WWWednesday!!

Today will be Whirly Wednesday. 
I do this thing with my son that causes him to make the funniest face.  It's a look of excitement, anticipation, humour, adoration.  He loves to be whirled!  Whirling is when I'm holding him on my hip and I spin around in a circle.  The momentum and gravitational changes move him out away from me while holding him almost sideways.  He must feel a change in weight and place, almost as if I've lost control and he's drifting away.  It must give him the same sensational feelings that one gets when riding on a tilt-a-whirl.

It's freeing.  All at once you feel the weight of the force on your body, but even though you aren't in control you feel freed to just let go.  Your muscles relax.  Your thoughts are lost and you feel the overwhelming need to laugh but can't, because all you can do is let go and smile. 

We spin until I start to feel my footing miss.  I do this to my little boy at least once a day and while it's probably not the best thing for his joints or his eyes, balance, or head, it's not the safest mommy-ly practice, especially with Bella at my feet to trip me up at any moment... 

(This is Bella, about 50 pounds ago)

But it is fun for us both.  He gets the biggest kick out of it and I feel like it's just one of those things that brings us closer together.  He's not afraid of anything.  His most favorite activities in his world involve jumping, bouncing, flying up in the air waiting to be caught.. again, probably not the safest activity out there, but he loves it!  We enjoy our whirly times and I love the look in his face as he's grasping my arms with his little pinchy grip and looking at my face with the biggest smile I've ever seen on such a little person!

The absolute best pic to put here would be of my son's face when we're whirling.  It's magical, really.  So much delight.  But, as it is impossible for me to safely whirl my whirly-boy while holding camera in other hand, backing up enough behind my shoulder to be sure to capture his perfectly excited expression all the while keeping me out of the picture and rotating in sync with the spaztastic circular pendulumism without either breaking camera, breaking son, breaking said sync or busting my butt on the floor and still only ending up with a pic as good as maybe one of the ceiling fan blades in the corner of the pic as we both go tumbling down brought to our doom by Bella's giant paws and nipping at his heels...  Can you see how completely unfeasable this photo op would be?  Chyeaa.  THat NoT Easy.  Maybe I can get hubby to try to play photog after work today.  If not, you're left with your fabulously active imaginations I'm sure.  Don't try this at home unless you're a regularly experienced infant whirler like ME...and Alex!

I heart Random Tuesday!!!!!

I like edamame, or soybeans, they are yummy and healthy and good to munch on without the guilt and sugar.  Just had a debate with co-workers that they are NOT the same as snap peas.  Googled it and I was right (which I already knew, but men don't give in easily)... My point!

I've more than double my blog followers in the past twelve hours.  I am amazed and SupER-Excited!!!!

Alex still has his cold, but it's been a lot better the past day and a half or so.  So, let's hope it stays that way!!  Poor little boy was miserable with an earache, he's trying to shake it off and he's doing a good job.  I actually can't believe he's never been sick this long!  He made it to 8.5 months before getting his first cold!

I need a new layout.  I hate having a generic template that eight thousand other people have.  I need creativity in my blog-life but I super seriously suck at html crappiness so there's no way in h-e-hockey I can do it myself... I've tried... I suck... Even my stupid Twitter button didn't work right, WTH!!!  Poor me.

I need to figure out couponing...  For reals...

My ellipses march on, hahaaa, see what I mean..?

We have weigh-ins for work in October... oy.  Haven't weighed myself in a while... hope and a prayer I haven't gained any weight... I had a baby, doesn't that give me an out for like ever?!?!! 

Alex is so cute and I'm convinced that I'll never think another child is as perfectly adorable as him, which makes me nervous to have more because how could I possibly love them as much as him, and how could they be as wonderfully perfect as him??  Hehe :)

I can't wait til Thanksgiving!!!  We're sooo excited!!  Woohooo!!

I might have more to add later in the day.  It is, after all, only 3 am!  I was anxious, can ya tell?

MyConfessions

Sometimes I need to vent.  It's kinda all random babble, but it makes me feel better.  So, here goes.... 

I wish I were more worldly 
I want to travel.  I love to see pictures of new and beautiful places.  I see so many that I'd love to experience.  My so-far, tentative list is as follows... and grows daily...
NY (planning this Thanksgiving and can NOT frikin wait!)... I've actually been before but that trip was a bust, went with a boyfriend long long ago and he wasn't the most exciting, adventurous guy.  And, we could both only afford to do so much.  And it was new years so there was basically the standing in the middle of the street in Times Square waiting for a teeny tiny ball to fall from the sky, for like FOUR flippin hours, which is SO Totally Very Much OVER-RateD!!  Then there was a walk around the most un-pretty parts of Central Park, which I know isn't the real Central Park package because Hello, it's beautiful in ALL the movies and of course the movies Do Not Lie, so we did something wrong... Boring...  I need to do it all again, and this time I'll have a Whole week!!!  And we'll be staying in the mountains upstate, so we'll get to see some of both worlds and my mad skills of the art of googling have shown me that the part we'll be staying in is pretty gorgeous too, especially in the fall, which is my most favoritist of all the seasons there are!  Yippeeeeeeyy!! 

Other places I absolutely have to at some point soon in my life see, if only we could afford to not have careers and jobs and had won tons of lottery money would beeee... drumroll please...

The Great Lakes
Maine
Washington (state, not dc, seen plenty of dc to last me the rest of ten lifetimes)... but I'd really love to see the Seattle area
San Diego, maybe even LA
Hawaii

Canada (Niagra Falls would be cool to see)

Australia

Croatia

Italy

and

Greece!!!

I can never seem to figure out how to be bubbly all the time.

I used to be the happy, bubbly, hyper one of the bunch circa my high school days.  I was that way until I had friends that were the boring chill no, boring type that were too cool to ever smile or be in a good mood, or Hyper as they called people like me.  I was a cheerleader, what can ya do.  So, I learned to tone it down.  And now I can't seem to get it back.  Ten years later I would give my left pinky toe to be the hyper always happy bubbly smiley one that brings a smile to everyone's face and never runs out of energy.  I feel like my bubbly little world was deflated a little way back when and can't be regrown.  It's something I miss.  It would make some things in adult life a LOT more fun. 

Materialism is overrated, but I'd love to have like five cars.

I'd need my big SUV that I love!!! 

I'd need every car I've loved before, my Jeep, my Scion.

I'd also need a super-sporty car, such as a Mustang or that really really cool Camaro from Transformers!!

And I'd need a big truck like a Dodge Ram or Titan.

All the same color.  Dark blue, just like they've all been so far.

Please and Thank you.

...But materialism is overrated :o)

Blog for a Cure

For a good cause...  Check it out, make a donation, and if you're a fellow-blogger looking for readers it's a good way to get followers.  I've had a couple of loved ones in my life affected by cancer.  The need for a cure is unbelievably huge and eventually, hopefully, it will be discovered. 
Research needs funding, so check it out and think about supporting!!  All this week.  And, as always, Thanks for stopping by!! 

Blog for a Cure starts today!!

I love it when we're cruisin together

The age old story of the baby who cries all night and can not be consoled. The baby who is in pain and you can’t tell why, let alone even begin to know how to fix it! The baby who becomes too exhausted to hold his eyes open another second but hurts too much to go to sleep. Who can only be cured by a ride in the car, until now, has seemed to me to be a croc of poo. That was until last night.


My poor baby boy has had his very first cold! He has been stuffy. He has been runny. He has been coughing and congested and stuffy and runny all at once! His eyes have itched and watered. His face has been flush. He has been parched about 99% of the day. This has been little Alex’s life for the past four or five days. The thing is, though, that he is such a happy baby, so you can barely tell. He still laughs and smiles and stands and jumps and kicks and plays all day… until last night! Until last night the only sign of ale to him was the rasp behind his giggle, the occasional cough, and the glossy eyes started to give him away… until last night.

We took him to the doctor yesterday, just in case. Just so that we wouldn’t give him the wrong otc medicine, or the wrong dosage, and cause him worse problems. We were trying to be overly cautious. We were looking ahead so as to avoid it getting worse and causing him pain. He has never been sick a day in his life… until last night. The diagnosis was just a small cold, slightly inflamed ears… we were not told that it might be a good idea to NOT give him his nightly bath right before bed because the water might get in his ears and cause him further, and far WORSE pain! Jason told her that he was concerned that Alex might be predisposed to chronic ear infections since he was that way as a very young child. Even though we were told that his ear canals did look inflamed that the only thing to avoid was the bottle right before bed because it could make the congestion a little worse, and that it was just a cold, right? Not to worry about an ear infection. Yeeeaaahh, not so much.

So, at bedtime last night I gave him only a little of his bottle, and my baby’s a big boy so I felt like I was depriving him of his evening meal, my poor baby. And then I followed it with a bottle of water, since he’s so thirsty now, it’ll also help him stay hydrated and get well, and it cleared him out a little to maybe help him breathe with less congestion.

The congestion however, was NOT the problem. He fell fast asleep perfectly fine! He was asleep in seconds. Passie in mouth, music on, good to go. He slept great for about two hours, so it seemed to me that she was being over-cautious and he’d be juuuust fine, because our baby’s a trooper and he’s not going to let a little cold kick his butt.

Yeeeaaah… Two hours later he was ScreaminG!! Out of nowhere, he was screaming like someone hurt him in his sleep. It was the saddest thing and I hoped that holding him and rocking him, or hugging him would help. Not so much. Poor baby was inconsolable and had to be carried, while standing, walking in order to even think of ceasing the screaming.

He was not a colicky baby, so this was a First for us!!

We finally decided that he was having an earache because he wouldn’t stop pulling on his red little lobes. He had had his nightly bath right before bed and, to be sure, had gotten some water in his ears… again, we didn’t think of this until after it was too late.

We held, we rocked, we walked, we sang, we sat in the bathroom with the hot steam going for twenty minutes… as a family… huddled in the bathroom with the door closed. We bulb-sucked out his boogies, which we knew would cause the hysteria to quadruple! He was miserable. He tugged on his ears and cried his poor little eyes out.

We packed him up in the car and headed for the ER at about eleven at night. We weren’t even a mile from the house and he started to relax. I watched him from the seat right next to his as he lulled off to sleep. Finally peaceful. Finally sleeping. Then there was the red light! The crying began again! We were able to hop right on the highway and do a big loop back to the house because we were NOT about to wake him up and let him cry for hours in the ER waiting room. So, we made it home. He stayed asleep. We let him sleep in his carseat, in the floor of our bedroom. Two hours later he woke up again and we moved him to his crib where he slept peacefully in increments of approximately two hours. He’d wake, we’d check on him, rub his back, restart the music and give him his paci. And we all got a total of about four hours sleep… just last night…

So, the moral of my story is… that the age old story of the baby who cries all night and con not be consoled unless he goes for a ride in the car around the block, or around I64, is officially NOT a crock of bull!!! It does happen and it is not fun!

Moral number two is that we will NOT give Alex nightly baths right before bed when he’s got the sniffles, because he probably has allergies and sensitive ears just like his daddy!

My poor boys : o)

This isn't him, but kinda how he looked...

WWWednesday!

Alex wanted a Wannabe Wednesday

So far all Alex has wanted to be is fed and dry all the time promptly at the hour of, If you don’t do it now I swear I’ll scream.  Other than that he's spent brief moments mulling over other ventures.  The first one I can remember that was a big reach was a wannabe G... 

He likes to steal Daddy's hats and play (boy) dress up because they're half the size of his body (Daddy has a big dome).  That got him really excited!!

More recently, he started mulling over the idea of truck driving. 

Specifically, dump truck driving!

Other interests may possibly include baking, or

mixing of some sort...  He looooves playing with mommy's mixing bowl and big giant spoons, and anything else that can fit inside.  The bestest, most exciting, rewarding part of this career route for him is when he works hard and long to remove all objects from the big giant bowl to see how many pacies he can find inside.  Upon completion of retrieving all pacies that were sneakily hidden by his wonderful mother he is finally satisfied and can be seen occupied for minutes at a time (which is an accomplishment at his age) with giant bowl, giant spoon, and whatever may have been put inside...

Dada and Baba

Alex’s two words. For at least a month now he’s been saying Dada. He calls Daddy dada, he calls Mommy dada and he just babbles dadadadadadaaa all day long, so he might not as much know that that means daddy as much as he just likes it! Three days ago he said baba!! I’m pretty sure that most the time when I give him a bottle or talk to him and ask if he’s hungry I also say do you want a baba? I don’t realize it, so I can’t be positive that I do it, but I think so.
So the other day I was feeding him some carrot and squash babyfood I made him and he loved the first few bites. Then he shook his head, which he’s been doing for a few months now, and I think he’s finally got what that means. Before he just always thought it was funny. But, I’m pretty sure that on this day Alex and I might have actually had our first real conversation! He took the spoonful of food in his mouth, didn’t chew and slurp it down like he was doing, but left it on his tongue. He then smiled at me and said BABA. Very quiet, very polite, just baba. Then again. Next bite, baba again. And the next and the next. It was really very funny, but even though I thought it weird I assumed that he was just making sounds to babble because he couldn’t possibly have just meant to actually say baba with a mouth full of food, could he? So I asked him baba? Are you saying bottle? Then I said, Alex do you want a baba? And I’m pretty darn positive that real quick just then he did a head nod! For the first time ever, I’m pretty positive he nodded yes, not no!! So I went and grabbed a bottle and showed it to him to make sure. He started kicking and waving and laughing, which is what he does every time he sees that he’s getting a bottle. Then I act quickly because I know what comes next…
Alex is a little Hunger Monster… I become a little impatient and somewhat mean when I’m hungry for too long and people are making me wait, some have said so I guess he gets it from me. My husband is the number one believer of this trait in me, he says it’s funny, but I don’t think that he thinks as much at that particular time. I’m sure all babies get a little fussy and cry when they’re hungry but Alex is on a whole other level! He is laughing and bouncing around excited and happy one second and then a switch is flipped. No one ever sees it coming and all of a sudden he is furious! He jumps up and down to begin the temper tantrum, then he sees the bottle being prepared. So, he switches from night to day, he’s happy and laughing thinking he gets to eat. Then he sees that it’s being warmed and doesn’t understand why he’s not eating yet and it’s holy terror again! The flailing arms, jumping legs and screaming shows that in just eight short months he’s figured out how to throw the perfect tantrum, just like mommy! OK, I’m not that bad. But as soon as he gets his bottle, which he grabs viciously from the hand that feeds (and would probably bite if he could get hold) he’s back to being a perfect little angel! It’s an emotional roller coaster, that hopefully is way worse than my display, but it’s a little funny after the fact. We are starting to think that we have produced our own personal little Jekyll/Hyde duo!

… It may seem to you that these are all negative traits, but it depends how you look at it. He’s not afraid to get comfy, no matter how funny he looks, he has a wonderful sense of humor, and sarcasm already emerging, and he knows what he wants and how to get it pretty darn quick!!! My little man is growing up so fast!



But, yes, from these events I’ve gathered that Alex has learned to say baba and knows what it means!! My smart little man !!

Random Tuesday Thoughts

I'm running out of stuff to write about.  I'm boring.  But I'm sure that as Alex starts doing more really cool stuff I'll have plenty to talk about... hopefully. 

I'd call this Totally Random Tuesday, but the name's already made up, thanks to The UnMom, and not that I don't like her name for it :), but I'd add a Totally just to make it even more exciting and fabulous if it were me, but she knows what she's doing.  She has Waaaaaaaay more readers than me and I'm kinda jealous... and she's funnier :)

Alex says two words now!!!!  I'll write about them separately, possibly tomorrow, that'll be a good one for the fam and friends to see what's going on with little man, which was the inspiration for the creation of my now digressed and boringly irrelevant blog that needs work... at least it looks kinda pretty !!!
PS. Word I hate:  digress.  In the sense that I just used it, not so bad, but it's still the first time I've ever used it and I'm kinda not liking it, but it just fit, so I'm leaving it.  Think of it as a statement of something.  In the sense of 'blah blah blah blah blah... I digress'.  It drives me up a flippin wall! 

I told Jason I want my hair done for my birthday and I'm really excited to have it done, but I'm really nervous it's going to be bad and I'm going to cry like I did last time.

I want another baby.... soon... like really soon.. Alex needs a sibling.

Alex also needs a haircut, but it's kinda sad to cut it too, even though he doesn't have the curly locks people leave for years, he has an old-manish combover because it's board-straight, which is also adorable (on him), but it's an old-man combover, so really... It might be time.

I like ellipses, and I'm pretty sure that 99% of the time I don't even use them the right way, but I like to use them, lots... see?  Aye.  And another PS, I'm sure people think my ellipses are as obnoxious as pointing out digression (if that's even the right word for it, not sure) are to me, so I apologize... Even though it can't be stopped!

Happy Tuesday!!
                                                                 ...hehe:)

Like a Stone

As long as I've loved this song and the way Audioslave did it which such emotion and I knew all the words, the meaning of it didn't hit me until I heard it on the radio on my way to work yesterday....


On a cold, wet afternoon

In a room full of emptiness
By a freeway I confess
I was lost in the pages
Of a book full of death
Reading how we'll die alone
And if we're good we'll lay to rest
And then will we wander


In your house I long to be
room by room patiently
I'll wait for you there
Like a stone
I'll wait for you there
Alone


And on my deathbed I will pray
To the gods and the angels
Like a pagan to anyone
Who will take me to heaven
To a place I recall
I was there so long ago
The sky was bruised
The wine was bled
And there you led me on


And on I read
Until the day was gone
And I sat in regret
Of all the things I've done
For all that I've blessed
And all that I've wronged
In dreams until my death
I will wander on


In your house I long to be
Room by room patiently
I'll wait for you there
Like a stone
I'll wait for you there
Alone
Alone


Written by Chris Cornell

My paragraph on TP and other things

Ordinary people just suddenly come up with the most brilliant ideas for the simplest of things and make millions, as well as an amazingly useful product that the world can never again live without!  Where does that creativity come from?  Some of our common, absolute necessities today were once just a flicker in some genious' mind!  The lightbulb came on and history was made, and the world was never the same again.  Some of the things I couldn't exist without; like if it were suddenly banished I might die  be a very miserable, crabby person for the rest of my earthly existence.  But really, how did people think of this stuff before it existed as an everyday commodity?

• chap-stik?!!!?!?!!  Seriously, I might have had a stroke by now if I couldn't apply and reapply eighteen thousand times every day.
• lotion?!?!?!!  Ditto from above, I'm a little bit wee slightly most definitely addicted to both and must have both on my person, or at least within arms reach all day every day, so I have them stashed everywhere and when I'm at work I can not fully function, and be happy doing it, without both.  If I happen to forget and go through an entire day without both to reapply and repeat all eighteen thousand times while I'm at work I'm thinking about how something doesn't feel right, all day.  It's sad really.  My names Jessica and I'm a chappylotiaholic.
• fingernail clippers, have one of those in my work bag too, weird I know, but it's gross to bite them and they get on my nerves if not perfectly trimmed at all times.
• tp...  hello?!!!!  Seriously, what did they do before THIS stuff, eww...  Noveltp.com/trivia says "In our age, Joseph Gayetty invented toilet paper in 1857. His new toilet paper was composed of flat sheets. Before Gayetty's invention, people tore pages out of mail order catalogs - before catalogs were common, leaves were used. Unfortunately, Gayetty's invention failed. Walter Alcock (of Great Britain) later developed toilet paper on a roll ( instead of in flat sheets). Again, the invention failed.
  In 1867, Thomas, Edward and Clarence Scott (brothers from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA) were successful at marketing toilet paper that consisted of a small roll of perforated paper . They sold their new toilet paper from a push cart - this was the beginning of the Scott Paper Company."~ Thank goodness for them!!!

WWWednesday!

Wednesdays are my opportunity to think of things that start with W to Write about.  This week I'm picking Working mom, which is What I am.

Oh, how do I love spending my days at work for twelve long hours while my baby boy is at the babysitter's all day..?  Truthfully, it kinda sucks at times, but somebody's gotta do it; actually in our family two somebodies' gotta do it!  That means that as much as it bugs me to be away from my little bundle of perfection now, it'll be that much better for us in the long run.  Now that we have a child we have to plan for his future, right?  Luckily, he started going to the babysitter's young, he was two months old then, so he actually kinda likes it.  We had a really good babysitter, the wife of a coworker of mine, who lived right here by my place of work, so I felt really comfortable with that.  We just changed, however, to someone who is less than five minutes from home for us, which means that on days when Daddy has to take little man to the sitter's it's on his way to work too, instead of diverting him an hour out of the way!  So, this is best for us all.  Also, new babysitter has a boy more Alex's size and heft and also very energetic, so on day one our guy came home having sweated out his energy and with plenty of naps so he was in the happiest mood!  This was a relief for me, because he was starting to get to where he was a little overtired and crabby coming home to us before, so so far we are very happy!  (Half the price doesn't hurt either!!!:) 

At least I only have to work for three days at a time, then I get three off.  I know a lot of people think (and often tell me) that that's a cake schedule and what am I whining about...  As they say on that show on MTV which I haven't seen in a long time, so I don't remember the name (True Life, maybe??)... You think you know, but you have no idea...  You have no idea, unless you've done it before, how long twelve hours are when you don't get the napping breaks every few hours.  Or how it feels to come home from work exhausted and wanting to do nothing but spend hours playing with your child but you have no more than thirty minutes before he has to go to bed, in which time you also have to eat dinner and pack his bag for the next day!  Then rush yourself off to bed to wake up at 4am the next day to do it all over again!  I know there are lots of us out there that do it, nurses have a very similar schedule a lot of times, and they feel my pain (haha).  But, my saving grace is those blissful three days off that I get in between every one of these short work weeks, which completely makes up for it!!  As much as I feel run down and as much as I feel like I miss in his life is washed away after three whole days together without work to interfere.  We actually do get a lot of one on one time, just the two of us, and sometimes we're EXTRA lucky and my days off fall on a weekend, so we can all spend it together!!  It's amazing how much more you value family time when you don't have it every day.  Not that stay at home moms necessarily take it for granted, but it seems different for me personally, so I'm grateful for that, because I might not see how good it is for us if I was home every day.
Eventually, once I'm finished with my military career (whenever that may be, haven't decided yet), I'd like to have a new career where I work a more kid-friendly schedule... ie. a Teacher!!  It's funny because that was my absolute dream job when I was younger.  Picture me, age 8 or 9, bossy little blonde chic, my favorite store was the teacher supply store (I know), and I would actually corral all of my friends (who were willing, kinda) or pets, stuffed animals, whatever, so that I could "teach" them.  I even had a real teacher grade book, and I loved it!  I think of that sometimes when I'm organizing or list-making now, it still makes me a little excited, it's sad really.  But that was me, I wanted to be the leader and instructor of all the perfect little children that wanted to sit still and eagerly learn from my experience and know-how!  Somewhere along the line I lost my way, I think it was high school that ruined it for me.  Everyone hated school, hated learning, hated teachers, so I was discouraged and decided that I didn't want to teach ungrateful brats who thought they were too good to learn.  Now I just realize that I'd rather work with the younger ones who might still care a little and want to be motivated.  So, when I grow up (after career #1 is over, that is), I think I'll be a grade school teacher :) 

Random Tuesday Thoughts

• I wish I could be a rich, super-popular, super-hip stay at home mom and host playdates-slash-mommy cocktail hour while my husband was at work every day.
• Alex needs a super-cool nanny or au-pair, whichever's more 'in', and most fun!
• Jason and I are going to be vampires for Halloween and take Alex trick or treating (most likely as a monkey because he's slightly obsessed with monkeys and so far it's the only costume he got really excited about when we showed him).
• We're also going to get as much candy as we can for him, but it's really for us since he only has three teeth so far and it's really bad for babies, SCORE!!
• Alex is at a new babysitter's today and I'm kinda nervous, but she seems really nice and has two kids for him to play with that he really seemed to like, and she fed him baby wafers and cheerios yesterday so he likes her already, but I'm really going to miss him today knowing he's not right across the street like he used to be :(
• Craigs List is pretty awesome.  Aside from the fact that it's sometimes a royal pain in the arse to get the time and location and all coordinated with people, so far we've found furniture, our house, a car (that kinda sucks, but worked out temporarily), and a babysitter five minutes from our house (which sounds bad, I know, but she seems normal and nice, and he likes her), so score!!!
• New babysitter cloth diapers, it's way cheaper and way better for the environment, I'm totally going to do that next time around, between babycenter people, her, and Lauren I'm convinced. 
• Made beef stew for dinner last night, it didn't turn out as I had planned, it was pretty good, but less gravy-y and more water-y based, so I didn't like it, but Jason took leftovers to work today (which he's told me before is the true test of his like for the dinners I make him, because if he doesn't like it he won't eat the leftovers, so I guess it wasn't that bad), but it still bugs me when I make something new and it's not GreAT, but oh well, I'm still new at this, right??
• Yesterday I witnessed a 19 year old girl who had to ask her mom how to cook eggs and how to start a washing machine, and she did it FOR her, so at least I was never that bad, right?
• I almost feel the need to watch all of my Grey's Anatomy (seasons 1-4) dvds all over again before watching season 5 for the first time just so it lasts longer and because I'm just that obsessed, am I crazy??
• Is it also crazy that I looove the name Addison for a girl, which I never even heard until watching GA and I've really seriously contemplated naming a daughter (if our next child's a girl) that, but think that people will think I'm crazy having two children with the same names as characters from my favorite tv show, which really does sound kinda crazy, but seriously, I just like the names :)
• I'm teaching myself how to crochet.  It's like 70% easier than knitting (which sucked!) but it would be a lot easier having someone to teach me, BUT I'll feel really good when I master it and I taught myself, completely I guess.  So far I can make a really cool little bracelet, I should sell those on etsy, they take about ten minutes to make, but it's kinda fun.  I'm sure though that as soon as I got an order for more than about ten (if that ever happened) I'd remove my ad-page thingy because that's too much demand.  hmm..
• I got the cutest picture of Alex and Jason in their Eagles gear for the game Sunday, but I think I might save it for Fun/ny Photo Friday, muahaaahaa (evil laugh).
• Why is it SOOOO difficult to find a template I like, and then if I find one I'll settle for it's near impossible to get it to actually work!  Oy.
• I love coffee, mmmmmm.
• Is there one main inventor of 'reality tv shows', that makes bookoo big bucks for inventing the whole idea or was it just an individual thing?  Like, was the creator of Real World Season 1 the first person or was it someone before them?  What about the inventor of infomercials, would they count?  I need to think of some weird random contraption idea that can make me a millionaire just for coming up with the idea.  Add that to my to do list, since it looks like I'll never win the lottery, besides, you don't really get famous for winning the lottery, but inventing something, imagine how many times you'd be googled after that, that's making history!! 
• OK, I'm good for now, this is fun, I'll be back next week too!  Great idea The UnMom!!

Grey's Anatomy!!!!!

Yeah Yeah Yeeeahahahhh!!  Season 5 is released on dvd today and as soon as Jason gets off work he is (pre-instructed requested) to go buy it for me on his way home and I can't FliPPin wait!!!!  Now I have exactly 9 days to watch this complete season before 6 starts on tv and now that I have dvr (thank you thank you) I can actually watch the entire season without having to ignore that it's on and wait til the dvd release because I can't watch it every week when it comes on due to my crappy work schedule.  Yay!!!!  I'm so excited.  I love them all!!  Perfect cast, perfect plot, perfect script, it's hilarity at it's best and the drama's great too.  And no, to those who wonder, I did not name my child after Alex Carev, it was just a bonus ;)  Yay!!  (Can you tell I'm a little obsessed??)

Things WE can't wait to do with Alex...part 1

I got the idea for this from Dadblast

• teach him to ride a bike
• practice writing his name (backwards and all, it'll be adorable).
• watch him play doggy games with Bella (it'll be great to see her have a companion more her size, she gets so bored sometimes I know he'll be the only one able to keep up with her energy).
• one word:  play-doh!
• swim!!
• play family football
• Philadelphia Eagles game (Daddy's input of course, but I'm all for it too :) )

... There are so many more, but for some reason I'm drawing a blank right now, but we'll be back with more later!!

Some questions about me...

Got this from franticmom and thought it looked fun.
1) What are you wearing right now? ODU’s (work day).

2) What is your biggest fear? SIDS, kidnappers (I have nightmares frequently about these things).
3) Do you nap a lot? Only on days immediately following working all night, so like twice a month Alex and I will take naps as much as he’ll let me, which isn’t much, but I’ve gotten three or four in before on a really good day!! Normal days, no, not so much, there’s always something to do!
4) Who is the last person you hugged? My husband while leaving for work today after seeing him for about five minutes when he got home from work :/
5) What websites do you visit when you go online? Blogger, Babycenter, Facebook sometimes…
6) What was the last item you bought for your child? Breathable bumper for Alex’s crib. Again, as previously stated I’m terrified of sids, so I had to go get one as soon as he started sleeping with his face right up against his original monkey bumper and pulling it as close as he could get it to his face because he liked to cuddle with it. It was the weirdest thing and though it was adorable I started freaking out! Every night I started waking up every hour or so because I was having nightmares of him either suffocating or being kidnapped. I actually woke up from dreams of people breaking into the house and taking him that felt real. I assumed it was God’s way of telling me that I needed to protect him from being taken away (in whichever form) and I listened! I took the original bumper out at about two in the morning while he was sound asleep. My husband thought I had lost my mind when he stumbled down the hall to ask what the heck I was doing to the crib at such an hour. I mentioned sids and he went back to bed and left me to my insanity. He finally gave up on convincing me that our baby was too smart for that. I read an article recently about a one year old that suffocated in his sleep, just because of too many pillows and blankets! I’m not taking a chance, I don’t care if he did bump his head a little that night, he was breathing and that’s all that mattered! So I hit up Babies R Us the next day and now all is well in the world!!
7) What was the last thing you ate? Pot roast I made for dinner before work.
8) If you woke up in the morning and were a boy, what would be the first thing you'd do? Cry, but not because boys are too tough for that, and then call someone to get my story out there so I could make my millions off of it, and apologize to my son because he’d forever be confused by having two dads… weird.
9) Has a celebrity hairstyle ever influenced your hairstyle? Kate Hudson, and I will never ever ever figure out how they do it! Think I’m attempting it again for my bday gift.
10) What was your most embarrassing moment? Giving birth and everyone and their mom seeing it ALL, but at the time I didn’t really care.
11) What was the last movie you watched? Crank 2, Sooo not as good as the first one!
12) If you had the whole day with no commitments, interruptions or work, what would you do? Create something really cool, like a gigantor quilt or a hat for Alex, which is going to take way longer for me to figure out, started trying today, Oy :/
13) What is one (two) indulgence you cannot live without? Coffee, Chocolate,mmm…

+ My two cents

Here are my thoughts on this article at Woman's Day.  I read this article hoping to see that it would be insightful and provoke thoughts on some things I hadn't considered about being a mom.  I thought that maybe I'd find tips on how to do things that would make me a better mommy!  I like tips, not pity or me toos.
What I found was that this article was another one to console those of us who think that we should feel bad about the way that we raise our children so that we know that we're not alone.  NOT that that's a bad thig, but I'm kinda over it (no offense Woman's Day, or the website that will remain nameless that I stopped spending every available minute at work on because I grew reeeeeheheealy (my version of jim carey) tired of every response to every post being it's okay, you're a great mom, your baby loves you no matter how dumb you feel sometimes (blech))).  I know that some moms need that, and that it can be a nice boost when we're feeling like we're falling below par.  I will also willingly admit that I spent hours upon endless hours on that site looking for that kind of info, support, drama, whatever, and it made me happy.  And now that I've well-fulfilled and even surpassed my need for that kind of entertainment/ support, this momma finds it lots more entertaining to discover newer myths I haven't thought of, or that I might actually wonder about, instead of just Every new mommy bumps their baby on his head every once in a while, you're not a horrible person because of it... blech, I know my baby's tougher than that, and I like tough love type inspiration in my life!  So, this article was nice because instead of just saying it's okay it did give a little real world substance for those of us who need it.  SO, today when I came across this article it made me think... Here are the myths, provided by Woman's Day, and my thoughts on the myths, which support, but also add my personal touch, so I'm not really sure if I'm the fellow debunker or the debunkee (if that makes sense), just wanted to add my two cents...  Enjoy!

Myth 1: A good mom likes her children all the time
Woman's Day~Christine Nicholson, PhD, a clinical psychologist in Sequim, Washington, thinks it’s perfectly OK that Meryl Beck lets her sons know when they are not her favorite people. It’s when you suppress those less-than-motherly feelings that you’re more likely to lose control and act in ways that you’ll regret, she points out.

Given the challenges of raising kids, it would be impossible for you to be happy with your brood, and they with you, every day. “Some days you just want to pack their bags, drop them off at the train station and drive away,” says Dr. Nicholson. “That’s normal. If you can find the caring, kind parts of you 75 percent of the time, you’re doing really well!”
Me~ This is true WD, I am fully aware that it is perfectly acceptable for me to tell my perfect child that even though I love him unconditionally and he can never change that, that I am entitled to being upset with him when he does wrong.  Although my child is too young for this to occur as of yet (there's not much wrong he can do when he's not even toddling yet) but just so we're on the same page when he gets older I'm laying it on the table early, No need to set him up for failure!  But, WD says that it is A-okay to dislike your child and let them know that they are disliked when they're bad.  I think what they meant to say is, let him know that he's done something wrong and you expect better, but you will always love and like him no matter how wronged you feel, because you and I both know my child will always be perfect (in my eyes).

Myth 2: A good mom bonds with her children immediately

WD~Rachel Brown of Clifton, New Jersey, had fallen in love instantly with her first two children. So she was distraught when she didn’t experience that automatic attachment the third time around with son Jared. “It wasn’t until he was almost a year old that I began to feel that same bond,” says Rachel, who still harbors guilt about it today, almost four years later.
For the most part, women do have strong instincts to protect, nurture and love their kids. Sometimes, however, your newborn may seem like a stranger at first. Bonding isn’t always instantaneous, Dr. Sanford reassures. “Like any relationship, your connection to your children develops over time,” she explains. “You learn to become a mom by getting to know them and by them getting to know you.” Instead of feeling inadequate or blaming yourself, focus on the many successes you help your child achieve as he grows.
Me~ I only have one child so far, but I have found that the love you have for a child is different than any love you've ever experienced before.  It is my understanding that you will never possess exactly the same form of love for all children.  No matter how many children a person has they can't have the same exact relationship or some exact type of love for each of the children.  Each child is unique so each love is unique.  No child is loved more or less than the others, just differently.  This is what I've heard all my life, and though I haven't experienced making the differentiation for myself as of yet, this is what I hope to be true.  I think that if I did have multiple children and knew in my heart that I held them on a sliding scale of which child I loved more all the way down to the one I loved least, or even that I'd always love the oldest more because he was the first, I would be racked with guilt and unable to sleep at night.  That being said, I'd like to think (and hope) that it's not that a person like the one in this example should feel guilty because there's no possible way that she hasn't developed a relationship with her third child, it's just that she doesn't understand how it is different and just as perfect yet, but she will!

Myth 3: A good mom balances it all
Me~  Yeah I just skipped them on this one (sorry WD).  You know what it said, right?  Again, the link is at the top, and we know it's okay to be a little off balance, don't feel bad was the point of it.  BUT, my idea behind this is that if I try to hold myself up to the pedastal of the good, perfectly balanced mom icon, I'd need a team of about twelve (x3) and still wouldn't have achieved the perfect ideal because then I wouldn't be doing it all myself and I'd also not be able to give my child anything else they want or need because everything I had would be going to pay the ones that are really raising them.  Do you see where I'm going with this, it's an endless ugly cycle, so NO, I'm just not going to balance it all all all the time, and that is what's okay.  I'm going to make a statement by not being perfect.  I'm going to rely on my husband to provide just as much as me, because he can and he wants to and that's why he's my husband and I need him to help me.  I'm going to try my hardest and do my best for my child, but I'm not supermom (even though I may have hinted at it a while back :) and I do try, but let's be real.  A good mom is off balance!  A good mom has quirks (sp?) and her kids love her more for it!  So, what they're saying is that no mom is perfect, but I say that an imperfect mom is the perfect mom, because that's what kids need.

Myth 4: A good mom spends a lot of time with her kids—and they like her because of it

WD~You volunteer in the classroom, chaperone the field trips, coach your daughter’s soccer team—all in an effort to get closer to your kids. But is it too much of a good thing? “Sometimes familiarity breeds contempt,” muses Kelley Cunningham of Honesdale, Pennsylvania, author of What’s the Matter with Mommy? Cunningham had been a stay-at-home mom for eight years. Worried that her three sons would feel abandoned after she returned to work full time, she wanted to be sure to give them extra attention at night, talking and laughing with them as she tucked them into bed. But whenever her evening routine went on too long, she’d hear, “OK, that’s enough. Can I go to sleep now?”
Me~I'm just going to simplify...  Oy, kids can't grow without the room to flourish.  And I can't keep my sanity without having my moments.  So, I agree with WD, just in a more blunt sort of fashion ;)  But until my son gets old enough to tell me he can do it himself I'm there for every second of firsts that I can witness, and video tape, and write about, and encourage!!

Myth 5: A good mom belongs to one big, supportive Moms Club
Where can I sign up for a big, supportive Moms Club that can do things for me whenever I need them, because I'm totally in!!!  You don't have to be Mrs. Popularity to be a good mom.  But if I could I would, for shO!!

So, their conclusion is to rely on insticts, and I totally agree, no research or outside opinion can trump what I know in my heart now that I have the wonderful privilege of being a mom!  And it never hurts to try to be
Dudununuuuuhhh, Supermom!!!

Fun/ny Photo Friday

This is Alex at any computer!  As soon as you sit in front of one with him anywhere near it he reaches and jumps and squeals until you let him push buttons.  He loves anything with buttons and it is SO fun to watch him play like he really knows what he's doing!  I especially love this picture because of his adorable little overalls and the look on Daddy's face too :)  Perfect fit!

What is marriage?

Writer's Workshop Writing Prompt (provided by mama’s losin it)::

Marriage is a bond between two people that should not be broken. It is the simplified word that represents a promise made to another and to God. It is a display to the world of the love and promise you have to another person. It is the selflessness that you (intend to) give to that person and the promise that it will never falter. Marriage represents the trust and faith and hope that you have in a person and everything they stand for. It shows the world that you stand behind that person one hundred percent. Marriage is to be the ultimate expression of love, hope, faith, trust, and integrity. A person who is a partner in marriage is blessed with the ease and assurance of knowing that he or she has someone who stands behind everything that they represent without waiver. Marriage should be the easiest act a person can perform, because it is simply the need to love a person unconditionally and while trusting with all of your being, also remaining completely trustworthy; this is also what makes marriage the hardest thing for couples to do. In our society it seems much easier to trust someone who is able to make a choice in the matter, which is altered through the commitment of marriage. If the kind of love can change than it is feared that the ability to love another enough to spend forever and always with them can also change. This is a fear that comes with love. This is the seed that spawns distrust. Distrust is poison in a relationship that requires the perfect blend of revere and blind faith to overcome.  This is what makes marriage hard at times, but it is also what can help it to grow strong.
Marriage is one of the two biggest and best changes a person can have in their life.
Marriage is the first hardest, but also the first greatest thing, I have ever done in my life (Alex was the second.. in order of time, not greatness).  My getting married was step one in the right direction of my becoming who I was meant to be.  I was meant to be a wife and a mother first and foremost.  I thank God every day for the life that we have made and pray that it can only get even better, and maybe a little easier, but I'm guessing that comes with age and experience :)

Marriage requires blind faith. Marriage requires hope. Marriage requires love. Marriage demands faith, hope, love, and the willingness to work no matter the cost to maintain all aspects of a loving, forgiving, helping, hopeful, faithful relationship.

The greatest thing that a person can experience in life is love. Marriage is the source, and also the result, of love. Marriage is a partnership between two people with the vow to withhold all of these things, with love.

Rain

I woke up this morning to the sound of rain outside my open window.  I could feel the breeze and breathe in the clean smell of the mist that put me at ease.  On a cool fall day when it's not too hot, not too cold and I have nowhere to go I don't mind the rain. In fact I enjoy it.  The sound is relaxing as it taps at my window.  The smell is so fresh and new that I just want to open all the windows and let it febreze the whole house!  A few days ago I was saying differently simply because we had planned to take a day trip to Williamsburg and it was shot due to rain.  It's one of those things.  I hate when it inconveniences me, but if it works with my schedule it's nice.  Can't help it, that's just how we are, right.  So today as Jason left for work (and to take his test for promotion (good luck)) I got to fall back to a peaceful sleep to the sound of the rhythm of the rain on my windowsill.  Alex even slept in a little, because apparently he sleeps better in a warm house.  With the air on all the time he had to sleep with a blanket and somehow his legs were always a little chilled when he woke up.  Now that we've turned the air off and left the windows open all day the air in the house is cooled and lasts all night which makes it just comfortable enough for him to sleep without a blanket and be the perfect temperature.  For two consecutive nights now he slept for 10+ hours and was rested and happy when he woke up!  We're starting to think that he's going to be with us on the strong preference to warm weather over cold. 
A rain poem for your reading pleasure;

Rain by Shel Silverstein

I opened my eyes
And looked up at the rain,
And it dripped in my head
And flowed into my brain,
And all that I hear as I lie in my bed
Is the slishity-slosh of the rain in my head.
I step very softly,
I walk very slow,
I can't do a handstand--
I might overflow,
So pardon the wild crazy thing I just said--
I'm just not the same since there's rain in my head.

Some pics just 'cause!

He's being photogenic :)

          Bella tries too, but not so much...







And Alex trying to teach himself to read already!

                                

Then, he tried to eat them, I took them away, and he screamed :) 

Beautiful Fall pics I found on Flickr

I thought I'd search for some pictures of my favorite season just to add some color and excitement and a smile.  Of all the incredible pictures I found these two were my absolute favorite!  This winding tree shows beauty with age while beckoning for the livelihood of climbers and wonderment.

I'm not even sure if this one is real.  I know it's supposed to be an actual photo someone took and uploaded, but it's unbelievable!  What an amazing photographer and a captivating scene!  Wow!  I would love to find the place they snapped this one and spend a whole day there just taking it all in.

Craftiness for Alex

In attempting to further find my mommy craftiness skills I've broken out the sewing machine, for the first time EVER!!!  Tada!  I made Alex a small, square-ish, very bright, overly colorful quilt (if you can call it that) blankie-thingy.  It is one that any adult whose seen it (so far my husband and sister-in-law) try their hardest to say it's great and ignore the crookedness and, did I mention, overly-bright colors... 

And they didn't even see the reverse side of the fabric!  That was a mess of thread strands and huge flaps of extra fabric because I have yet to master the technique of a straight line with a sewing machine, and after all the pulling, stretching, groaning, thoughts of giving up, I decided I didn't have the desire to cut off all the extra, I'd just tuck it in, who'd know.  I'm shocked I mastered threading the needle and the really insanely difficult contraption called a bobbin that took about eight times to get going!  But, no matter how difficult it was actually really fun and I didn't so much care that it wasn't coming out perfectly straight at all whatsoever because I knew it was project number one and my dear son would love anything his mommy made for him as long as it wasn't green beans or avocado.  Luckily, I was right!  It came out okay, a little bunchy in small spots, a little ripply in places, a little extra padded in places, and a completely lacking of the annoyingly stretchy super soft fabric the pattern called for, and oh yeah.. I didn't so much follow the pattern because it was dumb a little complicated, so my way was better:)  Nonetheless, it turned out done, if anything.  And the only thing that mattered was that after Alex woke from his nap and I gave it to him he Loved it!!  I think it's just the bright colors, but whatever it is he seems to think it's pretty darn cool!  So, mission accomplished and I've concluded that I need more practice on sewing machine usage, but I think I'm going to like it.  It's part of being a mommy.  My great grandma hand quilted tons of big beautiful quilts that are still being used at my mom's house and I would love to make something as pretty one day.  My mom follows her lead by hand-quilting as well.  I just don't have THAT much patience, so mine will be made via machine power, but with just as much love, and much less time :)             

                                                        

Next project to start: Crocheting. I have all the yarn from when I thought I'd learn to knit, which did not go according to plan, I ended up with a pretty pink, pretty crooked, very uneven, not at all pretty scarf, ughh, and that was a couple of years ago. So, when I was at the fabric store the other day getting supplies for the blankie I picked up some crochet needles and a little booklet on the basic stitches, or loops or crochet-lies or whatever they're calling them. I figure one needle's gotta be easier to handle than two, and a little hook at the end of that stick's gotta help grab something somehow to maneuver. So, this week I will attempt to teach myself to crochet. My goal in this project is that I want to make Alex one of those cute little earflap hats that are so cute on the little ones in the winter. There are tons of them for sale, handmade on etsy which are all very cute, but I really want to try to do this stuff myself if I can, so I embark, again, on the third brand new misadventure in my mommy-hood tale in just a couple of weeks! I'm being daring, and maybe soon I'll master something useful!!  Haven't begun to attempt the hats yet, but here are some ideas I've borrowed, got these from

Fun/ny Photo Fridays begin!!!

OK, I came up with an idea for a weekly pic!  At two o'clock in the morning, I know, but I'm at work, so it's not completely weird!!  Fun and/or funny Photo Friday will be something I'll do every week.  I'll post a pic of Alex (sometimes including the rents too (that'd be me and Jason)) that is either of us having fun or a really funny one of Alex!  This particular pic was back when we took our Daker Family Vacation Number One (2009) to Wilmington, NC.  We spent one day while we were there downtown checking out the Cotton Exchange, a sushi spot and the Serpentarium (pictured :).  As you can tell Alex wasn't too sure if he was diggin the crocodile that may have been trying to eat his chubby little arm... good thing there was glass!!

My Favorite is Fall...and check out my craftiness...and the most A-dorable pic of Alex yet!!

Today I was adding some touches to Alex's bedroom, this strange, but fun tree I cut out for his wall, and it really made me think about what this week signifies. It's the second day of the great month of September. Somehow I think that God flipped a switch on the weather system because yesterday was the first day of September and even though the technical first day of fall is still but a couple of weeks away, the temperature has suddenly dropped. At the same time, there seems to be a major decline in humidity here too! I have been anticipating the feeling of fall and have been waiting for September to get here because that's when it all begins… The feeling of change in the air, the crispness of cooler months approaching, the downfall in humidity, the brilliant colors, all of the smells that come along with it... That’s what I love. One of the businesses I love to frequent in the fall is Starbucks. I'm not sure why, but whenever it starts to feel like that time of year I crave the smell and relaxing music. I think it reminds me of the start of the school year. I used to love to sit with my laptop in a coffee shop and finish my homework there. I've always loved this time of year, mainly because, when I was younger, it always started with shopping!!! I loved the feeling of having new 'outifts' that were paired perfectly and crisp with the tags still on them tucked away in my closet unable to be worn until that first day of school. I even loved the new notebooks and pencils and assignment books and highlighters. As you can tell I was a big nerd when I was a child. And it's always stuck with me a little bit. Now I go shopping and see all of the back to school stuff and I still get excited and feel the need to buy anything I might use, like pens, craft supplies, post-it notes, listing pads, anything I might possibly need to get organized in this great time of change. It's also my favorite time of year to organize. I've always felt like it's the ideal time of year for a fresh start. Everything can be revamped, redecorated, rethought and replanned. I get a thrill from all of the change that's coming. It may also have something to do with my birthday being in October, however now that I'm older I'm not too excited about aging. But, there's still the anticipatory thoughts of change that will occur in my family this winter and with the New Year (although that's still months away). I like to think that as we get older we grow a little wiser and a little more creative and a little more compromising, in a good way. I feel like I'm more carefree at this time of year. Like now I tend to relax a little more and it helps everything to flow a little more smoothly. This is the time of year that I look around at things in nature and really appreciate the beauty and wonder more than any other time of year. Now that I have a family of my own I am growing even fonder of those wonders, I'm looking forward to taking my son trick or treating, and teaching him how to play in the leaves and sharing with him all the new things that come with autumn like colorful leaves and pumpkins and the smells of cider and cinnamon.

Three falls ago I met my husband, two falls ago we got engaged, last fall I was joyously expecting our son, and this fall I get to see him learn how to crawl and stand and eat by himself. It truly has always been the best time of year for me. This fall is going to be different than any other before for my family because we won't all be together. Some of us are overseas (like my sister), and for the first time ever my family won't have the typical at home Thanksgiving we've always had. We have some exciting plans with my parents for Alex's first Thanksgiving and we'll get to spend Alex's first Christmas with Jason's family, which we've also never done before. Last year we missed out on being a family for the holidays. With Jason being overseas I spent the holidays with my parents, which was great, but my sister's family wasn't here and neither was my husband, and I didn't get to spend much time with his family at all. Our first holiday season as a married couple was, in a way, bypassed, and we get to embark on that journey starting this year. It's like nothing I've ever done before and, although it'll be different to not see my family for every minute of every holiday anymore, I'll feel even more like a grown up and wife and mommy. Alex will get to experience so many firsts in the upcoming months and I cannot wait to experience and document them all!