for another conference in February.

The pre-conference itself was great. After this trip, I am confident in saying biosafety is where I belong.  I am honestly interested in what this job entails.  I am so glad I found my niche.  I thought the classes were interesting.  The only one that didn't grab me was Fundamentals of Biosafety, but that's only because it was old news to me.  I already knew everything they talked about in that class.  !!!  How fantastic is that?

The whole thing was great for networking.  I met lots of people at facilities we have to deal with frequently.  It was interesting to talk to people who have a similar job position to me, but have a different role based on what their institution specialized in.  The whole thing was a great experience.

The one thing is I missed my family dearly.  I talked to Travis every day, but there were a couple nights I didn't get to talk to Aiden because I wasn't available until after his bedtime.  I was thrilled we got to talk via FaceTime twice (hooray for free wi-fi).  Travis kept the kids alive and the house intact.  In fact, he even got out of the house with them over the weekend.

The spent Saturday morning at Froberg's Farm, a farmer's market.  You can barely see it, but Aiden has a toothpick hanging from his mouth. 

They picked up pumpkins that we are planning to carve this week.

Travis got a lot done really.  He took Friday off and got new tires put on his truck.  Then in the afternoon he had professional cleaners spruce up our carpets.  They look FANTASTIC.  I came home to a clean car and a full gas tank as well!  Travis was even able to find time to purchase a new pair of sneakers for himself.

I had fun, but it's nice to be home.

Conference

I am getting SUPER anxious.  I leave Thursday for my very first work trip.  It is also my very first time to spend a night away from my kids.  I honestly cannot think of a time I have been away from Aiden over night, or even for 24 hours.  I am going to be gone for FOUR nights and FIVE days.  OMG.  I know what it's like to be alone with the kids for an entire weekend.  Travis works so much, that I do this frequently.  Sure, he comes home at night, but during the kids' waking hours, he's gone a lot.  I'm afraid for Travis and the stress he will have to endure alone.  But then again, maybe this will help him appreciate me a little more?  Maybe?

At the very same time I am soooooo excited.  I am going to be childless for five days!  I might be too ambitious here, but maybe I'll do my hair before work!  Or maybe I'll go to the gym.  Lol!  Well, maybe not.  I'm kind of hoping I can find the time to get in there though.  I'm a part of this research study at work and we are supposed to take 7500 steps a day.  During a normal day, that's not hard for me.  I average around 10,000 steps a day.  But I'm going to a conference that requires lots of sitting.  I'm going to have a hard time making my quota.  It wouldn't be a huge deal, except I have a little competition with another girl at work.  I don't want to get TOO far behind.  

Ha.  I'll probably be so excited about not having to get up with the kids that I won't be able to get out of bed to exercise. 

My trip is for a biological safety conference in Orlando, Florida.  I'm flying without kids.  I get my own hotel room.  There's no work that first day, so I may just enjoy a drink on the plane...  There are five other women going from work.  I'm looking forward to spending some time getting to know these ladies.  We will all be busy separately from 8 to 5 every day, but we will have the evenings together.  Evenings filled with meals where I can sit and eat the entire thing without having to get up seven times.  Evenings with uninterrupted adult conversation!  I love my children dearly, and I know I will miss them my first night away, but I cannot wait to see what it's like.  It's been three years and three months since I have been without kids.  So it's been a while.

Pros and cons, people.  Pros and cons.

Strange Weekend

I felt like such a bum Saturday.  I had plans for a girls night out and didn't feel like doing much during the day.  I didn't sleep very well Friday night because Mila woke up a few times.  Travis came home sick Friday.  He was vomiting, so he had trouble getting much done at work.  He slept all afternoon, woke up for a bit in the evening and was back in bed by 8.  I'm not sure if it was a stomach bug or a migraine.  Usually he gets a headache, then starts throwing up.  But he threw up, then got a headache on Friday.  Meh.  I don't know.  

Needless to say, Travis was well rested by Saturday morning.  He proceeded to clean the entire house - vacuumed, swept, mopped, cleaned the bathroom, took out the trash.  It was awesome.  Except I felt guilty because I only had a few moments to rest during the day when I wasn't taking care of the kids or getting myself ready to go out.  It was super nice to see such a clean home though!

Saturday afternoon was a birthday celebration for my friend Inaia.  My girlfriends picked me up and we went to a nail salon.  We had a Groupon for a mani-pedi.  I don't usually get manicures.  One, I am very particular about my fingernails and I don't like it when other people mess it up.  Two, there is no point painting my nails because they WILL chip within 24 hours.  It's pointless.  If I get them painted at a salon, sometimes it will last two days.  But still, it's just a waste of money.  But this Groupon was for gel color.  One of my friends gets this done fairly regularly and her nails always last two weeks.  Most of the time, she takes off the color because her nails are growing out.  I'm up for the challenge!  I am currently on Day 2 without any sign of wear and tear.  Now if only I could afford to get my nails done every two weeks!  Ha.  Oh, another plus?  The gel helps prevent nail breakage.

After we were all primped, we stopped at Starbucks.  We are all old ladies and were falling asleep after the relaxing afternoon at the nail salon.  We chugged our coffee and headed into Thai Seafood for dinner.  We had so much fun.  15 people made it to dinner, including several of Inaia's friends from Houston.  They were hilarious.  Our server was quite the comedian, a little old Thai man who pulled out a few jokes.  Good times.

Everyone was planning to go to the bars on the island.  Since it was already after the kids' bedtime by this point, Travis had no problem with me going down with them.  We went to a pub I used to go to all the time when I was in college.  We played darts and I even saw an old friend at the bar.  We eventually made our way over to my sister's dance club.  I definitely got a work out there.  My calves are a little sore today from all that dancing.  LOL!  

I didn't want to be a party pooper, so I went with everyone over to another person's house for the "after party".  I'm too old for that.  I didn't get home until 5 IN THE MORNING.  Sweet bejeebs that is insane.  I had horrible sleep until 10, then I got up to help with the kids.  

We recently hired someone to mow the lawn every other week.  On the off week, Travis edges the yard so it stays nice.  It's frivolous, but Travis works so much.  The only time he has to do the lawn is on the weekend.  It takes him 3 hours to mow the lawn.  Let's just say I am excited to have him around for that extra time each weekend.  Next frivolous activity: hire someone to deep clean the house once a month.

Anyhoo, Travis took Aiden outside while he edged the yard. That's when Aiden stepped in a fire ant hill.  Travis didn't hear him crying immediately over the weed eater, so Aiden got eaten up pretty badly.  We smashed all the bugs on him then rushed him into the bath tub to soak his feet in cold water.  I know that's what makes me feel better when I get bit.  Afterward I saturated him in Bactine to numb the pain a little.

I was in the middle of getting some food in the crock pot when Mila started to get really cranky.  I felt her forehead - it was hot.  I checked her temperature and of course she had a fever.  I didn't know how much Tylenol to give her, so I called the Nurse's Line at our pediatrician's office.  It took them about an hour to get call me back.  That's when the nurse recommended not giving her any.  She said, if the fever is under 102.0, it's considered a "beneficial fever".  Soooo, Travis just let her sleep on his chest while I finished getting the food in the crock pot.  

The rest of the day was spent alternating our energy on each of the cranky kids.  HORRIBLE day to have a hangover.  Really, as a parent, there is never a good day to have a hangover.  Just a fact of life, I suppose.  

This morning I had to send Aiden to daycare in the sandals he was wearing when he got bit.  He has 10 bites on one foot.  Then there are several more on his other foot and on his hand.  Those sandals are the only pair of shoes that don't rub his bites, so that's what he wore today.  His daycare has a "no sandals" policy, so that means he doesn't get to play outside with the rest of the class today.  I feel so bad.  Not only is he in pain, but he doesn't get to play with his friends for part of the day.  Poor kid.  

Both kids are going to be so cranky tonight.  Mila didn't have a fever this morning, but her cough got worse again and she is not her normal happy self.  Personally, I'm still exhausted.  Mila woke up twice last night, despite the Tylenol I gave her before bed to help her rest.  I'm thinking I might break my "No TV on a school night" rule tonight.  It was pretty much a sign when I received a free Redbox rental code via text a few minutes ago.

Jenn and Jeff

Saturday night Travis and I went to my friend's wedding.  The ceremony and reception were held at her parents' house not to far from ours.  We got a sitter for Aiden and had five hours of adult time.  The wedding was beautiful and very personal.  I thought they did a great job.  The weather was perfect.  I was reminded of our wedding on private property.  Though it was insanely windy and no one could hear the pastor.  Ha.

We were sat at a table with some mutual friends from my work.  I also got to meet her boss, who is a big name at work.  That was interesting. 

The food was great - catered by Texas Roadhouse (where they met) and there were a thousand different cake balls to choose from.  I had the red velvet to reminisce about our wedding cake.  They had an open bar with various Anheuser-Busch products.  I believe Jenn's dad works there, so he had to represent.  We didn't stay late - left at 10 because I knew I wouldn't be able to stay awake much later than that. 

Again with the sideways photos.  I am sorry.  Some day I'll find time to do this on a different computer.  I forgot to bring my computer, so all the photos are from my phone.

The bride was BEAUTIFUL, though I am annoyed I didn't get any close shots.

Our table centerpiece.

The wedding colors were white and purple.  They had purple lights in the big white tent that made all my photos turn out with a purple tint. 

Cake balls, courtesy of the Matron of Honor

Groom's cake

Coozies came with the beers

36 weeks and still going strong



Baby-Gear Shopping is Fun

As always, we had a BUSY weekend.  I really should have split up our Easter festivities over two days, but I had too much going on Saturday to fit anything else in.  I had an overdue oil change scheduled, shopping to do and a date night with Travis.  I had a coupon to Babies R Us and a play mat that I needed to exchange, so I took the opportunity to buy a new stroller/car seat combo for Mila.  A friend accidentally broke the handle on Aiden's stroller and his car seat was getting kind of old.  Travis and I agreed that we would feel better getting a new set.

I'm having a hard time flipping over to the girl mind set for baby stuff.  I actually felt guilty buying a stroller with pink on it.  Partially because I know Travis will be pushing it from time to time.  He didn't seem too worried about the pink though.  I settled on a newer version of the one we had for Aiden and honestly I can't wait to pull it out of the box!  I also bought a few other items while at the store (bottle drying rack abd plush elephant).  I couldn't believe my entire spending was under $200 between the coupon and gift exchange.  Very exciting.

After the oil change I went to Target to buy Easter goodies for the family (Aiden, Ariel, Robert and Travis).  I made sure to get a few extras for myself.  My current fave are Peepsters, by the makers of Peeps.  YUMMMM.  I also bought some pants and more muslin blankets for Mila (PERFECT for swaddling).  We seem to have a shortage of bottoms for that girl and I don't want her running around half naked!  And I would reuse Aiden's muslin blankets, except he still sleeps with him.  I don't want to take everything from him to give to the baby.

When I got home, I went through more baby stuff in the garage and then got ready for date night with Travis.  A friend at work gave us a gift card to Willie G's to promote one last date before the baby comes.  Since that restaurant is in Galveston, we left Aiden with Sue and headed off child-free.  It's always so funny going out without a kid.  When we were at dinner before seeing Pauly Shore a few weeks ago we sat down at the table.  We both announced to each other that we needed to wee before we got food and Travis told me I could go first.  I was about to tell him, no you go first, when I realized, "Why do we have to take turns?  There's no kid for us to stay at the table with!  We can pee at the SAME TIME."  Funny how parenting changes your way of life.

So, feeling like I was forgetting something, we made our way to Ariel's.  We left Mr. Lion there by accident on Friday and Aiden ALWAYS sleeps with him.  He woke up three times Friday night before waking up for the day at 6:30 and I wasn't up for another night of that.

Dinner was great.  We sat outside and enjoyed the water and making fun of all the sunburnt tourists.  We both ate seafood and we shared a giant caprese salad.  I even ordered a glass of wine.  That's the very first time I've imbibed alcohol in public while pregnant.  While my doctor assured me that one glass every now and then is fine, strangers tend not to agree.  I didn't really care that night.  The hot weather, combined with seafood, made a glass of cool white wine sound greatly appealing.  Travis had to finish it for me though.  Ha!

We were going to get dessert there, but nothing sounded very good.  Instead, we walked a couple blocks to the Nestle Toll House Cafe for cookies and ice cream.  OMG that place is amazing.  I told a friend we went there and she said she'd never been, but she did gain five pounds when she walked by it once.  I'd probably worry more if I weren't pregnant and still within the proper weight limits.  You really can't top a chocolate chip cookie covered in vanilla ice cream, fudge and nuts.  I'm so glad we live in a time when we can afford chocolate.

We sat with Sue for a little while before we took Aiden home.  I was thankful when he went straight to sleep when we got home. He hasn't been sleeping that well lately, so I really appreciated Sue wearing him out for us.

Seriously though, he FIGHTS going to sleep.  We put him down between 8 and 8:30 every night and he usually gets out of bed constantly until 10 pm when we go to bed.  And then he wakes up between 4:30 and 5 every morning.  That's only 6.5-7 hours per night!  It's not enough for me, so I can't imagine it's enough for a two year old.  What the deuce??  Does anyone have any advice on this situation?  I'm seriously contemplating giving him Benadryl.  Or maybe even melatonin every now and again so I can get ONE good night of sleep periodically.  But drugging him freaks me out a bit.  I should call the pediatrician and see what she thinks. 

Problem is I wouldn't get a GOOD night's sleep even without him waking me up constantly since I get up 1-3 times to pee.  I decided last night we are going to start shutting our cat Phage out at night.  He jumps on and off the bed frequently and it wakes me up each time.  When he jumps up, the jostle wakes me.  When he jumps off, the sound of him hitting the floor makes me wonder if Aiden is up walking around.  And by "walking around" I mean jumping off his dresser like he does from time to time (without my approval, of course). 

I really hope to sleep someday...

Overbooked

I most definitely did more than my prego body can handle this weekend.  I think part of the problem is I went into the weekend already tired.  Travis didn't come home Wednesday or Thursday night because he was hanging out with Alex.  Friday night, our friend David came over for dinner.  I called it a night at 11 pm because I was exhausted from taking care of Aiden all by my lonesome for several days.  Plus, my normal bedtime is 10.  I can't handle much past that.  Travis flopped into bed at 4 am.  He may have fallen asleep for a bit on the couch before that, but not for too long. 

I think waking up frequently in the middle of the night (to use the restroom, to figure out where Travis is, when Travis flops into bed, etc) is one reason I'm so exhausted.  Plus, then I have to get up early for work.  I was so grateful when Aiden slept in until 8:15 on Saturday.  That is unheard of, but I'm not complaining!

I made pancakes for everyone Saturday morning.  Stephanie stopped by to pick up David, so we got to catch up for a bit over coffee.  As soon as Aiden woke up from his nap, we drove up to the Ramby's for Blair's birthday party.  Aiden LOVED the Transformers theme and had a great time running around with all the kids.  It was surprisingly hot out, so all the kiddos had rosy cheeks.  There were lots of juice boxes being passed around.  David, Stephanie and the Yeager's were there, plus all of Chris and Alexa's other friends.  We stayed for cake, but had to leave before the presents were opened and the pinata was set up.

Aiden was so upset.  He REALLY did not want to leave.  But we had made prior arrangments to go into Houston for the night, so we needed to get Aiden back to the babysitter.  Our friend Shannon's daughter watched him for the night.  This is the first time we've ever paid a sitter to come to our house.  I was really nervous about how Aiden would react, but he seemed to do fine.  I turned on Spiderman 2 before the sitter arrived and ordered a pizza.  The pizza came right when we were leaving, so there were plenty of distractions for him.  I think the only hiccup of the night was when Aiden refused to brush his teeth.  But if that's the worst of it, then I'll take it!

For our child-free night out, we went to dinner and the Improv (a comedy club) with David, Stephanie and another of their couple-friends.  We ate Japanese food for dinner right next to the club, then walked over for the show.  The main show of the night?  Pauly Shore!  We had seats on the main floor, only two tables away from the stage.  The two comedians up before him were both really funny, one of which was Sandy Danto.  He did a great Chris Farley impression.  I always forget how much I love seeing stand up.  I told Travis a few months back that if we can work it out, I'd like to go see someone for my birthday. 

Anyway, Pauly Shore was pretty awesome.  I was nervous about how funny he would actually be, but it wasn't bad.  Although, afterward I felt really bad for him.  He made fun of himself a lot and we all just laughed at it.  Kind of sad, right?  There was a section of his skit that was all political.  I really wasn't into it.

I was the DD and we rolled in right at 1:30 am.  I was about to PASS OUT.  The sitter gave us a quick recap of the night and then was off.  Of course, I couldn't just go flop into bed like Travis did.  I was starving by this point.  And since I wasn't drunk and able to ignore the hunger pangs, I reheated some of the leftover pizza.  Yummo.

Sunday morning I got up with Aiden at 7.  He was really tired, so he stayed inside and watched TV.  I went outside to alternate laundry and yard work.  Aiden was out of clean underwear and I had some seeds I wanted to plant ASAP.  Travis slept in until 11 and I left at noon for a baby shower in Houston (my friend from college is due three weeks after me).  I left a honey-do list for Travis and couldn't believe it when I got home and he had knocked everything off the list.  On top of that, my friend from work stopped by to pick up our old computer desk, which means we now have room to put together the wardrobe from IKEA. 

I'm hoping to muster up enough energy to help Travis set it up tonight.  I can't wait until that thing is ready to go because then I will be able to set up Mila in the house.  I feel SO under prepared for this child, it's ridiculous.  I have 8 weeks left until she is due and we haven't done a single thing to get ready for her.  It's a complete 180 from last time. 

I'm thinking I might splurge on a cup of coffee around 3 to give me the energy to keep going tonight.  I'm still trying to think of something easy for dinner so I spend less time cooking and more time putting together furniture...

A Shower for Mila

A week ago on Sunday, I got to attend my baby shower for Mila, courtesy of Alexa and Linsey.  (Thank you, ladies!)  They decided I needed some pink in my life since I will be reusing a lot of the unisex stuff from Aiden.  What better way to accumulate baby gear than a shower?! 

Baby sock roses (Linsey took a floral arrangement class not so long ago)

The whole thing was so cute. First, it was just girls. We were able to flaunt our girlyness without getting shot down by a guy. Second, instead of shower games we did crafts!  Everyone was able to create a onesie, hair clips or head band for little Mila.  I was really excited to get my hands on some of Alexa's craft supplies.  I went straight to the hair clips.  I have to admit, I stole my idea from my friend Chrissie who makes and sells hair accessories.  It really was a lot of fun.

After craft time, we ate some of this beautiful cake.  It was a little sad to cut into it!

Then we opened the pink gifts!  I think I'm finally starting to accept that I'm really having a girl.  Sort of.  I've got the baby stuff now.  I still can't imagine dressing a baby in it just yet.



Alexa's giant living room was the perfect fit for my girls.




Zhenya, Nadya and Kate - Kate was so disappointed that Aiden wasn't there and that she couldn't see the baby in my belly.



My fashionably late sister wielded my camera for a bit.  I'm glad she remembered to pull it out because I certainly didn't.



Sara crocheted a black sheep for me.  She thought it was horrible, but we all thought it was cute.  And hilarious.



Baby bumps



My friend from college, Clarissa, is pregnant with her first child.  She is having a girl as well and is three weeks behind me.  I felt like a monster compared to her.  Reminded me of Nadya and I when we were incubating Kate and Aiden.  Ha.

I did not get a good photo of my hostesses and I, so I'm going to direct you to Alexa's website.  She has a great camera.  You can also see all the onesies we made.  Check it out!

Now that I've had the baby shower, I feel like I can really start organizing.  But first!  First, I need something to organize with.  We just finished our taxes and are awaiting the direct deposit.  As soon as that puppy clears, we're heading to Ikea for storage furniture galore.  I'm really excited about having the new furniture, but what I'm really looking forward to is organizing Mila's stuff.  At the moment, I have nowhere to put her things in the house.  It is currently sitting in bags in the garage.  I'm itching to get out there, wash everything and see what we've got. 

We should also have some cash leftover to get a few baby items that we didn't receive.  Nothing is imperative to bringing an infant into our home.  It will just be stuff to make our life easier.  The two things I'm looking forward to most?  A new baby monitor and a bottle drying rack.  We have a hand-me-down monitor that crackles at anything (when you turn on a light, when you walk by, etc).  The drying rack I have from Aiden (and still use for his sippy cups) is a nightmare.  It was the cheapest one we could find and it tips over with the slightest agitation.  It's very frustrating to come home to find all the cups I had neatly stacked scattered all across the kitchen floor.

Like I said, not imperative to having a child, just nice.

Oh wait, there is one slightly imperative item.  We would like to get a new car seat.  It is recommended to retire a car seat after two years.  They are constantly making more and more strict regulations, so it's a good thing to keep up-to-date.  I think we can swing it.

A Weekend Away From Home

This past weekend we babysat Blair and Skylar.  Alexa was out of town for a funeral and Chris got called out on a last-minute flight (he's a pilot).  We went up Saturday afternoon, stayed the night, then spent Sunday there.  Thankfully, all the kids went down for bedtime easily Saturday night.  Aiden was a little scared sleeping in the guest bedroom by himself, so Travis and I laid with him for about 15 minutes.  After that, he basically kicked us out of the bed.  He has never been able to sleep in the same bed with us.  Once he was comfortable in that dark room, he was done with us.  Travis and I left and he must have fallen asleep nicely on his own.

Aiden woke up at 1:30 in the morning thinking it was time to get up.  I got him to go back to bed and he didn't get up again until 6.  That's still earlier than I would like.  He's gotten in the habit of waking up before the sun is up.  It's terribly annoying.  We let him lay in bed with us until 6:45 when the Ramby's woke up.

We went downstairs and ate breakfast.  Afterwards, Blair pointed out that the hamster was missing from her cage.  GREAT.  Our friends ask us for a favor and we lose their pet.  Alexa has told me about the hamster's escapades in the past, so I knew the best way to catch her: set the cage on the ground and let her come home when she's ready.  Unfortunately, the hamster wouldn't come out while the kids were running around.  We had no idea where she was at.

That morning we walked to the playground near their house.  We weren't there for very long before we realized we needed to get back home for Skylar's nap time.  The boys went down right before Skylar woke up, so we got a good taste of what life with two kids is like.  HA.

We had made previous plans for Aiden to go hang out with Ariel and Robert that afternoon.  It was the first time they had offered to take him out somewhere.  They babysit him from time to time, but it's always at their house.  They didn't decided what they were going to do until they were picking him up.  Since they were running late, they decided to take him to Chuck E Cheese where they could play AND get dinner.  It was his first time there and I think he had a great time.  They said he was really skittish about partaking in the fun at first, but after a while he warmed up to the idea.

They sent tons of photos and videos.  Alexa is talking about having Blair's birthday party there this year.  If that's the case, it will be so much fun to be the ones to take Aiden next time.  We have seen several commercials for Chuck E Cheese since then and Aiden recognizes it.  He still plays with the toy frogs and Chuck E Cheese whistle he bought with his winning tickets and he put a bunch of Chuck stickers on his potty.  I'm so glad he got to spend the evening with his Auntie Ariel and Uncle Robert.

I cleaned the house while Aiden was away. Travis stayed with the Ramby kids until Chris got home around 10:30 that night.  We got lucky and the hamster was found asleep in her bed soon after the kids went down for the night.  The full schedule doesn't stop there, but I'll save the rest for later.  For now, I'm off to bed (I actually wrote this post last night)...  Zzzzzzz....

Monster Jam 2012

Doing things without Aiden are becoming increasingly difficult.  I'm not exactly sure why it's any different than it was a year ago.  Maybe because we used to do more stuff in Galveston and that's where our babysitters are?  Not sure.  So when I had TWO nights in a row without Aiden this weekend, I started to feel pretty guilty. 

Saturday night, Travis and Aiden went to a monster truck show with Chris and Blair.  They left before 5 and didn't get home until almost midnight, I believe. 

I was ecstatic to learn Aiden chose to wear the ear protection courtesy of the Ramby's.  Travis has a pair of adult ear muffs, but they are as big as Aiden's head.  No wonder he was willing to wear these, but always refuses ours.  We might need to invest in a pair before the next loud activity.  It sounds like Aiden had a blast.  Travis probably had as much fun as he did.  He came home with tons of photos and videos on his phone.  When I asked Aiden what he like the best about the show, he said the Spiderman truck (of course) and the popcorn.  I don't ever let him have popcorn because I'm irrationally terrified he will choke on it.  Meh. 

The next day, Aiden spent a good portion of the day driving his monster truck toys all over the place.  He has the Gravedigger monster truck, which I didn't realize was an actual truck.  Gravedigger was at the show, so that worked out!  Travis showed him how to run over his other matchbox cars with the monster trucks.  Oh boys.

I, on the other hand, suddenly had a free evening and wasn't sure what to do with myself.  I decided I wanted to do something I can't normally do when I have Aiden.  I ended up going to see a movie with a bunch of girls from work.  We saw the second Sherlock Holmes movie at one of those theaters where they serve you dinner and drinks at the same time as the film.  None of them had ever been to a theater like that, so it was a lot of fun.  A bunch of us got a Groupon that included one ticket and a large popcorn for $5.  GREAT deal.  I shared my popcorn with a girl who didn't get a Groupon because a large popcorn is entirely too much for me.  It would be perfect for Travis and I.  My friend and I barely made a dent.  Granted, we also ate other food.  I got bruschetta and she got cupcakes. 

After the movie, everyone came back to my house and we chatted for an hour before they continued on the road back to the island.  I had a really good time.  I only went to the bathroom three times while we were there.  HA.  One of those times, I saw a man walk into the men's room carrying a mug of beer.  I decided he must not have wanted to leave his drink unattended.  You know, roofies and all that.

At the end of the movie, the servers brought out the bills for everyone.  An elderly woman in the row in front of us whipped out a lighter so she could read and pay her bill.  I don't know why, but that seemed so absolutely outrageous to me.  Did she not have a cell phone to light her way?  Perhaps it didn't cross her mind?  Or was the first thing she thought of her tinderbox?

Before Travis made plans to go to Monster Jam, I had arranged for him to keep Aiden Sunday night while I went to a friend's house for a birthday dinner.  We had Monday off for Martin Luther King Jr Day, so we opted to celebrate on a Sunday night.  Our plans were quite dorky, so try not to judge too much.  We all brought food and planned to watch Aladdin. 

Aladdin was one of my VHS tapes from when I was a kid.  My mom brought an entire box of Disney VHS tapes on her road trip this Christmas.  I finally convinced Travis to figure out how to plug in the VHS player we've been keeping around for just such an occasion.  Travis was always asking if he could throw out that thing.  My response?  "But what if we need it?!"  So glad we kept it. 

Sadly, things didn't work out exactly as we had planned.  My friend's cassette player ate my Aladdin tape. It didn't tear the tape, so we winded it back up.  I haven't had a chance to play it to make sure everything is all right.  Hopefully all is well.  It was pretty funny though because I couldn't tell you the last time I had to wind up a destroyed cassette.  Good times.

Since everyone had Disney on the brain, we opted to watch another Disney movie: Lilo and Stitch.  I have watched a good portion of that movie several times recently because that was another movie in the box from my mom.  Aiden really likes that one.

Dinner was great, and I wasn't home too late.  There's a little more fun left in my weekend to share, but I'll save that for later. 

Holiday Parties, Part II

On Sunday we went to a Christmas party for Travis' work.  This is our first at his new job since he started in May.  I was looking forward to finally meeting everyone.  He has showed me a photo of them on their website, but I hadn't met any of them in person (except for one).  It was nice to get a feel for the people Travis works with on a daily basis. 

Kids were not invited, so we left Aiden at Blair's house for the afternoon.  Of course he chooses a day with someone else to sleep three and a half hours!  He didn't wake up until shortly before we got back from the dinner and that was only because Alexa woke him up.  Crazy kid.  I'm pretty sure it's because he was sleeping in Chris and Alexa's bedroom, which is PITCH BLACK.  I've decided that when we can afford it, one of my purchases for the kids' room will be black-out curtains.  They work wonders.

The "dinner" was at a seafood restaurant in a town we don't visit very much.  We'd been there once before with the Ramby's, but I didn't realize until we got there.  I put dinner and quotes back there because we ate at 2:30 in the afternoon.  It worked out well though.  They had an open appetizer buffet when we got there.  Then we were allowed to order whatever we wanted off the menu.  Of course I wasn't feeling that great with the scent of seafood wafting around me.  I had the opportunity to get a $30 fish plate, but opted for a chicken salad.  Travis had Avocado Mahi.  I was thinking about getting it, but was glad I had my fresh greens when they brought out the plates.  Travis loved it.  I just wasn't up for it.

Speaking of nausea, it's gotten A LOT better.  I have found that the only time it hits me hard is after I take my vitamins.  I've been playing around with when I take them, trying to find a safe method.  I'm still working on it though.  It didn't matter if I took them all in the morning, or the evening.  Either way I felt horrible.  So I've tried splitting them up throughout the day.  I don't have it perfected just yet.  But I think I've pinpointed it to the DHA supplement.  Not sure why it's affecting me so hard this time because it wasn't an issue at all last time.

Anyhoo, the dessert was chosen for us - blueberry bread pudding.  I can't stand soggy bread, so I've never liked bread pudding of any kind.  I skipped on dessert. 

We had free drink coupons for the evening.  It was supposed to be 2 per person.  Travis was happy to use mine.  HA.  Plus, his boss bought him a few drinks.  He talked the ENTIRE ride back to the Ramby's and he even sang to Christmas music.  I didn't realize he knew the words to Christmas songs.  Guess it just takes a few Jack and Cokes to bring out his holiday cheer.

Unrelated, but here's a couple photos I never shared...

Aiden helped decorate the Christmas tree.

He hung his 1st Christmas ornament, as our annual tradition.

Aiden likes to rock his Cowboy Woody hat whenever he gets a chance.  It goes nicely with his pirate sword.

Here is the only photo I took of Aiden opening his gifts with Santa.  I love being a parent.

Mommy's Nights Out

It's been a busy week.  I feel like I'm running around at work trying to keep up half the time.  Then the other half of the time there is NOTHING to do.  That's typical in a lab though.  Your assays need to incubate for a certain amount of time and there's generally only so many things you can clean or tidy up on during the incubations. 

I think the reason it's getting on my nerves so bad this week is because I have had some headaches from hell.  I talked to my doctor about it.  She said it could be pregnancy, it could be the Zofran, or it could just been from my previous neck problems.  The difficulty is that I'm limited on what medication I can take to treat the headache.  In the past, ibuprofen has always worked will for me.  Sadly, I can only take acetaminophen while pregnant.  It doesn't help.  These headaches just barrel on through my day.  It makes the nausea worse.  So when I turn my head, I feel sick.  Or maybe the nausea is causing the headaches?  Gah, I don't know. 

I've also been pretty busy after work this week.  Monday night I went on an impromptu girl's night out with a friend from work who recently quit to work at another hospital in Houston.  She's been having a rough month and I haven't seen her for a while, so I went out even though I had prior plans for a girl's night out Thursday.  We went to get pedicures, but I forgot my wallet.  So I just sat and chatted while everyone else was pampered.  Then they all went out to dinner and thankfully bought my meal.  I totally owe them!

Last night I went with a few girls to see Breaking Dawn on opening night.  I knew it was a bad idea, but I did it anyway.  Didn't want to miss out on the fun.  One of my friends from work has a movie theater membership card so she was offered tickets to see the 8 pm showing.  We got to the theater an hour early, thinking we might not get awesome seats, but I figured we wouldn't get front row.  I thought wrong. 

Lucky for us, no one was in the front row yet, so we were right in the middle!  It was horrible.  I got dizzy during several scenes.  There was one scene with subtitles - I had to turn my head back and forth in order to read it.  I actually didn't finish reading a few of the sentences because I couldn't turn my head quick enough.  Ridiculous.  I stared at Edward and Bella's pores the whole movie. 

I think I liked it.  I know most of the movies are cheesy to a certain point.  And Bella and Edward can be just plain awkward at times, but that's how the characters are in the books.  The difference between the movies and the books is that you get to read about the internal struggle of the characters.  During the movies, you just have to watch it on their faces.

Our biggest joke last night was that Jasper is the constipated vampire.  He always looks like he needs to take a giant crap.  But the books explain that he constantly struggles with the need to drink Bella.  He's struggling with hunger, not digestion.

Overall, it was good.  I would like to see it again from a better seat.  I do plan to buy this movie eventually.  I need to buy the rest of the Harry Potter movies and I think I still need the last Twilight movie that came out.  I'm a little behind on that.  Later, later, later!

The spacing in this post is driving me mad

We bought the car! They finally agreed to it Friday night. Travis went up after work to sign his life away. Again. Why does it feel like we're always signing our life away? I guess that's what happens when you buy stuff on credit. Eh.

We had to put $500 down to get the Mazda. It wasn't hard for us since we had that money set aside for the Murano payment anyway. The great news is that we have a brand new car with no current problems. If any problems do arise, hopefully one of our warranties will cover it. Here's a list of all the things I can forget about having to fix now that we don't have the Murano:

• 
  
  Replace windshield - there was one giant crack and 5 holes threatening to spiderweb.


• 
  
  Replace 4 bald tires - that's something we probably would have had to do again in 3 years since the alignment is so bad in that vehicle.


• 
  
  Fix the A/C - it only works when the car is in motion.


• 
  
  Power steering flush - recommended every so many miles. We had reached those miles.

Not only do I not need to worry about spending that money, but I also don't need to worry about taking the vehicle in and being without a car. If anything goes wrong with the Mazda and they need to keep it over night, they will give us a loaner car. AWESOME.

After Travis got home Friday night with our new vehicle, I left with it. Ha! I met a few of the girls from work for drinks at the new rum bar in Galveston. I've been wanting to go since they opened up. Travis did all the electrical in there, so I had heard about some of the decorative details in that place. I drive by it all the time and it looks like so much fun. I was right! I stayed until 1 in the morning without even realizing it was so late. I'm sure it helped that I downed a coffee right before leaving the house.

The point of the get-together was to commemorate my time at that lab. But the new lab I'll be working in is in a different building - the building where most of my friends work. So I'll actually be seeing all of them more often now. SCORE.

This photo cracks me up. The brunette in army green is Ariel The tall blond in black is my co-worker Ashley. She is a foot taller than Ariel. I know Ashley is tall, but it always surprises me when she stands up.

Since we were at the Rum Shack, we all ordered drinks containing rum. Nadya's sister surprised her with a drink in a melon decorated with fruit to look like a monkey! Although, they forgot about the ears...