The toddler was in an off mood today. Challenged me all day. Maybe that's why it's called the "terrible two's", duh! We'll aim for a better day tomorrow.

Idol tonight? Who's watching? Or is it just me and my big box of tissues. Starting to look like Rudolph soon. I am sooo sick!

Here it is...ta,da!!!

Easily Amused

I'm feeling really crappy today, and I had to cancel my playdate plans, so I went to Home depot. I had heard about these toilet seats that accomodate both grown ups and toddlers from the mommy and me class that we take. I was so excited when I actually found them right away. I went home and mounted them, all by myself. They are so cute; they actually have a toddler size small butt seat attached to the adult big butt seat. Can't wait to show the toddler when he wakes up from his nap. It's pathetic isn't it? I am such a nerd, but I guess I'm easily amused.

No End in Sight to Sleepless Nights

So yesterday I had a doctor's appointment. My regular 6 months checkup. My doctor is great; she is a few years younger than me and has two younger kids. So, she can really relate to my sleepdeprivation. She told me to try to break the cycle with Benadryl. I told her I've tried it and that it didn't work. She asked me about the dose, and I told her. "Double it" was her reply. If that didn't work, she told me to explain to the toddler that if he didn't stay in his bed and sleep all night we would have to get a lock on his door. "You need to explain to him that mommy and daddy really need their sleep" she further explained. Yeah, right! I tell my toddler everynight that he needs to stay in his bed and sleep. He always happily says "yes".

Anyhow, a long story short, I tried her advice. I gave him the Benadryl at bedtime. He fell asleep after a few stories, but like always woke up at midnight the first time. I went in and laid down with him for a few minutes and then went back to my bed. At 3:30 he woke up crying again. I went back to his room and soothed him back to sleep. At 4:30 he was at it again. My husband got up and tried to get him back to sleep. But I could hear him. He wanted me..."mama's bed, mama's bed". So, needless to say, I went in there again and my husband went back to sleep. Finally, I managed to get him to fall back to sleep. But, at 6:30 am he was done. He got up, and I heard him go in to our bedroom to wake my husband up. I put a pillow over my head and went back to sleep for another hour. So much for that. But, I just don't think I'm ready for the "I will put a lock on your door advice".

The toddler is sleeping and I'm enjoying a Samuel Adams while watching American Idol. Life is good!

A Not so Good Night

Stayed up late to watch two episodes of 24. It was close to midnight before we shut the tv off. Not long after lights were out the toddler flings our door open and crawl into bed with us. He snuggles up very close to me, so that I can hardly breath. You know like "fall off the bed" close. Then at 4:30 he wakes up and whispers to my husband, "Daddy let's go downstairs". We managed to talk him into staying in bed for another hour, but that was it. My husband, bless his heart, took him downstairs and fed him breakfast, and gave me 2 more hours in bed. Not that I could really sleep. Felt guilty that my husband always seem to be the one waking up with him. It's going to be a long day!

Came home from pilates aching all over, but it was so worth it. The instructor is brutal, and I'm not the only one thinking that. The class was packed.

Need a Laptop Battery

My laptop doesn't feel like a laptop because I have to have it plugged in to work. The battery light comes on saying there is no power even if it has been plugged in all night. The lap top is only a year old. Shouldn't a battery last longer than that? It's so annoying when I just want to sit comfortably on the couch or on my bed, and it gets so cumbersome having it plugged in. Feels like I have a desktop right now.

Happiness is a choice, and it takes constant effort, but it's worth it. Here is one of my greatest sources.

As we're getting in my car the toddler exclaimed "Mama put on baby cock"!!! Say what? Took me a minute before I realized he meant David Cook.

My little hiker. Could never get my teens out out like this!

See what I mean...? Creepy!

After three episodes of Thomas the Tank engine I'm about to get rid of the TV. The toddler is obsessed. Has there ever been a worse show?

Another Beautiful Day

Woke up to another beautiful day in Southern California. Yesterday I filled the kiddie pool for the toddler and we played in the back yard most of the day. He wanted to go in the big pool...our newly renovated $25,000 project, but it's still butt cold, so of course I couldn't let him. On Valentine's Day we went in the jaccuzzi, and of course it was nice and warm, so he thought the pool would be too. After a little tantrum he was happy to see me drag out the kiddie pool. The kiddie pool is actually quite big, so I realized I should probably try to use the compressor to blow it up. After spending 15 minutes trying to figure the compressor out I gave up and started to blow it up manually. Well, it didn't take me that long to realize I was blowing off too much CO2 as I was feeling a tingling sensation. Had to put my pride aside, and call hubby who's out of town, and ask how the damned compressor worked. Thank God for husbands and cellphones. Wherever he goes on business he's never more than a phone call away!

Enjoying a beautiful sunny morning in the park with the toddler and the dog. Must say the southern California weather is hard to beat.

A Post Valentine Monday Morning

Valentine's is over with...didn't do anything wild and crazy. Went to the park with hubby and the toddler in the morning, then we hung out in the back yard and played for awhile. In the afternoon we went in our newly remodeled jaccuzzi with the toddler. He had a blast. First time he had that experience. Hubby and I really enjoyed watching him going wild over the bubbles coming out of the jets.

But now it's Monday morning and it really feels like Monday. Some Mondays are great, I'm all pumped up after the weekend and ready to plan for the week. Not so much today. My dad's still in the hospital. Talked to him on Saturday and he sounded so low. He has pneumonia and it has really wiped him out. I think he wants me to come. I'm seriously thinking about it even though I am dreading the plane ride alone with the toddler. And not to mention the serious winter they have there right now. I don't know if I'm ready for that. But I'm deeply worried about my dad, so I may try to wait it out a couple of weeks to see if the weather improves somewhat and then take the plunge and go.

My Little Valentine

Need I say more...?

Spoke with my mom today. They did a bunch of tests on my dad today. Looks like the initial diagnosis is pneumonia. Just what he needs with a 50% lung capacity.

Took the toddler to a Valentine's day party at a friends house. It was cupcakes galore...

Deeply Worried

On my way home fom the park with the toddler I had a text from my sister saying that my dad has been admitted to the hospital. I guess he finally gave in. Both my brother and my sister called him and helped talk him into going. They called an ambulance which arrived after 2 hours!!! All I know for now is that he'd had some chest pain which he never conveyed to me or my mother, only to the paramedics. He didn't want to worry anyone. They did an initial ECG in the field which was inconclusive. He also had a temp of 101. I honestly think I'm going to kill him. Why didn't he listen to me yesteday? Right now all I can do is wait.

So, were we able to convince my dad to go to the hospital? Of course not. His response "Got to recover from the flu. I'll call my doctor on Monday!"

Soup Night

Today is soup night. Everyone seems to be doing their own thing, so I don't want to cook. The toddler had mac and cheese, and the older kids have plans. I think I will just heat up some lentil soup and cut up some fresh bread for hubby and myself. It's simple and delicious. Maybe I'll add a glass of red wine to make it festive...what the heck, it's Wednesday night!

Woke up miserable today. Got the toddler's cold. Not so surprising considering he's sleeping next to me every night.

When Parents are Getting Older

So the little one is sleeping and it's raining outside. I should really be using this time productively, but instead I find myself drawn to my laptop. But, I can't concentrate. I'm worried about my dad. He is 72 and he has lung fibrosis. He was diagnosed a couple of years ago, and it has progressed rapidly. He now uses oxygen at home, but still gets short of breath doing minimal activity. Spoke with my mom today (they're in Sweden), and she said his bloodpressure has been labile the last couple of days, and on top of that he has the stomach flu. I told her he needs to be admitted to the hospital. He actually had a doctor's appointment today, but he cancelled it because he felt too sick!!! I couldn't speak to my dad directly since he was sleeping, but I did tell my mom to convince him to go to the hospital tomorrow. I'm suspecting he may have a partial blockage in one of the coronary arteries, and it needs to be checked out before it becomes completely blocked. I don't believe his shortness of breath is due only to the fibrosis since this developed very recently. My mom told me he needs to sit down and rest going from the kitchen to the bedroom. I just quit my nursing job to concentrate on the toddler and my family, but feel I may need to travel to Sweden and be my father's nurse for a while.

So the Saints won the superbowl! Not that I cared one way or the other. I was too busy enjoying all the good food at the party we attended!

Went to pilates today. Every muscle in my body is aching, and I love it. It's a good kind of torture.

A Night on the Town

Went to see a friend's daughter perform at the civic arts plaza last night. She is an incredible dancer. The show was both aerial and on the floor...kind of like Cirque de Soleil. It was a very professional dance team. After the show we joined up with some friends at a close by restaurant and had a late dinner...and a few glasses of wine. We had a lot of fun. It felt nice going out and being an adult. Being toddler parents we don't get to go out much.

Having fun in the tub after a hard day's play...

Enjoying a pizza lunch at the mall with the toddler...

A Two Year Old's World

So my toddler woke me up around midnight, and I had to lay down in his bed unless I wanted the whole house to wake up. This is nothing new. We pretty much do this every night. He ends up in our bed or one of us ends up in his. He is a very light sleeper, and has a very hard time going back to sleep on his own. Well, I could deal with this better if he would just sleep quietly next to me, but he tosses and turns, and he whines and snores. Not to mention when he occasinally will just steamroller right over me. Well, I could even deal with this, but when he is up for good at 5:30 and is frantically searching for this one shirt that he wants to wear... an uggly, dingy white one...that's when I want to scream. His favorite shirt for some strange reason. Poor daddy is trying to reason with him. "How about this blue Spider man shirt?" The toddler has a fit, and yells "No" and just has to have the white shirt. Mom finds the uggly shirt in the bottom of the laundry pile and throws it in the wash. The we find a white t shirt with spiderman on it, and he agreed to wear it. So, after breakfast I went online and ordered 4 white longsleeve t shirts, and 4 shortsleeve shirts. Gotta be prepared.

Living Healthy

My husband and I are doing this health challenge. We're doing some hard core workouts at home and trying some new health products. Not that we were unhealthy before, but my husband wants to loose some weight, and I just want some more definition and some much needed energy. And of course I want to be very supportive of him. So, we're trying some new vitamins and health shakes from HerbaLife, and some workout dvds from Beach Body. The workouts are definetily doing something. I am already feeling stronger because this program is all about turning fat into muscle, so we are lifting weights. We've done the workouts for one month, and the vitamins for a few days. I will keep you posted how we're doing.

Having a playdate in the park.