July 31, 2005
A New Word
The Mo-meister has been saying Mama for quite some time now. Yesterday, she finally uttered the word Mommy out of the blue. It was a "melt my heart" moment!
July 27, 2005
ADD - Attention Decorating Disorder
I have this problem with boredom in relation to my decor. As I'm writing this, I'm looking around the family room and thinking about all the things I'd like to change. And the sad thing is even if I changed it, I'd be bored with it in another couple of years.
Anyhoo, the hubs and I have been working on the floor plans for our kitchen makeover. After 8 months of working on this project, we're now getting ready to sign the papers. And I'm afraid to do it. I think the cost is scaring me. The whole project is about $32,000 in total and if we spend that kind of money on this one project, we'll never have money to do anything else. In other words, I have to live in this family room for a couple of years even though I hate the way it looks. And I have to live with a hideous bathroom, and another room with ugly wallpaper...etc. I think you get the idea.
Financially speaking, does $32k for a kitchen remodel sound expensive? We have a relatively small kitchen - it's not even big enough to be considered eat-in. Yet the cabinets alone are costing nearly $16,000. Granted, everything is being custom made because we're picky as hell. But still, that seems like a big chunk of change for some freakin' wood cabinets.
Sounds like I'm trying to talk myself out of this. Gah. I hate decisions.
July 25, 2005
TIVO
We're seriously thinking about getting TIVO Series 2. Anyone have the Series 2? Can you tell us how you like it and if it's worth it?
July 24, 2005
Crisis Averted
Well it appears that things might be getting back to normal. For the past 3 nights, Mo slept in her crib with little problem. She's still a bit clingy, but with every passing day, she's improving. Halle-freakin-lu-ia!
July 20, 2005
The Battle Is On
It's been over an hour and a half and the Mo-meister is still screaming away in her crib. Yep, that's right. She's in her crib. After much thought and debate over the last couple days, we decided to try the crib one more time to see if we could hold out a bit longer on the toddler bed. There is absolutely NOTHING in there but her stuffed monkey - which she clutches like there's no tomorrow. We also pulled it away from the wall (ever so slightly) to avoid all opportunity for her to use the wall as leverage. We also put lots of padding down on the floor so that if she does get out again she won't hurt herself. We've been taking turns monitoring her from the hallway using a mirror so she can't see us. (We're paranoid, what can we say?) The kid's holding out longer than we are... let me tell ya!
The interesting thing is that she's having some weird separation anxiety - only at night just before bedtime. She acts like she's terrified of everything - even her Daddy. I'm the only one that seems to be able to calm her. It's really weird considering she has NEVER been like this before. It must have been the vacation that threw her off. I don't think it was the change in routine so much as it was the fact that she was with us 24/7. And now when we leave her alone, she freaks out.
Bottom line is that we're going to give this 1 week. If things don't improve, we're getting the toddler bed. I'm hoping for the best. Thanks everyone for the encouraging words.
**** EDIT****
VICTORY IS OURS! One hour and 50 minutes later, she's asleep. Holy crap - that was grueling!
July 18, 2005
Mobile Mo
Ok, once is a freak accident. Twice is a problem. This time Mo catapulted herself out of the playpen when I laid her down for a nap this afternoon. I wasn't even 10 steps away before she dived out head first. And she screamed her head off. How she's still in one piece is beyond my comprehension.
So now that she has learned to throw herself out of both the crib and playpen, what's a mother to do? I'm scared to leave the kid alone. And I'm freaking out about her being in the crib tonight. I think this week we're going to start looking for a toddler bed and a gate for her doorway.
This Just In
Last night we put Mo to bed and our usual routine is to brush her teeth, read her a book and put her in the crib. She then promptly reaches for Dr. Monkey and is asleep within seconds. Last night, she was in one of her rare moods where she wanted to be rocked to sleep. This rare mood happens maybe once or twice a month.
Anyway, I did the rocking for about 10 minutes and when she was fast asleep in my arms, I laid her back down in the crib. She wanted no parts of the crib and, in fact, was displaying quite the dramatic screaming fit. So I decided to let her cry for a few minutes while I brushed my teeth and got ready for bed - thinking she would be fast asleep by the time I was done. While in the bathroom, I all of a sudden heard this loud thumping noise from her room. I asked the hubs to check on her (thinking she reached something she shouldn't have and threw it on the floor). He found her on the floor face down; somehow she hurled herself out of the crib head first. Oh. my. God. I paniced while the hubs picked her up and tried to console her. She then began to vomit all over him for several minutes. She was dazed and screaming her head off. The hubs was very calm through this whole ordeal. We didn't know whether or not we should take her to the ER so the hubs called her Doctor and the Doc talked us through some things. The vomiting was a normal reaction to a shocking fall like that - but if she vomited again, that would be a sign of something more serious. We were allowed to let her sleep, but we had to wake her up in 30 minutes - then again in another 2 & 3 hours to make sure she was responsive and aware of her surroundings. She slept with us so we could monitor her throughout the night. All was fine. And today she's her normal happy self.
What a scare. I know this is the first of many injuries to come over the years, so I am dreading that next time. For now, I have to work up the courage to let her sleep in her crib again!
July 12, 2005
Mo On The Move
Mo's on vacation right now. She's off exploring and seeing lots of new things. You can get a visual idea of what she's been up to here
July 07, 2005
Countdown to Vacation
Mo's 15 month doctor's appointment was today. She's a little over 32 inches tall and 25.4 pounds. She actually lost weight since her 12 month checkup (where she was 25.8 pounds). The kid's active, what can I say? Very active. Did I say she was active?
The little monkey is in the midst of a serious climbing phase. She's a hazard waiting to happen. Poor thing has bumps, bruises and scrapes all over the place - the signs of a busy toddler!
Anyway, things have been so crazy around here these last couple of weeks. Work work work is all that seems to be going on. We leave for vacation on Sunday and I can't wait. We're heading up to Toronto!! So the next couple of days will be even crazier as we attempt to switch gears and get to packing. I'm thinking about not taking her pack and play - mainly because we'll have enough crap to tote around. I think if we push the beds together - with one against the wall - she can sleep with us. Am I just being lazy? Dunno. Right now I'm trying to think how we're going to fit in naptime on vacation because she's crabby as hell by evening if she doesn't get a nap. And I'm thinking about food for her... Man, going on vacation is a lot of work.
Must sleep. So I can go to work. Bleh.
July 01, 2005
What's Up Doc?
This kid never ceases to amaze me!
I had to take her to the lab to get blood work done today and she didn't even flinch as the needle entered her arm. The technician didn't get the needle in correctly and had to poke around in there for a bit until she hit a vein. And the whole time Mo just sat there watching intently as if she was very, very interested in the whole process.
Not afraid of needles? Definitely didn't get that trait from her Daddy! :)