Category: Kids & Parenting

Pssst…..

Published by dee on August 15, 2006

I have to tell you something that I have never, ever said before. Are you ready? These words have never come out of my mouth before. Well, I guess they still aren’t coming out of my mouth really, but you get the point. Okay, here goes…I am so ready for summer to be over. There I said it. Whew! That wasn’t so bad.

I woke up today in a huge rush (as usual). With school starting back up, breakfast at day care is now at 7:45, rather than whenever we stroll in as it has been all summer. This means that I have to either get up earlier to get Zach there by 7:45, or I have to get up earlier so I can feed him breakfast before we leave. I’m opting to try to get him there by 7:45 and get an earlier start on my workday. This, conveniently, also allows me more time to read blogs before everyone else shows up to the office.

So, where was I? Oh, yeah. I hurried through my shower and got dressed as quickly as possible and rushed outside to take the dogs out before waking Zach up. I stepped outside to the most pleasant greeting I’ve had in a while. It was very pleasantly cool out this morning. It wasn’t cloudy or gloomy out, just sunny and cool, like a nice Fall morning. Perhaps I’m being a little over-dramatic about the whole thing, but with the heat we have been having the last couple of weeks, it was certainly a nice surprise.

The cool morning made me anxious for Fall to get here. I’m ready for jeans and sweatshirts and boots. I’m even a little bit ready for football. Oh, and I’m definitely ready for some of the yummy pear cobbler that I make every fall when the pears on the tree in our front yard are finally ripe enough to pick. I’m also ready for our busy summer schedule to wind down so I can spend some quality time in front of my ridiculously large tv.

I do have one slight little request for Mother Nature though. Could you please hold off on the cool weather until after I get back from the lake this weekend? You see, I plan on spending two glorious days at the lake swimming, getting a nice sunburn, and enjoying my Dad’s new boat as much as possible and none of that will be nearly as much fun if the water in the lake is cold. So just wait until Monday morning and then bring the cooler weather on. I’ll be ready then.

(And, just for the record, I got up, got myself ready, took care of the animals, got Zach ready and was out the door in only 45 minutes this morning. That just might be a personal record. We pulled in the driveway at day care at 7:50. I may have forgotten to brush Zach’s teeth, but hey, at least I got him there in time to get some breakfast.)

p.s. I don’t know what I was thinking yesterday, but there is no way in hell I’m going to give up my blog. There may be some changes coming, but giving it up is not an option. Some of my other web sites may be disappearing soon though, but that is simply a money issue and a topic for another day.

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Gone

Published by dee on August 7, 2006

As I sit here tonight, I am in awe of this little boy standing in front of me. I watch as he runs around the room, slows to catch his balance, and takes off again. He goes after a toy, plays for a few minutes, then drops it on the floor. He walks to the rocking chair and climbs up. He stands in the chair and looks, waiting for me to tell him to sit down on his "butt" (one of his favorite words). He slides down and gives me a grin. Then off he goes again to grab the next toy that has caught his attention. He walks over to me and lays his head on my knee, then raises his arms up for me to pick him up and hug him. He snuggles up in my lap and sits with me, enjoying my company for a moment. Then he is off again to find his next source of entertainment. Never have I been more proud of anything in my life. My heart swells as I think about how much he has grown up in the last 13 months. I realize, with sadness, that my baby is gone.

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Another Boring Weekend Recap Post

Published by dee on August 7, 2006

Mondays sure seem to come quickly these days. Why does the weekend have to buzz by so fast? At least it was a fairly good weekend and not quite as busy as the last few.

After finally getting my car back Friday afternoon, I called the Hubby up and told him to be showered and dressed when I got home because I needed to de-stress and there was no way in hell I was cooking dinner. I picked up the little man from day care, picked up Hubby, and we went and had dinner at a new Mexican place that we had been wanting to try. The food was good but they don’t have a liquor license yet, so there were no margaritas to go with it which kinda bummed me out. I guess the lack of liquor did make the bill a little bit cheaper though.

Saturday morning we got up and took Zach to get his 1-year photos taken. He was a little monster the whole time and wouldn’t sit still for more than about 2 seconds. I was really afraid that they hadn’t come out very well, but there were several shots that I absolutely loved so it wasn’t all a waste after all. I think the photographer was getting a kick out of him trying to run away in between each shot, even if it was a bit frustrating.

After the photos, we stopped by my mom’s to use her printer as mine was out of ink and ended up staying for the rest of the day. My sister and her family came over and we all had dinner together and watched a movie.

Zach decided that he was boycotting naps all day long on Saturday. I tried absolutely every trick in the book to get him to sleep and he just wasn’t having it. I guess he thought he was going to miss out of the fun if he fell asleep. Every time he would lay his head down and relax and make me think he was going to sleep, it would pop right back up. He apparently thought it was a very funny game judging by his laughter.

On Sunday, the lack of napping caught up with him. We went out to dinner after church and he fell asleep in my lap. It has been a very long time since that has happened. I drove him home and put him in bed and he slept until 5:30 that night. I was afraid that would keep him from going to bed at bedtime, but I was enjoying it too much to wake him up. His extra long nap gave me time to get some much needed cleaning and organizing done around the house. I didn’t get everything finished that I wanted, but it was definitely a good start.

So, all in all, it was a pretty good weekend. The very best part though was this morning when I stepped on the bathroom scale. Even with all of the cheating I did last week on my diet, I still managed to lose 4 pounds. Losing a few pounds is the best encouragement I can get to stick to it this week. It is pretty likely that most of that was water weight since it dropped off so quickly, but it still makes me feel great!

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Best Lunch Date Ever

Published by dee on August 2, 2006

This week is my sister’s last week at home before going back to school to get her classroom ready for the little munchkins. So, what did she decide to do with her free time? She came and met my mom and I for lunch with her two boys. She also stopped by and picked Zach up from day care so he could join us too.

My sister was running a little late so my mom and I stopped by a garage sale that we saw on the way. I picked up a Little Tikes table and chair set and a toy bin for Zach for a total of $35. I know I didn’t really have the extra money to spend but I’ve been really wanting to get these for him and they are much more expensive to buy new.

Finally, we were on our way to Godfather’s and arrived just before my sister. Zach was so excited when I opened the van door and he saw Mommy standing there. We had a nice lunch (totally off of my diet!) and Zach managed to eat two entire pieces of pizza, plus some peaches, and then a few bites of dessert pizza. I guess he takes after me when it comes to pizza. I have no idea how I’m going to manage to feed the boy when he is a teenager.

After we ate, we brought the boys up to the office to say hi to everybody. Zach is always a big hit around here so we figured we could bring all three boys and triple the cuteness effect. It definitely worked. All the ladies in the office gathered around and showered them with attention. I got to be the proud Mommy and Aunt listening to everyone talk about how cute they all are and how much they have grown since the last time they saw them, etc.

My sister then took the kids over to my mom’s house for naps. After work, hubby and I are meeting them over there to take the kids swimming and have some dinner. It should be fun and what is even better is that I don’t have to cook!

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13 Months

Published by dee on July 27, 2006

Dear Zachary,

Yesterday you turned 13 months old. I have three words for you that pretty much sum up this month. MOLARS. FROM. HELL. Seriously, don’t you think it is about time to let those things come on through and join the other 8 teeth? I’m sure they would love to have a little company in that big mouth of yours. There is plenty of room. Plus, then we can start feeding you chunks of steak and such that require actual chewing.

Thanks to those teeth, your usual appetite has really dwindled. Well, it’s either the teeth or you just decided to slow down a little with the growing, which is okay becuase that means I don’t have to buy so many clothes. But, you used to eat pretty much anything I set in front of you and here lately you aren’t interested in food much at all. It gets a little frustrating for me because I used to be able to give you a snack to settle you down when I needed a few minutes to use my hands. Now you just want to be held all the time, unless I want to hold you and then you want down.

The teeth are also really disrupting my nightly routine. Before the molars interuppted, you were going to bed around 8:00 every night. I took you in your room, turned on your little light up music playing thingie, gave you a pacifier, and put you down in your crib. You then would roll over and go to sleep, usually without any crying or fussing. These days I’m lucky to get you down by 9:00, and that is after an hour of screaming, snuggling, rocking, Tylenol, and Orajel. This leaves only about an hour before Mommy crashes to do the household chores and spend time with Daddy. I really miss that extra hour.

The upside to you going to bed so late, is that you are sleeping later in the morning. I have to actually wake you up in the mornings now instead of rushing through my shower and hoping you don’t wake up before I have a chance to throw some clothes on. When I do come to get you up, you sit up in your crib with a huge smile on your face. Then you stand up and jump up and down until I reach in to grab you up and give you a hug. That is my absolute favorite time in the morning. I’m not a morning person at all, but you always help to start my day out right.

You are getting to be such a big boy all of a sudden. These days I have a hard time calling you a a baby anymore. You really are a toddler now. Even though your words aren’t very clear yet, you still manage to tell me what you want most of the time. You are getting very good at pointing to your cup when you want a drink, or to Daddy’s guitar when you want him to play for you (which is pretty much all the freakin’ time). You have also finally learned how to turn yourself around and back down off of couches, chairs, and beds so Mommy doesn’t get quite so scared when she sees you heading for the edge.

It really makes me quite sad to see how fast you are growing up. But, at the same time I am so proud of everything you have accomplished in your short life. I absolutely love watching you grow up and change. Recently you have started mimicking Daddy and I, especially when we laugh or make a weird noise. It is so much fun to listen to you. I can’t think of a better sound than the sound of you laughing.

I really hope that someday you will read this and have at least a little bit of an idea of how much I really, truly, deeply, love you. It is so hard to convey in words the feelings that are in my heart. You are an amazing little boy and no matter how frustrated I may get with you at times, I hope you always know that it is out of love.

Love always,

Mama

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Molars: How I Detest Thee

Published by dee on July 18, 2006

A few days ago I noticed that Zach was really chewing on his fingers again which generally means more teeth are about to break through his gums. I hadn’t noticed any of the generally obvious white bumps under his gums so I stuck a finger in there to feel around a bit. When I did, I got a nice little surprise…he bit the hell out of my finger. It was actually sore for a couple of days. I also found out that he is in the process of cutting all four of his one-year molars all at once. One of the top ones has partially broken through, but the others are all just under the gums waiting for the right moment to pop out.

Up until now, Zach has done really well with teething. He has never gotten too fussy and only had problems sleeping a couple of times. This time is totally different. I sent an e-mail to warn his day care provider of the situation yesterday because I had forgotten to tell her about it when I dropped him off. She said it was no big deal, although he didn’t nap very well yesterday.

Apparently, today was a different story. I got an e-mail early this afternoon asking me to please remember to bring Tylenol tomorrow as he was having a pretty rough time of it. I wrote back, assuring her that I would bring it and asked if he was any better. She said he had been up crying all afternoon and his gums were swollen. As I was leaving work, she called to ask if I was on my way because he wouldn’t stop crying.

When I got there to pick him up he looked absolutely pitiful. His gums, as well as his cheeks were swollen. He had drool dripping out of his mouth and looked like a zombie. He had only slept for a total of 13 minutes. He immediately snuggled up to me. As soon as we got home, I doped him up with some Baby Orajel and Ibuprofen and he fell asleep about 10 seconds later. I’m pretty sure that I’m in for a great night tonight.

Why didn’t anybody warn me that this was going to happen? Damn molars!

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