Happenings

I've been bad about posting, as I have been sick all week. I woke up last Saturday, knowing I was getting sick. I just had that feeling. Sure enough, I was fine that day but Sunday dawned on me with a cough and an achy body. After church I put on my cozy pants, oversized sweatshirt and Uggs, then wrapped up in a blanket with a heating pad on my chest. Being toasty warm made me feel a little better, but unfortunately that was the only day this week I could get away with that.

I've been coughing and hacking my way through the week with almost no voice (courtesy of multiple bouts of strep throat as a child - every time I get sick, I lose my voice). It was especially fun to work through multiple conference calls with the new boss. Oh yeah, I have ANOTHER boss (this makes 7 in 4 years). He seems nice enough, but it's been challenging to get him up to speed and keep up with all his projects while feeling like I want to hack up my lungs and pass out in bed by 10 am each day. He leaves for Hong Kong today, so I hope that I can take it a little easier this next week.

I'm feeling less sick each day, but woke this morning to itchy legs. I thought it was just dry skin from the colder weather (but I suppose 70 degrees on Halloween isn't much colder....). Within an hour, I had hives and welts all over my legs, torso, and arms. We think it might be my new soap (thanks Bath & Body!), but I am so glad that it seems to be gone after a little Benadryl cream & 1 Benadryl tablet. I was able to take a nap this morning, and woke up feeling - and looking - much better.

Big J news: Well, he's finally taken to bottle feeding. He's eating 3 meals of solids with 2 bottles each day. I alternate between formula and pumping, and he seems to be doing really well. Last night was our first effort at sleep training him (no more family bed), and it went far better than I expected. He went to bed late, as we were home late from Trunk or Treat festivities. I put him down at about 9pm, and he didn't really wake until 12:30. He cried for about 15 minutes, then settled down until around 4:30. I think he was hungry, but after just 5 minutes of crying, he settled down again. At 5:30 he woke, and I KNEW he was hungry, so I nursed him for a few minutes & got him settled in the crib again. A few minutes after 7 he woke, and I nursed him again, desperately hoping he would fall asleep, but he was up for good. He's still not a great napper (30-40 minutes at most), but I am hopeful that if his night sleep is better, he will learn to self-soothe during naps & sleep for longer stretches. No matter how little he naps, he is almost always a sweet boy during the day. He loves to sit up and reach for his toys, and we are encouraging him to spend more time on his tummy to prepare for crawling. He loves splashing in his bath and will lay on his back, raise his legs over his head and smack them down in the water, spraying everything around him.

Big Sis news: She's just chugging along with school and ballet. She is a huge help with Big J, and he adores her. She thinks he's much more fun now that he can interact with her a little. With Christmas coming, she is desperate for every toy she sees on TV, and will sometimes tell me: "See Mom, it's not Bratz, can I have that??" (We have a moratorium on Bratz in this house. Those dolls are not allowed here - no way, no how). We're keeping it simple for Christmas this year, focusing on a few new books, a few activity toys, a couple of handmade items, and maybe one fun toy. Even that sounds like a lot!! She already has more than enough stuff, and it's on my To Do list to go through all her clothes, shoes, and toys, and store/ get rid of everything she's outgrown. Unfortunately, to avoid a complete meltdown (from either of us), it's a task that needs to be done when she's not here and that doesn't happen very often.

Today we're hanging out at home, with the smell of spaghetti sauce in the air (preparation for tonight's lasagna). It's a beautiful day out, so perhaps we'll make our way to the park. I know those colder temperatures and snowy days are right around the corner, and I feel like we have to maximize every decent day we still get.