Friendship Over?

I've recently made a new friend. Or at least I've met someone who I think could eventually become a good friend. Eun (pronounced Ooon) is a new lady in town, goes to our church with her husband and is a stay at home mom of two young boys (the youngest is Lucas' age). She kind of reminds me of my dear friend Lina from Orlando, whom I miss greatly. Anyway, I was talking to Eun on the phone this afternoon planning our first playdate when her oldest son started having a scream fest meltdown. She had to quickly go and I said, "Goodbye Loon" instead of Eun. Total accident, slip of the tongue. I hope that this friendship isn't over before it starts. We'll see if she shows up on Friday or not.

From the Mouth of Babes

I've been humored by comments from out-spoken children about my growing middle.

Sassy, 4-year-old: Why is your stomach so fa...(pausing to think of a nicer word) big?

11-year-old neighbor boy in disbelief: You're pregnant AGAIN?!

Wide eyed, 7-year-old girl in my VBS group: Do you have a balloon under your shirt?

Sabbath Rest

I think that as a Christian, I am definitely more on the liberal side of my Bible understanding and interpretations, in that I don't consider myself a "legalistic" person when it comes to my faith and beliefs. My understanding is that when Christ came to earth and died on the cross, he did away with the old law and brought about the new covenant.

What exactly does this mean or look like? Are the 10 Commandments now null and void? I know that Jesus reinforced some, but not all of them in the New Testament. The one that I am specifically interested in is "Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy." Any thoughts on what this day should look like? Is it ok to go to the mall or do housework on this day of rest? As a mom, I can never really stop working or doing my normal job on this day. I also believe that it is God's best for us to take a day off, but is this a requirement?

Blupdates

I am home. Everything went fine while I was away. My trip was nice, but I was super glad to be back in swealtering Sacramento. Actually it was much cooler at home than back east, but by the weekend it heated up to the 100's again. It's hard to be hugely pregnant here in the summer. I almost passed out while blackberry picking today. We've got to better plan the next pregnancy around the cooler seasons;-).

The dream house is getting closer to becoming a reality. The seller dropped the price by $50,000 and we pounced on it this week. We had to. It is just 50K more than what we think that we can get for our house and is double the size. Our current one will be pretty small with the new baby. He accepted our offer and now we just have to get the financing figured out (it will involve owning both homes at once while trying to sell our current one). Pretty scary yet exciting. We are praying that we won't do anything that we absolutely can't afford and that the crazy financing will actually work out. And I am trying to do this potential move/house on the market thing at 28 weeks pregnant (12 more to go til the new little Lomonaco joins us) while also taking care of an active toddler. I can't wait to get through this and hopefully live to tell about it.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Tomorrow morning I leave my baby for the first time in his whole life (almost 16 months of never being away from him for more than several hours). I am going alone to North Carolina for the weekend to see my college best friend, Andrea, finally tie the knot. And leaving Mike to take care of the kiddo and get to see what my life is like for a few days. Maybe both of them will love and appreciate me more when I return.

I am going to be a bawling wreck saying goodbye. Please pray for our safety and time apart. I keep having nightmares about something terrible happening while I am away.

Heartburn Haiku

Sleeping just an hour,
Awakened by the burning,
Tossed all my cookies.

That was the story of the rest of my birthday night after a wonderful dinner date out with Mike yesterday. I was up for much of the night unsuccessfully popping my fickle new best friend, Tums.

**Side Note: I got a C on a poem (not this one;-) in my high school English class. Can you believe it? That really ticked me off because things like poetry and art are so subjective. 12+ years later and I am still not over it.**

Older and Wider

Here is a picture of me living large on my 30th birthday yesterday. I am 26 going on 27 weeks pregnant now. And I was asked this week if I am due any day now or if I am having twins. When I told the first ignoranamous that I still had three months to go, he said, "Oh, you must be having a really big baby." Whatever. I take it all in stride because I know I am quite a sexy mama, if I do say so myself. Or at least that is what I keep telling myself.

You are an Amazing Daddy!

Happy Father's Day, Mike (a little belated)!! Our son is truly blessed to have an "ada" who is so fun and such a great example of a man and father for him.

Thank you for being all to him that I am not--the rough houser, the playful one when I am burnt out in the evening, the giver of junk food and toys when mama wants him to eat his wheat bread.

I couldn't imagine doing this alone. You are so integral to our family, our son.

Lucas and I really love and appreciate you.

Play Dates are Dangerous

Take a few weeks ago for example, when my son found a real saw complete with sharp, knarled teeth on the floor when we played with a neighbor friend's little girl. He walked over to me holding it. I just about messed my pants. Turns out my friend's husband had been working on a construction project over the weekend and since her little one isn't walking yet, she didn't even think about the fact that tools were lying around. I am so glad that Lucas didn't fall on it or something.

We tried another friend's house today, one with no construction to be safe, but it still didn't matter. When I ran out to the car to get his booster seat for lunch, I left Lucas standing at their front screen crying for me. I was gone a few seconds. As I opened the screen, Lucas fell out. What the heck? The little 2 year old boy that we were visiting had shut the door on the other side of him, trapping Lucas between the shut door and the screen. Maybe it is a good thing that Lucas is such a skinny boy afterall. I felt like a crappy mom for letting that happen to my son. I know it is really not my fault, but if I had just taken him it wouldn't have happened. Luckily he was fine as soon as I comforted him. Later on, when Lucas pooped on their floor, I didn't feel so bad;-).

In both cases, Lucas could have been seriously hurt. We are staying home for a while!! It's a crazy world we live in when your one year old can get killed on a play date.

Dumb Doctors

Yesterday we saw Lucas' allergist for the test results to the recent bloodwork he had done. It turns out that the only thing that came back seeming to be a food allergy at this point is egg whites. Milk and nuts are ok for him to have. We came home and celebrated with a normal kid meal of PB&J for lunch and he liked it!

I was pretty happy with the visit and the good news that we received. My kid can finally eat most anything. It's been a long road. And then the doctor looked at his weight chart and burst my bubble. Lucas is off the charts skinny weightwise--far below average. I know this. I've been dealing with this issue for most of his life. We've gone to the doctor monthly for weight checks, seen a GI specialist, gone to a nutritionist. I feed him well and try to give him tons of fatty things. My kid is just small. I've come to accept this as normal for him. There is nothing else that I can do aside from injecting Crisco into his veins.

She called him a case of "Failure to Thrive." Isn't that a great thing to say to a worry-wart, easily pissed off, pregnant mom? My first instinct was to cry and then pop her one in the mouth. Bite me, Dr. Downer!

Bulbous

Yesterday I overheard Michael talking on the phone to his grandmother in Florida. The conversation went something like this: "Oh she's doing fine, feeling good, getting really bulbous." This is the same grandmother that has serious weight issues...may even have an eating disorder. The one that came up to me at a crowded family gathering when I was pregnant with Lucas, made a "fat face" by puffing out her cheeks and then asked "Amanda, how much weight have you gained?" This is the one that Mike told I was getting huge. Great.

A man at church came up to me a couple weeks ago and asked if I was due really soon. "Actually, I am just halfway there," was my rather embarrassed reply. "Wow, how much bigger will you get?!" he exclaimed amusedly. I was not humored.

Why is it that some people feel at liberty to say anything that they think to a pregnant woman about her size? Don't they realize that a pregnant woman has enough of a complex about her expanding body on her own without any unsolicited rude comments. Keep your big fat trap shut or one might get ticked off and sit on you!

Life Snipets

I can feel the baby moving now. Actually, I have been for over a month. Yesterday I noticed that I could see the kicking by looking down at my huge basketball belly. Must take and post new photos for you to gasp and laugh at.

Mike is on an Ultimate Frisbee team and they actually won last night. I think that there record is 2 and 4 (or worse). He wore his new cleats home and I thought that he looked cute, like a soccer player. Did you know that there is actually strategy in the game? I always thought that it was just about running as fast as you can and trying to score. They played against a team recently that was calling out plays..."H1, H1....L23" What is that?! So hardcore.

Tomorrow Lucas will be 15 months old (only 4 months until his new little sibling joins him-Eeeek!). He still is under 20 pounds and is in the below 1 percentile in weight class. Because of that, his car seat continues to face backwards, much to our dismay. Yesterday I started a list of all of his words and calculated that he speaks over 50 of them, his favorites being doggie, dada, truck, which is "uck," and uh oh. He also says "ass" now, which is his way of saying grass. I tried to have him call our new lawn "big grass" or "fat grass," but he wasn't interested. He can also drink real milk now. Yippee!

We are again pondering the other house which is still on the market, since February 1 actually. Today Mike is calling a mortgage broker to see if we can swing it and we will go from there.

Life is good.

Uh Oh

This is Lucas' word of the day almost everyday lately. I hear it constantly. He drops things, he falls down, he spills on himself and sometimes he says it pre-emptively before he intentionally flings something to the ground.

The other day I left him in his room for a few minutes while I ran downstairs to get us drinks. I came up, heard "Uh Oh" and found him standing on a kid's chair in his room. I had no idea that he could climb!! Uh Oh is right. Needless to say, the chair has been moved to a safer place in his closet.

In that short span of time while I was downstairs, he had also dragged or carried the bathroom scale into his room.

This kid is trouble.

Mom of the Year

Just when I think that I can qualify for this honor, I have a day like yesterday.

It seems like I am always mentioning Lucas' sleeping issues, i.e. waking up too early, not napping properly/normally. I think that teething often effects him, and at his age he always seems to be teething. Why children aren't born with teeth is beyond me. Ok, so maybe they would bite their mothers when nursing, but still.

His naps have been sporatic lately, in fact Sunday he wouldn't go down at all. And his new evil wake up time in the morning is sometime during the 5 o'clock hour. It's pretty crappy and I feel tired most of the time.

Anyhoo, he wouldn't take his morning nap yesterday. So I eventually got him up and we headed to the park for a meeting that I had. He fell asleep in the car. I let him snooze as I met with my friend to discuss the church picnic. I am in charge of the games--fun. The stinky thing is, though I could see the car and wasn't too far away, I wouldn't have been able to hear him if he woke up and started crying. The lawn was being mown as we met making it impossible to hear. Luckily, when I left a half an hour later, he was still peacefully napping. I had to finally wake him when we got home.

In the afternoon, I figured that he would take his nap for sure as his morning one had been interrupted and maybe lighter than usual as it was in a car seat. Maybe he would have, but mommy accidentally sabatoged his slumber by putting the lid on his sippy cup wrong. After an hour of him talking and whinning in his crib, he eventually started to cry. When I went in to retrieve my little insomniac, he pointed furiously to the mattress which was soaking wet and ice cold. His cup that I give him in his crib which was full of ice water was nearly empty. His outfit was soaked through and his feet were little ice cubes from standing in the puddle. My poor kid. How long had he suffered in that? Did he actually try to lay down and sleep? I felt awful.

Later on in the day, he was playing in the family room as I cleaned the kitchen and he started crying hysterically. Did he hit his head or fall down, I thought. I ran out only to find him halfway up our stairs, a fall that could seriously hurt him or worse. I think that he had gotten scared or was tired of climbing and didn't know how to get back down. I must use the gate!!

Mother of the Year I am not.

On Aging

The countdown to 30 is on...only 6 and a half weeks to go. I honestly don't mind turning the big 3-0 now that it is looming on the immediate horizon. I am happy with where I am in life at this point--I had a successful career, married the man of my dreams, and have 1.5 kids. Life is good.

But then I got an invitation to join AARP today. It says that I am "fully qualified" for membership. AARP stands for American Association for Retired Persons or something of the like. Their site claims that: Anyone 50 or over can get all the great benefits of membership in AARP for only $12.50 a year. And membership includes your spouse or partner, free! Well sign me up. What is up with that? How did they get my name? Did some old person steal my identity or something?

Happy Birthday, Mom C.

Our perfect family day, was on my mom's birthday. I wish that we could have all been together to celebrate her.

This photo of Lucas and I in front of the rasta orangutang (he actually had dreadlocks), reminded me of my mom. No, my mom is not a rastafarian or a monkey. Her dad was. We always joked when I was a kid that my grandpa was a monkey. She taught us to say grandpa whenever the gorilla photo came up in our Fisher Price camera. I am sure that my grandpa, always teasing us, really appreciated that.

Happy Birthday, Mom. I had some cake for you. Notice any family resemblance in the photo?

Perfect Day

What an awesome day we had today! After five days of being very sick and homebound, we journeyed out for a day of fun.

First stop, the zoo. Where Lucas called all of the animals including the giraffe, "doggie."



Here is Lucas riding on his daddy's shoulders. I love his new summer hat!!


And after zooing it up, we lunched (mmmmmm, Swedish meatballs;-) and shopped at our new area IKEA store. This was a three hour excursion alone.

Then we finished off our evening with a trip to the park for some basketball practice and swinging for Lucas.

He had NO problem falling asleep tonight. And I don't think that I will either.

Sick and Tired

Stomach flu bites. I have had it since Tuesday. Lucas has also had it part of the time. I think that I finally see the end in sight for both of us. I thought that yesterday, too, until I had my first real solid food of heavenly Taco Bell for Cinco de Mayo. I was up sick all night. Luckily I felt ok taking care of him by myself all day today while Mike was out of town.

I am just so sick of getting sick all the time. I should probably get used to it as a mom. Kids are often ill.

I just hope that the noodle bowl will stay down tonight. And that I can eat normally starting tomorrow. If I ever eat another saltine again, I am going to vomit.

Nevermind

Well, after meeting with a realtor and starting to prep our house for sale by cleaning and weeding and painting and such, we have decided not to go through with it afterall. We are not moving now and luckily hadn't even put the sign up yet.

Yesterday, I went to see the house that we wanted again to show it to my sister. The seller had recently received an offer that he had accepted and had sent it to his ex wife for her approval. So we had to put something in right away if we even wanted a chance at it. In crunching the numbers again to see what we could afford, we realized that we had left out taxes and homeowners insurance ($5000 or so per year). This made the house a bit out of our already tight budget.

I was very disappointed, but now feel relief. Moving is SUCH a hassle and so much work, and that is when you are not pregnant and taking care of a active toddler. I have been losing sleep at night stressing and thinking about it, what color to paint the new rooms, etc. And last night, my sleep was sweet and deep. Now we are going to make improvements to our home. I am happy now that it worked out this way.

For Sale

Here's a photo of the maybe too good to be true dream house. It seems to still be for sale.


We are now planning to put our house on the market in the upcoming days. This is a step toward buying the dream. It will be difficult with a baby to clean ours up for showings and open houses and to keep it that way until it sells (if it sells). We shall see what God has in store for us. Perhaps we will stay here in our place long term, but we will at least make steps in the direction of the much larger place to see if it works out. It's pretty exciting!

The Fam

Chick Magnet

A Levis Ad

This is actually one of Lucas' one year photos that we recently had done. I think that it looks like a Levis ad.

Baby Zoolander

Sabatoge

Our dream house (a 5 bedroom, 3 bath, with a gigantic bonus room) is for sale in the neighborhood next to ours. It is being sold due to divorce and maybe because of this is going for about $100K less than it is worth. Not too much more than what we could sell ours for. Quite an awesome deal and would be actually somewhat doable for us IF we could sell one of the Florida houses that is currently on the market and our house (which is not yet market ready with a yard full of patchy, weedy grass). Anyone want a nice starter with a large, but dead lawn in Roseville?

The dream house seller thinks that he will sell it quickly with such a great price. We are half hoping that it takes some time, though, and we might be in a better position to consider buying it.

Last night, we brainstormed ideas to keep his house from selling to anyone but us. Our brilliant plans included: posing as the seller and removing the ad from the paper and web, removing and hiding the for sale sign (daily, if necessary), signing up the neighbors on the child molesters database, putting crime tape around the yard and painting the outlines of bodies in the driveway, hiring hoodlums to hang out at the end of the street, posing myself as a pregnant hooker on the corner, and acting out drug deals on the block.

I'll let you know if it works.

Gave in

Look at me, I am no Sandra Dee. This is me at 13 or 14 weeks pregant (who can keep track). This was a couple of weeks ago. I am much larger now and finally gave my body over to the maternity clothes. They do feel good but I look like a frump. I guess that is better than looking like I needed a shoe horn to stuff myself into my normal clothes.

Mind Malfunction

I made a big oops while making our annual Easter bread this year. It was my first time preparing it solo. I've always done it with Mike's mom and sister in the past. But I was determined to keep the tradition alive and go it alone this time (as they are back in Florida).

Let me just start out by saying that all in all it is a grueling 6-7 hour process. It's a yeast bread and needs to rise 3 times before you finally bake it. I was at about the 5 hour mark and thought that it was nearing the time to put it in the oven. So I preheated it to 325 degrees. Ignoring the funny smell that filled my kitchen, I worked to clean up and get Lucas to bed. When I came back to put the dough on the baking pan and stick it in, I couldn't find it where I had left it to rise.

Oh crap, I opened the heated oven in horror to find the plastic bowl holding the dough completely melted down. The starting to bake dough sat helpless and sickly in the melted mess. RUINED was my first thought, just suck it up throw it away. So frustrating that I had wasted a whole day and all of those ingredients. Not to mention the fact that Mike would be so disappointed. I was crushed. What an idiotic thing to do.

In the end, I just went about preparing it as usual(the dough looked and smelled normal besides the bit that baked, which I tossed). It didn't seem to have melted plastic in it. Funny thing is this years Easter bread turned out to be the best darn loaf of the stuff ever. I've got to screw up like that more often.

Pride

I know that this is something that I struggle with. Perhaps it is my biggest fault. I am embarrassed when my child misbehaves in front of visitors, such as not sleeping as well as he normally does and screaming in the middle of the night instead. I don't take advice or correction well, especially when I feel it is unwarrented or unsolicited. And I don't like what my normally petite body morphs into when I am pregnant. In the end, with Lucas I was as big as a bus. No joke. See for yourself HERE.

At 16 weeks pregnant, I am not ready to wear maternity clothes yet. Though, I am bigger than I was at this time with Lucas and was proudly wearing them by then. I was loving the extra room and extreme comfort. And they were new clothes to me. Now they are old, well worn and not appealing to me at all.

So I continue to squeeze into my normal clothes, often choosing the elastic pants options. My shirts are slowly creeping up the belly, buttons are pulled to the max, and some pants won't even button or zip and are definitey getting too tight. But I am determined not to go there yet. I hope that I don't look like one of those people who you see out and think, "She should NOT be wearing THAT!"

Damn pride.

Scream

This is Lucas' new way to sleep or avoid it. He yells, shrieks and throws an all around tantrum in bed lately. Standing the whole time. Even periodically when he wakes up at night. Last night, the blood curdling wailing went on for an hour or so til we drugged him with Tylanol.

IT IS DRIVING ME NUTS!! I freakin' need my sleep and have been cranky, exhausted and miserable for days.

He has always been a really good sleeper. I am not sure what the cause of this new problem is. There are several things that could be contributors: he is cutting four teeth (and two of them are molars), my family just visited and he got out of his routine for about a week, he is trying to give up a nap. Whatever it is, I just want it to stop. I feel like my kid is broken or something.

He has not slept today at all. A couple weeks ago, he was napping for about 3 hours per day. I need that time off for my sanity.

Did I mention that this is driving me crazy?

Dead Bird

In fact, we have found THREE of them in our yard in the past month. 3 dead birds!

What is this?! The bird flu? Some kind of toxic waste that we don't know about? Or could it be the neighbor boys with BB guns that have been known to fire into our yard? Coincidence? I don't think so. Maybe they will shoot their eye out.

A Real Runner

Yesterday, Mike took Lucas to an airshow and gave me the entire afternoon off to enjoy on my own. So blissful and needed.

It was gorgeous out and I decided to go for a run. I dressed the part in my old running shorts and t-shirt, double layer socks, pedometer, favorite Mizuno Legends and shoe pocket. I even carried my special, handled waterbottle. I felt pretty cool and maybe even a little hardcore. Like my old self again. Even if for just a moment. That was until I turned the corner out of my cul-de-sac and twisted my ankle. I ran through the pain which quickly subsided.

I went for a three miler loving every minute of it. The sound of my feet hitting the pavement, the rhythmic breathing, the sweat, the air on my body that hadn't seen the light of day for months. I even felt the air on my feet as it passed through my mesh shoes. I must have been going fast. Maybe not.

I missed running. It had been about a month and a half since I had (since I've been so wasted tired in my early pregnancy) and 5 months since I had gone without pushing Lucas in the jogger.

Weight Expectations

Lucas has started climbing onto the scale and looking down expectantly to see his weight pop up. I guess that he has seem me do it regularly his whole life and now he's obsessed with each pound, too. He is a great imitator now with words and actions. No more swearing and obscene gestures, I guess.

Face Plant

This morning, I was trotting down the stairs with Lucas in my arms and somehow missed the last step or two. I was miraculously able to protect him in my arms as I fell to the floor, landing on my foot in a very uncomfortable way. Luckily I didn't break it, though it smarted the rest of the day and hurts when I bend it a certain way.

Later in the afternoon at the park, Lucas followed his mama's example by face planting in the dirt. I picked him up quickly and saw him spitting out sand. And my boy didn't even cry. What a tough little guy.

At first, I was mortified that he had gotten the filth in his mouth and then I remembered the expression, "God made dirt, so dirt won't hurt." And I felt better.

One

A year later. Our lives are richer. We get less sleep. We laugh and smile more. We've changed a million or so diapers. He's grown so much. We didn't realize we had so much love to give. A year later and I can't believe that it has only been one year. We are forever changed.

Happy 1st Birthday, my son! I love you.

Outgrown Mom Mobile

Now that we are expecting #2 it seems that we may need a new vehicle. My Escape will only hold one more passenger (and that might be a squeeze) with two car seats. Typically, this would not be a problem as it's not often that we drive with people. But on rare occassions when say my parents come to visit, we would alway have to drive separate (and they might have to rent a car). What a pain. We are considering the Ford Freestyle with seating capacity for 6. I most certainly DO NOT want a minivan or a large SUV. Any other possibilities?

And to think that not too long ago, I was all cute and sassy in a little red convertable Miata. Now I am trying to avoid the Caravan possibility. Never will I be so "Soccer Mom!"

Party Pooper Part III

Well my Pampered Chef party is next Tuesday. I am starting to think that it is going to be very poorly attended as I have had less than a handful of RSVP's. And I was only able to invite a little more than half of the recommended number of guests. I just don't know 40 people here well enough to ask. I wish that I hadn't planned on doing this. Just for a cotton picking knife that costs $25. Maybe it's not to late to, pardon the pun, cut and run.

If anyone could use any Pampered Chef products, you can order them at: www.pamperedchef.biz/adriastoner and use my full name as the party host and I will get the credit. No pressure. Only if you feel sorry for me and need anything;-).

The very perky rep called me to see how it is going and told me how excited that she was about my party. I only wish that I could share her enthusiasm. Ugh, I'm a party failure.

What skill

Lucas is officially a walker now. It is his primary mode of transportation. Check him out: http://www.thelomonacofamily.com/videos/Lucas_walking_down_the_hallway.avi

Flu shot

So it seems that Mike has the flu. We need prayer fast. I don't know how we will be able to take care of Lucas if we both have it. And I can't imagine what it would do to Lucas' weight if he got it. Plus, it can be very bad for me to get it as it could greatly harm the new baby. Maybe I should have gotten that recommended shot. Is it too late to get it if I don't seem to have it yet? Please pray for us!

Updates

Today Mike and I both feel like garbage--Mike has a fever and was up most of the night. I feel like I am starting to come down with it, or at least don't feel great on top of the cold that I was already recovering from and being pregnant and run down any way. Lucas isn't napping for some reason. He's up and peppy, much to our dismay.

In two weeks Lucas will be one year old. He now weighs 17 pounds and is in the 0.8 percentile for weight. We saw a nutritionist today and I learned that I need to start giving him more snacks to eat (2-3 per day on top of 3 meals). We stopped and got fatty things on the way home, too, like breakfast sausage and bacon. It's been a very frustrating process, all the trips to the doctor, all of the seeming reactions from certain foods, all of the weight appointments where he reads low yet again. I hope that the bacon and sausage do the trick.

Poke

Lucas has a new fascination with eyes. He has been jabbing his fingers into mine lately which is somewhat cute and a little annoying, too.

On Sunday, though, he did something that could have been very dangerous (what is with this kid and walking on the wild side?!). He poked a dog, a very large dog, in the eye. Just stuck his finger right in. The dog could have bit his hand off or worse. It hardly flinched and didn't even growl. Oh, my son.

Scare

Lucas could have gotten seriously hurt or worse today because of a mistake I made.

We came up the stairs and I had my hands full with him and my drink (just water) so I didn't close the gate at the top of the staircase. I usually go back and do this right away, but didn't because we got distracted and started playing in his room.

I was reading him a book and a little into it he crawled out of his room and down the hall. I had shut all of the doors and thought that the gate was shut so I assumed he was ok. I continued reading the book to him thinking that he would be back any moment. After a while with no sound from him, I thought that I should check on my mischievious son. What was he up to now?

My heart stopped when I turned the corner and saw the gate wide open and no sign of Lucas. Then I saw him teetering on the top step trying to go down by himself backwards. Shaking, I quickly scooped him up and thanked God that he didn't fall. I hate that I was so careless.

Girl Prediction

I'm going out on a limb here and predicting that I am carrying a girl this time. Maybe it's motherly instinct, or maybe it is that I already have a boy and wouldn't mind a little sister for him. Who knows? A little brother would be great, too, though.

My girl name of choice now is: Eliana Faith Lomonaco.

Eliana means God has answered me or God is Lord.

We would probably call her Ellie for short. Do you like it?

Napless

I have been hugely exhausted lately, and for some reason Lucas doesn't want to take his naps. It is killing me! Just sleep already, kid.

On a positive note, the other morning he slept in until 7:30 am. I forced myself to stay in bed to take advantage of it. So nice and unusual.

Knocked Up

It looks like Lucas will be having a little sibling in the next nine months.

Woo-HOO, we're expecting baby #2!!

While it seems awfully early (they will be just nineteen months apart), we are trusting God for His perfect timing. We were actually ready for another one as of this month.

Now I am understanding the excessive trips to the potty lately, why I've been so tired all the time, and have been needing to eat at odd hours.

How nuts that we will have two next Christmas! So much for traveling to Ohio.

Clogged Arteries

This morning I went out for breakfast with the women in our Bible study. I ordered a Strawberry Belgian waffle and asked for some bacon on the side. You need the salty bacon to cut all of the sweetness of the strawberries and whipped cream. My side was ENORMOUS-5 or 6 pieces!! I didn't want that much but I ate most of it since it was on my plate. Lucas had some, too. I am trying to fatten him up afterall. Anyway, I spent $5 on the side. 5 Bucks for bacon! I can't believe it costs that much for a heart attack. Next time, I'll ask for the mini side.

Chipped

Lucas had 6 teeth and now he has 5 7/8. He has a chip in one of his bottom teeth. I think that it was his first one. Sheesh, he's only had them for 4 months and one is already broken.

Perhaps it was from his habit of grinding them or from the time that he knocked a small metal flashlight around his mouth banging on his teeth in a full circle. I took it away, but the damage was already done. Thank goodness that they are not the permanent ones.

Energized

I am feeling so excited about life lately. I'm getting to be more like my old self again. Finally seeming to come out of the moved across the country, pregnant and new baby funk and making fun plans once again.

This week I am organizing a monthly breakfast for the ladies of our Bible study. I am also brainstorming social activities for the group. I recently started planning Lucas' 1st birthday party. And am having that Pampered Chef party next month.

Also, my just moved to California sister is coming for a visit next weekend. And our parents will visit at the end of March.

Oh and then we are going skiing (my first time) with church in February.

So many things to look forward to. What a sweet change!

Not Intended for Children

This morning, my glorious, how I love him, husband, took Lucas into the bathroom with him as he got ready for work. This allowed me to at least lay in bed for another half an hour. Oh how I needed it and really appreciated him. The boy was up at a little after 5 this morning!! As I tried to relax and go back to sleep, I heard Mike teaching Lucas how to drum.

"Like this buddy," BAM, BAM, BAM!

How calming.

A while later, it was time for me to take over so Mike could finish up and I noticed the toilet brush tossed on the floor amongst Lucas' pile of toys and books. Mike had given him the toilet brush to play with! Alright let me clarify that it is not really a brush with crusty, rusty bristles, but just the stick kind that holds the reusable toilet cleaners, but STILL. Gross.

Classic Christmas Carol

Ok, so this post is not really timely...it is something that I heard when in Orlando at Christmas time. But I was reminded of it as I began singing the catchy little tune last night and thought that it might be blog worthy.

It was a new "Christmas carol" that I heard on the radio (XL 106.7) in Orlando. It went like this:

All I want for Christmas, Christmas,
Is to get drunk, get drunk, get drunk...

No joke. Did anyone else hear it? Could you imagine carolers coming to your door next year and singing that?!

First Steps

Today Lucas took a few small first steps on his own. He actually ran. That's my boy!!

One small step for baby, one giant leap for babykind and toward growing up.

Hypocrite

Ironically, I really want to host a Pampered Chef party now. I am needing some new kitchen gear and what better way than to get it for free. Anyone want to buy any Pampered Chef stuff? Now I just need to make some friends to invite;-).

Nursery Rhymes

I came across this familiar nursery rhyme in one of Lucas' books. Though I did not remember the surprising conclusion.

Goosey, goosey, gander,
Whither shall I wander?
Upstairs and downstairs
And in my lady's chamber.
There I met an old man
Who would not say his prayers.
I took him by the left leg
And threw him down the stairs.

How is that for a new evangelism technique?

And had you ever heard the second half of One, Two, Buckle My Shoe?

Here it goes after Nine, ten, A big fat hen:

Eleven, twelve,
Dig and delve;
Thirteen, fourteen,
Maids a-courting;
Fifteen, sixteen,
Maids in the kitchen;
Seventeen, eighteen,
Maids a-waiting;
Nineteen, twenty,
My plate's empty.

Nice. It's a wonder that I never heard that part before.

What a mess!

I am pretty obsessive compulsive about cleanliness and tend to keep a pretty squeaky clean house (at least by outside appearance--I would fail the white glove test for sure). Lately, though, my neatness has be thwarted by the following: Lucas puking on the kitchen floor and then playing in it, a half dead fern that dropped many of it's leaves on my just cleaned kitchen floor, a picture that crashed to the floor and shattered glass as I was trying to clean up the fern leaves, and apple juice that sprayed its stickiness all over the kitchen as I was shaking the pitcher when I just needed a little drink. Darn it. Oh and there was the coffee that exploded in the microwave this morning. I think that I will stay out of the kitchen for the remainder of the day. I may burn it down or something.

Splish Splash

Lucas loves his bath. Last night, he had the most fun in the tub ever. He smacked the water with his hand, splashing the walls, the floor and my glasses. His toothy grin, giggles and squeals of pleasure were priceless. A few times, Lucas even bent over and drank the water from his tub like a dog(gross!).

When it was time to get out, I started draining the water. He continued to splash and smile until the last drop disappeared. Then he crawled over to the drain to find out where all of his fun went, studying the hole that robbed him of his water. Smartie!

I bundled his wriggly naked body in a fluffy towel, dried him off and put him in his jammies. Only to have him get crusty again eating his dinner.

Natural Disasters

We left Florida in August of 2004, right before a string of four hurricanes hit the state. Much of the Orlando area was affected by the storms, many were without power and had roof damage. Some of our close friends had to practically rebuild their home because of excessive water damage from the storms.

We've been grateful not to have to deal with hurricanes here. But now we are facing new storm problems--flooding, mudslides, and such. Our city, Roseville, is flooded in some areas now due to excessive rain overflowing creeks. Luckily, we are not too close to the flooding. Our yard is just really soggy and muddy.

They did not have a white, but a wet Christmas in Sacramento this year. I'm glad that we got to enjoy some sunshine in Florida.

It's raining again today. Oh the weather outside is frightful.

We're Home

After a week in Florida for Christmas, we are back home safe and sound. We had a lovely time visiting and catching up with our family and friends. Too bad we didn't have longer there so that we could have enjoyed more downtime. Unfortunately, traveling home for the holidays doesn't make for a very relaxing vacation. I need another vacation now to recover.

Lucas did so well on the trip (I was really worried about the flight). He was about as perfect as a baby can be: he didn't melt down on the plane, he slept well at night, and grabbed naps when he could as we drove all over the place. We just have to get him back on California time and his readjusted to his nap schedule again.

I spent all day yesterday doing laundry--7 loads!! And today I will relax and enjoy the start to the new year.

Merry Christmas

One week and counting til little Lucas' first Christmas... We opened our family presents yesterday and he was more interested in the boxes and trying to eat the wrapping than the gifts themselves. Next year, perhaps we'll give him empty boxes and save some money.

I hope that everyone is able to slow down and enjoy time off with their families and loved ones. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful start to 2006. May the new year bring you peace, joy and prosperity.

Domestic Spying

What?! Bush oked this??? A chill is sent down my spine.

Actually, I could care less. Read my email, listen to my phone calls. I've got nothing to hide. I think that in the interest of keeping this country safe, it is ok to do this with just cause. Get over it and stop always looking for something to criticize our president for!

Smoky

We enjoyed our fireplace last night for the first time in a year. Now our house smells like a campfire. Mike tried to get the smoke flowing upwards by holding a lit newspaper in the flue. It seemed to go up, yet after awhile our place was filled with smoke. And yes, the flue was open. Any suggestions?

Party Pooper Part II

Here is the worst "party" that I was ever invited to... Our old neighbors asked us over to dinner. They told us that some other neighbors would be there too. We were so happy to have evening plans. And how nice of them to cook us dinner! We got dressed up like we were going out and went across the street only to find a strange man in the kitchen with an array of pots and pans on display on the counter. WHAT?!

So we were scammed into attending a sales presentation on these $1000 cookware sets. Slimy jerks! We were ticked!

Note to all party throwers: Call it what it is and don't trick people.

Party Pooper

I cannot stand sales gatherings that masquerade as parties. Tupperware, Party Light, cheap, crappy jewlery, Pampererd Chef. You name it, I've been to it or been invited.

I used to go out of politeness, especially when it was a friend hosting it. Then to be nice, I would feel as if I had to buy something. Something turned into 4-5 things and I was spending $75+ on crap that I never use and didn't need.

Now, I turn them down whenever I am invited. Recently, I was given an invitation to a purse party. What the heck is that?! I thanked the hostess (a neighbor who I had just met) and proceeded to throw the invitation in the trash right in front of her. I did this without thinking and it only dawned on me after I had done it. Guess I probably blew my chances of being her best friend.

Having a candle party? Don't waste the stamp on me. Count me out.

11.5 hours

That is how long my boy slept last night! Ahhh, sweet sleep.

Westward Ho!

The Crockers are slowly migrating to California. First it was Aunt Linda way back in the sixties. Then it was me about a year and a half ago. And now, my sister Katie is joining us out here in the wild west after the new year. A recent college graduate, she has just been offered and accepted a position at The Academy of the Sierras in Reedley about 3.5 hours southeast of us.

I AM SO EXCITED to finally have more family nearby!!! We will be able to see her relatively easily on occasional weekends and for holidays and whenever.

Now, she and I just have to work on the eldest Crockers to make the move. Their excuse... it's too expensive. But hey, who needs money for retirement anyway?

Yipee! What a Christmas present!

Food Restrictions Update

My diet is improving weekly. I am back on everything but dairy. For those who don't know what I am talking about, I have been on a terrible, "If it's good, I can't eat it," diet since the end of June because of Lucas' food intolerances. I was off of soy, nuts, berries, citrus, wheat, eggs, and dairy and it's only down to the milk products now. Guess what I will be treating myself to on Christmas? Give up? A raspberry hot fudge sundae with lots of whipped cream. I hope that he doesn't react and I can consume my precious milk again. I really miss my ice cream and pizza and normal tacos, and the list could go on and on. It's been a rough few months. Between lack of good food and time to myself, I've really been hating life at times.

Nuts

I lied unintentionally. There is still one more person to buy for. DANG IT!! Maybe he deserves coal this Christmas. That would be easy as we've got it in the garage. Well, back into the shopping frenzy I go. That is what I get for gloating.

It is finished

My Christmas shopping, that is. I am done and Christmas is still 2 weeks away (minus a day). That is the most on top of the shopping I have ever been. I love being organized. If only I could say the same about the rest of my life (the dishes, the laundry, the filthy house). And now I have to wrap them all. Well crap, I'm not so great after all.

Messy

In efforts to fatten up my skinny son, we have been giving him lots of food off our table to try. This morning it was french toast for breakfast. He gleefully sucked the syrup off of it and then proceeded to rub the sticky goop in his hair. I watched in amusement. Boy, have I mellowed out. We finally stopped him and put him in the tub when he started spreading the stickiness into his ear with a toothy grin. He loves to eat and make a mess. Such a boy.

Buzzed

I have been all jittery lately, like I am on speed or something. I think that it has to do with my excitement about giving out Christmas gifts this year. Last year, we sent boring gift cards to most everyone, as we were in California.

Don't get me wrong. I like gift cards and would often prefer that over someone picking out something that is entirely not me or two sizes too large, but they are just not exciting to give (or open for that matter).

Mike and I didn't even exchange with each other last Christmas because of lack o' dough and our spontaneous trip to Yosemite. But this year, is different. We will be with our Florida family AND we have a baby to buy for.

As a child, I would show my mother her present as soon as I bought it and ask her to forget it so she would be surprised on Christmas. And one year, I told my dad what my mom bought him as soon as he came home from work. I couldn't stand to wait then and things haven't really changed. Eeeeek. Only 18 days to go...

Automation

I am all for technology. I love when things are easier, more streamlined. It makes sense. I am not a technophobe. But, at the expense of sounding like an old fogy, I am going to rant a little about all of this new fangled crap that isn't working for me.

You go to the store now and there is a self checkout line. I consider myself a pretty intelligent person, yet every time I use this line, I get furiously angry. The damn computer is always yelling at me to place my item in the bagging area and when I do, it still seems unsatisfied. I pick up the bag while paying and the thing says, "Place your items in the bagging area." I scream, "Shut the HELL up!" in my mind.

Yesterday, I tried calling Lucas' GI doctor about his lack o' weight and my concern about it. I got dumped into a phone tree. "Press 1 to schedule an appointment, Press 2 to call about a prescription, Press 3 for an anal probe." You know the routine. I waited patiently for the instructions to leave a message for the doctor or doctors assistant. It seemed to take 5 minutes of listening to the stupid, unrelated prompts to get there. Finally, I pressed 4 as instructed and was immediately disconnected. Well, shit. I called back and was dumped into the main mailbox..."if you know your parties extension, press it now, otherwise enter the parties last name using the keypad." My doctor wasn't in the system. I called back. There was no prompt to talk to a REAL person, so I dialed the appointment desk. Surely, they can direct me. And wouldn't you know it, the freakin' person's voice mail came on! I left a message and never heard back. What ever happened to customer service? Where is this world headed?

Everything is becoming automated and it is starting to royally piss me off. Where are the real people these days? Oh wait...they are stuck in the self checkout line being yelled at to place their items in the bagging area.

Maybe I hate technology. It keeps my husband in the office after I go to bed almost every night. Damn computers.

9 Months

The time that Lucas spent in my belly (really it was more like 10, but 9 is the common misconception). And his age today. It's been a wonderful, impossible, joy-filled, sleepless roller coaster of a ride. I love him so much it hurts. I never realized I had that much more love to give.

We found out at this mornings sadistic doctors appointment that he weighs only 15 pounds, 15 ounces and is in the 1% (remember that 50% is average)!! My son is severely underweight. I am at my wits end and don't know what else to do--he is refusing to eat solids lately. Perhaps I will wean him now afterall, as formula has more calories.

I need a vacation!

Two Weeks Notice

If I was working a real job, I think that today I would up and quit. Throw in the towl. Walk out. Resign. Sometimes I feel as if I am just no good at this mothering business.

In the past 24 hours, I have been bit, screamed at, disobeyed, puked on, and had my hair pulled repeatedly. Too, I was awakened at the ridiculous, sick early time of 5:30 am by a whining, crying alarm clock that has no snooze button. These working conditions are unacceptable and the pay (and the diapers) really stink!

I am such an idealist. I always thought that being a mommy would be fun. Playing with the children all day. Laughing. Good stuff. I didn't envision the projectile vomit and early mornings. I hate reality!

Date

Mike and I are going out on the town this Friday night. It will be the second time that we have left Lucas at home with a sitter to venture out on our own and date again. This time, though, it will be a little different. He is older and wiser and perhaps may start having separation anxiety soon. This time, too, we are having the sitters feed and put him to bed rather than already having him asleep as we did the last time. It will be interesting to see how he does. I think that we will remain close to home in case it doesn't go smoothly. We are testing Lucas out to see if we can go to Mike's office Christmas party in a couple weeks leaving him with some friends.

TPed

My kid is going to be an excellent prankster. He has already gotten down the proper technique of quickly unrolling toilet paper. He climbed up to it in the bathroom yesterday and I watched as he proceeded to pull and spin the roll onto the floor. He was giddy with excitement. Today he continues to attempt to play with his wonderful new toy. But the mean mama that I am won't let him. I am a regular fun spoiler. Why can't Lucas like normal toys?

Klutz

That would be me lately! In the past week I have broken a bowl, a wine glass, and a cute Christmas mug just this morning. When I pulled out the never been used china for Thanksgiving, I noticed one chip and when I was putting it away there was another. With my record, I probably did that, too. It's just stuff, I keep telling myself and "chip happens." But I still feel like a clumsy idiot.

Pooped

Well, I survived hosting my first Thanksgiving dinner. The turkey turned out delicious and to my knowledge no one got sick or died after eating it. AND I ate whatever I wanted as a special exception to my awful diet. Lucas has shown no signs of reaction (yet anyway). Yeah!

I have been exhausted from all of the precleaning, decorating, dishes before and after (we finally used the wedding china), cooking and all of my other day-to-day stuff. I also made a wicked turkey soup afterwards with the carcass (how gross does that sound?).

We even decorated our house for Christmas with the nativity set, tree and candles. The boy loves it, especially the tree that is all lit up and spinning, and full of yummy looking ornaments he wants to put in his mouth. The bottom foot of the tree is naked, though, so he can't grab one and pull it down.

Only 28 days until Christmas and 26 days until his first flight across the country! So much shopping, packing and preparing yet to do. I need a nap.

Up, Up and Away

Tonight, my little monkey son climbed up our entire staircase, about 20 stairs. He did this all by himself, with me in tow only to catch him if he fell. I think that he heard his dada upstairs and wanted to be with him. He was quick, too. It only took him a few minutes. He is going to be a handful, this one.

Photo Op

Well, we finally got our portrait done last night. Our appointment was at 6:15 and it wasn't until 7:30 or so that we were photographed. We had to wait over an hour in a sweltering room with a wiggly little boy. We sat, painfully watching another family get theirs taken, just wishing that their stinkin' baby would smile so that they would be done and get out of our way. Lucas did the same thing, though, when it was our turn. That was the hardest part...trying to hold a pose and not laugh or look at Lucas while the photographer was doing everything in her power to get him to grin. None of them turned out perfect. Either Mike looked drunk, I looked ugly, or Lucas wasn't looking or was half hidden behind his daddy. We picked the best one and moved on with our life. Maybe we will avoid going to the cheapest place next year. You get what you pay for.

Daily Grind

My son has a new favorite thing to do (besides wearing me out from chasing him all over the house including UP the stairs and slowly driving me crazy). He does something that is as bad as running nails down a chalk board. It makes me cringe just thinking about it.

The kid LOVES grinding his pearly whites-two on the bottom and one on top. What a horrific thing to do! I have insane tooth issues, so it is probably one of the worst things that he could do at this point. What if he ground them down to nubs and then hit a nerve ending? Owwwwwwwwwwwwwww. Was that a Ren & Stimpy episode or a nightmare of mine?

Picture Perfect

Yesterday we attempted to get a family portrait done at Olan Mills for our Christmas cards. It was a doomed attempt from the get go. I tried to make an appointment about 10 times, but everytime I called the studio the phone just rang and rang. It was infuriating to me. Just get freakin' voice mail people! I hate bad customer service. They have the best deal in town, though, so I just put up with it rather than find another photographer. Finally we decided to just go in and either get an immediate time slot if available or schedule it while there.

I'd been thinking about what we would wear to somewhat coordinate together all week. Unfortunately, when getting dressed we found most of the clothes chosen needed ironing (or washing). Anxious to go, we hoped that the stains and wrinkles wouldn't show up in the photo.

Right before we left, Lucas did a face plant from standing into a toy filled bucket. He only screamed for a few seconds until I comforted him, but he had an long, angry red mark on his cheek. It looked awful.

As we were loading into the car and Mike was grumbling about how bad the timing of the photo was. I lost it and started lauging like a lunatic. The picture may turn out terrible but what memories we would have. In the end, we had to schedule it for later next week. Maybe we'll all be healed, washed and unwrinkled by then. Probably not.

Shattered

Gone are the dreams of Lucas gracing the covers of the magazines and wearing a thong diaper for the Baby Abercrombie catalog.

The appointment went well, as far as he was concerned. He was well behaved and cute as usual. I was praying about it on the drive there and I heard a voice in my head saying, "Turn around and go home." Hmmmm, not a good sign. The voice could have been my own, yet I kept hearing it. I figured that there was no harm in checking it out, though. The "agency" seemed like a shady establishment as soon as we entered with cheap modern furniture, a loud animal print rug and blaring disco music. We met with the "producer" and she showed me all these business cards for children that they represent. In the end, I asked if there was any cost to the parents and she waved it off as only a few hundred dollars for the photos. A few hundred turned out to be almost $700 to over a thousand depending on the package that you chose. I am supposed to call her back today to see if they want Lucas. Whatever, we don't want them. Scam artists.

Early Bird

I am so not a morning person. Yet today I arose at the sick early time of 5 a.m. to run with my new partner, Tammy. We met at 5:30 for a 2 mile jog in the cold, misty, still pitch black, morning. I was home by 6 and crawled back into my flannel sheets (only slightly sweaty) for another hour and a half of snoozin'. Lucas really slept in this morning, but I didn't get to take full advantage of it. I do feel great, though, and we are doing it again on Thursday. Oh and for the record, Tammy, picked the time, not me. I wanted to do it in the evenings when our husbands were home to watch the kids (she has 3), but she is too tired by then. And I would prefer going a bit later in the a.m., but her husband leaves at 6:15 for work, so I'm stuck. It's that or run alone which was not really happening.

We passed another hardcore early runner on our way back to her place and I called out "Good Morning" in an entirely too chipper and overly loud voice for that time of day. Maybe I am a morning person after all.

Mom Prom

I have some fun plans coming up this weekend. My mom's group from church is having a "Mom Prom." Yes, it is the same group where Lucas got beat up a month or so ago. Anyway, the ladies are getting all dressed up and going out together for a night on the town without the kids or spouses. It will be nice to hang out with friends without children interrupting and clinging to us for a change. I don't know what that feels like anymore.

Baby Super Model

Tomorrow we have an appointment/interview with a child talent agency. They are seeking baby models for print ads for Baby Gap and Pottery Barn Kids. They liked his fireman photo for those of you that have seen it. Maybe Lucas will be the next child Zoolander. I keep having him practice his baby blue steel look and he almost has it down. Let's just hope that he is not in a fussy mood at the personality interview. So exciting!

Sorry Aunt Katie

Lucas is no longer a vegetarian. Today he had his first meat:chicken. It came out of a jar, was mixed with his favorite sweet potatoes and tasted...like chicken. Yummy!! I can't believe how quickly he is turning into a real boy. He is able to feed himself little snacks like cheerios, graham crackers and gerber fruit and veggie puffs. Tonight he grabbed a tortilla chip dipped in salsa off my plate and jammed it in his mouth. His hands are lightning quick. The thing was half chewed up by the time I was able to pry his jaws open and dig it out of his mouth. He didn't even seem fazed by the hot salsa. What a kid!

Friday I'm in Love

Tonight is our first date night since we instituted the weekly tradion recently. Mike and I have been out alone only once since Lucas was born 8 months ago. It's tough to do without shelling out big bucks for a baby sitter (and we are not sure that we are entirely trusting of any one besides other parents yet). How much do baby sitters charge now anyway? I was $5 per hour years ago.

We are not going out, but dating at home once Lucas goes to bed at 8 pm. Our typical date these days involves renting a DVD or turning on the T.V. There has got to be more to do than this but after almost 11 years together, we have run out of ideas/creativity. My friend suggested lighting candles, drinking wine and just talking. Now we are on to something. I just have to buy some candles and wine. Any other at home hot date ideas? And no, Mike, it can't include the freakin' computer or office;-).

Trick or Treat

This year, I had the idea to give out something different instead of our standard chocolate treats (since I couldn't enjoy the leftovers). Wendy's was selling coupon books for free Frosty's so we bought those instead. I was feeling pretty good about our cool goodies until Mike burst my bubble right before the first Trick or Treaters arrived. "You'll have to get the door and give them out. They're lame treats." "WHAT?! Why didn't you tell me before...?" Ding Dong. I was mortified and opened the door, my face flushed only to be staring at Darth Vader. "I apologize for the lame treats Mr. Vadar, but we just wanted to do something different this year." I did not even try to use any of my sales techniques. Darth reassured me that it was ok and seemed happy with the treat. In fact, everyone was quite thrilled. One group of high school boys said something about our house being the best one yet. So it was cool after all. Shew, here I thought that we were going to be egged.

My old friend

I almost gave up on you. After years spent together, I thought that I was over you and didn't need you in my life anymore. You made me feel guilty when I wasn't around you and started costing me too much money. And then I decided to give you one last try, went for a jog, and I'm hooked once again. At least for now.

The weather is great and I am trying to get back into running. I just can't seem to get motivated or into a routine without a partner. I may have solved the partner problem, though. I have a "date" with a new potential next Wednesday. She lives in the next neighborhood and is a mom of a little one Lucas' age. We'll see if it works out. She may even be interested in doing a full or half marathon. There still is hope for us yet. Now if I can only find some new shoes. My favorite kind, Mizuno Legends, are no longer being made. Curses. Even the shoe manufacturers are trying to keep us apart.

Blah, blah, blog

Well, here's the update:
Lucas is 8 months old today.
I am finally feeling better-no more fever and hardly any sore throat.
It is ok for me to have citrus again and I am trying eggs this week.
Oh and Uh Oh Oreos are ok for me to have!

Life is getting better!

Sick Days

If I had a normal 9-5 job, I would have called in yesterday and today. That is one of the toughest things about being a mother...taking care of a little one (as well as you can) when you are sick and feeling like you have been run over by a dump truck. Mike is home today and took the little guy out to run some errands. And I am blogging. What is my problem?

Emotions

Lucas let them all hang out while our visitors were here. His little personality is starting to show and he is a feisty one, folks. My kid? No way!? During the 4-5 hour drive to Yosemite, he screamed angrily probably because I was sitting right there and wouldn't pick him up. I tried everything to calm him, sang every song I knew, rubbed his head, held his hands, gave him toys, and he wouldn't have any of it. Dude, I can't take you out of your car seat when we are doing 75 down the highway!! Joyfully, he yelled again on the return trip. We were all in their rental minivan, which I am sure that now they regret getting so that we could all be together. Well, we learned to drive separate next time and to get our own hotel room. Our heads were ringing after the screamfest drive and I had to feed him all night to keep him quiet so that they could sleep. It's nice to be home and have normalcy once again. My kid, apparentaly, doesn't like change.

Oh and Christa's little Sam, who we dubbed Tank because he is so much bigger than Lucas, was a perfect angel. He either slept or smiled and squealed happily on the trip. Maybe he'll be different in two months when he is Lucas' age. I hope not, though, as they already have their hands full with Andrew, their active, two-and-a-half year old.

It was like Sam was Dr. Jeckyl and Lucas was Mr. Hyde.

Road to Recovery

Since Christa left on Saturday, I have been pooped. We had a wonderful, but very busy and tiring visit. Lucas was sick for part of the time and had a day or two of uncharacteristic screaming whenever I wasn't holding him. That was super draining. He also got totally out of whack sleepwise, as he was in his pack-n-play in our room while they were here. By the time that they left, he was waking up 2-5 times per night. And he had been sleeping 10+ hours straight before they came. Luckily, he got back to normal within a day or two of their leaving. Praise God for that because I was getting sick from lack of sleep. Now I just need to get into a workout routine again. I really wish that I had a more consistant running partner here.

Get Up, Stand Up

Lucas does now. It's his new favorite thing. It seems like he just mastered sitting up on his own and now he is off to something bigger and better pulling himself up on anything that he can grab. This kid is growing up so fast. We think that he will be walking by Christmas.

Breakdown

I had one yesterday. They happen every now and then. How come no one ever told me just how flippin' TOUGH this mom business is? Or maybe they did and I just shrugged it off like I did the warnings about the first year of marriage. I wish that I could enjoy it more. I am a bit of a type A basketcase which doesn't help me mellow out and just go with things. I feel better today after getting all liquored up. Just kidding, no booze, but I do feel more sane and happy.

Imprisoned

I put Lucas down for a nap a little bit ago and he didn't want to sleep. This is often the case--I don't understand why kids fight it when they are so obviously tired. Anyway, he was fussing loudly and I peeked in and saw the funniest thing. He looked like he was in jail, sitting up with his legs stuck out of the front of the crib and his hands clutching the bars, red faced and screaming. Hmmm, that doesn't sound as funny as it was. Am I mean? I went in and picked him up out of solitary confinement and hugged him telling him that it was time to go to bed. That seemed to satisfy him and my little convict is sleeping now. He'll wake up just in time for another round of his favorite, cold green bean mush in the mess hall, er high chair.

Vacation

My best friend, Christa, will be here to visit in a few days. I will be "on vacation" while she is here. Actually, we will be gone quite a bit exploring San Francisco, Napa, Gold Country and Yosemite. I am really excited, for it has been about a year since I have seen her and we both have had new babies in that time. Looking forward to meeting her little Sam and showing off Lucas. They are two months apart. Too bad they can't grow up together and be best friends, too. The house across the street is for sale. Maybe...

Green Beans For Sale

Lucas hates them. He gagged and sputtered and screamed while I tried to feed him today. I even tried to mix them in with carrots but he was NOT INTERESTED.

Trooper

Lucas was beat up yesterday. Seriously. I took him to a church sponsored Mom's group and one of the kids (a two and a half year old boy) clocked him in the head with a toy hammer as little Lucas sat innocently on my lap. My tough guy didn't even cry, though I had to fight back tears. How mean to strike a sweet little infant! Lucas didn't even take the kid's toy or anything. The mother yelled at the little brat, who proceeded to come at Lucas and hit him three more times. I felt like a fool for letting it happen so many times, but I just didn't expect it after the kid was corrected or in the first place. Today, Lucas has a reddish, black mark under his eye. A shiner? Poor baby. This is only the beginning of the fighting...Ugh, boys.

Eight Legged Killer

I am not a fan of spiders. With all there legs (and eyes), they kind of creep me out. Plus they bite and jump and make webs all over my house--inside even--gotta love it. Thank goodness for the Swiffer duster. We have a little bit of a problem with them here. In Florida, houses got roaches. Here we have spiders. I think that I would take spiders over roaches, yet I worry that one will bite Lucas in his crib (or me). I've found and exterminated several pretty big, threatening-looking ones by vacuuming them up in his room. I'm afraid to squish the big ones for fear that they will attack me. I know, I know...I'm pretty girly when it comes to bugs. I used to call Mike in tears, long distance when I was in college and discovered a roach in my apartment. "Help me kill it," I would squeal.

This weekend, I discovered a ton of babies nesting by our front door (luckily outside). I found and bought a spray that claimed to kill spiders and used it on them yesterday afternoon. I don't want hundreds of new spiders to infest our house. I checked on them an hour or so later and they seemed dead. Then I spied their pissed off mother lying in wait for their killer. No joke, it was a black widow the size of a silver dollar. I wonder how many of her husbands she ate to get that big. I got the spray and doused her too praying that she wouldn't jump on me. After this, I was actually afraid to go out my door for the rest of the day, though I did. I called Mike to warn him about her waiting in the doorway. I either made her madder or killed her and I didn't want to take any chances with my husband. To be sure, he squished her when he got home. I went out and checked the spider carcass and indeed it was the poisonous kind. Glad that I killed the babies, too. Eeeek!

Nuts

He's seems to be having a slight, potential reaction. It is so hard to tell...is it a drool rash? Does he have a slight case of acne? Or is he allergic to something? I decided to get off them again and see if he clears up. Well, at least I was able to finish off our peanut butter.

PB&J

I forgot how good these are. I hadn't had one for at least four months. Too bad that I couldn't have regular milk to wash it down with. Vanilla soy milk just doesn't do it for me. I'm back on soy, wheat, hopefully nuts. Life is continuing to improve. Now if I could just get enough sleep at night.