Oh how I love going out to the movies with the gals. One gal, two gals, a gaggle 'o gals, any number will do. Even if I have to prop up my eyelids a bit the next day, I just love it. Becky, were you TRYING to make a silly face (like you'd ever do something like that...) or did we just catch you at a bad moment? Sorry, I'm posting the picture anyway! Cheers to girls' night!
I think it has now been three years since I was out to dinner with The Misty (we were at Bombay House....mmmmmmm.......) and she and I were chatting up books we were both reading. She told me about a romantic tale by the name of Twilight...never heard of it. She insisted that I had to read it so I ordered it and its sequel New Moon and got to reading. I will confess that I read both books within about four days while my household crumbled steadily around me. I didn't think the books were especially well written, and actually the style was a quite heavy handed. (Yes yes, we know he's gorgeous, but enough about your breath stopping at the sight of him.) But something about those characters and story pulled me to a place of memory and emotion that just exploded. It sure was fun. And it was my own little private escape.
I must say, I'm very happy for Stephenie Meyer, who's daydream has blasted her off into major stardom, wealth and hopefully additional creativity. (Read The Host if you haven't; it's much more grown up and well written.) However, since the entire planet now knows all about Twilight and all it's goofy lovey-doveyness, my own private little escape has been slightly overrun. At least overpopulated. And exposed my silliness to all. Some people feel the same way, some people don't, but everybody knows! Kind of sad.
I did get the chance to go see an early showing of New Moon the other night with The Becky, and I'm not going to deny that it was a treat. Bundle was a perfect little lady and slept right through it, bless her. She must have sensed just how much mommy needed a night out, even if she was tagging along. It was super fun. Much closer in vision to my ideas than the first. One comment to the movie makers: If you're going to fill a movie with someone like Jacob who is so large and brown and lovely, you can't throw a pasty white skinny boy like Edward at us. It just doesn't compare. No offense, Book Edward. Movie Edward needs a wax and a trip to the gym. Okay, I confess. No matter how silly, I will always love it and will continue making a mental trip to the land of Forks when needed.
My Baby Has Returned!!!! Oh MAN. The past few weeks have been a little rough. Ever since we transferred her into a crib, my perfect little sleeper has been a waning miracle, down to the point where something was really truly wrong. Lots of screaming. Little did I know that the crib was the key. I mean, I wasn't surprised that she had some transition time between sleeping in her car seat and sleeping in her crib, but it was the actual lying flat that flushed out our trouble that I think has been here all along. Too bad I didn't figure that out a month ago. I have been going nuts doing all sorts of things to figure out the problem. She used to sleep 8 - 10 hours at night and by this weekend it was down to 3 hours at a time max, usually with interruptions in between. So I was trying to drink a TON of water every morning wondering if because I was drinking most of my daily water at night so was she. She's been miserable during her meals, crying and pulling away and not eating much. I have tried eliminating all sorts of foods from my diet wondering about upset stomach. I've had a yeast infection and been treating her for yeast too. I actually think that all of these things have helped her a little and are not crazy, but still poor Bundle has not been herself. I was trying to not just think that she had decided she was not a great baby after all, but it sure felt that way! Finally I called the on-call doc yesterday to ask a couple of questions about the yeast medicine she's been on. Well, he said he had a different idea and proceeded to describe her exact behavior. It's reflux. She's not spitting up at all, which is usually a big key to reflux, but I guess there's something called "silent reflux," in which there is little or no spit up. He recommended an over the counter medicine to give her every time I feed her, and if that works, we'll give her a once daily med. Well guess what. I gave it to her yesterday, and her first meal after that was the first peaceful one she's had in a few weeks. And guess what. I gave it to her last night and she slept soundly in her bed from 7:30 last night to 5:00 this morning. I woke up so surprised and excited that I actually couldn't go back to sleep. Ironic, right? I was so excited to get some sleep that I couldn't sleep. And right now she's zonked out for the longest nap she's had in I don't know how long. And it all started with her lying down flat in her bed.
Sorry to be obsessing here, but seriously, when all I do is be a mommy all day and something is wrong with my child, there is little else I can think about. Usually I find there is not one clear answer for most behavior, this time, it seems that we've found it. Ahhhhhhhhhh.
Good bye, spooky burps, Hello sleep. And hello again to me going out to late movies, one of my favorite things. YAY!
Just so you know, she's going to stay "Bundle" for a while. I got a split vote on "Cookie" and "Posey," plus a few requests to just leave her name alone. So, I think I'll keep her as Bundle until she's one and then we'll go from there. In case you care.
So Bundle pulled a fast one on me. She decided to sit up. She's of course not perfect at it - no way am I leaving her on the kitchen floor like this, but she's a lot more steady than I thought. It was Bitty who wouldn't sit up much at all until she was eight months old and then decided What the Hey! and was not only sitting but crawling and pulling herself to standing all within two weeks of each other. That is so Bitty for you. Bundle seems to be a little more on the slow and steady track, praise be.
I'm wondering how many pictures I really need of Bundle sitting. Today I think I took about 20. When I went back through to edit them I couldn't delete any! Pathetic, I am. Who knew.
I am so excited! There is this weedy little area in front of our house (okay, there are several of them...) but this one gets really pretty every fall. Yesterday the sky was cloudy in just such a way to make all the fall colors really pop. I decided to try for a little photo shoot of the kids. I knew that the second I said "pictures" they would throw fits, so I just asked them if they'd help my wish come true. (Manipulation can work wonders, I've found.) Thus, pictures were successfully taken with only brief shedding of tears on Bitty's part after she accidentally let Bundle roll off her lap. Ooops. Bundle was fine, Bitty cried for a while. After a few hugs from Daddy we got snapping and I'm pretty thrilled with the results. I might actually get pictures printed and hang them on my wall, believe it or not!
And I have to throw in one of sad Bitty because it kind of melts my heart:
The last words I heard before I made a run for the door just now were, "Mom, what is that horrible smell?" It happened to be dinner that my kid smelled and couldn't handle. And he had a point. I totally messed it up, came very close to sitting on the floor and crying, and decided instead to head for the nearest Little Caesar's. Luckily I have a husband who not only shooed me out the door all by myself but placed Jack Johnson's Curious George soundtrack into my hand on the way. Smart Man. I turned up Jack and let him sooth my wrinkled brow all the way there. I'm wondering if the cashiers at Little Caesar's are getting familiar with the sight of a half crazed mother, hair askew, baby snot on her shoulder, shoes untied, careening in there and demanding pizzas at any cost.
Bundle is not sleeping well. Bitty has started waking up again. (Melissa, I have to admit that after reading your blog I really have nothing to complain about, but still.) So Bitty, who seems to need a lot less sleep than other kids, comes wandering in our room the other morning at 5:00 just as I start feeding Bundle. Troy shoos her back to bed with the promise of a kiss from me after I feed the baby. He leaves to go to spin class. (Yes, he's awesome.) I feel sure that Bitty has gone back to sleep until she comes back in and tells me that it's taking me a really long time to come give her a kiss. So she climbs in bed with me and lies there chatting quietly with herself until 6:30 when Bundle wakes up. Gonna be a great day. What's up with this 5 a.m. thing I'd like to know?
In an effort to Look On The Bright Side, I did take some very cute pictures of the kids in bed together...
...but the day kind of went down hill from there. Sensing that I might be in distress (a weeping mommy is surely a sign of something gone wrong, I'd say) Troy, in an act of selfless heroism, (and a dash of self preservation) took Bitty with him on an errand to Layton, during which ride Bitty gave herself a nap. They took just long enough that he had to drop her off at school and I didn't see her until after I had a two hour nap with Bundle. Good work, Troy. Today's crisis averted.
I think it was later that same day that Bitty uttered a pretty cute prayer. It went something like this: "Bless that everything will be yummy, even spicy and mint."
I'm just going to state here and now that I am now celebrating Thanksgiving. Just because Halloween is over does NOT make it Christmas time yet. I know the stores and television commercials would like to make you think so, but I am here to say Oh No You Don't! This week as I packed away the hanging jack-o-lanterns and dangling spider decorations I very resolutely placed my fall leaves on the front door and dried corn on the piano. And now I'm going to just sit around and Be Thankful. Happy month of Thanks, everyone. I'll pull out the Christmas tunes later.
Oh how I love going out to the movies with the gals. One gal, two gals, a gaggle 'o gals, any number will do. Even if I have to prop up my eyelids a bit the next day, I just love it. Becky, were you TRYING to make a silly face (like you'd ever do something like that...) or did we just catch you at a bad moment? Sorry, I'm posting the picture anyway! Cheers to girls' night!
