Catching Up

I've been absent for awhile. Maybe you noticed. It was bound to happen. I could feel it coming on. I just was so "burnt" out that I didn't even have the decency to let all of you lovely Internets know.

It started gradual. Posting every few days instead of daily. Then not posting, but still reading and commenting on your blogs. And then...well I took a hiatus.

I was feeling so overwhelmed and weighed down. I had a to-do list miles long and nothing was getting crossed off. I had hit the peak of the hormone drop (I did the same thing around this time with Alice too). I was just burnt out. I enjoy blogging and keeping up with each one of you. It just got to the point that it felt like more of a "chore" than something I enjoyed. My comments were hardly thoughtful, and were completely generic. I don't like being like that. I like being "me" and writing the things I would say. So I just took a complete break.

I played a lot with the kiddos. I got some things on my to-do list crossed off. I enjoyed the little bit of "me" time that I sometimes can squeeze in, and did whatever I felt like doing. I got some flowers, herbs, and veggies planted. I have mastered the perfect (to me) cranberry almond chicken salad.

So enough about that. Updates. Alice has had a horrible diaper rash/yeast infection for months. Every time she had a dirty diaper it would come back. I'd slather diaper cream and Lotrimin on her and it would clear up. Only to return with the next dirty diaper. So I took her back to the pediatrician (again) and demanded help. I was thinking it was strep. The doctor thought otherwise. So we started using a few different creams. I'm happy (albeit a bit annoyed I was wrong) that her rash/bumps are pretty much cleared up.

HJ is just the sweetest. He smiles and talks to me all of the time. And the giggles? My goodness. My heart explodes EVERY. TIME.

The chicks? Not so chick looking. We Sean put them outside the other day. I can't tell which one Fluffy is anymore. See for yourself how much they have grown in the past two weeks.

Two or three weeks old.

Three or four weeks old!

Four or five weeks old!

It may be hard to tell how much bigger they are because of the angle and zoom differences. Trust me. They are mini chickens now! And yes, I know they were before, but they weren't "chicken" looking.

One of my mom's pugs had puppies almost two weeks ago. Sean wants to get one. I'm struggling with this. I'm torn. I do want a puppy/dog. I just don't know if I want a pug. And if I want one soon. I already have a lot going on around here. I already deal with enough poop and mouths to feed (Alice, HJ, the cat, three rabbits, the chickens, and the chicks). Logically, it doesn't make sense. However, it does when I look at the big picture. I'm at home, so I'd be here to house train. I could house train before I potty train Alice. HJ isn't mobile (yet), so that makes the transition a bit easier. If we wait, then we'd be waiting at least a year or two. And who knows what life will be like then?!

Then the whole pug debate. I want another Staffy. That costs money, and quite a bit. The pug would be free (initially). Are pugs good with kids? That is my biggest priority, of course, followed by the hair. From what I've read, pugs shed heavily. I'm not too keen on that. So if you have any experience or knowledge on pugs, let me have it!

So I'm back! I'm not going to promise daily posts. I'm going to ease back into my groove. I do promise that if I ever need a break, that I will let all you lovely people know.

Our Newest Additions

Nothing quite says spring like babies. Any kind of babies. While I would be most thrilled with a puppy, and we will get one someday, I don't quite have the time for something like that. Ever since Bruno's death (he was our first baby-a Staffordshire Bull Terrier), we have been hesitant to bring another canine into our home. Ideally, once the kids are a bit older we will consider adding a new best friend. I'm hoping for another year or two!

So what did we get? Why, a bunch of chicks, of course! We currently have three hens and a rooster, and we needed/wanted a few more. So Sean and Alice went chick shopping! We were planning on getting 5 or 6, but I guess he had to buy at least 10. So we have ten baby chicks! If any of them are roosters, I'm a bit sad to say that their lives will be somewhat short. Though we would be doing them a much better disservice to put them in with the one we have now. He is large and beautiful, but oh so mean to other cocks. He was part of our original set, and he killed three others. We weren't sure which one was the "killer" as he was the smaller of the two we had left, and we were deciding which one to keep. I wanted to keep him, and Sean wanted the other one. Turns out I have a better knack for these things, as a day or two later we found the other rooster dead.

So enough about death. Let's see the chicks!

This was the box they came in. Way too small!

So Sean and Alice found them a bigger box! And moved them into our laundry room, so that we could care for them easier (I'm short and couldn't reach the food or water when they were in their original spot!). Plus now Alice can stand and watch them for hours! So far, she has tried to share her sippy cup and shoes with them.

This one is my favorite! S/he is so fluffy and fuzzy! I shall call him/her Fluffy. And Fluffy is, obviously, intelligent because Fluffy is doing the crossword! My kinda chick!

Randomness

I'm going to do a very random post today, as I have many things that I would like to talk about. And since tomorrow's Friday Night Leftovers will be the Birthday Version, I feel I should address everything else that I would have normally done then.

So...

• To answer Megan's question, we have: 3 rabbits (JackieBlue, Roxanne (Roxy), and Janie -and yes, I love rock. If I have any other female animals in the future they will probably be named after songs as well); 1 rooster and 5 hens (they are not named, but we get 6-7 eggs a day, so obviously one or two of the hens are very fertile); 5 cats (actually one mama cat-whom is probably off getting knocked up again-that slut! and 4 kittens)
• The thing I love about chickens is that they will eat just about anything. Seriously! All of our scraps and spoiled food (which I try not to have any). We still give them their feed everyday (well I do, I don't know about Sean), but I love to take the scraps of food (which Alice contributes A LOT) to them and watch them peck at them. I think our chickens are probably healthier than most other chickens out there. Plus with the recent egg recall, we don't have to worry about that.
• I have been meaning to make pickles for a few weekends, but things have been hectic since the accident. I will share with you the whole pickling process when I get around to it, and how to make your own spaghetti sauce.
• I was outside today, and I realized I never planted any flowers (well I did plant bulbs, but I don't count those) this year. It isn't too late, and I could in another week or two, so perhaps I will get Alice a little gardening set for her birthday and we can plant flowers in a few weeks! I just have to make sure to watch her like a hawk... she will probably try to eat the dirt.
• Speaking of the little monkey, she really is a monkey. Sean and I would tell people that we were hoping for a monkey when they asked what we wanted. I mean, seriously, doesn't everyone want a healthy baby?! Sean and I were originally planning on getting a monkey, but we got a different breed of monkey *wink*
• Ahh, yes, I digress... Alice, undoubtedly, did climb out of her crib. I'm still not sure about the falling to the floor thing or climbing down (but I'm leaning more towards climbing down after seeing her in action today-more on that in a second). This morning, I witnessed her pull herself up to see what was on the kitchen table and then use her legs to climb up more. There is no doubt in my mind that she would have been on top of the table had Sean not stopped her. And when we were outside, she climbed onto the tractor all by herself and sat in the seat and "drove". People, we are in TROUBLE!
• I have thought over all of the suggestions from yesterday (and Megan, my sister wasn't at our house, but if she is capable of teleporting I demand to know how!). I have looked at tent cribs, and like Jen, I don't think that is a viable solution. I don't think anything would deter her from trying to get out, and I sure don't want to find my baby strangled to death in a tent crib because I was trying to prevent broken bones. And I do agree that cribs should be lower. And with lids! Sean wants to put a piece of plywood on top, to which I pointed out that she would hit her head every time she tried to stand up. So, for now, we are just going to keep her in our bed with us.
• I have TWO WEEKS to go! Woo hoo! Which really works out to 11 days (counting today) but since today is almost over 10... and since I have tomorrow off, 9!!!
• At some point, this weekend, I will be posting Alice's birth story. Don't you all just love birth stories? I do. And hers is funny (at least the part before getting to the hospital-and I only think it is funny now).
• Oh, and in all likelihood, I will have two posts tomorrow, so keep an eye out!
• And to think that a year ago, at this exact time, we were at the hospital! Wow! Time is flying!

Pictures and More Pictures

As promised, here are the pictures from the weekend and a few of the kittens. Did you know that kittens open their eyes around 7-8 days old? If I had paid closer attention to the first litter of kittens I may have known that, but I had a newborn and she required most of my time.

I pulled each of the kittens out and took separate pictures. Unfortunately, they don't show their faces due to the angle.

Looking just like momma cat!


My all white kitty, isn't all white. Apparently we have an all white/tabby/spotted kitty here...with a grey tail. I'm still so in love!


Here is Star. Star has also changed. Star is no longer all black/grey, but not black/grey with orange stripes. Star still has the orange blotches around the left eye and white around the right.


Look at my fluffy butt! And if you notice in the corner, you can see my favorite kitten with it's eyes open!



Jinx with her babies. Normally it is too hot to hang out in there with them all the time, so she watches guard by laying in front of the box. And if you look closely, you can see all four kittens and how different they all look.


Here are Monica and T's girls, Fiona and Sofia. And down (literally) in front is Alice!


"RAAAAR! I said no pictures! Now you get Angry Baby!"


Looking quite tired on Monica's lap, eating corn on the cob.


Sofia and Alice cheesing it up! I actually think Alice was trying to steal Sofia's bike.

Kitties and Baby!

FINALLY! Introducing the newest additions (and most likely temporary residents)... along with a few with my baby! I should mention that we will most likely keep one. It is too early to say which one, as we will initially go off of temperment/personality, but I'm particularly fond of the white one and Star. Though they are all so cute, I'd love to keep them all... but can you imagine how much cat food we'd go through? Last time we had a litter here, we went through 16 pounds of cat food in a week and a half! I think we may let Alice pick out which one to keep and let it be her kitty. Since she says "CAT" and "Kiki"!


Here they all are. Can you see all four of them? Isn't it neat how they can all look so different?


Alice and mama holding "Star". I have no idea if Star is a boy or girl, at least as of this post, but Star has two starbursts around his/her eyes.



This one doesn't have a name yet. S/he looks just like Jinx and Minx. So maybe we'll call it Linx.


OH! This one was initially my favorite. An all white kitty with spots of gray/black and a few striped patches on his/her butt! I have yet to come up with a name for this one either.


This one doesn't have a name either. It looks quite a bit like the other striped one, Linx. I know that they both appear to look similar, but one has a calico/tabby thing going on, on it's rear, and the other has a whole tabby thing. Forgive me for not knowing which is which yet. They are only 1 week old though!


All curled up in to a ball! Can you see all four of them?



And again, all hanging out together! I think they were about 12 hours old in the pictures... except for the ones with Alice. They were about 3 days old in those.



Tomorrow, I will have more pictures of Alice. I didn't want to overwhelm anyone (or their computer) today.

Wacky Wednesday

Today is Wednesday, right? Things are just kind of a blur. I lose track of the day sometime after Monday. In fact, sometimes I think it is Tuesday by the end of Monday. Can you tell that I need a little more sleep?

Lets see, what has been going on? Yesterday, I was awoken around 4:30ish by a certain little baby. I noticed then that my right ear was oozing some fluid and hurt to lay on that side. Unfortunately, I did not have a choice but to lay on that side, as we co-sleep and I was nursing. So I fell back asleep. I woke up a few hours later, and decided to go to the doctor before work.

As I was taking care of the animals, I noticed our cat, Jinx, was MIA. Knowing that she was about to pop with kittens (plus she didn't eat all of her food, and the blinds in the breezeway where we keep her were torn down), I went looking for her. I found her... having kitties! So I carefully moved her and the cardboard box (that Alice's highchair came in, but it was wet from the rain-the barn is old and needs a new roof) they were in, and moved her back up to the breezeway. At that point she had two kittens. Oh, and one more thing... I do have pictures of the kittens, but I don't have my camera with me right now, so I'll post them later.

After getting ready, I went to check on Jinx and there were three kitties and she was having the fourth! So I got to see the last one being born! Awesome! We then headed to the doctor. I'm glad I brought several snacks, as we waited for almost an hour, and then over thirty more minutes in the exam room before the doctor came in. He thinks I have an upper respiratory infection, so he gave me amoxicillin. Then I talked to him about my chronic headaches, which he said he couldn't really "treat", as they were chronic (I've been having them almost daily for 3+ months), but he referred me to a different doctor. So now I may have a new family physician! I just have to check her out. He did give me tylenol with codeine for the headaches, and promised it would only make me feel "mellow". So we head to the pharmacy, wait another 45 minutes, get my 'scripts and head home. I immediately feed Alice, and take my medicine. I then call work (it is now 5:15 and was due at work @ 3) and tell them I "could" come in, but prefer not to as it would be 7-7:30 before I get there, and I would be there for maybe two hours. So I didn't go in (I had a note excusing me anyway). Good thing too... that "mellow" feeling I was supposed to experience knocked me out for over two hours. In fact, Sean scared me when he came home early from work and told me it was almost 8:30. Oops...better start dinner. See this post for what we had for dinner. I also made homemade macaroni and cheese and it goes STELLAR with the cabbage rolls!

It took me 18 minutes to change a diaper and wrestle Alice in to her clothes today. She kept rolling over and crawling away. And when I was wrapping her diaper up, she took off. I told her to come back, but she started going full throttle ahead. I had to chase her down! I now know to add 20 minutes on to our getting ready routine!

And then today, on my way in to work, I get a call from the District (or Regional) Manager of Panera. He apologized profusely. He was on his way to the store in question, and assured me he would provide some more training for the manager, along with investigating who/why/etc. the band-aid incident happened. He also said he will be mailing me coupons to use at any of their stores. He was pretty appalled at what happened, and agreed with me about the potential "healthcare violations" and said this kind of thing had only happened once before (and that was at a different place) in his years in the food industry. So I'll let you know what happens. I really hope the manager doesn't get fired. I don't want that. I just don't think that non-edible items in your food is acceptable. So hopefully, nobody loses a job over this whole band-aid thing.


Oh, and go me for learning how to insert links!!!

I hope this post finds everyone in blog land in good spirits and health.

Seven Months!

Alice is 7 months old today! Wow! Has it really been seven months already? Time flies when you're having fun, and oh what fun have we had. Of course, the older she gets the more and more fun we can have. Our fun it limited to what is "safe" and within reason for her age, but oh the fun things we will get to do!

No new milestones were hit this past month. I *think* she has been signing milk the past few days, but I'm still not completely sure. I only see her do it while we are nursing, so perhaps she is. Alice got an awful lot better at crawling...I swear I feel like I'm in slow motion when I'm trying to get her. She is a pro at pulling herself up to standing. In fact, she can now stand even when there is nothing to pull at, i.e. the wall! Yes, her new favorite "toy" seems to be the wall. She crawls over there. Bumps her head and face in to it, and laughs! Then she rubs her hand all over it, smacks it to hear that lovely sound, and then stands up...and starts rubbing her face and head over it! I told Sean that we shouldn't get her any toys or anything. Just a few bags (like gift bags-not plastic from the store), an empty box, and a few pots and pans (with a spoon for banging!). I believe she would be the happiest baby ever! Truthfully, she already is though. Almost always full of smiles!

Oh, I got off on a tangent. The other thing that Alice is working on perfecting is standing alone. She was only doing a few seconds, but I am pleased to report she can now (sometimes) stand for up to two minutes on her own. She can also take a few steps if you hold her hands. Geez, this kid will be walking before I know it. Which makes me wonder, why am I trying to promote this "walking" thing? I'm only kidding (sort of). Life with a crawler sure is more trying than life with a baby that just lays there.

For the first time (well technically it wasn't the first time-but the first times didn't count because she was only days/weeks old), Alice got to go outside and see what was going on. I put her in her stroller, and we rolled out to check on the animals. Now, Alice has seen dogs. Oh, does she love dogs! She has not seen any other animals...until yesterday. First up were the rabbits. Oh my goodness...she squealed with delight and leaned so far forward in her stroller that I thought she may fall out. I didn't let her pet any of the rabbits (only one is really nice enough to let you pet her anyway). Next, I opened the barn door and out came the two cats (we had 5 but living in the country you learn that sometimes animals run away or get beaten by nature). The mommy cat (Jinx) saw Alice and ran off, but Minx (the son) was intrigued. He had never seen a stroller before! So began the most interesting part of our excursion. Minx was interested in the stroller and Alice, and Alice was F-R-E-A-K-I-N-G out about the kitty. I have never heard her babble, squeal, or scream as loud as she was. At one point, I picked up Minx so Alice could pet him and boy, oh boy, was she tickled. Finally, we strolled around to see the chickens. The rooster was crowing and the look on Alice's face was priceless. Never had she heard anything like that. She looked at the rooster, then to me, back to the rooster, then to me. I told her it was a rooster (and pointed out the hens as well), but I didn't have a sign for it. Remind me to see if I can find the signs for "rabbit", "cat", and "chicken".

Unfortunately, I do not have pictures of our first outing at our house, but I will bring the camera today when we go and try to recreate the situation. I need to cut this short...apparently my father wants to stop by with relatives that haven't seen Alice yet, and my house is a mess. Argh! Whatever happened to the 24 hour notice? I don't usually clean the house until Saturday afternoons or Sunday.