Stage 3 of The Great Toddler Bamboozle
We haven't yet begun stage 3 of The Great Toddler Bamboozle. Anya is 2 months old and still sleeping in our room in her bassinet. The warning label on it says 3 months or 15 pounds. We'r e probably approaching both. We really need to go buy a mattress for the crib. What a pain in the butt. Although I have to admit, it is getting to be a tight fit in the bassinet.

Tha good news is that our plan actually seems to have worked so far. Ally has been sleeping in her own room for quite some time. I think she pretty comfortable in there. The bad news is it's not likely to last. I can't believe that a plan we made around our 2 year old is actually proceeding without deviation. it's all going to fall apart when we set up the crib - I bet. Cross your fingers for us.

Oh, and also... We found Ally's mobile at Walmart for $5 and it's great. It was so cheap because the box was torn to pieces. I have never seen the same mobile for sale anywhere, but I love it. I tried to find another for Anya, and was having no luck. Then, I found another one at Walmart for $10 on clearance. I have never seen this particular model anywhere else or any other time. How can they put them on clearance when they never had them at regular price? I'm confused. But, of course, happy, 'cause I bought it, and now I have matching mobiles for the kids' beds. (at least until Ally finally quits using hers)Yippee!

potty-mouth
I just told someone about the time I was so sleep deprived that I sat on the toliet and peed, but forgot to pull my underwear down first. The sad thing (aside from the fact that it was a true story) is that I said "I sat down on the potty". I have been potty-training Ally for too long! Anyone want to come visit me for some grown-up conversation?

Comments
I've just noticed that I'm not getting email notifications when comments are posted. That sucks. I love comments. Oh well, I can see them now that I'm looking for them. Yay. Tripod changed the format of the blog just a little bit, and maybe it's screwing things up. Hopefully it will work itself out.

my little obsession
I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but I have this little OCD thing that I do. My towels have to be folded in a certain way. Anything else is WRONG! My mother passeed this one on to me, so I blame her. She used to make me re-fold towels if I didn't do them right. I've been tying very hard to get over it, because it's just not important, but it's so hard to do. Rob doesn't care how the towels are folded, so if he folds them, his pile of towels always drives me crazy. We've lived together for a very long time now, and I can usually stop from saying something (because I know if I do, he'll just stop folding laundry completely, and that will be so much worse). I can't always stop from re-folding them though. He never even notices. But it's driving me up the wall, so I came here to vent.

Look at the towel on the top of this pile. Isn't it nice and neat? The bottom one is folded wrong.


Here look closer. Isn't that just offensive? Yuck. All the edges are sticking out everywhere. And when he piles them up, they aren't even turned the same way so the big fold can be grabbed without unfolding the towel in the process. Sickening.

Here's a towel folding lesson:

Step 1. Fold the towel in half. Not along the short side. That's just silly. Put those stupid little seam thingys together. What's with those anyway? Anyone know why they exist?


Step 1 1/2. Move the kid out of the way, so you can take some more pictures. Isn't she cute!


Step 2. Fold it in half again. Along the same axis. Duh. Don't go switching directions yet. And make sure that the short sides don't stick out.


Step 3. Fold it in half again. Now we switch directions. No, don't leave the stupid seam out for everyone to see. Keep it in the inside of the fold. No one needs to even know it exists. See, isn't that much better?


They stack up so pretty that way. And when you pull a towel off the stack, you only have one fold available, so it comes off still folded up pretty.


And the seams are hidden on the inside along with the edges of the towel.



Now you know how to fold towels. Aren't you glad? You're excused to your linen closets now to apply what you've learned.

p.s. The stores fold them wrong too. But their towels aren't all raggedy after being washed umpteen million times, so it doesn't look so bad. I very rarely re-fold towels in the stores.

p.p.s. His mom folds them that way too, but it's easier to deal with. After all, she has no responsibility for the laundry. She's just doing it to help out. Thanks Darra. I don't usually re-fold the towels after you've left - only sometimes. :)

p.p.p.s. My mother also makes you re-fold towels if you fold them inside out (the folded over part of the hem is visible). She has issues, but not me because, well, I'm not THAT crazy.

sleep
Anya went 5 and a half hours between feedings last night!! WOOT!! If only I got to sleep that whole time, but such is life. I got more sleep than I have in ... oh, a year or so. So why was it so hard to get out of bed this morning?

Would write more, but I have to go practice moo-ing.



(Moo. Cow. Milk. Breastpump. jeesh, do I have to explain everything?)

moan and groan
Warning: this post contains the word bitch 9 times. You've been warned, so quit your bitchin (10).

I'm in a bitchy mood. I don't know why exactly. And it's not really that I'm bitchy, more that I am in a mood to bitch about lots of stuff. One of my friends just came down here to my cube (in the basement) and I got to bitch to him for a good half hour. He at least shares many of my opinions. Now, some of those things I don't feel comfortable bitching about here, because I know that some of the few readers I have don't agree with me. In fact, we have pretty much polar opposite viewpoints. But it's pretty nice to have someone that I can just go on a complete and total rant about completely random things. He at least pretends to be amused, and usually joins me in my complaints.

Today those topics included (among others)

people who don't use car seats for their kids

DCFS

the pope (check out http:askthepope.blogspot.com funny)

catholisism in general

my new daycare

people who wish to remain ignorant and live like trash

my sister

people who constantly talk about the price of gas

My mom (sorry mom, you know that occasionally you drive me crazy - see point number 1)

my husband

People who assume that because your morals don't match theirs, that you don't have any

moody women

shrinks

my job/co-workers (yes, I've only been back at work for 2 days and am already bitching)

Am I the only one who like to bitch occasionally? Not for any purpose - not to accomplish anything - or convince anyone that I'm right (although I am) - or even because I'm mad. It's just good clean fun. Cathartic or something. Kinda like crying. I'm not a big cryer. I usually cry when I'm too angry to form words. I don't often just go have a cry like some women. More often, I'll just find a friend and cuss and bitch about random things until I feel better. It always puts me in a good mood. It just sucks that I don't have many friends who enjoy it.

So, how about it...do you bitch?

Posted by ktjrdn at 14:40 CDT

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never fear
I go back to work Monday. That means I'll have plenty of time to update the blog. I'll tell you all about the horrible time I had getting used to having a baby again, and the sleep deprivation, and how little I did, and the oh-my-god-please-just-let-me-die mastitis I got, and basically all the little boring details of my life that you have all been spared thus far.

It also means I have to get up at around 5 am or so. THE HORROR!!! Pray for me :)

A sign that we need to be quicker with the remote
"That big man fell down and the lion andthye bear were eating his head!"

(God damn South Park, she thinks it's a cartoon)

childhood
I got an email from my mom in response to some of the things I've written here, and I wanted to clarify some things and share some of it. I think it was prompted by this post

Mom says:
"Your room was so full of toys it was hard to keep clean. We had floor to ceiling shelves full of toys and games and the lower shelves were all full of Playschool, Fisher Price, etc. You had a full kitchen and every accessory. I'm sorry you don't remember. I was so excited every time you opened a present. I tried to resist the temptation, knowing that it wasn't important for you to have everything and that you should have better character if I didn't buy you everything...but you loved surprises. Maybe you don't remember everything because I didn't go over and over and didn't take lots and lots of pictures. But, then again, I can't remember much about childhood either...just the highlights."

In my post, I wasn't really talking about my younger childhood. I don't really remember much about living with Mom and Dad together: they got divorced when I was 5. I have a few vague recollections of the house we lived in - It was wonderful. I have no idea of this was true, but I loved it.

The stairs led up to our huge toy room (I say huge, but am probably entirely wrong. I also thought the hill behind the house was huge until I drove past it when I was older. It was barely even a hill). We didn't even have to keep it as clean as our bedroom, because we could close the door and no one would have to see it! You don't know how exciting that part was?! Mom made us clean our rooms all the time (when we were older. I assume it's true when we were younger too?) I remember playing up there constantly. And there was a bookshelf at the top of the stairs that had some really goofy contact paper on it. Maybe batman or superman or something? I think it was blue.

Anyway... I remember Christy (my sister) standing on the bed with her friend singing Maneater. I remember my dad spanking my brother. I remember rolling down the hill in the back with our neighbors. I remember that the older neighbors next door were just like grandparents. I remember the police car that brought my brother home after someone backed into him while he was riding his bike on the sidewalk (He was okay, but his bike wasn't) I remember a couple other little things, (some of them might not be true though. My memory does funny things to me. Sometimes I remember things that didn't happen) but mostly I was trying to say that I don't remember the toys I had in the memories that I do have. I have an overall impression of being content.

As I grew up, little things started to stay with me. I remember more toys I did have and things that I wanted, but didn't get. But really I think that's just because I was older. I don't think it was because I was denied anything (that I needed). I always knew that my mom was there. I had a lot of really bad things happen, and I don't think I would have had the strength to be who I am without her influence. My sister blames her for some of those bad things but she is just human like the rest of us. People make mistakes. She drives me crazy most of the time, and I try not to write about it too much, because all moms drive their children crazy sometimes and I don't want to hurt her feelings. I love her. I'm trying to think of the words to express my thoughts here, but all I can think is "She's my Mom" And I guess that says it all.

So anyway, Mom, I don't blame you for the crap, but I thank you for the good stuff. And since we waited til the middle of June for our Mother's Day Tea, I guess this is my Mother's Day post.

Rob's job
I logged on tonight to tell you all about Rob's new job. He found out last week that he got hired. He starts July 3rd (and gets a paid holiday the next day. I love working there!) He'll work at the same building as me, but with different hours to start. He'll be home by 5 every night and every weekend will be ours. Yay! I'm so thrilled, I almost shit myself. Then I forgot to post about it. Oh well.

but then i read my email, and saw something from my mom that almost made me cry, so I want to talk about that instead.

too much sweetness
Okay, have you all got your toothbrushes ready? I wouldn't want to give you a cavity

(The babies are Nykole (my grand-niece), Alyse (my niece), and Anya (my baby - duh). The wonderful lady holding them all is my step-mother Leann)

Clothes issues
Hey, everybody, I went shopping. Yay! Now, I can fit my enormous (for me) boobs into shirts again. Whoo-hoo. I also bought me a couple fancy new slacks, and some shorts. I'm determined to dress nicer this summer. It makes me feel better about myself, and it's been a long time since I've felt good about myself for many reasons. Strangely, now I do. I am going through some serious mental issues, but am feeling better about myself. Very weird.

Anyway... I bought this one pair of shorts which I just love, but they are now really bothering me. The problem? I think they button backwards. Everytime I go to the bathroom, I try to un-button them from the wrong side. The button is on the left (wait, L is for left (and loser) yeah, left) and the hole is on the right. It wouldn't really bother me, but since I go to the bathroom umpteen million times a day, what with drinking enough water for a cow so I can make milk (Um, kinda like a cow also), I notice it all day long and it has started to really bother me.

Now, I could just go look at my other pants and stuff, and see if they are any different, but I'm too lazy then I wouldn't believe the results, because maybe all my pants are backwards. Maybe I just buy clothes that are odd, and everyone sees it and is laughing at me behind my back - no, that's just too weird to say out loud or write as the case may be... uh... I don't want too.

So how about it? What side of your pants has the button?

Posted by ktjrdn at 22:04 CDT

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refrigerator
Check out our sleek shiny new frige. Now Rob wants to redo the whole kitchen to match. Silly man.

super-mega spoiled
Is it just me? I've noticed an odd thing about being a mother. I tend to over-exaggerate Ally's enthusiasm. I tend to get caught up in the excitement that comes with planning a surprise for her or buying her toys that I think she'll like. It's really hard to remember that she has enough. I don't really remember my childhood much. The overall impression I'm left with is that I didn't get the latest greatest toys, but I didn't suffer either. So why is it that everytime I see something Dora, I want to buy it for Ally? Or how, if she shows the slightest interest in something, I rush out to buy her 5 more things just like it? Or how she has more clothes in her closet than I do (which is saying a lot!)? I know she'll be just as happy with the toys she already owns. I currently have at least 3 toys still in the packages, that I haven't given her yet and she doesn't have the slightest idea or care.

But I LOVE to see her face light up like it does when she gets a present. Birthday and Christmas were beyond anything I could have imagined this year. I hardly remember anything I got, but I remember Ally's huge mound of presents, and her absolute joy in opening them. Of course, she instantly forgot about half of them, but it's the first moment that sticks with me. That moment when she is absolutely thrilled that we got her a new toy.

That moment eclipses anything else. So when I say that she absoluetly loved something - like the fair this weekend - mostly, I thikn I'm adding my excitement to hers. I absolutely loved seeing her enjoy the rides. I absolutely loved seeing her sit on the curb with her little day care friend and wait their turn for the motorcycles. I absolutely love her.

That said - I also absolutely spoil her. I offer this as evidence. The super-mega sandbox. It only took 1250 pounds of sand.

catch-up free-for-all
No time for an actual coherent post (like any of them are), so here's a list of random happenings

1. Ally is learning to poop in the potty sometimes. Yuck.

2. Rob is driving me crazy. On the days that he's home, he wants me to help him do stuff, because he has the day off. I can't make him see that I am home to take care of the baby, and that's it. So, I keep getting roped in to projects.

3. Rob hasn't been home much though. He's working lots of extra shifts just in case he gets the new job. He won't get paid for a month after he starts, so we're trying to stock up money for that time.

4. We did find a suitable day care should we need one before Ally's day care becomes available. Yay.

5. The money we're saving from Rob's extra shifts all got pissed away last night, because our refridgerator died. Luckily we have another in the garage, so we didn't lose all our food. Unluckily, we had to replace the one inside. The delivery guys are upstairs right now with Rob.

6. Anya smiles at me.

7. Ally went to a small-town fair thingy with me this weekend. She loved it. She even rode rides that were much too old for her. We ran into a kid from her day care there, and they played a little.

8. Lots of other stuff, but I've got to go see if the guys upstairs need anything before Anya wakes up.

C-ya

piglet
My little piglet is growing like a weed. She's already almost 12 pounds. Wow.

In case you were wondering
You know how all the old cartoons have someone step on a rake, and it comes back and smacks them in the face and everyone laughs - hahaha that's so stupid it's funny?

It really hurts.

You know, just in case you were wondering.

I'm not very nice
I had to tell Ally "No" for the twentieth time the other day, and she instantly teared up and told me I hurt her feelings. She also informed me that i don't tell her no, she tells me no. This prompted me to explain how things work around our house. Meaning the parents are the only ones to make the rules. This was her response.

"(sniffle, sniffle) It's not very nice for you to tell me No. I tell you No. We're not very nice to each other. (sniffle, sniffle)"

1 month
My god, I can't believe a month has gone by already. It seems like a dream almost. Surreal or something. Most of my days pass in a mix of feeding, diapering, bouncing, swaying, shushing, and "Please God, let her go to sleep"-ing, with a little mix of "Wow, she's so precious" thrown in when she's awake and not yelling.

I think her digestive issues (she's screams most of the times she's getting ready to poop. Can't tie it down to something in my diet. Who knows why? Plus, we think she has a tiny bit of reflux. We have to hold her upright a while after she eats.) are settling down. She's spending more time awake and quiet, looking around at things. Mostly the light in the living room. She even "talks" to the baby doll that's in her playpen/bassinet/changing table/etc upstairs.

**Warning: Next paragraph contains some information which you might not agree with. That's okay with me. **

Of course, it helps that I let her sleep on her belly sometimes. yeah, yeah, back to sleep, blah, blah. I can't actually believe all those studies. There is no way to make a control group or to keep the conditions similar enough for it to be a conclusive experiment. Besides, she has excellent head control, and I check her often. She gasps and spits up too much on her back. Listening to her, I am afraid she's going to choke herself.

Wait, she's sleeping. Why am I not in bed? c-ya all later

One step closer to slave labor
Last night I was feeding Anya. Ally was all over me, and I was trying to distract her. There were piles of laundry on the floor waiting to be washed. (For some reason, the washer and dryer at our house are behind closet doors in the kitchen. I hate it. It means there is always laundry in the kitchen/living room - open floor plan - which means I see laundry constantly) Anyway, we started talking about the laundry because she loves to help. I hadn't realized how much she loves to help, though. I told her their was laundry in the washer and dryer, so we couldn't wash any until we got the dry clothes out of the dryer. I'd help her as soon as finished feeding Anya. She went to the doors, opened the closet doors, opened the dryer, and started pulling clothes out. I told her to put them on the couch so I could fold them later.

Wow, I thought, that could be useful.

Then she decided to push a chair over to the washer and open the lid. At this point I tried to dissuade her. I really didn't want to have to run across the room and pull her when she fell into it, you know? She told me there were wet clothes in there, and they needed to get dry. She pulled them out and put them in the dryer. It took her about 10 trips on and off the chair to do it, and she couldn't reach a couple, but she did it.

Maybe I can teach her to scrub the toliets next...