And I worry for nothing.....

Baby Boo's little head cyst thingie is just something to do with her lymph nodes. I didn't get much more info than that, but knowing that it's nothing to worry about was good enough for me.

Miss Priss and Baby Boo's doctor is pregnant again. She had a baby about 2 months before Miss Priss was born. She was just back from maternity leave. At Baby Boo's last appointment, I told Hubby that I thought she was expecting again. He thought I was nuts, but she's a tall small framed woman, and she was putting on fat only in a certain area. I didn't gloat (too much) that I was right and he was wrong when we saw her today. She is most definitely pregnant. Ha ha, I was right.

My only worrisome news is that my grandmother's cancer is back. She smoked for so long, and she developed lung cancer about 2 years ago (I think). They treated it with chemo which really took a lot out of her. It's back. Surgery and chemo are too dangerous, so she's taking some new experimental drug. That's not good. We're going to try and go see her soon. Hopefully seeing her newest granddaughter will lift her spirits.

I'm so very nervous....

about Baby Boo's doctor's appointment today. She has a little cyst (I guess that's what it is) on the back of her head, and I'm afraid of what it is or could be. Of course, we're asking the doctor about it, but I don't want to have a panic attack in the doctor's office.

I have been pretty good about not asking Dr. Google what it is because I will only find really bad stuff and make myself all crazy for nothing. I'm sure that it's nothing to worry about, so that's what I keep telling myself.

On a good note, we'll get to see how big she's getting. I'm guessing somewhere around 10 lbs. She was 7 1/2 at birth, so that's an increase of 2 1/2 lbs or so. We'll see.

Poor thing also has to get shots today. I feel bad for her. She's not going to like that. Miss Priss has to get her "daycare" shot today as well. Even though she's not in daycare, I wanted to make sure she got the second half of her Hep A shot.

And the question of the day is....

how many emails did I have in my inbox this morning?
How many in my junk mail?

I have been out for 2 months, so it was hard to leave my little Baby Boo and Miss Priss this morning. I called at lunch and Hubby seemed to be doing well so far. He was a little concerned that Baby Boo was sleeping a lot. She usually takes one long nap a day and then kind of dozes on and off for the rest of the day. The long nap occurs between her 9 am and 12 pm feeding or between her 12 pm and 3 pm feeding most days. Apparently, today was an early nap day, and then she fell asleep again after her 12 pm feeding. I assured him that there was nothing to worry about and that she'd probably be up again before long, but if she took another long nap, he should consider himself lucky.

I will give the answer to the email question tomorrow.

Stupid Dog....

Buddy, my lab/greyhound mix, is chewing on his hind legs. He started doing this when we first moved. We assumed that it was the stress of the move, so we took him to the vet who gave him a cortisone shot and antibiotics. His legs healed up. Then, about 2 weeks ago, he started doing it again. It got to the point where we wrapped his legs up so that he couldn't get to the sores, but he didn't seem to be getting better. We took him back to the vet who did the same thing again, and didn't really give us any explanation as to why he was doing it. I don't want to take him to the vet once a month, so I really wish he would stop. At least we know to watch for it again, so once it heals up this time, if he starts, we're going to wrap it up so that he can't get to the sores. I just have no idea why he's doing it. Someone suggested that it's allergies and that it itches, so he "scratches" it. Where do I get doggy benadryl?

The baby gas continues. At least I get to spend almost 10 hours a day away from it for a week. This coming week is my last week of work for a while. I hope it goes well. I'm almost nervous as to how they're going to treat me knowing that I'm leaving. I'm sure that I have nothing to worry about.

Ice Skating

Being the Olympic follower that I am, I recorded last night's episode and watched it this morning. This is nice because I can skip right through the snowboarding (not a particular favorite of mine) and the commercials.

My observations:
1. The gold went to the right person. That was a beautiful performance.
2. Somebody should tell Dick Button to shut up. Did he say anything nice throughout all of the competitions? I don't remember a thing. He made the comment last night that someone didn't tuck the laces into their skates and it messed up the profile or silhoutte or something. WTF? I didn't notice her laces at all. Sorry, I was watching her performance, and the laces didn't really screw it up in my mind. And everyone was so disappointning to him.
3. Kudos to NBC for getting Scott Hamilton to be an announcer as well. I really like him, and he's not so negative.

Miss Priss has walked around the house twirling and saying, "I skating, Mama."

I'm going to have to google lactose intolerance in infants because, unfortunately, Baby Boo's increase in gassiness over the past few days coincides with my increase in ice cream intake. Knowing that I'm going to have a gassy baby kind of takes the joy out of the ice cream. Not that I need it anyway, but still.....

Upset Tummies

Miss Priss had a stomach ache the other day (thanks to her daddy giving her too many slimjims). She came in and was complaining about it. We offered to give her a rolaid (she thought it was a rolaid, but it was really a sweet tart). Then her tummy was "all better." The next day, she told me that her tummy was "sad" again, and that she needed a rolaid. I told her that we would have ice cream instead since she had eaten a good lunch. She agreed. Now, she comes in to tell me, "Mommy, my tummy is sad again; I need ice cream."

I think Baby Boo is possibly the most gassy baby ever. She is constantly farting and she can burp better than most men I know. Of course, this means that she spends a great deal of time with her legs up by her tummy being fussy because her little tummy hurts. Not sure what to do. The gas drops help, but I'm afraid to overdose her on those. She uses them a lot (need to buy stock in gas drops).

Movies....

Well, we watched Saw II last night. You can see that Hubby has been updating the Netflix, not me. Actually, I liked Saw II. I am not into horror, suspense, scary movies at all, but I really liked Saw (the first one). Maybe it's because it kept you guessing and it was such a strange concept -- trying to make people appreciate the things in their lives. Anyway, I rarely like sequels (with a few exceptions), but I liked Saw II as much as I liked the original.

We also saw Sky High the other night. I have to admit I really liked that one as well. Almost had the feel of The Incredibles -- the non-cartoon version. I'm easily entertained. I certainly need to be updating Netflix. However, my choices seem to get bumped to the bottom. Hmmmm.......maybe a change of password is in order. I don't know why the password isn't working, honey. Look, we got a chick flick in. Hmmmmm....I think he'd get suspicious.

Is it a sign of too much TV watching if Miss Priss requests a specific episode of Dora that I've taped? I have 4 episodes. One she calls Dora's Mommy (one about jobs and such -- it has Boots' Daddy too), Little Star (where they are trying to get Little Star back into the sky with the moon), Sticky Tape (where Benny -- I think that's his name -- is in a hot air balloon and needs sticky tape to patch the hole), and a recent one about a treehouse or something (haven't watched it), but Miss Priss calls it the "boat one." So, now I have this predicament in that I can't delete any of them.

And Project Runway was on last night. They had to design an evening gown. I thought that Daniel should have won (and he did), but I thought that Nina's comment that it was "safe" was way off. I thought it was beautiful. Just because most designer clothes are ugly and overdone doesn't mean that those that aren't are "safe." I liked Chloe's idea, and if her theme for her collection is 1940s Hollywood style, I can't wait to see it. I can't wait to see what Daniel comes up with in his "safe" collection. And, I can't wait to see Santino's collection. He always does such strange pieces (at least in my eyes).

I just looked it up. They have Project Runway: Season 1 on Netflix. I'm going to have to add that one and hope it doesn't keep getting bumped down. Or else I'm going to have to change the password. I didn't see most of the first season -- just the last few episodes when my mother got me hooked on it. :)

Trying Not To Get My Hopes Up....

But there's a chance that I might not have to go back to work just yet. We're doing pretty well on Hubby's salary, so I might stay home with Miss Priss and Baby Boo until August when I would go back to school. There are still a lot of details to work out, but I've got my fingers crossed.

My mother-in-law is coming in on Friday to spend a few days with us. Yay! A shower without children present. Always nice. Therefore, I need to do some work around the house.

Hope everyone is having a great day! :)

Thanks!

Thanks for all the movie ideas. I've been watching the Olympics for the figure skating. Of course, I also have to watch the other stuff in between. I can handle speed skating and even a little skiing. Don't care for the snowboarding (although that is covered a lot -- almost as much as ice skating). Or for hockey. Also covered a lot.

Did you catch the Chinese pairs skaters who won the silver? After she took that fall and couldn't finish the routine, I felt so bad. When she got back on the ice and wanted to finish, I was so impressed. Had I been there, I would have given them a standing ovation (I think they got one). Maybe that's because I'm such a wuss and I would have just laid on the ice until they brought out the stretcher, but I have to say I admire those who are willing to get back up and try again. I was so glad they won the silver. But how bad must it feel to win bronze behind them, you know? "She fell and they still beat us!"

I'm ready for tomorrow's Project Runway. I'm hoping the supermodel they are designing for is Heidi. I'd like to see what they do with maternity clothes. I think they should have to try. I've already set my DVR.

Giving Up Already?

Yes, yes, I am. The frustration level was getting pretty high (as in, "I DON'T WANT A STICKER, I DON'T WANT CANDY!!!!"), so I think for now, I'm going to let Miss Priss call the shots. Surely, she won't go to kindergarten in diapers. Or so my mother assures me.

Miss Priss is taking one of her rare naps. Ever since she moved into her big girl bed (with no problems, suprisingly), she gave up on naptime. Just when I needed it most. Oh, well. So, she's asleep, so guess who's awake. If you guessed Baby Boo, you're right. Sorry, no prizes.

I'm tired today. Hubby was out late working last night, so he didn't get home until 2am. That is very late for me. And I don't sleep well when he's not home. So, I've let the housework slide and I'm sitting at the computer trying to do some updates. Blogger is being less than cooperative, so please check the links to the blogs I read and make sure I haven't accidentally deleted you. And if I haven't added you yet, please leave me your blog address so that I can. I'd appreciate it.

Not much going on here as you can tell. Very bored. And trying not to eat the Oreos that I know are in my pantry. Don't know that I can win that battle. :)

Who's good with movies? I need some good ideas for movies to rent. I usually like stuff that's comedy or romance. I usually stay away from stuff that is scary (I'm a wuss) and stuff that really dramatic (unless it's really good). Any suggestions would be appreciated. :) Thanks!

Potty Training, Day 1

After much research courtesy of the internet (yes, I broke down and consulted the internet), I have a plan. [insert evil, this-is-never-going-to-work laughter here]

1. I have 3 pairs of training panties. I will try each day only as long as they are dry. This shouldn't take long the first few days. So, we start each day with panties once the overnight diaper comes off.

2. I will make her sit on the potty for 3 minutes every hour. (This has required a bribe already -- she doesn't see a need to try unless she thinks she needs to go). For sitting on the potty for 3 minutes, she gets a little Nemo fruit snack.

3. Whenever she wants to sit on the potty, she does (and still gets a fruit snack -- I'm trying to encourage as much time on the potty as possible).

4. For actually doing something when she sits on the potty, she gets a sticker (in her mind, the most wonderful thing a child can get). The hope is that she will go (even accidentally) on the potty and get a sticker. Then, God willing, she'll put 2 and 2 together and want to keep going to keep getting stickers. At this point, though, I'm stocking up on fruit snacks rather than stickers.

5. I am resolved not to resort to spanking her or yelling at her for accidents or not trying. I don't want to make her afraid of the entire process. I have a feeling that my patience will wear a little thin, but then it's back to diapers for the day instead of yelling. I'm very resolved on this issue.

Things for me to remember:
1. I don't get 3 fruit snacks for every one she gets no matter how proud of myself I am that I got her to sit for 3 minutes without losing my mind. Not good for my diet. :)

2. She's only 2 years old and she will eventually figure it out. There's no rush.

3. The next one should be easier. [insert evil, maniacal laughter here] I can already tell that Baby Boo is more stubborn than her sister, so it will definitely be her choice or it's not even worth trying.


It is now noon on day 1. She has been wearing panties for about 3 hours and has done nothing. Nothing in the potty and nothing in her panties. Seems she needs more to drink. Time to break out the bottled water. She loves bottled water. Maybe that will make her need to pee and help her make the connection. Or maybe she'll just pee in all her pairs of panties in about an hour and we try again tomorrow.

One year ago today....

I started this blog. I can't believe I've been doing this for a year.

My daughter is two and a half years old today as well. I'm finally ready to start potty training. Excapt I have no idea where to start. I'm afraid to consult the internet for fear of coming up with 10 million different and conflicting ways of going about it. I know some of you have experience with potty training. Any tips, hints, advic,etc.?

In honor of my one year anniversary, delurk if you are lurking around. :) Just say hi and give me a link to your blog if you have one! :)

Comparison

Well, I knew I would eventually look for the similarities and differences between my two daughters. Funny how I usually only notice the differences.

Like, Baby Boo is a much fussier baby. Well, not necessariy fussier, but more demanding. My oldest was always so calm. Even when she would get hungry, she would cry a little and quietly. Even if I was doing something and didn't get to her right away, she was okay with that (don't worry -- she never went long without eating). Baby Boo starts off crying loudly and goes from "Feed me right now," to "FEED ME NOW, WOMAN!" And, yes, I think she's calling me woman (I can see it in her eyes). She literally starts yelling.

Baby Boo is also chubbier than her sister and despite what I thought in the beginning, I've decided they don't look alike. That may change, but for now, I think the older one looks like me and the baby looks like her daddy.

Baby Boo also got the hang of breastfeeding much faster -- that probably explains her chunkiness actually.

On a completely unrelated note, I was very disappointed in Project Runway last night. I really liked Nick and didn't want to see him go. We'll see what happens next week. I have my favorite, but my favorites never win.

And it begins....

I did some exercising this morning. Not much -- it's amazing how much time commercials take out of a 30 minute workout even if you can fast forward through them. I didn't feel like I got much exercise, but something's better than nothing. Now, if I can stop eating out of boredom, I'll be doing well. I already gave up the good cokes and am only drinking diet cokes if anything. Most of the time I prefer water to diet drinks.

I've decided it's time to lose all this extra weight. I'm trying to be realistic about how fast this can go, but in a few months, I better look good in a swimsuit. Or else I'm going to beat myself up because I'm the only one to blame. Well, maybe my husband a little bit because he suggests buying the cookies, but I don't have to eat them. It's hard not to eat the rest of them. You know, just to get them out of the house and all.

Children really do have little sponges for brains. In the past few weeks or so, my daughter (the older one) has been watching this Sesame Street DVD of the letters of the alphabet. She suprised me the other day when she said, "That's the letter E," while pointing at her "I'm a big sister shirt." Sure enough, she was pointing at the letter E. I'll have to let her watch that video more often. Oh, wait, she already watches way too much TV. I did, however, buy some construction paper and a black marker and put each letter on a piece of construction paper. Then I put them all up on her wall (yes, it takes up a lot of room, but we have high ceilings and a blank wall in her room). While I was putting them up, she asked me what some of the letters were. Now, she will point to the letters Z, Y, and X (the ones that she can reach while standing on her bed) and tell me what they are. She knows colors and shapes, so I'm trying to think of other things to teach her.

Six Weeks Today

I can't believe that my baby is 6 weeks old already. She's so big. And chunky. My eldest has always been right at 50% in height, weight, head size, etc. She's always seemed so small and petite and delicate. Not her sister. Baby Boo is a chunker. I don't know how much she weighs or where she falls on the scales, but she is definitely a chunky little thing. Big round cheeks and belly (that could be because she doesn't poop). She also likes to eat. With my oldest, breastfeeding was hard work, and I couldn't keep it up past about 3 months. Baby Boo can eat like a champ. She never had any problems learning how to feed. I have a feeling that we're going to spend a fortune on baby food in a few months. She's making all sorts of gurgling noises and smiling all the time especially at her big sister. Babies are just so precious.

Just a Sec....

to check in and say Hi. Not much to report here. Just listening to Baby Boo gurgle and coo (it's so cute!) and Dora in the background. Big Sister loves Dora. Thank goodness for DVR. I have about 4 episodes of Dora recorded for when she wants to watch them. That and a couple episodes of Barney. I refuse to record the Boobahs no matter how much she seems to like them. I can't even listen to them in the background. :) Hope everyone is having a good day!

How to act like a new mom the second time around....

#1. Take a list of questions with you to the doctor's office for the 2 week checkup. I didn't do this with Thing #1, so why did I have so many questions with Thing #2?

#2. Obesessively worry about your child's poop. Oh, yes. She went 24 hours without pooping, and I called the doctor. And then I called again when she went 3 days without pooping. It's been about 48 hours again, and after consulting Dr. Google, I've found this is totally normal.

#3. Obsessively worry about everything she's taking in. I haven't, fortunately, taken to keeping a food journal of what I eat to see what might be causing her to be constipated. That might show me all the food that I shouldn't be eating.

Typical Second Child:

#1. Much fewer pictures of Baby Boo. I feel bad about it, but I don't have nearly as many pictures.

#2. Baby Boo needs a bath badly. But Her Majesty the two-year old makes that a wee bit difficult.

#3. Poor thing has very few clothes that are new to her. Hand me downs are great. (I being an eldest child never had to wear hand me downs).


So, I need to get a bathroom scale so that I can obsessively track my weight. I can say that when I had my last doctor's appointment before Boo was born, I weight 201 lbs (eek!). Three weeks or so after she was born, I weight myself on my parent's bathroom scale and was down to 175.5. That means I had lost the baby weight and then a little. I hope I haven't gained any back.

I can only stand so much Barney and Dora before my head explodes. I can feel it getting close. I guess that means that I shouldn't let my child watch so much TV. But, that means that I can't watch so much TV.

Am I the only one addicted to Project Runway? Waaaaaaayyyyy too involved in this show. Can't miss it. I have it set to record all the new episodes. Of course, I found the secret to getting my husband to let me watch it when it comes on (and he watches it with me). I rub his back. He gets a long backrub and completely tunes out what is on the TV. I rub his back almost every night anyway, so it's not much more for me to do.

I forgot how exciting it was to watch a baby smile. It's so adorable. And, this time around, she has her older sister to smile at. When the doctor asks if she tracks movement with her eyes, I can honestly say that she does -- however, she has trouble keeping up with her older sister. She does try though. She just has an adorable smile.

My 2 year old definitely looked (looks) like me. I think Boo looks like her daddy. I can see much more of his face in hers. If I mention this to him, he apologizes. How rude! She's a cutie. Is it wrong to call your baby a little monkey? There is this face she does where she looks just like a little monkey!

Top 10 Things

I love about my "new" home:

1. Having 2 beautiful girls in it. Does it get any better than this?
2. The layout. So much room (not much closet room, but I can make it work).
3. The peace and quiet.
4. Small towns. I grew up in one, so I love small towns.
5. Satellite dish. With DVR. Wow, I never knew what I was missing. DVR is great!
6. The internet is now hooked up.
7. Warm, beatiful weather so that we can play outside (and don't have to run the heater very much).
8. My 2 year old is currently throwing a tea party picnic in here so that I can be on the computer and play with her.
9. My daughter is adjusting nicely. She has learned how to play by herself and how to play around my feeding Baby Boo and all even if that means curling up with a book next to me.
10. Spike the cat who has adopted us as his new owners. My husband named Spike before he figured out that Spike was a girl. But, she's still Spike.

Top 10 Things I hate about my new home:
1. We are just far enough out that we can't get DSL. Dialup is our fastest option. I will never complain about dialup again (yeah, right). I am happy to have any internet.
2. Our hot water heater can't fill up the bathtub.
3. Two beautiful children who manage to cry at the same time. My husband still isn't used to this.
4. I don't know many people here yet, so I feel a little isolated. So glad to have the internet back.
5. The satellite goes out in the rain. Not helpful. How am I supposed to know what's going on when the weather gets bad?
6. My daughter's new obsession with her "letters." Sesame Street has a video called the All Star Alphabet. She loves it. I liked it the first time. They have this cute little feature where it starts over after it's done unless you tell it not to--very helpful.
7. Going without internet for 3 weeks.
8. Did I mention I missed having the internet? Now I'm behind on all my blog reading and will have to catch up over the next few days.
9. Going to have to start job hunting soon. I hate job hunting.
10. Going to have to start daycare hunting as soon as I find a job. I hate that even more.

Anyway, I'm so glad to have the internet again and hope to update fairly often.