11/29/2012

Tales from the land of amoxicillan and tylenol

The Munches are sick, like for real sick and I feel like a jerk because the other night Pumpkin comes in all weepy and sniffly at like 2;30 in the morning and says her ear hurts. Well the sniffly and weepy wakes up her brother who has developed an inability to sleep in a horizontal position without screaming like someone is ripping off his toes with pliers. So amid the screams I give her my patent mommy response to booboos of unknown origin.

"Go get a cold thing" (these are chilled gel packs that help with bump and bruises and we keep them in a basket in the fridge.) I managed to get the tiny one back to sleep by sitting up propped by pillows and "ssssshhhhhh"ing in his ear for a while, until I dozed back off.

FYI: (and I know this from experience) when you put cold on an infected ear, it hurts like a bitch. So, then an hour later Pumpkin comes back still weepy and now quite soggy from crying and snotting all over herself. (is there anything more creepy than being woken up by a child in the middle of the night, they think they are being nice by whispering but you wake up with them standing over you like a scene from a horror movie and you immediately look for the exit and grab for the knife under your mattress, amiright?....maybe it's just me.)

"mommy that cold thing didn't help much"

*cue shrieking infant

*cue Joan Crawford moment

So I dragged my ass out of bed and got the hot sock, (a sock that I filled with flax seeds) nuked it in the microwave for a minute  gave Pumpkin some tylenol and a drink and tucked her back into bed with the warm sock and smell of flax to lull her to sleep. (all of this to the tune of shrieking baby in b flat major)

So I called the pediatrician and asked for an appointment for sanity, the nurse seemed confused; then I might have mumbled something about prolonged colds, painful ears that kids don't use anyway and horizontal intolerance. She gave me an appointment for a day later, (great one more night of awesome.)

So before bed we gave everyone a dose of Tylenol and another of benadryl for good measure, nuked the hot sock and tucked everyone in with hope for good things. I don't remember much of what happened, the fatigue induced fog has hazed my recollection but when the alarm went off to get up and go to the doctor I was sitting straight up on the loveseat with Pumpkin's head in my lap and Squirt and I strapped into the moby wrap sweating enough to necessitate a bath before leaving the house.

Sunshine slept blissfully unaware and woke up ready for pop-tarts.

I wanted to punch her.

11/21/2012

When things were working

I'm slowly gaining weight.

It is and is not significant. It's not because it's coming on slow and I'm not having binges where I sit and eat frosting out of a can or anything. It is significant because I'm watching myself get to where I was the last time I decided to lose weight.

The tired, eat whatever you can to stay awake, survival mode of taking care of three kids while working a full time job is really starting to show.

So I've decided to go back to the things that worked.

What worked before was eating easy lo-calorie meals most of the time. skinny lattes for breakfast, soup that's under 300 calories for lunch and egg beater omelets for dinner.

What worked before was cooking veggie stuffed meals 2-3 times a week and having leftovers that would sit in the fridge and guilt me into avoiding the drive through because I didn't want to waste the food at home.

What worked before was movement, exercise and not wanting to waste that effort with shovels full of garbage.

What worked before was tracking, keeping meticulous notes of what I ate each day, so I could know when I went overboard one day and be able to course correct the next.

So the holidays are a true test for me. If I can lose over the next month, I will be on the right road. so, here's the plan.Today water and multivitamin habits start up again. For the next week, tracking only. No other changes. Then the week after, calorie cutting and tracking. The following week adding in 2 or more days a week of at least 30 minutes of movement. I've had a few monthly bills increase so for the time being I've had to freeze my gym membership and I'll be heading back to the place that saw the start of my earlier success, the work gym. it's free and has an elliptical and weight bench, everything I need to get started again. The only thing I don't really have control over right now is sleeping; I'm working on it.

11/19/2012

Letting Go

 I'm letting go of about 4 bags of clothing. I'm on the fence about a bridesmaid's dress I wore to my brother's wedding four years ago. It's too big, but it's beautiful. I may never have another reason to wear it but I love it and so it stays in my closet. I drag it out every once in a while and put it on, wishing I had a reason to alter it and wear it again.

I'm letting go of the notion that a mother of three with a full time job can, in fact, hand make gifts for every person she knows. I have pared down my gift list this year. The munches and I are going to do a bit of baking and candy making for gifts, I have a very achievable list of craft gift items. I've said it before and I'll say it again, people, we have too much crap. I don't want a present, I want you to be present. If I matter to you, spend some time with me, and in return I will do the same.

I'm letting go of the tendency toward procrastination. It's killing me. I need to get crap done; because, as I sat at my desk this morning, caught up on work, finishing the things that needed to get done today, I was filled with contemplation and peace. I feel good, I feel smart and I think I need to make this feeling continue. It seems that using a calendar helps me, when i check things off I feel good. I'm going to explore using one in both my personal and professional life. Today I will be going home to a clean house and I have no plans this evening, so I'm going to make sure the house stays clean and begin work on a Christmas project for my daughters. Their stuff will be done first this year. I'm putting my kids first.

I'm letting go of my frustration with my daughters, they don't deserve it. They are learning, I'm supposed to be teaching them. What I'm doing isn't working, the whining and not listening is getting a bit excessive, so we are going to find something that does work, I don't know yet what that is, but I'm going to figure it out.

It's the end of a very busy year, and I have some stuff to get in order before next January 20th.
Happy Monday all!

11/13/2012

8 Months

18 months ago I became pregnant, now my little guy is 8 months old and is infecting my with stupid giddy happiness everyday. I'm not sleeping, I'm often covered in a thin film of baby drool and I occasionally find pacifiers stuck in my bra after I've gotten to work. It's rough, but it's awesome.

Here's a few of the awesome's that have happened in the past 8 months.

-last week I was at a funeral and realized that it had been over 4 hours since I had last nursed the Stink and my left side bra cup was still unhooked. I had been walking around with bi-level boobs for an entire morning.

-I ran a 5K Mud Run 6 weeks post partum.

-I was pounding away on my computer and singing along with a Glee mix playlist when I realized I had been singing "I kissed a girl" quite loudly and my office door was wide open.

-I may or may not have actually gone to Walmart in all of the following, though not at the same time:
1.) Actual matching blue and white striped pajamas,
2.) a thin t shirt with no bra,
3.) mismatched shoes
4.) a black tank top and leggings (think chubby cat woman, sans ears)
5.) a garden gnome costume.

- I slathered baby Vicks on my own shoulder while Stink was sick to help ease the congestion of my little guy who had to have a bib on to keep from soaking everything and couldn't breathe.

- My oldest Munch went to school. YAY Pumpkin Girl!

- My girls learned "We Will Rock You" and were singing it in the bathtub with shampoo horns on their heads, I'd post pics if it wouldn't get flagged.

- I was at a wedding and was one of only three people there who was actually excited to hear the electric slide come on, also one of only three people out on the floor dancing along to it.

- I gave my then 6 month old a marshmallow to gnaw on and he stuck it to the side of his head like a drunken unicorn.

- I welcomed my brother's family into my home for two months.

- I actually made 4 recipes I pinned on pinterest.

- I started a Daisy Troop with pumpkin and five of her school mates.

- I raked leaves for the express purpose of letting my kids jump in them.

- I thanked god everyday for how amazing, awesome, fun and crazy my life is. A crazy life is a full one and that is never something I will lament having.  



11/09/2012

Still Around



Doing a lot of this, I'll be back to blogging soon, I hope.
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