Happy New Year!!!

This dog makes me laugh. Reminds me a few New Years back when I forgot the whole "Beer before liquour, never been sicker" rule. Good times, good times. Hoping all of you who go out and party have a safe and fun time, in that order!

So Much Dog-gone Fun

This entry is dedicated to my Homie Dani, if you don't comment on this one, you will break my heart!!!! This is a post all about how my dogs have reacted to having a new baby on their "turf". I do not mean this in a rude way, but honestly, if you don't like dogs, this post will put you to sleep! No comments from the peanut gallery Mom!!!!!
So here is an update on how all the dogs are doing with Liam. First off, Xena is the fluffy black and tan one, Gabby is the black one, Bailey is the yellow and black one and Riley is the....plump pitt. Love the picture of Liam riding Riley like a horsey, and people say pitt bulls are all viscious. So, Xena, the pack leader, is the only one who is allowed in the new house. She is allowed inside to sleep because of her bad back and seniority. Well, OK, Gabby can come in to sleep when it is super cold because it is very painful for her wrist's arthritis. Yes, the above pictures have everyone inside, but hey, it was Christmas! Seriously Mom, it really is a primarily puppy free house. So, Xena for the most part ignores or tolerates Liam. When he cries she either sighs over dramatically and looks mournfully at Chris and I as if to say, "I already raised 3 dogs, and now this?" Or sometimes she runs over and tries to lick him. All and all she is very good. Gabby is the only one who LOVES little man. When she is allowed inside she runs around the house until she finds him and when allowed to sleep inside she sleeps by his bed. This facinates me because a long time ago I wrote a post that said she was the wild card; I had no idea how she would react to a baby. She loves everything about him. Except for when he cries, then she runs and hides. Bailey act EXACTLY how I predicted, she doesn't like him. BUT she doesn't hate him either, which surprised me. She sees what the other dogs do to get praise, (being gentle around Liam, sniffing him, ) and she mimics the good behavior for praise. Hey, it is a start. She is a very jealous animal, so I will NEVER leave him alone with Liam and remember, she is the one that snapped at Sean. Bailey really surprised me yesterday by sleeping by Liam's crib while I was feeding him and then pacing the whole time he cried himself to sleep. Maybe she will learn to love him. Riley is the one who will eventually become Liam's greatest ally. Riley loves kids. It is funny, Liam and Riley have so many traits that are similar, Chris and I both, constantly call Riley Liam and vice/versa. Riley really needs some special loving lately. I have to go outside and give her lap time, so she doesn't feel neglected. Well that is my update. All in all it is working out even better than I had hoped, though I do need to work on spending a bit more time outside with the poochies. Til later!

Merry Dog-gone Christmas!

Xena did a run by licking...Again. Luckily Liam finds it funny. He really doesn't get the point of the Johnny Jump Up yet. He either pushes off and nearly slams his head into the doorway, or leans forward and sucks contendedly on the front part.
We had Christmas alone, because Chris had to work. After towing his 6th vehicle last night on Christmas Eve, a fellow officer came up on the channel 2 which is like, just officer to officer, (like our tac 2 Brina) and started singing, "You're a mean one, Mr Grinch." I thought that was hilarious! Liam is in the other room screaming his head off in his crib. Now that he is in his big boy crib, in his own room, not swaddled, it is so hard to get it "right". Half the time I end up bringing him out for a while and starting the process over again. The other half after change of clothes, diaper and laying him down he cries himself to sleep in minutes. Hard to know some times. Well, til later!

Christmas Begins With Christ

I wish all of my Homies nothing but all their dreams to come true this coming year. You guys are all awesome and I wish you nothing but the best.

Amtr@k Was Not Made For, With or By Moms

So I took the train to my parents house after a wonderful visit to my in-laws. Liam was soooooo good, people would get off at their stop, pass me and say, "Oh my gosh, I had no idea there was a baby here!" He NEVER cried for the whole 7 hours and he only slept sometimes. Other times he just "read" his book and played with his toys.

So, I have crappy balance. On a good day I can fall down for absolutely no reason. Now add a rocking train, a 16 pound baby and a flight of stairs. Not a good combo! After a few treks about the train, I only walked around the train while it was stopped. So I thought to myself, the downstairs HC bathroom will have a changing table, I can put Liam's changing pad down on it and keep a hand on him while I go to the restroom myself. Ha Ha Ha, the naivete. I tried it, once. The changing table comes down from the wall and covers up about 75% of the toilet. So I put down the pad put Liam down and begin contorting to fit UNDER the changing table. No need to hold on to Liam, if he rolled over his body would be cushioned by my head. So finally after impersonating a human pretezel I dangle my rear over the seat, (no way am I touching down), and it was almost impossible. So the next time I have to go after HOURS of "holding it" I think, I might as well just hold onto Liam. So I have one arm around his waist and he begins grunting. See, if you don't support his butt, Liam automatically starts this over-dramatic grunting, as if he believes it is impossible for any adult to hold onto him with out supporting his butt and he wants to let you know he has zero confidence in your ability to hold him with just one arm. So he is doing his normal one-arm-hold-zero-confidence-grunting and I am putting strips of toilet paper down on the seat which keep flying away, so that took forever and have you ever tried to unbutton Levi's with one hand? Re-buttoning was far worse. So I look down at Liam mid-process and his little face is completely tomato red. Heck, for once his over dramatic grunting was actually a valid plea for oxygen, who knew! So, although Liam did a great job travelling on the train, I apparently suck at it!

Get In Shape Girl, You Know The Feeling!!!

Does anyone remember the "Get In Shape Girl" products? I had one of those sticks with the long ribbons attached to it, and at age 10 I believed I was good enough to get into the next Olympics. I knew exactly one trick. What can I say, I was raised with a very healthy self-esteem. Which is coming in very handy right now since I am feeling pretty crappy about being so very out of shape. I was thinking about how excited I am to start this new fad I heard about, called "Jogging." It may be pronounced with a soft "J" like "Yogging," I'm not sure. Then I recalled the last time I tried yogging. Let us travel back in time to the Halloween 5K of 1999. Not only were they packing up all the finish line ribbons and banners when I finally gasped my way in, I was passed, somewhere around the midway point by a six year old wearing a cape. As I valiantly attempted to catch up to him, he yelled out, "No way lady!" And left me eating his dust. My wonderful Dad who is an Ultra-Marathon runner, left me to run laps around the course, while he waited for me to finish. I can only assume this was partly because he was cramping up from running so slow, partly boredom and a large part of embarassment. So, I can only home that this years attempt is more successful. Wish me luck, I'm gonna need it.

Breastfeeding is Not a Crime

I actually saw a bumper sticker that said that. I am sorry but Lactivists kind of scare me. I call them Breast Nazis. So when I got my blocked duct, (Chris you may not want to read this post), I went to a site called breastfeeding.com and this one lady asked, "Why does the breast milk from my left side taste sour, and the right side tastes sweet?" Huh? Either she is tasting her own milk (EW!!!) or her child is able to tell her this is so. Um, lady if your child has the ability to say, "Mother, earlier this evening when I partook in the magnificent feast that is your bosom, I couldn't help but notice, the left side is sour and the right is sweet. What a conundrum." HE IS TOO OLD TO BE BREASTFED!!!!!! I know of a lady whose 5 year old walks up to her, and goes up under her shirt to eat when he is hungry. How sick is that? The kid is going to remember this! Am I a prude? I don't think so. I do not force my view on others but I look at breastfeeding like this; it is a natural bodily function, yes, but so is urinating, and I personally am not going to do either in a public forum. BTW, I no longer consider being covered in a discreet out of the way place to be public--what I am talking about is like, whipping out a boob at a restuarant...near my food... OK, I'm done. Don't hate me.

Now for two funny BFing stories: So I am dispatching where my friend Brina works and I still work Per Diem, and I tell the Sgt, that I am going to need an extended break. Well, he starts to hum and ha about that and starts asking me how long am I working that day, (only 5 hours so I was technically only entitled 15 min), and I can tell he is going to give me grief. Brina can back me up, it was Sgt B, Brina, and he is kind of a stickler for procedure. So I just cut to the chase and say, "Look you're a dad, right?" Yes, he has two little girls. "Well, um, you know I am still breastfeeding and uh..so yeah, well, I need to um..." And then he gets it, "Oh! Oh, yeah of course, no problem. Oh yes that is the most natural thing in the world. Take as long as you need. How long do you need?" And it was like "don't look at the elephant in the room" and he glances at my chest and then away and then again. It was NOT like he was checking me out, it was just accidental. Still embarrassing. Like, (oops I just looked at her chest. Oops I just did it again, crap.) So, I told him 20 minutes should be just fine. So he says, sure, sure, Mickey will be here. I said, OK, please don't tell him why it will be a longish break and he agrees. So later Sgt B comes back and says, "Officer S (P2, B) is a dad and he will be here at exactly 4:30 on the dot OK?" Great, I say, but he doesn't need to know why the break is so long either, right? "Oh, no, no," he says. So 4:30 to the second Officer S comes in. "Ok, I'll be right back, where is the bathroom?" I ask. "Oh, well there is one right down the hall to the left and then again, but if you really want some privacy, go past the break room. It is real quiet, and real private and no one will bother you or hear anything...." AAAAAAGGGGHHHHHH Sgt B must have TOLD him! How mortifying!!!!! Totally reminded of me of when I was 12 and I got my first bra. A little while after we got home, my dad said, "My little girl is growing up." And I ran screaming from the room.

Other story. Liam loves to suck loudly on his hands. Chris says the left one is chocolate and the right one is vanilla. Anyway, Chris is cool about me BFing in our home, wherever I want to, he would just like me to put a blanket over, because 1) he still thinks, "it's kinda weird, sorry" and 2) because "if I can't play with them, I don't want to see them" (sorry mom) Continuing, so I am feeding Liam, and we are all watching TV and Liam tires of feeding and leans back, sucks on his hands and starts going, "Mmmmmmm, (smack, smack, smack) uhhhhnnnnn." And Chris thinking Liam is still nursing goes, "For the love of God!!!!" And gets up to leave the room. I couldn't stop laughing as I tried to tell him, "It was his hands, his hands I swear!!!!!" Maybe you had to be there.....

Today's Post Brought to You by the Letter "Z"

I would give my prize ox for 8 hours of straight, uninterupted sleep. Boy am I tired. Chris has been off for the past 2 days and today, which NEVER happens and so sometimes I take a nap, but I don't have the heart to ask him to take over a nightly feeding, because he works so hard. Besides, Liam has gone on a bottle strike. He absolutely refuses the bottle right now. But on a postive note, he has comepletely weaned himself off of pacifiers. He prefers his hands. Last night at about 3am he freed one of his hands from his Miracle Blanket and was making these really loud "Smacking" sounds. It was loud enough that it woke both Chris and I up and I said, "Did you give him a lollypop?" But he was very happy, so smack away, I say. Chris from [ to ] do not read, it is girl stuff. [So I got a blocked milk duct and it hurt sooooooo bad! It honestly felt like there was a ball bearing behind the nipple that was trying to fight it's way out, for like a week. And my dime size bald spot is now the size of a quarter--very attractive. I cannot wait until febuary when Liam turns 6 months and I stop breastfeeding, to start running. AND go to a dermatologist before I look like Kojak. I am going to wait until Liam's febuary shots are over to stop BFing though because nursing him was one of the only things that calmed him down after the tourture session.] OK, Chris you can read again, the embarassing girl talk is through. Well I think that is all for now. Til later!

YOU'RE A GIRL WHO GREW UP IN THE 70'S AND 80'S IF....

You wore a rainbow shirt that was half-sleeves, and the rainbow went up one sleeve, across your chest, and down the other. [My mom and I had matching ones.]

You made baby chocolate cakes in your Easy Bake Oven and washed them down with snow cones from your Snoopy Snow Cone Machine.

You had that Fisher Price Doctor's Kit with a Stethoscope that actually worked.

You owned a bicycle with a banana seat and a plastic basket with flowers on it. [Mine had a bell too.]

You learned to skate with actual skates, (not roller blades) that had metal wheels. (They also had 4 wheels)

You thought Kirk Cameron and Michael J. Fox were cute (Admit it!)

You had nightmares after watching Ripley's Believe It or Not

You had rubber boots for rainy days and Moon boots for snowy days.

You had either a "bowl cut" or "pixie," not to mention the "Dorothy Hamill" because your Mom was sick of braiding your hair. [And then really tall bangs in high school--how cool you were directionaly proportionate to how high they were]

Your Holly Hobbie sleeping bag was your most prized possession, [I had a metal Holly Hobbie lunch pail, my brother-- Kiss]

You wore a poncho, gauchos, and knickers. [And don't forget those long dresses that hit the floor your mom made you wear for pictures and special occasions.]

You played Heads Up, 7-Up indoors at recess on rainy days.

You begged Santa for the electronic game, Simon.

You spent hours in your backyard on your metal swing set with the trapeze. The swing set tipped over at least once.

You had homemade ribbon barrettes in every imaginable color, (with the long strands hanging down with beads on the end!!) COOL!

You had a pair of Birkenstock sandals (the ones with a wood sole & buckle). [If you were really cool, you had LA Gears!]

You wanted to be Laura Ingalls Wilder really bad; you wore that Little House on the Prairie-inspired plaid, ruffle shirt with the high neck in at least one school picture; and you despised Nellie Olson! [For me, my first and second grade pictures.]

You wanted your first kiss to be at a roller rink. [I had many a birthday party at the rollar rink!]

Your hairstyle was described as having "wings" or "feathers"

You know who Strawberry Shortcake is, as well as her friends, Blueberry muffin and Huckleberry Pie. [Don't forget Apple Dumpling!]

When no one was looking, you put Ken and Barbie in bed....Together!!!!!!!

You carried a Wonder Woman lunch box to school and it was metal, not plastic. [I used to put my hair in a ponytail, remove said ponytail while spinning around in circles and yell, "Wonder Womaaaaaan!]

Every now and then "It's a Hard Knock Life" from the movie, "Annie" will pop into your brain and you can't stop singing it the whole day.

YOU had Star Wars action figures, too! [I was Princess Leia and my brother Luke Skywalker or Hans Solo, for like, 5 Halloweens in a row.]

You often asked your Magic-8 ball the questions

To you MASH, is a game not a TV show

You saw the Thriller video a gazillion times

You tried to do lots of arts and crafts, like yarn and Popsicle-stick God's eyes, decoupage, or those weird potholders made on a plastic loom. [Plaster of Paris anyone?]

You made Shrinky-Dinks and put iron-on kittens on your t-shirts! [For years I had special made T-shirts that said "Clean Rooms Are Boring" if I out grew it, we just had a new one made!]

You used to tape record songs off the radio by holding your portable tape player up to the speaker [I did this all the time]

You couldn't wait to get the free animal poster that came when you ordered books from the Weekly Reader book club.

You learned everything you needed to know about girl issues from Judy Blume books (Are you there God, It's me, Margaret.)

You thought Olivia Newton John's song "Physical" was about aerobics. (and of course, wearing cool leg warmers!!)

You wore friendship pins on your tennis shoes, or shoelaces with heart or rainbow designs.

You had a Big Wheel with a brake on the side, and a Sit-n-Spin.

You had subscriptions to Teen, Teen Beat and Tiger Beat.

You wore knee socks to hide hairy legs. (That might be just me...)

You spent all your allowance on scratch and smell stickers for your sticker album.

I love being a girl. I hope some day I have a little girl, who has sleepovers and stuff. My friend since, we were 8 sent me most of the above, but I added and modified quite a few of them to fit my childhood. Hope it made you remember and laugh.