Sunday, August 28, 2011

To Do List

The following is a list that has been clogging up my synapses for the last week and has caused me to occasionally hyperventilate in a corner.  I'm hoping if I write it down, my ulcer will cease and desist.

ahem...

THINGS THAT NEED TO BE DONE WITHIN THE NEXT 6 WEEKS, OR THE WORLD WILL END:
(the abridged version)

1. Paint bathroom
2. Remove remaining wallpaper backing in said bathroom prior to painting
3. Hang items in Eli's room
4. Arrange/Organize Scout's room
5. Wash Scout's bedding, blankets and clothing
6. Buy Dreft
7. Hang frames in living room
8. Finish painting Scout's dresser
9. Line Scout's dresser drawers
10. Go to Ikea/Michaels to buy finishing nursery touches
11. Clean the bathroom
12. Paint my toenails (or bribe someone else to do it, as I find it increasingly difficult to see my toes)
13. Cut my hair (or whatever you would call the current hot mess atop my head)
14. Get Eli over his fear of church nursery, clapping and loud noises (which will be detailed in another post)
15. Get Eli's hair cut
16. Buy a big brother gift for Eli
17. Continue to pray that this child will be easier to breastfeed than Eli was
18. Sterilize breast pump accessories and bottles
19. Buy bottles
20. ...

Okay, never mind, this list is making it worse.  I think my blood pressure is dangerously high.

Monday, August 8, 2011

Eight is Great


 All kings, and all their favourites,
All glory of honours, beauties, wits, 
The Sun itself, which makes times, as they pass,
Is elder by a year, now, than it was 
When thou and I first one another saw:
All other things to their destruction draw,
Only our love hath no decay;
This, no tomorrow hath, nor yesterday,
Running it never runs from us away,
But truly keeps his first, last, everlasting day.
                 -John Donne


Happy 8 Years, Benji...I love you.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Wide Load


12 weeks
  • still wearing non-elastic waste pants
  • looks like I have a food baby
  • nauseous all the time
  • bathroom not cleaned


22 Weeks
  • Found out we're having a Pheobe (vs. Pheobo)!!!
  • Have adopted a no-do-hair-ever attitude
  • Elastic pants for sure
  • Sweating all the time
  • Bathroom still not cleaned


 25 Weeks
  • Somehow, belly looks smaller in this picture -- must be the non-tent shirt I'm wearing.
  • Baby is kicking her way out of the womb
  • Escaped up north to in-laws' for a week for sweet, air-conditioned relief.
  • Heartburn in full effect...threw up on the side of 127 on way up to in-laws' due to acids of fury clawing their way out of my esophagus


 
 28 Weeks
  •  3rd trimester
  •  Sweating more than is natural for any large mammal
  • Pretty sure I'll test positive for gestational diabetes due to all the chocolate I've been consuming
  • Scout has hiccups every morning and night at the same time
  • We're not naming her Scout despite my pleadings
  • Thankful for Hostess cupcakes (see picture)
  • Reconsidering stripes for my next picture
  • Had a mini-panic attack in the baby aisles of Toys R Us
  •  When I tell people I'm due Oct. 23 they ask if I'm having twins 

 
Now, I know you're all jealous of a.) my sweet photography skills, b.) the raccoon-like freckle clusters under my eyes, c.) my personal grooming, but with great awesomeness comes great apathy.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Whose Child is That?

Heard whilst out and about with my toddler today:

"Don't worry, I had one just like that...he'll grow out of it."

"He's a handful, huh?"

"Let me help you with your cart, you've got enough to deal with with that one."

"Good thing he's cute, huh?"


If 3 is worse than 2, I might have to take up drinking.

Friday, July 1, 2011

This One's for the Fans...

I know...I know...I haven't updated since Moses was a boy, but I've been busy thinking about unpacking from our move while watching free HBO.

So here's something that's been swirling around in the recesses of my mind for the last couple of days...and then I promise I'll update with pics of house and Eli (sans pacifier, people...parents: 1, Eli: still more than the parents) and maybe a pregnancy picture so you can see another beautiful life contributing stretch marks to a previously Olive-Oil-like frame. 

So, since we moved to Jackson, I've encountered a whole new culture group.  If you've never visited Jackson, MI (the supposed birthplace of the Republican party, home to Cascades Falls -- they light up, people, and the Hot Air Jubilee), you should drive through some time on your way to that U of M game, eat some White's Chicken and just take in the general societal splendor that will surround you.  If you're feeling really daring, head on over to Wal-Mart at 11:00 at night or just watch One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest -- you will feel the same after either experience.  Anyway, people here often remind me of a bad In Living Color episode.  You don't know why you're watching, but you can't tear yourself away.  Not to say that people here aren't lovely...they're just different from the Christian liberal arts community we've sequestered ourselves in for the last 8 years.

Anyway...I usually get gas now at a gas station 2 seconds from our house.  It usually makes for great social theater.  So I've noticed that every...E.V.E.R.Y. time there are two guys who are also getting gas who realize they know each other from that softball league they were in two years ago.  The exchange goes something like this:

"Hey, bra...what's up?"

 "Not much, bra...good to see you.  You playing in the league again, bra?"

"No, bra...hurt my shoulder last year."

I'm not lying.  Every time...there is a "bra" reunion whilst I'm getting gas. 

Now, here's my question: Why do guys call each other bra?  Is this a Jackson thing...b/c I know we tend to be behind on social trends.  Was bra an accepted term at one point?  Because I don't think Christian liberal arts college students ever called each other bra.  Do they not realize they are using the same term for a device perfected by Victoria's Secret?  It's a bit feminine. 

Also, it's stupid. 

So yesterday, whilst I was taking my fever ridden child for a car ride so that he wouldn't entirely rot his brain from all the Shaun the Sheep we had been watching, I stopped to put gas in my husband's geriatric-mobile.  And again,  there was a "bra" convention happening at pump 3. 

I got back in the car and turned to my son for an explanation as a representative of his sex.  I expected some type of archetypal answer.  "Because, mom...it's how we let the world know we have testosterone,"  or "It's a tribal secret, mom. You'll never understand."  But my sweet little boy looked back at me with those gorgeous brown eyes and said:

"Go to town, mama...get fench fies." 

A man after my own heart. 

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Where's the Fire?

Eli and I went to Meijer the other night, and before we left I told him to go get his hat.  This is the hat he brought to me...and insisted on wearing.  

Monday, May 16, 2011

Here's the Rundown

Our House: I have been hesitant to comment on our home buying experience.  Not because it's been awful; it's been quite the opposite.  But mainly b/c I'm afraid if I put something out there in the universe about buying a house, something dreadful will happen, like it will spontaneously go up in flames or a den of angry badgers will be found in the attic. So, all I'm going to say is, we're buying a house. And I never knew so much paper work was involved.  I'm expecting a phone call any day demanding that we give the bank Eli as a down payment.  These folks are serious.  I mean what happened to make lenders all wary about giving out home loans?  Geesh.

McDonald's is for Suckas: I used to be a fast food fiend. I mean I used to make Taco Bell bean burrito runs at 12:30...a.m....after I graduated from college...and was legally supposed to be an adult.  I even watched Super Size Me while eating a Big Mac...just kidding.  But the movie really had no effect on me.  However, ever since I got pregnant with Eli, fast food and I have been on the outs.  Even after I had Eli, it never sounded very appealing to me, which I'm sure my liver is happy about (dangling preposition). However, a couple nights ago, I had a craving for a McDonald's hamburger.  So, at 8:40 p.m., e.s.t., I pulled into our local McDonald's drive through.  I ordered two hamburgers, a small fry and three chocolate chip cookies.  What?!  I was hungry.  The baby wanted cookies.  Stop looking at me, swan.  

Anyway, I pulled up to get my food, when a very nice gentleman informed me I would have to wait two minutes if I wanted chocolate chip cookies.  Two minutes? Pssh...worth it.  So I was asked to pull forward so that other customers who were not on their way to adulthood obesity could collect their sensible orders.  10 MINUTES LATERRRRR....a girl ran out with my cookies (which, by the way, were fresh out of the...whatever they bake stuff in at McDonald's) but not my hamburgers...the whole reason for going to McDonald's.  I politely asked her where my hamburgers were and she was all, "They didn't give them to you?  Be right back."  Her be right back had the intonation of a teenager who'd rather her parents get off her back...geez...I'll get to it when I feel like it.  5 MINUTES LATERRRRR she came out and was all, "I just gave you two mcdoubles with cheese. Is that okay?"  Ummmmm...no.  Anyone who knows me knows I despise cheese burgers with every fiber of my being.  The biggest fights between myself and Ben have found their genesis in a misunderstanding over a cheeseburger.  Also, if I wanted a mcdouble with cheese, I would have ordered one....they're a DOLLAR.  So, I very politely said, "Ummm...no, I really would just prefer my hamburgers."  To which she replied, "Uggghhhhh."  (oh also, it's pouring down rain during this whole fun-filled trip).  So, I was like, "You know what, I'll just come in."

So I pulled around, took my beyond-fed-up toddler out of his carseat, carried him through the rain inside to get my two hamburgers.  The manager came up to the front to greet me, and I thought, "Cool, she's going to apologize and give me free stuff."  Nope.  She was all, "Can I help you?"  And I was all, blank stare. "Ummm, yeah, I've been in the drive through for 20 minutes waiting on two hamburgers."  And she was all, "Why didn't you want the mcdoubles?"  And then I was all, "Because if I ingest cheese, I will die, fartface."  Not really.  I said (very politely), "I just wanted two hamburgers."  So she was like, "Okay."  3 MINUTES LATERRRRR whilst my child is pushing a highchair around the store, I get my hamburgers sans apology.  Grrrrrrr.  Note: I am so completely afraid of confrontation, that this rant will be what I do about my experience.

Master, whaa?: I love going to school.  It's true.  I'm a nerd. So I was super psyched when I decided to start my master's courses this past fall. But I also love not being in debt.  So when Ben and I decided I would get my master's, we decided we would pay for it as I went along...no loans (which is hard when you only have one income). But, we got a great discount on master's courses because of Ben's job at SAU, and we didn't have any mortgage payments, so we thought this year would be a good time to at least get my 18 credits of continuing ed.  So I took my first class in the fall, and we paid for it. I was supposed to take a class in the spring, but my work schedule conflicted with it, so I pushed it back to next spring.  No big deal.  I was signed up for three classes this summer.  And then...some things happened: Ben got a new job, we are no longer able to get his discount on master's courses at SAU, we're buying a house, we're having a second baby, and McDonald's will not cover it even though I waited over 20 MINUTES FOR TWO HAMBURGERS, so I'm dreading making a decision about what to do with my courses.  I'm dropping one of my summer classes, hoping I can cover my other two classes.  I'm optimistic right now, but kind of bummed at the same time. There's a whole lot more that I could say about this topic, but I don't want to...so just...okay?

Baby Numero Dos: We find out whether we're having a Pheobe or Pheobo June 6.  After careful consideration, I will not be posting pictures of my uterus on the internet (not b/c I judge people who do, I totally did with Eli...it's just a personal choice this time around), but I will let you know what we find out.  Also, I felt Alejandro (my name for the child for now) kick for the first time last week.  He/She was either kicking or chewing some Bubble Yum.  One more thing, I'm in that in between phase where I'm showing, but people don't want to ask whether I'm pregnant or just having a food baby.  So people just look at my stomach and then back at me and continue talking to me like I didn't just notice them looking at my stomach.

Big Boy Bed: Our plan is to not set up Eli's crib when we move.  We're just gonna have him sleep on the floor...he likes depriving himself...we think he's going to be a monk.  Actually, we don't want him to feel all kicked out of his crib to make room for Alejandro, so we wanted to have him start out life in his new house in a big boy bed.  But, we also didn't want it to be a shock to his system...new house, family of badgers, big boy bed...so we're easing him into it.  We took the "cover" (as he calls it...or the front) off his crib tonight to convert it into a toddler bed.  Now, my son is a creature of habit.  If you try to change up his routine, he starts killing people with just his words.  Luckily, after coaxing him off the ledge, he tried it.  We had to put his entire library of books in the bed as well as some of his cars, several stuffed animals and a trip to Disney World in order for him to even climb into the bed, but he got in. Parenting success.  It's been four hours, and he's still there...probably trapped under all his books.

 Milk Dud: 1, Tooth Filling: 0:  Last summer, after 29 years of being cavity free, I had to get three cavities filled.  It seems that along with my stomach muscles and ability to hold pee, being pregnant also deprived my body of a lot of calcium (mostly from my teeth).  So, I had them filled and went on my way.  Fast forward to this week.  I was enjoying a healthy snack of milk duds when all of the sudden I felt a disturbance in the force.  The caramel deliciousness was tugging on something in my mouth.  I pulled the half masticated milk-dud out of my mouth to discover a tooth like entity clinging to the dud.  Wha???  My mind immediately went to the most dire possibility of what could be happening: I for sure had a raging infection in my mouth that was currently traveling via my blood stream to my unborn child...that's the only logical explanation as to why my teeth are falling out...oh my word, my teeth are falling out...I'll have to start parking broken down pick up trucks on my lawn and insist Ben wears his nicest wife beater around our fancy company.  After I frantically called the dentist convinced she would want to see me immediately...to save my unborn child, she asked me to describe what the tooth-like entity looked like.  I described it to her and she told me it was probably my filling and she could see me in two weeks to replace it.  After I asked her if my unborn child was in danger, she calmly explained that a misplaced filling would do no damage to my child.  Then she hung up and told everyone what a whack job I was.  Just kidding, she's so nice.  Not like those miscreants at McDonald's.