The Official New Mom Thread Part 2

[nucpharm29]

Morning all!

Matthew woke me up around 5:15, so I'm a little groggy this am. But, hey, at least he's sleeping, right?

Alice--Your trip to Coldwater Creek sounds heavenly! Wish we had one of those spas close by!

ryan--I had to LOL about the centipedes b/c we had a scorpion welcoming committee when we moved it!

ff--I hope today starts out a little better for you!

Diskim--hope your open house doesn't wear you out too much

GLT--glad to hear from you! If it weren't for our laptop, I wouldn't be on nearly as much as I am now. Great news about making so much $$$ at the garage sale

Joats--Emma and I made an alligator ( a template that I printed off the computer) b/c this week is "a" week. I'm trying to find activities that have to do with words that start with "a".

tkyes--How scary about that tornado being so close. Sorry to hear that the girl was killed.

Well, today is gymnastics for us and then house cleaning. The couple that I offered to watch their baby is coming by tomorrow morning to interview me. Wish me luck! We could use the extra $$$--and also on that wavelength, I might start working some weekends for Walgreens, so that would also be nice.

Hey, and if any of you could spare some extra prayers, could you send some my sis's way. Her husband has just recently begun his own business with 3 other partners (they are all around handymen, but they are focusing their business on welding, heavy machinery,etc.) Anyway, since they have just start the business, cash flow isn't great andthey haven't been able to pay themselves this week. So, that means my sis might not have $$$ to pay some bills this month--I'm just so sad when I hear her talk--she had to give her DH her saved up vacation money (for our trip this weekend) so he could put gas in his work truck this week. So if you could just send up a quick prayer that the companies that they are billing would pay them would be great!

have a great hump day everyone!!!

 

[Ginamarie]

FloridaFam- So sorry about the dryer and septic tank! I hope it’s not too much trouble to fix.

Fabumouse- I was going to Hofstra Law when SJU called me with the extra scholarship money. It’s a long story, but I found out the hard way about how law schools use scholarship money to scam their way into good statistical data. It’s a numbers game that they stack against you so that more than half of the students will lose their scholarships after the first year. Then they take all the money they promised these students for their second and third years (but no one qualifies for anymore) and use it to cherry pick for whatever stats they’re looking for (LSAT scores, high GPAs, etc).

Hillbeans- I hope your DH starts to feel better. As for work, since I’m just a contract employee I have no control over my workload. I’ve had this happen before, but recently things just haven’t been going in my favor workwise.

Alice- It sounds like a good thing you went to see that house, because now you know you want to just fix up your current house Sounds like you had a fun day out with your mom.

Ryan- I hear you about the mess. I keep working at getting our boxes under control and I feel like we’re never going to be moved in. Sounds like Jack is getting big so quickly!

DisKim- I’ll say a prayer for your Aunt. Sorry about the Emily incident.

Nucpharm- I’ll say an extra prayer for your sis too.

Yesterday was a complete roller coaster for me. We got a TON of stuff done in the morning/afternoon. We finally finished touching up the paint in the bedroom, and the dining room boxes are all gone. DH fixed the drain in the upstairs bathroom, etc etc. Then we loaded up my car with empty boxes and got ready to go. Olivia was exhausted from refusing to nap and was screaming her head off. It started pouring rain, so I jumped into the car and started to pull out of the driveway. Well, I was only going about 1 mph, but I somehow managed to back myself into a parked car that was on the street opposite my driveway. Well, there was only a small dent, but of course this was the LAST thing I needed. The people were really nice and are going to get three estimates for repair today. I need some prayers that it will be a small job (just pushing out the dent) rather than needing to buy a whole new door for that little dent!

 

[tkyes]

Did anyone watch Nip/Tuck last night? You saw A LOT more of Mario Lopez than on DWTS! You got to see his chest and bare booty (unless it was a body double)

nucpharm- prayers for your sister.

alice - good luck selling the vehicle. the spa sounds amazing! how fun.

ginamarie - sounds like you got a ton done, that's great!

justthat - I hope Henry feels better.

joats - I hear ya on the shots, they are the worst!!


ok - i didn't get very far. tyler is fussy today and he wants my attention!

tamie

 

[floridafam]

zalansky,

This link should take you to some of our Vero photos.

Shoot. The link didn't work. I'll have to wait until DH gets home.

Thanks for the good thoughts everyone. I'm hoping we just have to have our drain field flushed or something like that. That's only $1,500.

 

[justhat]

SL, glad that Lucas cooperated for you last night! I had to laugh a bit about how quickly you and your husband came to an agreement to postpone baby #2. I always wonder why I had kids after a trying restaurant meal so I think I would have responded just as quickly!

FF, I hope you're right about your septic problem and that it doesn't get too costly. Glad the dryer situation didn't end up costing too much.

GM, sorry about hitting the car. Hopefully they'll be able to take the dent out easily and it won't cost you a fortune to repair. We have to park on the street here so unfortunately we get lots of small dents and scratches in our cars, but no way am I repairing them till we move.

Alice28, your CC event sounds like it was so nice! I'm so glad they don't have one around here cause I know I would have eaten more than I should have with that great food spread. Oh, and yeah, my friend's wedding was pretty nice, and they did have a good spread-the desserts were the best, IMO. It was nice weather so they set up all the desserts outdoors and they had quite the selection. Only downside, for me anyway, was that it was all Kosher Parve, so I did not think the ice cream was that great. Of course, I didn't know that (though I should have!) before I got stuff and was talking to my friend's little sister about how his mom would always let us eat non-Kosher food out on their deck since it wasn't under their roof and they only had to keep Kosher "in the house" and how the dessert spread reminded me of that since it was outside. That's when she realized everything was Parve too and told me that it wouldn't taste that great. Still pretty good though!

Out of curiosity though, what are weddings like in the Oregon area? I ask cause in the NJ area they are these 5 hour events with a cocktail hour and then sit down dinner, but in New Orleans they are around 2-3 hours and are stand up events with passed appetizers and some finger foods. Just wondering what the norm is in other parts of the country.

Gotta put some stuff in the dryer before I get Madison!

 

[Alice28]

Nucpharm, I will say a little prayer for your sister and her family. Financial hardships stink. I hope things turn the corner for them really soon.

GM- OH NO about bumping into the other car. The only accident I have ever caused was doing about the same thing- going about 2-3 MPH into another car. I hope they can just get the dent out with one of those suction thingees. I'm glad you did get the other things accomplished though.

Hi Tamie! Hope Tyler calms down a bit for you. I've already been interrupted about 6 times since the beginning of this post...

Justhat- I think the only other Mom here who might live close to a CC spa is Dizagain and MAYBE J&D- there is one in Naperville, IL and Sugarlake, TX (is that anywhere near you Jen? Texas sure is a big state!). I'm sure they will open more though! I'm dreaming of that lemon cake with the white chocolate frosting. I think I need to go to the grocery store that catered it (Wild Oats- one of those more trendy natural grocery stores) and order that sort of cake for neighbor's baby shower. I've looked in several grocery stores books of their baby cakes and I just can't stand the standard sugary, pastely, boring, baby cakes anymore. I guess I've been to one too many baby shower or something.

SL- LOL at you and your DH's quick decision on waiting for #2. I wish for your friend an easy and healthy pregnancy.

FF- when will you know what fixing the septic tank will cost? I hope it's just the $1,500 you mentioned, although that still stinketh.

Kim- sending warm wishes that your day doesn't totally exhaust you. Good for you putting Alex in Transitional first grade- I wish we had that option here. I think a lot of parents could use it, especially when you have a younger child (with a summer birthday).

Hi Jill, Tasha, Gretchen, Alisa, Hillary, Bridget, Dizagain, BNB, Jen, Allison, Cabmom, Gemma, Fab, Ryan, Loretta and everyone else I am sure I am forgetting! I have no plans for the day, so I am sure to be popping in and out frequently if anyone wants to chit chat.

 

[ryan840]

Hi moms, I actually have a couple minutes with nothing to do (ok, there's tons to do, I just don't want to do it ) so here I am, trying to avoid getting too far behind again. Jack is being a pistol today, it started last night around 2 when he woke up and screamed for over an hour for what appeared to be no reason other than he wasn't in my arms We tried tylenol, gas medicine, nursing, everything... Then he woke up this morning at I don't know when O'clock (I have no clock upstairs yet, but it seemed pretty early) and has not gone to sleep yet, and he desperately needs to . I just put him for a nap and after a half hour of CIO brought him down to put him in his swing, thinking he'd fall asleep there but nope. He cried for another ten minutes and apparently forgot I existed so now I have to be careful not to be seen

nucpharm- I'd die id we had scorpions, thank God we don't have them here! I need to come up with some sort of schedule for Alex too, it sounds like you've got a good thing going. Care to share some tips? I'll say a prayer for your sister too.

Uh-oh, I've been spotted and the screaming has begun! Gotta run, sorry!

ETA- He's finally asleep, poor thing. I'm sure he'll be up in 30 minutes max, but maybe this will pave the way for a longer nap later this afternoon.

Robin- I'm glad the check engine light went off and that it looks like you'll get more than you expected for it! Sounds like CC was heavenly, I have never been to a spa or had any kind of spa treatment but I would love to. I know I'm facing a possible negative feedback on ebay, I guess I'll have to suck it up though. You're right about contacting her and feling it out though, I'm hoping she'll be understanding. I'm just going to be honest and hope for the best, what else can ya do?

SL- Glad you had a nice time at Olive Garden, congrats to your friend. Too funny about you and your husband reaching such a quick agreement! Too funny about your in-laws getting you the AC!

justhat- That wedding looked so nice! It took me forever to find you in all those pictures but you look great!

DisKim- Good luck at the open house tonight. I'm glad your happy with your decision to put Alex in T1, sounds like he'll do great!

GinaMarie- It's tough moving with a baby isn't it? I guess nupharm knows all about that too, and Hillbeans if I remember correctly. Sorry to hear about your little accident, I hope it's cheap to fix! I've done much worse- I got my FIL's company truck (a uhaul type one) stuck in the gates when I went to return it. They opened but then kept slamming over and over and I put a huge scrape all down the side. The best thing was that it was all on the security camera which he promised to watch.

Hi Tamie, J&D and FF, and all the other moms!

 

[DisKim]

Well, I don't have much to do on my prep period today so I thought I'd drop in.

I'm such an idiot. I went out for lunch today and found Aidan's shoes in my car. His sitter is probably going crazy looking for them. He loves to play outside and now he won't be able to.

SL - I had to wait 4-5 years between kids and that worked for me. We just couldn't afford to have them any closer. The funny thing is now that I have 3 so nicely spaced, I sometimes feel like I wouldn't mind being "suprised" by another sometime soon. Of course, that can't happen though.

Robin - You are really making me want that cake. It sounds wonderful.

Justhat - I hear ya on the NJ weddings. They are always huge affairs. My cousin is getting married in the Florida Keys. Her mom asked me if $2500 was too much for renting 3 big houses together on the water for the location of the wedding. I thought she was joking. I think that's a great price. It's going to be a laid back 3 day long party. I'm actually afraid to have the kids go because I think everyone will be toasted. That's really not my thing so I'm not looking forward to hanging out with drunks for 3 days without my kids. Yuck.

nuchpharm - I will say a prayer for your sister. I hope things turn around for them soon.

OK, am I the only one here who can't get into Dancing With the Stars. I tried but I couldn't watch it. It was probably because I flicked it on when Jerry Springer was on. I just can't get into that one, but I love So You Think You Can Dance. I guess I like that one because the dancing is just so impressive. They are total athletes. I'm so darn excited for the season premiere of Lost. I can't handle waiting until October.

OK, I better get my room cleaned up for tongiht. I'm such a slob when it comes to my classroom. I do enough cleaning at home.

 

[Strawberry Lemonade]

nucpharm - I'm sorry about your sister. I hope her DH's business gets off the ground soon! Good luck with your interview.

ginamarie - When it rains it pours, doesn't it? I hope that dent in your neighbor's car can be popped out easily (and cheaply).

tkyes - I don't watch Nip/Tuck and I'm actually kind of glad I didn't see ML's bare booty. He's a fantastic dancer, but he'll always be AC Slater to me.

floridafam - I hope the septic fix isn't too costly.

justhat - Wedding receptions around here are pretty much the same as where you're from (not that NJ and CT are all that far apart). Cocktail hour, salad & pasta courses, sit down dinner (I was quite the rebel - I had a buffet style dinner), then cake and sometimes we'll see a Venetian table. Which is why I like daytime weddings better - I'm an early to bed, early to rise kind of girl.

Alice28 - I like the idea of a different kind of cake for the shower.

I have to go out and buy some luggage soon. I don't know how DH and I made it so long without anything more than a few carry on bags and those carry on size rolling suitcases. I'm an overpacker - I can't believe I don't have a normal sized suitcase. I have to start setting clothes aside - it's less than 2 weeks now!

 

[Alice28]

Hey, I think Val left on her vacation today! Or maybe it's tomorrow. At any rate, I hope she has the BEST time!

Kim- I looked up Wild Oats on the 'net....there is one in New Jersey, but it's near Princeton and I have no clue if that is near you or not. It's one of those fancy-pants grocery stores. I am halfway tempted to go today to see if I can order that cake, but I don't want to impulse buy $50 worth of other stuff. I am sure your classroom isn't THAT bad. My 'favorite' substitute teaching story is subbing for a bilingual 6th grade class....there was literally dirt (like she spilled a plant in her drawer months before and never cleaned it up- not just dust) in the teacher's drawers, and the class roster she had taped to the wall was from the PREVIOUS year. I was disgusted and irritated. The kids were awful too. After being in that classroom, I highly doubt yours is anywhere near filthy. I think I made some snippy comment to the principal about her.

SL- have fun buying some luggage! You will need it traveling with Lucas. I can't believe how much one has to pack with a baby. I bet you are getting super excited! What are you looking forward to the most?

I can bet that east coast weddings are a bit more fancy than what most people do on the west coast- just from reading the DISBoards I have learned that even though I thought our wedding was nice, it wasn't up to snuff! We had a buffet, and we got married in the morning. It was catered at a restaurant though. Most of my friends just had their receptions at the church they married at, or maybe at a hall and friends and family brought food, etc. I wanted a morning wedding because I felt like I didn't have the patience to sit around all day waiting for the big event. I was up at 5:30, at the hairdresser by 6:30, at the church by 9; pictures at 9:30 and the wedding began at 11. We were at our hotel by 4:30 I think. It was a nice day, except that it was rainy and January.

 

[Strawberry Lemonade]

That's right! I think Val gets back the day before we leave. We'll just miss each other and we'd probably be using the same airport, too!

DisKim - My friend (the pregnant one) was a dancer in her pre-kid life. She prefers So You Think You Can Dance, too.

ryan - Glad Jack finally got to sleep. Here's hoping he sleeps longer than a half hour.

 

[ryan840]

I just finished editing my last post and the baby's up again. I'm in for a looong day!

justhat- I think weddings around here are similar to what you described, the dinner can go either way, buffet or sit down.

Gotta go see a cranky baby.

 

[justhat]

I'm actually being industrious today and packing up Henry's stuff that he outgrew and getting Madison's fall stuff in the closet and putting summer stuff aside. I'm sorta sad that Henry has already outgrown stuff-partially cause it means he's growing so fast but also cause I'm cheap and hoped he'd get more use out of his stuff like Madison did! She wore 0-3 month stuff till around 5 months. In fact today I had a pair of 2T pants on her from Target (and I don't normally fine their stuff to run big) and they kept falling down. I picked her up from school and they were practically at her knees. And that was with the adjustable waist at the last button. This new one though is blowing through clothes like I never would have believed. I was looking at the christening outfit I want to get him and he'll need the 9 month size (the christening is 11/12), and I'm even afraid that might be a bit snug. And what really annoys me is that I thought I'd be able to use his summer stuff for WDW in November (if it's warm enough that we need summer stuff) but there's no way he'll fit in them then so I think I'll have to actually buy some bigger warm weather stuff for a week. What a waste.

Nucpharm, I completely missed your post earlier. That's a shame that your BIL's business is off to a slow start. It's so hard when you have kids as it is. I'll send some prayers out for them that their business picks up soon.

Alice28, I've been to some Wild Oats stores in Las Vegas and I think Phoenix. I think they're like the Whole Foods stores we have out here. I mean, they are similar but I think they may be affiliated in some way. We buy most of our meat and produce there cause our local grocery store is less than quality. Of course, it's a lot more expensive so I guess that's why we rarely buy meat.

DisKim, I think that's a steal for a wedding too. My friend's wedding was actually in a hall at the temple where he was married. Sort of a catering facility/synagogue in one if you can imagine. One place we looked at for my wedding (which we quickly vetoed for obvious reasons!) wanted $350/person!!! Can you believe that!?! We had almost 200 people there so imagine the price. And ya know, it was pretty but not so amazing that you could ever imagine paying that. Even if I were rich I wouldn't pay that.

SL, we wanted a buffet at our wedding but we had too many people for the room to have a buffet set up. My mom was sorta disappointed cause her family loves buffets so she thought it would have been the better choice. We had one for my shower and Madison's christening though.

And just in case the christening part sounds weird, my mom makes a huge deal out of them. She's going way overboard planning Henry's, to the point where Joey and I have no say. She's paying for it so she should have more input, but it's practically a wedding at this point. In fact, it's going to be at the hall where she had her wedding. It's nice that she wants to get so into it, but I think it's a little weird. This is something that I just keep quiet on though cause it makes her happy and isn't harming anyone. I just think it's a waste of money, but maybe that's cause I have a lot less than her.

Okay, back to work. Tonight is Madison's open house so I don't have that much time left to finish organizing clothes cause I have to shower too. I realized that Joey will have to bathe Madison so I guess Henry will be coming along with me tonight. Of course, I can somehow bathe her and be alone with him too, but Joey seemed overwhelmed at the thought. In his defense, we don't have a bathtub so you actually have to get in the shower with her to clean her so it is difficult with Henry if he's not in a mood to be put down, and 5-7 is generally his fussy time of the day before he goes to sleep for the night and that's when Madison's bath will be. Plus I think she's getting some sort of illness as she's in especially rare form today.

 

[J&D]

Valerie- Have a great time on your trip!

Alice- Southlake is near Dallas, so the spa is 200+ miles from here.

justhat- Our wedding was a 7:00, so we had a buffet of hors d' oeuvres at our reception and dance.

Ginamarie- Sorry about your little accident.

nucpharm- Saying prayers for your Sis & BIL.

SL- Have fun shopping. I need some nice luggage as well.

Hi to all other Moms!

TTFN! I have some sippy cups to wash.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Good afternoon, all!

First, I have to say a big "THANK YOU" to Gina for my exchange package! I got Halloween candy, towels, bubbles, cupcake toppers, and an adorable outfit for Luke! What's really funny is (a) I had looked in Target and Wal-Mart for a cute Luke Halloween type outfit, and had zero success, and (b) Halloween is also DH's birthday, so I'll have to make him cupcakes! Poor guy, his birthday has taken a back seat every year since he became a dad!

Kim--It's too bad that your DD failed the "home alone" test, but good thing you were right there. If I had come home with my DD missing, the police would have been hunting with search dogs and helicopters! But, now you know--maybe next year she'll be more responsible. Also, I hope your aunt's problem is nothing serious.

SL--Good luck shopping for luggage. I always find it way overpriced for somethig we use 1-2 times a year, so we stick with our crappy mismatched stuff. It's ugly, but it works! Glad Olive Garden went well--that's one restaurant I wish we had around here, but don't.

GLT--I'm glad Lindsey is getting good use out of the gymnastics outfits. I'm sure you're back into the school/activity grind like I am!

Speaking of which, I went to Robert's open house at school last night. His teacher seems really nice, and she has a 9yo boy herself, so I don't see her taking a lot of crap from Robert, which is a good thing. I bet Robert has a crush on her. Probably the band teacher, too, as he got his saxophone Monday and has practiced probably 3 hours yesterday and the day before--this morning before school, too! Of course, he may just love the sax, but what are the odds he's trying to impress a female?



Robin the CC event sounded really nice. Hopefully you can go back soon with your coupons and all.

nucpharm--I hope things work out for your sister. Starting a business is hard!

Gina--Too bad about the accident.

I have to run before Jocelyn gets home--she has an eye appointment and then 5 dance classes tonight, so I have to pack her a dinner to bring.

 

[nucpharm29]

SL--If you have a TJMaxx nearby, check there for luggage--I found pretty much all of ours there--and if you check their clearance luggage you can find some reallly good brands for really cheap. Ours is mismatched, but the same color.

Justhat--Weddings in hte south, typically are your church wedding/reception combo with cake and punch and not much else. We were the rebels and had a night wedding, hot and cold appetizers, champagne, and a dance--Sit down or even buffet receptions are rare in this area

Diskim--I feel bad that I forgot about your daunt in my previous post--I'm keeping her in my prayers that she is all right!

ryan--Yeah, the scorpions were really creepy! We had the extreminator here the next morning, haven't seen them since

Well, Matthew is being an EXTREME pill today--screaming and crying for no reason--I pick him up he screams to get down, I put him down he screams to be picked up! I can't win--and he's back at it now! Will check in later!

 

[justhat]

I have a quick question for those of you who have parented toddlers before. Were your kids friendly at age 2? I have concerns about Madison cause everytime we're with another kid her age she basically just yells at them if they touch her stuff, or their stuff is she is claiming it at her own, and never wants to play with anyone, just have everything to herself. I get that toddlers do that, but I see my friends kids engage in the beginnings of cooperative play while she just yells at everyone and pushes them (physically) away. She'll watch other kids play, but not talk to them unless it's to tell them to go away. She has played with one of her cousins (who is 4) and in a friendly way, but other than her she is not a nice kid to other kids her age. Oh, and she's also very nice and gentle with Henry and very protective of him.

Anyway, I asked her teacher if she's like this in school and she told me that it's all normal behavior and when she's 3yo she'll be fine. Now, not that I don't believe her teacher, but it's only her 3rd year of teaching and she's the same age as me so not incredibly experienced yet so I was wondering what you guys think. Personally I think she has some aspects of a childhood anxiety disorder, but then I wonder if that's just the psychologist in me over analyzing her. My thoughts on that are that she needs to be in a class first to get adjusted or she will just stand in the room and not approach any kids or the activity that's going on, she never wants to play with other kids, doesn't sleep well alone, not good with transitions, and more but I'll stop boring you. I know that most 2yos have some or all of those things going on, but based on my experience with other kids and psych work she seems more extreme. But, I have never actually parented before so maybe it's just that I see her more than other kids and she is in fact normal.

 

[nucpharm29]

Justhat--I've come to the conclusion that 2 year olds just don't have that great of social skills. Emma isn't mean to other kids, she doesn't play with them. She would rather sit by herself and color than actually interact with others. We try to encourage her to get to know other kids at church, but she just tells us no. And then after church she lets us know that the teacher thought she was shy---wonder why! And at gymnastics she's the same way, but so are all the other girls. Just kinda keeping to themselves--I'm guessing it's a phase and she and Madison will grow out of it. Either that or I've got a future recluse on my hands!

 

[zalansky]

Hi moms!

In case some of you didn't see it - Sunshine is offering Disney Gift Cards as a bonus cashout. $25 GC for 22 credits.

 

[ryan840]

justhat- not that I have much experience with these things myself, especially since Alex has never been away from me for more than a few hours except on rare occasions, but he would not go near other kids or talk to anybody he didn't know until just a few months ago. He never hit or pushed, but that's probably because he just flat out wouldn't go near other kids. Even now he won't go anywhere to play unless DH or I go with him, like kid zones in stores and that type of thing. I think it's all fairly normal for a two year old, especially since you moved recently and Henry was born. Hope that helps a little. If you really have a nagging feeling that something is wrong, just call her ped for some input.