one of THOSE moms

everyone tells you that it goes by SO fast – and it does – not a day goes by that i’m not amazed by how much Sydney has grown, but with today being her 2nd birthday – i’m completely blown away – we watched the slide show of Sydney’s birth today (multiple times since every time it stopped, Sydney would say “again?” – )  and i can’t believe that the tiny, little baby that came out of my body has grown into a 3″, 26 pound walking and talking kid!!!  it’s unreal – one day she was completely dependent on me and couldn’t do a thing on her own and the next thing i know, she’s giving me the stink eye and saying, “NO – I DO IT MOMMY!” – crazytown.

i’ve heard from other friends and read blogs from moms that are sad when their kids hit milestones, because they feel like they’re losing their babies and they’re all grown up – but i’ve never felt like that – maybe i’ll feel differently when she starts kindergarten or goes on her first date – but right now, i have just thoroughly enjoyed every minute – well, except maybe for the tantrums and meltdowns!  i remember soon after Sydney was born having a conversation with Kellie Rasberry and she told me, “it just gets better and better” – she was SO right – Sydney is so much fun right now – she learns new things every day and every day i’m amazed at the things she knows – even when i’m mad at her, it’s hard to stay that way because she’s so sweet and snuggly – she’s recently learned the phrase “i’m sorry” but hasn’t really learned when to use it – so when i apologize to her, sometimes she thinks i’m telling HER to apologize and she’ll say it back to me – so cute!!  and the moments that i catch her and Kelley interacting are absolutely priceless – they are SO funny together and she totally has him wrapped around her finger – there are days when i wish i had a camera running because they are so cute together and i don’t want to forget any of it!

these days, my favorite part of the day is the few quiet moments that Sydney and i have together before she goes to sleep – i know she’ll never remember those moments and that i’ll remember them forever – and that even if by some chance she did remember them, she won’t understand them until she has a child of her own – the times that i tell her how much i love her and that no matter how bad our day was (or how crappy a mommy i was that day), that she still consumes my entire heart – she’s the child i’ve wanted my entire life and the one i waited for the longest – there’s a scene from the movie Coal Miner’s Daughter where Loretta Lynn’s daddy tells her “you’re my pride and joy, girl – my pride and joy” and that’s how i feel about Sydney – i have so many hopes and dreams for her – so many things i want her to accomplish – no pressure though 

and maybe that’s when my mommy sadness will kick in – i know that as she gets older, those quiet times will come to an end – she won’t want me to help her put on her pajamas and she’ll be too big to rock to sleep – before i know it, she’ll be freaked out if i see her naked and she won’t think i hung the moon – and then the secret will be out – she’ll know i’m not perfect and that i can’t fix anything – but i’ll remember those days when she thought i could – i’ll also remember the day i found out i was pregnant – the first time i felt her kick – the day she was born – the first time she said i love you – i’ll remember it all – and pray that one day she’ll have a chance to remember those things about her own child

as usual, i’ll post the link to my birth slide show (just click on the picture) – easily one of the best days of my life and while i may be biased (just a little!) some of the best work that Mike and ReJana have ever done! Happy Birthday Baby Girl – i hope this year is the best one yet!

when i was in high school, there was a female dentist who also had a column in our local paper – her name was Monica Anderson and i always thought she was hilarious – she was kind of like a blogger before blogging had a name – one of the columns she wrote that stuck with me was about her 2 sons – i specifically remember her mentioning how with her oldest son, she’d carefully made all of his food from scratch and held him so much his feet barely touched the ground – she referred to him as the Golden Child – her youngest son?   well, he was the Golden Arches Child – he erupted with glee every time he saw McDonald’s and his first word was ‘french fries’ – or something to that effect   but the basic idea was how with the first child, you try to do everything perfectly – you worry about every parenting decision you make and second guess every little thing – and then when the second kid comes along, your goal is just to keep them alive!  i hoped that i wouldn’t become that parent, but i can see that i’m already on my way

i haven’t talked a lot about this pregnancy because for the most part, it’s been the same as the first – i documented every single thing with Sydney and that’s not to say that this pregnancy is any less special or important – but since it’s been so much like the first, there really isn’t anything “new” to report – i’ve been very blessed in that i’ve been a SUPER healthy person my entire life- i rarely get sick and when i do, it’s usually just a random cold – and fortunately my pregnancies have been the same – my OB says i’m basically a textbook pregnancy case – no high blood pressure or weird test results – no gestational diabetes or placenta previa – even my morning sickness was pretty tame – i barely had any with Sydney and although i was sick with this baby, it was just a lot of nausea and no vomiting (thank God!) – it was gone at 12 weeks and i was back to my normal self – i felt the baby move really early and while this baby seems to have a much milder manner than Sydney, he still moves a good amount and there have been no scares at all (unlike with Sydney) – it’s been fairly uneventful and i’m happy with that – i’ve enjoyed being pregnant and have come to realize that i’m just one of those women that likes being pregnant (despite the fact that i’m as big as a house!) – but i’m 39 weeks pregnant today and think it’s time for us to get a move on!

i’m at the point where people are starting to ask if i’m ready and while i want to scream “YES! YES! YES!”, ready is a relative term – i’m definitely ready to meet this little one and introduce him to our world, but ready in the “everything is perfect and it’s place” – welllll …

the one thing that i learned with Sydney is that newborns really don’t need that much – when people tell you that all babies do is eat, sleep and poop they aren’t joking!  and knowing that we’re basically going to run with the same routine we did with Sydney, i know that we won’t really need much more than we already have until later down the line – since i’ll be breastfeeding, we’ll co-sleep like we did with Sydney – so despite the fact that i’m picking up a new bed for Sydney tomorrow so that we can convert her bed back to a crib, we probably won’t use it for a while – since i’ll be at home full time (and MUCH more comfortable nursing in public this time around), there’s really no need to have a ton of bottles ready to go – we cloth diaper so i already have my stash ready (it just needs to be washed one more time) – and as far as clothes, i still have all of Sydney’s gender neutral sleepers and onesies ready to go (though they do need to be folded!) – anything else?

it’s funny because when i found out i was pregnant, i was all concerned about what to do with the nursery – i even briefly considered finding out the sex so we would know how to decorate – rather than put this baby in its own room, we opted to make our spare bedroom into a true office/craft room and move this baby in with Sydney – i was all worried about them sharing a room if it was a boy, especially since the bedroom is painted purple – but we painted it purple before we knew Sydney was a girl, so in reality i couldn’t have been that worried about it – and initially i decided to work in some more “masculine” colors just in case – but time got away from me and i never could find exactly what i wanted – so instead i pretty much kept everything the same and just decided to work in some more green after the baby is born, if it does turn out to be a boy

and speaking of gender – it still cracks me up that people want to know so badly what i’m having – i can’t tell you how many times friends and family have asked me if i know what i’m having – even after the big 20 week ultrasound – i think they all think that we secretly know and just aren’t telling anyone – which i personally think is a little weird, but whateve – Kelley still wanted to know but i won that battle again – when my OB handed Sydney to me and i got to look at her and announce she was a girl … i can’t even describe the emotions i felt – and if i have a chance to experience that again … i’m TOTALLY taking it!  of course that hasn’t stopped the speculation at all – in fact, it’s really just spurred it on

i don’t really know (or believe) any of the old wives tales that predict the sex, but i did a few of them just for kicks – The Chinese Birth Charts all said that Sydney would be a boy – uhhh … clearly that was wrong – and almost all of them have said the same thing this time around too – except one test that was just based on age and month of conception – that one says girl – and just about EVERYONE said that Sydney was a boy based on the way i was carrying – i don’t really know how that whole thing works but maybe you can tell …

with Sydney – i was 36 1/2 weeks (and 3 times the size of the smokin’ hot Kellie Rasberry!)

and with this baby – 38 weeks and 5 days (and still as big as a house!) – please excuse the smirk on my face as a i try to give direction to my photography challenged husband!

i don’t know!!  while i’m smaller this time around (though not by much), i think i’m carrying pretty much the same – i certainly feel the same!  when i was pregnant with Sydney, i had 2-3 dreams that she was a boy – in one dream, i could even see into my stomach and saw an itty-bitty penis – then i had one girl dream but i still thought she was a boy – this time around  i’ve had 2 dreams – one where i could only see the face – i thought it looked like a girl but still thought it was a boy – just a really pretty one – then about a week ago i had a dream where i was able to see into my belly and it was definitely a boy – which of course means nothing!  everyone said boy last time and everyone is saying boy this time too – but i think this time around, they just want me to have a boy since we already have a girl – which leads to the question, what do i want?

i know people say this all the time, but i really just want a healthy baby – i honestly don’t care either way because i could make arguments for both – if i’d been able to have a talk with God and give him my input, i would’ve asked for 2 boys first and then a girl – i always wanted to have a big brother so i really wanted that for my daughter – and i figured any daughter of mine would have my bad attitude and not wanting to deal with more than one of those, i decided one girl would be enough for me!  but then i found out my due date was a week after Sydney’s birthday and that changed things for me – Sydney and this baby are going to be almost exactly 2 years apart which i think is WAY cool (and no we didn’t plan it like that – it just happened!) – so i would love it if they were both girls because they’d be close in age growing up and could have simultaneous birthday parties and share clothes and hang out together – and although i’m sure the tween/teen years would be hell, i picture them being BFFs – my sister and i are 5 years apart and although we’re really close, i wish our age gap wasn’t so wide – besides if i have another girl, then we have to have a 3rd baby to try for a boy -  right??  which leads me to the boy argument

i have ALWAYS wanted boys – bad-ass, dirty, rough-and-tumble little boys who track in dirt and mud and play in creeks and bring home bugs and scare you half to death by trying death-defying tricks that end in trips to the ER – yes – me, the girliest of the girls, has always wanted boys – plus, my mom always told me that little boys LOVE LOVE LOVE their mamas – and how could you not want a bond like that?  i have been adamant that i really want 3 kids – and Kelley has been pretty insistent that he only wants 2 – now, anyone who knows us knows that there are VERY few things that my husband says no to when i ask – and while in my mind, i’m pretty sure i can talk him into a 3rd baby – what if he gives me the Heisman and i only end up with 2?  if this one is a boy then at least i’d have one of each and i’d never have to wonder what it would be like to have a boy

of course then there’s always the chance that this one is a girl and i’d talk Kelley into a 3rd and it would be a girl too – then i’d really be screwed because i’d end up as a single mom – Kelley would surely run away from home to escape this estrogen filled house and i’d be left trying not to kill to manage 3 girls with attitude just like mine!    oh well, either way it’ll be okay and somehow we’ll work it out – as long as this baby is healthy and comes soon, i’ll be happy … and i mean soon like tomorrow – and i don’t have to be induced

Kelley and i don’t fight – sometimes we argue (about ridiculously stupid things) but we get past it fairly quickly – Kelley is so calm and laid back that he just doesn’t engage in arguing, per se – he just says his piece (peace?) and he’s done – i, on the other hand, am the emotionally  charged, hot-tempered one – it’s something that i constantly struggle with and having recognized that behavior in past relationships, i have tried really hard not to bring that into my marriage – so on the occasion that i do get really pissed at Kelley (usually for something ridiculously stupid), i usually shut down to prevent myself saying something really mean and inappropriate that i can’t take back – probably not the best way to handle things, but it works for us – at least for now …

i have friends who have had dreams that their significant other did something really bad and when they woke up, they were mad at them – that’s never happened to me but when i woke up Saturday, i thought for sure Kelley was mad at ME!  i have always dreamed very vividly and more so when i’m pregnant – and i usually don’t remember the details unless i talk about the dream, which i rarely do – but this one was too far-fetched not to sharet!

i’m not exactly sure where we were – maybe some church event or some type of class – all i know is there were a lot of other people there – some couples and some single – and for some reason our refrigerator was there and i have no idea why!!  anyway, out of the middle of nowhere Kelley calls me out of the room and calls me over to the fridge – all of a sudden he starts going off on me about how i never cook anymore and how i’m wasting food – now i will say that toward the end of this pregnancy, i have not been cooking much – i’m too tired and not very hungry and just haven’t had the energy – but what’s weird is i can’t remember if i was pregnant in the dream or not – at any rate, he was mad that i hadn’t been cooking and opened the fridge to prove his point – as he opened the door, all i could see were these HUGE sides of beef – like the kind you see hanging in a slaughterhouse – “look at this”, he yelled – “i took this out of the freezer days ago and now it’s gone bad!” – uhhhhhh – he pulled out some huge piece of meat and threw it on the counter – “and this, what about this?” – i know it was a dream but you still could have knocked me over with a feather when Dream Kelley pulled a cow’s head out of the refrigerator and said, “and how come you haven’t cooked THIS?!?!”  – i took one look at him and said, “what about me makes you think that i would EVER cook something that has EYES?????”  at that point, Kelley got really pissed (which NEVER happens in real life) and threw the cow’s head down – he looked me dead in the eye and said, “i’m leaving – and when i get back on Wednesday, your lap better be COVERED in job applications” and then he stormed off leaving me standing there looking at him like “WTF just happened?” – then all of the men who had witnessed our huge blow up came over and started hitting on me

needless to say, this was a WEIRD dream and the biggest fight that Kelley and i have had to date – when i told Kelley about it, he laughed and tried to be all “YEAH!!” as if he were really like Dream Kelley – yeah, i shut that down with a quick eye roll.  he hasn’t mentioned anything about it since i told him, so clearly it didn’t stick with him like it did me – if i were really motivated, i’d get on the Internets and find some dream interpretation – but clearly i’m not – instead, i’ll just tease Kelley about fixing him cow’s head the next time he asks what’s for dinner!

today was a really good day – but yesterday … not so much

i have always been a person who is able to function on very little sleep – during this pregnancy, i’ve averaged about 3-4 hours a night and am still able to get through the day if i don’t get a nap – i’d like to say i’m proud of that fact, but i really think it’s a curse – i mean, people need sleep – right?  anyway, since we’re in the home stretch of this pregnancy *fingers crossed*, the insomnia is getting worse and worse – which of course sucks because i REALLY need the sleep now – Sunday night, i didn’t get to sleep until almost 5am – it wouldn’t have been such an issue except that Sydney had her 2 year well check at 8:15am and i had an OB appointment at 9am – now, i know what you’re thinking – what kind of moron schedules appointments so close together??  well, that wasn’t the original plan – Sydney’s appointment was originally scheduled for Friday – but the office needed to change the appointment and that was the ONLY appointment they had for the next 2 weeks – and since Baby Hall #2 is due any day now, i took what i could get

i should have known that things weren’t going to go smoothly when Sydney was still asleep in her own bed at 7:30am – even on the nights she sleeps through the night in her own room, she still comes to our room around 6:30am – but that didn’t happen – at 7:40am, i found myself trying to get her dressed despite the fact that she was still asleep – i managed to get us out of the house fairly quickly and we pulled into the pedi’s office at 8:20am – i wasn’t too stressed because we were the first appointment of the day and we usually get in and out without a lot of fuss – plus my OB’s office is only 5 minutes away so i figured we still had time – that was until we ran into the nightmare that is computerization

apparently our pedi’s office is moving into the 21st century and computerizing everything – and of course the day we’re there is the day they decide to start – i’m sure that when we go back in a few months, all the kinks will be worked out and i’ll love it – but Monday?  not so much.  for starters, it took FOREVER for them to get us checked in – they had to scan my insurance card and drivers license, blah-blah-blah – 15 minutes later … once we finally got into an exam room we had to wait on the nurse who came in with a mini laptop and a helper – the helper being from the insurance company whose sole purpose was to hold the nurses hand as she tried to figure out the new system – now if i had been in charge, the process would have had them enter the current day’s patients the day before and then asked if there were any changes or updates – but instead, we got to answer all the questions one-by-one like we were new patients – then we had to wait while they figured out how to print it for the pediatrician – um, if you’re going to print it, what is the purpose of putting everything in the computer? sigh.  now, this whole time i’m stressing because i know we’re going to be late for my OB appointment – and because i’m such a genius, i left my phone in the car – so not only could i not call the OB’s office, i didn’t even know what time it was – i’m now so fat that i can no longer wear my watch    – finally the pedi came in and did the examination – Sydney was less than thrilled but we got through it fairly quickly – she was scheduled for 2 vaccinations, so we had to wait on the nurse to come in after the pedi left – O.M.G.  we waited for what seemed like hours – i have no idea how long it was but when she finally came in, you could tell that she was flustered and in a hurry – she apologized (as everyone else had) for taking so long and again blamed this new “everything has to be documented on the computer” system – they tested Sydney’s hemoglobin (which was normal) and gave her 2 shots and needless to say, she was PISSED!  she’s finally old enough to understand the concept of the doctor’s office and between being pricked on the toe and a shot in each leg, she was not a happy girl – that compounded with the longest pedi appointment in the world just started the downslide

when we got back to the car, it was 9:56am – greatness.  i immediately called my OB’s office and fortunately they were able to reschedule me – unfortunately, it wasn’t until later in the afternoon – so even though we were only 5 minutes from the OB’s office, we headed back home – by this point, i could feel the exhaustion setting in and i could tell Sydney was tired too – so i thought for sure we’d be able to lay down a take a nap – but i could also tell that she was hungry, so when we got home we ate first and then laid down to nurse – yeah, Sydney was all about the nursing but she was NOT ready for sleep – i let her watch a couple of episodes of Caillou (cause i’m a stellar mom like that) and then turned off the tv thinking we could go to sleep – not so much – she had totally missed her window and instead of being tired, she was hyped – all she wanted to do was climb up the step stool into the bed and then climb off the other side – then climb up the step stool into the bed and then climb off the other side – my mistake was letting her continue this pattern but i was too tired to actually make her stop – then i started to worry that she was really going to hurt herself because i was beyond tired and could barely keep my eyes open – so i finally told her she had to stop and that if she climbed the steps one more time, she’d have to play in the other room – well she wasn’t down with that plan which set off a tantrum which in turn set me off – i vaguely remember begging her to calm down and just do what Mommy asked before the tears started to well up in my eyes – i had no idea why i was crying – but she was crying and i was crying – she wanted to be comforted and i wanted to be comforted – so i called her over and we laid down in the bed to nurse again

5 minutes later, she announced she was finished and decided it was play time – she started playing and jumping on the bed – she was flinging herself all over the bed and all i could picture was her slamming her head on the wooden headboard – so of course i threatened to make her get down – but every time i told her to stop, she would lay down and say “i’m sleeping” and then 2 seconds later, she was up again – finally, i mustered up enough energy to follow through on my threats – i grabbed her and put her down on the floor – she got pissed, slammed the door shut and went to her room – i could hear her in her room reading so i thought i would at least be able to close my eyes for a few minutes – but about 2 minutes later she decided she didn’t want to be alone and came right back – “Mommy?” “yes baby?” “nurse?” – uhhhh, how about NO!!!  we had already nursed several times and i knew it wasn’t going to make her go to sleep – plus, when i get REALLY tired, i get touched out and i could feel that coming – so instead i told her to come and lay down next to me which seemed to work for a few minutes – then she proceeded to start rubbing and touching me – normally i love all that sweet, snuggly love but i was WAY beyond the warm fuzzy stage and just wanted to go to sleep – but my child had suddenly turned into an octopus and all i could feel was her hands all over me – on my face, in my hair, in my eyes, on my lips, on my arms – “OMG – will you stop touching me????”, i yelled – she didn’t say anything but i could tell it startled her – great.  now i’m really mom of the year – then i began to cry – how many meltdowns can i have in one day?

by then it was time to get ready to head back to the OB, so i dragged my ass out of bed and somehow got us both dressed and into the car – i played “the babies” (the most god-awful CD of kids singing nursery rhymes known to man) which seemed to calm Sydney down which in turn calmed me down – by the time we got to the OB’s office i was feeling less exhausted and more just really, really tired – and after recounting the day to my OB, i was feeling somewhat normal again and ready to take on the rest of the afternoon – we swung by Costco on the way home, hit up Happy Hour at Sonic and then headed back to the house for what would hopefully be a nap – no such luck.  but i was only on my own for about 30 minutes before Kelley came home and swooped in with his Super Dad cape – he and Sydney headed to the living room and i took a glorious 2 hour nap!

so there you have it – yet another mommy fail in my illustrious career as a mother – when i put Sydney to sleep last night, i still felt horribly guilty and i still apologized to her multiple times and told her how much i loved her – and once again, she just hugged and kissed me like i was the best mom ever – man, am i dreading the days when she can actually remember me being a bad mom – i have a felling those are the days that will be REALLY bad

according to Wikipedia, the gestation period for an elephant is 22 months – the longest of any land animal – and according to most of the people that know me, that’s about how long i’ve been pregnant – apparently my pregnancies last longer than the average woman because people LOVE to tell me “you have been pregnant FOREVER!” or the equally encouraging, “you have the longest pregnancies of anyone i know” – um, i’m the one that can barely get in and out of bed (or anywhere else for that matter) without moaning and groaning like a 92 year old arthritic man with a bad back, bum leg and a walker – you think i don’t know i’ve been pregnant forever?   i will say that my one saving grace is that this time there hasn’t been a lot of those “have you had the baby yet?” comments – i was working at KKITM during my last pregnancy and since i was ENORMOUS, everyone expected me to go into labor early – every day that i would walk into work, someone would say “haven’t you had that baby yet?” – “uh, does it look like i’ve had the baby?” as i deliver a virtual punch to your face … so it’s been nice being at home and not having to answer that annoying question – and since i’m basically living out my life on FaceBook and Twitter these days – no one has had to ask there either, because of course i’ll be sure to change my status update the second i feel a real contraction

now that i’m just under 3 weeks until my due date, i finally feel like i’m starting to get some things done – i think that whole nesting thing might have actually kicked in – at least as much as it can for a big fat pregnant woman who can barely get around and HATES to clean – we finally had the carpet in all of our bedrooms replaced this week – and despite the fact that i spent the 2 days before the carpet people came wanting to remove my husband’s limbs from his body so that i could beat him with them, we both survived and i’m back to thinking of him as the Practically Perfect Man that i married instead of a Moron with the Common Sense of an 8 Year Old – the end result was that while initially i didn’t really love the color of the carpet, it’s starting to grow on me and i can now walk into my walk-in closet – i also managed to wash all of Sydney’s gender neutral newborn stuff (though i’m pretty sure it’s still in the dryer ) and i’ve made some semblance of progress into transforming her closet into a closet for two children rather than one!

i met with my doula last week and got my birth plan together – it’s much less detailed this time around, with only the absolutes listed – everything else will be on an “it’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission” basis and if someone decides to challenge the pregnant woman in labor, well, they better be prepared for what comes with that!

i managed to get a couple of hours to myself this weekend (Sydney went to Mass with my mom and i went shopping like a good heathen) and i miraculously found my labor outfit without even looking!  what, you ask, is a labor outfit?  well if you’re a bit on the “ew” side like i am, you’re a little wigged out by the thought of giving birth in the same hospital gown that a thousand other women have given birth in – not because i’m worried about cooties or germs or anything like that – i just prefer to be wearing my own clothes that i’m comfortable in – with Sydney i initially wore the hospital gown to pacify the male nurse, but as i my labor progressed i changed into my own comfy sports bra and pajama pants and felt a lot better – looking back though, i didn’t really think it through – if i had i would have realized that since babies generally come out of your vagina, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to be wearing bottoms – DUH!  plus, once i finally gave up and ditched the pants, it was a major pain trying to keep myself covered while i ran back and forth to the bathroom or changed into different laboring positions – and not because i’m super shy (i mean, i’m assuming the hospital staff has seen a naked woman give birth before) but i had horrible hot and cold flashes and i spent a lot of time covering myself with a blanket and then throwing it off of me – so this time, i put a little more thought into it

apparently there are several “designer hospital gowns” out there these days, but when i looked at them they were still hospital gowns – albeit with better fabric choices but hospital gowns nonetheless – and EXPENSIVE!  some of them running in the $100 range – really?  $100 for a hospital gown?  you’ve got to be kidding me!  so i decided on a different option – a tank top and skirt – i figured with a tank top, i could keep my belly covered if i wanted but still have quick access to my midsection if they need to monitor the baby – also, my arms would be available of they need to insert an IV or check my blood pressure – and a skirt would give me the coverage i wanted below the waist, but still give the nurses access when they needed to check to see if i’ve made any progress – GENIUS!!  or at least i thought so – my initial plan was to make my own skirt but as my due date gets closer, i realized that i didn’t have the time or really the inclination – so Plan B was to head to Ross or TJ Maxx for some cheapy version that i wouldn’t mind throwing away after i give birth – and then i experienced the greatness of Target (insert angels singing here)

normally i’m a Walmart girl and my friends give me a hard time for that – but honestly, for me the Target is a lot harder to get to than the Walmart is – and Target almost never has what i need – and when they do, it’s usually more expensive – so for me, Target is a destination location that i only visit when i need something specific – like underpants and nursing bras – after spending 45 minutes at JC Penney only to find they had NO plain black briefs and that my once average 36B boobs have grown to a massive (at least to me) 40C, i headed to Target – after finding black underwear on sale and the perfect nursing bra with my much needed molded cups, i decided to venture to the maternity department to see if there was anything that i just couldn’t live without – i never made it that far because an XXL tank top was on the clearance rack and it was purple – $6.48? SOLD!  i just found my labor tank – i was contemplating getting a second one when i looked around to find an entire rack of short jersey knit A-line skirts – holy crap, the shopping gods were smiling on me!   it was EXACTLY what i had envisioned making if i’d had the time myself!  black, stretchy jersey knit material, light elastic waist, knee length – and it was on clearance too – PERFECT!  i never would have guessed that Target would be my one stop shop – but it was – and i’ve checked one more thing off my list – labor clothes – DONE!  now i can get back to the important things – like getting my hair colored and a mani/pedi before the big day – KIDDING!!  sort of … not. 

last week my friend ReJana (of the awesome BluDoor Studios) announced they were doing Valentine’s mini sessions – and because i’m a total Attention Whore when it comes to my kid (and who are we kidding – when it comes to me too ), i immediately signed Sydney up – talk about comedy – this kid is a natural in front of a camera – well, let me rephrase that – she’s a natural in front of ReJana’s camera – today she had on a cute leopard print dress and had taken off her shoes and socks – i had her hair in one ponytail on the top of her head (because i could only find one rubberband) and she TOTALLY looked like the modern day Pebbles Flintstone – i had already written the FaceBook caption in my head so all i needed was the picture – i whipped out the camera and the minute she saw it she yelled “NOOOOO!!” and ran off – sigh.  a few minutes later she came back around so i picked up my iPhone thinking she’d be more responsive to that – she took one look at me and said “NO MOMMY!” – “please Sydney?  stand right there and take a picture for Mommy”, i begged – “NO Mommy – no picture”, and she turned and walked away – i’m pretty sure if she had long hair, she would’ve tossed it in my direction like some sort of mini-mean girl – great.  full on attitude at the age of 2 (almost).

but with ReJana (and Mike), it’s a whole different story – this kid turns on the charm and oozes personality like she’s getting paid!  when we got to the studio, she immediately gave ReJana a hug and then stepped into Photo World – grinning and smiling – laughing and teasing – every once in a while she’d pull a grumpy face but after a “Sydney” or “Peek-a-boo” from ReJana, she was right back to her flirty self – ornery, i tell ya’!

anyway, ReJana posted a few sneak peeks on the BluDoor blog – but if you really love my child (and let’s face it – who doesn’t? ) – you can check out all 50 proofs – just don’t say i didn’t warn you – this kid has NO personality – none. clearly, i’m in big trouble!

i’m not sure if i’ve ever mentioned it before but i often call Sydney by her nickname, Monkey – from the time she could cruise, she’s been climbing on anything she could – beds, couches, chairs, stairs, the dog, people … so the title of today’s blog is wildly appropriate

as all children Sydney’s age – she is VERY into mimicking and repeating everything she sees you say or do – to the point where Kelley calls her a parrot because you can hardly say a word without her repeating exactly what you just said – most of the time it’s super cute and some days it’s down right hilarious – just yesterday at our weekly playdate, one of the mom’s commented that Sydney was so good at repeating – and she is – if i tell her to say something, she can almost always repeat it – and a lot of times if she just hears you talking, she’ll repeat the last word you heard her say – i spend a lot of time teaching her to say funny things purely for my entertainment – especially when they pertain to “Daddy” – you know, things like “Daddy’s silly” or “Daddy’s pooping” (one of my personal favorites!) – and because i’ve been so massively tired lately, lots of directions for Daddy to do – like “Daddy, hungry” or “Daddy, change you?” (which she says instead of “change me”) – but none of those fun little phrases prepared me for today

i knew it was coming – it was inevitable really – hi, my name is dianthe and i have a potty mouth – **hangs head in shame**- i really have made an effort to clean up my mouth (at least around Sydney) and i thought i was doing pretty good … until today – i was at the kitchen table eating dinner, Kelley was in the living room watching football and Sydney was in the play area of the living room – all of a sudden i heard something fall and about a half a second later i heard a little voice say, “dammit … dammit … dammit” – Kelley and i both looked in her direction after the first one to make sure that was what she really said – but there was no denying the second one – or the third one – her tone and inflection were absolutely perfect – she sounded JUST like me – clearly she’s been paying close attention to Mommy – sigh.

i have to admit it though, i laughed – i laughed and i laughed hard and loud – i couldn’t help it – it was funny – and cute – i know, i know – i’m not supposed to laugh or even acknowledge what she said – but because i wasn’t actually in the same room as her, i don’t think she realized i was laughing at HER – but it was pretty freaking cute – and i know that it’s cute now because she’s 2 (almost) and doesn’t know what she’s saying and it DEFINITELY won’t be cute when she’s dropping F-bombs at 4 like she’s been doing it all her life!  but tonight it was funny – even so, a few minutes later when she dropped something, i jumped right in and put the kibosh on it – i heard something fall to the ground and heard her groan – but before she could get a word out …

me: “uh oh Sydney – did you drop something?”

Sydney: “yes”

me: “uh oh, you dropped something – tell Daddy what you dropped”

Sydney: “uh oh, dropped something”

me: “uh oh Daddy – Sydney dropped something”

Sydney: “uh oh Daddy – dropped something”

Kelley: “you dropped something?  what’d you drop?”

and so the conversation continued …

whew – crisis averted – at least for now – or until she drops the next inappropriate word she learned from Mommy! let’s just hope it’s not in front of my mom – or the nanny – nothing says Mother of the Year like a kid who cusses, right?

i’ve been told that i have the longest pregnancies in the history of the world – i’m not sure why, because my pregnancies are 40 weeks just like everyone else’s – but friends and family keep telling me that i’ve been pregnant FOREVER!!  of course since i’m the one that is actually carrying this kid, i can more than relate!

i am officially 35 weeks (and one day) pregnant and could not be more ready to have this child!

well, ready in the sense that my body is aching, i’m starting to move into that fat and swollen stage, i’ve had several bouts of Braxton-Hicks and the lightning crotch has crossed into overdrive – i also can’t find a comfortable sleep position which i guess isn’t that big of a deal considering the insomnia is back – intense round ligament pain, sciatic pain (thank God for my chiropractor!) and the constant feeling that i am out of breath!  plus this child has started using my bladder as his/her own personal trampoline!  now don’t get me wrong – i’ve truly had a great pregnancy – and about 95% of the time, i really enjoy being pregnant – but i’ve hit that wall, so to speak, and i’m about ready to serve an eviction notice – naturally, of course!  so, yes -  i am definitely  ready – on the other hand, i am completely unprepared for this child’s arrival in every other sense – oh, i’ve done a few preliminary things – but i haven’t really followed through on anything – sooooo … here’s where we are

crib – well, i’ve picked it out – it’s at a furniture clearance place and it’s exactly like Sydney’s at half the price – i just have to drive to go get it – and then get Kelley to put it together

closet – i had The Container Store re-design Sydney’s closet – i even have a ton of the pieces already – but now i need to pull out everything in the closet and install the new stuff to make room for the new baby’s stuff – we’re also having the bedrooms re-carpeted so even if i wasn’t re-doing the closet, i’d still have pull out all the crap on the floor – which leads me to clothing (which i have a ton of)

clothing (and blankets and other newborn baby stuff) – since we didn’t find out Sydney’s sex before she was born i have a ton of gender neutral onesies and blankets and towels and stuff that have been packed away in a big box on the floor of Sydney’s closet – so all of that somehow needs to be washed and folded and hung and put away

diapers - for the most part, i have all the diapers i need – i did buy some new newborn fluff that i bought right after i found out i was pregnant – so that all needs to be washed and prepped too

pump, bottles, etc – i need to pull all of this out and clean and sterilize – blah, blah, blah – since i’m not working outside the home, i don’t anticipate having to use it anytime soon but i want to have it ready just in case

hospital stuff - i’m guessing i should have a bag packed and ready to go because i am hoping and praying that i WON’T have to be induced this time – of course i’m also hoping that this baby comes at 38 1/2 weeks – lol!  i think this is what they call wishful thinking!

car seat – i need to pull the car seat out of the garage and clean it and have it checked at the installation center – yes i’ve done this before but having 2 car seats in the truck for some reason freaks me out so i want to have them checked by a certified professional

primping – i need to have my legs waxed, a mani/pedi, a cut and color (color done at home from a box – cause that’s how i roll!) and i need to have my eyebrows threaded – yes, i realize that this has absolutely no bearing on delivering or bringing home a baby – and i know that no one will care what i look like while i’m giving birth – but i will care – and i’m vain like that – it’s who i am – deal with it!

now those are just the things i can think of off hand – i’m sure there are several that i’m forgetting so please feel free to comment and remind me – of course there are a few things that i have done – i bought a swing from my friend Penny – so i have that for when this child inevitably decides that he will sleep nowhere else – and i have Sydney’s pack-n-play that will be in our room on the off chance that this child will want to sleep somewhere beside attached to my breast

hmmm … what else?  pretty much nothing – and what’s even better is that i am completely unconcerned – not because i love this baby any less than Sydney or that he or she won’t have all the same things that Sydney had – but looking back, i just didn’t really need all that much – diapers, blankets, a ton of onesies and sleepers, the Boppy and my breasts were pretty much all i needed those first couple of months – as far as i can tell, i’m a couple of loads of laundry from being completely ready!

and there you have it – my to-do list of all the things that need to be done before Baby Hall #2 arrives – oh, Kelley and i should probably be working on that whole “what are we going to name the baby” thing – and did i mention that i’m supposed to be making Baby #1 a kitchen for her 2nd birthday (which is in less than a month)?  yes, i’m certifiable – but at least i can admit it and that’s the first step, right?

one day i’ll learn that it is virtually impossible to do EVERYTHING – i’m not sure when – but eventually i’ll have to learn that lesson, right?

so the one big thing that i wanted to give Sydney for Christmas was a play kitchen – now before she was actually old enough for the play kitchen, i had already started scoping them out – and while there are a lot of really cool ones out there, i had my mind fixated on the kind that makes kitchen noises – and last Christmas while doing some last minute shopping, i found something similar to this and it was on clearance for $10 so i bought it – she LOVED it and i was thrilled because it just enough for a 1 year old to enjoy without being overwhelming

but as Sydney gets older and is starting “imaginative play” (see the previous blog – and yes, i’ve been reading to many parenting emails), i figured it was time for something a little more complex – i had already been doing the research and couldn’t believe the prices of these kitchen sets – some of them are $150+, made of plastic and don’t even make sounds!  that’s when one of my friends shared this on Google Reader – it’s basically a blog post showing you how to re-purpose an old entertainment center into a child’s kitchen – as soon as i saw it, i instantly fell in love with it and knew that i had to make one for Sydney – i started thinking about it mid-summer and decided i would make it for Christmas – except i looked and looked on Craigslist and could never quite find the right entertainment center in the right part of town (for pick up) and the closer and closer it got to Christmas, i realized it just wasn’t going to happen – fortunately (or unfortunately as i may start to think down the line), Sydney’s birthday is roughly 6 weeks after Christmas – so anything she didn’t get for Christmas can be taken care of just a month in a half later – of course now her birthday is exactly a month away and i’m due to give birth a week later, and because i don’t have nearly enough crap to do between now and then i’ve decided to make the kitchen – i found this entertainment center on Craigslist for $30

and i have just a few weeks to turn it into this …

this …

this …

or some reasonably creative knockoff

bets on whether or not i’ll be able to get it done?  my husband just informed me that he’s worried about my ability to transform the entertainment center – he was trying to think of a nice way to say it until he saw that i was blogging his comment – at which time he changed his answer to, “oh, what am i talking about – you’ll do great!!” – and then he laughed – hater.  i should bet him on how great my new kitchen will be – diamonds???  i think so!

Sydney is less than a month from turning 2 and we’re starting to get to that point where we are overwhelmed by toys – i’m not sure how it happened because i really haven’t bought her a lot of stuff and she doesn’t really know to ask for toys yet – i also did a really good job of not going overboard at Christmas – especially with her birthday being just 6 weeks later – so i don’t know how it happened but all of a sudden, her play area looks like a Toys R Us exploded!!

for Christmas, our ladies who lunch group decided to just exchange gifts for the kids and it was a plan i was definitely down with – but even with that small group, Sydney came home with a ton of toys – i decided not to take anything out of the package until Sydney actually asked or showed interest in it and that seemed to be a good idea – the party was the 2nd week of December and today Sydney decided she wanted to open the Disney Princess Tea Set that she received – um, it’s only been 2 months … and truth be told, *i* was the one who really wanted to play with it, but i let her take the lead and today was the day!

despite the fact that it had been sitting in the open right next to the rest of her toys for 2 months, his afternoon the tea set somehow grabbed her interest and she brought the box to me saying “open, open” – as i opened the package, she couldn’t wait to get the saucers and tea cups out – as soon as she did, she started drinking from the tea cups complete with slurping noises (where do they learn this stuff?) – then she handed me a cup and told me to “drink it” too – she was so excited about the cups and saucers that she barely noticed the silverware, the tea pot and sugar bowl -  but i somehow managed to get them out of the packaging and once she noticed the other pieces, there was no stopping her – it was suddenly all about cooking eggs!  she was mixing up something in the teapot with the spoon and kept telling me, “Mommy, cooking eggs” – after about 30 minutes i asked her if she was ready to take a shower (since it was after 3pm!) but the answer was “NO! cooking eggs!!” – okaaay, i guess i got my answer there – i asked a few more times and the response was always the same so i decided to kick back and try and get some work of my own done while she was occupied

a few minutes later, Sydney had disappeared – i didn’t think much about it until she returned with a big old jar of peanut butter – “Mommy, peanut butter – peanut butter Mommy!” – uhhhhh … i KNOW this girl does not think she’s about to play with peanut butter!  i tried to explain that there wasn’t any peanut butter (because the jar was almost empty) but she was not about to be deterred – “Mommy, peanut butter! Daddy?” – “yes Sydney, Daddy eats peanut butter but we can’t play with the peanut butter because it’s Daddy’s” – “Daddy peanut butter!!” well crap.

great – now that she’s officially ready to play kitchen, i have absolutely nothing for her to “play” kitchen with – no pots or pans, no fake food – think mommy, think mommy – you’re creative – what can she use instead – as i racked my brain about what cardboard box i could empty out and give her, i remembered about the mandarin oranges that came in our co-op order this week – they looked like mini tangerines and are literally the size of 1/4 of the palm of my hand – i figured if i kept her on the leather ottoman, she couldn’t cause too much damage and ANYTHING would be better than peanut butter – “Sydney, would you like some oranges?” – she perked up immediately, “ORANGES!!” – score!  i grabbed the peanut butter from her hands and ran (well, waddled) into the kitchen to get the oranges – i peeled it in about 30 seconds and in less than a minute, she was back on track!

after about 15 minutes, i was absolutely sure that she is ready to move to the play kitchen – up until now, she hasn’t really shown any signs of this so-called imaginative play i keep hearing about – that is outside of her long drawn out conversations on the phone (both real and imagined) – but today i knew – she was “making eggs” and telling me to “eat it” – she transferred the oranges from plate to plate and was pouring drinks from the teapot into the teacups – oh yeah, it’s all about “cooking” now – “Mommy, i’m cooking!’ – “yes, baby you are!” – maybe instead of sending her to the University of Texas to be an engineer, i’ll send her to culinary school so she can be a chef!