Baby's first Halloween

Nope, no super cute costume or anything. I'm a lazy mama these days. He is wearing a onesie that says "this IS my costume" with a jack-o-lantern bib on top. We went trunk-or-treating at the church and then it started raining. Hubby came for about 15 minutes then had to go to work. Got this pic snapped while hubby was still there.

I was surprised at how many people DID know who/what kiddo was. More than a few grownups said, "HEY! It's Perry the Platypus!" and then asked about the costume. There was one little girl who was so excited. "MOM! That girl looks like Perry the Platypus!" So I turned to her and I said, "Guess what? She IS Perry the Platypus." She giggled and her mom was way impressed with the costume. So thankful for a talented mommy. Kiddo said it was getting tight, but I don't think it was, it looked fine to me. It's fleece, so it might have been warmer at school or something, but she was fine when we went to the church. So here's the pic of her rotated, didn't manage to get the two kids together ... (lazy mama). We're going to the in-laws on Sunday for dinner, dressing them up again so Mil and Fil can see how cute they are ... I'll make sure to put new batteries in the camera and take some shots.


**********

FRIDAY FAVE FIVE!!!

1. Air conditioning. Our house gets so hot in the afternoons ... even though it's October. When we went to the ToT, hubby was grouchy until that A/C hit his face in the car. "oh, I bet that's why I'm grumpy ..." Derf.

2. Happy baby. He slept last night, slept in this morning, had a VERY good nap today (and let me sleep too), and went to bed tonight. He must be in a growth spurt or something because when he's awake, he just wants to eat.

3. Friendship. Kaje and I went to lunch the other day and it really lifted my spirits. Then she emailed today to say hi, and my friend Heather from NY emailed me today too. We used to work together and haven't talked as much now that we don't. She's going to Denver for Christmas to see her sister ... I told her we're only 8 hours from there and hinted she should come here, too. And Steph brought by a bunch of clothes the other day (thank you). And Dawn let me vent to her recently and gave some good suggestions ... and there are really more of you than I thought. When I start thinking I have no friends and life is poopy, y'all lift my spirits and crack me up and help me feel better and I get through it. Thanks.

4. Kiddo. Kiddo is so random at times, it's hilarious. So we get silly and sing silly songs and make up silly things together and get each other laughing and then the baby joins in the smiles ... They really do make everything worth it. And kiddo has been so helpful with her brother a lot of the time, I really should cut her some slack when she's not feeling helpful. She's a good kid and I need to remember that.

5. Dairy free chocolate, raspberry sorbet, and ice water. I no longer can digest milk products apparently since I get sick every time I do, so this is a bummer. But I can eat the chocolate I've found and the sorbet which is a good substitute for ice cream, and because our house IS so hot right now, I'm guzzling ice water. Yay.

Confession Time

I hate Halloween.

Okay ... that might be a bit of an exaggeration. I don't mind the costumes at all, love that my mom has made several of kiddo's over the years, and don't exactly hate trunk or treating. I loved trick or treating as a kid, but man ... Get it all done in one fell swoop? Tons of candy in 30 minutes, my feet don't hurt, AND there's free donuts and cider/hot chocolate at the stake center pavilion (which is close enough to walk to?)? WOOO!

What I hate? BOO-ing. Despise it. It's like a sugary popularity contest gone very wrong. If you *want* to give Halloween treats, that's great. Give some to people you like and don't tell anyone. But accompanying it with a "cute" poem obligating the receiver to give treats out as well and a picture to post on your door? I *hate* that. I hate being one of the last *every* year to get Boo'd. It used to make kiddo cry, especially the year we moved here and we weren't boo'd until Halloween itself -- and even then, it wasn't until someone asked if we'd been Boo'd and lost our picture and we had to say no. I think they felt sorry for us or something because we were Boo'd that night. I don't know if people just don't like us or if it's just because we live in the back of the complex, but we're usually one of the last to get Boo'd. This year was the worst as far as receiving said obligation though: Two days before Halloween with a cranky 3-month old and blepharitis in my left eye, and a HYPER 9-year-old (it only *just* occurred to me she's hyper because it's almost Halloween, derf).

The treats we got were cute though: Bite-sized brownies made in a muffin pan with pumpkin-shaped peppermint patties baked into the tops. Huh.

Our people got Halloween candy. laws.

Congratulations, Mr. Coordinator

So, one of the lower management/small supervisory positions at hubby's work is "coordinator." It's kind of like being a dispatcher. His boss has been trying to get him to take over the position for over a year. He refused, partly because of the stress level, and partly because there is no additional compensation for doing the job.

However. The nights he is NOT coordinator, they do not finish on time, and the company loses money because people poop around and do not work through their entire shift, just stay clocked in for the heckuvit. They had a permanent coordinator who is no longer employed there.

Hubby went to work last night, early, like he's been going in a lot lately.

His boss's boss clapped him on the shoulder and said, "Congratulations, Mr. Coordinator."

No ifs, ands, or buts, he's the coordinator.

Two good things come to mind: 1) His job is a little more secure right now than it was a few months ago, even with the economy in a slump. 2) They will let him work extra hours indefinitely *only* because he is the coordinator.

Two bad things come to mind: 1) The stress eats at him. 2) Stress does bad things to bipolar patients.

At least he's on his lithium ...

And we seem to be on the same page with our finances, finally, and finally able to tackle the problem like we've been intending to all these months. lol. GAHH.

*snort*

Freaking Hilarious

Wish I'd thought of that before ...

Little Mojo started putting himself to sleep. If he has a bottle. Then he wakes up 15 minutes later and pukes it all up. Then goes back to sleep.

He hated the binkie/paci brand Kiddo loved, so I didn't bother with it, thinking he was just not a "binkie baby."

After getting my quilt puked on *again* and having to wash it for the third time in a week, I bought more binkies, a different brand, shaped more like the bottle nipple he likes.

He just had a lovely nap after putting himself to sleep with the binkie.

Derf.

Friday Fave Five

I know, it's nearly Saturday and I'm supposed to be working. I'll make it fast.

1. My MOMMY!!! She's just awesome anyway, but she took the time to make sure Kiddo's Halloween costume was done before she went on an ill-fated trip to the Orient. AND she made sure it got mailed and delivered before Halloween, AND found the hat at Walgreen's and emailed and told me to get it! (The blue platypus pictured in that other post). Love you madre.

2. My VAIO. Hubby and I both wish we'd gotten the new computer as soon as I changed jobs. lol.

3. Pumpkin cookies. I'm not supposed to be eating them because they have milk, but hubby bought them and they are yummy ...

4. Hubby for going to the store last Saturday while I was so sick and buying me Kleenex with lotion and medicine and OJ, and then going BACK for Puffs with lotion because I prefer them. He knew it, but the store he went to first didn't have any, and I was out of nose wipers. So he went to a different store for the Puffs ... which he's going to get to make use of since he is now sick. But he went to work tonight anyway. YAY! lol. It's amazing what the "extra" money in our budget from him going back to work full time is doing for our family ...

5. Kiddo made dinner a couple times this week and has been helping out with Mojo a lot. She adores her baby brother and stayed with him and the cart as it went behind the cashier at Costco because she didn't want him to get lost. So glad we have her! lol.



P.S. Happy birthday Saturday to Mommy and Steph!!!

Thought provoking

I got this in an email from an Obama Mama... not 100% accurate, but it does make you think about racism and how it's affecting this race.

Obama/Biden vs McCain/Palin

What if things were switched around?.....

Think about it.

Would the country's collective point of view be different?

Could racism be the culprit?

Ponder the following:

What if the Obamas had paraded five children across the stage, including a three month old infant and an unwed, pregnant teenage daughter?

What if John McCain was a former president of the Harvard Law Review?

What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class?

What if McCain had only married once, and Obama was a divorcee?

What if Obama was the candidate who left his first wife after a severe disfiguring car accident, when she no longer measured up to his standards?

What if Obama had met his second wife in a bar and had a long affair while he was still married?

What if Michelle Obama was the wife who not only became addicted to pain killers but also acquired them illegally through her charitable organization?

What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard?

What if Obama had been a member of the Keating Five?(The Keating Five were five United States Senators accused of corruption in 1989, igniting a major political scandal as part of the larger Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s.)

What if McCain was a charismatic, eloquent speaker?

What if Obama couldn't read from a teleprompter?

What if Obama was the one who had military experience that included discipline problems and a record of crashing seven planes?

What if Obama was the one who was known to display publicly, on many occasions, a serious anger management problem?

What if Michelle Obama's family had made their money from beer distribution?

What if the Obamas had adopted a white child?

You could easily add to this list. If these questions reflected reality, do you really believe the election numbers would be as close as they are?

This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes and minimizes positive qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative qualities in another when there is a color difference.

Educational Background:



Barack Obama:

Columbia University - B.A. Political Science with a Specialization in

International Relations.

Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude



Joseph Biden:

University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A. in Political Science.

Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)



vs.



John McCain:

United States Naval Academy - Class rank: 894 of 899



Sarah Palin:

Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester

North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study

University of Idaho - 2 semesters -journalism

Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester

University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in Journalism



***

I also got something from a ward member ... She's quite the Republican and sends me stuff frequently. I have not told her I am not Republican. (I'm Independent, in case you were wondering). I don't agree that "from the look of the polls, the Christians aren't voting Christian values." The LDS Church has said you can be a faithful member in good standing, regardless of which political party you belong to. Being LDS (i.e., a Christian), I'm glad the Church has said so. lol. So, although I don't necessarily agree with her in politics or the message that because Democrats seem to be winning this election, Christians are forgetting the Lord and we're all going to hell, or the insinuation that "the polls" say the Bible is going to cease to be the basis of the laws governing our land when "the polls" say that Barack Obama, A CHRISTIAN, is ahead. I do believe in the strength of the power of prayer. I'm only posting it because it is also thought provoking in a different way.

2 Chronicles 7:14



People all across the United States praying for our nation for 1 minute
at the same time every day….
ONE MINUTE EACH NIGHT....
This is the scariest election we as Christians have ever faced. From the
looks of the polls, the Christians aren't voting Christian values. We all
need to be on our knees. Do you believe we can take God at His word? Call
upon His name, then stand back and watch His wonders to behold. His
scripture gives us, as Christians, ownership of this land and the ability
to call upon God to heal it. I challenge you to do so. We have never been
more desperate than now for God to heal our land.

2 Chronicles 7:14 :

If my people, which are called by my name shall humble themselves, and
pray, and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear
from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

During WWII, there was an advisor to Churchill who organized a group of
people who dropped what they were doing every night at a prescribed hour
for one minute to collectively pray for the safety of England , its people
and peace. This had an amazing effect as bomb ing stopped.

There is now a group of people organizing the same thing here in America .
The United States of America and our citizens need prayer more than ever!

If you would like to participate: each evening at 9:00 PM Eastern Time,
8:00 PM Central, 7:00 PM Mountain, 6:00 PM Pacific, stop whatever you are
doing and spend one minute praying for the safety of the United States,
our troops, our citizens, for peace in the world, for wisdom and courage
for our leaders, the up-coming election, and that the Bible will remain
the basis for the laws governing our land and that Christianity will grow
in the U.S.

If you know anyone who would like to participate, please pass this along.

Someone said if people really understood the full extent of the power we
have available through prayer, we might be speechless. Our prayers are the
most powerful asset we have.
Thank You

thought provoking.

I got this in an email from an Obama Mama... not 100% accurate, but it does make you think about racism and how it's affecting this race.

Obama/Biden vs McCain/Palin

What if things were switched around?.....

Think about it.

Would the country's collective point of view be different?

Could racism be the culprit?

Ponder the following:

What if the Obamas had paraded five children across the stage, including a three month old infant and an unwed, pregnant teenage daughter?

What if John McCain was a former president of the Harvard Law Review?

What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class?

What if McCain had only married once, and Obama was a divorcee?

What if Obama was the candidate who left his first wife after a severe disfiguring car accident, when she no longer measured up to his standards?

What if Obama had met his second wife in a bar and had a long affair while he was still married?

What if Michelle Obama was the wife who not only became addicted to pain killers but also acquired them illegally through her charitable organization?

What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard?

What if Obama had been a member of the Keating Five?(The Keating Five were five United States Senators accused of corruption in 1989, igniting a major political scandal as part of the larger Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s.)

What if McCain was a charismatic, eloquent speaker?

What if Obama couldn't read from a teleprompter?

What if Obama was the one who had military experience that included discipline problems and a record of crashing seven planes?

What if Obama was the one who was known to display publicly, on many occasions, a serious anger management problem?

What if Michelle Obama's family had made their money from beer distribution?

What if the Obamas had adopted a white child?

You could easily add to this list. If these questions reflected reality, do you really believe the election numbers would be as close as they are?

This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes and minimizes positive qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative qualities in another when there is a color difference.

Educational Background:



Barack Obama:

Columbia University - B.A. Political Science with a Specialization in

International Relations.

Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude



Joseph Biden:

University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A. in Political Science.

Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)



vs.



John McCain:

United States Naval Academy - Class rank: 894 of 899



Sarah Palin:

Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester

North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study

University of Idaho - 2 semesters -journalism

Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester

University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in Journalism



***

I also got something from a ward member ... She's quite the Republican and sends me stuff frequently. I have not told her I am not Republican. I don't agree that "from the look of the polls, the Christians aren't voting Christian values." The LDS Church has said you can be a faithful member in good standing, regardless of which political party you belong to. So, although I don't necessarily agree with her in politics or the message that because Democrats seem to be winning this election, Christians are forgetting the Lord and we're all going to hell, or the insinuation that "the polls" say the Bible is going to cease to be the basis of the laws governing our land when "the polls" say that Barack Obama, A CHRISTIAN, is ahead. I do believe in the strength of the power of prayer. I'm only posting it because it is also thought provoking in a different way.

2 Chronicles 7:14



People all across the United States praying for our nation for 1 minute
at the same time every day….
ONE MINUTE EACH NIGHT....
This is the scariest election we as Christians have ever faced. From the
looks of the polls, the Christians aren't voting Christian values. We all
need to be on our knees. Do you believe we can take God at His word? Call
upon His name, then stand back and watch His wonders to behold. His
scripture gives us, as Christians, ownership of this land and the ability
to call upon God to heal it. I challenge you to do so. We have never been
more desperate than now for God to heal our land.

2 Chronicles 7:14 :

If my people, which are called by my name shall humble themselves, and
pray, and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear
from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

During WWII, there was an advisor to Churchill who organized a group of
people who dropped what they were doing every night at a prescribed hour
for one minute to collectively pray for the safety of England , its people
and peace. This had an amazing effect as bomb ing stopped.

There is now a group of people organizing the same thing here in America .
The United States of America and our citizens need prayer more than ever!

If you would like to participate: each evening at 9:00 PM Eastern Time,
8:00 PM Central, 7:00 PM Mountain, 6:00 PM Pacific, stop whatever you are
doing and spend one minute praying for the safety of the United States,
our troops, our citizens, for peace in the world, for wisdom and courage
for our leaders, the up-coming election, and that the Bible will remain
the basis for the laws governing our land and that Christianity will grow
in the U.S.

If you know anyone who would like to participate, please pass this along.

Someone said if people really understood the full extent of the power we
have available through prayer, we might be speechless. Our prayers are the
most powerful asset we have.
Thank You

***

Gah.

I heart Macey's

The local grocery store. Here's why: Advertised price on boneless skinless chicken breasts: 1.19/pound (if you buy thd 40-pound box). No problem, break it up into bags and freeze it. While I was there, I noticed Pepsi on sale. Yes, I am still "on" Pepsi. There was also an in-ad coupon for a free Pepsi max if you buy 4 other pepsis. Well. I can't have Pepsi max, but DH can (and it has ginseng which he likes), so I picked up 5 boxes of pepsi. I went back to the butcher, got my chicken, started looking at other meats, and the butcher came and asked me if I needed help finding anything. "Just looking at your meats on special." "Oh, well, I just filled the coffin [their chest freezer] with economy meats, so make sure you look there." While I was looking through the coffin, the Pepsi VENDOR stopped me and said, "Make sure you ask the cashier for your $2 off 5 boxes of Pepsi coupon." Oooo, okay. I got 5 boxes of Pepsi for $11.

Their ad also had a thing for a mail-in rebate for free crocs if you spent $25 in a certain brand of stuff. one of those items was Luvs diapers. Now, I know I have been wanting to do cloth, but bambino uses just as many prefolds by puking all day (dang reflux) as he would if he were wearing them on his butt. I opt out for now. So I picked up 3 packages of diapers, got the rebate form, and will be sending it off for my gift card for free crocs.

I did pick up a bunch of other economy meats, too. I spent quite a bit of money, but there's no getting around that for what we needed today. But that also means I get 15 cents off my next 20 gallons at the Macey's/Flying J gas station.

Sweet ...

So when I went back to the hospickle the next day, I was in labor but didn't know it, and had the baby around 2 a.m. on 7/18. He was fine, weighed 7 pounds 11 ounces at 36 weeks' gestation (premie). Life got busy and all when he ended up back in the hospital for high bili levels and failure to thrive. Turns out he wasn't latching well and had a poor suck, so my milk took its time coming in, and we had to supplement with formula.

Here it is though, 3 months later, and he weighs 14 pounds. He's so much fun, smiling and laughing and cooing and talking, and just a joy to have in our home. Kiddo adores her baby brother and asks all the time if she can help with him -- except she doesn't want to change dirty diapers. She's been a huge help though, learning to cook and do laundry and lots of other chorse around the house. She makes dinner about once a week. It used to be more, but now that Mojo and I are into the swing of things and he has a fairly consistent routine, it's easier.

We've all been sick with colds, so that hasn't been so fun... but we're getting better.

Hubby increased his hours a LOT after the baby got here. It helps to know the bills are being paid and I don't have to stress about working a zillion hours while trying to care for our infant son. We're doing just fine now and are grateful for all of the Lord's blessings.

The picture was taken over this last weekend. It's now my wallpaper on the laptop hubby insisted we buy so that I can work wherever the baby is (like those nights when he doesn't want me to leave his side, I can still work in bed with him). I wear him in a wrap a lot during the day, but nights have been hard.

Anyway. I need to find some lunch and have a nap.

Update and Mojo funnies

Things are a bit calmer (or seemed to be yesterday) on the home front. Hubby hung out with me, just talking, for a little while yesterday and brought Chinese home for lunch, which was really nice of him. I hadn't eaten anything all day just 'cuz I felt so lousy. He says the lithium is just barely taking the edge off, but at least it's doing that, and we go in tomorrow for blood work. They're obviously going to have to adjust the dose, but at least it's helping a little.

I'm still sick, Mojo is still sick, and hubby seems to be getting it. Kiddo has had more lectures about sharing her germs than ever -- if *we're* sick, she won't come near us and washes her hands a zillion times to avoid getting whatever we might have, but if *she's* sick, all bets are off and she's all over us. Booger.

Mojo is doing a little better this morning -- he's been happier and hilarious and all that fun stuff. Yesterday, I nursed him on one side, tried to switch him to the other, but he refused that side but demanded a bottle, so I gave him one, and while he was a tiny bit sleepy and hadn't eaten very much of the bottle, I switched him to the refused boob without him noticing. For a few minutes. Then he looked at me, spit out the boob, closed his eyes and lips very tightly until I covered back up, thinking he was asleep, and then he popped his eyes back open and grinned at me. What on earth? Three-month-olds aren't supposed to PRETEND to be asleep! lol. Then last night, he was smiling and cooing at kiddo and me. She and I just kept giggling, and suddenly, he did too (he has a certain "laugh" sound, but that was his first actual giggle). It scared him or something because he stopped really fast and opened his eyes really wide and looked all concerned. It was so flipping funny, kiddo and I laughed even harder. So there's my baby brags today.

Well ...

Here's some pics, too.

.Why I work from home: So I can type next to my sleeping baby. lol

Kiddo, hubby, and bambino.

Kiddo in her "Perry the Platypus" costume gramma made for her. I forgot to get a shot of the tail, but I will! Sorry it's sideways.

*snort*

That is all.

"She's kind of a cranky old lady ..."

A doctor said that tonight.

Not to be typed in a report, but when talking to a nurse. lol.

Something I hope no one ever says about me. Guess I need to work on my attitude. hahahaha.

Primary Program Sunday

Last week, we talked about inviting my in-laws to the program, so kiddo and I and Mojo went over to their house. FIL said something about church, and kiddo said, "Speaking of church, my Primary program is next week and you and Gramma are invited." They were so excited! And they promised to be there.

So hubby worked last night, which sometimes makes it harder to get to church, but they kept him at work until 10 this morning (making it a 14-hour shift last night, lol). He got home at 10:30, showered, changed, and we all went over to the church. Early. Weird. I was up sick with the baby all night, waking every 20-30 minutes, just miserable, so I knew I was only staying for Sacrament meeting, and he needed some rest too. Kiddo usually stays and someone from the Primary presidency brings her home, so we made arrangements for that before the meeting even started.

Mojo was sort of fussy when the opening hymn was going on, but he was in the wrap, so I just walked aorund the halls for a minute until he passed out, and I went back in the chapel. My in-laws had arrived, and gramma was just fawning over kiddo. In true Polynesian style, she had a couple of necklaces for kiddo to wear and promptly put them on her right before kiddo went up to the podium.

Kiddo had a little trio to sing with the other two older girls, and when it was time, a boy followed them up there. Kiddo shoved him out of the way because he wasn't supposed to be there, lol, which was incredibly ironic, being that the song was, "If the Savior Stood Beside Me," and part of the lyrics say, "would I do the things I do?" We had a good giggle over that.

She also gave a little talk about the temple that she wrote herself, which was quite good. She'd left her talk at home, but we'd had time before the meeting to write it down again. When it was all over, she decided to come home with us instead of staying, which was fine -- she's been a big help with me with being sick and all.

It hit me after we got home that she only has two more primary programs to do. TWO?? Is that right? She's 9 and her birthday is in the summer, so she'd be in YW before the third one. ACK. When did my little kid get to be so big??? *sniff*

The VAIO

Okay, so I asked Steph who makes good computers before we put any more money into computer related things. She said Dell, I laughed (and I think she did too), but she also mentioned Sony.

When DisGrace saw my new notebook, she was like, "You got a VAIO???" "Yeah." "I can't afford one of those." Well, neither can I but hubby said he'd work the overtime to pay for it.

It got here. I started loading everything I need for work and WoW onto it.

He had a bipolar crash/negative manic episode and we've just had a really bad week.

I started freaking out in my head but instead of yelling at him anything I'd regret later, I was calm and talked to him when he was ready. And suggested inpatient treatment or a partial day program, which he refused. Then I took him to the doctor Thursday and got him started on some new meds.

I think the stress lowered my immune system, so here I am, sick with a nasty cold. And Bambino is sick, too.

So hubby scored points this morning by staying up to take Kiddo to primary practice (for the program tomorrow) and letting me and baby take over the bedroom. He was supposed to sleep in hte recliner in the baby's room -- he even took his CPAP in there. He couldn't sleep, so he gets minus points for crashing again. lol. just kidding. He's not as bad and he did make it to work, but he will probably miss church tomorrow, including the program, which will make kiddo very sad. But hey, as long as he's not doing stupid things, I guess it'll be okay.

But I do love the little VAIO. It's fast and efficient and runs WoW without any problems as well as my work programs. I am still using my ergo keyboard and have been typing in bed while mojo snoozes next to me. Which is why we bought it.

So that's that. Total TMI post about bipolar disorder, but hey, that's all that's been on my mind all week.

So, sometimes you just have to cry

We've had a lot of stress lately, and hubby has finally started some new bipolar meds. In the meantime, though, I've gained some weight back, have been drinking Pepsi like it's water, and am big enough DD has again asked me if I'm pregnant. Not that I know of, but decided I have to go to the $store and pick up a test or two to ease my mind.

So the kids and I were on the way to the pharmacy to pick up the meds, and I just stopped the car at a stop sign in our complex and burst into tears. A minute later, I was fine and kept driving, while kiddo and I talked about some stuff. Then later, while I was trying to work and she was watching a movie and baby and daddy were asleep, I cried again. She came and hugged me and told me everything is going to be okay.

When did SHE get to be the grown up? lol. She laughed when I asked her that.

I have to start working out and stuff again. Otherwise, I'm just going to get fatter and unhappier. *sigh*

Look how cute!

Took some pictures yesterday, finally remembered to download them to the computer.
I'm happy!!!
Auntie Dizzy made me this cute hat.
I like eating this bear ...
Auntie Dawn sent me these church clothes. Some of the ladies at church are so jealous because they are cute, and made even cuter by me.
Crazy hair day at school. She ended up looking a little like Napolean Dynamite ...

Score one for breast milk

Mojo weighs 13 pounds 13 ounces. For the baby who had failure to thrive at 4 days of life and had lost a pound in those 4 days, who very well could have died from the combination of failure to thrive and jaundice and the poor suck he had from being a premie, he's not suffering at all now ... He's more than doubled his low weight of 6 pounds 12 ounces, and will soon have doubled his birth weight (3 more weeks maybe, when he hits 15-1/2 pounds).

After the nurse weighed him, the doc came in and said, "well, he's gaining a little weight," while he was laughing. I laughed too. Then we were talking about his reflux, and he asked how much supplement we're giving him. "Oh, 5-6 ounces ..." "oh, but his stomach can't hold that much at a time." "No, I meant 5 to 6 ounces a DAY in 1 or 2 ounce increments." His eyes bugged out of his head and he started flipping through the chart. "he's gained 2 pounds in 3 weeks and that's all the supplement he's getting???" bwahahahaha ... how weird is it that I'm all proud of my milk now. lol.

Friday Fave Five

First, a preface.

My mom is in Japan visiting my brother. I knew she was supposed to go, but she was also supposed to go to China while out there for a business trip but the Chinese government kept denying her Visa, so I never heard that she was really going until he announced on our family website that she was there. Anyway, she has more medication allergies than I do, and she has bad reactions to multiple general and local anesthetics. In fact, several years ago, a doctor injected a local into her finger and KILLED that part of her finger. It looks a little wonky now, but at least she didn't have to have it amputated. She tripped and fell while going into his apartment building, struck her head, and had to go to the hospital via ambulance to get stitched up. My brother took very good care of her and made sure the EMS dudes didn't give her any medications because she's allergic to everything. lol. Mom says they were very polite, although one seemed convinced that if he spoke loud enough, she'd understand Japanese. Well, no, little brother speaks it fluently, but mom might know "Konichiwa." (I might be exaggerating there a bit; she probably knows a few words more than that.)

The person checking her in said, "No insurance? This is going to be very expensive." Japan has national healthcare, so this doesn't happen all that often.

After multiple discussions about what she's allergic to and what the best course of action would be, with the doctor freaking out when he saw the allergy list and asking if he should stitch her up with no pain medication, they decided to Steri-Strip her wound, applied her own Polysporin (the only brand of antibiotic ointment she can use; she bought a new tube for the trip), and sent her on her way, with instructions to come back for a CT if she started puking. (Note: She's fine, no puking, and this happened a couple of days ago.)

She went to pay the bill. The "very expensive" ER visit AND ambulance run? $50 american. (something like 5500 yen).

Hello. They don't have gun violence there (no handguns at all) and awesome medical care? Let's all move there! (just kidding; and I'm not anti-guns, so don't get after me about that either)

So, for the fave five ... drumroll ...

1. Little Brother, for taking such good care of Mom even if his apartment did break her.

2. Japanese healthcare and cautious doctors.

3. Lactation boosting cookies. They have brewer's yeast, oats, flax meal, and some other stuff in them ... And they taste good and my milk is apparently sweeter. He's nursing more. Woohoo.

4. My job. I know I alternately complain and rave about it, but I really do like this company and how awesome they are to work with. "I have a sick baby, flexing my hours today." No problem. "I need to change my schedule permanently." No problem. Any time I ask for anything or say anything, it's taken care of without delay, and without making me feel uber guilty for it. Now, last week sometime they downloaded something to my computer and broke it, but they did fix it the next morning. It was a tad frustrating since I couldn't work until they did, but it got taken care of and they didn't mind that I missed some work because of their error. I will not even get started on how different this is from the company I *used* to work for.

5. My snuggly baby, cuddly and helpful kid, and wonderful husband (who is working 60 hours a week to pay for my computer, lol).

How to make a grumpy mommy laugh

First, it's best if she's had a nap at some point during the day so you don't get in trouble, so make sure you let her have one after you get home from school.

Second, wait until Mom is engrossed in a long report she's typing for work. Her back is to your room, so she'll never see you coming. Also wait until an hour or so after you're usually asleep.

Third, be very, very quiet in your approach. Then start talking at a normal volume while she's rewinding the voice file so she can try to make sense of the soft-spoken doctor.

Fourth, when she screams and startles you because she screams LOUDLY, freak out and whack your foot into the other desk chair, yank on her chair, and fall over.

Then start crying.

When Mom's racing heart calms down enough, you'll both laugh and laugh and laugh after you get a hug.

Alternatively, you could be a cute baby and just smile and giggle at her. She can't help but laughing at your antics, even when you've screamed at her all day. So not fair.

Suckered In

Hubby wanted to spend our Christmas check from his savings all year on a laptop. For me. So I can work in the bedroom when the baby is determined I have to be in there with him, and game with hubby (because I cry when he ignores me). And he gets his quarterly bonus this month, which we can use for Christmas.

So I virtually built one. A nice one.

For nearly twice as much as the Christmas check.

He told me to buy it anyway, and he'll do the overtime to pay it off.

I guess he really doesn't like me crying.

The only part I feel guilt about this for is the fact that we CHARGED it, and I had to have a credit limit increase on my one remaining credit card to do so. Hello. Hubby? What happened to paying off our debt????

If it sounds too good to be true ...

It is. Also, if it sounds too *weird* to be true, it is. Just ... this was so "off" to me, I couldn't let it go.

My MIL called earlier. "I won $25,000!!!" Long convoluted story, she received a phone call and the person on the other end told her she'd won the money in a Canadian sweepstakes.
First clue: It is a violation of federal law to enter sweepstakes and lottos in other countries. She may have entered 500 sweeps in the last year, but none of them were foreign.

Then the person on the other end of the phone said they were from Customs in New York, that the IRS would be taking 1% of her winnings for customs, and that she'd need to go to the local customs office here to get her check, taking her ID with her.
Second clue: U.S. Customs is part of the Department of Homeland Security. They will not call you and tell you that they have a check for you. They do not handle private affairs like this. And hello, if it's against the law to enter the contest, the government is certainly not going to approve of you getting money through their office!

How do I know? I called them. One of the agents called me and told me flat out it's a scam and they will not get involved.

He did tell us to get the FCC involved since they were calling on the phone, but it is not something they can handle.

Here are some other clues for you: Do not pay money to get your "winnings" from any lotto/sweepstakes. Fortunately, MIL wasn't asked to do so or she probably would've. You will be out thousands of dollars and will never see your winnings. Fees will not be asked for up front -- *if* there are any legitimate taxes or fees (which there usually aren't), they will take it out of your check! If you haven't entered a contest for something, you haven't won anything. Stick to legitimate, U.S.-based businesses and trades when you do enter contests. If they send you a small check to wire the money to them so you can claim your winnings, this is STUPID and don't do it -- you will be held legally accountable for that money, even if you don't have it to give. Also, a Nigerian prince is never going to email you and ask you to help him get out of bondage ... no matter how hot the picture he sends you, it is NOT him and it will only cause you grief. (this applies to princesses as well -- and this example is one the Homeland Security dude mentioned specifically).

"Scammers should all be shot." -- steph.

I can only hope the Lord has a bad, hot place for them.

(i will admit, i hoped it was true, too. because i'm evil and know she would've shared. lol)

Cell phones and customer service

So, I've had the same cell phone number for nearly 6 years now. I've been with AT&T/Cingular/Spring that entire time (plus 3 years under my folks' plan when we were here and then in Oregon). There were things I wasn't too impressed with at certain points, but meh, it's a phone and all phone companies are out for the money, so whatever. Right?

Wrong.

I went into the Spring store to get hubby a new phone and lower our minutes because we weren't using even a third of them. So, the manager says, "well, this phone is a dollar." Seriously? Sign me up. It doesn't have any features, but hubby isn't about the phone toys anyway. He'd rather never have a phone, but we disconnected our land line, so we needed him to have a cell phone too. And then the manager looked up my usage on our minutes ... and said, "let's get you this other plan." Bam, saves $20/month.

So today, a customer service rep from Spring called to find out my satisfaction of the visit to the store and also to say, "You have the basic media bundle for $10/month, but you're not even using the internet. Would you like to drop it to basic texts? You'll only have 200/month, but you're not even using that many currently." Yes please. Save me another $5/month.

I guess they're not all evil after all.

The Plan

So, the plan didn't work so well on cleaning, although I did make some headway and Kiddo helped out some too. (hubby was sleeping per his usual during the day since he works graveyards).

So around 4:30 today, I was just flipping exhausted. Two whiny kids, trying to clean, trying to make everybody happy ... i just passed out with the baby during his nap.

I woke up around 6, smelling something not right.

Kiddo had painted her fingernails.

And her toenails.

And her toes.

And the vinyl flooring in the bathroom.

And the sink.

And the countertop.

And the wall.

Everything but the nails was an "accident" of course. And she said I'd given her permission. (Note: I have *never* given her permission to just paint her nails without supervision because I KNOW this will happen. She asked me while I was asleep, the booger, knowing I'd say yes. The polish is going in the trash tomorrow.).

So then we had to make the house even stinkier by cleaning it up. With non-acetone nail polish remover.

Hubby opened all the windows.

I took two Tylenol and a Pepsi and went to bed. Obviously, I'm not sleeping, but at least the house doesn't stink anymore.

ROME???!!!???

Okay, so I was totally stoked with the Philadelphia, PA, temple announcement ... then the baby started crying (right that second), and I missed the Rome announcement until hubby repeated it, and the congregation got totally quiet, and then our closed captioning (because I'm going deaf, I keep it on most of the time) showed it. Then the congregation started making noise. OH MY GOSH. So cool.

Ahem.

I don't think I heard another word of conference ... just kidding. I did hear and felt the spirit, rather enjoyed Elder Uchtdorf's talk ... But now I need to get to work, so I can't recap. Booo!

(p.s., I shredded most of my credit cards this morning. kept ON and Walmart, since I have balances on them and need to return some stuff to ON this week, which was charged on the card ... bah.)

Friday Fave Five

1. Realizing that if I FOCUS I can work very few hours and be done by 1 p.m. my time, have an awesome nap with Mr. Mojo +before kiddo gets home, and then spend the rest of the evening with the family instead of trying to cram in more work. DERF. This week didn't go so well for work until today. ORRR, I can work after the kids go to bed and hubby goes to work. That might actually work out better come to think of it. I'll have to try.

2. GNO!!! Okay, so the projector didn't work. But the burgers were awesome and the company was fun, and even though I had to take both kids, it was still nice to be "out." And hubby admitted he missed seeing me before he went to work. bwahahah.

3. Less drama, less stress ... Loving the hubby working himself to fatigue right now ... lol. that sounds so rotten of me, but what I mean is that neither of us feels like we're doing this alone these days, and with me able to focus more on the family instead of on money, the kids and I and hubby are all happier. Even if the house is still a wreck.

4. Dave Ramsey. I haven't ever heard him speak, don't listen to him on the radio, don't own any of his products. But I managed to catch a few clips of him the other day about cutting up credit cards (even Victoria's Secret, lol) and savings and stuff that we've dealt with over the past couple years ... We've been working on our budget and paying off debt more recently (obviously), but some of the things he said really hit home with me. Sooooooo ... as part of my Conference weekend cleaning/purge, I'll be shredding all my plastic except the debit cards because I need it to get cash at the ATM to pay for everything. I will not spend what I do not have anymore.

5. Chubby baby cheeks. I dunno, something about this little baby just makes me want to hug and kiss him and touch his little chubby cheeks ... Hubby pointed out kiddo is very much like me in that respect because she can't leave him alone either. hehehe.

sticky orange balls

Oh, you guys are disgusting.

Baby is on Prevacid for reflux, which is a little pill that dissolves into orange balls. Tiny ones. And when they are covered in saliva, they are sticky.

All of those sticky little balls are all over me because he keeps chewing it up and dissolving it just fine, then droooooooooooooling like mad and spitting them all over me. Fourth day in a row.

He hasn't been screaming from pain, so either he is getting some of the Prevacid in him OR he's outgrowing it. Either way, I don't know if I'm giving it to him tomorrow ...