would you like some cheese with that WHINE?

I don't know when it started or how it escalated, but somewhere along the line my little boy became a whiner. The whiny whines drain me of all energy and patience to deal.

WHAT'S A MAMA TO DO?? I'm at a loss.

Friends, any books/tips you could recommend? Puhleaze, help a sistah.

xo,

Y

high/low

Rough week.

On the way to NJ for work training, Chris's Saab died.

He was towed to a little shop and the mechanic confirmed. Engine death.

And sadly it's not worth fixing.

So, we find ourselves sharing [closes eyes and shudders] one car.

That will last only so long; until:

A. I tire of driving to Chris & from work, aka getting out of sweats before noon.

B. Chris tires of the downgrade from his Sexy Saab Turbo to my Dented 97 Honda Civic aka 'Phoebe'.

Commence car dreaming...now. The Honda Pilot is nice. Acura MDX, nicer. We are a growing family here people, SUV's are where it's at!

A dead car was the low of the week. But!!! There is a high! I think Ruehl may be over his lactose sensitivity! [and the crowd erupts in exuberant joy and the angels sing the hallelujah chorus] The last few weeks I have been giving him dairy and I haven't noticed any changes in his demeanor or in his diaper. When I gave him dairy two months ago he cried all day and night and his diapers looked like pea soup. Bad, bad, bad reactions to dairy. I guess his little gut couldn't handle it. Our Pediatrician told me he would probably outgrow the sensitivity around a year and I am so relieved to say I think he has!

That is reason enough for me to say my glass is half full, one car or not.

xo,

Y

Not all grey...

I don't know if it's teething, his new found mobility, or his growing independence, but suddenly my boy has no desire to sleep. His two naps are a measly 45 minutes, nighttime wake ups are happening again and my mommy love/patience/grace tank is getting low low low.

My fb status from this morning:

A morning with my girls and coffee saved Rue's cute lil' neck from strangulation. He knew it too, because just today he said 'mama'. Cheeky monkey already knows how to butter me up.

And I mean strangulation in the most humorous, sarcastic way possible. You gotta laugh right? I'm just being honest here friends...some mommy days you realize there must've been fine print that you didn't read when you signed up for this kid business.

There were some great moments today, so I must give credit where credit is due.

My day was not all grey! [see Chris, your girl can be an optimist!] The sun was shining and the sky was blue. I had coffee with mahh best girlfrenz at a kid friendly coffee shop. All the kiddos played like champs. Rue said 'mamamamamama'!! Which was heaven to my ears. And.......he took a LOT of steps! I think by his first birthday we will have a full blown walker.

Another day bites the dust. Thankfully, there is always tomorrow.

Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow.

xo.

red peckers & roller coasters

{tired arms from waving a white flag}

The Brink Haus has seen some high high's and some looow lowwwww's today.

It all started with a frantic cry from his room at 12:30 last night.

As usual I reached into the crib to find his pacifier and re-plug, but what I found instead was a warm puddle of vomit. I turn on the light and see Rue crying and rubbing his eyes/heads/face with little vomit hands. 'Chris [I know you have to get up at 6 to shovel your car and give a presentation to the owner of your company on your new design and you need your brain working tomorrow, but I need you to come here and] help!'

So we get him cleaned up, new bedding, and he's sleeping again within minutes. I figure [hope really] that his tummy must've been upset and it's nothing to worry about. I doze off to sleep.

Around 1:30 I hear him cry again. More vomit. At that point I realized it is something more serious and probably is that strange vomit/viral bug that has been traveling around all the church kids. [MOMS OUT THERE- If your kid is sick puhlease, DON'T bring them to play-dates!] I laid awake for another hour or two racked with anxiety. Of course there was nothing more that I could do at that point, but I'm his mother....it's my job to worry.

This morning he woke up an hour later than usual, we snuggled in bed and everything seemed hunky dory. Until, you guessed it, more vomit. I called our pediatrician and he confirmed based on symptoms that it is a viral 24-48 bug going around. With some extra TLC the afternoon seemed to have finally turned around. He was happy and eating and talking away. Then out of the blue came the screaming. The frantic screaming. The being cut with ten thousand little daggers screaming. I couldn't figure it out! I took him upstairs to change his diaper and what do I find? A huge crap and terrible diaper rash, with the worst of it on le Pecker. Thanks to my 3-day long STUPID HEAD COLD, I couldn't smell his overly full diaper! mom fail.

Uggghhhhhhhhhhhh. Rue, if you read this someday, I am SO SORRY. [I only have the best intentions when it comes to your pecker. And I don't mean that in an awkward way. I'm gonna stop typing my thoughts now.] So, I'm feeling like I earned a crappy mom award.

I can't breathe, my kid has a red pecker, and it's only wednesday.

so.sad.

isn't that the most adorable/sad little face you've ever seen?

pooooor baby.

burned his palm and thumb on the radiator.

it was heartwrenching.

and let me just say it is not easy to keep a crawling baby from crawling, nor is it easy to keep wounds clean. it's also nearly impossible to keep a bandaid on a baby.

thankfully my neighbor is an EMT and he said it looks as though it's healing nicely.

but gosh, that doesn't comfort a mama much.

In honor of breastfeeding week, I'm going to cry some more

I thought I was over it*.

It*, being, the fact that we had to stop breastfeeding.

I should rephrase that- we didn't HAVE to but after three months of baby's non-stop crying and pain due to a sensitivity to lactose, we chose to stop. I could've waited it out another 3+ months till his stomach settled, but I was on the verge of a major breakdown.

So, with that said, we had to stop breastfeeding. Most of you who have stuck around HGBB know this fact already. And I thought, I was over it. A tearful phone call to a good friend yesterday morning proved otherwise. I am not over the disappointment, sadness and pain that I feel from not getting that experience with my baby. To give him the best nutrition possible. To bond.

I needed to be 'over it' because its just what I had to do. To accept it. To move on. To be a happy mommy for my baby. But, being that it's breastfeeding week and all, my Facebook and blog reading list is inundated with photos, blogs and news articles about how horrible formula is and how superior boob milk is, and it's honestly making me feel pretty crappy. I KNOW that formula isn't the best, but what else can I do at this point? I'm such a natural person, I totally anticipated bfeeding for over a year...and that is not possible anymore.

I expect mom's to be proud that they are breastfeeding, it just hurts that I can't. I wish I wasn't affected by opinions and other people, but I am. Especially when it comes to that little 17 lb bundle of joy that I call my son; whom I am happy to say is happier, lovelier and cuter than ever. So, formula may suck, but my kid is happy. All haters can just suck it; a bottle of formula that is. ;)

Hallloooowweeeen

Chris and I don't have any plans for Halloween this year. But if I did, my costume options would be limited to the following fatties:

Do you have fun halloween/costume plans??

"Cry Me a River' ... of embarrasment?

Two days ago, I was in the grocery store, doing my housewifely thang.
When in the meat department, my heart lept - - -

Justin Timberlake's [insert girlish sigh here] 'Cry Me A River' began playing on the store's loud speaker.

Then ---

I scored an amazing 2 for 1 special on Pot Roast!

At this point in the story, my heart was so full with joy, that I couldn't help but begin to shake it!
Oh.my. There's nothing better [in my wifely book] than hearing mah Boi, WHILE scoring cheap meat.

I was flat out doing the happy dance.

At this point in the story is when I notice a man staring at me, smiling, and chuckling.
[I'm sure my pregnant dancing self was a hilarious sight]

I burst into nervous laughter...spun my cart around with impressive force, and ran to the dairy aisle as fast as my legs could carry me....except to pause for a moment at the end of the meat aisle to find my favorite peppery bacon, which was another amazing 2 for 1 deal. And at seeing that, I threw my arms in the air, exclaiming "YESSS!!!" [what can I say, I love myself some cheap meat.] I'm sure he saw me.

le.sigh.

[if you share my love for this boy, then cry me a river]