Mommy Meeting....I did it!!

I went to my first meeting-with-complete-strangers, Mommy group Saturday morning. You have to go to a public event before you can do private play dates at someone's house (for obvious reasons), so I bit the bullet...and went. Not only that, but I went without Bug. I had planned on bringing her as a distraction. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm so busy interacting with my daughter that I'm slightly anti-social and not wanting to talk to you complete strangers." I thought Bug would help break the ice. I'm SOOO not about going to meet strangers, which you wouldn't guess unless you knew me. I'm an outgoing and social person. I make friends really easily, BUT I need to be in a comfort zone...like a school or something. Yeah, I don't do the coffee outings with a bunch of women I never met. The outing was at Starbucks, so I knew I would be tempted to go in...check out the situation, and immediately turn around. These people don't know who I am. As I waited in line for my Chai tea, I saw a group of women with the tables pushed together. Ugh. I wanted to get my cup of warm deliciousness and hop in my car. I've got enough great friends of my own, who needs to make any more?? BUT, I came here for a reason. I wanted some mommy friends in my area who I could meet up with, join for play dates, and enjoy getting advice from. So I sucked it up, and went. I'm SOO proud of myself. There were only a couple people there since I went toward the end, but the girls there were really nice. I'm now looking forward to my Forsyth Mommies group. YAY!

I can't hear you...I'm going through traffic???

So this week has been a busy one. Our house is officially on the market. YAY!! The sign went in our yard Tuesday afternoon, the pics were taken, and we were up and running on the internet by Wednesday. I found myself feeling extremely anxious when we were officially "for sale". Not worried like we made a bad decision---just worried in general. I was more anxious then excited, which I did not expect to feel. Maybe it's because we've been in this house for 5 years and I've got used to being here, maybe its because I like this house, maybe it's because our Bug has spent the first year of her life here.....I don't know, but I kind of felt sad.

I also started thinking of all the craziness that could happen these next several months. What if our house sells and we haven't found a place?? What if there's a period of time between this house and the next?? Where would we go? I started mentally going through my friend list---nope, they don't have room for us, nope, they already have a dog (or dogs in some cases) and would definitely not want us with our 2 dogs, nope, they don't have a dog...for a reason. They hate dogs and wouldn't want us. We would have NO WHERE to go! Then I started looking up apartment complexes (seriously, this is how far I went with this fear that hasn't happened) and couldn't find any that did a month-by-month situation. After looking into a handful of apartment complexes, I realized I'd lost it. I didn't need to be worrying about something that hasn't happened. So yeah, initially, I wanted to run right back out in my yard and take down the For Sale sign. Sure, we could happily fit all 4-5 kids we hope to have, plus all the family visitors we like to have in our 3 bedroom house with no basement. We can stay here! I don't want to be homeless!!

The house has been on the market for just under a week, and I've calmed myself down. Well, at least about the issues I mentioned above. Instead, my crazy energy has gone toward the showings. It was raining and really crappy the days right after it was listed. Saturday, though, was beautiful. I met for coffee with a Mommy Group (tell you about that next post) after an hour and a half of attempting to put Bug down for her nap. She's SOOO sick. She's got the worst cold. She can't breath, or nurse well. She's coughing all the time. She's had a fever and has actually lost her voice from coughing so much. Poor thing is miserable. It breaks my heart to see her like this. It's taking me forever to get her to sleep without her waking up from coughing her lungs up. After I got home, I had to get my sick Bug ready to head to her best pal's 1st bday party (yes, I told the mom (one of my besties) that Bug had been sick...we were only going to be there for a while).

This is Bug and Cleopatra.....this picture shows exactly how she felt the past few days--MISERABLE.

After the party, Darling Dearest, Bug, and I were going to get some lunch with Cleopatra and her hubby. On our way there, I was trying to do a on-the-go nursing session as we cruised down the highway. This was when we got our first call for a showing!! Oh my gosh! Was the house ready?? We had just been working on a project the night before and the house smelled like glue. Did I have things put away? I don't think so...we were in such a rush to get to the party. Not to mention, Hubby accidentally answered the phone when he was fishing it out of my purse. I picked up to someone saying, "HELLO, HELLO??" Oh my gosh, who is this?? Should I recognize this voice? I was panicing and completely out of sorts. My boobs were out and about. This lady is asking to see the house and she's RIGHT IN FRONT OF IT. I'm frantically racking my brain to recall the condition of our home. You would've thought I'd never spoken to anyone in my life. In my attempt to buy time and mouth to Hubby "What does the house look like??", I was trying to tell the lady to repeat herself because I had static on my end. What did I say instead??? "UM, I'm sorry. Can you say that again? I'm going through TRAFFIC."

WHAT???? TRAFFIC?? DID I SERIOUSLY JUST SAY THAT?? SOMEONE SHOULD TAKE THE PHONE FROM ME NOW!

Did you think that was bad?? Well, it gets worse! Hubby tells me that he DID crate the dogs (against his will because I was being "optimistic"--his words--for thinking someone would come see our house so soon). "Yes, realtor lady you CAN come see the house." Oh what?? Darling Dearest NOW remembers that he set the alarm system. OOPS! "Nevermind, realtor lady. You will be treated like an intruder and the police will be called if you enter our house. We need to run home and turn off the alarm (aka, spray Febreeze everywhere and do last minute cleaning right before we turn off the alarm)".

So we make a quick turn back home. I call Cleopatra to let her know plans had changed and they'd have to come for lunch by my house. We got the house in tip-top shape in 2 minutes and left (Cleopatra and her hubby helped too). I was a frazzled mess. This is NOT an exaggeration. If anyone who saw me in the midst of this shinanigan was writing this post...they would concur that they'd never seen me such a hot mess (and trust me, I can be the definition of "hot mess" so that's how bad this was).

Yep, it was bad...really bad. How can I expect people to come see my house when I can't seem to speak coherently to the realtors?? Well, you'd be happy to know that we had another showing yesterday (Superbowl Sunday) and another today. I actually remembered that I had NOT been living under a rock since birth. That I had actually gone to school, even grad school for that matter. That I, at one point, TAUGHT proper English and grammar usage. The 2nd and 3rd time around, I saw that the number was unfamiliar, picked up expecting a realtor, and scheduled a showing like a real life human being. IMPRESSIVE!!

So yeah, that's the update. I told you I'd be better about blogging and now that I've written a book, I have zero time (or desire) to edit it *SURPRISE, SURPRISE*. Please forgive me in advance. I already told you I don't speak English. I'm sorry, I can't hear you...I'm going through traffic!

Just call me Carmen San Diego

I know, I know.....Where in the world have I been? Have I dropped off the face of the planet? You've probably lost some sleep asking yourself these questions and many more, but I'm here to tell you that I am, indeed, ALIVE. I got yelled at by a stalker friend of mine who informed me that I hadn't written anything since January 17th (yeah, I didn't even know that). Since she's one of my besties and she watched the Bug for me today as we looked at houses, since I was belated on her bday gift, and since I love her dearly.....I will break my record and update the good old blog. Although, P.S.--- "N", for someone who doesn't leave a comment on all my blogging effort, maybe you shouldn't be giving me the hard time. hehe! I say all blog stalkers should come out of hiding and leave some love every once in a blue moon.  :-P

Things have been kind of crazy these past 2 weeks. I've been working non-stop to get my house ready to go on the market. Yep, we even met with the realtor earlier this week and will probably have the official "For Sale" sign in our front yard this week!! CRAZY stuff--and kind of scary too. Prior to having it ready to go, I had some projects to finalize around here, including my DIY no-sew blackout roman shades I did for Bug's room so I could take down the brown sheet. I'll do a post on that process later along with pics of the project. They turned out great, and I was on a crafting high. I was feeling SO good about myself that I also recovered the seat cushions at my breakfast table using more of my fabric glue. Let's just say that project didn't turn out as well as the first, but I was running short on time after doing the blinds during Bug's afternoon nap. For the record, if you ever need cheap, neutral material---go buy yourself a canvas drop cloth at Home Depot, Lowes, or wherever. I got a big one for $13 and still have plenty left over for a future project. Needless to say, I'm kind of excited about the prospect of a new house because now that I'm making time for my house...I'm loving the idea of becoming a do-it-yourselfer kinda gal.

This week my dad and my little brother drove down from NY. We always get the pit stops in GA on the way to the bigger and better destination---FLORIDA, where my other brothers live. My dad got my brother out of school for a little road trip to the Pro Bowl in Miami, since it could be a "once in a lifetime" opportunity, according to my dad. True, it actually IS in the states, so better take advantage. Needless to say, Bug had fun visiting with her uncle and her grandpa and I was actually able to run an errand here and there without her the two days they were here. Yep, that includes getting a cavity filled without my daughter.  Imagine that!! Ahhhh, the luxuries of life. hehe!

Long story short, (ok, not short AT ALL, but by now you should know me well enough to know that I don't know the meaning of a short story), last week I was finalizing my house and doing celebratory birthday dinner evenings (the big 2-9) with the bestie that gave me a hard time for my lack of blogging committment, and I was highly involved in DIY projects. This week, was meeting-with-realtors-AND-hanging-out-with-out-of-state-fam-AND-having-my-first-official-day-of-house-hunting week (house-hunting update for another post). SO yeah....the blog has been put on the back-burner. I'd like to say that I've turned a new leaf--that I'm back in the game, BUT I can't make any promises. I'm really going to try to get better about it, but between keeping my house spotless with two hairy dogs and a baby, getting kicked out whenever someone wants to see it, and constantly obsessing and scouring the internet for any and all potential homes casually looking for my future home, all in between nursing sessions, getting ready for the Bug's big 0-1 in a couple weeks, and chasing around this energizer bunny, we'll see how I do with the blogging.

I just hope absence DOES make the heart fonder and that you all stick with me through thick and thin. I have a feeling these next couple months are going to be quite the rollercoaster. I'll do my best to keep you (and thus the future ME, since this IS my attempt at an online diary given my horrible memory that began at pregnancy) updated all along the way.

Well, We Had a Good Run....

It was fun while it lasted. Actually, it was FABULOUS and I loved every minute of it, or better yet--every minute WITHOUT it. Unfortunately, the time has come where my bubble of cramplessness has been popped.

Yep, the other day SHE reared her cramping, painful, and awful head. And when she came, she came with a vengence. For those of you who haven't caught on yet, YES, I'm talking about Mrs. Flow, The Crimson Tide, Code Red, my monthly visitor....or whatever other cutesy name you call this bloody mess.

Bug will be 11 months next week, so it's been since May 26, 2008 that I last had a visit from her. I know, I've been spoiled and have zero room to complain. Yet, here I am....complaining still. And you know what's worse?? You're having to listen to it.

Anywho....back to my complaint. :-) Like I've said in previous posts, I'm still nursing Bug so I'm on a birth control pill for breastfeeding known as the minipill. When I got on this pill (pretty much right after she was born because I was NOT about to get pregnant again so soon), I was told that "it will keep my uterus nice and clean." aka...I shouldn't have any periods while on it AND breastfeeding. When I started to wean her, I need to get back to a real pill because the minipill isn't 100% effective on it's own. So when I was ready to wean and get off this pill, my monthly visitor would be back.

Well wouldn't you know, I'm still nursing about 5 times a day, still taking the pill every day (again, NOT about to get pregnant now), and what do I feel running down my leg??? Ok, it wasn't really running down my leg, but it makes for a much more interesting (and disgusting) picture, don't you think?? But seriously, I was cramping soo badly and couldn't figure out what was going on. Surely, I'm not getting my period. I thought I have a nice and clean uterus. Then...GUSH!! Did I pee myself??? I must've sprung a leak. I wasn't laughing hard, so I'm sure I didn't pee my pants from that. What's going on??? Into the bathroom I go.....

and what do I find???

My period has returned in an angry fury!! My first thought was, "Oh no....does this mean my birth control is no longer working since my uterus is obviously NOT so 'nice and clean' like I was told." I'm not ready to wean Bug off breastfeeding yet, so I can't take the real pill. Then the thought that I may actually have to use condoms hit me like a ton of bricks. For the record, I HATE THEM!! I think I've only used them like once, maybe twice, around the time I got off the pill before to try to conceive, but before I actually wanted to conceive. If I haven't mentioned it, I'm a HUGE planner and knew exactly the month I wanted to get pregnant so I could get the most out of my maternity leave. Thank goodness my plan worked well with God because He blessed us with our Bug on the first go. So here I am...spoiled about not having to use a condom and dreading the thought of it. At the same time, I can't get pregnant before September or my new insurance won't cover it. So no.....Oh, "if it happens, it happens" here. I was freaking out about this wrench in my birth control plan...all amidst the usual hormonal feelings that come with your period.

Just so you all can rest easy and get some sleep tonight, I will tell you that the nurse said I'm A-okay on my pill. That it's still working, but that my body just told me it was time to shead it's skin. I may or may not get another period last month, but I at least know that I shouldn't be peeing on a pregnancy stick anytime in the extremely near future. Yep...that means no other means of birth control necessary. YAY!! So although I'm hating every minute of my crampy mess of a friend's visit and hating the monthly reminder of being a girl, I guess I should be grateful that Bug's helped me keep the crimson tide at bay this long.

Delivering the Mail

So for any of you who haven't had the personal experience of becoming a mailman, it is exhilarating, particularly when you're sneaking around at night like McCreepy....hehe! Ok, let's start from the beginning. When I resigned my teaching position to stay home with Bug, I thought I'd make some extra cash tutoring. I can charge a pretty decent amount per hour--the going rate--and still get to do what I love during her naps, work with kiddies. I was pumped. I'd make just as much as I would've working part-time with a fraction of the hours. I had connections in a bunch of schools in this area, so I had teachers on my side to get the word out. This was an awesome business in the making.

Except, it wasn't!! Fall came and went, and I barely got a call. I knew teachers were giving my name out to any interested parents, but I wasn't getting many calls and the ones I was getting ended up falling through. It didn't help that I am 10-15 minutes away from the schools I taught in---why would parents drive to my house after school when they can get someone IN the school??? I joined homeschooling Yahoo chat groups to offer my services to them. I got nothing! I emailed principals to see if I could drop some flyers off. Most didn't respond, the ones who knew me allowed me to do so, but again...the schools were farther away. So yeah, the tutoring thing wasn't happening. I knew God wanted me to stay home, so I still trusted Him that something would work out.

At the start of the second semester and the new year, I got motivated again. This time, I was going to do some advertising in MY area. Unfortunately, I didn't know many teachers in the schools RIGHT near my house, but the couple I did got a lovely email begging nonchalantly asking them to refer me if a parent asked about a tutor. Then I thought I would go ahead and make a postcard from vistaprint.com. If you haven't been there, they do some great stuff for pretty stinkin' cheap. That's where we made our birth announcements for like 1/2 the price that some friends paid. Anyway, made my postcards and googled for a coupon. Wouldn't you know it, I found one which cut the prices of the postcard packages in 1/2. LOVE GOOGLE!! My husband was amazed by my skills, and I was estatic to get 250 color postcards for like $25 or something.

They arrived within a week and you would've thought it was Christmas by my response to getting them. Unfortunately, that night, Darling Dearest didn't get home until 7pm. So we couldn't play mailman that night. Last night, he got home at his normal time (around 6:30). We fought with the Bug over food calmly fed our precious daughter, packed her up, and hit the road. We had two neighborhoods in particular that we wanted to hit up with postcards---both have beautiful and expensive homes. Surely, they'd be the ones to have some extra cash in this tough economy...maybe??

Hubby had it all planned out. I would drive since his arm span is longer. FINE BY ME!! So into the first neighborhood we creeped...me driving, Bug chillin in the back, and Hubby with his arm out the window ready to hit up the mailboxes. We were just hoping no one called the cops on the creepy SUV sneaking up and down the streets of the neighborhood, awfully close to the houses. At first, I was pulling up too far away and Darling Dearest yelled at me kindly instructed me concerning my driving. Well, I didn't wanna bust our car, pardon me!! Then, I wasn't going fash enough. He wanted me to smoothly roll up and out of there with just enough time for him to get the postcard in. Well, I didn't wanna snap his arm off. Pardon me, AGAIN! When I started moving faster, it was too fast!! The whole thing was actually pretty funny because we started off in a good and playful mood about everything (started off being the key words).

We finally got into a "GO" system. I wouldn't pull off until he said GO. Every now and again someone was walking their dog or taking out the garbage, so we had to ABORT MISSION ASAP and head back to that street. Let me tell you, some of these neighborhood set-ups are confusing. It was all I could do to remember where we had been...and most of the time we had to do a mailbox-check to see if we'd been up that street or down that side. Ugh! Pain in the boot-AY! Not to mention, at some point in there Bug started to SCREAM! How could I be passing out tutoring flyers telling people to trust me with their child when I have mine screaming her head off in the back seat??? So I pulled over in front of an empty house for sale, got in the back, and whipped out a boob. After a slight interupption, we were on our way again. We were getting to the point where we had passed out close to 200 postcards and were ready to head to the next neighborhood before getting busted in this one. At our last house, someone was walking out the door as we put the card in the mailbox. Hubby was DONE! You would've thought we were smuggling drugs by how "busted" he reacted. hehe! So off we went to the next neighborhood.

Prior to getting there, we had a quick pull through Mickey D's for some energy to finish the mission. We only had 60 cards to get out in the next neighborhood and were mentally OVER IT! This was the point where the playful/fun attitude flew out the window. These mailboxes were different than the others. Harder to open? Close? I don't know....but all I know is, I wasn't doing it right. I was going too fast or not up far enough, close enough...you name it. Not to mention, I was trying to eat my chicken selects while creeping through the neighborhood in a totally stalkerish way. This was HARD work. I told Hubby I may drop him off and he responded that he'd take the postcards with him. heheh! ANYWHO....we made it through the last 60 and still loved each other at the end of it. I love that Darling Dearest is the kind of guy who would do this with me and for me without even thinking to complain about it. I told him it was an investment in our family business. To which he responded about how we were TOOT-ers! "Yep, that's something I do well!" Yes, hubby---it is. Thanks for turning this whole thing into a joke about your ridiculously smelly pasttime. :-) And you all wonder why I love him so much. The whole process took an hour and a half, and that includes feeding time for us and her. Not too bad, if I do say so myself.

If I don't get any calls out of this, I just may cry inconsolably like a 2 month old infant!! But hey, we had a pretty comical experience out of it and at it's worse, it was $25 spent on a night on the town with my family (or the closest thing to a night on the town that I've had in about a year). Totally bummed I didn't get any pics of our adventure. Maybe we'll go out tonight and pose for some feux-pics of this experience. Here's for hoping I get some calls!

What are some of the most ridiculous or embarrassing things you've done for a job??

Prayers for Haiti

Let's join in prayer for the people of Haiti during this tragedy. On of my best friends was a missionary down there. She came back this year to raise support and is going back there permanently in the summer. Her heart is in Haiti, along with several of her loved ones. My prayers go out to both the people of Haiti as they deal with the destruction, but also the people here and around the world whose hearts are in Haiti. May God bless the relief effort and be a source of hope and peace for everyone during this time. This certainly puts my "troubles" in perspective. Thank the Lord that He is sovereign in all things. I hope we take some time out of our busy schedules to pray for those who could use our prayers right now.

I've Created a Monster!!

It has come to my knowledge that I may never be able to leave my child during a mealtime (ok, "never" may be a bit much...but at least for as long as I'm still nursing). Why?? Because I've created a monster!! Hopefully, this post will be helpful to some nursing mamas or those of you who may be expecting.....this is what NOT to do!

Bug is 100% breastfed, with the exception of solids and finger food. Needless to say, she needs ME for most of her nutritional needs. I'm planning on nursing somewhere beyond a year, and she'll be a year next month. So we'll see how I feel in a few months. Several months ago, my milk supply started slowing down. She was nursing less often with the introduction of food. I even added the number of meals very slowly so my supply wouldn't take such a huge hit. I thought I was doing everything right, and I definitely did my research (total nerd like that). Anyway, my daughter takes her breastmilk like one would wine---a little at a time. Yet another hit to my milk supply. Prior to maybe September, she would occasionally get a bottle of pumped milk, and all was well to the world. Here's the science of nursing for those who may not be familiar....the more they nurse, the more they tell your body to produce. The body gives what is needed, so if they're nursing less, the body thinks it needs to produce less. Pumping is good, but it isn't as efficient as nursing. Nothing gets more milk out than your baby.

With our little science lesson behind us, you'll understand why I decided to hold off the pumping and keep her nursing. I didn't want to waste any of my liquid gold (frozen milk) I stored up unless there was an emergency. That was the beginning of the end. Braya was nursing more often and my supply went up more, but it was only enough to feel her. I wasn't making much extra to store. Basically, the milk I stored up was probably going to be "it" as far as my supply went unless I could up my supply, which I was hoping to do by nursing her more often. I guess at some point in those months, she got so used to nursing that anything other than the tap itself was unacceptable.

We found this out the hard way. The other night, my boobs just really wanted a break. They were drained. The tap was dry. So Darling Dearest heated up some liquid gold. He attempted to give her a bottle of it...NOPE! Bug threw a fit and wouldn't take a bit of it. So we put it in a sippy cup, which is what she normally drinks from. NOPE...this girl is not taking the sippy cup either. Back in the bottle it went because goodness knows I wasn't about to waste any of this milk. She was going to drink it, even if I had to put a funnel to her mouth. No need to call child protective services, the funnel comment is an exaggeration (maybe). :-) We tried different size nipples--thinking if we tried one with a huge hole, she'd be forced to taste enough that she'd realize it was the same thing.

Darling Dearest and I had two different approaches. His was much more annoying and angrying than mine. She looked away, he found her with the bottle. She got mad and he continued to chase her down. Finally, mama had to step in. Darling Dearest is usually amazing with his Bug, but tonight....he didn't have the golden touch. It's basically a miracle she didn't learn to punch and slug him right in the face with how much he was annoying her with the bottle.

So did I get her to finish the bottle? You bet I did. Did it take distraction with a book, a million sips before she actually stuck with the whole drinking thing, and a ridiculous amount of time?? You bet it did!! I swear I aged a good 10 years from start to finish of that bottle, but hey...no liquid gold was wasted. I should've just nursed her and had it over and done with, but through this experience...I learned the hard truth..............

I've created bottle-refusing, boob-lovin' MONSTER!! I'm counting down the days until she's one when she can drink cow's milk amd all the water she'd like to supplement her mama's milk. This mama would like to be able to go do some things without her! Here's to hoping she finds something she loves just as much as her mama's milk!