Midday Thoughts

If I have to clean any more diarrhea off the carpet today I seriously might have a nervous breakdown.

New Year's plans are officially cancelled.

I hate the smell of carpet cleaner.

My hands are raw from using bleach to clean everything.

I have washed and changed the sheets no less than ten times since Sunday.

I'm ready for popcorn and Lord of the Rings.

I love Luke dearly, but I'm getting pretty tired.

*Sigh*

Predictions

And the sickness continues.

My prediction for the New Year is that we'll be rolling it in with more bed sheet changes, more diaper changes, and enough laundry to last until Valentine's.

On a positive note, although I'm getting pretty bored at home everyday without anywhere to go or anything to do as a result of the combined forces of weather and a poopy/pukey kid, at least I've been forced to slow down, relax, and just enjoy the day. I get lots more hugs and kisses than I'm used to, and much more cuddly lap time. My hyper-speed two year old has even asked me to read a story without me trying to talk him into fun storytime. I'll enjoy the cuddles while they last.

In the meantime, I've ran out of books to read and I'm getting bored with talk shows and the endless eating of salty snacks. I can't think of anyone else to google, and I'm drained with topics to peruse with wikipedia. I might just need to spend the afternoon watching Pride and Prejudice while crocheting a baby blanket.

After all the hustle and bustle of the last week I realize I should be thankful for the slow down of the past few days, but I'm inevitably getting antsy and ready to start 2009 with vigor and fun. I think I can withstand the Cabin Fever another day or two, but predicting the sickness will pass by then, I'm more than anxious to get life going back on track.

Happy New Year!!

Jam-Packed

Okay, okay, I know! I haven't blogged in awhile. I've been busy and blah, blah, blah. Here's a recap of what I've gone through in the past week, so feel sorry for me.

1. Luke split his chin open after slipping in the bathtub. After a uncharacteristically peaceful trip to the ER Luke spent Christmas with five stitches in his face. FYI: this was our second trip for stitches in Luke's face, and no, I don't take any responsibility.

2. I sang, conducted a children's choir AND played trumpet for Mass Christmas Eve. I'm not bragging since once the actual singing and playing occurred I hardly had a voice left to sing and halfway through Mass my middle trumpet valve stuck leaving the only note left to play a perpetual F#. FYI: My spit is NOT an adequate substitute for valve oil.

3. On Christmas night two of my dear friends and I threw a party for my very best girl Jenni. When you throw a Bridal Bash on Christmas everyone is too tired and full to move much, but we had a great time laughing and eating anyway. FYI: I drank no wine, though I really wanted to.

4. The day after Christmas was Jenni's rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. I ate too much pizza. Poppy took out Luke's stitches, which unfortunately was more traumatic then actually getting the stitches. Luke later assured me, "Mommy, Poppy doctor, Poppy fix my stitches."

5. Saturday was the big wedding! It started with donuts, coffee, a hair salon and press-on nails. I sang again, this time in Swedish no less (!), and danced the nightaway. Jenni and Casey were lovely and I managed to only cry once.

6. By Sunday I was delirious. I don't know how we managed to get through Mass and lunch, but I crashed with Luke during his nap. Good thing, when he woke up he got the pukes, which leads me to...

7. After a crazy week behind on dishes, laundry, and every other task that gets pushed aside during a busy time, Luke gets sick. He threw up everything he ate all day Sunday and Monday. Household duties were pushed aside again as I cuddled, cleaned, and rocked the sick boy.

And now...laundry is the name of the game. After the sickness every blanket, set of sheets and pairs of jammies are soiled and stinky. Add that to the last week of laundry going neglected and it's apparent I have quite a situation on my hands.

Let's not forget that's it's VERY difficult to fold socks with fake nails.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Love is unconditional when...

...daddy spends three days, countless hours, and swears under his breath at the 200 pieces of fake wood attempting to assemble a play kitchen for Christmas.

This was no easy task, and I don't think he'd ever agree to do it again, but alas, it's done.

Mark's reward, hearing Luke say over and over all day long without any such prompting, "Thank you, daddy. You fix my kitchen."

Pictures to come.

Desperation

Okay, I'm growing. It's what we do when we have a person within whose sole purpose is to gain weight for the next three months. From my estimations, ever body part that begins with the letter "B" grows substantially. This means that over a process of time I've slowly put almost every piece of clothing aside for another day far off in the future. Again I stress, almost every piece of clothing, with the exception of socks.

My current clothing dilemma is with undergarments to adequately cover those growing "B" body parts. Last week I packed away all but two bras. Three days ago I took one of my precious two out of the washing machine to discover it was blown to smithereens. There was no saving it.

And then there was one.

Have I mentioned that I'm home without a car most of the time, and that even if I am home with a car, the very last thing I'd ever want to do is take a two year old boy bra shopping. Bra shopping is torture anyway, so if I took a two-year old boy I might not live to tell about it.

Tonight I couldn't take it anymore. It didn't matter that I was exhausted, that it was -20 below outside, or that once Mark gets home all I want to do is crash on the couch and watch House reruns. I had to go. I cleaned up the dinner dishes and left the house to bare the weather and the wrath of the unmentionables department.

I'm now happy to report that my trip was a success. Going with the theme of the day, living and learning, I also purchased a prophylactic 6-pack of Hanes a size larger than usual, in anticipation for the day the washer eats the remaining pairs of underpants that still manage to fit.

Nesting

Never has the phrase "live and learn" been more applicable than in the preparation for my second newborn. This is due primarily to the very little, if any preparation I did before having Luke. It wasn't because I was lazy or because I didn't have the energy to do anything, I just didn't know what to do. Only after having a baby to take care of at all hours of the day, being deliriously exhausted and overwhelmed did I wish I had done more.

I wasn't lacking in the instinctive "nesting" stage with Luke, I just didn't put my instincts to good use. Trying to pass the time before baby came, I spent hours ironing Luke's new and freshly washed sleepers, blankets, and burp cloths. Yes, I ironed his burp clothes...in June. Did I know I was being ridiculous, of course, but I wanted to do something, and I didn't know what I should be doing.

Now, with three months to spare, whenever I feel that little burst of energy I take full advantage. Yesterday I washed, folded, skipped the ironing, and put fresh and sorted baby clothes into the new baby's dresser. A little premature, but who knows if I'll ever feel the urge to do superfluous laundry again, and now I KNOW that there won't be extra time once there's a baby around.

Also on my list is reading. Since summer I have been reading in super-speed, picking another up as soon as I put one down, but now it's time for a refresher course in baby care. How I regretted not reading enough about nursing and fussy babies before I had a fussy baby of my own. By the time I had my own fussy baby, I had no time to trouble-shoot, read about methods of calming the baby, or shop for a book that would fit our lifestyle. While it's difficult to read these books now while they're not quite relevant, I will force myself knowing the impracticality of getting anything read once there are two to care for.

My list today requires a hammer, nails, and hanging up those loose pictures scattered around the house waiting for a home on the wall. One more thing to check off the list before life hits a long pause with a new baby.

Customer Service

It's naptime. I have a very important phone call to make. I save important phone calls for naptime, no explanation necessary.

The worst sentence to hear while using precious naptime to make important phone calls:
"Our call volume is too high and we cannot assist you. Goodbye."

I might scream now.

What a Mess!

Luke's lunch request: "Uh oh, Spaghettio's"
We usually eat the same thing for lunch and I don't eat Spaghettio's, but not having much of an appetite this afternoon I complied with the request. Being the genius mother that I am, I have learned after many stained shirts that I should strip Luke naked to eat his canned goodness.

Soon he begins to cry. Then he is inconsolable. The bib, which is a pointless accessory in our house since food ends up on his belly and lap anyway, is clean, but his whole belly is full of spaghettio's and meatballs. His crying continued as I cleared the mess from his abdomen when I saw that his whole belly was red. Not that his belly isn't red all the time anyway, we're in constant supply of Rx Elidel and Hydrocortisone for eczema, but the spaghettio's were certainly not helping his already delicate skin.

So, we canned the spaghettio's (no pun intended), I cleaned him up, soaked his tummy with a warm washcloth, and fed him the rest of his lunch like he was 9 months old.

I'm not much of a genius, a bib doesn't work and now nor does being naked. I need a tarp.

Small Blessings

Today I'm thankful for...

The YMCA! My new best friend. Free childcare, insurance reimbursed membership, and a large space for Luke to run around and have fun while it's cold outside.

Fishing line used to tie the tree to the wall. This will (hopefully) prevent the tree from falling down again.

Waste Management Recycling. We get our recycling picked up at the end of our driveway. Having done 100% of my Christmas shopping online, it's nice to be able to recycle the packing boxes and not have them fill up the garbage and garage.

XM-Radio's Catholic Channel. Discovered yesterday, it was only on Sirius before and now is on XM.

Becker Furniture World. Our former mismatched couch and ottoman will be totally replaced tomorrow with free delivery. Yeah for customer service!

That despite working tonight I feel rested and full of energy. Let's pray I don't pass out after my glucose test this afternoon :)

Have a good weekend!

From the Mouths of Babes

I'm exhausted. We've been running errands all day. In no less than five trips from the car to the house I grab the two-year old and all the groceries. Inside we throw off our hats, coats, mittens, and boots when I look down at the shiny floor covered in dirt.

I decide to mop.

I finish mopping and find the first place to plop down that isn't drenched in Pine-Sol. It's the carpeted stairs.

I sigh.
My back hurts.

"Luke," I say, "Mommy's baby is growing really big and makes mommy's back hurt after all the work we did this morning."
Luke looks on.
Then, I asked him, without expecting an answer, "Luke, what should I do so that my back doesn't hurt all the time?"

Luke's response "Mommy, wear shoes."

The Sound of Sickness

Remember in The Sound of Music when Captain Von Trapp used a whistle to summon his children. Each child had a specific call. We have a similar arrangement in our house, albeit unintentional.

I've had a congestion cold for a long time, almost a long as I've been pregnant. I go through boxes of tissues, my face is always red from blowing my nose, and I never leave home without a stack of tissues that dwindle to nothing by the end of the trip.

Now, whenever I sneak away for awhile, whether it be a bath at night and leave Luke with Mark for some solace time, or time alone in the office to pay bills or wrap gifts, my family immediately knows when I've returned to join them. It's pretty sad when across the house the sound of a nose blowing is the signal that mom has returned. From three floors down Luke will hear me, yell "Mommy!" while both Mark and I laugh at the sad reality that Kleenex and stuffy noses are now associated with dear little mommy.

Of course, there are worse functions to be associated with, so I should be thankful ;)

Suck-Up

It's all worth it. A couple of weeks ago I professed my love of CoffeeMate at their website.

Yesterday I received two coupons for FREE CoffeeMate. Not a percentage off, not buy one get one, but FREE 32oz of CoffeeMate.

Have I mentioned that I love the Honda Odyssey? It's my next target.

Question?

How many hours do you spend trying to get your baby to nap before you give up?

Grrrr.

Slow Down!

It's that insane time of year that is conveniently called "The Holidays." With Thanksgiving down, we're now in the thick of it. For a young family like ours, we're filled with an uncommon excitement at the simple traditions we're still getting accustomed to. This includes chopping down a tree, hauling it on the car, dragging it in the house, and putting the 11ft vicious Blue Spruce into a tree stand. This one accomplishment is an entire post in itself, but we'll save that for another day.

With all my anticipation for Christmas my days are filled to the brim with projects to get done, parties to plan, and presents to buy. Frankly, I'm exhausted, and it's only the first week of Advent! It's all my own doing, of course. At 24 weeks pregnant I'm healthy, the baby is healthy, and I really don't have much of a belly to get in the way. However, I'm still 24 weeks pregnant, the baby is getting bigger, I'm getting bigger, and everything is getting more difficult.

Do I stop, slow down, and save the rest for someone else to do? No! Do I ask for help or wait for someone to help me? No! Do I, in spite of the back pain and against medical advice insist on dragging the Christmas boxes from garage and rearrange the living room furniture? Yes!

Am I any different than most busy moms I know who don't let their lives stop even when their bodies tell them to? No. I'm not any different and I'm not working harder than anyone else I know. It's unfortunate because of all the things we have to do, or think we have to do.

Before the time of modern medicine pregnancy was known as the "Period of Confinement." Once a mother reached a certain point of pregnancy she was put in her room to bed. The windows were shut and the curtains drawn. She stayed there until the baby was born, and then afterwards for another four to six weeks. The first time I learned of the treatment I was appalled and thought it terribly cruel. Now, although I certainly wouldn't condone it, understand why it might have been necessary during that period of history. Shut up in your bedroom you can't see the piles of laundry or dirty dishes. You don't walk across the floor and make a note that you need to scrub it. You don't sit down on couch, find a lone sock stuck in the cushions and spend the rest of the day searching for it's match. With the windows closed you wouldn't see the weeds that need to be pulled, the lawn that needs to be mowed, or all the toys scattered about the yard that never make it back to their place at night. While confinement for the mother certainly would have been depressing and frustrating, it was probably necessary for her and the baby's health to stop, slow down, and let the world take care of itself.

Confinement is not in my future, and today's version, bedrest, would be my worst nightmare. But this afternoon, if I can get the little boy upstairs to fall asleep, I'm going to relax, crochet the new baby a blanket, and wait to finish my to-do list until after naptime...or maybe tomorrow...