Did Someone Say Chocolate?

Cute means cute...or does it

I went to work today to run payroll. I took little Daniel with me again. An angel as usual! More of the staff got to see him today and everyone thinks he's adorable! I had one co-worker say "ya know, he really is cute". I said "ya I know". She said "no I mean I'm not just saying that, he really is a cute baby". I just kind of looked at her funny. She says "well you know how some babies aren't very cute, but you tell the parent that anyway. I just want you to know that I mean it when I say Daniel is a cute baby". I just laughed and of course I know my baby is CUTE! ;)

Got my TX license in the mail today, finally! My hubby opened it before I even knew it came with the excuse that I probably wouldn't have let him see it had I got it first. I'd cut him off for that, but heck, we've both been deprived for long enough and let's face it - I WANT SOME!! MEOW *wink*

Cody's school principal called today to inform us that the package for Alternative School is in the mail for us to review. Doug spoke with her and tried to find out exactly when and by who the decision was made by to put the boys in that school. What a time he had. She really beat around the bush with it and kept saying it was Board policy etc. Well all we want is a chance to have our say and to let them know what the boys have been doing all summer. We feel they've been punished enough with the plan we had come up with and we certainly don't think Alternative school is the answer for them (little did we know, they are including Justin). All we really want and EXPECT is a chance for some sort of hearing. I really think it has to be our parental right. She tells Doug "oh Alternative School is really a wonderful place". I laughed, ya right. She's probably never stepped foot in the place. Oh well, we knew this fight was coming and it's about time they contacted us about it.

Mom called last night from Royal Retreat, Virginia. They were heading up towards NY today, so all is well with them and their trip. Mom was all happy because they got to stop and see Loretta Lynn's Ranch yesterday. *giggle* Mom likes to sight see and such, I couldn't really be bothered myself. Doug's dad came to visit 'tis afternoon. He held the baby for quite awhile. His Dad and step mom bought the baby some really nice bedding from Pottery Barn just after he was born. It has planets and space ships all over it. It looks like it's all handmade. Today he brought a matching picture for the wall. So cute (no really, it IS cute)! *roll eyes here*

I think we are going to take the kids down to Denton this weekend so Doug's grandmother can finally see the baby. She's elderly and has been looking forward to Daniel's birth for a long time, so she'll be happy to see him. Speaking of baby, I hear him now...This post has taken me darn near all night to get written, I've had so many interruptions, Night.

Officially bummed out

I had Mom and Wayne out yesterday for a bit of shopping. I took Daniel with me too hoping to have my eyes done and to show him off a bit to my hair dresser. Unfortunately, the salon was closed. I should have known that but I can never keep track of their hours. It seems like as soon as I get them figured out, she switches places on me again. Anyway, on the way home, I had just pulled off the highway and was stopped at the yield sign waiting for traffic to clear when *SMACK*! Rear Ended. It jolted the van hard and scared the crap out of my sleeping baby. Daniel started crying, both my mother and I jumped out of the van. I ran to the baby and she ran to the truck that hit us. She did some yelling at the lady driver (that of which she apologized later for) and I did some soothing to a crying infant. I told the lady we needed to pull off the road or we're going to cause another wreck.

Oddly enough, she told my mother she didn't have insurance, but when the cop showed up, she produced liability insurance quick enough. We filled out some paper work etc and were on our way back home in less than an hour. I had called Doug just after it happened and while I was talking with him it dawned on me how lucky I was to have JUST gotten my TX license. LOL. This was just what we were all talking about in the comments of that post a couple of weeks ago. Yes I have a horseshoe up my ass. I've actually had that horseshoe up there since 1997 (when I left my ex). We were also very lucky no one was hurt. Baby settled down and the cop reassured me that he was probably just fine because he was in his seat. It just scared him.

There is a lot of damage to the back end of the van. The whole back door/bumper/side panel will have to be replaced. She was driving a full size Ford S150 truck and of course all she's got is a bit of a ding in the bumper (that I'm sure her husband will freak over). I have the advantage of not being in the "wrong". Accidents happen though, she said she saw me, looked away for a second and wham. Then she says "and I wasn't even on my phone". *smirk* which if she had of been, that would have just reaffirmed Doug's pet peeve with cell phones.

Oh well, done is done and everyone seems fine. I'm a little bummed 'tis morning. I got up to see my mother and Wayne off. They left around 9:30 a.m. heading out towards Arkansas. =( I hope the drive goes well for them. It'll be hot with no air conditioning, but I think she's looking forward to her "big adventure" on the highway anyway. We figure they'll arrive home Sunday or Monday. It's going to suck not having her help and company after her being here for the past 8 weeks. The pugs I'm sure will do some moping around tonight not understanding where she went. She's been home with them more than I have these past couple of months.

Mom gave the kids all a little "talking to" before she left about not getting into any more trouble, helping out around the house...etc etc.. No sooner did she leave and I caught Sarah holding down Bella again (for the hundredth time that she's been repeatedly warned about), so I gave her a sheet of lines to write about not holding down the dogs. I turned and caught out of the corner of my eye her standing there sticking her tongue out at me all snotty like, so she earned herself another sheets of lines about that. She's not a happy camper right now, but maybe after a few times of lines, she'll think twice before she holds down one of those dogs again! Heh I just checked on Sarah and amazingly enough she's almost finished. Oh well, the day has just begun...

Time moves on

Mom was feeling a bit rushed over the weekend and felt like she was running out of time to get things done, so having no time line to be home by, her and Wayne decided to stay until tomorrow morning. I wish she'd stay longer. She considers herself an inconvenience, but she truly hasn't been. I'm not sure what we would have done without her this summer and having her here means I don't have to worry about her being there. I am afraid however that the heat has bothered her so badly, she'll never come again during the summer (menopause and Texas heat do not mix well). I think she'll come back at Christmas time, at least that's what we're talking about for now.

I did not fall asleep easily last night. I had cramps so bad, they felt like contractions. Maybe my uterus is still shrinking. I was on the floor with them for probably ten minutes or so, they even made me throw up they hurt so bad. Poor Doug, he didn't sleep either. Daniel was up at his usual time, but didn't go right back to sleep. He was up for over two hours last night which made for a longer than usual night for me. I think he had some pains in his belly too. He wasn't fussy to speak of, but wanted to be held and rubbed.

I have to go in to work tomorrow to run payroll. This will be the first time back to work (I've visited once) since the baby was born. He'll be going with me this time. Anything I work during my maternity leave will be banked and paid during September when my vacation/sick/comp time is depleted. Anyone out there with tips on how to leave a newborn and return to work? It's not going to be easy for me.

Doug and I had a bit of an anniversary over the weekend. Two years later...I look into his eyes and love him more today than I ever did. We've grown together so much in such a relatively short time. I can't believe all that's happened for us. Having little Daniel around just confirms everything we feel, everything we have and everything we hope for. Love is an amazing thing!

Trip to the doctor's

I took little Daniel to the pediatrician today for the first time. I needed them to check his circumcision for me. It started looking swelled and sore last night and I wanted some reassurance that everything was fine. The doctor said it was doing exactly what it needed to do, so all was well. When I told him how much Daniel was eating each feeding (4 oz), he seemed quite surprised and pleased, especially when I confirmed that he did not spit up. Daniel weighed 8 lbs 9 oz! He's growing already. WEEEEEEEP! SNIFF!

We took Wayne and Mom downtown to eat tonight at a local barbeque place called Risky's. Doug likes their catfish. I'm not fussy about anything on the menu there, but I'll eat their burgers. Daniel basically slept the day away, so I was a bit worried about taking him out so late, but he was an angel. Slept through dinner and only woke up on our way out. He fussed a bit in the van having to wait for his bottle. He's just such a good baby. We count our blessings. He's now in his kick n play chair for some quality play time having finished his bottle and for surviving his bath.

Justin is at Doug's Mom's place for the weekend. He was pretty excited about going. It was easier for us to have one less kid while Wayne was down just because of the lack of beds for everyone. Well time to put Daniel to bed! Night all...

One week old!

Warning: Much baby talk ahead!

Well, my sweet baby is one week old today. Sigh, time will fly away on me. I told Doug he just isn't allowed to grow up. My hormones are flying around so fragile like that I could just cry when I think of him growing up. A few days after he was born, I told Doug I want another baby. I think his hair began turning grey at that moment lol. There's probably only about a 1% chance of us ever deciding to have another baby. I told him primarily what stops me from actively pursuing him for another child is the embarrassment of telling people "oh I have FIVE children" *grins*.

I feel great. My recovery has went so fast, it's amazed me. I hurt for much longer after the other kids were born. After I got home from the hospital, during my first shower at home, I was gearing up for a struggle to get below my knees washed when I leaned over to discover, "crap I can bend right over and it doesn't hurt"! You get so used to doing something one way when you're pregnant, that it takes some getting used to going back to the old way. The only real discomfort I've had since he was born is a sore spot on my back. Sometimes it's fine and I don't feel it, but if I stand for too long at the change table or something, it starts paining and burning so bad. I usually have to hunch over or have Doug come push on it. Nasty!

Sometimes I feel really empty and lonely not being pregnant. I've never experienced that before. It's probably hormone related somehow. It's getting better as the days pass anyway and heck, let's face it, it's been a long time since I could hug and cuddle my husband properly with my belly always being in the way. Ooo speaking of feeling empty... I gained 21 lbs total during this pregnancy. I was anxious to get home to weigh myself and when I did, I pleasantly discovered that I had lost all 21 lbs from the birth alone! I was grinning. I have since lost five more pounds. Mind you, I'm all out of shape with jello belly 'n all and my skin feels odd from all the fluid that had caused the swelling being gone now. My wedding ring still won't fit over my knuckle though =(. I'll give it until my doctor's appointment in 3 weeks and if it still doesn't fit, I may make Doug get me another one.

Daniel has been a wonderful baby. He is a very content baby and no matter how "clumsy" Doug feels with him right now, I think he's just wonderful with the baby and I know Daniel loves listening to his daddy talk politics and physics to him! He seems to have two "quiet alert" stages per day. He is so adorable during that time. His little eyes look all around, he's very still and observant. His facial expressions melt my heart. He has two long naps per day too. It seems the past couple of nights, I'm able to keep him awake during one of his quiet alert times till about 11'ish. He'll wake up once around 4"ish, then he goes back down for 3-5 hours more. I can handle that. He's been drinking 3.5 - 4 oz/feeding since we brought him home. His real long sleep happens during the afternoon which gives me time to get some stuff done (not that I have a lot to do these days with Mom and Doug taking care of everything).

He fusses a bit while getting his diaper changed. He doesn't like to be unswaddled or having his clothes changed. He gets cold quickly. I try to keep him warm and covered as I change him and that's keeping him much happier during change times now. He absolutely hated his sponge baths and only tonight for the first time didn't cry during his bath, so he's getting better at accepting it and I'm getting better at finding ways for him to enjoy it and not get so upset. He fusses a bit when first waking up from his naps, but once I pick him up, he stops. He, so far, is not a fussy baby, burps real well and gets soothed quickly. We are very happy!

Wayne arrives tomorrow at noon. He'll be helping Mom drive the car home. She leaves for home on Monday. I know she's anxious to get back, but we sure aren't anxious for her to go. Crap, she's had me spoiled helping with the housework, cooking, baking, plus it's been nice having someone around to help with the kids. The kids get a real big kick out of the baby so far. They laugh and laugh when he makes a funny face or burps. The dogs are another story. They have only just recently stopped barking at him and Bella seems to be in a bit of a snit over baby joining the family. I know they'll be fine in time, but it still gives me guilt head.

I sure can rattle on. Mom just handed my sleeping baby back to me. I look at him and my heart explodes. I feel so much love for his daddy! This is what life is all about.

Picture time

Baby is doing great. He's so sweet, I feel sometimes like my heart will explode. I'm still not sleeping well. Not sure what I'm running on at this point. We are expecting Doug's family up today, so this will only be a quick post to get some pictures out there!

Here's a final shot of my baby belly that I promised to post weeks ago.


I think this was taken two days before Daniel was born (his due date!).

This little bundle is what came out of that belly! This picture was taken directly after birth.


Here he is getting his first burping session from Mommy.


We thought this was cute because as soon as I sat him up to burp, he opened his eyes right up and took a good look around. He stayed in this quiet phase for quite a long time. He actually doesn't cry much at all. He doesn't like getting changed yet, nor having sponge baths. He wants to be swaddled and warm all the time!

This was just before the horrid first bath the nurse gave him. He was NOT a happy camper about that! We have pictures of that too, but I'll spare you!


Yup, there's that head size I was dreading all those months! Oddly enough though, after checking baby books, his 14.25" was the same as Justin.


This picture turned out a little dark, but we had just dressed him up for his web photos that a lady comes around to take at the hospital.


You can see those three photos here. Just use the visitor password: Ingram. The shots on the webpage are okay. They didn't spend much time actually posing him. I found the poor little guy squinted a lot because of the flash. We actually just had his pictures done yesterday at BabiesRus for birth announcements. Now those pictures are sweet. Unfortunately, we didn't buy the disk, so I'm unable to share those. =(

Well that's all for now. Enjoy! I am going to try to sneak a nap before company arrives.

Home Sweet Home

Hi all. Thanks to everyone for all the well wishes and congrats that we both received. I am home now and recovering well. Aside from some serious sleep deprivation and a bit of a sore back, I feel great considering what my body just did a few short days ago! I can't wait to post about it all and get some pictures up, but for now, I'm just too tired. The baby is beautiful and healthy and he smells soo good I could just eat him up when I hold him! Bye for now, I'll post real soon!

Baby...

Cross posted (by Chuck) from the Carpe Datum......

Our son, Daniel, was born at 9:01am this morning. 8lbs 2oz, about 20 inches long. Everything went well. Baby got a perfect score and looks great, and mom didn't tear or anything (but it was painful). We're at the hospital until late Thursday or (more likely) Friday morning. Woo!

Can you say yummy?!

Well Doug and I took advantage of an afternoon alone together yesterday and drove out to Weatherford in hopes of finding a farm market with the produce that I was looking for. No luck, but it was nice being together. We had some errands to run as well, so we got those taken care of. Poor Doug had lost his cell phone after only having one for a mere six weeks or so. It cost $140.00 to replace. Ouch. This one has insurance on it now, not that he'll probably ever loose it again, but just in case. He didn't bother replacing the carrying case and the belt clip I had gotten him for his birthday. That was another thirty bucks, but he says it always got in his way, thus why he'd take his phone off when sitting, thus in the end leading to the loss of his phone. Doh. Oh well, spilt milk now eh?

He took me out for lunch at a new place (new for me, forgotten about for him) called Mimi's Cafe. Well it's at the top of my list for favorites. I couldn't stop raving about it yesterday and I can't wait to go back. Corn chowder...Mmmmmmmmm! My god, I've died! I kicked his butt for not taking me there sooner. I guess last time he was there was two years ago May when he hosted a clan lord gathering. Regardless, yummy place. My mom will love it too. Speaking of...Mom and I ran around last night and went shopping. Picked up some veggies for Hodge Podge from Central Market. The produce down here just isn't the same at home. Hodge Podge is a big summer favorite where I come from so it's easy to get baby vegetables when in season. I've searched everywhere down here. I finally settled on fresh carrots, white potatoes and green beans (should be baby potatoes, baby carrots and yellow, not green beans) and crappy looking wilted peas. Oh well. We'll have that tonight, so we'll see if it's okay or not.

Doug got Mom out today for a bit looking around at Half Priced Bookstores in Arlington, so I've taken advantage of the time to finish up laundry, clean the kitchen and the bedroom and to supervise, of course, the thorough cleaning of my oldest's bedroom. She's hoping to find cheap Plastic Canvas books/magazines. It's not a big craft down here, most I mention it to have never heard of it. She's only found one book so far at the store I took her to. I didn't sleep well last night, so I ended up in bed till 1:00 p.m. today. Nasty! Everyone I know had guessed that the baby would come early. Most were aiming around the 4th of July just for fun. My guess was today, July 12 and that the baby would weigh 7.5 lbs. Hmm nothing so far, so I guess I was wrong too. I guess he'll come when he's darn, good and ready!

Loose ends

I had a couple of nasty contractions 'tis morning, then nothing! After the second one happened within 3-4 minutes of the first, I was thinking to myself "oh oh", but that was it. Oh well soon enough eh?

I have been here in Texas for darn near 2 years now and I have yet to get a state driver's license. I continued to procrastinate it because I had heard they will re-test you. It's not that I think I cant' drive or anything, but crap, imagine the embarrassment if I failed lol. A couple of months ago, I went in and finally got my State ID issued. The guy told me just to bring that ID with me when I want to get my license. A re-test wasn't necessary if you have a valid driver's license from Canada.

So, I figured today I'd go and get it done. You know, finishing up those loose ends! I filled out the paper work and stood in line for a pretty short time. When I get up there, the lady processed everything right up to the picture taking thing, then says "oh when does your license expire?". I said "I'm not sure, it's on the license in red". Hmmmm ooops, expired on my birthday back in March this year. Well there goes that. She says "that's ok, step up to the line for your picture and we'll just get you re-tested". Gulp.

So a few minutes later, I'm sitting in front of a computer going through the written version of the test. After question number ten, I'm starting to crap my pants because they are asking questions about TX law and stopping distances in feet that I don't have a clue about. So, I click skip to next item understanding that any item that is skipped comes back at the end. Well duh, it doesn't, it counts as being wrong. ha ha. Luckily I passed anyway even with those all wrong. Had I known how it worked for sure, I would have at least took a guess.

One test down, driving test to go. I have to wait in an eight car deep line up at the back of the building. Thirty or so minutes later, my freakin' gas light comes on and there's still two cars ahead of me. Gas lights drive me nuts. I freak when Doug picks me up with his flashing! So, I called my mother griping about the stupid test and the gas situation. She convinces me that I'll still have lots of gas to do a little test with and gives me advice about not chit chatting the woman up during the test and to make sure I don't gripe about other "stupid" drivers (like both Doug and I ALWAYS do). Ha ha, so the lady gets in the van and chats non stop about her five grandchildren! They don't grade you that hard and aside from loosing a point on the parallel parking for not quite being deep enough in, I did fine. We basically drove around a couple of residential streets that had virtually no traffic on them. Bye bye to my pretty little Nova Scotia license.

Latest baby update

I had a good doctor's appointment today for a switch. She was there and we got called in immediately. I had lots of time with her to ask all my questions and vent all my anxiety out. Near the end she looked at Doug and asked him if he had to hold a gun to my head to convince me to have a baby. I don't think I was that bad, although I probably did sound like a big baby with all my whining. I lost another three pounds (six total now in two weeks) due to not keeping food down at night we assume. She prescribed a new antacid stuff for me to try hoping it'll keep the gas down at night. I am thinking it's what's been making me sick at night when I try to sleep. She also reassured me that I'm not carrying a nine pounder. She guesses around 7.5 lbs, like I do. That's a huge relief for me.

When she checked me today, she says I'm close to 3 cm dilated which is great progress from a week ago. She doesn't think I'll make it to the next appointment. I've been really sore and bleeding since she checked me though. I think she poked around hard on purpose hoping to move things along. She talked to us about inductment, possibly on Friday she suggested. We came home and talked about it and decided not to do it unless I go way overdue and it becomes medically necessary. I hear too many horror stories about being induced, that and if she thinks I'll go on my own within a week anyway, then why bother rushing it.

We were able to ask her my whole list of questions. I've been getting so worried about stuff, that I'm spending most of my nights tossing and turning. It might have been my nerves making me sick too. It was good to find out about the procedures, hospital policies and what we can expect, etc. I feel much better today than I have in a long time. I also found out that they no longer give prescriptions or shots for drying up milk. Apparently, it can cause strokes. So, I'll have that discomfort to deal with after baby comes. She told me of a home remedy using cabbage leaves. Between that and binding myself, something will work. Won't I smell pretty though with cabbage leaves shoved down my bra. I wonder if my hubby will ever wanna do me again after this is all over?!! =)

Bury me please

I'm off work now. I should be enjoying myself, but instead I'm so cranky that I can't stand my own company. I went to the doctor's on Tuesday. We got called back almost immediately. We were thinking to ourselves "holy crap, we are soo gonna get outta here early". After the nurse left us, she told me the doctor would be right in. It was about 45 minutes later when she finally popped her head back in to tell us that my doctor just finished delivering a baby and that she was on her way back now. I think it was almost another 30 minutes later when we finally saw her. The nurse should have been upfront from the start that the damn doctor wasn't even in the office instead of leaving me sitting half naked on the table anticipating the door opening any second.

When I finally got to see the doctor, I could tell she was flustered and rushed with an office full of patients waiting to see her, so I didn't even bother asking the questions that I thought I'd ask her. When she checked me this time, she told me everything was really soft and progressing nicely, but the baby hadn't dropped yet, he was still pretty high in the pelvis. Which was so frustrating to me for two reasons. First - a few weeks ago she told me how low he was and that she could touch his head etc. Secondly - I'm in so much pain and discomfort now, I wonder how I'll manage when he does drop. Mom says babies can move back up even if he was lower last time. I just don't know. The doctor said next appointment she'll discuss inducing me if we are interested and ready. I am NOT!

Nevertheless, I felt pretty crappy yesterday. I'm just so frustrated, I can't find anything to grin about. To top my night off last night while I was eating a piece of ice cream cake, a whole corner chipped off of my molar. This is a very common problem during pregnancy that I have with my teeth, but I really thought so late into this pregnancy, that it wasn't going to be a problem this time. I was so upset over it, I just went to bed at 8:30 to sulk. It's just one more thing to worry about now.

I woke up through the night around 4 a.m. and couldn't go back to sleep. I tossed and turned all night and was still pretty awake when Doug left for work in the morning. I got up a few hours later and landed back in bed at noontime. I slept for a few hours. After I woke up, I was laying there reading when I heard Cody suddenly start crying. I got up to check on him and he was all curled up on the floor and I couldn't see what had happened. Of course I freak when this sort of thing happens, so Doug came running to check on him. As it turns out, he dropped his little sponge Bob folding chair on his mouth and knocked out half of both of his front teeth. Of course, these are his permenant teeth. Doug found two big chunks of teeth in front of him, so we've put them up and have made a dentist appointment for him tomorrow afternoon. I feel so bad for him. He's had such horrible dental problems ever since he was a baby and now this to deal with. When his permenant teeth came in, I was so relieved because we weren't sure if they would come in okay or not. Obviously, all the x-raying in the world didn't detect the weakness of them. Sigh, it was just one more thing today and now I want to go bury my head again!