And here's a partial answer to my question

I keep saying why does the thrush/yeast rash keep coming back and why does he get an ear infection at the same time? I said to Kevin yesterday maybe it's all related. He just nods and "hmm"s. If there's such an over growth of yeast that allows the thrush and rash to come back maybe it's affecting and allowing or causing the ear infections? Possible? Yes.

http://www.nutritioninstitute.com/ear_infections.html

"Ear infections are caused by bacteria at the back of the mouth and at the
beginning of the tubes leading to the ears. There are both benign bacteria and
bacteria capable of causing disease. There are other microorganisms present in
those places, however. The yeast Candida albicans also lives in the back of the
mouth and at the beginning of the tubes leading to the ears. In summary, even though the yeast which aid the disease causing bacteria are at the back of the mouth and throat, all the yeast which is in the rest of the intestinal tract makes it easier for yeast to grow in other parts of the body. So eliminating yeast from the intestinal tract is necessary to reduce the yeast in the throat and mouth, which in turn stops the ear infections. "

Ah ha. Makes sense if the thrush in his mouth is flaring up and traveling up to the ear canals where it can breed in that nice, warm, moist area. Anyway...I like when I am semi-right or intuitive about things =)

Saturday Morning Post

Well let's see this week flew by. I didn't even have to work that much, which was nice. The weather is finally warming up for good and the sunshine is wonderful!
Sunday we grilled out with Kevin's parents and Paul and Elissa. Wasn't quite as warm as we'd hoped but it was alright.

Monday we went to the "lil ol' parade" in Rushville. Talk about the past. Although I think they can improve upon the parade route and lineup. Seriously, why do you put all the marchers first, then all the trucks at the end? Wouldn't you want to mix that up a bit? You'd think anyway.. Then we grilled out with my parents and brother, that was a warm day!

Tuesday was back to work day, rather annoying after the long weekend. But, ya gotta do what ya gotta do. My week has been jam packed with visits and meetings, and the end of the month means all those records have to be turned in to be reviewed by the supervisor. Which means typing a lot of notes, printing them and signing each and every one--that's the worst part.

Wednesday and Thursday were much the same. Except that Thursday I had to stop at BJ's for gas (3.97-still under $4!) and diapers. And let me tell you there were some long lines for that gas! Just as I was leaving there, the daycare called to tell me Kian had a fever and a "blowout". (That's daycare code for major diarrhea causing change of outfits) He seemed pretty tired and low-key. I took him home and he didn't want to eat much. He seemed to get warmed throughout the night. Tylenol helped a bit. He didn't eat much. Of course we didn't sleep barely at all Thursday night into Friday. He wanted to lay on me but didn't want to be touched at all. We did the tylenol thing here and there but I wantd to see if it'd break on its own.

Friday I stayed home with him but had to bring some files in the office and pick up some because I had to do a meeting at Brockport school for my two clients. My sister came up so between her and Kevin and Travis they stayed with Kian while I went to those meetings. He slept a lot anyway, so we had pizza and a movie with Travis and Kourt.

That brings us to Saturday, today. Got a bit more sleep last night but not a lot. Finally this morning he had 103 temp-under the arm. So I called the nurse at the peds office. She said to bring him in. Yes, they are so cool they have Saturday sick-only hours from 8-12. So if your kid gets sick you can bring them in on Saturday, and that's all they see, no other visits, just acute illnesses. So aside from the runny nose and diarrhea being viral most likely, and the thrush recurrence (we just cant get rid of it, me, his mouth, his diaper rash, can't win) he also has a double ear infection. How bad do I feel? He never indicates it's his ears. Oh and his 2 molars on top are almost in, he seems to get whammed with everything at once.

This just solidifies the whole theory about ear infections being more viral induced and able to be passed around to kids by way of other viruses. The kid wasn't sick a day in his life until he started daycare. The doctor said that even if he was home with me until kindergarten he'd just get all kinds of stuff then too, so either way he'd probably pick stuff up. Wonderful. We debated doing the antibiotics for the ear infections, but the doctor preferred to with the fever and his age. Now we just need to aggressively treat this thrush/yeast diaper rash combo we keep getting. which, is odd, because he had it the first time with the ear infection too... hmm? Time to pump up the acidophilus pills!

So now we are out to weed the garden, plant some flowers, weed the veggies, etc. The fun yard work, which I actually enjoy, especially in the sunny weather. Kian will probably be sleeping for at least 2 hours. He made it through wegmans (in his car seat which I haven't taken out of the car in 3 months) half unconscious to the rest of the world...poor kid. Maybe I should bubble wrap him and put a bleach field around him when he goes to daycare?

Because...

...there are a million picture of Kian alone, with everyone else, but not many with his mama:

...he doesn't look much like a baby anymore, just a big boy:

...this cat has the longest stinkin tail in the world:

...this is just funny:

(I think he had enough pictures-Stop! He's practicing his celeb vs. paparazzi look)

blast from the past--one is silver and the other's gold?

So today we went 'home' to see the tri-town parade in Rushville. I haven't been out for that in years. When we go to visit my parent we just go to their house. But, since the Kenny and Kiara always march in the parade and I had people on my 'visit list' we went out.

Wow. It's so strange. Places change so much, but barely change at all, at the same time if you know what I mean. It looks different, but it feels the same and the people are the same, maybe older, grayer, whatever, but overall it's still Rushville. Sometimes that's why I don't like going "home" because things change so much. Houses where there used to be woods and fields, strange things, and I like to remember it how it used to be, when I grew up. Keep it like that perfect snapshot from 12 years ago....

I ran into Andrea and Carrie (I won't use last names because I don't have permission ha!) whom I haven't seen since graduation day. Literally. It's crazy. And it's always hard, because I didn't have all day to ask what's been happening in their lives since that day, nor to explain mine. So, we did the quick small talk before moving on. I would have talked more but...

I had to find Monica, and Robin. They are the two I've known forever-Monica since 3 years old in ballet and preschool, Robin since kindergarten and purple knee socks. (luv you Robin) And more often than not it was the three of us always together, sometimes more people in our circle too. They are really the only ones I've kept in contact with since graduation. I'm not sure why I lost touch with other people, maybe just not as close, maybe they went too far away, who knows. So, I finally got to see Monica's baby, 4 months after he was born...oops.

We also saw some old familiar faces I haven't seen in years, too many years. Good friends, fun, silly people who I grew up with. And kids who aren't really kids anymore. Goodness it's strange. It really makes me remember things I haven't thought of in years, and it's fun, but I'm a nostalgia sap so... It's weird to remember all the old memories of silliness and just plain teenager years, fun, the years we had no worries or responsibilities, and see us all 'growed up'. Working, having kids, having lives and responsibilities. And you go through that mind-numbingly fast flashback in your head while talking to them, with those pictures of randomness in your head while they're telling you about 'adult' things they do and are now. It's fun, encouraging, sad and weird at the same time. If that makes sense.

These are people I've missed, but not in 'weird' ways. In good-friends-growing up ways. These are friends who encouraged me, helped me grow and mature, saw me through good times and bad, just grew up with for decades really. It's strange how easy it was to drift apart and how familiar it all was immediately. I miss them all and it'd be nice if we could all get together more often to just be and know each other again. Plus, now we all have kids who can entertain each other =)

....And then there's my baby girl Olivia. Holy Moses...ain't no baby anymore. Something about that girl, from day one, the day she was born I was drawn to her. I'd 'steal' her every chance I got, spent most of my afternoons and evenings after school at that house with her...miss her like crazy...

Bad parenting books

I have done lots of reading and research and have been wanting to do a nice long blog about some of these books, but just haven't had the time lately. Tulip Girl is amazing at compiling information on her site. But, this one really got me and I had to post some of it.

It's some books that actually recommend, or command rather, spanking, beating an infant, with a rod, on their bare skin. And they command it in the name of Christianity! Unbelievable. I think Jesus said "let the little children come to me". He did not say, "strip and beat the little children so they will be acceptable to me". If he wanted children perfect before they were allowed to come to him, he would have said so, but that isn't what he says, or wants, nor is it what Jesus is all about. We're not perfect, that's why God sent Jesus, right? So there's no way we should expect our children, especially infants to be 'perfect', or beaten into being perfect.

*This is from the nospank website (I don't completely oppose spanking, but I have very precise opinion about how and/or when spanking should be used), it's actually a sample letter to Amazon about their selling of these books: *italics and bold added by me*

Please stop selling the following books that recommend whipping infants
under 1 year of age:
1) "To Train Up a Child" by Michael & Debi Pearl
p.9 Whipping infants starting at 4 months old with sticks and pipes on their
bare skin. A mother beat her children and killed her son after following the
Pearl's baby-whipping advice http://www.nospank.net/n-p86r.htm (you all may know of the Paddock case going on, where the child died and the mother was using these books) *you must be a complete moron to think a 4 month old could 'disobey'. they are just barely rolling, smiling, cooing, and reaching-or is it that you don't want them reaching and smiling? so absurd, I just cannot fathom it...

2) "Child Training Tips" by Reb Bradley p.133 Beating a baby 1 year old or
younger with a "rod". *a one year old is just barely walking and learning a few words, they may know what 'no' means but have no concept of consequences yet, nor are they able to cognitively recognize that they want to go against your wishes. on the contrary, young children want to please their parents.

3) "What the Bible Says about Child Training" by Richard Fugate p.173-4 This book says some children "require enough strokes to receive stripes or even welts" and parents should not be concerned about bruising their child. p.177 Fugate recommends whipping babies on their bare skin as soon as they can crawl, with a "balloon stick, willow or peach tree branch, blackboard pointer, or 1/8" dowel rod." *shudder* i have no words for this, just the taste of vomit in the back of my throat

4) "Shepherding a Child's Heart" by Ted Tripp p.154 Tripp says 8 months old
is old enough for a baby to be beaten with a "rod" on their bare skin.

*i may faint from the stress on my heart from these...

*I myself would like to add in the Gary Ezzo books. Babywise/Toddlerwise, etc. It also directs parents to slap a 7 month old for throwing/dropping food on the floor while eating. I personally believe it encourages some form of neglect for commanding parents to leave babies to cry until the parent says so.

And the titles alone make me want to vomit, because they're so far from the Bible, that I have read anyways. I look at my child who is now 11 months and I literally get sick to my stomach reading this, looking at him, thinking that there are parents out there who might really be spanking a baby younger than him. All of these previously mentioned books make children out to be animals, wild animals needing to be tamed and beaten into submission. There's no love there, it's not love to beat your child to obey. It seems it's a contest whose children can make them look like the best parent?

I know there is plenty of abuse and neglect going on in this world, be it out of anger, uneducated parents, drug addicts, whatever the case may be. What really gets me is that parents, loving parents, read these books and believe this is right?! Maybe because I have a child psychology and development background that I understand a lot more about children's needs, cognitive abilities at certain ages that it makes me that more upset, I don't know. But, somehow this is different than uneducated, lazy, drug addicted, abusive "parenting" because they're researching and choosing it, under the name of Christianity. This is one of those things that totally turns me off to "religion", not God, but "religion".

Saturday Morning Post

Quite the busy week has been had. Never mind that I am literally running around the entire county (and Monroe county is big...bigger than Ontario or Yates county) so my gas budget keeps going up. Fortunately I get reimbursed for mileage so that does help. But running from the far corners of Webster, to Hamlin (twice) and Honeoye Falls is a bit hard on me...and my vehicle. Especially with 2-3 visits per day. Yeah, it's just craziness.

Highlight of the week: Kian is now saying "uh oh" and "kitty". He's been trying to say kitty for awhile, but it's definitely recognizable now as "diddy". He's been imitating my intonation and syllables when I say things like "uh oh" or "get down"-to the cats, or "thank you" but it's never sounded like the correct sounds. Until Sunday he said 'uh oh' when he dropped his cup over the side. I was quite pleased, that he could say it AND he got what it meant. I'll try not to think my child is the smartest thing ever.

Work of the week: we have been painting our family room downstairs. All of it...and I mean all of it. We first steamed the wallpaper off. Then primed the entire room. Including the wainscoting and woodwork walls. 2 nights of priming, followed by 2 nights of painting white walls and trim. Then Thursday we painted the actual color on the walls. It's called silver plum, but in reality it's a very light gray. I almost wonder if I should have gone a shade darker for more contrast against the white. However, the room looks much, much bigger and brighter. And to open it up more we switched couches with the upstairs living room. The black leather ones look much better down here with the light gray paint, and the green one goes better up stairs...so that was a tiring project, with a nice outcome.

Yesterday however, Kevin and I began feeling ill. I had heard from clients and coworkers about this 'bug' going around. And sadly, I came down with it and threw up last night. No, it's not any symptoms of pregnancy, trust me. Not this month. So after that I actually felt quite a bit better. So hopefully it was a short-lived 24 hour thing.

This weekend is supposed to be beautiful weather-wise. I plan on tilling my garden area today and buying the vegetables to get them going. I love having a garden. It's totally the highlight of my summer. Last year my garden fell prey to many a weed and being newly postpartum I didn't really have the time or energy to combat them. It yielded some harvest, but not as much as the previous year. So, this year will be a good one, as I plan on expanding my garden size as well. Maybe I'll let Kian help pull weeds =)

Sunday I think we're going to grill with Kevin's parents. Monday I plan on taking Kian out to the parade in Rushville to see everyone I haven't seen in forever, and meet their babies I've never met, and let people meet Kian who have never seen him... Should be interesting.

And I'll insert some long overdue pictures...

Numbers

The good, the bad and the evil:



38-pounds I gained during pregnancy



47-pounds I lost post-pregnancy



35-hours I work per week (on paper anyway)



1-the hour Kian sleeps for nap, per day, at daycare



3-the minimum hours Kian sleeps at home for naps



3.95-price of gas at the middle eastern run gas station



3.79- price of gas at BJ's using American gas



11-months old Kian is



1-shows I watch regularly (House, yes that's the only one I care about)



58-number of clients I have (yeah it's way too much!)

But, here's the number that really irks me: 12

12=1

12 months, which = 1 year. As in Kian is almost 12 months. But, it aggravates me because it is seen as this magical number. As soon as a baby hits 12 months (his first birthday) all these magical things are supposed to happen. Things like: discontinuing breastfeeding or formula feeding for whole milk, no more baby food, only table food (not an issue here as we've introduced it slowly from early on) and bottles are gone, cups are the new bottle, although there is more variation on when pacifiers can go, expectations to use spoons, cups, talk, etc.

What bothers me most is that it's just supposed to happen that magical day the baby turns one year old. So tell me why Tuesday is okay for all these things, but not Monday when the baby was 11 months and 29 days? This is much like all 16 year olds magically are given licenses. They are all not ready for this, nor should every one of them have it. And thank God there are more measures in place to weed those who should from those who shouldn't.

But back to my rant. I spend minimal amount of time in the pediatrician's office. As long as my child gains weight/grows, and can bang 2 blocks together they're happy. Which I am fine with because my extensive Early Intervention and child development experience gives me an upper hand over some/most parents they see in the office. But... as we're nearing this "magical" number I really am becoming more conflicted and confused. I wasn't confused about too much before, I researched, I decided and then I acted. I'm not giving him whole milk, disgusting! I know there's people who would walk around with a cow stuck to their mouth all day if they could because they love milk so much. I'll go into the milk thing in a later blog.

I guess I wonder if babies get confused or upset because parents literally just change things on that magical number day. Like, they have bottles one day every few hours with formula, then it's onto cow's milk in a cup with meals, not every 3 hours. It's a change. Maybe because I am not so good with change that I want to make sure I don't overwhelm Kian with lots of change. I am over the whole pumping at work thing so that I will be done with around his birthday. That doesn't mean I won't let him continue at home to make transitioning easier. From what i read as long as children have protein and calcium (from any source) that's what they need, then there really isn't a need for cow's milk. I buy Kevin organic milk because he refuses to give up milk. I don't do much cold cereal so I don't have a need for milk. I do love cheese however...

This is really the first time I've felt unsure of my parenting. And I think it's more so because I am working and he's in daycare where I can't always see what's happening. I've let him lead in many areas, feeding especially. He let us know he was done with pureed foods early on and so I let him take it to table foods. My final thought is to again let him take the lead and make the 'magical' one year old transitions as he will, but without gallons of cow milk. He does seem to like rice 'milk', but really, he's not eating cold cereal so he doesn't really have a need for 'milk'. And since I'm being totally honest-the kid's only had juice about 3 or 4 times in his life. Even though it's all fruit juice, it's full of (natural) sugar and a filler most of the times. The boy loves water, thank goodness, which essentially is all that is needed along with food. (do you ever wonder who came up with the idea to milk a cow and drink it and make it into cheese? were they watching a baby calf feed and said "me too?" ...things that make you go 'hmmm')

So, I guess in wrapping up this long post...I have come to no conclusions. Other than that I know Kian uses a sippy cup just fine and since he only gets a bottle at daycare I have no qualms about discontinuing that. I guess as long as he eats a well-balanced, well-rounded diet and gets his nutrients and maybe some vitamin supplements I won't worry about discontinuing breastfeeding (when he's ready) in exchange for cow milk. Right?

things on a highway

Here's a list of things I have seen over the last week of driving for work on the expressways here in Rochester (390, 490, 590):

1 pink, puffy winter coat

1 black boot1 red sneaker (why is there only ever one shoe, not the pair?)

1 maroon sweatshirt

1 exersaucer (yes, baby exersaucer)

1 black t-shirt

1 ball1 garbage bag, looked to be full

a few boxes

1 deer

1 turkey

several raccoons

1 possum

2 woodchucks

1 2x4

2 hub cabs

and the best:1 child's plastic picnic table, in primary colors (oh yes! on the side of the express way!)

Saturday Morning Post

Actually, it's afternoon. But, an early morning trip to Wegmans followed by a child's nap, putting away groceries, scrubbing the entire fridge, washing and putting away dishes, sweeping and mopping floors, dusting and cleaning windows will rather quickly turn morning into afternoon. And Kian's still sleeping...going on 3 hours. That's fine by me, I get the house picked up, he gets to catch up on all that sleep he misses at daycare all week.

So, this week had it's ups and downs. Sunday my parents came up and I ended up cooking my own, and my mom's Mother's day brunch...and cleaning up...hmm how's that work? It was good though. Short.
Monday was just an ordinary work day. Recovering nicely from Strep.
Tuesday was my birthday. I had to work, in the past I've taken the day off, but my boss had scheduled things for me before I even came back, so no luck. I made it a shorter day though. Lingered around eating breakfast with Kian, dropped him off to daycare later, and cut out right after my meeting around 3. We went up to the beach to walk around, play in the warm sand (and of course we forgot the camera!) then had dinner up there. I got some good presents =)
Pretty much the rest of the week was the typical, work, dinner, bed routine.

Kian has begun actually sleeping at daycare. Still no morning naps that he likes to still take here, but he's been sleeping over an hour, 2-3 times this week. It's simply amazing what having a consistent teacher will do for a child eh? Yes, there is finally a full-time teacher in there. Hallelujah! And I like her, she seems laid back and relaxed, and she always asks me the last time he ate and had a diaper, etc. This is great so that she and the staff know what he'll need when, and allows us to just have a conversation. I've always tried to give other staff a run-down but they never seemed interested...so I'm glad to have her in there.

Kevin avoided the strep fiasco, not sure how, but he did. That's good for him, he was sick enough over the winter. We're all feeling great again. It doesn't look like we'll make it to the Lilac Festival...boo! Today started out rather warm and sunny and I thought "oh here's my chance" but it's dark and pouring rain now. And tomorrow's supposed to be worse! And to top it off, my darn lilac bush only produced ONE bloom this year. I have no idea why! Last year it had several, even though it was a baby bush. I'll have to do some investigating.

Now that my house is clean I think I'll do a little researching on some flowers and plants I need for my gardens around the house. We have one shade garden in the front of the house and a very full-sun spot out back. I'm not good at figuring out what blooms when so that I always have a continuum of flowers blooming. I have a lot in early spring, then not so much, then a lot towards fall. Any suggestions? I'm going for more hostas out front for shade I think, some flowering hostas, and one shady small bush...maybe?

A Letter

To the "guy" behind us in Friendly's tonight. (I say guy, because your actions didn't make you a man in my book.)

You were there with you son, who looked about 5, and maybe it was his mother, or your girlfriend, I couldn't tell the family dynamics. If that was his mother, she sure didn't stand up for him or protect him.

You made my dinner, which was supposed to be nice and easy-going, very tense. The entire hour (at least an hour we were there) you ragged on that poor child. You never let up, picked at everything he did, how he sat, how he ate, how he talked. You incessantly told him "I'm going to beat you". And asked him "do you want me to beat you?".

Not only did you say those things, but you swatted him several times with your hand on his head, arm, etc. You also pulled/twisted his ear and made it red.

It broke my heart. I felt so much for this small boy. If I hadn't been trying to divide my attention between my meal, my son, my companions, I would have thought harder and come up with something to say to you. Or at the very least I may have smiled genuinely at that little boy and told him how well behaved and quiet he really was. (there were other children screeching and running around terribly, your child was not doing any of those things.) But, unfortunately I didn't.

What I did do was to say a little prayer and ask God to give the boy a hug and watch out for him.

Sincerely,
A concerned citizen and parent.

Baby gear I like, and that I find unnecessary

Besides the obvious: crib, highchair, changing table and dresser that is.



Stuff I love and definitely would want again:

*Baby sling-better than a carrier/front-pack/snugli and way more ways to carry them from newborn phase until toddler (I even have a baby Bjorn and prefer the sling! less weight on baby's legs too)


*bouncy seat-great for when I needed to use the bathroom, a quick shower, throw laundry in, before Kian was sitting or would stay on the floor much, also helped keep the cats out of his face


*bassinet/co-sleeper


*bathtub-with newborn hammock, this was nice when he was brand new and slippery, the hammock held him securely so I could wash him.


*Nuby sippy cup, this was a great beginner cup with no valves, easy to suck out of, he learned quickly on this one -around 4 months.


*books! I've read to Kian from day one and he loves books now.


*a mother's intuition-you do know what your baby needs, wants and will do the right thing

*gowns, lots of them

*washcloths, lots and lots of them

Stuff I see no need for/never used:

*swing (I refused to let him get used to sleeping in there, didn't want to break that habit down the road, so he used it while we ate dinner a few times, that's all. Once he was sitting up or rolling he had no interest)


*wipe warmers


*bottle warmers


*stuffed animals (people give you way, way, way too many)


*baby wedges/sleep positioners-baby usually wriggle out of them anyway


*books like Babywise/Toddlerwise, To train up a child--talk about extreme parenting...


*disposable bibs, place mats or other disposable things...save the earth-wash it

*color changing spoons/cups/etc. -with all the gadgets and gear parent's don't even have to think anymore! Baby Einstein will teach baby how to walk/crawl/sign/talk, gadgets will tel you if food or drink is too hot/cold, you don't even have to use your own finger for it anymore! totally overrated.

*changing pad covers-one more thing to wash or throw in the laundry. the plastic pad could go right in the tub to be hosed off.



Stuff that is nice to have around, but not a necessity:

*Pack-n-play, it definitely is great for traveling, especially over night. I also used mine downstairs for Kian to nap as a newborn and it had a bonus changing table so I didn't have to climb the stairs immediately postpartum. I never used it as a play pen thing.


*exersaucers-Kian just didn't and still doesn't care much for them-hates being confined (he did however love his jumperoo for about 5 months until crawling) I advocate floor time a lot, but it got used a bit during dinner prep, even with Kian protesting.


*bumper pads on cribs-yes I know doctors say no, but when Kian began sitting up/pulling up in his crib I put them in because his poor noggin got whacked too many times


*pacifiers--my "frenemy"

I'm sure there's so much more I'll think of but I needed a yawn-inspiring post for a Friday that didn't require much thinking...feel free to add on...

fail?

I'm having internal conflict lately. I feel as though I've failed. Yes, it's something I put upon myself.

I've had to supplement a bottle a day of formula for Kian at daycare.

I know, *gasp*, how horrible, that's what some of you are thinking. But, in some way I feel as though I've failed the goal I've set. I really wanted my child to get through life without fake "milk", especially in that dry powered, smelly form. My goal was to breastfeed for at least the first year.

When I was home it was easy. Going back to work it hasn't been so easy. I have a great pump and up until Monday had my own office to do whatever I needed to do in. I think it's more the stress of work, and a natural progression of less milk as he approaches a year and is eating more table foods. He still wants and needs me first thing in the morning, but I couldn't keep up with two bottles he needs for daycare while I'm gone. So he gets one formula bottle now... not for lack of trying everything ever known to man-er woman, to improve it.

But, every time I shake up that smelly stuff I feel a twinge of guilt.

Time? where are you?

This month has been very busy already! The first weekend was full of cake making and baby showers. Last weekend was Mother's day and it's just flying by. Even day to day I wonder where my times goes. Work is crazy busy and I barely have two seconds to breathe there either.

I realized I hadn't updated Kian's totsite in awhile--oops! www.totsites.com/kgbaby So I spent some time tonight adding his new skills and fun stuff on there.

I have had the movie maker program open on my computer for about a week and haven't edited the videos yet.

I could list all the things I haven't done, or need to do, or neglected, or should have done...but instead I'm going to say what I have done:

I snuggled my baby boy before bed. I read him stories and kissed him goodnight. I prepared his bag for the next day. I worked hard at my job today and made clients feel important and met their needs. I made a wonderful dinner for my husband and *allowed* him to take a nap while I blogged. I petted my cats and fed them (okay -after Kian threw their food and water all over the kitchen). I had 3 chocolate chip cookies and didn't feel guilty about it because it was my birthday yesterday. I walked on the beach in the warm sand with my husband and baby boy yesterday and had fun. I sent a note to a friend. I made plans to meet up with old friends. I supported my coworker. I lost another pound in the last week or so-without trying! I emailed Jon at work to entertain him during the long day. I cut and enjoyed my purple Irises. I got flowers delivered! I enjoyed the warm sun today. I enjoyed my life today.

Saturday Morning Post

My blogging has become quite random since returning to work. It's not enough to suffice Jon and his hoped for readings at work. Too bad. I rather like this Saturday morning post, it allows me to sum up the week before starting anew.

Monday was a normal day, went well. Kian was still not feeling well or eating anything.
Tuesday he wasn't even taking a bottle at daycare. I'd had enough of all the diarrhea, snotty nose and now not eating. I took him to the doctor to take care of all his sicklies once and for all.
Wednesday I began feeling that fullness in my ears and throat and getting scratchy. I went home a tad early and by Wednesday night was feeling it full-on. I went to bed with chills and I must have had a fever that broke in the middle of the night because I woke up sweating and had to rip off the 4 blankets, socks and pants I put on to keep warm.
Thursday we stayed home and rested together, Kian and I that is. Although, I am not sure how much rest i got with a 10 1/2 month old who was feeling rather well by now.
Friday I opted for the doctor and she bypassed the throat culture because she saw immediately the nastiness and white spots in my throat. Thank you very much for not gagging me!

Unfortunately, we are back into this ridiculous-ness at work again. How many times does the supervisor, director and Human Resources have to be in on all this and nothing getting resolved and petty, self-esteem-stoking people whine and complain about every little thing? I am so over it. It's either that or the rest of them party hard and talk about their exploits. Call me old, or old-fashioned or whatever, it's extreme. I have no problem walking out if the games continue or they try to rope me in or nothing gets fixed. I returned there because it was easier than learning a new job with a baby in daycare for the first time and all that going on. I go in, do my job and leave, that's all there is too it. I have a life and I don't need coworkers feeding my ego or liking me to get my job done. So, that's that.

We're into the Mother's day/birthday/Lilac Fest weekend. I love that Lilac Fest is free. We may go tomorrow or if not, then the following weekend before it ends. We got our whatever that rebate tax thing is called back on top of the rest of our rebate so we got a new grill and I got the carpet cleaner. Yay. The rest goes into savings and to paying Kevin's blazer off. I really don't like to spend money. So we have to visit Kevin's family tonight, my family tomorrow...do I get a say about how I want to spend my first mother's day? What if I wanted to stay home all weekend in my bathrobe and be fed grapes in bed? Hmm....not grapes, how about stuffed mushroom caps and cheese fondue? Yeah, that sounds good!

Now we move onto the spring/summer projects. The final one in the house being the removal of the wall paper in the family room and then painting it. Outside we need to fill the pool hole and shape up our flower beds again. They're not bad, just some more mulch and weeding. And that darn woodchuck hole that ruined my side flower garden. Here's a hint: in my research to get rid of this darn animal it had all these traps, fox urine sprays, poisons, etc. and expensive pest removal--I said let me try something free. If fox gets rid of them, why not cat? well, my cats aren't fighters, so I went down to the litter box and got a scoop of used litter and spread that around the woodchuck hole. And what do you know? He's never come back! How's that for quick, easy and free pest control!!

Happy weekend!

Sickly

Why oh why since he's been at daycare has Kian continuously been "sick" ?! I expected the usual daycare runny nose. But then it was the diarrhea. Then there was the yeast rash and thrush. Which isn't all that uncommon really. But...then he didn't want to eat and was miserable. I finally had it and took him for his first 'sick' doctor visit. We've just always gone to the Well child checkups. So he had an ear infection along with the viral cold and viral diarrhea. And of course the meds for the thrush and the ear infection cause...what else? Diarrhea. Wonderful.

Then Wednesday I started feeling fullness in my ears and throat. Then got chills that night and woke up Thursday with the worst ear/throat pain. That ear pain that's down so deep, and you avoid swallowing, chewing, eating, etc. Yeah, strep throat. No wonder Kian wasn't eating. He obviously had that too, but there's no way to get a 10 month old to open his mouth wide enough to see or even swab it. But, if I get it then obviously he had it. It's also going around at daycare they told me. Sheesh Louise! I'm going to send him with a mask! So, we're all on antibiotics now and on the mend. Yay.

Side note: I had a long discussion with the director on Monday about my concerns about things that were going on. She validated it (of course, they don't want to lose business) and said she'd track down who was in the room and discuss with them and if necessary put more training in there. I know that it's not easy to hire daycare 'teachers' but I strongly suggested some consistency in at least the infant room. I have been putting everything in writing, every suggestion, every request, etc. about Kian is in writing to them so that they have something to refer to. I don't believe for one second someone will remember what I tell them when I drop him off and they're feeding breakfast to 8 other babies. That way at least it's there. So, we'll see. Tuesday I went in and there were 2 teachers who have been in there before and supposedly will be in there full time from now on. (college kids on summer break of course, but it's a start) At least now they are aware and so what if I'm the annoying mom or picky mom or whatever, that's my baby. And I pay you. So there. Anyways...if things don't improve I will definitely take him elsewhere. I can't decide though if other places would harbor less illnesses or if that's just a typical daycare casualty...

Let them eat cake

Baby shower cake that is! Here's the cake I made for Elissa's shower. Turned out better than I expected. My mother in law said "this is what I want it to look like" and that was it, so I figured the rest out. Pictured it in my head and voila. No recipes, patterns, step by steps. So it was do or die...well really it was do or go to Wegmans! The top is an overfilled round 9 inch chocolate with vanilla marble cake. The bottom is a 9x13 yellow cake with chocolate marble. I cut the corners off the bottom, stuffed half of them up by the "neck" area. Tinted my own frosting, used whatever tips I thought would look good. Flesh color obtained by using pink and yellow coloring. Lips and eyes are black and red licorice strings from the bulk section. I don't have smooth spreader thingies so there were some "line" things in the frosting. To finish it off, the final touch was the rosy cheeks. I put a drop of pink coloring on a paper towel and then just dabbed it gently on the frosted face. Stars were bought in a jar of sugar stars. I'm awfully pleased with myself!

daycare input

I've worked in daycare. I know there's lots of turn-over, I know it's not a high-paying job, I know all about it. And maybe even unfortunately, I know about this daycare that Kian attends, because I worked there. First, I thought that was a good thing because I knew some of the people-mostly director/supervisor staff, as the teachers are constantly changing. I knew some of the families that still went there, so that's got to be good for something right? Infants that I had are now 4 and 5 and still in the same daycare.

I also remember that they never made me get First Aid training until months after I started, like 6 months I think. I remember they never, ever made announcements or sent letters about changes in staff, how that would affect classrooms, numbers, etc. I know, because when my assistant left, nothing was said. And when I left, gave over 2 weeks notice, not a single parent knew until I told them. When Kian's first teacher left, no one told us. Well, she did, the day before she left. No letter, nothing. Nothing to say how this would change the classroom, how they'd move kids here or there. Nothing. So since she left there has been no consistency in who is in the room, it changes daily. Only good ol' Miss Mae stays the same. She comes in every day at 4 and has since before I was there, to be with the infants. We love Miss Mae.

I know that I can't expect them to be like me, be as good as me, or to do exactly what Kian needs all the time. But, some of the time would be nice. They have all the doors open to the hallways, lights on all day, music going all day, blinds open, etc. Now, when I worked in that infant room we would dim the lights/blinds, close the doors sometimes, etc. to allow the babies to sleep. Knowing that my child will not sleep like this and sharing that with them, I thought maybe they'd try to do at least one of those? Nope. The other kids sleep through anything, because they've been there since day one. So, Kian's out of luck I guess. Therefore, Kian does not sleep.

You all know about the food issue. I've been trying hard to be flexible and brought in acceptable substitutes, but that doesn't seem to matter either. I know that no daycare, no person, no center, no nothing will do exactly what I think Kian should get or what I feel he needs; no one can be as good as mommy. Realizing that is the first step. But, I feel there should be a reasonable alternative.

Please, if I am being unreasonable, you other parents, daycare workers, tell me. But, almost 5 hours without a bottle is NOT acceptable. Not using his diaper cream after I've repeatedly asked, because of how horrendous it was? Is it THAT hard to spread a little cream on? I'm being flexible on the food, food I didn't want him to have in the first place. It seems they don't even care if he sleeps either. They say "oh he's so happy, even if he doesn't sleep here". Yeah, but they don't bring him home cranky, crying, throwing himself on the floor, miserable.

I've always hesitated about home daycares, even though I'd be willing to do it myself, because of the lack of other adults to regulate what really goes on in the home. More so because I don't know a lot of people and good home daycares are usually found by word of mouth and experience, not just randomly picking up the phonebook. But, sometimes I wonder if he'd do better in a home setting. Then I worry there might be too many 'big' kids who'd run him over. I can't win. I don't want to be the parent who can never be satisfied or happy with anything. But I think I am picking the right things to be upset about. He comes home with dirty face and clothes every day (even though I bring him bibs and they keep bibs there) but I haven't complained about that. Or how every day he has some random pacifier in his mouth, even though I brought one that stays in his cubby with his name on it... I can overlook that stuff, but not being given a bottle in almost 5 hours, or never getting cream on his rash...

Thoughts? Suggestions? Anything?

Thank goodness it's Friday

Just a little blurb about my Friday.

I woke up on time, so did Kian, meaning he got up early. Got ready, ate, got the bags packed and headed out the door. Crap- the door! Yep, I left my keys in the house. Luckily, I had Kian and my cell phone with me in the car/garage. Hmm...what to do? I called Kevin's cell, left a message. Thought, maybe Elissa had a key and was around. Nope. Called Kevin at work, had him paged. His answer, while trying not to laugh at me? Pry the screen off the window on the porch, pull the window open, climb in and get the keys. Right, sounds simple.

We are getting rid of an old desk and that was outside by the house, underneath one of the windows. So I pry that screen off, of course that window was locked. So I climb on the garden bench in front of the house, pry off another screen. Yay. That window was open. Now, I had to go get the step ladder to reach up into that window. Kian is in his stroller watching the craziness at this point.

Mind you, I had high-heel boots on, like cute, dressy ones. Neighbors must have thought I was insane. So, I hoist myself up there, swinging a leg over onto the new desk that is inside the porch. After first moving a cactus, two cats and a paperweight from the desk. Dust myself off, close up the window, lock everything, run through the house, grab my keys, lock that door, go out into the garage.

Then, I'm putting Kian in his carseat, buckling everything up and making sure I have all my bags. What next? Just as I am about to get in and start the car the RG&E guy comes walking up the driveway. No biggie right? Wrong! Our meters are inside the house! So, I have to unlock the doors again, let him in the house, into the basement, wait for him, turn the lights off, do a cat check, let him out, lock all the doors up...finally leave.

Later than I wanted to leave, later than I wanted to drop him off... but okay, fine. Get to work with like a half hour to spare because I have a hair appointment. Yes, during work. I have comp time to use and that's when I could get it cut. It's been 6 months since I had it cut, it sorely needed it. Severely. Majorly. I figure that will be relaxing, getting my hair done, being pampered a bit.

Wrong, again! It was incredibly busy and every step she did with my hair was stopped and interrupted by her needing to wash someone else, dry someone, start their dye, etc. Holy annoying. Took almost 3 hours! I had to rush back to work to meet the girls for lunch. That was the best part of the day. We are doing the Wegmans/Preferred Care "Eat well, Live well" challenge, so we have been doing fruit and veggie lunches to boost our intakes for our team to win. Talk about good food.

So, the rest of the day wasn't too bad, except that I didn't get much done that needed to be done, but it's fine. I retrieved Kian from daycare, and what do I find? He's sleeping--at 4:40 pm. Okay, I figure it's his second nap and he actually slept today! Nope. It's his FIRST nap, starting at 3:45. The kid was up at 6:30 am. Seriously, way too long to be awake. Then I look closer at his daily sheet: one bottle at 10:20, the other at 3 pm. THREE! Almost 5 hours between bottles? Are you KIDDING me? And yesterday they called me exactly 3 hours from his first bottle, because I had only sent one, asking me where was the second. I let them know that Kevin was getting him early and it was at home. But, today they let him go almost 5 hours between bottles? That's just not acceptable to me.

For breakfast they were serving eggs so I gave him his apple cinnamon puffs with the fruit they were serving. Fine. Well his sheet says that all he ate all day was: puffs, fruit; lunch-fruit, mix vegs and puffs; snack-crackers. Um, what? This is exactly why I brought in back-up jars of food. So... he ate fruit and crackers all day long? Wonderful. I will be having a discussion with the director about this on Monday morning. I am starting to seriously consider putting him somewhere else. I'd just feel bad that he finally got used to people there, kids there, then I'd change him. But, the more I think about it, I remember I really liked the other one too, but told myself I was familiar with his current daycare because I had worked there... that's another issue for another blog and another day!

So when we got home Kian and Kevin settled on the couch for a nap...at 5 o'clock. I figured I'd go shopping and pick up dinner and Kian's prescriptions because of his nasty diaper rash. Kevin wanted chicken wings. I got to Wegmans and decided to get his prescription first so I didn't forget. Good thing, because they hadn't filled it yet, even though the doctor called it in, because Kian was a "new" patient. So it wasn't ready. I went shopping for the rest of my things and the wings Kevin wanted. I set them in the cart, only to have the box pop open and spill wing sauce all over my entire cart. Fun times! Not a lot of sauce, but it just went everywhere. Like every box or can had a drop of sauce on it. The poor cashier kid had to keep washing his hands. Oops.

And we ate dinner at 7:30 pm, too late for my belly. And now it's bedtime so that means this crazy day is over and tomorrow will be better! As long as that baby shower cake comes out perfect....