Friday, February 20, 2009

Huzzah

Chuckles earned his Dinoco Helicopter today.

He had his seventh consecutive dry diaper this morning. He went to bed at 6:35 last night (husband was working late and I had enough and he was tired...no struggle either...Bobo bouncing in the Bjorn while I was reading stories, etc), got up just after 10 pm to go potty, and slept until after 6 this morning. Woo Hoo. Pride, swoon.

My life these days is quite boring (even to me). Would you like me to tell you what I watch on TV (The Price is Right) or the state of Bobo's diapers (Size 3, soiled daily)? I could tell you about the Abercrombie sweater I found at Goodwill for my brand-obsessed 14-year old sister. I also found a Tommy Hilfiger sweater and West Seal sweater along with three Anxiety layered tees. I'm going to tell her I got them on ebay because somehow, I think that will be better in her social set.

And I am thisclose to buying a new car, but I think I need to wait a bit. We're getting the Chevy Traverse. I've read reviews, checked Consumer Reports, checked US News, driven it, and it just comes out better than the Honda Pilot (I can't believe it either). We're debating the trim level and the color. I'm leaning toward LS in Cyber Grey, but maybe LT1 in Dark Cherry. Decisions decisions. And I want to make sure I get a good price and they really aren't doing that much on this vehicle right now. It's the only thing bringing people into the showrooms. It was really quite funny being at the dealer. Ten groups of people or so and 8 of them looking at the Traverse.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

A Whole Bunch of Stuff all rolled into one post

  1. I love Medela. I just called their customer service and they did some troubleshooting on my pump and are sending me a new cover for the pump as mine is hosed. I have a 2004 model pump, and they are still sending it. Woo Hoo. ANd they told me to try using it with the battery pack to see whether I severed a wire in my power cord by rolling up the cord around the transformer. Word to the Wise: Do not coil the wire around the transformer for easy storage.
  2. Car Shopping is fun and not fun at the same time. I find the whole negotiation process terribly stressful and frustrating. Next time I go in, I will just say, I need to get to this price through rebates and a trade in or I just can't do it. Hopefully, that will work. We'll see.
  3. I love the letter S. I never read that Happiest Baby book, but I hear the gist is that stuff that starts with S can calm your kid. Right now, Bobo is in his crib sleeping because I swaddled him, rolled him to his side, stuck a pacifier in his mouth so he could suck, and then stood while stepping around and jostling him and swaying until he fell asleep. I hope he stays that way too because he is a crackenheimer right now.
  4. Chuckles's BFF is back at his school and they were like long-lost lovers reunited this morning running through a field of blocks toward each other with arms wide open.
  5. I have had a cold and I think (even though I haven't taken anything for it) that my milk is less-plentiful because my body is using energy to heal me. Bobo is none-too-happy about this turn of events and let me know about that all night long. Whee. I try not to take his sleeping for advantage after the no-sleeper I had in Chuckles, but I guess I have come to expect a certain level of sleep these days.
  6. Chuckles has learned the phrase "Mommy Time" as in, "I need my mommy time." He usually utters these words just as I have sat down to feed Bobo so that's super guilt-inducing.
  7. My mother-in-law thinks I am slowing freezing the kids to death. SHe did some babysitting on Monday (my birthday) so we could car shop sans enfants and when I came back the heat was set at 70 (about 5 degrees warmer than we keep it) and Bobo was in a fleecey outfit and a blanket. Poor kid was probably sweating.

Monday, February 09, 2009

Octuple Mania

Ugh!

Julie looked into my brain and wrote my thoughts down.

Car Shopping

Global economic collapse makes me want to buy a new car. Well, that and a rear-facing car seat that makes it uncomfortable for anyone (me) to sit in the passenger seat of both of our cars.

Our vehicles are 7.5 and nearly 1o years old. We currently have a mid-size family sedan (Honda Accord) and a crew cab pick up truck (mine!).

We aren't sure which vehicle we would be replacing (if any) or maybe both.

There are two tactics we're considering. One is buying two vehicles that fit all of us. Maybe a new Accord (the new version is larger) and a Chevy Traverse, GMC Acadia, or a Honda Pilot.

The other tactic is buying me something small, cheap, safe, and with good gas mileage (maybe a Versa or a Matrix). My husband would not be allowed in this vehicle (he's a big guy and trying to find something comfortable for him is a challenge in and of itself). I would put the rear-facing car seat behind the passenger seat and just bring that seat all the way forward and leave it there. I still want 4 doors though because, really. Then, for our second vehicle, we would get something like a Pilot or Acadia (something that can haul and tow as well as hold all of us at the same time, comfortably).

Any opinions?

If that's "green", I'll eat Sir Topham Hatt's Hat

The cleaning lady came on Thursday. She was testing out a new line of "green" products that are infused with essential oils. The floor cleaner really did smell nice, but it gave me a head ache. See, she was spraying it on the floor in the nursery and the explosive gas alarm starting going off (don't ask why the explosive gas alarm is in Bobo's room). So, we moved the alarm to fresh air (the front porch) and went about our day frantically calling Mr. Long-Suffering to find out if I had irreparable lung damage. Then, just for fun, we recreated the conditions in CHuckles's room and the alarm went off again. So, what's in this "green" product? The ingredient list was not on the bottle but there's some kind of solvent or something.

Friday, February 06, 2009

An Unfortunate Reprieve

The diaper was wet this morning.

Thursday, February 05, 2009

Rookie Mistake Leads to Ultimate Quest

So, Chuckles has been potty trained since Halloween 2007. However, he is still wearing diapers at night. I never made an issue of it since he's such a crap sleeper, I did not care. However, he will be turning 4 this spring and Size 6 diapers don't really fit all that well. I needed to switch him to Huggie Goodnites or Pampers UnderJams, which are like a buck a piece. He's only wet about half the time, so I'd be throwing $3.50 out per week. In the garbage. Without even using it. The economics just didn't seem to be working out in my favor.

Anyway, around Thanksgiving, we casually mentioned that he might want to try keeping his diaper dry. We also mentioned that milk and water turn into pee and going before bed helps you stay dry all night and so on. When the new year came around, we started putting stickers on the calendar in the morning when the diaper was dry. After a week or so, I asked, "Chuckles, if you keep your diaper dry seven nights in a row, you might get a prize. What do you think you would want?" And he instantly said that he would like the Disney Pixar Cars Red the Fire Truck 1:55 die cast vehicle. Alrighty then. There's something about the certitude that's refreshing.

Flash forward to two days ago. For the first time ever, he's kept his diaper dry 4 days in a row and I realize that I should go buy Red so that I have him/it here when the day comes. I have now been to Meijer, two Targets, Lo*Mart, Big Lots!, Dollar General, and a handful of Walgreens. Every single store has Cars vehicles but none of them had Red. I picked up a Dinoco Helicopter and have been assured that it can fill the gap until a Red can be obtained. I need to find Red.

Apparently, these vehicles are shipped to the stores in mixed lots and the boxes can have anything in them. According to the lady at the second Target, they can't go into the back and bring out more until the display is depleted. The Target display was half-empty, which I pointed out, but apparently, it needs to be more depleted than that (no wonder our Target always looks so poorly-stocked). I'm trying to more Walgreens tomorrow and a pair of Oscos and then next week, I'll try the Targets again since they should be unstocked and restocked by then. If you are looking for Snot Rod, Boost, or Lizzie, those are in great supply at all the stores right now.

Take-Away Lesson: Have the prize in hand prior to promising it. Also, if your kid has/likes a lovey, have two. Both lessons I have learned the hard way.

New Phase

I like to call Bobo's current developmental phase "The Littlest Pot-Smoker". He has found his hands and studies them with great interest.

The Contents of My Kitchen Drawer

I have a cleaning lady coming today and before she can clean, i had to put things away. That drawer in the kitchen got the following additions: the box from the inside of a stuffed animal that makes it play music, masking tape, shoe polish, a screwdriver, playing cards, take-out menus, tic tacs, four crayons, six sheets of stickers, paperwork forms that are half-completed, some Lansinoh breastmilk storage bags, a handful of birthday cake candles, two half-used batteries (size AA), nineteen pens that may or may not work, and Mr. Potatohead's ear. There is no way all of this stuff is supposed to go in this drawer together. Where is this stuff supposed to go?

Sunday, February 01, 2009

The Unspeakable Thing

more details on the post below. Still, so so horrible. It torments me at night.

Thank You

Dear Chuckles's Day Care Center Director,

Thank you so much for sending us home with our very own CandyLand game Friday night. Chuckles really had a great time playing it Friday. In fact, he woke up early (I would say bright and early, but let's be honest, it was not yet "bright" out at O'dark) Saturday morning just to play. In conclusion, thanks.

Signed,
SarcastiCarrie

Someone Learned How to Grab at Toys

and I couldn't be more proud.

Someone Learned How to Grab at Toys

...and I couldn't be more proud.

Someone Learned How to Grab at Toys

...and I couldn't be more proud.