ROAD TRIP

Callum and I are going to visit Grandma and Grandpa for an extended weekend!!!! Someone will get spoiled over the weekend. Actually, I hope we both will get spoiled...

We are planning to drop daddy of at the airport for his "boys" weekend in Boston and then tackle the remaining 2.5 hour trip all by ourselves. I have been pumping Callum all night that we can do this because it will be so much better than just me and him hanging out all by ourselves. He will have so many fresh faces to entertain him and mommy will get lots of R&R. This will make us both very happy! However, plan B is to have Grandpa meet us somewhere along the way and ride with us. Go Grandpa!

Mike had the idea of a family excursion to Boston spinning in his head, but I think Callum & I would rain on his parade. Especially since Callum is still trying to get those pesky teeth. We will let Daddy have his fun. And I'm waiting for the "perfect" moment to cash in on all my weekend get aways.

Keep your fingers and toes crossed for us.

Big Boy

Callum decided he would sit in the high chair at dinner.

Just my luck

Callum thinks I have lost my mind. Our sleepmate arrived yesterday just in time for our afternoon nap. I was so excited. Maybe he would take a 2 hour nap. I plugged it in and he chuckled; the sound was hilarious to him. Just my luck...hubby doesn't like it either. He stated, "Callum doesn't need all that stuff, noise doesn't bother him"; hm mm....the male perspective.

Yesterday, I decided I was really going to get back into the healthy lifestyle. I have been doing pretty well, but I thought I would kick it up a notch. I ate healthy during the day and put some miles in on the treadmill when Mike got home. He was in charge of dinner. I told him just make something kinda healthy. His version of healthy-We had filet mignon, twice baked potatoes, and three cheese pasta. Who could refuse such a fabulous dinner? I thought about hitting the treadmill again after dinner, but I settled down to watch TV and eat a Weight Watcher's fudge bar. I'll have to be more specific about "healthy" from now on.

This morning, he asked if I wanted anything from McDonalds. Ugh, my willpower kicked in.

The All-Night Gourmet

"Frequent night nursing is characteristic of high-need children. It's like going to their favorite restaurant. The ambiance is peaceful, the server is familiar, the cuisine is superb, and they love the management. Who can blame the all-night gourmet?" -Dr. Sears


830 pm I am going to bed. I feel like I should be staying up conversing with my husband, but nope, I am really tired. And maybe tomorrow night I will stay up longer...maybe till 9.



10pm I hear hubby get his after dinner snack, note to self, on the next house, make sure the kitchen is far away from the bedroom. Mike is always hungry.



11pm Hubby comes to bed, steps on all the loud spots on the bamboo floor, note to self, never use bamboo flooring again, brushes teeth, settles in to a deep snore, Callum wakes ready to snack.



2am Callum wakes, nurses, happy as can be, and back to sleep.



4am Callum wakes, nurses, full belly, back to sleep.



5am Callum wakes, he can't be hungry again, I pat his back, nurse him a little, but no, he wants to practice rolling over. or. ..could it be those teeth that are working their way up, or...could it be an upset tummy b/c we started solid foods...convince myself I need to go back to sleep.



615am Callum falls back to sleep, hubby is awake, hubby's phone goes off, creaking off to the bathroom, find clothes, pack lunch, catch sportscenter, out the door-note to self, make sure in our next house , the bedroom is on a separate acre-



7am Callum hears daddy leave, he nurses, full belly, back to sleep-Contemplate getting up to have a few minutes to myself, nope, still tired.



830am We are up for the day-I thought I went to bed early to feel rested...I'm exhausted.



So Callum wants to be cuddled all day. We try to run some errands, stop by Mommy & Me, come home and we are both ready for a nap. I break out some teething tablets for him. They are supposed to make him"sleep like a baby". I am really trying to learn the whole method of sleeping when the baby sleeps, but I always have a hard time winding down. And when do I get time to myself???-LOL


I am getting ready to see what tonight holds. I will dream about how one day my child will be on of "those babies" who goes to bed at 7pm and sleeps till 7am.



I ordered a sleep-mate and it arrives tomorrow. Maybe it will help me catch up on some sleep, but deep inside I do enjoy all those extra cuddles from Callum. I know this stage will be over soon.

In the meantime, Where can I find the book on how to teach hubby to be very, very quiet while baby sleeps? I can give credit to Dad for working shift work. I never imagined my ability to know every creak in the house would pay off so well.

We call this SNOW

our deck this morning-what a surprise

Happy Birthday Bruce!!!

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

I'm so proud of Bruce. He made a great change.
Ask him about it sometime. . .check out Elim Home.

TMJ

The Ear/Nose&Throat Dr. said I have TMJ:

How did I get this??? It can come from stress-(thanks to all those years of teaching).

Rx-

-soft diet foods for one week
-no yawning
-no hard candy, gum, ice, etc.
-no jaw warbling (?)
-heating pad 2xday
-medication (which I can't take b/c I'm still nursing)

It could be worse...

Foot in Mouth

Went to see The Business of Being Born on Tue. night which painted a vivid picture of natural childbirth verses the hospital. Ricki Lake is an advocate for natural childbirth. It is not for the squeamish! There were a lot of courageous women who shared their birthing experience.

However, I will still being going to the hospital for baby #2, but I will be interested in bringing a mid-wife or Doula with me (I will say Mike and Mom did an excellent job with Callum).

Callum's First Church Service

hanging out after church (he slept through the whole service)
spitting and noise (his new favorite pastime, even at 5AM!!!)
more spitting ...
just being silly !!!

This week:

-library, pick up some books on hold (we are getting Dolly Parton's Imagination Library - kids a free book a month until age 5)

-taxes, year end, ugh!! ( between Cal's naps )

-watch a documentary produced by Ricki Lake with the girls on Tuesday night

-reorganize the clutter in the house (Auntie Chelle comes to visit this weekend!!!)

-plan Mom's birthday trip to Florida (final plan this week ladies!!! and DAD!)

Rushing

This is what happens when we try to do anything quickly these days. Notice the TIRE marks on Callum's FAVORITE chair. Ugh!!!!! Let's just say his chair has lots of character.

Happy Birthday Chelle!!!

If you ask my sister about us growing up together she can always remember all the times I just sat around conjuring up ways to annoy her~I would say a few memories on her top ten list are...keeping her awake all hours of the night b/c I couldn't sleep or wanted her to fight the monsters, terrorizing her special keepsakes like Pluto I think it was, and always willing to be the "model" for her clothes and make-up.

Some of my favorite memories of when we were younger include playing piano together, going to the movies, and the nights when she got to babysit. One night in particular I think it was a burnt cheese toast that made us all evacuate the house, including the pets.

Over the years, we've become best friends.

I don't always take the time to be sappy and tell my sis how thankful I am she is one of my best friends.

The picture above is one of my favorite pictures of her and Callum. What a SuperAuntie. I used to and still do tease Chelle about how super organized and planned out she is. Her skills spared me many meltdowns when Cal was born. She has turned into a highly qualified babysitter too!

Chelle gave me a calendar for sisters not to long ago-Today goes like this:

Family is of the utmost importance...We love, trust, get hurt, sometimes outraged, and we love and trust anyhow, because that's the best way to let our love grow. -Madeleine L'Engle

I hear Chelle put in four miles this morning on her trusty treadmill, got pampered at the salon (can't wait to see the new you), and then got a catered meal from "Linda's Kitchen". And I missed and the cake too!!!

Happy Birthday Chelle!!!

I Love Ya.

-sappiness is over :-)

Amazing...

As I waited for my little man to wake up,
I checked out Nate's blog from church http://cfhusband.blogspot.com/
The tears began to fall. It is an amazing testimony.
Being a mom for 5 months~
There is no greater love-
I'm off to shower my little man with kisses xoxoxo

Feet

Lately all Callum wants to do is play with his new found feet.

Mom's Devotion

Mom shared part of her devotion with me this morning:

Read a good verse from Beth Moore’s book this morning.


We have come to know and to believe the love that god has for us.
God is love,
and The one who remain in love remains in God,
and God remains in him.

1 John 4:16

She explained it this way:

If God always delivered us instantly, we would see His greatness once,
But we would soon forget. On the other hand, if He teaches us
Victory in Christ day by day, we live in the constant awareness of His
Greatness and sufficiency.

Lot of truth to that.

Prunes

Callum has entered the world of solid foods.

He has been super picky, not a fruit eater.

He loves carrots. Last night, we decided to try out some prunes.

He loves them!!! Here is a picture of him at lunch today.