When it rains, it pours. I have so many blog topics rolling around in my head. From the practical--photos from our visit with Dad and our recent outing to the Tulip Festival, our fun get together with Beth from Working It Out, to the philosophical rambling thoughts I have about baby #2...but I have not been a good blogger b/c well, its been a hell of a week.
Upon returning from our trip, Lana has been jet lagged and sleep deprived which has led to some killer, embarrassing tantrums that are oh, not so pretty. One in Target was so bad that I was in tears myself. Then she promptly got a stomach bug and barfed all over me (and in my bra--ew). Then I got said stomach bug and had many conversations with my toilet--they went mostly like this: I am going to puke. Why can't I puke? Am I too scared to puke? Puke, please come out so I can feel better. Icky feeling passes. Son of a bitch, now I get to do this all over again in a half an hour. So I didn't eat for 2 days b/c of this bug and got a mother of a migraine, which of course I cannot treat b/c I am pregnant--tylenol just wasn't cutting it. So today is the first day I feel like a human again.
The other big event was Lana's first day of preschool. I feel like it needs a separate post, although at this rate, school will be out for the summer by the time I get around to it. Let's just say it went waaaayyyy better than I could have ever predicted and I am SO. FREAKIN. PROUD. Tomorrow is Day 2, so we will see if we have success again.
So I have been sidetracked, but I hope to catch up soon.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Our visit with Dad
We just had a really great visit with my dad. Lana did such a good job with the travel and the time changes and just her behavior in general. I am constantly reminded that she is growing up and it seems like everything is getting easier. Just in time for the new baby to come and make things less easy all over again. The best part was that Lana remembered our last visit with my dad, not just my dad, but details of the things we did, the toys she played with, the books she read. So from the minute she saw dad in the airport, she ran right up to him and gave him a big hug. She enjoyed chatting with him and reading Where's Waldo with him. It was so nice to see both of their smiling faces.
Dad looks good. He seems to be tolerating chemo okay. Of course, there are some unpleasant side effects, like muscle pain and fatigue, but if you read the list of possible side effects, he has relatively few of them. He is mostly tired--wiped out actually. He feels frustrated because he wants to do things, but feels physically unable. I think he looks great though! I feel proud of him for being so brave.
We talked a lot about how chemo is kind of like being pregnant (in some ways). If your body is telling you to rest, you should rest. If your body is craving watermelon (or a sloppy hamburger)--eat it! Rest, drink fluids, eat crackers. Of course there are things you enjoy you may have to give up, but its just for a finite period of time and then you can indulge in all the things you miss. I think for him its hard to imagine that treatment is just a transient thing and you have to listen to your body and be good to yourself!
Pics to follow in the next post or two...
Dad looks good. He seems to be tolerating chemo okay. Of course, there are some unpleasant side effects, like muscle pain and fatigue, but if you read the list of possible side effects, he has relatively few of them. He is mostly tired--wiped out actually. He feels frustrated because he wants to do things, but feels physically unable. I think he looks great though! I feel proud of him for being so brave.
We talked a lot about how chemo is kind of like being pregnant (in some ways). If your body is telling you to rest, you should rest. If your body is craving watermelon (or a sloppy hamburger)--eat it! Rest, drink fluids, eat crackers. Of course there are things you enjoy you may have to give up, but its just for a finite period of time and then you can indulge in all the things you miss. I think for him its hard to imagine that treatment is just a transient thing and you have to listen to your body and be good to yourself!
Pics to follow in the next post or two...
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Happy Birthday to Bill
Today is my wonderful husband's birthday. He is so uncomfortable with birthdays or any other gift-giving holiday, which is strange to me because I love my birthday--everyone is so nice to me, I get presents and then I get to eat cake. What's wrong with one day where you feel a little extra special? Anyway, Bill hates receiving gifts, although he is a great gift-giver. So usually we celebrate by taking a trip, which works out great because by the end of April, its warm or getting warmer in most places. This year we planned to take a trip to Mexico where we could just sit on a beach. It would have been our last trip pre-baby #2. But then we found out about dad's cancer and we decided (actually Bill decided) that we would visit dad instead.
So here we are in Virginia and it has been a wonderful surprise to see that my dad is doing pretty well. He has some side effects from the chemo, but he looks good--lots of color in his face and he hasn't lost any weight. Lana has been giving him a lot of attention and affection, which is great because she is not always like that. I think dad is beyond happy that we are here and I am too. I only have Bill to thank because he selflessly gave up his birthday trip to make this happen, even though I offered to come here by myself or with Lana. But that is just Bill. And its why I am so grateful to have him as my partner in life. I always feel like no matter what life throws at us, we will weather it together and it will be okay.
So happy birthday to my dear husband. You make me the happiest girl on earth. Plus you make cute babies. I hope I didn't just jinx the one in the oven.
So here we are in Virginia and it has been a wonderful surprise to see that my dad is doing pretty well. He has some side effects from the chemo, but he looks good--lots of color in his face and he hasn't lost any weight. Lana has been giving him a lot of attention and affection, which is great because she is not always like that. I think dad is beyond happy that we are here and I am too. I only have Bill to thank because he selflessly gave up his birthday trip to make this happen, even though I offered to come here by myself or with Lana. But that is just Bill. And its why I am so grateful to have him as my partner in life. I always feel like no matter what life throws at us, we will weather it together and it will be okay.
So happy birthday to my dear husband. You make me the happiest girl on earth. Plus you make cute babies. I hope I didn't just jinx the one in the oven.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
The Birds and the Bees--3 year old version
Did anyone see that episode of Oprah where they gave the sex talk to the 10 year old daughter on air? I didn't watch the entire episode, but I did see part of it. It was pretty crazy and super uncomfortable for all parties, especially the mom. I watched out of curiosity and then I felt thankful that I have a toddler, who only has questions like, "Mommy, why don't I have boobs?"
With me being pregnant and all, there have been some more questions, simply due to my changing body and Lana noticing. She has been very interested in the anatomical differences between boys and girls. While once we used code words for body parts, we are using the proper terms now. As we were getting ready for her shower last night, she sat nudista on the bath mat and peered between her legs and said, "Mama, there is a hole in my v@g@!" (insert proper name here--I am trying to avoid web-pervs). She seemed a little disturbed by this discovery, but I assured her it was normal and fine to have a hole there. She has also noticed that large boobs jiggle and little ones do not. She will go up to my mom and smack her on the chest and exclaim, "Grandma's boobs MOVE!" Then on to me, "Mama, your boobs do not move--why?" Yep, that's right Mama's little titchies do not move, bounce, jiggle, etc. Rub it in, why don't ya?
The big "talk" happened yesterday. My mom was relaxing, watching a little Lifetime when Lana and I joined her on the sofa.
The woman on TV was crying.
Lana said, "Grandma, why is that lady crying?" My mom told her she was sad.
Cut to the next scene, the same woman strips down to her bra and undies.
"Grandma, why is that lady taking off her clothes?" My mom told her she was getting ready for her bath.
Next scene: The couple (the dude was a young John Stamos, fyi) was doing it, and the woman was on top.
"Grandma, is that lady happy now?" We both giggled and said, yes.
"Grandma!! What is that man DOING sleeping under her?" We crack up, cover her eyes and change the channel.
Lana bursts into tears after trying to hold it in and says that we hurt her feelings and she was going upstairs to be by herself.
Nice. I felt so bad, I followed her and apologized for hurting her feelings. We then talked about how some tv is for grownups and some is for kids. I did feel really bad for embarrassing her. It made me realize how she is not a baby anymore, she is so aware of what is going on and its time to not let inapproprite tv, language, etc. to just be on in the background b/c like it or not, she is paying very close attention.
With me being pregnant and all, there have been some more questions, simply due to my changing body and Lana noticing. She has been very interested in the anatomical differences between boys and girls. While once we used code words for body parts, we are using the proper terms now. As we were getting ready for her shower last night, she sat nudista on the bath mat and peered between her legs and said, "Mama, there is a hole in my v@g@!" (insert proper name here--I am trying to avoid web-pervs). She seemed a little disturbed by this discovery, but I assured her it was normal and fine to have a hole there. She has also noticed that large boobs jiggle and little ones do not. She will go up to my mom and smack her on the chest and exclaim, "Grandma's boobs MOVE!" Then on to me, "Mama, your boobs do not move--why?" Yep, that's right Mama's little titchies do not move, bounce, jiggle, etc. Rub it in, why don't ya?
The big "talk" happened yesterday. My mom was relaxing, watching a little Lifetime when Lana and I joined her on the sofa.
The woman on TV was crying.
Lana said, "Grandma, why is that lady crying?" My mom told her she was sad.
Cut to the next scene, the same woman strips down to her bra and undies.
"Grandma, why is that lady taking off her clothes?" My mom told her she was getting ready for her bath.
Next scene: The couple (the dude was a young John Stamos, fyi) was doing it, and the woman was on top.
"Grandma, is that lady happy now?" We both giggled and said, yes.
"Grandma!! What is that man DOING sleeping under her?" We crack up, cover her eyes and change the channel.
Lana bursts into tears after trying to hold it in and says that we hurt her feelings and she was going upstairs to be by herself.
Nice. I felt so bad, I followed her and apologized for hurting her feelings. We then talked about how some tv is for grownups and some is for kids. I did feel really bad for embarrassing her. It made me realize how she is not a baby anymore, she is so aware of what is going on and its time to not let inapproprite tv, language, etc. to just be on in the background b/c like it or not, she is paying very close attention.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
I am so excited, I may jinx it, but I am too excited to care
Welcome to another potty training post. Just thought I would let you know ahead of time in case this type of thing bores you or grosses you out or you are just sick of hearing about the minutia of training little people to do their business in the toilet rather than in their pants.
SHE DID IT!! Lana peed on the BIG POTTY, yes the regular adult toilet! More than once. All day long!! And she helped me put away her little blue potty to save for "didi or mei-mei" (translation--little brother or little sister).
Sounds like no biggie for an almost 3 year old. I mean, aren't most almost 3 year olds, especially girls, potty trained by now, or almost there? Well, Lana has been pee-trained, even overnight for months, like maybe 6 months, but she would only go in the little blue plastic potty. If I tried getting her on the regular toilet, she would scream and kick. What's the big deal you ask? I'll tell you: I have to bring with me the training pant Pull-Ups and a diaper (for poo b/c the pull-ups do not do the trick) with me everywhere--public places, friends houses, the park, etc. If we go through our stash--get in the car and head home b/c my uber-stubborn child will not even entertain sitting on a toilet at a friends' or relatives' house and certainly not on a public toilet--it may automatically flush on her and sweep her away to China. For a while it didn't bug me, but 6 months later of independent pottying, I have been getting annoyed with her for just being stubborn. I have tried bribes, encouragement, jumping up and down all to no avail.
Then today when I asked if she wanted to try the big potty (which I do every day), she said yes, if she could have a "lick" (lollipop). At 7am she had a delicious orange lolli (the organic ones from trader joes, not like that makes it any better). AND she did it the rest of the day!! AND we put away the little blue potty!!
It will probably be another 6 months till she takes a crap in the toilet, but whatever, I am celebrating.
SHE DID IT!! Lana peed on the BIG POTTY, yes the regular adult toilet! More than once. All day long!! And she helped me put away her little blue potty to save for "didi or mei-mei" (translation--little brother or little sister).
Sounds like no biggie for an almost 3 year old. I mean, aren't most almost 3 year olds, especially girls, potty trained by now, or almost there? Well, Lana has been pee-trained, even overnight for months, like maybe 6 months, but she would only go in the little blue plastic potty. If I tried getting her on the regular toilet, she would scream and kick. What's the big deal you ask? I'll tell you: I have to bring with me the training pant Pull-Ups and a diaper (for poo b/c the pull-ups do not do the trick) with me everywhere--public places, friends houses, the park, etc. If we go through our stash--get in the car and head home b/c my uber-stubborn child will not even entertain sitting on a toilet at a friends' or relatives' house and certainly not on a public toilet--it may automatically flush on her and sweep her away to China. For a while it didn't bug me, but 6 months later of independent pottying, I have been getting annoyed with her for just being stubborn. I have tried bribes, encouragement, jumping up and down all to no avail.
Then today when I asked if she wanted to try the big potty (which I do every day), she said yes, if she could have a "lick" (lollipop). At 7am she had a delicious orange lolli (the organic ones from trader joes, not like that makes it any better). AND she did it the rest of the day!! AND we put away the little blue potty!!
It will probably be another 6 months till she takes a crap in the toilet, but whatever, I am celebrating.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Night waking--solved.
I have discovered the secret of Lana sleeping through the night without shouting, "MAMA!!!" around 4am.
We got rid of the nap. Gone. Bye-Bye. She is fine. Happy and active. No tantrums.
Can you hear me crying?
We got rid of the nap. Gone. Bye-Bye. She is fine. Happy and active. No tantrums.
Can you hear me crying?
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