Ugh! The Sicks!!!

Lovely day today. (can you hear how thick the sarcasm is in that line?) Strep has been going around the city and lil' Sean’s daycare, only he's not the one who caught it. That's right. Me.
I just had strep real bad back in January (that required an overnight stay at hospital) and this case is pretty bad, too, but was caught in time. Doc says that one more case and he's pulling my tonsils.
The worst part is not being able to really function. With the fever and soar, swollen through and dizziness from the fever and not being able to swallow (so lower blood sugar) I just feel like a blob. Sean at least had a real good day with his great-Grammy and then with Daddy tonight. I just wish I could have done more when Nate's gone (had a little get-together) and Sean woke up and was mad. I don't want him exposed anymore than he already had been, and I don't feel safe holding him with the light-headedness. And boy was he mad!

At least he and I had a good time last night. We went to the mall to drop off some books (our library is temporally located during their renovations). We had a good talk with or three librarian friends and then went to play in the kiddy area. (I'm going to have to management about that they need to enforce the age limit rule. Honor system isn't working and kids are getting hurt)
But the best part was very unusual. There is a wild life educational center that opened up a couple months ago, so Sean and I checked it out. They had real live wolves and a baby cougar there! Don't worry, they were use to people and born in captivity, plus in their fence area, so we were safe.
They had all sorts of cool things, like fossil and skeletal remains that were found in Iowa. Sean really liked the Saber Tooth Tiger skull and holding the Mammoth tusk replica. They had lots of pelts that had been donated of native species that you could touch and feel; Sean grabbed everyone I showed him and gave it a big kiss!! It was the cutest thing in the world! He especially liked the mink and otter pelts.
His highlight of that visit was he got to pet a real live skunk! De-smelled of course, but still a real skunk! He thought that was super cool. And boy, was this skunk a big fella'! The last thing we did before leaving was pet a black ferret. Sean has been around ferrets before, so I know he likes them, but it was real close to bed time and he was getting tired and tried to grab this lil gal’s face. We left, and he didn't have a fit or anything, so I think he had a real good time. We're going to go back there with Daddy soon, once I'm done with this crud.

Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?

PRESENT!

Sorry folks, it has been a while. There's no regular internet access at my house, and since Nate decided to break our garden faucet (it was an accident) and have no water to the house for a while, I'm at my folks.

But really, I wanted to be at home. I've started picking up more hours between my two jobs, so I've pretty much gone form a stay-at-home mom to a working mother. Sean is fine adjusting to it. He goes to Great-Grammys three days and to day care one day a week (and he loves it!) and is just happy as a clam. It's me who has been having a hard time.

First, there's the guilt of leaving Sean with someone else, feeling like I abandoned him, even when he's perfectly happy and loved by a family member looking after him. I know he is okay, but I feel like it's my job to stay home with him. Even back when I wasn't working so much, we talked about one day at day care so he could be around kids his age, but this is just a little more than I had ever thought. Maybe it's a mother thing. Sean is okay and will be okay and it won’t last forever. I just need to hug him more when I am home.

Next is, the house is a mess and I was hoping to tidy it up a bit. The clutter is a two fold issue: 1) I have a two year old, 2) I have ADD as a result of other illnesses that I fight, so that makes the cleaning part harder. "Okay lets vacuum. I'll just plug in the -OHHH! Shiny!!" So, what I tell people is this: Keeping a house clean when children are growing is like shoveling snow when it's still snowing." It's not filthy or unsafe; it's just harder to find cretin things. I'll live. So, that's okay that I didn't get to to that.

But still, at the end of the day, when I'm tired and my feet hurt, and I come home to my cluttered, falling apart house and see my lil' man snuggling his daddy with a puppy at their feet.... and I am happy.

OT: Just now, Sean came to find me. He was in the kitchen having a little snace and he came to find me in the office, and fed me a Wheat Check! I feel so loved!

Instruction Manual on Second Birthdays

What can a mother do when she sits down, reflects, and suddenly realizes that in ten days her little boy will be two? Nothing, that's what.

What should she do? Well, I'm glad you asked!

First, her hands should go cold and sweaty when it finally hits her that her baby's a little boy. Next, start hyperventilating, realizing that two means that potty training is coming faster than a Tobey Dog running for a treat. And potty training scares her.
When it finally sinks in that there are only ten days, her heart should start to race from the lack of 'party' planing she has done, and then be crushed with tremendous guilt that she has to work three weeks strait (and I mean strait, with no days off) - her sons birthday being too close to that stretch. To add to this guilt, she suddenly realizes that his birthday falls on his second day of daycare ever (At least he only is going once a week).
After her son bites her and she loosed her temper a bit, she will morn the baby days where there were snuggles and coos galore. And when that little boy comes running up to her when she gets home and plants a big kiss on her, she'll wish that this stage will never end.
After she has time to digest all of this emotional intake, she should finally takes a deep breath, decides to just roll with the punches and deal with the changes when one day at a time, blog about it, then go to bed.
She should repeat daily until one day after her sons birthday.

Work

What is work? Most people will say it's your job, so if that's true, I have at least six job titles.

• Sales and Assembly - Cookies by Design, my 1st part time job.
• Bakery associate - the grocery store where my 2nd part time job is.

Now for the fun ones:

• Professional chef
• Nurse
• Psychologist
• Personal shopper
  
• Clothing designer
• Doctor
• Dragon slayer
• Veterinarian
• Pop star
• Author
• CEO
• Gardener
• Laundress
• Seamstress
• Waste management expert (whichever 'waste' you decide to go with, I'm both)
• Cleaning professional
• Banker
• Spiritual guide

But my favorite job title is the sweetest sounding of all:
Momma

11:00 on a Sunday night

Hi,
I'm sure that the few of you who check this out are wondering "where is that crazy woman?"
Well, here I am. Right here, right now. I know it has been quite a while since the last post, and I'm sorry. It can be a little tricky when you don't have web access at your place and you usually only use the web one day a week. But the important thing is I'm here now.

So.... Sean is getting so tall! I'm 5'8" (173 cm) and he's too my hip! It seems everyday he sprouts up more, and not just height. He is becoming a little chatter box. Just yesterday he used his 'first' word combination. "No more." He's known the signs for "more" and "all done" for quite a while and has been saying 'more' and sometimes using the sign with it, but this was the first time he vocally said that he was all done. I think he's close to 10-12 words total. Wow!

Nate is.... well, Nate is not to happy whit work right now. 1) the work is not their 2) his employer has but a freeze on all raises. So now, even when the companies that he audits sends harder and more time consuming work, there is no plus for all the hard work. We've had some real low paychecks recently because of that and were hurting.

Me... well I had surgery about two weeks ago. Long story, but to sum it up: I had a screw in my right knee form a past surgery and it was wiggling loose, so doctors took it out. Needless to say, I've been out of work for it.
-rant-
As horrible as this sounds, I'm kind of hoping that one of the ladies that is also in the bakery (the one that causes drama) gets canned. I know! I'm terrible! But, she's schedualed to work 'till 1pm. I get there a little before noon and she tells me she's going on her last break. Fifteen minutes later, she comes back to tell me she's leaving. She refused to work weekends, refuses to close up for the evening and refuses to pick up any of my hours while I've been out. When our superious have talked to her about her needing to fill in with my med. leave, she's thrown a fit (but that's just what I've heard form the other gal. Wouldn't surprise me, thought). If she is let go, that means that I can pick up some more hours, and that might help.
-end rant-

What will really help is when I go back to school and am able to get into a hospital. Yes, this mother is planning on going to school for phlebotomy. Just because a lot of people have already asked "hu?" a phlebotomist is the person who draws blood. Only thing is I'll have to wait until spring, at the earliest. A full time phelbotomist can make up to $34,000, and even though I'm hoping to find something part time-ish, that would still help out tremendously.

Oh, I almost forgot to brag. Nate and I have a new niece. Elizabeth Ann W. was born on June 28 at 4:30am PDT after a 54 hour labor. She is so pretty! I'm just sorry that they all live so far away.

It's been my half hour, and I should be getting to bed. Sean is, and always has been, a morning person.... and I am not.
Good night and God bless!

Oh, Dear GOD!

I almost lost Sean today.
We were at story time at the library (temporarily located in the mall) and Sean was just having fun digging through the balls they brought out for all the kidlets to play with. I could see him and kept one eye on him while I asked a first time mom about the necklace she was waring.
Five seconds. FIVE! That's how long I must have talked to here before I looked over and saw Sean wasn't at the ball bucket... He wasn't in the room either. I was standing by the frickin' entryway! How could he get out?
I fun to the corridor to see if he's there, as a tight panic gripped my chest. He's not there either. I look back quick to make suer he wasn't hiding in a corner, which he wasn't, and ran into the main library, screaming his name with two other moms following suite. All the while, the panic grips tighter.
As I got close to the front desk, I could see one of the libarieans at the entrance, blocking the exit of a little boy dressed in brown, walking away from her. Sean just looked up at me and smiled as if to say "Hi Mommy! Look how far I walked!" At that point I was too relieved to be mad.
I did tell him how naughty that was and how scared he made Mommy and "just wait 'till your father hears about this!"

The day got better after that. My friend, Danni (a.k.a. Danni the Nanny) and Sean's triplet friends, Audry, Katherine, and Maison, went to lunch at the Old Chicago. Thanks again Danni!
It was so nice to be able to talk to someone your own age and knows the ins-and-outs of kids (she doesn't have any that belong to her, but she's always around them!) - to just shoot the breeze and not have to worry about what they will think if Sean starts smearing applesauce in his hair (he didn't, thank God).
I really do like Danni; she's a good egg and when she has the three kids, I know that she appreciates it when I got her back to chase a baby or two. I know she's got mine and Sean's. Besides, sometimes the nanny needs a nanny! :) Love 'ya, Danni!

So now here at my folks. Sean was put in his crib around one and just now is starting to quiet down -not asleep, but not as talkative- and not talking to his 'pet tiger', Ty. I didn't go get him out of the crib, he's resting at least. And I'd rather him take rest then nothing.
We converted his crib at home to the toddler bed (just getting too tall!) and he hasn't been sleeping as well. So rest is rest at the moment.

All of you, take care and give all the people you love a hug!

They broke the mold - YEAH RIGHT!

I've been feeling just kind of punk lately and not quite sure why. And let me tell you that if you're feeling ill and trying to keep up your house (even if it doesn't look like you are, you really are) cook and care for a toddler, you can get a little crabby (well, I do at least).
The ill feeling is probably allergies. When the weather is damp and with the amount of mold in our house (behind walls, mind you), my allergies just rum me down - sinus trouble, nausea, headache and stiff neck... how fun. So, I'm spending the day at my folks today after Sean spent the night. Nate and I saw South Pacific last, which was wonderful. Thanks Mom!
Anyway, back to my dilemma: I just feel that no matter how hard I work at it, I just can't do things right. I feel like a burden to my folks that I'm here.
Plus, Nate went on a mens retreat with the church this weekend and I'm also a little sad because.... I don't have many friends. There! I said it! I really don't. I have a lot of acquaintances and 'pals', but not a lot of friends whom you can call out of the blue for tea or just to come over and talk. I feel so lonely sometimes that I just hate to be left alone. That's why I wanted to come over to my parents. Someone is around.
I know that my mother has never understood that. 'Wouldn't you rather be at your own house?' she's asks more than once. Truthfully; no. 1)It makes me sick and 2)I'm there alone (well, Sean and Tobey, but they can't really talk to me) most days of the week. I have never done well alone.

Sorry for the mundane entry; it's been cloudy and wet the past few days and lack-of-sunlight and I don't get along.... plus the whole allergy thing. But I'm sure it'll get better, given the fact that the next three days are soppose to be dry and frickin' beautiful!

NO NO NO NO!

Sean has started saying his first word, we think.
Recently, he's been walking around the house just calling out "NO NO NO!" while shaking his head back and forth. He will also say 'no' and do a head shake at the dinner table if we're trying to give him a spoon full of something and he wants something else (like sweet potato).
Is this really is first word, or is it a new sound that's he babbling?....... I'm saying first word.
"No" as a first word... Lord help me!

Not Me! Monday

Oh, what a beautiful morning!
Sean is playing on the floor in our newly rearranged front room and I am not letting him pull the DVD jewel cases out of the holders. It's was so cute when he did not open Short Circuit and start smugging his little fingerprints all over it. I certainly was not tempted about letting him destory it be cause I do not hate that movie that Nate loves.
And I am by no means smelling a diaper that needs changed, but an letting Sean play with it on, because he's not fussing and, simply, I need a moment.

I did not stay up till 12:30 this morning getting lunch ready for Nate, boiling eggs for breakfast, finding that gas card and then finally able to get a shower, only to have the gas card left behind by my dear husband. At least he took the lunch and eggs....

I did not just change Sean's diapie butt and then left him in his room to crawl around in because he was just so happy to crawl in their.

And just for the record I am not feeling not guilty for abandoning cloth diapers once our washing machine broke and have not gone back.

Sean has not shown a sudden increased interest in nursing and I am not hungry all the time again. I am not hungry right now because I have (not) eaten breakfast, and I am not going to get some.

Toodles!

If it's not one thing....

... it's twenty others. That's the reason I've been absent for over a week (bout, come to think about it, that's kind of normal...).
Well the reason is, I'm a scatter-brain. Always have been. I'm doing something and I think of something else that needs done, and that leads to another, and that leads to another, and at the end of the day I have a dozen (at least) half finished projects.
A typical week plus the two days a week I'm working now) are as followed:

• Get up at 8am to take meds and see if Sean is up. If not, go back to rest a little more.
• Wake up with Sean
• Get breakfast for Sean-realize that the dishes have been there for a while and try to get those done at the same time
• Play-and if Sean is playing nice by himself, try to round up the laundry, but get distracted
• Put Sean down for nap- do some laundry, but realize that the stuff to go is Sean's room has to wait and then totally forget about it
• Sean gets up we play
• Get lunch ready for Sean- maybe try to get some baby food made in her, too, or dished, or some more laundry in between spoonfuls (Mesh teething feeders are my HERO)
• Play 'the foot game' in Sean's room- knit/crochet/sew or some other crafty thing, then realize that the front room is a mess
• Let Sean play in play-pen and try to clean computer area- get distracted by email and Sean
• Put Sean down for a nap (hopefully he'll sleep, usually does) and pray to God Nate gets off early
• Nate gets off and I have done a lot, but nothing gets done!
  

• (Tues and Fri. Get up at 6:30am get ready for work, drop of Sean at Grammys Work till noon-ish help Grammy around the house)

(You do know that this is just a short run down, right? I mean, I do change his diaper and there are snacks and letting the dog out and other stuff. I mean, I'm not that scatter-brained, am I?)

And, have I mentioned lately that I love my husband (even thought there are some times I want to wring his neck). There's no big, special reason to say that; I just felt like I should. I really love him so much; I couldn't think of a better man to be my husband or Sean's daddy and I really really appreciate him putting up with and understanding my crazy, scatter-brainy-ness.

Well it's photo time! Here we go

Sean one day before turning nine months old! I can't believe it!


He did this himself, I sware to God! I put him down for a nap and he had pulled off his diaper! He even lied down on it so if he peed, it would be on the diaper!

~~~~~~~~
Wendseday, Sean cut his eye toothe; tooth number three. So we gave him his dinner still in frozen form:


Don't worry, that's not blood! He tryed beets' for the first time that night! The camera just made the juice look more red than purple.
Now that I look at it, I can see how one might think he was bleeding. This almost looks like it chould have come strait form Sweeney Todd!



I would say that at the end of the night, it was a success. Nate, Sean and I all ate at the same time, Sean liked the beets' and liked getting purple, the purple-ness washed off in the tub and Sean slept all night. But the best part for me was: I now have over a dozen new photos I can use as black mail for when he's a teen-ager!

Say good-night, Sean!

Sleepless in... Des Moines?!?

I don't know why, but I have been having very severe insomnia. I just cannot get to sleep. Once I am asleep, I stay asleep; it’s just the getting there.

It really is frustrating. I always have been a night person, but not like this. There are nights where my mind doesn’t start to slow down until 2am… or later. Then the next day, I have no energy. Usually, I need to get 9 or 10 hours of sleep to function properly, always have. Since Sean came out, I’ve been fine with 7 ½ - 9 and can get through the day. It’s just the past few weeks I’ve been averaging 5-6…3 ½ last night, since Sean didn’t sleep well. And I’m still awake and NOT BY CHOICE!

It’s not like I’m staying up on purpose! I just cannot slow my mind down; it keeps running a mile a minute! I’ve tried going to bed earlier, but my mind will race and I’ll just get frustrated and aggravated if I stay in bed… and Nate get’s frustrated, too because I’ll keep him up. I would just like it if someone would hit me over the head with a rock me to sleep!

Does anyone else have this problem?

But, hey, good news id it’s ten ‘till midnight and I’m starting to settle. I may get to sleep before 12:30! YEA!! I’m booking it!

~ ’Night

Let Freedom Ring!

Happy Independence Day, America!
I can hardly believe that in just one week, Sean will be eight months old! That's 2/3 of a year!!
But today, we celebrated the 4th of July in a fairly traditional way: we went to a bar-b-que.
Sean even got all festive for the day!

A friend gave us the cute outfit and the cap is a wonderful hand-me-down (I love hand-me-downs! I grew-up waring them... by choice!)
Some good friends of Nate and mine, Eric and Annie, hosted the barbie and we all had a wonderful time! Here's a photo of Sean with his "Auntie" Annie

And I have never been one to cook bland.

Yummy. Tapioca Cake! I'm real happy with how it turned out, both appearance and taste!

The only thing that spoiled the night were the fireworks. In the state of Iowa, it is illegal to own fireworks. Professionals come in to put on their shows, but someone like me could not go out and buy some. BUT, in Missouri, fireworks are legal. So most people will just cross the state line, buy a lot (some buy up to $1000!) and bring them back to fire them off.
Most people don't think it's a huge deal and the cops hardly do anything about it, but it is a bother to me. At the show by the lake, a lot of people were shooting off fire crackers/works/bottle rockets/etc. Some were shooting over the crowd! That didn't sit will with me, seeing that 1) if one tipped over after being lit or sparks falling down, there could be serious injury and/or death and 2) so many people were just shooting off one right after another, there were too many strobe-like flashes that it reeked havoc on my epilepsy. So, in the end, Nate, Sean and I missed the professional show and I was barely able to walk bake to the car.
You can see why I'm upset about this... I'm going to write to the local PD about this, seeing we saw three cops and they did nothing.

But... all-in-all, it was a wonderful night.

Food is Fun!

WARNING: This post has an image of me nursing Sean. If you are wierded out by boobage, do not read.

I love feeding Sean! I know that may sound strange - but his main way of eating is still nursing.

It is such an intimate time for the two of us and part of me wishes that he would stay small forever so we could still do that... only part, though. The sad reality is, Sean is getting to be less of a baby and more of a little boy. It's getting harder and harder to nurse him simply because of how long/tall he is and how much he wiggles. But when he's getting tired and ready for a nap or bed; oh that is our time!
I also love feeding Sean from the spoon and even his mesh feeder (that's what we call it, I don't know the proper name). I love the feeder! It's a huge lifesaver for times when Sean is hungry and the dishes are piling up. Slip some avocado or squash in there and he will go to town!
It's also a great way to feed him when he is having discomfort from teething. I'll slip in the food when it's still frozen and he loves the food part as well as the 'it feels good on my toothers!' part. It also works great with ice or 'juicy cubes' (diluted juice that is frozen).
Here he is eating some sweet potato from it:


And if you haven't guessed I do make most of our baby food. We do have jars of store bought food for when were traveling/out and when he's at my Grammy's (I guess I could make some for her, but for now, this way works) It's real fun to see his reaction to new foods.
Today, Sean tried egg for the first time. He tried to pick it up by himself, but it crumbled too easily and didn't get any in his mouth, so I helped. He must have liked the tasted, but I think that the texture was weird to him; every so often, he would get a 'yuck!' face after some gumming, but still wanted more! I wish that I had my camera to catch that look!
And just the other day, Sean had his first taste of dairy that didn't come from me. My dad and I were hanging out and having some lunch and I casually mentioned that Mr. Sean was old enough to have cottage cheese (Dad was eating it, so that's what made me think of that). So Granddad scooped a little tiny bit on the end of his spoon and offered it to Sean, which he opened his little mouth for. He gummed the curds once and then got this look on his face that said "What in the world did you just put in my mouth?!" I think he was confused by A) the texture and B) it was cow dairy, not Mommy dairy.

Okay, totally off the food topic. Check out Sean and my new favorite hair style for him:

I fell in love with the look when he woke up form a car ride all sweaty and his hair got pushed up. So now, when I style it like that I just use some water to style it and a little bit of baby loation to keep it up. I just think he looks so super cute!

Okay, I'm calling it a night now. Keep it real!

EDIT:
I snapped a few photos of the "egg face" during snack time on July 3, 2009.

Burnt Out

I am burnt out.
I'm just going to do a quick review of the past two weeks.

• Sean decides he doesn't have enough toys out in his room.

(Full story in later post)

• Nate hates his job right now and I don't blame him.

• Sean's pink eye cleared up. (Yea!)

• My friend Lacy came to visit Sean, Tobey and me one afternoon. :)
  

• I get the stomach flu.

• Sean turns 7 months!

• Sean keeps pooping out his diapers.

• Nate and I messed the Tony's because the tape didn't record! (*cries*)

• I find out that Tobey sleeps really funny.

• Sean is fussy from his tooth.

• Sean is trying to cut a top tooth.

• I'm going crazy; nothing new.
  

• Sean gets a new toy.

(A play yard! So much fun!)

So...

Sean had a tummy ache and teething pains yesterday, wouldn't stop screaming, wouldn't take a nap, finally settles down just in time to go get his shots! He slept well last night (we were at Grandma and Grandpas from baby sitting and we were traveling with them today), but woke up at 5am with poop leaking out of his diaper, running down his legs and between his tows, all over the porta-crib and then won't go back to sleep!
We traveled to Auntie Mary Jane's today to give her her retirement gift, stayed for about two-and-a-half hours, then turned around and came home... a six hour trip both ways. Sean is not happy! At least he's asleep.
And speaking of sleep, I'm going there now. Thank you for listing to me vent! :)

Two for Tooth

Well, that other tooth of Sean's is stubborn, but it finally cut through today! Again, just the tiniest tip is sticking out and Sean is not happy about it one little bit!
On a better note, Sean's pink eye is looking a lot better today. He's had two rounds of eye drops and already a lot of the puffiness is down and the whites are less red.

On a completely different note - I have no Idea how he got into what he did!
All four of us were in the front room; Nate was half reading, half watching a movie I was on the sofa with Tobey, half watching the movie, mostly keeping an eye on Sean who was crawling around on the floor. We have some arias barricaded off with boxes, the ironing board, a suit case, things of that nature that we already have and he can't climb over.
Sean starts crawling over toward Tobey, wanting to play and just babbling up a storm. As he gets closer to the sofa, I notice that Sean is making a chewing motion and something is in the corner of his mouth. I wipe it off and pick him, and there is a big, mussy glob of blue paper stuck to the roof of his mouth! What in the world?
I have no idea where he got that! I was keeping a fairly good eye on him and I don't even remember having any blue paper! Anyway, we got it out of his mouth and in the garbage with no harm done.
I think this kid is going to like surprising him parents...

Kansas City, Gonna take my baby there sometime!

We just got back Monday from KC (the Kansas one, not MO) to help my cousin celebrate her high school graduation and to celebrate Nate and my two year anniversary, which was yesterday.
It was a lot of fun to just get away from it all and we had a lot of fun! It was so nice to see the "Shawnee Six" as we call my aunt and uncles, plus kids. We went over to see them Saturday evening and Sean had to show off his amazing crawling skills. He's really getting this hands and knees crawl down, but still likes to do the elbow schootch a lot. Brenden, my youngest cousin, loved to stroke his head and Clara, my other youngest cousin (yep, twins) liked to make silly faces at him. Maria was tired from just getting off work and Laura, the oldest, was at a graduation party.
Dean and Patricia (with the help of Brenden) lead me through the photo albums of their France holiday. They were super cool. I love my family

Sunday, Nate, Sean and I went to the KC Crown Center, a huge shopping center/live theater and also the headquarters and visiting center for the Hallmark Card Co. I really wanted to see the Hallmark place, but that area was closed for the long weekend. But we still had a great time, Sean really liked taking in all of the new sights and sounds and smells and laughing at us. He did get lots of photos, more if the batteries hadn't died. My favorite photo is of Sean in front of the Crayola Color Wheel in the Crayola Store.

(The quality is real crappy, I know. I couln't get it sized right with it's resolution)

In the hotel, Sean really loved the pool. He loved being pushed around in his little boat and when Nate or I would just carry him in the water, those little hands were just splashing and splashing! We do have photos of him swimming that I'll post later, once I get the card from my father.

Sean did well in the car, but is happy he doesn't have to be strapped in his chair anymore at the same time. Yesterday, he was a holy terror. He didn't want to nap, he was wanting to nurse all the time and when he didn't want nursed, he just wanted held. I really do understand that he was settling back into things, but at the same time, I was tired too and ready to pull my hair out!
Yesterday was just pure chaos! The repair man can for the washer, Tobey was ballistic and Sean got his little chubber leg stuck in the slots of his crib and I couln't get it out. I finally did after a lot of loation and him screaming in pane and fear. You now see why I almost went crazy?
But, I love my life; however crazy it gets, I know I wouln't swap it for the world.

Sean's new trick!

CHOMP!

Sean has his first tooth! Wow! He must have just finished cutting it today.
I was sitting with him, glancing at some piece of literature and letting Sean gnaw on my knuckle (he loves to do that) - when all of a sudden, I felt something hard.
I'm at my folks today, do I asked Grammy to hang onto him while I checked it out. Sure enough, he has the tippy-top of his left bottom front toother sticking out! And, if that isn't enough to make your head spin, I can see the other tooth coming up under his thinning gum! So I had to call Nate, my mom and my dad (who had just walked out the door) to let them know.
This really explains his icky cough now. My brother-in-law said that when their toddler was teething, he acted like he was sick; coughing, diarrhea, ear infections, and just plan-old fussiness. Except for the ear infection, Sean has been having all of these symptoms, plus some congestion that the teething may be causing (I also think that he is congested because he has his dad's allergies).
Wow... just... WOW! I'm was having a hard time believing that on Monday he's going to be six months, but this was a bit of a wake-up call.
Good thing I just finished knitting up his teething bib a.k.a. slobber catcher!

I just wanted to shair this...

A week ago today was hard for me... or so I thought.
In preparation for my future sister-in-laws bridal shower, I had only gotten three hours of sleep Saturday night and on Sunday night, Sean slept poorly and so did I. Monday I was a wreck when Sean wanted to get up at 7:30.
I was beyond exhausted and crabby, so I sent Nate an email with maybe some forceful tones to let him know how I was feeling and to warn him that I may be snappy when he got home.
At ten, after Sean had some quiet play time and I had woken up a little more, I was feeling a little better, so I decided go give Nate a call to see how he was doing... he said that he was 10 minutes away from home and that he would take Sean for the rest of the day so I could get some of the sleep I desperately needed.
Have I mentioned lately that I love this man!
While I was sleeping, Sean and Nate ran some errands and some time during that time, must have remembered that I commented that there weren’t many recent photos of Mr. Sean and me. At 2pm, Nate brought Sean in, laid him by me to wake me and proceeded to snap a few photos.
This one is my favorite:

(Please ignore the mess on the dresser. I had been sick the week before.)

I just love this photo! It may not be the best quality in the world; but it captured and reflects a tender moment between my son and myself. It reminds me of the love and concern that my husband has for me that he took a rare day off work during a busy week.
Recently my hormones have been doing some weird things, and I sometimes have some distorted thoughts that Nate is working to avoid me... and that action just blue that thought out of the water.
I admit that being a stay at home mom is hard - especially when I have no form of transportation during the day. More often-than-not, I'm shut in the house most of the day, maybe getting out for a walk weather permitting; most of my friends work during the day and my best friend (who has a son that's Sean’s age) moved to the other edge of the state. It get's lonely sometimes. But then something nice, like Nate's surprise holiday, happens and I feel refreshed. And on a daily bases: When I don't want to wake up yet and Sean is making his "I'm awake and I've played in my cribby by myself enough so pick me up now!" whine and then when I come in and he looks up at me and flashes me a million watt smile... that alone makes it worth getting out of bed.

I have been blessed with the most wonderful family. We may not always be perfect - but we're perfect for each other. God has been good to let us begin and end each day as a family.

Short and Sweet

I'm going to keep this short because I'm A) exhausted and B) just coming off the stomach flu.

Sean Patrick Mumm was baptized on November the 30th, 2008 by his grandfather, Rev. David Mumm.
We are all very proud and happy for Sean.

The Joys of Motherhood

Today, Sean is five days old and we're getting use to being a mommy and daddy.
Friday, I was able to go home from hospital, but not right away. Nate had to work Friday, so my dad picked us up and we went to their place for a little bit till Nate got off. I was dead tired: I had opted to keep Sean in my room after his feeding at 1:00am (we finally got this latch thing down!) so if he was hungry or anything else I could take care of it. I though that I could sleep okay-ish, that he may cry sometime; no, I was up with every little sniffle and hick-up. So, no sleep at all.
(The funny thing was Nate brought my going home clothes and chose a black sweatshirt. Me being as tired as I was, two nights poor sleep and recovering from an operation, I was pail; that black made me look like death warmed over!)

That night, we ate, we feed Sean, changed him and all of the other good things that parents do and headed to bed. Sean has his times mixed up; he thinks that day is night and vice versa, so he was up a lot. I was also paranoid because he was having some problems with spitting up earlier and I was checking with every noise to make sure he wouldn't choke. That was the hardest night
so far.
Last night wasn't much better, he was just fussy and wanting to 'play' and be alert and act like it was day time. I think tonight may be similar, he's slept a lot today. And, it's a little hard for me; i decided that I would take the 'night shift' so Nate could sleep because he goes to work at 7:00 in the morning. He starts to take over around 5-ish (normally he gets up at six, with no alarm clock, so it's not that big of a deal for him) and will keep Sean happy and fed and clean. Tomorrow he'll goes to work again, but my mom took this week off work to help out around the house and get Sean into some kind of grove. We're very lucky, we have a lot of help and we are grateful because not every young family does.

Today was Sean's first doctors visit. He's putting weight back on (he lost 14oz before we came home) and is pretty much healthy over all. He is a little jaundice-y but is still in the normal range, the high end; normal enough to not do anything yet, high enough to have him come back tomorrow for another heel sticking.
But I have to go for now, he's asleep and I should be, too.