One final Collinism for 2007

Since Tim worked an evening shift tonight I took the boys over to my parents for a little new year's eve celebration. Around 8 we had our "New Year" and celebrated with some sparkling cider. Collin kept asking for bread. Finally I realized that my Dad had said it was time for a toast. In Collin's mind, that meant we needed some bread. When I figured it out I laughed so hard I nearly cried.

Happy New Year

As the new year approaches we often reflect on the year that has just passed and think about the possibilities the next one brings. For us, this has been a special year because Nicholas was born in June and we've spent the last 6 months getting to know him, watching him grow and learn, and interact with his brother. It hasn't always been easy but we wouldn't trade a moment of it. We've also had the pleasure of watching Collin blossom into the gregarious, funny little man that he is becoming. He is quite precocious and has an incredible vocabulary which sometimes makes me cringe because some of it is words I would prefer he hadn't learned.

I don't often make new year's resolutions because I seldom stick to them but this year I have a couple I'm going to try. First of all, I'm going to try to cut myself some slack and stop feeling guilty about all the stuff I don't get done and just be proud of the stuff I do manage to do. For instance, instead of feeling bad because I didn't vacuum, I'll be proud that I found the time to pick the place up so I could find the floor to vacuum if I had the time. My second goal is to catch up and stay on top of the laundry. I'm notoriously bad at this as my husband (and my mother) can attest to. This year, my goal is to toss a load in at least every other day and more importantly get it put away before there are 10 loads waiting for me to put away all at once. And as always, I resolve to live healthier in the new year. I intend to make smarter food choices and be more cognizant of my portion sizes and maybe even get a little exercise. If this results in me losing some weight that would be awesome, but I'm not making that resolution because I've made it before and it didn't work. I'll try this instead and hopefully I'll be more successful.

As we say goodbye to 2007, I wish you all a very happy and healthy 2008. May it be filled with family and friends and wonderful new memories.

The Husband Meme

Kayris at The Great Walls of Baltimore tagged me again for a meme about my other half.

1. What is his name? Tim
2. How long have you been married? 6 years
3. How long did you date? 3 years
4. Who eats more? Depends on the day, usually me.
5. Who said 'I love you' first? He did, I was chicken
6. Who sings better? I can't carry a tune in a bucket but I've seen him get a standing ovation at Karaoke night.
7. Who is taller? he is.
8. Whose temper is worse? Depends on the situation. Different things set us off and we're almost never mad at the same time.
9. Who does the laundry? My AWESOME husband does 99% of it.
10. Who does the dishes? Tim does, I love to cook, hate to do dishes- but I'll happily clean the bathroom. Its a trade off.
11. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do.
12. Who does the cooking? Usually me, but Tim is great in the kitchen and does his fair share.
13. Who is more stubborn? Another toss up. We're both pretty stubborn.
14. Who proposed? He did. After a stroll around the neighborhood to look at the lights after midnight mass on Christmas Eve.
15. Who is more likely to admit when they are wrong? Neither one of us has ever been wrong so I don't know.
16. Whose parents do you see the most? Mine because his live in North Carolina.
18. Who wears the pants in the family? We make all the important decisions together so we both do.
19. Why do you love your husband? He is the most genuinely good person I know. He has strong morals and values and will stand up for what he believes in. He has a strong sense of faith which I really respect. He is kind and outgoing, honest and loyal. He is a wonderful husband and father and most importantly, he is my best friend.

A Few Pictures From Christmas

Santa left the Thomas train track/carrying case out so it was the first thing Collin saw.


Look how hard he's concentrating on getting that wrapping paper off!

Now it's Collin's turn to play Santa and give everyone else the presents that were left for them under the tree.

Have you ever seen a jollier little elf? Nick Nick, you are one darling little boy.

Oh, thank goodness Grandmom and Granddad got me a comfy chair. I'm exhausted!

Yeah, me too! All this shoving wrapping paper in my mouth while Mom's not looking is hard work!

Even Sadie got some goodies in a stocking. She loved her homemade bone. Don't even think about touching it. It was gone in a flash.

Nicholas

Nick woke up on Christmas morning with a nasty snotty green nose and the cough he and Collin both have had gotten worse. Bless his sweet little heart though he was in good spirits the whole day so we decided it wasn't anything that couldn't wait until today. Tim got him in to see the doctor first thing this morning and it turns out the poor little guy has bronchitis so he's back on another antibiotic and some liquid albuterol and hopefully he'll be feeling better soon.

In other Nick news he has gotten really good at sitting all by himself for increasingly longer periods of time. He'll still eventually fall over but I'm now comfortable saying my baby can sit on his own! He's also beginning to crawl! I'm so not ready for this.... He goes backwards most of the time but he's started doing the thing where he gets up on all fours and rock back and forth. If you put something out of his reach, wrapping paper for instance, he'll find a way to get to it so I can also call him mobile now. My baby is growing so fast! Even though I've been through all these milestones with Collin, I find it just as amazing when Nick reaches them. It's incredible how much a baby learns in just 6 short months and how much more he'll have learned 6 months from now.

Merry Christmas

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas. We certainly did, although for a while I was afraid it was going to be a disaster! I spent Friday evening getting ready to go to my Grandmother's for the weekend to surprise her with a family get-together for Christmas. The bags were all packed and my sister and I had plans to ride up together with the kids. Unfortunately, I then proceeded to spend the entire night in the bathroom praying to the porcelain gods. I finally got back to bed around 5:45. Lucky Tim, the kids both woke up shortly thereafter. I don't know what I'd have done without him. He got up and took care of them for me. After a few hours rest and a nice hot bath I was feeling considerably better but the next disaster was already taking shape. Tim was busy feeding Nick and I was taking a bath so Collin took advantage of the lack of attention and found a bottle of tilex to clean the sliding glass door with. When Tim discovered him, the top was off the bottle and he was playing quite happily. We were more than a little freaked out so we washed him really well, smelled his breath to try to determine if he was telling the truth when he said he didn't drink any, and called poison control. Their advice was to wash him until he was no longer slippery and then have him drink something. Easy enough. I guess because he was acting fine they weren't too concerned. Crisis averted. Tim went to work around noon and the kids must have known that Mommy really needed them to be good that day because they were both perfect angels. Collin even went to bed (at a reasonable time) without any problems at all. I can't remember what we did on Sunday except that we wrapped as many of the Christmas presents as we could. Monday was Christmas Eve. The kids and I went grocery shopping and then over to my parents to spend the day with Grammy. Tim was going to meet us after work and we were supposed to go to mass later in the evening. About 3:30 Tim comes in the door and makes a beeline for the bathroom. He's got what I had. Things aren't looking good. I take him home and come back for the kids. By this time, it's too late to make the 5:00 mass so we're shooting for the 7:00 mass. By about 5:45 my kids are both cranky and whiny and Collin is getting himself all worked up because he is way over tired. I made the executive decision that we should skip church and head home and I can almost hear my mother's sigh of relief. (Last Christmas Collin had tonsillitis and was so bad in church that I spent the majority of the mass in the car with him waiting for everyone else to be done. Really didn't want to go through that again) By the time we get back home, Tim is feeling a good bit better. He didn't have it as bad as I did so he was able to help me get everything set up for Christmas morning. Collin fell asleep in the car on the way home but woke up as soon as I laid him in bed. I expected the worst but he surprised me. He just asked to read Twas the Night Before Christmas again the the Blue book and went right to sleep. Nick went to bed at a reasonable time too. Could it be that we could get everything ready to go and be in bed at a decent hour? Tim and I got to work setting up the really cool Mickey Mouse train we bought Collin for around the tree and the stupid piece of junk (that cost a fortune but I got it on sale or I never would have bought it) fell apart. The piece that connected the two trains together didn't work and then the decorations fell off the side of the trains. We'll be returning that one later. I was really disappointed because Collin is really into trains right now. I couldn't wait to see his little face when he saw the train going around the tree. Maybe next year. He still loved all of his presents and had a great time opening them all, and all of Nick's. He'd open something and say "Oh Wow! Cool! Look at this!" We really enjoyed watching him this year. He really got into it and he wanted to bring just about everything to Grammy's to show everyone what he got. We let him take his Thomas trains and Candy Land. There were more presents at Grammy's house. Santa left gifts in both places for us. I don't think Collin really understands Santa yet though because as he was opening his stocking at Grammy's he pulled out a slinky (which he totally loved) and said "look what Grammy got me". We explained that it was in his stocking so it came from Santa and he just said "OK". He's still pretty clueless. Then, as the rest of us were opening up all of our gifts, we heard him mumble something and follow it up with a very loud and clear "damn it". It stopped every conversation dead in its tracks. Then we all did the worst possible thing we could do and laughed. You probably had to be there to really understand but it was funny. He hasn't said it since. Nick really enjoyed the wrapping paper. He was really good at finding the tiniest scrap and shoving them in his mouth the minute we weren't looking at him. We had a really nice Christmas dinner and went home. So although there were a lot of bumps and near disasters along the way, Christmas was indeed a joyous occasion. We got to see Grandmom and Granddad last week and Grammy and Grandpa, Aunt Bella and Max (wish we could have seen Great Grammy, Aunt Katie and the kids too, but hopefully soon) and everyone was relatively healthy and able to enjoy the holiday together.

You Put What...Where?

It's been 6 months since Collin had his tubes put in and things have been going very well. He's only had one ear infection and a now has a sinus infection that hasn't gone away yet. It was time to check in with the doctor to make sure the tubes were working properly and his hearing is OK. His hearing is perfect! A hearing test for a 2 year old involves sitting in a soundproof booth while the audiologist makes certain sounds and watches his reaction. Sometimes its a low pitched sound, sometimes its bears that light up and bang a drum. It's all a game to Collin and he has a great time with it. He's even starting to try to predict which direction the sound will come from next. After we got the A-OK on his hearing it was time for the doctor to check his tubes. It went something like this:

Dr.: Hi Guys, how are you doing today?
Me: Hi Dr. Mike. We're doing great.
Dr.: Can I look in your ears?
Me: Sure

Collin is very good for this and sits quietly while Dr. Mike looks at his first ear.

Dr.: Hmm...That's the oddest looking wax I've ever seen. It looks like jello! Let me look at his other ear and then I want to look at this under the microscope. Has he had jello lately?
Me: No, not unless he had it at daycare.

He looks in the other ear, same deal. So now we're off to the room with the microscope in it. Dr. Mike looks at the first ear again and decides whatever it is, it needs to come out. I put Collin in my lap because I figure he's not going to like it very much. Yeah, that's the understatement of the year. He completely freaked the minute the suction machine was turned out. I was holding him in my lap with my legs wrapped around his and my arms wrapped around his torso to hold his arms while the medical assistant held his head still so the doctor could try to suck the stuff out of his ear. It took a bit but it finally came out.

Dr.: What is that?
Me: It kind of looks like a piece of gummy bear! He loves those.
Dr.: Let's take a look at the other ear.

More stuff, maybe gummy bear? We try for a few minutes to hold Collin down while Dr. Mike tries to suck whatever it is out of Collin's ear.

Dr.: We can keep trying or you can keep his ears dry and come back.
Tim and I: Keep trying, please!

No way are we going through this another time, we want it done and over with. Tim offers to switch places with me and eventually we have to. Collin is just beside himself and scared to death. It doesn't hurt at all but the machine makes a loud noise. It doesn't come out with the suction on the other side so Dr. Mike turns off the machine and gets a tool used for cleaning out ear wax. Collin is still freaked out but calms down a good bit once the noise is gone. The other piece comes out in no time.

Dr.: This is a first for me. I've seen lots of stuff in ears but nothing like this. In fact, I bet your pediatrician would have told you it was wax because it really does look like it.

Tim told me later that he actually felt the object that came out and it felt like the gel cling decorations we have on our windows. We had some for Halloween and Thanksgiving that had orange and yellow pieces. Collin was notorious for pulling them apart.

I actually do think that the pediatrician missed it because we were just in there 2 weeks ago when Collin got his sinus infection and they looked at his ears and didn't say anything. He's been tugging at them but not really complaining so we didn't think a whole lot of it for a number of reasons. 1. He was at the doctor and they said his ears were fine, he had a sinus infection. 2. He's been pulling at everyone's ears, not just his own. 3. Nick's ears are quite prominent and we thought he'd just taken an interest in ears because of it.

Needless to say, I was a little embarrassed because I was just taking him for a follow up visit and I never even suspected that he had put anything in his ears. Plus, I can't even begin to tell you how often we make fun of parents who bring their kids in for surgery because they've gotten something stuck up their nose or in their ears. Usually they end up in the OR because the kid is so crazy in the office that the doctor can't get near them. I totally understand it now and I will be much more sympathetic and much less judgemental. Collin was ridiculously strong and wiggly and he screamed "Don't touch me!" and "Leave me alone!" at the top of his lungs through the entire procedure. I wouldn't have been surprised if Mike had said, I'm not going to do this, lets add him on to the schedule and take it out under anesthesia. He was that wild. Fortunately, he got the stuff out of both ears and about 20 seconds later Collin was completely fine and ready for the Popsicle we promised him if he was good. He even said thank you to Dr. Mike and gave him a high five. When he got home, he told Grandmom and Granddad that he cried and Dr. Mike looked at his ears and their was a gummy bear in them and then he got a Popsicle. Pretty good summation of the events, actually.

In other Collin news, he pooped in the potty tonight! I very proud of him. Maybe potty training will start picking up speed again.

We Should of Named HIm Harry Part II

Tim is working a midnight shift tonight, my in-laws and here for a visit and we spent the evening at a birthday party (Thanks to Mom and Dad for watching Nick) so he's not in his normal routine. I put him to bed around 9:30 because I could tell he was starting to get tired. We brushed his teeth, read a story and then I sang him his night night songs. I kissed him goodnight and told him if he could be good and stay in bed I'd be back in 10 minutes. I grabbed a sobbing Nicholas out of his bed to try to quiet him down and get him to sleep and went downstairs. 10-15 minutes later Nick was asleep so I took him upstairs and put him in his crib. Then I went in to check on Collin, except there was no Collin. The bedroom was empty. I knew he wasn't in Nick's room and he hadn't come downstairs so that only left one place. Sure enough, I opened the door to my bedroom and there was Collin, sound asleep, all tucked under the covers in the middle of my bed. Either we left our bedroom door open or he has learned how to work the safety knobs we put on the door knobs to keep him from opening the doors. I sure hope we left the door open because I sometimes have a hard time with those stupid safety knobs.

Poor Baby

Yesterday when I picked Nick up from daycare he was burning up so I took him home and took his temperature. It was 102. I gave him some Tylenol and called the doctor. Aside from the fever, he really wasn't acting sick. He had a little bit of congestion and a tiny cough every once in a while but he was all smiles and as pleasant as could be. The doctor said that if the Tylenol didn't bring the fever down within an hour (it did) or if he woke up in the morning and still had a fever and didn't seem to be doing any better he needed to be seen. He was up at 3:30 this morning which very rarely happens these days and then slept from 4 until 7:30. I changed his diaper and called the doctor for an appointment. Thank goodness for Saturday sick hours. My little guy has his first ear infection. I feel bad for him. Collin made it to his first birthday before he got his first ear infection. The good news is, he seems to like his Amoxicillin (though I'm watching him closely because Collin is allergic to this medicine) and takes it like a champ. Hopefully, we'll get a good nights sleep tonight.

We should have named him Harry

As in Houdini. I've blogged many times about our bedtime issues. Collin is just not like your average child when it comes to the amount of sleep he needs. He requires shockingly little. A few nights ago we decorated the Christmas tree so he was up past his bedtime. Just as we were finishing putting the garland on he managed to fall off a box he was climbing on and whack his head on the coffee table. I picked him up immediately but his head was purple and swollen already. We did manage to get some ice on it by making it into a game where we took turns putting ice on our heads and counting to ten but I still wanted to be sure there wasn't anything else I needed to do so I called Ask-A-Nurse. They said he sounded fine but to wake him up in 2 hours to be sure he could walk and talk and then again in 4 hours for the next 3 nights. OK, I'm a lousy parent because I only did it for one, but he was fine. However, that meant he got all of about 6 hours of sleep that night (the recommended amount for children his age is between 10 and 12). His sitter tells me he's always the last to fall asleep at nap time too. The next night he refused to go to bed as well. I've given up on battling. I can't make him sleep. We go through our routine and if he chooses not to go to sleep, that's his problem. Usually by about 8:30 he's ready to settle down, hear his lullaby and go to sleep. I had him in bed by 8:10 tonight and told him I was going to get a shower and I'd check on him afterwards. A half hour later, I came out of the bathroom and his door was shut. I figured he'd gone to sleep and I'd check on him in a little bit. A few moments later I heard his door open and a little voice calling "Mommy!" There was Collin standing in just his diaper. His PJ's were still zipped so he must have zipped them up after he took them off. He was very proud of himself. Unfortunately, the sight was so funny to me that I cracked up laughing, which I'm sure will only encourage the behavior. I'll have to work on that. He has also learned how to climb out of his room even though there is a gate across the door. He's very proud of himself for that as well. What a little monkey!

All I want for Christmas...

This is the first year that Collin has really been able to understand Christmas to some degree. He knows he needs to ask Santa for what he wants and that he'd better be good because the elves are watching and he's made some funny comments as we've discussed these things.

Collin, what do you want for Christmas? Would you like some
books?
No! I don't want books, I want TOYS!!

(Believe it or not, he does like to read)

Mommy, do you want a truck for Christmas?
No Collin, I don't want a truck. Mommy wants...

(At this point Tim pipes up with "Go ahead, Tell him what you want")

Mommy wants an electric toothbrush for Christmas.

(I told Tim this is the only thing I want-ever since the free trial hand piece I got died my teeth just don't feel as clean)

That's silly Mommy!
Daddy thinks so too!

Imitation is a form of flattery, or is it?

I took the boys to BJ's tonight to pick up a few things. By the way, BJ's has the best carts ever. I can put both of them in the cart side by side now that Nick is big enough to sit in the cart by himself. Before, I either had to put Collin in the cart and wear Nick, or put Nick's car seat in the cart and put Collin in the basket or let him walk. If you put him in the basket, prepare to have your food stomped and you better hope you're not getting much because there isn't room for it and letting him walk is just plain scary. Anyway, BJ's carts are awesome and I wish Giant would get some just like them. I digress. As we were shopping, we stopped for a sample of some cake. It was really good and Collin wanted some more. I told him we'd already had our cake and I would have to buy it if we were going to have some more. He looked at me, rolled his eyes and said "Oh for God's sake". I asked "What did you just say?". "Oh for God's sake Mom!". I had to turn away from him because this isn't something I want to become a regular part of his vocabulary but it struck me as funny because he said it exactly the way I do when I'm frustrated. In fact, I think a few moments earlier I had said "For God's sake Collin, quit pulling your brother's ears!". I don't have to wonder where he gets that phrase from. I take full responsibility on this one. When I turned back around to look at Collin I realized that the other couple in the aisle was watching us and they were openly laughing at us. Between my trying to hold back my laughter and the other couple laughing at us, Collin decided this is a good phrase to use and began saying it over and over again. I'm clearly going to have to watch what I say; perhaps for goodness sake would be better. I wish you could have heard the attitude in his voice. It was a perfect imitation of me.

I love my kids but....

Yesterday morning I was off to spend the day shopping with my Mom. Tim, however, had to get up early to take his finals. Thursday night when I realized this, I took a chance and asked if he would mind dropping the kids at daycare on his way to College Park. He agreed and I did a gleeful little jig. So morning came and I heard Tim turn off his alarm before it went off. I think he was trying to let me sleep in but I knew Nick would be getting up soon anyway. Sure enough I heard Nick get up and then Tim came in to ask if he needed to give him a bottle or if he'd be eating at daycare. I said I was getting up to feed him (I'm still nursing whenever possible). Tim seemed both surprised and relieved that I wasn't going to make him get the kids up and ready to go by himself. So I fed, changed and dressed Nick, helped Tim find a calculator, put Collin's coat on, kissed them all and sent them on their way. My Mom had a hair appointment at 9 so I had about 3 hours to myself. For the first time in FOREVER I got to take a bubble bath without having to hide in the bathroom so the kids don't see me after they're in bed. I didn't have to worry about taking too long in the shower because its late and Tim needs one too. I sat there in the tub with the bubbles and read a book for about an hour and it was the most blissful hour I've spent in a long time. After that, I spent 20 minutes blow drying my hair and another 10 putting on makeup. Both total luxuries for me. I make sure I get a shower but its usually at 9:30 at night and there is no time to dry my hair and I certainly don't have time for makeup in the morning. It's amazing how different I look when I have time to make just the smallest effort to look nice. Somehow, its different being Mom than being Dad. Tim can go get a shower, go study, go do whatever and the kids leave him alone. I might get a couple minutes but before long Collin will come looking for me. I can't imagine my life without the boys but yesterday morning was just so incredibly nice. It was like recharging my Mom batteries. Who'd have thought that the simple act of taking the kids to daycare for me would make my entire day so wonderful. Thanks Tim!

Santa Clause is Coming To Town

After Nick's check-up yesterday we were right by the Annapolis Mall so we took Collin in to see Santa. I was a little nervous about how he'd act since Santa is a stranger and some kids find him scary. Not my Collin. I told him when the little girl ahead of him got down from Santa's lap it would be his turn to tell Santa what he wanted for Christmas. As soon as he saw her start to get down he started running toward Santa. I had to hold him back to give the poor little thing a chance to be collected by her parents. Collin hopped right up on Santa's lap. When Santa asked what he wanted for Christmas he replied "a train". I said "what kind of train" expecting him to say Thomas. Instead I got "a blue one". Then Santa reached behind him and pulled out Thomas the Tank Engine and handed it to Collin. "Like this one? This is Thomas" he said. I was really impressed until he told Collin he had to give Thomas back. What the heck? Why would Santa hand a 2 year old the toy he just asked for and then take it back? Collin, of course, didn't want to give it back but did so without as much fuss as I would have expected. I paid my small fortune for the picture of Collin with Santa and Collin got a little reindeer crown. Think Burger King crown but with antlers. They don't' even give out candy canes anymore! I checked out the Santa at the Columbia Mall when I was there today. He was awesome. I think I'll take the boys back and try to get a picture of both of them with Santa since Nick slept through Collin's visit this time.

6 Month Check Up

Nick is 6 months old today! How did this happen? How did 6 months go by so quickly? It seems like just yesterday that I was bringing home this tiny little baby who was so fragile and dependant on me. 6 short months later he's learned so many new things. He can sit by himself for about 30-45 seconds, he'll say mama (usually when he's crying), he's starting to hold his own bottle and loves to play with a spoon. He laughs and smiles at things he thinks are funny and he adores his big brother. I love to watch them interact. Collin is so good with Nick and Nick watches every single thing Collin does with such interest. You can tell he just can't wait till he's able to run around and play with his brother. Today he weighed in at 16 pounds and 12 ounces and measured 27 and a half inches long. I think he's actually a little shorter than that because she used the stick thing to measure him. When she started she put the top at the top of his head and went to stretch his legs out, but when she finished there was a gap between his head and the top of the measuring stick. Whatever. The doctor says he's doing fantastic and he can have solid foods now. We just have to grind it up or cut it into really small chunks. Did I mention he has 2 teeth? He's still drooling everywhere so I think more are on the way. He's growing so fast!

Christmas Pictures

We had Christmas pictures done at Sears the other day and I bought the CD so I could reprint as I needed to. Not one picture was taken where both boys were smiling. Collin is in a phase where he hates to have his picture taken. In fact, he looks almost scared in his individual shots. They're cute anyway. Enjoy.

Snow Blows

Yesterday morning I woke up, late. It was 5:30. I had 35 minutes to get myself and the boys up, dressed, and off to work and daycare. I fed Nick, it was 5:50 by the time I was done. I laid him back in his crib to play and got myself dressed and ready to go. At 5:57 I got Collin up and dressed and brought him downstairs. I ran back upstairs to get Nick. As soon as I picked him up, he puked all down the front of my shirt. Fortunately, he missed his so I only needed to change one of us. I laid him back in his crib and found a clean shirt for myself. Pick Nick up again, head down the stairs and strap him into his car seat. Its 6:05, I might actually make it. Collin has a meltdown. I had to literally drag him to the front door kicking and screaming where I proceeded to try to arm wrestle him into his coat. As I bent over to start our match I heard a loud rip. Sure enough I'd split my pants right down the center. Collin wins round 1 as Mommy runs back upstairs to change her pants. By this time Tim is up because who could sleep through all that racket. I stand in the middle of the bedroom and take a deep breath because at this point I'm just ready to cry and I hate to cry. Also, I don't have any clean pants because Nick yaks on EVERYTHING I wear. Tim gave me a huge hug and a pair of jeans. Finally, at 6:12 I was once again ready to walk out the door. Begin round 2 with Collin. "I'm not going. I don't want to see my friends!" I say fine and leave him standing in the doorway crying. He figures out that Mommy might really leave and says "Wait Mommy". I retrace my steps and open the door so he can come out with us but he still doesn't want to go. Now he stands on the front step and wails at the top of his lungs while I put Nick in the car. I run back and scoop Collin up and toss him over my shoulders like a sack of potatoes and rush back to the car where thankfully he doesn't give me any crap about getting in his car seat. Finally at 6:22 we are on our way to the sitter and I'm clearly going to be late for work. I don't think I have ever dropped the kids off so fast. We walked in the door. I set Nick down, plopped Collin on the couch, said good morning to Rosemary, kissed both my kids and ran out the door. By a miracle, traffic wasn't all snarled and I was only about 7 minutes late for work. When I pulled into the garage, I discovered that due to all the construction, the powers that be (in their infinite wisdom) had opened a new entrance and made the traffic 2 ways so as I rounded the corner to wear I always park I narrowly avoided a head on collision with some moron who was driving down the middle of the lane in the opposite direction. Sorry, but the garage was dangerous when the traffic only went in one direction and patients are all stupid, no matter how smart they usually are. I can't wait to see how many accidents are caused by this lame-o decision. Oh, and if all that wasn't enough to start my day off with a bang, it was snowing...

I hate the snow. If it weren't for the sheer joy on my son's face as he played in it last night I would swear that it had absolutely no redeeming qualities whatsoever. It's cold, it's wet and it freezes into ice. Enough said. This morning as I was rushing the kids out the door to get them to daycare in time for breakfast, I tried to open the van doors but they were frozen shut. Fortunately I was smart enough to leave the kids in the house while I went out to clean off the car and make sure the doors opened since they have a nasty habit of freezing shut. To make matters worse, neither car had an ice scrapper in it so I was going to have to clean it off by hand. I gave up on the van and tossed the boys in the little car and swore to get 2 ice scrappers while I was out Christmas shopping today. Incidentally, I totally forgot them. I will try to remember tomorrow.

Look at the delight on his little face! We threw snowballs and made snow angels. The whole way home from daycare all he could talk about was how he wanted to build a snowman. "It's going to be magic, Mom" "I'm going to make Frosty. We need a black hat". I thought "Oh Crap, how am I going to make that happen" but he was just so delighted by the snow, he didn't care that it wasn't good snowman snow. It wasn't really even good snowball snow, but none of that mattered. He was just so thrilled by it all.

This was one of his little snowballs I made for him, he was on his way to throw it at Daddy.

Poor kid couldn't keep his little mittens on. By the time I put them back on for the third time both of our hands were soaking wet and freezing cold but Collin still wanted to play. He couldn't get enough snowballs to throw at me. Could someone please tell me the trick to getting mittens on a 2 year old. No matter how hard I tried, I could not get his thumbs in the stupid thumb holes. No wonder they kept falling off. Poor Kid!

Even Sadie really enjoyed being out in the snow. She had a wonderful time running around while Collin and I played. Neither one of them wanted to come it but as you can see from the photos, it was getting dark.

Lessons Learned in Mom School

Math:
The smell emanating from Nick's diaper is inversely proportional to the size of the turd residing in it.

Reading:
It is entirely possible to "read" your son's favorite book to him in the car while driving. He will correct you if you "skip a page".

Science:
Popsicles and fruit snacks cure just about all ailments. A bump on the head hurts much less if Collin is sucking on a popsicle.

Physical Education:
Mommy makes an awesome horse and and equally awesome airplane. Collin loves to climb on my back for a few trips around the living room or get lifted up in the air until he runs into turbulence and comes back down for a "crash landing".

Geography:
Thanks to the Little Einsteins the Eiffel tower is where Melody's ticket for the musical pet train is found, not a monument in Paris.

Music:
Even 2 year olds know when you can't carry a tune in a bucket. Every time I sing in the car, Collin tells me to stop.

Foreign Language:
Collin sings Frere Jacques in French because I don't know it in English. The last time I saw my cousins he was singing it and they asked if he was singing in a foreign language or if they just couldn't understand him. He really was singing in French.

Art:
Windows make especially good canvases for crayon. So do doors and walls. Fortunately, Mr. Clean makes the magic eraser which cleans things up in a snap because Collin loves to draw.

I Love Tim's New Job, It Makes My Life So Much Easier

Both of the boys have had colds this week and Collin has been digging at his ears. Normally, this requires that I take time off work and take him to the doctor, but not anymore. Since Tim got his new job and he works 4 10 hour shifts, he has a day off during the week. This morning he took Collin to the doctor to get his ears checked out. They are completely fine, however he has a sinus infection. Poor kid. I took Nick this afternoon (because he was doing OK when I made Collin's appointment yesterday) and he just has a cold. They said to use saline spray and a humidifier. Now is when I really miss the decongestants that you can't get for kids any longer. Saline spray doesn't do anything other than make Nick really, really mad. Despite being a little under the weather, he's been pretty smiley all week. I hope he stays this way and just keeps getting better instead of worse.

The Things They Say

The latest Collinisms:

Leaving the sitter:
No Mommy, go strait. Towards Grammy's house!
Not today kiddo
Are we on Rt 100?
Yes we are, very good! What road does Mommy need to take next?
He actually told me but since this is an Internet posting, I don't think I'll be posting directions to my house where anyone can read them.
Finally I asked what street we live on and he knew that too! As soon as we got to our exit he said "we ARE almost home, Mom!" like it was some kind of a surprise. Did he think I didn't know how to get there? We all know I'm directionally challenged but I thought it would take my kids longer than 2 years to figure it out.

This morning:
Collin, you need to brush your teeth.
I DON'T WANNA!-he climbs between the rocker and the wall.
Tim goes to reach for him and hears "No Daddy! Leave me alone!"
Who taught him that one? Fess up because when I figure it out, you are in so much trouble!

Finally the next time you see Collin ask him "how are you doing today, Collin?"
He will usually respond with "I'm doing great, wonderful, marvelous or (and this is my favorite) FANtastic." He really emphasizes the fan in fantastic. Its super cute.

The Best Birthday Present Ever

Yesterday was my birthday and I got some really wonderful gifts but one of them really topped them all and I wasn't even really sure I had gotten it until today. Last night I overheard my parents discussing whether or not they had heard Nick say mama. They decided that it was too soon for him to be talking and they probably didn't hear it. I was inclined to agree with them and didn't give it much more thought. Until this afternoon. Tim was holding Nick who was fussing and trying to reach for me. All of the sudden we heard amongst the fussing a very distinct "ma-ma". We looked at each other in shock as if to say "did you hear that too?". Then I did a happy dance around the bedroom because Collin said dada before he ever said mama. At least one of my boys said mama first. So even though it could just be that Nick has learned the m syllable and is repeating it, I prefer to believe that he said mama. I've heard him say it several times since like he's practicing. My baby boy is growing so unbelievably fast! Before I know it he'll be running around and talking as well as his big brother.

Nick's First Thanksgiving

Nick really enjoyed the mashed potatoes and sweet potato souffle. He couldn't seem to get enough. Collin's favorite thing this year was the jellied cranberries. He ate 3 slices and still wanted more!

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays of the year. I love getting up early and making the stuffing with my parents and helping my dad stuff the turkey. I love the kielbasa my dad makes in the morning. I love the smell of pumpkin pie and all the other wonderful things we have to eat with the turkey. I love that we watch the parade and always end up watching the dog show afterwards even though no one admits to wanting to watch it. We "just watch until the beagles come on, then we can change it"; somehow, it never gets changed. We have so much to be thankful for in our lives and its nice to have a day where we get together and celebrate those things. I'm thankful for my family and that I have such nice traditions to pass along to my sons. I'm thankful for my wonderful husband who puts up with all of my eccentricities and loves me anyway and who gave me the most wonderful little boys I could imagine. I'm thankful for those two beautiful little boys who show me everyday that life is full of things to marvel at. I am thankful that I get to view life through the eyes of a child again. I appreciate things so much more now than I could have when I was a child. I am thankful for all of my friends and the people I don't get to see as often as I'd like to. I wish all of you a very happy Thanksgiving. May it be filled with lots of friends, family and good food to share.

Poor Fussy Man, Teething Really SUCKS!

The past few days have been a little rough for Nick. I couldn't really figure out what was going on, sometimes he was completely happy and giggly and then suddenly he'd be a wailing ball of tears. He's been a bear about going to bed too. His 7:30 bedtime has turned into nap time and he's up again around 8:30 raring to go. The other night he was up at 11:45 until around 1 am. He constantly needs to be held and played with. Putting him down generally leads to instant hysterics. I know people say that you can't spoil a baby, but Nick is spoiled. He has a wicked temper and when he's not getting his way he lets you know about it in no uncertain terms. I've done as much holding and cuddling as I possibly could. I've given him saline nose drops because I think he also has a cold and I've given him Tylenol to ease the pain. Nothing has seemed to really help for more than just a little while. This morning I discovered the reason for all the crankiness. Nick has cut his first tooth! I knew he'd been teething; its hard to miss the drool faucet that has been running nonstop down his chin for a while now, but Collin started that around 3 or 4 months too and didn't get a tooth until he was 8 or 9 months. I never expected Nick to actually get a tooth so soon. I guess it just goes to show how different each child is and why you shouldn't compare them too much. I'm hoping that since the first little corner of the tooth is now through the gum, life will start to get a little easier for the poor little fellow. He's normally such a happy guy. He almost always has a smile on his face and it's just the cutest grin you've ever seen. I need to go get a portrait done quick before the tooth can be seen when he smiles. I'm so sad that I won't have that darling toothless grin much longer. Its another sign of how big my little guy is getting and how far he's come from that innocent bundle of joy we brought home not even 6 months ago.

Mmmm Chocolate

This is what happens when you turn your back on a 2 year old making chocolate cupcakes...Mom asked me to help her look for a cookbook in the closet. When we started, Collin was not at the table making cupcakes anymore. He was playing in the living room.
He must have been just waiting for us to turn our backs for just a moment because Mom went to grab a chair so we see what was on the top shelf and when she got to the dining room, literally 2 steps around a corner, Collin was already covered in chocolate.
He was having such a good time, we just let him go until the batter was gone and tossed him in the tub. His clothes are in the washer now and will probably never be the same again.
What a face!

Mmmmm.... Good!

Last night I made meatloaf and mashed potatoes for dinner. I knew Collin would eat the mashed potatoes but what surprised me was that he ate his peas first and then asked for more! Since Nick is just beginning to eat cereal and apple sauce he sits in his high chair at the table with us while we eat. It's really important to me that we eat as a family whenever possible. Anyway, I gave him a little scoop of mashed potatoes to keep him occupied while we ate. I figured it was soft and wouldn't hurt him to try it. At first he just played with it, spreading it all over his tray. Then, because he's a big thumb sucker, he got some in his mouth and realized it was really good!
He couldn't get enough mashed potatoes! I think I ended up giving him 4 little scoops of them. He had more on him and his high chair than in his mouth but he thoroughly enjoyed every mouthful.
I can't wait for Thanksgiving dinner! He'll have mashed potatoes and a little bit of stuffing (I'll have to feed that to him so I can make sure the pieces are small enough) and maybe even some jellied cranberry sauce. He's an excellent eater!

Maryland is the Arm Pit of the US

I am absolutely furious with our stupid Governor and our representatives in the House and Senate. Instead of cutting all the stupid crap that they spend our hard earned money on every year, they have decided to up our sales tax to 6% and tax computer services. So now not only has this state allowed our BGE bill to double in the last year, they're upping our sales tax too. We won't even mention that it costs me $45-50 to fill up the van at least once a week. Before I had 2 kids in daycare, we spent more on gas each month than on daycare! Where do they expect us to come up with this money? A few years ago, this might not have been such a problem. Sure it would have been irritating because nobody likes a tax hike but everything is going down the tubes now. The housing market is tanking and fuel and energy prices are skyrocketing. Its like the perfect storm for a recession. So all this extra money they're counting on from the sales tax isn't going to happen because all the money we'd have been spending on consumables is now being spent so that we can get to work and pay to heat our houses. They're going to let the people decide on slots. That's about the only thing they did right. If they had approved the slots plan a couple years ago when Governor Ehrlich wanted it, maybe we wouldn't be in the financial trouble we're in now. I can promise you right now Governor O'Malley, I didn't vote for you in the last election and I sure won't vote for you in the next one. Instead of raising the sales tax, why don't you try reforming some of the programs that people milk to no end like welfare? (In all honesty, I don't know all that much about welfare but this is the way I see it) Why not put a time limit on how long you can receive welfare? Give people 7 years to go through school, get some training and a job. Give them a hand up not a hand out. Right now there is no incentive to go off welfare except pride. Also, make it mandatory to practice birth control while on welfare. If you aren't currently pregnant when you apply for welfare benefits, any further children you have will not be covered. I know this isn't fair to the child, but why do we allow women to keep having babies when they can't even begin to care for the ones they already have? They have them for the sole purpose of getting more money from the system. I know, this is generalizing. I'm all for having lots of children, I love them and wish I could have a whole bunch more. My reality is that we don't make enough to afford 3 children in daycare but the government sure isn't going to give me any help with that. I work and make a decent honest living. If I was a crack momma, I could have as many kids as I want and they'd all have health care and food stamps. I just find the whole thing really frustrating. Why should we work so hard so that our kids can have every advantage we can give them when other people just get benefits handed to them? I don't want a hand out, I want the money I'm required to give the government spent better! I'm tired of all the pork barrel spending. Its time for the government to take a look at how they spend our money and start doing it efficiently.

While I'm on the topic of money and handouts I need to vent about work. Every year the office finds a "needy" family and collects money, which the doctors match, and then buys them presents. Last year I think they had $800 to spend on the family. These kids were asking for ridiculous stuff like ipods, video games and Ugg boots. I'm sorry but $800 is more than I spend on Christmas for my entire family and if you're so poor that you need to put you name on an angel tree, you need to be asking for clothing and shoes and educational stuff, not stuff you're going to hock for drugs. (OK, that was mean and unfair) I realize that some of the people in the family were really little and that was what they wanted from Santa and that's OK. Most of the family members were old enough to know better. This year, we made the suggestion of donating the money to the Maryland Food Bank. They could feed a huge number of people with $800! That suggestions was shot down because "the girls really like going shopping" Are you kidding me??? A few years ago, I was told that giving money for this cause was not exactly voluntary which is probably why I'm still so angry about the whole thing. We received a nasty memo in October letting us know that this was coming up and basically stating that we've been given time to save up to contribute. I can't decide if I'm going to or not just on principle. If we were giving money to a food bank I wouldn't have a problem. Even if it was presented in a nicer manner, I wouldn't really have a problem with it. I think its really nice to give to others when you have so much to be thankful for yourself, and I certainly have an abundance of things to be thankful for. I just object to the way its done and quite frankly I think the money can be better spent. I know I'm in no position to lecture anyone on how they spend money. I just wish people would quit asking me for money when they are going to waste it. I've got lots of things I could be wasting it on myself. I guess that makes me selfish but I worked hard for that money, why shouldn't I be the one to waste it if that's what's going to happen to it anyway.

Crazy Eights Meme

Kayris at The Great Walls of Baltimore tagged me for this meme.

8 Things I am Passionate About
1. My boys, Collin and Nick
2. My husband, Tim
3. My Family
4. My dog, Sadie and my bird, Jackson
5. Reading
6. Learning new things
7. Food
8. Scrapbooking

8 Things I Say All The Time
1. I love you!
2. One, Two, Three,....You're going to time out!
3. Please don't pull the dog's fur!
4. Do NOT play with Jacksonson's cage!
5. If Sadie/Jackson bites you, you are the one in trouble for bugging her/him.
6. Don't pull Nick's ears!
7. What is it about surgery that makes even intelligent people unbelievably stupid?
8. If only I had more time in a day!


8 Books I've Read Recently1. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult 2. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
3. The Berenstain Bears: In the Dark by Stan and Jan Berenstain
4. The latest Harry Potter.
5. Murder in Georgetown by Margaret Truman
6. The Lake House by James Patterson
7. K is for Killer by Sue Grafton
8. The manual to the new printer at work

8 Things I Want To Do Before I Die
1. Conquer my fear of failure
2. See my kids grow up to be happy and successful
3. Travel
4. Take dance lessons
5. Learn to decorate cakes
6. Dye my hair bright red
7. Buy a motorcycle
8. Smoke some pot (I'm waiting till I'm too old for anyone to care to do this, by then it will probably be legal anyway and no one will care, but I want to see what the fuss is about)

8 Songs I Can Listen To Over and Over

1. Keeper of the Stars by Tracy Byrd
2. Anything by the Big Bad Voodoo Daddies
3. Beautiful by Christina Agulara
4. The wedgie song they play on XM Kids, it's HYSTERCAL!
5. Anything my son sings
6. I Could Not Ask For More by Edwin McCain
7. Any Christmas song
8. Pachelbel's Canon


8 Things That Attract Me To My Friends
1. Their sense of humor
2. Common interests
3. Their passion for life
4. Honesty
5. Loyalty
6. Similar values
7. Their kids-I might not have met them had our kids not been friends first
8. A friendly smile

8 Things I Learned In The Past Year
1. Okra really isn't all that bad if its in soup.
2. One little boy can produce an amazing amount of stink!
3. Children love babies.
4. I CAN clean up puke-real puke not the baby spit up kind.
5. I can love 2 children equally (everyone said I would but I was still afraid until I had Nick)
6. Quinoa is AWESOME! Its full of fiber and nutrition.
7. Potty training isn't particularly hard, but it is tedious.
8. I really want a single family house but I don't want the mortgage payment that goes with it.

I'm supposed to tag 8 more people to participate in this so if you haven't already been tagged go ahead and post your meme. It makes you think.

Bathroom Humor

Its a good thing I find bodily function humor amusing because I'm going to be hearing a lot of it over the coming years. Last night as I was giving Collin a bath he suddenly stopped playing and looked down between his legs. After a few seconds I asked what he was looking at. He grinned, and kept looking. A moment later he farted. Then he giggled and said "Look Mom, bubbles!" Oh yeah, I'm in for it.

Some More Pictures Taken Recently

This little Santa cap must have been in one of the boxes of clothes we got down for Nick and somehow it ended up in the living room the other day so, of course, I had to put it on. And give him Collin's reindeer to play with. It sings and dances which fascinated Nick. He kept trying to eat the antlers.

Daddy wanted a picture with his boys but Collin was not in the mood for pictures. Nick cooperated quite nicely though. I think this shot turned out great! All this picture taking has made Nick quite sleepy. There is nothing more precious that a sleeping baby. He fell asleep sucking his thumb on Daddy's shoulder.
And finally, our other baby who often gets left out of pictures and my blog, but never our hearts. She made herself quite comfortable in bed with Tim the other night and wasn't budging when I went to straighten the covers on the bed so I made the bed with her in it. She is one pampered puppy! Sadie laid there for quite a while until Tim got up to use the computer and I crawled into bed and made her scoot over to his side. She was still laying there in bed when he finally came back to bed 2o minutes later.
Since that wasn't a very good picture of Sadie and I've never posted one of her I went looking for a better one. I found this one taken when Collin was just about Nick's age.I saved the best for last. When Collin was about a year old he figured out how to turn his eyelids inside out. I made the mistake of immediately fixing them and it turned into a game for him. Once I began ignoring it, he quit doing it for a while. Recently it has made a come back. For the life of me I can't figure out how he does it. I tried myself to show him how gross he looks but I just can't do it. You can see the grin on his face after he's done it.And how creepy he looks when he does it. It is absolutely disgusting! I've learned not to react to it anymore but I did want to get it on film so I could show him someday. Also, when he needs plastic surgery at age 6 because his eyelids are all stretched out, I want to be able to show him why. I'm hoping that if we keep ignoring this behavior it will go away again. I don't know why he brought it back in the first place.

Finally, Picutes of Halloween

Nick was a Baby Merlin. He was going to be a pumpkin like his brother was his first Halloween but then I saw this costume and knew he'd look adorable in it. Collin was a dragon. I thought it went perfectly with Nick's wizard costume, plus it was only $12 at BJ's.His little tail just cracked me up! His butt was padded too so it made it that much cuter.Here are my magical men sitting together before they went out for an enchanted evening of trick or treating,

And finally, a picture of me with my magical men. Halloween is so much fun!

B is for Blue Crab

I found this book at Borders the other day. It cost $17.95 so it was a total splurge but I got a coupon from them the other day for 30% so I think I'll return it and buy it again. Anyway, B is for Blue Crab is a really neat book that will grow with your child. It's an alphabet book about the state of Maryland. In the typical alphabet book way it says A is for Annapolis and a little rhyming blurb about Annapolis, however it also has a couple of paragraphs about Annapolis along the side and it is beautifully illustrated. It was worth the money because it teaches the alphabet and state trivia. They have an American book and some for many of the other states as well. I highly recommend it if you're looking for a good book for your child or if you need a gift for someone elses child.

It Must Be A Guy Thing

The Annapolis Mall has opened a new section with about 60 new stores and some places to eat so the other night we took a drive and went to check it out. In my opinion, it looks like an addition and its very disjointed. You have to walk through Macy's or Lord and Taylor to get to the new stuff and its not even all connected. If you don't know that, you're pretty likely to miss half the new stuff. Also, the stores are high end and mostly overpriced, not really places I'm likely to shop. There was a kids store where the adorable little sweater I liked for the boys was $45. I'm not spending that much on a sweater my kid's going to grow out of in 6 months! Yes, if I buy it for Collin, Nick can wear it later but he could wear a $20 sweater just as well.

The highlight of my trip was the walk back to the car. We stopped to get a fruit shake to share. Collin informed us "This is the best fruit shake ever!". We had to periodically stop to give him sips because we didn't want to let him carry it himself. It just so happened that we stopped just as we were passing the Victoria's Secret store, conveniently right in front of the life size picture of a model displaying the store's wares. My little Nick Nick looked over, saw the model and got the biggest smile on his face! It made me laugh. It probably made him think of dinner because it was time to feed him again. Whatever made him smile, it made me laugh to see him smiling at the Victoria's Secret model. He's starting early!

My Tongue Hurts

About a week ago, Collin managed to fall down and bite his tongue. Anyone who has ever tried to hold ice anywhere on a 2 year old knows that it's nearly impossible. The exception to that is when they bite their tongue because you can hand them a nice cold popsicle. They think they're getting a treat and you've got ice on their tongue for a little while. I always wrap a paper towel around the stick to catch whatever drips as Collin eats his popsicles. The other night he was at my parent's when he informed us that he hurt his tongue and needed a popsicle. I had been watching him the entire time. At no time did he he hurt his tongue, so I called him on it. "Collin did you really hurt your tongue or do you just want to have a popsicle?" "I want a popsicle!". I explained that if he wanted a popsicle, all he had to do was ask. I don't want him to make up injuries just to get a popsicle. We did end up letting him have one but my mom made the mistake of trying to hand it to him without the paper towel. He wouldn't take, instead telling her that he needed the paper towel. They really do pay attention!

Just SHUT UP Award

I know I just posted this award the other day but in honor of the day that I had at work following that post, the next award goes to none other than yours truly. After my little rant about all the stupid things people say and do related to surgery, I went in to work the next day feeling like I had vented, gotten it off my chest, and it was going to be a good day. I couldn't have been more wrong. I had 10 patients, 8 were crazy/stupid and the last one yelled at me and told me I ruined her day. No kidding, they managed to do every single thing I blogged about the night before. So from now on, I need to Just Shut Up before I set myself up this way again.

Good Night

I hesitate to even write this post lest I jinx us but bedtime has seen significant improvement lately. Tim came up with this brilliant new plan where we put Collin on the potty, brush his teeth, read his stories, the sing his night night songs and turn out the light just like before. The we tell Collin that as long as he stays in his bed, we'll be back in 10 minutes to check on him. 10 minutes later we go back in and check on him as promised and tell him we'll be back in 15 minutes. Usually by this time he's asleep! He's still not crazy about bedtime and there's still a lot of "I don't wanna go upstairs. I don't wanna go to bed" but he does it and we don't have to listen to him scream for a half hour anymore. Nicholas also seems to be doing well with the read a story, sing a song, and go to bed routine. Keep your fingers crossed that I didn't just go and screw the whole thing up!

My Guys

I love this shot! I can't even tell you exactly why, I just do.

What a great smile! Man I love this kid!

I love these guys too! We took the boys to the aquarium for our anniversary. Since it got crowded, Tim ended up carrying Collin. I don't think either one of them was particularly thrilled with the arrangement.

Just Shut Up Award

I give this week's Just Shut Up Award to every stupid patient that has ever called me and whined about their surgery time and/or instructions. In honor of them, I am posting the list of what not to say to the person who gives you your surgery time and instructions. Remember, it is our job to pass along the information, we didn't make the rules.

1. When you say nothing to eat or drink after midnight, does that include water too?

DUH!! What part of nothing don't you understand? I can't tell you how many people don't get this. This rule was made for a reason. If you eat or drink, even water, they will cancel your surgery!

2. My child can't possibly go from midnight to 7:10 without eating or drinking. They will be crying when we get there.

This is not a threat to me, my kids cry all the time-it doesn't bother me if yours do too. And if you think your kid is crying before surgery, wait until you see them afterwards! Also, I can assure you that your kid will not starve if you don't feed them for 7 hours! As a side note to this, in all the years I've been doing this, I've only seen maybe 2 kids come in really upset and their stupid parents had coffee and donuts. The vast majority of kids come in and they are not hysterical because they're hungry.

3. That time doesn't work for me, can we move it back a half an hour?

No-this is not the hair cuttery where you can pop in and get your hair cut any time you want. There is a schedule for a reason and a lot of thought goes into arranging it. I can't fit your surgery in between you manicure and your massage.

4. I don't have anyone to watch my kids while my spouse is in surgery so I'm going to bring them.

Uh, NO! We are not babysitters and children are not allowed in the surgery center. This is on all the information you are given ahead of time. It's up to you to make arrangements for someone to watch them, get them off the bus, etc. Your spouse needs your undivided attention so that the nurse can teach you how to care for them after surgery, otherwise you're calling us back with questions that we already answered when you weren't paying attention.

5. Can I request my anesthesiologist?

Yes, you can but not at 3:00 the day before surgery. Just like our schedule, theirs is set ahead of time and a request at the last minute requires many, many people to change things around.

6. Why does my ride have to stay?

Because we said so. Its in the paperwork you're given before your surgery. Again, we are not babysitters, when you're ready to go you need to leave so another patient can have your recovery spot. Not to mention, God forbid something should happen to you during surgery, we need someone to contact in an emergency!

7. Why can't I bring my whole family?

You do not need a cast of thousands to visit you immediately after surgery. It is elective surgery, you are only going to be here 3-4 hours total. They can visit you at home. Do you really want everyone viewing you right after surgery? You really won't be looking or feeling your best.

8. How much does my surgery cost?

Unless you don't have insurance and I've looked into this ahead of time, I have no idea what to tell you. The fee for surgery is based on the code used for the procedure. We can bill 2 million dollars if we want, your insurance company will only pay what they want to pay and you will owe whatever your portion of that is. For instance, if your insurance company will only pay $300 and you have a 90/10 plan, you'll owe $30. Each insurance company pays differently and since I don't know what your insurance company will pay, I can't tell you what you'll owe. The day before is not the time to try to figure these things out.

9. Why is my co-pay so much?

Call your insurance company. It is your responsibility to know what your copay is when you have surgery. Don't tell me it wasn't that much 2 years ago when you had surgery. Insurance plans change every year, you need to know what the changes are. Its not my job to figure that out for you.

10. Is Dr. (fill your Dr.) a good doctor?

The day before your surgery is not the time to investigate this and what do you expect me to say "I wouldn't let him operate on my dead dog?". Remember, they pay my salary. (Fortunately, the doctors I work for are all great and I can honestly tell people so). I know you're nervous, but someone trusted your surgeon enough to refer you to them, if you're still unsure about their qualifications perhaps you shouldn't have surgery.


If you haven't guessed, this little rant was prompted by yet another annoying patient today. I probably sound a little harsh and unfeeling but my biggest pet peeve is these parents who think their children just can't possibly go without eating for a few extra hours and they whine and moan at me about how they're only 2 or 5 or whatever. Basically they just don't want to deal with their whiny kid. All I can say is please remember when its you/your child who has to have surgery one day-we don't make the schedule with the intention of making your life miserable. Children are scheduled first, but when you have a day with 8 kids under the age of 3 someone is getting a lousy time. Invariably, the ones who really do have a crappy time (and I truly do feel sorry for them) are usually the nicest. Its the ones with the first slot of the day (7:30 am) who whine about their time being so late that make me want to reach through the phone and strangle them. Kids are amazingly resilient and will surprise you with how well they do without eating the moment they open their eyes. I'm a firm believer in the saying "if you don't ask, you'll never know" and "Ask, the worst that happens is they tell you no" so if you must ask these questions, please do it nicely and don't jump down the person's throat when you don't get the answer you want. And if they do jump down your throat, its probably at least the third time they answered the same question today.

Dancing with the Stars

I admit it. I'm a Dancing with the Stars junkie. I love the dances and I wish I could move like that. I am not a fan of the results show, however. Its too much other crap that gets dragged on way to long. They could do the whole show in about 10 minutes, they don't need an hour. Tonight I gotta say it's kind of funny. They are doing "Dance Center" with Jerry Rice, Kenny Mayne and Len Goodman. Its an obvious spoof of Sports Center on ESPN and very funny. But what the heck is up with Kenny Mayne's make-up? I swear he's wearing green glitter eyeshadow and his eyebrows are way over done. Jerry and Len both look completely normal. I'm not sure if he's just trying to be funny or if someone actually thought this looked good but Halloween was last week.

5 Months Already!

Today Nicholas is 5 months old! It's going by so fast. He's got the sweetest little personality. He's inquisitive and funny. He smiles at anyone and everyone. He can roll from his back to his belly and his belly to his back. He reaches out when he wants to be held and for toys he wants to play with. He eats rice cereal and applesauce like there's no tomorrow. Before long, he'll be walking and talking just like his brother and I'll be left to reminisce about these days. I love watching all the new things he does and seeing the delight and wonder as he realizes he's accomplished something new. Tonight we had pizza for dinner and since Nick was sitting on my lap while I ate, he had a good view of the yummy pizza as I ate it. He kept reaching for it so when I got down to the crust, I gave it to him. I know, I know, there's probably a hundred reasons why this is bad but I did it anyway and he went to town on it. He held it in his little hand and put it right in his mouth where he gummed it and gummed it and then looked up at me with the biggest grin. I can't wait until we get to start trying other fruits and veggies next month. I think he's really going to enjoy them.

Who's the Better Cook?

My Dad makes AWESOME homemade macaroni and cheese and he made it for dinner last night. Collin refused to eat it. I had some leftovers today since I didn't have any last night because Tim and I went out for our anniversary. We tried again today to get Collin to try it, again no dice.

I don't like Grampa's mac'n'cheese!
Ok, What do you want?
Mac'n'cheese
You can have Grampa's mac'n'cheese.
No! I want Grammy's mac'n'cheese!!!!

Grammy's mac'n'cheese is the velveeta mac'n'cheese from the box, but Collin swears Grammy's is good and Grampa's is yucky. Sorry Mom, but I'll take homemade any day!

Reflux, Teething and Potty Training SUCK!

I think pretty much in that order too, or at least they did today. Poor Nick has reflux just as bad as Collin did which means he yaks up everything he eats. Bless his heart, he does it with a smile though. I'm not kidding, if he gives you a huge grin, you better watch out because in another moment you'll be wearing whatever he ate last. He spent most of today puking all over everyone who held him. It doesn't help that he's teething so he's drooling all over the place and incredibly cranky. He just wants to be held and sometimes, that doesn't even make him happy. Now on to his brother. Collin is really just starting potty training and we haven't really forced the issue too much. Tonight I was changing him before we headed home and I asked if he wanted to use the potty. He said no so I finished dressing him and, of course, as soon as I finished he changed his mind. Great! We run to the bathroom, pull down his pants and I get his diaper off. I start to take him out of his pants (he sits on the big potty and he can't spread his legs far enough if I leave the pants on) and he begins to pee. I let out a yelp because I'm right in the line of fire. Unfortunately, he thinks this is funny so while my yelp startled him and he stopped for a moment, he begins to go again. Now a smarter Mom would have scooped him up and dropped his little butt on the toilet and let him finish there. I make no such claims. All I could think to do was try to catch it in my hands before it was all over everything. I wound up with a handful of pee, pee on my pants, pee on his pants and pee on his sweatshirt! Then after I dumped the pee in the potty and washed my hands, Collin sat on the potty and peed some more. I really can't wait to be done with potty training!

You call that green?

I'm watching the Eagles/Dallas game tonight and in honor of their going green week, CBS has changed their logo to a green peacock and during half-time they turned out all the lights in the studio. They said if everyone watching the game turned out the lights in their homes while they watched they would save enough energy to power 2,000 homes for a year. Great! However, they left the score ticker and the many many TV's in the background running. If they were seriously committed to saving energy they could have left half the lights on and turned off all the other junk.

I'm all in favor of conserving energy if it doesn't cost me extra money and it isn't hard to do. I buy the funky spiral light bulbs and recycle everything we can. Collin even knows which items belong in the recycle bin. The lights and TV's get turned off when we leave a room. Tim even insists on turning the computers off when its not in use (I admit I wasted energy here but it takes them FOREVER to boot up). We also make sure that when its time to buy new appliances we look for the energy star logo. This past summer we replaced all of our windows with energy star windows and all these changes have made a difference. I'm always looking for new, easy ways to save energy and ways to teach the boys the importance of conservation. I'm always on the lookout for good lessons so if you have any fun ideas leave me a comment.

Seven Random Facts Meme

Kayris at The Great Walls of Baltimore tagged me with the 7 Random Things About Me meme, so here is my list of things you may not have known about me.

• I LOVE coffee ice cream and the smell of coffee but I can't stand coffee not even with a ton of sugar and creamer. I just can't stomach it.


• My hair used to be poker strait but since I had my kids I've got curls. Not enough to look pretty, just enough to make my hair completely impossible. Apparently pregnancy changes your hair. Who knew?


• The two toes next to my big toe on each foot are connected at the first knuckle. My husband calls them my mutant toes.


• My favorite flower is the star gazer lilly.


• I actually like the smell of rubbing alcohol. It smells clean to me. Weird, I know.


• I love cheesy movies like The American President, 13 Going on 30 and 10 Things I Hate About You.


• When I get old, like 75 or 80 (keep in mind, old is a state of mind more than an age-75 or 80 is only as old as you feel) I intend to dye my hair bright flaming red, drive a motorcycle and smoke some pot. Its all stuff I've never done and besides, who's going to throw an old lady in jail for trying pot once. My luck, it will be legal by then and that will take all the fun out of it.

I'm supposed to tag 7 people to post their facts but most of my friends don't blog so if you've come across my blog and haven't done this one yet, feel free to post your own fun facts.