Skin Issues

I have dermatitis, specifically, eyelid dermatitis.  It started when I was pregnant with the baby and since giving birth I have random flare ups, but it is not a big deal.  I saw the dermatologist when pregnant, got medication to put on the spots, and it worked like a charm.  Until I got pregnant with the baby I miscarried.  The flare ups have been happening with more frequency and are not responding to the medication.  I also started itching and noticing small bumps on my forearms and chest/neck area (right where I put perfume). 

After my husband started lovingly referring to my issues as my "flesh eating skin disease" and threatened to kick me out of bed until I figured out what was going on, I called the dermatologist.  The stars must have been aligning yesterday because I had a terrible flare up and the dermatologist had an opening!  As soon as I closed my eyes he said "your eyelids are all torn up!".  Turns out, my dermatitis is in bad shape and I need to get a different medication.  As for my arms and chest, it looks like I developed Acute Contact Dermatitis.  I need to put the medication on the spots, and stop wearing perfume.  Indefinitely!  As for my face, I have to use the medication/ointment twice daily and put Vaseline on at night.  Not Vaseline Intensive Care, not Vaseline face moisturizer, but Vaseline Petroleum Jelly.  For the next month, until all my dermatitis is cleared up, I will be greasing myself up with some Vaseline.  That's hot!

Hopefully in a month I can reintroduce moisturizer face cream and then makeup.  Sometime after that, I may be able to try perfume again.  I am thinking I'll just buy some flowery skirts and let my armpit hair grow out.  All natural, baby!

Non-Napping Toddlers Kill Me!

Monday was a holiday, which meant stay home from school and get off schedule have fun with mama and daddy!  We did have a great morning - one of my best friends, who has a toddler just a few months older than mine came over for a playdate.  We have not had a playdate together in ages, which is sad because my friend used to do daycare at my house with her toddler and my toddler, and they just love to see each other! 

After the playdate, the toddler was too wired to nap.  I tried the "just leave her in her room and she will fall asleep eventually" route, but that did not work out.  After a while of hearing her jump around and make noise, the baby started to cry (they share a room).  I went upstairs to find the toddler, naked, in the baby's crib.  She told me "mama!  I peed in the crib!".  Great... Apparently the baby was crying because the toddler jumped on her foot, after peeing on the crib right next to where the baby was sitting.  After dealing with all the mess, getting her redressed in her pull up, and taking the baby away, I told the toddler to get back in bed and take a nap and I did not want to hear one more sound.  She was quiet.  For a bit.  But she did not nap. 

Fast forward to night time.  We put her down at the usual time.  Two hours later, we hear noises.  I went up to investigate and found her in my room, drinking from my nightstand water glass, wearing a pull up and six shirts.  She moved her pillow and blankets to the doorway of her room (I do not know why), took out 10 shirts from the drawer, and scattered them around her new sleeping area.  When she saw me, she proclaimed "Mama!  I'm done with my nap!"  It took over an hour of putting her back in bed and finally letting her get in our bed before she fell asleep. 

The next day...total meltdown central.  Ugh!  I wish there was a way to explain to her - and make her remember - that sleep is important.  I tried yesterday.  I even got to her to stop crying by explaining why she felt bad and how it was her fault for not sleeping.  I think she got the message.  I just do not think she will remember it the next time she wakes up at 10:30pm!

Weekend Recap

I love long weekends!  There is just nothing better than having an extra day!  I took Friday off to clean and prep for the party.  The cake turned out great - the princess dress was not quite what I planned, but did turn out nicely.  Our parents and siblings came for dinner, dessert, and presents, and everyone had a great time!

Saturday was fantastic.  On a whim, I decided to take the girls to the Library for the first time.  The toddler loved it - I mean, it was magical!  We got there about 5 minutes after the 2s Story Time started, so we went in and did that, which was great.  Then, we poked around and looked at books for about a half hour.  After picking out seven books to take home, we went to the 18 months Story Time.  The toddler was a little old and the baby was a little young, so I would not do that again, but they did enjoy the songs we sang (story time?  there was no reading!).  They each got a library card of their own (mostly for show - we will just use mine).  The toddler could not get over all the books everywhere - "mama, look at this!  mama, let's get this one!  mama, look!".  As we were walking out, she looked at me and said "Mama.  That was so nice.  It was so nice to play in the library" - melt my heart!!!  We are so totally going back every Saturday morning!

Saturday night we had a Christmas party at my sister's house.  The first one was canceled because of the blizzard.  This was the second "after Christmas get together" we had, and honestly, I liked it better this way!  My sister's party was great, and we were able to watch play-off games and have fun and eat, and everyone really enjoyed the party.  I like that it was not caught up in the bustle of the season! 

Sunday we watched more football, took naps and were generally lazy.  Which, of course, meant I had a total meltdown - in front of our friends who stayed over/came over for the games - about how lazy we are and how we never get anything done, blah, blah.  Well, Monday morning my husband did the morning routine while I cleaned the upstairs, then I had a play date while he put up the new baby gate and worked on refinishing the banisters.  In the afternoon, while dinner was cooking, he watched the girls and picked up toys while I continued the dusting and vacuuming.  When we finally settled in, I was able to fold about 5 loads of laundry while watching 24!  So, the day ended up being both fun and productive.  A great combination! 

All in all the weekend was excellent!  I love having lots of things to do and people to see.  I also love the opposite, which is why I am looking forward to this weekend - we are having friends over for the baby's birthday on Sunday.  Other than that, we are hanging out with the kids, and catching up on Law and Order: SVU!!! 

Hope you had great long weekends!

Happy Birthday Baby!

My baby.  Today you are one.  One Year Old! 

You were born on the coldest day of the year in 2009.  If this cold snap does not let up, your birthday could be on the coldest day of 2010!  It is FREEZING out there!

No one believed labor could be as painless and easy as it was when I delivered your big sister.  And then you came along and broke the record by 8 minutes.  My doctor decided to induce your labor.  One of your aunt's came over Saturday morning to watch your big sister until Grammy and Pop-Pop arrived, while your daddy and I went to the hospital.  By 8am we were getting the induction medicine, and you were born less than 8 hours later!  I got the epidural, so we spent most of the day talking, reading, and napping.  The doctor checked me about 6 hours later and I was not very far along, so we told everyone to wait a little longer before coming to the hospital.  After an hour of laying on my sides, I told the nurse "it is time to push", but she did not believe me.  Boy, was she wrong!  She called the doctor and told her to "RUN!  NOT WALK!" over, and the doctor barely had time to wash her hands and put on gloves before you arrived!  Another perfect delivery!  Another perfect baby!


While you were getting cleaned up in the nursery with daddy, I was recovering in the delivery room.  I decided to turn on the news and discovered a plan had landed? crashed? in a river.  It was not until much later that we got the whole story.  A year later, I recorded the "one-year later" news program just so I could relive the news from that day.  It amazed me there were other things going on outside in the world that day.  I literally spent all day wrapped in a cocoon of love, delivering you in to the world, and could not see how your amazing, life changing entry to the world did not stop time.

The first few months were tough!  I had a toddler and a newborn to care for, and I was stressed.  I did not know how people could have three, four, or more kids - this was enough for me!  But, I kept hearing "the transition from one to two is the hardest, the rest are gravy", so I leaned on that and got through knowing I was not the first person to find this so exhausting.  Somewhere along the way, that changed.  Things got easier, and now we have a good routine. 

You are the easiest baby I have ever seen (I do not know what I would have done if you had been tough considering how hard I found this parenting two kids thing!).  We thought you would be a terror because your sister was such a perfect baby.  But, then you came along and proved that we could be blessed with two amazingly easy babies (proving EVERYONE wrong)!  You are happy all the time!  You laugh and smile constantly.  You love to cuddle and snuggle; you would be content to sit in our laps, snuggle, and suck your thumb all day long.  You like to get down and play, but cannot resist climbing into someone's lap the minute they sit down on the floor.  You are so sweet. 

For the past six months, you have been sitting up and interacting with us and your big sister.  You want to do everything just like your big sister does.  You play with her toys, copy her actions, and try to climb over things just like a big kid, even though you are still very small and cannot walk.  Your face absolutely lights up when your big sister is anywhere near you, and you laugh and get so excited you can barely contain it when she talks to you or plays with you.  You do not care if she is a little rough, you are just happy to have her around!

My baby, you are an absolute joy.  I cannot wait to see what this next year will bring :)

RTT: Happy!

• My husband decided to take the office space!  He liked the space - it is a big open room, just like he has now, but a bit bigger (and he won't my wall of books crowding them out!).  He talked to some other people in the building and they all agree the landlord is great.  Move-in day is January 30/31, and they'll start working there February 1st!!!

• My baby will be a year old tomorrow.  A YEAR!  And she still looks like a 6 month old!  

• I cannot believe we have had two kids two and under for a year.  I love where we are so much.  I remember the first few months being impossibly difficult, but I cannot remember why.  I thought I was scarred for life, but it turns out the stress was just a phase and I do want more kids in the future. 

• The toddler might be the best big sister ever in the history of big sisters.  She is so loving and caring and awesome.  She may hit the baby every now and then, but what sibling doesn't?  She gets - so adorably - super excited when the baby gives her high-five, or just touches her at all! 

• The toddlers new thing is "helping" the baby learn to walk.  As this consists of pulling the baby's arm out of her socket (total exaggeration) while trying to drag her across the floor, the baby is not too keen.

• The baby will try to copy everything the toddler does.  Yesterday the toddler was "making" me food in her kitchen and bringing it to me to eat.  The baby comes scooting over, fake mustard in hand for me to sample.  It was so freaking cute!  

• In honor of the baby's first birthday (and the fact that my house is a mess and I want to make a nice dinner because I invited our parents and siblings over for dinner), I took tomorrow off work.  Then I found out Monday is a holiday.  Surprise - I get a four day weekend!  SUPER!!!

Happy Thursday!

Say a Little Prayer for Me!

My husband owns his own business - Priority Legal Services.  He does a great job and his business is successful and growing significantly every year!  He has been in business for a number of years now, and has always run things from his residence.  For the last four years, that has been our basement!  With two kids and a dog, and no available living space in our basement, our two-bedroom townhouse feels pretty cramped.  Today my husband is going to look at some office space he found for rent on Craigslist.  Not only is this space right down the road from our house, it is so astoundingly inexpensive I almost passed out from excitement when he showed me the ad!   I just hope this is not a scam and is not in horrid condition.  Honestly, they do not spend a ton of time in the office, so they do not need really nice digs, just some space for a few desks, computers, and file cabinets.  This place sounds perfect.  And the price...oh the price is just so right! 

I cannot stop dreaming of what it will be like to have the rocking horses, ride on toys, toy box, and two bookshelves full of toys and books out of our living room!  We will keep some things upstairs for playing, but many of the "big" things can move downstairs.  And I can put out that awesome alphabet floor puzzle out for the kids to play with, finally!!!  We will have to put in new carpet and repaint, but luckily we just got a $100 gift card to Home Depot!  I am hoping my husband can do the carpeting - he installed the hardwood floors just he and his dad, so I do not think carpeting will be a big issue - and we can probably pick up some carpet for cheap at the Habitat for Humanity store.  The whole move should not cost us too much, which means hopefully we can do it soon...if all this works out!

So, say a little prayer that this works out.  Please, oh please, oh please!!!

Working from Home

Yesterday my car was in the shop, so I worked from home.  I do not know how people do this!  It was awful for me.  We took the girls to daycare so I could actually work (trying to work from home on snow day = don't even try!).  All day, I felt like I was on speed, and not just because of the 3 cups of coffee I drank!  I would read, think about the laundry, take notes, look at the Christmas tree I need to take down, answer e-mails, program the new DVR remote, etc.  I could not focus!!!  It was ridiculous! 

I know if I had to work from home, I could.  I would need to create an actual work space, as opposed to the kitchen table, and have set times and such.  But, this random working from home is tough on me.  I feel like I do not get anything done - at home or at "work"!  Bleh!  Then, I came home cranky because all the things I noticed and thought about all day, but did not do because I was working, were staring me in the face.  And, unfortunately, I took out my stress on my husband and kids.  Though, in my defense, the toddler skipped nap, and that seriously makes for a rough evening! 

Blog Comments!

Thank you to everyone who commented on yesterday's post!!!  I really enjoyed the response :)

Now, for a dumb question for my bog-savvy readers...I want to respond to comments left on my blog, but (through testing with my sister today), I realize that I cannot just reply to the e-mail I get.  If a blogger hides his/her e-mail address, how can I respond directly to that person?  Thanks in advance!

NFP

My husband and I practice Natural Family Planning.  It was something we decided to do based solely on the fact that it is the only Catholic approved "birth control" method.  But, it quickly became more than that - for me especially.  I really liked the natural aspect.  I appreciate that it is all you and your body showing you signs that you can decipher, rather than your antibiotic reacting with your birth control pill.  Plus, it is something you can do all the time - including during breastfeeding.  I know the mini-pill is out there, but I find it creepy to take birth control while breastfeeding - the baby has enough postpartum hormones from the pregnancy alone! 

Unfortunately, I think the book they give you during the pre-marriage counseling is awful.  And, in an effort to sell NFP, they shortchange you on the amount of learning you have to do.  I found that very frustrating.  It seemed so easy to me, take my temp, check the toilet paper - good to go!  Not so much!  Temperature is a lagging indicator and affected by so much, it cannot be the primary indicator.  Secondly, the toilet paper may or may not give you enough information based on how your mucus works.  Internal checks were briefly discussed, but did not seem necessary.  Because I did not throw myself into learning NFP, I was not too surprised to find out we were pregnant 3 months in to marriage!  And then, breastfeeding totally changes your cycles, so I was not able to really get back into a groove before getting pregnant again. 

Luckily, I stumbled across this highly touted book:  Taking Charge of Your Fertility.  My friend turned me on to this awesome charting website:  Fertility Friend.  After the baby was born, I read and studied and practiced abstinence for so long I thought we would both go crazy!  But I learned.  And I freaking love what I learned!  I am committed to doing internal checks - something that totally freaked out my "never owned/wanted a vibrator, I'll stay out of there, thank you" self.  It is the most accurate reading, and it is so simple.  Back when I got pregnant with #3 (who I miscarried), I had a cold and took some Mucinex after I ovulated.  Based on my chart, I figured I was in the clear, even though my mucus said otherwise.  Now, I know I need to listen to what it tells me and remember that the chart is just a reference guide, not my fertility bible. 

If you are considering NFP, I highly recommend doing it just to see how great it can be to go all natural and forget about hormones!  If you have any questions, let me know.  I am no expert on NFP, but I do know some people who have been doing it for a while and could answer anything I cannot. 

Now we are considering the Creighton Model.  The class is expensive, but I heard it is worth it, so we are considering...Anyone heard anything about this model?  Anyone use it?  If so, comment with your review!

Another follow up appointment???

The OB called yesterday to say they need me to come back in (again) for a follow up internal exam.  Apparently my last one was too full of red blood cells.  Seriously!  I was literally miscarrying the MOST that day, if red blood cells were the problem, they could have saved the lab fees.  I swear, I think I have gone to the doctor as much with this 11 week pregnancy as I did with a normal 9 month pregnancy!

The really annoying thing...they are open from 9-4:30.  But closed everyday from 12-1:30 for lunch.  Seriously!  What is so ridiculous is that this is pretty standard for doctors offices around here.  I wish I could do that - I will be here all day, but you can only contact me during the 6 most inconvenient times of the day, good luck!  Ha!

Facebook Friends?

One of the teachers in the baby's room at daycare Facebook friended my husband and I.  That act alone was weird to me.  I have plenty of co-workers as Facebook friends, but this just seemed strange to me.  Then I checked out her wall, because, you know, I am a total stalker.  She has two kids - one 8 year old, who does not live with her, and one 2 year old, who does live with her and is in the other (not the toddler's) 2's classroom.  Apparently she is pregnant again.  She does not live with the father - he lives across the country and they are not even in a relationship, although he fathered the two year old and this baby.  So, there are a lot of melodramatic statuses about this odd relationship.  There are also lots of posts about how she cannot make rent or pay utilities.  So I feel bad for her and for her daughter, who I know.  But, at the same time, I do not have money to hand out, and I do not even know her that well.  It is not that I think she Facebook friended us to ask for money; however, I cannot help but notice these statuses (they now show up in my news feed) without feeling bad.  It is just awkward.  I mean, I pick up the baby and see her and I am thinking "I know her story, but I should not know it so I am not going to say anything about anything.  I will wait until she is really showing to congratulate her on her pregnancy.  Does she think it is weird that I have not said anything?  AAAHHH!" 

Well, yesterday, her status was "looking for new work".  She did not post the story, but did make a few comments that gave away she was fired.  I do not want to know why.  I really like our daycare, and while I am sure lots of stuff I would hate go on behind the scenes, I really, truly, do not want to know them.  So, I do not want to know.  But, I feel like I should say something.  But, what?  "Sorry to hear you lost your job.  My kid really liked you."  I think I will let my husband send her a message and I will just stay out - he is more social anyway! 

What I am saying is this is weird.  I should just hide her posts and forget we are friends.  I cannot unfriend her - that would be so harsh.  Right?  Do you have any weird Facebook friends?  Do you think this is even weird?

Dish-washing Woes

Don't you hate it when you run the dishwasher, but don't unload it right away, and then the dishes pile up and by the time you get to them, the dishwasher is full and you have to run it again?  That happens to me way too often.  Ugh!

Happy New Year!

I know it is a bit late, but Happy New Year blog readers!

Normally I do not do resolutions.  What is the point?  Am I really going to do it more because it is called a resolution?  No.  But, this year is different.  I resolved to do some things and decided that I would wait until the new year to do them.  Before we found out we were pregnant, things seemed (and I realize history rewrites itself) to be going along splendidly.  We had a great debt payoff plan, were sticking to a budget, I was doing great with the cleaning and cooking, and everything seemed to be moving smoothly along.  Then we got pregnant, I got depressed, stressed, and exhausted, and we have been treading water ever since.  Once the miscarriage was over, I started to get my energy back and to realize how much I had let go.  So I resolved to get us back to where we were.  But, since it was holiday season and our schedules would be wacky, I decided to wait for the new year to start doing.  So, here goes...

1.  We will eat out only one dinner per week, twice if we have a lot going on or company.  Otherwise, I will cook.  I will not cook every night, but will cook enough to cover dinner for two or three nights, and will make leftovers of different things to take for lunch.

2.  We will pay off all of our credit cards by the end of the year - there are currently 4 (we paid one off last year!)

3.  My husband will move his business out of the house.  And we will have enough available credit cash in the bank to repaint and carpet the basement so we can make it into a play room!  No more toys all over the living room and kitchen!

4.  We will finish the banisters, fix the broken front window, remodel the half-bath, and repaint the main floor.

5.  I will de-clutter and organize two spaces a month.  And keep them that way!

6.  I will clean a little bit every day or a lot every other day - no more putting things off for days at a time until it is too overwhelming.

Nothing too drastic.  Everything here is do-able, which is the plan.  Here's hoping this year - and this decade - are as great as the last!