Happy 4th of July

We had a nice July 4th weekend. It started on Friday when Mr. B had the day off. We headed out to Brenham to the Blue Bell Ice Cream factory where we went on a tour of the process and enjoyed a scoop of ice cream at the end. From there we continued to the Brenham Airport where we ate at the 50s style diner (even played "Good Golly Miss Molly" on the jukebox) and watched the planes come in and out. We wanted to see the miniature ponies again but the nuns weren't open yet so we just drove by and said "Hi" to the ones near the fence.

July 4th found us up early for the neighborhood parade....not many spectators but lots of participants. Miss F rode in her wagon and McButter rode in the stroller. After some popsicles, a water balloon fight and some time in the bouncy house, we headed to the swimming pool. Miss F went off the diving board 100 times and I use that number loosely, it may have been more like 200. She loved it and could pretty much jump in and swim to the side by herself. That evening we went to the Miller Outdoor Theatre to hear the symphony and enjoy the fireworks. It was a late night but both girls held in there. Well, McButter slept through it all---even the cannons during the 1812 Overture!
Yesterday we met friends for bowling (ahhh, air-conditioned activities) and dinner. Then it was home for laundry, straightening up and the prep for the week.


McButter entered her third month yesterday. She attended daycare two days last week and did well. The first day the daycare called me to come check her heart but it was a false alarm and they warned me they'd be calling a lot the first couple weeks. She's been rolling over inconsistantly so I'm not willing to say she's done it on her own. I suspect that she is on an angle or something most of the times it has happened. She still likes to sing and coo, especially to Kelly Clarkson songs. She tries to break out of her carseat by doing crunches and sitting up and straining against the straps. She gave us a few good nights of 11 pm to 6 am sleep but is back to waking up more around 3/4ish, eating, then sleeping til 7 am.

We head to California on Wednesday for a little Laguna Beach time and then Disneyland for my 35th birthday and my mom's, well, let's just say my mom's birthday, too.

Summer Reading Club

Some of my fondest memories of summer include participating in the Summer Reading Club and visiting the library for their special summer programming.

Miss F and I read 20 books and turned in her record to the local library. She won some great prizes, one of which was a free Justaburger from Whataburger (a fast food chain here in TX). She was so proud of herself. Like her face paint? We'd gone to the Children's Museum and her favorite thing was painting her face and reading books about simple machines.

Notice the nice ladies behind her in the photo. They jumped up and were so helpful when I spilled a large soda all over the place and Miss F was crying and McButter was spitting up. It really does take a village sometimes...

Next up? She got a free circus ticket. Help me. I'm scared of the circus but I'll take her because she wants to go.

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Let's Bowl, Let's Bowl, Let's rock 'n' roll

While McButter and I were in the hospital, Mr. B got to sub for me as the chaperone on Miss F's field trip to the local bowling alley.

McButter Flutter Strikes Again!

It's really hot here. Like 104, record breaking hot. We live in a swamp and it hasn't rained in 30 days. So...when McButter was outside with me for a few minutes on Monday and got sweaty, I didn't think too much about it. Later on, after we'd run errands and she was sweaty again, I started to think, 'hmmmmm'. I got the stethoscope out and listened and sure enough, I couldn't get a good count. I knew Mr. B was on his way home so when he walked in the door I asked him to listen and he couldn't get a count either.

So...off we went to the pediatrician's office first for a listen and she was right on the border of it being OK and being a problem. So...we held her upside down. I made the Dr. do that figuring he was more trained at it than I was and sure enough he held her in his arms and dipped her, my vision was more of hanging her by her ankles. Good call, Dr. Then we put ice on her face. Nope. Still high so he sent us off to the ER where the monitor said her heart rate was 240.

This time we had the "B" team and they couldn't get in the IV (3 nurses tried and they finally called Wayne to come do it and he was successful), one of the nurses was being trained on the crash cart in the hallway just before coming in to possibly use it on McButter (not necessary, thank goodness). They just weren't as to-the-second precise as the team on our last visit but in the end they got her heart rate converted to 144 (they use a medicine that basically feels like she's been hit by a truck to get it where it needs to be). Thoughout it all, McButter was smiling and cooing (well, except for when they kept sticking her for the IV and when she got the 'hit by a truck' feeling). She was really cute and such a wiggle worm.

Then we were admitted for observation, an echo, another EKG and for her to be weaned off her original medicine and put on another. Lots of "Full House" re-runs for us as we hung out in the room.

We're home now and hoping to go without another flutter for a long time....we're still in the 'she could grow out of it window' but if it happens again, that window closes and we start looking at maintaining her with meds until she's 4 or 5 and then having an ablation done (destroying the tissue that is housing her 'short circuit').

Hot potato, hot potato

It's hot. Really hot. Miserably hot. Sit in the house with the blinds closed hot. It's time to move to Minnesota hotWe've been busy bees and yet I feel I have nothing to show for it. Most days I keep busy but when I turn back and look, I don't see much progress like organizing closets or working out. Miss McButter keeps me on my toes and in between meeting her majesty's every need, I try to do basic tasks like shower and/0r brush my teeth. I'm not sure a day has gone by that I've done both on the same day.

We've joined a local private pool (see photos above--Miss F eager to get in the pool and Miss McButter as our lifeguard) and Miss F is a real fish. She just loves to go swimming and I receive so many compliments on how well she swims for her age. Yay for 2 years worth of consecutive weekly swimming lessons!! Most Saturdays we swim for a few hours, have a picnic lunch and come home for a glorious nap! Yes, swimming has given us the gift of naps, real naps, not quiet time reading in the bedroom naps for Miss F. Totally worth the price of admission.

We have been hosting friends for dinner on weekends and it has been so nice to catch up with good friends and to watch our wee ones interact.

Last week I kept Miss F home from school so we could go to Noah's Ark, a really cool pool for the kiddos. Take that spongy mall playcenter and put it in ankle deep water. Good times. Miss McButter slept the whole time as the running water sounds, warmth and comfort of her carseat made her feel like she was in the womb again (I am assuming that is how she feels as she's not able to communicate to me what she really thinks at this point).

This weekend we were going to go camping but the temps are about 10 degrees above normal and there's been no rain so the Lake was low. Instead we're staying home to, well, swim, grill, and do what we've been doing the past couple weekends.

87, 840 minutes...how do you measure 2 months?

In diapers and wipes and loads of laundry...in pediatric visits, cardio visits and parking garage payments....(sorry creators of 'Rent', I just had to do it)

Miss McButter had 2 visits to the Dr. this week. She went to the cardiologist and all seems well enough and she wore another holter monitor (see photos) and got a new prescription for her Propanolol (higher dosage due to weight gain/growth). I really liked the cardiologist and he explained SVT and said that 80% of infants grow out of it so the numbers are on our side. If you want, you can Google 'SVT' and learn more about McButter's heart but read about the heart issue, not the car.

Miss McButter also went to her 2 month check up! Two months already! She weighs 10 lbs, 13 oz (50th percentile), her length is 23 inches (75th percentile) and her noggin is 15 1/2 inches (70th percentile). Miss McButter is definitely smiling and cooing now. Miss F is certain she has already said 'Flinn' and 'Airplane' but I think it's more like "hooo--hoooo--ahhhhhh" but maybe I'm wrong. We're on about a 3 hour feed schedule during the day with naps every 1.5 hour or so for about an hour. She goes to bed around 8:30 and she wakes up for her medicine/food at 2 and again around 5ish to eat so not quite through the night, yet. I begged the cardiologist to change her medicine to twice a day but we have to remain on 4 times a day until she's a little older. Therefore, there will be no sleeping through the night when the alarm wakes me at 2 a.m. to give her the dosage.

As you can see, I tried to get a 2 month photo of her and she's just a little too active. If you go waaaaaay back in the archives. Waaaay back. Back to the very first month I blogged, you can see that Miss F had a similar 2 month photo but I'm trying to not include photos of Miss F in Miss McButter's blogs. You know, poor 2nd child and comparing siblings and all that.....but if you want to look, go back to the December '05 blog and check it out.

Happy 1st Birthday

Yesterday, June 2nd, was Mr. B's 1st Birthday with Molly in our family! I won't tell you his age but let's just say he graduated high school in the 80's!!

Life in the B Family is good even for Old Man River mentioned above. Miss F is a sassy, 3-year and some months gal. The other night I told her to take a necklace out of her mouth because we don't put things in our mouths and she said "Actually, Mom, we do put things in our mouths. We put FOOD in there" and I think she rolled her eyes at me. I'm hoping not but I think she did. Does that start this early?!?!? I'm taking baby steps to get back in shape. As in, before kids, before marriage shape. Is that unrealistic?? One issue is that even though the scale says a number even LESS than when I got pregnant, nothing is fitting right. I don't know if jogging and work out videos can help with that no matter how much I sweat to the oldies. Miss McButter is coming up on 8 weeks (look for a blog later with photo and well baby visit stats) and is, dare I say, pretty easy. She eats, looks around/hoots/kicks her legs for about 1.5 hours, then sleeps for 1.5 hours and repeats. We can lug her all over town and she's content to be in the baby carrier, her carseat, wherever. Sure she has her moments and this one goes from zero to the silent scream kind of crying in exactly 7.8 seconds (Moms out there know what I mean, their mouth is open, their face is red but they are so P.O'd that it is beyond the speed of sound and is, instead, a silent scream). It's like she'll take it, roll with it, let it go and then bam! she turns into Dee Snider of Twisted Sister and she's NOT going to take it anymore!!!

I've been trying to capture the elusive first smiles of Miss McButter. The real ones, not the "I'm Going To Spit Up and it Feels So Good" smiles or the ones followed by a noise that should be coming from a lumberjack. This is the best I can do, so far.....blurry from her being a wiggle-worm and not quite the open mouthed, melt your heart, full of joy smiles we've been getting lately.

Kicking off summer!

Since Memorial Day weekend is generally the 'kick off' to summer, I made sure that our guest got some good pool time to soak up the rays. OK, not really. But she did get to dip in Miss F's pool/water park (as we like to call it).

Mr. B departed on Thursday for Duluth, MN to await the rest of the manly men as they made their way to Ely, MN and then off into the Boundary Waters....no cell reception, no motorized vehicles, no thanks!

Friday morning dawned bright and early and with me discovering I had a 102.5 fever! Yay! I was able to drag myself out of bed and prepare Miss F for daycare, drive her to daycare and then take Miss M and myself to the Dr. in a Box. As I only had fever and no other flu/cold symptoms, the nurse deducted that, as a nursing mother, I had mastitis. BUT...they couldn't treat me for it. So...I came home to call the OB-Gyn only to discover a bat (the animal) hanging on Miss F's outdoor toybox right outside the door to the house. After a few frantic calls, I discovered this was NOT normal and Animal Control came out to take my bat (yes, I had to sign as the owner of the possibly rabid bat) away for testing. I was able to get in with the OB and yes, I had mastitis. All this before NOON. It never fails that when Mr. B is out of town, things get a little interesting!

Cynthia arrived on Friday evening after all the excitement of the day. We took her for Cuban food at our favorite hole-in-the-wall and took her home for a wild and crazy night of bathtime and storytime. On Saturday we went to the Museum of Natural Science to see the butterflies and dinosaur bones. Then off to Nico Nico's for gyros, on to the Chocolate Bar for some goodies and then to Miller Outdoor Theatre to watch the annual Memorial Day Motown Revue. Sunday found us at the Astros game (they lost really, really badly) and then BBQ dinner and a viewing of "The House Bunny" after the kiddos went to bed (cute movie, BTW). Monday we headed to Space Center Houston for a tour of Mission Control and to view the Saturn rocket. Cynthia got her Ragin' Cajun on for dinner and then, exhausted, we watched "Surf's Up" while the kids slept.

We had a great weekend...busy, but good. I think I sent Cynthia home thankful that it was going to be nice and quiet there (did I mention Miss F is in the dreaded 3-year old "Why?" stage? That Miss M needs to cry and screech a little before she'll go to sleep? That Miss F is a little Cliff Claven and starts each sentence with "Don't you know that.....")

Molly McButter

Poor Miss M. Now every time I say her name I add "McButter" to the end and sing the commercial jingle. Remember the fake butter you could shake on things? Do they still make that? We all call her this horrendous nickname and I really should stop but I can't (just like I can't stop watching Full House reruns).

Miss McButter (see?) is hovering around 6 weeks now. I always get a tad confused on the weeks and just go by the day of the month she was born (5th) as her new month of age. Weeks--meh, too hard on my math-challenged mind. We can't quite tell if we've had any 'real' smiles yet but boy does she grin big just before her projectile spit-ups. She is still waking every 2-3 hours per night and hasn't read the baby books that say she should/could be sleeping longer stretches by now. I'm hoping she hops on board the 'typical baby' bus soon and really, just 5 hours in one stretch is all I need. That and I need for Miss F not to have nightmares and Mr B's phone to not go off with emergencies on some oil rig off in foreign waters all night long (as I'm sure he would like that, too). I am truly amazed, though, at how deep I can sleep for small, 45 minute periods. As you can tell by the photo, not so anamored of the bath. She's an escape artist and gets out of the tightest swaddles AND scoots around in her bed so the blanket it at one end of the bed and I find Miss M flailing and crying on the complete opposite end. As Miss F would say, she's a nut-ball (and Miss F also calls her a 'poop machine')

Hold me closer tiny dancer

Last Saturday was Miss F's final dance class of the year. They had a parent demonstration and invited us in to see what they have learned (all year they closed the door and we Moms had no clue what our precious ones were doing in there so it was nice to finally see what they learned). It was supposed to be a bit bigger of a deal but due to Swine Flu, it was low-key. She did a great job and really seems to love it and of course, at the end of it all she said "I don't wanna take dance anymore!". Alrighty then.

For some reason, I can't get the video to turn the right way so just watch it sideways, folks!

**Side note on Swine Flu. If you've seen on the news about a school in Houston where they had over 1/2 the kids (400+) get a mysterious illness and then it turns out some of them (24 at least) have Swine Flu...that was the school I've been working at for the past two years. Glad I was on maternity leave!!!!

Mom

I hope everyone had a Happy Mother's Day. I have been reading a great book recommended by my friend Kristine (who, by the way, is abandoning me at the end of this month and is living the dream of escaping H-town for other pastures). Before I read this book I might feel that I shouldn't share my Mother's Day for fear of being judged. I know what is expected for Mother's Day-brunch, jewelry, flowers, pampering, etc. I know that. I didn't get that. And you know what? It's OK by me and thanks to the book I Was A Really Good Mom Before I Had Kids by Tricia Ashworth and Amy Nobile, I am not going to worry about being judged, I am not fearing the expectations because I had a great Mother's Day...perhaps just not typical. Instead I slept without guilt until 8:30 a.m., then I made pancakes (yes, I made them because I make them best), and then Mr. B held Miss M and watched Miss F so I could change the sheets on the beds, do laundry and put our house back into a semi-working order. I know, chores on Mother's Day?!? But I've been so frustrated lately because I can't get anything done between feeding Miss M (every 2 hours or so), trying to get Miss M to sleep (she's good at falling asleep but not staying asleep), going to Dr. appointments, making sales calls or contacts (more on that later), meeting friends for lunch (OK, that part is fun) and therefore having an extra set of hands so I could take care of business was a real treat. Thanks Mr B for giving me what I wanted on Mother's Day.

The book is a really quick read and one that empowers Moms to let go of the guilt. The author's have out two new books--one is dirty secrets of moms and the other is something about trading your husband for the cleaning lady. I think I shall read them all!

Miss M is good and we're working on making sure she keeps her meds in her. She tends to pretend to take them and then spit them out! Miss F is doing great. We all had a fabulous weekend---went to a local aquarium for salsa music and Miss F rode the big ferris wheel, went to an Art Car Parade and then to an outdoor theatre to sit on the lawn, eat popsiciles and enjoy the Houston Ballet. Miss F liked the dancing--especially when the guys lift the girls.

Now....for the sales thing...I have resigned from my post as librarian at an elementary school and am now a publisher's representative selling books to libraries/librarians. I have a friend in my territory who generously squeezed out the last of her funds through me and Miss M got to come with me on the sales call. I'm also trying to make contacts for next year before the school year ends AND am trying to get some of that Obama stimulus money for schools that came out a couple weeks ago and ends in June. I'm excited about my new opportunity! All my publisher's are based in Minnesota so you KNOW they're good!!

Speaking of MN--how is it that Mr. B, the Texan, is the one visiting up nort' this year and not me?! He'll head up over Memorial Day to the Boundary Waters with some friends. I don't know if the girls and I will make a trip up this summer at all but I hope we can swing it somehow. I need my yearly dose of the land of sky blue waters....

One month

Miss M is one month old today! I think we switched to the film camera around the time Miss F was born and therefore I don't have a lot of digital photos of her in the early months. However, I found one of her so that we can have a side-by-side comparison of the two.

Making the rounds...

Miss M was born at Children's Memorial Hermann. This past weekend, we were "invited" to stay at Texas Children's Hospital after Miss M arrived on Friday night with a heart rate of 240. We are trying out all the hospitals we can to stretch our insurance dollar. Keep 'em on their toes, you know?

I woke up Friday morning and was certain that something was wrong with Miss M. I checked her heart rate and it was in the 'normal' range so we went about our day. She didn't seem to be out of sorts but after dinner and a movie (Big Sister chose "Lady and the Tramp"), I went to pick up Miss M from her swing and she was sweaty . This was one of our 'signs' from the Dr. that something might be amiss. So Mr. B and I took turns trying to get her heart rate but it was too hard, too fast. I decided to run her by our pediatrician's office for their urgent care clinic just to be sure and yes, it was 240 bpm and they immediately sent us off to Texas Children's Hospital.

By the way, have you heard about this 'swine flu'? Just a minor news story so maybe you haven't but when I pulled up to the ER at TX Children's they had triage set up in the parking lot. There were police everywhere, people directing traffic, lines and lines of people wearing masks. I felt like I was on a very special episode of ER or Grey's Anatomy. The police were blocking the entrance to the ER and were trying to make me go through the parking lot triage center. Luckily a nurse saw me and said "Is that Miss M?" and immediately grabbed her and me and brought us into the ER. They got to work immediately in the cutest little trauma room EVER. Everything was for little people. I suppose an ER trauma room shouldn't be cute but it kinda was. Within minutes they had her heart down to 130 and then the wait began. Finally, 7 hours later (at 4 a.m.), they showed us to our room and we were admitted for a 48 hour period.

The difference between this stay and the NICU? In the NICU there was a nurse for her all the time. I could come and go as needed and they'd feed her, change her, etc. This time we were in a regular patient room and I was there full-time, no leaving unless she was fed and asleep. A nurse helped me bathe her (since she had on wires and telemetry) but other than that, I was in charge (well, I didn't take her vital signs but I did learn how to reattach her wires). And every time she'd get to sleep, they'd need to poke her so then I'd have to calm her down again. Let's just say I spent 48 hours watching a lot of T.V. (Full House, Golden Girls and the movie True Lies to name a few) on the couch in the room while either feeding or holding Miss M. She had an EKG, and echo and another holter monitor. All looked well. She seemed stable on her new dose of medication so we were allowed home last night at 6:00 p.m.

Miss M is soooo not getting a pony for her birthday. That fund has been used up. If she's not careful, the cherry red Mustang convertible for her 16th is going to be out of the question, too. I've warned her if this happens again, she's grounded for life.

Sisters

I took this photo the other night. Miss F has enjoyed playing with all her old toys and the tummy-time mat is no exception. Some days I'll call through the house looking for here and she'll answer back "I'm doing tummy time!". She also enjoys commandeering things that are meant for her little sister (Stokes, notice who loves the miracle blanket you made--it even goes to daycare with her!)

Miss F seems to be adjusting to her sister. For about a week things were a bit rocky. She would come by, kiss Miss M and then punch me in the kneecap. The timeouts in her room are growing less frequent as life with Miss M is becoming the 'norm'.

Miss M is doing well. She's still erratic--sleeping 5 hours overnight one night and then staying up all night another. She hasn't had any episodes of SVT as far as we can tell. She's a pretty easy baby and not as feisty as I remember Miss F being.

What do you think? Do they look like sisters? Family resemblance?

At home: the new frontier

I had meant to become a daily blogger, or at least mid-weekly blogger now that I'm home and Miss M is home and life is normal. Ha! I laugh as I type that. Normal. Not so as most of you know.

We've had something to do every day that throws off any kind of schedule or routine (again, hahahaha). Miss M had her visit with the pediatrician. Alls well. She had her visit with the cardiologist and wore another holter monitor for 24 hours (results in 2 weeks). Having to drive down and return the monitor took another morning. Then there's been the grocery or the dentist for Miss F (she needs to floss--how do you floss a 3 year olds teeth without having your fingers removed as she chomps down on them?). My mom left on Wednesday night. My dad left last night and today Mr. B's family arrives for a visit.

Perhaps Monday things will be normal and we'll have a routine or a schedule. Hahahahahaha!

A rose by any other name....

So...I bet some of you are wondering about the name Molly. I had blogged earlier about having trouble finding a name. I wanted it to have a theme but didn't want it to be too popular, or weird, or remind me of naughty students I had worked with in the past.

I entertained using another family name and one that came up was my grandmother on my Dad's side--Dorothy. It was old-fashioned and had some literary/cinematic references and had a plethora of nicknames. It was considered and then, reading a Grandmother Remembers journal she put together for us, I found that she was unofficially named Mollie until becoming Dorothy on her birth certificate. Other names that were considered were Lucy and Lavinia but due to Mr. B's dislike for Lucille Ball and for Lavinia being a name that was just too old fashioned, they were dropped from the running. Dorothy did remain until the bitter end.

We also entertained Irish names like Fay, Renny and Fiona but Renny made me think of the show Hee-Haw and Miss F is scared of the movie "Shrek" and really didn't like Fiona for that reason. Fay just seemed a bit too middle-namish. Another Irish name? Molly. There's even a nice, sad, drunk in the pub and singing song about Molly and a statue of her with her cockles and mussels in Dublin.

Adding to Team Molly ---- I have had several Molly's that have made a difference in my life and of course, I worship at the alter of Molly Ringwald. Then, while gathering free books at my library conference I kept grabbing ones with characters named, you guessed it, Molly. A sign? Perhaps.

However, working agains Molly was 1) it's in the top 100 names, 2) it's the number 2 dog name in the U.S. and 3) it means 'bitter' in Hebrew

Miss F, however, was the final decision maker in the naming process. We always threw out names at her (while she still insisted on Emily and Paula and Pumpkin) and she really took to Molly. She even starting to tell people that was her baby sister's name before we had made any final decisions on the matter. On the way to the hospital we decided that yes, she was indeed, our little Molly.

And the middle name, Nicole, is for my sister as it was her middle name and now Molly has the same initials that Melissa had. MNB.

Oh, and let it be known that Miss F said I would have the baby on April 4th. While I did not, I did get admitted to Labor and Delivery before midnight on April 4th.

Photos

Here are some photos of Easter fun and our comings and goings the past week....

PS--hospital won't let you put any kind of bumpers in the car seat (even the head rest that comes with it) AND carseats have an expiration date! Who knew? Ours has 1 more year as a legal car seat. They grow up so fast.

Click your heels together and say...there's no place like home, there's no place like home

At 12:40 today, April 11th, Miss M was honorably discharged from the NICU and from Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital and made her way home.

She is on medication for her SVT and she will be meeting with her cardiologist in a couple weeks. She does have a slightly curved spine but nothing to worry about right now. Her bili's went from 15.2 yesterday to 7 today so kid knows how to get rid of the yellow!

Now, a week after her birth we need to re-adjust to life at home with a newborn. I've spent the past 6 days wanting to bring my baby home but as we started to walk out today I wanted to grab the nurse's ankle and hang on, begging her to let us stay. I think there's something called Stockholm Syndrome where you start to sympathize with captors and I think I'm suffering from that. After we got home I realized I hadn't said good-bye to the Cafe that nurished me during my stay (great salad bar!), that I didn't say good-bye to the lounge at the Ronald McDonald House where I read in relative peace between feedings. The nurse today wasn't one of our regulars and i never got to thank them for all they did. I'm going to miss the parking garage and the long walk from it to the NICU.

But, I am glad to have my baby home. Miss F is an excited big sister. And we're ready.... bring on the sleepless nights, bring on the back pain from carrying the carseat, bring it.

And to those of you that wrote, called, prayed and kept in touch even if we didn't--- Thank you. My phone didn't get great reception in the hospital so text was my only line of communication, half the time my ringer was off so as not to disturb the babies in our pod (though, with all the ding-dongs going on in there I suppose my 'piano riff' ring tone wouldn't really have made a difference). The first few days I didn't want to talk at all because I was just trying to hold it all together.

I started this blog in December 2005 as a way to keep people up to date with our then newborn, Miss F. Who knew it would become my lifeline during this time as I needed an outlet and it was a way to communicate in one place, one time and reach as many as I could.

We will return to our regular programming...weekly updates on the entire B Family and our regular comings and goings.

They call me Mello Yellow....

Now Miss M has a tinge of jaundice. I truly fear for the people of Houston as the only left to happen would be a plague of locusts. But, Cardio gave her the all clear and I'm really hoping today might be the day or perhaps the Easter Bunny can bring her home to us tomorrow.

As a sidenote: Remember Mello Yellow soda? Some do, some don't. We loved it up in MN/WI but when I saw the movie "Days of Thunder" with pals in California, they didn't know what Mello Yellow was (it was the sponsor of one of the cars in the movie). Product placement. It's a funny thing. And Hellman's Mayo here in TX is Best Foods Mayo other places. Same jingle/commercial but different brand name.

Photos

Last night we took Miss F up to see Miss M again. We made it a special 'good night' visit with Miss F bundled in her PJs and slippers and we'd gone for an ice cream treat beforehand. It was a nice visit and Miss F told her new sister she loved her (where is the video camera so we can show it to her years later to prove that, yes, she DOES love her sister somewhere deep down even if she stole her favorite sweater from the closet).

I head up soon to try to get in a couple feedings and am doing the pump other times. And let me tell you, it takes everything in my power to get up at midnight and 3 a.m. when it's not a crying baby sounding the alarm but an alarm clock--one that can be turned off, snoozed and/0r thrown across the room as I go back to sleep. But I get up. I do. But it's sure is tempting to snuggle back into my bed instead of facing a torture machine.

Did I say curveball?

Silly me....should've said curved spine. That's the latest. They ordered an U/S today because they think something is wrong with her spine and/or hips.

So...we had a heart baby, but that's under control. We had a gastro-challenged baby, but that's under control. Now we have an asymmetrical back baby.

There's a point where I kidnap her and just run for the border because every day she's got a new ailment and I'm not sure where my breaking point is. If you hear about a slow chase in a green Honda Pilot, just know it's not OJ, it's me stealing my own baby back from the NICU.

Please, sir, can I have more?

Food, glorious food! Miss M is a happy eater again. Yesterday morning she was so hungry her nurse called in the Neonatal team before rounds and begged them to let Miss M eat. They agreed but put in on a very, very small amount of milk to see if it all passes through in the correct form, size and rank. I was able to feed her at her 11 o'clock and 2 o'clock feed and again at 8 o'clock last night. That's 3 times I got to hold her and 3 times she ate! We B's rarely have trouble eating--especially the branch of my lineage.

During her 11 o'clock feed, however, Miss M got the hiccups AND I was burping her and guess what? For a brief blip on the monitor, her heart rate went to 215. One blip and she self-regulated and it went immediately back down to the 110 range. Within minutes the Ped. Cardio. doctor was at Miss M's bedside. Because the nurses and Mr. B and I both witnessed the event and chalked it up to burping/hiccuping, they decided to put a special monitor on Miss M called a 'Holter' (though I thought they said halter and imagined her wearing a contraption much like you see dogs wearing a halter). This monitor stays on for 24 hours and will give them a true read of what her heart is doing instead of relying on a monitor that picks up Mommy's bouncing knee as part of Miss M's heart rate.

However, it was great to get a chance to speak with the cardio dr. and for her to tell us most likely we will treat Miss M like a regular baby but will be a bit more vigilant with her color, sweating, etc. as possible signs of an episode. We will also be going to a cardio dr. for awhile once she's released (still no date on that). After the Cardio folks were in we also spoke with the Neonatal group and they, too, were very positive about Miss M. For them it's a matter of keeping her food down and then passing it through the right digestive course. Her lungs are good, her blood pressure is fine (when she's not mad at the nurses for not feeding her) and everything else seems on course.

So...we're still waiting and still taking it day by day. It has been nice that we can hold her and feed her. The milk fairy has semi-arrived as I suspect that she, like my body, realize that I'm sitting in front of a machine not a baby so I'm not getting the full bippity-boppity-boo routine from her just yet. Still with Miss M limited on her feeds, I seem to be able to keep up with her.

In other B Family news, Mr. B is very happy to have a wife back. For 9 months he's been living with the equivilant of a teenager. He's lived wth a moody, sullen, pimply, sleeping all the time and will eventually do chores but not before much eye-rolling, huffing and attitude person for quite some time. Now, he has clean laundry, 300 count sheets on the bed, meals hot on the table and the house is picked up at all times. Did I mention the wife is not me? It's my mom who arrived in Houston's Amtrak station exactly 1 hour and 11 minutes before Miss M arrived.

Miss F is trying to take it all in. She's definitely feeling the changes and we're trying to keep her life as normal as possible. The hospital has some wonderful sibling programs and we took her to one of them and she really enjoyed it. I'm lining up playdates and trying to keep her on her schedule of daycare, swim lessons, dance lessons, etc. She is very, very interested in the pump, pumping in general and wanting to know all about Mommy's, er, um, chest area. She has asked me to teach her to pump. I told her I could teach her to pump her legs on the swing but that didn't really cut it.

We are settling in to our new 'normal' though I have a feeling that each day will throw us some sort of curve ball. Luckily, Mr. B was centerfield in high school (and a good one), and I was the catcher in my brief, one season stint of elementary softball (and HORRENDOUS) so hopefully one of us in the B Family can catch that ball before it hits the ground.

Mad as hell and not going to take it anymore

Ooooooh, Miss M was very, very upset when we visited yesterday evening. As I reported in the earlier blog, they started feeding her yesterday morning only to take it away by the afternoon. She'd learned to like the full belly feeling (don't we all) and the sugar-water IV was just not going to cut it. They said she'd been screaming at them all day long and they were expecting her to give it to 'em all night long, too. The nurse yesterday evening was one who was at the delivery. She's a transport nurse typically but was working the floor last night. She was a bit of a maverick and told us more than the other nurses including that we should expect about a 2 week visit for Miss M. She let me hold her even though she had the feeding line back in and the minute Miss M was in my arms, she quit flailing around, quit screaming and settled in to a good, peaceful sleep. So peaceful her heart rate took a bit of a dip and her monitors went 'ding-ding-ding' (if you've ever been in the NICU, it's like being in an arcade with all the dings and whistles and bing-bongs). The nurse was able to listen to her heart and take her blood pressure while I held her. When we arrived, Miss M was screaming so loud the nurse couldn't hear her heart and she kept fighting and pushing the blood pressure cuff.

So, in the 50 or so hours she's been making her mark on the world, I've been able to hold her twice. It does make me feel good that she knew I was mom. I'd been concerned about the 'bonding' process that books say are so important but I think we're going to be OK.

We're waiting on the Drs. to round today to find out if she'll be allowed to eat again today. I'm hoping so. Her SVT remains under control with medication and getting her to eat will hopefully put her on the fast train out of NICU and onto a level 2 or 1 floor or perhaps even home. They are concerned that she has no 'gas pattern' but she's been a gassy, poop machine (as reported by the nurses) since day 1 and I hope yesterday's vomit/poo issue was just one of those things. I'd hate for her to have messed up guts like her Mama does. Then I'd really feel guilty!

When we were in the adoption process and considering special needs adoption, we had to basically check off a list of needs that we would consider. I can't remember if we checked this off on the list, but perhaps our being open to considering a child with special needs was faxed up to the big guy and in the end, even though our baby wasn't born in China nor was she adopted, she was still connected to us with that red thread that the Chinese believe link us to the people we're supposed to meet in this life.

Miss M: arrival, NICU and update #1

I attempted to blog from my iPhone but couldn't quite get it done. So this is the past two days worth of information on Molly Nicole, born April 5th, 2009 at 6:11 a.m. She will so forth be referred to as Miss M...

On Saturday, April 4th, at 11:00 p.m. I was admitted to labor and delivery. While in the 'gateway' to the real L&D, the place from whence I did the walk of shame with Miss F for not quite being ready for the real show, the nurse noticed the baby (she wasn't named yet) had a rapid heartbeat. She called in doctors, ultrasound techs and eventually even the attending physician to decide what to do. By the time everyone was in the room and had taken turns looking at the ultrasound, the heart rate had become normal. And...even though I was supposed to take the walk of shame again (wasn't quite as dilated as they liked, even though I was having regular contractions, etc. etc.) they kept me there, admitted me and began to induce labor. During the 5 hours of so before her arrival, the baby (still not named at this point) had several episodes of rapid heart rate (300+) and then becoming normal again. So...at 5:45 a.m. I was dilated to a 6 and enjoying my nice epidural (boy, they really ARE nice when they work). About 10 minutes later, I was ready for the big show. And at 6:11 a.m., Miss M arrived only to be whisked away by the pediatric team because her heart rate was again dangerously high.

Miss M gave the NICU/Ped. Cardio a good run for their money for the first 2 hours of her life--she was medicated (didn't work), shocked (didn't work), and then, while they were arranging for yet another med (the last ditch effort), she decided to regulate her heart by herself. Thank you very much. Later that day she had another episode when she got the hiccups but it only lasted 3 minutes and she then had a peaceful evening under the warming lamp with a tube down her throat, IV in her hand and feed tube through her bellybutton.

Yesterday she had another episode due to hiccups (I now believe hiccups are the devil's work) but it only lasted a few seconds. However, the ped. cardio folks decided to put her on a regular dose of medicine. By 3 o'clock yesterday they had removed her breathing tube and allowed me to give her a bottle (but I still couldn't hold her...so for the first 30 or so hours of her life, none of us could hold her). She took another bottle at 6 p.m. and they decided to take out her feed tube.

So....at 9 a.m. today I got to HOLD her and FEED her. Note: I'm attemting to BF but nothing has arrived from the milk fairy yet. I pump every 2 hours but have nada. So after my faux-feeding, Rick was able to hold her also and give her a bottle.

Meanwhile, I'm being discharged from the hospital and when we arrive for the noon feeding there has been a set back. It appears Miss M had a bit of projectile spit-up after this morning's feeding. And some nasty poops. Now, I think most babies have both but to err on the side of caution they called in X-rays, Drs., etc. and decided to stop feeding her for a bit and see what happens. Oh, and now her heart rate is too LOW due to the meds so they're trying a new dose. And so there we are....Miss M is still in the NICU. I'm home. I promised the big sister, Miss F, that I would pick her up from daycare today so I need to run and do that.

I will try to update every day in between trying to learn how to live somewhere between home and the hospital and how to navigate parenting this time around.

Maternity leave sans baby

I think everyone should take maternity leave before the baby arrives. It's been nice to be on leave with a little time to get the small stuff done (oh, who am I kidding...I've been to a library conference, out to lunch, etc. nothing is getting done around this house...no nesting in sight).

I went to the Dr. on Wednesday and I'm at 1.5 cm and she said that if the baby doesn't come by my appt. next week that she'd induce. The planner in me likes that there is an end in sight but there's a part of me that would like it all to work out naturally (but before next week because really, I'm ready to have this baby)

Miss F is definitely sensing that something is up. I think for the majority of my pregnancy she thought the 'baby' was coming out 1 year old as most of her friends' have baby brothers/sisters that are about that age. When we finally had time to be around a much, much younger and newer baby brother of a friend and I explained that he was more like what was coming, well, she didn't like that one bit. I believe she had visions of brushing her sisters hair and teaching her to swim IMMEDIATELY after the birth. The whole cry, drool, poop that she witnessed with the very young baby was not in her plan. Hopefully, having new little sister arrive with a trampoline (luckily I won't be giving birth to THAT but instead bought it at Wal-Mart) will help ease her pain.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can....

On Wednesday, I will be 38 weeks pregnant. Last week at my Monday appt. I was dilated to a 1 cm which, as I'm learning from other moms, is not that big of a deal. To me, however, it was a bit scary at first since Miss F was born 3.5 hours from me not quite a 2. But so far, all is quiet on the uterine front (sorry to my male readers, probably shouldn't use that word).

I work Monday and Tuesday and then I am beginning my maternity leave baby or not. I can barely shelve the books anymore, I have heartburn all day long, I'm peeing every 2 minutes (again, sorry guys) and working on my feet all day long makes me a swollen, ankle-less, tired gal. I think I can do it...I can make it to Tuesday at 3:15 p.m. I can, I can, I can.

This past week I took off a day from work (shhhhh....) to go on Miss F's first school field trip. I accompanied her class and the 2 older classes to the Zoo. We all enjoyed ourselves, had a picnic, saw animals, rode the train and then made it home before the skies opened and the thunder rolled. You can't ask for more than that.

This weekend Miss F attended her first hockey game. We saw the Aeros who, lucky for me, are the farm team for the MN Wild so I felt like I was connected with my northern brethren. She loved the music, jumbotron and throwing a puck on the ice. Trying to explain the opposing team by calling them 'bad guys' was probably not our best choice. She said it was the "bestest hockey game" she'd ever been to (and the only at this point).

Saturday was our neighborhood's Easter Egg Hunt. Funny, we were talking about how cold it was last year since Easter was earlier in March. Well, after several 80+ degree days, we awoke to find that the hunt would be taking place in 40 degree weather (felt like 30s with the windchill). Miss F has on her Easter dress, and a turtleneck, and leggings, and a sweater, and a jacket. Why is it always too hot for Halloween costumes and too cold for Easter dresses?!? Still, Miss F enjoyed picking up eggs (passing up many of them to find the pink ones!) and getting a goody bag.

Today we woke up and decided to get out of town. It's Bluebonnet season in TX so we went in search of a field of flowers in which to throw our child and hope that fire ants nor snakes were there. In order to reward her for this torture, we took her to Frazier's Concrete Heaven. Acres and acres of statues. As you may remember from our MN trip this summer, Miss F is fascinated by statues. She loves statues. So Frazier's was, truly, concrete heaven to her. She ran around looking at each and every one (noting which ones were naked, of course). We then ate lunch in our favorite small town and then headed on home. It was nice to get out on the road, see the rolling fields, watch people do dangerous things int he name of Bluebonnet photos and have peach praline pie ala mode in a town outside the big city.

Spring Break

Miss F and I had a wonderful Spring Break. It was the first time in a very, very long time that I (or we, once I added the family part) stayed home for this time. Spring Breaks of yore included Switzerland, Arizona, California, and other fun locales. I have to say, staying home wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The key was to find fun things to do that weren't the 'hot spots' where the crowds were (i.e. zoo, water parks, etc.)

Monday--We had a playdate at the park with a picnic. Started out foggy but by the time we arrived at the park the weather was gorgeous and the fog had kept the crowds away!

Tuesday--We visited Miss F's old daycare for their annual St. Patrick's Day parade. We cheered her classmates on as they passed and then her former teacher took Miss F along with them for the rest of the route. We joined her classmates for cookies and juice and they were all so excited to see her. Miss F kept telling them that she was "just there for the parade". Guess she wanted to let them all down easy ;o) We had another picnic at a park across the street, just the two of us. We also made S'mores Bars from Golden Grahams for Mr. B. It was a childhood favorite, I guess, and since he had to work all week, we wanted to give him something special.

Wednesday--We went to the Fire Museum and Chick-Fil-A with friends. Miss F enjoyed climbing on the fire truck and playing make believe fire rescue games.

Thursday--errand day. Miss F's favorite errand was at Wabash Feed Store. It's located in the heart of the city and yet they sell hay, chicken feed and have rabbits! We picked up some herbs for my herb garden and Miss F admired the rabbits, chased the store cat and tried to get the parrot to talk to her. Then we did Cost Co, lunch and, of course, the ice cream treat for good behavior.

All that was fun but the best was coming Thursday afternoon.....

On a whim, I decided to book an extra night at the Woodlands Resort. I had booked Friday night for me to have some quiet time as the end of the pregnancy approaches and to take time to renew my spirit before all heck breaks loose with the arrival of #2. So, on Thursday night Miss F and I went on "vacation" about an hour north of H-town. We had a wonderful time swimming, eating at Culver's, riding a boat, and shopping at the Mall. For my alone time on Friday night, I enjoyed reading a book (The Romanov Bride) while sitting poolside eating a Cobb salad and sipping on a root beer. Later I watched random TV while enjoying a room service raspberry cheesecake. In the morning, I had a leisurely breakfast, finished my book while sitting at the pool (again) and then heading back to town for High Tea (scones! cream!) to celebrate a friend's upcoming baby and then out on a date with Mr. B to see "Duplicity".

And so...here we are....Sunday afternoon. Trying to wrap my head around the work week, prepping MIss F for a return to daycare, changing sheets, grocery shopping and basically submerging into real life again.

I will fully admit when we switched daycares and I realized Miss F was going to have the week off, I was a bit disappointed. I had visions of lolling about and resting my poor pregnant self. However, as the week progressed I realized that I had been given this time with Miss F not to torture me or wear me out but to spend some real quality time with her before her whole world changes. It was a wonderful week.

Guinness is calling

I feel like I'm an elephant, both in looks and gestational period. I believe I'm having the longest pregnancy on record. Partly because a year in my life is truly only 10 months (the school year) and well, I've been pregnant pretty much an entire 'year' by my calendar.

Yesterday my friends gathered to 'sprinkle' me with diapers and wipes in preparing for Baby B. We had snacks and then headed to see "Confessions of a Shopaholic". After the chick flick (complete with British accent, swooning kisses and slow clap at the end by mannequins, no less), we headed to California Pizza Kitchen to indulge my Thai Chicken Pizza craving. I think every shower should be a sprinkle because it was so much fun! And didn't involve wrapping my belly in TP or melted candy bars in diapers! And speaking of diapers....wow! I'm hooked up!

This upcoming week is Spring Break and when we switched daycares, I didn't read the small print (OK, it was in large print on the calendar but I didn't read that) that they were closed this week so my vision of dropping Miss F off for fun/education and coming home to eat bon-bons and watch "Ellen" and "Days of our Lives" is now just a daydream and instead I'm scrambling to find activities for us that won't put us in with the crushing masses of all the other people off on Spring Break. I have some cooking planned and some art projects planned so I'm sure we'll survive. I do have one night booked at a local 'resort' for me, just me, all alone in a big bed that doesn't smell like dog. I will have complete control of the remote and can order room service and eat in my PJs or go out if I like. I'm looking forward to that.

Miss F continues to thrive at the new daycare. A funny Miss F story---she earns nickels if she does her 'responsibilities' each day (setting the table, being sweet, etc.) Some days she doesn't earn all her money because she was in time out or didn't set the table, etc. When she was asking about why Jesus died (Baptist daycare, anyone?) and we talked about people that were mean to him she said "They're not going to get their money!"

Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers, blossoming even as we gaze

Sunrise, sunset. Sunrise, sunset. Swiftly flow the years.....

I knew there would be a point where I realized my little girl had grown up. It didn't hit me during potty training or when she began to speak in highly evolved sentences. Nor when she first went to daycare or when she could get dressed by herself (creatively, I might add). I knew it would happen but I didn't think I would get teary-eyed over my no-longer-a-baby-girl while surrounded by carnies at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo....but I did. She doesn't need us to ride the rides in the kiddie carnival. She can go on by herself...sniffle.....she even rode a pony by herself.

We had a great time, went early and had the spring ahead on our side and were able to get in and get out before the Jonas Brothers madness truly began (they were the concert for the rodeo this afternoon). Funnel cakes, lemonade, sausage on a stick and strawberry milk were happily consumed. Miss F enjoyed petting rabbits, seeing a mere hours old calf named Two Socks, "driving" a tractor and learning about being a farmer (she even earned money by selling her goods at the farmers market and purchased raisins as a treat!). This has become my MN State Fair consolation prize and I do enjoy it. I'm just glad I was craving strawberry milk and not rootbeer milk or other flavors from the booth in MN.

Miss F also survived the first week at her new daycare and we are quite pleased with how it went. They did a science experiment about erosion and she could explain it to us. Her geologist daddy was so proud!

I plan to do a 34ish week baby belly shot here soon so look for a post soon!

This isn't my first rodeo...

It's rodeo time again! Miss F enjoyed "Go Texan Day" at school on Friday where they learned to make chili, learned to tip their hats and say "howdy" and she got to sing one of her favorite Backyardigans songs about "ridin' the range, yahoo!" all day long. We also attended the annual Rodeo Parade in Downtown H-town on Saturday morning and Miss F enjoyed the marching bands and all the horses (because that is basically the parade--some horses, a marching band, more horses, another band). She especially enjoyed the University of Texas Longhorn band much to Mr. B's dismay (but A&M wasn't there to show their stuff so what's a gal to do?)

Today we had a quiet day at home (because besides the parade yesterday we also ran errands, attended a birthday party, I met a friend for a couple hours to catch up and we went out to dinner). Miss F learned to play hopscotch and loved it. Unfortunately, she expected Mommy to play, too, and I did. Note to self: 8.5 month pregnant women should NOT play hopscotch. For a moment there I thought I was hopping the baby right on out in the driveway.

Miss F starts at a new daycare tomorrow. As I blogged earlier, we cannot afford (or its not cost efficient) to put both children in our current daycare. A daycare closer to home had an opening for Miss F starting in March and we took it. This also makes the baby at the top of their waitlist. We're saving money (both kids will attend this center for the price of one at our current location), they serve meals (we had to pack lunch before), and it's closer to home so there are several pluses. We just hope the transition goes OK. She's already been taking about how much she'll miss her 'best friends'. Mommy guilt is a heavy burden to bear.

Our neighbor's husband recently passed away. Miss F was drawing a picture for our neighbor (who is like another grandmother to Miss F) and told us she was drawing a "tendaline" for her because when you don't have a road to follow you use the tendaline. Mr. B and I assumed she heard a word incorrectly and were trying to solve just what a 'tendaline' is by asking "Where did you hear that word?". Miss F's reply? An angel told her. We tried googling the word and found out it's a railroad in France but yet again Miss F pops off with some bizarre, new-agey, Twilight zone music inserted here situation.

What happens when....

Today's blog shows you what happens when a) you let a man decorate with complete freedom and reckless abandon and b) what happens when a 3-year old wants to be just like a friend even if the results are, well, interesting.

Our home is a 3 bedroom home. As #2 is arriving soon, we commandeered the guest room as the nursery. We needed some space to make a guest room and luckily, the previous owners had made a little room off the garage for his model airplanes. Mr. B has had the dream it would be his 'man room' but never got around to making the dream come alive. Instead, the motivation came in the form of a baby. He's been working really hard to make it up nice for our guests (putting in flooring, etc) but has definitely used the space to decorate in his own special way. See the 3 Amigos movie still photo framed and hung proudly in the bathroom? What about the Dukes of Hazard car on the medicine cabinet--like that? But...if you want to come visit you'll have your own little slice of heaven with a private 1/2 bath (sorry, you'll have to shower in with us) and some really interesting works of "art" to ponder.

Miss F has a friend at daycare who wears her rainboots most days. Recently the class had a teddy bear picnic and wore their PJs to school. Miss F was just beside herself that not only did her friend wear her boots but she wore them over feet-y PJs (we don't get to wear feet PJs much so Miss F loves any opportunity to do so). When she woke up from nap today she declared she was going to wear her feet-y PJs with boots the rest of the day. No ifs, ands or buts. Luckily the weather is nice and cool (downright chilly in the shade) so we let her go forth and wear the outfit of choice. You'll see her youthful glee in her pirouette for the photo.

Happy Valentine's Day

We celebrated Valentine's Day as a family today, the 15th, and we went for a dim sum lunch (notice Miss F attempting to use her chopsticks on her char siu bao--aka a Chinese BBQ pork pastry) and then out for ice cream at Baskin Robbins where Miss F discovered a new favorite flavor--cookies and cream.

I was a tad bit under the weather so we made it to dance and a Pinkalicious Valentine's Party before I crashed under aches, pains and snot onto the couch not to be moved for the remainder of the day. I'm feeling a bit better today but not 100% however, I continue to soldier on as I am absolutely sure the mountains would crumble, the oceans would boil and there would be a strong 3rd party candidate in the next election if I were to take a day off.

Today is February 15th. My due date is April 15th. This leaves us 8 weeks-ish to prepare for the new arrival. Today Mr. B and myself pondered a couple decisions:

1. Stroller---Miss F doesn't use a stroller much, even for trips to the zoo where there is a lot of walking. She's pretty self-powered these days. However, there is, from time to time, a need for a stroller but I'm not sure we want to go with a double stroller or even a sit-n-stand variety for the few times we'd need the two chil'ren in a stroller. I hate strollers. I even debated getting one when Miss F arrived and really we don't use it much. But mark my words, we'll be at the far back of the zoo with baby in the stroller and Miss F out of steam and I will wish that I had something for two bodies.

2. Daycare--We love Miss F's daycare. LOVE IT! However, we don't love the price and if we put baby there and I continue to work where I do, my paycheck each month (after daycare) would be approximately $600. So.....I would be working full-time, 5 days a week with zero flexibility to bring home the equivilant of $4.00 an hour. So....we're looking at some other options and though it will probably be a tough adjustment, I fear we will be moving Miss F to a different daycare.

3. Names--Yeah, we don't have one yet. We're working on it but it's hard. I have a lot of "rules" like it can't be the Jennifer of the '09s (meaning top 10), it can't be a name of a former student (12 years in education multiplied by 700 students...that's a lot of names out of the running), it has to, in some way, fit with Miss F in some thematic way. There's more rules like it can't sound too country or too trendy or too like a name of any of my friends' kids. So....here we are....and the best I can do it joke that I'm going with the trend of the rise of, for lack of a better term, grandma names (beautiful names but haven't been used in 80 years) and will name this child Gladys. Oh and Mr. B continues to thwart my attempts at naming our children after Greek Mythology--Penelope, Phaedra, Minerva, Artemis, Clio...but, in thinking it over, most of them did weird things like marry their brothers, kill themselves, turn into trees, be seduced by cows and more so perhaps it's a good thing.

For the birds

We had a calm weekend which is nice because the next 2 weeks at work are going to be wild--Book Fair, Reading Event (I'm bringing in guests/local celebs to read), and Spelling Bee (Region). Whew. So, a nice, quiet weekend worked in nicely.

Yesterday after dance we made Bird Valentines to hang in our trees. No, I didn't come up with this myself. It was from Family Fun magazine. Check out the recipe here. We had fun making them and then hanging them out for the birds. They disappeared overnight and I suspect the squirrels felt the love more than the birds but Miss F enjoyed it and it was a cheap, easy way to kill an hour.

Our day continued to be low key. The weather was gorgeous so we ate lunch outside at a local eatery, we went to a fundraising dinner at church later in the evening, where Miss F was delighted to sit at the table waited on by one of her favorite babysitters...they're twins so she loves both equally (we sat with the babysitters' grandparents and cousins, too, so Miss F was showered with attention).

Today was a coffee playdate and then Miss F and I took a nap. Shhhh! Don't tell. I don't do the nap thing much and had plans to run errands but had crawled in to her bed when she requested a cuddle and well, you know the rest of the story.
All weekend I've been sticking to my special diet for tomorrow's 3 hour glucose test (I failed the 1 hour). They told me to eat lots of bread, rice and pasta and I've been trying. Being a champ at the diet before colonoscopies, this one is a piece of cake! Wish me luck tomorrow morning as Mrs. B vs. bloodsugar goes into Round 2.

PS--Jay, your comment on my post Duck, Duck, Goose is a colloquial debate I can remember having in college with Cynthia and perhaps the rest of the gang from time to time. It also brought out the bubbler/water fountain, sofa/couch, and other "Potato--Potahto" type discussions.

But it's our money!

I overhead Mr. B trying to explain taxes to Miss F last night. He explained that the government gets a percent of our money and Miss F exclaimed "But it's our money! Why are they taking our money?" and very diplomatically Mr. B answered "Because we need roads to drive on". Miss F earns dimes and nickels for doing her "responsibilities" so she's big on money right now. If she refuses all you have to mention is shorting her a nickel at bedtime and she hops to it. She then pays for requests like cotton candy at the zoo with her own money. Sometimes she realizes she doesn't want it bad enough to part with her precious change but for the most part, she's generally happy to hand over her wages for a treat or small knickknack. I wonder if Big Government (aka Mom and Dad) should be taking out taxes on her nickels and dimes....

Duck, duck, goose

We went to Hermann Park today to feed the ducks. I always save the heels of bread and any bread that got a bit state, etc. for the ducks. When the bread supply takes over an entire shelf in my 'fridge, it's time to head to Hermann Park. I was hoping to see the nutria again but instead we just saw lots and lots of tame, follow you around, eat out of your hand ducks and 2 geese. Geese scare me. They'll chase you and hurt you. So we gave them a wide berth. Miss F enjoyed feeding the ducks, seeing the big, fat, squirrels and playing tag with Mr. B.

While I don't have any concrete memories of doing so, I have always associated feeding the ducks with happy childhood days. Even before having Miss F, I have found myself taking bread to feed ducks if there were ever any nearby.

I must mention that the photos were taken with my new baby, and not the one incubating in my belly, but my precious iPhone. This should mean more photos for the blog since I have not parted from it since I got it. And the photos are pretty good, too.