Nothing to see here

Today was a long day. I got up early, went to work, worked a full day, met with the HR person at work to go over pre-leave of absense info, came home and called the supplemental short term disability people to get some more paperwork for maternity leave, went to target and completed the baby registry while Jon dealt with a non-cooperational toddler, ate dinner, took a shower, got layla to bed with Jon's help...and then the heartburn kicked in.

So now I'm up and staring at a blurry computer screen while Jon watches Supernatural and wishing I was asleep. I hate it when that happens.

*sigh*

A Day Like Today

We woke up to sunshine through the window in the bedroom and cuddled through one book, 3 songs and about 15 minutes of poking a pregnant woman and telling her to get up!

We ate eggs and drank apple juice while watching Sesame Street (again)

There was a trip to the store and McDonald's for lunch.

We played with the screen door open and she yelled at the lawn service people telling them they did a "good job".

Naptime took longer than expected and then lasted longer than normal.

Then there was more playing and yelling "ta-da!" and shooting Mommy with a penguin happy meal toy while dinner was in the oven.

There was t-shirts and jeans, hear in buns, pictures to post on blogs and even a little dancing to the radio.

Today is what happens when you plan ahead and then the plan gets blown away.

Sometimes Daddy comes home sick, sometimes the baby cries in the grocery store, sometimes Mommy pulls a muscle getting out of the car, and sometimes... it's still a good day anyhow.

Marching Along

I swear that February didn't really happen. Last time I checked it was January and then today I look at the calendar and February is almost gone. Time flies when you've got a job, husband, toddler and baby on the way.

I literally had an OBGYN appointment and Valentine's day both sneak up on me while I wasn't looking. It's ok, I've got my eye on Easter so at least when April arrives I should be prepared for that one. But, between now and then we've got all sorts of things on the calendar.

March brings my baby shower, my co-worker/work baby shower, my birthday (along with a few other birthdays) and St. Patrick's Day (oh green beer, I will miss you).

Speaking of my birthday. I recently got a request for gift ideas. So um...

Old Navy Giftcards for clothing to be purchased after Anyah comes. I'm already down almost 2 pant sizes without giving birth...so I know I'll need new pants at the very least once the baby comes.

NCIS or Gilmore Girl seasons on DVD. We don't have cable and I'm about to be home ALOT.

Some spa time, I could definitely use a hair color touch up, a pedicure, and an eyebrow wax before I have a baby and people start taking my picture a lot.

Gift cards for places to go eat. The more pregnant I get the less I want to cook.

How pathetic is that list? Very. But the truth is... I have a wonderful daughter and a wonderful daughter on the way and my focus is on the little things.

My Paper Gown Visit

So people following along on facebook already heard that today I had an OBGYN check-up. Due to some high blood pressure and some bizarre hip pain, I got the paper gown treatment.

The result is we now know I'm a little dialated (1 to 1 1/2 inches) and that I have a date for my C-section.

We're looking at May 6th... exceptions of course would be if Anyah decides she'd like to make a natural arrival earlier (in which case we'll have an emergency c-section with no notice) or the date could move up 1 more week if my blood pressure gets worse or we have another complication.

But May 6th... at the latest.

Also, due to high blood pressure concerns my OBGYN thinks it would be best to pull me out of work at 36 weeks. That means I have less than 8 weeks of work left.

Not that I am excited about the loss of income, but I am totally excited about having a little time at home with Layla before Anyah comes, time I can spend mostly in my PJ's...which is also a huge perk.

It was a nice way to end the Tuesday that was my Monday this week. Due to President's Day weekend today was a nightmare at work. It was nice to come home and eat lasagna with my daughter and my hubby while day dreaming about ten new tiny toes.

Of Presidents and Children's Cold Medicine

Two days off in a row.... yessss!! I was excited. Visions of sorting baby clothes, cleaning up messes in my kitchen and rounding out my baby registry at the Target danced through my head. There might even be play time at the park, I thought oh so gleefully. But, that was 2 days ago.

For Valentine's Day my love bug got a cold bug. Yummy. Snot galore. There was lots of whining. We lived. That was my first day off.

Today, she woke up with a cough and a bad mood to match. Eventually, we reached a content toddler level ground but it was HOURS after we got out of bed. She's still in her pjs.

Thanks to my mom stopping by yesterday morning I did manage to sort some baby clothing. I never did make it to Target though.

Yesterday afternoon we had visits from George (Layla's Godfather) and Papa Glen and Teri to see Layla for Valentine's day. Papa and Teri stayed for dinner.

This morning I managed to catch up the dishes. Ironically, last night Teri started doing dishes and I never went to see what she was doing. She ended up rewashing some clean dishes that were still in the dishwasher with the dirty ones from dinner. (In her defense our dishwasher sucks so a few of the dishes probably didn't look clean which always makes one leary)

Jon works this evening and my work week picks back up bright and early tomorrow morning when Tuesday will have the displeasure of being the new Monday.

Well at least I didn't have to use my 1 accrued sick day to take care of my daughter.

International Florist Awareness Day

Single people hate it. Dating couples plan for it. Married people learn that it doesn't matter. Little kids can't wait for the red wrapped candy. Florists wait all year for a chance to celebrate it.

Love

It doesn't require a florist, chocolates in a heart shaped box or a red/pink outfit.

It doesn't ask you to spend your money, your time, or your hard earned happiness on searching out that last.perfect.wonderful. item that you didn't know you needed to get until you saw it.

Love is moments

And I assure you they aren't the planned ones.

So hug a florist if you want to. Get a hallmark card. Buy some chocolates. Make a date.

Because when love finds you, it won't be because the day had a heart around it on your calender.

And that's coming from someone who kissed her husband for the first time on valentine's day. Because what was love then... well it can't even add up to what love is like now that we've had thousands of moments to cultivate it.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I love to love you

Ree over at Pioneer Woman (whose food blog I have read religiously forever and a day and yet do not know in real life) has a list of things she loves on her blog. I loved the idea. So I'm stealing it... Feel free to hop over to her list and check it out/add to it.

Here is mine.

I love....

new flavors
dove milk chocolate
baby feet
watching anyah roll around in my tummy
the way my toddler says the word sorry
my borderline hippie husband
snorting laughter
pedicures i don't have to pay for
good books
road trips
pepsi with lots of ice
music that makes you want to move
squishy soft bedroom pillows
girlfriends who understand what you mean when you say the wrong thing
board games
the sound of a baby singing herself to sleep
visits from friends
my dad's laugh
the way having your mommy around makes you feel safer even if you're not
stories that are still funny the 3rd time you hear them
co-sleeping in the family bed
the smell of new baby and dreft detergent
getting saucey
pink laptops
chocolate mice from the local bakery
bubble baths
toddlers who aren't scared of anything
chicken tacos
new shoes
jeans that fit
MAC N5 studio fix concealer
family traditions
pajama days
the way my wedding ring has made a perminent indentation in my finger
christmas morning
cursing
baked potato soup
when my husband and I talk all witty and sarcastic to each other
rainy days
movie nights
when layla pretends to be a puppy
singing along with the radio
margaritas at midnight
festivals and fairs
faeries
my imagination
making lists
you
and you....

I'll add more later... I can think of thousands of things...this is fun and uplifting, you should try it.

I heart you.

Oh internet, how I have missed you. Granted, without you in my life the dishes actually get done in a timely fashion (wait mom did those for me)...nevermind.

This week has been totally random. We had the internet drama. We had the teething toddler that gave herself an asthma attack yesterday in a chinese food restaraunt and then purged her dinner all over the floor. We've had the unborn child who only moves at 2 a.m. making it impossible to sleep.

Valentine's day is quickly approaching, which matters if you like that whole flowers, chocolate, excuse to go to dinner thing. We don't. We might go to dinner some time in the next week or so but it's because we like to eat and we have had some adult time lately and Jon and I like it.

I bought cupcakes. Happy heart day. Take it or leave it.

I don't need a holiday of spending beyond my budget to know Jon loves me. He takes out the trash and tucks Layla into bed every night after he puts her into pajamas and that's enough for me.

AT&T I have 2 words for you

Suck it!

Internet and posting will be down here for awhile because when AT&T makes a mistake they make you wait a week while they fix it. How's that for customer service you tell your friends about?

Is it comcast time in the 209 yet?

What's that?

Ahh the sounds of Monday. Alarm clocks. Work emergency line buzzers. Little girls who talk too fast to be understood. Dinner dishes clanging. Husbands clicking their crops to harvest on Farmville.

Welcome to the week.

Enjoy.

The Cycle of Mornings

Most mornings I get up in the cloak of darkness, stumble to the bathroom and get ready for work while making as little noise as possible. Then I make my way downstairs in the dark and turn on the kitchen light while I try to talk myself into making a lunch for work. When that's done I sit in my favorite chair and wait for it to be time to go to work. Sometimes if I work the later shift (on Saturdays) I throw into the mix entertaining Layla while she tries to mimic everything I do in the bathroom mirror and runs circles around me until Nannie shows up to watch her.

Exceptions to this are my days off. The first day off every week is usually spent trying to reclaim my house. The upside to free childcare is that it's free. The downside is it takes place in your home and because you're not paying for it you can't exactly say...excuse me can you please start picking up after yourselves. So most weeks by Saturday/Sunday my house is a mess. Jon and I both do damage control during the week but a once a week overhaul is usually necessary. I also do baby laundry and at least 2 loads of dishes. Dishes are something that I loathe.

I usually try and make a real breakfast for Layla on my day off. Eggs and sausage or pancakes and sausage are our favorites. I attempt to spent a little time actually playing with my kid (today we busted out the chalkboard already). We watch movies while we eat and usually as a result of picking up and trying to get things done I nap when she naps.

The first day off doesn't really feel like a day off. That's actually my "issue" with the way my work does weekend rotation. On my weekends off I get 2 days in a row (Saturday and Sunday) but on my weekends on I get split days off (Sunday and Wednesday). Usually with my day off during the week I end up scheduling appointments and so those days stay pretty busy. My catch up day ends up being Sunday and I end up feeling like I had no days off. I usually don't get to sleep in at all on my 4 weeks without Saturdays and I can't exactly catch up with my friends when I am running around like a chicken with my head cut off.

Don't get me wrong. I'm greatful to have a job, especially one with good insurance since I have a baby on the way. I just wish everyone always got 2 days off in a row. I think it would increase our rest and help us to help the people we're working with better. But that's just me.

As I sit here thinking about how much I feel like I never have time to rest I wonder how much moer complicated my life is about to get. Soon there will be a baby in this mix. Spiritually that is exhausting for me to think about. I feel stretched thin already, I don't know how much farther I can pull. Today I woke up cranky and then the morning was rough and I can't imagine having this bad of a morning while breastfeeding an infant every few hours.

Egads, what did I get myself into.

Saturday's on the rocks

The first Saturday you work in a rotation is always the hardest. It's hard to leave your toddler as they cry because normally this is the day you hang out and watch movies and do crafts. It's hard to start work an hour later and to stay at work an hour later as a result. It's hard to put up with cranky people and the generally unfun to help when you know you could be home in your pajamas instead.

The hardest part of Saturday for me is the fact that I usually get home AT dinnertime and I have to rush from work to making the toddler something to eat and as soon as she's eaten she's all full of energy and I'm ready for a nap.

I'm cranky and she's acting like she's on crack. I feel bad for Jon.

Wonky Perspective

I feel like I have been pregnant FOREVER. On the opposite side of the spectrum, up until today I felt like I was going to continue being pregnant FOREVER. Isn't April like 990 years away? I thought so.

There is another girl at work that is also pregnant. Her due date is about a week after mine. Today she sends me an email that says "isn't it hard to believe that in about 10 weeks we'll probably be out on maternity leave?"What??

I grab the calendar, in my that can't be right smugness and I count the weeks. Holy crap! Assuming I don't work past 37 weeks (most people don't) I have less than 10 weeks left. Um... someone start the bat signal we're gonna need a super hero.

Ten weeks doesn't seem like enough time. I guess it was the pregnant belly that never really grew but I just feel like I am not even half way done and I'm almost 2/3's of the way done.

Guess I better actually send my baby shower invite list to the person giving me a shower NEXT MONTH. *sigh*

Time got away from me again.

And Away Life Goes

Today was an exceptionally weird day. I took a floating holiday from work so that I could go take a blood test to check on the status of Baby Anyah. I had an appointment at 8 a.m. at the local blood lab so I was totally cool when Layla woke up at 7 a.m. and then my mom ended up running late so I called and canceled my appointment and asked if I could come in as a walk-in. Sure.

So I turn up just before 9 a.m. to get my blood test and there is literally half an old folks home of elderly people in line in front of me. It smells bad in the lab when it's stuffed with people and the heater is running. I haven't eaten since yesterday because it's a fasting test. I get to the front and they let me know it's going to be about a 2 hour and 15 minute wait. Only to try and make it sound nice she says... it will probably be just before 11 a.m. if you want to go somewhere and come back. There is no way I can go to 11 a.m. and then an hour past that before eating. So I make an appointment for my day off next week and then call my OBGYN from the parking lot to explain my test results won't be there before my appointment next week if they want to reschedule me.

So I come home and we decide to go check out the new Hucklebee's in town. It was an ok breakfast but the place was adorable. Layla though went totally bipolar when we got there and alternated every 5 minutes between happy cute toddler and alligator tear crying, with a brief break to eat sausage. Longest 45 minutes of my life.

When we leave we go to the park where we ran into Layla's little friend North with his Grandma. We played at the park for awhile where I played with my daughter and my mom battled her new iPhone addiction by taking a ton of videos and occassionally stopping to play. Then we came home. Layla likes to play with Nannie in the car so they did that for awhile.

When Layla came in she wanted a snack and being as breakfast was late she just got the snack before naptime. I laid down with her just long enough for her to go to sleep then I got up and blogged pictures to the Bug & Bean blog. She woke up from her nap very hot (too many blankets) and aggitated. That can be cured with apple juice and sesamestreet.org video feed. Just saying.

After that Nannie came over to watch Layla and she brought her dinner. Jon and I snuck out to see Book of Eli. Easily the best movie I have ever seen. I love me an end of the world movie with suggestive adult themes and biblical faith. Yes. Yes I do.

Then it was fend for yourself in the pantry/freezer for a later dinner for Jon and I. While Layla watches Sesame Street on DVD I'll go take a shower and then I'll be off to bed so that tomorrow I can get up and go to work.

I work this Saturday which is always a pisser. But with the floating holiday at least I am not working 6 days straight. Silver lining officially noted. It's officially a case of normal parenthood and live in the middle class over here right now.

Wheeee

So I had planned an auto-post for Thursday and it posted itself on Wednesday but it didn't really matter because I was tired so I decided not to post something on Thursday. It's not like I HAVE to post every single day...I just like to.

Thursday was an exceptionally long day. I was an emotional mess (it's a pregnant lady thing), we had a couple unexpected obstacles in our day. I came home with swollen feet and someone else's take and bake pizza (it's a long unpleasant story). Needless to say I went to bed pretty early to see if I could lay my grump to rest.

Friday was an equally long work day but when I got home Layla was still at Nannie's and Jon had made me a nice warm bath in a room with candles (yummy). After my bath I laid on the bed a bit and looked pathetic. Then Layla came home and right as I was deciding what to make for dinner we got a call from a friend and we actually went out. Gasp! I know.

Nannie was nice enough to come back and take Layla with her back to her house again. We picked Layla up just after 8 and all the time in the middle was spent laughing, eating and generally enjoying being around other adults. It was AMAZING!

Being as Layla went to bed late (when we got home) she was nice enough to sleep in until 8 today. We're only an hour into our pajama day and that suits me fine. I didn't even mind it much when she stole my cereal bowl this morning.

Shaking things up

This week Jon closes a lot. In fact this post is set to show up on my blog on Thursday but I am writing it on Monday because that's the only night this week that Jon is home. He'll be home Friday night and so tomorrow the blog will be a "live" one.

The thing is, if you know you have a VERY active toddler and you know your darling husband isn't going to be around to rescue you from your swollen baby belly and swollen baby baking feet...well... you sort of have to plan ahead and yet still be willing to shake everything up and drop the plan.

Part of the plan is to make sure that the things that can be done in advance are done. On that list is bill paying, trips to the store and blogging...definitely blogging. That way the things you absolutely have to do...like making dinner and getting enough sleep that you don't pass out at work the next day will have time to spare.

So sorry for the filler blog...but something had to give.

Baby Bean (Anyah) Update

Don't look down...belly view from my perspective at 26 weeks...

My pregnancy with Layla was on the edge of your seat scary. The result was I talked about it ALOT. My pregnancy with Anyah started rough but is still less scary than the first time around so I find that I blog about it a lot less. I mean with Layla there were like 5 or 6 sonograms and several blood tests and I saw my OBGYN more than I saw my parents. With Anyah we're going to be solid with 3 ultrasounds, several blood tests and I only see my OBGYN about once a month.

On my last visit he accidently dropped the bomb that I did test positive for/have pneumonia back at Christmas. He just didn't tell me because he didn't want me to panic. It does explain the day I took a blood test and was then called at work and told to go home immediately and stay there for a week. It also explains the extra long time spent checking for fetal heartbeat at my last visit and making sure Anyah was ok. But, the lung funk is gone now (thank the lord) and all and all it's just baking baby busy over here.

Anyah recently discovered she can torment me in the middle of the night by kicking Layla when she feels her touching me. That's fun. Yesterday I put Layla's hand on my belly and let her feel Anyah kicking. Layla freaked out, she won't touch my belly now...also fun.

This pregnancy is different than last time. At this point I have finally put on 2 lbs which puts me a solid 23 lbs (give or take) below my weight when I started, but we're not done yet. We're at 26/27 weeks (depending on who you ask) and while that feels like "almost done" I remember from last time that it really drags at the end. I personally don't feel like I look like I've lost weight but the pants I bought Jon's birthday weekend that were a little tight...well...now they fall off when I walk upstairs if I am not holding them and I am 6 months pregnant...so...um... I guess at least I must be a different shape.

Occassionally I get the heartburn, but not like last time. This time I get more leg and toe cramps. Totally managable. But, the main difference is that with Layla I didn't get a stretch mark until the end of my pregnancy and then I got 3...exactly 3. This time I look like a zebra. The funny part is that according to the Dr I have more this time because I was a big girl and then I lost weight (so my skin shrunk) and then I changed shape (without gaining but with lots of stretching) and now I'm tight in the tummy section. I sorta wonder what that will look like when there isn't someone occupying my tummy.

And that...is the status of that...

Papa's Birthday!

Both of Layla's Papa's have a birthday in January in the same week. One of them was off being a sixth grade camp advisor (he's a teacher) so he just got a few texts from us and we'll have to see him later. The other Papa...Papa Glen (Allie's Dad) came over here for dinner on his birthday.

Layla insisted on helping make him dinner. She was in charge of salad toppings. She did the sprinkling of chopped produce and assisted with the pouring of salad dressing.

Happy Birthday Papa...hope you liked your home cooked meal!

Wheezies

Starting in December, Jon and I noticed (too often for our comfort) that Layla would start to wheeze after playing. Then for awhile the wheezing seemed to die down. At the end of December (Christmas time) we had a few nights where Layla would be lying in bed, wake up wheezing, cough once or twice and vomit all over the place. Mommy thought it was a bug or all the junk kids eat at the holidays. We modified her diet. But the wheezing stayed for awhile. Then it sort of faded away. In mid January it came back, only by mid January Jon and I started to notice the wheezing was directly related to days we did things with other people. Once in January before bedtime Layla had such a hard time breathing (while sitting) that she was literally gasping. It freaked us out enough that we went from "it's an allergy thing" to "maybe she needs to see the Dr". It took me a little while to react because people kept telling me it was no big deal when I reacted to allergies in the past and I really wasn't ready to pick another family battle over it. But after the gasping night, I decided I loved my kid too much to be willing for even occassional wheezies.

Today had an asthma evaluation. Our Dr ran a set of tests, then he did them again after exercise (mild wheezing) then he exposed her to cat dander (via a scratch test) and had her do it a third time (BINGO!). He turned looked at me and said it's asthma, it's from her cat allergy and she's going to have this for the rest of her life.

I may or may not have cried. I also may have said something along the lines of "I told them so". A progressive allergy, that's what we've got. Jon has a cousin who's daughter has the same problem. While we were there we did a few more scratch tests. It's still just cats. He says it probably always will be but we'll test her again before kindergarden just to be safe.

It's a life of inhalers in purses, liquid albuterol for rescue and medication we take every single day. The daily med will not prevent a cat allergy and I was specifically told we should be avoiding cats and sources of cat dander AT ALL COSTS. It makes her sick. It is not ok. The medication will however help with situations (like church, the library or the park) where there might be people you're not necessarily interacting with who still have dander on them and it's affecting your breathing. It will not cure itchy, uncomfortable cat rashes or hives. It will not help with snot. It's just to regulate her ability to breath when allergens are present.

While it breaks my heart that my baby girl is being medicated. It breaks my heart more that the main reason she has to be medicated is because people don't take allergies seriously and no one listens when mom's say they know their kids. It is your choice to pick an option where you have a cat, it just won't be one with a lot of interaction with us. We'll miss seeing you often. But, a mother knows.

I know my kid.

I also know that because of my kid I am going to become "that mom" and it's not going to be pretty because oxygen is important.

Cocky is Genetic

Otherwise titled as "Yes I know how she got this way" or "I wouldn't have it any other way"

I told her to "be careful" she told me to "close my eyes"

I went to the garage and came back to find the child who was supposed to be napping in the bathroom using her step stool to get Daddy's beard trimmer which she was using to pretend to shave her knuckles (daddy does that)

Not too long ago she was telling Jon a story and he wasn't listening so she gave him a "wait wait wait" with her hand out in front of her and when that didn't work she said "LISTEN"

Yesterday I went pee and usually she follows me but she didn't so I knew I was in trouble. I came out of the bathroom to find that she had moved her giraffe (on wheels) next to her DVD shelf and used it to climb on to the top of the shelf which she was now standing on to reach my pepsi (on top of the upright piano). When I asked her "what do you think you are doing" she looked me dead in the eye and said "I thirsty" *sigh*

She has a smile that I've never been lucky enough to catch on camera. I call it her Jeromy smile because it is exactly like the one he made for the exact same reason. It is equal parts something wicked this way comes, I know something you don't know, and boy-I hope I get away with this but even if I don't it's probably worth it. It is the smile you get before she does a somersault off the stairs, or just as she pours water on the floor outside the bathtub to splash your feet. I image it was the smile on her face as she climbed up to my pepsi and I know it's the one right before she steals my last piece of chocolate.

People will tell you that a lot of different things are great about being a parent. But I think the greatest thing about being this child's parent is that I never have to worry that she won't be confident. She'll always try something knew and she's not afraid to fall or fail.

People will tell you that a lot of things are awful about being a parent. I'd have to say for this kid the worst part is that she is confident beyond measure, it's in her blood...so I have to worry enough for the best of us.