Early To Bed, Early To Rise...

Seriously, why in the world is this baby getting up in the 5 o'clock hour?  Luckily my husband is up then too, and I can sleep until 6 AM and pick up where he leaves off when he leaves for work.  But such an early rise time means a ridiculously early morning nap.

So its 8 AM, and I am tired, so I might nap, too.  Or, I might try going to bed earlier to try to match our little guy's schedule better.

Sheesh.  Aren't the kids supposed to adapt to the parents' lifestyles?  Can you give DHH that memo, please?  He has apparently forgotten, along with his "I used to sleep until 7:30 AM" brain cell.

Great Day at Work

This morning I had the last classes of my first quarter of teaching (does that make sense?  My first time teaching for this program, but the last of my first classes.  Next time I won't be new!)

I teach a class called Persuasion and Negotiation, which is a core class that is actually going to be required for all the students to take, and I think I can say I did a great job with this course.  The proof:  they convinced me to hold class at Panera Bread!  I may or may not have been easily persuaded!

The next class was called Conversational English.  I actually didn't like teaching this class because I thought it was too vague.  Basically... was I just supposed to have various conversations each class?  Isn't that kind of hanging out?  And I'm being paid to do that?  It felt kind of weird.  So I suggested renaming the course Situational English, and each class topic would be a different situation, like At the Emergency Room or Ordering from Restaurants or Having Phone Conversations or At a Financial Institution or something like this.

Anyway, I had our last conversation at a local restaurant, the Hiedleberg, which was a really tasty early lunch.  We just ordered appetizers and beer.  Well, some of the men ordered beer, and I abstained because 1) I'm pregnant, and 2) It was only 10:45 AM.  It was a nice time anyhow, and I'd forgotten that no matter how sick I feel, non-fast food French fries go down pretty easily on my stomach.

I'll have a short break from teaching for a week, and then next Wednesday classes resume. I am teaching a American Culture Through Film course.  I am pretty excited about this class, and while I haven't finished planning it, I see all kinds of neat conversations happening in my class and am really interested in selecting movies that are fun for ME to watch, too.  Any suggestions for this?  


I picked up my son from day care, and they assured me he only howled for five minutes and then had an enjoyable time.  He even ate a bowl of chili!  The proof was on his face (and up his nose!) when I picked him up.  I am glad that he settled in, but it was certainly difficult for me to leave him there while he was clinging to me and sobbing.  I think he'll only have to go to the sitter on Wednesdays this month, so maybe he will be out of this crying phase by January, when he might have to go everyday for ten weeks while I teach for three other programs and really $$ up that bank account before baby #2 arrives.

Here are some obligatory cute baby photos to entertain you.  I think bath time shots are a perfect glimpse into this crazy kid's personality!

Favorite Noise

I think my favorite noise might be when my son wakes up from a nap.  Though his speech is muffled by a door and it does not sound like English, he gurgles, laughs, and babbles.  It is so great.

Still Feeling Terrible = Still Pregnant!

I've been 10 weeks pregnant only once before, so I was really looking forward to this milestone week.  I feel positive, like we will get this baby come April.

And my terrible nausea and dry heaving and chills and fever and blech blech feeling serve to confirm these feelings.  So, I can see the blessing for the stormy side of sickness.

The Zofran isn't really working for me this time.  It saves me from having big pukes during the middle of the day, but I lose my appetite, so then my blood sugar gets low and I feel weak and sick later on in the day.  I have a hard time finding the ability to eat many small meals all day long because of how terrible I feel.

Today my husband made me some Mac n  Cheese and it was wonderful.  I am really thankful for him.  He tries to remind me of strategies that help and also helps me to take my medications on the days I am physically well enough to take them.  He is doing the bulk of the baby rearing these days, too.  I love Friday nights because they signal he is home until Tuesday morning and I can rely on him to help me, care for DHH, and do all the house chores.  I just get to rest up and prepare for the Tuesday - Friday days of caring for house and home until he comes home in the evenings, and trust me, its a huge feat that I am able to do it.  I think recharging over the weekend helps a lot.

In other pregnancy news, I found out two other mothers are due the same day as me.  One is in Taiwan, and one is in my city.  For some reason, this makes me feel really secure.  Like I am not alone and its a team effort!

Oh, I've also gotten the taste bud shift thing happening.  Lots of foods I previously enjoyed taste horrible now.  I can't drink soda anymore, save for some Sierra Mist if I am really feeling sick, and basically all the other foods that kind of have the same level of sweetness as Dr. Pepper are done for me.  I am having a hard time finding anything that seems appetizing to eat, but my nurse has told me that really I should just assume NOTHING tastes good and make a point to try the bland foods.  Like toast with applesauce (yuck).

I think that's all the whining I can do for now.  I know, its a lot.  But ... I'm sick 18 / 24 hours a day, so I am just being really honest.  I am not someone who enjoys pregnancy.  I am excited for a bigger family and a sweet darling, but not looking forward to the next six months since I can pretty much count on feeling like I've been hit by a truck AND got a stomach bug.

Apple Orchard

Yesterday, the program I work with took twenty families to a (somewhat) local orchard for a field trip.  I took my son and my friend Hilary and her two kids.

This orchard was pretty neat.   Taylor, our 3 year old apple picker, was worried she wouldn't reach the trees.  She could! There were several that were lower to the ground and seemed more like bushes than trees.

My camera battery ran out after a few moments of taking pictures, which was probably for the best.  I didn't charge it from the box, which meant I had both hands and eyes on my active toddler instead of playing with my new toy.  (I decided to keep the Lumix D10! So glad.  This camera is much awesome-r than the Nikon D3000).

So, it was a pretty good time.  DHH ran around the apple trees clutching on to apples.  I think he ate about 1.5 of them, but left bite marks in at least three.  He really enjoys eating apples now!  Several Korean children chased him around and hugged on him.  It was sweet.

We ate lunch next to an alpaca pen, which was a new experience for everyone.  It wasn't very smelly, in case you were wondering.

I got about twelve pounds of apples, plus a few squash, for around $15.  I think it is a fair price.

I think I will make an apple crumble or apple brown betty or apple crisp, depending on the first recipe I see with a photo... I've never made any of those three!  The rest will be snacks and then crock  pot applesauce.

He Doesn't Like Swings Anymore...

But he was never very keen on his infant swing, either. Oh well.

Thrifty Success Story! Lots of photos, too.

I got a call from our Sears store that I'd won a free portrait collage.  I knew there would be a catch to this free offer, but I decided to go anyway.

I brought along a $7.99 coupon from a magazine, just in case it wasn't really as good of a deal as they made it out to be.

It turns out I could not use the coupon and the free image I "won", and the only way to get more than one photo was to get several, and it would be around $80 or so... which wasn't in our spontaneous event budget. But the $8 was.  So... I did it! I wasn't up sold into something I didn't have the money for! I wasn't suckered in by the cuteness of my son's image.  It was tough.  But I did it!  I thought of how proud my husband and my friend Chrissy would be.

Luckily the images are stored online and with a little squinting, I could try to ignore the store logo emblazoned across his face.  Maybe we'll order some later.

Okay, here are the photos they took.  Be prepared.  Some are ridiculous.  Some are cute.  Some are just TOO MUCH.

Look how OLD he looks!  WOW.

School photo? When did he start kindergarten?

This was one of his first birthday toys, and it was more fun for him than the studio's toys.

I think he favors his father a lot in this photo.

And here come the ridiculously cute photos.  I warned you!

His uncle bought this suit for him for Christmas last year.  He hasn't been invited to any special occasions (proms, weddings... etc) so its his photograph suit.

And here is the portrait I selected for the $7.99 package.  Tough choice, right?  I love how he holds his toes.

How did I walk away from this one?  I guess its one of the harder things I've done lately.

OH, and how my heart melts at this.  I might have to get it anyway.  

How funny.

My husband has a picture about like this from his toddler days.  Its really cute, too.

Yes, he is talking on the phone while driving!

He had such a good time in this little car.

I have a baby photo a lot like this one. So I like it.

He was actually fiddling under the car for buttons.  

Ah!

We have such a happy boy.

And he's so handsome.

Day Care Drama

For the last two weeks, dropping my son off at daycare has been traumatic.   For both of us.

As soon as we pull into the driveway, he starts to whimper.  When we walk up the sidewalk, he gets clingy.  Knocking on the door and entering sends him to tears.  When I hand him over to the wonderful child care provider, he howls.

PS -These photos show two things I didn't think I believed in... messes at dinner, and eating supper without a shirt on.  Now I have adapted to the world of life with an male toddler.  Its very different than the life I had before!

This morning I drove away to screams.

Child development resources say that its very normal for a child to have separation anxiety around this age.   The babysitter assures me that he calms down and really does seem to enjoy his mornings and lunches at her home.

Its still very difficult for me to process these feelings of guilty, loneliness, and commitment.  I worked only Tuesday and Thursday mornings this month, and next month I will send him to daycare for only Wednesday mornings.  I know that I myself was in day care all week while my mother taught, and I ended up okay.  I know my child won't be negatively harmed by my absence and probably he will benefit from being around other children, other toys and learning games, and in another peaceful and structured environment outside of our home.

I feel pretty good about the Mondays when we are all three of us home as a family, and the Wednesdays and Friday mornings when its just mother and son.  DHH must really be enjoying his time with us to miss it or to notice that its a big change to be away.  I think I use this as a little barometer for his satisfaction with our care arrangement.  He prefers us (and me!) to another home.  That is pretty awesome actually.

Today he has a rough morning at the drop off time.  When I pulled into the child care facility at 12:30 PM, he leaped off a tricycle he was playing with and ran to my car.  He's still a new walker, but I could tell that he was really rushing as fast as his short legs could carry and balance him.  That was sweet.  He just wanted to be hugged.

As I put him down for afternoon nap, we read three books as is our ritual.  The he reached over to hug me.  He didn't let go! He wanted me to hold him and rock him to sleep, which we rarely do.  Usually I put him in his crib, he fusses or plays with a toy, and is asleep within a few moments.  This time, he climbed into my arms and nuzzled in.  It was very, very sweet and touching.   I am glad that I had that experience today, and that my arms are a source of comfort to him.