Save Me | NaBloPoMo day 29

This morning Port was sleeping soundly way past his normal wake up time when the cat snuck in the room and tried to claim the pillow he was sleeping on. I heard Port fussing and walked in to find him up on all fours in the bed, grunting and growling at the cat while he was still in a half asleep state. He was not a happy guy. I can say I wasn't too happy either - darn cat. You just don't wake a sleeping monster; doesn't she know that??

Later on this morning I heard him happily laughing and squawking (yes, he squawks, and grunts and growls - so what of it?) and I came in to find he had set up this dinosaur invasion on the cat. She was not amused and she told me so by swishing her tail rapidly when I looked at her. 

Haha! Take that, kitty cat! ;)

I am feeling better today - who ever it was that said a prayer for me, thank you. I felt it, and it worked. Some good things happened today and I really, really needed it. I am so thankful for His grace.

Until,

D :)

Back To You | NaBloPoMo day 19

Well if I thought I was tired yesterday, then I am downright exhausted today. I so did not want to get up when my alarm went off this morning - I was sleeping so well. :(

I still had some crazy dreams though.

I had a photo session today for a 2 year old - man, those littles are tough! She was super cute, but I am pretty sure that by the end of the session we (her parents included) were all worn out.

And I just haven't recovered. So, I am making this a short one tonight.

If you are travelling this coming week for the holiday, I wish you safe travels. I am still trying to figure out what we are going to do for Thanksgiving. We won't be going anywhere, but I still have to cook something, and I don't want to treat it just like any other day...or do I?

Until,
D :)

Monster Mash | NaBloPoMo day 17

Hanging with the girls tonight, posting with my phone... Here are some photos of what we are up to. :)

Hope you are having a fantastic Thursday!

Until,
D

Bubbly Toes | NaBloPoMo day 15

This is a beautiful site. Little Port was up at 5am this morning, SCREAMING because his brother got up to go to the bathroom and told him he couldn't come out of the room. And then Kiddo proceeded to leave the door open - Port was so dutiful standing in the doorway, but it upset him so much (he still likes to accompany everyone to the bathroom) he decided to wake everyone up with his wails. So needless to say he was a cranky monster by noon today. It was raining and dreary out all morning so when things cleared up a bit around 1pm, I decided to make an attempt at some grocery shopping. He promptly fell asleep about a block from the store. So, I did what any good mom would do and I drove to Sonic instead for a beverage and some quality Bejeweled time. 

I am at the top of my leader board if that tells you how long I sat there playing... ;)

I brought him home and he woke for about half a second before falling over into this position on the couch. He slept like this for about an hour. It makes my arm tingle just looking at it. 

I heard this line in a song tonight when I finally did make it to the grocery store (fyi, grocery shopping on Tuesday night is not recommended, at least not at my store, because they are out of everything and trying to restock before the Wednesday sales go into effect). Anyway, the lyrics: 

"When you move like a jellyfish, rhythm don't mean nothing. You go with the flow. You don't stop."

I've been feeling like a jellyfish lately - absolutely no rhyme or rhythm to my life right now; just drifting along, taking it day by day. Some days are great, some not so much, and the water is still murky. I am so ready to plant my feet on something solid. Or land on the shore...or something.

...not that jellyfish have feet... oh you know what I mean.

Until,
D :)

Fever

Sick, sick, sick, sick, sick.

That's what we are over here at the Fry household.  Ugh.

I had a FANTASTIC time in San Antonio at the Imaging USA convention.  I will have to give you a recap soon when I can put two thoughts together. Right now I am fighting a fever and severe sinus pressure, so forgive me if this doesn't make a lick of sense.

So when I got back Tuesday night, the boys were in bed. When we got up the next morning, Port had a little barky cough for about an hour. I was a bit concerned, but Hubby said he hadn't noticed that either boy was feeling bad, but he did say that Port had fallen asleep several times on Tuesday in random places.

A couple of hours into Wednesday morning, Port started running a fever. This kid does not do fevers half way.  When he gets one, it comes on fast and strong and HOT. Before I knew it he went from fine to glassy eyed, teary and red.  I started the Tylenol, Ibuprofen rotation. And let me tell you, if I wasn't on time with it almost to the minute his temperature would shoot right back up immediately.  Without meds, he was running right at 105 degrees, with meds he cooled down to a balmy 102.  Poor guy, he was miserable.  It's funny though, even when feverish he still wanted to play; he just couldn't do much for very long.  He did alright that night but Thursday morning was running a very high fever once again.

Hubby started feeling bad Wednesday night. It started with him as more of an allergy type thing.  He had a hard time at work on Thursday. By the time he got home Thursday evening he was a walking zombie. He went straight to bed and spent most of the evening there.  Port was still running a super high fever - just before bed time it spiked again despite the meds and I ended up putting him in the tub for almost an hour to cool him down. After that he felt much better and even started running laps around the house.  Kiddo started complaining that night of an earache, so I loaded him up with some ibuprofen right before bed.

Hubby couldn't sleep at all and laid in bed moaning for a few hours before moving out to the couch. At about 3:30 AM, Kiddo got up to go to the bathroom and didn't make it.  Hubby was so out of it (I think he was running a super high fever) all he could do was wake me up and then go back to moaning on the couch.  I got Kiddo cleaned up, gave him a dose of Tylenol (because he was running a fever at that point) and put him to bed in the spare room and went back to bed. I decided right then that Kiddo wasn't going to school today, so when we got up finally it was well after 8.  Thank goodness for the extra sleep; I think we all needed it.

Port's fever was back down to low grade today without meds and he felt so much better. He got upset a few times because he wanted to run but Kiddo couldn't run with him. He just didn't understand it. Hubby spent most of the day in bed and is feeling much better now.

I started running a fever this afternoon, but I am doing my best to fight it. I really don't want to go through what Hubby went through.

Kiddo's fever began spiking this evening - poor guy, he could barely walk when I put him to bed. I didn't want him trying to navigate the ladder to the top bunk, so I laid out sleeping bags on the floor for both of the boys to sleep in.  Kiddo was so miserable; I could barely get him off the couch.  Hopefully tonight was the worst of it and he feels better in the morning. Hopefully everyone feels better before it hits me fully.

Because it will hit - and I don't know if I'll be able to power through this one.  Mommas should never get sick.

Until,
D

Wake Me Up Inside

I thought yesterday's 4:30 wake up call was bad enough, but when the screaming started this morning at 2:30, I would have given anything for a couple more hours of sleep.  I tried to ignore him; I paced the floor for several minutes thinking he would just settle down and go back to sleep. But when I went back into the hallway for the 3rd or 4th time to listen, I noticed that not only was he crying hysterically, he was actually out of bed and at the door.

He never gets out of the bed unless it's really bad. 

So I opened the door and found my little sweet boy absolutely soaking wet from his neck to his feet.

Major wardrobe malfunction.

I don't know what happened with his diaper.  And I really don't know where all that pee came from, but he was a mess. And he was freezing. Poor guy.

I got him cleaned up and dry and warm and there was no where to put him because his bed was soaked too so we went to the couch.  He fell back to sleep relatively quickly, and I laid there most of the night under him, listening to the annoying whirring sound the dvd player was making. I had forgotten to turn it off when we went to bed.


Getting Kiddo to school this morning was trying; he was moving slow and I had no patience from the lack of sleep.  But we made it, and once back home I was thankful when Port wanted to play outside for most of the morning. I've been falling asleep at my desk all day. Everything was going as well as could be expected until I heard Port crying out on the back deck.  I walked out to find him standing on the step, with his pants and diaper halfway down his legs.  The fantastic part was that he had pooped first! Woo hoo!

Soooooo, since he was covered, I had to carefully carry him into the bathroom and just hose him down. He had made such a mess!

Seriously, this is not the week for my washer to go out on me. OMG the laundry!!!

This afternoon the boys were playing in the back yard and had a fight and Kiddo threw a big wooden steak at Port and hit him in the head. It left a nice goose egg and a little busted spot. Seriously, what is with that? Do you remember when he threw a rock at Port's head??

ugh

On a good note, I am leaving tomorrow for a weekend in Dallas to shoot a family session for one of my clients and a wedding with Allen.  Thankfully I am riding with him so I don't have to worry about driving. I am so excited to see my friend and her family and do the session for her. It should be a wonderful and fun weekend...if I can stay awake!

At least I won't be dealing with anymore potty accidents.  I hope.

Until,
D :)

Barefoot and Crazy

A blood curdling scream woke me at 5:15 this morning. I shook my head to wake myself more quickly and listened as Port called for me over and over. It didn't sound like he was going to give up and go back to sleep, so I decided to go in and check on him.

It was a good thing I did because I walked in to find him completely undressed.  He was lying in his bed crying into a blanket. I picked him up and he was like a little popsicle. It was cold in the house, so he had to be freezing. I felt around for his diaper but couldn't find it. I found his pants; soaked. I felt the bed; soaked. Wetness. Everywhere.

*sigh*

I took him in the spare room where we keep the diapers and cleaned him up and redressed him.  There was no way I could put him back to bed so I took him to bed with me. We tossed and turned until my alarm went off at 6:45

*yawn* (no really, I actually just yawned. lol)

Once everyone was up and getting ready for school, I had the chance to look in the bed for the missing diaper. I found it, still intertwined with his pajama bottoms, completely dry. He must have disrobed before he even went to sleep. Poor little guy was probably cold and wet all night.

So today has been challenging to say the least.  Thankfully I had a date with a friend to drop him off at her house for a few hours so I could get some work done. And work I did - thank goodness! The time flew though. I think I need about a week of days like that just to get caught up.

Or I would take a few days like this if I had to... (please excuse the grainy iPhone pics)

 Of course the cat might not like it too much. ;-)

They slept like that for almost 4 hours yesterday. It was a long nap, but he really needed it.

Now, should I use duct tape or some other form of adhesive for the diaper tonight?? ;-)

Until,
D :)

You Learn

Since school started I have learned a few things.

1. The mom pony tail is a wonderful thing.
2. Yoga pants rock
3. I should never be allowed to drive before I have my coffee
4. Coffee, though always held in high regard, really is the elixir of life
5. God really knew what he was doing by giving me my kids - they wake pleasantly each morning and are alert enough that I don't have to drag them out of bed. I am too busy dragging myself out.
6. I have a "mom mode" that thankfully wakes me up enough to get the Kiddo ready for school without too much pain
7. Gas goes really fast when you have to drive 2 very short trips a day.

I have never, ever been a morning person. My mom told me once that I used to get her up bright and early at 5AM when I was little, but I refuse to believe it. I hate mornings. There is a certain golden hour, usually between 7 and 8AM where I get my best, most peaceful, fulfilling and restful sleep. In the past, if I had to get up before I get that golden hour, my body would physically hurt. Going to work or school, when I was doing those things, was always a miserable experience for me. It actually hurt my head and body to be up that early. The fog in my brain and the weight of my limbs made me useless before about 9AM.

But it amazes me how now that I have to get up so early for my kids, the physical pain isn't there. I go into some sort of automatic mode that wakes me up and gets me moving. After I drop Kiddo off at school though, some mornings we get home and the zombie mode kicks in. I sit and stare at the walls until I can get some coffee in my veins.

Now I know why my mom treasured her coffee so much.

I have to say though that even though I have only one child at home during the day, I feel like I have even less time than before.  I don't like having to leave the house twice a day - it seems to cut in the middle of everything I try to accomplish.  I feel like I can't start anything, and if I do I am rushing to finish before I have to leave.

Something else interesting - Kiddo is extremely social, and when Port is with him, he totally follows his brother in his adorable friendliness and chatter box ways.  However, when Kiddo is at school and I take Port somewhere, he is suddenly very shy and so frustratingly cranky! He sneers and screeches at other children like they are arch enemies. He hides behind my legs and refuses to talk to anyone; even people he has talked to on multiple occasions.  He gives strangers dirty looks. It. Is. Amazing.  He is like a totally different kid when he is in public without his brother.

I never knew my sweet, adorable, smiling, social baby was so shy and cranky when he doesn't have his big brother to lead.

Oh the things I am learning!

Until,
D :)

Morning Glory

The baby started screaming at about 3:45am. I pushed our bedroom door closed to block out some of the sound and crawled back into bed. It was too darn early. He screamed off and on for about an hour, until I could take it no more. No one in the house was sleeping, and it just didn't seem like he was going to let up so I went in and got him.

Of course, there was absolutely nothing wrong. He was sweet as pie the minute I picked him up. I changed his diaper and put him back to bed. Oh man, that made him mad! Sadly, it woke everyone else up again, but after about 30 more minutes he finally quieted down. He started back up again just before 7 and I was successfully ignoring him until Kiddo started shaking me.

Every day Kiddo and I go 20 rounds about him getting dressed. He is perfectly content to sit around all day in his pajamas, and usually the only way I can get him dressed is if we plan to go somewhere. So when I tell him to get dressed, his usual response is, "why, are we going somewhere?" My usual response is "no, we're not going anywhere." and then he always asks "then why do I have to get dressed?" and my response is always, "because it is what you are supposed to do."

The child who never, ever wants to get dressed on any day of the week, decided this morning at 7:15 was the perfect time to get dressed, he said, "because that's what I'm supposed to do." GAH! He never listens to me when I need him to get dressed, but after a night of no sleep while I am trying to acquire some precious dozing time, suddenly my words sink in?!? Seriously. So he couldn't find any clean shorts and he needed me to get up and get some. I told him he could run around nekkid for all I cared, just let me sleep!

That lasted all of about 5 minutes.

So I got up, turned off all the fans in the bedrooms, turned up the temp on the thermostat and rescued the baby from the crib. I have been craving a healthy muffin type treat lately, so I sufficiently heated up the house making some Morning Glory muffins. Oh man, they are so good!
I based it off a recipe I found on Allrecipes.com, but changed it up a lot to accommodate our tastes and what I had on hand. So, in case you needed to know, here is the recipe!

Morning Glory Muffins

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup bread flour
~ 1-2 Tbls ground flax seed
~ 1/4 cup wheat germ
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
2 tsp baking soda
2 heaping tsp cinnamon
~ 1/4 tsp nutmeg
~ 1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt (maybe a little less)
1 1/2 cups grated carrots (this was 3 medium sized carrots)
1 1/2 cups grated apple (about 6 small granny smiths)
3/4 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup dried cranberries
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (maybe a little more)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly oil muffin tins or spray with cooking spray (I don't recco using papers - these are kind of sticky).

In one large bowl (no mixer needed), combine dry ingredients, including sugars (not the fruits or coconut). Mix thoroughly. In a separate bowl, combine the fruits, coconut, and shredded items with the eggs and vanilla. Mix until combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix all until combined.

Bake for 10-12 minutes for mini muffins, 18 minutes for regular sized muffins. I made 24 minis and 11 regular sized muffins.

These were so good (not overly sweet) and the kids loved them. Next time I may try adding some zucchini as well. Gotta get the veggies in somehow! Enjoy!

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

Port ate so badly yesterday, I was determined to do something different with him today. Yesterday I think he went through 3/4 of a package of hot dogs. It was awful. But it was all he would eat! So I made the muffins today and he had a few of those, then for lunch, when I fixed Kiddo's grilled cheese and fruit, I made up a half of a grilled cheese sandwich for Port too. Then in his fruit bowl (because he doesn't like or is not willing to try cherries and strawberries) I put frozen blueberries. He used to eat them, but hasn't had/wanted them lately and today for some reason he gobbled them up. He asked for more and more, and I obliged, and in the process he ate almost all of the grilled cheese too. He totally protested his plate at first, but then just gave in and ate. Hooray for Momma!

It's not perfect health food, but it's much better than hot dogs and nuggets. blech.

It didn't work with the quesadillas at dinner, but I guess you win some and you lose some.

Tonight I have another gig shooting a fancy party; this time it is at a nice restaurant at The Domain in Austin. Hopefully things will go smoothly.

Until,
D :)

Win

Happy Friday everyone!

I am just trying to catch a quick moment here before the beastie wakes from his nap to chat with you some before the weekend. I am in a particularly good humor, so I thought it best to write something positive for a change. lol!

This morning started off bright and early just before 5AM when Port woke up screaming. His diaper was over capacity and he had wet himself and the bed. I got up and changed him and cleaned him up, but I couldn't put him back to bed because everything was wet and there was no way of keeping him quiet while I changed the sheets. So, we went to the couch, and within about 30 minutes he had raided the refrigerator 3 times for hot dogs and chicken nuggets. He is always soooo hungry when he wakes that early. It is weird. Then after round 2 of nuggets, he wanted me to get out the train tracks (his new obsession). The problem was, it was only 6AM and everyone else was trying to sleep. He got away from me when I dozed off for a second and busted into his room and began to dig out the trains. I ran in after him and tried to get a few out quietly so he would be satisfied, but he kept talking to me and we woke up Kiddo. So, by the time Hubby got up at around 7, the whole house was alive with people.

*sigh*

So, today I am taking caffeine intravenously and trying not to nod off every time things get peaceful around here. I had to deliver a print order downtown this morning, so on the way back we stopped at Costco to pick up a few things (and I spent UNDER $100!!! I don't think that has ever happened!). It was a disaster from the moment we pulled into the parking lot. Port was exhausted from being up so early and Kiddo was whiny because we didn't stop and play on the playground that we stopped at to deliver the print order.

I got them in the door and suddenly Port refused to go anywhere. He wouldn't help me push the cart, he wouldn't walk with me and he wouldn't ride. So we had to go out of the store and then in through the exit so we could make it to the concession area. I got the boys each a hot dog and we had an early lunch. Port seemed to be in a better humor so we went back out and then in the entrance and tried again. Kiddo wanted to ride so he was in the cart and Port was helping me push. When we got to the back of the store, Kiddo exclaimed that he felt like he was going to throw up (we are all still experiencing nausea from last week's sickies) so I got him out of the cart. Of course, the bathrooms in Costco are in the FRONT of the store, so I took a chance and just let Kiddo walk slowly while we picked up the rest of the items we needed. In the frozen section Port decided to scream and not walk again so after trying everything I could think of I just put him in the cart and strapped him in. He did not like that one bit. He screamed the rest of the way through the store.

These days I am so frazzled that when something like that happens I have a hard time maintaining my cool. Port was screaming and Kiddo was fighting me with the shopping cart. I asked him several times to walk beside the cart and hold it with one hand. He has a tendency to try to hold on with both hands and it makes the cart very hard to steer. So after telling him several times to let go, he again pulled sharply on the cart with his "free" hand. My back is acting up again right now, and the automatic response I had in correcting the wayward cart made a pain shoot down my leg. I swatted at his hand, which of course caused him to let out a shriek (even though I missed). Port was already crying so at that point everyone in the area looked up at us.

What a great mommy I am!

We made it to the check out with no vomiting but lots of crying. While waiting in line I reined in my anger and tickled Port until he laughed, which thankfully cheered up Kiddo too. But by the time we got through the checkout Port had enough tickles and was screaming again and my blood pressure shot right back up. It's so hard to not feel judged when your kids are acting like that, and swatting at Kiddo like I did was not something I would normally do, especially in public. We made it home after a few more detours and I put Port right to bed for a nap.

And then I saw it.

I won a contest!!

I won a very cool Second Skin Baby Wrap through Custom Photo Props and Shuttermom University! I am so excited! I enter stuff all the time and never win anything! I can't wait to get it and try it out on a newborn! YAY! So, if you or someone you know is expecting, I am currently offering no session fees and a $100 print credit for newborn sessions! This deal is only available for a limited time so contact me soon to take advantage!

Whoa, that sounded like an ad. Sorry. I am just! so! excited!

And if you are in the child photo biz, I urge you to check out Custom Photo Props' website. She has so many yummy, yummy things to make beautiful images with. I have a wish list for her store that is a mile long!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Until,
D :)

Sea Legs

Yesterday Port had another melt down of epic proportions as we were leaving the grocery store. He wanted a bag of M&Ms and I wouldn't let him have them (the last time we were there he snagged a bag on the way out and I had to go back and pay for them). He screamed and kicked and fought me getting into the car seat and then screamed the whole way home. When we got home he cried some more and eventually calmed down enough to ask for something to eat. Before I gave him what he wanted, I got down on his level and calmly told him that all that screaming and crying and fit was wrong and that it was not nice. I told him he needed to apologize to me, and I said "say 'I'm sorry Mommy'". He looked up at me, opened his mouth, turned his head to Kiddo and said "I saw-wy {Kiddo}."

stinker

The past week or so has just been full of extreme ups and downs. Getting sick last week put my already behind self REALLY behind, and now I am struggling to even keep an organized thought in my head. Kim and I got away for a very short trip to the beach. We left Saturday morning and got back Sunday afternoon. It was so worth it, but way too short. I wasn't feeling 100% either, and so some of the time there was spent just sitting still and trying to settle my stomach. We stayed in a hotel in Rockport right on the bay, but Saturday afternoon we drove out to Port Aransas to check out the beach. Kim got to experience her first ferry ride. Thankfully for me and my unending queasiness, it was a short one. (photos courtesy of Kim, except the ones of Kim, those are courtesy of, well, me.)Walking on the beach was so nice! I just loved listening to the surf and feeling the sand on my feet. We had some silly fun too - this is in Port A near one of the many gift shops. I know, I look amazing. It's ok to say it. ;-)

We had dinner that night at the Paradise Key Island Grill. I was a little queasy. It may have had something to do with the "pink lemonade" I drank on an empty stomach while we waited 45 minutes for a table. It was so good though! They had a whole selection of great sliders that is not on the website menu. Kim had the beef and I ordered the shrimp sliders. By the time the food came I was too queasy to eat, but they were excellent the next day! The shrimp sliders were served with a very yummy remoulade/aioli that was also great on the fries.We were seated at probably the worst table available on the patio, but it was still fun. They had live music and lots of excitement with the bar patrons. Two older ladies jumped up from their seats at the their table and busted out dancing during one of the songs. Fishermen who still had sea legs tripped over themselves and almost crashed into me. A youngish guy with too many beers in his belly sang obnoxiously loud to a couple of songs and made Kim and I thankful we were no longer that age.

BUT - being out, enjoying dinner, and not having to deal with high chairs or wipies or sippies or snack cups or mac-n-cheese or screaming kids made it soooooo worth it!

That night I slept very little. I had a hard time actually getting to sleep - between the group of people down at the pool laughing loudly until almost 1AM and my sad, pitiful brain thinking terribly irrational and scary thoughts, I didn't drift off to sleep until sometime after 2. Then I slept lightly; being woken every few minutes or so by the air conditioner coming on or cutting off. I am used to sleeping in a wind tunnel with constant noise all night long, so the loud to dead-silent fluctuations kept me in a very light, troubled sleep most of the night.

It was still nice not having to share blankets or space. ahhhh!

The next morning on the way out we stopped at a little bay side business and looked for a few more shells for the kids. We found much bigger ones here than the ones we found in Port A.

I wish I had just half of her hair - it is so crazy beautiful!

It was a great trip, but way too short. When we got back I was a bit disappointed that the house was trashed and I had to jump right back into cleaning and dinner duty before I had even had a chance to sit down. But, that's being a mom I guess; as soon as you are within 50 feet of the short people you have to get right back to work. ;)

At least I got about 30 hours of only having to take care of myself. It was a nice break.

The boys were pretty happy to see me when I got back, and Kiddo cried for a good 30 minutes at bed time because for some reason he wanted me to stay in the room when I put him to bed. I haven't done that in a couple of years now, so his crying was both bittersweet and slightly annoying. Port went to bed quite easily that night.

So since then I have been playing catch up and riding this bizarre roller coaster. I am tolerating the boys' antics better, but they are still pushing all my buttons. Yesterday was filled with such highs and lows. I am sort of coordinating a project with the local children's hospital here that provides photographic services to needy families with children in the ICU, critical care or hospice situations. We received our first call for a session yesterday, so I had to find a volunteer available to do the session. Just the thought of the service being needed put me in a funk. But then the boys would do something cute (like working out to Yoga Booty Ballet - oh yeah!) and my spirits would be lifted. Then my website went down (the host server crashed) and I was panicked. Then I got an awesome compliment on my work and I was giddy again. The boys would do something horrible, down I go. Another compliment on my work, right back up!

By bed time I was exhausted.

And since this is getting way long, I bet you are too. I will stop now.

Until,
D :)

The Visitors

Happy Friday!

First, I would like to start this post with some ooey-gooey sweetness. This is an audio recording of my sweet babies singing the night-night song with me. The quiet voice matching pitch is Kiddo, singing what he calls "the cello part". The louder voice is Port. Enjoy!
Port Singing (link should be fixed!)

Doesn't that just make you all warm and fuzzy?? Ahhhh! Me too! I keep it on my phone so I can listen to it any time I want.

And now for the not so pretty...This has been one heck of a week! Let me back track a little to paint that pretty picture for you, shall I?

Ok, so last week, Kiddo had some tummy issues of the lower GI nature. I didn't really think anything of it; it happens every now and then. Also, late in the week some time, Port threw up one morning. It was weird; he had the hiccups and they were really harsh. When he did it, it was like he choked on phlegm or something, so again I didn't think anything of it. It freaked him out though as it was his first experience with that. Friday through Sunday I had tummy trouble and then Sunday and Monday Hubby did. Tuesday, Port had serious issues and had 2 very disgusting blow out have-to-clean-everything-in-sight diapers. Major Yuck.

Tuesday night Hubby had some tummy cramping and nausea most of the night, but he was fine in the morning. So by Wednesday, I started putting 2 and 2 together and realized that we may have been passing a tummy bug around. Sadly, my beautiful sister in law was already on her way to visit us, and there was no way to warn her of what she was walking into. But, I figured, it had been through the whole family so it was probably done, and before she arrived I made sure to wipe down everything I could think of with disinfecting wipes.

So she arrived Wednesday morning and it was so great to see her. She played with the kids and let me take a shower in peace, and then while the baby was napping she let me run to Sonic for 10 minutes to myself and a half price Dr. Pepper. Bliss!!! I brought back drinks for everyone and all was well. When she and the boys were outside playing that morning, they came in once when Kiddo complained that he thought he was going to throw up. It was a very strange thing for him to say, because for one, he's only thrown up twice and two, he was pretty little both times - I didn't think he would know what that sensation felt like. But, after coming in the house he said he felt fine so I didn't think anything of it.

After lunch and happy hour, we were hanging out and Kiddo ran to go to the bathroom. I heard him coughing and then he started crying. I ran in to find he had vomited all over the bathroom floor. Once I got him calmed down and everything cleaned up, he seemed fine and didn't complain about it at all afterward. Later that evening, I started feeling queasy and light headed.

I was sick all night and most of the morning yesterday. Good times.

It looks like I got the worst of it. Hopefully no one else will get sick and we will be done with all this. And hopefully my wonderful sister in law will escape unscathed. She thankfully was here to help me with the boys all morning while I was still throwing up and Hubby was able to come home early from work to help for the rest of the day. By dinner time I was feeling up to finally ingesting something more than sips of water. I started with a piece of bread and then later half a banana. A bowl of Ramen noodles topped out my night and then I started feeling queasy again so I went to bed early.

Thankfully this morning I seem to be much better, and aside from the wicked caffeine headache I have I am feeling great.

I am praying this has run it's course because I am leaving tomorrow for a short weekend at the beach with Kim, and it would be really bad if Hubby or one of the kids came down with this while I was gone.

So keep your fingers and toes crossed for me, please?

Thanks!

Maybe next time my sweet sis comes to visit, she won't have to play nurse and babysitter to a messed up family. So sorry Aunt Addie! Please come back soon! I promise there will be less sickies.

Until,
D

Swamp

Every day I think about blogging and what I want to write about, and every day something comes in the way of that and I either feel guilty for taking the time to blog, or guilty for not blogging. So I am cramming this in with my morning coffee - since I usually sit at the computer anyway. I've been doing this blogging thing for long enough now that I know many of you are regular readers and I don't want to disappoint any of you. I have had some ideas recently for getting myself to post here more regularly, but I have yet to implement them.

Obviously.

Anyway, I am still here, and am just absolutely, positively swamped. It is to the point that half the time I sit staring at the computer trying to figure out where to start, or I am yelling at the kids to leave me along so I can get some work done. Of course, the latter makes me feel horrible, and just about every time I smack myself upside the head and get up and go play with them. Then I feel even more overwhelmed and behind on the work that needs to be done and I smack myself again for that.

There are so many bruises.

And I am not even going to talk about the house.

So yes, I am trying to get all my April sessions edited - the wedding is what is bogging me down the most. I am, for the most part, a portrait photographer. And with that, it is easy for me to be a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to the images I create. When there are only 40 images total to edit from a session, I can go over each one with a fine toothed comb and get them perfect for proofing. And it doesn't take me too terribly long. The problem with a wedding - well first off you start with about 3000 images! Which is about oh, 2900 more than a usual session. Then I have to narrow those down to a reasonable amount, in this case about 500, and then in the editing process they are narrowed down again to anywhere from 200-400 final images. It takes a LONG time to get through all of those! And, I can't exactly go over each one with a fine toothed comb or I would be editing well into the summer!

The boys aren't helping; for some reason the last few weeks they have been at each other's throats. I can't keep the baby out of stuff and the big kid is driving me nuts. I love them both to pieces, but dang, give a momma a break already!

So anyway, I am trying to find a happy medium between a "quick and dirty" edit and my portrait perfection edits so I can get these done. I have yet to find that solution.

And now my carpal tunnel is acting up. Ouch.

I have pain from the second knuckle in each of my fingers all the way down (up??) to my elbow. It hurts so bad! I hardly slept last night because of it.

That, and the baby waking up at 4:30.

Something is affecting him; he had 2 massively disgusting, blow out, have to clean everything in sight diapers yesterday. When he started fussing at 4:30 this morning, I jumped out of bed fearing another poop-plosion. Thankfully it was a false alarm, but we ended up on the couch anyway for the rest of the night. In my light, in-and-out sleep, I dreamed about poop everywhere.

Good times.

Today Aunt Addie is coming for a visit and Kiddo is so excited! He can hardly sit still. It will be fun having her here with us. Hopefully we can find some fun things to do.

Hope you are having a nice week!

Until,
D :)

Bottom of the Ocean

I am so tired.

I hate to complain, really I do, but I am just at the end of my rope today. Actually, the past few days have been more than trying, and I am really not dealing with anything well. I am cranky (PMS maybe? I don't know) and irritable and oh so tired. Port isn't sleeping well most nights and I am just done with the 3AM wake ups. It could be teeth, it could be a growth spurt (he always wants to eat when he gets up at that time - and usually if I let him he will eat a couple of chicken dogs and a waffle or two) it could be separation anxiety and it could just be that he is a stinker. I don't know and I am tired of trying to figure it out. I just need it to stop.

Last night was actually turning out to be a great night until Kiddo got up to use the potty at 6:00. He woke Port up and the screaming started. And it wasn't his usual "I'm up and I need someone" scream. This was full on, shatter glass, angry scream that I just couldn't ignore. I got him up and even that didn't stop it. He was mad about something, and nothing I did or offered was making him stop. It was awful. I tried everything. The only thing that stopped it for a second was if I stuck my finger in his mouth. I originally did it to check for swollen gums, but it made him laugh so I just kept doing it. He still wasn't satisfied with that and finally an offer of fruit snacks calmed him down. (I know, ick. I am weak, what can I say?)

It doesn't help things that it is a stinkin' 53 degrees outside. Really? Do they know it's late April?

I know, in August I will be wishing for 53 degrees. I know. I know!

But for now, I need sun and I need warmth and I need fresh air. And most of all, I really, really need the ocean.

It has been calling me again.

Nothing else will do. My Pisces body needs to be near a very large body of salt water. I need to smell the sea air and hear the waves. I need to feel the sand in my toes. It is just one of those things I have always had to deal with.

Living in AZ for 3 years was kind of tough.

I may just have to kidnap a friend and plan a crazy day trip down to Port A or something. We could get up early, drive down, walk the beach and drive back. It would be an adventure. And I would feel better.

And I am also dealing with a ton of jealousy lately. Please say a prayer for me. I can't stand this part of myself.

I'm not writing this to get sympathy. I just need to get it out of my head. And this is my "place" to do that sometimes.

Thanks for reading.

Until,
D

No Sleep

I am so tired today! After an amazingly busy weekend and the need to stay up late last night to finish a session edit, Port decided sleeping was for the birds and he was up all night long! *yawn*

Friday I drove the boys out to Wimberly so I could meet up with a bride and groom at their wedding venue. It was a long drive, but the boys did pretty well considering. We had our fair share of upsets, but overall they were good. I got back that evening just in time to drop the boys off and head over to Kim's house so we could do our live podcast celebrating our 1 year anniversary. That was a total blast! The show itself ran pretty long, but then afterward Kim's hubby brought out his guitar and talked Kim and I into a little jam session. We sang for probably a good hour and a half before Kim finally kicked me out. If you would like to hear the audio of the live show, and the little clip of our jam session at the end, click here.

I fell into bed late Friday night (actually early Saturday morning) and then had to get up bright and early so I could pick up Kim at 8:30am. We went on a photography location scouting mission and spent the entire morning driving around. We found some amazing places for senior portraits and I am so excited to get to use them!! We got back in time to stop by the brand new farmers market that opened in Cedar Park and then headed home. I had just enough time to grab lunch and then I had to start cooking for a party Saturday night. A couple of our friends hosted a New Moon DVD release party, and I was responsible for making PW's Buttered Rosemary Rolls. OMG they are soooooo yummy!! You really have to try them. It was very cool to harvest some rosemary from my plant on the porch to use on these rolls. Things like that make me giddy!

Sunday we went to church and once we got home I left for a bit to see if I could find a funky chair to use in some of my sessions. I had no luck there and ended up back home with just enough time to clean out the van so I could taxi my evening senior session model and her mom to our location. Kim was supposed to come with me as my assistant, but her whole family ended up sick at the same time so she had to stay home with them. Thankfully a quick call to the amazing Jen landed me with an assistant to take her place. Jen was great - she caught all the stray hairs and messed up clothing and she helped me with some off camera flash I was experimenting with. We worked until after sunset then loaded up and headed back to town. I dropped off the clients and Jen and I stopped at Subway for a quick 9PM dinner.

Once again I crawled into bed way too late. Port was up at 4am and screamed for a good hour or so before he fell back to sleep. Then he was up again when Hubby got up for work, and I don't think he went back to sleep after that. I finally peeled myself out of bed after 8 and found him standing in his crib with his head under the window covering, looking out the window and talking to the squirrels. At least he was happy to see me!

Yesterday was a bit of a struggle - I was desperately trying to catch up on laundry and finish my client session edits and do my taxes. The laundry got about half way done and the session was no where near finished, so last night after our regular Musing Mommies recording session I stayed up late to finish my edits. When we put Port to bed at 8 he really wanted to stay in Kiddo's room. He actually laid down in Kiddo's bed and pulled the covers up over himself. Once in his crib in his own room, he screamed for only a few minutes. But while I was up editing later that night he woke up again. I think it was about midnight. He cried for the longest time. I hate leaving him in there like that but I can tell by the cry that nothing is wrong. After about an hour of off and on fussing he finally went back to sleep. I went to bed finally at around 1:45 and at about 3AM Port started crying again. He cried for about an hour before I finally willed myself up to get him. He was totally fine, not even wet, but he wanted to go to the couch. So I took him there, and over the course of the next hour he got up 3 times to get something to eat. I was so sleepy that I didn't have the strength to stop him, I just wanted him quiet. He ended up eating 2 hot dogs and a frozen waffle! At about 4:30 I had no more reserves so I put him back in his crib. He screamed for what seemed like forever. Kiddo started bugging me for breakfast at about 8 and I finally crawled out of bed at about 8:45. Port was up with his head in the window again, happy as a clam. ugh

The garden is beginning to take off now, though I am getting really frustrated with a couple of things. There is something nibbling on almost all of my baby plants. The green beans are seriously struggling and the black beans have been munched on too. The cucumbers appear to be struggling, and today I watered in the morning and there were 3 cucumber plants (one hill never sprouted). I walked back out a couple of hours later and one plant was completely gone. All that was left was a hole like someone yanked it right out of the dirt. The boys can't get into the garden area without me, so my best guess is it was a bird or a squirrel. grrrr!

Another thing that is extremely frustrating is that something is wrong with my soil. When I planted, it was perfect! It was fluffy and rich and light, and now it is like clay. It is so hard that when some of the plants try to push through the surface, they end up breaking under the strain of the dirt. I am so upset about this!! I don't know what happened. The only thing I can figure is that all the rain we had washed down some of the organic matter?? I have no clue. So, I am going to have to figure out a way to work some peat moss and compost into certain areas and hope it's enough to help the plants already there survive. Another option is to dig up what is growing, amend the soil and then replant. I am scared to do that though - it might shock my plants to death.

The lima beans never did come up and I guess now I am going to have to replant those and some of the cucumbers. I am making floating row covers for the rest in the hopes of deterring whatever is nibbling on things. I cut the bottoms out of a few yogurt containers and placed them in the dirt around my baby spinach plants so they could have a chance to grow and it seems to be helping them. The pepper plants never came up either, so I guess I will spring for actual plants and put them in sometime in the next week.

The good news though is that my carrots, broccoli, peas, corn and lettuce are doing great and I am getting a few leaves of spinach and lettuce every day now. Hopefully once the plants get bigger I can harvest enough to actually make a meal instead of supplementing like I am now. My garlic is almost ready to pull and I am eagerly anticipating that.

Here is what we pulled today. I am slowly thinning the carrots so we can get some big ones. Kiddo gets so excited when we get to pull a few!
That's parsley on the left. Going clockwise from there, carrots, spinach and lettuce. I am going to try to use them all in supper tonight. Yum!!

Port's birthday is coming up on Saturday and I have no clue about what we are going to do. The family is coming in so I need to do something, and make a cake. And mercy, Easter is the next day!!! I haven't even talked to the bunny yet! Ugh. I see a midnight run to Walmart in my future.

Until,
D :)

Empty

Hello my lovies!

I am sorry I didn't blog yesterday, but well, to be honest, yesterday totally sucked. It started with being up with Port for over an hour in the middle of the night and then weird and scary dreams before I even woke up. Then I woke up to Kiddo messing with me while I was trying to catch the lat few minutes of sweet sleep. I was cranky, and I told him if he couldn't be still he needed to go back to his room. Of course, asking a 5 year old to be still is like asking...well it's like asking a 5 year old to be still! It isn't going to happen! So I fussed at him and he burst into pitiful tears, wailing that he only wanted to cuddle with me. Of course the HUGE, GINORMOUS Boulder of Mommy Guilt crushed my chest and so I apologized and snuggled with him for a while before his brother woke up. Then I kicked myself for the rest of the day for not being a normal mom and a nice mom and cherishing every little moment I have with him because in a few short months he will be off to school and cuddling with him in the mornings will be something I will most likely never be able to do again (and probably not something he would want to do anyway). Why can't I ever remember these things in the moment? Why do I have to make him cry to trigger my brain that maybe he is still a little guy that loves me and just wants to be near me? Ugh.

So...I am PMSing. And of course the whole day just kind of went down hill from there. It wasn't that anything really was bad, there were just a million and one little annoyances that added up and by 5PM I was done, done, done. Port is teething and so he is dealing with constant (seriously like every 10 minutes) nasty diapers that are burning his little hiney no matter what I do. So I had to chase him around all day and check his diaper every 5 minutes, and every time he needed to be changed I had to wrestle him to the changing table and deal with him fighting every move I made. We went to the grocery store and I bought way more than I expected (hello! they finally have peppermint mocha creamer in the store!!). I was standing in the check out and I realized that I forgot to pick up one of the free items from the meal deal I was buying. It was a loaf of bread that I could have received for free and I totally forgot it. And of course, I am too weird about these things and the boys were right on the verge of going insane so I didn't bother asking the checker if someone could go get it for me. So I kicked myself all the way back to the van for not getting the free loaf of bread, and then opened the van to find that I had a shopping cart full of groceries and a van full of bicycles and gear. So I had to move everything out of the way and load up the groceries while the boys were losing their minds.

Then there was the usual nap time struggle and dealing with Kiddo during nap time when I am trying to get work done and all he wants to do is play with me. He likes it when we have time for just the two of us and I totally understand, but I really needed to get some things done. And once again, I told him "no" one too many times and he burst into tears and the Mommy Guilt Boulder found it's way to my desk chair. And then I fought with the boulder and the angry woman in my head who was yelling at me for feeling guilty. So there is part of me that wants to teach him to play independently and part of me that is sad that he will be starting school soon and part of me that just wants to enjoy having him around while I can. And none of my parts knows how much to give or take and what is healthiest for him and they are all angry at each other.

Confused yet?

Oh and when I was at the grocery store I bought some yogurt specifically to help little Port with his issue and when I unloaded the groceries from the van I somehow managed to leave one bag in the back.

The only thing in the bag was 5 containers of yogurt. *sigh*

Beyond that I am dealing with other things I can't discuss on here - actually anywhere, and dealing with them internally is just eating me up right now. And most of it is petty and ridiculous and blown way out of proportion by hormones and some lingering, insecurities that I really wish would go live with my 16 year old self because that is where they belong. And yesterday I was just wishing I had 1 friend that I could be incredibly selfish and whiny and a big cry baby with so I could get all of the "dark and twisty" out of my system and be done with it. But that's just not going to happen and so I was mad at myself for wanting that and feeling that way.

And then right about the time I was teetering on the edge, Hubby changed his plans and, though it was nothing at all it tossed me off the ledge. Add to that a couple of other well timed bits of information coming across my desk and by the time Hubby got home, I was a lunatic.

{welcome home Dear!}

So yeah, the day was not so hot. I wasn't planning on writing it all out like this, but I kind of feel better for doing it. One highlight was getting a phone call from a dear friend.

Today was not much better - more poop, more screaming Port, more wrestling with him every 5 minutes when I had to change his diaper, more PMS. Thankfully my sweet, dear, wonderful friend Kim made a trip to the store for her own family and offered to bring me some yogurt for the boy on her way back. Sadly, I couldn't get him to actually eat any of it until late afternoon, but I was very grateful I didn't have to go to the store myself to get it.

The day has had it's bright moments; a couple of encouraging phone calls and a semi-encouraging email, another call from another dear friend and some nice moments with the kids.

Things are starting to emerge in the garden. I have cucumber, zucchini, peas, black beans and basil sprouting. I am still waiting on green beans, corn, tomatoes, peppers, lima beans and okra. I think it has been too cold for them until recently. Hopefully they will make their way through the dirt soon.

And hopefully tomorrow will be better. Though, the weather is supposed to be yucky, so I am not getting my hopes up. And I have to do taxes. Joy.

I will try to think of something more positive to talk about tomorrow.

Until,
D :)

Good Night Ladies

The no-sleeping Port saga continues. *sigh* Ok, so we only moved the clocks up 1 hour, why, oh why on earth does the child now wake 2 hours earlier??? Seriously, if it is going to be like this for long, I am just going to turn all my clocks back and force myself to run on that time instead. I'll just show up an hour early to everything (or is it late? I am already confused!) so that I am on time.

The screaming has. got. to. stop.

Today was a little better at nap time. Of course, I ran the boys hard this morning with a mega Costco trip, a quick drop off of the groceries and a run to HEB (all without even getting them out of the car at the house). Sure, there were melt downs and of course, there was screaming. Lots of screaming, (more on that in a minute) but thankfully I had a sucker stashed in the diaper bag and it seemed to work.

Please don't get on me for giving my tantruming child a sucker. It was, as always, a last resort. It was just enough to make him calm down long enough to be pleasant for the rest of the trip. He had some goldfish and some water and was a good little camper after that.

Before the sucker, people were staring. People were hastily leaving the isles we were on. Old ladies with hair nets (Costco workers) were approaching me and speaking to me and the boys in baby talk. I couldn't take it anymore!

So, why was he screaming you ask?

Well let me tell you.

His first Christmas, when he was a mere 8 months old, he got this.

After he got over being scared of it, it became one of his favorite toys. He played with it constantly for months. The problem was, the darn thing eats batteries like candy, and 4 D size batteries every few days got mighty expensive. So, one day, the toy got put behind another toy, and then another, and then another, until it was pretty much out of sight in Kiddo's room (the toy black hole). I was so thankful the obsession had passed; the music that thing plays at maximum volume is no longer appealing once you've heard it a few bazillion times. (Good Night Ladies, anyone?)

Anyway, it has been in the toy black hole for a while now. Then the other day I moved some things around and pulled out a kid sized couch to put in the living room for the boys to sit on. I was tired of them destroying my couch. And when I pulled out the kiddie couch, all kinds of forgotten toys emerged from the rubble.

Today, Port found the ball toy. And he has not let it leave his side since.

He carries it everywhere! The thing is pretty heavy and awkward for a little guy to carry, so when he can he pushes it along the floor and if he can't push it, he slowly carries it through the house. When we got all ready to go to the store today, he picked up the toy and tried to carry it out the door.

Um, I don't think so!

I have a pretty strict no-toys-in-the-car rule. Only a few things have ever been allowed to travel short distances with us. And I have an extremely strict no-toys-in-the-store rule at all times. I do not ever want to go through the drama of losing a toy in a store, so we just do not bring them in at all.

However, I now have a little dynamo by the name of Port. And he doesn't like rules.

*sigh*

So the dang toy made it to the car. And he played it loudly and annoyingly all the way to Costco. And when he dropped the balls onto the floor and they rolled into the door well, he screamed non stop. When we got to the store and I opened his door, he wanted the balls so he could play the game some more. After I had to chase 2 of them through the parking lot because they fell out of the car when I opened the door, there was no way I was going to give them back to him. When he realized we were going into Costco without his beloved toy, the screaming began again.

And it did not stop until 30 minutes later; when I absolutely could not stand it anymore, when I had to strap him tight into the cart because he absolutely refused to stay in it, refused to let me carry him and refused to walk with me next to the cart; when I finally fished that cheap sucker out of the diaper bag.

I swear people in the store collectively sighed with relief when I finally handed him that candy.

I had been so distracted by the screaming that I had to completely retrace my steps through the store twice just to pick up the things I missed on my list.

Thankfully we got out of there fine, with no trouble from Kiddo (bless him that he doesn't usually give me grief when Port is going nuts).

The trip to HEB was ok. At one point Port refused to sit in the cart. But then he got a hold of my phone and he was perfectly content to play with that for the rest of the trip. Even though I really, really, really didn't want him to EVER touch my phone, I was kind of glad he was entertained. He added lots of cool letters to my grocery list and deleted a list I guess I don't need anymore. ;-)

But we made it home in one piece.

So nap time wasn't too bad. He put up a fight, but petered out relatively quick. He didn't sleep long though, which could be very good or very bad for tonight.

I hope I get some decent sleep. I really need it.

I will leave you with a Kiddo-speak for today. I call it the wisdom of a 5 year old:

Kiddo: "Do clothes cover our skin?"
Me: "Yes"
Kiddo : "Why do we wear clothes?"
Me: "Why do you think?"
Kiddo: "We wear clothes so no one sees your penis or your booby."

Man, I love that kid!

Until,
D :)

What Time Is It?

Ok so the first day after the spring forward, daylight savings, change your clock fiasco that most of the country still does (another reason to miss AZ) went fairly...ok. The boys woke at a reasonable hour. Port fought nap time a little more than usual, but it wasn't too bad. Bed time was a different story though. According to Hubby (I was at my weekly Starbuck's meeting) Port went to bed ok, but about 30 minutes later he woke up and started screaming.

It lasted for a while, I was told, but it wasn't too bad.

This morning, at about 3:30AM, the screaming started again.

Port's pajamas were soaked, though the diaper wasn't by any means full. He must have been lying just right to make everything leak the way it did. I changed his diaper and put him back to bed and he then screamed for about 2 hours.

We shut the door to our room so we didn't have to listen. I hate doing that.

This morning everyone slept a little late, but not too bad.

Nap time however... colossal FAIL.

He screamed and screamed and wouldn't lie down for anything, so I eventually took him out of the crib. So, he hasn't napped today and I am anticipating a ginormous fight come bed time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So yes, bed time was quite the experience. He was pretty good about putting on jammies, but he did NOT want to go to bed. He screamed angry, violent screams for a good 30 minutes before going completely silent. No wind down, nothing. It was a bit nerve wracking.

Hopefully he can make it through the night without waking. I dressed him a little lighter so he'll stay cool - the last time we had a lot of trouble with night waking it was when we had a couple of warmer nights. If I get hot in the middle of the night, it has GOT to be hot in the house. I am always so cold that it really takes a lot to get me out from under the covers. However, the in last week or so I have woken up several times at night a little warm. So I can imagine Port has been warmer than usual.

We shall see how this works out.


It is Gratitude Monday! Today I am thankful for...

1. My business. Even with it's ups and downs (and this past week has really been a roller coaster week. ugh) I still love it. And if I never make a cent in real profit, I will still be thankful for the joy it has brought me.
2. The Musing Mommies Podcast. How can something be so much fun? We get to meet new, exciting people, talk about whatever we want, and people listen and tune in every week. It's been almost a year since we started and I can't imagine going a week without it. Also, we got some great news today from one of our past interviewees and I can't wait to share it with you!
3. My friends - I am so thankful that I have managed to make some pretty awesome friends here in the Austin area. We lived in AZ for 3 years and I can honestly say I did not make any friends while we were there. I am so glad to be surrounded by wonderful, supportive, hilarious and intelligent women to lift my spirits and keep me sane. I thank God for all of you!

And you. My readers. I am thankful and grateful for you. Thank you for coming by my little corner of the web and reading my ramblings. I so very much appreciate it!

And if you have something to be grateful for and you would like to share, grab a button on my sidebar and participate. Leave me a comment letting me know so I can come visit. :) Have a wonderful week!

Until,
D :)

Can't Sleep

Happy Friday everyone!

Come on in, have a seat, please ignore the mess. It's been a weird, sleepless week and I am just too beat to pick up around here. But you understand that, right?

I replaced my poor, tired, messed up coffee maker today, so fresh coffee is on the way! Thank goodness for store credit. I returned something I was never going to use and it covered the new coffee maker I needed and supplied me with 21 cents to take home in my pocket! Yes! So, grab a cup.

I did not sleep a wink last night. After 2 nights this week of being up all night with Port, I really needed a night of rest. Amazingly, Port slept through the night and I didn't sleep at all. I hate it when that happens! It started out that I just couldn't fall asleep. My mind was racing (I think I must have OD'd on caffeine or something) and I could not shut it off. I was thinking about all the things I needed to do, emails I needed to write and then at one point I had a major panic attack. I started worrying about the "what if" of something happening to me during the day while I am alone with the kids and them not knowing what to do or how to get help. I freaked out that I haven't taught Kiddo how to dial 911 or use my phone. I was trying to figure out how to relay that information to him without scaring him. Then my mind went into all these scary scenarios about what might happen.

I. Was. Freaking. Out.

In the dark; crying, praying, scaring myself to infinity for what seemed like hours, then without notice my mind went off to something else entirely. I started drifting in and out of a light sleep, dreaming weird dreams and having scary thoughts. Hubby began to breath funny and every time he took a breath in I thought it was Port crying in his room. I laid there listening; straining to hear every sound in the house and making sure it wasn't him.

Then my stomach started to hurt (no doubt from all the crying and freaking out). Once that subsided, my allergies charged full steam ahead and I spent the rest of the night drifting in and out of sleep, waking myself up every few minutes scratching the roof of my mouth with my tongue. But I wasn't waking up enough to actually get out of bed and find the allergy meds. I woke up several times scratching the roof of my mouth and the inside of my ear at the same time. I was miserable.

So, this morning I was not the most pleasant person to be around. I hope the kids forgive me.

The roof of my mouth is raw and I can't stop sneezing today. I really, really need to get to the store and get some more oregano oil. I haven't sneezed this much in months.

Poor little Port is having allergy trouble today too. His lips and face have been red and splotchy, and he's been sneezing a lot. Our Ash trees are blooming out front, and the pollen is everywhere. I think they may be part of the problem.

In other news, I managed to get the garden all planted this week. I am starting everything from seed, so I am praying it all works. In one of the 4x8 beds I planted black beans, peas, okra, basil, cherry tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers and dill. I have some additional pepper plants that I started in the house a few weeks ago, and when they are big enough I will transplant them there as well.

The other 4x8 already has broccoli, spinach, carrots, onion, lettuce and garlic growing, and I planted cucumbers and lima beans in the empty space.

In between the 4x8 beds I have a row of zucchini and along the fence line I have green beans and corn planted. I have individual pots containing strawberries, chives, parsley and more dill, and today I bought a few more herbs to go in their own containers as well (lemon balm, peppermint, oregano, and another mint variety). I also have my blueberry plant from last year, a new blueberry plant for it to love on, and a blackberry plant as well.

I am so excited! The soil is amazing and I am hoping everything gets a good start. I just need to find pots for the new blueberry and blackberry and one of those multi-holed herb pots for the herb plants I bought. Then I should be set! I need to also build a climbing structure for the cucumbers and the green beans (though some will hopefully climb the corn). And I need to put up cages for the tomatoes, peas and black beans when they start popping up.

I can't wait! Are you growing anything this spring? Please share your progress!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Until,
D :)

Cry Baby Cry

Today was not a good day for the neighbors to replace their roof.

The banging at 7:30 sharp was enough to almost make me call the men in white coats to take me away.

It all started with a huge parenting FAIL we had last night.

For a while, we've been toying with the idea of putting the boys together in the same room in bunk beds. Port is still in his crib, and we thought we could fit both beds in one room, but it will be really tight. And if we do, all the toys will have to go in the other bedroom, making it a playroom. But since they boy's schedules have been different (Port goes to bed around 8, Kiddo around 8:30 or 9) I haven't really pushed it.

Lately Kiddo has been bringing it up again. He wants Port in the room with him. Actually, he wants anyone in the room with him. The kid is desperate for a sleep over.

So last night the boys were getting ready for bed (or rather they were supposed to be) and they both ended up in nothing but underwear/diaper in Kiddo's room. They were jumping on the bed together (yes, I know, but think of the gross motor skills they are developing!) and having a blast. I brought Port's pajamas into Kiddo's room and they got dressed together. They were seriously bonding over this whole night time routine thing, and just enjoying eachother's company for once. I didn't want to mess that up! After they got dressed, they went back to jumping on the bed. I walked out to get a sippy for Port and get his bed ready and when I came back into Kiddo's room, both boys were in Kiddo's bed. They were laying side by side, and Port even wanted the blankets up over him. (He is NOT a blanket kid - he hates them!)

Kiddo asked if they could sleep together in his room and I kind of hesitated, but Port looked so content to sleep there. He knew he was supposed to go "night-night" and he nestled into Kiddo's bed like he sleeps there all the time. I turned out the light, we said prayers and all seemed well.

Then I tried to leave.

oops

Apparently that was not on the menu and Port started to wail. He was fine when I was standing next to the bed, but he didn't want me to leave and he didn't want to go to his own bed. After standing there for a few minutes watching him rub his eyes and get even sleepier (and the clock in my head was tic-toc-ing even louder by the second) I tried leaving again but he pitched another fit. So I got him out of Kiddo's bed and tried to take him to his crib in the other room and he pitched an even bigger fit. I asked him if he wanted to stay with brother and he said yes so I brought him back to Kiddo's room (FAIL). He nestled back in but again he didn't want me to leave. Finally I had enough and I picked him up and put him in his room in the crib.

He was not happy.

To say the least.

He screamed in the way he screams when he is extremely mad or when I leave him. He screamed like that for a good 30-45 minutes. We thought at that point that all was well and we went to bed. At about midnight, the screaming began again. After listening to him cry off and on for about an hour, I got up to check on him. I changed his diaper and put him back to bed. He screamed some more. I got up again and took him to the couch. He settled down a bit and slept on my chest for about 20 minutes, then decided he wanted to get off the couch. The house was pitch black, yet he managed to find the tv remotes anyway. I put them away and he found Kiddo's Leapster and began to lay that. I allowed it in my hazy half asleep state and the next thing I know he was rummaging through the refrigerator looking for a hot dog. He ate a hot dog (at 2 AM mind you) and then wanted to play. I was done and not going to tolerate that, so I put him back to bed.

He screamed and cried All. Night. Long.

And, then at 7:15 the crying stopped.

At 7:30 the hammering next door began.

Thank God for coffee.

Until,
D :)