I Was THAT Mom

We took a trip to the zoo yesterday with our friends, all was well for the first hour or so and then I stopped to get a frozen lemonade drink and all hell broke loose. Davis decided to start crying, I got some ice for his cup, poured some water into and thought that would help him. He threw it. I gave it to him again, he threw it. I then decided he must be hungry so I sat in the picnic area that was shaded and started giving him some food, he stopped crying for a moment and then started up again. I looked up for a moment and saw other moms and kids staring at me and my child. (maybe they were not really, but it felt like it) After a few minutes of him crying uncontrollably I told my friends I needed to leave, I could tell he was not going to let up. On our way out we decided he needed to walk around a bit, we found a grassy area with shade and I took him out of his stroller. He proceeded to cry as he walked around, he wouldn't even take a toy to play with, he just hit them as hard as he could. After a few minutes of this I put him back in his stroller, he threw a bigger fit and slid out before I could strap him in. It took me 3 trys to get him in the stroller, I honestly thought I was going to have to ask someone to hold him down so I could strap him in. We made our way out of the zoo while Davis cried the entire time, the longer we walked the worse his crying became. By the time I got to my car he was in full on, pissed off baby mode. People in the parking lot were staring at us as I quickly tried to put all of our crap into the car. I changed his diaper in the back of the Jeep which caused Davis to get very angry with me, I put him in his car seat and turned his TV on, usually the TV does the trick, it did not. He just cried harder. He cried the entire drive home at full strength. About 5 minutes before we got to our house he stopped, I figured he cried himself to sleep. He did not, I got him out of the car and he was all smiles. What a change from just a few minutes ago. We got in the house and he was adorable the rest of the day, playing, smiling, being his cute old self. I'm still not sure what caused the meltdown, but then again he is a baby and who knows what sets them off. Maybe it was because I had the canopy pulled down too far in the stroller, maybe he hated the zoo, maybe he didn't like being surrounded by girls (haha), maybe it was his teeth, I'll never know. What I do know is yesterday I was THAT mom, you know, the mom that cannot get her tantrum throwing child to stop. I was the mom that I used to see out before I had kids and think, hmph, do something with your kid lady, make him stop crying for gods sake. I was that mom that I'd see and think, wow, you have such a brat, I'll never have a kid that cries in public. Oh, the things you think before you are mom. I now realize all those times I thought these things about other moms that there was probably nothing they could do about their crying, tantrum throwing children. Sometimes you can give them a sippy of water and all is better and other times they pass the point of anything making them happy and there really is NOTHING as a mom you can do. Whenever I see another mom out in public with a crying child I feel her pain now, I know that she is embarrassed and I know there is probably nothing she can do to get the child to stop. The only thing you can do sometimes is remove the child from the situation which is what I did.

Side note: This is the first public meltdown I've ever experienced with Davis. We have had plenty of meltdowns at home, but never in public, we have had crying in public but not a full on a meltdown. Quite honestly I didn't know what to do and my best solution was to leave.

Car Seat Safety

This was originally in my 15 month post, but I decided it deserved it's own post since I feel so strongly about the subject.

One suggestion from the pediatrician was to forward face Davis in the car seat because according to her it is not any safer to rear face him anymore, I beg to differ and take that with a grain of salt. She also told me he'd like the car better, he likes the car now, REAR FACING. I will not be turning him around anytime soon, my goal is to have him rear face until 18 months and if we make it that far I might as well shoot for 2 years. You can watch my two favorite videos on why rear facing is safer, here and here. To be honest I'm shocked she gave me so much shit on him still rear facing considering the AAP recommends rear facing until 2 years and I am positive down the road it will become the law. I just want to add I've heard a ton of comments from the uninformed regarding Davis still rear facing, I can explain to the uninformed until I am blue in the face and they just don't get it. I even had one person tell me that all their kids forward faced at 8 months, that is just ignorance, plain and simple. The current law is 1 year and 20 lbs. to forward face, not one or the other, BOTH. I guess you could call me an advocate of car seat safety, I feel very passionate about it. I think many people are very uneducated in regards to car seat safety and it is such a simple thing that saves lives. No one car seat is any better than the other whether it costs $30 or $500, yes, that $500 seat might be easier to install, but it will not save your childs life anymore than a $30 seat. If you are undecided on which car seat best fits your needs you can look here for loads of information. We used the Graco Safeseat (which has now been renamed the Graco Snugride 32) as our infant seat and we currently use the Britax Roundabout which I love, Britax makes amazing seats, you cannot beat the smooth harness and ease of installation on these guys, no wonder they are so pricey, but I wanted something nice and easy to use since we get so much use out of it. My parents do have a forward only facing seat, I decided on this particular seat for them because it is the only seat they will need, it goes from a forward facing car seat, to a highback booster, to a backless booster, it is the Graco Nautilus and let me tell you, what an awesome seat it is, I highly recommend it. The reason I chose that seat is because I didn't want them to keep spending money on seat after seat and the few times he ever rides in their car, I'm OK with him forward facing. Just remember the safest car seat is one that is installed correctly and used correctly 100% of the time, if you are not sure your seat is installed properly go to this website and locate a local car seat safety technician, make an appointment and have him or her install it for you and show you how to do it properly for the future. I have done it twice now and it only takes 10 minutes for them to do it, they even show you nifty tricks for your particular seat on how to get it in really tight. Always remember, car seats expire, the typical lifespan of a car seat is 5-6 years, but depends on the manufacturers recommedations. If you are unsure whether your car seat has expired or not you can find the date of manufacture on the car seat itself, sometimes it lists an expiration date, sometimes it doesn't. You can contact the manufacturer to find out when their seats expire. So say you have a baby, keep the car seat and a few years later decided to add another baby to your family, that car seat you used with #1 may no longer be good. You should never buy a used car seat or take a hand me down from someone, you never know how the car seat had been used in the past or if it had been in an accident, a lot of times car seats are no longer good once they have been in an accident. Don't worry, almost all insurance companies will replace your car seat at full cost.

Davis' 15 Month Stats

Davis' 15 month appointment at the pediatrician was yesterday. Everything went well, he is healthy and as she calls it "long, lean and mean". I guess that is a good way to describe Davis, except he isn't mean, he is sweet :o)

Davis weighs 23 lbs. even (28th percentile for weight) and is 33 inches tall (93rd precentile for height). Maybe he is going to be a basketball player like daddy. Mommy still thinks with his long fingers he will be a pianist, but daddy doesn't like that idea.

I was asked if Davis had at least 6 words, I told her I'm lucky he has one word! I'm not even sure DaDa counts as a real word. She helped me with some ideas to get him to talk, she said we need to stop talking in sentences to him. For example when we go to get him a cup of milk or water, instead of say "Oh, let's get you a cup of water" say "cup". Just say "cup". So I guess if you hear me saying one word at a time and prounciating it really well, I've not gone crazy, I'm just trying to get my child to talk. He is supposed to have 12 words by 18 months, this is going to be a challenge. I am determined though, even if we only have 6 words by 18 months I'll be happy.

She is no longer concerned about his left food turning inward so much, at his 12 month appointment she was planning on sending him to a pediatric orthopaedic specialist at 15 months if it did not look better. She thought it looked a little better and since he gets around so well with his walking and running and climbing she is defiantely not concerned anymore. His hips and knees are super flexible too which made her feel a lot better about his foot. She informed us they rarely brace for turned in feet anymore, that is a thing of the past, they used to brace, brace, brace. That must be why I know so many people that wore a brace as a baby for turned in feet.

He also has 12 teeth!! We discovered that he had all 4 of his 1 year molars a few weeks ago and yesterday the pediatrician said he was starting to get his eye teeth because his gums are bulging. That must explain the past few days of EXTREME whining on Davis' part, we are now giving him infant ibuprofren when we notice he is fussy to help ease the pain, I've heard the eye teeth are some of the most painful to get.

Davis had 2 shots, Prevnar and Tetnus. He was supposed to have the MMR vaccine but it is grown in egg and because of his egg allergy we are holding off, I was planning on delaying that vaccine anyways, even before we knew about the egg allergy. He was also supposed to get the Varicella vaccine (chicken pox) but currently I do not feel that is necessary for him to have, he may get it down the road and then again I may opt for him not to have it. If we go to register him for kindergarten and it is required I will handle it then, if not then he will get it by the time he enters junior high school if he has not contracted the chicken pox the normal way, you know like you and I got it.

Friday Fragments and Favorite Song Friday

My husband got a dozen cupcakes from Cake In a Cup from a vendor yesterday, he gets them often and generally gives them to a co-worker. Yesterday he brought them home. I love sugar so you can pretty much guess how many cupcakes we have left :o)

We started our 3rd swimming session on Wednesday, Davis loves it. Our instructor was adorable, she knew that I had taken the 2 previous sessions. She also lifeguards and said she remembered us. She kept asking me what we should do in our class, like I'm the expert. I guess she never teaches the baby class so she was looking for insight. It was fun, we swam in a different area of the pool so it was a nice change and she turned on the fountains for us. Our friends Ericka and Cayla are taking classes with us this time around, they used to take the class at the other Y but decided to join in on ours. Davis loves his "girlfriends."

Maizy went to the groomer yesterday, she looks like a rat.

I love those damn cupcakes.

I need to drink more water, I feel like I am lacking in the proper hydration department.

I had a mixed berry smoothie from McD's today, it was yumm-o and half the calories of a Frappe. It still isn't a Frappe though, but with my recent cupcake consumption I had to cut the fat somewhere.

And now for Favorite Song Friday. Just click the link below to listen to one of my favorite tunes.

Suds In the Bucket, Sara Evans

How You Know You've Really Become a MOM

1. A fun night out no longer consists of sipping margaritas with your friends, it is going to the grocery store alone on a Tuesday night while your husband stays home with the kid(s)

2. Taking a shower before noon is a shock

3. If you wash your hair more than 3 times a week you've had a great hair week

4. Dry shampoos and baby powder become your best friend for giving some life to that un-washed hair

5. You wear shorts or capris and realize you have a weeks worth of growth on your legs because you never have time to shave and don't care, people should be lucky you made it out of the house with clothes on

6. Instead of drooling over a cool new car you drool over cool new strollers

7. You seriouisly consider a mini-van (eeek) because the doors slide open automatically and how much easier would that be, right?? (NOTE: I will NEVER own one, even though they do look fairly convenient, I have to have something that is still semi-cool)

8. You have yet to eat a hot meal at home since the baby was born and you don't mind

9. You know more about baby gear, diapers, diaper creams, baby poop, snot, drool, wipes, etc... than you should

10. You used to plan weekends of dinners out and drinking, now you plan weekends at the park, playlands, zoo and other kid friendly places and you actually love every second of it

11. Instead of looking forward to a fun vacation to some tropical island you cannot wait to take your kid(s) on vacation to Disney

12. Somedays you wonder what the fuck was I thinking when I said I wanted a kid(s)

13. But then your kid does something super cute and you forget about #12, what was life like before kids?? you cannot even remember now and wouldn't think of it being any different

Happy Fathers Day!!!

Jeff and I hosted the family for fathers day yesterday. It was just supposed to be 9 people, myself, Jeff, my sister, my mom, my dad, my grandpa, my uncle, my aunt and my cousin. It ended up being another aunt, uncle, cousin, her husband and her 2 children. It was a last minute (decent sized) addition to our shindig. I kinda freaked out because 6 extra people throws a bit of a wrench into it. Did we have enough food?? is my house clean enough?? do we have enough chairs?? Oh man, I went into panic mode. The party started at 2 p.m. and they contacted us at 12:30 p.m. to see if it was okay if they could come. See, we normally go to my grandpas house but Jeff and I decided that since it is far from toddler friendly we would be more than happy to host. This particular side of the family doesn't really come to anything so we never gave it a thought, they called my grandpa yesterday though and told him they were coming out to visit and he told them he wouldn't be home because he was going to Jeff and Jill's and that is how that happened. It ended up being fine though, we had plenty of food, my mom and dad brought some extra chairs and it was a great day! The more the merrier!

I will leave you with a favorite quote of mine from the movie "Clueless"

"So like, right now for example. The Haitians need to come to America. But some people are all, "What about the strain on our resources?" Well it's like when I had this garden party for my father's birthday, right? I put R.S.V.P. 'cause it was a sit-down dinner. But some people came that like did not R.S.V.P. I was like totally buggin'. I had to haul ass to the kitchen, redistribute the food, and squish in extra place settings. But by the end of the day it was, like, the more the merrier. And so if the government could just get to the kitchen, rearrange some things, we could certainly party with the Haitians. And in conclusion may I please remind you it does not say R.S.V.P. on the Statue of Liberty. Thank you very much." ~Cher, Clueless

A Quickie

Not that kind of quickie.

A quickie blog entry.

Davis started climbing about 2 weeks ago, maybe 3 weeks ago. He could only climb one piece of furniture in our house though, the coffee table in our front room. Tonight he showed us what else he could climb, the church pew, the large leather ottoman in the family room, the couch, the loveseat and he attempted to climb over a baby gate to help me out with my lemon cheesecake bars.

Lord help me!

It's Official

I am OBSESSED with making my yard look like an oasis. Ever since I got this white picket fence I work on my yard with what little free time I have. Grandma and Grandpa were kind enough to take Davis off my hands around 6 p.m. tonight and keep him overnight so I could work in the yard. I dropped Davis off, he took a ride around the yard on my dad's John Deere and after taking a few pictures I left, I went to Lowe's and bought another hanging basket, more coconut liner and some more wave Petunias. I love wave Petunias and you can never have enough. I'm going with a pink and purple theme this year. I bought a white plastic hanging basket (ick, I hate the white plastic) at a garage sale for $5, yes I did say garage sale. People do sell anything, I'll tell ya'. Anyways, I bought it for the plants only, it was a great deal for such a lovely basket full of pink impatients. I took them out and moved them into a wrought iron basket. That is now at the corner of our fence. I have a garden angel that holds a single, tiny clay pot, I put her at the other end and put a purple wave petunia in her pot. I then moved to the backyard and worked in my awesome wrought iron planter that is super cool, it has been painted white, the paint is chipping though but the chipping paint makes it that much cooler. It is a three tiered planter so I cut the coconut liner to fit each tier and added purple and pink wave petunias to each tier. It looks fab!! I promise to take pictures of all of this, but I cannot until my work is complete and at my rate of speed it might take a month. Next on my agenda is having my husband dig some of the grass up in front of my fence so I can start moving my perennials from the backyard to in front of the fence. We are going to be getting ride of a flower bed due to a grading/water issue with the house and I cannot let the flowers get thrown away, they are too old and too nice to allow that. Whatever I do not use will be put in a flower bed my husband is creating in the very front of our yard, near the road and whatever I do not use there are probably going to be up for grabs. I have about 7 daylily plants in yellow and wine, 4 very large autumn joy sedum (one of my faves), a huge spiderwort plant, 2 small spiderwort plants, an asian lily, 2 strange, yet pretty bushes that I am drawing a blank on their name right now, a huge moonbeam coreopsis, 3-4 hostas, a rhododendron and a pink lilac bush. Phew, that is A LOT!! Jeff is gonna be busy digging all of them up for me. That has me thinking, I need to save the buckets our ornamental grass came in, I can use them to store my plants in until I move them.

Friday Fragments and Favorite Song Friday!!

I've added a new twist to my Friday Fragments called Favorite Song Friday. I have like a bazillion gagillion favorite songs so each Friday I will add one to my Friday Fragments post.

I love Kathy Griffin and despise hate Elisabeth Hasselbitch Hasselbeck. Kathy was on the view earlier this week and I lost it when I watched the segment with Kathy Griffin, the entire interview which lasted about 15 minutes with one commercial break was priceless, not only because Kathy is so funny but because you could tell Elisabeth was doing everything she could not to strangle Kathy. You could tell 30 seconds into it that Elisabeth did not want to be there, she stared off into space, everyone else was losing their shit over Kathy because she is freaking HILARIOUS, but not Elisabeth, she was stoned face the entire time. Here is a clip from where it got very entertaining with Elisabeth. I'm sure if you'd like to see the entire interview you can find it on You Tube, but I just wanted this moment.



I have been doing Yoga, I used to do it before Davis was born and forgot how much I like it.

We are hosting Fathers Day on Sunday at our house. I hope it is a nice day!!

I need to stop getting two McD's Frappes each week, bad, bad, bad. I really need to treat myself once a week instead of twice. Oops!

My husband surprised me last weekend when we went to Lowe's to buy potting soil, I was obsessing over which Petunias I wanted off the clearance rack (love clearance plants) and he was shouting at me from the other end of the plant area. I walked over and he was standing in front of the white PVC fences. I said "why are you standing here?" He said back, "well, don't you want one?" I said "yes but you keep telling me no, so stop teasing me" and I started walking away. He said, "no stop, come back I'm serious, which one do you want?". I almost fell over. I've only been bugging for a white PVC picket fence for 5 years now. We picked one out and about $200 later I have a gorgeous white picket fence in front of our house :o) I am loving it!! It looks so amazing with our new white shutters, now we just need to pick out a new white garage door and it will tie it all in. I have to finish working on my plants in the front yard. We are taking a perennial garden out of our backyard which is why our yard looks like trash but most of those plants are going elsewhere. Some in front of the fence, some in the bed right outside the front door and others will go out front near the road where my hubby is creating a new bed for me. I'll post pictures later after the work is complete.

And I know you have been waiting for my song pick this week. I am posting a current Top 40 hit, I know, so unlike me. I cannot believe it isn't a tune by the Police, Cyndi Lauper or the Rolling Stones either. Anyways, I just love this song and get happy every time I hear it come on the radio. Click below and it will take you to the song.

Soul Sister, by Train

Daddy's Little Helper

Ugly Face Davis - mad we wouldn't let him play with the drill

BW3s Got It Right, Why Can't You??

Who hates the lighting in fitting rooms???

I know every single one of you are raising your hands high in the air.

We had lunch at BW3s today and I used the restroom which had dim lighting. Mood lighting if you will.

I looked really good in the mirrors even though my belly is a little poochey and my arms are a little flabbier than they used to be.

I mean, I was "almost" hot again.

I've decided that all fitting rooms need to take it from BW3s and get the same lighting. Booze would be helpful too, you'd sell more clothes.

Think about it, the Bar Boutique. High dollar fashions, flowing alcohol and dim lighting in the fitting rooms, hell put in some black lights and just think of what you'd sell.

Everyone looks good in black lights.

I remember going to the clubs back in the day, they all had black lights, who cares if you get sloppy drunk, puke and ruin your makeup. NOBODY and I mean NOBODY looks bad in black lights.

I have to go to Lowes and buy some black lights, for my house.

Friday Fragments (one day late)

I have been wanting a better lightweight stroller, everything else I push seems like junk because the Bugaboo has me spoiled. I am patiently awaiting the arrival of my Maclaren Techno XLR in Black and Champagne. I bought it from Gilt Groupe, I love this site, they offer amazing deals on everything you can imagine.

I am addicted to McDonalds Frappes, I have been getting 2-3 per week. I need a 12 step.

Davis is trying to talk, the last 2 days he has been a babbling machine. He also has 4 new teeth, yep, that is right we are fabulous parents and totally missed our son getting 4 molars in. We had to see the ENT yesterday for a follow up to his laryngomalacia and when the nurse went to look in Davis' throat she goes "Oh Look, he has 4 of his molars" We said, WHAT?? I said that would explain the drool rash on his face!

I successfully walked the dog and pushed Davis in his stroller this week for the first time. Usually Jeff and I go together at night and one of us pushes the stroller and the other walks Maizy, but I thought I can do this alone and I did and Maizy was so good. We will be doing this regularly.

What Pregnancy Did to My Body

I'm not saying I'd take back having a child, so let's get that straight now. But let's all be honest here, if you have had a kid you know what happens to your body and it can make you a little sad, unless your super woman or Pam Anderson or can afford thousands of dollars of plastic surgery.

Case in point. My boobs. What happened to my perky 34C's?? Where did they go?? I guess they went to pre-baby boob heaven. I have been left with what I describe as a limp water balloon, shifting off towards my armpit boobs. I went from a 34C to a 36B?? Hmmmmmm, so they shrunk. I got fatter and my boobs got smaller. It was all awesome until I quit breastfeeding, I thought, wow they didn't change. HA!!! What a sick joke! Within days of stopping breasfeeding I was left with these.

I'm saving my change for a boob job. Dr. Rey, here I come.

Now that I think about this I should totally write to Dr. 90210 and beg to be in the show for a free boob job.

I just ordered a racerback bra from VS in 36B, yay!! But I'm happy about this, why?? Because my pre-baby bras fit funny, my boobs fall out, my shirts look bad because my bras fit terribly, so here's to looking better!

Friday Fragments

I had my brows waxed today, the day spa I go to has a plastic surgeon's office next door (they own the day spa). I inquired about the cost of Botox, yep, I'm serious about it too. I noticed the lines between my brows stay when I frown, I do not like it one bit. Cost per unit is $13 and I'd need between 20 and 50 units, probably only 20 since my frown lines are barely there. I am really, really, really considering it.

I bought Davis a pair of Crocs *sigh*. I will admit I own a pair of Crocs for myself, I don't really wear them in public though so I was sure I'd never buy a pair for Davis. He refuses to wear "real" shoes though so the next best thing to soft shoes is Crocs, well in my mind they are, so I bought them. Best $24.99 I've ever spent, he loves them, he allows me to put them on his feet, when they are on he doesn't throw himself onto the floor kicking and screaming. Ugly Shoes = Happy Davis and Happy Mommy.

My husband brought home Mexicali dip from the deli tonight, yummy!! I hope I don't eat it all in one sitting.

I have the hiccups.

I bought a gigantic box of Huggies at Costco, they were alright, but I'm glad the box is almost done. It was the first time I've tried Huggies. I'm going back to Pampers.

I got an email from one of the baby stores I've bought from, it said call for deals on older model Bugaboo strollers. Lord Help Me!! I really want an older model Bee, a 2008 or 2009, but they didn't have any left. I need another Bugaboo stroller like I need a hole in the head.

What? I'm not pretty anymore you skinny bitch

I'm walking past the Coach store at the local mall today, I spot a skinny PYT (pretty young thing). I thought she was foreign so I got nervous. She quickly turned around and walked the other way. Now before you get mad at me for calling her "foreign", let me explain. Our mall is full of random kiosks operated by foreigners peddling their hair straigtening irons, fancy combs that make your hair look like you live in Hollywood, nail files that make your nails all shiny, hand lotion, fake hair pieces, you get the idea. If you make any sort of eye contact with these people they suck you in. I NEVER make eye contact with them, yet they still manage to jump out in front of me and in their barely able to speak english accent, ask me the last time I curled my hair or had my nails done. I always give them my best evil eye, say no thanks and run away while continuing to be chased by them until they give up and realize I don't want their shit. Okay, I totally got off the subject but I really hate those fuckers.

Anyways, back to walking by the Coach store. PYT is standing at her kiosk, she turns towards me, like she is going to ask me something and quickly walks away. Sweeeeeet I think to myself, I avoided her!!! I just knew she was going to try and massage my hand with her crappy lotion. But wait, she didn't have lotion, she has a sign at her booth, something about modeling. Then I hear her say to another PYT walking out of the Coach store, "Are you interested in modeling?" What, what, what, what??? Hey!!!! I used to be a PYT. So I had a kid, my boobs are like limp water balloons, my ass looks like it came straight out of Jersey, I might need a slight tummy tuck, a little Botox, maybe some Restalyne and a hell of a good plastic surgeon, but I was hot, once. That PYT took one look at me and turned away. It must have been the wet hair, that is not hot. Maybe it was my lack of makeup, also not hot. Maybe it was the fact that my bra strap was peeking out of my tank top or maybe it was my flabby arms. I think I need an uppper arm tuck too.

But, I had a KID last year, does that PYT even know what the hell I did today? I was up at 4:30 a.m. with a 15 month old who was ready to party, we watched cartoons, had breakfast (my kitchen floor wore most of it), I cleaned that kitchen floor, went on a 45 minute walk around the 'hood, came home, took a quick shower, packed our stuff for swimming lessons, loaded up the car, went to swimming lessons, lifted that 23 lb., 15 month old about 50 times up and down in that pool, got us both dressed after swimming and let me tell you dressing an active 15 month old is a workout, came home, cleaned my entire house, scrubbed two bathrooms, did 3 loads of laundry, took another shower, went to the mall to find the 15 month old Crocs (that is another post, Crocs, WTF?), did not get asked if I wanted to model by a PYT.

Wonder what PYT does with her spare time? Last night she probably went to the club, got drunk, went home with a random guy, woke up next to random guy, thought WTF am I doing and then went to the mall to ask other PYTs if they want to model. I'm starting to think she was a prostitute looking for other prostitutes and now I'm glad she didn't ask me if I wanted to "model".