Hernia, furloughs, birthday countdown, and where the hack i've been

could they BE any sweeter?

Ok. So I've been away forever. Literally. Well, literally, a month. it feels like forever though. I've been away trying to work more efficiently at my job. That means no blogging at work. Would I actually ever have blogged at work? guilty. yes.

Because i work for a state university that is struggling through a financial crisis right now, I decided my job wasn't so much of a sure thing anymore. Why do I think this? well, it's a combination of them telling us so AND the furlough. We are all being furloughed 4 to 10 days. Thus the never blogging. That coupled with the fact that I've been doing more hours for the dog training and also coupled with the fact that my little baby is quickly approaching his 2nd birthday (which means a lot, but it means he's taking off in all kinds of directions). Link with that the fact tat J has been sick a bunch, her job ended so I'm working more hours and we're trying to sell stuff to make up or a 2 source income loss (furloughs and a lay off).

Then on Thursday of last week, something more happened. I woke up with a bad stomach ache. I felt bloated and sore al at once. Looked at my stomach and low and behold, I had a lump protruding from underneath my belly button. What the? I suffered through it Thursday. made an appointment with a new Dr. for the beginning of march and carried on. In discomfort. I also had a cold. I was coughing a lot. Every cough hurt. Went home. told J. She was like, well, maybe you should see a Dr. before that. I thought, eh, maybe. Friday. more pain. larger lump. Ok. So I went to the er to find that my suspicions were correct. I had an umbilical hernia. My brother had one too, last year, so I guess it must be genetic. They tried to push it back in. OUCH. When they couldnt, they decided to admit me and correct it surgically. Great.

What does this mean? Well, it means a lot o things. I'm on sick leave for the week. I am recovering from minor abdominal surgery. I get lots of rest, lots of olympics. I have a more normal looking belly button than I've had in years (see, it was looking funny for a while. it just started with the hard lump on Thursday).

Oh, and I can;t pick up anything heavier than a gallon milk carton for 6 weeks. E. is about 30 pounds. Which means J is on duty 24 7 and i can only talk to him. and kiss him. it's very hard. He's a very physical kid, and I find myself really missing him.

His birthday is Sat. and we have J's parents coming from MN. My mom and fam (who have been great through all this hernia business) will come too. But that's it. Small party. I can't believe he's going to be 2. He talks like crazy now (4 to 6 word sentences) and uses the potty a little. He knows when he has to poop, but has a hard time with pee. Sometimes he makes it to the potty, sometimes not. But every time is a win. And we're not in a huge hurry at all. We have switched to disposable diapers till I'm better. I'm the diapers washer, and J doesn't need that to add to her duties. The laundry is in the basement. Sorry environment.

Well this post is everywhere. For real, I hope that the promised squirrel will be done this week. I've been pretty remiss, but also, pretty overwhelmed for as long as I can think Sorry Leslie. I hope you still feel like a winner and are still reading.

Some recent cute pics!

table surfing. kid loves to climb

cousins

Nigh-nee

Well, I missed a day, a whole day, even though I was planning very much to write last night. I had a good day, a very good day. Woke up too early with peanut and he had a bad night of sleep. Poor kid's teething right now. He has a tooth coming in between 2 others that already exist. It has less room than it needs but it's making room, as teeth do. It is making his nose itch all the time though and I think it's disrupting his sleep. Anyway, woke up early and crabby, but J let me go back to sleep for a nap which was just what I needed. So that helped my day be awesome. Then we all went for a fun walk. Then I got a hair cut, a good one, a really good one, which is hard for me. Some of you probably know what I mean. I want to walk out looking hip and cool, but I walk out looking like dorothy hammel. I walked out looking a lot cooler this time.

So why didn't I write last night? Well, peanut woke up before I could. And I could get him back to sleep, but he woke up every time I left him again. It's the teeth, I'm sure. We just had to call it an early night. I woke up freezing and in my jeans and sweater at 1am. Reminded me of newborn days.

So E has lots and lots of words now, but one he's had for a long time is this one that he seems to have made up. And more than that, it seems to be an expletive, a curse word. And it cracks me up. The word is Nighnee. He says it in distress when he's sad, or frustrated, he says it when he can't get something to work right, he says it when he stubs his toe or hurts himself in a minor way. Other than comic relief for his moms, it got me thinking about how we need expletives or how we use them to feel better. I just saw an article about this the other day.

Do your kids have one or 2 choice words like mine does?

in other news, we are not trying hard to potty train, though we encourage potty use. And e used it twice (both for pee) yesterday. And today, twice too, so far, with one of each.

not right now

today, i don't even know what it was an answer to at the time, Peanut answered a suggestion or a question (i think it was, lets get your diaper changed) with the phrase :

"not right now."

He's been using a lot of phrases lately, in fact, and the first use always catches me in a flutter of pride and excitement, as it should. I don't know much about language devel

opment, but I do know that I love when he tries to say new things.

That's all true, and the hyper parent in me is thinking where did he learn that phrase and does it indicate that we are too dismissive? Do we make him wait too long when he shouldn't have to? I do know that sometimes he makes a crazy request or suggestion, like wants to go visit his bff in the middle of the night, and we say not right now. Then he says 'tmorrow?'

yes baby. tomorrow. Or no baby, next week.

cold baby after picking apples a few weeks ago.

day 3 of pop tart challenge, ok!

Sucktober part 1

If you read my blog, you know that J sprained her wrist in October. That put her out of commission for baby care for almost a week. Her wrist is better, still a little sore sometimes, but better. My blog post title, Sucktober is about how October 2009 sucked. I like to modify words to express how I feel about something. I would like now to include a numbered list describing why I renamed October Sucktober this year.

1. Sept. 29th to October 6th J out with sprained wrist
2. October 8th, J out with Migraine
3. October 12th-14th, J out with Vertigo
4. October many other times, I play catch up at work for missing so many days
5. October 23rd, J feeling better goes to the Museum of Science and Industry and a strap on the Stroller breaks, rendering the stroller un-usable.
6. October 29th, J accidentally leaves ergo baby carrier in a cart at a local thrift store. It is lost.
7. October 30th, early AM, peanut woke us up because his fever was so high we could feel it.
8. October 30th, late afternoon, peanut goes from being happy active baby to listless and frowny. Develops cough. overnight, fever spikes through medicine to 101.9. Worried moms take him to walk in hours at 8 AM on October 31st.
9. Dr. diagnoses Peanut with croup.
10. October 30 - present Peanut recovering, but still sick. won't eat, hates medicine, nurses like a baby every few hours. Cries when he coughs. Breaks our hearts.

I'm not trying to garner pity or say darn my life is real hard aint it. Just that October was a mix between Sick and Suck.

There are good things too.
Peanut is using more and more 2 word sentences. He says "Yes, I do." or "No, I don't" instead of just yes or no. He also says i do, or me do, if he wants to do something that we are trying to do to him (like, administer medicine, or put his shoes on.) Today he sang to a song we were listening to. "if you got 1" by justin roberts. So cute. Sang and danced. I'm in love.

He also got his first real taste of tv and movies. We watched Mary Poppins with him for something to do through his fever. Then we bought him Ice age and Annie. He still prefers MP, and now I have all those songs buzzing through my head again. I like it... i mean who doesn't want

Ain't it a glorious day?
Right as a mornin' in May
I feel like I could fly
'Ave you ever seen 
The grass so green?
Or a bluer sky?

going through their head 24/7?

I'll leave you with that, hoping that I didn't ruin your day
with Jolly Holiday.
If I did I found a remedy for Jolly Holiday is
All Along the Watchtower. 

poor sick boy and me, night 2 of the croup.

trying for 30

Now, it's no secret that I don't post as often as some people do. Part of that stems from the fact that i am busy, part of it comes from being lazy, and then I also think no one reads anyway, but that's not the point, I guess. So even though it's november 3rd and I am going to need to play catch up, I am doing the NaBloPoMo challenge. It will give me a chance to articulate all the crazy stuff that's been happening of late.

And hopefully make me a better blogger.

I am going to take this moment to say that while I mostly write about peanut, I'm going to try to write about other things too, like crafting and maybe even politics, Or to bore the life out of you, my life story.

I'm also trying to lose weight, could write about that as well.

remember

A week ago, J and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary. We had a rare dinner out to celebrate. We brought the peanut because it feels right to, but also because babysitters are kind of hard to come by. and expensive. and well, again we miss peanut.

J started a paying baby-sitting gig which is awesome. It's just the miracle we needed to get the bills paid and not feel like we are drowning in bills. I feel so relaxed about it now. Chicago is expensive, but it's where we are now, and I like it here, but I also do think that it would be easier to do this if we lived somewhere cheaper. I have 3 jobs here though, and one of them, 2 of them actually, is pretty hard to come by. I am a service dog trainer. and that's not an easy job to get. I also hold a job in a university, and most unis have a firing freeze right now due to the economic crisis. a few months ago, or maybe even a year ago now (where does the time go?) we were considering moving to MN. Then the crisis broke and there was no hope for a job. I'm glad we didn't move. J and p have all kinds of friends and i have my dream job working with service dogs.

In baby news, little 18 month old had a rough night last night. J is trying to nurse him less at night, but sometimes he gets up and wants to nurse right away. Since he sleeps with us, and is very insistent, there is no sleeping when he wants to nurse and the answer is no. So last night, so J could sleep, I packed him up and we slept on the couch with some water. He resists transitional objects, so i brought his small red furry monster, but he wanted nothing to do with him. "No" he said. But he cried every time I tried to take away the sippy. So I ditched it after he fell asleep. For those of you reading and worrying about P's safety on a couch, please don't. He was safe, and had plenty of room, and we have done this before. He slept from 2 till 643. That's how long I slept too. Initially, he had slept from 9:30 till 1:30. Sleep is hard again. That's what I get for thinking it was easier.

I have an extra dog this weekend. A service dog I'm re-training. P loves dogs and couldn't be happier. Winnie, our dog, is also pretty happy.



Well, for a busy mom, I've certainly said more than I thought I would today.

One last thing, I clearly remember what 9/11 2001 was like, and I wish I could hug everyone who is saddened by the disaster. I guess I will just have to remember them and hope that helps a little somehow. I hope peanut never has to experience a day like that.
yesterday at the park, his friend showed up in the exact outfit pretty much. P is trying on his friends helmet.

Have a great weekend y'all and if you're reading, shout me out a hi, even if you usually lurk. I'm wondering who reads and I have no way of knowing unless you comment.