19 days

19 days.  Till what you ask?  Till school is out! Now that is school days we have 29 if you count weekends.  I can do that.  Only 2 more Monday's but 4 of all the other days.  The next 4 weeks are going to be crazy with the amount of testing and work I have to fill out for the teachers next year, but it will be worth it.

   I'm scoping out the Kindergartners.  Which ones will I get?  From what 1st grade has heard the K class is low academically but not to many behavior issues.  So I can handle that!  

   I just hope Alyssa wants to sleep for the next 29 days, then I don't care anymore! :-) 

Back in our bed

Well after bragging that Alyssa has been sleeping in her own bed, she has spent the last two nights in our bed.  Last night she woke up at 12 to eat.  Then she did not want to go back to sleep.  I put her in bed with us, she went to sleep and slept until 5.  4 hours of straight sleep.  WOW that was nice.  I'm still tired this morning but not exhausted.  Now why won't she do that in her crib?  I think she misses us. (OR that is what I want to think so it makes me feel better).

   I can't wait for summer when it doesn't matter if I'm tired because I can take a nap! Only 4 more weeks.

Another day

Alyssa is sleeping in her crib every night now.  She has made the transition very easily.  I love that she is now not waking at 5:30 when I get up.  I don't like that she is getting up at 4:30 to 5 to eat and not going back to sleep until 5:30 when my alarm goes off.  I'm getting really tired, but she is well rested and enjoying life.

   She has been so happy since Saturday. I don't know if it is because she is sleeping in her crib or if she is just finally feeling better.  I really don't care what it is, I love coming home to be with her.

   Today she finally smiled when I picked her up.  Usually she is fussy when I picked her up.  Today she heard my voice when I walked in and gave a big smile.  Talk about making me happy to be there.

   Now we are sitting on the couch as a family talking and smiling at each other.  So I must go give smiles.

My new Ring

Since I was about 5 months pregnant I have been telling Chris I wanted a right hand ring for our 5 year Ann.  I told him since it was a big gift it could also be for mother's day, my birthday, Valentines day and any other holiday he wanted to throw in there.  So for the month of my birthday Kay's jeweler's sent me a coupon for $100.00 so off to the store we went.  I told him before we walked in that I only wanted to spent between 600 and 700.  Well when we started looking at rings one of them stood out highly among the rest.  What was it's price? Well it was more expensive than what we had said, but Chris said he was okay with that.

  So here is a picture of my new ring and one of my wedding band set.  They compliment each other very nicely and I can't stop looking at my new ring.  I love it very much and it is the perfect gift.  If I now only knew what to get Chris for our 5 year Ann.  Any suggestions?

Cute Stories

Cute Story  1.  On Thursday night Alyssa was very fussy and I could not do anything to make her happy.  Finally I deciided that I needed something to eat, so I packed her up in the car with Vinnie.  As we started to back out of the driveway, Alyssa started to fuss.  Vinnie put his head on her legs, she stopped crying and we had a peaceful drive to get food.

Story 2.  Later Thursday night after she had a little nap she was sitting with Daddy and he was playing music on his computer.  Chris and I were both singing along to the song, and Alyssa starts "singing" with us.  It was so cute to listen to her coo with us.

Story 3.  This morning I told Chris to come wake me up at 8.  So how does he wake me up? He comes and puts Alyssa in my arms and says "Wake up mommy".  We then spent the next 50 minutes in bed as a family, (Vinnie included) talking and smiling at each other it was great! I wish we could do that more often.

Last night Alyssa slept in her crib for the first time.  She slept from 8-2:30 woke up to eat, was awake until 3:30.  She then slept until 6:30 when it was time to eat again.  

Alyssa is drooling like crazy, I'm not sure why people tell me it could be teeth, but I refuse to believe that cause my baby should not be getting teeth yet.  She is also sitting up in her chair and so close to rolling over it isn't funny.  She is growing up way to fast!  If the next 11 weeks go as fast as the first, she will be 21 before I know it!

Organization

I used to be so organized.  I never left school until my desk and table were clear of all papers.  Every card was in its home and every paper had a place.  Now I just move piles from one place to another.  On Tuesday when I had a sub I had to ask my co-worker to go move all the junk off my table for me.   I brought home papers that were almost 2 weeks old that needed to be filled out.  

 Boy has my life changed.  I put together my to do list for tomorrow and I'm making a promise now that I won't leave school until it is all done, and yes on that list is to clean and file all papers on my desk and table.  

  The question is, will it really happen?

      On another note I think I'm going to start my Masters next year.  If I can't file papers on my desk how am I going to write papers for my masters?  How am I going to write the essay for the application due in a month.  Guess I better put those on my to-do list now. :-)

    Ohh how I love my to-do list, it always feels so good to go and cross something off of it.  I usually put small things on there just so that I can cross them off.  Instead of just "clean the house" I write " clean the upstairs bathroom, clean the downstairs bathroom, clean the kitchen, vaccuum the floor, mop the floor, dust and straighten"  That way I can do part of it and cross it off.

   I will let you know if all my to-do lists for tomorrow get done. :-)

Lazy Tuesday

Last night the baby sitter called.  Her boy is sick and so she couldn't watch Alyssa today.  This is one of the down falls to having an in home daycare.  I called my mother in law and she said that she could watch Alyssa.  I wasn't feeling my best yesterday either and so I talked to Chris and we both decided that I would stay home with her today.  I could catch up on some sleep and Judy could go to work.  So that is what happened.  I went to be with Alyssa at 8 last night and we didn't get up until 8 this morning.  She fell back asleep around 9:30 me around 10 and we slept until noon.  She has since taken two more naps.  I'm thinking it might be time for me to take another one myself.  

   But before I take my nap I will post some pictures of how Alyssa and I have spent our day.  

1. Reading some books on colors.

2. Playing with our stuffed animals

3. Sleeping

4. My new hair cut.  I did shower today but I didn't blow dry or stlye it so it isn't the best, but atleast you can kind of see it.

Can you think of anything better to do on a Tuesday? :-)

Another Monday

It is once again Monday morning and I do not want to go to work.  Alyssa had a restless night and I think I got 2 maybe 3 hours of uninterrupted sleep.  The rest was 10 here, 30 there, 20 there.  I'm tired and not looking forward to having enough energy for 19 seven-year-olds.  But I will do it.  Why? Because I could not imagine my life without my daughter and we need the money so that I can give her all the things I want and need to give her.  I will even go into work with a smile on my face because that is what I do.

    I have realized a lot of my post sound like I'm complaining about the lack of sleep or my never ending to do list.  But really I'm not.  I just want to blog about the things that are going on in my life so that in 5 years I can look back and remember.  Though in 5 years I will probably have 2 children running around and the possibility of a third on the way and I won't have time to look back and remember anything, and this time right now will seem like a piece of cake. :-)

   With that note I'm off to wake up Alyssa and take her to the babysitters and me off to work.

Happy Birthday to me!

Today is my birthday, and we had a busy day planned.  We started by going and getting our hair cuts. Chris just got his trimmed.  I got mine cut off.  It was longer than my shoulders and now it is barely under my chin.  I will have to post a picture tomorrow.  Then to the store.

  We then went to Kay's Jewelers were I picked out an amazing anniversary ring.  I won't be able to post a picture until next week because it has to get sized.  It was more expensive than I was hoping to spend, but I love it.

   Then we went to babies r us and bought a little chair thing for Alyssa to sit in and some other things that were needed.  We then went and looked at new furniture for our family room.

   After that we went to Qdueba for some birthday burritos and to the store for a carrot cake for my birthday.  

   We are now home and trying to put Alyssa to sleep since she hasn't really slept all day, but she doesn't want to go to sleep.  She doesn't want to miss any of mommies birthday.

   Now if only the house would clean itself and my progress reports would do themselves it would be a perfect day!

Friday

Yeah for Fridays!  It is nice to wake up and know that tomorrow you don't have to get up that early.

  I made my mother in law bring Alyssa up to school today so that I could show her off.  Everyone thought she was cute.  Though she would not give one person a smile, she was laid back and did not mind being passed around for 40 min.

  It made my day to see my baby and snuggle her.  Now off to enjoy my birthday weekend with a baby, dog and husband who are starting to feel better.

Tired

I have have not been this tired since Alyssa was born.  Her first weeks she slept alot.  Now that she is sick and getting older not so much.  I need a nap.  My plan was to be in bed by 8:30.  It is now 8:23 and Alyssa is STILL awake even though she hasn't slept since 1 today.

  It is my turn to put her to sleep so I must log off.  Wish me luck hopefully I will be asleep by 10!

All my babies are sick

Alyssa is still sick and after being up most of the night last night I made Chris call and talk to the doctor.  The Doctor asked for her to be brought in.  So my mother in law took her to the doctor.  She is up to 11 pounds 2 ounces.  The doctor said everything is good and that there is nothing they can do for her nose.  We just have to keep sucking out all the yucky stuff until there is no more yucky stuff.

  Since Chris called the doctor my job was to call the vet.  Vinnie has a bad rash that is getting worse.  So at 5:20 I had to take Vinnie to the vet.  He has a double sever ear infection.  So he is on meds for his ears and steroids for his rash for the next two weeks.

   Chris is still blowing his nose every 5 minutes and his eyes are all watery so he snores like no other.

  Between Chris's snoring, Vinnie climbing out under the covers 10 times a night to scratch, and Alyssa waking up every hour and a half coughing and sneezing and taking an hour to go back to sleep, and working with 7 year olds all day, I'm ready to check into a hotel and sleep for about 15 hours straight.

The family that shares

Alyssa is sick, Chris is sick, I am sick and the dog has an awful rash.  They say the family that eats together stays together, what do they say about the family that is sick together?

On other news the Polar Bear that Alyssa adopted from the St. Louis Zoo before she was born ( it was a Christmas present) died.  So she has now adopted a grizzly bear.  They aren't as cute, but I guess we will live!

A day at home

I had today off work.  It was so nice to wake up and know that I didn't have to get dressed or be out the door by 7.

   Alyssa and I enjoyed reading stories, tummy time, cooking some meals, packing away the rest of her newborn clothes, and doing laundry.  I did this from my PJ's.  I did get her dressed but then gave her a bath at 6 and put her in her PJ's.

   I can't wait until summer! 32 more work days.

Happy Easter

Alyssa had a very good first Easter.  Well the part she was awake for.  After not sleeping at all yesterday she made up for it today.  She got up at 7 to  see her Nana and Aunt Lauren off then went back to bed until 11.  She then got up to eat and then back to sleep until 2.  She then took some pictures ate again and we were off to Grandmas.  At grandma's she took two cat naps.  It is now 9:12 and I have been trying to put her to sleep for about an hour.  She is NOT having it.  She doesn't want to be held though so I have her in her bassinet looking at the mobile and listening to the music play while I type this post sitting in the bed.  I can't go downstairs because when the music turns off or the pacifier falls out of her mouth she gets very upset.  By the sound of things I don't think we will be going to sleep anytime soon.  It is a good thing we don't have any school tomorrow and can sleep in.  

   She is now "talking" at her bears on the mobile.  

Chris is now sick with the cold that Alyssa also has, and I think I'm coming down with it as well.  Ohh the joys of having a sick child.  Not looking forward to dealing with two sick "babies" tomorrow. :-)

With that I must leave to start the music again.

BUSY

Today was supposed to be a day where we picked up my step mom and sister and sat around enjoying each others company.  It turned into one busy day.

  This morning we needed to clean.  Alyssa thought we needed to play.  So she did not want to take a nap.  When we finally got her down for her nap the doorbell rang, which made Vinnie bark which woke her up.  

   So we then went to the store where she got a 15 min cat nap.  Then off to the airport.  She slept for all of 5 min on the way there.

    At the airport not only did we meet my step mom and sister, but my uncle, aunt and cousin.  So out to lunch we go.  At lunch Alyssa did amazing she did not fuss at all, but was awake the whole two hours we were there.

   She then didn't sleep at all on the way home.  We got home she ate and she is finally passed out.  Only it is now 6:00.  She fell asleep at about 5:30.  Any bets on her sleeping through the night?  My bet is NO!

One leg shaved

I was in the shower this morning and Alyssa was chilling out in her bassinet in the bathroom.  I finished my hair and washing my body and figured I had time to shave my legs.  I got one done before she started crying.  So I'm now sitting here with one leg shaved and one that is hairy!

Yesterday I said I can't wait for the next four days where I have more than 10 minutes to eat my lunch.  Well today I have I heated up my pizza 3 times and I really wanted some dessert but since she is Finally asleep in my arms and I'm not getting up for a little bit.  I have put her down 10 times, each time she is awake within 3 minutes.  Some of those times I tried just putting her pacifier in her mouth, other times I tried to feed her, other times just rock her.  They all resulted in the same thing about 2 minutes of sleep and then awake again.  I think her leg hurts because every time she was laid down she would startle.  Even when I didn't pick her up, if she kicked she would jump.  So now she is laying with the leg that had the shots pushed up against me and that seems to have done the trick.  We will see, ask me again in 5 minutes.   I guess 10 min was all I got for lunch. :-)   She didn't want me to get spoiled I guess.

Doctor

So today was the day that Alyssa had to go get her shots.  I was so worried about giving her the shots while she was sick I spent over an hour last night researching it on-line.  Every article I read said if they have a slight cold that it was okay to give the shots.

   This morning my wonderful friend Susan called to check on me cause she knew how worried I was.  She offered to call her sister who is a doctor.  I agreed, when Susan called back she said her sister suggested giving them.  I then went to the doctor and he also said I should give them.  Since I couldn't find anything that proved or even suggested I wait I went ahead and let them give her the shots.

   The tears that she had broke my heart.  It was the first time I had seen real tears come out of her eyes and the cry of pain and being mad was awful.  Thank God it only lasted about 15 seconds I picked her up and she was better.  The nurse then left and I fed her for a few minutes and she was fine. 

She is now 10 lbs 12 ounces

23 1/4 inches long

which means she is in the 50% for weight and 75% for length 

 She came home and fell asleep.  She is now upstairs sleeping in her crib for the first time.  Though I can hear her moving around through the monitor.  I took some pictures of her in her crib, but I don't have time to load them so I will have to leave you with pictures of her in the crib at my mother in laws house.

 

Okay the crib lasted about 5 min.  She is now asleep in my arms, every time I put her down she startles and becomes wide awake.

Sick

Alyssa is sick. She was coughing off and on for the last two days, but last night about 1 when she got up to eat she was coughing a lot and snot was comming out of her nose. This morning I sent Chris off to work, but when she woke up at 6 she was fussy, coughing and more snot. She probably would have been fine to go to the sitters, but she would have been crancky. So instead I called Chris to turn around and come home.
He is at home taking care of her while I work since I have no more sick days left after giving birth. Before I left I talked myself through out loud, that there were bottles in the fridge, that the doctor needed to be called to cancel her shots for tomorrow, that he needed to check her every few hours for a wet diaper. I then called on my way to work to tell him to check on her while she was sleeping cause I didn't want her to stop breathing. He held the phone up to Alyssa crying and said "Hear that?! That is what Alyssa thinks of your phone call she will be fine." With that I said good bye and hung up.
I know she is in good hands, but there not mine and this is her first of what I'm sure will be MANY colds.
Speaking of which would this be something for the baby book? :-) First cold? I think I will go home and write it down.

Pooh in the bathtub?

When I used to think of pooh in the bathtub, I would think GROSS!! Now tonight when Alyssa did it Chris and I both laughed then decided that the pooh was in the chair thing so we took her out and Chris held her while I finished her bath.  The whole time she was just as content as can be.  

Also I ate something on Monday that did not agree with Alyssa and she sit up all of her feedings last night and this morning.  So the babysitter today used frozen milk and dumped all my milk I had pumped.  Good-bye 16 ounces.  I then had to come home and dump another 20 ounces that I had frozen yesterday or pumped today.  Even though today was the first day we used freezer supply it was a little sad to know.  The good news is that I should still be able to produce enough milk between now and tomorrow morning for enough bottles for tomorrow.  Then I get a 4 day weekend!!

New Worries

Just when I think I'm getting a handle on things, and that everything is running smoothly something else happens.
Since Friday night Alyssa has decided that bed time is not her thing. You can tell she is tired and that she needs to go to sleep, yet she keeps her eyes open with all her might and then once she falls asleep and you put her down, she will wake back up. So for 2 hours each night we play the up and down game. Chris gets her to sleep, puts her down. I put her to sleep put her down. Back and forth until I finally give up, go to bed myself and let her sleep in my arms. Now I didn't let her sleep in my arms until Mon and Tue night when I had to work the next day. BUT on both Mon and Tues night guess who slept through the night?! Yep Alyssa. 9 hours without food. I'm not sure if this will continue once she goes back to sleeping in her bassinet( hopefully tonight!).
But that is where the worry starts. If she is sleeping through the night is she getting enough food during the day? Yesterday she ate about 9 ounces less than she usually does and she spit up everything I was feeding her all night. So I figured by this morning she would be Starving, nope, she snacked probably ate about 3 ounces and then was done. And this 3 ounces was taken over a hour time span.
So now I have her shots on Friday and I worry is she sick? Should I re-schedule the appointment. Did I eat something she doesn't like? Is she just not hungry? Boy I wish she could tell me what was going on!! Until then I will sit here and question things. I'm sure it will all turn out all right.

Another Monday Down

Now there are only 34 days of school left. I have always counted down the days left of school after spring break. This year I am excited, but as I look back on it, not as excited as I was for last year to end. I think that tells you how bad my year was last year, that I was more excited for that year to end than I am for this year when I have Alyssa waiting for me.
Though today will be hard. I have a staff meeting after school, so instead of getting to my daughter by 4:20 I won't be there until a little after 5. For the first time ever I will not return to my room after the staff meeting to "finish up". I will be like 90% of the other teachers and take my stuff down with me to the meeting and after the meeting is over I will walk out the door. It is times like this that I hate that I live and work about 30 min apart from each other. I know Alyssa will be fine and she won't know the difference, but I do. I also remember what it was like being the babysitter and counting down the minutes until pick up, not because the kids were bad, but just so I could have a break.
She has a full house today as she has an extra kid, so she will have 4 kids from 7:10-3:45. Then 3 kids because she loses 2, but her son comes home from 3:45 until I get there.
All I can say is I hope the staff meeting is a fast one!

Weekends

I have always looked forward to Friday's at 4 when I got off work.  The thought of having two days off ways always nice.  But now I look forward to them even more.

  I went out Friday night and left Alyssa with daddy.  I had a blast but missed my little girl.  Then I paid for it when I got home.  I walked in the door at 1:10, was in bed by 1:35 and at 2:45 she woke up to eat.  After she ate she had a rough night and was always on the move and fussy.

   But she finally fell back asleep really well at 5 and then woke up at 8 happy as ever.  It was so much fun to talk to her and watch her smile.  I got up to Chris showing me a video he had taken right before I woke up.  That is the way to wake up every morning.

  She was SOO happy all day yesterday.  The only time she was fussy was when we had friends over.  And even then she wasn't that bad, she just didn't want to go to bed.  She wanted to stay up and play with us.

    Once again last night she woke up at 3:30 ate for 4 minutes and went back to sleep until 5.  I think we are getting really close to sleeping through the night.  At 5 she ate and went back to sleep until 8.

   At 8 it took over an hour to feed her, not because she was that hungry but because she was to busy smiling at Chris and I to eat.  It is now almost 10 and she is about ready to go down for her morning nap. I have a feeling it is going to be a good day.

  Boy I love weekends!  Good thing I have a 4 day one next week! :-)

First Night Out

Wow, three post in one day?! Make sure you scroll down to read my other two.  

On Friday night I went out without Alyssa.  I left her in the wonderful hands of her Daddy.  The first stop of the evening was dinner.  At dinner I ordered a soda.  Something I don't get very often at all due to feeding.  After dinner the owner brought us a shot and dessert on the house.  How could we say no?  So we enjoyed both, though the dessert was much better than the shot.

     It was then off to a piano bar.  The piano bar was great and was playing really good songs.  We were enjoying the music.  It came time to order a drink.  I ordered an Apple Martini (something I haven't had since before I got pregnant).  When it came it was the wrong color.  The waitress told me that the bartender made the wrong drink and that one was on the house, and then brought out the real Apple Martini.  Well I couldn't turn down a free drink could I?  No, so I had two martini's.  

  The only thing that saved me is our table was bumped and half of the martini spilled.  

   It was a great night had by all and am so glad I went out.

  Hopefully I can do it again soon.

Easter Bunny

  I had heard that the Easter Bunny was going to be at the mall.  I told Chris I wanted to get her picture taken with it.  I promised that after this year I would only do pictures with Santa Clause. But I wanted the Easter Bunny this year.  

    So we take her to the mall, of course the Easter Bunny is on lunch.  So we do the shopping we need to do.  Then wait about 10 minutes for him to come back.  As he/she( what is the Easter Bunny?) is walking back, I think oh my what did I do.  This Easter Bunny is a little creepy.  It has the biggest smile on the head that I have ever seen.  

   As I put Alyssa on the Bunny's lap I'm second guessing myself.  She won't look at the camera and even with us clapping, talking and squeaking a toy, she won't tear her eyes off something to her right.  As we are snapping picture after picture I start to wonder what kind of face the bunny is making under the huge head.  At that point it ends and I pay my $25 for pictures of a creepy bunny and Alyssa with her head turned.  

    Hopefully it goes better with Santa, though I doubt it. :-) 

Pregnant?

You know I kind of miss being pregnant.  I really enjoyed the excitement of what was to come and all of the stuff that came with it, decorating her room, buying clothes, putting together the crib etc.  I also enjoyed feeling her move inside me and wondering what she was going to look like.  Who she would act like, and what she would be when she grew up.  

  I look at her now in amazement that she was inside of me for 9 months and pure love.  I still have the excitement of when is she going to roll over, crawl, etc.  I also love watching her smile and "talk" to me in the morning and at night.

   I shared all this with Chris tonight.  I said " I kind of miss being pregnant" and he said, "Why? You miss going to the bathroom every five minutes?"  So on that note no I don't miss the 100 bathroom trips a day, or at the end of my pregnancy when none of my clothes fit, and getting off the couch was hard.  I don't miss not being able to sleep at night or swelling. But I do look forward to being pregnant again some day. Just not in the next year or so.  When I miss it I just look at the teacher that is due next week, and when the urge hits next year another co-worker will be near the end to remind me.  After that who knows. :-)

On another note:

 This is the first post I have actually written and posted without a baby in my arms.  It is 7:40 and she is asleep in her bed for the night.  I miss her, but going to enjoy surfing the web and sites that I haven't been on in over a week.

Ohh How my life has changed

It used to be I would get home from work, let the dog outside, go put my PJ's on and curl up on the couch with the TV remote and computer on.
Now I get home from work, I have to pump and then wash bottles, put away the milk that I pumped from earlier in the day and the milk I just pumped. I usually do this while feeding Alyssa on the side I'm not pumping. I then spend time talking and playing with her until Chris comes home. By the time he gets home I have to finish doing whatever I didn't do before he got home. Eat dinner, then it is time to start getting Alyssa ready for bed. This is a process that usually takes about an hour.
By that time it is 8:30-9:00 at night. I pack my lunch and get things ready for the morning. Then I usually have about 30 minutes to do whatever I want before I go to bed.
It is usually only the computer OR the TV is on.
The same goes for the morning I used to get up at 6 and out the door by 7. Now I'm up at 5:30 and barely making it out the door by 7:10.
But I wouldn't change it for the world!