The Official New Mom Thread Part 2

[T16GEM]

Hi ladies, I just wanted to check in quickly and let you all know that we haven't left the planet, I have been reading the posts but just haven't seemed to have the time to respond to you! I guess it's cos Shelby is mobile and into EVERYTHING in a big way so we don't get the chance to get on the computer a lot these days!

My parents moved house at the weekend and as my Mom looks after Shelby while I am at work it has increased my commute to work to an hour from about 20 minutes which is a real PITA, I am going to try another route tomorrow though my Dad swears that he wasn't late for work this morning - whereas I was by half an hour! I blamed it on morning sickness!

Zalansky and Florida Fam - I hope that the storm doesn't affect you guys too much, we only get snippets of the Florida Hurricane situation on UK tv but I usually read the Orlando Sentinal website to see what's going on - I am praying for you guys!

Z - I hope that Connor is better today too.

Val - Don't beat yourself up about work - work is a crock anyway and we all make mistakes - you are human!

SL- Love the pics of Lucas he is a honey!

Lissawynn - I put Shelby in her crib when she gets like that too, I don't worry about her associating it with punishment as she doesn't seem too keen on her crib anyways!

Bellacam- Nice to hear from you! We missed you!

Hi to all the other Mommies I missed ; Jill, Hillbeans, Diskim, Tkyes, J&D, Justhat, Fabmouse, Nuchpharm, Ryan, Robin, GinaMarie, sorry if I missed anyone!

Speak soon!

 

[Alice28]

Oh my gosh....I love my new bed...I slept until 8:30! And didn't wake up with a sore shoulder or stiff neck. It's great!

Joshua went through a really hard time from about 18 months to 26 months or so. They are just so darn willful at that age, and yet they can't really communicate what they want, and you can't reason with them. My friend's son was really, REALLY willful- he did the head banging (the one who broke my window) and just was wild. I put him in time out in the playpen cause there was nothing else I could do. I think the main thing is to remain calm and just try and do things matter of factly. Joshua wouldn't do the headbanging or laying on the floor throwing a fit, but that kid could cry til the cows came home. I remember once being at Target and to distract him, I let him hold a toy while we shopped (usually worked and then we could sneak it away at checkout). He threw a fit so hard, and so long- the entire30 minute ride back to my mom's house, and not just whimpering, SCREAMING. I just let him do it and I ignored him. (While I am gripping the steering wheel, ready to just BLOW).

Hang in there! It will get better! I'm sorry you are still getting sick to your stomach.

Bellacam- I think my urge is just mostly a wistful thing. In my heart and my brain I *know* I am done. Hopefully you will be at that point too, so it's not a big regret. But hey, if it's a health reason for you, and you have to have a hysterectomy, there really isn't much choice. Just like my kidney doctor told me that another child is a BAD idea. (He said not a good idea before, and I decided to get pregnant with Molly anyway). I will just hope other friends of mine have babies that I can hold and buy newborn stuff for, and then someday I guess I will be a Grandma.

SL- I am SO SORRY you had such a crappy night! How frustrating Lucas didn't get a nap and MORE frustrating that you blew a tire out! Ack! Just not a good night. I hope you have a fun time tonight though!

Well, I really need to finish cleaning my kitchen that I didn't get to last night with all the bed moving hoopla. I hate leaving dishes in the sink the night before. It's my one housekeeping "thing." That and clean floors. Just don't look in my bathrooms.

 

[floridafam]

No school tomorrow

I'm sure the kids will be excited. I'm going to go get Brother Bear 2 so the kids have something to watch tonight and get DD's teacher her Birthday present.

 

[floridafam]

GEM,

I received your PM and I will PM you the info soon. I've just been kind of busy but I will get to it, I promise.

Does anyone have the exchange info they could PM to GEM? You know, the details like name, address, etc.

If anyone could PM her that I would appreciate it. If not, I will get to it later.

 

[lissawynn]

Hi ladies. I probably won't get back on the computer tonight, so I thought I'd pop in to say I survived another day at school. I am exhausted, again! I think I'm going to go home and put the roast in the oven before I get Jimmy. I'll have some time to myself without worrying that he's banging his head off something. That's not a good thing when I have a peeler or knife in my hand.

I hope you all have a great night! Btw, I'm REALLY looking forward to our fall exchange! I love shopping for Halloween goodies!

 

[justhat]

Alice, Madison did that exact thing yesterday. Well, okay, she didn't scream the whole drive, just cried and yelled, but same effect on my sanity. I decided to brave taking them out alone, other than just local stores we walk to, and Madison wanted to bring all of her friends-Nick, Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, and Zoe. Our rule is you can bring whatever you can carry, so she stuffed them all in her arms said "I got all of them" so I said "fine, let's go". After I set the alarm, locked the door, and got her and the 4 friends in the car she realized she forgot Zoe and was very upset that I woudn't go back in the house and cried the whole 40 minute drive to the store, yelling "zoe!" between cries. I thought I'd go insane.

So yes, Lissawynn, I think Jimmy's stage is normal and it will pass. For Madison it didn't hit till she was around 2 and for the most part she's over it, but she throws in a few episodes like yesterday's just to keep me on my toes. Sorry that you're so sick, especially now that school has started. Hopefully you're at the tail end of the ms now. This pregnancy I was sick about 3 weeks longer than last time and I thought it would never end.

Bellacam, your weekend sounds like fun. I agree that after a day alone with a toddler while pregnant is very long and you look forward to that break so hopefully tonight won't be so bad for you guys. Camp totally saved my sanity this summer cause after a certain point in my pregnancy I was just exhausted all the time and keeping up with Madison for a full day was rough.

Floridafam I hope you get through the storm without any damage or bad outages or anything like that. I hope the storm is mild and makes its way out to sea fast. Oh, and like Bellacam said, people react that way around here with snowstorms and buying food and gas. It gets kinda crazy since we were only ever "snowed in" once in recent years-2/03. And we were in WDW so we missed it all anyway.

Zalansky, Madison has pretty much been sick on a regular basis since she started preschool too. It's terrible, but like you said, better now than in kindergarten. That must have been so scary for him to wake up thinking he wet the bed cause he was so sweaty-I know how horrifying that is to a little kid cause Madison hates it when it happens. I hope you guys get through the storm okay too and that your WDW trip goes off well, despite your BIL.

Nucpharm, congrats to Emma for using the potty! Isn't it amazing how they just make up their minds to do stuff like that? It must be nice to have only 1 kid to change now too-I know I would not like to have to change Madison too. As it is I feel like I spend half my day changing Henry.

Jill, yes, our Disney Store is at Tysons. We used to have one in the Pentagon mall but it closed 2 or 3 years ago. If Madison were a stroller kid I wouldn't mind going to Tysons, but she's not and wants to walk and it's always so crowded there, and their Disney Store is so crowded too-poorly organized I think. My fear is really just with feeding Henry, like yesterday I was at Buy Buy Baby and while I was feeding him she stopped playing with the ride on airplane and ran off suddenly. I hope you're adjusting to being a student again without much difficulty!

Gem, that's too bad that your commute is now longer. Yikes, what a big jump too, from 20 minutes to an hour! Hopefully your new route will be shorter.

Fabumouse, I agree with the babystyle recs. Also, I have some shirts that say Mimi Maternity, but when I checked their website they didn't have them or anything that resembled them on there so I can't really comment on their stuff since I don't have any of the current styles.

Gotta go-someone's ringing our bell.

 

[zalansky]

No school tomorrow

I'm sure the kids will be excited. I'm going to go get Brother Bear 2 so the kids have something to watch tonight and get DD's teacher her Birthday present.

I wonder if school will be closed here as well? Need to check that out! FIL bought Brother Bear 2 today for Connor since he is still home sick. He is doing alot better today, but still is not very interested in eating a whole lot.

I cancelled one night of BIL's room so he is down to only one night with everyone which is I am sure what he wanted. I did call today but as anticipated BWV is sold out Saturday night for DVC members. They told me to keep calling and checking (because I think they hold rooms to see if people will pay cash first, am I right FF?) but between me and you guys I am not calling and checking! That would mean giving BIL more of our points and even though I would charge him - still I lose points that we could use for Vero.

 

[tkyes]

Hi Mommies!

I'm a bit behind and don't have much time to catch up today.

I just thought I would share this website. I received the cutest birth announcement and had to go see where it was from. Adorable stuff on here!

http://www.photoaffections.com/


Hi to everyone

 

[Alice28]

Great morning so far.....not.

Sam woke up at 9 and said, "Mom....I think my throat hurts." I look in it- gee, it's nasty, red and white patches. So much for my errand running! Instead I called advice, got a slot into the pediatric nurse triage, got him swabbed and waited around for 30 minutes for the results. Positive, of course. Dh said he's not feeling well either. It's been 8 days since I went to the doctor, you would have thought they would have got it sooner. So, now I am waiting for Joshua to get it. At least school isn't for 7 more days.

We did stop at the mall afterwards, since it's across the street and I bought a new mattress pad for the bed and bought the boys some candies. We decided what to do for Halloween and DUH for not thinking of it sooner! I already bought Molly her Tink costume; Sam said, "I like the Capt Hook costume!" Lightbulb went on and I said, "Hey, Josh, how bout you get the Peter Pan costume?!?!" Didn't take much convincing. Frustrating thing though, disneyshopping online doesn't have the Hook costume. But the Peter costume is on sale there, but not in the store, so I think I'm going to order Josh's online, and go buy Sam's in the store later. Sam's is spendy- $35 for the costume, $14 for the hat, $10 for the sword and hook.

I think they will be so FREAKING cute though! I can't wait! I think we might even need to get some portraits done or something.

I need to get Molly to bed for her nap.

 

[zalansky]

I am right there with you Robin. Connor woke from his nap and he is coughing alot. He started coughing two nights ago....but since he went to the doctor yesterday I'd have thunk they'd look in his throat. Now he is complaining his mouth hurts. WTH? What is this thing he's got? I am guessing at this point that our vacation is going down the tubes because we leave in 5 days and he is getting a different illness now. I can't imagine that myself, DH or the baby is not going to get one of these things he has. It figures.

The storm is allegedly hitting Florida sometime tonight. FF - Polk is the only county with school closings so far. Not that is matters anymore because it looks like Connor is home again tomorrow regardless of the weather.

I am SOOOOO bored! Connor has been hogging the TV all day and it has been quite a feat trying to keep Cam away from her brother. I have a gate up and him on the couch but germs are germs and I am praying they don't find their way to the baby!

I guess I need to go shopping on Disney Shopping now. We don't have the $$$ to spend but I am beyond bored and can't deal anymore!

 

[floridafam]

OMG, we are sick, too. UGH! Kona has a runny nose and eyes and is coughing.

I hope everyone gets better soon.

zalansky,

Are you going to cancel? FYI, if you do cancel, you may want to mention that it is because of Ernesto and then you won't lose your points. PM me if you want more info.

Unfortunately, DH thinks that Ernesto is going to move over to the west and head out into the gulf. I hope that's not the case.

He is boarding up right now. Everyone on our street is so I guess we are, too.

I'm spent already and snapping at the kids. Someone needs to slap me.


If I'm offline for a few days, I'll be back as soon as I can. The power is my only worry. Our power always is a problem in even the lightest storm. If we have power, then DH can hook a generator to our cable node for cable and internet as long as the whole system isn't down.

I guess I'm taking a wait and see approach to my ebay auction which is supposed to end tomorrow. UGH! again.

 

[Alice28]

What is the deal with all us sickies?

Z- I am so with you on wanting to shop. Problem is, we have spent WAY too much money lately, and still plan on spending another $1000 in the next couple of weeks. Oy. We have to spiff up the Outback to sell, get new shocks for the truck, buy a bed frame and pay for DH's bbq to be fixed.

I think I am going to wait for this weekend to look at the costumes for the boys at the Disney Store. There's no more free shipping at disneyshopping, and I don't want to pay $9 for shipping...might as well just buy it in the store! Maybe they will be on sale for Labor Day, and I have a 15% off coupon for the store.

FF- I hope you don't lose power. I'm sorry Kona has the sniffles! That's no good.

OK, I have got to get off my butt, exercise and then go clean the kitchen floors. I'm not motivated. Isn't it weird that once you have children (esp more than 1), that an unexpected errand throws your ENTIRE day off? That hour at the doctor's office completely threw me....not to mention sleeping in. I need to start just getting up at 7 this week. It's hard when the kids all sleep in- they are my alarm clock in the summer and Molly usually gets up at 7:20 or so.

 

[zalansky]

FF - no we are not cancelling! I refuse to. I am hoping with Connor on meds and all of us trying to stay away from germs we will make it. DH's work already scheduled him off all of next week. So even if we go and sit in the room all week, that is our fate.

Would they take the Ernesto excuse? Because our arrival is not until Sunday and Ernie should be long gone by then.

 

[Ginamarie]

Zalansky- I’m sorry Connor is so sick. I hope he gets better quickly.

Nucpharm- Welcome back! If I have to go 5 weeks without an internet connection, I’ll lose it, seriously! Glad that Emma’s potty training went so well. We’re still working on DBro’s potty training. He’s doing a lot better, but we’ve had quite a few wet bathroom floors because he’s about 5 seconds too late.

Val- I’m sorry you had such a rough day. I beat myself up about making mistakes at work too. Just remember that you’re new at the job, and once you get used to the flow of everything I’m sure you’ll make fewer mistakes. I can’t tell you how many mistakes I made when I first started at some of my jobs! I worked in a deli while I was in college, so I know how busy it can get. I must have rung up half the orders wrong during my first week!

DisKim- It sounds like your DD was thinking out all of her best arguments before asking about the puppy. Hey, if she can think things out that well AND change dirty diapers, then she’s probably responsible enough to have a puppy. Hope you had a good night out!

Alice- OMG dressing your kids like the Peter Pan characters sounds sooo cute!

Well, to join in the sickness fun, I was sick this morning too. More the stomach virus type of thing though. I woke up with bad stomach pains and knew I was going to start vomiting. Luckily DSis made it over here just in time because I spent about an hour just laying on the bathroom floor for obvious reasons. It was awful. I started to feel better as the morning wore on though, and after a long shower things were looking better.

SIL came over for a few hours and we did a LOT of packing. All my pots and pans, most of my kitchen appliances, Olivia’s crib bedding and stuffed animals (except Eyeore, because he’s her favorite and I need a few things around to entertain her. I still have a bunch of stuff that needs packing, but we’re getting there. Today was a huge accomplishment.

I finally got Olivia to do a little bit of her babbling while I was recording it. You can hear her for about 20 seconds through my journal site at www.lawchicky.livejournal.com
DSis and I were trying to get her to do the loud laugh, but we only got some babbles. OK, I have two motions to look at, so it’s back to work for me.

 

[llij]

Good evening ladies!


Well stick a fork in me, I am done! I survived my three classes, but this semester is going to be brutal. My fourth class doesn't meet until October so that is good. I've been in this program for three years now and this is the first time that I have had to take classes at the main campus and I am not too happy about that. A little background.....when I signed up for this grad program, one of the main selling points for me was that I could take all of my classes at the satellite (sp?) campus which is at most 20 minutes away. Thankfully, up until this semester I did take all of my courses there. The parking was free and the commute was easy. Well, for some crazy reason they closed that campus down thereby making is necessary for me to finish up my program at the main campus. Why is this a problem? Well, for the past two days it has taken me an hour to get to school and an hour to get home. Once I get to school, I spend 15-20 minutes trying to find a parking spot since the lots are all full. I spent $100 to fight for a spot to park? Ugh.

I do love the program and the professors, but I was made a lot of promises when I signed on to this school and lots of them have been broken. The sad thing is that this program costs 3x as much as a Virginia state school, but I digress.....

The funny thing is that I totally feel like an OLD GEEZER in my classes and it is cracking me up. Tonight, I had to partner with someone and she just graduated from college. I graduated 16 years ago. I actually met a lot of people tonight and most just graduated. Nothing wrong with that though....I'm just old and cranky. In one class, we had to say if we met someone famous and one girl said that she got to meet President Bush when he spoke at her high school after 9/11. (I had a kindergartner in 9/11.) I told her that I met Bush's father when I worked at the Pentagon. He was VP and Reagan was President back in 1986. I'm old, I tell ya...I'm old! I know that a lot of you all are much younger than me so I hope that I'm not offending anyone. I actually don't have a problem with being the oldest in the class, it is just cracking me up at the moment.

I'm not totally alone though b/c when I walked into class last night, I saw one of my best friends from college. We've both been so busy lately, that we never compared notes to see if we would have a class together. She is just starting school while I am winding down. It was wonderful to see her!

Anyway, I'm sorry to babble on like this! I feel better after letting off some steam about my horrible driving commute. Ok, I am spoiled after not having to commute to DC in 10 years.

I hope everyone is doing well. FF and Zalansky, I'm thinking about you guys and hoping Ernesto doesn't hit you all too hard. I promise to catch up with everyone tomorrow afternoon during a study break!!

 

[nucpharm29]

Howdy all!

Sorry to hear so many of you are not feeling so good! Here's some PD that everyone gets better soon.

We had a slightly productive day. Since DH didn't have to go into work until noon we put up our swingset this morning. Unfortunately, we couldn't brace it into the ground b/c just below our grass it's mostly rock and the supports wouldn't go more than a few inches down. Oh well, at least the set is heavy enough for emma to play on right now without any worry.

Alice--Having your kids all dressed up as characters from Peter pan sounds so cute! Can't wait to see pics!

Gina--glad to here the packing is going well--hope you are feeling better--how icky to pack when you are feeling so cruddy

ff--hope your power doesn't go out

z--hope Ernesto misses you too!

jill--That's really too bad that your local campus closed down and now you have to travel so much for classes. I'm glad that being the oldest in the class doesn't bother you and you're taking it in stride--We had some "non-traditional" students in my pharmacy school class and it seemed like some of them had a big chip on their shoulder. How cool to find an old friend in class!

lissawyn--hope you were able to get some rest!

Well, I was up until midnight last night working on my consignment sale stuff--they are really picky about how you hang and tag everything, and of course I didn't read all the instrucitons and had to re-do everything. So it's going to be a relatively early night for me! Nighty, night everyone!!

 

[Strawberry Lemonade]

Yesterday was a little better than the day before. At least we didn't have any vehicle emergencies. The concert was pretty good - it was a little boring (don't let my dad hear me say that!) and it was cold and drizzly. It let out at 10:30 and it only took us 20 minutes to get from our seats to our driveway. I've never been to a concert that was so close by and had absolutely no traffic problems.

I'm mad at my mom again. I know I must sound like such a brat, but at least it has nothing to do with Lucas this time. There was a bunch of us going to the concert and DH and I had gotten our tickets separately (which is a whole other story - we weren't asked if we wanted to go with them). They got special passes that let them in the stadium early...if you were one of the first 500 or so people to buy you got those. Since we didn't order our tickets together we didn't get them. She had everyone in her group over for pizza last night before the concert and she didn't invite me and DH. So we made do with Subway, but I'm kind of hurt that we keep getting left out.

lissawynn - Glad you made it through another day! What happened with your neighbor?

bellacam - I hope you enjoyed your evening alone with Aidan. My parents are having a cookout on Sunday and my sister wants to go to the outlets on Monday so that's probably what we'll do this weekend. I also have a scrapbooking night set up on Friday.

Gem - Sorry your commute is so long now. I hope the new route is shorter.

Alice28 - I love the Peter Pan-themed costume idea. I looked at the PP costume for Lucas but it's just too big. He's such a peanut...he'd never fit in even the smallest toddler size. I hope Sam feels better soon.

floridafam - Stay safe!

zalansky - I hope Connor feels better soon. I hope it doesn't affect your trip.

tkyes - Cute site! I love the stuff they have on there - very modern and not too cutesy.

ginamarie - I'll have to check out Olivia's babbling at home. I don't have sound on my work computer. I hope you feel better soon!

llij - Sounds like you've got a full course load. I hated fighting for a parking spot when I was a commuter. I'm not looking forward to that again. Good luck!

nucpharm - I hope Emma enjoys her swingset. BTW, I love the new picture in your signature.

I was hoping my boss would be in this morning so I could talk about the situation with my desk, but no such luck. Oh, my home internet is fixed - DH had to install a new network card so I'm good to go. Just in time too, since tomorrow is my non-working day. I need something to do when Lucas is napping since housework isn't too appealing. Have a great day, everyone!

 

[nucpharm29]

SL--glad yesterday was much more uneventful than the day before. The concert sounds fun--actually any night out w/o kids sounds like fun!

Thought I would share some pics with ya'll--So here goes!

Hope everyone has a great day. Emma has her first day of gymnastics this morning, and she's so excited. It's actually a mom and tot class--and she's convinced that mommy is going to wear a leotard today as well--Yeah, right! Wouldn't that be a sight!

 

[floridafam]

Morning Mommies,

Nothing to report here. It's rainy and might get a bit windy but I think we are in the clear.

We all have the day off so it should be nice to spend some time together.

My ebay auction ends this afternoon and it's up to $275.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day.

 

[lissawynn]

Morning everyone. Yes, just in case you were wondering (and I know you were), I was sick again this morning. I even got up 10 minutes early to accommodate it into my schedule. I hope this passes soon...

My neighbor story...This is the same woman who called the contractor who we've got to do our addition and told him that her house better be done first. Well, when the appraisor came on Monday and was outside doing the measurements, D. (neighbor)came to the fence with a very concerned look on her face and asked if we were selling our house. I told her the bank needed an appraisal for our mortgage approval. She then went on to tell me that whoever they were going to borrow money from for their addition didn't approve them! Apparently they had a "drive-by" appraisal done. Whatever that means, I don't know. I also don't know how you can figure out the value of a home w/o actually looking inside the place. Anyway, she was all upset b/c they couldn't get the amount of $$$ they needed to do the work. I guess they can get some $$$, which they might use to do some stuff but not to the extent they wanted. They have 4 daughters and she doesn't work. She told me she couldn't afford to go back to work, and I guess for what it would cost to put 2 kids in daycare, she's right. I kind of felt sorry for her, but the nasty part of me kind of thought it might be karma for the way she acted about us getting our house done, too.

floridafam - I hope all you get is some rain and light wind! Good luck with your auction!

SL - I'm sorry your mom acted like she did. That seems kind of childish. I hope today is a good day!

Jill - I feel the same way about going back to school. I have to earn 180 hours (or 6 credits) in the next three years to keep my cert. My next pay bump occurs at M+15, so I guess I should really take those 5 classes and get the extra $$$. It's too bad they closed the campus close to your home.

nucpharm - Great pics of the kids! I hope you get your consignment stuff done.

Ginamarie - I hope you're feeling better today. Good luck with the packing.

zalansky - How's Connor feeling today?

Alice - How's Sam?

I have to get back to school stuff. My students are pre-testing today. I actually have some time to get some busy stuff done.