No Nap for Me

Since I opted for tax returns and a much needed shower instead of a nap today. I thought I would use what little precious minutes I have left to show everyone some endearing Noah quirks. Today's topic: Outside Play

Just a shopping cart full of balls, you say? Mommy knows what this really is. This is my toddler's expression of dominance and defiance against the only being he's allowed. Emma (the dog). Every one of these balls belongs to Emma and every time we go outside he gathers them together and places them into this basket out of her reach in order to prove to her that he's better because he has thumbs. Then he pushes them around saying "No, Mama my ball". I make him share, don't worry. Poor Emma.

This is Noah's very own 4 wheeler. It's electric and actually moves! His favorite part is the trunk. He fills it with as many rocks as he can find as well as various "tools" found strewn over the yard. He enjoys opening the trunk, taking out a rock, throwing it, finding it again, and exclaiming "ROCK!". He's also decorated the seat with sidewalk chalk. It's art to me! To ride this beast he stands along the side with one foot on the pedal, never sits. He's an odd one.

Here is Noah playing in a huge fireant-hill with one of his many tools from the trunk. It was cold today so the ants weren't really active. You can tell by his stantz that he's been bitten before. I don't really freak out about it because he knows better than to sit in it or actually spend any time IN the hill, just meanders around it and agitates the little a-holes. I hate fireants and am for any torture he wants to dish out to them. Also his nifty boots provide a slick protective layer of "green frog" rubber all the way up to his kneecaps.

That's my Noah :)

Death and Taxes

How is it possible that when I used TurboTax I get a return of almost 4 times what H&RBlock was going to give me. What... the... hell. I almost want to redo my taxes from last year since I used HRB, and almost had to PAY! Never ever again going to use HRB. I'm so glad I had the sudden urge to get a 2nd opinion before I hit the send button. TURBOTAX FOR LIFE, y'all! hehe

dreams be dreams

I am going to try and record this before I forget. So... I had this dream that I was driving really far away with a bunch of people in some huge group with all my family, but for whatever reason I wasn't on the buses. I rented a car halfway there somewhere along the highway. I don't know what it was for, but we were all at this HUGE hotel and it was really nice. Then all of a sudden it was time to go and we were going to get in trouble if we didn't leave right away. I still hadn't packed and my brother wasn't even around to pack up his room. So, I decided to quickly close out both our rooms.

I got lost and couldn't remember which hotel room was mine. I remember how to get to it, but only from the entrance and the hotel was so big it was impossible to find. At one point I was trying to climb over some balcony that had little sticks and clay extended as a "bridge" that they were doing some "no fear" demonstration with a kid. I told them that this kind of clay wouldn't hold enough weight and suspending him over 3 stories was a bad idea and they listened. Then I was in a restaurant with my mom and dad, who also hadn't heard the announcement. I told them we had to go and they left and I stole all the fruit that they hadn't eaten (pineapples and weird jello strawberries). Then I ended up by a simulated rollercoaster ride that was in progress and for some reason, got onto it. It was boring. The kids who were on it (all teenagers) were trying to help me organize myself. I had pizza, keys, chapstick, fruit and all other kinds of crap in my bag. I said "I guess I need to switch to a purse now that everyone has a manbag" to which a girl replied "I like to call it a ladybag". Now I'm at their economics displays and they have organizing inserts for courier bags that are really cool. They also have rhinestoned dining chairs, which are not. I finally find the elevator! Noah wakes me up.

The whole time I felt rushed and absent-minded and really distracted. It felt like I was suddenly appearing in all these places, like I didn't walk there myself or something even though I did. I was stressed and under pressure, but I wasn't acting like I was. It was like I was in a dream in my dream hahaha.

dangity dang

I've been blowing my nose so much over the past few weeks. Apparently tissues are like light bulbs... they all run out at the same time. I had to open up 3 new boxes today. Dang. I know, so exciting ;)

Pregnancy Dreams

I feel like I'm more along the lines of 7 months pregnant. I can't seem to get comfortable when I sleep and I can't stay asleep. I've been having a lot of Noah dreams, like I'm afraid I will forget about him or something. Last night I had a dream that Noah was "helping" me by taking everything apart, rearranging blankets, and throwing pillows around on my bed while I was trying to sleep. It was very frustrating and stressful!! I swear I thought it was real. I woke up at 4am from this dream and I was having trouble breathing through my nose, kept coughing and wheezing, and was hot. I tossed and turned for about an hour and finally fell back asleep sitting up in bed watching the Rugrats. Noah woke me up 2 hours later. I feel nauseated and shaky and I can't stop sneezing. I just want to lay back down. I can't wait 'til naptime. Good thing babies are totally worth it ;) Oh and the sunrise was really pretty this morning.

Correction

The weather is actually great today. It's sunny and warm again... still a bit muddy, but the Texas sun will take care of that problem real quick. We played outside for awhile before naptime. Noah has this obsession with holding sticks up like bazookas and aiming them at things. I have no idea where he got this from... maybe the Incredibles? Mostly it's just funny. The first time he did it was to some Mormons who disturbed us while we were carving pumpkins on Halloween.

I've been sneezing all day due to allergies, which have always been bad but only got about 500 times worse when we moved to Texas. I will stay miserable thanks to pregnancy and lack of studies on the effects of loratadine (active ingredient in every good allergy med) on the unborn. I just sneezed now and felt like someone punched me in the stomach. Not the stomach, stomach... the very lower stomach where everything stretches and cramps up and eventually goes into labor. And I was just about to say I was a little worried because I haven't felt pregnant today. Noah's up :)

Mommy I Poop!

This morning Noah got out of bed himself and came into my room to find me. He was heading for the bathroom (guess he didn't see me in bed) when I said "Hi Noah". Then he told me "Mommy I poop, change" and ran to get a diaper. So, needless to say I had to get up and change the boy. I put him in a pullup today and I will stay motivated to do this potty training thing. But first, I go to the bank :) Texas randomly decided that one miscellaneous week in September that I claimed can now be paid so I got another hefty unemployment check. I am going to pay off some bills. But first I bought some new shoes because they were BOGO1/2 off and I've had these shoes since... I think since I was 16? I was due for new ones.

Yesterday Noah somehow spilled yogurt all down his shirt. It's like he gets clumsier and messier as he gets older. We've both got a bit of cabin fever so I think we'll find someplace to go that's inside today. The weather outside is craaaaaap, it's muddy and gray and cold and gross. We both need some excitement and exercise.

Goodnight

As soon as I even begin to click on a link beyond my normal bookmarks I unwittingly delve into a world of intolerance. Politics in this country have gotten out of hand. When are people going to realize that neither side is right? GOD! I shouldn't have clicked on anything!

On a semi-related note I watched Idiocracy. Highly recommended and hilarious, from the creator of Office Space. If you like stupid but witty comedies, you'll love it. It's funny because I can literally see something like this happening. I think the human race will eventually divide into 2 different species, the smart and the dumb.

Stupid Army

I was noticing Josh's pay was a little short the past few months. I thought maybe it was because he wasn't getting the hazard pay and whatnot for being deployed anymore. Then it got worse. I got online and we checked his paystubs and saw they haven't been giving him family separation pay since he got back from Iraq. They automatically shut it off, without even looking! But wait there's more! They've been taking $290 a month from him since August, again without consulting him... while he was deployed. He is repaying a debt to the government for a bonus he received when he joined the Air Force. This issue has been addressed multiple times with finance and every person in his chain of command and others... he DOES NOT HAVE TO PAY THE BONUS BACK!!! He shouldn't be punished for transferring to the Army from the AF. It was established by the Department of Defense that individuals like him DO NOT have to repay bonuses for "early severance" of their contracts in the prior service. I added it up and the government owes us $2,225.25 which I hardly expect will be paid as promptly as it was taken. I'm just angry I didn't look into it sooner, right when I noticed a difference.

Yesterday

I was in a pretty down mood yesterday. I believe it was due to 2 factors. 1- It was time to go grocery shopping but I didn't go, and so I really didn't eat very much and when I did it wasn't too healthy. 2- Poor Josh is suffering from a dry socket after his bizarre emergency operation and hasn't been in any mood to talk. He's trying to sleep as much as possible because he's run out of percocet and sleeping is the only time his mouth doesn't hurt. I miss him and he's not himself lately so it's almost like I miss him more if that makes any sense.

So anyway I took Noah to the ER yesterday to get his stitches out. There was literally no parking there... at an emergency room. I had to park on the curb, luckily I didn't get a ticket. Noah was really good and we only had to wait about an hour. After that we sat around all day until Jennifer came home. The 3 of us went to the grocery store and bought tons of fruit and vegetables. I haven't craved beef once. I've been craving broccoli and cheese like crazy though... not broccoli with melted cheese, just either one separately. I've also been craving potatoes and oatmeal. Yay for me! I hope this means I won't jump up 6 sizes like I did last time. Granted, I did go back down but I would rather not have to worry.

TV is the devil

I was watching "Now" on PBS last night and it was all about the 1st ID getting ready to go back to Iraq right after the holidays. One family has 4 kids, the oldest is 9. Of those 9 years their father has been gone on training and deployments for 6 years. While he was gone the last time his daughter was born premature and was in NICU for awhile. Two other families just had their first child and then daddy left one week after her birth. There are a million stories like mine or worse... I'm tired of it. But, yeah let's send 21,500 more troops. Tard. Where is he going to find these troops? Sorry I just felt like venting.

Nice Day Finally!

It was finally another Texas day. The sun was out and we didn't need jackets, it was so warm. It was still a little muddy outside from all the rain for the past week so I bought Noah some rain boots. He loves them because they're green frogs like in his "Brown Bear" book.

We played outside for a bit and I suddenly felt a little motivated so we went to the zoo :) After that we got some lunch at Jason's Deli and then turned in for a late nap. Unfortunately we accidentally slept until after 5 :P I guess Noah will get to stay up later tonight than usual.

Today is a day

I feel very pregnant today. I feel bloaty and annoyed. My stomach feels weird and I am really hoping I don't develop morning sickness. I was very lucky with Noah and wasn't sick at all... just had some heartburn in the 3rd trimester. We shall see. I found another pregnancy test so I took it, still pregnant. I guess that's another symptom, the fear of losing the baby. OK back to dinner :)

Nick Jr.

I think that Dora the Explorer and Go Diego Go are more annoying than Barney. All they do is yell! And they repeat themselves a billion times... louder and LOUDER. "WHICH one is TALLER. YES and HE is a PENGUIN!!! DO YOU SEE the MONKIES!!!" And then there's the random Spanish. Every animal just so happens to speak Spanish. Not only that but just saying a Spanish word makes magical things happen. If you simply say "nada" (swim) it helps the animal swim. Just wanted to share that with the rest of the class. I prefer the Backyardigans and the Wonder Pets.

Update on the Weather

Noah wanted to eat a yogurt before we left so I thought I'd show everyone the ice again today. There's definitely a lot more than yesterday. It's all starting to melt now. This will probably be the most winter we see the rest of the year.

on hold

I called the main appointment line at 11:05 according to my computer. It is now 11:52 and I am still on hold, waiting to make an appointment. This is a regular occurrence for the military hospitals here (which all use the same appt. line). I completely despise this BS. They are also going to try and make me call back because I have 2 different appointments to make, one for me and one for Noah. I however, will politely coherse the disgruntled operator into making both appointments for me.
I noticed everything works better when you're nice... no matter how long you've been waiting or how tired or hungry or sick you are. I was nice after a 9 hour flight and 4 hours in a line with 6 bags and a grumpy 2yr old and I got a free hotel and a flight to SA instead of Dallas. I was nice after 4 hours in the ER (1 hour spent in a room) with a tired toddler who was very hyper and happened to have a HOLE in his head and poop in his diaper. I didn't get much out of that, but I think it would have made the visit even longer had I been a wench. So I will be nice now. I am not happy... it's now 12:00... that's 55 minutes of waiting. All I want is an official pregnancy test and to start my OB appointments and another appt. on the same day to get Noah's stitches out. Monday. Come on people. Answer the dang phone. I am tempted to hang up and call again. I bet something malfunctioned. It's been an hour.
Let's try again...

GAAAAH!!!! I will wait another 5 minutes and then I give up. I'll try later. SCREW THIS! I will waste less time if I just go back to the ER in 5 days. Having a baby is a natural thing... I don't need a doctor to weigh me every month. I have no questions and I always refuse those BS baby tests. I need to go to Lowe's and Target before naptime. It doesn't help that the music is elevator music and this lady chimes in every minute and slowly says "please stay on the line, your call will be answered by the next available agent". I hung up. What a waste of an hour and 10 minutes of my life.

It Was Bound to Happen Eventually...

Last night at around 7 Noah jumped on my bed and landed right on the edge of the footboard. He already had a bruise on his head where he hit and I think that contributed a bit. His forehead immediately split wide open. It was so deep I could see where his facial muscles were. Very gross. He and I both handled it really well, though. I don't have a weak stomach at all when it comes to blood and injury. It didn't bleed very much and he didn't black out, only cried a little. I almost took a picture of it, but then I thought "people will say WHY IS SHE TAKING PICTURES SHE SHOULD BE IN THE CAR!!!". Anyway... he was an angel at the hospital and was very accomodating to all the doctors. They gave him a lot of stickers as a reward, which he stuck all over himself and me.

He got 4 stitches, which isn't that bad. I was very proud of Noah. He did an excellent job and was very brave. They wrapped him up to pin his arms down and I held his arms and legs while they worked. I watched the whole thing. It was important to me to be there the entire time. I just kept talking to him. He struggled during the cleaning and the numbing (OF COURSE). Once they started the stitching he gave up and just shut his eyes while I told him how good he was and how brave he was... and how we were going to watch Nemo when we got home.

He will get them out in 5 days. I think the worst part of the whole thing, besides the wait, was driving on the icy roads. All the highways are shut down so I had to take the access roads all the way there and back. Took me twice as long. We finally got home at 11:30 ish. I called Josh at 6:30am in Germany to wake him up and tell him the news. I figured he'd want to know first before I posted about it. He was glad it was me and not him too. Josh has a big issue with blood and injury to the people he loves. When I got an IV at the ER once he passed out because I bent my arm while the needle was in. My Josh is so quirky :) I love him.

Good Morning :)

The big storm that was in OK has moved south to us and everything is covered in an icy shell. I love the way ice looks! It's very pretty :) I saw this coming so I went ahead and did my grocery shopping yesterday before the front moved in and froze everything. My sister had all of her classes canceled due to road conditions. I wonder if anyone else had work canceled :) Or SCHOOL! I can't imagine a bus trying to crawl around in these conditions. It would be a shame if these Texas kids didn't get the opportunity to wait by the radio with baited breath, wishing for their school to be called... or staring at every crawl on every news channel, waiting for a glimpse of their school's name. Thinking "I'm going to go right back to bed", but that never happens because all the adrenaline and excitement will have them up the rest of the day. I think every kid should experience at least one "snow day".



I love that my mind and body knew I was pregnant before I did. For some reason I bought Smart Start and Boost (both packed with 100% of every vitamin and mineral) and all kinds of fruit and yogurt. Normally I don't buy that stuff for me because I eat healthy meals with few snacks inbetween, and am not a big fan of breakfast. But this time my body said I had to, so I did. That's one of the coolest things about being pregnant, I think. There are so many miraculous things happening all at once to ensure the baby is healthy. Hormones are released and everything just happens... it's so natural and amazing. I love it :) I am glad I'm a woman and get the pleasure to experience this again.

Nearly 3am

I thought I was excited or hot or something when I woke up an hour ago. I just couldn't get back to sleep. Finally I started to drift off and the phone rang. It was Josh! He had just gotten out of emergency surgery. Apparently all the pain he's been having in his jaw wasn't because he grinds his teeth at night. A piece of food had somehow worked its way under his gums and beneath his wisdom tooth. It had obviously become extremely infected and was so abcessed that it was pulling the gum from the tooth and the muscle from the jawbone. They actually had to scrape part of the infection from his jawbone. I'm really glad he went to dental sick call this morning. Maybe now he won't grind his teeth! My gums hurt just thinking about it :P I think that Josh and I have a connection because I randomly awoke when he was admitted to surgery and stayed awake until he was out and safe... without knowing it.

In other news. I am so excited!!! When I woke up all I thought about was the baby. What to eat, how to exercise, what medicines are OK, how to paint the new nursery, how to paint Noah's room (he's getting older). Names names names!!! Little fingers and toes, labor, doctor appointments, cocoa butter! My brain flies off the handle badly enough without such awesome news :) My probable due date is on or around September 21st. We don't care if it's a boy or girl, but want a girl next... we'll be ecstatic either way. I need to call the doctor tomorrow for a "real" test. I hate going to that hospital :P However, the whole OB floor is actually really nice and the doctors are good and you get to keep the same one the entire time. OK maybe this got it out of my system. I am going back to sleep. Goodnight everyone.

So... I have some BIG news!!!

I took a test today with my Josh on the phone and I'M PREGNANT!!! :D :D :D We're soooooo happy... so beyond happy right now. I burst into tears every few minutes :) YAY!!

I'll be ready to pop right around when Josh gets back from training. Crazy? yes... but we really wanted another baby so we don't mind the conditions :)

I have decided...

I feel like such a butthead right now. I felt so guilty yesterday about my new methods to get Noah to try new foods. So I talked to the expert, my mom... she ran a home daycare for 10 years and raised 7 kids so I think we all agree she is THE expert. She gave me a few articles and reassured me that I was doing fine the old way. Noah is too young to understand the concept of "trying" something. I just hope I didn't give him a complex. That's what's nice about him being so young still... no one really remembers anything until they were around 4 or 5. I am still in the "mommy is a screw-up" grace period.

My new plan is to make mealtimes relaxing and fun, keep offering the food I'm eating and just cut out the punishment. I will lead by example and hope someday he eats. Ugh. I feel like such a dumb mom right now. I feel dumb for letting everyone else influence me even though I felt he was fine. Oh well, today is a new day :) If my pediatrician ever gives me crap again I will let him know he might be a doctor, but he's not an experienced mother and he needs to shut the hell up.

Still Morning?! Time for a Good Update.

Noah's been waking up between 5:30 and 6:00 ever since we got back from Germany. I really don't mind it too much. I make my coffee to get started and end up getting a lot done. I also get the added bonus of actually being tired at night so I end up going to bed at around 9 or 10, which is early for me. I just have to get used to being hungry for lunch at 9 lol. Oh and another added bonus is earlier naptime... 11-2, which means earlier bedtime too.

Noah loves his new bed. I, of course, feel a bit uneasy since it's so high and he's so little so I end up checking on him before I go to sleep. Thus far he hasn't even been close to appearing as though he'd fall off. I'm pretty sure the rails are tall enough to withstand his fidgeting, though they seem short to me.

I've decided Noah's old enough and wise enough for potty training. The other day he pooped on the potty. It was a good moment, but he only did it because I saw he was about to and threw him onto the pot before he had time. Not too long after that he pooped again... in his diaper. Sigh. Maybe the lack of changing table and the new underwear will motivate him. I shouldn't really have to work with him too much, I don't think. He loves learning new things and being more "grown-up". After some consideration I've decided that when I really want to buckle down on it I'm going to skip the pull-ups and just go straight to underwear. Pull-ups are just like diapers, in my opinion... eh... I do have a lot of them, though... OH they can be for bedtime and naptime :)

I've also decided it's time to try and fight his picky attitude towards food. I've been providing only what's on the menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner to him. For the past 2 days he's gone to sleep hungry... hmmm maybe that's why he wakes up earlier. He is a really good eater during breakfast and I give him pediasure when I feel it's necessary so I'm not too worried. Also I've included some meals that I already know he enjoys so he's not starving or anything. But, it's HARD! I'm always second guessing myself. I keep thinking I am going to give him a bizarre food complex. But I remember sitting at the table, staring at 6 lima beans for about an hour, getting a spanking and going to bed and I still turned out fine.

Noah trying to cute his way out of eating

I really don't want Noah to end up like Josh! He's the pickiest man alive. It's frustrating to cook for him, but he's opening up to new foods. Maybe some day he'll eat like a normal person and I can make healthy food when he's around too (crossing fingers). And here's proof he's a window-licker hahaha. I love you, baby :)

I was right!

My body did really hurt when I woke up this morning :P I worked through it, though. I cut the top for Noah's shelf unit. It proved to be a little more hassle than I thought it would be. Neither of our circular saws could cut through the entire piece. I had to finish a bit with the handsaw. It wasn't too difficult, though. It worked out great. All I did was wrap an old sheet around it, didn't even screw it in or anything either. I figure that way if we decide to stack them instead it won't have more holes in it.

I don't think I'm going to reattach the doors. I kinda like it better all open; and I have the option to place slightly oversized goods on the shelves (such as the baskets in the picture). Isn't this so exciting? LOL ok I am done torturing everyone.

That was about it for my exciting day. I really miss Josh. I can notice a major difference in myself when he's not around. I hardly ever smile and I think I might be grinding my teeth at night because my jaw hurts. I'm a better person when he's around... and a more patient mom, which is totally understandable. I have someone to share our responsibilities with when he's around! Eh... I'll get deeper and deeper into my rut and be fine.

We're back

So we're back in Texas. I'm really glad we went out to Germany. Our family really needed that time to actually be a family. This visit was the longest we'd been together since October, 2004. We relaxed, cooked, played games, took walks, took drives, toured Germany, shopped, and talked a lot... we even had time to fight. It was wonderful.

Most likely Josh will be in Germany until he gets approved for his school. If he gets the school he'll be back in the states (in Arizona) in May. The school is 3 or 4 months and he will probably get to come back to San Antonio (around September). If he doesn't get approved he'll be in Germany until June and then who knows where we'll have to go. All we know is if he can't get his school he'll be deploying again soon for another year. Hooray for "sending more troops". So onward we march towards completing a full 3 years apart. Anyway...

I've been extremely busy. That's how I function best :) Noah's new bed came today. It's so cool!! It has a desk and shelves and drawers. I ended up having to rip apart a piece of furniture we built for him while I was pregnant. This involved a drill, hammer, handsaw, hacksaw and screwdriver. But, I did it in about an hour and managed to save the 2 shelf units. I also managed to smash my finger between the wall and what I was ripping apart. I'm sure my body will really hurt tomorrow, but I needed the exercise. I had a pleasantly productive day. Now it's time to put Noah down for bed. Gnite!

Noah's changing table before demolition

After demolition.
Spare Parts. I plan to take that long piece
and cut it down to make a new top for the shelves.