Biggest Loser Princess and Tinker Bell 2011 and 2012 -- OLD please see NEW thread

[dumbo_buddy]

kathy - how old is your little girl? do they know? she's so cute. crate training is the best thing. she will love her crate. hope tonight goes just as well (well, i hope she doesn't get you up for the fake pees. fiona did that all the time)

rose - how do you "friend" someone on myfitnesspal? i just signed up for it.

lindsay - so sorry to hear about your grammy. it's wonderful that you got to have her around for so long but it doesn't make it any easier, even at 98 years young, to know that she's not doing that well.

maria - 8 miles is a free day? yeesh. that's just crazy talk!!! how are the work projects going??

lisah - hi!! any less chicken fried today???

lisar - how's the tink training going? how many more days?

***
evening gals.

today was a pretty good day. i was worried about being all alone all day but it turned out that my mommy and me partner took thomas to stew leonards and then some other places and wound up having him from 11am-4pm! it was awesome! lol! he had a great day playing with her kids and i got to relax a little with just matthew who was a great boy all day. my friend mary who has been one of my best friends since the 6th grade came down for the evening and thomas just loves her. we got pizza and hung out. she just left so now i'm waiting for thomas to wake up for another feeding (my milk came in so i may wind up waking HIM! ouch!) and then i'll move us into my bedroom and hope that we'll get some sleep tonight. he basically slept all day so he will probably be up all night. ah well, that's newborn living for you.

ok so i have a question about the ornament exchange. since, you know, i just had a kid, would anyone be insulted if i shipped the ornament directly from the website to them instead of going to the store and shipping it myself? i know what ornament i'm getting and i found out you can order it online.

i sent my birth story to a friend of mine and she read it while i was on the phone with her and i think i scared her. lol! she's having a baby in april. hahaha i reassured her that naaaaah, it wasn't that bad. i was just being overdramatic (yeah, sure, right)

have a great night all!!!

 

[mikamah]

Good evening princessabelles!

We've really had a good day. Poko is doing well, and is snoozing in her crate with the door open. So happy about that. I left her in it earlier and went out, and then later, she got whiney and was barking in the crate so we let her out. I initially had just put a towel in thinking she might have accidents, but put the fluffy sheepskin bed in now figuring it's more comfy and I can just wash it if needed. We had lots of company today, and one friend from work and her dd brought a bag of goodies, and she had a kong with treats and loved it, and after that she started playing with the other toys we bought for her. I got lots of exercise today, and met a bunch of neighbors and their dogs on our walks. Poko is so sweet and friendly. She was absolutely fine with every dog but one who growled first. And that was a big German shepard. He met a mastiff mix, lab, cocker spaniel, golden retriever, and a beagle. In talking to one neighbor he told me one of the baseball fields is totally gated, so we're going to go there and let her run free tomorrow. I had thought about going to the field and figured we could station ourselves at each gate, but we won't have to.

Michael has 2 friends for a sleep over and we just had pizza and cake, and they're doing fuse beads. Little plastic beads you put on a peg board and make shapes, and then iron them together. We did go to the park for a while earlier. If they want, I'll take Poko for her last walk and leave them alone for a bit. I think they'll be excited.

I was on the BL thread earlier, and wanted to reply to people, but got distracted, and don't remember what I wanted to say, but I do remember, LisaH- Another 3.5 pounds!! YOu are just rocking this challenge, and a huge, huge congrats on being below Princess weight!! That is phenomenal. I'm so excited for you and know you will be in ONE-derland for the Tink!!!

Nancy-I just read your birth story, and OMG, you poor thing. Sounds crazy. It did remind me that the night before I had michael I went to a stupid Pampered Chef party, and my friend was making fun of my puffy ankles, and I was being a b-tch. I'm so glad you had a good day. I hope you have a good night too. How is Thomas sleeping lately? They are so adorable. I think it's just fine to order your ornament and have it sent directly. Goodness knows you're busy enough. Poko's 10 months they think. She came from tennessee, and was in salem just for 2 weeks, and only out on the main floor for a couple days. I am still amazed how many adoptions they have there, cats and dogs. Thursday while we were there, 2 other people were adopting dogs. I'm hoping she will love her crate, and right now, she seems happy in it.

I need to go to the post office tomorrow. Michael brought home his timer from the race last week, and I just re-found and remembered it. I'll have to check my credit card and see if they really do charge you for it.

Oh and Poko met Fredward, and they both just sniffed each other through the cage. I was very impressed.

Oh well, I'm going to get the boys sleeping bags set up now. I said 11 is lights out, so I'll do that and then take poko out.

Hope you all have a fun weekend.

 

[mikamah]

ok that was weird. I just posted, and it posted above yours nancy. but you supposedly posted at 1010, and it's only 959. There are ghosts about the dis. oooooooohhhh

 

[dumbo_buddy]

kathy - it's still showing up that i posted after you! queue twilight sound music!!!
how was the sleepover?
what kind of food are you feeding poko? how did she sleep last night?

***

good morning friends! check out my night: fed matthew at 10pm, 12:30am, 4:00am and 7:00am....so....NOT TOO BAD! i actually wound up not even getting john to give matthew a bottle. i figured if he got up around 2am i'd feed him and then switch with john but since the baby didn't get up til 4 and thomas would probably be up at 6ish i just let him sleep. and i don't feel terrible today!
my ****s aren't too happy right now but nursing is going so much better than it did with thomas. i'm still going to make sure he gets at least one formula bottle each day because it will give me freedom i didn't have with thomas. so, yeah, besides my broken ladyparts i'm doing pretty good

ok gals i need ideas - what are you getting your lovely spouses for christmas? we aren't big gift givers to each other but i need to get john SOMETHING!

 

[lisah0711]

Good morning Princesses and Belles!

This "ghost in the machine" thing makes it hard to do replies!

Nancy, now that I read your birth story I understand why John looked a little shell shocked in that picture holding Matthew right after he was born. But you got a perfect little baby to show for it all.

I didn't get an epidural either because they worked on me for over 2 hours with the pitocin cranked up the whole time and never could get it started. The Chief Anesthesiologist was called to come in and give it a try but by then my old fashioned doctor (who had just returned from vacation that afternoon) arrived and gave me a paracervical. It didn't stop me from feeling like Robert had decided to bring a souvenir with him and I had the forceps delivery, too, along with the biggest episiotomy.

I love the pictures of the boys. They are so cute and Thomas seems to be getting used to things. I was looking at the Princess pics the other day and I think your face looks the same.

I agree with Kathy do whatever is easiest for you with the ornament.

Rose, how did PT go yesterday? Are the inserts starting to work? You are managing to be an exercise machine in spite of not being able to do what you really want. You will soon. (see no hug!)

I did think of you when I was at the grocery store as I was looking at the GF food section. I thought this looks like a decent selection until you realize that this is all that you get day after day. I think being in a larger city is a good idea because at least you have a shot at variety. The baking at home thing isn't a bad idea. Have you ever had a bread maker?

Thank you for reminding me that running is supposed to be fun. I do have a hard time remembering that some times because I am usually so freaked out about my pace. I have speed work today so we will see how I feel after that.

Oh, and on the Tom thing, parents are the ones who always love you regardless of what they think of you and/or your behavior at the moment.

Maria, enjoy your 8 miles today!

Sounds like you can use a little decompression after the wild week. Are the scary meetings over? It's not too fun to have to tell people that something won't work.

How is the tree holding up? We are going to do a real tree this year because Robert has never had one. Between Wally the kitty and Sadie and the wagging tail of doom it may be an interesting Christmas.

We also did the failure to thrive thing and stayed in the hospital an extra day due to BF issues, too. Considering that he is now 5'10" and wears size 11 men's shoes it looks like he did just fine in spite of us!

Lindsay, you are a workout machine, too, and on a roll! Especially during the holidays!

How is your poor grammy doing? It's so hard when they get to that stage of their lives.

I don't know what is going on this week -- it's not even a full moon. It was crazy at work here, too. I was at my desk at 6:30 am two days. That makes for a very long day. We didn't even get the copier yet! Apparently it takes a village to install a copier -- a couple of techs, the sales guy, their network guy, my network guy and me. I wasn't up for that this week anyway.

Kathy, sounds like Poko is getting adjusted to her wonderful new home. I'm glad the meeting with Fredward went well. Poko is a cutey and it will take her a few days to really get used to things. Travelling from Tennessee and being at the shelter is stressful for her I'm sure. I think she is going to be a great family member for you and Michael.

Sadie does bark and whine in her crate when we get home. She wants us to hurry and open the door and let her outside. We have the crate door open when we are home. She just hangs out with us wherever we are when we are home. But in the mornings when we are getting ready to leave she will run to her crate and sit there because she wants a treat! Now even the cat comes running when he hears the door to the pantry open in the morning.

Lisa, hope that you are feeling better and that no one in your family was blown away by the big winds in CA this week!

Time to get ready to do my running at the Kroc Center! Have a great day ladies!

 

[Rose&Mike]

I did think of you when I was at the grocery store as I was looking at the GF food section. I thought this looks like a decent selection until you realize that this is all that you get day after day. I think being in a larger city is a good idea because at least you have a shot at variety. The baking at home thing isn't a bad idea. Have you ever had a bread maker?

Thank you so much for saying this. As silly as it sounds it's one of the nicest things anyone has said to me in so long. For some reason the whole world seems to want to tell me how many gf choices there are now, but in the big scheme of a huge grocery store there is not much there. But it's all good. Yesterday I spent some time online and found a couple of places that do gf pasta--raviolis, gnocchis, etc. I have been CRAVING pasta (and not just corn spaghetti.) lately. It's kind of pricey to order it and have it shipped, but I think we're going to try it. One place even had gf butternut squash ravioli--yum!

Thanks for sharing what is going on with your training and how you have shortened your intervals, etc. I think I am going to be doing some very short intervals when I start back up, so it's nice to know that you can still improve your time with short intervals.

Nancy--Definitely order that ornament online! Sounds like things are going ok at your house.

Myfitnesspal--there's a friends tab and you can send a "friend request." You can either send me your email or I can send you mine. Then once we are friends, you will see Lindsay and Lisa can click on their posts and invite them to be your friend, too.

I love myfitnesspal. Last night I wanted ice cream and the only way I could have it and stay in my calorie range was to get off my big booty butt and go for a walk. So we walked the dog and I got my extra calories and had my ice cream.

Lindsay & Maria--I hope you are having a good weekend!

Maria--enjoy those 8 miles!

Kathy--Sounds like things are going well with your new puppy! Do they have any idea what she is?

*****
I am back to my pre-Thanksgiving weight! Woohoo! One of the good things that has come out of this foot injury (yes, I said good ) is that I am learning I can take the weight off and maintain at this lower weight without running. It takes a big effort, but it's doable. I do find myself silently cursing myfitnesspal for making me feel so accountable. But it's a good thing.

Yesterday I had pt. And it went great! No pain when she was working on my foot--which is a first. She kept asking me if she was killing me and I kept saying no, so she kept digging harder--and still didn't hurt. There is still scar tissue but it's getting better.

In the afternoon I did an hour in the pool. I enjoyed the first half, the second half there was a ms swim team in the pool. Uggh. But I did it and it's done. Today we went for our longest walk since my xrays--2.3 miles. A long way from 13 for Princess, but it's a start. My foot felt great during the walk, but it's a little sore now.

Mike looked up the Galloway plan--and I should be at 8. Uggh. But all I can do is the best I can do. Mike is putting together a plan for mileage. I still can't run, but I am going to start walking more on the weekends at least, as long as the foot holds up. I am cautiously optimistic.

And on the Tom front--one of his roomates decided not to come back next semester. More uggh. I think he is fine with--sounds like there are some issues. But last night when I talked to him there was more drama--money stuff. I was so stressed out when I hung up. Then I had a dream about it. Anyhow, we decided to put the kitchen project on hold for now. They hadn't ordered the cabinets yet, so we are able to do that. The design is ready, when we decide to do it. Right now, I would rather have a nice Christmas, give Tom money for his Denver trip, and be able to pay for his internship at Georgetown next summer in cash if that's what he ends up doing. I just don't feel like having drama over money. I can live with the kitchen I have for now.

I hope everyone has a good Saturday. We are watching basketball and we're going to do some decorating.

 

[mommyof2Pirates]

Nancy- Glad everything seems to be going well with your recovery and with the BF. I hope Matthew will have another great night sleeping. The funny thing was as I was reading all the times you got up I was thinking it was horrible and hear you were saying how great it was. I forgot (maybe intentionally) how rough it is at night with a newborn. So how has Thomas been sleeping now that the baby is here?

Lisa H- wow that must be one awesome copier. I am really hoping to have some down time in the office over the next few weeks. We do sometimes get a little bit slower through the holidays. Usually because everyone is so darn busy that they dont have time to worry and obsess about every runny nose and green poop there child has.

Rose- Congrats on shedding those pounds. I love my fitness pal to. The funny thing is that it takes me so darn long to figure out what I am going to eat now. Last night when we went to the diner it took Mike and I like 20 min to decide because I had to keep searching things to find out the calories. I think the waitress was getting annoyed but to bad. Sorry for the stress with Tom. I agree stressing over money is no fun and the new kitchen would not be as enjoyable knowing you could have spent the money on other things. I hope it all works out for him.

Hi Kathy, Maria, and Lisa.

**********************************************************

Well my grammy is stable but was pretty out there mentally today. I ended up not going and visiting. I am internally arguing with myself for that. I dont know that I can hold it together seeing her so aggitated and combative yet I feel bad not going too. Just not sure what to do. I am considering visiting tomorrow and am leaning to even if I go for awhile I will feel better and if she does pass on in the near future I will not hold onto the regret of not going to see her. Its been a number of months since I have visited since she was living with my aunt over an hour away.

My friends fundraiser went very well. She was totally surprised and speechless. She felt a bit embarressed to but I think got over that. We raised about 1,000 dollars for her.

I am completely exhausted and have to make sure I get the boys to sunday school tomorrow to practice their christmas pageant. I really just want to sleep in. Maybe an afternoon nap tomorrow would be good.

Ok well I am going to head to bed. I hope you all enjoy the rest of the weekend.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Good Morning, and !

Sshh. Don't tell anyone, I'm playing hookie from church. I'm a little tired after all our adventures yesterday, and I need the time to get things done before my Beloved Patriots play at 1.

Lindsay -- I am so sorry about your Grammy. It is rough, even though you know she has had a wonderful life. It's some consolation, but that doesn't really make it any easier. The fundraiser sounds fantastic, what a wonderful effort on your part. You are a great friend! And I agree, I had forgotten how often those newborns eat I know I haven't been making it to the big thread, but I plan to at least answer questions today. It can get lonely being the coach over there

Rose -- I'm so glad the pt went well! And you sound in good spirits even with the drama with Tom. I have an old-fashioned kitchen, but I don't see us ever deciding we can't live with it enough to upgrade...so I totally get putting it off for other things. As you said, you have the plans so you can do it anytime if you choose.

Lisah -- Yes, looks like the scary meetings are done for awhile! I will probably have another one next week, but I won't be on the spot like I was for this past week's meetings. I actually get to leave work a bit early on Tuesday. I have a meeting downtown at 2, and afterwards I'm going to nip around and do a tiny bit of shopping, then I'll get home before it's really dark, hopefully! The tree is holding it's own. We had a live tree every year until last year, and the kitties are doing ok with our fake tree. If it were real, that might be a different story. I look back to when I was a relatively young mother when Ben was about 2, and I had a "friend" with a 1 yr. old she were still breastfeeding. She made me feel horrible because I "should have tried harder", now "he's going to have so many disadvantages". Well, he could not be doing better academically, he's in the 90th% for height and 50th% for weight, and knock on wood, he's never sick. We really only take him to the dr. once a year for his check-up. Those other kids (she quickly had 2) now have asthma, weight problems, and are not only behind in school, they are discipline problems. BF is wonderful if you can do it, but your kid can still turn out ok if you don't.

Nancy -- Speaking of BF being wonderful, you are doing great! That is a killer schedule -- plus having a 2 yr. old to deal with 24/7! Not to mention those poor lady parts...please take any rest you can get I'm sure we are all amazed you are able to send an ornament, no one expects you to physically go to a store!

Kathy -- Ah, our other new Mommy! Poko sounds like she is a joy, and everyone is loving her You took on a new baby and a sleepover?! You are indeed brave like Mulan!

to Lisa!

So an update for me -- The conference was not bad, I left a bit early to get Ben to the orthodontist. Grocery shopping Friday night went well, we even spent less than usual I'll take it! Yesterday's run felt really good. I did all 8M, and wasn't too sore after. Almost as soon as I finished showering we had to run a couple of errands and then head up to NH for the Vintage Stroll. I had never done this before. It's a grouping of historic houses and buildings called Strawberry Banke, and they are decorated in different periods, with costumed cast members who play the roles of real people who lived in the houses. I think we hit 1818, 1870, 1945 and 1950, with a few others thrown in. Anyway, you just move yourself along the path at your own pace, and you can interact with the historic interpreters. It was so interesting, I asked the young lady in the 1945 house what she wanted to for Christmas, and she said a scarf. I wish I could get by with that now! You really got a sense of the deprivation of WWII. The 1950s teenage girl wanted Elvis Presley's "Blue Christmas" record, but she wasn't sure if her parents would let her have it because he was too wild. Oh! And grandma baking cookies in the 1950s house had a cocktail she was working on while she rolled out dough They also had the house of the first Jewish family in the area. That was early 1900s, and they were celebrating Hannukah, and cooking latkes on the stove. They smelled so good! It was really fun.

So, weekends tend to be hard for me foodwise, because like everyone else I'm out of my normal routine. Yesterday I had a quick small banana muffin prior to my workout, and 100 cal Nesquick right after. Then I had half a turkey wrap and apple slices in the car on our way to NH, then we had flatbread pizza (veggie) for dinner. I tried to eat a reasonable amount, I think I did ok. I had hot apple cider and one ginger snap at the event, and when we got home Dennis made me popcorn. I got on the scale this morning and I was up less than a lb., so I'm feeling good about that. I vow to hold it together today. I'm at my lowest weight of this challenge (which isn't saying much, I've had a ton of fluctuation), and I'm determined to keep that trend going next week. I just had a bowl of frosted mini-wheats for breakfast (discovered Dennis had thrown away my cereal which had 1 serving left ), and I'll have the other half of the turkey wrap and more apples for lunch. We're having steak with peppers and onions for dinner, and I'm already planning a snack of blueberries and babybel while I watch Boardwalk Empire. I did really well last week having soup for lunch a few days, so I'll do that again this week.

I'm also going to be busy with tasks today. I have to do , wrap gifts and prepare packages for mailing, generally straighten this messy house, and I just started reading V is for Veangance, so I'm going to want to fit a few chapters in!

Tomorrow I plan to run my 4M, so I can give myself the cushion at the end of the week of two days rest before my long run on Sat. I really seem to do better overall when that happens.

Oh, yes, Kathy -- Lindsay asked about our Christmas lists on the BL thread. And in that vein, I've been working it into conversations that I expect to go to WDW at Christmastime at some point, but not specifying when. Honestly, I don't think it will be for a long time, but I am definitely going to make it happen at some point.

My SIL and BIL who we meant yesterday mentioned they'd like to cruise with us to Bermuda again, so that may be on our list for 2014, I think. Dennis is already telling me not to plan something big for 2012 or 2013 if I want to go to marathon weekend 2013, and I DO!

Everyone have a wonderful day, and let's look forward to a fantastic week! I'd better get up before I spend my entire morning on the DIS

Maria

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Hehwoah? Great, now I have to report on the threadkillers that I've managed to finish another one...

Just a very quick check-in after dinner. I'm going to have a lovely bath with a Lush bath bomb, finish making my bed, and clear my dresser. This will set me up for tomorrow. Dennis is making homemade healthy mac and cheese for my lunch tomorrow and for other days this week. He really is a gem! My Beloved Patriots had another lovely win, and I got an e-mail from the president at work, my huge ugly project is definitely going away and I'm no longer responsible. I should actually be able to relax and enjoy this month a bit more. I have an application to work on tomorrow, but I should definitely have some DIS time.

I'm off to get the water started for my relaxation time...and yes, I will have time to just enjoy my tree during the commercials for Once Upon a Time

Maria

 

[mommyof2Pirates]

Maria- that sounded like an awesome experience at Strawberry bank. I would have loved to do that as well. My favorite ride at MK is Carosel of progress because I love looking back at how people use to live. I sometimes wish life was much simpler again and a scarf would be the only expectation at christmas. Glad you did pretty good with eating too. Up less than a lb is not bad at all for a weekend when you are out doing things. Good Job


--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Got the kids up and made it to sunday school on time today. They got their parts for the christmas play that is on Dec 18. Now we have to get Nick to memorize his and help Ryan with the reading part he has. I really wish they were better organized because having this a few weeks ago would have been much better and would have given us alot more time to practice.

Then my mom and I were going to go to the mall but the kids begged to come along and she said ok. Then when we were leaving Nick had a meltdown because his other cousins had just gotten there and he wanted to play barbies with them. My mom flipped in the car and said she just couldnt take them today and she wasnt going. Then the boys cried even harder. I sat there like you got to be kidding me.

So it was a big mess of tears and screaming until I got them in my car and we left. It kinda ticked me off of my mom to do that but then on the other hand there is sometimes I cant take my kids whining and crying either so I guess I shouldnt be mad.

I ended up taking the boys with me anyway and it was actually a nice day. We went to the mall and after 6 stores finally found nick a suit to wear for xmas and ryan a sweater vest. I am still so annoyed that there are a million dresses out there for girls and I can barely find a darn black pair of dress pants and a red or green dress shirt anywhere. If I wanted a purple shirt or tie It would have been much easier. I know you can all relate to this since we all have boys. It is just so annoying.

Now we are winding down for the night and are going to watch a movie. Ryan wants to watch a dvd called holidaze but Nick and I want to watch The christmas story. I said we will pull the name out of a hat. I am considering putting the christmas story on both papers.

I need to quick check in on the BL thread since I havent been on all day. I will talk to you all soon!

 

[donac]

Hi guys. I just happened to stumble onto this site and just read Nancy's birth story.

I have to tell you that you were faster than I was. I went into labor about 11:30 one night and finally got to the hospital at 1:30 since the person who was supposed to be watching kevin was out. Sean was born at 2:45

I just wanted to say I would love to join you at the 2013 Princess but I don't think dh would think I could do it with my bad knee so I think it is out.

Congrats to all of you who are able to do it.

 

[dumbo_buddy]

dona - i guess fast labor is the way to go over slow labor but maaaaan, there IS such a thing as TOO fast when you can't get that lovely epidural! oh well. baby's here. that's what matters.

have you done much walking? you could walk the marathon or half marathon as long as you maintain a 16 minute mile. it's certainly not easy but definitely doable with enough training. i hope you'll join us. i say phooey to what your DH says (well, unless he is right and your knee really is that bad!)

maria - how was your tubby? that's what we call baths in the cullen household. i've never bought any of those bath balls but have been in a lush store. my mom gets so mad at that store. lol! she complains that she just wants to go in there, smell all the big bath balls and maybe buy one or two without being hounded the second she walks in there.

strawberry banke sounds like a real life carousel of progress! i'd like to go there one day - might make for a nice holiday weekend trip.

people are really annoying about bf'ing. the ones who are into it are REALLY into it and act like formula is the worst thing in the world. and the funny thing is i bet all those people were formula fed! nobody bf'd back then! that other community i belong to, pregnancy.org, has a bf'ing section and the people are just completely ridiculous on there. one lady is going out to a wedding and plans on being gone for 4 hours and people are freaking out at her about how she should pump before, during, and after. she should make sure the baby has a bm bottle. and i wrote back, "have fun! have the sitter give the kid a pre-made bottle of formula and don't think twice" shoo! you'd think i said something about wanting to kill babies!

lindsay - you crack me up! i hope you put christmas story on both pieces of paper!
sorry your mom wasn't very understanding today - she couldn't deal with them? sheesh, nice ma. like you want your kids to have meltdowns?!?

rose - double yay! one for pre-turkey day weight and the second one for a pain free PT session! woot! sorry about the tom drama. ick. what's the georgetown internship?? i interned in DC the summer before my senior year at wake and it was awesome! what a supercool experience

lisah - ouchie! your birth story sounds...terrible! "they" tend to not do episiotomies anymore but instead let your tear b/c "they" say you can heal better from them. either way, it's a cut down there that just shouldn't be there. ouch!!!

how's the tink training going? i feel like your running lately has been pretty good and very positive! color me jealous!

kathy - i'm pretty sure i wasn't the only one whose heart totally melted at your lovely status update earlier. ah, glad you had such a nice time with your little boy, er...big boy! is he excited to be in the double digits now??

hi lisar!!!

****************

evening gals. i'm super tired tonight which you KNOW means a certain newborn will be up all night. john may have to take over with a bottle or two for me.

thomas had soccer today and then john left for a meeting with a now client out on long island. meeting went well because the guy gave him a check and now he's a client. woot! my friend lauren came up around 3 or so and stayed for a few hours. she helped us decorate our tree. thomas helped too which was a bit of a nightmare but he had fun.

while john, lauren, and thomas were decorating i decided to jump in the shower. (tmi alert) afterwards i was blotting "down there" with some toilet paper to dry it and noticed part of a stitch came out onto the paper. didn't think too much of it and went into the bedroom to get dressed. um, let's just say even though i know i'll be bleeding for a few weeks, the amount that came out was ALOT. yuck. spoke to the doctor though and she said that it's not that big of a deal since i'm 8 days post partum. phew!

other than that, i've been eating my face off. i'm planning on taking thomas and matthew to mommy and me tomorrow. i think it should be fine. i'll feed the baby right before and hopefully he'll sleep. i'm not looking forward to having to wear maternity clothes out in public. i will live.

ok, gonna feed the baby in a few minutes and hope to get a little rest. so...that means i'll be on in like an hour!

 

[mikamah]

Good morning Princessabelles!!

Nancy-You sound like you're doing really well, and I'm so glad things are going good for you. Hope you got some sleep last night. I remember when ds was almost 3 months and he'd go 3-4 hours twice each night thinking that I'd be fine going back to work, but thinking back on it now, it's like, yeah, I'm fine to work sleep deprived taking care of your critically ill family members. Mommy and Me will be an adventure, but good for you for getting out. You can tell it's your second kid, with the first, you probably wouldn't go anywhere near a room of germ filled toddlers. Thomas will have fun, and hopefully little Matthew will snooze for you.

Dona- hello!! I don't think I'll be at the 2013 princess either, but you could really think about it. You do a lot of walking, and many people do walk the whole thing.

Maria-Congrats on the good 8M run!! The strawberry Banke thing sounds awesome. I'll have to remember that for next year. My sister, michael and I always do something Christmassy each year, and go out for dinner. THis year, we're doing the Salem Christmas Carol Trolley tour, which I've heard is awesome. It's a travelling interactive show, and scrooge and other characters get off and on the trolly and interact with you, and it stops at several places for shows. I'm looking forward to it. It was a busy weekend, and the sleepover and family party was planned way before the puppy, but it worked out really well. The dog is really very social and sweet, and loves meeting people.

Lindsay-SOrry for the pre-shopping fiasco. Not really fair to the kids to cancel, but good for you for taking them anyway. It's is hard to find nice dress clothes for boys, and it is unfair how many adorable sparkly girls clothes are out there. My niece got adorable Ugg-type boots in pink glitter. Michael needs black pants and a white shirt for the chorus/band concert, so I need to go shopping again. How is your Grammy doing? Hope she's calm and comfortable at the very least.

LisaH-How was your run saturday? Hope it was great. I remember that anesthesia story. It's always the lawyers who you have problems with. THanks for sharing Sadies routine. It was a busy weekend, and overall she did great. I like having the crate in the kitchen, but she's doing great on the toileting, I think since this is her 4th day here and she hasn't had an accident, I can say she's trained, so I feel comfy letting her wander the house. We put freddie in my room for the party yesterday, and am going to leave him there for the week. Poko loved to just hang out where we are, but I don't know if I want to put the crate in a bedroom yet. I'm afraid if it put it in Michael's, she'll still bark, and then he'll be up. I think I'll give it the week and see how it goes. I did ignore her last night for the most part and she would bark for a few minutes, whine a bit, then settle for a while, then do it again. She's sleeping so comfy now. I guess it's rather have her up and barking when I'm home at night, than all day while I'm at work.

Rose-Congrats on the weight loss!! That must be such a great feeling!
So glad the foot is getting better too, and 2.3 miles is a great start, and I'm sure gradually you'll be up for training for the princess. Sorry for the stress with Tom. Hopefully he'll be in a better place soon, and it will all work out. Glad you're able to hold on the kitchen to help him out. My boy is half way to your boy's age now. And remind me how fast the next 10 years will go? And how much harder they will be than the first ten. At least I'll have my dog walks to burn off the stress.

LisaR-How are you feeling? I hope you are finally better. Too many people I know have that viral thing with the lingering cough. No stressing on any missed training. You've been doing so great before you were sick, you will be able to catch up and be fine for the Tink. You still have 7 weeks left, right?

No school today and DS is sleeping late, which is great. I'm going to shower now, and leave poko out and see what happens. She is snoozing now. I'll take her out around the yard while michael's sleeping, but she needs to go for her long walk soon, and has a vet appt at 9:30. We can walk to our vet which will be nice. I used to take my cats to this vet and loved him, but he's semi retired so we'll meet his partner. Lots of laundry to catch up on too. I ran out of time yesterday and didn't put the clean laundry away, so the dirty laundry that was on the bathroom floor is in the tub.

Hope everyone has a marvelous monday!!

 

[dumbo_buddy]

kathy - i've been thinking about the whole germs thing at mommy and me. if i weren't the teacher i would probably wait a little longer but i really don't want to stick my partner noreen with all the work. it's actually hard work when you're running the show by yourself. at least with me there i can do a few things here and there. i plan on just keeping the baby in his car seat (hope he doesn't mind!) and i have one of those mesh cover things that will go over it so nobody can touch him. there are two other babies that sit in their car seats so their moms can be with their old siblings. the other kids don't pay attention to them so i'm thinking we'll be ok.

yeah, i just needed to write that out for myself to justify that it's ok to bring him. we'll see how it goes. thomas really enjoys getting out and he needs some mommy time.

**
i got some sleep last night. only problem is that i've had a splitting headache since yesterday afternoon. wah. maybe because i haven't been outside in days??? baby ate around 10pm then 1am then 4am. in fact i got HIM up at 4am - he seems to only eat from one side at each feeding so lefty was literally the size of a bowling ball. i kept the lights off and just put him there and he sort of did a "dream-feed" - ate and went right to sleep and then was up at 7. ate again and back to sleep. not bad!

big brother is playing in his crib right now. having the video monitor is so cool. yesterday morning he was holding his special agent oso doll and feeding him his gogie (pacifier). he now has his little disney buses lined up and appears to be counting them. kids really are fun sometimes, aren't they???

remind me i said that when i come back on later after the witching hour wanting to kill myself....

have a wonderful day everyone!!!

 

[Rose&Mike]

Good morning! It's raining, it's pouring--again! Fourth Monday in a row. We will probably break the record for the wettest year on record today. But at least it's not snow!

Kathy--I'm glad you all had such a nice weekend! One thing Tom's pediatrician and allergist told us about the dogs--no dogs in the bedrooms, period. Sounds harsh, but Tom was very allergic to cats and did ok with the dogs, so they strongly discouraged us from having dog dander in his room. The thoughts on this might have changed, but we didn't want to chance it. Petie is doing really well with sleeping out of his crate at night--which means we are getting sleep, but I put him in during the day. I just don't know what he will do when we are gone for the day....

LisaR--hope you are doing ok.

Lindsay--sorry about the kid/Mom drama yesterday. I hear you on the no boys clothes. It did get frustrating. And I always thought they made the boys clothes look so grownup so fast.

Maria--We love CoP too so your day sounds perfect! Sounds like you all had a really time. I think we would have really enjoyed that! I'm glad things are going to be slowing down for you at work.

Nancy--I hope things go well on your outing today! When Tom was little I had him and I watched two kids. So I had Tom (~20 months) and a 26 month old and a newborn. It was quite the adventure. But we went places and did lots of fun things.

Hi Dona! I think a bunch of us are going for marathon weekend in 2013. You could look at walking the half that weekend....

Hello to LisaH!

******
I am officially not exercising today. Yesterday I rode my bike in the park while Mike ran. We avoided the big hills. My foot is feeling good. A little sore, but no real pain. What a relief. BUT, the injury saga continues. I did something to my shoulder/neck--I have no idea what--and it is really, really uncomfortable. I can look right to left but can't look down. Hopefully this is a short lived thing. I had trouble with my bike yesterday and when shifting my chain came off and I kind of got jerked around, so I'm wondering if it's a little whiplash--from the bike. Only me, that's all I'm going to say.

I bought my ornament yesterday for the ornament exchange.

Ok, time to get going and get ready for work!

 

[mikamah]

kathy - i've been thinking about the whole germs thing at mommy and me. if i weren't the teacher i would probably wait a little longer but i really don't want to stick my partner noreen with all the work. it's actually hard work when you're running the show by yourself. at least with me there i can do a few things here and there. i plan on just keeping the baby in his car seat (hope he doesn't mind!) and i have one of those mesh cover things that will go over it so nobody can touch him. there are two other babies that sit in their car seats so their moms can be with their old siblings. the other kids don't pay attention to them so i'm thinking we'll be ok.

I hope I didn't offend you. I think it's perfectly fine to bring the baby, and it sounds like a great setup with the carseats, and he will be just fine. Hope it all goes well. And yes, they really can be fun, can't they?

Good morning! It's raining, it's pouring--again! Fourth Monday in a row. We will probably break the record for the wettest year on record today. But at least it's not snow!

Kathy--I'm glad you all had such a nice weekend! One thing Tom's pediatrician and allergist told us about the dogs--no dogs in the bedrooms, period. Sounds harsh, but Tom was very allergic to cats and did ok with the dogs, so they strongly discouraged us from having dog dander in his room. The thoughts on this might have changed, but we didn't want to chance it. Petie is doing really well with sleeping out of his crate at night--which means we are getting sleep, but I put him in during the day. I just don't know what he will do when we are gone for the day....

I am officially not exercising today. Yesterday I rode my bike in the park while Mike ran. We avoided the big hills. My foot is feeling good. A little sore, but no real pain. What a relief. BUT, the injury saga continues. I did something to my shoulder/neck--I have no idea what--and it is really, really uncomfortable. I can look right to left but can't look down. Hopefully this is a short lived thing. I had trouble with my bike yesterday and when shifting my chain came off and I kind of got jerked around, so I'm wondering if it's a little whiplash--from the bike. Only me, that's all I'm going to say.

I bought my ornament yesterday for the ornament exchange.

Ok, time to get going and get ready for work!

Thanks for the info about the bedrooms. I hadn't thought of that, but it is definitely a good idea, especially with michael's other allergies. I may move it into the play room which has the doorway to where the bedrooms are. I picked the kitchen initially to keep him away from the rugs, thinking he may have accidents, but so far so good.
Sorry about your neck. Whiplash from the bike is definitely a 2011 Rose thing. It just hasn't been your year. Hope it's feeling better soon.
I'm going to buy my ornament today too!! I have something to return, so figured I'd try to get everything together for one post office trip.

 

[dumbo_buddy]

rose - that's interesting about the no pets in the bedroom thing. it makes alot of sense. plus it keeps the bedrooms cleaner. aw, i miss fiona. but not that much. lol. i get a pic of her like every day from the new owner so it's ok.

the bike thing totally is a rose thing. eek!!!

it's not raining here but it was super foggy!

kathy - me? get offended? honey, i'm from the bronx. i don't get offended at anything! of course you didn't offend me. you're totally right - with thomas i don't think i left the house for a month!

***
mommy and me was a success! well, at least with the newborn it was. thomas was pretty much a nightmare. he just laid in the middle of the room on his belly with his hands over his face and whined. ugh. after class noreen took him to go pick up her mom and daughter. she asked if he wanted to go with her and he started jumping up and down yelling "noreen car! noreen car!" basically noreen is my favorite person in the whole wide world. that's three week days in a row she's taken him! she is a saint her mom loves thomas so it's nice for her to see him too.

i'm having some oatmeal and then hoping baby will nap and i'll try to snooze too.

 

[mommyof2Pirates]

Kathy- Im glad the party went well and that poko is being so good. Have a fun time at the vet today.

Nancy- pregnancy is such a miracle but the healing that comes after is not so much fun. I remember after Ryan I had this big blob (size of a golf ball) come out when I was going potty. I went downstairs and told mike about it and he was like shouldnt you call the Dr. I was like nah I will see how I feel. In hindsight I think they must of put gauze in there when i ripped and needed stiching and forgot to remove it. Gross and sorry for the TMI. Not sure why I feel the need to share some things. I hope your outing goes smoothly to the mommy and me class. If its only for an hour or so and no one will be really touching or hovering over him he should be ok. I know with the second I was out and about way earlier too. How have you been feeling emotionally???? Things better this time around???

Rose- You just cant win can you? Maybe it is just a pulled muscle or sleeping wrong. Sounds like you sprained your sternocleidomastoid muscle. Take motrin and apply warm compresses or stand in a warm shower a few times today. I hope it is short lived and feels better soon.

*********************************************************
My desk is under piles of stuff right now and I feel like I dont even know where to start....so what do I do take a lunch break and come on here. I am really going to have to keep marathon weekend 2013 in mind since so many of you are going. Not sure if we can swing it but I am thinking if we have a disney trip planned for summer 2013 I can justify coming alone in Jan. I would love, love, love to.

I still need to get my ornament. I have a very specific store I need to get it from that is not around anything I usually go to so I am going to have to plan out when I can get there. I will be the one shipping it on our deadline...I am a finish right on deadline kinda girl. Are we going to post pictures and say who our secret ornament sender was once we all get them?

an update on my grammy: Her heart rate has been staying in the 70's thanks to albuterol. It is a med used for asthma but also increases the heart rate. They thought if she would be getting more o2 to the brain it would help with her mentally but unfortunately it is not the case. She is very out of it and quite combatative mostly in the evenings. They are now going to give her some meds to keep her pretty much sleepy and not completely alert. The nurses had a very hard time handeling her and they feel the nursing home will as well. I just really play she will close her eyes and go peacefully so that she no longer has to suffer.

Ok well I have to get back to work. Have a great day!

 

[donac]

Kathy, Our dog's crate is in the living room. It has a big lip to it so that if she does have an accident it is container. Out bedrooms on on the second floor. She will go up to ds1's room but doesn't go into the other rooms.

If we fall asleep and forget to put her in she puts herself in and sleeps there. She is comfortable there. She is in there all day when we are at work.

Lindsey as the mother of 2 boys I can understand how disappointed you are with the selection for the boys.

I would love to go in 2013 but we have a big trip in 2012 planned (BLT with MK view)(dsis' DVC points for a 3 bedroom) so I don't know maybe I should plan for 2014 and use it celebrate my last year or two teaching. That will also give me more time to convince dh that I am serious about doing it.

Nancy I know where Kathy is coming from. Many people around here isolate their newborns for up to two months. I think I would go crazy.

Rose I can't believe you have another injury. You probably jus slept wrong. That happens to me all the time.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Hoping to have time to do a real post tomorrow...

Dona -- So great to see you here! I think you could definitely walk the Princess! It is a wonderful atmosphere, and not a "competition" kind of race.

Lindsay -- I have a specific store for my ornament, too. Hoping to make it there Thursday...dressing boys up is a pain. Ben has to have two dress outfits for declamation, and it's so hard to find at this point. He is so close to men's sizes, but not quite there yet. I agree, I won't be sad if some day I can buy a little red velvet dress for a cutie, it will be fun!

Kathy -- I'm putting the Salem tour on our list for next year, I'll be sure to check in the beginning of Sept. before all the good dates sell out!

Nancy -- Glad Mommy and Me went well! Hey, 50% of your kids did great. Half of anything with regards to people is usually good!

I'm to Rose and the Lisas, dinner is served! Have a great night, and don't forget the new Prep and Landing on abc at 8:30 -- Ben is actually going to watch with me!

Still plugging away on the eating -- doing ok so far. Ran 4M today, finished 2 minutes faster than usual. Yep, I was crankin'. I hope I can move at all tomorrow!

Maria