Monday!

mrsconn23

How was the weekend?  For those who celebrated, how was Easter/Passover?

I worked Saturday.  We tried to watch Suicide Squad and Atomic Blonde Saturday night...both were kinda meh. 

We watched FIL's dog this weekend.  She's starting to chill (she's almost 2), so it's easier to have her around.  She's really sweet and loves 'her boys'.  She was cracking me up because she was constantly making the rounds in our house to check on everyone and was wearing herself out.  She only has FIL to keep track of at home, and no stairs.  

I made DefConn a donut cake with donuts from a local bakery to celebrate his bday yesterday with family.  It turned out super cute for my non-craftiness. 

We have all the leftovers.  I am so happy.  

mrsconn23

Pics from the weekend:

pupper: 

cake:



DH’s tat, it’s a memorial tattoo for MIL. It still needs shading and color. He’s got 2 more sessions. 

cupcait927

@mrsconn23 That donut cake looks delicious! 

Easter weekend was way too short. H and I took off for Cleveland Saturday morning to go see Justin Timberlake. The show was absolutely amazing. Definitely worth the money for tickets and the drive.

Left early Sunday morning to pick up the dog from my in-laws and headed straight to the grocery store. H and I started a Whole30 today so I spent the rest of my Sunday cooking up a storm so that we have no excuses to cheat this week. Had homemade breakfast sausage and roasted potatoes for breakfast today. Hardest part was no milk or sugar in my coffee. 

MissKittyDanger

@mrsconn23 Love all the photos! Why did your H opt for owl? It's great work regardless!

@cupcait927 What's Whole30? I feel like I've heard of it before, but idk ...


Easter weekend always feels short.

Thursday we did groceries and I'm really not a fan of when it's busy. Although as I told M, we need to get use to doing it when it's busy because we won't be able to do groceries on typical Thursdays pretty soon. It'll be too hard to get BabyKitten then do groceries on a week night.

He went to poker. Had 2 beers and got home at like 2:30am - then felt hung over the next day! Lol He rarely drinks now and he does stay up late, but it's usually at home.


Dinner at my mum's on Friday night. I made pumpkin pie. And then dropped it on the belly. There was a few jokes - feeding the baby on the outside, it looked like baby food {it fell face down obv ...}, I'm just getting use to baby food on my clothes ....
Had to borrow a top from my mum so she could rinse my shirt lol I joked that I'll just start bringing another shirt with me when I go out.


Saturday my uncle came over and helped M move stuff to the basement, then painted the bedroom.
We got kicked out, so M and I went to see "Ready Player One" It was really good, very 80s themed with a lot of stuff. Mostly the soundtrack, but a lot of 80s video game references. M loved it - as I knew he would.
I thought I'd be fine with the comfy recliner chairs, but apparently not. My back was killing me afterwards.

When we got home I sat with the heating pad for awhile, then had a bath. I was irked because both typically helps but neither did.
So I ended up having a horrible sleep that night. 

Sunday I was exhausted, but went to see sFIL's family for Easter. M's grandparents were there too, so it was nice to see them as well
sFIL's mother gives cards for any holiday, but this year she had a gift - it's a llama piggy bank! So friggen cute omg


Wednesday is my chiro consult, and I'm friggen stoked lol

I'll show baby's room once it's more fixed up M is doing crib today and he's working on the basement.
We figured out Angel's problem lately, and it's 100% stress. We figure he's thinking we're moving with all the clutter around. Now that things are getting more organized, I think he'll start to calm down.

sparklepants41

Oh wow, @mrsconn23! That's a really neat tattoo! I love that it's a memorial for your H's mom. How long did that take for him to get? 

Weekend was good but exhausting. Saturday I had a migraine and we had my parents over for dinner so we were nonstop the whole day with food shopping, food prep, cooking, and sticking to Babypants' schedule. Dinner was super yummy though - H smoked a pork roast stuffed with apples, bacon, and shallots on the smoker and I made potatoes, roasted brussels sprouts, and garlic parmesan roasted green beans. 

Yesterday we wen't to my ILs house and my SIL was on her best behavior thankfully so it ended up being a nice Easter. I was starving when we left though because MIL is not a good cook so while H enjoyed the ham, I found it too salty and gummy, and the vegetables were microwaved beyond recognition. (DON'T get me started on microwaving vegetables - gross!!!)

Babypants' first Easter was a success - she had so much fun watching her older cousins (4 and 7) on their sugar highs so she had the belly giggles for most of the day. 

mrsconn23

MissKittyDanger said:

@mrsconn23 Love all the photos! Why did your H opt for owl? It's great work regardless!

MIL loved owls and had a ton of them around her and FIL's house.   He's been a fan of this artist for a long time, so he was so stoked when she took on his tattoo request.  I might go to his next session with him.  He took the kiddo this time. 

sparklepants41 said:

Oh wow, @mrsconn23! That's a really neat tattoo! I love that it's a memorial for your H's mom. How long did that take for him to get? 

It took 3.5 hours.  He's probably got 5 hours left in 2 sessions. 

cupcait927

@MissKittyDanger Whole30 is an elimination diet that, at its core, is supposed to help your body reset by removing any foods that can cause a negative reaction. So for 30 days, you remove all added sugar (natural and artificial), dairy, grains, legumes, soy, and alcohol. You are also not supposed to recreate "bad" foods (like pancakes and pizza for example), even if they have all "approved" ingredients. You are also not supposed to measure or weigh yourself during the 30 days. It's definitely a tough challenge but H and I are doing it together, and I have a coworker in my office that's doing it with me as well.

MissKittyDanger

@cupcait927 Ah okay. Kind of like an intolerance test, to see what your body reacts to?
At least you're doing it together Support team!

6fsn

Happy Birthday Defconn!!! I love the donut cake.

@misskittydanger- you basically stop shopping as a family.  One person goes and one stays home with baby.  At least that's how we did it the first year.

Weekend was good.  Friday night 6let had his first sleepover.  They ran around, made personal pizzas, watched youtube and had popcorn, stayed up late, then in the morning had chocolate chip pancakes.  Then they decided to break the record for "how many things fit in a basketball hoop."

Saturday I got me hair cut.  I didn't think it was THAT drastic, but people that have never commented on my hair were commenting on my hair.  I worked a few hours Saturday.  We finally got our soccer schedule so I wept over my calendar.  DH and Max went to a Crew game. 

Sunday we did our hunt and headed to my folks.  She always does a beer hunt and I'm always grateful:) I really thought the kids were off today.  On our way to my mom's my 9 yo says "mom I was looking at the lunch menu and I think we have school tomorrow."  Man that made my day.

Oh and we got lots of snow last night.  It's really pretty, but it's supposed to be in the 70s tomorrow!  Then a high of 38 Saturday.  Soccer starts Saturday for everyone.  It's going to be COLD!!!

6fsn

Oh and something I'm struggling with wrapping me head around.  My niece, 14, is saying she wants a military career.  Her uncle is really high up in the navy so it makes sense why she is considering it, but it was a shock none the less.

charlotte989875

Weekend sucked. I worked a ton and there was family drama. I know I've posted about my dad before but long story extremely short; he's an alcoholic who went to rehab ~8 years ago, but never made any amends with the family/has never actually talked about it. We have a surface relationship as a result of how he was when he was drinking (which he's never acknowledged, let alone took responsibility for). Everything in our lives has revolved around either his drinking/his lack of drinking/his career (he's retired military)/the effects of his career. A therapist once described his behavior as "still that of an alcoholic just without the drinking".

So, now that he has cancer everything is becoming about that. (I do realize how terrible I sound). Well his Doctor is recommending he wait and see how he responds to monitoring/new meds (they caught it very early). My dad refuses, is demanding the surgery (which has a ton of side effects) and scheduled surgery earlier than any of the doctors recommended. I'm trying really hard to be sympathetic (and everything with my dad is "woe is me, everything is terrible, everyone else is responsible") but it's effing hard. Easter was terrible because my mom and dad weren't speaking (because she agrees with the doctors). I'm frustrated and exhausted. 

mrsconn23

I'm sorry @charlotte989875.  That sucks.  

6fsn

I'm so sorry @charlotte989875.

kvruns

that sounds rough @charlotte989875

@MissKittyDanger like 6 said we shop alone. Either stopping to get stuff on the way home from work or going out while the other stays in. When B was still in his infant seat I didn't mind taking him sometimes (heck it was a reason to get out of the house) but now that he's mobile no F*ing way I'm taking him anytime soon. 

MissKittyDanger

@6fsn @kvruns In theory, shopping alone would be best. Only downside is that I don't drive, so it would always be M. {I'm working on my license though, so hopefully it wouldn't be for too long.}
Which isn't a horrible idea, as long as I'm specific about the list.

Did either of you do baby wearing? I'm thinking that it would probably help M and baby bond, as well as we get things done {am I thinking too optimistically about grocery shopping? lol}

6fsn

I didn't wear my first much, but 2 and 3 spent a lot of time in a carrier.  In fact it's how I packed most of our house.  It's just not fun taking a baby to the store.  Period. 

Jen4948

Almost didn't get my paycheck. Caught a nasty cold and my bank cleared items in the wrong order, causing an overdraft. Have to eat Passover food the rest of this week.

Aside from that, doing just fine.

charlotte989875

mrsconn23 said:

I'm sorry @charlotte989875.  That sucks.  

6fsn said:

I'm so sorry @charlotte989875.

kvruns said:

that sounds rough @charlotte989875

Thanks guys. It's a crappy situation all around and most of the time I can deal pretty well, it's just getting to me today with a lack of sleep and prepping to head out of town on Thursday. Thanks for letting me vent a little. 

VarunaTT

I'm in a terrible mood.  I've got personal stuff going on that is just messing with my head a bit (another friendship seems to be biting the dust).  And I'm worried b/c of pride stuff going on.  I might just need to hide. 

MissKittyDanger

@charlotte989875 I'm so sorry to hear That's not easy to deal with, even years later.

Jen4948

charlotte989875 said:

Weekend sucked. I worked a ton and there was family drama. I know I've posted about my dad before but long story extremely short; he's an alcoholic who went to rehab ~8 years ago, but never made any amends with the family/has never actually talked about it. We have a surface relationship as a result of how he was when he was drinking (which he's never acknowledged, let alone took responsibility for). Everything in our lives has revolved around either his drinking/his lack of drinking/his career (he's retired military)/the effects of his career. A therapist once described his behavior as "still that of an alcoholic just without the drinking".

So, now that he has cancer everything is becoming about that. (I do realize how terrible I sound). Well his Doctor is recommending he wait and see how he responds to monitoring/new meds (they caught it very early). My dad refuses, is demanding the surgery (which has a ton of side effects) and scheduled surgery earlier than any of the doctors recommended. I'm trying really hard to be sympathetic (and everything with my dad is "woe is me, everything is terrible, everyone else is responsible") but it's effing hard. Easter was terrible because my mom and dad weren't speaking (because she agrees with the doctors). I'm frustrated and exhausted. 

Sorry to hear that your weekend was like that. That sucks.

OliveOilsMom

Charlotte - I'm so sorry.  That is such a hard position to sit in.  Why are the doctor's even agreeing to perform surgery when its not necessary at this point?  Take care of yourself, maybe seek out some board related to a parent's cancer or even Al-Anon to help you work through this.

MrsConn - Love the pupper and H's tattoo!  I love the significance of the owl!

Easter weekend was a bust for us.  We had to pick up DD from daycare early because she had a fever and rash.  I pick her up to be told to read the flyer on the door.  Hand, Foot & Mouth was going around her room - H never even read the flyer that was there most of the week! So guess who has it!  And guess who can't go to daycare at all this week? DD.  I just wish that I had known to look for it, as we probably should have kept her home from daycare on Friday.  So because its very contagious, we stayed in for the weekend.  She isn't too cranky, all things considered, so that is good at least.  People over 5 are less likely to get it, so we should be safe.  Some of her bumps are already lightening up.  But she missed out on all the fun Easter stuff that was planned for the weekend. 

OliveOilsMom

Jen - Try calling the bank.  If this hasn't happened before and because this seems partly their fault, see if they will reverse the overdraft fees.  I had a similar thing happen and they refunded the fee to me!  It doesn't hurt to try!

MissKittyDanger

@OliveOilsMom Oh yikes!! Your poor LO  

TrixieJess

MissKittyDanger said:

@6fsn @kvruns In theory, shopping alone would be best. Only downside is that I don't drive, so it would always be M. {I'm working on my license though, so hopefully it wouldn't be for too long.}
Which isn't a horrible idea, as long as I'm specific about the list.

Did either of you do baby wearing? I'm thinking that it would probably help M and baby bond, as well as we get things done {am I thinking too optimistically about grocery shopping? lol}

@MKD-FI and I did/do babywearing. We had a ring sling from birth. FI didn't love it, but used it when he had to. When DS was about 6 months old and FI was about to go on Pat leave, we got a Boba 4G which is an SSC (Structured carrier) which can be worn front or back. DS was in that until last summer when we got a preschool Kinderpack which we take with us if we are out late or going more that 3 km at a time. 

MissKittyDanger

@TrixieJess We have a carrier - idk what kind, it was given to us - and M doesn't mind wearing it {he's a broad guy, so we tested sizing on him first}
Did you find it helped your FI and DS bond well? I'm trying to think of diff ways M and LO can bond, and I'm thinking that might be helpful

sparklepants41

@charlotte989875 I'm so sorry. Hugs for you. I agree with @OliveOilsMom - take care of yourself.

@Jen4948 that really sucks. Seems like a completely bogus overdraft charge and the bank should totally reverse it. 

Jen4948

Thanks @sparklepants41. Life just has been sucky lately in lots of different ways. Why should the holidays be different?

kvruns

@misskittydanger I didn't do much babywearing but I have friends who do. I think some kids like it and some don't. Plus I forgot to do it a lot and I think if you do it from the beginning the kid gets more used to it. I have the SSC kind and might try it on the back this summer as he's too heavy to wear on the front for me.

@OliveOilsMom oh yuck.  And not to scare you but I got HFM from baby B last fall. He had a very mild case thankfully but mine was much worse. I didn't start showing symptoms until right after his was clearing up. I'd read that if adults get it it is mild but I had the opposite of most. 

TrixieJess

MissKittyDanger said:

@TrixieJess We have a carrier - idk what kind, it was given to us - and M doesn't mind wearing it {he's a broad guy, so we tested sizing on him first}
Did you find it helped your FI and DS bond well? I'm trying to think of diff ways M and LO can bond, and I'm thinking that might be helpful

I found that just letting FI find his own groove and not being a control freak helped them bond. FI wasn't a "kid person" and had never been around babies, so once I showed him the basics, I just let him find his own way of doing things. I would say things like, "this is what works for me..." but oftentimes, he had to find what worked for him. Also, taking parental leave really helped with bonding time. 

STARMOON44

OliveOilsMom said:

Charlotte - I'm so sorry.  That is such a hard position to sit in.  Why are the doctor's even agreeing to perform surgery when its not necessary at this point?  Take care of yourself, maybe seek out some board related to a parent's cancer or even Al-Anon to help you work through this.

MrsConn - Love the pupper and H's tattoo!  I love the significance of the owl!

Easter weekend was a bust for us.  We had to pick up DD from daycare early because she had a fever and rash.  I pick her up to be told to read the flyer on the door.  Hand, Foot & Mouth was going around her room - H never even read the flyer that was there most of the week! So guess who has it!  And guess who can't go to daycare at all this week? DD.  I just wish that I had known to look for it, as we probably should have kept her home from daycare on Friday.  So because its very contagious, we stayed in for the weekend.  She isn't too cranky, all things considered, so that is good at least.  People over 5 are less likely to get it, so we should be safe.  Some of her bumps are already lightening up.  But she missed out on all the fun Easter stuff that was planned for the weekend. 

Ugh I got hand foot and mouth last year (still want to stab the friend who lied and didn’t tell me her toddler had it) and it was the absolute worst! Fingers crossed for you!