Impossible To Not Smile

If this doesn't brighten your day....I don't know what will.



Thankful Thursday

With all the craziness going on at the moment, it's time to stop and be thankful for everything that I have instead of wishing for everything I don't have. So, here goes:

1. My beautiful and healthy family. I love my 2 boys more than anything in the world. Oh, and the mutt too.
2. I have a roof over my head, even if I don't own it.
3. Reliable transportation. It may not be the best car, but it's mine. The car, I do own.
4. Robert and I both have great jobs that we love 90% of the time. It doesn't hurt that they pay above the average too.
5. Health insurance. So easy to forget when you do have it, but impossible to forget when you don't.

It may not be a mansion and a sparkling pool and retirement at 40, but it's my life and I'm happy. That's what I have to keep telling myself, right?

Poop in The Tub

I knew it was bound to happen eventually. Naked baby + warm water = poop. However, after five months without a single incident. I was starting to get cocky. Maybe my kid just doesn't feel "moved" by warm water.

I was wrong. *gasp*

Typical night, just finished rinsing him off and then the farting starts. At first it's cute. Then his face starts to screw up. Ummm, that's not so cute. So I yell for the hubs to come in and help me take him out of the tub (at 19.8 lbs, I let him do the heavy lifting. Otherwise, I'd probably drop the guy). As I'm yelling, it starts....and it goes and goes and goes...

My husband comes running in, "Oh my god! What do we do?"

Me, "I have no idea"

So there we sit with our jaws open while our son sits in a tub of water with poop.

Me, "So I guess I'll take him out and you clean up the tub"

As I'm cleaning Gavin up, I hear the handheld showerhead going.

Me, "Robert what are you doing?"

Robert, "I'm disinegrating the poop so it'll go down the drain"

I go in there and he is attempting to spray the poop down the shower drain using the force of the handheld shower head.

Seriously folks. Seriously.

It's Way Too Pretty Outside

Gavin's caretaker is still dealing with some health issues and I had the feeling she would be closed today, so I took a vacation day just in case. Well, here we are and she feels great and I am way too tempted by the fact that I have a vacation day on the books today to go into work. So, I am taking my first ever vacation day that doesn't involve some type of responsibility. That's right, in my 25 years, I have never taken a paid vacation day and actually relaxed. This is gonna be nice...

My Scale Thinks It's Funny (It's not)

If my scale were a person, I probably would have punched it in the nose this morning. Why? Becuase it lied to me and got my hopes up. First time I step on the scale, I get a nice number that makes it seem as though all the Pedro Goes to Italy Pizza didn't wreck my diet (oh, and that chili and all those valentine candies and....you get the point). SO I go about my morning routine and I forget what that very last number is before I get a chance to put my weight into the weight tracker, so I step on the scale and see an ugly number. A number that shows all those little tiny slips (AKA POINTS Emily....POINTS....you have to count those!) added up to pounds. So I shake my head and say it must have been mistaken. I couldn't have gained 2 pounds in mere minutes. I step on the scale again and guess what? Yup, still the ugly number. *sigh* I have been sitting on a plateu and getting really lazy about counting because I've been getting away with not counting and I haven't seen it on the scale. Well that laziness has caught up with me and here I am, a pound and a half heavier. Not the end of the world, but it is the kick in the ass that I need to start being serious about losing more, because I haven't met that beautiful goal number that I am a mere 5 pounds away from. It's easy to be tempted to slack off now because my clothes are starting to fit and all, but if I do I won't be able to proudly say that I set a goal and I reached it, which I have to do. Not witty or funny, but true.

P.S. This is part of a linky party with The Heir To Blair. Check out her sincere pledge to herself on this Valentine's Day that pretty much sums it up for a lot of us.

That Magical Time

I think that every parent and child has a magical time that is just "theirs". Gavin and I's magical time is bath time. We have our perfect little bed time routine so that by the time I lay him down on our bed to get him ready for his bath, he knows exactly what's coming next. He giggles and has a HUGE grin on his face the whole time because he's as excited as I am for what's coming next. When he's in the bath we both laugh and I sing silly songs. Songs so silly that I threaten my husband should he ever tell anyone the lyrics. In the moment that we're finishing up our special little time I always have the exact same thought come into my head, "I can't wait to have another baby". I tell myself that's crazy. Gavin is only 5 months old, but every fiber of my being is screaming and yearning for another one. Then I have to get him into his pajamas, at which time he fusses predictably because our special and magical time is ending for the evening. As those fusses turn into yells, that urge to procreate gets shattered and I come back down to reality. This whole scene happens every night like clockwork.
Anyone else have something like this with their baby?

Pedro Goes to Italy Pizza (and it only goes to your thighs a lil bit)

In honor of The Heir To Blair's McFatty Monday awesomeness and because for the first time in 4 months I forgot to step on the scale on a Monday morning, I decided to post a recipe.

I threw this creation together this week and my husband is in LOVE with it and so am I. One of those once a year miracles that I just happened to have all this stuff in my kitchen and it actually tastes good and isn't completely awful for me. So, without further ado....

Pedro Goes To Italy Pizza

Ready-made pizza crust

2 cups fat-free mozarella cheese, shredded

2 tsp olive oil

1 chorizo sausage

1 tomato, sliced

1/2 cup chopped cilantro, fresh

Preheat oven to 450. Cook chorizo sausage in sautee pan. Drain grease off sausage. Place sausage on papertowels to pull additional grease off. Set aside. Coat entire crust, including rim in olive oil.  Place cheese on crust. layer with sliced tomatos, cilantro and chorizo. Adjust temperature to 425 right before placing pizza in oven. Cook 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Slice into 8 pieces.

For my WW friends, this is 6 points a slice. Not great, but really not a full out face stuffing points orgy either and you won't feel like you're eating "diet food". The hubs loves it because it's got the sausage that adds a little kick. He requests chopped up jalapenos on his half of the pizza, which doesn't add any points if that's your thang.

P.S. I'm in LURVE with that apron you see. It was obnoxiously expensive but since I had a gift card I thought I'd treat myself to a white apron that cost an arm and a leg. My husband thinks it has special powers because I've been cooking a whole lot more lately just so that I have an excuse to wear it.

Remember That Bridge We Talked About? Well...

....here it is!!!

Before I put Gavin in daycare, I was full of the "what ifs" and to every single one, my mom and husband would respond with "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it". All my anxious moms out there will second me when I say that that is the last thing you want to hear when you're facing a hypothetical disaster!! So what if it's hypothetical? It's still a disaster I tell you! Well, all I can see is bridges. Examples include:

Bridge #1: Gavin gets his first cold because another kid at daycare was sick. He starts hacking and sniffling on Wednesday and I was so proud of myself when I stayed calm and continued going to work because there was no fever involved. I was so zen and cool. Super impressed. Maybe my mom was right. A little cold is no big deal. It won't be as bad as I imagined. Easy peasy bridge to cross.

Bridge #2: Friday morning as we're getting ready for daycare, I get a phone call from the woman who watches him. She is sick and daycare is closed. Well there's a huge fear come to life. I barely have enough sick days to begin with. I can't afford to start using them, but what choice do I have? I guess it's a sick day for me and Gavin. A little nervous that this will be a trend, but trying to keep a positive attitude. Still in the process of crossing this bridge.

Bridge #3: My husband has had terrible asthma since the day he was born, so it's always been a concern of ours that Gavin would inherit this. Halfway through our sick day I start to hear a wheeze. Oh shit. I call the pediatrician's office and they tell me we can come in that afternoon. The doctor hears a wheeze too and because of our family history, Gavin gets breathing treatments and steroids. Sitting in the doctor's office, I'm trying to put the brave and strong mommy face on, but it's next to impossible. All I can think of is the possible chronic disease that Gavin may have. Then my mind goes to all sorts of negative places that they have no business being; dark and seedy places that have a back alley entrance. The doctor tries to reassure me that he doesn't have asthma until there are 3 episodes of this. Until then, it's just wheezing. I give him his first treatment and take home our brand spanking new nebulizer (which is a post for later. I'll just say it includes a fish named Bubbles). That's a shaky and unstable bridge I just sprinted across as to not think about the fact that I was crossing a bridge.

Bridge #4: You thought it was over, didn't you? Nope, it gets even better. Yesterday, the breathing treatments are only working for a couple hours and giving my kid breathing treatments every 2 hours just isn't an option for me. So I call the nurse line and tell them what's going on. Turns out he's breathing faster than they're comfortable with and based on his age and family history, this warrants a trip to the ER. Yep, his first trip to the ER. Every mom's nightmare. So we pack in the car and go to the ER where they tell us he has a fever. Now this a testament to my rock star kid because he wasn't acting uncomfortable or upset or lethargic AT ALL. Rock star. Just saying. Anyway, they see that he is working a little harder than he should to breathe and that his O2 levels are a little low, but he's right on the cusp of doing anything about it. They monitor him for a few hours and decide not to admit him and let him fight it off at home. Side note: I find out my employer has neglected to deposit those HSA funds they promised so the copay comes out of our pocket, for now. Really not what I wanted to find out on my way out of the ER with my baby that's having trouble breathing. I'm pretty sure I could have spit fire at that point. So, bridge crossed. It sucked, but we made it.

Bridge# 5: You're still reading? Good for you! This one is short and more of a "Surprise!" than a bridge. While we were in the ER, Gavin's caretaker called us. I call her back this morning and she wanted us to know that half the kids in day care have been diagnosed with RSV. Well if that's not the cherry on top, I don't know what is...

How about this for a bumper sticker?:
Motherhood is just crossing a shit ton of scary ass bridges

The Time My Husband Almost Killed My Son

The first, but I'm sure not the last.

Gavin is enduring his first cold. Inevitable seeing as how he is in day care full time. So on Wednesday my husband, who has had breathing problems his whole life, starts freaking out because Gavin is developing a cough and a wheeze. He immediately rushes for the Tylenol. I explain to him (because I can see that he is in the parent freak out mode which means all common sense has gone out the window) Tylenol is for fevers and pains, not for chest congestion or cough. I also explain that there is nothing to give a 5 month old with a cough, he just has to work through it. He looks at me like he understands but doesn't like it. That's fine.

Fast forward to Wednesday evening. I am on my way home from my after work doctor's appointment and I call my mom:

Mom: "Don't freak out. Robert almost gave Gavin honey elixir"

Me: "HE WHAT?!?!"

Mom: "Don't freak out. He didn't give it to him, he just bought it and I called the house looking for you and I told him he couldn't give it to him. Don't freak out. He didn't give it to him."

Me: "I'M GONNA KILL HIM!!! WHAT WAS HE THINKING?!?"

....this continues for another few minutes.

When I get home I'm relatively calm, considering. I do the usual "how was your day" day and then I bring it up. "So what's this I hear about honey elixir?". He turns bright red and immediately starts blabbing out excuses and apologies. Wow, it sounds like my husband is terrified of me. He really isn't, at least I don't think he is.

Anyway, he starts reading off of the box aloud in an effort to prove how he could make such a simple mistake. I tell him not to bother because on the front of the box it clearly says that it is for children 12 months and older. He says not it also says it's all natural/non-medication. I ask him if he's read the back of the box. He says of course he did! He's expecting the token "do not use without consulting physician" like the Tylenol. Instead he says (out loud!) "Do not use in children younger than 12 months because of the risk of..... botulism....oh shit"

Ooops.

Random and (almost) Uncsensored Thoughts

I hope I get that promotion. So tired of waiting to find out. I feel like my stomach is gonna jump out of my throat every time my potential new boss walks by my desk. He doesn't even make eye contact when I see him. Must be a bad thing.

One day I'm really going to miss Gavin and I's morning routine. I just love when I come in the room because I hear him talking, not crying, and he's just talking to himself in his crib. Then when he realizes I'm there, he starts to kick his arms and legs as hard as he can and giggle and giggle and giggle. It makes me realize how lucky all of us are to have another day and I strive to be as excited about each morning as my son is. He is genuinely ECSTATIC to be starting a new day. Simply awesome.

Speaking of trying to be like my 4 month old, he's discovering his hands. He just watches his hands open and close over and over like it's the 8th wonder of the world that he's just discovered. I wish I still thought everything was that amazing. I guess I can, I just need to work at it.

I hate when I have a food crazing, and then I get it and after my craving is satisfied I realize how freaking expensive it was. Then I have buyer's remorse but I can't return it because it's in my belly. That sucks.

Holy crow, a girl I used to babysit is in college. I just realized it when she posted something about getting drunk on facebook today and it blew my mind.

Someone at work commented to me that if it were 10 years ago, my husband would be in jail seeing as how I would be 15 and he would be...well, older than that. Creepy thought. He could have been MY babysitter. Even creepier thought....Actually, I did have one really cute babysitter. Thanks for that one mom!!!

Gavin has monkey feet. He is always trying to do things with his feet. Is there a foot stage according to Freud?

I really want to see NKOTBSB in concert. Like really really!!!

Are you terrified by my strange thought process yet? And people wonder why I can't get anything done...