blood draw in the morn

so, in about 24 hours i'll be watching my husband lock an iron grip around our child & hold her arm as straight as possible.

i'll then watch the devil a lovely phlebotomist, who is simply doing his/her job, stab her with a pitchfork something that probably looks a lot like this:


(image courtesy of google)

i imagine the writing will be in English & not Chinese...i hope.

i'll watch my child's face go from joy, to confusion, to shock, then pain & anger. she'll probably start wailing & trying to escape. however, the husband is strong. he'll hold her as still as possible because he knows i'm counting on him to do so.

i'll be standing off to the side- out of sight & out of mind- ready to swoop in & rescue my child as soon as the vial is full, the needle has been removed & a Dora band-aid has been pressed into place.

i'm betting the whole thing will take less than 2 minutes- right? right?!?!?

i sure hope so.

now i'm no pansy when it comes to shots for myself or my kid. i know it'll be over in 10 seconds & i know she's more pissed about being held down than getting jabbed in her chubby thigh.

but this is different. they're literally taking blood from her tiny vein. this is a child who will barely sit still long enough to let me wipe her nose- how the hell are they going to get her to sit still so they can find a vein & suck out her life force?

i mean, what ever happened to finger & heel sticks?!

gah. so we'll see. hopefully i'm overthinking this & blood draws from a 1 year old are easy as pie. no- even easier- like easy as boxed cake.

again...right? anyone have a kid that has had their blood drawn? is it all that bad?

33 weeks 5 days stats

OB Appt on Tues @ 33 Weeks 4 days

- 33 weeks 4 days
- belly measured @ 33 weeks 3 days
- 149 lbs
- excellent BP
- heartbeat: 140's bpm
- no swelling
- baby#2 is still head down

i finally went over my LMP date & my ultrasounds with one of the OB's & insisted that they correct my due date. they had me over a week behind & kept insisting i was measuring ahead.

i wrote it all out- dates, u/s, measurements- etc etc & when the OB looked over it she agreed with me (duh)
so we're finally on the same page.

i go back in another 2 weeks, i'll get my Group B test (hello anal swab) and then it's every week (omg)
and if i make it to 40 weeks again- we'll set an induction date (if i don't look like i'll be popping out a kid anytime soon)

alex got to stick around in the ute until 41 weeks 3 days so we'll see if #2 is kinder.

and because posts are boring without pictures- i'll leave you with some of alex from a baby shower we attended a few weeks ago:



"oh hai. this isn't about me? i have to stop screeching?"



not drunk- high on crepe paper.





"that's a baby- right?"




"sorry- your stroller is belong to me now. k thnx."

all about alex. and chickens.

(p.s. i'm going to start telling you what "we're" wearing & wear to find it. mandy over @ harper's happenings does a "Steppin Out Saturday" thing & i like it. so yeah.)

so this weekend we had fun with alex. whatever alex wanted- she got (within reason).
i figured after a week of falling down the stairs & bashing her face into my mother in law's coffee table- she deserved it.

friday = stay up super late. like, 8 o'clock (that's later for her). she played & ate & walked around & talked & ate some more & etc etc. and i didn't put her down until she started rubbing her eyes:






dress: babyGap
shirt: Target
leggings: Target
shoes: PediPed

i swear my child isn't always 12 inches from the television. honest.
so after the eye rubbing started, it was time to get our pj's on. and since we've refused to turn on the heat until Nov (that went out the window on friday night because i felt guilty after looking at this next picture) this is how she walked around for a bit:


sweater: gift
pj's: gift
mocs: Amimoc

yeah- as adorable as she was, i figured i should bite the bullet & get my house to at least 63- right? i mean, she has a nice little space heater that toasts her room right up, but the rest of the house was hovering around 55 or so. even i (the human furnace) was starting to question our sanity.

anyway- saturday dawned bright & early (regardless of the later bedtime). saturdays are my day to get up, so up we were.
she had her bottle, cuddles, breakfast & watched Ni Hao Kai Lan (omg her favorite show). then we got dressed, played, took a nap & waited for daddy to get up:






hoodie: happy green bee
tights: happy green bee
mocs: Amimoc

the husband said she looked like christmas. i'd have to agree. but she was obsessed with those tights- not putting them on her wasn't an option at 6:30 in the morning. so christmas it was.

after mr. bird finally got up- i got dressed:




jacket: Target (circa 3 years ago)
top: delias
tank: The Limited
headband: H&M
jeans: delias
shoes: Birkenstock

and we headed out. i had a kick ass Yankee Candle coupon & we also needed dog food & cat litter (KA-CHING). so we headed off to the mall.

now the mall makes the husband twitchy & annoyed. so in order to get him through it we had to eat first. it's been awhile since we've been to Bertucci's- so it was decided.

we sat next to a table full of teenage girls & their mothers- so you can bet that alex put on a show. amidst all the "omg she's soooo cute!" & "omg, can you even believe her! i want to eat her face!!!" she did manage to ingest some food. and WAY too much of daddy's lemonade. that would come back to haunt us later.




she also tried to eat the dough that they give little kids to play with. we were forced to take it away- which resulted in an ear pitching scream. omg.

so we ate, got our candles, picked up some coffee for the husband & headed out.
as the mr went to put alex in her carseat- bam. the lemonade made it's re-appearance. pee. super.
so a quick bottoms change & we were on our way. next stop? Coldstone! i won some gift certificates from work so we decided to treat ourselves & our underweight child.

alex was enthralled by the ice cream- like, face pressed against the glass enthralled:




the hoodie: happy green bee
leggings: Baby Legs
shorts: Target
mocs: Amimoc

yeah. whoa! i tried to get pics of her actually eating ice cream- but to no avail. we were the only ones in the store so she was running all over. the two young ladies behind the counter were neglecting their jobs & playing peek-a-boo with alex instead. her head might have exploded. not sure.

after wrapping up our outing- we headed home. alex fell asleep & i decided to leave her be:



so while she slept- we let the chickens out of their coop to "explore":



chickens are so freaking weird. one minute they're happily pecking away & the next minute a leaf falls & they all stampede back to the coop. however, they had no fear of things that they should- like say, a cat?



gary started off "stalking" them- and then when he realized that they couldn't have cared less- he gave up & started rolling around. "ladies, perhaps we can be friends? eh?"
i don't think they're too interested- they probably recognize him as the creeper that likes to sit outside their coop & stare at them. pervert.

after awhile we herded them back in & i headed inside bake & cook & clean & etc etc. after a solid 2 hours, alex woke up in a very sunny mood. we spent the rest of the evening playing & listening to her scream "NOSE NOSE NOSE!!!" (that's her new word) added bonus? she can point to her nose- and touch it- and stick her finger up it. she also likes to share these talents with other people's noses. so yeah. darling.

she passed out around 8:30 & still managed to get up before the sun.
sunday is daddy's day, so while i "slept" in, alex & the husband did whatever it is they do.
when i got up, alex was eating breakfast, which consisted of about 4 pieces of toast & an apple. literally. whatever works.

afterwards i gave her a bath & dressed her for the day:






dress: Target
leggings: Baby Legs
shoes: Pediped

she wouldn't stop moving & my lighting was horrible- but i managed to snap a few shots.
sunday consisted of staying in & a quick run to Target. for once, Target didn't have what i needed (GASP)- but i managed to snag an adorable outfit that i can't wait for her to wear.

after more playing, more "NOSE" & more apples (freaking apples)- bedtime came & down she went.
i went down myself about 2 hours later & spent the night dreaming that i was married to Matt Damon (which is odd, considering that i don't have a "thing" for him).

and then- hello 4 o'clock in the AM. meh.

alex vs the stairs

so yesterday, as i arrived to pick up alex, my mother calmly informs me that alex fell down the stairs.

i stopped stuffing things into her baby bag & simply looked at my mother."what?!"

to which my mother replied, "yeah, i turned around for a second to put jayden (my niece) down and the next thing i knew she was falling down the stairs. i'm not sure how many stairs- but i'm 99% sure it was only a couple. i grabbed her and checked her over and she's fine. she only cried for a minute and then she got down and went to play with jael (my other niece). she was playing and laughing and eating just fine so she's alright."


i looked over at my child, happily sitting in my sister's lap & laughing at Veggie Tales. she did indeed appear "just fine". in fact, she finally noticed me, waved, got down, walked over & said "HI MAMMA!" she then demanded that my mother pick her up & i gave her the head to toe checkup.

other than a couple small bruises on her face she was completely fine. nothing was broken, she could walk, talk, eat, play, sing, tell me "NO!"- all the things that she normally does.

i then looked over at the stairs. stairs i've known for the past 18 years. stairs that all of my younger siblings have fallen down (while on my watch might i add) and lived. stairs that are fairly shallow & well carpeted. stairs that, while are responsible for my kid's bruises, really had no say in the matter.

so as i stood there looking at my obviously fine child, i was at a loss.

should i get mad & shake my finger?
should i scream & cry & beat my chest?
should i scold my mother for not keeping a better eye on my child?
should i kick the stairs?
should i build a time machine so i could go back & stop this from ever happening?

honestly? what do you do in a situation like that? my mother was obviously apologetic, but she was also very matter of fact. alex fell down a couple steps- but these things happen & she was fine.

gah. so i left it at that. i finished collecting her things, had her wave bye bye to her "neinea", strapped her in her carseat, kissed her cheeks & headed home.

on the way home, alex fell asleep. now this isn't uncommon- she'll often squeeze in a catnap while riding in the car. but as i looked in the review mirror & saw my child drifting off i was suddenly siezed with fear.

"omg! she's asleep! she must have a concussion! you can't sleep with a concussion. no, she's fine- she's just sleeping. is she breathing? OMG! why does her neck look like that? OMG IT'S BROKEN! OMGOMGOMG!"

and then i stopped myself. this was silly. of course she's breathing. her neck always looks like that & it's perfectly normal for a 1 year old to fall asleep in the car. chill out t.

so i did. i thought about it & realized that while i wasn't angry with my mother, i was, with good reason, slightly annoyed. but still- should i even be annoyed?
yes- this could have been avoided if she'd been paying better attention- but then again, she's human. and she's watching 3 toddlers. and i myself have taken my eyes off alex for a minute only to turn around just in time to watch her bash her head into the wall.

these. things. happen.

blah. so we got home & i unbuckled my sleeping child who immediately woke up & said, "...puppies? APPLE!?"

we went inside. she ate dinner. she wobbled around. she laughed & played with her puppies. she had a bath. she tried to drink bath water. she told me "no". she smacked me because i told her "no". she pooped. i gave her some of my juice. she asked for "more? more?"

she even fell a couple times. while i was looking right at her. go figure.

the husband got home & he basically reacted the same way i did. not much we can do, right?

she played with dadda & then went to bed. i checked on her all night, watched her sleep, watched her breath & made her wake up a couple times (because that's what they do on TV) which pissed her off but comforted me.

and this morning i woke her up, she fussed as usual, took her bottle, let me dress her & sat with dadda for a minute.
i then drove her to my mothers where she happily ran around her playroom & gleefully said "buh bye" when i left.

good God. she's fine. but i'm still not. stairs are stupid- why do we even have them? why can't we just have ramps? ramps are safe, right?

anyway. so there you go. alex fell down the stairs. but she's ok. and chances are, if your kid falls down the stairs- they'll be ok too. i promise.

in other news- i had my teeth cleaned this morning & i officially hate my hygenist. my mouth is throbbing. why does she have to be so aggressive?! what have my teeth ever done to her (besides make sure she gets a paycheck)?

::cry::

weekend

my child was wide awake at 1 o'clock this morning. yes- 1 in the AM.

bright eyed & bushy tailed. i went in to soothe her (ie: stick paci in her mouth & tell her to "go back to sleep!") but my efforts were for naught.

when i stuck the paci in her mouth i got a resounding "NO!". tried again, "no, no, no!"
one more time- "NO MAMMA!" and as i stood there, bleary eyed & exasperated- wondering why my child hates me, i got the next round 1 year old brain waves:

"puppies?"
"milk?"
"...dadda?"
"OOOOOH!"
"WOW MAMMA!"
"NO NO NO NO!"
"up?"
"APPLES?!?!?"
"fhtnshayr...osnagdutmgsls!?"

wtf?! it's 1 AM!!!!

but it didn't matter. she was awake. so i grabbed her & her blanket from the crib & brought her to our bed. i got her settled & she started babbling about God knows what. and laughing-and pointing at nothing (because, hello. it's dark at 1 AM)

she laid there for a good hour, kicking me, pinching me, pulling my hair, patting my head, squirming, taling, whining- and whatever other methods of torture a 1 year old can think of at 1 o'clock.

somehow the husband sleeps through this (must be nice) but i had to lay there & take it. lot's of :

"SHHHH!"
"ALEX!"
"that's ENOUGH! go to SLEEP!"
"Alex...NO!"
"...yes, i'm mamma. no, puppies are sleeping!"
"...i love you. i swear."

you get the idea. i have no idea when we both fell asleep- i just know we did because i woke up & it was quiet. praise the Lord. and then my alarm went off like 20 min later. dear God.

then when it was time for her to get up, she was tired & cranky. i wonder why?
anyway- i have no idea why she was wide awake. i hope it doesn't happen again tonight-because i might cry.
although i must admit, i had to laugh when she told me "NO!" to her paci & when she started babbling about puppies, teddy bears & milk. she's adorable- no question about it.

anyway- besides the early morning wake up, this weekend was stellar. a bit tiring (sometimes baby#2 really takes it out of me) but nice:





saturday morning. up too early & very pleased with herself.











sunday- if there are 2 things she loves more than blueberries, it's "dadda" & "kai-lan" and that's all there is too is.

oh yeah- one more thing:





apples. this kid loves apples. she'll eat an entire one by herself, and then come begging for more.

and that was our weekend.
well, one more thing- our pumpkin (it's actually for a contest at work- i'd better win! well i didn't actually carve it- the husband did. but whatever)



you can tell what it is, right?
alex sure can- every time she sees it she screams out "PUPPY!!! ...APPLE?!"

adorable red moccasins? FOUND!

so, remember the red mocs that you all loved so much?



many of you asked where you could snag a pair- but ALAS! i had no idea, since i found them via a consignment store.

well- after much internet searching, the Holy Grail has been located! when i finally clicked on the link that brought me to a full page of them- i cheered. i feel like i should get some sort of award for being able to find stuff on the internet- cause i'm pretty good at it. no lie.

so, i quickly clicked & snagged a couple pairs. they arrived yesterday & i practically did a jig as i opened the box:






now you might be wondering why i grabbed 2 pairs of the same color? well, i did it for you guys.

yes- that's right. you can thank me later.

the red pair i have are a size 3 & they JUST fit. like actually, if i'm honest with myself- they're too small. real snug like. but just wearable. so i assumed a size 4 would be best- but then i wasn't sure. what if a 4 was an ok fit but still too small? so maybe i should get a size 5? and there are no sizing explainations- so i was at a loss.

so i bought 1 pair in each size. 4 & 5. Amimoc Infant (4) & Amimoc Toddler (5).

i'm happy to report that the 4's are PERFECT! like literally- perfect. they're big enough & she has room to grow but they're not too big. she can walk in them just fine & her little toes can breathe. i'm guessing they're last her through the winter & spring.

the 5's will probably fit her starting this next summer/fall. maybe- considering that her feet never grow- maybe through next winter. we'll see.

so there you go:





adorable mocs.

now where to get them? Sears Online! go ahead & click here: Squee worthy mocs

now, they're not cheap. $32.99 for a pair of infant shoes isn't a drop in the bucket. but they're hand made in Canada & the quality is amazing. Sheepskin & Sheepswool & gorgeous stiching & coloring. plus, the pull ties are a dream come true- they make taking them on & off a breeze. no squeezing in chubby bebe feet- just slip them on & tie them up!

BUT HERE'S THE REALLY AWESOME PART!!!

right now Sears is having a Buy One Get One 50% Off Sale! and free shipping over $49.

so that mean you get 2 pairs for $49.48! that's a total steal people. TOTAL!

i almost fell over when i saw the final price. in fact- i'm considering ordering a couple more pairs for baby bird#2...squee!

so yeah- i expect 99% of you to run to your computers & start filling your Sears cart with baby/toddler mocs. because it's the right thing to do.

de nada.