Grandma Time!

Last week JJ got to follow a D.O. surgeon for two days. It was an awesome opportunity and he learned a lot. I think he got re-pumped up about why he's been putting all this work and effort into this far out there goal of his. (Oh, and quick sidenote: he's already gotten responses from three schools asking for follow-up applications. Woohoo! God is GOOD!)

So, it was awesome that JJ could do that... but... we don't have a backup babysitter! He's IT. I called my Mom as soon as we found out the dates and begged, pleaded and promised JJ's cooking if she could make it work to come babysit for two days. Well, turns out I didn't have to pull out all of my big guns -- she made it happen and was so excited. In fact, she had her bags packed a full TWO days before heading out!! : )

MVJ has had a bout of the Stranger-Dangers, so we were a bit nervous. Grandma K arrived the night before just to have miss MVJ refamiliarize herself with her. Turns out MVJ was ready for sleepytime when she got to our house, so she was C-R-A-B-B-Y and had the yellies. I was so nervous. The next morning... more yellies and cries. Oh boy! Poor Grandma. It was going to be a looooong day. I called as soon as I got a chance -- I think it was lunchtime. Grandma reported that they were having an awesome day. What??! Miss MVJ had officially turned it around and warmed right up to Grandma. Praise the Lord!! She took a nice nap and Grandma even took her for a long walk. It just made my day knowing how well they were bonding! Grandma brought her to my work because it was Open House day so I wouldn't be home until a little after 7pm. Yuck.

The next night, MVJ went down at like 6:45. We couldn't keep her awake! Grandma decided that JJ and I should go out to eat -- take advantage of 1) MVJ sleeping and 2) Grandma there! So, she twisted our arms ; ). We went out (blew our eating out budget... but sometimes you have to celebrate!) and had a wonderful time where JJ could recap his adventures in the OR. We got home and went right to bed (we're such wild and crazy kids) expecting to have to get up a little while later with MVJ. To our utter amazement, she slept through the night... right up until 6:15 the next morning -- a full 11 and 1/2 hours since she went down! I fed her, changed her, and she went right back to sleep for another two hours! It was fabulous!

The next night? A full night's sleep again! 10 hours of pure sleeping bliss. We have no idea what turned it around, but we decided that MVJ was just completely worn out from grandma-sitting. : ) As I type this, MVJ has been sleeping for about 5 minutes. Hopefully she decides to keep up her perfect streak!

One week down. . .

First week back to work. Check. I dreaded this week from about February 10th on (when I became coherent enough to think straight!). But, it wasn't as bad as I had it built up to be. First of all, MVJ is home with Daddy. How awesome is that? Sure I'll be missing some things, but Daddy's there and it's cool that they'll share some special moments too. And when I get home, I'm so refreshed. I'm so ready for my baby time. Our only minor glitch is that li'l miss stubborn herself won't take a bottle. Ugh. Or a sippy cup for that matter. We've been concerned that she's not getting enough liquids, but her pediatrician (or the nurse anyways) said that she may just be showing us that she's not happy with the change of Mommy going to work. Also, with feeding her baby food, she just doesn't NEED as much breastmilk. But, alas, I worry. Hopefully this week goes better.

If this week is any indication, I'm going to have a great year. My kiddos have been awesome. I know I'll have some challenges. I know I'll have lots of work ahead of me with lesson plans and paperwork and teaching, etc. but the attitudes just seem to be so positive this year. I know, I know Day 3, right? But, I just have this feeling it's going to be a great year!

New budget

JJ and I have embarked on a new budget. It's not that we necessarily are in the poor house. It's just that we spend way too much money on junk we don't need. We have had a budget, but we used to use it more in terms of keeping track of how we spend our money. This month we bit the bullet and tried a new method. A method we have not tried before. We are working on a cash only system. Here's the plan:

*On the 15th (pay day!) we're going to take a specific amount of cash out of the bank.
*Then we're going to divvy out the cash into our categories. Right now we're working with: groceries, gas, eating out and miscellaneous (start basic right?).
*Then we're going to divide each category's money into weekly allotments.

We have a credit card that we get great rewards on (and pay off monthly -- we've never carried a balance), but we've found that it is way too easy to just swipe the card instead of thinking about the money being spent. I figure if we do this for about three months (and feel in control), we might be able to go back to using the credit card little by little.

We've done this for a week and a half so far and I feel like we've already won some small battles. For example, in the "eating out" category -- probably my personal vice because I'm not the most enthusiastic chef -- in the first week we took my brother out to eat AND had a separate meal out on our small weekly budget. We had to sacrifice a bit -- going to Arby's and using the 5 for $5 deal, but it felt ... it felt so good to stay in budget! It's like my personal game (have I mentioned I'm a BIT competitive ever? No? It could be a separate post. Believe me.) -- I WANT to have money left in that darn envelope.

JJ is a bit embarrassed -- how can we so "easily" keep to our budget when we've been way off -- up to double off -- before?

Tidbits of Advice: Packing! ! !

I have to say I don't think we're the best packers in the world. We bought a family van and seem to fill it every trip... with only one kiddo... but, I have learned some things along the way!

*If your kiddo fits in a bumbo, bring it along -- it can be a play area, a chance for your kiddo to have his or her own space AND a high chair all in one!
*I used to try to count diapers to decide how many to bring - but now I just bring a whole package every time. It's not that big of a deal if you have extras but it is if you run out! Plus, we have gone to smaller towns where the diapers are much more expensive... not worth it!
*Always bring a few extra clothes -- you just never know! One time we had all summer clothes for MVJ and the weather turned yucky almost the whole time - the poor girl ended up wearing pajamas like the whole time because they were the warmest thing she had!
*Bring extra blankets -- for one thing you might want to lay them down on the floor (like my parents have hardwood floors and they just get too cold/aren't the softest) or maybe there are pets, etc. that you want to keep your kiddo away from. I've also had to use the "this is MVJ's space" for overexhuberant kiddos when MVJ has had enough!
*I've brought my pump to various places and have ended up using it exactly 1/2 a time - it is tougher than I realized to plan that out in advance. We ended up buying formula when we went to Minneapolis the last time and it was just fine. So maybe you want to have a few backup plans along just in case for food.
*We always bring MVJ's "toiletry" bag -- baby Tylenol, Mylicon, teething tablets, bath/grooming supplies, thermometer, nasal aspirator, etc. -- you just never know and you don't want to have to go searching for it at a store if you need it!

Surprise!

A few weekends ago we headed out west for our annual (it seems) Wild West Tour. We hit up JJ's parents and my parents in one fell swoop. This time we decided to not let my parents in on the plans. We figured out a game plan and then called my brother to make sure my parents didn't have anything planned. My brother wasn't going to be around, but he saw that they didn't have anything scheduled. The big day arrived and it was even more perfect than I could've planned: it was my Dad's last day of work at the University! We could help him celebrate! So, as we got nearer to town, I called my Mom's work (our first stop). The ladies there are awesome, and within a matter of moments a secret email was sent out making sure my Mom wouldn't leave her office for the short time it'd take us to get there. I kind of laughed to myself -- the gals worked pretty hard -- does that mean my Mom just randomly takes off all the time? So that surprise was awesome, and my Mom even got to hold MVJ for a while! (We've been working on this whole Stranger-Danger thing for about a month. We think she's finally pulling out of it. Phew!) We asked what the big plans for the night were - we wanted to take my Dad out to eat to celebrate. My Mom said she had to wait for a big phone call for my brother -- something where the company would be calling the house phone and she just needed to give them his cellphone number. We decided we'd order in or pick something up and headed on to surprise my grandparents.

They loved it. It's so exciting to see my grandparents light up at the sight of us (and who am I kidding -- it's all MVJ!). My Grandpa had refurbished a teeny-tiny rocking chair just for MVJ. It's so cute! We can never leave there without some present or food item! (I'm NOT complaining!) Then, while we were about to be on our way home, my Mom called us. The more she thought about the phone call she was waiting for, the more she realized how hokey it was. Then it all clicked! Duh! It was part of the plan to make sure my parents were around Friday evening so we could surprise them! heehee! When we got a hold of my brother, he confirmed that it was all made up -- and he reminded me that he had told me that part of the plan earlier! Oops! Well, problem solved and we got to hit up Johnny Carinos for JJ and my first time -- yum, yum!

Other festivities for that weekend included a ride on the River Boat, a quick shopping excursion to purchase a picture frame for my Dad's new office, and even a golf game with brother AJ (and JJ) on our way home. What a fun weekend -- I LOVE surprises -- especially surprising people -- it makes me positively giddy!!

Are we raising a howler monkey???!

Oh boy! MVJ has a new trick. Can you guess what it is? I'll give you a hint: it makes her Mommy and Daddy's ears bleed. MVJ has developed the worst high pitch screech ever. Ugh. I'm not really sure where she got it from, or why. But it does get good results, I guess. We've tried the, "No! We don't make noises like that!" And the you go in your crib when you scream like that. And the let's distract you with your toys. And the let's get a paci in that mouth before that sound comes out again. We've learned that it generally signals utter and complete exhaustion, and so we just need to bounce her or something to send her off to sleepytime. Other times the distraction method does seem to work and has therefore signaled more of a, "I'm bored with this. Do something entertaining with me or I'll make that noise again." type of a deal.

A side note with the bouncing to sleep: MVJ has decided that only Daddy fits the bill when she is tired. She wants no one else to bounce her, no one else to carry her, no one else to put her in her crib. This is both super cute and super annoying at different times!

Hi-ho, hi-ho it's off to work I go...

Sorry it's been a while. I've been enjoying my ... sniff... sniff... last week of summer. I can't hardly believe that I'll be going back to work on Monday. I'm having trouble coming to grips with the fact that I won't be home with Choochies every day. I mean, I feel like I'm ready for school and it seems like for the most part I have a great group of kiddos, but it's just that every single day all day. Like, I think I'll be fine the first day. Maybe even the first week, but I think then I'll be like, that's enough. I want my old routine back. I want to hold my baby all day if I want to. I want to sit in my pajamas until at least 11:00 (after The Price Is Right). I want to eat when I want and for as long as I want (none of that scarf it down in 15 mins. crap). But most of all Choochies. I know that she'll have so much fun staying home with Daddy. I love that they'll have that opportunity. I love that he's excited about it. I love that they'll develop that bond. But, I want to be there too! I know that she'll be fine, he'll be fine and I'll be fine. I've just got to take it one day at a time I guess.

I'm a Mom

It's official. Let me tell you how that fact was just completely solidified for me today. My beautiful baby girl had her 6 month appointment today. What? 6 months? No way! Anyways, we met with Dr. Z, our pediatrician (our very first pediatrician by the way -- she was described to us as a bit on the geeky side. Both JJ and I decided this was a desirable quality in a doctor.). She fell in love with MVJ right away so we knew she was a keeper (Dr. Z that is -- we've always known MVJ is a keeper! Disclaimer: I realize pediatricians probably ALL ooh and ahh after ALL the babies, but it still made this Momma feel good!). She even gave MVJ a book as part of this program to get books into homes. MVJ promptly chewed on the lower right corner. (She had a book snack later today too.) Anyways, the check up went really well. Dr. Z prescribed MVJ a multivitiman with flouride and vitamin D. She said it is yucky tasting, but was concerned she might not be getting enough flouride since we're still breastfeeding.

Then, of course, the shots. THE SHOTS. Yuck! Daddy held MVJ and she did SO WELL. Really. So that's definitely going to be our new method of shot-taking. I'm pretty sure I project my anxiety onto her. What Mom can just sit there while their baby gets poked with a needle?

Then, I left Daddy in charge while I headed to the water park with one of my summer kiddos. Yay! M-D time is always a good thing, and I am really enjoying getting to know my group of kiddos. They're great! I got home and Daddy was in bed while MVJ was crying in hers. Daddy had a bad headache and MVJ had been crying in her bed for about 10 minutes according to Daddy. He said she had slept about half the time I was gone and cried the rest. Yuck! That is no fun! Especially when you know there's nothing really you can do. You just have to let the shots do their work.

I cuddled MVJ and settled her down (and let Daddy take a breather!). She was doing really well, so I decided to get her going on supper. I gave her some carrots (with a little cereal) and then checked out the vitamins we got. MVJ took the liquid vitamins like a champ and ate about a half of a bowl of her food. Afterwards, I was holding her again and I could just hear rumbling in her tummy. She looked like she was NOT feeling well. I changed her diaper -- a BLOW OUT poopy diaper -- she has not had one of those in a while.

Then she still looked like she was not doing so well, so I took her into the bathroom with me while I cleaned up her outfit. All of a sudden, she looked at me really sad, turned to the side, and PROJECTILE VOMITTED ALL OVER THE BATHROOM. Poor little punky! She did it one more time and I yelled for JJ. He came in and witnessed her vomitting again. Poor sweet thing. Seriously -- orange. All over. All over me, all over her, all over everything. JJ told me to jump in the bathtub (duh... I guess that would've been a smart thing to do a few pukes ago). She went one more time and was done. Oh, I wish I could've taken that yucky away from her. NO FUN. And she doesn't understand (and won't remember, so that's a positive out of this!).

So here is where I circle back to my point. I was always wondering how in the world my Mom could deal with our icky bodily fluids -- wet beds, diarrhea, puke, etc. You know, all the good stuff. I literally had puke dripping off of my hair and arms and I didn't even flinch. I didn't even feel yucky. I just felt so badly for MVJ. I just wanted to take care of her. I was outside of my own needs and wants. It was pretty amazing.

(End of the story -- JJ took MVJ to clean her up, so I could clean up. By the time I got the bathroom cleaned up, MVJ was sleeping soundly in JJ's arms. We called her pediatrician just to double check if we should take her in, stop vitamins, etc. The phone system of our hospital/clinic completely froze/shut down. It was pretty nuts. I had to call three times to actually speak to a nurse. Then we got cut off. They called us back like thirty times and it would ring twice and then hang up. Crazy. We finally got ahold of our Dr. and she said to discontinue the vitamins for a week. Phew, I'm definitely ok with that. I don't want a reprisal of The Exorcist, thankyouverymuch.)

JJ's Trip

JJ recently returned from his first solo trip since... well, for sure since MVJ came into this world and quite possibly the first since we've been married. He attended this little old conference called Willow Creek Leadership Summit. You may have heard of it. I'm so glad he got the opportunity to go as he came back so refreshed in his faith and with lots of great ideas of things to do to make a difference in our area (as well as a large book list to check out). While there, he got to hear simulcasts from Bono and Tony Blair and listen to lots of speakers "in house" including Wess Stafford (pres. of Compassion International) and an advisor to four presidents.

While he was gone, however, I was a "single parent". It seems that MVJ sensed something was different and was very good -- except at night. The first night she woke up about every three hours. STINKER! We know she can do better than that, so I'm not sure what was up. My good friends in the area weren't content to let me stay in my pjs all day and wallow in my single-parentedness, so I spent quality time with the B's, the J's (including mom NA), and MM. I even got to meet with the two teachers I'll be working closely with next year (the new-to-7th grade specialist KB and new RT LH) and had two summer kiddo events thrown in there. I never sleep very well when JJ isn't there and this time was no different, but by the last night I was up to being able to lay down without putting the timer on the TV so I could fall asleep to noise. (Maybe it had something to do with MVJ being up every three hours that first night!! I was tired!) The days flew by and in no time it seemed JJ was knocking on the door at 5:15 am (after a whole night of driving).

Time Waster

Don't do it. Don't you dare do it. Unless you have a LOT of time on your hands, don't go to sporcle.com. TAF and MF got us hooked when we visited them in MN. You'll waste lots of time, trust me. JJ and I just tried to remember all the books of the New Testament (missed three - darn!) and Old Testament (missed an embarrasing amount... those minor prophets... yeeks!), the monopoly board (missed eight pieces... and we only got ONE railroad... jeez!), and parts to the game of clue (only missed ONE room!). Ok, try them if you dare! Oh, and just so you know, spelling counts, and you don't have to hit enter after each entry.

Have fun! : )

Telephone Prank...

My bff TAF is a goofball. She just cracks me up. I'll never forget this one time she called me and pretended to be a telemarketer. I thought it was her so I started being goofy, and she played right along acting shocked. I got embarrassed right away thinking I had it wrong - that it wasn't really her. She made me feel bad for a short time and then fessed up that it was her. Stinker!

So, when I got a call today asking for "MVJ's Mom or Dad" in what I thought was TAF's voice, I said back rather silly, "This is her mother!!" The person continued on, "Well, ahh, this is Dr. Z's nurse just calling to confirm MVJ's appointment on Monday." Oops....

New Job Title

I did it. I took the plunge. I'm officially a Creative Memories consultant! I did not do it to make a little money or meet new people (although that might be a side benefit). I SOLELY did it so I can get the discount! : ) After giving my 30% to various other consultants I decided that I want that money! So, if anyone needs anything scrapbook-related, look me up. I'll give you a deal!

Tidbits of Advice: Traveling with a Baby MVJ

We've done our fair share of traveling with miss MVJ. We don't want to just stay home because we have a baby. We MVJ to be a good traveler when she gets older, and what better way than to expose her to it early on. MVJ has proved to be a good sport in the car, but we have learned a few things along the way.

*Since she is generally beyond the whole spitting up thing, we feed her almost right before we leave.
*We also diaper her right before -- oh and a bath right before is very good too if it can be managed.
*We've found that traveling around her nap schedule is the best thing ever. She will usually take extended naps when she's started out in the car.
*Traveling in the morning seems best for her, but we haven't tried too late at night to compare.
*MVJ once slept a whole five hours in the car and woke up about 15 minutes outside of home. We had to take a longer trip and MVJ screamed about the last whole hour. We knew all she wanted was to get out of her carseat so there wasn't anything we could do besides press on.
*MVJ isn't quite to the age we can distract her with books and toys and things, so sleep is our best ally so far.

Next week: what to pack when traveling with a baby!

A few more things... about our trip to MN...

So then, on Wednesday we were able to get our hands on some fresh baby! Little miss LKH was born July 18 to our niece MH and nephew-in-law (?) PH. She was born ALMOST as early as baby girl MVJ and she is the cutest little thing! She has long, dark hair and is so petite and sweet! We loved holding LKH and reminiscing when MVJ was that small (smaller!! No way!). MVJ is now the big kid.

We came back to the F's for some quality craft time and rock and time. Then we hit Sonic- they have a "happy hour" where drinks are half-price! Sweet! We keep getting commercials for Sonic even though we don't have one! We were definitely intrigued. Then we hit up Noodles and Co. -- JJ and my first visit -- delicious!! You're right, TAF, the mac and cheese is the best! Then, we had a bonfire at the perfect bonfire pit the F's have set up in their backyards. S'mores... friends... laughter... MVJ sleeping... it was wonderful! JJ even said it was his favorite part of the trip.

Next day, we did some laundry --- thanks Fs! --- watched some recorded Jeopardy! (TAF is seriously my kind of woman!), ate some more Sonic (!), and packed up. After bidding adieu to the Fs, we headed back to Fargo to pick up JJ's car. MVJ once again slept the whole way -- and only cried for about 20 minutes outside of Fargo, then slept the rest of the way home. What a wonderful trip! Yay for lots of family and friends!

More MN

From the W's we decided to catch the light rail and take that to the Metrodome. MVJ decided this was about the sixth circle of hell. She screamed the WHOLE time, and it was standing room only, so I was trying to soothe her while SO, NW and JP acted as my human shields! JJ and TAF were split up farther away from us. We finally got off the @$#% train and MVJ began to calm down. I knew she was just fine -- I guessed it was the noise and commotion. We met up with the rest of our crew: MF, AW, SV and her hubby JM, and headed inside.

We found our spots - awesome left field seats on the end of a very long aisle. Being on the end was fabulous except for one minor exception --- everyone (and I mean everyone and some people multiple times) came by us at some point. Sometimes it was inconvenient - MVJ had just fallen asleep, just taken a bottle, whatever. But, we couldn't complain - (well we could... and did...) but it was just so much fun to be out at a game! MVJ was too cute in her little Twins outfit, but it was a little masculine. Daddy felt the need to put her pink pants on here and one group of businessmen on the train with us chatted about our little baseball player. The one closest, however, commented that first she'd have to ditch her pink pants! heehee When she got much too warm, we took the pink pants off and several people commented about our baby boy's first trip to the game. Of course I can't imagine looking at her and seeing a boy, but whatever. : )

The only homerun of the game was hit into our section, so that was superfun and the cotton in MVJ's ears worked wonders. Before we could find some water, MVJ even nursed in the Metrodome, which later JJ noted was "kinda cool." She also received her first formula at the game, which she took to very well. Yay! MVJ is still very strongly in the midst of stranger-danger. It makes me quite annoyed that she won't go to others, but after she spends some quality time with someone, she'll usually spend a little bit of time in his/her arms.

After the game, we learned our lesson about the light-rail, and realized that waiting for three or four trains to go by so we could be on a much less crowded one was time WELL SPENT. MVJ did really well, despite getting hungry. I was a little angry at JJ for not letting me nurse her (with cover of course), but later he said there were too many creepers on the train. heehee In the end, MVJ made it just fine to the W's, where we dropped off JP and picked up TAF's cooler. In fact, she fell fast asleep and slept the whole way back to the F's. You go girl!

Trip to MN

A long, long time ago... I can still remember... how that music used to make me feel. No. Wait. A long time ago I used to be a hall director! It was a grand ole time and I'm so thankful I was able to do it for two years (just enough but not too much!). In the process, I was able to be on the bestest staff ever. Seriously. I don't mean to gloat or something, but we all just clicked and created a really positive working environment. So four of the five of us live in the cities (or nearby)... can you guess which one of these is not like the other one? Which one does not belong? Yeah, that's me, so I was the one traveling this week to visit my good friends: NW, JP, TAF and SV. We organized a BBQ and night out at the Twins and it was fabulous!! (Fellow housing staff member SO tagged along for some fun along with significant others: JJ, MF, AW, and JM).

The drama of the trip was that JJ had jury duty. His first call was the week he was in his nephew's wedding. He got out of that with a new letter to call the week of his MCATs. He got out of that with a new letter to call the week of our Twins game. He felt a little foolish trying to get out again so we just crossed our fingers. We packed up the van, drove to Fargo to be an hour closer to the cities, and he called at his designated time. Miracle of miracles, there were no cases and he was thus relieved of his duties! w00t! Into the van we went again and made it to the cities in about three hours from Fargo. MVJ slept the WHOLE TIME. What a fabulous daughter I have!

We got to the F house only to be greeted by Neua เนื้อ --- I had to look up how to spell "meat" in Thai --- I'm not sure how to spell the name of their dog (long story short, they lived in Thailand for two years and rescued a dog that was about to be used as a temple sacrifice --- so since they eat dog in Thailand, they named their dog "meat" in Thai!! I think it's hillarious!). Anyways, no one else was there -- Neua is quite the guard dog -- he licked us to death! But, we were confused that his owners weren't present. We soon found out that TA had been at the ER -- she is 13 weeks pregnant and had four migraines in two days! TA's migraines are not your run of the mill migraines -- we're talking loss of vision and pretty much the ability to be present in the world when one hits. AND she can't take her regular meds because of her pregnancy. Boo! But, she was given a shot and a new prescription, and she seems to be on the up and up! Thank goodness!

TAF and MF are doing great and they have all sorts of fun plans for the baby room and all that. Yay for babies! Tuesday morning we set about getting ready for the BBQ at NW and AW's, buying a few Twins outfits (for JJ, TAF and of course miss MVJ), and making a sign for li'l miss MVJ for the Twins. Then we headed out to the W's. It was so much fun to hang out with our old friends. One of my favorite things is we always seem to just slide back in to regular life. There generally isn't the awkward "catching up" that usually happens with old friends. I love my housing family! Go team D! Leave your pants at home! I think that's enough for now. More to come.