a very good reason not to leave your house when it's very cold out:

...because you never know when your preschooler will vomit 3 times in a store & will need to wear your coat to leave (leaving you utterly frigid in the very very cold, windy, snowy, wet weather).

hhmmm, read on for the fantastic story: so this morning i had a little debate in my head about going out. the pros won, so off we went. adeline could get some energy out, i could see the outside of this house, amelia could sleep in my arms like she loves to do. all good things for everyone. the roads were much more clear just one hour after wes left for work. off we went to the mall. things were looking up! the sky was still grey, but we were all content & happy to be going somewhere.

addy was giddy & running around & amelia had fallen asleep in the car & then again in my arms after a 2 ounce bottle (my trick to getting her to fall asleep in public places). i thought things were going grand! i even got a latte from starbucks. oh joyous morning!

things were going so well that i decided we could make a quick jaunt to target to look at storage options for the playroom & also pick up needed diapers. addy was even walking beside the cart after she had patiently sat in the cart munching on some cheerios & drinking water. at one point, addy looked at me with a sad face & pointed to her belly. i asked her "are you hungry?" & she smiled & nodded her head. i answered "mmhmm, mama is too, we're going home to eat now". we were on our way to the checkout line...& i look down to see what the cause of a horrid noise was & yes, there was addy vomiting. thankfully, we were right under one of those red phones that target has, so i dialed the 1 or something like that & while we were waiting for someone to arrive, addy vomits again, this time pretty much for a minute. it just kept coming & coming. anyway, i'll spare you the rest of those details (but i do have to say that all her food was very well chewed up! good job chewing, adeline!).

a lady arrives & says something like 'oh did we have a spill?' & i'm like 'well, a spill is one way to describe it...' & then she notices what it is & kinda goes green (that really happens, apparently, not just a saying) & says 'oh i have a terrible gag reflex'... great. the weak target team member responds to our vomit. really, she was very nice about the whole situation. she offers to get addy a t shirt (b/c hers was unwearable). i say that's not needed & take addy's shirt off & put her coat on. amelia starts sneezing & the lady says "wow you guys are a mess today" (thanks!). i'm calling wes trying to see if he's nearby (poor hubby, his first lunch out w/ a colleague in almost 6 weeks & there i am calling him). he doesn't answer. so i decide that i can do this by myself & again walk to the check out lines. addy is smiling & goofing around so i think all is well, we have time to purchase.

not well. she vomits near the checkout line this time. & i mean this got it all, whatever she had in her belly for the past day is now on the floor. yuck. wes calls. i tell him what's going on as adeline is vomiting & as i'm catching the vomit with a burp cloth...which didn't work, as it was fairly projectile at this point, going forward & up in the air if the bupr cloth was too close. seriously! the woman who had cleaned up the first round was just walking by & didn't notice what was going on (i think she was in denial) & says 'hope your day gets better' & then this other worker notices & then wes is there suddenly (again, poor hubby had just arrived at quaker steak & lube for lunch, which is just 2 stores down...no lunch out for wes today). then the lady worker asks with a smile "need that shirt now?" hardy har har.

everyone was so nice about it all. they gave us a shirt for adeline to wear out of the store & i offered to buy it & they were like 'no no no'...so then i give adeline my coat to wear out b/c her pants are soaked with stuff & her coat was also soaked... anyway. what a time.

why do i try to go out with both of them? why even try to go anywhere? it's hopeless. adeline is now sleeping after a small lunch of chicken noodle soup & cheesy fish & ginger ale. i had just read in a parenting magazine that the BRAT diet is on the way out, that it doesn't really matter what the kid eats, if the food's not staying down, it won't stay down, period, no matter what they eat. so cheesy fish it is. i'm so glad the BRAT diet is on the outs b/c i can NEVER remember what the acronym stands for!

appointment with the pediatrician at 3:30...we need to figure out why she keeps getting diarrhea, rashes, high fevers (she didn't have a fever today, she was actually cold for once), & vomiting off & on. something is not right. i know kids get sick, but the same way nearly every few weeks? we'll see.

get me outta here!

i can feel it already...cabin fever. i need to get out. adeline needs to get out. but there's no hope! today is the warmest day of the week at a balmy high 20-something degrees. we have snow, but it's going to be so cold that adeline shouldn't be out in it, lest her face freeze in a permanent smile. the mall is just a few miles away, but then i have to actually get out of the car with the two little ones...again, afraid they will freeze. or maybe i'm just afraid i will freeze.

i can see the rest of the week in my mind: get up, breakfast, wes leaves for work, watch veggie tales, look out the window, feed millie...etc etc etc. i already have most of the one veggie tales movie memorized. i'm so happy addy is finally watching tv for longer than 1 minute. but the same one? over & over? i find myself being elated if she says yes to my suggestion to watch 'miffy'. sad state of affairs.

on a happier note, i just read in my (new) health magazine that thinking about chocolate helps women overcome stressful & painful situations. so i will now concentrate on chocolate. chocolate fountain (reyes style....all from boise will know what i'm talking about; salivate now!). truffles. dark chocolate. real hot chocolate (with whipped cream). i don't quite feel better now, but i do feel like migrating to my kitchen in search of some chocolate.

maybe i will make it to the mall today. it's the last day before the extreme cold sets in. wes isn't coming home for lunch today or thursday...addy will not take a nap if she doesn't get her move on... i can't do this for 3 1/2 more days! ah, me. when is january over? i really don't mind winter & i LOVE snow, but i can't handle the zero degree weather. can't we just have feet & feet of snow with 30 degrees?

i think i should do a 'Lost' countdown. 8 days until 'lost' is back. i have been looking forward to this since early pregnancy #2.

EDIT: wes just called. it took him forever to get just a mile down the road. traffic backed up to turn onto polaris & at a standstill. he recommends not going anywhere for awhile. emotional distress! "ghiradelli chocolate chips, chocolate covered pretzels, chocolate fondue w/ strawberries, chocolate cake..."

FREE maternity clothes (to those in the columbus area)

'GONE' already...

but again, i'm sure i'll have some summer stuff to get rid of in march. let me know if you're interested.

for all those who live near me (sorry idahoans, unless you want me to mail them!)...i have tried to sell my winter maternity already & this is what's left. if you want them or know anyone who could use this stuff, let me know. everything is free for the taking. if i don't hear from anyone in a week, they are going to the thrift store. i want all maternity clothes gone!

old navy, medium. they have the button cinches. great the entire pregnancy!

dont' have a tag, so i don't know the size or store brand. but i think they are mediums.

old navy, khaki, large (fit a bit small, though). missing back buttons (but both are gone, so it looks normal :o). thin material.

old navy, medium sweatpants.

going from top left, down: bravado, nude size S+ (check out the bravado website to decipher what that means, i think it's 32-34 band, b to c cup); motherhood maternity black sleep bra (hhm, cut the tag out, so maybe size small is my guess); white motherhood maternity sleep bra (size small??).
top right, going down: bravado, peach, size S+; motherhood maternity, nude, no underwire, size 36 C; motherhood maternity, white, size 36 D, no underwire.
bottom: bravado, white, 34 C, no underwire.
these are all nursing bras, worn for about a year, so they are used well, but free! the bravado ones are the best.


note: i also have maternity underwear from motherhood maternity. but i'm not going to put pictures of my undies up. i know some people would be grossed out by wearing 'used' undies, but hey, they're expensive! bleach them if you must, but they are size small & medium...for free!

younique, size small. from motherhood, i think. sweater-ish thing. very stretchy!

old navy crew neck, long sleeve. size small.

motherhood maternity, size S. wrap empire waist.

a few pictures from our day

wes is cold, but instead of getting up to get blankets, he puts the little baby ones on that were laying around near him. the big boy blankets are only 2 feet away from him! lazy man.
it's good to have a restful day...if only he stuck to it. after the girls go down, he gets these crazy ideas like "paint the playroom" when all i think about it "how early is too early to go to bed as an adult?"

millie & mama snuggle time. don't look too close in the picture or you'll see my nose hairs. millie was about to let a big laugh out at this point. she's such a snuggler, i love it! i knew she was going to be a snuggle when she was in utero b/c she just sort of balled up all the time & didn't move a lot. addy in utero was CRAZY. moving constantly. she had her cord wrapped around her head twice & two knots in it! lucky to be alive, is she. anyway, i knew adeline was going to be a rascal. how right mamas are.

the gals after naptime. yes! adeline took a nap today! wes woke her up, silly man, but until that point, she was sleeping soundly on her floor, sans the pants & socks she went to bed in, but with leg warmers on instead.

this is addy soon after dinner. she wanted to take her shirt off b/c we were eating soup. she already had her pants off from nap (all hell would break lose if we attempted to put pants back on her, geez oh man, you'd think we were killing her instead of putting pants on in the middle of winter). she is freezing with goose bumps at this point, but loves being (nearly) naked. yes, still with leg warmers; apparently, they do their job. so she wanted to walk a mile in daddy's shoes (she didn't get very far, though).

what i should be doing is...

...not what i'm doing. we have a room to paint, furniture to move, laundry to do, & soup to make. but i'm tired & it's freezing cold out (& cold in the room we need to paint & in the basement where the laundry stuff is). hhmmm...

this morning we went to a 'new' church for the 2nd time. it's 5 minutes from our house, yet we we're still late! but we remembered everything this time. this church is one of 2 we want to try before we make our official decision about 'leaving' central vineyard. which we miss already! it's just a 20 minute drive most days, which means that most small groups & most outings with people are 20 minutes away...which means in a few years when addy & amelia have play times with church friends, that'll be a 20 minute drive & then there's the question if clintonville-ites will want to drive out to westerville to hang out. those sorts of things. so we are testing out the churches in our neighborhood, including the big vineyard (as we call it, really it's called columbus vineyard). the past two weeks we have gone to 'the church at polaris' (what it's really called) & if i was feeling motivated i would put links to all these churches' websites, but i'm lazy today. google them if interested! so this polaris church is very kid-centric, which is good. they have several huge slides & a little kid wing complete with a boardwalk-ish town near the slides & a room just for 2 year old, another for 3, then 4, etc etc. so adeline loves it & cries when we leave. today we couldn't find her for 5 minutes b/c she was playing on the toddler slide...made herself at home by taking her shoes & socks off & was having a ball.

we went to the 'meet the staff' lunch b/c yes we wanted to meet the staff, but hey, free food! we're there! the senior pastor's wife introduced herself to me & during the conversation mentioned something about how adeline will be a big help when we have more kids. WOAH. more kids? i laughed & said, 'oh we're done, unless we adopt later on' & she looked shocked! what? two isn't enough? (apparently they have 5). we're worried about affording preschool already, let alone college. two is just fine right now. anyway, the thing i miss at this church is the praying for each other & the call to receive prayer about all the crap in everyone's lives. the pastor did a series on 'not worrying' & it just seems that would be a perfect message to give people prayer about... anyway, that's just my thoughts. the next two weeks we'll be visiting 'big vineyard' & then hopefully making a decision.

what else? we went to the westerville rec center preschool open house on friday. egads, we have this already to deal with. holy crap, preschools are expensive! anywhere from $90 to $325 a month. crazy! a month. a month...just for 2 1/2 hours, 2 days a week. there goes wes getting a newer vehicle (sorry hubby, maybe try biking to work? :o) we are trying not to worry about the cost b/c really, adeline needs to have some socializing time...she loves to be around others & especially to meet new little kids her size. where did she come from?! certainly not like her mama. at least she won't have shyness to deal with in her life!

& does everyone know how fast a decade goes by? just 10 years ago, i was still a senior in high school (although i was going to college instead b/c i hated high school), but still. that feels like it wasn't so long ago & now i'm 28 with 2 youngins. soon i will be 38 with 'tween' girls living near mall! aaahhh. so i have been thinking that these toddler & baby years of sleepless nights & snuggles won't last forever & that has helped me accept this new round of illness & amelia not sleeping more...friday addy had a sudden onset of a fever (103.6!). & millie has been waking up for two entire hours at night...(on top of the usual 2 wake ups to eat). she is just gleefully looking around the room & wanting smiles from her mama or daddy. so in a blink of an eye, i will be trying to remember what it was like having wee little ones & how tired i was & how dirty out house was. embrace it while it's here maybe??

there goes my eardrum...

i can now add a nearly broken eardrum to my list of parenting perils. tonight, millie was having a terrible time for some reason. i'm fairly certain it had to do with reflux b/c she was doing the thing where she scrunches in a ball then flattens herself like a board (or maybe like a lower case 't' with arms straight out, maybe that's a better description) & the scream-cry (the kind where the child will intake breath for 4 or 5 seconds, then belt out a piercing scream-cry for 4 or 5 seconds...the anti-yoga breathing). so she was doing that & the only thing to initially calm her down was me bouncing, swaying, & shh-ing & feeding her (standing up). anyway, she was finally calm & took about 4 ounces. time for a burp. i put her in a sitting position on my leg, as we usually do & this caused another round of scream-cry & 't-ing'...so i put her on my shoulder to burp & was rocking the chair rapidly (so i could sit down) & she was crying a bit more, but a more mild cry. then she let out a small burp. great! yea, she burped. THEN came the burp of all burps. this would put junior high boys to shame. it was deep & loud & long (hhmm, maybe 6 seconds? if you think about it, that's a long time to burp). and that is how my eardrum was nearly broken tonight. wes walked in the nursery just as she started burping & smiled ear to ear...he was never so proud.

today i went to a women's (or baby mama) playgroup. i had a good time...what really impresses me is that judy (the host) was like 'oh, i'm not going to make anything fancy' for a snack & then i get there & she has crepes with cream cheese, sour scream, powdered sugar, & some jellies (with labels). hhhmm, nothing fancy to me means doughnuts in a box! (or at least something in a box). i'm telling you, this woman rocks being a host. plus, it was really exceptionally wonderful to get out of the house, even if it was to go to another house with even more children in it. 6 mamas, 6 babies (plus a few older kids). it for sure beat my only other trip out of the house since monday which was to go to the pediatrician.

i was really hoping all the excitement of the morning would tire adeline out enough to get her to fall asleep during her naptime. nope. she was banging on her door (we lock the door from the outside b/c she will open it as soon as we shut it) & doing the 'let me out' screech after just 1 hour of non-quiet quiet time. NOOOOO! she can't be done with naps already! wes' coworker was talking about how their wife (they have a newborn) was upset that their older daughter is starting to drop her afternoon nap as well...this girl is 4! four. no fair. (but as i used to tell the students in my tlc [therapeutic learning center] class "well, life isn't fair, is it? it was our response that we had to give per the tlc director. i never liked that response. it's similar to the 'do it b/c i said so' thing. at least give someone an unscripted answer). but, if life was fair, i should get at least 2 more years of afternoon naps out of adeline.

& i highly recommend the movie "things we lost in the fire". that was the 3rd movie i rented last week & i finally was able to watch it tuesday afternoon. cried/sobbed my eyes out & then when wes got home from work, i gave him many hugs (the hubby dies, but no worries, i didn't just spoil anything, that's sort of the main issue in the plot). i just can't even bare to think about losing wes, let alone the girls losing their daddy. so i won't think about it! well, i did read a book a year or so ago by julia alvarez & the husband in that book dies & the wife is stunned b/c she has no idea how to do so much in the house, like put in a furnace filter or program the thermostat. since reading that i have to say i was paying a bit more attention to things that wes normally does. but then i got bored of learning such things...b/c he's so good at doing them & it's not good to think 'i have to in case he dies'. b/c if he dies i have so much more to worry about than the stupid furnace, eh? see, i just shouldn't think about all this stuff!

good times

this was taken yesterday. addy loves to crawl in millie's crib after she wakes up from a nap. it's very cute how adeline loves on her little sis. if you look closely, you can see the 'christmas rubber ducky' that addy brought for amelia. i don't know, maybe in case millie felt like taking a bath. but these ducks are special b/c if they touch water (or hit the bottom of it very hard, like addy does), they go into this blinking fluorescent light thing. they both love taking baths with these ducks (there are 8 of them?). i'm hoping to get some video of it tomorrow. we'll see.

this is to prove to my dad that amelia's spike is still alive & kicking. sort of reminds me of a bird, the pomp adore on top of the head? anyone else see it??! anyway, this was from this morning. the best comment was from the pediatrician...the first thing she said when she came into the exam room (for millie's 4 month well baby appt) was "wow! what GREAT hair today!" she really does have some crazy hair. both of our girlies did as babies...it's not as glamorous as it may appear, for all those parents with baldies. babies with hair = tiny hair knots to brush out = screaming baby. not too pretty after all.

addy was taking a picture of the floor at this moment.

while on the topic of addy: newest potty training concern: poopy in the underwear. yuck to pull off without knowing there is poopy in underwear until it's all over her legs. after the undies are off, well, the person with her is SCREWED b/c it's not like you can pick her up to carry her somewhere to wash the pooh off. & she doesn't want to walk. tricky situations. but addy ALMOST made it to the potty tonight. i have been giving her an m&m for even sitting on the potty & she doesn't get to wear her 'dora the explorer' undies until she goes in the potty (for some reason, she is in LOVE with dora, although she's actually only watched one episode of that show), so she's a bit more interested at this point. but the fault for one 'sitting' tonight was that she had to go get a book to read while sitting on the potty! she is her daddy's girl (wes is an avid toilet reader). so i hear some tinkling & gleefully think she's going to pee in the potty b/c i caught out of the corner of my eye her squatting. no such luck: squatting on the floor in front of the potty with her undies down. big mess. but we gave her an m&m for her valiant effort.

oh yes, this is amelia eating solids. rice cereal, nasty stuff! at her appt today, the ped was sure millie would do great after a week of trying 1 tablespoon a day of rice cereal. not our chunker...i somehow dumped probably 3-5 tablespoons into the dish, so i just mixed it up with 1 ounce of formula, thinking she'll eat about 1/10 of the cereal...but instead she ate all but about a teaspoon. more like inhaled it. she was even making 'yum' & 'mmhhmmm' noises while eating. we were able to videotape a part of it, but it was a very unfortunate time in the eating...she had put nearly her entire fist in her mouth & apparently scratched her gums with her nails & thus started screaming in pain. she recovered within a minute & was back to inhaling her new found love.

as for the ped appt: millie is nearly 15 pounds! she gained 3 pounds in 2 months...i tell ya, we grow big babies, there's no question about it.

read further for more details (mostly, for all grandparents): she's 90% for length (25 1/4 inches), 75% for weight (14.11 pounds), &50% for head. one interesting tidbit is that her head is only 2 cm larger at 4 months than addy's was at birth. AT BIRTH! no wonder i pushed for 2 hours with adeline & 4 minutes with amelia. anyway. we have increased the zantac dose a whole tenth of a ml (to .8 ml)...how in the heck are we supposed to measure that? who knows. she has wonderful muscle tone & the ped said she is very strong for her age. of course. (remember this was the appt that addy got a failing grade & was sent to physical therapy for 'low muscle tone'?? how they are different).

i am off to paint the 'new' playroom! we slacked on it last night, so it's not any closer to being finished. if you call addy & ask her what color it is, she will tell you. but you have to be wes or i to understand what she's saying! ha HA!