I'm still going to the beach

I know, I know. Who the hell is this person and where has she been. Is what you are all saying...if there are any of you left here at all.


I think about blogging everyday and I do miss it. I am still here reading everyone and commenting when I can.

But I am peaking out of my crazy life for a moment to tell you that my Baby is almost 14 months old andwherethehelldidthetimego? He is walking and babbling and growing way too fast. The Kid is 5 and enjoying every minute of Kindergarten. (full day, bytheway) We are all doing well. Other than growing not much around here has changed. We did finish the construction upstairs and moved up there last May. My grandparents that live with us were here for the summer. My grandmother broke her hip, recovered beautifully and they have already gone back to Florida.

Oh, and the real reason I just had to blog tonight, I wanted to share..... It was such a beautiful day that we blew off TaeKwonDo and went to the beach. And guess who was there?

Bruce Springsteen!!!!

He was so nice and was taking pictures with anyone who asked. It was just a few scattered people, but hey, he didn't have to do that. It was my first real celebrity encounter and it was awesome....now I want to bump into Jack Nickelson or Bon Jovi...they are all local Jersey guys too. :)

Seriously. look at those eyes!

Should be sleeping

Hi Hi!

I know I haven't been around, but here are a few shots of the boys that I have been taking.

Right now they are both sleeping.

In no particular order. We have some beautiful blue eyes, a tinkertoy snowman, a baby that can put both his big toes in his mouth at the same time, a Valentine's Day photo at the rehab my mom went to after her knee replacement (she is fine, thanks), and a couple kids playing in the tub.

These were all taken last Feb. and I will try to get some up from March....sometime before April!

I'm still here, a zombie, but here.

Hi.
Hey.
Anybody out there?

I know I have been a very bad bloggy friend. I have been trying to read every one's blogs, I just haven't had a chance to comment. I haven't had a chance to write.

I am exhausted.

Last month the Baby decided to start screaming. The ear piercing can't hear my self think want to cry with him screaming. He was in pain.

Every night we would push through his once a day screaming session. Then the next day he would be just fine, so we didn't call the doctor...right away. The screaming session slowly moved earlier and earlier until he had one at 2 in the afternoon. I called the doctor. It was 2 weeks later. He was on vacation so we went to his dr that was filling in. She heard the screams in all their glory since she did a strep test on him since his throat was all red. (It was negative.) She told me he had reflux and colic. She prescribed Zantac and told me to lay off the dairy and the chicken. Huh? What the hell am I supposed to eat?!!?

I started doing some online research (including reading the dairy chapter in Skinny Bitch <- don't do it...) And I decided myself that I was going to start with going completely dairy free to see if that helps with the pain. Well as of today the Baby has been on the Zantac for 15 days, I have been completely dairy-free for 11 days and he has been screaming in pain-free for the last 9 days. I don't know if it's the medication or the no dairy...but I'll take it and keep going until he is scream free for 2 full weeks. So cross your fingers for me.

He is still not sleeping very well. He is up anywhere between every half an hour to about an hour and a half. I don't think he has slept more than a 2 hour stretch in a month unless he was on my lap, including naps. I am this close -> <- to letting him in the bed. It would totally keep me sleeping a bit longer if I don't have to climb out of my warm bed, make the trek out to the living room to nurse, wait until he is in a deep sleep and then put him down, hope he stays and try to fall back asleep myself. The Kid co-slept with us from 6 months to 18 months and I haven't decided if I want to do that again. The Baby will be 5 months old this Monday!

As if lack of sleep wasn't enough, to top off my lack of computer time...we just got Fios installed last week and our main computer (with all my passwords/pictures/favorite places, etc) has been moved upstairs. We are still not living upstairs, but will hopefully be up there within the next 2 weeks or so. Until then, I go up there occasionally to use the main computer but I have been on my laptop downstairs slowly finding all my sites again on here. So please forgive me for being a bad commenter. I will be back in full swing soon. I am going to try to post some of the many pictures I have taken in the last month this week.

Tomorrow I sign up the Kid for soccer. On Tuesday I sign him up for KINDERGARTEN!! Holy crap!
Till next time....

It has been a long long week and just getting longer by the night.

The Baby has taken up a new hobby of ear piercing screaming. In the beginning it was longer than an hour. It was and still is only once at night, somewhere between 8pm-12am. It has since gotten shorter in the screaming and a bit longer in the sleeping. Probably because he tires himself out.

Last night I tried the gripe water that a friend had given me and it worked like a charm. I also tried some white noise. The fan above our stove is perfect for that. I am thinking of bringing the baby's bed into the kitchen.

Here is the Baby at 4 months old.

4AM Freakout

While we are talking about sleeping arrangements. How many of you know the feeling of waking up refreshed and feeling wow, how long did I sleep? Only to realize as you look at the clock that you last looked at it over 7 hours ago? Not many? Me either, until this morning. And it freaked me the hell out!

I haven't been able to put 2 coherent sentences together these last 2 weeks, hence, no posts. The Baby has been up and down, up and down and up and down every 2 hours or so for a while. And oh my lord, why won't he nap?? I get about 15-20 min on my lap after nursing and when I try to put him down...eyeballs wide awake ready to eat again or play. I am assuming he was having a massive growth spurt. I can't wait to see what he weighs on his 4 month visit.

So anyway. picture it. 4AM. I wake up and realize I last looked at the clock at 9PM. Rushed out to the Baby's pack&play to make sure he was still breathing. Yes, that kind of freakout. He was fine and still sound asleep. Took another hour to calm myself down and then I hear the 'I'm hungry' fuss start around 5AM. He eats, goes back down and I don't hear from him again until 7:30. Nice. Cross fingers that we are now in a nice sleeping pattern.

The cats love the Baby. They let him pull their hair. They have always been great with babies. They have never once hissed, scratched (on purpose) or bit the Kid or the Baby.

Yes, that is freaky Bob the Builder PJs that have no head.

Left: Abby, Right: Zoe

And no, I didn't name them after Sesame Street characters. We had them before we had kids.

And just look at those eyes!

Sleeping Arrangements

So the poor Baby has been sleeping in his bassinet for over 3 months. He was starting to get a little bit cramped in there. We are still not moved upstairs and we do not have any room to put his crib yet. Hell, we don't even have room to get my poor 4 1/2 (almost) year old a twin bed and get him out of the tiny toddler bed.

So here are the 'before' pictures. They were taken on exactly 12/23 when he was 3 months old. Because I realized after he was already asleep for the night (I hoped) that I didn't take one picture of him all day when he turned 3 months old.

Not much room to move.

So we pulled out the pack and play. It has that little extra bassinet on top so I don't have to lean all the way down to put him to sleep. And here is the 'after' just a couple nights ago, after we got him back out of the swing at night while he was sick.

All the room in the world!

A Random Wordless Wednesday - almost

Giving me the finger.

It's an odd angle because I was wearing him on our walk when the Kid was riding his new bike for the first time. I guess that's what he thought of the fact that this bike would one day be his. hahaha

Christmas Loot

So Christmas morning has come and went. And I am WAY behind on my posting. Unfortunately the Baby got his first bad cold on Christmas Day. He started coughing and he was all congested. He was barely sleeping and had to go back in the swing to be upright. The Kid had it first and passed it on. Then I got it the weekend after Christmas and was miserable. But, we made it and are all better now.

The only think that the Kid asked for from Santa was the Diego Dino Mountain Play Set. Well, Santa had to come through with that one....even though the Kid already has a big Diego play set that he got last year and is taking up space in the toy area.

And what Diego Dino set would be complete without the Dino Rescue Jeep?

Mommy and Daddy got him a toy jackhammer...which he saw at Target and LOVES, although right now I have no clue where it is. We also got him a bunch of workbooks. He loves doing mazes and letter books, so I have a pile of about 10 books he can pick and work on at any given time. He also asked for treasure chest. I found a box and filled it with some pirate booty. Of, course I missed pictures of all this stuff.

Then it was breakfast time. Bacon and Mickey shaped chocolate pancakes are the favorite around here.


The Baby got this ball in his stocking and loves to hold it and try to bite it. It's so freaking cute.

Then we were off to the in-laws. Hubby's brother & sister got him the Smart Cycle. Grandma got him the Cool School keyboard with extra games. So far he is loving both and I would recommend them. Although, we need to get another game for the Smart Cycle, he is getting bored of the one that comes with it already.

And the Baby got mostly teething rings and savings bonds, and he was happy with that.

Oh, and 'Santa' found a few of the Kid's old toys and wrapped them up and stuck them under our tree.


Then we went to my Dad's side of the family over at my Grandfather's house. The Kid got Diego Crocs for the summer and a Handy Manny truck that turned into a work bench. It was nice the first 2 days when we didn't realize it had noise. hahaha.

So, now we are in a holding pattern until we can move upstairs. There are just a couple doors to hang and some trim to put up. Some paint to paint and we are DONE! When this happens I am cleaning out the toy area. It is horrendous! I want to donate it to some shelters and churches.

Christmas Eve 2008

I guess now is as good as time as any to catch up on some Christmas cheer.

Every Christmas Eve we go to my mom's house for dinner. It makes it so much easier on Christmas to make one less stop. That was mostly because we used to live in North Jersey and didn't want to drive all over the state and have to mush in all our visits in one day. My best friend since 1st grade always comes over to spend some Christmas cheer with us. Her son is the Kid's buddy. Can you believe my Kid is a year older than hers? Well, 11 months. Seriously, His Buddy is an inch or 2 taller and they both look so grown up sitting there so nice. Yea, that lasted about 30 seconds. They were tearing up the place and wrestling most of the time they are together. They are going to be big trouble together when they are older.

The little devils, er, I mean angels

The Baby was very interested in the toys my mom had that make music, move and ring bells.

I love love love the Baby in his green Christmas diaper!

The Kid got lots of fun stuff at Grandma's house. (Thanks Mom!) She refused to buy him any toys, our house already looks like a toy store threw up after a bad night with Jose. No toys, except for the Hess truck that she gets him every year. That is one of his favorite things. But I missed a picture of that one because he got to open that before his buddy came over...and I neglected to pull the camera out. Anyway...here are a few cool things he got, and my polite little man said thank you after every one and was beyond patient to open them. I was pleasantly surprised.

Here is his new bank. It records all the money that goes in. He got it with a few bucks in it. He has since emptied out his piggy banks in there and has over $34 now!

Here is my world traveler brother. My mom got them both world maps so they could pin point all the places he has been...except, she accidentally got one world map and one US map. We took the US, he has to learn his states eventually anyway. He already can find about 8 states on a map and knows about 4 or 5 capitols. Thank goodness for his USA placemat. We'll get the world map too, eventually.

Just look at that face because grandma and mommy made him try on his new beach towel for a photo. 'just let me play with my Hess truck.'

And here is our tree after Santa visited at 1am. Photos of Christmas morning to come...

Hello 2009

Here is a clean new years baby...out with the dirty and in with the clean! hahahaha

Waiting nekked under that towel until I go get the soap I forgot, please don't pee...

Making sure the baby doesn't fall while mommy gets a picture
He is loving the bath, you wouldn't know it by his face, but he was watching his brother on the counter kicking and didn't cry a bit...this time

See Ya 2008

Wow. 2008 is just an inch away from being gone and 2009 is banging at the door. I have been around reading a bunch of blogs and almost every one has a nice recap of 2008 with some photos or an actual montage set to music. Well, I have barely had time to write any post this month, I can try to get around to that next year.

What I am thankful for in 2008 is my beautiful baby boy and the very cool big brother, the health of my family, the fact that Hubby has some pretty good job security, a new home, a new car. And here's to wishing some more plentiful thankfulness (is that a real sentence?) in 2009.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year!

Yes, those are my socks he is wearing as gloves. hahaha

You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!

I'm so bummed. We were supposed to go up to a friend's house only 30 minutes north of us, but at her house, SNOW. At my house rain rain rain. So we have postponed for another day. Our kids make Christmas cookies each year and exchange little gifts. This year we decided to have the kids make gifts for each other. I can't tell you all what my Kid made for his girlfriend, yet. Her mom reads here, and it's a surprise. LOL!

So we will see them Monday and in the meantime...we made a kick ass gingerbread house in the non-Christmasy weather.

Very proud of his work.

Notice the sleeping Baby in the swing... the very rare nap. I don't think he has napped longer than an half an hour a day in a week... but the plus side, he only gets up 2 or 3 times at night and goes right back down after nursing for about 15 min.

How's the Weather?

This was us yesterday. I took this myself. Hubby was at work.

We were in the house most of the day in PJ's. I didn't want to go anywhere. It was too cold and cloudy and just looked crappy out there. But, after the 7th hour of Backyardigans I decided I HAD to get the Kid outside and get some energy out and get some fresh air. So I bundled us up.

He rode up and down the driveway about 20 times.

I sat them together for a cute brother's shot.
This was us TODAY!

It was freaking 64 degrees here in NJ! It's December FIFTEENTH! It was gorgeous. No coats, no hats. I got to see my Baby's chunky little arms today. And the Kid went across the monkey bars all by himself for the first time!