Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Since When....

do I come across as too stupid to open a door?

I took my daughter to the doctor this morning to get her hepatitis A shot so that daycare won't kick her out. We got there a few minutes before 8:00. I tried the door. It was locked. We sat in the hall, looked out the windows, etc. Another mother and daughter walked up and she tried the door. Then they sat in the hall.

At about 8:10, I was looking in the window and caught the eye of the receptionist who was chatting away on the phone leaning back in her chair (obviously not working). She sat up, got off the phone and came and opened the door. I guess she was trying to cover the fact that she wasn't working or something, but she then felt the need to add, "The door was unlocked."

Um, no it wasn't. I'm not a complete idiot. So, I said in return (completely out of character for me to say anything at all*), "Not when I tried it."
*Unlike on my blog where I'm very sarcastic and talkative, I'm very quiet and non-confrontational in person. I'm not sure how my comment popped out. I was even surprised I said it.

She said, "I unlocked it when I turned on the lights."

Whatever.

So after about 15 minutes of waiting in the waiting room -- we were the first people there for our 8:00 appointments, no wonder doctor's offices get behind, they start behind -- we finally got the shot and left.

The shot was pretty uneventful. She cried, but she got over it quickly, especially when a sticker came into play.

And, since I'm ranting and raving about stupid things today, can someone please tell me why a train engineer feels the need to lay on the horn at 6:00 in the morning?

We live near some train tracks. Not too close, but close enough to hear the horns when trains cross over intersections with the roads. Normally, I can hear it for about 3-5 seconds or so. This morning, at 5:53, it didn't stop. I wonder if someone was stopped on the tracks or something. I don't know.

It wouldn't bother me except it woke my daughter up way before I was ready to get up and that ruined the last 1/2 hour of sleep I so desperately needed. I usually sleep in the living room when my husband leaves for work, but I could hear the mouse scratching underneath the couch (and the thought of that little shit running across my face in my sleep makes me cringe), so I returned to bed. I. hate. mice. I will be borrowing traps from my father. I hate to think of how many there are. I prefer to believe there is just one or at the most 2 (because, well, while one was underneath my couch, one was playing in the pans under my stove -- don't worry I will be washing them under the hottest water my sink can produce). Surely, there can't be more than that, right? Right?

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Finally....

the pregnancy fairy has arrived. I've been feeling better the past couple of weeks, but I was afraid to say anything for fear of jinxing it.

My daughter was bitten at daycare yesterday. Didn't sign a thing. When I noticed it last night, I told my husband who told me to ask about it this morning. As expected, the teacher got defensive and assured me it didn't happen while she was there. I half expected her to ask if I was sure it happened at daycare. One of her little classmates has all of his/her teeth (so does my daughter for that matter). I'm not worried about the bite. Usually my daughter is the one doing the biting not the other way around, but I am worried when I don't have to sign anything. Did they notice that she was bitten? I mean, really. I feel pretty certain that she would have cried a lot about it. And I'm sure if asked what was wrong, she would have pointed to the bite mark on her calf (that's why I'm reasonable certain that she didn't bite herself). So, why didn't someone notice enough to write out the incident report? Since she is so often the biter, I don't mind signing that she got bitten. They don't have to worry about me being mad. So, we'll see if they have the form for me to sign today. I just want it on record with them. If they are going to record everytime that she bit someone, they are going to record that she was bitten.

I went home in a foul mood yesterday. I don't know why. I'm stressed. I need to get my daughter into the doctor to get a shot that is required for daycare. The great state of Texas decided at the end of July that all children should be vaccinated by September 1st. But they can't have the vaccination until they are 2 years old which gives me exactly 21 days to get it done since my daughter's birthday isn't until the 10th. So, of course, I'm doing it on the 31st because the note that daycare sent home said they had to have their hepatitis shot. No problem, she's already had that. Then, they get a little snippy and send home another note because she's only had the hepatitis B shot. Well, if they had said hepatitis A in the first note (which I reread and they did not), I would have gotten it done before the 31st of August. I'm going to be pissed if I have to pay my copay to get her shot. For her flu shot, I paid for it rather than send it through insurance because my copay was $20 and the shot was $10. Then, they sent it through insurance anyway and insurance paid for it. Um, hello! Why did we pay for that shot twice? I think they owe me one.

Monday, August 29, 2005

So.....Let's See.....

An update on me......

Well, let's start with my daughter.......

doing well, saying, "No!" a lot, driving me crazy. Yep, typical two-year-old.

My husband......

has agreed to get "killer" mouse traps. Doing well, driving me crazy. Typical, typical.

The baby..........

growing big, hurting my back, making me get up at least once a night to pee, driving me crazy. Typical, typical.

Hmmmm.....everyone is driving me crazy. Maybe it's me. :)

The baby has recently developed the hiccups a couple of times. It's so cute. I had forgotten about those. My daughter used to get them every day after lunch around 1:00. Lucky me, her diaphram must have been right over my bladder because every time she would hiccup, I would have to try really hard not to pee.

I'm now a little over 21 weeks. It's scary how fast this pregnancy is going. I'm sure now it will slow down and drag until January, but at least I have a two year old to keep me busy.

I, uh, also, um....killed a mouse. I didn't mean to, but he was in one of the "no-kill" traps, and, uh, well, he died. It was gross. I threw it out. I check them every day when my husband is out of town, and he must have entered the trap right after I checked it because he had been dead a while. Very gross. Latex gloves to get rid of it. No smell though. Very fortunate there. I would have puked. However, I was startled by a mouse last night in the bathroom. And I was so hoping that they would just go away. Time to get good traps. My dad has some that he's offered to let me have. That and some peanut butter is about to end my mouse infestation (to the delight of many who would rather hear about anything else on my blog). :)

Friday, August 26, 2005

New Post

I'll try to write something tonight when I get home. It's been a busy week. :)

Monday, August 22, 2005

The Saga Continues.....

Okay, the mouse in my house is getting old. First we had the mouse in the computer. We got rid of him. Nicely, even. We didn't kill him.

Then a couple of weeks ago, while my mother in law was visiting, we noticed that we had a mouse. Again. In fact, we had 2 mice.

My thought: No more being nice. The little snap traps will work well to kill the little buggers. I don't want to see them running through my house again.

Hubby's thought: What are they hurting?

WHAT ARE THEY HURTING?! Because I don't really want to know, I have refrained from googling the phrase, "diseases mice carry." Um, hello, how does he think the plague spread all over Europe during the middle ages? Magic? No, fleas on rats and mice. Of course, since the plague isn't really the threat it used to be, I cannot use that particular arguement. But, still. I don't want to know what possible diseases the little creatures can deliver to my child, my unborn child, and myself, and even to my hubby who thinks they aren't hurting anything.

Hubby thinks we should get the no-kill traps. Yes, no-kill traps. Because he really doesn't want to kill the little creatures that he has affectionately nicknamed "Chester" (as if there was only one!), I relent and say okay.

Much to my disgust, we catch Chester (#1) within 2 days. So, I took Chester about a half mile away and deposit his little butt by the side of the road and failed to actually manage to run him over as I drove my daughter to daycare.

So, when Hubby went to work, one of my duties was to check the traps everyday (there are 4 of them throughout the house). Nothing. Not. One. Little. Chester.

But, in the time that he's been home, I've seen Chester twice. Or probably 2 different Chesters. Hubby is almost ready to buy the killer traps. I will say that Chester is very cute. If I wanted a pet mouse (which I don't -- don't get me started on the gerbils we had that wouldn't quit breeding), I would get one.


So, hopefully, the little creatures decide to leave my house soon. If I ever see 3 of them in one sitting, I will buy the killer traps. I refuse to be outsmarted by a mouse. I still have one cat with claws.

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

It's A.....

Bird, it's a plane, no, it's Superbaby! Or at least superactive baby. This is how the search for the gender went:

Ultrasound Tech (UT): Let's see if it's a boy or girl.
Me: *whispering* Please be a boy. My husband can't be right.
Hubby: *whispering* Please be a girl. My wife can't be right.
UT: There's the feet. And the legs. And....ooops! There's the head.
{collective groan}

Switch sides. There's those feet again, and oops! arms! Over and over again. From the brief glimpses between the little bugger's legs, it appears we are having a girl. So, I was wrong. Or we will go to our 28 week ultrasound, and they will tell us, "Congratulations on the baby boy." But probably not.


Advantages to a girl:
1. They can share a room.
2. Already have the clothes.
3. Already know how to deal with a girl.
4. No crazy pee showers when changing diapers.

Disadvantages:
1. Teenage years. I don't think I need to elaborate on PMS from two teenage daughters.
2. Well that's the only one I can think of. Oh, and paying for 2 weddings. I think we'll pay them to elope.

Oh, I did promise pictures, didn't I?

This is the head and what I am assured is a hand (it looks like a foot to me). But apparently the fingers are curled.












Basically the same picture from a different angle.












And my personal favorite of the little legs and feet:



Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Don't Let Me Forget....

to post about the following:

1. My daughter's birthday (and all the great stuff she got).
2. The continuing mouse saga (trust me -- you want to hear this).
3. My ultrasound today (I have a feeling I won't forget).

Yesterday was my 20 week (actually 19w2d) appointment. I can't believe that I'll be halfway through on Saturday! Didn't I just find out I was pregnant? It was at 4:00, so we took my daughter since these can get long, and I didn't want my husband to have to leave to go get her in the middle of the appointment. I was glad that we took her. Well, I take that back. My husband would have had to leave to go get her by 6:00.

We waited in the waiting room for an hour and a half! With a 2 year old (and all that entails). It was not fun. I finally got to go back.

I am measuring 21 weeks. Baby's heartbeat is 155. I gained 3 pounds. Actually, overall, I've only gained 5 lbs, so my doctor was going to give me a lecture, but since I gained 3 pounds this month, he decided not to.

He asked when my ultrasound was, so I told him it was next Tuesday. He said, well, why don't you cancel that one. He and his partner bought a $100,000 4D Ultrasound machine and can't finance it if they don't do ultrasounds (before they went into private practice, they sent you to another location to have it done). I asked when it would be done, and he said that they could do it this week. I told him that my husband has to go back to work on Wednesday, so unless they can do it tomorrow, my husband would miss it. So, I leave in half an hour for my ultrasound. I can't even begin to describe how excited I am. My husband is certain that the baby is a girl. I'm just as certain that it's a boy. There's going to be an "I told you so" coming. I hope it's not directed at me.


I'll try to post again this afternoon with pictures! :)

Monday, August 15, 2005

I'm Still Here....

despite the fact that it seems like I've dropped off the face of the earth. I'm about to leave for a doctor's appointment, so I will update tomorrow. I promise.

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

Moving Up......Again......

Well, my daughter started in her new class on Monday. Of the 3 children from her old class who moved up, one was out on vacation, and my daughter and the other little girl, Madeline, have played together all week. Just the two of them. They seem a little shy and unsure of the younger kids. But, overall, they're doing well.

Well, a few minutes ago, I got a call from the director of the daycare. "Don't worry, she's fine." That's always a good start. She wanted to talk to me about any concerns that I might have about my daughter being in the class with the other kids. Now,
I did have some concerns, but I didn't tell anyone about them. Well, that's not true. I told my husband, my parents, my brother, my blog, but I didn't tell anyone at daycare about them. I decided to see how my daughter did and bring up concerns later if I had any.

Well, apparently, Madeline's mother had some concerns. And she was brave enough to act on them. She talked to the director about them being in with the younger kids. So, since Madeline is the youngest of the 3, the director was calling the other parents (me) to ask if we wanted to move our children up as well.

I didn't know what to say. With all of my concerns, I didn't want her daycare to think I was questioning their decisions and stuff. I spoke with the director a little bit about my concerns and asked some intelligent questions. This is what I found out.

There are currently 11 kids in the class. Madeline will definitely move up. That makes 12. Andrew's mom is still deciding. So, there could be as many as 14. There will be 2 teachers in the class. I know one of them, and I might have met the other one. I'm not sure. This doesn't bother me at all as they are getting to an age where they interact more with each other and play alone, so they need more supervision and less of an adult to play with (boy, that last phrase is going to get some weird search hits to my site).

They do work a little more with the potty training. Although this is not a major concern of mine at the moment, I think it would be good for my daughter to get in the habit of trying sometimes and watching other kids will be helpful to her. Maybe she'll have some friends to play "Row-Row" with when she's going to the bathroom. Of course, potty training isn't pushed. If the child shows an interest (and I know my nosy child will show an interest in anything that she feels left out of), they take them to the potty. When we are ready, we can bring pullups or training pants, etc. They also try to be consistent with the wording used by the parents.

The oldest child is 2 1/2. My daughter will turn 2 on August 10. She will be the second youngest in the class. Madeline is the youngest. Her birthday is at the end of August. I'm not worried about my daughter being pushed around.


The class is a little more structured. They play in certain areas and have a circle time to learn new songs and the ABCs and such. My routine-loving little girl will love that.

I told the director that I would need to talk to my husband first, but I don't think he'll have a problem with it. It seems like it would be a good move for her. So, she'll probably move up again next Monday.


On the potty training front, she woke up completely dry this morning. So, either she's gaining control over her bladder or she's not drinking enough. Either way, I figured it would be a good time for her to try and pee on the potty. And she did! Yay! I celebrate small victories! She was very excited.

Monday, August 01, 2005

A Good Start....

My daughter started in her new room today. Her teacher was supposed to call me over the weekend, but didn't. She didn't make any excuses or even mention it this morning. Hmmm....interesting.

I dropped my daughter off, and she seemed pretty excited to have new stuff to play with. It didn't even seem to bother her that the teacher was a different person. Good. Good. So, now I'm thinking up birthday present ideas.

I have discovered that they don't make toys for children between 18 months and 3 years. Well, they do, I guess. I'm just not sure what to get her. If you go to toysrus.com, and search out stuff for 2 year olds, it has a lot of toys that my daughter has been playing with since before she was 1. But the 3 year old stuff has things like action figures and Barbies that I know she's not ready for.

My grandmother wants to get her a picnic table. That will work. Not sure where to put it especially since my husband wants to get her a playhouse and put it in her room. I think she would use it and play in it a lot, but I know it would take up a lot of room, so I'm not sure about it. I'd like to get her a big wheel or a tricycle. She can't pedal it yet, but I know that's just a matter of time.

But smaller (cheaper) things that I can suggest to relatives and such. I can't think of any. Maybe toys for her doll? I don't know. I can't believe my baby girl will be 2 in just over a week. Time really does fly, doesn't it?