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Category: Living the Life

Routine or Chaos?

I’m not altogether sure whether it is the lack of activity in my life right now or the busy summer that has been keeping me from writing lately.  I feel like I am so busy all the time, yet when I sit down to think about what I might write about I can’t think of a single interesting thing.  Life just seems a little boring and routine right now.  Perhaps I just haven’t had enough time to let my mind wander lately.  I miss writing daily, but at the same time I have enjoyed the break from the computer screen.  Hopefully things will start picking back up around here soon.  In the meantime, here’s what’s been happening.

It seems like it has been a year, but in reality, for about the last 6 weeks or so my office has been in the middle of a remodeling project.  During that time, all of my stuff has been packed away, with only the essentials crammed into the corner of my mom’s office where I’ve been working on a tiny little typewriter table.  It hasn’t been miserable, but it certainly isn’t the ideal working situation.  The end of the project is drawing near, and now that I can see a light at the end of the tunnel, it is getting harder and harder to work in my little corner of someone else’s office.  When all is said and done, I’ll have my very own office with 4 walls and a door (for the first time in my life).  My boss even agreed to let me have a lock on the door so that after the baby is born I’ll be able to pump with a little privacy.  That fact alone makes it all worthwhile.  The carpeting goes in next week and if all goes well, by the following Monday I’ll be able to move in.  I can hardly stand the wait now.

I am finally over the illness from hell and feeling much better.  I ate my first full meal in almost a week today and it was so good that I totally overstuffed myself and have been paying for it ever since.  I’ll have to back off a bit for the rest of the week to make up for what I ate today.  Since discovering that I am pregnant, I’ve been changing my diet up a bit.  Instead of all of the diet drinks and low-fat or no-fat foods that I usually have (trying desperately to stick to my defunct WW diet), I’m trying to do about half and half.  I’m still sucking down my Crystal Light like crazy, but I’m also trying to drink more plain water and letting myself have a regular soda every once in a while instead of drinking 2 or 3 Coke Zeros a day.  I’m also cutting the caffeine quite a bit so the sugar helps pep me up a little when I need it.  Instead of Lean Cuisine for lunch every day, I’ll throw in a Red Baron pizza or some mac ‘n’ cheese a couple times a week.  The baby needs some fat, right?  Oh, and the 2% chocolate milk?  It is so on!  Don’t get me wrong, I’m still watching the weight gain.  I gained 30 pounds when I was pregnant with Zach and I’m trying to keep this one at less than 30 (preferably around 20), so I still have to watch myself.

Zach is doing much better at his new day care.  This morning, we stopped by his old day care provider’s house (because she called and tempted me with warm Monkey Bread!) for a few minutes before going to his “school” to drop him off.  The whole time we were at her house he was very clingy, refusing to let go of me even for a minute.  As we were leaving, I asked him if he was ready to go to school and he actually smiled and said, “Yes!”  When we got there, he went right in, told me good-bye and joined his class.  For the first time, his teacher didn’t have to hold him while I walked away.  As I turned to peek one last time, he was standing there smiling.  For the first time I really felt like I made the right decision.  Next week he’ll be promoting into the next higher 2-year-old class, so hopefully that won’t be too hard on him.  He seems to be excited about it for now.  Once he adjusts to that, maybe we can start working on all the other things that he has been regressing on lately (like potty training, that damn pacifier, and sleeping at night).

That’s about all I can come up with for tonight.  It’s late, Hubby disappeared and left me mostly in the dark about an hour ago, and the caffeine buzz from my first Coke all week is starting to wear off.  I suppose that means it’s time for bed.

p.s.  I’ve really got the bug to re-design this site.  The green is making me want to puke and that bikini-clad girl up there with the little smirk is irritating the crap out of me.  Problem is, I have NO ideas what-so-ever.  If anyone wants to throw out any ideas to help get the wheels turning, it would be much appreciated.  I’m thinking a new design might just give me the little kick I need to get writing again.

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A Nice Little Surprise

So, first I must apologize for not being around much this week, but I do have a good reason.

A Nice Little Surprise

I suppose this explains why I’ve been feeling so tired and overwhelmed this week.  We’re all very happy and excited and maybe just a little in shock.  It is still quite early, but Zach has already decided that it is a baby sister in my tummy.

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Somehow I Missed Monday

I feel like all I have been doing lately is talking about how busy I am.  Even when I’m not busy, I’m busy, if you know what I mean.  Every little bit of down time I have is taken up with Zach, trying to spend some time with Hubby, trying to catch up on my summer tv shows, or trying to keep up with my favorite blogs (which I’m doing a very poor job of).  That stuff is important and I’m getting really behind.  I didn’t even watch Big Love last night!

Zach and I had a great trip over the weekend.  We got to Springfield early enough on Saturday to take the kids for a swim in the hotel pool, then cleaned up and headed over to my Aunt’s house for the big party.  It was great seeing my Aunt, Uncle, and my cousins.  The fireworks show my cousins put on was great.  The best part of the night, as usual, was after the crowd left and it was just family sitting around.  As an adult, I appreciate  the time I get to share with them so much more.  After we left my Aunt’s house, we went back to the hotel, put the kids to bed, then my mom, sister, brother, sister-in-law and I sat around for a while chatting, drinking, snacking on junk food, and just generally having a good time.  When 2 a.m. rolled around we finally decided to call it a night and went to bed.

In the midst of the chaos of unpacking from the weekend, cleaning, and re-packing for our trip next week, I’m also having to search for a new day care provider.  Zach’s current provider is changing her day care to infant only care, which means that Zach has to go elsewhere.  I’ve got about two months to find a new place, but I would rather get it done sooner than later.  I’ve spent the last couple of days searching online and making phone calls to day care centers and the costs are quite astounding.  They seem to have increased quite a bit in the last two years.  I expected an increase in costs because I’m actually looking for a day care center this time around instead of home care.  I think Zach is ready for a little more intellectual stimulation and some organized activities.  He’s a really smart kid and I don’t want to stifle that by not giving him the opportunities to use it.  We’re going to visit the cheapest center I have found so far and it is still $40 more a week than I am paying now.

Tonight my friend Amy is coming into town for a quick visit.  I have tons to do but I certainly don’t want to miss a chance to hang out with her.  I’m really looking forward to some margaritas and a Monterey burrito at Manny’s while she’s here.  I have no idea why, but the only time we go to Manny’s is when Amy is in town.  I guess the experience just wouldn’t be the same without her.

Between now and Friday I will be washing load after load of laundry, shopping for last minute items, and frantically packing in preparation for our trip.  I always get so stressed out just before we leave trying to make sure I’m not forgetting anything important.  Sometime in there I also need to upload the pics from the weekend, load up my mp3 player, make sure everything is charged up, and update some blogs.  We’ll be taking off as soon as I get home from work on Friday and I imagine I’ll let out a huge sigh of relief as we head out town.

p.s.  I signed up for Pownce this morning and have 6 invites if anyone is interested.  It’s kind of like Twitter, but better from what I’ve heard.  I’ll be playing around with it some more this week and would love to have a few friends on there to play with me. 🙂

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It's Nice to Have Him Gone, But I'll Be Glad When He's Back

I never thought I would say it, but I have actually enjoyed having a couple of kid-free days this week (although I’m ready to have him back).  Zach has spent most of the week at my sister’s house.  With a 30-minute drive each way, it just makes more sense for him to stay overnight instead of me driving back and forth twice a day.  I’m sure he’s having a great time anyway.  They have gone swimming several times and even got together with some other kids from our church to hang out for a bit.  My sis posted some cute pictures of them playing in the water yesterday.

On Sunday, we started “Operation Potty Training” with Zach.  I say “we” but I really mean my sister.  She has done most of the work since he has been at her house four of the six days since we began.  He is doing really well so far, except that he can’t seem to get to the bathroom fast enough when he has to go.  If you put him on the potty, he’ll almost always go and then exclaim, “I did it!”  I just hope he can keep it up.  I’m a little worried how the potty training will go while we are on vacation.  I don’t want him to regress and have to start all over.

Since Zach has been gone, I have been getting a lot of stuff done.  I cleaned up my desk and computer room last night, paid bills, worked on my sister’s web site, did tons of laundry, a little bit of knitting, did a quick pick-up sweep through the house, and actually got some sleep for a change.  It has been really nice to not have to rush quite so much in the mornings to get out the door.

This weekend my mom, my sister, and I are all heading to Springfield with the kids for my Aunt’s annual 4th of July blowout.  There will be lots of food, family, fireworks, and hopefully tons of fun.  We missed out on fireworks on the 4th due to the weather, so I’m anxious to see what Zach thinks of them.  It will be fun to show the kids off as well.  It will be the first time that most of the family has seen Brayden, and the other kids have grown a lot since the last time we were down there.  Unfortunately, Hubby and my Brother-in-law both have to work, so they’ll miss out this time around.

Then, one week from today, we leave for vacation.  I am so ready to get away and relax for a bit.  My sister and her family will be joining us for this trip so it will be even more fun.  We plan to get in some beach time, pool time, a day trip to New Orleans, visit family, and just relax.

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A Friend In Need

I don’t usually do this, but today I want to ask for your thoughts and prayers for a friend of mine.  This friend is going through a pretty rough time right now and really needs something good to happen in her life.  While I can’t (and won’t) go into details, I will say that this person means the world to me.  She came into my life when I really needed a friend and is always there when I need to talk.  So, if you could send a good word up to whatever higher power you believe in, she could really use some positive vibes and encouragement right now.

If you want to know what I’ve been up to the last couple days, you can find out here and here.

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Happy Birthday to Zach (again)

bday_07 020

Well, the weather did not cooperate and it rained and poured all day, up until about 10 minutes before the big birthday party.  Instead of an outdoor party with sprinklers and sunshine, we ended up staying in but had a great time anyway.  Everything went really smoothly and it seemed like we had just the right amount of guests.

bday_07 238My sister did an awesome job making Zach’s Blue cake.  It really turned out great.  There is no way I would have the patience to make something like that so I’m glad she volunteered.  She also helped me come up with a great game idea when we had to change the party plans.  The party wouldn’t have been nearly as fun without her around.

Zach got some really great gifts at the party has so many fun things to play with that he can’t seem to make up his mind.  He has spent all morning switching from one thing to the next.

We are having a lazy Sunday today, which is nice for a change.  Zach is napping.  Hubby is playing his video game.  I am procrastinating from doing the things I should be doing like laundry, cleaning, and writing my tottvwatch posts.  I’m very tempted to go take a nap, but I’m sure Zach will wake up soon and then I’ll just have to get back up anyway.

I am very much looking forward to having the week broken up a little this week.  The holiday on Wednesday will be a nice break from work.  Zach is spending the week with my sister and her kids since his day care provider is on vacation.  He’ll spend at least two nights this week over there.  She’s going to attempt to potty train both Zach and Ryan this week while the boys are together.  We’ll see how that goes.  I’ve tried to get a head start with Zach today.  So far he has actually used the potty once and has had two accidents.  I hope she has better luck with him.

I suppose I should get back to those other things that I should be doing.  That pillow sure does look inviting though…

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