Keeping fingers crossed January 31, 2007

Today is THE day!!!

At 2:30 I have the big ultrasound, where hopefully we will find out if we will be a one boy, 2 girl family OR a 2 boy, one girl family. I am more nervous than I ever dreamed, and I don’t know why. It’s not like it matters one way or the other, but as this is (hopefully) the very last baby we will bring into this world, every one of these “lasts” are big to me. That sounded wierd, but I think you know what I mean! We decided to leave the kids at home for this visit and just make it the two of us…I just don’t think Southern Boy understood last time (he was 3 1/2) nor would he this time, and I KNOW Southern Girl wouldn’t have a foggy clue if we were to try to take her, as she’s not quite at that year mark yet. Actually, I’m excited that it’s just the two of us – and I think baby3 is too, because for about 24 hours he/she has been doing baby gymnastics in my belly practically non stop. It’s weird to go from random thumps to such active movement. At any rate, keep your fingers crossed that baby3 cooperates to give is a peek at the gender; it should know that mama is an impatient soul, and wants to know already!

Speaking of fingers crossed…
We finally have some hope for winter weather
(no, I don’t live in Memphis, but “somewhat” close…)
*praying for no school tomorrow!*

ABC’s of Me… January 25, 2007

I’ve been tagged by Ms. Blonde Mom herself to do a neat little getting to know me meme….sooo here goes!

A- Available or married? Married for 9 years in June. We’ve been together since ‘94, though. I think he’s about ready for a new model, lol
B- Best Friend? You know, I have several – I guess for each time period in my life. I do believe I have 3 who are there through thick and thin though
C – Cake or Pie? Um…is cheesecake a cake or pie?
D- Drink of Choice? EASY! Mello Yello.
E- Essential Item? How can I pick just one? Jamie made a good point about a car, and I have to agree, it does suck to be without a car!
F- Favorite Color? Red.
G- Gummi Bears or Worms? Bears.
H- Hometown? Small town, Tennessee
I- Indulgence? Um…getting to check my email and blogs without having kids crying or climbing on me? Does that count?
J- January or February? February. January seems so depressing (plus it’s the longest. month. ever. when it comes to waiting for pay day!)
K- Kids & names? 2 kiddos, one boy and one girl. They both have the same initials, CCT, and they both are called by their middle names. I evidently lost my mind at child naming time.
L- Life is incomplete without? My family. (hat tip, Jamie)
M- Marriage Date? June 6, 1998 (D-day for you history buffs)
N- Number of Siblings? Two, one sis 8 years older, one sis 8 years younger.
O- Oranges or apples? Oranges (but I hear the prices are fixin’ to skyrocket)
P- Phobias/Fears? Dropping things from high places or irretrievable places. (like my camera over a railing, or sunglasses off the side of a boat. Strange – I know!.
Q- Favorite Quote? The nice part about living in a small town- when you don’t know what you’re doing someone else always does!
R- Reason to Smile? My two children, and knowing we have one more to add to our family in June. We are blessed.
S- Season? Fall
T- Tag three people! Gee, I hate this part, so if anyone actually reads this and wants to play, I tag you!
U- Unknown fact about me: As a pre-teen, I had to wear an appliance on my upper teeth that had to be widened each morning and night in order to expand my palate. It made a wide space between my two front teeth until my braces pulled things back to their normal positions. The whole ” palate expansion project” took about 5 or 6 months – also known as AN ETERNITY to a seventh grader!
V- Vegetable you hate? Brussel Sprouts.
W- Worst habit? Is talking in an abnormally loud voice a habit? I don’t think I have a tone control function in my brain. If you just can’t consider my loudness a bad habit, then I’ll have to settle for knuckle popping. I. can’t. stop. the. popping!
Y- Your favorite food? Probably lasagna. Yum.
Z- Zodiac? Pisces…just like my baby girl

ABC’s of Me… January 25, 2007

I’ve been tagged by Ms. Blonde Mom herself to do a neat little getting to know me meme….sooo here goes!

A- Available or married? Married for 9 years in June. We’ve been together since ‘94, though. I think he’s about ready for a new model, lol
B- Best Friend? You know, I have several – I guess for each time period in my life. I do believe I have 3 who are there through thick and thin though
C – Cake or Pie? Um…is cheesecake a cake or pie?
D- Drink of Choice? EASY! Mello Yello.
E- Essential Item? How can I pick just one? Jamie made a good point about a car, and I have to agree, it does suck to be without a car!
F- Favorite Color? Red.
G- Gummi Bears or Worms? Bears.
H- Hometown? Small town, Tennessee
I- Indulgence? Um…getting to check my email and blogs without having kids crying or climbing on me? Does that count?
J- January or February? February. January seems so depressing (plus it’s the longest. month. ever. when it comes to waiting for pay day!)
K- Kids & names? 2 kiddos, one boy and one girl. They both have the same initials, CCT, and they both are called by their middle names. I evidently lost my mind at child naming time.
L- Life is incomplete without? My family. (hat tip, Jamie)
M- Marriage Date? June 6, 1998 (D-day for you history buffs)
N- Number of Siblings? Two, one sis 8 years older, one sis 8 years younger.
O- Oranges or apples? Oranges (but I hear the prices are fixin’ to skyrocket)
P- Phobias/Fears? Dropping things from high places or irretrievable places. (like my camera over a railing, or sunglasses off the side of a boat. Strange – I know!.
Q- Favorite Quote? The nice part about living in a small town- when you don’t know what you’re doing someone else always does!
R- Reason to Smile? My two children, and knowing we have one more to add to our family in June. We are blessed.
S- Season? Fall
T- Tag three people! Gee, I hate this part, so if anyone actually reads this and wants to play, I tag you!
U- Unknown fact about me: As a pre-teen, I had to wear an appliance on my upper teeth that had to be widened each morning and night in order to expand my palate. It made a wide space between my two front teeth until my braces pulled things back to their normal positions. The whole ” palate expansion project” took about 5 or 6 months – also known as AN ETERNITY to a seventh grader!
V- Vegetable you hate? Brussel Sprouts.
W- Worst habit? Is talking in an abnormally loud voice a habit? I don’t think I have a tone control function in my brain. If you just can’t consider my loudness a bad habit, then I’ll have to settle for knuckle popping. I. can’t. stop. the. popping!
Y- Your favorite food? Probably lasagna. Yum.
Z- Zodiac? Pisces…just like my baby girl

Panic! at the Daycare January 23, 2007

I had a slight (use that term loosely) panic this afternoon after picking Southern Girl up from daycare. Well, first, things were going from bad to worse because Southern Boy woke up from his nap with a terrible earache and was SCREAMING with pain by the time we got to the car. (this lasted all the way home and, oh, about an hour after we got home, BTW) Anyway, Southern Girl has been in the infant room for the past few weeks, but since she is turning 1 in a month, and since she and one other boy exactly her age are at least 6 months older than the other 4 babies in her room, the director decided to go ahead and move her and the little boy to the one year old class. Well…(this is getting wordy – sorry) she always gets a sheet stating mood, diaper changes, what she ate, etc., and I noticed on the afternoon snack line it read “peanut butter and crackers.”

Um…she’s still 11 months old.

I don’t know about any of you, but I tend to really stick to the “feed item X at this age, and don’t feed items A, B, or C until after the first birthday.” I dropped the sheet and began to inspect her…for what? I had no clue! Her cheeks (I noticed when I picked her up) were very rosy, and her nose was a leaky faucet – but it did run a lot yesterday. That’s about all I could distinguish as being “different” from any other day, but I am just PISSED! The more I have thought about it tonight, the madder I have become. What if she DID have an allergy that I didn’t know about to notify them of because she WAS UNDER ONE AND HAD NEVER HAD PEANUT BUTTER BEFORE! What if she had a severe nut allergy and I wasn’t there and something HAD happened? OH MY GOD MY BABY COULD’VE DIED AND I WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN THERE! I’m not a shit-stirrer, but I am going to the director on this one. I can’t think of a situation where serving PB and crackers would be appropriate in a one year old class. Am I over-reacting? I don’t want to make an ass of myself, and I realize that some people don’t follow the what to feed your baby when guidelines. However, on this one, when I send food for my baby – including a snack – I don’t feel like liberties should have been taken with her menu without consulting me first.
I do love this facility – I am friends with the director and they are working out many kinks as a new daycare, but this is one error that had the potential of being fatal. I am just devastated.

on blog ads and laughter January 22, 2007

Ok…I admit it.

I hardly ever notice blog ads when I visit people’s blogs, and I click on the ads even less (well, usually only if the blog owner specifically asks to click on a certain ad). Come on, I can’t be the only one, right?
The other day I was reading a blog, but a picture of a tombstone in the sidebar caught my eye (tombstone on a blog? odd…right?) So focus my attention on it, and it reads:

“I knew I was living in the fast lane when I surprised my daughter by picking her up at school and she asked me if the nanny had died.”

I absolutely snorted with laughter, and just HAD to click on the link. Y’all…I thought I had bad moments as a mom, but some of those stories are a HOOT! I mean with a opening sentence like “The day I set myself on fire, I knew I had a problem” you just know you’re going to be laughin your tushie off. The one liners are what I have enjoyed the best. You just can’t beat :

“After shopping for my twins birthday parties, I was late to a business appointment. I got into my van and noticed some strange papers on the front passenger seat. Then I heard a “Hello!” from the rear and turned to see a woman breast feeding her newborn. I had gotten into the WRONG CAR!!!”

I highly recommend you take a look, because we all need a laugh every once in a while, even if it is at another poor mother’s expense.

*This was not written because I have any associations with the book or author, I just like to laugh. You will, too, I promise!

Just Ugh. January 16, 2007

Dear Lord,
Please help me have patience and grace today, because I feel like I want to snap someone’s head off.

Thanks…
Southern Mom

no school *updated January 15, 2007

Here I sit, still in my pajamas at 3:30 in the afternoon. Man, no-school holidays are the best!

Luckily it has been pretty dark all day so Southern Girl slept in until 9:00 – which means we all slept till 9:00! And…she has taken a 3+ hour nap this afternoon. The icing on the cake would be to actually get those flurries the weather people keep teasing about and have a snow (or ice – I’m not picky) day tomorrow. Of course we won’t get that lucky, because it never snows here…wishing never hurt anyone, though!

We got some disturbing news this morning – hubby’s mom has been admitted to the hosp. and is doing very poorly. He’s been with her all day, but her kidney’s aren’t functioning properly – which is a very bad sign for her. She is in poor health anyway, due to several strokes she suffered a few years ago, but this seems to be a major backslide for her.
*as I was typing this, Tim called. His mother passed away about 20 minutes ago.
Please keep us in your prayers.

Spam update, etc. January 13, 2007

Meanwhile, in the Spam Wars…

I closed comments on the 4 entries I noticed were being spammed to death, and amazingly I have not been spammed in at least 24 hours. Of course this is just a momentary fix, but maybe it will give me enough time to find a solution. This version of MT is supposed to have a built in spam fighting feature, but I can’t get it to rate my commentors exactly right…just goes to show how ignorant I really am when it comes to this stuff!

I had my monthly doctor visit yesterday…I am now 17 weeks! Things went great…heart rate was 150. I told Dr. A about the headaches I have been having since Christmas day, and how sometimes Tylenol just doesn’t help. He gave me a prescription for something a little stronger, but “perfectly safe,” which I truthfully didn’t expect. I just thought he would say well, Southern Mom, you *are* pregnant, and headaches *are* a symptom. This is one time I was pleasantly surprised!

Next stop on the baby train: Jan. 31 – Ultrasound!

Dilemmas… January 11, 2007

For the first time, I have the opportunity to have Southern Boy and Southern Girl at the same child care place on the same days, but there is a big dilemma.
Here is Southern Boy’s pretty simple schedule:
MWF: Preschool
TT: Babysitter, who is an elderly woman whom we ADORE. She only keeps about 5 kids, ages 3-near 5.

Now, Southern Girl is a different story. In this small town I live in, infant child care is in very short supply. You pretty much need a relative or friend to watch your baby when you go back to work, or be one of the very FEW lucky ones to score a babysitter who will watch an infant. Daycare facilities are just not here, that is until about a month after Southern Girl was born when a local church decided to open a child development facility and accept babies. I was on that like white on rice, and Southern Girl was third (out of 4 spots) in the coveted baby room. This poor facility has had one bump in the road after another in it’s quest to open it’s doors, and finally went live, for just 2 days a week (Tues/Thurs), this week. Southern Girl has adapted very well in the two whole days I’ve dropped her off. The other three days, Southern Girl goes to the same babysitter she’s been going to, who coincidentally is also a teacher at the new child development center.

It’s all a piece of cake as long as Southern Dad and I can remember who goes where and which one of us is in charge of the drop off…because what day is it again?

So, long way to get to my dilemma, but here goes…
Southern Girl’s school has been asking me to bring Southern Boy, too, on TT, which would be SO EASY to just have one stop on those two mornings. However, I simply can NOT tell the sweet elderly babysitter whom we LOVE that I’m pulling him and putting him in the new facility. It’s simply that I don’t want to hurt her feelings or take away any income she might be relying on each week. I am in such turmoil over this decision…

Why is being a mother SO HARD?

Maybe I should spam our ghost January 10, 2007

For Southern Boy’s very first Christmas, way back in 2002, Santa brought him a Leap Frog Leapstart Learning Table. He loved it, played with the thing all the time,, but when he outgrew it we put it away in the garage to save for future use. Fast forward to, oh, around November. Southern Dad pulls the table out of storage, cleans ‘er up, and plops it down for Southern Girl to play with. She LOVED it! She has played with it daily since her daddy gave it to her with no problems…it works just like the day we, er Santa bought it. That is until Monday night. Both kids were in bed, as were Southern Dad and I, when we hear a jazzy little “one two three four five six seven eight-nine-ten!” Southern Dad put the TV on mute, and once again: “one two three four five six seven eight-nine-ten!” I made him go check to see what was causing it, fully expecting him to say a little mousy visitor had decided the table would be great fun. While he was walking down the hallway I hear once again: “one two three four five six seven eight-nine-ten!” I hear Southern Dad click on the light and the sucker goes crazy “one two three four five six seven eight-nine-ten! one two three four five six seven eight-nine-ten! one two three four five six seven eight-nine-ten!” He picks it up and turns the switch off, which solves the problem for the night, and all was well. Maybe?
Yesterday morning I switched it back on for Southern Girl to play with while I was getting ready for school, and just left it on for the day. We get home (from her fabulous, napless, first day of daycare), and she goes straight for the table. After playing for a while, it’s time for supper, so I snap her in her high chair and get her food ready. The table must have decided it was lonely, or maybe hungry, too, because it launched into a festive rendition of the ABC song. Not once, but THREE times!
Um…We have shut the thing off and put it up. I have no time for haunted play toys in my life. FREAKY.
Speaking of no time, I also do not have the time for the near 1200 spam comments I have recieved in the past week. Ohmygah, y’all! The spambots are KILLING ME! Does anyone know any plugins, maybe a captcha or something I can put in? I am drowning in SPAM!!! (maybe that gross mental image will make you feel sorry for me and give me some pointers, haha).

**updated: It’s been 6 10 19+ hours since I posted this, and I have been spammed 60 89 206 times…drowning, I tell ya!