wow - apparently I'm dirtier than I thought..

I've had a couple of emails about this photo from below.



Let me just clarify - that's my ARM and a shadow of Em's head on it. NOT my boob (I just can't say breast - sorry)!

If only my boob would look that good - I'd photograph it for ya'll for sure!

SPF - ummm stuff

So Kristine at Random and Odd wants to see some of our stuff. In particular -

This week: WASHER AND DRYER, YOUR ROBE, A FLOWER

Here are my washer and dryer. Purdy, huh?

Here is my robe - I bought it to take with me to the hospital to have Julia. It's still in the suitcase from the hospital when I had Emma Leigh.

Here are some flowers. I had to quickly run out the front door and snap a shot without letting Anna or Trooper run out the front door. Not my best - but you get that they are flowers!

Late to the game...

I know that I'm months late on this but damn - Kiera Knightley was sooooo HOT in King Arthur when she's all painted blue and wearing leather and kicking some Saxon ass. Here is a pic to show you what I mean...



I'm pretty sure she won't be as hot in Pride and Prejudice (which I hope Netflix sends me SOON - I've been waiting!) - but who knows - maybe she paints herself blue and puts on a leather corset for Mr. Darcy.

2 more hours - I can do it!

Emma Leigh is back to her old tricks - she was up all night - alternating eating with screaming. FUN! N0, I'm not complaining - just commenting.

The only hard part was that I knew all night while this was happening that Dan was going to get up at 7a and leave me for the day to sub. It's sooo much easier to be up all night with a screaming, frustrating baby when you will be relieved for 1-2 hours of sleep at the end. Did I mention that she's pretty much been sleeping since 8am?? Of course she is.

He should be home around 3p and then Anna and I will quickly dart into the bedroom to get some sleep.

I can do it! I fed all three kids their lunch - did some laundry and picked up the kitchen. I'm afraid if I stop moving I'll pass out.

Squishy baby

yes - more posts about the baby. Stop your groaning.

So - does anyone else have experience with a baby with a squishy face. Em's face is super squishy still - her forehead protrudes significantly from her face - and the end result is that she has a roll that runs along eye brow and rolls over her nose. It isn't there when she's laying back but if she's sitting up - WHOA.

Don't worry - I'm not fretting about it. Just wondering if anyone else has a baby so fat they have rolls on their nose like this!

Alright

Because I no longer want to give her to the band of traveling gypsies... or gouge my own eardrums out of my head with a plastic spork... I will share pictures of the relaxed Doughbaby.

I think this stuff is straight from Heaven....

Now - I'm not complaining - but man is this kid ever throwing us for a loop!!

After 2-3 days of her screaming at every opportunity sporadically placed with 1/2 hr - 2 hour naps and lots of eating... we were ALL bruised and beaten down. All of us were tired and cranky and not enjoying life with our darling little one. Anna was even cranky, and you just have to know how desperate things are when she's out of sorts.

So - the remedy? Apparently gripe water is the coolest thing EVER. Being the Nervous Nellie I am, I only gave her 1/2 of the recommended dose. She appeared to be much better for a couple hours after. We followed that up with two more of the 1/2 dose (which she spit out). Then right before bed we managed to get another dose down with no problems.

This kid is transformed. She slept from 2a-9a. Yes, I broke down and had to wake her up then to nurse her - but she's been a different kid all day. Sleeping comfortably alternating with peaceful alert times.... you know - like a normal newborn.

Did I mention that I'm a new mommy having had 7 hours of sleep!!!!!!!!

Nuff said

Sunday Six - Sleepovers and Vacations

Miss Kelly over at Missing JT Snow has us asking our kidlets all kinds of questions.

Here are Julia's answers to the Sunday Six!

1. What is a sleep over?

A sleepover is when your friend is coming over to sleep.

2. What do you take with you to a sleep over?

A sleeping bag and a pillow

3. What is vacation?

a vacation is when you go on an airplane and go or drive

4. What do you do on vacation?

if you go to maine or michigan or disneyland you get to go to a swimming pool at the hotel and you get to go in Michigan to my cousins house.

5. What do you do after a sleep over?

"you have breakfast, and then you have lunch and then you have dinner"

6. Do you like vacation?

"Yes I do"

Ha ha ha ha ----

Seriously - 2 weeks post partum Lane Bryant FINALLY comes out with a fat people maternity line. DAMN THEM! After three pregnancies of wearing crappy clothes... cute stuff for fat people.

WHOo hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry - for some reason the text to this dissapeared.

Yes in deed - that is the caterwaul of a woman who had a baby sleep from 3a-9a!! I did wake up three times to check on her (even though she's 4 inches from me in her bassinet!) but she did great!! Then - Dan took her and let me sleep from 10a-12p! Wow - that's almost what a normal person sleeps.

Yeah Em!

This girl has style...

or maybe not... ;) And what's with this pose!!

Baby product reviews...

FISHER PRICE PAPASAN SWING - I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this swing. I wish they had one that would fit my 315 lb butt in it. It looks soooo comfy and cozy and Emma Leigh loves this thing. It can swing side to side like a cradle or front to back like a traditional swing. It has different choices of sound (I personally love the night noise option - with crickets chirping...)and it has 6 different speeds. It's a little fast at first for a newborn, but we've been putting her in it without the swing on and she still loves it. We haven't even gotten the bouncy seat out yet - the only place she goes outside of our arms is her swing, bassinet or carseat so far. Thanks to my good buddies for chipping in for this peice of gold! love you guys!

SOOTHIE PACIFIERS - We also switched pacifiers and that is helping a lot. I was hoping to go with the good old Nuk again as it was Julia's favorite, and we stocked up on them for Anna and she hated them, so we had a lot of unused ones. It appears that Emma Leigh is also less than thrilled with Nuks so we tried the Soothies and she LOVES it. She sitll hasn't quite caught on how to do it but she's getting better. It used to be that the only place to get Soothies was at birth in the hospital - but the First Years makes them now - AND they have a line of bottles that uses the same nipple. Rock on.

GRACO - SNUG RIDE INFANT CAR SEAT - We chose the Lindsay print - and we get compliments on it everywhere. I don't know whether we attached the canopy on wrong or not - but it is not very easy to move and considering how often you raise and lower the handle - it's in the way more often than not. We had an Evenflo before and never had that problem. As a car seat it's great, the only problem we have is that it's so close to the seat in front of it that it's hard to pull the handle to unlatch the seat from the base.

GRACO - DUO GLIDER STROLLER - We chose the Metropolitan style, so far - we love this stroller. At first it was super hard to maneuver - and then we realized the front brakes were on! Now it's a breeze. Emma's carseat above fits in it. It is a very awkward fit and it's almost impossible to see her in the seat because of the placement of the parent tray. The other annoying feature is that when the canopy is up on the back seat - it covers the parent tray. Other than those issues - I'd say this one is a winner. It's fairly easy to collapse and although it's huge (takes up the cargo bin area of our Honday Odyssey) it's smaller than some others. We chose this one because we wanted a front/back style instead of the side by side because of Anna. We didn't want her having lots of access to the baby. We also wanted to be able to use the infant seat. So - thanks to mom and dad for this - I think we'll have a couple years of good use out of this puppy!

So far that's about it for things we've used for the baby so far... :)

I wanna rock and roll all night...

Well - scratch that last post. Emma didn't allow for much sleep last night so apparently she just has her days and nights mixed up a bit. Of course - she's alert and awake almost all day today.

Just trying to keep old mom on the ball.

So sleep

Now - when is it TOO much sleep? Of course I'm not talking about me. Emma Leigh has been teasing me. She slept ALL day, after making sure that I didn't get any sleep last night - and that her Dad was gone today so sleeping was again just out of my grasp. I think she's been awake for 1/2 hour total all day. I think she's even mastered eating while she's asleep.

Is this normal? Don't worry - I'm not trying to change the situation - I just want to know at almost 2 weeks what qualifies as normal newborn sleep and what is lethargy.

She even sleeps well at night - it's just that at night she sleeps in 1/2 hour to hour chunks of time and then wants to nurse. She eats frantically for 5-10 minutes then falls back asleep. I get her settled in her bassinet, wait 5 minutes to make sure it's for real - then settle in. It takes me 15 minutes to fall back asleep and by the time I'm sleeping again it's 15 minutes till she's up and ready to go again. Oh yeah - letting her cry it out is not gonna happen - especially not at this age.

Now - lookee here - you need to look no further than my last post to see I'm not asking for advice - I just want to be reassured that her excessive sleeping is normal.

She's sleeping, so that's my cue to try and get some sleep myself.

Oh yeah - here's a funny story. Anna wanted me to cuddle with her to take her nap - as per our normal routine. "momma, night night??" I told her that as soon as Daddy got home from teaching we'd go take our nap. He wasn't in the door for 10 seconds before she had a hold of my hand and was dragging me into the bedroom for naptime. "ok momma, night night, NOW". She cuddled with me for all of 1 minute before she was snoring. Gotta love a girl who knows what she wants.

Lemme give you some advice...

Don't give me advice right now.

Things I'm tired of hearing - especially when I didn't whine about it to you first...

*"Honey - you need to sleep when the baby is sleeping" * uh huh. What exactly do you want me to do with the 22 month old? Let the 5 year old babysit??? I don't think so. Trust me - if I could - I would. I don't see you offering to come and sit with the big kids so I can sleep.

*"oh, you must be so happy Dan's at home with you." * Yes, I am. But see - what I'd be VERY glad of - is for him to get a kick ass job that keeps him out of the house for 40-50 hours a week (or in the home office- but employed). A job that makes him happy. A job that pays our bills and has health insurance. OH - and don't even mention this one to Dan - he likes it less than I do. His response is "yes, I'm estatic to be unemployed"

*the phone ringing at 7am* That would be because I finally fell asleep for the first time at 645am. It's even more annoying when it's the school district calling to ask Dan to sub. This now means that I have to get up instead of sleeping with my FINALLY sleeping newborn. OH - and of course this is the day that I have to wake all three girls up to drop Julia off at preschool. Yes, that's right. All three girls were sleeping - and in the mother of all slaps in the face - I must wake them.

Oh - and if you are my husband - please do not tell me the following:

* that our 24 hour old baby has jaundice because I drank alcohol while I was pregnant before I knew I was pregnant (oh yeah - saying this to a post partum mom might get you killed, and if you aren't dead yet - it will be brought up many, many more times in your lifetime as proof of you being a shit)

* that you can't take turns with the baby because you might have to get up and "work" in the morning. As if I don't have to get up and work. Oh - and don't give me that smug look when you get the call to go in to work and add "see, I knew I'd have to go in". I heard your ass snoring for 7 consecutive hours last night.... how? oh - because I was awake all night and I STILL have to get up at the same time you do. I still have to operate a motor vehicle, feed kids, change diapers, try to clean, deal with screaming kids, deal with temper tantrums. Trust me - teaching PE is not any harder, and I didn't get an hour lunch break away from the kids - with other adults.

* "I can't stop the baby from crying, she's obviously hungry, so take her" OK - just because a baby is crying does not mean they are automatically hungry. In fact - what did I end up doing to calm her??? wrapped her in a blanket and patted her butt. No food was involved. Just because you don't have boobs that lactate does NOT mean mine solve every problem. Oh and that white stuff in plastic bags in the fridge and freezer - that's breast milk too - take a turn and feed her!

Are you getting a feeling that today is not a good day to mess with me? Tomorrow's not looking any better....

HNT

This is about all I'm willing to show of this post baby bod...

What is this Half-Nekkid thing all about? Go check out the man Osbasso to find out!

Emma Fly Catcher...

In between

Let me start off by saying that the whole genetics thing is amazing to me. As babies - my kids cover the spectrum.

Julia was super chill baby. She rarely cried, slept great, and spent a lot of time just hanging out and looking at the world around her. She was cute - to be sure - but her personality took a while to emerge. My brother called her the Adamantly Watching Baby. She was a natural nurser and from the beginning was an easy feeder, I didn't even mind the 2 hour nursing sessions because I didn't have other kids to chase and it was quality bonding.

Anna came out with a smile on her face. Her personality was evident from the moment she was born and is rarely absent. She enjoyed a good cry (she WAS born with a broken collar bone - that would make anyone cry!) and slept on her own schedule (which wasn't much) but was generally happy go lucky, but very alert and actively interested in the entire world around her. Anna was a difficult nurser - caused me soooo much pain and in the end it worked out ok - but she was super fast - so she'd latch on and 5 minutes later she was done.

Emma Leigh is an interesting combination of both so far... besides looking like a mix of both of them... her personality (if you can call it that at this stage) is also part Julia and part Anna. If Emma Leigh is awake she is either screaming full force or quietly sitting and observing the world around her. She has a weird sleeping pattern - that is wholly unpredictable, also a mix of her big sisters. She can and does sleep for long stretches (5+ hours) just like her big sister Julia, but is unpredictable and mixes it up with 1/2 hour - 1 hour naps with no real pattern, more like the Banana. As for her nursing... yep - you guessed it - also part Julia and part Anna. Sometimes she'll nurse for an hour on each side, other times 5 minutes and she's done. Luckily as far as latch and pain are concerned - she's much more like Julia than Anna.

Notice here that I'm comparing but not necessarily judging these differences. I just can't wait to see how they continue to grow and change as they get older. Well not Emma Leigh, she can stay exactly as old as she is now.

Way Back Wednesday - 70s style!

It's Way Back Wednesday brought to us by the lovely Kept Woman. This week's theme was suggested by TX Mom. - she has challenged us to find the perfect photo to represent that "70's" Style.

Yeah - I'm so glad I get to play this week...

So - here is a beautiful outfit in green....

Ohhh - and yet another vision in green... Seriously - I'm just styling, huh???



So - did you play??? Let TKW know!

Blogger is making me ANGRY

ugh.

Super Nanny

Man - tonight's family makes me feel like I am the best mom EVER. WOW. I'm just so grateful that our lives aren't quite that chaotic.

Now - in other super mom news... I went out and about with all three kids today - by MYSELF! Can you believe it???? I took Julia to preschool and picked her up - ON TIME. Then I took Emma Leigh to get her blood tests, then to her appointment. I managed to stop in one store and buy something. I know. I'm amazing. Then we had to scour the mall for a bathroom for Julia. At that point my pelvic separation became painfully clear and I didn't think I'd make it out to the car again. I was kicking myself for parking at the back of the lot for extra exercise. I made it though! All three kids made it.

Emma Leigh's bili-level went down again. Yea breastmilk! She gained 1.5 oz back - which wasn't what they wanted to see - but it was a gain so we're good.

Oh - where was Dan you ask??? Teaching a class of 4th graders! Yep - Dan had his first substitute teaching gig. He survived too.

She's sooo squishy....

This little thing is just the squishiest baby ever. Squishy cheeks... squishy body... she even sleeps with her feet on her belly or chest. So cool.

When she's not screaming her head off she's fun to have around. Oh - and she slept like a pro last night so I'm loving her even more...

WHEW....

She didn't have to be hospitalized. Her level was at 17.6 and they hospitalize at 18-20.

So - they ordered her a phototherapy bed - and we spent a miserable night fighting to get her to keep her little protective eye wear on and from ripping the protective drape off. FUN. Going against orders we decided to give it a break and let her sleep and let me sleep. That was nice. A whole hour of sleep! Then they called to make her appointment for her blood draw - and no more sleep. But it was nice. An hour.

Emma Leigh nursed like a pro all night. She hates formula so I think she's had about an ounce.

We have kept her in the sun all day - napping in her diaper in her comfy Papasan swing. Nursing like crazy.

So - we finally called to get the results... and her bili level has come down to 15 something. Oh my. I'm so thrilled. She doesn't have to go to the hospital - or get another blood check until Monday, then she has a repeat weight check then too. YEAH! Happy St. Patricks Day to me... gotta love the Luck of the Irish!

I'm relieved. To put it mildly. My sweet baby is OK.

Apparently too yellow...

The doctor is very concerned with Miss Emma Leigh's jaundice. Her eyes are now yellow and it spread down her trunk and into her extremeties. SO - we had to go get her blood drawn to check her bili levels and the doc ordered photo therapy lights for home.

Now we're just sitting by the phone waiting for her bili levels to determine if she is going to be admitted to the hospital tonight.

PLEASE think positive thoughts for her. I'm in fierce Momma Bear mode and couldn't handle being separated from her right now.

THANKS!!

It ain't easy being yellow...

Emma Leigh is a quite stylish shade of yellow. Unfortunately - her eyes turned yellow overnight so she is off to the doctor this afternoon. CRAP.

She was up almost all night alternating between nursing and screaming her bloody fool head off. The nursing thing is good because that will help with both her weight drop and the jaundice... the nursing thing is bad because that means I had a baby attached from around 3am - 10am - pretty much continuously. I know she's getting plenty to eat because everytime she chooses to detach momentarily from the boob - there is milk everywhere.... yes, even after 7 hours of nursing.

Oh yeah - the other bad part of nursing for that long - is that now that I haven't nursed for 2 hours - ummmm - I have the biggest boobs in the history of big boobed people. Not kidding. And they have that attractive "just stuffed with huge implants" rock hard look. I have to say though - if they didn't hurt so damn bad, I'd consider keeping this as my look... my boobs haven't been this perky and upright in years!

So - now I need to get showered, get three kids dressed and head off to see the doctor over an hour away because Emma Leigh's doctor is on vacation.

I'm scared.... hold me!

This morning as I lay in bed nursing the youngling for the 4th consecutive hour (yes, you read that correctly)... I hear Julia walking around singing something I can't quite hear. This continues for about 10 more minutes.

Dan comes in to check if I am still indeed attached to the baby so I ask him what the deal was with the racket outside mydoor.

'Oh, that's your daughter selling stuff"

"What is she singing?"

"ummmm - " then giggling hysterically "Ten bucks for a lei"

"what????????????????????????"

"You'll see, I'll let her come in"

So - Julia comes in with her little plastic shopping cart full of flower leis and she is in deed singing "ten bucks for a lei"

Funny thing about blogging...

It's strange how things that seem fairly distant and inconsequential reach you at important times. I spent an awful lot of my labor thinking about a blogger that I read. You guessed it. MOE BERG!

Now - I know you are wondering what could possibly make me (and Dan) discuss Moe at length in the throws of labor?

Well - it was this blog... in which Moe introduced us again to the Peanut Butter Jelly Song... This song has just taken over the Doughkid home. We sing it on an almost daily basis - with me as the biggest offender. I also like to add my own theme.

so - once again I know you are asking - how does this apply to my labor?

Well - you can sing a myriad of different verses to the tune... none of which were spectacularly creative - but keep in mind it was early, early, early in the morning and then late, late, late in the labor! ;) So - tunes like 'It's epidural time", "up the pitocin time" and "beat the cheery OB with a baseball bat" were all popular.

:)

So - Moe. Thanks.

TA DA....

She's here!

After a fun 12+ hours of labor - Miss Emma Leigh Clare has joined the Doughkids!

She's a fiesty one and a good mix of her two big sisters. She has dark wavy hair like her big sister Julia did (but Emma Leigh has it all over her head!) and big blue eyes like new big sister Anna!

She narrowly escaped an extra day in the joint when they discovered at discharge that she's jaundiced. I guess it's rare within the first 24 hours. So she had everyone scurrying around to determine her levels and proper treatment... but the good news is we were able to leave after proving we had an apointment with her pediatritian tomorrow.

Details, details... she was 8lb 2 oz and 20 1/2 inches long. She was my biggest baby yet - and I'm glad we didn't go to March 26 - she would have been 9+ plus pounds. OUCH!

So without further ado... Miss Emma Leigh

No go...

So far no room...

I called back at noon - still no room. Now we have to call back at 5pm. The odds are good I can get in for tomorrow, but only so-so for tonight.

Geez - the only thing worse than knowing you were having a baby a specific date/time is NOT having it.

So - we just might get one last day as a family of 4.

Well - it's that time....

I had my appt yesterday and things are optimal for the big inducement tomorrow... I've started dilating (to 3cm) and having decent contractions on a regular basis.

Julia is as hyper as can be, she's talking non stop... hopping and jumping and all in all - just being spastic! She can't wait to see her grandparents and have a new little sister.

I'm in full blown nesting mode... cleaned the pantry, cleaned the master bedroom closet... did some crafting... now I'm going to make sure all the bags are packed and we're ready to go.

So - tomorrow I could be the mom to three little girls. WOW. I call the L&D at 730a to see if they have room for my inducement. Wish me luck that I can get in!

Way Back Wednesday... You put what in your hair?

The Kept Woman has us playing Way Back Wednesday...

Her instructions this week: Football Widow came up with this week's theme of

bad hair accessories of the past (bows that could eat your head,

satellite dish silver lame headbands, etc.)...boys,

you know you thought you were all

cool rockin' the sideways baseball cap and yes, that counts...

I don't have a tremendous amount of photos to chose from here,

but I was able to find two real gems.

First let me present to you ME (with my little brother) - in my finest Superhero gear.

And next - this is a picture that is repeated just about every summer of my life. The annual Kids on the Beach picture. Now it's the Kids with their Kids on the Beach photo. The year represented below I had not only the coolest "Miami Mice" shirt on - but I also had the cool painters hat - at an angle! Yeah - try and be as cool as me. Oh yeah - that's my little brother down in the very front again.

Email from my mom...

(As a bit of clarification for ya'll - she was in a very serious car accident back in August - and still has very limited use of her left hand (and she's always been left handed) that was badly broken in the accident...)

"Here's something for you to ponder with all of your infinite wisdom : I automatically have been reaching for things (primarily a pen and an eating utensil) with my right hand. Do you think this means that the left side of my brain is becoming the predominate one? What if the left and right sides start to fight over dominance? What if neither win????"


See - I'm from a family of comediennes....

Bravado... hee heee

Last night Dan and I were having a long conversation about work/job hunting, etc ... at one point I told him that his bravado was amazing...

his response, "Bravado? Is that what the space between my testicles is called?"

Ohhhhhhhh Elmo and Gordon are sooo hip!

Dave Letterman better watch out... Elmo and Gordon were witnesed on Sesame Street playing the infamous "Will it float?" (and yes, I've heard he got this from the UK's "Is it bouyant")

Could it be that the same goofy Letterman gag that seems to entertain the late night crowd is also hip with the preschool set?

Now - there were no scantily clad women - even ones with hula hoops or heavy machinery grinding against her metal plated outfit... but a furry red creature with one of the most annoying voices ever and everyone's best buddy Gordon are all we really need right?

Elmo and Gordon tested an apple (hardly Letterman worthy - but eye opening all the same) and then Zoe came along with Rocco (you guessed it, her pet rock) and tried to see if he'd float. Um - he didn't.

oh, and get this.. they weren't even playing for $500,000 in gold - they were doing like scientifical stuff. Damn that's good stuff.

It's the final countdown.....

So - what would you do with your last week of pregnancy (hopefully for the very last time - ever!)? What kinds of things would you want to get done before babies arrival?

I most likely have only five business days left until this one's arrival - so besides working on a name - what should I do?

7am

Heard on the baby monitor at 7am this morning.

Anna:

"daaaadeeeeee?" in a sing song voice (gotta love that girl - she knows who to call before 9am!!)

"daaaadeeeeee, whareareyou?"

"juyeaaaa" (who was sleeping in our bed)

"Oh no"

Babbles incoherently for approximately 2 minutes

"Daddy? Daddy? Daaaaaaaaaaaadeeeeeeeeeeee?" Still in a sing song voice - but more emphatic

"daddy, whareareyou? COME HERE"

Sunday Six - games!

"Sunday Six!" is a game where Kelly at Missing JT Snow asks us to have six questions answered. Remember, the idea is to post answers to the following six question, but the trick is to get your kids to answer them! If you don't have kids, use your imagination... Your pet, your neighbor, your elderly family member, your roommate, etc. Did you play? Let Kelly know.

Here are Julia's (age 5) answers....

1. When you play a game, do you like to win or lose?

She raises her hand to be called on - like at school! ;)

"Ummm WIN!"

2. Do you cheat (when you play a game?)

"kind of"

3. What is your favorite game?

"Princess Monopoly"

4. Do you like games with dice, balls or spinners?

SHe makes a gesture like she's spinning something... "yeah, spinners, and balls."

5. What do you say if you win the game?

"Go Ponopoly"

6. Why do we have rules for a game?

"you don't have rules, I already know how to play them. That's because I see them on TV and movies"

Long ... bad.... dinner....

So - here's Dan's big birthday dinner synopsis...

We arrived at the Mexican restaurant at 6p. They had us seated by 6:15. Good right? That was the best part of the night.

Ten minutes later we had chips/salsa and yummy bean dip delivered to our table.

Ten minutes later we get the phone call from my parents wishing Dan Happy Bday. We get to hear about my dad's last bowel experience after his Mexican food. He graciously wishes us a better experience. (I told Dan that was his punishment for answering the phone at the table!) ;)

Ten minutes after that our waiter comes to the table and takes our drink order (645p) and we talk him into taking our food order too. Julia tells him it's her daddy's 30th birthday. He looks at Dan and says "oh, happy birthday dude"

He did indeed bring our drinks quickly after that.

At 730p Dan had to go ask at the front if our food would be out soon - since the kids were now stir crazy - and hungry.

At 740p They bring out our food, and we ask for another drink (yes - almost an hour later and not one refill), and utensils.

5 minutes later - no drink or utensils - so dan gets up again to get utensils.

Sadly - with the food usually outstanding - it was terrible. We were going to get dessert - but just begged for our check.. we were almost done when our waiter brought our refills and we asked for our boxes too.

15 minutes after that he still hadn't picked up our check and payment - so dan had to go back up front to pay.

All this with a 20 person racous rehearsal dinner also on the enclosed patio - (3 other tables asked to be moved) that were so loud you couldn't hear each other. A party of 8 that was seated after we ordered received their food 10 minutes before we did (oh - well 7 of them did... the 8th person got their after we did!).

It was just crazy. I was so impressed with how well the girls did - even sitting for an hour and a half waiting to get their food. Anna was getting cranky towards the end - but so was I!

We've had great service and great food there many times before - but tonight was so bad on so many levels that I'm not sure how soon it will be before we go back.

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you....

Happy Birthday dear Daaaaaaaaaaaaa-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan

Happy Birthday to you!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Big 3-0 to you my best friend and soul-mate. Thanks for everything you do for me and our girls. You are the most amazing huband and friend I could have asked for over these last 15 years.

You rock.

(look at the flames on that cake!!!)



Julia SOooo loves her Daddy. She wrote 30 - and drew a picture of her and her daddy - and signed her name on the card. She insisted he get cake and balloons (just like mommy always says), a green shirt, green wrapping paper, green string on his balloons... :)

Binge update...

Judging by your concerned emails, I thought I'd update from my binge last night. Yes, my heart and arteries made it through the night.

I ended up eating about 3/4 of the curly fries, 3-4 bites of the bacon/cheddar potato bites and didn't eat any of the fish. My eyes were way bigger than my stomach.... and it's a good thing I'm married to the human food disposal system.

ohhhh - did I mention that the girl scouts will be out this weekend - selling their crack - I mean cookies??

YEAH!

Hanging my head in shame....

Yes. It's true. I sent my man in the middle of the night on a food run. I've only done it two other times this pregnancy - both for a Croissant Egg Sandwich from Jack in the Box.

This time... I'm making up for lost time. Since I've spent the last three days in the bathroom and had little to eat/drink other than water and popsicles to try and stay hydrated, I'm really, really, really hungry.

So, I saw a picture of the beautiful Heidi Klum holding a carton of gorgeous crispy McDonalds fries (which I haven't wanted at all this pregnancy)... and started to crave those crazy curly fries from Jack in the Box... and ummmm. the bacon cheddar potato bite things... and um.... a fish sandwich thingy...

the calories alone are more than I usually take in throughout one day, and the sodium - geez... I feel my blood pressure meds getting a work out already.

but indeed, I await my knight in shining armor.

(Oh - and I will share with him... but I'll have some of everything!!)

So - what are you doing on March 11?

That's the tentative date for this babies arrival...

YEAH!

Million Dollar Bawl Baby

We watched Million Dollar Baby tonight.... if I hadn't been spending most of the movie paying bills and busying myself - I'd be a hormonal sobbing wreck.

Damn - that's sad.

Cash cab...

oh my how I love this show. People are either completely idiotic, brilliant or full of useless knowledge.

I love how excited people are by the flashing lights on the ceiling. You can almost tell the intelligence level by the time they spend googling the "purdy lights".

So far I haven't seen anyone take the big "double or nothing" video clip challenge at the end.

It's no - Deal or No Deal - but it's good TV.

Diarrhea song...

Don't worry - I'm not going into details as to why this song has made a fantastic entrance into our home - but suffice it to say - it's here. I know after this I will have lost that tiny crumb of respect for me that you were previously clinging to...

SO - let me know what other lyrics I'm missing.

When you're climbing up the ladder
And you hear something splatter
Diarrhea (cha cha cha) Diarrhea (cha cha cha)

It runs down your leg
like a scrambled egg
Diarrhea (cha cha cha) Diarrhea (cha cha cha)

It's not very funny
but it's very hot and runny
Diarrhea (cha cha cha) Diarrhea (cha cha cha)

When you're walking down the hall
And you feel something fall
Diarrhea (cha cha cha) Diarrhea (cha cha cha)

When you're sliding into first
and you feel your stomach burst
Diarrhea (cha cha cha) Diarrhea (cha cha cha)

When you're sliding into first
And your pants begin to burst
Diarrhea (cha cha cha) Diarrhea (cha cha cha)

When you're sliding into two
And your pants are filled with goo
Diarrhea (cha cha cha) Diarrhea (cha cha cha)

When you're sliding into third
And you feel a greasy turd
Diarrhea (cha cha cha) Diarrhea (cha cha cha)

When you're pants are full of foam
and you're heading into home
Diarrhea (cha cha cha) Diarrhea (cha cha cha)

nothing at all...

With as busy as we are it's funny I don't have more to share. We're pretty much just in the final stages of baby preparation (although I still don't believe she's coming!!), trying to get the house in good shape before she comes, decluttering and getting ready for the big garage sale on Friday/Saturday.

We have everything we need for her now - I just need to wash the cloth diapers and we'll be completely set. My friend let me borrow her Ameda breast pump - and the hygeine kit for it is coming tomorrow or Friday - so I'll be able to pump and let Dan and Julia share in the feeding fun. Her clothes are washed and folded and put in her little drawers... the stroller is assembled, the car seat is purchased and installed in the van. My bag is almost packed. The only big things left to do is finish the girls 'big sister" shirts and pack their bag of fun stuff to do while we're doing the baby thing at the hospital.

My last OB appt is supposed to be tomorrow and my OB will be scheduling my inducement for next week. It's time!

We just have to get through this weekend of garage sales, birthday parties (Happy 6th bday Maddy!) , birthday dinners (Happy 30th birthday Dan!) and cleaning.

Dan had a job interview today with a local BIG company and it was promising. Hopefully he'll hear back from them next week as promised.

Sorry to be such a bore - but quite frankly - I have all the excitement I can handle right now!