The new "New Moms" thread!

[ImarriedGrumpy]

Ok, I'm a "New Dad" and was hoping to get some advice/suggestions. Hopefully there are some more experienced parents in here too who can help.

Our DS is just over 5 weeks old now. With very rare exceptions, he only sleeps well during the day. Night time is a huge fuss fest, with maybe hour long naps. We certainly do not expect him to sleep through the night, but even 2 to 3 hours would be nice. Even when he does stay up and/or is fussy most of the day, he still doesn't sleep well at night.

My wife and I have a system now where we both get sleep, me more than her, but she gets 3 or 4 hour blocks when I can take him and feed him a pumped bottle in the middle.

The problem is going to start in another 2 and half weeks when my wife goes back to work. How do we get him switched over from sleeping primarily during the day to sleeping primarily at night? Again, we are not expecting 4 or 5 hours at a time. 2 to 3 hours at a time would be an improvement.

Hi and welcome!

My DS was a major fussy sleeper until he was about 4 or 5 months old. The only way we could get him to sleep for more than 20 min at a time was to hold him. It was a nightmare!

But like the others have said, it's just kind of how most babies are at first.

As far as the day and night thing, Nicole had some great suggestions with noise/activity level stuff. My friends' DD had her day and night switched up, and this is what they did to get her back on track:

1. Lots of noise and activity during day time naps - they didn't fully darken the room, kept the TV on in the living room, sometimes even vacuumed while the baby was sleeping
2. No noise or lights at night - like Nicole said, they kept the rooms dimly lit if they had to turn on a light, and they didn't talk to the baby except in whispers, and they set her down again right away after changing her diaper and feeding her.
3. They woke up the baby after 2 hours of sleep during the daytime - they never let her nap for more than 2 hours during the day until she got her days and nights straightened out. During the day they would wake her up and then play with her, talk to her, sing to her, etc. to give her some activity and interaction along with eating and diaper changes. The first week of this they said was brutal, but pretty soon she started sleeping longer stretches at night and things got much easier.

HTH, and congratulations! Welcome to what my DH calls "The Order of the Sleepless Knights"!

 

[moburg]

Unfortunately I also think this is just how babies are. My DS did this pretty much until he was about 8-12 weeks old.

Have you changed where he is sleeping? Where is he sleeping?

We started off with the classic pack n play next to our bed move but that didn't last long. Dh snores!! We moved to putting him in his room within the first few weeks and I slept on an extra bed in there. He would start out in the crib and then I would pull him into bed with me to feed him around 2am. We would then co-sleep until morning.

We tried him sleeping in the swing, in the bouncer, in the bouncer IN the crib ... everything. Eventually we sucked it up, got the Angelcare monitor and put him on his tummy. From that point on he started sleeping a few hours at a time. He also liked vibration so anything that vibrated would keep him asleep. He also NEEDED to be swaddled at first. He outgrew the hospital blanket swaddle and I bought a Swaddle Me at BRU. He wiggled out of that one so we got the Miracle Blanket one online and that was AWESOME!! Obviously we did not swaddle him and up him on his belly, the swaddle was earlier when trying to figure out what would work!!

How big is your son? My DS was not a huge baby at birth but has grown like a weed since then. He gained 5lbs even the first month on strictly breastmilk. It was not long before I had to supplement with formula and then thicken with cereal to get him to eat enough. Even though I could have handled the demand phsyically and given him enough milk, emotionally I could not and had to make the transition to formula. At one point, by the time he was 6 months old or so he was drink 12oz at a time. He's still a big toddler!

Good Luck ... Some of it is par for the course with a newborn but you can try different things to get him comfortable. I could never figure out how the pack n play next to the bed worked out for some many people. It just didn't work for us. Ds was also sleeping through the night from 3 months until 8 months when we traveled a lot and screwed him up!!!

We started out with a bassinet next to our bed. I snore, and my wife wouldn't use ear plugs, so she moved the bassinet to another room with the baby. We tried putting DS into his crib, but he didn't like that. So now we are trying his bassinet in his nursery. We figure we'll take steps to get him into his crib.

DS was 6 lbs 7.8 oz at birth, and is close to 9lbs now. We did the swaddling in the first week or two, but not really since then. We would need to get a Miracle Blanket or something larger enough if we were to swaddle again.

We tried adding cereal last night to a bottle of breastmilk and bottle of formula after that. Still didn't work. Maybe we'll try lights on tonight, since he doesn't seem to have issues sleeping in the daylight.

 

[DMickey28]

Hi Moburg and welcome!

How much does the baby weigh? I know this is an old wives tale but I can tell you we did it with my Izzy and it worked for us...as soon as the baby is at least 10 pounds - hang him upside down by his feet for a few minutes -- I know this sounds really certifiable crazy but this was told to me by my MIL and told to her by her MIL and we did it and it worked -- its supposed to reset their internal clocks -- but you have to wait till the baby is at least 10 pounds.

Wow ... Never heard anything like that before. I'd try it. Are you suppose to do it at a certain time of the day or anything?

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

Becky, that shoulder pain sounds yucky! Maybe a heating pad and some ibuprophen would help? Take it easy, and I hope it feels better soon.

Nicole, I hope Izzy feels better soon! Poor kiddo. Those high fevers are awful.


I can tell Owen is about 95% over his cold now - he's back to his old schedule and getting up at 6 am again. I was liking the "sleep in until 7" schedule he was doing while he was sick, and kind of hoping it would just stay that way after he got better. No such luck. Sigh. I miss that extra hour of sleep...

On our Disneyland planning, we think we may have resolved the stroller issue, but we're going to do a test run this weekend to double check. We're going to tie the strollers on the roof of the van so we can both bring our regular strollers with the nice big baskets for holding all our stuff! Although I'm the only one who will need to haul a diaper bag this trip; their DD is now totally potty trained - even overnight she's been dry for a full month, and she hasn't had a single accident in 4 months. So they decided that if she does have an accident, they'll just take her back to the hotel since we'll be within a 5-10 min walk of the park entrance.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the difference in distances with DLR vs WDW. They keep telling me that it's really compact and everything is close together, but it's hard to totally grasp it when I think about what to pack in the bag I'll carry in the parks. Like if we need a change of clothes we'll just go back to the hotel. If we run out of diapers it's less than 30 minutes to go back to the hotel, change a diaper, restock the diaper bag, and meet the others back in the park. It seems so different from how I've planned my park strategies for WDW!

 

[moburg]

Hi Moburg and welcome!

How much does the baby weigh? I know this is an old wives tale but I can tell you we did it with my Izzy and it worked for us...as soon as the baby is at least 10 pounds - hang him upside down by his feet for a few minutes -- I know this sounds really certifiable crazy but this was told to me by my MIL and told to her by her MIL and we did it and it worked -- its supposed to reset their internal clocks -- but you have to wait till the baby is at least 10 pounds.

Good luck!!

By the way - what is DS name?

He is roughly 9 pounds now. And his name is Collin.

 

[7beasley]

Moburg -- Collin (in my opinion) is definately way too young to be adding cereal to his bottle - I think you said he was 4 or 5 weeks old -- way too young for that. Of course, check with your doctor but I think that at that age he is still kind of getting the basics of sucking/swallowing down and its not a good to thicken up his milk right now. Again - check with his doctor but I wouldn't add the cereal just yet!

As for the swaddling - you can use just a good old fashioned baby blanket - we loved the ones that the hospital gives you - they are a big square and perfect for swaddling. I think the swaddling is a good idea!

For now - you are just going to have to go through some trial and error until he catches on. I think DMickey and Bethany had some good ideas and I would kind of try out everything. The biggest thing, in my opinion, is teaching him the difference between day and night. Have you talked to the pedetrician yet?

Also - I would keep putting him in the crib -- if he falls asleep move him into the crib...its important to get him used to his crib as soon as possible. You could also try the sleep blankets (halo makes them) in lieu of swaddling. Its important though to start early creating sleep time routines so Collin comes to learn and recognize that what you are doing means sleep. So for example, maybe there is one special chair or place that you feed him his bottle just before bed in and that's the only time you use it - or a song or music that gets sung just a bedtime.

Kelly - one of the other moms here had a story about her little one - Brady - who whenever he got in his Halo sleep sack/sleep blanket he knew that meant bed and he'd go right off to sleep. For Izzy - its her mobile music (crickets and jungle noises) - we ONLY put that on for sleep (naps and bed) and that's it -- and she knows now that those noises mean time to sleep.

As for lights on at night -- I'd be careful of that if it was me -- he might not mind lights on now nad that might work in the short term but it will be confusing to him re: learning day and night nad might cause you even greater headaches down the road -- but a nightlight is fine and works great. We have the twilight ladybug (google it) and its awesome - it makes a good nightlight.

Again - the biggest thing for you and your wife right now is consistency and routine and trying to teach Collin day and night -- but keep in mind he is really little and its going to take some time before he is sleeping through the night or even sleeping in a 4-6 hour stint!!

Good luck - we are here for you!!!

**********
Bethany -- have a great trip to DL - Owen will have a blast! I know what you mean though about the weirdness between WDW and DL - DL is so small in comparision and its weird that its right on the main road - you can be driving by and see the rides at DL - crazy!

DMickey -- I don't think you have to do it at a certain time of day - my DH was responsible for this so I will double check with him!

Just checked in on DH and Izzy - she finally ate something (some yogurt) and was playing a bit this morning -- she still has a fever but it seems like she is doing a bit better -- hopefully by the weekend!

-Nicole

 

[DisneyGirl4188]

Hey All!

Moburg, I also agree that five weeks is too early for cereal. I breastfeed, so I waited until six months before any cereal or food, but I don't think any doctors recommend cereal that young.
Have you tried cosleeping (him sleeping in bed with you)?

Ash, I am so sorry. I have been there. I agree that you should check out what help you can get.

Becky, I have pulled a muscle brushing my hair before. Try Tiger Balm if you can find it. It has a weird smell, but works wonders (much better than Icy Hot).

Bethany, glad to hear Owen is feeling better!

Nicole, I hope Izzy gets better soon!



Monday we went to MK. It was MIL birthday, so she got in free. We had lunch at Crystal Palace and Spencer met a character for the first time. At first, he did not like them (Piglet made him cry), but toward the end he did much better.

We got our refund, so we booked a short stay at ASSp next week. Not my first choice of resort, but I think DH and Spencer will like it. We were also able to pay off our car.

 

[beckmrk04]

He is roughly 9 pounds now. And his name is Collin.

I have the cure! Find the DVD "The Happiest Baby On the Block" - it's the movie version of the book by Dr. Harvey Karp. I swear to God, it is the most wonderful cure. They show you how to swaddle a baby tight, SHUSH, and jiggle them just right.

The first time DH and I tried it with our DD, she was out in 5 minutes after a very long crying jag. We looked at each other in disbelief.

If I had a copy I would send it to you- I swear by those techniques.

 

[kellyf2626]

Hi Moburg! All of the advice these ladies have given is great. I second the cereal thing....too young (and I even started Brady on cereal at 3 1/2 months which is young by most standards! ) As a speech-language pathologist who has worked with swallowing issues with ped's, they are absolutely still learning how to alternate breathing and swallowing, so you want to keep the consistency the same - thin like breastmilk. Also, cereal has never been proven to help kids sleep through the night in medical studies (even though many parents swear by it!). Getting into a "sleep routine" is most important. We swaddled our son for the first few weeks, but he would always break-out. So then we started using the sleep-sack evey night. As soon as we would put his arms through the vest, he would start closing his eyes. He is STILL wearing one now at 18 months old. DH and I joke he will be wearing one in college. Works like a charm! My biggest piece of advice would be to keep Collin up during the day as much as possible....playing, music, people holding him, etc... Try to establish 2 or 3 set nap times during the day when you put him down to specifically sleep. The more he is up during the day, hopefully he will want to sleep at night. Good luck and KUP!

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

Becky - How is your back? Did you get it checked out??? Sounds painful!

Nicole - Glad to hear that Izzy is feeling better and on the mend. Poor little thing!!

Bethany - Good that Owen is finally back to his normal self. He had it rough there for a while, huh? Too bad the sleeping later thing didn't stick!

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

So Brady has his 18 month appointment tomorrow. I am interested to see how much he weighs and how long he is....but am dreading his shots. He always spikes really high fevers which linger for days. And last time he could barely walk the next day because they had hit muscles in his leg. Poor kiddo. AND he is getting chicken pox and DTaP.....2 shots that I feel like are going to kick his butt. Question - do you all give your kiddo's Tylenol or Motrin before the shots?

OH....and breaking news.....Brady peed on the potty today!!!!!! He has been telling me when he needs to go, but by the time we would actually get to the potty, he would have already gone. But today, I was doing my hair in the bathroom, and he came in and was trying to sit on the potty. So I asked him if he needed to go, and he grabbed his diaper...so I got him undressed and sat him down...and he peed!!!!! Hopefully we will have a repeat real soon!!!!

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

Kelly, we've been giving Owen Tylenol before he gets his shots, and then if he does get a fever or a reaction at the injection site we alternate Motrin with Tylenol until he's doing better. Hope Brady's appointment goes well!


So has anyone found any outlet covers that work with larger plugs like those for cell phones, etc.? Owen can unplug cords and get to the outlets, so we need something that covers the entire thing and the plugs themselves. We have a few that work for standard size plugs (you screw it on in place of the outlet cover and then you can plug things in and snap the cover over the plugs and the cords come out the bottom). But they don't work for our larger plugs like the cell phone chargers. He's also figured out the outlets that slide open when you plug something into them and likes to slide the little part over and tries to get the plug back in. And in our old house, outlets are few and in weird places - it looks like they wired the house for electricity several years after the house was built - so we are always unplugging one thing and plugging something else in.

Anyway, we're trying to figure out what to do next. Right now we're using duct tape to try and slow Owen down and give us a chance to get to him before he's unplugged stuff and got his fingers in the socket.

Anyone seen anything that might work?

 

[DMickey28]

Kelly - Yeah Brady for using the potty!! That's awesome!!

moburg - I also agree that Colin is still too young for cereal. Maybe a formula bottle at night because it tends to last longer but no cereal. My DS started cereal around 3 months but formula earlier than that. He was a little bigger than Colin at almost 14lbs by 4 weeks.

Bethany - I am glad that Owen is starting to feel better. We don't use any of those oulet covers. We have the plastic plug in ones but for the outlets that have something plugged in we just keep him away from them and try to put them as out of the way as possible. The cell phones get plugged in in our bedroom or the kitchen.

***
Nothing too new for us. My mom is coming next week which will be cool. ALexander is starting to talk a lot more. He now says something which resembles Juice but sounds like Jump!! At least he and I know the difference. Right now he is watching Super Why and repeating the word sounds they are doing now. Pretty cool. We have an appointment with the audiologist this morning to do a hearing test. I am going to cancel our neuro appointment for next week. I really don't think he needs it.

 

[beckmrk04]

Hey guys. The back is better. I guess I just pinched a nerve or something when I slept... It sucked, though! But today, I feel fine. How weird.

So, tomorrow is Valentine's Day! I need to go get Vaylie something (I'm a slacker this week, I tell ya). DH brought me roses and daisies last night- they are so pretty.

Last night in the mail I got an "invitation" from Mickey Mouse. Buy 5 nights/6days ($594/per adult, and V would be free, @ a value) and get a free $500 gift card!!! I want to go soooo badly, and the dates would work with DH's spring break from school, but it would only give us a month to plan, and I'm not sure if that would work. Plus, I just don't know if I want to spend the money, you know? Darn Mouse. I even had a dream about planning the trip last night. Just think of all the cute little princess dresses I could buy with $500. (Ok, really, I could only buy 5, but still- $500!!!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DMickey- I hope all is well at the audiologist. My brother had really bad speech when he was little, and come to find out, he was almost deaf- he had tubes put in his ears around 2 1/2 or 3 years old, and it made a HUGE difference!!!

Bethany- we just have the little plastic insert thingys for the plugs. Most of ours are fairly obscured by furniture.

Kelly- that's great that Brady peed on the potty! My kid is still fairly resistant to it. I thought she would be a snap, but apparently, she has other plans. And we always do Tylenol before shots. About 1/2 an hour before. Then, like Bethany, we alternate Tylenol and Motrin if she's fussy or feverish afterwords.

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

Yeah, I wish we could plug things in behind furniture, but like I said the outlets are all in weird places. They tend to be right next to doorways - touching the trim or in some cases on the trim or the cut the trim away for the outlet. Some of the rooms even have metal tubes bolted to the walls that the wiring runs through - it's not even in the wall and the outlets/light switches are boxes that poke out from the wall. Some outlets aren't at the floor level - they might be a foot or two above the floor, or even above chair rail height. It's crazy. One room will have only one working outlet, and another will have 3 functioning outlets and 1 or 2 that don't work. We really need to just have the whole house re-wired, but there's no way we can afford it (and the permits) right now.

Sigh. In the mean time, we try to use duct tape and create temporary barriers to slow Owen down, but it's getting annoying to keep moving stuff when we need to open a door.

If only this child wasn't so darn curious! Did I mention that he's got "uh-oh" down pat now?

 

[DMickey28]

Becky - That's a pretty good deal!! I'd be wanting to do that as well. We are tentatively planning a week in Myrtle Beach with my family for April but I just hate to spend the money not know what will happen out there!! I have NOTHING for Alexander for V-day. He has no idea and I even denied him a $4.88 Valentine's Day balloon at Wally World today. I am such a bad mom. In my defense when he wasn't yelling Baboon he was just screaming ...

On a good note, he has PERFECT hearing. He was such an angle for the test too. I was so proud of him. I am going to call the ped and let him know. Hopefully we can get a speech evaulation done soon too.

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

Wow Becky, I'd have a hard time passing up that deal, too!

DMickey, that's awesome that Alexander's hearing is perfect! Sounds like he's doing really well.

Ugh, I just remembered that we forgot to get valentine's cards for Owen to send to his grandparents! One set of g-parents won't mind, but the others will. I also can't find the book I bought for DH, or the little "I love my daddy" picture I made for Owen to give to DH (Owen kind of helped - he held the crayons and I helped him scribble a little on the matting paper, and then we put a photo of Owen and his daddy on the mat and framed it). Sigh. Just one of those days/weeks/months I guess!

Owen saw a giant Mickey mylar balloon at Walgreens yesterday, and I would have bought it for him for V-day but it was already starting to deflate and sink down. I tried to talk the manager into giving it to us dirt cheap, but he said they couldn't do it. Too bad. Owen recognizes Mickey Mouse and points him out all the time and says "Muh Muh!" If you don't know his "words", you'd almost think it's "mama", but DH and I at least can tell the difference.

 

[kellyf2626]

Brady did very well at his 18 month appt today! He weighs 27 lbs, 2 oz and is 33 1/2 inches long. He did fine for his shots...just a little cry after the second one is his leg. I gave him some Motrin when we got home - he was kinda limping (I think his leg was sore) and about an hour after had a low-grade fever. I gave him some Tylenol before I put him to bed....so hopefully he will be ok tonight. I just hope his legs don't cramp up tonight...or he spikes a high fever. We will see! Thanks for all the info about alternating the Motrin and Tylenol....hopefully that will do the trick!

DH brought home chocolate-covered strawberries tonight for me!!! I told him I wanted 2 dozen of those as opposed to a dozen roses. Do you guys get your DH's anything for V-day? I got mine a card and a card from Brady. Hopefully he will like them!

Becky - That is such a great deal!!! I would book it in a heartbeat!!!

DMickey - That is great that Alexander's hearing was ok!! Great news!!!

Bethany - Ya, we just have the little plastic ones in the outlets. As of now, Brady really has no use for outlets, which is good I guess!

Happy Valentine's Day tomorrow everyone!!!

 

[beckmrk04]

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Hey ladies!! I hope everyone is having a good day. I think we are going to try to re-create the Melting Pot here tonight!!! Feel free to laugh at me when it is a disaster. BIL and SIL are going to come over with Dnephew, so that will be fun. Fondue and Wii games.

Tomorrow, DH and I are having our Valentine's Day out. We decided to skip the Melting Pot and go shopping instead. Mama needs a new purse and shoes!

Hope you guys all have a great day!

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Hey ladies!! I hope everyone is having a good day. I think we are going to try to re-create the Melting Pot here tonight!!! Feel free to laugh at me when it is a disaster. BIL and SIL are going to come over with Dnephew, so that will be fun. Fondue and Wii games.

Tomorrow, DH and I are having our Valentine's Day out. We decided to skip the Melting Pot and go shopping instead. Mama needs a new purse and shoes!

Hope you guys all have a great day!

Becky, that sounds like a great idea! I hope you have fun and don't worry about mistakes - it just adds to the memories.

My family had a Fondue night for a winter houseparty we had one year. It was awesome -we lived in rural MN at the time and had about 8 friends come for a week. We all got snowed in for a couple days, played croquet in the snow (very amusing), and had fondue for our New Years Eve. We did two different cheese fondues, a meat fondue, Japanese tempura (kind of like fondue and did it all veggies), and chocolate fondue...the most popular, of course! I have no idea how many times we had to make more chocolate fondue...but after several hours we did start getting creative with what booze was mixed into it.

DH has been so sick, he completely forgot about valentine's day. He feels terrible that he didn't even get me a card, but I really do understand. Poor guy has been in to the Dr. 3 times this week, and now has 2 inhalers, 2 nasal sprays, and 3 prescriptions to add to his usual routine of meds for diabetes, blood pressure, and cholesterol. He's off most of this next week (forced company shut down), and hopefully he'll feel better soon so we can have some good family time.

 

[exwdwcm]

happy valentine's day all!!! we don't really subscribe to the 'hallmark' holidays like v-day, but DH still bought me a card from Will and a small box of chocolates. we don't ever go all out though for birthdays or v-day etc. hope you all have a good one. We went out last night and saw Twilight at the dollar movie. actually the dollar movie is now $2. LOL- sign of the times, right? we planned to see Defiance, but misread the movie time- so ended up at Twilight, which i had been dying to see (i've read all the books). DH didn't think it was as horrible as he had expected. not as good as i hoped, but movies are never as good as the books. we had a good time- only the third movie we have gone out to see since Will arrived 15 months ago! so that was our night out- mom and my aunt came over to watch Will for us.

Will was 33 inches and 27lbs at his 15 month appt!! and had his second ear infection- more antibiotics. he is 95th percentile on height! and 80th on weight. and off the charts still on his head. we've got a football player on our hands.

Denise- hugs to you! sorry for the loneliness, frustration and feelings of isolation. hang in there. you know, our day care honors all requests. we are paying them afterall. we bring in our own organic milk for Will. and if we wanted to bring special food, kosher, or otherwise, they would honor that as well. Is DH just not comfortable with putting him somewhere this young- or can you not find a place that would respect your wishes? pretty much anywhere here will- especially since you are paying them- they do what you want to keep you happy. anyways- hugs- i hope it gets better!!!

Ash- hugs to you as well. you guys are in our prayers. hang in there. it is so tough out there right now, the teaching thing sounds like a good option too. i really hope it all works out for you. just know you aren't alone and you are doing a great job. Ellery sounds like she is happy and healthy. please keep us posted on how things go. in hte meantime- lots of thoughts and prayers coming your way.

Meredith- the twins are getting so big- oh and poor Sam and his stitches!

Moburg- welcome. we struggled with the day/night switch up too for the first 2 months. our son would not sleep at night. it was so stressful and frustrating, especially knowing i had to return to work at 8 weeks. he finally started sleeping through the night right at 2 months. so just hang in there. we tried everything and it seems they just have to grow out of it. swaddling helped a little- we bought a special swaddler that was easy to do. good luck!

Bethany- hope everyone is feeling better. glad you found a new sitter! we just use family and friends for now, but will have to expand out at some point! we actually just don't go out much, so haven't had a real need just yet. Can't wait to hear about disneyland- it wno't be long now!

Kelly- 8 days in May- how fun!!!! this May? i'll be there for a few days before we leave for the DIS podcast cruise!! we are there may 8-10- we are at the Dolphin for those 2 nights, then off on the cruise with Pete and the podcast board folks for 4nights. i can't wait to hear about your trip!!!!!

Jen-Jenny-Stacy-Amber and everyone else I missed- hi !!!!

Pollito- hope Alex is feeling better and hope the potty training goes well!

Nicole- hi! Izzy is getting so big! are you keeping busy at work. any news on that house yet? and yeah on the purse- i got my first coach purse as a gift for christmas from a good friend (who is well off and could afford it and loves to give!)

Dmickey- hang in there with the TTC. i know it is rough. you are doing everything right though!!!! i'll keep you in my thoughts!

Bec- hope the shoulder is better. how did the 'melting pot' at home go?

don't get me started on the octuplets mom. Nicole- she had 6 apparently put back, and 2 of them just have split to produce the 8. still, 6 is too many in someone her age. just crazy and totally irresponsible on her and her docs part. Now WE are stuck paying for her. and the kids are the one to suffer for her selfish choice. i'll just stop there. lol

 

[beckmrk04]

Hey guys! Well- fondue actually turned out really well! Not quite as good as the Melting Pot's, but for the $$, you couldn't complain!!

We had a lot of fun with BIL and SIL- they rented Disney "Think Fast" Trivia for the Wii- we had a blast. The kids ran around like little crazies- fun times.

And I just had to brag on myself a little- normally, it would take us a whole day to have the house "company ready." Since DH and I have been doing FlyLady- it took all of 15 minutes to make the house darn-near perfect, and tonight, we cleaned up the WHOLE mess and did every single dish before we started getting ready for bed. That is HUGE. Before, we would have looked at the mess, looked at each other, and shrugged, and then have to do it all in the morning. Now, when I wake up, I have a ****'n'span kitchen to make breakfast in! (While I was editing I just noticed you can't type ****'n'span, lol).

(I know this doesn't seem like a huge deal to some people, but I have always struggled with my slob-ish tendencies and I grew up in a house that could have easily been seen on TLC's "Clean Sweep", and I am super proud that my house looks so nice).

I think tomorrow while DH and I are shopping I am going to do some comparison shopping on treadmills. I'm going to bite the bullet and get one, I believe. And- countdown til I can order my projector for my outdoor theater: 6 days.