Number of times I have had sick kids this month: 3
My kids hardly ever get sick. For example, I had not taken Big J to the doctor in over 2 years. He hadn't missed a single day of school in over 2 years. Until this month - he missed 4 days of school. Crazy. He was sick twice this month and Little Man was sick once.
Number of pink eye cases in the past week (this number does not factor into the above number): 2
Thankfully, I was able to just call into the doctor for the second one instead of having to take them in. (Big J and Little J were the victims).
Number of gushing nosebleeds in the last 24 hours (2 of which bled for 20 - 30 minutes each despite pressure being applied): 4
Little J has always had a nose that bleeds more easily if it gets bumped, etc., but I don't know what the deal has been. He sneezed yesterday morning and had a big nosebleed, and then last night we went to dinner and he was leaning over his coloring and it just started gushing again. A nurse from another table actually came into the bathroom and applied pressure for a straight 15 minutes after seeing that we weren't able to get it to stop. I'm sure her dinner was totally cold by the time she got back. What a nice lady - her name was Amber. We never made it to the dinner part, as his nose would not stop and so we left debating if we should take him to the ER. On the way, it finally did stop, so we just went home. And then this morning he woke up and had a doozy of another one. From the playroom into their bathroom looked like a scene from a crime show. Then he had another one tonight after he said his knee bumped it when he was playing around. What is the deal?!
Number of days left until I am due: 25
I am now taking bets - you know, the traditional amount of labor time, birth day/time, baby's weight/height. To give you an idea for more accurate guessing, here is a summary of my past birth experiences:
Big J - Induced at 38 weeks because of pre-eclampsia; 16 1/2 hours of labor; Born at 10:24 a.m.; 7 lbs. 15 oz.; 21 inches
Little J - Induced at 38 weeks because of pre-eclampsia; 11 1/2 hours of labor; Born at 2:58 a.m.; 8 lbs. 5.5 oz.; 22 inches
Little Man - Induced at 39 weeks because he was gonna be a big one; 7 3/4 hours of labor; Born at 7:15 p.m.; 9 lbs. 4.3 oz.; 20 inches
I have been measuring between 2 - 4 weeks big since 30 weeks. As of today's appointment, I am dilated "a fingertip." Whoever guesses the closest wins. Well, you win nothing except the honor of being featured as the most omniscient reader of my blog, but hey, it will be fun!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Finales
So I admit that I don't watch that many TV shows faithfully. I also admit that I am usually a season finale groupie, meaning that even if I haven't watched the show during the season (either regularly or at all) I will watch the season finale of it. I guess that's weird, but sometimes I don't want to invest time into a show, but I still have a slight curiousity about it so I will watch the finale because that is when all the good stuff happens anyway. I didn't really do that as much this year; however, here is my opinion on the finales I did see:
1. 24 - I thought the season was great, but the finale was just ok. Kind of anti-climatic for me. It was so anti-climatic that I don't really have anything else to say. My guess is they are going to cop out on the resolving of Jack's illness in the next season by making it a year or more in the future and making references to how lucky he was the experimental stem-cell treatment worked or something along those lines. I still don't like bad Tony, and he is still bad, even if he was doing all this under the pretense of righting past wrongs.
2. Grey's Anatomy - One of the best finales I saw for one reason only - I did NOT see the whole George thing coming at all, which usually I pick up on those things. I was completely shocked and audibly gasped when he wrote out "007"on Meredith's hand. And I was still shocked a few days later, so that means it was good. I liked how they left it open - did he/will he and Izzie die or not?
3. Private Practice - Good finale, although a little day-time soap opera-ish for me. They left plenty of things hanging, though, to make me want to see how they play out in the next season.
4. Fringe - Great finale. The whole Peter's gravestone revelation was cool and the ending in the alternate parallel universe with Leonard Nimoy and the Twin Towers was awe.some.
5. American Idol - I honestly didn't care who won, and I watched it for the performances only. I thought they were good, especially the ones with Queen, Kiss, Keith Urban and Lionel Ritchie. I doubt I will watch American Idol ever again, though.
6. Chuck - This was a great finale. It was possibly going to be a series finale, but I heard it got picked up for 13 episodes next year. I loved the whole "Domo Arigato Mr. Roboto" shoot-out scene. That was classic. And then who can't love the fact that Chuck has skillz now?
7. Life - As I've said before, I was really disappointed this show was cancelled. But I liked how they wrapped it up well enough with Crews swapping hostage places with Reese and taking out the Russian baddy with one swift move. And the insinuation he did it all because he's in love with her....aaawwww.
8. Lie to Me - It was just kind of like a normal episode, so pretty anti-climatic for a finale in my opinion. I like the show, but the main guy Lightman always looks to me like he needs to de-lice or something. Or at least take a shower.
I think those are all the ones I watched. I could be missing some, I don't know. If I can't even remember them, then I guess they weren't that great anyway. I know I still need to catch up on the NCIS episodes and watch the finale for that one. Other than that, the only show I will probably be DVRing now is So You Think You Can Dance.
What about you? What finales did you like?
1. 24 - I thought the season was great, but the finale was just ok. Kind of anti-climatic for me. It was so anti-climatic that I don't really have anything else to say. My guess is they are going to cop out on the resolving of Jack's illness in the next season by making it a year or more in the future and making references to how lucky he was the experimental stem-cell treatment worked or something along those lines. I still don't like bad Tony, and he is still bad, even if he was doing all this under the pretense of righting past wrongs.
2. Grey's Anatomy - One of the best finales I saw for one reason only - I did NOT see the whole George thing coming at all, which usually I pick up on those things. I was completely shocked and audibly gasped when he wrote out "007"on Meredith's hand. And I was still shocked a few days later, so that means it was good. I liked how they left it open - did he/will he and Izzie die or not?
3. Private Practice - Good finale, although a little day-time soap opera-ish for me. They left plenty of things hanging, though, to make me want to see how they play out in the next season.
4. Fringe - Great finale. The whole Peter's gravestone revelation was cool and the ending in the alternate parallel universe with Leonard Nimoy and the Twin Towers was awe.some.
5. American Idol - I honestly didn't care who won, and I watched it for the performances only. I thought they were good, especially the ones with Queen, Kiss, Keith Urban and Lionel Ritchie. I doubt I will watch American Idol ever again, though.
6. Chuck - This was a great finale. It was possibly going to be a series finale, but I heard it got picked up for 13 episodes next year. I loved the whole "Domo Arigato Mr. Roboto" shoot-out scene. That was classic. And then who can't love the fact that Chuck has skillz now?
7. Life - As I've said before, I was really disappointed this show was cancelled. But I liked how they wrapped it up well enough with Crews swapping hostage places with Reese and taking out the Russian baddy with one swift move. And the insinuation he did it all because he's in love with her....aaawwww.
8. Lie to Me - It was just kind of like a normal episode, so pretty anti-climatic for a finale in my opinion. I like the show, but the main guy Lightman always looks to me like he needs to de-lice or something. Or at least take a shower.
I think those are all the ones I watched. I could be missing some, I don't know. If I can't even remember them, then I guess they weren't that great anyway. I know I still need to catch up on the NCIS episodes and watch the finale for that one. Other than that, the only show I will probably be DVRing now is So You Think You Can Dance.
What about you? What finales did you like?
Sunday, May 17, 2009
A really random book review for no particular reason other than the fact I've been hormonal and don't want to write a big whiny hormonal post
I am not a big re-reader of books. In fact, I hardly ever re-read any book. But, a couple of weeks ago I decided to re-read Gone With the Wind since it has been probably 10 years since I read it last. I was a huge fan then, and again I am convinced it is one of the best books EVER. I am already a historical fiction fan anyway, but this book is in a class of it’s own. It's no wonder it won the Pulitzer Prize.
I love the historical and cultural aspects of it, but what I really love is the characters. There are very few books that can develop a character to the point that you know all their flaws and inner workings, yet you are still deeply intrigued by them, admire them and yet are repulsed by them at the same time. There are few books that can develop its protagonists in such a way that they could easily be the antagonists, have them do things that morally you would object to, and yet, somehow you are still able to completely relate to them and also believe that the end justifies the means. I mean, how can you not love a dainty Southern belle who is ballsy enough to blow the face off of an intruder, marry men she doesn't love, and grate against the status quo in order to protect her family and get what she wants?
And I love the love/hate relationship between Scarlett and Rhett Butler. It gives you some of the most classic diaglogue of all time. The lack of sappiness and knight-in-shining-armor crap (although he is her knight in shining armor) that is usually in romances is replaced with the shrewdness of their characters and the utter rawness of their relationship as it develops over the years. They see each other for what they truly are (which isn’t always pretty), they say it like it is, and they have some dang hot chemistry, too. Ultimately, I think this novel could be considered a tragedy, but the grit and the gumption that permeates the entire book doesn't let you feel that it is.
Another plus with this story is that there are very few books that translate over into films that capture the core of the book so honestly. Gone With the Wind the movie is, out of necessity, a thinner version of the book, but I think overall it portrays the story and characters as they are in the book, which is why it is also such a great movie. My main pet peave with the movie is I think they make Ashley way too wimpy, when he should have come across as gentlemanly, handsome, and scholarly. The book is obviously more detailed and contains things the movie leaves out (like Scarlett having children by her first two husbands, for example, and some of the characters) and I think the book is a little less innocent than the movie, but overall it is a good adaptation. I don't think you get as much of the inner workings of the characters' minds in the movie, which to me is of huge interest in the book, but it is still a great movie and if you are not interested in reading a 1500 page book then I recommend at least seeing the movie so you don't miss out on the story.
To be honest, I have no idea where I am going with this or even why I am writing it. I guess to say that if you want something a little more meaty to read with lots of grit, drama, romance, and unflinching honesty, then I highly recommend this book.
I love the historical and cultural aspects of it, but what I really love is the characters. There are very few books that can develop a character to the point that you know all their flaws and inner workings, yet you are still deeply intrigued by them, admire them and yet are repulsed by them at the same time. There are few books that can develop its protagonists in such a way that they could easily be the antagonists, have them do things that morally you would object to, and yet, somehow you are still able to completely relate to them and also believe that the end justifies the means. I mean, how can you not love a dainty Southern belle who is ballsy enough to blow the face off of an intruder, marry men she doesn't love, and grate against the status quo in order to protect her family and get what she wants?
And I love the love/hate relationship between Scarlett and Rhett Butler. It gives you some of the most classic diaglogue of all time. The lack of sappiness and knight-in-shining-armor crap (although he is her knight in shining armor) that is usually in romances is replaced with the shrewdness of their characters and the utter rawness of their relationship as it develops over the years. They see each other for what they truly are (which isn’t always pretty), they say it like it is, and they have some dang hot chemistry, too. Ultimately, I think this novel could be considered a tragedy, but the grit and the gumption that permeates the entire book doesn't let you feel that it is.
Another plus with this story is that there are very few books that translate over into films that capture the core of the book so honestly. Gone With the Wind the movie is, out of necessity, a thinner version of the book, but I think overall it portrays the story and characters as they are in the book, which is why it is also such a great movie. My main pet peave with the movie is I think they make Ashley way too wimpy, when he should have come across as gentlemanly, handsome, and scholarly. The book is obviously more detailed and contains things the movie leaves out (like Scarlett having children by her first two husbands, for example, and some of the characters) and I think the book is a little less innocent than the movie, but overall it is a good adaptation. I don't think you get as much of the inner workings of the characters' minds in the movie, which to me is of huge interest in the book, but it is still a great movie and if you are not interested in reading a 1500 page book then I recommend at least seeing the movie so you don't miss out on the story.
To be honest, I have no idea where I am going with this or even why I am writing it. I guess to say that if you want something a little more meaty to read with lots of grit, drama, romance, and unflinching honesty, then I highly recommend this book.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Ramblings
**Where do the days go? Seriously. I am up by 7:00 and usually go to bed between 11:00 - 12:00 and it seems like the days just speed by. I never watch TV during the day or something that I can pinpoint is a real time zapper, but it seems like all the "to do" things never get less. Does it seem that way to everyone else? JC asked me what I wanted for Mother's Day and I said, "A clean house," and he laughed and said, "No. Really." NO. REALLY.
**We've been having a house of sickies lately. Little Man came down with a low grade fever last Thursday and then it just went downhill from there. I took him to the urgent care on Saturday evening, because he had basically slept all day and his fever had spiked to over 103. He was SO lethargic and hadn't eaten hardly anything on Friday or Saturday. We were at the urgent care for 2 hours, and that entire time he just sat in my lap. I thought he had fallen asleep a few times, he was so out of it. They couldn't figure out what the deal was - his ears were fine, his lungs were fine, the strep test came back negative, etc. She told me that if his fever hadn't broken on Sunday then to take him to Children's Mercy. But that night his fever did break, he was drenched in sweat, and he seemed much better the next day.
Then yesterday I got a call from the school nurse that Big J was running a fever and had fallen asleep on the cot in her office almost immediately. So he came home and slept all day. His fever also went up to over 103. But today it is staying around 99.5 and he is definitely doing much better than he was yesterday. He's bummed because he is missing his field trip today, though.
So far Little J hasn't come down with anything except a cough that only pops up when he's laying down at night. Last night he sounded like a honking goose. And JC has kind of had a little cold thing going on this week, too. So...hopefully all this will clear out soon.
**What is up with Allison being voted off of AI last night? PLEASE! Danny was so terrible on rock night, I was embarassed for him. And he slobbers so much when he sings - it is gross. I was really hoping he was going home. This is my last time to watch AI. I'm just kind of over it. However, I will say I am excited for So You Think You Can Dance to start, even though that is the cheesiest name for a show ever.
**Have any of you ever watched the show Life? It is not returning next season and I am bummed. It was a smart show with good writing. I don't understand how shows like Scrubs stay on for years and years and shows like Life get cancelled. Some new shows I've started to DVR that I like are Castle and Lie to Me. Speaking of shows, I don't usually watch Medium, but JC's cousin, Davah, wrote the third episode of Medium's three-part finale. The first two episodes showed this past Monday and her episode will air next Monday (5/11) at 9PM. This was the last episode she wrote for Medium before leaving the show. So check it out!
**I am freaking huge and it is starting to bug and get really uncomfortable. I can't imagine my stomach getting any bigger and I cringe when I think of having 6 more weeks for this kid to grow. Half of my maternity shirts hardly fit anymore as it is.
**The kids only have 2 weeks of school left. I have several summer camps lined up, however. During the week Big J is at Cub Scout Camp, Little J will have Vacation Bible School during the mornings. Then Big J will have a science camp he will be at and Little J will have an art camp during the same time. A few weeks after that, they will both have swim lessons. And we are gearing up to start baseball for both of them. Big J actually had his first practice last night and missed it because he was sick. So hopefully there will be plenty of things to keep them occupied during their time off, but still have plenty of pool time, etc.
**My 11 year anniversary is this Saturday. We are celebrating by going to Little J's soccer game and having a BBQ for some friends that are moving. Yes, you should be jealous that you don't have as much romance in your life.
I could go on, but I'm sure these random ramblings will satisfy you enough for the time being. That is, if you are still awake after reading all of this... :-)
**We've been having a house of sickies lately. Little Man came down with a low grade fever last Thursday and then it just went downhill from there. I took him to the urgent care on Saturday evening, because he had basically slept all day and his fever had spiked to over 103. He was SO lethargic and hadn't eaten hardly anything on Friday or Saturday. We were at the urgent care for 2 hours, and that entire time he just sat in my lap. I thought he had fallen asleep a few times, he was so out of it. They couldn't figure out what the deal was - his ears were fine, his lungs were fine, the strep test came back negative, etc. She told me that if his fever hadn't broken on Sunday then to take him to Children's Mercy. But that night his fever did break, he was drenched in sweat, and he seemed much better the next day.
Then yesterday I got a call from the school nurse that Big J was running a fever and had fallen asleep on the cot in her office almost immediately. So he came home and slept all day. His fever also went up to over 103. But today it is staying around 99.5 and he is definitely doing much better than he was yesterday. He's bummed because he is missing his field trip today, though.
So far Little J hasn't come down with anything except a cough that only pops up when he's laying down at night. Last night he sounded like a honking goose. And JC has kind of had a little cold thing going on this week, too. So...hopefully all this will clear out soon.
**What is up with Allison being voted off of AI last night? PLEASE! Danny was so terrible on rock night, I was embarassed for him. And he slobbers so much when he sings - it is gross. I was really hoping he was going home. This is my last time to watch AI. I'm just kind of over it. However, I will say I am excited for So You Think You Can Dance to start, even though that is the cheesiest name for a show ever.
**Have any of you ever watched the show Life? It is not returning next season and I am bummed. It was a smart show with good writing. I don't understand how shows like Scrubs stay on for years and years and shows like Life get cancelled. Some new shows I've started to DVR that I like are Castle and Lie to Me. Speaking of shows, I don't usually watch Medium, but JC's cousin, Davah, wrote the third episode of Medium's three-part finale. The first two episodes showed this past Monday and her episode will air next Monday (5/11) at 9PM. This was the last episode she wrote for Medium before leaving the show. So check it out!
**I am freaking huge and it is starting to bug and get really uncomfortable. I can't imagine my stomach getting any bigger and I cringe when I think of having 6 more weeks for this kid to grow. Half of my maternity shirts hardly fit anymore as it is.
**The kids only have 2 weeks of school left. I have several summer camps lined up, however. During the week Big J is at Cub Scout Camp, Little J will have Vacation Bible School during the mornings. Then Big J will have a science camp he will be at and Little J will have an art camp during the same time. A few weeks after that, they will both have swim lessons. And we are gearing up to start baseball for both of them. Big J actually had his first practice last night and missed it because he was sick. So hopefully there will be plenty of things to keep them occupied during their time off, but still have plenty of pool time, etc.
**My 11 year anniversary is this Saturday. We are celebrating by going to Little J's soccer game and having a BBQ for some friends that are moving. Yes, you should be jealous that you don't have as much romance in your life.
I could go on, but I'm sure these random ramblings will satisfy you enough for the time being. That is, if you are still awake after reading all of this... :-)
Thursday, April 30, 2009
La Fiesta para Bebe
Last Saturday my awesome friends gave me a baby shower. They figured since my kids were all half Mexican we should welcome la niña in style, so we had a fiesta complete with virgin margaritas, a maraca-shaped cake, and a chili pepper piñata full of baby stuff. It was so much fun and I felt so spoiled. Everyone was very generous and this girl is going to be one stylin' diva! I literally received mounds of clothes for her. I didn't count all the clothing items, but I am estimating it was at least 60 different things, not counting the hair bows and socks and blankets, etc. etc. I also got a couple of super cute bags to tote all my stylin' things in. Even after having 3 kids, I have never once had a cute diaper bag so I am excited for it. It was such a fun party and I was glad to have good friends to celebrate with.
The spread
The cute hostesses - Sarah, Milli, and Daisie. (I don't know who that fat chick on the end is.)
The only picture I will post of me opening presents, just to prove I did.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
So Much Excitement
Today, we made the leap and Little Man is now in a big boy bed. It's something that had to be done, but that I had been dreading. But now that he is potty trained and theoretically needing access to a toilet more readily, there was no more avoiding it. Not to mention the fact that he was going to have to be evicted from the crib sooner than later and so we might as well get on with it.
We found a great deal on a basically brand new mates bed with a bookshelf headboard on Craigslist yesterday and were able to snag it. And then a friend traded me an almost new twin mattress for a big bag (meaning a garbage sack full) of opened packs of diapers and a couple of packs of unopened Pull-Ups I had saved at the top of the closet since Little J was potty training. But since Little Man just kind of skipped over that, I no longer needed them, but her son could use them. So...we were set. Little Man was excited, but fell asleep quickly and easily tonight. I will say he was purposefully worn out and I did lay down by him until he was asleep, which was about 10 minutes. But hopefully he will stay the night in there and we'll be on our way.
On another topic...what would you buy with gift cards you got on your birthday? Little J's birthday was in March, and this year he got a lot of gift cards. He has already purchased for himself a $30 Lego set, a Scooby Doo movie, and a Rubiks Cube in previous trips to the store. Today, however, I can't stop chuckling at his great buys. Are you ready? They were:
1. A ream of printer paper
and
2. A pack of orange Tic Tacs
He was soooo excited to find out he could buy 400 sheets of plain white paper! I guess our huge scratch paper drawer full of paper and his 10,000 notebooks and drawing pads were just not good enough. The Tic Tacs were an impulse buy in the register line. Maybe Santa will have it easy this year and just leave him a big box of printer paper from Costco or something.
And not to neglect my oldest child, Big J had his first book report and book project due this week. They could read whatever book they wanted and then they had to write a report on it, present it to the class, and do an choose an additional "project" from the list. He decided to read Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and then dress up as Indiana Jones while he presented his report to the class. Do you know it is almost impossible to find an Indiana Jones-ish hat without paying tons of money for it?? I finally ended up buying a costume set that included a shirt, a hat, and a whip for more money than I wanted to spend, but justified it in the fact that I have 3 boys that will all at some point be Indiana Jones for Halloween and many times in between. (Hey, Little J went through a phase where he wore his Spiderman costume everywhere, every day, so I figure if I groom Little Man just right this will pay off in the end ;-)
In other Big J news...he informed us that he doesn't want to take Tae Kwon Do anymore. This isn't the first time this has come out of his mouth, but before he would change his mind after watching The Karate Kid or something like that. But I think he is really serious this time because he received a letter saying he could test for his orange belt this upcoming weekend and he didn't even care or want to. I don't like to see him quit, because it really goes against something fundamental in me, but at the same time, I am not going to force him to keep doing something he doesn't enjoy doing anymore, especially since he is involved in so many other things he is good at and enjoys doing. So, I guess that's that, unless he changes his mind in the next few days.
Now that you are sufficiently caught up on the extremely interesting goings on at our house, I guess I will go and finish the laundry. (So much excitement - can you handle it?? :-)
We found a great deal on a basically brand new mates bed with a bookshelf headboard on Craigslist yesterday and were able to snag it. And then a friend traded me an almost new twin mattress for a big bag (meaning a garbage sack full) of opened packs of diapers and a couple of packs of unopened Pull-Ups I had saved at the top of the closet since Little J was potty training. But since Little Man just kind of skipped over that, I no longer needed them, but her son could use them. So...we were set. Little Man was excited, but fell asleep quickly and easily tonight. I will say he was purposefully worn out and I did lay down by him until he was asleep, which was about 10 minutes. But hopefully he will stay the night in there and we'll be on our way.
On another topic...what would you buy with gift cards you got on your birthday? Little J's birthday was in March, and this year he got a lot of gift cards. He has already purchased for himself a $30 Lego set, a Scooby Doo movie, and a Rubiks Cube in previous trips to the store. Today, however, I can't stop chuckling at his great buys. Are you ready? They were:
1. A ream of printer paper
and
2. A pack of orange Tic Tacs
He was soooo excited to find out he could buy 400 sheets of plain white paper! I guess our huge scratch paper drawer full of paper and his 10,000 notebooks and drawing pads were just not good enough. The Tic Tacs were an impulse buy in the register line. Maybe Santa will have it easy this year and just leave him a big box of printer paper from Costco or something.
And not to neglect my oldest child, Big J had his first book report and book project due this week. They could read whatever book they wanted and then they had to write a report on it, present it to the class, and do an choose an additional "project" from the list. He decided to read Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and then dress up as Indiana Jones while he presented his report to the class. Do you know it is almost impossible to find an Indiana Jones-ish hat without paying tons of money for it?? I finally ended up buying a costume set that included a shirt, a hat, and a whip for more money than I wanted to spend, but justified it in the fact that I have 3 boys that will all at some point be Indiana Jones for Halloween and many times in between. (Hey, Little J went through a phase where he wore his Spiderman costume everywhere, every day, so I figure if I groom Little Man just right this will pay off in the end ;-)
In other Big J news...he informed us that he doesn't want to take Tae Kwon Do anymore. This isn't the first time this has come out of his mouth, but before he would change his mind after watching The Karate Kid or something like that. But I think he is really serious this time because he received a letter saying he could test for his orange belt this upcoming weekend and he didn't even care or want to. I don't like to see him quit, because it really goes against something fundamental in me, but at the same time, I am not going to force him to keep doing something he doesn't enjoy doing anymore, especially since he is involved in so many other things he is good at and enjoys doing. So, I guess that's that, unless he changes his mind in the next few days.
Now that you are sufficiently caught up on the extremely interesting goings on at our house, I guess I will go and finish the laundry. (So much excitement - can you handle it?? :-)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)