No Woman No Cry

Happy Friday Company Girls! (and my other readers as well)

Well today has been a trying day. Last night with Port was so bad - at 2am I found myself staring at the ceiling, resenting my baby for being such a bad sleeper. I had to seriously concentrate on not getting angry with him. He tossed and turned and fussed and head butted all night long. I couldn't put him in his crib, I couldn't sleep with him on the couch (usually a last resort, but it always works - nope not last night), I couldn't walk with him nor could I rock, sway, soothe, or do anything that calmed him down enough to sleep. I think he may have been a tad warm - the house was warmer than usual. But beyond that there really was no reason for him to be awake all night.

At about 3 I turned down the air conditioning and cooled off the house some and he finally passed out in our bed at about 4. He slept hard until almost 9 this morning. I have had it. I can't do this with him anymore. My attitude and my disposition have been altered and I can't be a good mom to him or Kiddo if I don't get some sleep soon.

Several friends suggested Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child to me so my dear friend picked it up for me at a Half-Price Books when she was out running errands today. I poured through it all afternoon and tonight we took the plunge. Instead of our usual routine of taking the bottle to go to sleep and sleeping in my arms until he is out enough to transfer to the crib - I settled with him in his room for a few minutes, cuddled and kissed him and put him in the crib wide awake. I told him goodnight and turned out the light.

He sat there; stunned in the darkness.

For a few moments he was silent. Then through the door I heard his little "uh" he makes when he "talks" to me. It's that familiar there you are that we exchange whenever we acknowledge each other. Only this time he was not hearing me say it back.

And then he started to cry.

Of course, I knew he would - but I really had no idea how it would effect me. I thought I would be upset, but I didn't know that I would turn into a caged animal of sorts. I frantically hunted for my mp3 player, hoping the music flooding my ears would drown out my sweet baby's cries for me. I haven't used it since I was in labor with him, and when I put the buds in my ears I was suddenly transported back 11 months to that hospital room, sitting on a birthing ball and willing my baby boy into the world. The feelings of calm and joy that the music brought me then were replaced by sadness and feelings of inadequacy. My internal me berated me for being a bad mother and soon enough I was crying and ripping the buds out of my ears.

Thankfully, it had been about 30 minutes and thankfully the crying in Port's room had stopped.

Other than a few moans here and there, he has been silent ever since.

I desperately want to check in on him, but I'm afraid if I do he might see me and ruin the progress made this evening. According to the book, I shouldn't go in to see him until after the 6am mark.

It's going to be a long night.

I hope you all have a wonderful, restful weekend.

Until,
D :)

La La La La Lemon

This is something I caught the other day when we had lunch after church. It's Port's second experience with a lemon wedge, but he had the same reaction the first time.

I tried getting some video of him walking, but he is quick to drop and crawl to me when he sees the camera. Today he was pushing his play table around in the living room and dancing. I didn't catch much, but I thought he was cute anyway. That huge stack of stuff in the background is flooring and a rolled up rug.


He was so mad that I wouldn't let him have the camera! What Kiddo said off camera was "Mommy we all speak English." (He has been fascinated by people that speak other languages lately) I will keep trying to get the walking recorded.

Until,
D :)

Little Friend

I am blogging today. I am, I am, I am! I have been wanting to all week, but it has just been impossible to sit down and get my thoughts in order.

Of course, that would mean I actually have thoughts...

hmm.

Anyway, I do have thoughts, lots of them. And they are good and interesting and most definitely blog worthy. Unfortunately, I have these marvelous thoughts when I am in the shower, driving down the road, doing the laundry, being led around the house by the baby, playing with the boys, changing diapers, cooking dinner....

Do you see what I face here? If only there were a device that I could strap on my waist and connect some sort of electrodes to my head - a device that would record my thoughts as I have them, because they are so good at the moment I think them, but I can never remember them later.

I'll get right on that.

Ugh. So let's see... I had to go get new tires for the van today. While some might think it was a luxury, I actually was dreading it because it's not exactly something we can afford. Unfortunately, the van inspection is up this month and it most definitely would not have passed inspection with the bald goodness wrapped around the wheels. Thankfully we sold our wagon a few weeks ago and had that money to put towards the new tires. It always amazes me how quickly one can spend a large chunk of change like that. That money would have been much more useful for say, a girls weekend in a hotel somewhere or a nice spa visit. But I digress...

At the tire place, Kiddo made an instant best friend out of another little boy waiting with his mom. Matthew was 3 1/2 but equally matched to my Kiddo. They spent the entire 45 minute wait "fighting" like different superheroes. It was quite the show, the kicking, the punching, the "hi-ya!"(s) all around. They flung themselves at each other non stop, all the while keeping a safe 4-6 inches away from landing a punch or a kick. Matthew's mom told me that he had a little brother at home too, and that he couldn't play like that with his little brother so this play time with Kiddo was a treat. It was quite the treat for Kiddo too. They discussed every one's names and even told each other flat out that "I like you." Can I get an awwww???!?

Tonight I have some beans cooking on the stove and they will be accompanied by corn bread. I have been wanting to make a pot of beans for a while. I remember as a kid absolutely loving the nights we had beans and cornbread for dinner. Sadly now, with the pot bubbling on my stove, the memory I am being bombarded with is the smell of my maternal grandmother's house. It's not a fond memory. I guess she ate beans a lot because this is exactly what her house always smelled like. I am hoping the cornbread makes things more pleasant.

Port has been doing better and worse in the sleep department. He seems to really like his room; each night we spend a good chunk of time playing in the crib. When he is ready to go to sleep, he reaches for me and I hold him for only a minute or two before he is out. He is sleeping around 4-5 hours now before his first waking which is wonderful. Unfortunately, he has been fighting a cold and when he does wake, it's usually because he can't breathe. He gets soooooo mad, and it is so hard to calm him back down. Just going to our bed like I used to won't cut it. I have to walk, bounce, lay down, sit up, move around like a mad woman until I find the right combination and position that makes him comfortable. Last night was by far the worst. After giving up on putting him back in the crib I took him to bed where he exploded in anger. I left our room and went back to his, and the only way he would calm down and sleep was if I sat in the chair in there. I kept falling asleep myself, which made me nervous that I was going to drop him. I had to sit there for well over an hour (awake) before he was comfortable and asleep enough for me to put him back in the crib. He only slept there for round 2 for about an hour. At 4am, Hubby woke me because Port was in his crib screaming. I had forgotten to turn the monitor back on and was sleeping to heavy to hear it.

I don't want to just let him cry right now because he is sick and crying only makes his congestion worse. Yesterday afternoon he puked on me 3 times after a bottle. I guess his little tummy was sour from all the drainage because it didn't really seem to phase him and he was a happy little camper after it was done. We've been putting the humidifier in his room at night, but he still wakes up kind of barky anyway.

So if he is feeling better we may try CIO this weekend, but I still haven't decided for sure. And while he is sleeping better and longer in the first stretch, I am still not getting any sleep because I don't usually get to bed until he has been down for a few hours.

Well this is all I have. I will try to be more interesting next time.

Until,
D :)

Move This

After several days of nothing beyond the first steps on Tuesday, Port has been walking all over today! Don't tell Hubby though, he really was hoping the walking would wait until he was back from his trip. I have yet to capture it on video. Every time I pull the Flip out, Port stops anything he is doing and makes a swift b-line towards it. I may have to figure out a way to be sneaky about it.

Well, I successfully moved the dresser/changing table into the new room. I am working on the crib here and there when I can. Unfortunately, I can't move it out of one room and into the other without disassembling it. *sigh* However, our master bedroom is looking more and more spacious! YAY! Hubby is going to be shocked when he comes home. Now if only I could find a place to put some of this stuff... the spare room closet is now packed to the gills! I still need to find a resting place for most of the stuff in the bookshelves as well as a pile of odds and ends of Hubby's stuff.

Since Port is napping (for the second time today! woo hoo!) I guess I will tackle cleaning the ceiling fan in the living room. It is a mess, and I got the big ladder out when I was cleaning the spare room, so it is handy. Though I wonder about the intelligence of standing on a ladder with only a 4 year old as a spotter...

Yesterday was the day for burnt out light bulbs! I swear I had at least 3 go out on me.

random, random, random....

Well the crib is now moved, the room is as good as it's going to get for a while. Port has been playing in the crib off and on; he seems excited about it now that it's lower and he can act like a monkey in a cage while in it (picture him standing, holding on to the bars, bouncing and grunting). I guess I am going to try to put him in it tonight. Wish us luck!

Until,
D :)

Dust In The Wind

Happy Friday Ladies (and Gents if there are some of you too!)!
I am so sorry I missed last week. I was, uh, well, just kind of in a funk and didn't really feel up to it. I'm sure you all know how that is.

Anyway, it's a new week and at times I am still in a funk, but I think I am working harder to overcome it and it seems to be working. I am taking some time, or rather, forcing myself to do some things just for me and I am liking the results.

So, come on in; of course I have coffee brewing. I made some brownies for a friend of mine for her birthday and well, I just had to save a couple for myself - they were a bit undercooked, so I didn't want to pass them on. But don't tell her though, she might get feisty. ;)

My Hubby is on a motorcycle trip in the desert this week and so it's been just me and the boys. My oldest (4 1/2) and I have been butting heads some, but I think we'll make it. I've tried to spend a little extra time with him playing and doing some things he wants to do.

During the baby's nap times though I have been cleaning out our spare room. I almost have it half way decent. I am trying to get the crib moved in there. Right now, the crib is in our room and no one is sleeping. Port ends up in our bed every night, and while I have no problems with cosleeping, it just isn't for us. Our bed is too small and Port does nothing but kick, head butt and flop himself all over the bed. I haven't had a decent couple of hours of sleep in almost 4 weeks now. (contributing to my funk I'm sure) I think if we can get the baby out of our room, we can get him sleeping in the crib. At almost 11 months old, there is no reason he shouldn't be able to sleep through the night, or at least for 5 or 6 hours straight. As it is right now, he sleeps for about 2, maybe 3 hours after he goes down for the night and then is up wanting in our bed. One night this week he slept for almost 4 hours and I was shocked.

Before I can move the crib in though, I am going to have to do some serious dusting. It has been a storage room for a long time and the dust bunnies rule the land. Any suggestions as to the best way to approach it? There are tons of knick-knacks and collectibles lining shelves in there, and the walls need a good wipe down as well. I am thinking of just taking a big towel and wetting it and using that instead of going through a million dust rags.

Anyway, since I am on my own tonight the boys are getting mac-n-cheese for dinner and I am going to attempt to make a pasta primavera with some shrimp. Hopefully it will turn out - I am excited about it already.

I hope you all have a great weekend! Thanks for coming by.

Until,
D :)

This Bird

I set out today to write a funny post, and the mess that is below is what emerged from my fingertips instead. I guess I needed to get something out; to feel sorry for myself for a moment and wallow in "poor me" for a while.

I can't dwell on the reality of life right now because frankly it is just not pretty. I must force myself to look for good things, like this.

Isn't he lovely? I captured this when I was out with Hubby and Kiddo after a bike riding session. Kiddo once again did great! He didn't want to get off the bike and he has been bugging us ever since about riding it more.

[edited to add] This is what he said as he was powering up the driveway: "I'm...
I'm...

I'm wearing my HELMET!!!" LOL!

And that is a beautiful thing too. My oldest finally riding his bike - pure joy for a proud momma!

But this little guy, he makes me smile and he makes me laugh.
When he fusses, he makes this noise that sounds like a chicken. You know, the "bok, bok, ba-GOK!" Right? So when he cries it sounds similar. Hubby and I have joked for a while now that we have a chicken for a son. But now there is a new development. Now, most days, our beautiful baby boy looks like this.



Our baby has a new nickname, and it's not Chicken. It's ROOSTER.

Until,
D :)

Walk On

Each day in the life brings a series of roller coaster moments. Sometimes the ride is tame, and other times it leaves me breathless. But each morning, I get up and strap myself in the ride, say a quick prayer and hope for the best.

Lately life in general has been extreme; up, down, up, down. And just when things start to even out and the ride comes to that flat straight-a-way, someone pulls a lever and off we go, and I am holding on to the safety rail and holding my breath.

I find myself almost daily now staring off into space, avoiding things I should do and people I should see, and I wonder if my depression is coming back again. We just can't get a leg up. Hubby's work did round 3 of layoffs last week. Things are tense to say the least. I am worried constantly, and in that worry I find myself sinking deeper and deeper...


Kiddo can be so sweet, and so frustrating. Some days he is in time-out all day. Like today, he's been awful. Mouthy, defiant, rude and just plain old mean to his brother. He is the evil version of himself, the black Spiderman to his usual good humored superhero persona. Today I haven't the energy to get ruffled. I am ignoring the behavior and punishing only when absolutely necessary. It's probably not the right thing to do, but it's all I can do today.

Port is a special kind of ornery today. This kid is headstrong I tell you. As my friend Mollie told me yesterday, I have created a monster. She is right. He screams, I jump. I can't handle the screaming. I am too tired and it just hurts my head when he gets upset.

But I try to savor the little moments of life, the glimpses of hope and joy and peace I find in my day to day. My kids, oh how I love them. They bring me so much joy...and so much headache. But I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

This morning started early; way too early for both Hubby and I, as Port flipped and flopped and moaned and groaned in the bed between us. The night itself really wasn't too bad (no good either, but I take what I can get these days) but he started waking sometime in the 5 o'clock hour and fussed and fidgeted until I finally got up at 7.

Our early rising woke up Kiddo, who is a total bear when his beauty sleep is interrupted. I guess that explains his attitude today.

But just an hour or so later, we had some excitement. Port took his first steps!!! I set him down in front of me as I do many times a day and I let go. The first time he took one kind of half step and lunged for me, falling into my arms. I stood him up again and he took 5 clean, big steps toward me. Just like his big brother did almost 4 years ago, Port squealed the entire time. He was so excited; I was so excited. I cried and laughed and squealed right along with him!

10 1/2 months and he walks!

It may still take some time, but now that I know for sure he can do it I am going to encourage him even more.

Which, leads us to a low in this ride. Port is mad. He is mad that I am not helping him walk like I normally do. He is mad that I am making him try to walk by himself. He is screaming and crying and pitching fits (full blown tantrums) over it. Nothing is making him happy.

Up, down, up down.

Until,
D :)

My Funny Valentine

Wow I can't believe I missed blogging most of last week. I am sorry. I just haven't been motivated I guess.

We had a few good nights with Port early on in the week, then on Wednesday night (I think) things started going down hill again. He is teething again and it is really messing him up. A couple of nights I think too that he got too warm, and that contributed to his restlessness. Unfortunately the temperature in the room has to be just right; he doesn't care for blankets and if he is too hot that wakes him up too.

So I am back on the no sleep train. Man I hate this ride.

We had our garage sale yesterday; despite being grossly unprepared and the weather bitterly cold, we still managed to pull in $70 with only 5 visitors. We sold our glider the bassinet and bouncy seat, a stroller set and various toys. We still have a TON of stuff and plan on doing it all over again in a couple of weeks.

I am slowly getting the spare room cleaned out and organized, and already have a place cleared for the crib. I hope I can get it (and ultimately Port) in there this week. We just can't take this awful sleeping arrangement any more. Last night was bad, bad, bad. Port went down early (thanks to an eventful day and a short nap) and then was up just as Hubby and I were turning in. Up. Screaming.

Again with the screaming. Nothing I did would sooth him. I was at the end of my rope for sure. Hubby started suggesting just putting him in the crib and letting him cry, but with him only feet away, and also right on the other side of the wall from Kiddo - I just didn't think it was the best idea. He was obviously in pain. I managed to rub some dissolved teething tablet on his little puffy gums and he instantly calmed; but it didn't last. He and I wrestled around and tossed and turned on the couch all night long. I have a gruesome headache today as a result.

Yesterday was great though. It warmed up a bit in the afternoon, and while Hubby was working on his motorcycle in preparation for his upcoming Big Bend trip, Kiddo was hanging out in the garage too. He decided he wanted to ride his bike.

We got him this bike for Christmas 2007 and he still hasn't learned how to ride it. Unlike his bike fanatic daddy, Kiddo is very timid when it comes to things like this, and most bike sessions last a minute or two and end with Kiddo freaking out and giving up. This time though, I decided to go out with them and see if I could help out. With Port on one hip I held the handle bars with my other hand and had Hubby stand on the other side of the bike. I showed him that if he leaned to either side the training wheels would slow him down and Daddy and I would also catch him. Kiddo started his usual dismount, claiming he didn't want to do it anymore, but I kind of ignored him and started pulling him down the driveway. We did several loops around the cars, and after about 4 or 5 times I let go of the handle bars and Hubby told Kiddo he would hold him on the seat (which he did, sort of *wink*). We let him go out into the culdesac a few times and he loved it! I was so glad he finally got comfortable with it and he actually had fun. We made it a race (Kiddo's FAVORITE thing in the world) back up the driveway each time - he raced Port and I or Daddy, and each time he got stronger and more confident. He even toppled over slightly once and actually caught himself by hopping off the bike. Hubby was impressed because apparently when that has happened in the past Kiddo freaked out and wanted to quit. But this time he hopped right back on and kept going. I was so proud of him!!

Earlier yesterday Hubby took Kiddo over to his friend John's house. John and his wife have two little ones, a girl about 4 and a boy that is 2. Kiddo and the little girl play really well together, so Hubby took him over to play a while while he and John talked about the motorcycle trip. At one point, John's wife was making the kids peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and she asked Kiddo if he wanted one. Kiddo very clearly spoke up and told her that he couldn't eat peanut butter. Hubby heard him from the adjacent room and went to see if everything was ok. He was very impressed that Kiddo knew to say something. I am so glad - sometimes he scares me with his trust in others that what they offer him is ok. Just the other day we were at a friend's house and he came in the room with some candy in his mouth. I freaked out because I didn't know what it was or where it came from. But because one of the kids had given it too him he just took it and ate it and never thought twice about it. I had to have a long talk with him about clearing any food or candy offered to him with me or Hubby first - so I think that may be why he was so adamant with John's wife. Later on she offered him a cookie and he asked her first if it had peanuts. YAY!! He is learning!

So anyway, last night we had a very nice dinner; shrimp cocktail and spinach and artichoke dip to start, steak with sauteed onions and mushrooms and salad for dinner and brownies and raspberry cheesecake for dessert. YUM! I am still full! Unfortunately, Port screamed through the whole meal. He has been so uncooperative in the high chair lately. When he is done with sitting (not necessarily with eating mind you) he drops things on to the floor and screams. If that doesn't get our attention, he sweeps his arms back and forth and cleans off the whole tray, throws his head back and screams bloody murder. I have never seen a child scream the way he does.

As far as Valentine's Days go though, it was very nice.

I will be enjoying the brownies and cheesecake all week!

Until,
D :)

The Little Things

There are so many other things I should be doing right now, but well, I am rebelling today (sort of like every day...).

We are planning to have a garage sale this weekend - there is so much I need to do. I still have to pull everything out and take pictures of a few things. We won't be ready I'm sure. Last minute kind of people are we! {Yoda?}

Last weekend we pulled out a bunch of stuff from our old office (spare room, uh junk cave). We plan on making that room Port's room until he learns to sleep through the night. Then we will eventually move him in with Kiddo and they can share a room for sleeping and then have a toy/play room next door. We have pretty much concluded that any sleep training we do with Port will be utterly useless until he is out of our room. Can you imagine trying to let a child cry it out when you are lying in bed just 2 feet from him?? Riiiight!

So we pulled out all this stuff - one of the things being an old desk of Hubby's. The desk has 3 drawers that were full of my things; office supplies and whatnot. I found all kinds of fun stuff, including a couple of journals. I have always *wanted* to be a journal kind of person. Every few years or so I buy a new one, vow to write daily and after about 3 months of sporadic entries I fling the book in a drawer and never look at it again. This blog has been the closest thing I have to a regular journal; I've been at it for almost 3 years now.

Anyway, tucked into one of these journals was a couple of pieces of paper folded in half. On the paper (the back of a Vitamin World inventory print out of all things) I wrote what appears to be a sort of "bucket list". Written almost 9 years ago, it has 40 things I labeled as "My Goals In Life".

When I wrote this, I was a newlywed, fresh out of college and about to move cross country far away from all our friends and family. I sat down one day at work and made this list of things I wanted to accomplish. I thought it would be fun to share them with you.

What's funny is even though the list itself seems ridiculous, I actually have done several of the things listed here...

1. Be a jazz singer (successful, Diana Krall status) - ha ha, ho ho, hee hee!
2. Successfully have and raise at least 2 children - check off the "have" part!
3. Live in Hawaii - oh how I wish!
4. Cut a successful album - (see response to #1)
5. Be involved in the fashion/modeling industry again - I actually did this for a little over a year when we lived in AZ
6. Be featured in a magazine - yes, I was!
7. Be featured on television - well, sort of. I did a coupe of commercials and an infomercial that was on DVD.
8. Be in shape - HA HA HA HA HA !!!!
9. Develop a regular workout routine and stick to it - hmm, does the month and a half I worked out with my friend from work count??
10. Get the abs I've always wanted - HA! little did I know, singing gave me the best abs I was ever going to get.
11. Direct or star in a major opera (again) - uh yeah, that would require singing.
12. Teach at a university in a full time, tenure track position. - oh my this is humorous!
13. Sing the national anthem at a televised sporting event. - still wanting to do this one.
14. Perform at a music or TV awards show.
15. Own a popular coffee house. - actually, this was in the plans when we moved to AZ; it just never happened. maybe some day...
16. Teach voice (have my own studio)
17. Travel the world (Germany, France, England, Australia, California) -I did go to Germany and California
18. Take a trip riding my own motorcycle. - well I did own a motorcycle for a few years, but I never took a trip on it.
19. Complete my graduate work in the normal amount of time at ASU - LOL! *snort*
20. Earn a doctorate
21. Learn Photography - yay! I did this one!
22. Learn guitar - well...
23. Be fluent in another language - does Kiddo Speak count?
24. Be a make up artist - this one I have kind of done
25. Be a hairdresser.
26. Write a book.
27. Have published poetry - does the high school poetry mag count?
28. Record a song partially or completely written by me.
29. Make 1 million $ in one year. - ooh yes please!
30. Own a corvette
31. Be in a professional photo shoot - I think at the time I meant as a model, and I have accomplished that.
32. Live in a beautiful house designed by Hubby - someday!
33. Have a 50th and a 75th wedding anniversary.
34. Live in comfortable wealth - wouldn't we all like that?!
35. Be extremely involved in or an integral part of a good church - workin' on it.
36. Own a dog. - done
37. Witness a cat having kittens or a dog having puppies.
38. Have a fashionable, quality, elegant wardrobe.
39. Have a positive impact on a child's life.
40. Have a positive impact on a friend's life.

So, there is my (and your) laugh for the day.

Until,
D ;)

It Was Almost Like a Song

My mother reminded me the other day that my sweet, little, teeny, tiny baby child will be celebrating his 1st birthday in a little over a month.

A MONTH!

WAHHHHH!!!!!

I am not ready. He is still my baby. He is still connected to my womb by an invisible cord and I am not ready to cut it. I can't believe he is already so close to a year old. I don't even want to think about planning a birthday party yet. I am just. not. ready.

He said his first word the other day. It was "Daddy".

.
.
.
.
.
Wahhhhhhh!!! ;)

Cutest. thing. ever! We were laying in bed, winding down for the evening and Port was not in the mood to go to sleep. He was rubbing around on Hubby, sort of baby wrestling; being silly - and he laid his head down on Hubby and looked at him with this sweet, sweet baby face and said "ma-ma-ma-ma". He says mama all the time, just like ba-ba and na-na and dah-dah. Hubby said, "no, I'm Daddy" and my sweet little Port looked at him and said "Dah-dy".

{melt!}

He's said it a few times since. Oh my it is cute.

*sigh*

I haven't talked about Kiddo in a while. He has been pretty funny lately. About a week or so ago, I was out making some print deliveries and I called one of my clients to see if she was at home. I needed to drop off a print to her. She wasn't home, and when I got off the phone with her, Kiddo started asking me questions.

Kiddo: "Mommy, who was dat on the phone?"
Me: "That was Miss Vick"
Kiddo: "What did Miss Vick say?"
Me: "Well, she said she wasn't home, so we can't bring her picture to her today?"
Kiddo: "Why isn't she home?"
Me: "I don't know."
Kiddo: "So, we're not going to Miss Vick's house?"
Me: "No, not today."
Kiddo: "Why not?!?" [his favorite question, by the way]
Me: "Because she's not home"
Kiddo: "well where is she?"
Me: "I don't know baby, I didn't ask."
Kiddo: "Mommy is Miss Vick lost?"
Me: "No, I don't think so."
Kiddo: "Why not?"
Me: "Because I'm pretty sure she knows her way around. I don't think she is lost today."
Kiddo: "Miss Vick is on the potty."

~ I almost drove off the road. lol!~

There were a couple other recent conversations that had Hubby and I in stitches; I can't remember them now. Darn it, I should have written it down.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Thanks to my Facebook addiction, I have been tripping down memory lane for the past few weeks. The other night I found myself remembering some old songs, and that led me to an all night music fest on YouTube. Here are some of my faves that I found. At the risk of exposing my uncool self, I give you Country Music from the 70's and 80's. Enjoy.

What got me started; thanks to the Jukebox in my head...
Charlie Pride, "15 Years Ago" [no embedding available. boo] (though to be fair, the version in my mental jukebox is the one Conway Twitty did)

Conway Twitty, "Don't Take it Away"



"I May Never Get to Heaven", also Mr. Twitty.


So, did you know that Conway Twitty got his stage name from 2 towns on a map? Conway, Arkansas and Twitty, Texas. yup. AND - his early recordings were often mistaken for Elvis. {I was trying to find a YouTube recording of his "Danny (Lonely Blue Boy)", but sadly there is none - for years I thought that was Elvis} He also has a son, Michael Twitty, who sounds a lot like him, but personally I don't think he has the same incredible talent.

Anyway, then I turned to Ronnie Milsap, "Smoky Mountain Rain"


and, "It Was Almost Like a Song"


But, then, I just had to end the evening with my girl, Jewel and her song, "Good Day"


Ah, comfort!
Until,
D :)

Face to Face

Hey my Company Girls! (and my other beloved readers too!) It's Friday already - mercy I have just missed this week completely! I don't know about you, but it feels like maybe a Wednesday to me. Yup, it definitely has that Wednesday aftertaste.

Whatever that means.

I am feeling a little silly today; probably my sleep deprivation kicking in, along with the realization that I have accomplished absolutely nothing this week. Absolutely. Nothing.

*sigh* And there is so much to do!! Ack!

I have a problem with falling behind on one thing, and having it cause an avalanche with everything else. I get fixated on the one thing and I neglect the other "things" (hair clips, twist ties, whatever). My house is a wreck (what else is new?), I am behind on my editing, I am trying to plan for a garage sale, major house upheaval and furniture moving and also Valentines Day, and *cough* my birthday coming up. Ick.

My poor wee one is still not sleeping. He is spending way more time than he should in our bed, and is now even napping in our bed. This is NOT a good idea - he wiggles around so much that he has already fallen out twice. Yikes! So, I am afraid Hubby and I have about decided we need to try letting him cry it out - though I have always been against it in the past (mainly because I don't think I can handle it) I think it may be our only option. Port is just far too stubborn and far too strong headed and I am far too tired to do the pick up/comfort/put down marathon that is the "No Cry Sleep Solution". We did that for a couple of weeks a few months ago and while it sort of worked, Port reverted right back to the co-sleeping nightmare that we are in now as soon as his teeth started bothering him again.

So, I have recently acquired a Facebook addiction. Anyone else? Ugh, that site takes up waaaaay to much of my time. I love it though, I have had the chance to reconnect with so many people from the past, and also had the chance to snoop on so many people I would rather not reconnect with; but my curiosity and general nosiness makes me want to find out what they are doing. hee hee! It's kinda fun! Man, it's addicting though.

What amazes me is how much some people have stayed the same. I feel like a totally different person now; I am much more outgoing and opinionated than I was 15+ years ago. At least I think I am different.

And I've also found that though I thought I knew people, in many cases I have realized through talking to them now that I really didn't. And they really didn't know me either. It's funny how we can spend so much time with someone and never really know the important stuff. And yet at the same time, we are still connected to them, and still hold a bond and a love for them that only a 20 year old friendship can have. In many cases if I were to meet these people for the first time today, I probably wouldn't befriend them because we have absolutely nothing in common.

I treasure my old friends - I wish I had the means to show them how much they mean to me. One of my desires is to be able to have time to write letters - actually hand written notes (a lost art form if you ask me) telling people how much they mean to me and how much I have appreciated them in the time I have known them.

I'm sure I have said it before on my blog but I truly believe a person is a sum of all the experiences they have and the people they have met along the way. Some day I hope to be able to document how people have touched my life and made me who I am. I think it would be interesting to see a life pieced together, brick by brick.

Until,
D :)

Port In a Storm

Oh man, last night was killer. Port went down around 9:00 and slept pretty peacefully until about midnight. He stirred as usual, and so after a failed attempt at getting him settled in his crib, I picked him up and put him in bed with me. I laid him down as I normally do, popped the bottle in his mouth and he suddenly started wailing. I flipped him over to the other side of me thinking he was uncomfortable and he just screamed and screamed. He screamed like that for over an hour. It was a pain scream. He would calm down and then the pain would rush over him like a wave and he would push against me and claw at me and flip himself around. If I touched him anywhere on his face he would scream even harder. I thought for sure it was an ear infection, because he would lay his head on my shoulder and then draw it back like I bit him. I finally got a finger in his mouth and felt around a little only to find a big spot on his lower gum that was puffy and soft. I guess tooth number 5 is about to make an appearance.

He had already had some motrin so I tried putting Oragel on his gums but that did nothing except tick him off. I tried to get him to chew on something cold, a wet wash cloth, anything and he wasn't letting me anywhere near his mouth. Finally, I took out some of the teething tablets I had (that we've tried before but they never seemed to work) and I crushed a few of them up in a spoon of water. I poured the solution into his mouth and he instantly relaxed. I don't know if it was just great timing that he had finally worn himself out, or if the dang things actually worked. Whatever the case, it afforded me a little rest before he got fussy again. Thankfully he didn't do any more of the screaming, but he slept fitfully, so I didn't sleep. I was able to pop him back in the crib for about an hour in the middle of the night and it was just enough for me to get the feeling back in my arm.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Today my little Port turns 10 months old.

Man, has time flown by! Didn't I just have him yesterday?He is getting so big, and he amazes me every day. A couple of weeks ago he started shaking his head "no". He's almost walking (any day now I think) and he has 3 1/2 teeth.

I am guessing he weighs about 25 pounds now and he is in the middle of a growth spurt. His 12-18 month pants are a bit snug, and his medium Fuzzi Bunz are starting to leave that tell-tale mark around his chubby thighs.

He loves baths, and often will take me to the bathroom and beg at the tub. It's funny though because once he is in the bath, he only wants to stay there for about 10 minutes and then he is done.

Port is a stinker through and through. Hubby and I are starting to worry about what may be in store with him. He intentionally does things he knows he shouldn't, just to get a rise out of us. His favorite pastimes right now are getting into the dog and cat food dishes, dumping the water bowl, and dropping things off of his high chair tray. The evil little grin that sweeps across his face is absolutely priceless! I just know we are going to have our work cut out for us with him. Kiddo was just a warm up.

Port is very stubborn about getting his way. If he wants to do something, there is no distracting him or redirecting him. He gets sooooooo mad! I have never seen such a youngin' get so angry over stuff. Kidd was so laid back and easy going and Port is nothing like that.

He has this funny little habit of tossing things behind him. When he is playing with toys, he will discard them by tossing them behind him. I have watched him work his way through an entire bucket of cars, tossing each one behind him as he goes. I have been trying to catch it on video - hopefully I can get it soon.

I can't believe we will be celebrating his first birthday soon! I am just amazed at how quickly this past year has gone.

Until,
D ;)

Happy Little Love Song

I'm still here. Barely. Actually today I feel a little bit better. Yesterday was Hubby's birthday {Happy Birthday Hubby!!!}, so we had a big birthday lunch after church at his favorite restaurant (NxNW if anyone local cares. lol). We did cake a bit later in lieu of dinner and got the kids to bed early. {yippee!!} [yes, our house is in such disarray that we had to do cake outside on the deck. It's the only place we have a table! Like my table cloth?? It's actually a bed sheet - don't tell anyone, ok?]
Both boys went down around 8:30. Thankfully, [I guess] Port hadn't really napped so he crashed hard. We have been trying to get him to bed earlier in the hopes that he would sleep better - we shall see if it works.

Anyway, like I said, Port went down around 8:30. He stirred a bit here and there, but it was never enough to wake him completely and he ended up sleeping until almost 4am before he got me up! I got about 4 glorious hours of continuous sleep!!! woo hoo!! That is the only stretch of sleep I've had in over a week that was longer than 30 minutes.

I feel like a new woman!

Well, not really. I am still tired; but much less than before.

I am pretty much convinced that it is teething. Or maybe a growth spurt - he has been eating a lot more lately. Or it could be that he is about to hit a milestone like walking.

Yeah, I have no clue what the problem is.

But whatever it is it gave Hubby a birthday present and let me sleep for a little bit last night. I am not holding my breath for tonight.

Today Port was chewing on his finger a lot and using his tongue to feel his teeth. He also started grinding them.

The boy has 3 1/2 teeth and he already grinds them. *eye roll*

When he chews on his finger though, he sticks it way back in the back of his mouth. It's weird. It's almost like he's getting molars or something.

Today he also drank a TON of water. It was so weird. He didn't want formula, just water and table food. Something is up with him.

I'm trying not to worry too much.

Until,
D :)