January, 2008 | The Angel Forever

Monthly Archives January 2008

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Party in his crib at 3AM – thud

Posted on January 31, 2008 9:26 am by TheAngelForever

Ummm. . . . who told JSL to have a party in his crib at 3 this morning? Although this time was an improvement over most nights when he just wakes up fussing at midnight, it was still waking up. So, if it was you, you best duck and cover because a wet noodle is coming your way!

I ~~passed out~~ fell asleep on the couch last night very early and moved to our bed at 10:30. I was so exhausted and freaked out about my doctor appointment that is about an hour and a half away now. Since I was so tired I am floored that I heard anything on the baby monitor.

At 3:00 I was startled awake by music on he monitor. JSL was at the far end of his crib and must have pushed the button on his toy to make it say "Peek-A-Boo" and play a song. I asked JL to check on him. He said he was trying to settle and left him. About 15-25 minutes later the baby is having a full blown party in his crib.

I am not kidding!

When I walked into the room he looked so proud of himself. He was chatting up a storm, crawl dancing, and had a ~~shit eating grin~~ big smile on his face. I do not know how NHL did not wake up with this going on.

I really think JSL was crawl practicing since we know he does it, but will not in front of us. He was all over the place and seemed to be trying to pull up to a stand from his belly (Note to JL – The crib MUST get lowered this weekend).

So I took the party boy into our bed where he chatted up a storm to sleepy mommy and daddy and eventually we all went back to sleep after 4.

This morning he was on the floor and went from sitting to crawl position. I called him over and he started crawling to me – better than his usual army-like version. He was mostly on all four limbs. His face was priceless (sorry no photo) since he was smiling the "Hey Mom – look what I invented" look!

Now I best be off to get ready for the doctor. I am very nervous since JL agrees that the bump in my eye does not seem to be on the lid. No, much to my horror we think it is on the eyeball itself. This scares the you know what out of me. So we shall see what the doctor says. I guess I need to tell the truth about it being there for a while, but not putting myself in front of the kids to have it checked until it got worse again.

BTW – To those who are newer to my bloggy world, I answer/reply to comments right on the post itself. I find it easier to do than e-mails most of the time. The only time I have not done this is the wild Blogoversary giveaway post that has nearly 400 comments this morning ! Thanks to everyone who has stopped by. Hopefully many of you will continue to stop by and get the feed to my blog.

Categories:
doctor jsl me moments milestone sarcasm teething

Wordless Wednesday – The Many Faces of Moi

Posted on January 30, 2008 10:25 am by TheAngelForever

(Pssst. . . be sure to hover over the photo for a background rationale about them)

Moi ready for action with my Handy Dandy Camera

*** If you would like to make your own South Park character please head here and have fun! Thanks to FeeFiPhoto for the inspiration for today’s WW. You did not really expect photos of moi did you? LOL – I am the one with the camera, so those are very rare.

Categories:
laughs web fun Wordless Wednesday

How did that table leg get there?!

Posted on January 29, 2008 11:00 am by TheAngelForever

First thanks to everyone for the comments on my Blogoversary giveaway. I am floored that there are over 200 comments already and it has only been live for a little over 24 hours! Keep them coming . . . who knows I may add something else for another person or two!

*sigh* Now it is time for me to vent.

Over the last few days my body is falling apart. Man, it is not like I am that old or anything. I just turned 31 last month and things are going downhill quickly.

Last Thursday I noticed that a bump in my left eye was still there and seemed to be getting larger. I tried to keep myself calm and went to look at it in the mirror. Prior to this I knew it was there, but it was not visible from the outside. Now it is. . . so I freaked! I showed my mother and JL and we agreed it would be a good plan to have a doctor check it out. I am going there Thursday morning.

I guess it is a good thing since I now have a ~~bitch~~ laundry list of things. Man I make it seem really bad. It is currently only three items long, but keeps growing by the day.

Friday afternoon I was doing something with the boys and I heard a pop in my shoulder and felt burning pain. By the evening I was barely able to rotate my arm/shoulder at all. Falling apart I tell you!

Saturday night I went out for a "Girls Night Out" with my friend H. She treated me to an amazing Italian dinner for a belated birthday gift (Thank you again H and J too for hanging out with the boys). We had a great time and by that point in time the surging/burning pain was mostly gone. I was even starting to be able to move my shoulder without screaming or thinking about it.

Sunday things were calm. JL took the boys out in the morning for a secret mission (I think related to Valentines Day). He told me to use the time to take a shower and not have to worry about them. So I shaved my legs. Who knew doing something like that could make a person feel so much better. A mommy living in cold weather does not do this grooming thing as often in the winter in order to maintain some warmth. My friend and I were talking pedicure and gynecologist appointments are items that will force the issue. Our husbands just learn to tolerate it.

Fast forward to yesterday afternoon. Things were going well. I was having fun e-mailing people to thank them for comments on my giveaway (~~anal retentive~~ ~~over achiever~~ crazy me – I kept up with this for over 70 comments and then this happened). The boys were playing. JSL was started to get whiny and saying "Mama Mmmmmm" . . . which means Mommy Milk.

So I got up to head to him take him for a diaper change. Suddenly the table leg was rammed into my poor little toe on my left foot. I was ~~swearing~~ screaming and crying. JSL was looking at me like I was nuts and NHL just sat on the couch and continued to watch Max & Ruby. I felt so loved. Instantly my toe was turning colors and swelling. So in agony I managed to hobble to JSL to take him for a diaper change. Then I called JL to ~~whine/moan/yell~~ that I was hurt and I may need him home early.

Luckily the baby settled down for a nap quickly and slept for a little over two hours until JL was home. I allowed NHL to watch television more than usual because it allowed me to put my throbbing foot up to help keep the swelling down. Forget ice since my foot already felt like it was a frozen block. JL helped out with the boys last night a lot so I could keep it elevated and luckily it seems better today. If it is not doing well by Thursday it will be the third item on the list for the doctor.

Now I just need to get some sleep tonight. JSL was up for what seems like an every evening thing now. At 11:00 he wasthrew up all over his crib. I think it was excess saliva and bad nose congestion that started that. He went into our bed and could not settle since he was so stuffed up. I got out my pump to have some milk to use in his nose. Voila – all better. Within 30 minutes (at close to 12:40) he was sleeping in our bed. With him in bed and my toe throbbing there was not a lot of sleep accomplished.

Man it is rough getting older – whether it is from falling apart or teething!

Categories:
contests doctor friends losing my mind me moments pain sarcasm sleep teething vent

Giveaway Time –> Happy Blogoversary to Moi!!!

Posted on January 28, 2008 9:17 am by TheAngelForever

Welcome Bloggy Giveaway participants and everyone else! (Details of my giveaway below)

February 4th marks my 1 year Blogoversary! It is hard to believe that a year has passed since I became ~~sucked in~~ ~~addicted~~ welcomed to the wonderful and wacky word of blogging.So much has changed during this year. I am no longer teaching, I am a stay at home Mommy to my two little boys (NHL 4 and JSL 8 months). This has changed my life the most. I am not stressed like I was a year ago (the stress is just different now). I have time to spend with my boys and I enjoy doing things that I want instead of lesson planning and correcting papers in my spare moments outside of school. I do miss the kids and my fellow teachers, but at this point in my life this is where I need to be – with my husband and two boys.

I am going to take a minute to thank some important people. Please excuse me if I forget someone, it is not intentional. Very little sleep this weekend can cloud my memory banks –> teething is EVIL I tell you!

Laura – thank you for helping me to set up my original LJ blog. I kept reading yours and wanted to try something to release my stress from life at that time. So now you are technically to blame for the blogging addiction and the renewed knitting fascination.
My Porkloving Cousin – you may not know this, but you were a HUGE inspiration. I used to squeal when I would read your latest entries. I can not wait to read the book that you author someday. I expect an autographed copy when it comes out – do not forget that!
JL – my husband and webmaster all in one! Thank you for putting up with my blogging craziness. It is too funny how we now look at each other when something happens and say "BLOG!" I love you and am so thrilled you made me jump ship from LJ to my own special place. I owe you big time — *wink* *wink* *nudge* *nudge*
All of my S3Mommy, May07 and Local Mommy Group friends with blogs (Sandy, Nancy, Renee, Kmelion and others) – You read, you commented, you helped me to explore my writing style. . . you are the best!
Kim – Thank you for introducing me to the Swaparooni group. What fun I have had with this amazing Flickr group thanks to you telling everyone all about it.
Mrs. OMSH – the founder of the Swaparooni group who helped me to make some amazing bloggy people (CityStreams, Airing My Dirty Laundry, Coolbeans, Bethany Actually, SAJ, Dutchblitz and so many others). Heather, you have inspired me with your fun, fresh and real blog to be myself and let my sarcastic and fun side show. Plus I have to include lots of photos of my kids and things. Thank you for being an inspiration. You and Jessica are two of my mentors (there are others too – so no hard feelings for not mentioning all of you now).
My boys – for giving me things to write about, photos to take and being super cute subjects for Mommy to use on her blog.

Why I am hosting a Giveaway:

While roaming around the Blogosphere I have found so many other blogs that I try to read daily (thank you Google Reader). There are too many to mention here and I am working on a new blogroll to give everyone some linky love. One of these blogs is Rocks In My Dryer. Shannon has another blog that showcases giveaways – perfectly titled Bloggy Giveaways. This fall she helped to arrange the Fall Y’All for people. This week she is organizing a Bloggy Giveaway Carnival. The timing is perfect with my Blogoversary so I am joining in with my first giveaway!!!!

My Giveaway Details:

I decided to put together a cute package to help busy people to have things on hand for when they actually need to write and not e-mail someone. Yes, some of us still do that from time to time! So without further babbling, here is a photo of my goodies:

Included: (1) A sheet of custom made address labels. I will put whatever you would like on them – you do not have to use Blue the dog. (2) A package of 10 blank note cards (3) A little memo pad with a pen (perfect for keeping in a diaper bag or purse to capture bloggable moments). (4) Magnetic Listpad (5) Gold and Silver metallic gel pens. (6) Valentine froggy magnet (7) $5.00 gift card for Target to get a little something special for you. Other surprises may get tossed in along with these, but these are definite.

Now for some rules/details of the giveaway (this is the teacher in me doing this):

To enter all you need to do is leave a comment. Only one comment per person and please tell me something about yourself. Do you blog? If you do. . . why did you begin? If you are not a blogger – why not? Come on you know you want to blog – see peer pressure exists even in the Blogosphere!
Any duplicate entries will be deleted and not eligible.
Please be sure to leave your e-mail address and/or blog so I can contact you for your information when you win.
A winner will be randomly selected from all of the comments by Random.org (no trees will be killed in the making of this giveaway).
Entries will be accepted until Midnight EST on Saturday, February 2, 2008. I will announce the winner here and post it on Shannon’s website during the day on Sunday, February 3, 2008 (the day before my 1st Blogoversary).
Unfortunately, due to being a SAHM and living on a budget, I must limit entries to people who are living in the United States and Canada only. Sorry to my other international friends, but man shipping charges are just crazy these days.

With that I hope you enjoy this and look forward to meeting new friends out there in this fun filled Bloggy world that we live in.

Comments closed 2-2-2008 . . . winner announced very soon!!!

Categories:
contests family friends fun interesting looking back me moments

They used what with 3-5 year olds?

Posted on January 27, 2008 7:57 pm by TheAngelForever

Last Sunday it was bitter cold here. We’re talking teens (if that) for high temperature without the wind chill factored in. We had signed NHL up that morning at 10:00 for a monthly free craft and story time at our temple for 3-5 year olds. Each time they focus on a holiday and read a book and do a craft related to it. Thanks to the cold I opted to stay home with JSL and let NHL and Daddy have a morning out together.

This month they did things about Tu B’Shvat. They listened to the Lorax by Dr. Seuss. After this it was time to decorate pots to plant some seeds in.

When they arrived home JL was telling me about the craft. I was floored with what they brought for the 3-5 year olds to use. I have no issue with markers (even regular non-washable ones), glue, paint. . . they can be messy, but are appropriate for children. They used Sharpie markers for the kids. What the heck were they thinking? Sure, they thought ahead and brought shirts for the kids to put on to protect clothing, but HELLO? I teach my child that those are not for him to use. I was pretty ~~pissed~~ annoyed.

I understand that only certain items will work on clay pots, but still there are more kid friendly art supplies. When NHL came home he was upset that his hands were colored with the Sharpie. He said his one finger hurt because they were . . . (ready for my literal child) sharp!

LOL – I was trying very hard not to laugh right in his face. I was good. I told him to meet me in the bathroom and I would remove the sharpie with some magical stuff that Mommy had. I put some non-acetone nailpolish remover on q-tips and went to work. He was very protective of one finger that was hurt from the sharp spot. When I went to that finger the thin line did not budge. In fact what I received was screams of bloody murder in my ear. So what did I do? I tried it again.

Hmmmm. . . . something was wrong here and I needed light to check it out. We went into the other room and got a flashlight. Time for Mommy to see what the deal was. Sure enough it was not Sharpie – it was a splinter. Flashbacks of the HUGE splinter in his buttocks haunted me. JL was home to help me wrangle the kid and I got it with a struggle. That thing was in there more than the one last time. Thank goodness since digging into his butt would have been tricky at school.

JL took his camera with him (of course) to show what the kids were doing during craft time. Here they are. Please note my captions if you hoover over them.

Here is NHL using a Sharpie for the first time: