Month: October 2006

Links for a Rainy Day

Published by dee on October 11, 2006

In the last two days, the temperature in these here parts has dropped drastically. It also has been raining off and on for the last two days which does not do good things for me. Rain always puts me in that kinda mood where I just want to be at home curled up under a blanket watching a movie. My work productivity goes from a fairly decent (ok mediocre) level to zilch, nada, nothing. I would much rather surf the internet or look at my pretty new blog template than actually work, all the while daydreaming about being at home snuggling up on the couch. And, you know, a margarita or two would be good too.

Since I can’t be at home, I have instead been searching the net like a mad(wo)man and thought I would share a few of my latest internet favorites with you.

JPG Magazine has a site where you can submit your own photos for inclusion in the magazine. I stumbled upon it today and then saw voting links on two different blogs that I normally read. I hope to submit a few photos myself, but just browsing through this month’s theme I found some absolutely amazing images. It is definitely worth checking out.

Blingo is a great place to search for all things on the web. It is powered by Google and if you are lucky, you’ll win a prize just for doing your normal searches. Plus, if you sign up through a friend’s link and you win something, then they win too! How cool is that?

If you have problems staying focused at work you might want to read this. Dave Cheong has some great tips. I guess the trick is to actually use the tips instead of blogging about them.

If you like to experience new music (really, who doesn’t?) and don’t want to spend a big chunk of change then you should check out Lala.com. You can trade cd’s for $1 each. You list your cd’s, someone requests one of them, you ship it in the supplied envelope, then you can request the cd you want. A simple, legal, and cheap way to share music. Also, if you are really into music you should check out MOG.

Baby Rock Records takes your favorite album and turns it into lullabies for your little ones. I haven’t made a purchase yet, but I’m imagining some Pearl Jam lullabies coming out of Zach’s cd player in the near future. I would probably be more likely to just put the real thing in there for him, but I like the idea.

And finally, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, my favorite “Save the boobies” t-shirts. Go buy one for everyone that loves boobies!

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Rock-A-Bye

Published by dee on October 11, 2006

The boy has been driving me a little bit bonkers the last couple of weeks. There are so many different things going on that I can blame, but the main part is that he is not sleeping. He screams and screams when I put him to bed. I let him scream for 5-10 minutes until I can take it no longer and then I go get him and he ends up falling asleep in my lap around 9:00-10:00. After he is in a good, deep sleep I put him in his bed. Usually within an hour or two he is awake and the screaming commences again. At that point, I give up and bring him to bed with me where he snuggles up and sleeps (with a little tossing and turning) for the rest of the night and I sleep very little.

Here is the list of things that I keep running through my head that might be attributing to the problem:

He is teething again. He has 4 teeth pushing on his gums right now trying to break free. I can feel the points through his gums so I know they must be a little painful for him.
We have had extra people in the house for the last two weeks and there is pretty much no 1-on-1 time for him with Mommy or Daddy.
His daily routine has been disrupted. He is staying home with Granny all day instead of going to day care where he has other kids to run and play and wear himself out with.
His allergies seem to be in overdrive causing itchy eyes and a runny nose.
He is learning so much right now that his little brain just can’t settle down. Plus, his mouth rarely stops moving. The kid just wants to talk, talk, talk. I have read that when kids are going through periods of rapid development that they often have sleeping problems.

All of these things have been haunting me. I knew it had to be one or a combination of all of them that was keeping him awake. Then lastnight I figured it all out. About 2 weeks ago, when he went to the doctor, she had me start him on Claritin for his allergies. It is supposed to be the non-drowsy formula so I wasn’t worried about him being sleepy during the day on it like he tends to be on Benadryl. I didn’t think about the fact that the Claritin could be keeping him awake.

Lastnight, instead of his usual dose of Claritin, I gave him Benadryl instead. At 8:00 I put him in bed. He cried (no screaming) for a couple of minutes and then fell asleep. He slept until I went in to get him up at 7:30 this morning. It was blissfull. I felt so refreshed this morning after actually getting to sleep all night and Zach must have too because he was in a particularly good mood when I left him with Granny. I’ll be calling his doctor today to see if we can change him to a different allergy med.

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Add Some Tequila

Published by dee on October 10, 2006

Change is good right? I’ve been wanting to make a few changes around here for a while and I finally got around to doing it. I kept trying to do it at home but with Hubby and his parents around I haven’t had much time to play around on my top secret blog site without anyone getting a peek so I finally decided to try to fit it in at work during my lunch breaks. I might have possibly used a little more than my allotted hour break, but I kinda like the results. It isn’t exactly what I had in mind when I started out, but it will do. I might still need to tweak a few things here and there.

What do you think?

If you are using a feed reader, you’ll have to click on over to the site and check it out.

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B-O-O-T-S

Published by dee on October 9, 2006

Well, I may have slightly pissed off the MIL this weekend. Saturday morning I woke up and decided that I just really needed some time with my son. I also really was in the mood to go shopping and actually needed to pick up a few things anyway, so I nabbed Zach and we went on a little shopping spree. The part that makes me feel slightly bad is that I knew she wanted to do some shopping too and I had to tell her that I didn’t want her to go with me and Zach. It felt kind of mean, but I really just needed a couple of hours with Zach to myself and I really enjoy shopping more when I don’t have to wait on someone else. I don’t think she was too upset, but I could tell that it bothered her.

The good news is that I got two awesome pairs of boots for the winter months plus a rockin’ blue jean skirt (that I didn’t really need but it was too cute to pass up). I still need a pair of every day brown boots to replace my worn out Docs, but those might have to wait as I spent a bit more than I had planned. I also bought my nephews’ birthday presents ahead of time this year so that I’m not buying them at the same time I have to buy Chrismas gifts. I even bought a couple of Christmas gifts to put back for Zach. I’m really trying to plan ahead for things this year so that we don’t have to charge everything on credit cards.

Speaking of credit cards and early Christmas gifts, my in-laws gave Hubby and I our gifts a bit early this year. We have been planning a trip to Hawaii in January so that we can go while Hubby’s brother and his wife are still stationed there. Even though we have tried to put a little money back for the trip, we were going to have to charge the plane tickets if we were going to go. We were trying to figure out the dates this weekend and checking ticket prices, etc. when my FIL asked if it would be okay for them to buy the tickets for our Christmas gift this year. So, guess what? We’re definitely going to Hawaii! The tickets are already bought so there’s no backing out now. I can’t wait!

The FIL left to head home Sunday morning and I dropped Hubby’s brother off at the airport this morning before I came to work so we’re down to just one extra person in the house now. I kind of wonder how much of a difference that will make. In only 12 more days we’ll have the house back to ourselves. I am anxious to have some time alone with my husband and my son. It hasn’t been all that bad really, except for a few annoyances. I just miss my little family. I realized this weekend that I barely even talked to my husband all weekend and I really miss him. The only time we have to ourselves is when we go to bed and Zach hasn’t been sleeping well so he usually ends up in there with us. I have enjoyed having a little more freedom and time to do some of the things I want to do, but I really am looking forward to life returning to normal.

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The Unexpected

Published by dee on October 6, 2006

When I was pregnant with Zach I read a lot of magazines and books about pregnancy and having children. They all told me about how the pregnancy would change my body. I knew that it would sag a little more in some areas due to loss of muscle tone. I knew that I would likely be left with a little more tummy than I had before. I knew that after breastfeeding my boobs would never have the same perkiness that they had before. All you have to do is take a quick look at The Shape Of A Mother to see the effects of carrying a child. I was armed with this knowledge long before I ever had to deal with the reality of it. I was okay with this because having a child was more important to me than having a perfectly toned body. Plus, I never really had a perfectly toned body to begin with so it really wouldn’t make that much difference anyway.

What I didn’t expect was how sacred my body would actually become to me after I gave birth. I didn’t expect to feel the way I feel about my body now. Sure I could stand to lose some more weight and tone up a bit, but those things are insignificant. After carrying my baby in my stomach for 40 weeks, it became something much more meaningful to me. After feeding my child with my breasts for nine months, they became much more than the sexual organ that most men make them into. My body is amazing. I love my body and every little reminder of the time that I carried and fed my child with it.

I have a hard time finding the right words to express it, but there is a new level of intimacy attached to my stomach and my breasts than there ever was before. Allowing my husband to touch my bare stomach now is a completely different experience. It isn’t because of the extra flab, but because it carries emotion with it. That stomach is where my baby lived for the first 40 weeks (and 4 days, but who’s counting?) of his existence. It is where my body nurtured and formed him into what he is today.

For some reason I have a really hard time sharing that part of myself with anyone now, including my husband. I have been struggling with this for quite a while and could never really figure out what had changed. I didn’t understand why my flabby stomach had become to sensitive when touched by him. I didn’t understand why I always tense up when he puts a hand under my shirt. A simple touch, something that should be part of a normal intimate relationship, has been pushing me away from him and I couldn’t figure out why.

I still don’t understand it all, but I think I have gained at least a little bit of insight. I want to find a way to discuss this with Hubby. Perhaps it will bridge yet another gap that has formed between us. I think much of this is a psychological problem on my part. My body, to me, has become a place to nurture a child rather than a place used purely for my husband’s (or my) enjoyment. I could go on and on about this but that would bring me to issues that I’m not willing to discuss here.

I realize this is all a little jumbled and maybe vague, but I just needed to get these thoughts out.

Thanks to Not-so-Pregnant in Texas for the post that prompted these thoughts. I would be very interested to hear from other moms that have had similar thoughts/feelings or even those that have not.

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THURS-day Thoughts

Published by dee on October 5, 2006

All day long I’ve been having to remind myself that it is Thursday and not Friday. Do you think I’m a little anxious for the weekend?
Today is my Dad’s birthday and tomorrow is my Sister’s birthday. We’ll be spending much of the weekend with one or the other or both of them.
Hubby’s brother is getting in town this morning and staying until Monday. We’re all really looking forward to seeing him.
Hubby’s father will be leaving on Sunday to head home. I’m sure we’ll miss him but it will be nice to have one less person in my house.
It should be a very busy but fun weekend. Lots of family time (both mine and hubby’s).
Why have I never heard of Cat Power before? (Thanks to Sweetney for the introduction.) Absolutely perfect for the mellow mood I’ve been in lately.
Sometimes I read a blog and think, “Wow, that’s exactly how I feel.” I think that is why personal blogs are so addicting. It makes you feel better to know that someone out there feels the same way you do.
Did you watch LOST lastnight? It was interesting to say the least. They always make me anxious for the next episode. I think it lost a little bit of it’s luster last season, but lastnight’s episode was very good and opened up some interesting questions that I’m sure will be answered later.

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