I Just Wanted to Sleep Tonight

Kids in bed, husband watching hockey, kitchen clean, and I am sitting in bed with the computer.  Time to do my daily blog thing.

Where to start.  I had some excitement this evening when I ran up to the drug store to buy non-Tylenol acetaminophen for the little guy.  Last night was not pretty.  He was up about 5 times which means I was up about 5 times as well.  I had forgotten how very bad it is to be disrupted that many times at night.  But since Tylenol did there big recall last weekend, I had no pain killer for what was an obvious case of teething pain.  So I sucked it up and tried to comfort him as best I could. 

I decided I was not going to have another night like that, so after getting the little guy to bed tonight, I drove up to the 24 hour drug store for the meds (yes, I know, I should have thought of this earlier).  I turned off our street and managed to get stuck behind an 18 wheeler and about 15 cars trailing behind it.  Not a good sign.  I made it up the hill to the drug store and ran to the "Children's Remedy" section.  I couldn't see any acetaminophen.  So I walked back to the pharmacy (which I had called before I left to make sure they had the drugs in stock).  Some guy was asking a bunch of annoying questions like, "and what is folic acid?," and I just sucked it up and waited.  I saw a woman pick up a pregnancy test and internally wished her luck.  Then boom, a piercing alarm sounds and lights start flashing throughout the store.  We all looked at each other with panic in our eyes.  I saw one guy practically jump out of his skin. 

I stood in shock, and then realized there could be a robbery in progress.  Just my luck!  I only wanted some baby meds so I could sleep tonight and of course, there has to be a robbery.  Many, many scary thoughts raced through my mind (like, "I can't die!  I have 2 little kids!").  We all somehow clued in that it was the fire alarm, and as there did not appear to be a fire, we all just stood there.  I couldn't hear myself think, but I managed to ask the pharmacist about the generic brand's location.  I then ran up aisle 9A and located my drugs.  I sped up to the cash....where there was a long line...and tried to hold my ears (it was deafening).  I was then ushered to a self check out by a helpful store employee where I managed to pay for my purchase.

I ran to my car and heard the fire truck sirens fast approaching.  Please, please, please let me get out of the parking lot before the fire trucks get here.  And yes, I pulled it off.  I got outta there and managed make it home in time to read the babe a bed time book (in French, no less).  Now was that all really necessary?  Guess we'll see how tonight goes.

Snowmagedon 2010

As you may have heard, we are snowed in. This has been a dumping of epic proportions and we have stuck in and close to the house since Friday night. We lost our internet and television service for 3 days and are now being hit again with a second "blizzard." But the streets have not been cleared from the first snow bonanza. This sure ain't Ottawa (as in, Ottawa would have the streets cleared!).

Being stuck in the house with 2 kids for this long has been interesting, to say the least. The rules are getting lax and the days seem to be so much longer than I thought possible. I miss preschool. I miss our routine.

The little guy is cruising all over the place and on Sunday crashed down hard onto a piece of furniture. He got a bluish bump on his head very quickly and I almost panicked...OK, I did panic. As we couldn't drive anywhere easily, my mind raced to the worst possible scenarios. After putting some ice on his forehead bump, I realized he was going to be fine and I could be grateful we were not in need of any emergency services.

The poor kid is teething and has some molar action going on in his little mouth. This has made him a tad miserable. We are also working on the weaning and both of us are finding it tough going. He is really not giving up without a fight and is proving to be quite the dedicated breastfeeder. I am having to stick to my guns and push the sippy cup of soy milk option. Weaning the babe was such a breeze compared to this.

Speaking of the babe, today she woke up with a double eye infection. Where in the world did this one come from? Luckily I had held onto the remains of our last bottle of Vigamox and was able to start her on the medicine immediately. I also was able to locate a prescription from last month which should tide us over (it was a back up in case the little guy caught his sister's last eye infection). My husband braved the metro and made his way to the office where he also was able to hit the pharmacy. Hopefully the babe's eyes will clear up soon, or else we have to find a way to get her downtown to the pediatrician which will be no easy feat as I'm not willing to drive.

Anyway...I'm too tired to get into much else. But I wanted to give you an update just in case we lose the internet again...or worse, our power. We have been blessed so far and I hope this next storm doesn't push us over the edge. DC (and our house) wasn't built for this kind of snow.

It's my Mouth, Mama!

Last week the little guy was up screaming for a few hours every night. He just wouldn't let up, and even after my husband would check on him, and ensure he had a pacifier and wasn't full of poop, the little guy would continue to cry off and on for what felt like an eternity. It just wasn't a pretty scene.

I was sad the little guy was so upset, frustrated, angry that he wouldn't just go to sleep, desperate, worried and really exhausted. I was really hoping it wasn't a new nighttime sleep trend. Because that is not a trend I can live with.

After 3 nights, it seemed to pass and he went back to his "normal" routine of getting up once a night to eat (and yes, I know he is a spoilt brat but I figure he deserves a snack after a 9 or 10 hour slumber and I'm too much of a wimp to cut him off).

Yesterday I happened to have a glance in the little guy's mouth. To my surprise, I saw a new tooth which had obviously broken through on the bottom quite recently (a lateral incisor). There is another one making it's way out now. According to the experts, these little teeth come in at about 13 months old, and guess who will be 13 months old this Sunday?

Perhaps this sleep craziness and the new teeth are all related. And perhaps the little guy needed some Tylenol. Perhaps next time I should worry about more than poop and pacifiers. Alas....we can never be perfect at this parenting thing. There are just too many bases to cover.

The Time Gone By

I know it's been a long time. I have written many a blog entry in my head, but have not managed to get that entry typed into the computer. I am going to try harder.

There are so many things to tell you about, but it would take more than one entry. A few developments include: the babe can zip up her own jacket now and the little guy is crawling all over the house and pulling himself up on things. We have some great days together, and we have some really bad days together. I suppose kids are like us...they can also have a bad day (or night).

Lately my son has been driving me nuts at night and my daughter has been driving me nuts during the day. The little guy is teething and waking many times a night screaming. We have tried everything (plugging and re-plugging the pacifier, teething tablets, Tylenol), but he can be one agitated and stubborn little dude in the wee hours of the night. Sometimes it breaks my heart and sometimes I'm just super annoyed. The exhaustion is getting to me and I hope those 2 top teeth pop all the way out soon.

The babe is in an extremely difficult stage and my husband and I are at a loss of what to do. We really don't know how to handle her and all the discipline in the world does not seem to work. We keep trying and she keeps pushing. I know she's not even 3 yet, but things feel out of control sometimes. She is home from school today due to an eye infection (oh joy) and we have already had a few good battles. I'm not talking little battles, I'm talking about battles that left me crying in the kitchen wondering if I should go back to work because I'm not able to deal with my own kid (again, the exhaustion doesn't help)!

In other news, my folks were in town last week for a visit and it was absolutely lovely. The babe actually behaved for the first 4.5 days of their visit which was a beautiful thing. I also think the little guy got used to them and felt fairly comfortable hanging out with his grandparents by the time they had to go. I also turned 34 last week. I had a smashing day (that began at 5:00 am) filled with amazing friends and family, yummy food and drink, and good vibrations. I still, at times, find it crazy that I am 34 now, married, and have 2 kids. Where did the time go? As each birthday passes I guess I realize that I am just me and will always be me....even if I'm a year older. Age is just a number.

I'd also like to mention that my very sweet husband got me a most thoughtful birthday gift: a bound copy of 24-7 Mommy (up until I took that very long 10 month break when life got a little too crazy). It is very cool to see all my writing in a book. I am glad I have a record of my time as a new Mom and I continue to hope it helps people out there. Motherhood is a blessing but it will bring you to your knees in ways you never thought possible.