The little things...

After waking up Friday to ankles swollen past the point of kankles, and my face and hands resembling that of the Michelin Man, I headed to the walk in clinic and got checked out. I am still not sure what exactly happened at this point, but I am back to my normal "fluffy but not quite so Pillsbury Dough Boy-esque" self. I had to call in to work on Friday and ended up sleeping off and on from about 6 p.m. to 3 p.m. the next day. It was like Christmas and my birthday all at once. I was a big fan of sleep before Monkey came along (I used to say it was the cheapest hobby you can have), and it's even more treasured now. So anyway, I emerge from my coma to a smiling Hubs, who said, "Did you see what I did for you?" Keep in mind I am trying to remember what day it is, if I missed the bus for school, etc...I am not at my most observant. After several feeble guesses, he took me and showed me my closet. Yes, some women get flowers, some women get jewelery...I got my closet organized. And I loved it! I once told my sister (poor kiddo, being 11 years younger than me, she gets a lot of words of wisdom) that if you expect big, grandiose signs of affections, you might be disappointed, but if you appreciate the little things (like making the bed because they know how much better you sleep in organized sheets), you'll rarely be disappointed. Yep, I have a pretty big crush on the Hubs :).

I am trying to get Monkey used to sleeping in his crib in his room. I think Monkey will do just fine, I think we might need to replace the carpet in the hall as I walk back and forth to make sure he's okay. After a couple of "pick up screaming baby, console baby, put drowsy baby back in bed," he was out! And I laid down thinking, "okay, I have his monitor set so loud I could hear his stomach gurgle, I can handle this." Since we normally have the door closed to keep the cats out of our room, the cats were having seizures of joy that our door was open. They climbed Mount Hubs, tried to sleep on my head, etc. But sure enough, about 15 minutes in, they started meowing. Not just cute little meowing, but more like sitting at the foot of the bed with a bullhorn, Ty Pennington style, screetching, "MEEEOOOOOW ("Good morning Bryan family!)!! MEEEEEOOOOOOWW ("We're going to let you guys get up and feed us now!"). No one was going to get sleep that way. So out went the cats and in came Monkey to his Pack-n-Play. He did get a nap in his crib today...baby steps (for me more than him) :)!

Oh my goodness, it's April already :)???

A whole lot of misc...

The last few days have been a little hectic, here is a little update in case you'd like to know:

TUESDSAY: The Hubs called in sick. Since I am pretty sure they will never close the hospital on account of snow, The Hubs staying home sick is the adult equivalent of a snow day for me (we call them Snick Days). We get to spend time together, and most importantly, we get to let each other take naps. I also met up with my friend Jenny for a Costco & a Churro date. Let me tell you, a good friend will offer to hold your kid. A GREAT friend will pluck up your kid, plop them in their purse and carry them around like a priceless accessory. The churro comes in a close second to time spent with Jenny, she is hilarious :).

WEDNESDAY: Monkey had his 6 month pictures in Topeka, so we got to take our first Mommy and Me road trip. How I treasure these days when he hasn't yet realized how terribly I sing. I bought an oldies CD to listen to, my slow transition to The Wiggles, Backyardigans, etc. I have the Oldies station on during the day when we are at home and shock my mother in law with my musical knowledge. Anyway, I was excited because of the song "Calender Girl," a catchy favorite of mine. However, I have a bone to pick with Mr. Neil Sedaka. February gets to be his little Valentines, July is his little firecracker. What does April, my birth month, get? "You're the Easter Bunny when you smile." First of all, this is the mental picture that the Easter Bunny brings me (sad, I know), and the only other thing I can think of is that he thinks I am either hairy, chubby, or have buck teeth.

THURSDAY: Monkey had his 6 month appt on Monday and is greater than 97% for head circumference. Yes, my baby is growing quite a melon (just like his daddy, trying to find a fitted hat for a man with a size 8 noggin is no walk in the park!). Our doc sent us to get an ultrasound just to be on the safe side and sure enough, everything is fine. Monkey was a little disgusted that they messed up his hair with the ultrasound goop, but he had a bottle and was right with the world again. Tonight I went with my friend Michelle to a Just Between Friends consignment sale, translation: huge garage sale full of kids clothes, toys, furniture, etc. Overall it was great, although when they opened the gates to the public (we got to shop early), it was a little like the running of the bulls. Some of the shoppers are hard core, I was a little greatful I had my stroller (and Monkey) to allow myself some room to move. I have learned that there is too much of a good thing and scheduling two big outings in one day is a little much for a little Monkey. Oh well, we'll all sleep good tonight. Take care!

WFMW

I am a habitual gift giver and a firm believer in "is better to give than to receive." But it isn't all selfless giving, I get a little happy buzz from seeing the expression on someone's face when you have taken the time, even with something small, to remember them. Here are some of my gift giving tips:

• I have a plastic tote of gift bags, tissue paper, ribbon, and fun padded mailers that I keep filled from things I get on sale. Usually after holidays, there will be tons of solid color or pattern bags on sale for 50% off. Bath and Body Works also has awesome and unique gift containers and bags that they mark down a few times a year. Wal-Mart always has print and solid colored bags for $1 in several sizes and Target usually has padded mailers in bright colors and patterns. Michaels sells a box of 50 cards made with fun, scrapbooking cardstock that can be used for any occasion. Plus you can dress them up or make them specific to a holiday or birthday with scrapbooking material in no time.
  

• Some great sites to check out for personality specific or personalized gifts are Zazzle, Gifts.com, Personalization Mall, Wal-Mart (Personalized gifts are under the gifts and flowers section), Walgreens Photo, and Shutterfly.

• Since I am trying to declutter around my house, I have been trying to give my family things that they can use and enjoy, but not have to find a place to keep it. For the ladies in my family, I like to give candles, Tastefully Simple, and gift cards for things like manicures and pedicures. I even bought a gift card for a massage for The Hubs and set the appointment so he would go. He came home and asked when he can go again :). Guys are always a little more difficult, but sports tickets, car wash booklets, and Borders or Barnes and Noble gift cards for books and music work well for me. Also, several of us chipped in and got my dad golf lessons for his birthday, which is something I thought he really enjoyed. Magazine subscriptions also work great for almost everyone.
  

• A family my parents and sister are friends with recently had a child who has been hospitalized for several months. My mom got four $5 gift cards to places like McDonalds, Subway, Chipotle, etc and gave them to them so that they could get a meal while they were traveling to and from the hospital or to give to their other children, who were at home and attending school. I learn gift giving from the best :).
  

Hopefully these are some ideas you can use, for more ideas, check out Works for Me Wednesday at Rocks in my Dryer!

My Two Easters

So I am driving home from work on Easter Sunday morning, psyching myself up by saying "You are wide awake! You could run a marathon! You don't need sleep, sleep is for the weak!" and pondering if the amount of caffeine in a Viverin could be matched by just eating an entire package of sugar packed Peeps (much tastier). I got home and for the first time in my life I was too tired to take a shower...I had to take a 30 minute power nap to muster up the energy :).

We left to see our other Bryans and had a great time. My sister in law actually played matchmaker for me and the Hubs, so it's awesome having your friend as your sister in law. Monkey and his cousin, whom I will call Blue Eyes until a snappier code name is found, are almost the same size and the first time we laid them side by side, they reached up and grabbed each others hand and simultaneously stuck their other hands in their mouths. The Hubs's cousin brought over her newborn and we got a picture of all the boys together. My niece, Goose, is the only girl for now, but I have a feeling she will have those boys following her lead :). We had a great meal, lots of baby holding, and socializing...all in all a pretty great day :).

My second Easter was in Indy with my family. After getting off the phone with my mom and my sister, my mom "cloned" me and they brought me along to all the Hupp events. I got smooches from my sister, hugs from the Easter Bunny, and at one point, my niece, Mare-Bear, took me in the bathroom, covered me in toilet paper and announced that I had pooped. Luckily we will be seeing them soon, but the pictures made my day :).

Hope you had a good Easter, I am off to find Peeps on sale. Omm nom nom nom....

Carboholic

Whoever said "Man cannot live by bread alone, " had either never met me or never been to Panera. Being Catholic, we don't eat meat on Fridays during Lent (the 40 days before Easter) and it is the only time of year that I, a true bread junkie, have the excuse for having bread as a meal. So where is all of the carb-loading conversation coming from? I found the absolute, be-all-end-all recipe for banana bread that I am going to pass along to you (click here for the recipe). I had to share with the neighbors so we didn't eat all 4 loaves ourselves :).

We are heading to the see the other Bryans for Easter, I think my niece will clean up on the Easter egg hunt since the only two other kids are 6 months and 4 months :). I finally realized one of the perks of parenthood: buying candy for the kids and having a little yourself. Since we don't make each other easter baskets, we each put into Monkey's Easter basket what we really wanted. For The Hubs, it is Cadberry Cream Eggs, for me, it's Peeps, and both of us will share the Reece's Peanut Butter Cup eggs. I am sure Monkey would rather us eat the candy now and get him fresh candy when he is able to have it rather than put this years basket away for a year. Plus he has a few things in there he can enjoy now, so I don't feel quite so guilty.

For my fellow K-State fans, how about that game last night?? Here is a little something to tide us over until football season, click here :).

Dare I say it??

SPRING HAS SPRUNG!! I think at this point if Mother Nature delivers yet another sucker punch of snow after a 70 degree day, I will be okay. Today was beautiful and as Monkey and I headed to pick up the Hubs from work, it was great to see the park full of kids, people out walking, and driving with the windows down. I was a little afraid at this point that Monkey would never get to spend more than 2 minutes outside and be scared to death of the sun (aka Big Shiney), but he is adjusting nicely. The Hubs has been working hard trying to get our lawn looking a little nicer this year and Monkey tagged along as we walked around the yard, getting landscaping ideas. I printed out 8X10 pictures of 4 angles of the house as my own personal coloring pages to try out some landscape ideas on. I am ready to get my hands dirty!

One more random topic to touch on and then I really need to get to sleep (darn WFMW for keeping me up so late!). My friends Sara and Jenny and I were so excited about our Girls Night Out to see my favorite comedian Mike Birbiglia. He is well versed in the silly stupid humor I like, as opposed to the aggressive, mean, or "make a rock star blush"comedy varieties. So as we counted down the days, debated whether or not to make custom T-Shirts at Zazzle, and debated how early to show up for the show, I was hit with a e-mail letting me know the show was cancelled. Was he sick? Did he decide to trade his career for something in advertising? Was he going on sabatical? No, our dear little Birbiglebug is going big time...he had to cancel his show to film the pilot of his new TV series based on his Secret Public Journal. And although I wish him the best, I feel a little cheated that he broke our date via e-mail, I mean, he could have at least called. Oh well, if you truly love something (or appreciate it's humor) you'll let it go, right :)?

Nighty night, kiddos!

Works for Me Wednesday

Thanks to my friend Michelle, I happened across a great blog called Rocks In My Dryer. Every Wednesday, readers post tips they've learned on any (G-rated) topic--anything that has "worked for them" in making their life easier. Snaps to this site for the countless great tips and websites I have been referred to, slaps for the hours I have spent looking things up instead of sleeping :). This is my first time posting a tip, so here goes:

I have never been accused of being anal retentive, but I do have certain things that have to be done a certain way. One of these is that I keep my closet in color order. The perk of this is I always know exactly where the item I am looking for is and have a good idea of when I am getting low and need to step it up on the laundry :). This really doesn't take much time, just come up with a system that makes sense to you (I have mine arranged from darkest to lightest, shirts on the top bar and pants on the bottom, and if I am really in an organizing mood, I sort each color so it goes from tanks/camis, short sleeve, 3/4 sleeve, and long sleeve). Even if you have a hectic week, it doesn't take much time to get things back in order. Also, when I was pregnant, I took everything out of my closet that I couldn't wear and put it in a plastic tub I the corner of my closet. Again, it saved time because I knew anything in the closet was something I could wear and feel comfortable in. I have kept this going as I work to lose the baby weight, and since the tub is in the closet, I can easily pack up "too big" clothes and switch them out for "slightly smaller" clothes.

As for keeping my son's closet organized, I love these plastic dividers that you can put between sizes so you can see exactly what you have for them to grow in to. The basic ones (plain yellow plastic, blank for you to customize) can be found here . A cuter version of the same thing can be found here.

Check out Rocks in My Dryer for more WFMW!

Happy St. Patty's!

How exciting are we?! Monkey and I are both sick so our St. Patty's consisted mainly of blowing our nose (me), eating (him), and sleeping (both of us). Oh well, we have on our green :)! Hope you had a good St, Patrick's day, free of pinches!

Happy St Patty's from the Irish Monkey!

And my new, much shorter hair cut

What I have learned this week...

Here is a collection of random things I learned this past week (hint: click on underlined words for links/pictures):

• I AM PARANOID: As I become a little more Blog savvy, I noticed that some of the professional bloggers choose nicknames to refer to members of their families, just a little piece of mind against the internet creepers I guess. So as you can see, my DH is now The Hubs and our little guy is Monkey. Why Monkey? I tried so many cute nicknames out and the only one that stuck is Monkey. However, the nickname brings mental pictures like this... and not this:

• WORKS FOR ME WEDNESDAY: I am hooked on a blog called Rocks in my Dryer and every Wednesday she hosts Works for me Wednesday. People post helpful tips ranging from websites to recipes to party ideas. Last Wednesday was my first time reading it and I am hooked. Some of the awesome sites I found because of WFMW are
• Free photo editing sites: paint.net and GIMP (both of these are a lot like a free version of Photoshop), and Picnik (which is very easy to use and fun).
• www.organizedhome.com has lots of great ideas and I love their printable planner pages.
• Freecycle is an organization where people post things that they are giving away at no cost to whomever is willing to come pick them up. People can also post things they need.
• SONG OF THE WEEK: "Breath In Breath Out" by Mat Kearney (thanks Jessi!). I am always on the prowl for new artists and songs, so feel free to pass them along when you find tunes or artists that you dig :).
  
• LOUD NOISES AND BUBBLES: I found out that yelling the cat's name to get him off the table while you are holding your little one makes for a traumatized baby. On the plus side, bubbles seem to make everyone feel better:

• 

We love Quasi-Aunt Erin!

Oh happy day in KC, we got a visit from my good friend and Monkey's Quasi-Aunt Erin! Erin is well trained in the art of being an auntie, she has triplet nephews and is hip to what is fun for the 2 and under set. We did all kinds of fun stuff including putting Monkey in our beloved Kansas State purple for the first time, kickin' it old school with Super Mario Brothers on the Nintendo, and Erin's sport of choice, shopping. I feel like there are people whose sense of humor you a.) don't get or appreciate, b.) get and appreciate, or c.) have the exact same sense of humor they do and find everything they say amusing. Erin is one of those people for me, in fact her boyfriend says when we get around each other it's we like talk in clucks and whistles. Monkey just stared in awe and wonder when Erin would sing to him (she is a classically trained Karaoke singer), I think because this would be his first time hearing someone singing in tune. We sang him a medley of Grease songs, but his favorite was when Erin serenaded him with "You Give Love a Bad Name," by Bon Jovi. Erin also helped me name Monkey's favorite toy, a stuffed turtle attached to some teething rings, which is now named Andre. All in all we had a great time and are keeping our fingers crossed that Quasi-Aunt Erin moves a little closer someday :).


In other news, today we played peekaboo, had a bath, and enjoyed some tummy time:

I was NOT a naughty 8 year old...

The animal mascot of the awkward moment

Awkward Turtle Moment Of the Week: I was at work this weekend and as I am required to check the ID of each my patients as I assess them, I always ask them (or their parents) when their birthday is and check it against their ID bracelet. One particular patient, a 10 year old, had the same birthday as my son.

Very Nice Parent: "oh neat, the same year?"
Me: "Nope, about 10 years apart. My..."
Very nice Parent: "So you have a 20 year old?"
Me: (smiling, attempting not to look shocked/dejected) "Umm, no actually, I have a 5 month old."
Very Nice Parent: (immediately horrified, attempting to back pedal), "OH, because I was going to say that you don't look like you could have a 20 year old child!"

The other thing was it was the beginning of my shift and I was at work...this means make up is on, hair is done, I probably look the best I do all week. As for parenting at 8 years old (which is how old I would have been if I had a 20 year old kiddo), this was the extent of my knowledge:




Last week flew by for me, I walked into work Friday thinking, "Wasn't I just here?" Monkey and I went to a meeting of moms and kiddos in our area and had a little St. Patty's day meet and greet. It was a great chance to meet people in our neighborhood and for Monkey to meet some new kids. Here in a few weeks we are also starting Parents as Teachers and Mommy and me swimming (I wonder if he will be a fish like me!). I am hoping to get out and about walking with our neighbor and her kiddos soon, IF Mother Nature doesn't sucker punch us with more snow after a beautiful 60 degree day again. I had some great time with my favorite boys today, one of those "ahh, life is good" days :).

Misc Musings...

On the TV: I have no idea how I (who isn't what one would refer to as a "fashion icon") fell in love with "Project Runway," but I have seen every season. Even more suprising, I can get The Hubs to watch from time to time! Maybe it's the creativity, or maybe it is because I am lucky enough to have my own personal fashion guru, Erin, to rehash things with :). My first impression of the winner, Christian was "who is this scary little man with the crazy haircut and all the attitude?" It was a great finale and he had me as a fan by the end...although his voice is still a little nails on a chalk board. Another new show in my life, "My Big Redneck Wedding." I watch it in awe and amazement...and if The Hubs and I ever want to renew our vows at a demolition derby or a flea market, I have lots of ideas. Tom Arnold's commentary is pretty amusing :).

On the Radio: Click on the song to be connected to the video on youtube.com
"New Soul" by Yael Naim (thanks Melanie!)
"All My Lovin" by Jim Sturgess (thanks Jessi!)
"Ordinary Miracle" by Sarah McLachlan (thanks CVS Pharmacy!)
"All I Want Is You" Barry Louis Polisar (thanks Barry!)
"I'm Yours" Jason Mraz (my current ringer at the moment...)

On the Computer: A new version of the old classic Oregon Trail! Instead of oxen, you are driving your SUV/Trurbo Wagon/Hybrid and trying to get your crew to a music festival. And you can still hunt old school, but you are shooting tacos, pizzas, and fries. Very amusing :). Click here to play it.

In the Paper: A very nice little write up about the BCHS seniors and my sister Jessi :).

Just a thought: ""Write it in your heart that every day is the best day of the year.""

Teething bites...

The title pretty much says it all, the pictures prove it...teething is no fun.

Unfortunately, this is how we looked most of the day...

finally smiling after some tylenol, oragel, and a cold wash cloth to the gums...

and snoozing about 3 hours later than normal, poor little guy is worn out!

Someone's in the kitchen with Mama...

If ever there was a picture to completely sum up Monkey's personality, this one is it :).

After watching Monkey do crunches in his bouncy seat, I decided he is ready to move up to the Bumbo seat (or the "Butt Mold" as The Hubs calls it). However, sitting in the Bumbo after meals is a lot like the old "wait thirty minutes after you eat to swim" rule...better wait or you will have to go change his clothes and wipe down the counter. Since he no longer has anything is front of him to play with, he gets to do really exciting things like watch me wash dishes and sing off key. I realized when we were done that he is small enough to fit neatly under the cabinets...just about the size of the mixer :). Now we are working on learning our cooking utensils so I can say "Spatula..." and have him hand it to me. However, by that time I am sure it will just go straight to his mouth :).

I am also working on finishing up some projects around the house like our picture wall and some other things I have the supplies for, just not the time :). One of them was something I had wanted to make for Monkey's room before he was born but ran out of time since he was so early:

Some scrapbooking supplies and clip art from Microsoft word...

And a metal Christmas card holder 70% off at Pier 1 :).

Hugs, kisses, and a new baby!

After I got off work Sunday morning, we headed off to Topeka to see the newest addition to the family, baby Liam! The Hubs's cousin Katie and her husband Dan had just gotten home from the hospital that morning, but had already had a lot of visitors. In all of the excitement, I forgot to take pictures...very unlike me!

After seeing baby Liam, we headed over to see the Bryans. We always start off with "Musical babies," I grab Sam, Tara gets Monkey, and The Hubs chases after Lucy...and 5 minutes later, we all switch again :). Sam has grown so much and I have a feeling Lucy will hold her own very well against the boys as they get older. Lucy was passing out the hugs and kisses and telling us what the animals say. After being up for about 40 hours, I got a nice nap in on the way home (trips go MUCH faster that way!).

We have two trips planned to Indy this Spring (for Monkey's Baptism and Jessi's graduation), so we are looking forward to seeing the other half of our family!


Grandpa, Monkey, Sam, & Lucy

You're #1 in our hearts!

Aunt Jessi's team lost by just 1 point but it was a great game. Jessi and some of the other seniors have been playing together since middle school and although I know she is glad to have some time back in her schedule, she is going to miss playing with her friends. We are so proud of all of them and have loved watching all of them play over the years. We wanted to send Jessi a little something to let her know we were thinking of her before the game, she she enjoyed her pregame breakfast from this: