I've been sucked in

As if I didn't have enough outlets to post my ridiculous myriad of random thoughts at any given moment, I have given in and joined Twitter.

Feel free to follow me, though I must admit, I still have no clue what I'm doing. The only thing I understand thus far is how to post my own tweets. The rest? Fuhgedaboutit.

@Mel_Kalinosky

Tweet me!

The Shoes

What I'm about to post, I'm not proud of.

Yesterday mom took Nick and I shopping. Specifically shoe shopping for Nick. He's standing all the time, and so close to taking a step, that we knew it was time he started wearing shoes. Not to mention it's freezing outside, and just wearing socks isn't keeping him as warm as I'd like.

Mom had generously offered to buy Nick his first pair of shoes, and I was so excited thinking about seeing him in tiny shoes. I've had a love of baby shoes that dates back to my high school days. I LOVE little shoes. So why had we waited so long to actually put shoes on Nick's feet? Well, we hadn't been able to. Dude has some SERIOUSLY fat feet. They are wide and chubby. Socks rarely stay pulled up in place, they are so thick. So up until this point, I sort of avoided shoes due to the plain fact that I couldn't get his feet in any.

But, we figured it was time to get him measured. So we headed to Stride Rite at Fair Oaks, and proceeded to get him measured. And homeboy wears a size 4 - EXTRA Wide. Not just regular wide...EXTRA wide.

Here's where it got bad.

As soon as we walked in the store, mom started telling the store clerk (a young girl, probably about 16 years old), all about Nick's feet and what we were looking for and needed, etc. For some reason, this made me upset. I suppose I felt like, as his mom, and as it was the first pair of shoes I would be seeing him in, I should be doing the talking. So I snapped at my mom. I said "do YOU want to do the talking?!"

I should have slapped myself silly right then and there. But I only got worse.

We struggled with a couple different sizes and shoes before we were able to get a pair of cute little sneakers on Nick's feet. All the while, mom was offering up her opinion on what she thought would be ideal and more suitable for Nick to learn to walk in. I should have listened, and taken her advice to heart. After all, she put shoes on two kids, and this sales clerk was barely old enough to drive. But instead, I got frustrated and annoyed by her advice. And I only acted worse. I could have easily been compared to the other 7 year olds in the store stomping around and acting like ungrateful children.

Mom picked out a pair of white, leather, ankle high shoes that looked identical to the ones my brother and I wore when we were babies. So instantly all I could think about was how outdated and orthopedic-like these shoes looked. I had zero concern for if they were good for his fat feet, or more conducive to helping him learn to walk. To me, they looked goofy. Not my style. And I was embarrassed by how Nick looked in them.

EMBARRASSED! Can you believe me?! I'm embarrassed just thinking about my childish self. WHO CARED what he looks like in them! I should be grateful that he is on his way to walking -- that he can stand -- that he even has feet! But I was embarrassed by fashion. Fashion for a 10 month old. I want to rewind back to yesterday morning and just go ahead and spank myself for my actions.

But instead of being a big girl and saying to my mom "those just aren't my style, I'd really prefer the other shoes", I felt compelled to tell her we should get the white ones. Solely because I knew SHE liked them. And while I thought I would make her happy by getting them, I should have known I was really hurting her feelings...because what followed was a series of jokes and comments about his "new orthopedic kicks!" or "hope daddy and uncle Matt don't make too much fun of you..." and "did you really just like those shoes because they reminded you of what Matt and I wore?"

By the time we left the mall, we were all near tears. Nick was near tears because he was exhausted and starving. I was near tears because I didn't like the shoes. And mom was near tears because I had hurt her feelings. And I'm disgusted with myself.

When I dropped mom off at home, she took Nick's new shoes, put them back in the box, calmly told me she was going to return them, kissed us goodbye, and quickly went inside.

I pulled out of her driveway and burst into tears. Partially because I wished I had just told her from the get-go that I wanted to get him the other shoes. But mostly because I felt terrible about my actions. I'm a grown woman -- and a mommy at that. I would hate for Nick to ever talk to me the way I did to my mom yesterday. And I know he will. Several times as he grows up. But at 29 years old, I should have been able to control my reactions. I could have prevented the whole horrible ordeal. And over what?! Shoes?! How ridiculous of me!

It doesn't mean that I like the shoes anymore than I did yesterday. But it does mean that I have a little less respect for myself. Who cares what his shoes look like. He'll likely outgrow them in a few months anyway. And if they help him learn to walk, then they are the right fit regardless of style.

So today, in reflection on my terrible attitude yesterday, which spoiled what was supposed to be such a fun "first" in Nick's life, I would like to tell my mom -- I'm sorry. I already know you'll forgive me -- because I'm your child, and that's what mom's do. But I want you to know I am deeply remorseful for my actions. And I'm hopeful we can have round two of shoe-fitting with Nick, together. And this time, I promise to be on my best behavior. ;) I love you, mom!

Holy Molasses!

In our house, Todd does the baking. Don't get me wrong -- I'm known to make the occasional batch of pumpkin cupcakes, or a pan of chocolaty brownies, but anything I make is out of a box, requires little time, and is basically fail-proof...meaning, I can't screw it up.

My husband, however, LOVES holiday baking. So yesterday, he spent the entire day watching football and baking. He baked two huge batches of chex mix (yes, he combines all the elements, spices, seasoning, etc. himself...no store bought for our family), two huge batches of puppy chow (the chex mix covered in peanut butter, chocolate, and powdered sugar), a few dozen molasses cookies -- my absolute FAVORITE, and two huge pound cakes with lemon glaze.

Pound cakes not pictured

I can actually hear myself getting fatter.

Dirty houses don't matter...

Todd had to work late last night, so I was single-parenting again. And to be honest, minus the fact that I miss having my husband home and Nick misses his Daddy (and I know Todd misses us, too), I don't mind single-parent nights. I get to focus all my attention on Nick, playing with him on the floor and tossing him in the air. Giggling and clapping as we eat dinner, and snuggling as he has his last bottle before bed.


But after I put Nick to bed, I tiptoed downstairs, looked around the house and decided I had "given up" for the night. There were toys strewn across the living room. Blocks under the couch, stuffed animals under the coffee table. Leftover chicken and mashed potatoes on the high chair tray and a half-full sippy cup of water covered in tiny, sticky hand prints. A sink full of dirty dishes and a dishwasher full of clean ones waiting to be put away. Mail was aimlessly scattered on the kitchen island, and shoes were spread out through the foyer hallway.



For a moment, I tried to give myself a pep-talk and convince myself that I could get it all cleaned up before I too went to bed. But the pep-talk lost to the TV. And I felt terribly guilty for having not focused on the household chores, and instead spending my evening laying on the living room floors running cars into stacks of blocks. I chided myself for not being more of a grown-up and acting like a mommy who has it altogether and keeps her house spic & span, while keeping her near-tantrum-throwing-aged 10.5 month old from melting down from lack of attention or hunger pains.



I went to bed feeling unaccomplished and lazy.



So after I dropped Nick at daycare this morning, I came home and picked up all the toys and straightened up the living room. I emptied the dishwasher, refilled it with the dirty dishes, and scrubbed the pots & pans by hand. I attempted to straighten the mess of mail on the island, and I swept the kitchen floor. Then I commenced with my morning blog reading. And as I hopped around the blogosphere, I came across this quote:



"The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow...But children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow. So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep! I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep." - Ruth Hulbert Hamilton



And all that guilt faded away. I had not gone to bed unaccomplished or lazy. I had cared for my child. I had spent time with the most precious part of my life. I had made him feel loved, and safe, and cared for. All of those fleeting moments that I get to spend with my sweet baby -- who won't be a baby for long -- are worth every single crumb, dust spec, and misplaced item. For he is the greatest accomplishment of my life.

Oh Dollar Tree, Oh Dollar Tree

This year money is tight through the whole family. Ok, maybe it's just tight for the Kalinosky clan, but it's tight none-the-less, and as such we had a family "discussion" of sorts that ended up with the conclusion that we will not buy each other presents, and instead the focus will be mainly on Nick and his first Christmas.

Turns out this is awesome on so many levels.

As someone who loves to give "the perfect gift" and often misses the boat in doing so, I can typically be found in the last few weeks of December pulling out my hair and racking my brain about what to buy my 86 year old grandfather who has everything (literally, EVERY.THING.), or if my mom is going to like the sweater I bought her, or if I bought enough gifts for each person, and spent enough money, etc. etc. I can't even tell you how many times I've had the same recurring nightmare that it's Christmas eve, we're all gathered at my parents house placing our gifts under the tree, and suddenly I realize I've forgotten to buy a present for some member of my family (the person changes each time), and I frantically rush off to the store in a blizzard (because it always blizzards on Christmas eve in my crazy dream) and I can't find any decent stores, nor can I decide what to buy, and ultimately I end up getting stuck in the blizzard, with no present, and calling Todd or my dad to come rescue me. Then I wake up in a cold sweat wondering if I've checked everyone off my list. It's awful.

With no gift-giving, comes no stress about buying said gifts, or if you've spent enough money. This has been amazing.

Obviously this means not spending much money, which is also amazing because our wallets and bank account will not be feeling the sting of over-spending on gifts that most people will probably never use...like the s'mores kit my brother bought me in 2004...or the slurpee maker I gave him in 2007. (which I'll have you know we both still own, and both have never used).

In our house, Todd and I have decided to buy Nick very few gifts, as we know he'll be receiving a ridiculous bounty from his grandparents, great-grandparents, uncles, great aunts & uncles, etc., and we also know he will probably be more enthralled with all of the wrapping paper, bows, tissue paper, and boxes to even care whats inside. But we didn't want to go completely without anything to open on Christmas day, so we've decided to do stocking stuffers for each other from...get this...the Dollar Tree. Yup -- call it a redneck Christmas, call us un-classy, call us cheap if you want...but for us, it's all about the hilarity of seeing what "treasures" we can find at the Dollar Tree and stuff in each other's stockings.

But more so than saving ourselves money and avoiding the stress (and the crowds!) that come with holiday shopping, by not buying each other gifts and solely focusing on Nick, we're all allowing ourselves to experience Christmas again through the eyes of a child. This Christmas, we'll all celebrate our own little St. Nick ;). Instead of gathering in nervous anticipation as we watch each other open presents in hopes that they will be well received, now we can gather in excitement as we watch Nick giggling in delight as he tears the paper off of toy after toy. We'll breathe a sigh of relief that we didn't all give Gramma & Grampa McDonald's gift cards again. And we'll all head back to our own homes, relieved that we don't have piles of new stuff to put away.

Oh crap. WE will have piles of stuff to put away. Where the hell am I gonna put all of Nick's new toys???

Good thing we're not spending money this year...looks like Santa's gonna need a bigger house!

Little Lords and Ladies

This morning Mom stopped by to pick up Nick and take him to my Grandparents house for the day. I am so happy that my grandparents are still healthy and able to enjoy this time with their first great-grandchild on such a regular basis. And that my mom is retired now and able to facilitate these visits. Such a blessing.

When mom showed up at our house, the first thing she said (which in all honesty is always the first thing she says) to Nick was "you look so cute!" And he did.

Naturally he's freaking adorable, so this was no surprise. But in his overalls with the firetruck on the front, and matching red shirt underneath, he looked edible.

And I realized that he always looks so cute in his little outfits because he has a LOT of clothes. Nearly 75% of which are from our favorite consignment shop -- Little Lords & Ladies.

My hairdresser (who has three kids of her own) told me about this store, and at first, admittedly, I was a bit nervous to check it out. Not that I'm above shopping at consignment stores by any means...I just think I was mostly concerned that their selection would be sub-par, or that the clothes would be in bad shape, or over-priced.

But holy, sweet deals, this place is amazing. They only take gently used, CLEAN, clothes. We ended up getting Nick 3 pairs of overalls, a Washington Capitals sweatsuit, a VA Tech sweatsuit, several long-sleeved onesies, a hat, two sweaters, a pair of jeans, and a myriad of other clothes that I can't even remember right now, for all under about $70. And I'm talking CUTE stuff, in practically brand new condition. Pretty much everything we bought him was 12 month size (we made this shopping trip a few months ago...before he was crawling)...and sadly he's already starting to grow out of some of his 12 month stuff.

So I was thrilled when mom said "we need to go back to Little Lords & Ladies soon so I can get Nick some new clothes!" um, yes please, mom!

Anyway -- LL&L only takes gently used clothes, and they rotate out their stock all the time so you get new, cute stuff...and you're not always browsing the same old rows of used clothes. Not to mention every single item goes on sale if it's still in the store after a certain date. It is the most incredible system I've ever seen. SO... if you are looking to get some serious bang for your buck -- and new (to you) duds for your little one -- go to Little Lords & Ladies. Seriously. They don't even know I'm posting this -- I just love their shop THAT much.

I can't wait to go back!

First Christmas Card!

Nick received his first Christmas card in the mail yesterday. It was from Gramma and Boss! He was anxious to read it...
And even started fist pumping in excitement!After about 2 minutes of waving the card around, he tossed it on the ground and moved on to something else. The life of an active, and very mobile, 10 month old. The world is his oyster!


And just showing off some of his latest tricks...he now claps anytime you call him a "good boy". Even when he's tired of eating dinner and has a face covered in mashed potatoes...he'll still clap for a "good boy" comment. :)

Videos

Just a few recent videos of my funny little guy :)

Playing with his sister and a squeaky toy...


Proud to have pulled to standing in his crib (this video is a bit old considering we have since lowered his crib and he now pulls to standing on just about anything within his reach)...


Pulling himself to standing on the ottoman and cracking up about it...


And just some general yelling and silliness with mommy on a Sunday afternoon...

Happy 10 Months, Baby Boy!

I currently know about 12 people that are pregnant or have just given birth in the last couple of weeks. That's a LOT of babies. Yesterday I actually felt a little bit of baby fever coming on...until I realized it was just the desire to wear maternity clothes brought on by the fact that I've been eating whatever I want the past couples weeks, instead of sticking to my diet, and in turn am now seeing the not-so-flattering results, and would appreciate being allowed to wear stretchy waisted pants and over sized tops without getting "is she?" "this soon after the first?" "could it be?!" looks when really it's just a food baby, and good lord that was a serious run on sentence.

Nobody puts baby in a trash can...

That being said, I don't really have baby fever because I want to relish in the time I have left with my baby before he can officially no longer be called a baby, but instead a toddler. Which is practically around the corner because homeboy is 2 months shy of being a 1 year old. A ONE YEAR OLD! Holy Sh!t -- where's the Tylenol?!


Moving on...

Life is amazing through the eyes of a child...

How Old is Nick: As of today, Nick is 10 months and 5 days.


Stats: I'm guessing he's still about the same size as he was at his 9 month check up. He seems to be getting longer though, because all of his 9 month pants are officially high waters. He's mostly wearing all 12 month clothes, including jammies. 12-18 month stuff fits fairly well, so long as we roll up the sleeves or roll down the waist of his pants. Though the babysitter just prefers to hike them up around his chest. He's wearing size 4 diapers still, and we recently purchased a pack of Pampers overnight diapers which was the best purchase to date. I was double diapering him, which helped control his nightly leaks, but these overnight diapers (combined with some great advice we recently received to "point the penis down when diapering" -- how did I not know that before??) have essentially eliminated all night time leaks. This is HUGE. No more daily sheet changes! Woo hoo!

"Mama's not paying attention, is she?"

Sleep: I am so afraid to post anything for fear of messing up a good thing. But I *think* we have finally...after nearly 10 months of unpredictable sleep...mastered Nick's routine, and solved the sleep problem. Nick is now sleeping from approximately 7:30pm - 7:00am, occasionally waking for a quick cry, but not every night. When he does wake up for a quick cry, sometimes I'll let him try to cry it out, but for no more than 20 minutes. At the end of that 20 minutes, I'll go in, lay him back down (because now he stands up and faces the door to cry -- knowing what a sucker I am), rub his back, tell him he's a good boy and he needs to go back ni-night, and then leave while he's still awake. And so far, 99% of the time, he has gone right back to sleep. A couple of times I have watched him on the monitor as he sits up, looks around for a few minutes, and then lays back down. This is amazing to me because I know that he now knows how to put himself back to sleep. This is HUGE progress in our house. Don't get me wrong -- we've gone weeks with Nick sleeping through the night before...but most of those weeks were just sheer luck. Now I feel confident in saying Nick is sleep trained. Plus the 2 tablespoons of rice cereal added to his night time bottle, and the prevention of bed-wetting are good contributing factors to keeping him asleep at night. But regardless of how it happened, I am thrilled by my now good sleeper and greatly appreciate the sleep I'm getting as well!

First Johnny Rockets experience -- a huge success!

Milestones: Aside from crawling all over the place, Nick has now mastered pulling up on anything. And boy does he hate to be on the ground. If there's something nearby to grab hold of and pull himself to standing, he will. Which is uber scary for me, because often he will mistake something not-so-stable for a solid standing point and end up losing his footing and inevitably bonking his head on the floor. You know -- the kid friendly hard wood floors we have throughout our first floor. Awesome. I'm considering making him wear a helmet until his balance is better. He's also become a chatting machine. I still don't think he associates any words with anything -- and pretty much the only word he says is da-da...but he says it ALL the time. Not just around Todd. I've been constantly saying ma-ma to him, but he just doesn't seem interested in saying it. Boo. He loves to giggle and laugh and scream...particularly in public places. And he's mastered clapping, though he doesn't seem to understand appropriate times to clap. He's also just about mastered giving high-fives, which is fun...although it's not so fun when he high fives your face. Which he loves to do.

"mmm...pancakes"

Food/Appetite: He's now eating just about anything, though he still prefers homemade food over pre-made stuff (like any of the Gerber toddler/finger foods -- he'll eat them, but gets tired of them pretty quickly). He loves spaghetti, toast/bread of any kind, chicken, cheese, yogurt, and anything you give him off of your own plate. He prefers eating his meals at a crowded table. If I try to feed him dinner by himself, he gets bored quickly and fusses, cries, and refuses to eat. But plop him down in a high chair around a table full of adults also eating a meal, and little man is happy as a clam. He'll eat whatever is put in front of him, and he won't stop until you literally are prying the food out of his tight little grip. He recently made his first kids menu selection (well mommy made it for him) and had a grilled cheese sandwich at Sweetwater. And he loved it! Although how could you not love buttered toasted bread with melted cheese smushed in the middle? He's also doing pretty well with the sippy cup, and seems to prefer his formula from the sippy during meals, as opposed to the bottle. Though he does still love his nightly bottle. I'm planning to introduce him to juice this weekend by immensely watering some down in his sippy cup. I have a feeling he'll enjoy it.

"This grilled cheese is delicious...but a little tough to chew..."

Oherwise Nick continues to be a complete joy to be around. He is the happiest baby I've ever known and still has yet to meet a stranger. He'll let anyone hold him, and just loves attention. He beams from ear to ear after he sneezes, and cracks up if you sneeze back at him. His feet, armpits and right under his chin are super ticklish and he'll squeal with delight if you take a minute to tickle him. He loves any toys that light up, make noise, and do something interesting, and he could spend hours on end playing with my iPhone or the TV remote. He's taking more of an interest to Whinnie and will hold on to her if he can get close enough to grab her. He loves to give kisses, but they turn into bites which is something we're working on.

Telling Daddy how excited he is to see Santa!

Nick went to see Santa at Merrifield Garden Center (which will be a post all its own), and was in awe of the whole event. He didn't cry once, and in fact spent most of the time on Santa's lap smiling and staring at Santa's beard.

Santa! I know him!

Every day with our little guy amazes us more, and every day I can't believe how long it's been since we brought home a tiny lump of baby that we had no idea what to do with. That lump has since transformed into the most amazing little life, with so much personality and a true pension for making everyone he comes in contact with smile. We are truly blessed to be his parents. This year for Christmas, I don't need a thing, because with Todd and Nick, I truly have everything I could ever want or need.

Life is good.

I love a hefty vet bill

Coming home from work to find your dog has not only peed in the house, but has also had diarrhea, vomited, and spewed blood all up and down your hallway -- which is carpeted -- is not awesome.

Needless to say, I panicked. Freaked out, really.

First I had to control my gag reflex so that I didn't create a further mess by barfing at the smell of her diarrhea.

Then I proceeded to pet her and smother her in kisses (which in hind sight was totally gross considering all the bodily fluids she had just leaked) and tell her I wasn't mad at her and that she was a good girl. Because it's never a pets fault when they vomit blood. Poop and pee on the carpet? Yeah, usually her fault. Usually out of spite. (That or the fact that I was just too damn cold to wait for her to poop when we went out that morning). But vomited blood? Never her fault.

THEN, I scraped up as much of the diarrhea as I could with ten wads of toilet paper -- making sure to not touch any of it. However, I did have the sense to gather a tiny bit in a ziploc baggy (that I left on our front porch in hopes that the neighbors wouldn't notice) to take as a sample to the vet -- which, as it turned out, they just threw away because they shoved their finger up her butt instead.

After that I emptied an entire can of Spot Shot on the blood dribbles and vomit. But ran out, so I had to use the back-up bottle of Resolve. Which the sprayer is clogged on, so it took what seemed like forever to get enough sprayed out to finish cleaning.

In the midst of all of this I called the vet in a panic and they said they could squeeze us in at 6:30pm.

So I panicked some more because Todd was supposed to be working late, and I had no idea how I was going to pick up Nick, feed him dinner, take him and Whinnie to the vet, and make sure she didn't get sick again, and get home in time for Nick's bedtime routine because there was no way in hell I was throwing him off schedule and going back to the old middle of the night crying marathons. Good lord...I am in awe of single parents. I called my mom who volunteered to take Nick so I could focus on Whinnie. So I called Todd to warn him that I was probably going to incur a hefty $150 vet bill (oh so naive) because "Whinnie pooped and barfed blood all over the carpet", to which he told me his evening event was cancelled and he was on the way home anyway.

Sigh of relief. Another set of hands.

So I went and picked up Nick, and we took Whinnie to the vet and $400 later, we now know she is apparently fine.

Don't get me wrong. I would pay whatever it took to make sure Whinnie was ok. She is my first baby. We treat her like a human. She eats whatever we're having for dinner (not much, but she always gets a taste in addition to her dog food). She sleeps in our bed, with her head on our pillows and her farts radiating from under the covers. We call her Nick's sister. We put her Michigan sweater on on game days, and her pumpkin costume on on Halloween. She sits in our laps on road trips, and she is given free reign of the house all day. We give her treats for everything, and sign her name on Christmas, Birthday, and Anniversary cards. She is an integral part of our family.

But an x-ray, several fluid shots, a prescription for diarrhea, a bottle of Pepcid for her acid reflux, a regular exam, plus a fecal exam and lab work, totaling nearly $400 later, we basically are told "put her on a chicken and rice diet for a couple weeks, and let us know if she gets worse." This is not sound advice in my humble opinion. Also, good thing we're not on a strict budget. OH WAIT.

Granted the cleared x-ray did give us a little piece of mind. So there's that. But this has me seriously considering pet insurance. I mean, after all, she's totally worth it. I'm just glad she's ok.

Angels among us

This morning was one of the scariest experiences of my life.

Nick had a great night's sleep. Down by 8:00pm, only cried for 15-20 mins, and I had to wake him up at 7:15am to go to daycare because he was still in dreamland.

We were so ahead of schedule that I made myself a cup of caramel vanilla cream coffee (love that Keurig...although sadly, ours is on the fritz), put it in my travel mug, and out the door we went.

We cruised down the parkway towards the babysitters house, jammin' to some Christmas music and happily babbling to each other about what a beautiful day it was shaping up to be - albeit much colder than the last several days.

I noticed a huge 18 wheeler about 3 cars in front of me to my left. I only noticed it because of it's long black-tarp covered sides. I genuinely thought to myself "hmm, wonder what he's hauling!"

As we neared the back entrance to Huntsman shopping center, cruising along at the 50 mile an hour speed limit, I closed in on the 18 wheeler, coming up on his right hand blind spot. I intended to pass him, but was barely allowed the time, as suddenly a small compact car made a last minute u-turn right in front of the semi-truck.

A u-turn that brought the compact car within inches of being hit by the semi truck. A u-turn that caused the semi to slam on his brakes, burning rubber on pavement on all 18 of his tires, making the long bed of his truck teeter back and forth and buckle up against the cabin. He swerved right and left and managed to stop himself from both slamming into the compact car, and tipping over.

In the position that I was in my car, next to this semi truck, had he actually lost complete control and tipped over, there would have been nowhere for me to go. We would have been crushed in an instant.

The compact car darted across the two lanes of traffic, into a right-hand turn lane, and pulled into Huntsman shopping center. I silently cursed him, hoping he was pulling into the shopping center to gather his composure and think about what he just did - who he could have harmed - and how he will vow to be a more cautious, courteous driver. But in all reality, he was probably picking up his dry cleaning, or grabbing a cup of coffee. Something he clearly did not need to be in a rush for.

I instantly felt the hot sting of tears streaming down my face. As my baby continued to happily babble in the back seat, blissfully unaware of what had almost just gone down, I looked up to the sky and audibly thanked God for sending some angels to watch over me this morning.

The parkway is a dangerous road. Far too many lives have been lost there. Every time I venture down the parkway, I keep my eyes wide open for any danger - drunk drivers, deer, texters. I do not look at my phone. I do not drive over the 50 mile an hour speed limit. I'm not saying I'm a perfect driver, and there are plenty of times that I find myself at fault of not paying attention or driving too fast on other roads. But on the parkway, there is no room for error.

I shared my scary morning on facebook, and my mom reminded me of the trailer accident that my brother and I were in when we were very little. I briefly blogged about it recently when we had an earthquake in VA, but what I failed to mention was after my brother saved my life and I stepped out of that tiny, completely destroyed, upside-down trailer, without so much as a scratch on my body, I looked at my mom and said something to the effect of "the angels said they weren't ready for me yet, mommy!" Three years old. And I had never been to church. What did I know about angels?

Well, now that I'm older, I know for sure that angels exist. I'm not entirely sure who my guardian angel is -- there are many valuable people in my life who now watch over from Heaven. I like to think it's a combination of my great-grandmother (Gran-Gran), and Stef's mom (SYG), and my Aunt Debbie, and Donnie, and Peter, and my mom's muffin's Sasha and Katie...a veritable collection of people that were so meaningful in my life, and the lives of those that I love -- a collection of people that are constantly watching over me, my loved ones, and their own loved ones...because they know we all need each other...just as we need them. And while we might not be able to see their faces every day, I find pure comfort in knowing they are always here on earth, keeping us safe, holding our hands, walking among us.

Hail to the Victors!

It must be documented. Michigan has not won a game against Ohio state in 7 years. UNTIL NOW! This past Saturday, with our little good luck charm, decked out from head to toe in our finest Maize and Blue gear, we watched Michigan whoop up on Ohio state, resulting in a 40 to 34 victory for the Victors!

Here are a few pics of our little blue enjoying his first taste of sweet victory!

Hmm...we better have a little pre-game fuel, Dad.This isn't milk, is it?Nah, never mind...you can have the beer back Dad. Not really my thing...yet. Besides, I have far too much exploring to do.

(Best attempt at catching three out of four of us in our Michigan gear)

Is it game time yet??

What's that? We're winning?! Woo hoo!

Hooray! We won! Take that Ohio state!

Could that have been the answer all along??

I added 2 tablespoons of rice cereal to Nick's 6 oz bottle last night, and he slept all night. Granted he cried for about 35 minutes right after he went down -- and I went in twice to quickly pat his back and tell him night-night again, but I left before he fell asleep both times. And he slept! No 1:30am wake-up call. No 4am scream-fest. No 5 hour sleepover in mommy & daddy's bed. Just sound sleeping for 10+ hours.

Truth be told, I woke up at 3am in a panic because I've gotten so accustomed to his middle of the night crying, that I tiptoed into his room and laid my hand on his back to make sure he was ok. Sure enough, he was just zonked out.

I have no idea if rice cereal was the answer, but it sort of made me slap my forehead thinking "well he used to be getting a whole extra scoop of formula per bottle, so maybe it's just been lighter than what he's used to, and isn't keeping him full all night". Regardless, it was glorious to have a peaceful night's sleep, and he'll definitely be getting rice cereal in every nighttime bottle from now on!

Night and Day

In the darkness of night, running on fumes, dragging from the lack of sleep your getting due to a teething infant that's also battling with separation anxiety, it's very easy to pity yourself. To find the negativity in all that is happening in your life. To think up excuses to spout to your boss about how you couldn't complete something required because you're so tired. To plan how you'll burst into tears at the slightest comment about under-eye circles, or disorganization. To actually burst into tears while you're contemplating these things because you're just THAT damn tired. To want to reach over and poke your spouse in his closed eyes. Even though you know he's not sleeping either...which is totally unfair considering he gets up two hours before you usually do, and he has to work a 16 hour day. But his ability to look like he's asleep is the slightest motivating factor you have to want to start jumping on the bed just so somebody else has to share in your misery of a crying, screaming, unhappy baby down the hall.

In the darkness of night, when you haven't slept, the whole world becomes your enemy.

But in the light of day, when you've had three cups of coffee, and you've shared in a multitude of morning "just because I'm happy to be awake today" smiles from your bouncing baby boy, things fall back into perspective. You still fight the urge to burst into tired tears at the sound of a sad song on the radio. But suddenly you're grateful for the spouse that laid awake, albeit with eyes closed, next to you in bed last night. Because you weren't alone. You're grateful for your babies ability to scream, because it means he has strong, powerful lungs. You're grateful for the fact that he spent 30 minutes standing in his crib, because it means he is developing properly, and will be able to walk. And you're happy about those teeth cutting through, because it means soon [hopefully], those teeth will be all the way in and he will find some comfort.

In the light of day, when you realize there is so much to be grateful for -- so much to cherish -- the whole world suddenly seems perfect.

And it truly is.


But good LORD, child -- could you please sleep through the night just once a week? Please? :)

Giddy!

I'm so giddy about all of the upcoming holiday festivities. Probably enhanced by the fact that we now have the most precious baby boy in the world to spend the holidays with. That, and the fact that I'm watching Justin Bieber on The Today Show singing songs from his new Christmas album, which totally puts me in the holiday spirit.

So what do we have to look forward to in the next several weeks?! EVERYTHING!

• Thanksgiving tomorrow!


• Yearly morning-after-Thanksgiving breakfast with our oldest family friends, the Isibels!


• Dinner at Clyde's restaurant where we FINALLY get to see long lost love, Stephanie!


• Visiting with Jenny -- another long lost love, who will be in town for T-Giving!


• Taking Nick to see Santa for the first time (ohmigosh this is so exciting!)


• Everything Christmas related, obviously -- including Nick's FIRST Christmas!


• Finally seeing Sara -- another long lost love, whom we haven't seen since her wedding IN APRIL!


• Seeing Jersey Boys with our best friends, the Schwass'!


• And somehow acquiring Justin Bieber's Christmas album!

Now those are all things to celebrate!

Yes, even The Biebs.

Happy Feet

I'm sure my hubby will be happy to know that I finally fit - comfortably - into my deeply coveted Tory Burch Reva's. He gave me these beauties for Christmas last year, which I was thrilled about, and was so excited to wear a stylish pair of flats to my upcoming baby showers, seeing as I was so hugely pregnant that heels were definitely out of the question until after Nick was born.

But sadly, when I tore open the box on Christmas morning (the box that I had accidentally opened when it was delivered to our house a few weeks prior), I was sad to see that my feet were so frickin' swollen, there was no way I was jammin' those puppies, into those pretties.

So after nearly a year of owning these gems, and several months of trying to shed the dreaded water weight, swollen-ness, and general puffiness that came with pregnancy -- my feet have finally shrunk down...and not just back to their original size, but even a bit thinner in my opinion.

Ahhh...it's like having access to a whole new wardrobe!

Happy (man am I a slacker) 9 months, Baby Boy!

I can't seem to get my act together to post these on the correct date. Here we are 3 days away from Thanksgiving -- a mere 11 days away from Nick's 10 month birthday -- and I'm just now posting. Had I posted this recap on his actual 9 month birthday, or somewhere in that time frame, this post probably would've been entirely different, as the 9th month of Nick's life has been full of milestones...so, here we go...

How Old is Nick: Well, now he's 9 and 3/4 months old. That's less than 3 months shy of 1 year. Which is practically school aged. Which means soon he'll be graduating college, getting a job, getting married, and declaring his love for another woman - that's NOT me. My heart can't take it right now. He is growing up WAY too fast.

Stats: head circumference: 18" (61%) height: 28" (38%) weight: 21lbs, 9oz (65%) This basically means he's still a chubby little bobble head. Doc said he is perfectly healthy, and considering at one point in his life he was in the 3rd percentile for most of his measurements, he is growing beautifully. This is probably due to the accidental formula overload we've been giving him the past 8 months. (more on that later). He's wearing size 4 diapers, mostly 12 month clothes (occasionally some 9 month stuff still fits...if we stretch it...), 12 month jammies, though he could probably get away with 12-18 month, and still 6-12 month socks (which are snug around his ankles because homeboy has some serious cankles and the chubbiest feet I've ever seen). He is up to 6 teeth (four on the bottom, two on top) with two more coming in.

Sleep: Sleep was going beautifully. And then the top two teeth started to push through. And all bets were off. It was a miserable few days (for all of us, though I'm sure Nick was in more pain...we were just tired). And then, just like that, the teeth were through. And Nick went back to his fabulous sleep habits. For a couple nights, at least. Now we're fighting with the next two top teeth pushing through. With these two, he'll at least sleep for a good chunk of the night, before waking up in pain somewhere between 2-4am. I have a whole 'nother post written in my head about his sleep habits, which I'll post later. But let's just say he is the least predictable sleeper. EVER. You never know what you're gonna get after little dude goes to bed...

Milestones: At the beginning of his 9th month, Nick was getting into the crawling position, and rocking on all fours back and forth, but couldn't quite make the connection between moving hands and knees at the same time. Well, after some practice with his Great Aunt Lauri, and watching a little video of his girlfriend Addison (who is about 5 or 6 weeks older) crawling, Nick took off. At first he struggled with going lengthy distances (usually only made it about 5 feet before flopping to his belly)...and forget about the hardwood floors...he just couldn't figure out the traction. But in no time he figured it all out, and now he cruises. He's even attempting the one step from the living room to the dining room (though he can't figure out how to swing his leg over the step), and he navigates the hardwood floors like a pro. The other day he crawled over to the stairs, pulled up on the first step, and started to go for the second before I panicked and yanked him back. Naturally, as soon as he figured out crawling, he decided he'd prefer standing and has started to pull himself up on anything he can grab hold of -- the ottoman, the couch, people, and now his crib. So we had to drop it down for fear of him taking a nose dive out the side. Nick is working on clapping, and knows his hands are supposed to be flat (not balled into fists) when we "clap" them together. Last night when he was in the bathtub, he made an attempt at clapping, but was quickly distracted by a toy, so it was short lived. I have a feeling we're only days away from clapping. As for waving "bye-bye", he watches intently if you say "bye-bye Nick!" and wave at him, and he'll wiggle his fingers, but hasn't quite figured out the full waving motion.

Food/Appetite: Nick is eating like a champ! The doctor said at his 9 month check-up, that he could really be eating anything now. He said incorporate new foods slowly, but there were no exceptions to what he could eat. We started slowly with yogurt and cheese, but he's also had spaghetti with turkey meat sauce, mac & cheese, cheerios in milk, rice and beans, Mexican rice, scrambled eggs, and even sampled a McDonald's french fry. He has mastered feeding himself harder, crunchy items (such as puffs, cheerios, and crunchies), but still struggles with the softer finger foods like cheese, cooked apple or carrot, and banana. Anything mushy ends up smushed between his little fingers. We've been working with a sippy cup, which he is great at, but still prefers it be held for him. Lazy! He has slowed down his formula intake immensely, which worried me until the doctor said it was normal -- especially as they start eating more solid foods. He said at this age, Nick needs about 16 ounces (at least) of formula per day. Right now, he's getting just about that much, only wanting to eat about 3-4 ounces of formula per bottle. Although his last bottle of the night, he'll usually finish all 6 ounces.

Speaking of bottles, we had an epiphany a couple weeks ago, in which we realized the Target brand bottle liners that we were using in our Playtex drop in bottles, were not the expandable kind...but that the measurements on the bottle were for the expandable drop-in liners. So while we were measuring water up to the 8oz line on the bottle, it was really only 6oz on the liner. Meaning we were giving him an extra scoop of formula. No wonder he's a chunk! We've since re-measured. Maybe that's why he is drinking less...he thinks he's gone from whole milk to skim!

Nick also got to enjoy his very first Pumpkin Patch and Halloween! We dressed him up, but only took him to the house next door, where they fawned over him for a full hour, before we had to head home for bed time.

Now we're gearing up for Nick's first Thanksgiving and first Christmas. I'm as giddy as a little kid, thinking about taking him to see Santa, and watching him tear open presents just to play with the paper and bows.

Our little guy is getting bigger (and seriously cuter) every single day. His hair seems to change from blond to red, depending on his outfit, and his blue eyes seem to sparkle a little more every time he looks at us. My heart melts at how excited he gets to see me or his daddy. And the snuggles, hugs and kisses he gives out are the absolute best. He has yet to meet a stranger, and graces everyone he meets with a big (now toothy!) smile. His laugh is my favorite sound in the world -- especially when it's brought on by my dad tickling Nick's ribs. I can barely remember what my life was like before Nick was in it, and I can't even fathom the thought of not having him here. This year, at Thanksgiving, and every day of the year, I'm so thankful for my healthy, happy, beautiful little boy -- because he has truly opened my eyes to what life, and love is all about. He is the light of my life -- truly the best gift I've ever received, and I fall more in love with our little miracle every single day.

Because he's so multi-cultural

My husband can relate anything back to a Chevy Chase character in a National Lampoon movie.

Case in point:

The other night we were watching "Restaurant Impossible" on the Food Network. I stated that I did not like the contrast of the bright blue walls versus the bright red chairs that they were painting to makeover this disaster of a restaurant.

My ohsosmart hubby said "yeah, but it's very German".

I raised an eyebrow in his direction and said "because you've been to Germany and know German interior design?"

To which he replied "no, but I've been to France..." and then chuckled "and they're basically the same..."

So I jabbed back with "they are SO not the same! you don't know anything about German fashion and decorating!"

Which he matter of factly stated "Sure I do. They like bright, solid colors. I've seen European Vacation a million times. That's how I know."

Melissa - 0, Todd - 1.

Happy Halloween! Just a wee bit late...

I'm working on Nick's 9 month post, but would be seriously sad if I forgot to post pics of my little cutie in his Halloween attire! So, a Halloween photo dump, if you will...

We attempted to get Nick and Whinnie in a couple of pictures together, but one squirmy baby + one crazy terrier = picture failure.

Best of the bunch Excited about Trick or Treating
All dressed up

Feeling Dino-mite!

Cutest dino in town!

A couple weekend's prior to Halloween, we dressed Nick up in a Tigger costume, and hauled him to a pumpkin patch for some serious photo ops. He was by far the most adorable kid at the Pumpkin Patch (duh), and posed like a champ. Of course, he wanted very little to do with the actual pumpkins, and was more fascinated with the hay all over the ground...which he sampled quite a few times. Can't imagine it tasted all too good...

Ready to roll!

"They couldn't find me an orange pumpkin?" "This sure is a funny lookin' one..."

"Taste's good to me!"

Mommy kisses

Proof that there were, in fact, orange pumpkins at this Pumpkin Patch

Just plain cute.

Proof that Daddy was there, too!

And just a little something for me to look back on one day,

and remind myself that I actually was thinner than I thought... Happy Halloween! Just in time for Thanksgiving!