Hrmm...

Well, let's see here. It's been AGES since I wrote. I have no excuses, just an apology.

Meanwhile, Chad came home from deployment. We traveled to WI to visit the in-laws, to Chicago for cousin Holly's wedding, to MI so Chad could finally meet my grandparents (only three years into our marriage!), and then back to WI before finally flying back to CO. Wylie had his 12 month check-up, got his five 12-month shots, got his flu shot, got a CT scan with contrast, and got his synagis vaccine (for RSV) yesterday. We go meet with the pediatric surgeon on the 2nd of December. I read the report, and from what I can discern, the CCAM is still there. For those of you who don't recall, that means surgery is in his future.

I think those are the big things for now. I'll try to write more soon. And by soon, I don't mean 5 months from now. I mean like later this week. Promise. Well, I'll try. I'm only human!

That's All Folks!

Weeeeellllllll - I've got a lot to recap for you.

First, and focused on me - I went to the dentist last week for the first time in a year and half.  I was expecting to have my lower back left molar worked on, you know, since I'M MISSING PART OF IT.  Turns out, I had much more pressing dental issues.  There was a possibility I was going to have to have TWO root canals.  Plus two crowns.  Yikes.  I hate going to the dentist.  Well, luckily, when she got in there and was taking out the decay, she didn't actually have to go into the root cavity, so she didn't have to do a canal - but I did, obviously, have to have the crowns.  So now I've got temporary crowns and my jaw still hurts like a sonuvabish.  I go back on Friday to have the permanent crowns put on and have my cleaning.  Gah.  AND I maxed out my yearly allowance for dental coverage.  In one visit.  So when I have my back left molar fixed, that's going to come out of our pocket.  Sweet.

Meanwhile, and on a much more positive note, we leave for MI next week and I'm so effin excited!  I'm going to see my BFF KJ and my cousins and my sisters and some of Chad's family as well.

Also, Wylie is walking all around the living room hanging onto the furniture and is getting so excited to try and stand all on his own.  I'm going with a friend on Thursday to the outlets to buy him some shoes from the StrideRight outlet.  Also, this morning, he followed me up the four stairs from the family room into the kitchen!  I was getting the trash ready to take out and I heard him making some noise, so I turned around to look, and he had followed me up the stairs!

My birthday went well - KJ and I went out to dinner and had a cocktail then we went to see Sex and the City 2.  It was such a fun night.  I'm so glad that she could be here to celebrate my birthday with me.

Today, I took Wylie to see the pediatric surgeon.  Since the CCAM didn't show up on the x-rays, he's ordering a CT scan in six months and if it's present on the scan, we'll schedule the surgery then.  Sigh.  More waiting.

Well, I think that recaps all of the big things from the last few weeks or so.

Well, I've done it again...

Yes, Internet - I have been remiss again.  I know.  Apologies.  In the last couple of weeks, I have fallen off the blogosphere.  Wylie is so much more active now that I expend copious amounts of energy moving things out of his grasp and taking things that he has managed to grasp away from him.  When he finally gets to bed at night, I just want to be braindead.  So I have not blogged.  But I will remedy this.  Soon.  But not right now - he just woke up from his nap.  Motherhood calls.

Bit Your Quitchin'

You know, looking back on some of my previous posts, I have to admit I'm slightly appalled at my self-pity.  I recognize that I wasn't fully in control of my emotions (pregnancy and depressions can do cruel things to an otherwise self-confident and competent, independent woman), but still.  The whining.  It's, quite frankly, humiliating.  Sure, I could go back and edit my blog to remove those posts, but really, if you're reading this, you know me, and therefore, I don't need to impress.  Besides, the point of my blog is to express myself, and like it or not, I have good days and bad.  Thankfully (and I'm not being sarcastic here), I have chemical help these days.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with a woman who has a familial history, as well as environmental factors which contribute to, postpartum depression utilizing a little zoloft to stabilize the churning chemical soup that used to be her brain.

Frankly, you guys, I still have bad days.  But I am reminded every time I turn around how much worse it could be.  I could have been a victim of a natural disaster.  I could have had a much higher-risk pregnancy than I did.  I could be a widow; with a 7-month-old.  But the possibility that is most frightening for me is the fact that I could have faced a crippling diagnosis: cancer.

My family has a history of cancer.  Both paternal and maternal.  All kinds.  But cancer isn't really a concern for most twenty-somethings.  This is why I admire my cousin, who is also one of my closest friends.  A few years ago, in memory of her maternal grandmother, she got involved in fund-raising for the Susan G. Komen foundation for finding a cure for breast cancer.  She has participated in a few of the 3-day For a Cure walks (60 miles, 3 days), which requires a pretty hefty fund-raising entry fee.  She has captained (is that the right term?) a team, and last year, she herself was diagnosed with cancer: thyroid cancer.  The thyroid controls all sorts of things in the body, and now that she is sans thyroid, she has to rely on medication to regulate the feelings of body temperature (always feeling chilly versus always feeling too hot) and body weight - and it takes a while to achieve the correct balance.  I admire Christina so much because she faced her diagnosis head-on and took a very active approach to her treatment.  She blogged (and still blogs, fyi) about her experience, to share with other thyca survivors and those who know thyca survivors so they don't feel so alone.  She was there for me to discuss my concerns and fears for Wylie and to commiserate with me when I would hear, "Well, if there's a defect to have, it would be a CCAM!" (She often heard that thyroid cancer was a "good cancer".  Does anyone else cock their head to the side when they read that??  Good cancer?!)  Now, she is facing more testing and waiting to see if she has an autoimmune issue which affects the salivary glands (read: painful swelling of the facial areas AND dry mouth).

So, I want to take this opportunity to count my blessings.  And I want to dedicate this post to Christina, who also has good days and bad days, but is one of the bravest women I know - not because she is so strong, but because she is honest and admits that she is scared/worried/in pain/human.  She is not brave because she has no fear, but rather, she is brave because she tackles her fear.  And even though I don't always know the right thing to say, I want her to know that I love her and admire her.  I also want her to know that she always has a place to stay and an ear to fill.  Because God only knows that sometimes, you just need someone to listen.

A Complex Love Affair

I LOVE Wylie.  I don't know of a mother who doesn't love her child.  I love seeing his face light up when he notices me next to his crib in the morning or after one of his naps.  I love the toothless smile he gives me when he realizes he's just accomplished something.  I love how he'll crawl over to me while I'm sitting on the floor by him and put his hands on my legs and lift his face up to mine.  I love the way he snuggles into me after he's done nursing.  I love the way he smacks his lips to blow me kisses.  And thinking of these things about him that I love makes me weepy.

But I still need mommy time.  I need to get a night out of the house, sans baby, to just be an adult.  And it's things like this that make me hate Colorado.  Because, for the life of me, I can't seem to find a sitter.  So I continue on in my complex love affair with my child because I love everything about him, but I need some me time.  And I feel more twisted and pulled as each day goes by.  Because I don't seem to have anyone here on whom I can rely.  And that hurts my heart.

Edited to add: A friend recommended to me on Facebook to try the site SitterCity.  So I went to the site and signed up for a free trial (one week).  Turns out, once I registered for that, I found out that they offer free memberships to military families, compliments of DoD.  EFF.  Why didn't anyone tell me this?!  Eff, eff, eff, EFF!  This information could have saved me so much heart ache and many headaches.  {sigh}  Oh well - I posted a job listing and I already have a response (which I can't view her contact details until the customer service center opens tomorrow and they translate my free trial to my mil membership).  The best part?  It's the woman who I was scoping earlier who actually decided me to try the free trial!  Score. So, Customer Service Center, hurry up and call me back tomorrow so I can tell this woman that I want her to come babysit.  Thank you.

Embarking on my new career

If you know anything about me, you know my colossally bad luck.  It shouldn't be called Murphy's Law, it should be Lacey's Law.  So, yesterday I had my informational meeting with an Avon lady and I signed up. (Totally easy start-up, PS.  If you're interested in finding out more, please feel free to email me at MrsLThorner{at}gmail{dot}com.)  She is my up-line contact (basically, she's the first I call with questions) and she said that she would get me registered when she got home.  Cool beans.

I figured that by 9 pm last night, she would've had time to do that, so I go to the website to get registered and start going through my online training, only to discover that Avon can't verify my information.  I sent her a text about it and went to bed.  I tried again this morning and got the same message, but I also got a number that I could call.  Turns out that my account number had been registered to someone else.  Cool.  So now what?  Well, today was our district's President's luncheon, so I texted my upline and she was talking about it with all of the other managers and all of her uplines, and guess what?  Among all of them, they have only heard of this happening only three other times in all of their combined years of Avon experience.  STELLAR.  So I had to wait for the help desk to email me a new account number before I could get started.  But, everything is now go!  And, so you all can help me with launching my new career, you all get FREE SHIPPING on your first order through my online store!  Just visit My Avon Store.  And, once I start getting some clientele established, you can bet your booty I'm going to start doing a giveaway or two!

On a different note, unrelated to Avon but in keeping with my luck, I thought the sleep training was going well until we got to the morning nap today.  I tried for TWO HOURS STRAIGHT to get Wylie down for his nap.  Finally, I had to nurse him twice to get him back down.  I also had to NoseFrida him. Twice.  Then he woke up about 2 pm.  Fine.  He didn't show signs of being tired for quite a while, so I just figured that he was skipping his afternoon nap in favor of an early bed time.  NOT SO, INTERNET.  He just woke up.  So I have no idea what my night is going to look like, but I'm guessing it's not going to be pretty.  Pray for me, internet.  Please.  Pray for me to have patience and a glass of wine.  Or two.

And a killer Avon launch.  Please.  Extra money is necessary so I can afford a sitter to get out of the house and drink with other adults.  Or just get out by myself.  Help me.  Thank you!  Oh, and once I get some money coming in, you can maybe look forward to free samples of killer products like the Flash Facial, the Luminosity Pro Brightenig Serum, and the Professional Cellulite Treatment, plus many more as they become available.  Help me support small business - you buy from me, I buy a margarita!  Good night, Internet!

My Own Personal Hell: DAY THREE

So, we're on day three of the sleep (re-) training.  I was reading in one of my parenting magazines (from like four months ago, but I'm just now getting around to reading it) that this one woman and her husband take walks before bedtime with their daughter.  The fresh air tires her out and gives the adults some energy, so I thought, "What the hell?"  Today, after a dinner of rice cereal and squash (Wylie's, not mine), I retied my Reeboks and loaded him into the stroller.  We just a did a nice leisurely walk around the block and he really enjoyed it.  We came home and he rolled around on his quilt with his toys and then I took him upstairs.  I nursed him, read him a couple stories and then rocked him a little.  I put him down drowsy but awake and left the room.  And he cried for maybe 8 minutes and now?  SILENCE.  Blessed silence.  Thank you, Lord!

On a side note: I never got around to making those individual portions of lasagna.  It's been moved up on my to-do calendar.  Right after, "Clean out the freezer some".  You know, so I can fit those individual portions of lasagna in there.  So right now, I'm eating some leftover Italian wedding soup, some chili, some spaghetti sauce, and other little tidbits I have in there.  Which should last me some while until my BFF gets here.

Oh, and I am officially an Avon lady.  Will get you all the website address as soon as I have it finalized.  :)

Let the Claiming of the Birth Month Freebies Commence!

So, I received my freebie birthday gift email from Sephora this week. It's a free little eye kit - mascara, eye shadow, eye liner. Those of you who know me, know that I am a sucker for a good deal. And it doesn't get better than FREE folks. I guess you could call me a FREE-K. Haha. Stole that pun from This Woman.

So, in addition to my birthday freebie, Sephora.com also allows you three free samples with each order. AND they had a free sample of Clarins Body Lift sculpting cream. I bought two OPI nailpolishes (which were on sale for $5 each) and got FIVE FREE THINGS! Score. And S&H was only $6. Oh yeah. I'm awesome. I love being cheap.

BTW: in case you wanted to send me a gift, or just birthday wishes, you have just under two weeks left...

My Own Personal Hell

So, after being a crappy sleeper this week, I decided it was time to sleep (re) train the baby. He used to be a good sleeper. You know, after I sleep trained him at three months. But then we went to WI, he started teething, we moved him to the crib, and Daddy got deployed. So he's back to being a crappy fall-asleeper. Yes, I just made up that term. So, since he started showing signs of grumpiness almost a full hour earlier than he usually does, I decided there was no time like the present. And honestly, is there a pleasant method for sleep training? I doubt it.

Before, I totally did the modified (?) Ferber method. You know - put him down. If he cries, give him five minutes, then go in, calm him, and walk back out. If he cries again, up it to 10 minutes. Etcetera. However, I recently read an article by a woman who tried a different method (IDK what it's called - I'm going to call it sit-and-soothe). So in S-A-S, you sit next to the crib, and pat the baby, and talk to him, yadda yadda yadda, until he falls asleep. I tried that two nights ago. Except I was there for over an hour and he wasn't getting any more tired. Turns out, Wylie just like to hang out with mama. So I went back to my modified Ferber for today. I nursed him (it's like his bed time snack), gave him the paci, rocked him till he was drowsy, put him down and turned on the seahorse. I shut the door even though I could hear him start to object. I gave him five minutes of crying-like-he-means-it before going back in (it usually takes him about 20 minutes to get to this point. I know he usually just moves around the crib, bouncing on his knees (his newest accomplishment) and pushing the crib soother before he actually gets pissed). Then I gave him 10 minutes. That time, he sat up and came over to the side and put his arms up to me. I picked him up, gave him a hug and his paci and put him back down. Except that this time, while I was waiting for him to get down to business one way or the other (crying or sleeping), he started SCREAMING. I'm pretty sure that he bonked his head on the crib while he was messing around. The fact that I found him with his head canted at what I can only presume to be an uncomfortable angle against the bars seems to confirm this. So I picked him up, soothed him, and rocked him until drowsy again. Then I put him back in the crib. And I listened to him fuss around for 30 minutes (didn't really cry in earnest, so I just left him to it). And right now? SILENCE. Blessed silence.

And for mama? A drink. And maybe some chicken wings. Yes. Yesssss.

Seven Mostly Quick Takes

ONE: I love the Steam Mop. It is awesome. It could quite possibly bring me great amounts of joy - from cleaning.

TWO: The faster the months flip by, the more conflicted I feel. On one hand, it brings me closer to seeing loved ones and family back in MI again. It brings me closer to seeing Chad again {sigh}. But it also brings me closer to seeing my precious little boy cut open. And that is TERRIFYING.

THREE: Got my pyrex! Agenda for tomorrow night? Making small lasagna portions (pre-baking stage) for the freezers. So much healthier than those Stouffer's ones I was buying! But you know what? I'm totally using cottage cheese. Is it traditional? No. But you know what? I like the little melted curds. I love melted cheese. Better yet? Burnt melted cheese. YUM!

FOUR: The Vampire Diaries season finale was tonight. And boy, did they ever do a great job creating a cliff hanger!

FIVE: I'm so sad that the TV/DVD combo in my bedroom is holding one of my Futurama DVDs hostage. It also refuses to listen to any of my commands (via the buttons people. No, I am not yelling at the effin TV).

SIX: I am soon going to join the ranks of women everywhere who sell Avon. So excited!!

SEVEN: In the last week, Wylie has

• pulled himself up to standing
• stayed standing on his own long enough for me to take a picture
• figured out how to crawl
• said, "Mama"
• raised his arms above his head while sitting on his own

If he plans to continue on this track at this pace, I'm in for hell before Chad gets back home.

Good News!

So, my Bissell Steam Mop Deluxe arrived today. Does it mean you're old when you get terribly excited about a new mop?? Oh dear. I guess I'm old. And I'm totally cheap (we've already talked about this, I'm sure) - so I went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to buy it. Except they didn't have it in the store. So I was really upset, you know, since I was going to use the 20% off coupon I got in the mail. You know, since I'm cheap. And that would've made it $20 cheaper than they have it for at Target. Except, did you know that you can take your 20% off coupon into the store and have them place the online order for you and then they let you use the coupon?? I didn't. Sure, I had to pay $10 in shipping and handling, but since Bissell also offers a $10 rebate on their site, I'm still saving $20 over target. Plus, if the thing ever breaks, I can bring it back to BB&B, versus the very limited return policy at Target. Totally worth it.

Oh, and in addition to sitting on his own and pulling himself up to standing, GUESS WHO SAID MAMA YESTERDAY FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER????? Yes. My loverly little boy. :) Am totally bursting with pride.

More good news? I went to my old work today to drop off the deadly vanilla spa basket to my friend. And there, I saw another lady I used to work with. Who used to, apparently, own a day care center. And who has a 14-year-old daughter who wants to start earning babysitting money. And who said that they would watch Wylie anytime. So, the fact that I was just blabbering to Chad yesterday about how I need to find a sitter?? I guess it's just kismet. All in all? Good day. Even though it's now cold and rainy. :)

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner! Allergy Fail.

So, at the Just Between Friends consignment sale I attended a while ago, I entered to win something from a Mary Kay lady. Well, I didn't win the big prize, but I was a runner-up! Guess what I won? I won a free spa basket. In vanilla scent. Which I am allergic to. So I'm giving it to my friend. But the MK lady also came over to give me a little makeover. And, she asked me if I was bribeable. Uhm, yes, I am bribeable for free beauty products. She apparently has to tell so many people about becoming a MK lady themselves, and once she does, she gets a free purse. So, she already has 125 people under her, so I guess she just wants to do lip service, because she said she knows I'm not interested, but she's giving me a FREE Satin Hands kit to just come to my house tomorrow to talk at me about doing MK (don't worry, I'm not going to start selling MK). So, I guess it's not a total fail, because I'm getting a free expensive beauty kit that I love and am almost out of the one I already own. So... SCORE.

Also, it's been quite some time since I posted some pictures of the adorable baby I have. Enjoy the following cuteness:

First photo evidence of Wylie sitting all on his own! (Poor baby! See the drool rash?)

Yay! He just looked up at me and raised his arms above his head. So cute!

Do you see this? This is from today. He pulled himself to standing and was playing with the activity table ($10 CraigsList score!)... He is STANDING. On his own.

Oh, I almost forgot. We also had the six-month well-baby appointment this last week and the requisite chest x-ray, as per the pediatric surgeon's orders. Well baby stats:

Weight: 17 pounds, 8.9 ounces

Length: 26 inches

Head circumference: 17.5 inches

I would like to note, here, that he weighs one pound less than my cousin's 11-month old. LOL

Also, the chest x-ray was clear, which means that the CCAM has not grown (remember, it didn't show on the x-ray taken at birth either). So, at this point, I need to get the x-rays on CD and take them back to the pediatric surgeon for further waiting instructions. All in all, not a bad week!

Forehead SLAP!

So, I was reading my friend Kristi's blog today, and I'm seething with envy. You see, she blogged about this awesome idea - when you take your photos of your baby's milestones, you put these sweet stickers on the chest of a plain onesie so you can see just by looking at the photo how old your darling is. She (the sticker lady) also makes awesome stickers to paste on your baby bump for those commemorative photos too. Such a simple idea, and yet, she had it first! So jealous.

To top it off, Kristi is doing a giveaway of these sweet stickers! So, you could use them for yourself or to give to a recently prego friend as a gift. If you're interested in entering, check out Kristi's blog, via the link I provided above, and follow the steps. :) Good luck!

They Say the First Step Is Admitting You Have a Problem

Hi, my name is Lacey, and I'm addicted to Singapore Mei Fun. It's a Chinese take out dish that I had never had before, until we went back to the Sconnie to visit my in-laws. My MIL had gotten it when they ordered Chinese for dinner while we were in Sheboygan visiting our friends. The night we got back to their house, it was a little late and Chad had driven down to Chicago. Nobody really felt like doing anything, so we just ate leftover Chinese and I shared my MIL's with her. OMIGOD. It is so delicious. I immediately started looking up Chinese restaurant menus around my house. No Singapore mei fun. So I expanded to the city - I'm not averse to driving 20 minutes for good Chinese. No dice. Damn. So I looked up the recipe online. And it's pretty easy to do (there are several variations, I chose one with no shrimp. I'm totally averse to shrimp.) - so I've made it a few times. And it gives me a few meals, so that's pretty cool. Plus it's TOTALLY delicious. I'm so addicted. One more time making it and I'm going to have this thing memorized. Mmmmm...

Can you guess what I'm making for dinner?

It's My Own Damn Fault

Well, I had an epiphany today. I know, I know - for someone so smart, I can sure be dense. I gave Wylie his bath tonight (that was the product of another epiphany from yesterday), cuddled him, greased him up (poor boy has Momma's dry-patch sensitive skin), diapered and dressed him, then brought him downstairs to roll around on his quilt for a little bit. When he started fussing, I scooped him up and brought him upstairs to his room where I fed him, told him a story, and rocked him until 7. Then I put him down in his crib, gave him his paci, turned on the seahorse, and shut the door.

I went downstairs and listened to him fuss twice before I heard not another peep. And what was my little epiphany I had today? Well, the fact that Wylie has had no bedtime routine! So, here is my goal: start Wylie on the road to bedtime each day by 6 pm. He obviously can't have a bath each day (Colorado + dry-patch sensitive skin = sandpaper skin), but I can wash his hair each day (which will help to curb cradle cap), and I can definitely grease him up each day and give him an infant massage in the process. So the end result will be bedtime by 7 pm. I think this will help him to go down more smoothly each night and hopefully, stretch out his sleep times (fingers crossed!).

My other epiphany? Wylie didn't like bath time anymore because he didn't like being reclined for it! I figured out how to take the infant bar out of the baby tub so he could sit for his bath and he liked it much more. He splashed and kicked the whole time, instead of crying. Duh, momma.

So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehn, Good-bye.

Well, it's just me, the baby, and the cats again. Sigh. I really miss my parents. It's not as bad this time, though. When they left to head back home in November I cried for days. Mind you, that was pre-Zoloft. But still. I cried every time I thought about it for a few days beforehand and for about a week afterward. Yeah. Postpartum depression is awful. I mean, right now I really miss my parents, but I'm not a freaking mess with mascara running all over my face and racing through boxes of Kleenex.

But, I shan't be alone for long! My BFF KJ will be coming out here the end of May-ish. She called me this week to tell me about the wonderful deals that she's finding on airfare and to ask me how long she can stay. I told her forever. LOL I'm hoping she'll stay like two weeks. You know how you love you have company, but after a few days you start to get annoyed by their little quirks or foibles? That NEVER happens with KJ. She once lived in my room with me at the sorority house for a few months, off and on, and it never got old. I could probably see her everyday for the rest of my life and not be sick of her. This, my friends, is why she's my BFF. That and we have the same interests (read: Wylie, food, video games, nerdiness).

Also, my friend SummerSausage* is apparently coming out for a visit too. But she's said this before and I've still yet to see her here (I'm going on three years living here). So, sadly, I'm not actually planning on this happening. My MIL is making tentative plans to come out here and visit in June, I guess, and then at the end of June, Wylie and I are flying back to MI to hang with the fam and friends for two weeks. Then in August, I guess I'm going to WI with the baby, and then in October is cousin Holly's wedding in the Chi. So it'll be go-go-go soon enough. But for now, I'm just a little blue.

So Excited!

So, you thought I was excited about all the money I saved at the Just Between Friends sale? That doesn't even come close to how excited I am right now - my parents are in transit on their way here! It is going to be so great to see them with Wylie. You know, since the last time they were here he slept all the time. But now, he sits up (pretty steadily), he has two teeth, he eats rice cereal, he pushes up on his hands and knees, and he rolls all over the damn place. I can't wait for them to see him again. It's going to be amazing.

On a brief side note: I'm starting to wonder if Wylie is just going to bypass crawling. He seems to prefer to roll to whatever it is that he sees and wants. He rolled three feet the other day from his baby gym to Chad's Rock Band drumset controller. LOL It would be just like my child to be contrary. On that note, I'm going to try to head to bed now. You know - my parents are Morning People. I am not. However, that means that they will be leaving their hotel in Salina, KS, well before the buttcrack of dawn tomorrow morning, I'm guessing. So tomorrow, friends, I must be a Morning Person. Thank God for coffee.

I Am a Money-Saving QUEEN

Okay, I talked about it before. But let me just tell you, if you live in a state where there is a Just Between Friends sale, you better get your butt there! I totally went to the pre-sale last night for my local sale (there are several qualifications for attending the pre-sale, mine is that I'm a military wife and a first-time mom). Pre-sale attendance also has a pre-requisite of registering. I attended with two friends, who are also military moms and first time moms. We walked in and Good Lord - the baby items galore that awaited us! There were potty chairs, high chairs, bouncers, jumpers, walkers, strollers, play yards, kitchenette-type toys, activity table, sorting toys, table after table of toys of all kinds, bottles, boppies, swings, bouncy chairs, and, of course, CLOTHES. There was also nursery decor and furniture (baby) as well.

Let me share with you some of my score -

Jogging stroller

Retail: $140

My price: $42.50

Sesame street deluxe walker

Retail: $45.00

My price: $20.00

Sesame street singing pop-up pals

Retail: $40.00

My price: $2.50

Parents electronic activity puzzle cube

Retail: $41.95

My price: $8.00

Fisher-price Laugh and Learn Puppy

Retail: $20.00

My price: $5.00

Fisher-price Slumbertime Soother with Remote Control

Retail: $35.00

My price: $10.00

Plus an entire bag of 25 baby toys (mostly Lamaze and Fisher-price, plus teethers) for $20. So the grand total of savings? Over $200. That's right. I told you - I'm a money-saving queen.

Go to your local Just Between Friends sale. You must. All of the items available are based on what consignors in your area have put up for sale. But it's like a conglomeration of all of the baby stuff from all of the garage sales in the area, all in one location, all being checked for quality (they don't sell stained or damaged goods), and they have a credit or cash line (at least mine did). Everything was organized. There was no digging through stacks of clothes - everything was hung up and labeled and grouped by age/size. Go. Shop. Save. And when you're done with your things, consign them to the sale so you can participate in the presale. Or volunteer and participate in the presale. And most of the things that are left on the last day of the sale are 50% off. Can you really afford to NOT go?

Leaps and Bounds

Well, in the last few days, Wylie has started stacking up accomplishments. He started by first scooting backwards on his stomach. Then, he started to scoot forward on his stomach. Yesterday, I got him to sit, alone and unassisted, for 30 seconds. Today, he pushed up on his hands and knees for the first time ever. And then repeated to do so for, oh, an hour (off and on).

Which brings me to a great realization - I haven't childproofed. True, some of our cabinets already have the childproofing locks on them, but the plugs are a free-for-all, the table has tile on it, our video cabinets have sliding doors on them, and I haven't even begun to look for baby gates. Oy. Vey. I know that I need to look for mounted baby gates and not pressure-mounted baby gates because we have several stairs. I tried to look at my local Target, but they didn't have anything in store other than the pressure-mounted gates. So, I guess I better get a move on.

A Serious Post

This is a post that I've been debating about writing for a while. It's a sensitive subject that doesn't get a lot of attention, even though it is something that affects millions of women. Postpartum Depression is different from baby blues, which is the classic feeling of a little sadness and whatnot from experiencing the birth of the baby.

You may have noticed that a while ago, when I update my blog, that I included postpartum depression in my blog banner description. That in and of itself is a huge step for me. I am very uncomfortable openly discussing anything that I see as a shortcoming. I much more prefer to gloss over things with a heavy dose of sarcasm. But looking back at my pregnancy, I can see that I was suffering from depression before the third trimester. As I mentioned in several different previous posts, I had several of the risk factors for PPD. I live far away from my support system, my husband is in the army, my son was diagnosed with a condition (CCAM) while in utero, and several of the women in my family had PPD. I've been on zoloft since I went for my six-week postpartum check-up. That was also a huge step for me. But I don't believe that I could have done as well as I have were it not for a little chemical help. Especially with Chad still having to travel for training, and now, for deployment. I still don't have my support system here, though I have made inroads with hanging out with some of the other women with young children who I know. But there is nothing that can substitute for your long-established support system or your family.

The reason I have been struggling with writing this post is that this is a very personal issue for me. But it is something that I don't believe is openly discussed, which is sad. Women who admit to having PPD are often stigmatized by those who don't have it, who discount it as baby blues, and those who just don't understand. It took me almost two weeks to admit to Chad that I was on zoloft after I had been diagnosed by my doctor at my postpartum appointment. I was so ashamed (don't ask me to explain that, because I can't) and I worried about how he would react: would he think I was weak or crying wolf or faking? (Sidenote: I don't know why I worried that Chad would think those things. The only thing that I can think of is the stigma.) Postpartum depression, I think, is not well understood by many people. And I can't speak for every woman, but I can speak for myself.

It was awful, looking at my beautiful baby and feeling intense love for him but escaping into the shower so I could sob without worrying about someone catching me. I could calmly change his diapers and bathe him and change his little clothes. Wylie wasn't a colicky baby. He was and is very mellow and easy-going. He's a happy baby. And yet, I would suddenly feel like the saddest woman in the world. Or I would get SOO angry at Chad, for no real reason. And I could tell that I didn't have a rational reason for being unbelievably angry with him, yet I was. It was hell trying to keep that from showing through to him. There were times that I was thisclose to calling my parents to ask them if I could move home with them with the baby while Chad was deployed this summer because I couldn't handle the thought of having to face everything by myself. (Which, I want to add, kudos to all of you single mothers out there. You are amazing, and I doff my cap to you.)

But now, I'm on zoloft. And I will be on zoloft through at least this calendar year. (Going off too early can cause your brain chemicals to drastically unbalance, causing a serious relapse.) And are things perfect? No, of course not. Do I still have bad days? Yes, I do, which I'm actually glad of. Part of the reason I was so scared to go on a pill was because I didn't want to feel like a zombie. I still get teary and will sometimes cry, but I can validate those instances (that stupid Humane Society commercial where they show all of the sad eyed dogs looking at the camera), or Wylie does something Big Boy and it's bittersweet that my little baby is growing so fast. The zoloft doesn't make everything magically better: I still wish I lived closer to my family, I still miss my friends, I still worry about Wylie having to have surgery in November (probably), I still resent the lack of support I experienced here during my pregnancy, and I still worry internally about stupid, inane things. I live with PPD everyday. I have good days and bad days. But I'm not a crazy woman, I don't imagine harming my baby, and I don't feel like a zombie. Sometimes I still feel a little overwhelmed. But I'm taking things one day at a time, and I put my bras on one arm at a time, just like you.

Going, Going... Oh, Wait, Not Quite Yet!

Well, since I last wrote, Wylie has been a busy boy, trying his hardest to move. And he's been successful. Kind of. He's scooted backward about 6 inches several times while on his stomach. But I think his most favorite method of trying to move is sitting on his butt and using his heels to pull himself forward, also in a scooting motion. But he hasn't quite gotten the hang of that either. You see, he tries to lean back so he can move further, but I don't think he quite understands that he will just fall backwards, since he's not using his hands behind him to brace himself. But it's very entertaining to watch!

He's also starting to move toward taking longer naps in a smaller quantity. I'm okay with this. I would rather have two long naps rather than like 5 small naps. He's not real consistent on that yet, but I have great hope.

Continuing my Wylie update: he has spent the last three nights sleeping in his crib. The transition wasn't nearly as painful as I had imagined it would be. I imagined that he would wake up screaming because he didn't recognize it and couldn't smell me right next to him. I imagined that I would bawl my eyes out because my precious baby wasn't sleeping right next to me anymore. But you know what? Neither of those things happened. I know that I talk in my sleep (I've had several people tell me so, from past roommates to my cousins and friends who slept over when I was younger, to my mother). And since Wylie's been sleeping in his crib, his waking up in the middle of the night has been drastically decreased, so I'm guessing that I was part of his night-waking problem. LOL

This Thursday, I'm taking him in to get professional portraits taken. I'm pretty excited. He's got the cutest outfit to wear, but it's 6 mos. sized, which means that I had to hurry and get him in for pictures, because he's definitely moving into his 9 mos. clothes. I had a little bit of a dilemma trying to find a place to get his pictures taken. I looked at Target and JCPenney, but those seemed so, well, expensive. So I kept looking. And I found what I thought would be perfect (maybe too perfect) - a $9.95 portrait package deal from Portrait Innovations. Well, being the Doubting Thomas that I am, I called the studio (they are a chain) to ask questions. The girl asked me when I wanted to book an appointment and I told her that I actually had questions and she said that she was too busy to talk to me and took down my contact information. On Friday. She said she would call me back. It's Monday. So after her slightly rude conduct, I searched for their customer reviews online - and it was NOT positive. That sealed the deal for me - not going with them. So I kept searching. And I wound up finding a nice, private photographer couple working out of their house, just about a mile from my house! They've been in photography for a couple of decades, and they had beautiful pictures in their online gallery. They were running a January special, so I asked what current specials they had, and she said that she would extend that previous special to me! So instead of a $75 sitting fee, plus pictures, our initial sitting is $49, which includes the sitting fee, a 5x7 and four wallets! Awesome! And then I'll order more portraits too, of course. But I'm really excited. They have both an indoor studio and a beautiful backyard garden. So if the weather cooperates, we might have some really beautiful outdoor pictures.

To wind up, in the next two weeks, the yard is being prepped for summer by a yard crew (thank you Mountain West Property Management!), my parents are coming to visit (Hooray!!), and I'm going to hit up the Just Between Friends consignment sale. Exciting times!

Where's the Beef? Right Here!

My beef right now: I just viewed this video about how the flight attendants association is getting miffed about all the carry-on baggage and the fact that they are sustaining injuries from people incorrectly using the carry-on bag to pack everything. I don't disagree with that. Especially since I'm pretty much a SouthWest airlines convert. Hello, traveling with a baby requires a TON of stuff. Two free bags per ticketed passenger? Hell yes. That combined with SouthWest's Wanna Get Away fares and you really can't beat it. Even with driving from here to Denver to get the cheaper fare - even with driving and parking, I'm still saving money. Sorry, I got sidetracked.

Back to the video content. This "reporter" is saying that with the baggage fees, more and more people are carrying everything they can on (Duh! Have you seen unemployment rates??). But she made a comment about people carrying on things like coats and food and that those things make for an unsafe flight. Really? My breakfast bagel creates an unsafe flight? Are you effing kidding me? So, if I fly from Denver, and I have a layover of, say, an hour before catching my second flight to my final destination, I have to eat in the airport? But what if my first flight is late? You want, me, a nursing mother, to go six hours without eating during the day when my child is nursing more? You're on crack. You complain about people having bad attitudes on flights? Has anybody thought that maybe everyone is suffering from massively low blood sugar? And that is compounded by the problem that most airlines offer NOTHING snack-wise on board anymore. No wonder everyone hates flying - everyone has low blood sugar and had to walk around on the gross airport floor with no shoes and their pants sagging because they had to have their belt scanned. Thank you so much, TSA, for subjecting us to security theater. That's right. I said it. Obviously, scanning my belt and my .05 ounces of hand sanitizer and my chap stick have prevented people like this guy from trying to blow up his own crotch on a plane. Oh, and that 76-year-old lady you just chose for extra screening probably has an explosive in the beaded chain holding her glasses around her neck.

Seven Quick Rants

One: I was bored the other day, so I clicked on the Next Blog >> link at the top of the page and read through some random blogs. But OMG you guys - do you have any idea how many running blogs there are? How many people need to blog about running? Is it really all that different? Or am I just ignorant? (Seriously, click the next blog link at the top of the page. Tell me how many running blogs you come across in 15 clicks.)

Two: Learn the different between there, their, and they're. They are not interchangeable. There is a preposition (it shows location). Their is possessive (my cat, their dog). They're is a contraction of they are. The same goes for your and you're. Your is possessive (my cat, your bird). You're is a contraction of you are.

Three: Punctuation is important. You wouldnt really want to read this blog if I never used any punctuation now would you see it all becomes one run on sentence and you cant separate the ideas punctuation serves a very important purpose you should try it sometime

Four: The rules of the road apply to bicyclists too. I'm pretty sure this is only a regional problem - God knows I never had the issue when I lived in Michigan. But nothing burns me more than when some idiot @$$hole on a bike disregards traffic laws, lights, signs, and courtesies. Guess what? I'm driving a car. In a battle of wills, I will ultimately win, and you will splat.

Five: Ads that are like 12 times louder than the program I'm watching. Thank God for DVR. I rarely watch live tv anymore.

Six: Inconsiderate people. The other day, I was in line at the grocery store. In the regular line, not my customary self-checkout line. This old lady in line in front of me had a big cart, but only three items. She loaded her three items on the belt and proceeded to turn her cart sideways to BLOCK ME OUT OF THE LINE. WTF lady? I had to move her cart and my cart, which was loaded to the brim and also had Wylie in his infant carrier seat in it. @$$.

Seven: The Sock Monster who lives in the dryer.

Reasons Why I Don't Believe I'll Ever Truly Be an Adult

When I was getting ready to graduate from first high school and then college, the looming Adult World kind of freaked me out. I mean, my God, I'd have to pay bills! But in college, paying bills didn't seem to be such the Scary Event I thought it would be. But the biggest marker of adulthood, Paying Taxes, that STILL seems daunting. And do you know, I've never had to do my own taxes? My parents always had a CPA do theirs (at least as long as I can remember), and they still claimed me as a dependent while I was in college, ergo they did my taxes for me while I was in college. And then, when I was facing my first ever time to have to pay my own taxes, Chad and I got married. Thankfully, he took econ classes in the business college at WMU and knows about Accounting and Banking Things, so he's taken care of our taxes for me. As I was ruminating on this randomly, I started to think of reasons why I won't ever earn my Official Adulthood Membership Card. And so, I give you my list...

1. I still watch cartoons.
2. I still like to play games.
3. I like to color.
4. Sometimes my imagination gets the best of me. So much so, that
5. I'm afraid of the dark (not all the time, and not truly, but every once in a while...)
6. I want to skip dinner in favor of dessert (I don't actually do this because I know I shouldn't. But it doesn't stop me from really, really wanting to.)
7. I could never have a Big Girl Job, working at a corporation or behind a desk.
8. I have no idea how to choose a retirement plan (which is why I never started saving for my retirement while I was at HSD2. Oops!)
9. I get distracted by bright colors.
10. I still play video games.

There. Now that I've confessed my deepest, darkest secrets, what's one thing about you that isn't very adult like?

One Man's Trash is Another Man's Treasure

Okay, I don't know how many of you are Craigslisters. I'm sure some of you (cough, My Parents) probably don't even know what Craigslist is. Well, I'm here to confess to you, that, well... I'm hooked! I sold that stupid monstrosity that the imbeciles we bought the house from left us (a.k.a. the basketball hoop) on there in less than 24 hours after posting it. I bought $75 worth of baby toys from a lady on there for $15. I sold the Wii Guitar controller for $25 yesterday. I'm selling my beat-up suitcase on there for $10, and I'm going to purchase two $30 planters for $25 total. I'm also looking at getting a cedar chest for $100. I'm also hoping to sell my golf clubs (thank you Tyler, you douchebag, for buying them for me so I can now sell them) and my stereo system. And you know what? If these things don't sell, I can just take them to Goodwill. Sweet.

And you know what? Yes, I'm cheap. I'm not afraid to admit it. But seriously? Baby things? They don't get used for that long, so if you can wash it or disinfect it, why not? And the cedar chest? Really? My parents have a cedar chest and I love the idea, but they are sooo expensive new (the one I'm looking at is $350 new, they're selling for $100!). So, yes. I Craigslist. And yes, I may have a problem. So there.

On a related Lacey-is-cheap note: I also signed up to go to the Just Between Friends sale this April. If you have not heard of Just Between Friends, let me enlighten you. It is a community of moms who get together twice a year and sell all of their no-longer-needed child-related things. From newborn to pre-teen. Clothes, strollers, toys, etc. And this isn't just a Colorado Springs thing. Click on the link, check it out. See if there's one near you. I'm totally going to look for a jogging stroller. Why? Those of you who know me know that I don't jog. However, jogging strollers have tires instead of little wheels. And there is this awesome trail that runs alongside a creek right by my house. But I can't go down this lovely trail with Wylie because the stroller doesn't go off-roading well. So I'm hoping to find a decent jogging stroller for like $50 at the sale. And baby toys. Maybe some kind of walker-push toy for Wylie for when he starts along the being-mobile path.

So, here are my questions to you: Are you cheap? Do other people tell you you're cheap but you disagree? Do you pretend that frugal sounds better than cheap? Do you Craigslist? (Because if you don't, you should.)

Back to the Crib

Well, I'm trying Wylie in his crib for a nap again. And so far, he's approaching the half-hour mark. I've discovered that if I stand by the side of the crib or the pack'n'play where he can see me, he usually drops off pretty quickly. Of course, that's only when I put him down still pretty awake. You know, he's at the point where he's tired enough to laugh-cry and rub his eyes, but his eyes aren't droopy. So I rocked him a little bit, then I swaddled him up TIGHTLY, popped the paci in his mouth, and turned on his seahorse. I stood where he could see me and watched as the eyelids got very heavy and then slammed shut. Poor baby. So tired.

So the plan is to try the rest of his naps today in the crib, and then maybe leg one of nighttime sleep. It'll be weird when he's no longer sleeping in our room with me. Ah, there he is now, just shy of a forty-minute nap. Off I go to get the baby. :)

The Much-Awaited Rolling-Over Video

Here it is folks - the much awaited video evidence of my peanut's newfound skill! Also, for future use, if you want to search for my videos on YouTube, please use the following email address: MrsLThorner@gmail.com. However, please don't email me at this address - it is used exclusively for communicating with my former students. Thanks!

Edited to ask: Are you getting choppy playback on the video? Please respond - I need to know if my new camera is having issues or if it's my computer. Thanks.

Edited again to add: I had the original post as a YouTube video, but this one is loaded through blogger and seems to play better on my computer. I still want to know about the choppiness though. And, if it's not too much to ask, if you want to check out the video on youtube HERE and see if that one is choppy, that would be awesome too!

A Chicago Wedding Weekend

So, my cousin Holly (really Chad's cousin, but I love her like my own, so I've totally adopted her) is getting married in October.  I'm really excited because it's promising to be quite the affair.  However, my mother-in-law brought up a good point - won't we want to have some kind of babysitter there to watch Wylie so we (and by we, I mean me, not Chad, since he's not truly the primary caregiver, you know, since he just left to spend 6 months overseas, courtesy of the army) can have a good time??  And the answer?  A resounding, "YES!"  So my MIL started throwing out possibilities.  Her niece's daughter could bring a friend to hang out with during the day and the friend could watch Wylie during the evening activities and during the wedding.  Okay, yes, that would work.  But honestly?  The only people who have taken care of my baby without me anywhere around in the vicinity, outside of Chad of course, are my mother and his mother.  And I'm sure that my MIL's niece's daughter (who is 17) wouldn't bring a complete moron.  But I'm not totally comfortable with the idea of someone who I do not know AT ALL taking care of my baby.  So I was really hoping my mom would come to Chicago (with my dad, por supuesto) and take care of the baby during the evenings and during the ceremony.  After all, I know that she's a reliable caregiver (hello, I'm walking proof) and she's already taken care of him before.  Plus, what grandparent doesn't want to spend some quality time with their adorable infant grandchild?  So, after a very heartfelt and pleading email, my parents agreed to come to Chicago and take care of the baby.  But Internet, you don't truly understand this triumph of a parent-looking-for-a-reliable-and-trustworthy babysitter if you don't understand that my father HATES Chicago traffic.  And, since my mother has to ride through Chicago traffic with my father (who is not a good heavy traffic driver in a mostly unfamiliar city), she hates navigating through Chicago as well.  But they still agreed to come!  Yay!!

I'm hoping that during the day we can head to some of the attractions with Wylie, who will be almost one year old (!).  Places like Navy Pier and the Children's Museum or Shedd Aquarium.  I think the aquarium would be awesome as a little guy - it's definitely one of my favorite places, so I'm really excited to take him there.  It should be awesome.  It promises to be a great, new experience, for him, and for me.  I wonder what it will feel like to watch him explore the aquarium, to see the look on his face.

And, speaking of new experiences, Holly is going to be having a Hindu blessing on the Sunday after the wedding, which will be awesome to see.  I've never seen any Hindu ceremonies, so I'm really interested to take part in this blessing.  It's called a Satyanarayan Puja.  So hopefully I will have some great new experiences to blog about after that weekend.

Good friends, good times

So went up to Denver today to go to my friend and former mentor's baby shower.  It was so great to see her!  It's been almost a year, maybe more, since I last saw her.  She had gotten a different job during last school year, so she was at a different school.  Then her father up in Denver got really sick and died suddenly so she and her hubby moved in with her mother to help with the house payment (her father didn't have life insurance).  So it's been quite some time since I've seen her.  It was awesome to see her and her sisters and mother today.  But it kind of made me sad.  I wish that I could see her more, but since she's an administrator now, her work schedule is crazy.  Not to mention, you know, that she lives in Denver.  But hopefully we'll be able to keep in touch better.  I really do miss having her here in town - she was the person I was closest to here outside of Chadley.

But, I digress - it was so nice to be at her baby shower.  She received so many beautiful, handmade gifts.  She also received lots of little helpful things, like the fold 'n' go diaper kit or the forehead scanner thermometer.  She got a ton of other things too.  It was nice to see so many people there to celebrate her and the baby.  But I do have to say, Jenn is hilarious.  She is clueless about babies and baby stuff!  She held up a package of onesies and paused because she couldn't tell what they were.  I guess she let her husband do most of the registry.  Most people would say that's a bad thing, but you don't know her hubby - he's really the feminine personality in the relationship.  And he did good, let me tell you from having scanned the registry.

So, out of all of these handy dandy gifts, what did I get her?  Well, I got her a diaper cake.  That I made. It's wasn't totally pretty, I don't think, but I guess it was pretty good for a first effort.  You decide:

Meanwhile, I totally haven't posted any of the pictures from our Wisconsin trip.  So, here are photos of my adorable baby!

Meanwhile, there aren't any viable pictures of the teeth yet, nor is there viable video of the little tyke rolling over.  Oh yeah, did I mention that Chad bought me a Kodak Zi8?  So as soon as there is viable video, you can bet that I'll be sharing it!  Hope you enjoyed the photos, Internet!

Lotsa Excitement

So here I am in Wisconsin visiting the in-laws.  Well, actually, right at this particular moment, I'm actually in Sheboygan visiting with friends, but we're going back to the in-laws tomorrow.  Wylie has already accumulated like 10 more outfits between Grandma Sharon and Great Aunt Patty.  And you guys, these outfits are ADORABLE!  One of them, my favorite, is a St. Pat's sleeper with little clovers all over it and a ginormo clover on the butt that says, "My 1st St. Patty's Day".  Sigh.  Too cute.  And will probably never fit another kid, unless I can time a pregnancy just right that the next one (or the one after that) will be wearing 6 mos. clothes at St. Pat's day.  But I'm getting ahead of myself here.  Let me backtrack...

Thursday was terrible.  Absolutely awful.  Chad had to climb Pike's Peak on Wednesday.  In one day.  Carrying a 38 + pounds pack.  And he didn't wear sunscreen.  Oh yeah, and they all ran out of water with about 6 miles left.  And they started at 3 am.  So when he got home, he slept 11 hours straight.  In the guest room, because frankly, he STANK.  And when he got up, he had AMS.  So he was useless (his words, not mine) all Thursday.  Thursday, the day that I had to wash all of the laundry, do all of the dishes, pack my bag, Wylie's bag, and my carry-on/backpack/Wylie's-travel-diaper bag.  And take care of Wylie.  And Chad.  And make something for dinner that would help to speed Chad's recovery (read: protein).  And, Internet, this is the worst part - I had to wake up at 2 am the following morning to get ready to leave at 3 am for the Denver International Airport.  Of course, since Chad was still suffering from AMS, I had to drive.  To the DIA, which I swear to you is damn near located in Kansas.  And our flight from Denver to Las Vegas was delayed by about 45 minutes, which severely cut into our time in the Vegas airport (I didn't get any slots time, dammit!), meaning we almost missed our Vegas-Milwaukee flight.  Wylie did pretty well on the planes, considering the fact that he woke up at 2 am, with only one catastrophic diaper failure (on the plane, mind you), which necessitated a Wardrobe Change.

So we landed in Milwaukee, and, miracle of miracles, our bags made it too!  We were fully expecting to be spending the night without our bags, considering how closely our time was cut.  But, thank God, someone at Southwest airlines has actual, honest-to-God, good ideas - the put a neon pink tag on your bag is it's a transfer.  Bless you, Southwest.  Bless you for your transfer tags and for two free checked bags per ticketed passenger.  Bless you for your affordable fairs.  So here we are in Wisconsin having a good time.  Wylie is chewing on my finger, like he always does these days, you know, since he's teething.  Except now, it's a lot more painful.  I mean A LOT.  So I run my finger along his lower gum, and lo-and-behold, there is a sharp tooth-ridge poking through his gum!  Where have the last 19 weeks gone?

(Did I mention that I started Wylie on cereal this week?  No?  Well, I'm mentioning it now, in this aside.  Chad took pictures, and as soon as I can steal them from him, I will post them here, promise.  At first, he did not enjoy the cereal.  He only ate about a teaspoon of the tablespoon I had prepared for him, so I put the rest in the fridge and tried it again later, with MUCH success.  And on Thursday, he ate about 2 teaspoons of the 1 tablespoon I prepped.  My plan right now is just to make him one tablespoon at a time until he's eating a full tablespoon at a time.  We'll up serving size as he gets more used to actually eating.)

So amid my joy in my son's newest accomplishments and at visiting with family and friends, I received a devestating blow today.  I received a text from my cousin that they've placed my grandmother on Aricept.
I guess that she's not doing as well as I thought she was.  They haven't officially diagnosed her with Alzheimer's, but that's what the drug treats, so....

Edited to add: originally written on Saturday, March 20.  Posted later...

To-do Mania

Well, Wylie's rolled over about umpteen times since his first successful solo roll.  Chad finally saw him roll over last night (he didn't cooperate for daddy the night before), so he was really happy about that!  Wylie's also still working on those bottom teeth, and when I was feeling his gums for a progress-check, I discovered that gum tissue on his upper gums is feeling pretty rough now too.  Could he be getting ready to cut his top two front teeth shortly after he finishes his bottom ones??  Yikes.  Hopefully he's not a rough teether.  We've been pretty blessed so far.

Meanwhile, we're getting ready to head to Wisconsin next Friday and I just realized that I have a TON of laundry to do in preparation for that - all three of us are going to need clothes to wear, after all, and on top of that, Wylie's going to need bedding and towels.  Hopefully Chad's parents' friends can loan us some baby stuff while we're there so we don't have to cart everything through the airports with us.  Still waiting to hear back from her, but she offered, so I'm guessing we're in the clear with that.  After we get back from Wisconsin, Chad will have one day at home and then he leaves.  It's crazy - it totally snuck up on us.

Well, the baby calls, so it's time to get him up and feed him and change him so I can start on the out-of-house to-do list today.  Among those things are buying the supplies to make a diaper cake (wish me luck!).

Children's Chapter Books

Okay, so to continue my last thought from my previous post, I'm really looking forward to Wylie being able to enjoy being read a chapter from a book at night before going to bed.  That said, I don't want him to grow up.  LOL  I love him being a little guy and wanting to cuddle when he gets tired.  I hope that he doesn't outgrow that.

Meanwhile, back to the books.  There are several chapter books that I enjoyed when I was younger.  I know it'll be a while before I can enjoy these again with Wylie, but I got to thinking about them nonetheless.  I just thought that I would share some of these with you because I always liked them.

• The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (which was also made into a live action/animated film by Chuck Jones)
• The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
• The Cricket in Times Square by George Seldon
• The Farthest-Away Mountain by Lynne Reid Banks
• I, Houdini: The Autobiography of a Self-Educated Hamster by Lynne Reid Banks
• The Indian in the Cupboard series by Lynne Reid Banks
• The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
• The Fudge Series by Judy Blume
• Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
• The Sideways Stories from Wayside School series by Louis Sachar

There are more, I'm sure, but I just don't remember them right now.  What chapter books did you enjoy when you were younger?  Or which authors were your favorites?

Rolly Poly Pudding Pie

Well, today Wylie rolled over for the first time completely on his own!  He rolled from his back to his stomach and he looked so proud afterward!

He spent the rest of the day rolling back and forth from his back to his stomach and vice versa.  I can't believe it.  He is growing so quickly.  He's exclusively in 6 month clothes now and he's very close to sitting up on his own.

Yesterday at Target (which, P.S., is having a sale on two-packs of Gerber first foods for $.94), we got him some veggies and fruits and some single-grain cereal.  I can hardly believe that he's almost ready for food!  We're going to wait until he starts showing some serious interest in food, but I believe that he's almost there.  He's started grabbing for forks and plates when he's sitting on your lap at the table, but I don't think he's yet truly interested in the food on the said forks and plates.

I've also started thinking about some of the chapter books that I enjoyed reading when I was younger and would like to read to Wylie as he's growing up.  I already have one of them: The Phantom Tollbooth.  There are several others, which I will have to detail at a later date as he just woke up.  :)  Night all!

Award Tag

 I was tagged by Christina at Butterfly Lights for this award: "This award means you're really going places, Baby. You'll still be blogging about your great adventures 10 years from now, and I'll still be reading them."

The Rules:

• Link back to the blogger who sent you this award
• Post where you would like to be in 10 years
• Pass it on to 10 other special bloggers!

Well, I don't even know 10 bloggers, so I guess that I'll just have to tag as many as I can:

• Emily @ Not That You Asked...
• Jenn @ Reflections
• And those are the only bloggers I know that haven't been named already by my cousin!

Now, as for where I will be in 10 years, that's kind of come up for debate.  I'll be a mom of at least two (hopefully!) and probably back to teaching.  As to location, that's the part that's come up for debate - there are several options available, but I'm still hoping for the Chicago area.

I Like Dr. Watson

Well, since Wylie's doctor's appointment Thursday, we've had a little bit of diarrhea going on.  It's a reaction to the rotavirus vaccine, and it's pretty common.  Poor little guy has been just a little irritable though.  I mean, in comparison to some kids, he's still really easygoing.  But for him, he's a little irritable.  But that's not what I really wanted to write about.

Friday evening at 7:30 pm, I was getting dinner ready when my phone rang.  It was a number that belongs to someplace on post or at the clinic where we go, so I answered it.  Usually I don't answer phone calls from numbers I don't already have in my phone, but I did.  It was Wylie's pediatrician.  She said that she was making a note in his folder about his appointment and got to thinking that since he has a cyst in his lung, maybe he would benefit from getting the rsv vaccine.  She said that ordinarily, if we weren't on army healthcare, he wouldn't qualify for the vaccine because he's simply been too healthy.  Also, since he didn't go to the NICU, he didn't receive his first dosage at that time.  But she spoke to someone and had it preapproved so he's covered during RSV season.  She said that if we were on civilian insurance and wanted to have him vaccinated, we would have to pay for it out of pocket and they are $1000 each.  So that's pretty awesome that he's covered under TriCare.

Okay.  I think that's about it.  Kind of a lame post.  But there you have it.  I really like Wylie's doctor because she takes the time to think about things beyond the basics of the appointments.  And she works late!  :)

4 Month Well Baby Check-up

Well, we had the 4-month well baby visit today and it went really well. Other than the fact that the doctor was running behind. But as far as I'm concerned, if you're not the first two appointments of the day, the doctor is pretty much always running behind. That's what comes from trying to squeeze too many patients into too few doctors' schedules. Okay, that's enough of the soapbox.

Anyway, they weighed and measured Wylie (after everyone exclaiming what a Big Boy he is!), and then we waited for the doctor. He weighs 15 lbs 1.5 ounces, is 25 1/4 inches long, and has a 15 inch head. So that means he's in the 65th percentile for height and weight and the 75th for head size (that means that he is bigger in height and weight than 65 average babies his age and his head is bigger and 75 average babies his age). What that means is he's healthy! Yay!

He really didn't like being poked and prodded today, but really, that's the doctor's fault - she was running late so she ran into his naptime; he was VERY cranky. Last time, he just went along with her testing of his limbs and reflexes and laughed the whole time. But then came the really awful part - the shots. Sigh. I hate hearing him cry!! But at least he stops crying pretty much as soon as I pick him up right after they're finished. Some of the other infants cry and cry and cry afterwards. My mom said that I did pretty much the same thing - I would cry as they were giving me the shots and then as soon as she'd pick me up, I was over it. So we have to go back in 8 weeks for his 6 month check-up.


She also checked in his mouth and commented, "Man, he's really working on cutting those two bottom teeth!"  You're telling me!  I thought he was going to crack my knuckle like a walnut chewing on it!

I also got the schedule for when to start giving him which foods, based on when he shows interest. Some people start giving food as soon as the little one reaches 4 months - I don't prescribe to that school. I'll start giving him food as soon as he starts showing an interest in it (aka when he starts looking at us longingly as we eat big people food in front of him). The doc also gave me a cream for his super-dry skin - Johnson's baby lotion and baby oil hasn't taken care of it so far, so she busted out the VaniCream. We'll give it a try and see how we like it. Okay - I think that's about it!

Why I Love the NoseFrida

A couple of weeks ago, Wylie had a really stuffy nose.  Like terribly stuffy.  As I put him to my breast to feed him, he pushed his head into me, sealing off his breathing for a split second.  That was all it took to put him into full meltdown mode.  I grabbed the bulb aspirator to clear out his nasal passages, but it barely fits into his little nostrils and it took Chad and I at least a full five minutes to get his boogies out so we could start calming him down.  And after all the work with the bulb aspirator, I pretty much just wound up picking his nose to get the boogers out.  This was a couple of days after I'd placed my order with Amazon.com for the NoseFrida.

The NoseFrida is a test-tube looking thing with a long piece of tubing attached.  The adult places the red piece in the mouth and the end of the test-tube looking part near baby's nostril.  Then you suck.  You don't have to invade the nose cavity, and there is absolutely no way that you can inhale the snot and boogers (if you look closely, you'll see a darker blue piece at the opposite end of the of the part you place against the nostril - that's a filter and it keeps anything from entering your mouth).

Now, let me just tell you that I just used the NoseFrida again this morning for like the 30th time since I bought it.  I was able to quickly clear Wylie's nasal passages of their morning accumulations without him twisting his head and jabbing himself in the nose with the bulb aspirator.  It's also much easier to clean - the long portion of the blue reservoir detaches from the end where the tubing is and you can easily run hot water through it.  You can also see when you've cleared all of the nose junk from it, as it's clear.  Lastly, you can change the little filter there easily as well to ensure you don't suck up snot and boogers.

I never want to hear my son crying and screaming the way he did that morning a few weeks ago.  It was awful, and it definitely shook Chad and myself up.  The $15 I paid for the NoseFrida (plus a couple extra dollars for extra filters to have on hand instead of having to order later) was totally worth it.  I know my son isn't snuffy and can breathe freely.  If you know someone who is having a baby or you have a baby yourself, I highly recommend it.  It's so much easier and safer to use.  Seriously.  I got mine through Amazon.com, but they also sell them online at Target and Babies-R-Us.  I guess that they also sell them in Whole Foods Market stores.  (Not too sure on that one though.)

Okay, that's my unsolicited product review.  :)

Seven Wonders of My Life

One:  I'm pretty sure that Wylie has started teething.  The drooling is out of control, and he seems to be running a very mild fever.  His cheeks are bright red and he's very restless.  Plus, I thought that he was going to crack through my thumb joint while gnawing on it on the plane ride home from FL.  Poor little guy.  I gave him a little Tylenol yesterday because he hadn't had a good nap and he finally slept for like 3 hours.  Same story today.  Plus, I smoothed my finger around his bottom gum to check it out and it feels like that telltall bump has started to cut through.  Poor baby.

Two: The camera charger arrived and it works!  So, you all can expect more pictures!

Three: Florida was very nice.  We had awesome weather on Sunday and we actually spent some time down by the pool.  I got a little bit of color even!  Wylie hung out in his stroller and Christina and I actually went in the hottub.  It was very nice.  But the real reason for our little trip was to visit my grandmother.  I don't remember if I actually wrote about it, but she broke her hip at the beginning of February and had to have a partial hip replacement.  The ironic thing is that she broke her hip after leaving her pre-op appointment for her glaucoma surgery.  So the glaucoma surgery was postponed.  The partial hip replacement went well and she spent some time in a rehab hospital but is now home.  She has excellent mobility and is able to walk well through their trailer without the use of a walking aid.  She said the only time she uses a walking aid is outside because of the uneven ground surface.  The visiting physical therapist has her outside and walking up and down their block with him and he is just amazed at how well she is doing.  She is able to go up and down their (three) stairs into the trailer without issue and can get in and out of the car easily as well.  She needs help in the bathroom as they don't have a raised toilet seat, but as far as I'm concerned, that's a pretty moot point, in comparison!  However, from the hip surgery, she does have a UTI.  She still very confused, and I understand that this is a symptom of a UTI in older adults.  I don't think it's terribly serious, as she is aware that she is confused.  There also doesn't seem to be any real problem with her memory.  She also knew who Christy, uncle Larry, Wylie and I were, so it's not like the confusion is real effusive, but it is disconcerting to hear that she doesn't know where the bathroom is in their one-bedroom trailer.  Her arm strength is also terrible; it was kind of heartbreaking to hear her say that she really wanted to hold Wylie but didn't trust her strength.  So my uncle Larry, cousin Christy, grandpa, and I all took turns holding him by her so she could feel like she was holding him without the worry of having to control his squirming.  But we continue to keep our hopes up.

Four: We are currently hoping to be able to go back and visit Chad's parents before he has to leave at the end of March.  We were checking out airfare prices today and it looks like it might be about $600 round-trip.  But everything is still up in the air, so who knows.

Five: Chad's dad is currently undergoing testing to determine the cause of a seizure he had while snowmobiling with some friends and spreading his father's ashes.  The doctor thinks it might be neurological instead of diabetic, so Chad has been pretty worried about that.  The tests were to have been done this past weekend, so we're still awaiting results.  The doctor did caution that sometimes they aren't able to determine the cause, but still, that's a scary thing.  We've talked about it, and Chad and I are pretty confident that the doctor is going to tell him it's time to take better care of himself.  Which is the truth.

Six: In Florida, we hit the flea market and I scored an awesome pair of "designer" sunglasses (knockoff Coco Chanel) and a set of queen-sized sheets with an extra set of pillow cases for $20.  The big part of that deal?  They're 1200 threadcount!!!  Super soft.  They're in the wash right now and I can hardly wait to slip between the sheets!

Seven: I don't know if I've had some kind of deficiency or what, but I have totally been craving comfort food lately.  Hence, I've been making meatloaf with brown gravy, pierogi, soups, and beef stew.  I've also been eating a ton of cornbread (from the Safeway - it's amazing.  You must try it!).  And Mom, if you're reading this, I know you never made those foods, or if you did, I didn't like them, but they're what I'm craving.  And they are SOOOO GOOD!!  (And if you want the recipes, aside from the peirogi which is store-bought, you can get them in the cookbook my cousins are selling in order to raise money to walk in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day this fall in Detroit, MI.  If you're interested, email my cousin at CKleymeer AT gmail.com (formatted to avoid auto spammers) to pre-order ASAP because the orders are due by this weekend....)