Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Monday, January 30, 2006

Tested by Dr Mom (that's me!)

Last Thursday Alyssa caught "the snots" from darn old Rowan at Jazzercise. (Just kidding ~ I love Rowan, but I love giving Staci a hard time even more) So she's been a bundle of snotty, stuffy, crabby joy the past few days and she passed it on to me. I decided to give some new cold products a try.

I tried air-borne for the first time ~ not sure how long its been out and about, but everyone I talked to just RAVES about it. It didn't work like I expected. I thought I would take a dose and instantly feel better, but for about 24 hours after taking it I felt like I was on the cusp of getting a "horrible, horrible, haven't been this miserable in years" cold. After 5 doses I feel pretty much normal, so maybe it just prevented my cold from getting too bad. I would definitely use it again and would recommend it. I had the orange flavor . . . it reminded me a lot of the glu-cola drink that you have to drink before getting tested for diabetes when you're pregnant. And I'm one of that crazy 2% that actually kind of enjoyed the drink. Give me a glass of ice and a straw and I can drink just about anything.

Friday night I bought the new Sudafed (I think) Vapor plug in for Alyssa's room. I'm not sure if it really worked or not, but it left her room smelling vick's vapor rub fresh! Actually, I think it did work because she didn't wake up dripping in snot or stuffed up so bad that she could barely breathe, which was a great improvement over her last couple colds. Warning on this product ~ plug it in far away from your bed because it can be REALLY intense. We had it plugged in next to the rocking chair and after about 5 minutes in the chair in the middle of the night (after it had been plugged in for 4 hours or so) I had to get up and walk away because I thought I was going to be sick. It does leave your entire house smelling kind of fresh . . . or kind of sterile, one of the two.

Thursday, January 26, 2006

Bath toys . . . they aren't just for babies anymore!

We've known for a long time that we have a water baby. Be it swimming pools, dogs' water bowls, or the tub, she loves her a splashing good time. So, being the wonderful mommy that I am I've purchased several bath toys to entertain her during bathtime. Wanna see her favorite toy?



















That's right folks, its a wash cloth.


But my money towards bath toys is not wasted.


Adam loves her "TUBmarine" ~ Its a submarine that you can wind up and it'll float through the water and the scope goes from side to side . . . very hip with the computer programmer crowd.















And my most recent purchase I fell in love with this evening (on its maiden voyage across the tub) Its a frog that floats on its back and when you pull the fish on a string the frog squirts water a foot and a half in the air. Its like our own private fountain in our bathroom! Alyssa did think it was kind of funny to get nailed on the head with the water squirting up, so maybe there is hope for her liking her bath toys yet.



If not . . . we'll "regift" the rest of them to the Dwight baby. ;)

Conversation with a toddler

From our kitchen yesterday morning:

Me: "Look at you Alyssa, you ate all your breakfast! Do you want more banana?"
Alyssa: *signs "more"*
Me: *walks to chair and starts slicing banana onto her tray*
Alyssa: "NO!" *while shoving banana slices into her mouth*
Me: "I don't think you really know what no means, do you?"
Alyssa: "No no, mama!" *folds arms in "pout stance"* (she's been doing this thing where she folds her arms across her chest, frowns slightly, and sighs heavily the past couple days and its a RIOT!)

Oh this kid, she cracks me up.

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Homeschooling . . .

is it getting more popular or is it another one of those "now you're in the mommy club and you can know about this" things. You know, the things that you assume are there because you always hear about them, but you don't realize HOW THERE they are until you're actually a parent. It feels like I've stumbled upon a lot of moms that homeschool lately.

Maybe that's my way to get rid of my "I regret not getting my education degree" regret ~ I could homeschool my kids. No, I couldn't. Let's face it, they would learn nothing except whether Joey and Dawson end up together or what Ellen's topic is for her monologue of the day. And maybe a little bit of Gilmore Girls drama thrown in for good measure. (PS I had to look up monologue, so you can bet yer arse they wouldn't know how to spell it!).

I'm too lazy to homeschool.

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

And the Kleffman/Micek family grows!

Congratulations to Jeff, Christy, and Evan on the arrival of BEAUTIFUL Mr. Charles (Charlie) Michael this afternoon at 3:55 PM!!!!

Christy invited me to the hospital to watch Charlie be born and I have to say its one of the most amazing and emotional things I have ever done. I absolutely loved every single minute of it! I sobbed as Charlie was born and could not stop gushing to Christy about how beautiful and perfect he was. I think she is so amazing and brave and strong! She did such a great job!!! As she was pushing she said "Come on Charlie, I want to meet you" and it totally just broke my heart (in a good way). I hope little (okay, big ~ weighing in at 10 lbs and measuring 23 1/4 inches) Charlie knows how much his mommy and daddy love him and want him!




Thank you Christy for letting me share this incredibly special day with you! I will never forget it and I'm absolutely honored that you asked me to be there. Lots of love to you and your boys!

Monday, January 16, 2006

Chicken Fat, eh?

*Slosh*
You will sink in a mire. You like to think you're
normal, but deep down you really just want to
strip off your clothes and roll around in
chicken fat.


What horrible Edward Gorey Death will you die?
brought to you by Quizilla

Thursday, January 12, 2006

My next child . . .

will be a love child between me and the person who came up with the idea to put jelly in a squeeze bottle. ABSOLUTELY genius! I ADORE this person.

Happy Birthday Colin!


















Happy First Birthday to Alyssa's "local" boyfriend, Colin! Hope you have a WONDERFUL first birthday, big guy!

15 months old

Dear Alyssa,

You are 15 months old today! We had your check up with Dr. K and he mentioned that the 15 month check up is hard for a lot of moms because its the last "baby" check up. From here on out your are a toddler in the eyes of the medical community. Although I've been thinking of you as a toddler for all practical purposes since you started "toddling" right around your first birthday, you will ALWAYS be my baby . . . just for the record. You had a great appointment ~ in this corner we have the adorable Miss Alyssa Marie weighing in at 22 lbs 4.5 oz (40th percentile) and 30.5 inches (55th percentile). You were quite the charming little flirt as always with Dr. K., but could really do without nurse no-name who keeps coming at you with those darn needles.

So this month has been full of a lot of fun memories. You finally started getting signing down ~ although you make up your own signs. Who needs the official American sign language anyway? You throw your hands up the air for "all done" (Daddy thought you were doing "touchdown" and wanted to know how on earth you learned that when you have only been exposed to about 3 football games in your life), you put your pointer finger of one hand into the palm of your other hand for "more" (you first did that to Grandma Sandy when we were shopping in the toy department at Target ~ I told her that it meant "buy me something, Grandma, and put it right there), and you'll either put your finger to your mouth or do the "more" sign if we ask you if you want to eat. We were at the bank with Angie a few weeks ago and I told you to "come here" and beckoned to you with my finger. With a sly little smile on your face you planted your feet firmly on the ground and used your finger to tell me to "come here". No one is going to push you around. :)

Your new obsession seems to be putting things around your neck. We really need to get you some beads or something ~ watch out future boyfriends! I have to be really careful to keep the closet door shut and the dresser drawers shut in our bedroom or you'll wander around with my underwear, Daddy's boxers, or my bra hung around your neck. You don't even care if they are clean or dirty! There's a good story for your 16th birthday! You also quickly discovered that if you push the red button in the middle of mommy's key chain the car makes a really cool and loud "BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!" noise. Ahhhh the power of it all!

Your favorite food is still mandarin oranges, but string cheese and Capt'n Crunch with Crunchberries come in close seconds. You love the puzzles that you got for Christmas, but you get really frustrated if someone tries to put the pieces back where they belong. Puzzles are for taking pieces out, not putting them in, in your eyes. "Santa" brought you the Fisher Price Laugh and Learn house and you really seem to love it. You love pressing the doorbell and getting your mail from the mail box.

You are starting to talk a lot more. You have "mama" down pat and have started adding a very clear "mommy" to your vocabulary every once in a while. "Hi" is mastered, but "dada" could still use some work. We've gotten it every once in awhile, but Daddy is still waiting for the day when you coming running up to him when he gets home from working yelling "Dada". As it is, when you hear the garage door go up at the end of the day you'll say "oh!" and get a surprised and excited look on your face before rushing to the top of the steps. You also say "yes" and "no-no" at times. Thankfully "no-no" hasn't been too common. The other night you pointed at Joey's bowl of food and said "no-no". Maybe you are finally grasping that you're not supposed to eat Joey's food.

You're such a character my sweet baby girl. I love watching your personality develop every day and I love the little person you are becoming.

Love always,
Mama/Mommy

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

TiVo and BILs

Its really sad how completely, madly in love I am with the TiVo that my brother-in-law, Ben, got for our family for Christmas. He bought us the actual TiVo box or whatever its called and a lifetime membership/subscription. I honestly don’t know how we lived without it. I love, love, love that I can sit down and have ½ a dozen different TV shows that I love just waiting for me at any time of the day to watch and fast forward through the commercials. What a great present from a great guy!

And I have to say that I have the two best brother-in-laws in the world. Ben because of the previously mentioned TiVo, of course, but he’s also just a really great guy. Both he and Chris are. Both are really good, supportive “big brothers” when I need them to be. I will never forget how INSANELY excited Chris was to meet Alyssa when she was born. He called at least twice to find out when we would be ready for visitors and actually met us at the door to my post-delivery room. He brought adorable PINK gifts for Alyssa, but also brought a USA Today paper so that we could keep track of the headlines on her birthday and cheese/cracker snack pack things in case I got hungry and didn’t want hospital food. What kind of guy thinks of that?! I don’t know that I would think of that and I think I’m a pretty thoughtful person. Maybe its because he’s a doctor and is well acquainted with hospital food (especially the hospital food at that hospital, which is nothing to write home about), but it still really touched me. Somehow my crazy in-laws brought up three rather fantastic boys!

Monday, January 09, 2006

Waiting for the UPS man

According to my tracking on Amazon the chair that I bought for Alyssa with her Christmas money from G&G Nelsen is out for delivery as of 5:52 AM today. And it has an "on time" delivery date of January 10th. TOMORROW, folks! I'm hoping that's a mistake. This is not that big of a town that it takes the UPS guy two days to delivery a package and if it went on the truck this morning I'm hoping, hoping, hoping that its delivery today.

*my heart just skipped a beat as I saw something brown out of the corner of my eye in the street, but it was the Durango from across the street. DAMN THEM for teasing me*

Have I mentioned that I'm sooo excited about this chair? I really think Alyssa is going to love it. She loves crawling on and off of things. She'll play for hours crawling in and out and upside down with Joey's dog bed. (At least someone/thing is getting some use out of it)

Speaking of Joey . . .

Last Friday morning I was sitting on the floor in the nursery calling for Alyssa to come get her diaper changed. I trying bribing, I tried talking sternly, I tried begging, I tried guilt tripping, but nothing was going to bring her near me because she knew there a "diaper change" air in the room. You would think that she would want her diaper changed after 12-13 hours of peeing in it overnight. Anyway, Joey was happy to occupy my lap, so I started thinking to myself "hmmm, I bet it would be easier to diaper a Pomeranian than a 15 month old" . . . the result . . . YES, it is easier to diaper a pomeranian than a 15 month old (at least mine). Its a lot quieter, too.

Thursday, January 05, 2006

Pictures

Some of my favorites from today
"What the hell is this?! I told you Mom, NO BOWS!" (the awful object in her hand is a hair bow)

"Training to be the youngest person ever to balance a spoon on her nose"

"Just plain 'I could eat her up' cute"

Update PLEASE!

You know who you are *cough* Angie *cough* It has now been officially a MONTH since you blogged last. If you're worried about your parents disowning you for writing about your true feelings/life then start a new blog for crying out loud! I'm going through withdrawal!!!

BTW ~ Good luck to you and Eric today. Thinking "crossed legs" vibes so that you don't get a sneak peak at Little MF/Little Dude's goods. I can't wait to hear how it went and see pictures!!!

We so need a better nickname for the kid. Come on Boomer ~ we are two college educated, creative people . . . put your thinking cap on!

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Damn car commmerical!

I'm started to hate the car commercial (I think its Ford) that uses the Peanuts song . . . every time I hear it I get this little "Charlie Brown Christmas" memory jolt and its starting to annoy me. As much as I love the movie, the commerical is a bit much. I think they should be banned from using songs from classic movies in commericals. But just my 2 cents.

Prayers for Millie

I found the most BEAUTIFUL and SWEET cocker spaniel wandering around outside today. I thought I saw her a couple days ago and then this afternoon Lexi and Joey started doing their "there is a dog within a two mile radis of our house and it did not get prior permission" freak out. I saw the dog again, so I put our dogs in the bedroom and went outside to see if she was still around. She was poking around the bushes and came running over as soon as she saw me. I got a little bit of Joey's food out of the bag we keep in the garage and she inhaled it like she hadn't eaten in days (or like she was Lexi) and then she was my best friend. I took her inside, fed her some more and gave her some water. Once Adam got home I took her to the Humane Society, which I know is best because it'll hopefully help her find her family, but she was so sweet part of me wanted to keep her.

I loved her silky black ears and her white fuzzy little chest. She was quite the little lady . . . she didn't knock Alyssa over for the food that she was eating like SOME dogs we know would do, she was well behaved on a leash, she climbed into the backseat of my car and just sat there like a little angel. She was shaking so bad when we got to the Humane Society. I hated to put her down in that cold metal cage. :(

The lady at the Humane Society said that she could tell that she had been groomed recently, so she probably just got away while her collar was off. She made it sound like she had a really good chance of finding her family, but please give out some prayers and good thoughts that Millie (she looked like a Millie to me) find her home!

Sunday, January 01, 2006

If I had a dime . . .

for everytime I've heard "why by the cow when you can get the milk for free" from Adam's computer today while he's working on "Kitty Cats and Exit Signs" I would be a VERY rich woman.

I may run out of the theatre screaming at that point during the premier as I think I'm pushing my limit as to how many times I can hear that.

Happy New Year!

Happy 2006 to you and yours!

Our "old people party" was a smashing success . . . although SOME people *cough* Dwights *cough* overstayed their welcome by leaving at 12:16 instead of 12:05 like the invite instructed! ;) I was super impressed with all of us, especially Angie, managing to stay fully awake until midnight. Even Alyssa made it to 10:30, which I'm now paying for since she wants nothing to do with a normal bedtime tonight. I think she now thinks that we stay up and eat yummy food and play goofy games every night while she's sleeping ~ who would want to miss that kind of action?!

Thanks to everyone who brought yummy food and celebrated with us. Even Chad who decided that he needed to leave early and bring in the new year with a bunch of nekkid women. What a New Year for him; seeing a celebrity at the grocery store while shopping for Oreos (the guy that played The Rock's dad in "Walking Tall" and he's in "Everwood", but I can't for the life of me remember what his name is) and strippers ~ what more could a bachelor want?

I made 3 New Years resolutions this year:
1. Lose Weight (Given ~ this has been one for me for about 15 years now, I think)
2. Do one big thing each month to get more organized. I finished January's "task" already by consolidating my 3 address books into 1 super duper clean and updated one.
3. Get pregnant. Kind of an oxymoron when you look at 1 and 3 together, but whatcha gonna do?