Boo on terrible two's

I swear David is starting his terrible two's already. I know some of what we face is baby-related, but really.... sometimes the baby isn't even in the room & I am totally showering him in attention. I don't know if I can take this for the next two years. Yikes if he decides to keep it up for a long time & Joshua decides to start early, too!!!!! Deep calming breaths. I love my boys. I love my boys.

On a fun note, David was eating my vegetarian mexican lasagna last night & kept saying "Bye-bye bean," everytime he would eat a bean. If he got a piece of zucchini or corn he looked at them all confused and said "Bye-bye. No bean." Times like that make the tough times fade away. He came running up to me this evening while I was nursing Joshua & planted a big wet kiss on my cheek then leaned over to plant a slobbery kiss on the baby's cheek. Too cute.

Joshua did nothing but sleep, eat, and poo today. I swear he is trying to outgrow his brother before he hits 1. Silly kid. I am enjoying him while he is still little & squishable b/c I have a feeling he will be bigger than David long before I am ready. Lord help me when these two hit their teen years!!!!

Ok, 'nuff of my bragging. I am off to put my feet up & enjoy Tony having the next two days off!!!!!!

Warm weather fun

So it has been 90 here yesterday and today. Supposed to continue tomorrow and then a break. I have busted out all my summer gear only to find that after two summers of being preggo all I own is maternity summer gear. Come to think of it, with the exception of one pair of jeans I bought a week before I got preggers with Joshua, all I own are maternity bottoms, sweats, and PJ pants. Can ya' tell I am a SAHM????

I have the boys in lightweight T's and diapers all day. (They have the life.) We have the AC cranking b/c the pollen is driving me nuts. The boys and I spend a little time outside on the balcony, though. Tony hung our new plants out there and David "sweeps". Today we blew bubbles through the railing and David had a popsicle. Joshua is content to just smile and drool.

Now just for fun.... here is my little man showing off a bit. I can't believe he is almost 2. Where does the time go?????

Long difficult days.......

I am sitting here in the silence enjoying the fact that both boys are actually asleep!!!!! They went down after only one attempt on both. After the afternoon they gave me I figured I was going to face an AWFUL bedtime. Bless them for taking it easy on me.

My balcony door is wide open and the warm air from this summer-like day is delicious. The only thing missing is an ice cold margarita & a bowl of home-made salsa. Mmmmm..... pardon my drool. I am so ready for warm weather.

That's my guy

We are trying to be good about keeping David exposed to books. Both Tony & I are avid readers and we always recommend people get books for David as gifts to increase his collection. We read to him several times a day and always at bedtime. This was important to me because my parents had me "reading" since infancy and it made a huge difference in school and now as an adult I love to read just for fun. Tony's parents were never big on the reading.......neither are his sisters. (Maybe that is why both our nephews had to go to reading camp to catch up to their age group in school.)

Well, the little man shocked the heck out of me today when he recited more than half the alphabet from his ABC's book. He then brought me "Cat in Hat" as he called it and was able to tell me a lot of the story. I know most of this is just memorization from having heard these things countless times ("Again, Mommy! Again!")....... but it still made me feel like shouting from the rooftop. He looked up at me after the story and grinned while he said, "I smart!"

You go, kid!!!!!!

Le fuss de night-night

So Mr Joshua fussy pants (I think that may his full name from now on) has decided that right before bedtime is the PERFECT time to get all in a twist at the world in general and bedtime in particular. I love the little squirt.... but a 45 minute fuss-fest after the big bedtime feeding is tiresome after 5 nights in a row of bedtime on my own. I am taking deep breaths and remembering that David went through a phase like this, too. Right around growth spurts. I bet I wake up tomorrow and Joshua ia 5'11"...... okay maybe not that tall.

Sleep.... you are an elusive mistress at times and a demanding one at others. May you bless my little guy with lovely dreams and 4 whole hours before I am asked to feed the little bugger again. (I don't want to press my luck and ask for 6.....I'm afraid you'll give me just 2 out of spite!)

Ready for my close up.....

So Joshua, the little stinker, has been getting closer & closer to rolling over back to tummy. He keeps getting stuck on his one shoulder & then releases the legs only to flop back. Today I went & bought him a new baby gym. We had a hard plastic one from when David was little.....but David likes to try and impale his little brother through the guts with the feet of it. This one is all soft & cozy...... and cost me $60 friggin dollars.

So I lay Joshua down on it on his tummy. He has a blast kicking & playing and then gets tired. I rolled him to his back & he went right back to playing. I got up to get David some juice & when I came back Mr Man was on his tummy! I asked Tony if he had moved Joshua.....nope! I flipped him back over & sat back to watch. Sure enough he got those legs up, stuffed one fist in his mouth & rolled toward that arm..... over he goes, happy as can be.

He looked at me as if to say, "Mommy.....I just wanted something that was all mine and not a hand-me-down before I would perform." Little stinker! Yah, that's right. I am bragging and calling him a stinker all in one breath. He is my kid and I reserve the right to name-call once in awhile. Especially when he is so durn cute!!!

Damn you, Easter Bunny!!!

I had been doing pretty well. I was eating very few sweets and loads of fresh fruits or yogurt. I was also getting more veggies & good protein. Then you came along, you stinking Easter Bunny. You with your fancy chocolates and yummy goodies. You are eeeeeeeeevil!!!!!!

I tried to be good & only nibble the jelly beans. Not too many calories there and fat-free. Then your hidden stash of mini robin's eggs beckoned to me from the kitchen. It called my name as I battled stress and coaxed me into having just one. Then just one more. The next thing I knew I was buying a second bag to hide the fact that I had eaten the first. Then you had to send your minions after me. Those small chocolate soldiers attacked my weakened front and had me pinned against the wall. I had to give in or die in the battle.

So, damn you Easter Bunny. You and your basket full of my fat ass and chubby tummy. Go away and take your buddy (that fat little devil who calls himself "Cupid") with you. Tell your cohorts I am declaring war on the lot of you!!!!! (Right after I finish my kid's chocolate bunny)

Back to the grind

Tony is out of the hospital. He was released Easter morning, actually. He is back at work despite me wanting him to take some time off. We are taking this one day at a time. The doctors told him that while the drinking doesn't help.....he has so much damage that anything could set it off at anytime now. (Woo-hoo.)

The boys are having fussy episodes now. David got the royal treatment all weekend with Nana & Papa and Joshua had me all to himself. They are having trouble re-adjusting to "normal" life. I am laughing when I can & just taking my cues from them. I know we will all get past this.

So now I want fun things.....no more stress for a bit. I am ready for spring & flowers. I want to plant herbs. I wish I could start a garden but we get almost no full sun all day. Tough for happy veggies to grow in those conditions. I am ready to highlight my hair again. It needs a lift for the warm weather. I am ready to be outdoors again. Come on, warm weather.... Mama needs a break!

Letter to My Husband

Dear Tony,

I love you. I must start with that because if I don't I will lose sight of it. I am aching in my heart & too hurt for words right now....at least spoken ones. I know this is a disease and not something you do just to hurt us. I need you to get help. We have two boys who adore you & want to spend time with you. You have a wife who loves you more than she can say. I want to grow old with you & raise our children together. I want to spoil our grandchildren together.

You are in the hospital again as I write this for the 4th bout of pancreatitis. I remember the 1st time the doctor told us that you had to stop now because you could easily become a chronic case. Well....I think we are there. Four episodes in less than 3 years seems pretty chronic to me. We haven't even paid off the medical bills from your 1st 3 trips....now we are facing a 4th.

I know my mother says that you being the sole source of income is an added stress that may be causing this. That hurts me to my core. We made the decision together to have me stay at home with our boys because we both feel it in their best interest. If it truly is causing you to have added stress & thus repeat your past behaviors then I need to know. We could make it work.......

I love you with all my heart.....you are truly my best friend. Please, if for nobody's sake but your own.......go get help!

signed,
your loving wife

Teething Sucks!!!

Grr..... Poor David. Little guy is cutting two top molars and two bottom "canines" all at once. We thought he might have an ear infection on top of this because he kept tugging at his ears and rubbing them so often. He was also waking up in the middle of the night screaming. Took him to the pedi.....ears & throat look fine. Just bad teething. I had to sit with him last night from 3-4am. Today he ate only minimal amounts. Loads of fluids and tylenol or motrin before bed to help him get comfy.

I have tried all the teething tricks that worked before he was 1. No-go now. Even popsicles were turned down today. I cuddle him when I can. He does fine most of the day, though. I just hate seeing that look in his eyes that lets me know he feels like crap but doesn't know how to tell me what is wrong. I can't really explain it to him in ways he can understand, either. All he knows is he doesn't feel good and he wants to feel better. I hope this passes soon for all of us. I want my happy midgie back!!!!

Being a grown-up

So there are times in your life when you realize that you have, in fact, become an actual "grown-up". Booo.........

Wednesday we met with the realtor & a mortgage officer. Tony needed to do a few things to generate positive scores on his credit report now that he fixed the ancient problems. (How that man has made it to his mid 30's without needing any real form of credit is beyond me.) They told us they would approve us for $50K more than they thought they would. We have decided that it would be silly of us to immediately start looking up to that price point....but it is nice to know we have a lot of wiggle room. Once those positive scores hit the system (which could take a few weeks to a few months) we have have letter in hand & can make an offer.

Now we get to go neighborhood hunting. Again...."grown-up" flag. I am researching crime rates, elementary schools, tax brackets, and re-sale values. Woo-hoo! Once we have a better idea of specific neighborhoods to watch we can also start to walk homes. We should be holding the keys to our own home before Christmas!!!!

Now I am getting excited for the silliest things. Like painting the walls however I want. Hanging stuff wherever I choose. Decorating the house for the holidays..... ALL OF 'EM!! OK, I am a certified dork.