Monday, September 28
Crawling to Austin
This weekend was a good weekend. I feel rested and I enjoyed my time with friends and family.
Friday night after Laine went to sleep I stayed up until 6:30 in the morning making matching outfits for her and me to wear to the reception (becasue I don't own a sewing machine and hand stitching takes a while). Mine came out fine and it fit, I was happy, Laine’s dress came out beautifully but didn’t fit her, so I cried. I tried to fix it but there was a time crunch and it just didn’t work out. I’m going to try again later this week. 
I did get her into the dress for a couple of photos but I had to cut the side open to get it over her wonderfully large tummy. Next time I’ll have to take into account the fact that her chunk is more than meets the eye.
Saturday morning I woke up and found Erik on the phone with our cable provider, I came into the conversation late but the gist of it was that we are getting charged way more than was originally agreed upon but we can’t leave them because we have a two year contract that we never signed up for. It’ll cost 400 dollars to break contract, Erik is going to sue. After Erik hung up on them he went outside to vent his frustrations on the car, changing a broken tail light and vacuuming the crud out of the back seat.
When he came back inside I was trying to fix Laine’s dress while she was rolling around on the floor but when she heard his tools jingling she had to have them so she hopped onto her knees and started rocking back and forth, I knew that something cute was about to happen so I flipped on the video camera and SHE CRAWLED! A whole two hippity-hops and she got to her dads tools. It was amazing to catch it on film. We did some flipping out and trying to get her to do it over and over again but after about 20 minutes she decided she was tired and that’s when she found that she could go from tummy to knees to bottom, my baby is sitting up on her own and crawling!! Amazing! 
After she was good and worn out we headed out for Austin, Laine slept the whole three hours, and I guess she was worn out a little more than we thought. We arrived in Austin with just enough time
for everyone to freshen up and change clothes, and then we met mom and dad in the lobby and followed them to the most beautiful outdoor barbecue ever. We had a lot of fun with Laine on the grass and everyone thought she was the cutest thing ever; my chest was seriously puffed from pride the whole night. Laine passed out around 8:00 and woke up again around 8:30 but wasn’t up for another round so we packed up and headed to the hotel. 
We decided to put Laine on the floor since she rolls around a lot in her sleep. Initially it was just the comforter on the floor but she rolled into the dresser and got a good red spot on her forehead from it, so we barricaded her with pillows, but that didn’t really stop her because when we woke up Sunday morning she had rolled clear off her bed and was making her way to ours. It’s a good thing those beds are boxed underneath, I don’t even want to think about what my reaction would be to wake up and find her gone, hiding under the bed. Uber freak out to the max for real.
After waking up we rolled around in bed together for a while then Laine and Erik and I took a shower together, we watched her try to catch water in her mouth more than we tried to get clean. Then we went downstairs to meet my parents and The Crew for breakfast, during which time Laine got her first taste of fresh banana, she projectile vomited, it’s was sick and funny at the same time.
Poor kid, she was in a much better mood after that though. After breakfast mom and dad headed back to Houston and we went back to the room to take a quick nap with Laine, and then check out around noon. Erik had some work to do at a client’s site in Austin which works out well; because that means that his office will pay for the hotel, score! Once we got on the road we remembered that we were hungry so we stopped in Bastrop at a little BBQ hut and filled up then got back on the road, getting home close to 4:30.
Once home Erik took Laine and loafed it up on the couch and watched V for Vendetta and the Goonies, at one point Erik left the living room to get a refill on his drink and right when he got back into the living room I hear a loud thump and Laine started crying. She had crawled over to the exersaucer and was pulling herself up onto her her knees. When she saw Erik she got excited and let go, face planting into the base of the exersaucer. She's got a little scrape on her cheek but once Erik picked her up she was laughing and fine again. Jeezum, you'd think she'd take it one step at a time, but I guess not.
I was in the kitchen during the fall making three dinners. I made a pot of chicken and sausage jambalaya, a pot of beef vegetable lentil soup and a casserole dish full of stuffed cabbage rolls. The jambalaya and soup were put into the freezer to eat later this week and we will have the cabbage rolls tonight for dinner.
I feel like I accomplished great things this weekend. I made a dress for my kid with a matching shirt for myself. I got my kids first crawl on video and I got half of this weeks dinners made. That leaves me a ton of time to do laundry at night and just hang out with my people. Hooray for great weekends.
Friday night after Laine went to sleep I stayed up until 6:30 in the morning making matching outfits for her and me to wear to the reception (becasue I don't own a sewing machine and hand stitching takes a while). Mine came out fine and it fit, I was happy, Laine’s dress came out beautifully but didn’t fit her, so I cried. I tried to fix it but there was a time crunch and it just didn’t work out. I’m going to try again later this week. 
I did get her into the dress for a couple of photos but I had to cut the side open to get it over her wonderfully large tummy. Next time I’ll have to take into account the fact that her chunk is more than meets the eye.Saturday morning I woke up and found Erik on the phone with our cable provider, I came into the conversation late but the gist of it was that we are getting charged way more than was originally agreed upon but we can’t leave them because we have a two year contract that we never signed up for. It’ll cost 400 dollars to break contract, Erik is going to sue. After Erik hung up on them he went outside to vent his frustrations on the car, changing a broken tail light and vacuuming the crud out of the back seat.
When he came back inside I was trying to fix Laine’s dress while she was rolling around on the floor but when she heard his tools jingling she had to have them so she hopped onto her knees and started rocking back and forth, I knew that something cute was about to happen so I flipped on the video camera and SHE CRAWLED! A whole two hippity-hops and she got to her dads tools. It was amazing to catch it on film. We did some flipping out and trying to get her to do it over and over again but after about 20 minutes she decided she was tired and that’s when she found that she could go from tummy to knees to bottom, my baby is sitting up on her own and crawling!! Amazing! 
After she was good and worn out we headed out for Austin, Laine slept the whole three hours, and I guess she was worn out a little more than we thought. We arrived in Austin with just enough time
for everyone to freshen up and change clothes, and then we met mom and dad in the lobby and followed them to the most beautiful outdoor barbecue ever. We had a lot of fun with Laine on the grass and everyone thought she was the cutest thing ever; my chest was seriously puffed from pride the whole night. Laine passed out around 8:00 and woke up again around 8:30 but wasn’t up for another round so we packed up and headed to the hotel. 
We decided to put Laine on the floor since she rolls around a lot in her sleep. Initially it was just the comforter on the floor but she rolled into the dresser and got a good red spot on her forehead from it, so we barricaded her with pillows, but that didn’t really stop her because when we woke up Sunday morning she had rolled clear off her bed and was making her way to ours. It’s a good thing those beds are boxed underneath, I don’t even want to think about what my reaction would be to wake up and find her gone, hiding under the bed. Uber freak out to the max for real.
After waking up we rolled around in bed together for a while then Laine and Erik and I took a shower together, we watched her try to catch water in her mouth more than we tried to get clean. Then we went downstairs to meet my parents and The Crew for breakfast, during which time Laine got her first taste of fresh banana, she projectile vomited, it’s was sick and funny at the same time.
Poor kid, she was in a much better mood after that though. After breakfast mom and dad headed back to Houston and we went back to the room to take a quick nap with Laine, and then check out around noon. Erik had some work to do at a client’s site in Austin which works out well; because that means that his office will pay for the hotel, score! Once we got on the road we remembered that we were hungry so we stopped in Bastrop at a little BBQ hut and filled up then got back on the road, getting home close to 4:30.Once home Erik took Laine and loafed it up on the couch and watched V for Vendetta and the Goonies, at one point Erik left the living room to get a refill on his drink and right when he got back into the living room I hear a loud thump and Laine started crying. She had crawled over to the exersaucer and was pulling herself up onto her her knees. When she saw Erik she got excited and let go, face planting into the base of the exersaucer. She's got a little scrape on her cheek but once Erik picked her up she was laughing and fine again. Jeezum, you'd think she'd take it one step at a time, but I guess not.
I was in the kitchen during the fall making three dinners. I made a pot of chicken and sausage jambalaya, a pot of beef vegetable lentil soup and a casserole dish full of stuffed cabbage rolls. The jambalaya and soup were put into the freezer to eat later this week and we will have the cabbage rolls tonight for dinner.
I feel like I accomplished great things this weekend. I made a dress for my kid with a matching shirt for myself. I got my kids first crawl on video and I got half of this weeks dinners made. That leaves me a ton of time to do laundry at night and just hang out with my people. Hooray for great weekends.
Thursday, September 24
Wednesday, September 23
You Win Some
Yesterday ended up being a rare good Tuesday. Work was crazy and
stressful but the night time was wonderful so all of it evened out with a strong lean towards good by the end of it all. Erik stopped by my office around three o’clock yesterday and told me that he’d like to take Laine over to his parents house to watch the Dynamo game on their TV so that I could have the night off. He even picked her up from daycare for me and took care of her so that I could make dinner without being torn into different directions. So first thing when I got home was to give Laine a huge hug, its hard to not be the one to pick her up at the end of the day, even if I do get to see her directly afterward. I fixed Laine’s dinner and she and I took turns making airplane noises to make the squash and rice cereal was a little more interesting. In the process of making all those noises a lot of food got spit out and sometimes I think she does it on purpose because she enjoys bath time so much and I’m pretty sure she’s caught onto the fact that if she gets food in her hair she gets a bath. Her new favorite thing to do in the bath is to fight me and Erik for the faucet. Also if we turn the water off she’s learned how to turn it back on again. She will get that water in her mouth, it’s best for all involved if we just let her have it.
After bath time me and Erik got to eat our dinner, I made chicken and mashed potatoes with super wonderful delicious gravy. I was a little proud of myself; it tasted a lot like Momma’s. After dinner Erik took Laine and they left for his parents, and I stood in the middle of the living room a little lost. But then I got excited, because if I have no baby or husband to chase after that means that I can do a whole load of laundry from beginning to end with no interruption. I did four. Four whole loads, one of two sets of sheets one of towels one of blankets and one blessed load of under panties and Erik’s work clothes. Shirts are ironed and hung and put away, sheets are folded and in the hall closet, towels are in the bathroom (no running through the house naked and wet to try to find a clean towel!) I had time to tidy up the kitchen and living room before Erik left after dinner so while the laundry was being made wonderfully clean I sat with my quilt project on the ironing board and got caught up on my TV shows, with no crying in the background from Erik that he wants to watch something else and no turning the TV up to insane levels to compete with Laine’s babbling. I got to hear what the characters said so know I know what’s going on, that is so great. I can follow a story line!
I didn’t get much of the quilt work done but that’s okay because I still feel like I did a lot that needed to be done and I was able to do a little of what I wanted to do, that’s a good night if I can say so myself.
stressful but the night time was wonderful so all of it evened out with a strong lean towards good by the end of it all. Erik stopped by my office around three o’clock yesterday and told me that he’d like to take Laine over to his parents house to watch the Dynamo game on their TV so that I could have the night off. He even picked her up from daycare for me and took care of her so that I could make dinner without being torn into different directions. So first thing when I got home was to give Laine a huge hug, its hard to not be the one to pick her up at the end of the day, even if I do get to see her directly afterward. I fixed Laine’s dinner and she and I took turns making airplane noises to make the squash and rice cereal was a little more interesting. In the process of making all those noises a lot of food got spit out and sometimes I think she does it on purpose because she enjoys bath time so much and I’m pretty sure she’s caught onto the fact that if she gets food in her hair she gets a bath. Her new favorite thing to do in the bath is to fight me and Erik for the faucet. Also if we turn the water off she’s learned how to turn it back on again. She will get that water in her mouth, it’s best for all involved if we just let her have it.After bath time me and Erik got to eat our dinner, I made chicken and mashed potatoes with super wonderful delicious gravy. I was a little proud of myself; it tasted a lot like Momma’s. After dinner Erik took Laine and they left for his parents, and I stood in the middle of the living room a little lost. But then I got excited, because if I have no baby or husband to chase after that means that I can do a whole load of laundry from beginning to end with no interruption. I did four. Four whole loads, one of two sets of sheets one of towels one of blankets and one blessed load of under panties and Erik’s work clothes. Shirts are ironed and hung and put away, sheets are folded and in the hall closet, towels are in the bathroom (no running through the house naked and wet to try to find a clean towel!) I had time to tidy up the kitchen and living room before Erik left after dinner so while the laundry was being made wonderfully clean I sat with my quilt project on the ironing board and got caught up on my TV shows, with no crying in the background from Erik that he wants to watch something else and no turning the TV up to insane levels to compete with Laine’s babbling. I got to hear what the characters said so know I know what’s going on, that is so great. I can follow a story line!
I didn’t get much of the quilt work done but that’s okay because I still feel like I did a lot that needed to be done and I was able to do a little of what I wanted to do, that’s a good night if I can say so myself.
Tuesday, September 22
My First Baby
In the last seven years I have had a baby, gotten married, started a career, bought a house, traveled to foreign countries, joined a new church, made a friend that’s a girl and had another baby. I’ve done a lot in seven years. Seven years is a long time in most respects and you can get a lot done in that time if you want. But Jacob, my first baby, turns seven next month, and I just can’t seem to place all seven of those years. We must have skipped a few in the middle there, because for the life of me I can’t see them, I look back to the room at St. Johns and I can remember everything in detail; from the color of my nurse’s hair to the smell of the room when they had him under the heat lamp. I can remember taking a bath after he was born but making my mom sit in the bathroom with me so that he wasn’t out of my sight for a minute, I
remember not being able to breast feed him after the second day, how much it hurt and left me feeling like such a failure when I gave him his first bottle of formula. I remember taking him to church with me that last day to let him meet all those people that had prayed so diligently for his safe delivery the last 6 months. I remember taking a nap at the meeting place, and being so mad that I’d wasted that time with him before I had to hand him over. I can remember every second of those three days but then I think back to this past weekend and I can’t remember if he told me he was in Karate or Taekwondo, or whether he was wearing a yellow shirt or a white one, or blue. What side does he part his hair on? Does he sleep on his side or back or tummy at night? Does he like vanilla or chocolate? Seven years come and gone and I don’t know one thing about the little man that’s sprung out of my baby. Seven years gone past and I’m still sitting alone in that room at Crisis Pregnancy Center trying my hardest jus
t to stay awake so I don’t miss anything but I get so tired from holding him so tight that I sleep and miss it all.I’ve had one epiphany after another in regards to my life and how I live it lately. Changes that need to be made are being brought to the front and waved in my face until finally I grab it and study it and make a plan. So here is to eyes being opened to a love inactive, and many years yet to learn all I can about Jacob.
Monday, September 21
Like The Polar Icecaps
I don’t do well with change or surprise in regards to my schedule or the way I feel things ought to go. This weekend I had to take a hard look at myself and the way I act in response to things happening around me and what I found is that if this whole mother/wife/human being thing is going to work for me I really need to change my knee jerk reactions to moments that go off script. In my last blog I mentioned that when we got back from the movies last night we found that mom and dad had taken Laine to the White’s house for dinner, what I didn’t mention is the complete and total emotional meltdown that I had. In the span of two minutes I went from fine to completely insane with worry to relieved to angry to whatever. It was an intense rollercoaster of emotions that hit me all at once and in the car ride from mom’s to the Whites I cried like a baby from all those sensation marbles rolling around and bouncing off each other in my chest. I thought I was having a heart attack. I try really hard to hide those things from Erik because I know it’s an irrational reaction so he doesn’t even know I was crying. I mean I knew that Laine was fine, I knew she was in the best of care, but the thing that no one understands about me or refuses to indulge me in is that my initial thoughts when coming home to an empty house is going to be that something is so terribly wrong that even a phone call was out of the question. (My mom DID call me, I just didn't have my phone on me, so it's my own fault.)
I had visions of seizures and 105 degree fevers and dog bites; not hamburgers and peach cobbler. But hamburgers and peach cobbler is all it was and I accepted that right away and I was able to clear my head but really only after I ran out of my parents house into the car, cried silently so hard that my throat still hurts and then linebacker-ed my way into the Whites to snatch my kid away from whoever was holding her and hug on her until she started crying because I was being too aggressive. Then she saw her dad and she wanted to be held by him. Seeing her reach for Erik is what made everything all of a sudden okay. It was only at the point when she did an everyday thing, a usually overlooked simple gesture that knocked me back to my senses.
This whole scenario is what is wrong with me. I joke sometimes about the way I over react to things or just get overly worked up over things, but really, it isn’t funny, it’s not something that I need to dismiss, it’s something that I need to change, to actively work to change, otherwise I will one day go insane.
I had visions of seizures and 105 degree fevers and dog bites; not hamburgers and peach cobbler. But hamburgers and peach cobbler is all it was and I accepted that right away and I was able to clear my head but really only after I ran out of my parents house into the car, cried silently so hard that my throat still hurts and then linebacker-ed my way into the Whites to snatch my kid away from whoever was holding her and hug on her until she started crying because I was being too aggressive. Then she saw her dad and she wanted to be held by him. Seeing her reach for Erik is what made everything all of a sudden okay. It was only at the point when she did an everyday thing, a usually overlooked simple gesture that knocked me back to my senses.This whole scenario is what is wrong with me. I joke sometimes about the way I over react to things or just get overly worked up over things, but really, it isn’t funny, it’s not something that I need to dismiss, it’s something that I need to change, to actively work to change, otherwise I will one day go insane.
Weekend Review
This weekend has some moments. First off Friday night Laine and I hung out with Sydney at my parent’s house, we took a lot of video of Laine and added a lot to the YouTube account. I pulled out the quilt pieces that I had started on a year ago and got everything in order to continue working on it. It’ll be number two on my list when I get it done. I stayed there until late in the evening, (Eleven o’clock, sheesh, when did that become late, that used to be the time we were going out!) Laine was asleep so it was bedtime for mommy too. Erik didn’t get home until after three in the morning but he didn’t have to work the rest of the weekend so I guess that makes up for it.Saturday we hung out around the house for a while. Erik’s old friend came back to the house for a visit. He had bought us new electrical socket plates, the fancy ones that shut off if they get moisture near them, so we have one in the kitchen and in the master bath now. That was nice of him.
After that my brother called and asked if I could go and get my parents from the airport since he was working. Erik had tickets to the Dynamo game so I took Laine with me to the airport and Erik took his friend to the game and we ended up getting home at almost the exact same time. And then it was bed time again. 
Sunday Laine got to wear her new dress from Mexico; there is just something about a foreign dress that makes you look prettier. We went to church and then out to lunch with mom and dad and the Whites and Levi and Sydney and we all ordered enough food that Chinese is for dinner tonight too. After lunch Erik and I went back home to feed the dogs before heading to mom and dads house to hang out, but Laine and I ended up taking a nap for about an hour first, which was wonderful to the max.
Laine did some assisted crawling with Dad's help once we got to my parents house and then Erik and I went tothe movie 9 and bumped into some friends and that turned out being a nice surprise. After the movie we got to my mom’s and no one was there, it ends up that they had gone to the Whites for dinner so we headed over there and hung out for an hour or so before heading home and strait to bed.A pretty good weekend overall. I wasn’t ready for it to be over just yet, by Monday comes whether I want it to or not
Friday, September 18
She Made Me Do It
My Colleen came by the house yesterday for the official restart of our Thursday Night for Person's Only No Boys Allowed Skinny People Suck Club (maybe the name needs work...) and before I was allowed to sit my fat ass on my comfy couch to watch some TV I was forced, bodily (like there was hair pulling and arm twisting; I had a nose bleed!) out the door for a walk to the park. Outside. Fresh air makes my eyes sting. 
I know, I know, walking is a good thing and its one of my future challenges and its fun for the baby. Whatever.
It was nice to see Laine do something new for the first time, I had forgotten my camera but the park is close enough to walk to the house and back in time to get some photos and video of Laine before she got too tired and bored. Erik took her down the slide too, that was funny, she didnt' seeem to like that part too much though, either that or she was just tired
but when they reached the bottom Laine let out a really great cry, so we went back home. All in all we stayed out in nature for half an hour. It was brutal.... ly fun!So thanks for making us go out person, we had a good time. (Try not to rub that in too hard.)
Thursday, September 17
Grocery List for the Weekend.
Rules to Follow
1. Take a list with me to the store.
2. Take coupons, check store flyers for specials.
3. Use leftovers as ingredients if possible.
4. Check the pantry for substitutes before shopping.
5. Don't shop on an empty stomach, eat first!
6. Shop in bulk when possible
7. But store brands
8. Stick to the budget
Grocery List
1. Basil
2. Oregano
3. Tarragon
4. Garlic
5. Nutmeg
6. Thyme
7. Dill
8. Bay leaves
9. Cumin
10. Kosher salt
11. Sage
12. Baking powder
13. Baking soda
14. Dried soup mix
15. Boullion cubes (beef, chicken)
16. Vanilla
17. Soy sauce
18. Worcestershire sauce
19. Broth (beef, chicken)
20. Balsamic vinegar
21. Lemon juice
22. Hot sauce
23. Ketchup
24. Tomato Sauce
25. Tomato paste
26. Canned whole tomatoes
27. Canned diced tomatoes
28. Syrup
29. Shortening
30. Pancake mix
31. Sugar (white, brown, powdered)
32. Cake mixes with frosting
33. Rice (brown, white)
34. Milk (evaporated, condensed)
35. Canned tuna
36. Canned mushrooms
1. Take a list with me to the store.
2. Take coupons, check store flyers for specials.
3. Use leftovers as ingredients if possible.
4. Check the pantry for substitutes before shopping.
5. Don't shop on an empty stomach, eat first!
6. Shop in bulk when possible
7. But store brands
8. Stick to the budget
Grocery List
1. Basil
2. Oregano
3. Tarragon
4. Garlic
5. Nutmeg
6. Thyme
7. Dill
8. Bay leaves
9. Cumin
10. Kosher salt
11. Sage
12. Baking powder
13. Baking soda
14. Dried soup mix
15. Boullion cubes (beef, chicken)
16. Vanilla
17. Soy sauce
18. Worcestershire sauce
19. Broth (beef, chicken)
20. Balsamic vinegar
21. Lemon juice
22. Hot sauce
23. Ketchup
24. Tomato Sauce
25. Tomato paste
26. Canned whole tomatoes
27. Canned diced tomatoes
28. Syrup
29. Shortening
30. Pancake mix
31. Sugar (white, brown, powdered)
32. Cake mixes with frosting
33. Rice (brown, white)
34. Milk (evaporated, condensed)
35. Canned tuna
36. Canned mushrooms
Tuesday, September 15
Monday, September 14
Oh, I Forgot to Tell You,
We went to church without mom and dad yesterday, I got to say, that’s weird. Church just isn’t the same without them. I didn’t even doodle on my styrofoam cup… much.
Torben made a DVD of Laine’s birth for Erik and me to watch this weekend. We took home a copy and need to make one for my parents. You know, for the life of me I can’t remember anyone recording anything that day. And I look and talk strait at the camera a few times. But in my memory I was just talking to my mom. The video is all of ten minutes long, from beginning to end, not long enough to get boring, Erik said. I’ll have to remember that the next time I’m letting someone capture my most uncomfortable moment on film. Keep it short and sweet Amanda, wouldn’t want anyone to get bored. Guess it’s a good thing that my uterus is actually a slip n’ slide.
Now for the rant.
So Laine was sick this weekend, she had a cold or something, basically the sniffles with a mild cough. After a back and forth with the doctor I found out that we had a refill on the decongestant she was prescribed two months ago, but when I called the pharmacy at CVS I was told that Laine wasn’t in their computers at all except for the diaper rash cream we’d gotten for her the other week. The pharmacist kept asking me if I was sure if I filled it at their CVS store and I told her yes, that the store number was logged on our bank statement. I know exactly what day and time that the prescription was filled I just didn’t have the original box the medication came it so I had no prescription number to give her, I asked her to search the CVS database, which I know she can do, and find my daughters medication refill. And she couldn’t, I’m guessing it’s because she is
mildly retarded. So I had to call the doctor and have them call in the prescription again, that is fine, I can deal with all of that. It’s the fact that it took her over two hours to fill the prescription once it was called in. I know that a pharmacy will take orders in the order they come in, but if I’ve been on the phone with the pharmacist for almost thirty minutes if you count the three times I had to call them, and if you consider the fact that the last time I called I didn’t even have to say my name and she knew who it was, I’m thinking that she might rush it for me, you know, just a little. Well, no she didn’t. I called twice after the order was made and the first time the lady told me that she had a voice mail about Laine but she hasn’t checked to see if they had the medicine in stock yet. I told her I would appreciate it if she would check and I’ll be there in thirty minutes. I called again before we left the house and she still hadn’t checked. I told her I’d be there in five minutes and I’d appreciate if she had it checked, bagged and ready for pickup in less than five minutes. Of course she didn’t, I waited in line for over twenty minutes and then when it was my turn it took them an extra ten minutes, because she still hadn’t checked to see if it was in the store. You know what that tells me? That if she had checked to see if the prescription was in the pharmacy I could have picked up my daughters medication after only ten minutes rather than the THREE HOURS it took. Oh Em Gee I could have screamed. That’s three hours that my kid didn’t have to be miserable but she was because some jerk with an outstanding ability to piss me off decided to do just that, for no good reason; the people that I had to wait in line behind we not picking up prescriptions, they were just checking out because they figured the line was shorter in the back of the store, and it was, but she could have very easily said, “Sorry I need to do MY JOB” and let those people check out at the front like everyone else. If you know me at all you can picture my ears flaming, my nostrils flaring. I’m telling you that my eye is still twitching.
When I left CVS I wanted to vow to never use that store again, but who would I be kidding? Its two blocks from my house and they have the option to print your photos in seconds not hours. (4x6 prints for $0.29) and I am incapable of not going back into places where people have pissed me off just for the off chance that they will be there again and I can glare at them to make myself feel like I’m getting them back for whatever insult I imagined they gave me. It really does make me feel better too, better than actually yelling at th
em, that would just make me feel guilty later when I had time to think about it. And isn’t it funny how you always have the time to sit and ponder over your actions when you’ve done someone wrong? Most days I don’t get two seconds to myself to think about cleaning my ears, much less how I treated people. Oh, but that one day that I snap at a stranger and I have hours to go over and over in my head how I could have handled the situation better. Seriously? That’s just not fair.
I know, I'm retarded.
It's whatever.
Torben made a DVD of Laine’s birth for Erik and me to watch this weekend. We took home a copy and need to make one for my parents. You know, for the life of me I can’t remember anyone recording anything that day. And I look and talk strait at the camera a few times. But in my memory I was just talking to my mom. The video is all of ten minutes long, from beginning to end, not long enough to get boring, Erik said. I’ll have to remember that the next time I’m letting someone capture my most uncomfortable moment on film. Keep it short and sweet Amanda, wouldn’t want anyone to get bored. Guess it’s a good thing that my uterus is actually a slip n’ slide.Now for the rant.
So Laine was sick this weekend, she had a cold or something, basically the sniffles with a mild cough. After a back and forth with the doctor I found out that we had a refill on the decongestant she was prescribed two months ago, but when I called the pharmacy at CVS I was told that Laine wasn’t in their computers at all except for the diaper rash cream we’d gotten for her the other week. The pharmacist kept asking me if I was sure if I filled it at their CVS store and I told her yes, that the store number was logged on our bank statement. I know exactly what day and time that the prescription was filled I just didn’t have the original box the medication came it so I had no prescription number to give her, I asked her to search the CVS database, which I know she can do, and find my daughters medication refill. And she couldn’t, I’m guessing it’s because she is
mildly retarded. So I had to call the doctor and have them call in the prescription again, that is fine, I can deal with all of that. It’s the fact that it took her over two hours to fill the prescription once it was called in. I know that a pharmacy will take orders in the order they come in, but if I’ve been on the phone with the pharmacist for almost thirty minutes if you count the three times I had to call them, and if you consider the fact that the last time I called I didn’t even have to say my name and she knew who it was, I’m thinking that she might rush it for me, you know, just a little. Well, no she didn’t. I called twice after the order was made and the first time the lady told me that she had a voice mail about Laine but she hasn’t checked to see if they had the medicine in stock yet. I told her I would appreciate it if she would check and I’ll be there in thirty minutes. I called again before we left the house and she still hadn’t checked. I told her I’d be there in five minutes and I’d appreciate if she had it checked, bagged and ready for pickup in less than five minutes. Of course she didn’t, I waited in line for over twenty minutes and then when it was my turn it took them an extra ten minutes, because she still hadn’t checked to see if it was in the store. You know what that tells me? That if she had checked to see if the prescription was in the pharmacy I could have picked up my daughters medication after only ten minutes rather than the THREE HOURS it took. Oh Em Gee I could have screamed. That’s three hours that my kid didn’t have to be miserable but she was because some jerk with an outstanding ability to piss me off decided to do just that, for no good reason; the people that I had to wait in line behind we not picking up prescriptions, they were just checking out because they figured the line was shorter in the back of the store, and it was, but she could have very easily said, “Sorry I need to do MY JOB” and let those people check out at the front like everyone else. If you know me at all you can picture my ears flaming, my nostrils flaring. I’m telling you that my eye is still twitching.When I left CVS I wanted to vow to never use that store again, but who would I be kidding? Its two blocks from my house and they have the option to print your photos in seconds not hours. (4x6 prints for $0.29) and I am incapable of not going back into places where people have pissed me off just for the off chance that they will be there again and I can glare at them to make myself feel like I’m getting them back for whatever insult I imagined they gave me. It really does make me feel better too, better than actually yelling at th
em, that would just make me feel guilty later when I had time to think about it. And isn’t it funny how you always have the time to sit and ponder over your actions when you’ve done someone wrong? Most days I don’t get two seconds to myself to think about cleaning my ears, much less how I treated people. Oh, but that one day that I snap at a stranger and I have hours to go over and over in my head how I could have handled the situation better. Seriously? That’s just not fair.I know, I'm retarded.
It's whatever.
Three Things
F
irst Erik had a different opinion about Laine eating meat. So she ate beef and vegetables for dinner Saturday night. I took a photo of it but I can’t find it now. Sometimes when I make my Grr face it causes a vortex of angry electronic validation eaters, or random photo deletion due to the radiation emitting from my eyeballs. I wasn’t really angry though, I just wasn’t ready for her to grow up that little bit yet. She did fine with it, no gagging and she seemed to enjoy it, the little traitor. Whatever.
Second, everyone but Erik got sick this weekend. We took it easy the whole weekend, lounging and swimming and spending time curled up together in bed watching the food network for hours on end. It was bliss, if you don’t count the sore throats and coughing and sneezing, it was wonderful. I do have photos of that.
Third, I found out on Thursday night that I’d been keeping a real good secret for my dad. I think he’s learned that the best way for me to keep a secret is to just not tell me, I’m good enough friends with myself to let you know that it’s true, if you want a secret kept don’t tell me, because my husband my mom and my person will know.
They just will. They always do, because I tell them. Some might see that as a problem but I’ve learned that full disclosure in the beginning saves for heartache at the end so that’s how I deal with everything in life now. Oh the lessons you learn in college!
Dad surprised mom with a trip to Mexico! Just the two of them! For eight days! Erik’s got a lot of “I-married-you-because-you-remind-me-of-my-father-so-you-got-a-lot-living-up-to-the-original” to do…
We really did have a great weekend in spite of our sicknesses. There was no drama, no stress and no worries. The weather was good enough to let Erik mow the lawn but then the rain came at the exact time I was going to ask him to leave the rest for next weekend; it's like God was listening to my thoughts... that's handy. We got to spend a short amount of time with some friends this weekend, people we haven't seen in a long time and it's ridiculous that it's been so long. Thank goodness for weddings and births otherwise we’d never see anyone.
Just an FYI, I started my challenge to not eat fast food for three months; I ‘m on day 23 today and I was going to keep an updated calendar like I did for the water challenge but this is a lot easier than I though I would be
and most days I have nothing to say about missing fast food, because I don’t really, except for Whataburger every now and then.
irst Erik had a different opinion about Laine eating meat. So she ate beef and vegetables for dinner Saturday night. I took a photo of it but I can’t find it now. Sometimes when I make my Grr face it causes a vortex of angry electronic validation eaters, or random photo deletion due to the radiation emitting from my eyeballs. I wasn’t really angry though, I just wasn’t ready for her to grow up that little bit yet. She did fine with it, no gagging and she seemed to enjoy it, the little traitor. Whatever.
Second, everyone but Erik got sick this weekend. We took it easy the whole weekend, lounging and swimming and spending time curled up together in bed watching the food network for hours on end. It was bliss, if you don’t count the sore throats and coughing and sneezing, it was wonderful. I do have photos of that.Third, I found out on Thursday night that I’d been keeping a real good secret for my dad. I think he’s learned that the best way for me to keep a secret is to just not tell me, I’m good enough friends with myself to let you know that it’s true, if you want a secret kept don’t tell me, because my husband my mom and my person will know.
They just will. They always do, because I tell them. Some might see that as a problem but I’ve learned that full disclosure in the beginning saves for heartache at the end so that’s how I deal with everything in life now. Oh the lessons you learn in college!Dad surprised mom with a trip to Mexico! Just the two of them! For eight days! Erik’s got a lot of “I-married-you-because-you-remind-me-of-my-father-so-you-got-a-lot-living-up-to-the-original” to do…
We really did have a great weekend in spite of our sicknesses. There was no drama, no stress and no worries. The weather was good enough to let Erik mow the lawn but then the rain came at the exact time I was going to ask him to leave the rest for next weekend; it's like God was listening to my thoughts... that's handy. We got to spend a short amount of time with some friends this weekend, people we haven't seen in a long time and it's ridiculous that it's been so long. Thank goodness for weddings and births otherwise we’d never see anyone.Just an FYI, I started my challenge to not eat fast food for three months; I ‘m on day 23 today and I was going to keep an updated calendar like I did for the water challenge but this is a lot easier than I though I would be
and most days I have nothing to say about missing fast food, because I don’t really, except for Whataburger every now and then.FOUND IT!!!
The photo of Erik feeding Laine meat.
Thursday, September 10
YOU Eat It
Laine’s nutrition has been brought to my attention more than a handful of times in the last few weeks, by more than a few people. Laine’s stomach virus and the BRAT diet have taken all my attention lately but the subject of scheduling and introducing new foods keeps coming up. I have my reservations on both counts. As far as scheduling is concerned I can do more to make our day to day life more structured but considering that I only get four hours with Laine on a weekday I like to take that time to do whatever it is she feels like doing. Sometimes it’s eating; sometimes it’s trying to crawl, and other days she is content to sit either on the floor or in my lap and just watch the room. So a daily schedule may have to wait a while longer to be configured. 
Right now I’ll feed her sometime between 6:30 and 8:00 pm. That’s our schedule.
As far as new foods go, I’m apprehensive. I’m not sure I’m quite ready for her to start eating meat. For one, baby food meat tastes like shit and I don’t want to feed her anything that makes me retch. Another factor is her tongue muscle and gag reflex may need some more time to develop. She never had the tongue thrust reflex that a lot of babies have and she will sometimes “chew” her food so I’ve become a little more comfortable with the idea of chunkier foods, like pureed chicken that I would make myself. I’m becoming more at ease with the idea but it’s still going to take time.
I’m also a little wary about starting her on wheat products. I’ve given her a biter biscuit twice and she loved them, but after about a minute she was tired and got really cranky which makes me wonder if they upset her stomach. And that girl, poor thing, seems to have a very sensitive stomach.
I’ve decided that I absolutely will not start her on any dairy products until much later. If I do give her any it will be cottage cheese to supplement for the protein she’s supposedly missing out on by my not feeding her meat, but then again tofu would work just as well.
Maybe in a month or two I’ll change my mind on a few points like giving her pureed food that we are eating for dinner. Chicken and veggies and the like, but until that time that I decided what is best my plan remains. She is eating stage 2 foods, rice cereal and soy formula. No meat, no wheat and no dairy.
I’m still reading and researching and I’m getting good sound advice from my person and my mom so the rest of you can back off a bit if you don’t mind. I love you all and value your opinions and advice greatly, but the best judge of who is ready for what is the child’s mother and what her heart and head is telling her. And right now mine are telling me that my child is not ready for meat.
Right now I’ll feed her sometime between 6:30 and 8:00 pm. That’s our schedule.As far as new foods go, I’m apprehensive. I’m not sure I’m quite ready for her to start eating meat. For one, baby food meat tastes like shit and I don’t want to feed her anything that makes me retch. Another factor is her tongue muscle and gag reflex may need some more time to develop. She never had the tongue thrust reflex that a lot of babies have and she will sometimes “chew” her food so I’ve become a little more comfortable with the idea of chunkier foods, like pureed chicken that I would make myself. I’m becoming more at ease with the idea but it’s still going to take time.
I’m also a little wary about starting her on wheat products. I’ve given her a biter biscuit twice and she loved them, but after about a minute she was tired and got really cranky which makes me wonder if they upset her stomach. And that girl, poor thing, seems to have a very sensitive stomach.
I’ve decided that I absolutely will not start her on any dairy products until much later. If I do give her any it will be cottage cheese to supplement for the protein she’s supposedly missing out on by my not feeding her meat, but then again tofu would work just as well.
Maybe in a month or two I’ll change my mind on a few points like giving her pureed food that we are eating for dinner. Chicken and veggies and the like, but until that time that I decided what is best my plan remains. She is eating stage 2 foods, rice cereal and soy formula. No meat, no wheat and no dairy.
I’m still reading and researching and I’m getting good sound advice from my person and my mom so the rest of you can back off a bit if you don’t mind. I love you all and value your opinions and advice greatly, but the best judge of who is ready for what is the child’s mother and what her heart and head is telling her. And right now mine are telling me that my child is not ready for meat.
Wednesday, September 9
Butt of Course!
A 
week ago Laine went dragon-breath-fart-butt on me and I posted a blog about how it was just teething and she was getting better; however the rash was far worse the next day and so was the snotty acid diarrhea. Erik and I made an appointment with the doctor and come to find out it was not teething at all, it was a stomach virus. Still not swine flu, but you can draw your own picture as to the reaction I had to hearing that it was something and not nothing. I was told that it was nothing. I described every single one of her symptoms to the nurse and I was told she was just teething. She wasn’t, she was sick. So a whole twenty-four hours that could have been spent towards improving the health of my child was instead spent on soothing her crying fits when I had no idea how much pain she was really in. So I had my tantrum and got myself a red lollypop and worked out my anger towards the doctor on my husband, like you do, and was able to then focus all my attention on Laine.
We were told to put Laine on a diet, sort of like the BRAT diet but for infants; soy formula, bananas, applesauce and rice cereal, and we were given a prescription diaper rash cream that is an anti fungal because the doctor thought Laine looked like she was getting a yeast infection (which she never did.) It turns out that her skin is as sensitive as mine and my mom’s and she had a severe reaction to the cream turning her rash into a chemical burn. My seven month old baby had a CHEMICAL BURN on her butt! If you can imagine how much pain she was in you’ve got more imagination than I do, her skin was so raw and inflamed it scared us to even wipe her so we had to call the doctor again and this time we talked to the other doctor at the practice who seemed to really listen to all my concerns and totally validated all my worries and paranoia. It was a chemical burn and it was the cream that gave it to her. So we were told to stop using the cream and start using Aquaphor only and to use a hair dryer after every diaper change to make sure she was really dry before applying the ointment. We were told to go and buy over the counter steroid ointment and if she did develop a yeast infection (which she didn’t) to use any yeast infection over the counter medications. It is now five days since going to the doctor’s office and her tummy is back to good working order and her bottom is clearing up quite well. Huzzah for all that mess finally working its way out of her! There were a lot of prayers being sent our way and we appreciate every single one of them.
Also Laine’s great-grandma was in town to help take care of her, which made everything easier to handle. Grandma makes me feel calmer, more comfortable in my surroundings. No matter what happens when grandma’s around you feel safe and held and surrounded with a love that makes it easier for you to make decisions and deal with hard times. Thanks Grandma!
week ago Laine went dragon-breath-fart-butt on me and I posted a blog about how it was just teething and she was getting better; however the rash was far worse the next day and so was the snotty acid diarrhea. Erik and I made an appointment with the doctor and come to find out it was not teething at all, it was a stomach virus. Still not swine flu, but you can draw your own picture as to the reaction I had to hearing that it was something and not nothing. I was told that it was nothing. I described every single one of her symptoms to the nurse and I was told she was just teething. She wasn’t, she was sick. So a whole twenty-four hours that could have been spent towards improving the health of my child was instead spent on soothing her crying fits when I had no idea how much pain she was really in. So I had my tantrum and got myself a red lollypop and worked out my anger towards the doctor on my husband, like you do, and was able to then focus all my attention on Laine.
We were told to put Laine on a diet, sort of like the BRAT diet but for infants; soy formula, bananas, applesauce and rice cereal, and we were given a prescription diaper rash cream that is an anti fungal because the doctor thought Laine looked like she was getting a yeast infection (which she never did.) It turns out that her skin is as sensitive as mine and my mom’s and she had a severe reaction to the cream turning her rash into a chemical burn. My seven month old baby had a CHEMICAL BURN on her butt! If you can imagine how much pain she was in you’ve got more imagination than I do, her skin was so raw and inflamed it scared us to even wipe her so we had to call the doctor again and this time we talked to the other doctor at the practice who seemed to really listen to all my concerns and totally validated all my worries and paranoia. It was a chemical burn and it was the cream that gave it to her. So we were told to stop using the cream and start using Aquaphor only and to use a hair dryer after every diaper change to make sure she was really dry before applying the ointment. We were told to go and buy over the counter steroid ointment and if she did develop a yeast infection (which she didn’t) to use any yeast infection over the counter medications. It is now five days since going to the doctor’s office and her tummy is back to good working order and her bottom is clearing up quite well. Huzzah for all that mess finally working its way out of her! There were a lot of prayers being sent our way and we appreciate every single one of them.
Also Laine’s great-grandma was in town to help take care of her, which made everything easier to handle. Grandma makes me feel calmer, more comfortable in my surroundings. No matter what happens when grandma’s around you feel safe and held and surrounded with a love that makes it easier for you to make decisions and deal with hard times. Thanks Grandma!Friday, September 4
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Thursday, September 3
Miss FireButt 2009
Two weeks ago I posted about Laine having sleeping issues; or I was having issues with the fact that she wasn’t sleeping. That isn’t my problem anymore. Now we have explosive diarrhea. Her butt is a mucous bomb that spontaneously goes off no less than six times a day.
It’s a real handy thing that my mom was watching Laine yesterday, I got updates every hour so that I knew what was going on. I got concerned about the regularity and nastiness of her diapers so I called the nurse yesterday and told her all of Laine’s issues. She is having unpredictable detonation of the bum, she has a decrease in appetite and her nose is runny but she has no fever and she is in good spirits. You know what she said? Swine Flu.
Well, really what she actually told me is that Laine most likely has a virus like the flu but with the threat of swine flu out there we had better be safe and that I needed to get her either to the doctors office or the hospital right away… Good morning children. Today’s letter is the letter ‘B’, the shape is trapezoid, the color is red and the word is STROKE.
The she says, “Oh wait, never mind, it says here in her chart that she’s teething, well okay then, she’s not sick she’s just teething. Loss of appetite and loose stool, fever and runny nose are all things that happen during the teething process. So Laine just has a diaper rash and she’s teething.”
My first reaction to all of this is to punch someone in the face, and my second reaction is to repeat everything back to her, so that I truly understand that Laine does not in fact have Swine flu, but she’s just teething. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!?!
After my initial moment of calling hellfire down on this woman I was able to collect myself and ask her what I’m supposed to do about the diarrhea and diaper rash. It was seriously intense to mentally go from sitting by Laine's hospital bed as she wastes away from swine flu to giving her some Pedialite and putting some Aquaphor on her butt. Sheesh what a day!
After this phone call I decided that I was going to be completely useless at work so I drove home. I needed to hug my kid. And when I got to my mom’s house she was playing with Jacob, Josh and Anna and having a grand time not dieing from any kind of pig cold and I was so happy that I really couldn’t stand it. As I was putting her down to sleep last night I held her tighter than I ever have and I cried as she laughed at me and I thank God that it’s only the little things that happen. Can you imagine me in a real crisis? Oh man, the world would end. And had she been at daycare yesterday I never would have been kept informed throughout the day on her butt status and I would have FLIPPED out when I got home and called the doctor then and had to wait for a nurse to call me back and who knows the state I’d be in if that’s the way it had played out, oh wait, yes we do… the world would end.
Last night she slept peacefully but she woke up three times with dirty skid-mark diapers. Each time she had a screaming fit when I tried to change her but within a few minutes of the bottle in her mouth afterwards she was back to smiles and then to sleep. This morning she had three dirty diapers before I took her to day care. That’s three times the snotty mucous-y stringy green nastiness that gets on your fingers no matter how hard you try to be careful.
The thing with Laine though is that you can’t break her good spirit, she is always in a good mood. Every now and then she’ll belt out this amazing scream/cry and then pass the loudest liquid-y fart ever and then she’ll smile again,
like its nothing for her to poop acid fire and keep on playing. Her diaper rash that she got because of all this is nasty too. It’s ten times better than it was two days ago but still, her little bottom is all red and sore and I cry every time I have to touch it with the damned wipes. This morning’s last diaper didn’t seem to bother her that bad, and neither did the wipes in fact. So my fingers are crossed that all this weird gross stuff is behind us. Until next time and the next crisis, good night.
It’s a real handy thing that my mom was watching Laine yesterday, I got updates every hour so that I knew what was going on. I got concerned about the regularity and nastiness of her diapers so I called the nurse yesterday and told her all of Laine’s issues. She is having unpredictable detonation of the bum, she has a decrease in appetite and her nose is runny but she has no fever and she is in good spirits. You know what she said? Swine Flu.Well, really what she actually told me is that Laine most likely has a virus like the flu but with the threat of swine flu out there we had better be safe and that I needed to get her either to the doctors office or the hospital right away… Good morning children. Today’s letter is the letter ‘B’, the shape is trapezoid, the color is red and the word is STROKE.
The she says, “Oh wait, never mind, it says here in her chart that she’s teething, well okay then, she’s not sick she’s just teething. Loss of appetite and loose stool, fever and runny nose are all things that happen during the teething process. So Laine just has a diaper rash and she’s teething.”
My first reaction to all of this is to punch someone in the face, and my second reaction is to repeat everything back to her, so that I truly understand that Laine does not in fact have Swine flu, but she’s just teething. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!?!
After my initial moment of calling hellfire down on this woman I was able to collect myself and ask her what I’m supposed to do about the diarrhea and diaper rash. It was seriously intense to mentally go from sitting by Laine's hospital bed as she wastes away from swine flu to giving her some Pedialite and putting some Aquaphor on her butt. Sheesh what a day!
After this phone call I decided that I was going to be completely useless at work so I drove home. I needed to hug my kid. And when I got to my mom’s house she was playing with Jacob, Josh and Anna and having a grand time not dieing from any kind of pig cold and I was so happy that I really couldn’t stand it. As I was putting her down to sleep last night I held her tighter than I ever have and I cried as she laughed at me and I thank God that it’s only the little things that happen. Can you imagine me in a real crisis? Oh man, the world would end. And had she been at daycare yesterday I never would have been kept informed throughout the day on her butt status and I would have FLIPPED out when I got home and called the doctor then and had to wait for a nurse to call me back and who knows the state I’d be in if that’s the way it had played out, oh wait, yes we do… the world would end.Last night she slept peacefully but she woke up three times with dirty skid-mark diapers. Each time she had a screaming fit when I tried to change her but within a few minutes of the bottle in her mouth afterwards she was back to smiles and then to sleep. This morning she had three dirty diapers before I took her to day care. That’s three times the snotty mucous-y stringy green nastiness that gets on your fingers no matter how hard you try to be careful.
The thing with Laine though is that you can’t break her good spirit, she is always in a good mood. Every now and then she’ll belt out this amazing scream/cry and then pass the loudest liquid-y fart ever and then she’ll smile again,
like its nothing for her to poop acid fire and keep on playing. Her diaper rash that she got because of all this is nasty too. It’s ten times better than it was two days ago but still, her little bottom is all red and sore and I cry every time I have to touch it with the damned wipes. This morning’s last diaper didn’t seem to bother her that bad, and neither did the wipes in fact. So my fingers are crossed that all this weird gross stuff is behind us. Until next time and the next crisis, good night.
