Yackety Schmackety

Bad blogger!  Bad bad bad!

So, since I last updated… 

I survived my two weeks in St. Louis, learned a little, and had a LOT of fun. I ended up meeting two girls (one from Louisiana, one from Cincinnati- ironic no?) who were SO much fun, and there was a group of about six of us who like to drink beer and did so on a regular basis.  With no kids!  It was a good time.  We had a lot of laughs and have kept in touch since.

My husband was a ROCK STAR while I was gone!  He did so well with the boys, which I knew he would, but he went above and beyond.  They all survived and are better for it.

Thanksgiving was fine, if not a little chaotic.  We went to Illinois to Phil’s parents’ house and were joined by my brother-in-law and his wife and kids, then my parents, my brother, and his boy.  So there were LOTS of people there and a lot of noise, but it wasn’t too bad. The trip back was kind of no-fun, it was raining and Eli was crying a lot, but we made it back in one piece.

Work is going well.  I seem to have a good week followed by a bad week.  Last week=bad.  This week=good.   Hopefully before long the good weeks will outweigh the bad, and I’ll just have a bad day every once in awhile.

The boys are doing really well.  Simon is very excited about Santa coming, which is good bribery material for a short while.  He wants *everything* to do with Spiderman. We saw Santa at the mall last night and I’m sure Simon gave him an earful about exactly what Spiderman toy he wants. 

Eli, Eli, Eli.   What a sweet baby he is.  He is now six months old!  He had three teeth for the last month or so, until today, when I found THREE more!  AND, he’s crawling.  He’s been working on it for over a month and finally has it down.  He is so sweet, always trying to keep up with Simon.  Already. 

We are looking forward to Christmas…Phil’s parents will be joining us here at the house and I can’t wait!  I am so looking forward to enjoying Christmas at home!   Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and that you are enjoying your holidays!  Until next time…

Whew, we have been busy!  The boys and I returned on Sunday from our two-week trip "north", also known as Illinois and Ohio.  We had a really good time.  I don’t regret taking them on such a haul by myself, but I don’t know that I’ll be doing it again anytime soon!  Ha!

We left for Illinois on a Friday.  An 8-9 hour trip turned into a 12 hour trip due to Eli having to eat.  We stopped 8 times, and it was very frustrating.  We had a good time in Illinois though, I got to catch up with friends, Simon was able to visit with his old babysitter, and we all relaxed quite a bit.  The next Friday we went to Cincinnati.  That trip was pretty easy.

Cincinnati was a lot busier.  My parents had a cookout so that we could catch up with family.  That was a lot of fun.  During the week we also went to the Cincinnati Zoo, Newport Aquarium, and dad took Simon to the Natural History Museum.  On top of that was the Fourth of July festivities.  We hardly had a break!  Simon loved everything.  Eli didn’t really care much!

The following Friday we went BACK to Illinois to join in the Tuscola sesquicentennial (sure I spelled that wrong) festivities, and also to see our friends for their baby shower.  My brother in law and his family also joined us so all of the cousins were together, it was a really nice time.

We drove back to Mississippi on Sunday.  Only 3 stops this time, so it was a really easy trip back.

I forgot how NICE the weather up north can be in the summertime!  It is miserable here now!  It’s rained every day since I’ve been back and it’s just THICK with humidity.  Gross.  Phil was out of town most of the time that we were, and when he came back with the rain, our yard is so flooded and our grass is about knee-high!  It looks like our home is abandoned!  Hopefully it will dry out and the heat will break a little bit.

On to other news.  I have a new job!  And I don’t have to go back to work until the 6th of August, which gives me a little bit more time off for maternity leave.  All of this blew up while I was in Cincinnati, and I had an interview on Monday and a second interview on Tuesday.  Goodness!  I’ll be a sales rep for a medical equipment company, a different one than I work for now.  Hopefully it is a good move for our family.  It will be an interesting change of pace and I’ll be much closer to home.  

Now about those boys of mine.  Simon is doing well, he is as chatty as can be and smart as a whip.  As for Eli, he is also doing well and growing like a weed.  He had his 6 week checkup on Monday and is now 12 pounds, 3.5 ounces.  Piggy!  And, he rolled over from front to back today!  He’s doing pretty well at night, he typically only wakes up once.  Feeding is so-so.  I’ve been nursing and trying to get him on a bottle, but he’s not liking the bottle so well.  Luckily, because of my maternity leave extension, I am hoping it will work itself out before I start again.

Well, that’s all from us for now.  I have yet to get all of our pictures uploaded from the trip- keep an eye out for them! 

Just to let you know, we’ve created a set just for pictures of Eli on our Flickr site.  It’s private (to keep the hot panty weirdos away!) but if you would like the direct link, email me or comment here and I can send it to you.

Eli is wonderful- he’s such a good baby!  Simon is driving his mommy a little bit crazy, though.  Next week my mom will be in town, and after that he will be going back to school.  Actually, he was only supposed to go to school for half-days, but I’m thinking full days might be worth the extra 25 bucks for the week.  It’s a small price to pay for my sanity.

At the end of month we will be embarking on our big trip to the midwest.  We’ll be spending a week in Illinois, then a week in Ohio, then returning to IL before driving back here.  I hope it all goes smoothly as I am doing this by myself.  I may live to regret it.  If you’re reading this and in IL or OH, maybe we’ll get to see you!   

Less than four weeks to go, but who’s counting?!? Ha, I guess I should be! As soon as we get the crib put together, I will take some pictures of the baby’s nursery. I am so impressed with the way it’s turning out, if I do say so myself. The walls are rather bright but once everything else is ready, it should come together nicely. My hospital bag is packed but the carseat still needs to be installed. Other than that, I guess we’re ready. Or something. Oh yeah, and we don’t have a name yet either. We have narrowed it down to several options but due to responses such as "EW, DON’T NAME HIM THAT!" or pained laughter, we are not sharing them with the general public until he’s arrived. And then he will be too cute for anyone to care what his name is. But I’m STILL not naming him Woodrow.

Anyway, back to our (for now) family of 3. We had our good friend Amy, who lives in Birmingham, come to see us this past weekend. We had a really good visit. Friday night, we took her to one of the newer restaurants (if you want to call it that) in town, John’s Crawdad Hole. Eep. That’s TRUE Mississippi right there, folks. Dirt floor (or what appeared to be), picnic tables, canned drinks only (but you can bring your own cooler!), rolls of paper towels on the tables, and a bathroom sink right in the dining area. We ordered a few pounds of crawfish (not very good from my limited experience) and not enough boiled shrimp (that’s "boled" shrimp for you yankees)- they were REALLY good! So anyway, Simon finished his Happy Meal (needless to say, no kids’ menu here) and started running around the place, and the owner asked me if it would be okay for him to see the kitchen, and she asked him "I got some mudbugs, wanna see?". So he went back with her and came back with a LIVE crawfish in a plastic bag. It was all gnarly looking with just one claw that he kept waving at us like he was shaking his fist. Ew. Simon thought it was hilarious though, especially when the "mudbug" fell out of the bag and onto the floor. He got to hear his mommy scream like a little girl, how nice! I just kept thinking, how likely would this whole scenario be if we were up north?  Yeah, we have fun down here!

Well, that’s all from the big city for now.  I’ll hopefully be posting nursery pictures soon! 

I can’t believe it’s been so long since I’ve written. Sorry for anyone who is still reading! Since my last entry, we had a really nice visit with my parents, who were kind enough to come and visit.  I’ve also been job-hunting and had an interview last week that went really well, but I don’t think they were thrilled that I would not be able to start until mid-July.  Oh well.  The job hunt continues, as always.

The baby boy is still cooking, as of tomorrow I only have six weeks left!  SIX WEEKS!  How did that happen!?!  Hopefully we are getting the nursery painted this weekend and some furniture moved around to get ready for his arrival.  I just can’t believe how quickly this has flown by.  I’m as big as a house and it’s kind of hard to move at times, but the swelling I had so bad while pregnant with Simon hasn’t started.  Yet.  Maybe I’ll avoid that.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed anyway.

Simon seems to be getting excited about his new baby brother’s arrival.  He keeps talking about how little his feet are going to be.  He even offered to help someone with a baby yesterday change their poopy diaper.  Think he’ll keep it up?  Ha, no.  While he seems to be excited for the most part, he has been acting out a little more than usual lately.  I think he knows his days of being an only child are quickly coming to an end.   He should get plenty of attention after the baby’s born though.  He’s going to have a grandparent around for at least the first 3 weeks. 

My maternity leave is going to FLY by, I’m a little nervous about that.  I’m only taking 8 weeks and planning a two week trip to Illinois and Ohio during that time.  I must be crazy.

Anyway, hope everyone out there still reading is doing well.  If I don’t get around to it before then, I might have a birth announcement in my next post!!! 

Phil is doing some plumbing work, and Simon ran into his toy room to get his toolbox to help out.  It was just precious!

Anyway, just wanted to share that.  

I feel like I had my "southern initiation" this weekend.  My first crawfish boil.  I told Phil I would try ONE, but didn’t expect to like it.  Was I wrong- they were so good!  We had a great time socializing- it was mainly people from our church (who can have fun after all, who knew), and it was a good start to the spring/summer.  Yes, spring has sprung here, it is lovely.  Unfortunately, I have already experienced the downside to the nice weather:  mosquito bites.  I got two while outside today.  Wah.

Oh, and another plus to living in the south:  Simon officially has an accent!  It is HILARIOUS.  No more one-syllable words for him.  "Back" is now "bay-ack" and "self" is "say-elf".  So funny.  I’ll have to try to catch it on video sometime.

Anyway, hope everyone out there is doing well- talk to y’all soon!  Hee hee. 

The Bears are losing the Super Bowl. This sucks. Damn Indiana.

Not too much going on around here these days.  We’re all recuperating from a nasty stomach bug that has apparently run through Greenville like an epidemic.  Not fun.

Baby updates…he’s kicking like a maniac, which is great.  Unfortunately, I still continue to fight with my insurance company, and it looks like I am going to have to change doctors and hospitals.  This is crap.  I have the worst insurance company ever.

Simon updates…he’s now officially three and a half and, now that he’s recovered from the stomach bug, eating us out of house and home.  His teachers are raving over him knowing all of his letters, even out of order, and counting to 30.  Smartypants.

Anyway, I’d better get back to watching the Bears lose.  Wah. 

Alas, Christmas is over.  We had a great Christmas!  My brother in-law, his wife, and my two nephews were here from last Saturday until Monday, and my in-laws were here from last Sunday until this morning.  Our house is a wreck, I have to de-Christmas everything (ugh) and thank god that my cleaning lady is coming Tuesday.

Simon was spoiled (no surprise) this Christmas.  He was showered with Thomas engines and toys, a PlayDoh creativity center, and lots of Cars stuff.  

As for ‘our’ Christmas, we received our lovely bedroom set last Thursday, and, *finally* Phil has purchased his beloved new TV.  It arrives next Friday and I’m sure I will be taking pictures of his new "baby".  We are moving our old TV (still the same one from our garage in Saint Joe) to the sun room, where the treadmill now resides, so maybe we’ll get some renewed motivation to actually use it.  Or not.

This week might bring a bit of excitement.  I’m not 100% sure yet, but I think I might be having my ultrasound to determine if there’s a girl or a boy "bun" cooking.  I’m hoping that if I do have the ultrasound, the child is cooperative and shows his/her business for the camera.  Just this time. 

I have an official Christmas hangover and can’t think of anything else to write about, but I will share this funny from our resident comedian.  Phil went to the bathroom a few nights ago and Simon ran in and said he needed to go too.  Simon said "You wait daddy, I’m going potty first.  Don’t poop on me."  Maybe this is a problem he encounters at daycare? 

This post may not be for those with weak stomachs or those who do not have 3 year olds.

I’m pretty confident in saying that Simon is just about potty trained. He has done really well with peeing in the potty since very early on in this process. In fact, he’s even wearing underwear to bed and has not (knock on wood) had an accident in several weeks.

The process of #2, however, has been a bit more of a struggle. I’m told this is common in potty-training kids, so I don’t feel bad about it. He would get himself so worked up about going, that he would go a day or two without a “movement”, and most of the time, when he did go, it was in his underwear. Luckily, he was always so stopped up that it wasn’t a major cleanup. But still frustrating.

His daddy wasn’t happy about it, but we finally made progress about two weeks ago. I got a phone call while I was on my way home from work. This is what I heard: “Your son just shit in the driveway.” Between trying not to laugh (FINALLY! HE DOES THIS FOR HIS DAD AND NOT FOR ME!- although guess who had to clean it up when she got home- what the crap is that about?), I had to view it as a step in the right direction. Yes, it was smack dab in the middle of the driveway, but at least he knew he had to go, and did not simply go in his pants. Partially, it’s my fault, because I have let him pee outside if we’re out in the yard. We’re so country.

Fast forward to last week. The child pooped in the urinal at school (first, let me tell you how *cute* these little urinals are at his school, about as cute as the midget toilet). I guess, it’s porcelain, you pee in it, makes sense to do all of your business there, right?

There was also another incident at home (bless the child’s heart, he is so determined to do things on his own), where he went on the toilet with the lid up and without the potty ring. Yeah, that was gross. Not good for this pregnant lady and her overly sensitive sniffer.

A few nights ago, Phil gave him his bath and (thanks to the warm water) Simon had to get out of the tub to go potty. I was in the next room and heard the following. “IT’S COMING OUT OF MY BUTT!” and “DADDY, IT LOOKS LIKE A SNAKE! NO, A CATERPILLAR!” It was about a ten minute play-by-play. He is SUCH a boy. That was probably the funniest damn thing I have heard in a long time.

So, we’re making progress. Yes, he pooped in the yard again today (the yard! Not the driveway! Yessss!), but we’re slowly but surely getting there.

Best.week.ever.

Or something like that.  I love premiere week…and it usually is around the time of my birthday.  Since I’m not having one of those this year, I have nothing left to celebrate but premieres.  Tonight, How I Met Your Mother and The Class (it’s new, looks cute in previews but who knows.  We TiVO’d it to check it out).  Tomorrow, I’m not sure (Tuesdays suck until AI time rolls around).  Wednesday, a new CSI NY, Thursday….THE OFFICE!  YAY! We set the TiVO for something new every night this week.  Some will be season pass-worthy, others not.  Others will be shows that we absolutely love that get cancelled before the spring.  (REUNION, ANYONE?!?) 

Anyway, Simon and I made it back from our quick trip to Ohio.  We left Wednesday afternoon, stayed in Cave City, KY that night (in a terrible Best Western), and drove to Cincinnati the next morning.  We ate lots of good food (LaRosa’s, Skyline, Frisch’s, etc.) and got to see my nephew, who just turned one.  I’ll have pictures for that later.

We also went to see Thomas the Train (pictures are already up on Flickr).  It was pretty cute, although Simon wasn’t nearly as thrilled as I had hoped he would be.  I think he was pissed that other kids might like Thomas too.  He’s 3.  He’ll get over himself sooner or later.

We left Cincinnati Sunday afternoon and drove to Jackson TN, where we spent last night (much better hotel this time!), and I was all set for a leisurely trip back to MS today…

Until 659 am, when my boss called me (of course waking me up) to say that JCAHO was in our area to do inspections this week.  If you’re unfamiliar with JCAHO, it’s like a health inspector coming into your restaurant, but much worse.  They do "unannounced surveys" and scare the bejesus out of everybody, looking to make sure all of your i’s are dotted and t’s crossed.  So they are coming.  This week.  I talked to my boss again later in the morning and he said they would be at my store tomorrow (Tuesday).  What a lovely finish to my vacation.

Long story short, I hurried back to MS, met Phil to deliver Simon to him, and went to work.  In checking my email, I received a schedule of where the JCAHO people were going to be and when, and my store wasn’t on the list.  By some ever-so-lucky twist of fate, my store and one or two others was spared an actual visit from JCAHO.  They’ll be calling me to fax paperwork tomorrow, but for the most part, I’m thrilled with this news.  I was so sick when I thought they were coming.  So, happy finish to vacation after all!

And, I’m done.  For now.  Done with travelling, chaos, business.  For now.    I’ll get stir crazy again soon and want to do lots of driving.  But for now I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed for the next few months.