Seven

This is the number of times that my son has puked since being fed this morning. What is the mother *#$%ing problem? Is he not being burped enough, does he have acid reflux (which might entail meds and me having to give up more foods), did he eat too much, or maybe he just likes the taste of it?! I am so frustrated with the new story of my life. It's such a guessing game and I hate that about it. I want a formula to this child rearing thing. I want to know the answers. WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE SO HARD? AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Wishful Thinking

Oh and about that marathon in December...don't think that it is happening...this year, anyway. The training is not coming along. First off it's hotter than hell (100+) here most of the day. Second, I cannot get my butt going in the morning because this kid keeps waking up so freakin' early. I am lucky to get 5-6 hours of sleep per night which really isn't enough for me. Yes, I should go to bed earlier, but then I really wouldn't have a life. Perhaps I will shoot for the half instead. 13 miles is a little more realistic than the full enchilada. Boy, what I wouldn't give for the ability to eat a cheese enchilada right now...must be strong.

Addicted

I think that I have a problem with food. I like it too much. Now that I can eat so little, I fantasize about what I can't consume. And then I binge on something I can, like tortilla chips (I had to look at 10 brands before I found one without soybean oil). Happily, I am my prepregnant weight once again. My body is for sure not the same, though. Pass the chips.

Extreme Makeover

Today I finally cashed in my gift certificate for an "extreme makeover" at a local beauty college. I received my first ever facial which was very nice, got my hair cut and styled and had a spa manicure and pedicure. What a relaxing treat for a mom who doesn't get out of the house alone much. The five hours that it took to be pampered was the longest that I've been away from Lucas in his entire six months. It was so nice to have some me time again.

Note: That was a super baby shower gift! I was told to baby myslef after the baby came.

Half a Decade

Five years ago tomorrow, I got married. This night five years ago, I couldn't sleep because I was so excited about the next day's event and the future that was before me. 5 years ago, I had no idea what was in store. I called Mike several times throughout the night to remind him of things. "Don't forget the plane tickets." "Bring the license so that we can get it signed." "Please be on time."

Five years later and I am still reminding him of things. "Put the toilet seat down, I almost fell in." "Slow down, you'll give the baby whip lash." "Please wipe that nasty stubble out of the sink."

Despite the nagging reminders, I am also continually reminded of how much I love him and how blessed I am to have him as my husband and the father of my child.

Five years from now and we are going to celebrate in Hawaii. I wonder what I will be reminding him of then. "Don't forget your speedo."

Pukester

This week, our little pukiepie hit the bullseye, so to speak. Daddy was playing with Lucas by holding him over his head like an airplane. And the baby let loose and ralphed right in Mike's face...in the mouth to be more precise. Mike said that it tasted like chicken.

Restrictions

Yesterday we found out that the formula is not covered by insurance. We really can't afford $40-60 per week for it. And today, I finally had an appointment with a specialist about Lucas' allergies. Well, the good news is that I can continue to breast feed. That is the best thing that I can do for him. The bad news is that I can officially eat next to nothing.

My new diet has the following restrictions: Dairy, Soy, Wheat, Nuts, Berries, Citrus, and Eggs. All it leaves is meat, potatoes, rice, limited fruit, and vegetables. Mmmmmm. Can't wait for the holidays.

My head was ringing the whole way home. This royally sucks!

Only in California

Last night, our neighbor started mowing their lawn at 10:30pm. Why would someone be so rude when others are trying to sleep? Not to mention, how on earth could they see what to mow? SHUT UP and do it in the morning, you freakin' freak!

Luke Puke

Today is a tough day. Lucas is finally taking the straight up formula, which is good, but it is still a challenge to give it to him. He squirms and wriggles, distractedly looks around, digs his nails into my arm as it craddles him, and occasionally even blows the stuff out to be funny. It's a joy feeding him, lemme tell you. Oh and recently he's been even more spitupy than usual. The kid seems to spew up most of his meals sometimes. And often, I am the target of that yak.

Bad Mommy

Thump (pause) SCREeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeAM! No...he didn't...did he? I bolted into the room and found my poor baby lying there on his back next to a pillow screaming his bloody head off. He had finally done what I feared he would eventually. Lucas had rolled off the bed.

I had left him in our room happily playing on our bed a few minutes earlier to clean up a mess he made. I had even taken the safety procautions to block him from falling with pillows, or so I thought. On my way back, I got distracted by email, but for only a second.

I felt like such a terrible, neglectful mother to let something like that happen to my little son. Luckily, almost as soon as I held him and kissed him he stopped crying. Lucas was absolutely fine. The fall probably just surprised him. Someday when he does something crazy, I can blame it on the time he fell on his head when he was a baby.

Fire

We had a little scare a couple days ago. I was trying to nap and heard a weird popping noise from the front of the house. I wondered what Lucas was doing in his crib, but looked at the baby monitor and realized that the sound wasn't coming from his room. Maybe it was construction sounds from the roofers across the street? I heard the strange sound again and had to investigate.

As I entered our office I smelled a pungent smoke and saw ash pouring from the computer monitor. Ack, we have a fire!! Not sure what to do, I called Mike at work. Wouldn't you know it, he wasn't at his desk so I left a voice mail. "Our office is on fire, call as soon as you can." I peered into the place where the smoke was rising from and saw a ball of flame inside. Shaking, I dialed 911 for the first time in my life. This thing could blow up and ignite the room, our wooden roof and maybe burn our house down.

As I was talking to the operator, I grabbed my sleeping baby from the next room in one arm and our wedding album in the other. He looked very confused and groggy and perhaps even a little pissed off. If he could have spoken he would have said, "Hey, ma, what are you doing?! Can'tcha see I'm sleeping here." Little did he know, I was saving his life.

As I was getting off with 911, the other line beeped in and it was Mike. I quickly explained the situation. "Did you unplug the monitor?" Uh, no. So, I dropped Lucas off on our bed...I wasn't going to take my baby into the inferno ...and ran in risking my life to try to find the right plug in the sea of wires. Once I unplugged everything in the room, I evacuated the house with the baby. I phoned my parents as the fire engine with sirens screaming pulled up in front. So cool! If only Lucas was old enough to appreciated it. They brought the smoking monitor out of the house and fanned out all of the toxic fumes (though it still smells a little acrid like fried machinery in here).

Mike came home, we went to the mall to allow our place to further air out and he took me out to dinner.

Anyway, as a word of friendly advice...don't leave anything electronic running while you are not at home. The fireman said in another 30 minutes, we would have had a house fire. Praise God that we were all safe, as was our place, all but the toasted monitor. Now Mike has an excuse to finally get that flat screen.