Doc Visit, Pictures, Etc.

I finally got in to a doctor (from my slip/fall in the bathroom) on Wednesday. He didn't think I really had a head injury, but did think I was fighting a virus. Since I "had 2 things going on at once" (fall and virus), he wanted to do a CT Scan to be safe. That was done on Thursday and by then, my head-aches were completely gone. Seemed stupid to go, but oh well. Anyway, all must have been well since I didn't hear from him and I feel fine.

Saturday, we took the girls for pictures at Portrait Innovations. They do a great job and I wanted some of Lacey at age 3.....and some more of them together now that Leah is more active. Leah was difficult, though, because she didn't want to sit still. :-) She was all over the place. There were some great pics, though. Unfortunately, their printer was down, so we are waiting for them. They have this great package where you get TONS of pictures for a reasonable price (when you consider the number of pics). But, who needs all those pictures? We did that in the fall and it was fine since Christmas was coming & we sent a bunch out in New Year's cards. So, I decided we'd just buy what we needed. We probably have 30% (or less) of what we had in November and spent the same. Ugh. Oh well. I sort of wish we'd just bought the whole package now. I think this summer, I'm going to have a friend from work come out to do pics. She has a side business of photography and does an awesome job. She has a "sitting fee" plus the cost of the pictures, so I know it will be pricey. But, we'll probably only do it once a year from then on and she can do them at our house, with our pets, and has the benefit of really getting the kids in action.

Today, I took Lacey to Target to spend some of her birthday money. She (of course) picked out little Barbie's (Mariposa). And, they were naked in no time. Do all little girls do this? Sometimes she'll dress them again, but often, her dolls will be naked. Strange girl.

Thursday, we'll be leaving for Pittsburgh. We're taking Brady to a kennel the night before and a neighbor/student at Butch's school is going to cat sit. We're piling the girls in the van early on Thursday (7:30ish) and once we get into the Pittsburgh area, we'll be stopping to see Becky. She is one of the girls on my February Sweethearts board. (These are the women that I met online over 3.5 years ago. We were all pregnant and due to be first time moms in February 2005. Amazing how close we've stayed after all this time.) Anyway, I'll get to meet Becky and her two kiddos. After a visit there, we'll head to Grandma and Poppy's house for a couple of nights. Should be fun. I'm just hoping that Leah deals with the long drive well. Pray for me. :-) I know Lacey will be fine. She's got the DVD player and I've started a little stash of new treats for the car (magna doodle, paper, Easter Bunny is Comin' to Town DVD, etc.).

Leah is waking.......bye!

Leah - 8 months!

Well....I'm a little late this month getting this post up! But, here is Leah's 8 month picture.

8 Months

7 Months

She's doing great! She hasn't mastered crawling, yet. But, she is on her hands and knees a lot now. If she falls down to her chest, she scoots backwards pretty quickly. These days, it seems like she just wants to stand all the time......which means we spend a good deal of time on the floor, helping her stand.

This past week, she has been pretty cranky and it seems to be her teeth. She has 3 now, but evidently, another one (or more) is trying to come in. Last week at Miss Lisa's, she barely napped. One day, she napped 45 min. in the morning and that was it. Poor Miss Lisa.

Nighttime sleep has improved, though! I decided to be a little more of a hard ass and not go to her unless she'd been down for at least 6 hours. For the last 8 nights, we've had 4-5 that she's slept through completely. I actually got 7.5 hours of sleep one night and was amazingly rested. I don't think that's happened since very early pregnancy with Leah.

Binky....Pacifier.....

Lacey still loves her "binks". I'm considering going cold turkey and saying that we forgot them at Grandma and Poppy's house in Pittsburgh. That way, when we come back, oh well. I'm afraid, though!

Here is a post from a message board that I visit. It was quite funny and I hope she doesn't mind that I'm sharing. She titled it "Pacifier Throwdown". :-)

My daughter is a finger sucker. Not a thumb sucker or a pacifier user. She sucks her middle two fingers; I find it endearing.

For her first two weeks of life she took a pacifier, then gave it up forever. For a while, she would suck her wrists at night. From the bassinette it made a hilarious smacking sound. Finally she settled with the fingers.

The pacifier went into the memory box and it's been there for three years. Last night she found it. She recognized what it was and thought it was for her baby dolls. I explained that it was hers when she was a little baby. She put it into her mouth and gave it a try.

Instant addiction. I could see it in her eyes. I told her to put it back into the box and she was compliant, but then she took it out again.

Back into the box. Box on shelf. She suggested we keep the box in her bedroom instead. Knowing her for three years, I could spot that ruse a mile away. "You just want the box so you can use the pacifier." Deny, deny, deny.

She found a stepstool and got the box. Dug out the pacifier and popped it in her mouth. This time when I told her to put it back, she used slight of hand - she only pantomimed putting the pacifier back in the box. It was in her pocket.

Prestidigitation aside, and I do appreciate her effort, that pacifier was not going to be hers. I took it from her pocket and she snatched it off of me. Back into the mouth it went and she scrambled under the bed.

Always under the bed. Always, always. I'm going to attach a mop head to that child and make like it's medicine time... turn spring cleaning into a thing of the past.

So I fish the child out from under the bed but she takes off. She's quick. Wiley. And I'm a little bit stuck under the bed, so I had that slowing me down. I finally tracked her down; she was hiding in a closet happily sucking on that dang pacifier. I did the only thing a mean, evil mommy would do in my situation. I pulled it out of her mouth and put it too high for her to reach.

Left with no other option, she resorted to the final weapon of threedom. Screaming, crying, shaking, clawing and writhing on the ground. The sound of a parents' job well done. (Commonly heard only moments before my very own heart rips in two.)

Past Couple of Weeks

Well, the week after the girls' illnesses was somewhat normal. Chuck & Nancy came into town that Thursday for a visit. We had a bit of a wintry mix that Friday (which is the reason they came in a day sooner). Butch was off and we kept the girls home from daycare to avoid the icy roads.

Saturday, Nancy & I headed to the Crossing at Casey Jones for the Royal British Tradition Tea. We met Dee and Kristina there. It's such a nice time just going to relax. (Of course, this could be because with a 3 year old and an 8 month old, I don't get to do that much.)

The next week was a bit crazy. Miss Lisa's dad died on Monday afternoon. He'd been suffering from Alzheimer's for a couple of years and over the past several months began having other health issues. I know how sad and hard it is to lose a parent, so I thought about her a lot that week.

Of course, with daycare being closed, the girls were home again. Chuck & Nancy were still in town, but Nancy was still using a cane due to having knee surgery in January. So, I didn't think it would be good to leave them alone with both girls. (One being a 19 pound baby that needs to be carried around and up and down stairs.) It was a help having them around, though. I was able to work most of Tuesday, including conference calls, without much interruption. In fact, I headed into the office with Lacey, to pick up some papers. Butch took off on Wednesday so I could go to a client meeting. Then, I was home on Thursday & Friday. Chuck & Nancy actually left on Thursday after my morning meeting. And, Butch took off Friday morning so I could work and do a conference call. I gave up on work that afternoon and just took the afternoon off! I was too tired from balancing it all.

That weekend, Kristin had her House Warming party. She's about an hour away - in Northern VA. It was nice and we loved her place. Lots of yummy food. But, the girls weren't happy being on the floor by themselves and it started to get crowded, so we left. Leah cried from Waldorf to our house (about 20-25 min.) nonstop. Ugh. This makes me quite worried about the 5-6 hour drive to Pittsburgh.

Let's see......where are we?

The next week was pretty normal. And, last weekend was quiet. Butch had to work on Sunday at an open house for school. That was just a few hours, though.

And, now we are back into a work week. Today I was only in the office for a couple of hours before heading to Gaithersburg for a lunch and meeting. Tomorrow I'm working at home. That's good since I'm thinking I may need to see a doctor for this concussion (?). I hate to bother going when there is most likely nothing to be done, but I think I'll feel better about it.

A Concussion???

On Saturday, I was getting out of the shower and heard the phone ringing. I wasn't "rushing", but thought I'd try to get it. (I was waiting for a call back from the kennel to get an estimate on boarding Brady and they are tough to get in touch with.) My first step was on the bath mat. The second step on the linoleum. And, my foot went right out from under me. My head hit the wall really hard. I sat there for a few seconds taking stock of how I was and decided I'd be sore, but was otherwise okay. I had a bruise on my ankle and a knot, plus some swelling and a scrape on my arm. Today.....2 days later, I'm thinking I have a concussion. I keep having dizzy spells. I think I'll be calling the doctor tomorrow.

Lacey's 3rd Birthday

Lacey turned 3 on February 23! Wow! The celebrations actually started the Monday before. We were closed for President's Day and the girls were home with Butch & me. Lacey & I went to Build a Bear for some fun. She made a stuffed cat named.....are you ready?......Kitty. :-) And, we dressed her in Snow White attire. After Build a Bear, we headed to The Children's Place for a bit of shopping, then off to lunch at Red Robin.

Saturday was her actual birthday. Even though her party was planned for Sunday, we couldn't *not* celebrate on Saturday, right? So, it was pizza for dinner and some chocolate cake with ice cream for dessert. We also let her have a couple of gifts that night. Nancy made her a Sleeping Beauty dress, which she (of course) had to immediately put on. Butch & I gave her an easel (chalk board, white board, art paper, etc.) and Sleeping Beauty had to get right to her art work.


Day 3 of celebrations was Sunday. Everyone came over for Chick Fil A. Yum-o. Lacey was thrilled with all of her gifts. She got lots of Princess things (including a nightgown which she changed into) and books, etc. Dad got her (okay, I got it from him) a Princess Scooter. She was quite pleased with it, too. Then, on to the GOOD stuff. Carvel Ice Cream Cake. With Barbie the Island Princess on it. (Yes, she is wearing the nightgown she got.....)

Monday was the daycare party. Yep. Another party. Chuck, Nancy & I headed to Miss Lisa's for lunch and also brought a cupcake cake with little Disney Princesses on it. Lacey, Logan & Mary Kate were all happy.So, Lacey had a great birthday. It's just amazing to me that she is 3.

Momnesia?

Dee sent me a link to an article a few days ago. Many of you may already have seen the story since I've heard it on a few radio shows, etc. Many things associated with having a baby (sleep deprivation, hormone changes and stress to name a few) can reduce memory. Interesting, but certainly not surprising! As I read on another blog yesterday "amazingly enough I can usually remember where every single miscellaneous item is in my house for whenever my kids (and husband) whine “moooommm… where is the (fill in the blank)?”

I know that I lost a lot of sleep when Lacey was born....and have lost a lot in these past 8 months. But, wow. A mom loses between 450-700 hours of sleep in the baby's first year alone. Gulp. No wonder I can't stay up past 9:00 most nights.

As poor as a new momma's memory might be, and as much in a 'fog' as she may seem to be, a mother tends to have increased awareness for the health and safety of their child. Well, at least that becomes the complete focus.

Take me, for example. I'll fess up to something I did when Leah was about 10 weeks old. It was the week before she started daycare and I need to boil all the new bottle nipples I'd bought. So, I put them on the stove while she was napping. Then, she cried. And, I went to her. And completely forgot that the stove had water on with nipples getting ready to boil. I was focused entirely on getting her back to sleep..........and the smoke detector went off.

We have smoke detectors that have cried wolf many times. So, I was *sure* it was acting up. I called Butch to complain and ask how to fix it. But, when I walked back in the house (I'd stepped out with Leah because of the noise), I smelled smoke. When I came into the kitchen, the flames were a few feet high. Yes. That's right. I about freaked. Set Leah on the deck in her bouncy, put out the fire and aired the house out.

So, it is of no surprise to me that there is something labeled Momnesia.