Uff Da

Ah, Veronica's taking her first nap of the day. I always think it's kinda funny that she's already napping and it's only 9am, but you can't argue with that 90 minute thing, it just works every time. We had such a great night last night!! She went down at 9:40 and didn't get up until 3am - 5 hours and 20 minutes!!! Then she went back down at 3:15 and got up at 6:15. She was in the crib the whole time, on her back (not in the bouncy seat!) and I was in bed. Hooray! I managed to get her to go back down in bed with me from 6:45 until about 7:30. I know I'm always hoping that the long stretches of sleep are the start of a trend and they never are, but one of these days it has to become regular, right? Either way, how nice to feel rested.

We have been making some inroads on other sleep issues. Now that we have a set routine each time she's ready for sleep, she's much happier and rarely fusses for me. I put her in the crib with the sound machine on and she lays and looks around as I swaddle her up. I leave her that way for a few minutes with her paci. Then I pick her up and shush her a bit until she's almost asleep before I put her back down. She's waking up each time that I set her down - sometimes she falls asleep on her own and sometimes I can tell she needs to be picked back up for a bit longer. But it's progress, she's not sleeping in my arms for hours at a time anymore. Unless we're out of the house, sometimes she still naps in my arms if we aren't at home. I do hate putting her down, I'm happiest when she's in my arms :)

I'm already thinking ahead to weaning her from the paci. I hate that she falls asleep with it. I can tell that she's seriously sucking on it because when it's wet, it squeaks! It's squeaking away right now. She does spit it out after a bit, and she doesn't need it during the night after nursing, but still. Randy tends to stick it in her mouth a lot, even when she's awake and happy, and I'm trying to get him to break that habit! He was at Babies R Us the other day getting diapers and we agreed that he should pick up another paci since we only have one that she likes, a Gerber Nuk. He's standing in front of all the choices as I walk him through it on the phone. Gerber. Nuk. N-U-K. Just like what we have right now with the ring on the front. You guessed it, he came home with the wrong kind. Mam, which V won't even let you put in her mouth! I didn't think she'd be so picky, but she makes the funniest little face and sends them flying!

We had a really nice Thanksgiving in St. Augustine. I'm glad there weren't any other siblings there, it was relaxing and quiet. Eileen and Jerry were their usual selves. Jerry thought it was just amazing how Veronica likes to be pulled into a sitting position and he insisted that we all watch as he pulled her up over and over. V was especially talkative to Jerry, she seemed to enjoy cooing at him the most! Eileen has the strangest way of holding on to V, she holds her out in front of her so that maybe the tips of V's toes would be touching her. It's almost like she just wants to look at the baby but can't imagine snuggling with her. Who doesn't want to snuggle a baby? Eileen has made it clear since V's birth that she thinks it's insane not to be feeding the baby rice cereal or even solids yet. I was seriously very afraid that she was going to be giving V yogurt or cow's milk just to show me that it could be done and that baby would live. She'd made these comments when I was nearby like "oh you poor baby, you don't get to eat anything and you must be so hungry..." "your mom isn't letting you eat anything that would fill up that tummy..." Um, yeah, drove me crazy. I just rolled my eyes and told Eileen for the millionth time that it's what our doctor and the American Pediatrics Association recommends. She kept saying how it was good enough for her kids and they turned out just fine. I wanted to say that her kids may have gotten cereal but they sure hadn't gotten any hugs or kisses or love and I think those are much more important...  but I kept my mouth shut :)

Anyway, we'll be going back up there the weekend of the 19th and that's going to be much crazier. Linda and Clayton are coming down with the girls so all the other siblings and their families will be there. That's 10 adults and 6 kids. Linda and Clayton will actually be staying at a condo nearby. I guess Linda feels like they're being put out a bit by that, but I think she's the lucky one! Eileen and Jerry make it no secret that they don't really like Clayton, at least this time he can get away to somewhere safe if he wants to. We've already called the big room that's the entire second floor of the house. It's quiet, private, and will give us a much needed place to get away with the baby! I'm waiting to see what kind of drama unfolds. It's Eileen's 70th birthday so we'll all be going out to a fancy dinner and leaving the kids at home with a babysitter. I already told Randy there's no way I'm leaving V at the house with the 5 other kids unless I was there, she'll be coming with us! As our Christmas gift to the kids, we're taking them all to the dollar store to pick out two things each, then to play some mini golf, and then if they've all been good we'll go out for ice cream. Hopefully the weather is nice or we're kind of stuck.

So we're loving our new fridge, what a treat to have everything be cold/frozen again! I really need to take the time to take everything out of it and get the shelves where I want them. I was in a rush to stick the food in when it first arrived and now it's kinda driving me crazy. It's got one more drawer than the old one so it feels like we have less space. I just need to pull a drawer out and put them all at levels that I like.

In addition to the new fridge, we'll now be getting a new water heater, washer and dryer as well. I've been complaining about our water heater since MARCH! Showers were just never as hot as I like them, and they were cold by the time I was done. No matter how much I complained, Randy thought I was nuts and told me to take shorter showers. And then one day the hot water went out altogether - on the coldest day we've had yet. Finally Randy realized that it wasn't just me, that the thing was actually broken. It took him having a cold shower to do the trick. Had I known that, I would've gone out and sabotaged the thing ages ago. So he went out and got one yesterday. And as long as we have to take the washer/dryer out to get the water heater replaced (because of the configuration of the laundry room), we decided to get new ones of those too. Plenty of sales out there, we got a Whirlpool front load set. Our current washer has been acting funny, and the dryer always smells like it's about to start a fire (I know that if I didn't line dry so much that it would've gone out ages ago). The laundry room will finally get a good cleaning along with a new floor and some fresh paint. There's mold out there so we'll have that taken care of too. A big (and expensive) project but it had to be done.

I'm trying to think up some ideas for Christmas gifts. I need to send a few ideas to Dad but I can't think of anything too exciting. I would like a tempural lobe thermometer but that doesn't seem like a good gift idea :)  For Randy, I think I'll suggest to Dad that he get a few Dr. Seuss books. Randy just loves reading Dr. Seuss to Veronica but we only have two of his books and I know he'd enjoy having more. I have never been a big Seuss fan but V does seem to enjoy looking at the colorful pages! For myself, I'd love a set of cloth diapers. We want to make the switch but it's so expensive. I may see if there's a starter kit of sorts that Dad could buy for us. So I guess that my gift ideas are all baby-oriented! There just isn't much else that I need, not that I can think of anyway. Eileen has already gotten me the few things that I could think of. A big sautee pan that can go in the oven, a small hand juicer, an apple corer, and the play place for Veronica.  

Alright, I'd better wrap this up and get going. V's awake and now in the bjorn watching me type. I've got to start a load of laundry and think about lunch. If I get nothing else done today, that's ok with me!

Holy cow, where does time go?? I always knew that it went by fast, but I've never been able to judge just how fast by looking at how quicky a little one grows!

So, since I can't catch you up on everything, thought I'd attempt to put a few tidbits down.

The 90 minute plan didn't work for us this morning, but I've bought the book and will give it a read! Today she got up at 8:30 so at 9:45 we were in the glider taking it nice and easy but she just would not sleep. I put her in the crib at 10 but after 15 minutes of crying I gave up and got her. She had been fed, had a clean diaper on... not sure what I should've done differently. I figure our next shot is at 11:30 but I had to run our neighbors to the train station so V had to come with and screamed in the car the whole time! She did fall asleep by the time we got home and has been sleeping since. We're excited to find something that might work that would let us know what to expect and when!

The other day I was getting ready to head out to a library meeting and Randy was out to lunch. I'm changing her diaper and had just lifted her by her ankles to wipe her up when she poops. And it goes shooting out for THREE FEET!! I've just never seen anything like it. A straight line of poop on the changing pad, across three stacks of clean diapers, onto the pacifier and her hairbrush, and then ending on a blanket. Thankfully I'd wadded that blanket up or the poop would've continued on over the dresser to the carpet. I was late for the meeting and have been much more careful about where her butt is aimed ever since :)

Veronica weighed 9lbs 4oz and was 22 1/4 inches long as of this past Monday. She's in the middle for weight and a little higher on the scale for height. The dr didn't give us exact percentages and though I've been meaning to look that up online, who has time for that?

Randy started out being an excellent swaddler but then seemed to slowly get more lax about it until neither of us could get it right (she's wiggle right out). At this point, I can get her into a swaddle that keeps her snug. Randy, on the other hand, has taken to laying her down on one end of the blanket and then literally rolling her up in it. As in turning her over like he's making a jelly roll. V doesn't like that but Randy still seems to think it's a good idea. I'm not being critical of anything that he's doing so I haven't said anything :)

We're almost to the point where we're going to get a smile out of her! I can't wait. Her gas smiles just melt my heart, I think I'll just lose it when she looks at me and smiles on purpose!!! She's looking in our eyes more, looks around a bit more, it's fun. As much as I'm looking forward to the next milestones, I don't want her to grow up any more!

In work news, my boss has offered me 60K if I'll come back. Full time, starting in late November. Um, no. I don't know what number she'd have to throw out there to make me think about seriously. What I do have in the works is a part time position at a Junior League. Not sure yet that it'll work out, but met yesterday with the woman who currently has the job and it sounds pretty good. They've got a small (300 volume) library with a foundation database that's what anyone looking for grants/fellowships/scholarships/funding would really need. It's 10 hours a week, mostly staffing the library and helping people search that one database. Sounds like they're extremely flexible, Liz did some of the work from home and had summers off! Her boss said they'd basically hire anyone that Liz thought would be good for the position. I serve on the PBLCA board with her. I knew that joining the board would be good when I needed to find work, I had no idea how soon it could pay off! We'll see how it goes. It's down in Boca so I'd still have the commute but I could basically set my own hours (as long as they're somewhat consistant so they can post hours of operation).

Randy's business has been a bit slow lately but he's decided to really start cranking it up and seeing whether or not this consulting thing will last or if he should start looking for a job. He's looking at getting some office space so he can concentrate a bit more, a website, etc. I'm all for it, and I'm hoping that he sticks with consulting because the flexibility and the money have been great!

Um, I'm trying to think of what else.... I think I'll just post this and get a few other things done. I've got a few thank yous to go and some insurance paperwork to fill out. Turns out we were dropped from our insurance on Sept. 1, though we weren't told for another two weeks. Now we're getting bills from several places and I'm trying to figure out if we have to pay them or if they can be resubmitted to Aetna once our COBRA coverage starts. Such a mess.

Hope that I'll be able to post again soon at some point!

July is national ice cream month! What's your favorite flavor?
Submitted by LittleWiseOne.

Mint Chocolate Chip (when we were kids, it was called peppermint bon bon... or maybe that's its MN name?) is the flavor that I will pick every time from an ice cream store. My fave Ben and Jerry's is New York Super Fudge Chunk because I can make a pint last a month.

Well, a photo diary of a few things today.

I put some of our haliconias in a vase, they're two of the only ones in our yard just yet but we should have over 100 going soon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And as long as I'm in the living room, I don't think Erika has seen a picture of my new Pottery Barn Studio Shelves that I love soooo much. Hmm, the picture is much darker than it should be. The room is really bright right now!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These two are my fave shelves. There are three pics of Randy as a kid and then three of me as a kid. The gardenia flower was so scented but it really turned brown since yesterday. I usually put a hibiscus in each vase but they're all too wet today. And on the bottom shelves are my new IKEA plant things that I put succulants in. Love them!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roxy is being lazy today, which is ok because it's been really rainy and stormy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've since put this Amish White Bread in the oven. The dough was so sticky that I hardly kneaded it at all. Not sure how that will affect it yet but thankfully Randy eats anything so it doesn't matter too much! Mmmm, it smells so wonderful in here, hope it's tasty too!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I went outside once it stopped raining and had a look around. Here is the tomato plant I had been talking about. You can't see the stems really but it should totally have branched out more by now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here are my two basil plants. The big one that I thought was going to be dead, and the little one that I thought would be much bigger (it's in a big pot with hopes it could turn into a bush). Um, I thought I could rotate the photo once it was in here, but it won't let me. Well, turn your head I guess :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And that's my day so far! I was going to read but decided to bake instead. I may also make some pumpkin bread. We'd like to have Trip, Jane, Eric, and Audra over for brunch tomorrow but we haven't heard back from them yet. I don't want to bake the sweet bread if we're not going to have a bunch of people over to eat it. I was looking up some breakfast casserole recipes but they all call for sausage and that just sounds like too much work!!

The bread is ready to come out of the oven. It smells so good, but looks really funny! Lumpy. Definitely lumpy. I made a pot roast for dinner last night. Just threw in two pounds of meat (whatever cut had the "Perfect for Pot Roast!" sticker on it), a can of cream of mushroom soup, a packet of dry onion soup mix, and some water. YUM! We both loved it. Tender and tasty. We also had some cresent rolls, which Randy had wanted to make, he rolled them up backwards! I was going to make this corn dish, but hadn't read that it needed to be baked so I didn't bother. I didn't have much time because at the last minute Randy called and we ended up taking Roxy up to the Irish pub for a drink. It was 8 by the time we got home so I was so happy to have a meal all ready! I'm going to be crock potting it a lot more often. I think I've said that every time I use it, but still.

I'm happy to say that after dinner Randy put the dishes in the dish washer and washed the rest. I was very impressed. It makes me worry he's been able to see my posts! He made himself grilled cheese for lunch today and washed the frying pan right away. We'll see if this keeps up but I like it!

Looks like the sun has come out to stay for a little while. It was pouring so hard that we thought it was hail hitting the house. The street was flooded, there was so much lightening and thunder, and we thought it would never stop! Randy called a friend about 10 miles south and they hadn't gotten a drop of it. Crazy. Anyway, I think I'll try to wake Roxy up a bit with a walk. She didn't chew anything yesterday but I think it's because she was still so tired after going to doggy day care on Thursday. She loves that place, and we love that it exhausts her!

Yay, I just tasted the bread and it's good!! Whew.

I just have to share this. Tonight not long after Randy came home from work, I agreed to run to Target with Jane. I didn't need anything but hadn't talked to her in awhile. Randy and I had talked about dinner and he said he'd rather just have pizza instead having to wait for me to get back and make the pasta dish that I was going to. Ok, fine, I like pizza too. I get back from Target about an hour and a half later (7:30), right about when we normally eat, and I can smell pizza. It's all gone. He ate the entire thing. He didn't save so much as a single slice for me. I come in and I'm all "oh, did you put mine in the fridge already?" and he got that funny look of "oh crap". He ate the whole damn thing. And then 15 minutes later he went back to the bedroom and fell asleep. I made myself a plate of spaghetti but I'm really disappointed that he wouldn't think about me enough to at least call and see if I was expecting some of it (and OF COURSE I WAS!).

There. I had to say it to someone before I go back and wake him up to complain.

It's like she can't resist them. I'd forgotten to move it, Maria always leaves it in the bathroom that she can get to instead of in the back one. Otherwise we're ok so far - but it's only Monday. Oh and she peed on the rug by the back door. Normally that's where Dulan would pee but this was SUCH a big puddle that there was no question who did it.

So, the Ritz. Sweetness. Bliss. Relaxation. Pampering. Ahhhhh, I wish that we could live like that all of the time!!!

Something has gone wrong with my computer. I'm being overwhelmed by pop-ups and can't close them. Can hardly get the computer to work. Darn it!!

Erika, the intent of this is not to make you jealous. It's to bring some sunshine into your snowy day!

 

 

Get this... Bonnie's having TWINS!! Both implants took. Wow.

What celebrity do you most often get told you resemble? 
Submitted by Leets.  

Way to go Leets!!!

I've been told that I look a bit like Helen Hunt (I'll take that as a compliment), as well as Leelee Sobieski (whose real name is actually Liliane Rudabet Gloria Elsveta Sobieski).