Poor Cat Deely

Tonight's S.Y.T.Y.C.D., oh my: How can they dress that darling cutie-pie Brit, Cat Deely, like that? Poor girl.

Increase Insurance Co. Profits, Hell yeah!

Protect Insurance Companies PSA from Will Ferrell

What Day Is It?

On Monday, I nearly dozed off while driving to work... my left eye twitched throughout the day (and it's still twitching today, this very moment). After picking up my baby girlie from her preschool/daycare, I fed her a lil' bit of pureed apples while she sat in my lap, the two of us sitting together in the passenger seat of my car, hoping to help her last until we'd get home from grocery shopping at Trader Joe's. Once we were home from our grocery shopping excursion, I began steaming some white corn to introduce a new baby food puree for her to try, and I put away the groceries while my lil' wee flower happily played at my feet, plopped on the kitchen tile. Otis swiped her with the side of his body at least twice and she was utterly delighted with the furry kitty contact. Then I fed her some more din-din (she loved the white corn!), while steaming 2 more batches of food for baby purees; another new one, 'hodgepodge' veggies, and one of her faves, green petite peas. She bathed her in the kitchen sink, and I sang several songs to her while dressing her for bed and rocking her in the glider chair she has in her bedroom. She was out like a light and in her crib by 7pm. To be honest, she was asleep by 6:40pm, but I just continued to hold her and rock her and sing to her. After she was down, I then cleaned all our bathrooms (2.5) from head to toe... the baseboards, tile floors, cabinet doors, drawers, toilets, sinks, counters, mirrors, glass, and light fixtures, and I changed out all the towels and shook all the rugs. I saved the trash for my honey-man, who handles the trash (and diaper pails) on Tuesday and Friday nights. And then I loaded and ran the dishwasher, and I prepped two 5-oz bottles and two baby food containers for the following day. [SEMI-RELATED TANGENT: Yup, for a little more than a week now, our baby girlie's been enjoying a cereal-fruit mix for 'brunch', and now, as of this Tuesday, she began having a veggies-mix for lunch, ready and rearing for more solids. END OF TANGENT.] And then I took a shower and threw myself into our bed around 1/4 to midnight. (Yes, I do need my head examined.) Our sweet potato girl only woke up once that night, to be fed around 2am.

And on Tuesday, um, Tuesday was loaded with stuff and I can't remember what right now... except that I'd initially eaten microwave popcorn as my dinner until my honey-man came home around 7:30pm, and said "oh no ya don't" and made us a real dinner. Oh yeah, I did the usual "pick-up-and-claim-my-darling-baby" thing after work, and once she n' I were home, we did the usual "feed-and-bathe-the-baby" thing, except she had a teething biscuit for the first time, which was a real hit, and then she and I, we had a bath together. She was soooo tired -and so cute- she actually began to nod off while in the tub! I tried to keep her up so my honey-man could see her when he got home, but by 6:30pm, she was totally limp-limbed and soundly asleep before I could even place her in her crib. After giving her up to her crib, I went downstairs to unload the dishwasher and to hand wash all her bottles n' food containers. I also swept the kitchen and downstairs tile, wiped down all the kitchen counters, and prepped her bottles and baby foods for preschool the next day, and took an early shower. As I've already mentioned, my honey-man came home and made us dinner, and then I tried to watch "So You Think You Can Dance," but I missed most of it while talking on the phone for nearly 2 hours. I think I was in bed by 11pm, and our sweet potato girl woke up only once that night, to be fed around 3am.

And yesterday, we did the whole "pick up, go home, feed baby, and bathe baby" thing, and then I tried, tried, tried to keep my baby sweet potato girlie up. And this time, she was totally up for it, happy to quietly play, waiting with me for her daddy to come home, even though she was seriously tired... here and there, she would lean forward to rest her head on my leg, or on my arm or in my lap or on my shoulder. My honey-man came home early though, 'round 6:30pm, and so we all had about 30 minutes together, playing and cuddling on her bedroom floor together. And she went to bed at 7pm without a single baby utterance of protest. Thereafter, mah honey-man and I, we had our dinner together, after which, we ate cookies, too many cookies. And soooo, I vacuumed the entire house, including the stairs. And I washed 3 loads of laundry. And some other things.

We were both in bed by 10pm last night - - a true rarity for either of us! Our sweet potato girl woke up twice, at midnight and 4am... arrhhhgg! The 2nd time she woke, you would have thought it was a bright sunny day underway, as she seemed ready for action, talking and squirming around and all smiling and all perky, but I knew too well what she was really doing... See, she doesn't like to miss out. My honey-man, he had brought her into our bedroom, and after I'd fed her, I had hoped she'd fall asleep right there where she laid beside me, but she knew she was there with the both of us, so she wanted to play with her mommie and daddy, patting our faces, trying to twist and turn herself so she could climb onto our sides. And then I caught her yawn not once, but twice in a row, confirming my suspicion, so I scooped her up to take her back to her bedroom. She was sooo darling! Once in my arms, on the way to her bedroom, she shut her lil' chattery yap and simply cuddled into my chest, ready for it and willing. I laid her back down in her crib and she smiled at me as she took her binky into her own hand and placed it in her mouth as she turned her head to right, away from me, and closed her little sleepy eyes and she was gone.

And tonight? It hasn't been quite so busy. I had planned to run to Smith's for some of our non-Trader Joe's items we like, but after picking up my lil' babe, holding her in my arms as we entered the lobby of her preschool, I just wanted to take her home and do nothing but be with her. Not until after she had eaten and bathed did I touch anything else. She was in her crib, fast sleep by 6:30pm; almost every part of her little being was begging to go to bed as early as 6pm. At one point, mid-bath, she actually began to whine and then cry, wanting to be on closer on her way towards bedtime.

My honey-man came home 'round 9pm, and because I was already upstairs, I didn't yell down to him, but waited for him to come up. Can I tell ya, he looks exhausted, as do I, too, apparently... I think last night's baby wakings really tapped us, but I think they may have really done one over him a bit more so because he said this to me as he flopped beside me on our bed, me with my laptop: "Two words... Go to bed early!"

It's now 10:27pm, and I can hear my baby girl's breathing is stuffed up, and for the last half hour, she keeps letting out a pained lil' moan every 10 minutes or so. Hmmm... I'm going to hop in the shower, after which, I hope to finally go to bed. I imagine she'll be up a couple times tonight.

P.S. Yesterday morning, my honey-man called me on our way to work to ask me if I'd remember to take my coffee with me to work... I hadn't... nor had he. We'd left behind a brand new, fresh, full pot of coffee.

Off to Ootah for Halloween with the Angel Boy-O!

We're leavin' in the morning, EARLY (hopefully...)! Our aim is to hit the round once the wee one rouses... depending upon when she has her midnight wake-up, that could be anytime between 5:30 and 8am... On second thought, we'll wake her up at 6am, and she can sleep in the car. Sorry, thinking via type here.

Everyone have a Happy Halloween!!! boo!

Let the Chaos Resume!

By noontime yesterday, as we were leaving Trader Joe's, my baby sweet potato girlie's nosey was drip, drip, dripping... yup, she's sick AGAIN!

We had a non-sicky-baby break for ONE WHOLE FREAKIN' WEEK, that's all, and now she's sick again... moaning, stuffy and snotty, dripping, coughing, teary eyed and uber clingy (so far,all in a cute way)... Mah poor baby girlie. Oh yeah, and she also seems to be TEETHING! The next couple weeks are gunna be fun, fun, fun.

Excuse me, but I have a super cute, super sick baby beginning to wail beside me, slapping away at my keyboard. Gotta go!

Positively Exhausted

I don't know what the heck is goin' on with our baby sweet potato girl, but man, she was up FOUR TIMES last night...?!? And the night before, it was three times... and the night before that, also three times. She wasn't this bad as a constantly hungry newborn! She wasn't particularly cranky last night whenever she woke, but she wouldn't go back to sleep on her own, not once.

Now that she's been feeling better, no longer sick n' snotty, we're trying to get her back to sleeping flat in her crib, without being propped in her vibe chair... We NEVER used the vibration setting, but if she'd wake or kick or move, it'd bounce and I think she got hooked. Hence, she doesn't know how to "self-sooth" herself back to sleep anymore = that's my theory for now.

I feel like I'm operating with my head in a vice (headache), in a cloud (can't think), and everyone's talking into paper cups (can't focus on what anyone says to me), BUHHT I'm in a pretty dang good mood, nonetheless, hence the use of "positively" for this post's title. Yeah, I'm feelin' uber happy right now, cuz, #1) Friday makes for slow foot traffic throughout the work day, so I actually get a lot done, and #2) because it's Friday, that means the weekend is here! And #3) I finally get to spend more than 2 freakin' hours with my daughter due to the weekend's blessed arrival!!! I have 45 minutes until I can leave n' go claim my lil' pumpkin!

I'm gunna eat chubby babyfat rolls all weekend long! WOO-HOO!

Five Times on Tuesday - Yes, FIVE Times

I'm referring to the number of times I burst into tears yesterday... Felt like the universe was conspiring against me, throwing as many menial and inconsequential mess ups and minor frustrations at me as possible in a 12 hour period... Felt like I just couldn't do a damn thing right! Later that night, around 7:30-ish (my 5th cry of the day), I grabbed a blanket and nearly threw myself on the couch like a pouting child, and I sobbed until I passed out, asleep.

P.S. Plus, I'm almost certain I'm PMSing. Yeah, that and major sleep deprivation; I'm sure neither condition helps me much.

Proof Positive, Maybe

My kitties have not disowned me for having a wriggling, squealing n' squawking baby, who demands and receives most of my attention... either that or they just like the heat my laptop gives off.

(And no, I don't know why my top is doing what its doing here - - looks twisted? Nothing quite fits right still...Um, my cup size went up from a C to an E! Yeah, that might explain it.)

Note to Self

What characterizes most immature people is that they sit around complaining that life doesn't meet their demands.

We Love Las Vegas in October

I used to abhor fabric ruffles on baby bums - - I now love 'em!

Can you say "baby fat?" Ahh, lemme' tell ya, it's dah best!
I love all her lil' chubby-chub rolls and apple cheekies! I eat 'er up, I do, each day!
I love this hat of hers...Thanks again, Brenda!

Why I Love Mah Honey-Man ~ Reason 46

Because he still wants and asks to spoon with me in the middle of the night.

Unexpected Baby-Related Self-Discovery

Listed in no particular order of importance:


1. I look down and see baby cereal smudges on my pants that I missed from the time I wore them last, and they make me smile and chuckle...and then I make zero attempt to clean them off.

2. If I don't have a tissue handy, I'll use the inside of my shirt hem to wipe my baby daughter's snotty nose... anything to keep her lil' darling mug clear of grodie baby boogies!

3. During mah baby's dinnertime, I pause just long enough to lick the baby puree off the back of my fingers before I gotta swipe my bangs outta my eyes.

4. I encourage splashing at bathtime and EVERYTHING gets wet and I do not care one iota.

5. I gave my baby daughter a dip-package of fry sauce to gnaw on the other day to keep her entertained while we were having lunch on the way home from Utah, and when ithe fry sauce inevitably exploded open all over the two of us, I almost laughed so hard that I cried.

6. Whenever my baby's Grammy and her auntie Riann feed her cake frosting and ice cream and chocolate syrup and the like, I just grin and watch.

7. I figured out recently that my baby daughter really enjoys my crazy bedhead in the mornings, so I quit doing my hair before she wakes up.

8. I really do like to pick out what my baby sweet potato girlie's gunna wear for the day, enough so that my honey-man will no longer offer to dress her without my first picking out her clothes.

9. I ocassionally find myself singing the songs from 'Signing Times' while driving to work, even though my honey-man is the one who takes our sweet potato girl to daycare in the mornings.

10. I totally lose track of time when I'm with my lil' sweet pea because I'm so focused on her and little else.

She's Napping Finally, So I Can Go Cry Now

My grandma Joanie died yesterday... The funeral will be Monday, and we'll be leaving for Salt Lake tomorrow morning. Luckily, I was able to get a lot of stuff done today ~ Thank you to my sister for watching the baby so I could get my shaggy mop cut! Granted, the day isn't nearly over yet, but my baby sweet potato girl is finally down for a desperately needed nap, so I'm gunna have me a good cry and a nap of my own if I'm luckier.

P.S. My lil' sweet pea will watch me all wide-eyed and transfixed if she sees me crying.

My Poor lil' Happy-Go-Lucky Sicky Baby, Not So Happy

My poor lil' baby girl, she's still sick and now? Now she's got a tinsy-tiny ear infection brewing in each ear, so she's on antibiotics as of today. BTW, she is such a good lil' medicine taker! No refusals, no gagging, no spitting, no choking, nor spraying. She just sucks it right up from the medicine syringe. Such a good girl... over the last 24 hours though, she's not quite the happy-go-lucky sicky baby anymore. Well, not compared to how she's been for the past 5 weeks of sickidom. You can tell now that she's really not feelin' so hot: She's a lot more snotty; a lot more stuffed up; she's coughing more; she makes these pitiful, sad little moaning noises here and there throughout the day and night, particularly during her naptimes. Speaking of naptime, today's naps were absolutely futile - - no more than 15 minutes here and there. There's been some impromptu wailing and crying out in the night while she's asleep, and she has a hard time settling back down on her own every time. During the day, there's a lot of what we call "cranking." (I'll explain later, as "cranking" deserves its own post.) She's still quite the lil' trooper, but her eyes are watery and she's just, well, she seems sad. And she wants to be held and held some more... and my back is still very fragile right now. I won't go into that though, not right now either.

Come dinner time, she was very perky in her high chair once her mangoes-loaded spoon finally hit her little open mouth (she was screeching before that happened), and like her usual self, she was delighted with her bath time (First time bathing in the kitchen sink without her infant bathing tub!!!)... but she was soooo tired. Despite her being so happy to take a bath, she looked like she was going to pass out after just 5 minutes! And she went to bed so easily, absolutely no fuss. But 3 hours ago, she had me scared and getting nervous...

We laid her down for bed and a couple hours later, she was hot and flushed with a fever of 101.4. It was 10pm-ish by then, and I was about to feed her, so I told my honey-man I'd retake her temp after she was done. In less than 20 minutes' time, she was at 102.4 and climbing. And then? Well, I gave her some infant ibuprofen and her temp was down to 98.8 within 30 minutes.

So, am I feeling better now that that last fever came and went so quickly? Um, well, it's after 1:00am, and I'm still awake, and I'm blogging... just take a guess. I'm listening to every sniffling snuffle, every raspy exhalation, each and every lil' heart-breaking cough, and I'm getting zero sleep. I'm wired outta my utterly exhausted mind, and having blowing my own nose every 15 minutes as gently as I can to avoid a coughing fit that'll send my back into a spasm(s), and on top of it all, I'm sad, really, really sad.

But I can't got into that right now either.