Quick Update

Thank you all for your comments and concerns about my sick little one.

Just wanted to let you all that Audrey is doing much better.  She's still a super fuss, but her fever has come down and she's sleeping much better and started eating and drinking a bit.  She does have a slight fever, but it's nothing like it was last week.

I think we are still a few days from a fully healthy little girl, but it looks like we're past the scary stuff.

And...so far her brother has not caught whatever Audrey had.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he escaped it.

Now I'm off to enjoy a relatively boring weekend...

Sick...

Dear Blog,

I started this month with the best intentions.  I had high hopes to rekindle the passion we once shared.  But life happened.  I haven't been working too many hours and I haven't been decluttering like a monkey with an untreated case of OCD.  Instead, this has been the month of sick children. Not a good time for anybody.

For the most part, the sick has been the kind where the kiddos need to be kept home to prevent spreading the germs, but not really worrisome.  Low fevers, coughs, runny noses...the normal stuff of childhood.  It's a lonely, grumpy time, but not really anything to stress about.

But now my little girl is sick, sick.  The kind where you call the doctor in a slight panic and you don't think you're day will include a trip to the ER, but you're not quite sure.  Audrey has been running a high fever...scary high.  Yesterday at the doctor's the ear thermometer read 105.  One hundred and five!  After I said a few unladylike words, the doctor tried to reassure me that ear thermometers aren't linear after 103, meaning that they aren't really accurate in that range.  But that still means we were in the 103 plus range, which isn't any where I want to visit.

Medicine is helping, but she's still running a mild fever with it and spikes high again when each dose is due.  I'm sitting on the edge of my seat right now and it's not a fun ride.

I was given marching orders to take her back to the doctor tomorrow if she's still running a high temp and it's starting to look like that is going to the case.  Hopefully, nothing too exciting happens in the next few days.  I'd really like a nice boring weekend with no news to report.

I do have to say that the month of sick has given me an appreciation for the fact that my kids are generally healthy.  We are more the type to hurt ourselves than get ill. I have a new sympathy for the families that have to deal with the chronic ear infections and constant sick visits.  We usually only visit the doctor a couple of times a year at most and there have been years with no sick visits at all.  I'm not sure what it says about me that I didn't appreciate their good health until it's gone, but I certainly didn't until recently.  

So my beloved blog and bloggy friends, I really do mean to visit more often.  I've just needed in the mommyhood right now.  When I climb out of the trenches I'll be back. 

Love,

Working It

I went through every article of clothing I owe during the great declutter experiment last month.  Turns out I was once a girl who felt the need to own nine sports bras.  Nine!  Seriously, who owes nine sports bras? 

I'm sure this says something about my unsavory laundry habits last decade, but it also undeniably says something about my lifestyle before children.  Rediscovering my collection of work out gear was a  blunt reminder that I haven't even put on put a sport bra in a couple of years.  I walk quite a bit and I've done the occasional push up or sit up, but I haven't really sweated since my daughter was born.

I've never been a big sports person, but I really did enjoy working out.  During my Navy days, I used  to work out side by side with a lot of men. I worked very hard to not embarrass myself with limited success, but eventually something bizarre happened and I started to enjoy the work outs.  I kept hitting the gym even after nobody was forcing me there.

And frankly, I'm not sure I'm swimming in the deepest gene pool around.  My father had a heart attack and passed away a few months short of his 60th birthday and my mother has Parkinson's.  I would like to do what I can to healthy long enough to enjoy any grand babies that might come along.

So all this is a long winded way of saying I rejoined the gym.  I realize that it might be tough to get there as often as I'd like until my daughter heads off to preschool, but two or three times a week is plenty for now.  At least I'll have some use for all those sports bras!

So far I've been there twice...I hope it starts getting easier soon.

A Future Architect?

My daughter has discovered the wonderful world of legos.  She has spent hours this past week building and rebuilding her towers.  My son has gone through a car stage and a  pretty extreme superhero period, but this is Audrey's first real obsession.

It's the first thing she asked about this morning and the last thing she did last night.  She cried when I made her come to the table for dinner and she is never one to pass up food.

She is pretty serious about the whole endeavor.  Her brother got told off pretty impressively when he knocked a tower over.  She scolded him so badly he rebuilt the whole thing to her detailed specifications.

This is apparently what happens when two engineers procreate.

From the Mom of THAT Kid

It’s a clique to say that I was a better parent before I had kids, but that doesn't make it less true.  It’s also true that I was more judgmental towards parents before I had my own wild minions to tame.

Don’t worry, karma came into play.  Parenting my son has been a very humbling experience.  I’m well acquainted with my kid being “THAT kid” and dirty looks from other moms.

Not to imply he’s a terrible kid, because he’s not.  At home he can be a pleasure to be around.  He sits still long enough to do puzzles and crafts.  He’s free with the hugs and kisses and he’s really pretty nice to his little sister. 

But..(and this is a BIG but) he can pretty hard to handle outside our home.  If he’s around a lot of other kids, he morphs into a human ping pong ball and starts bouncing off the walls.  I’ve already gotten several emails from his preschool teacher this year and see a few more in my future.  Basically, my little man is a living embodiment of busy boy stereotypes.  I'm pretty much been chasing him since he started rolling around the house at 5 months.

Becoming a mom was definitely a life lesson.  Baby number two has been eye opening as well.  My daughter is busy and talkative like her brother, but frankly it’s a whole different and much easier game at this point.  Her bad behavior just isn’t even in the same league as my son.  She’s the kind of kid who basically parents herself. 

Please don’t get the impression I’m playing favorites because I’m not. I adore them both.  I’m also pretty sure that they will swap roles at some point.  My daughter is already displaying trace amounts of sassy behaviors that make me slightly dread her teenage years.  Time as also mellowed my son quite a bit.  Botton line, I wouldn’t change either of them for anything in the world because they are both pretty wonderful, if exhausting.  But yeah, disclaimers aside, my son has been more challenging thus far.

I feel a bit like my parenting experience has been like joining the Marines.  I was broken down before I was built back up.  I spent years convinced that my son’s wild behavior and picky eating were my fault.  Then I had my daughter.  I haven’t consciously done anything differently and she magically eats pretty much anything and generally stays out of mischief. 

I definitely cut myself a little more slack these days.  It’s kind of humbling to realize how very little I had to do with my kids personalities beyond the genetics.  I know that nurture matters, but nature is a major role player in the whole thing.  

If I had my daughter first, I think I would be under the delusion that I totally rock at this mothering thing.  I’m not proud of it, but I’m pretty confident that I would have been one of the moms smugly dishing out the dirty looks.  I think it’s a very good thing that my son was my first born.  I still can’t get my son to eat many vegetables, but I feel like I’ve come a lot way on my parenting journey.

I guess what I really want to say is that we should all really think twice before judging another mother.  I can certainly vouch that some kids are just more challenging to raise than others.  So if everything happens to be going perfectly smoothly in your house, be thankful, but don’t be cocky.  You never know what your next baby might be like or even what your child might be like at a later stage. 

How to Fill a Kindle on the Cheap

I’m pretty much obsessed with my new kindle.  There are so many things to love about my kindle, but one of the things I don’t love is paying $10 for an ebook.  Most of them can’t even be lent to a friend so it’s hard to justify buying the ebook when the regular old book is nearly the same price or in some twisted cases, even cheaper. 

So I’ve added a layer to my obsession.  I am now spending way too much time searching for cheap and free books to feed my kindle. Since I’ve now spent more time than I’d like to admit browsing Amazon’s kindle section, I thought I should share what I’ve learned. It helps me justify the wasted time. 

I should also mention that you don’t actually have to have a kindle to take advantage of ebook deals.  You can download a free kindle reading app from Amazon and read on your computer.

This one is kind of a no brainer, but Amazon posts a daily deal for an ebook every day.  It’s never more than $2.99 and often it’s less.  Sometimes it’s an amazing bargain, sometimes not so much.  But if you’re in the hunt for a new ebook, it’s probably with the two seconds to check it out.   

Additionally every month Amazon posts a new selection of 100 books priced $3.99.  It’s a pretty random variety of both fiction and nonfiction.  Here’s the link to February’s books. 

Now for the really juicy stuff – where to find decent books for FREE!  (In good conscience, I must warn you that the following info may be addicting.  I honestly can’t stop myself from downloading free books at this point. ) 

First off, all the classics can be downloaded free.  If you’re a Jane Austen fan or want to reread Treasure Island, you’re in for a treat.  All popular classic are available through Amazon completely free of charge. 

Things get a little bit trickier if you want to download something more current for free, but there are usually some good options available.  One way to find decent free books is to check the free list on Kindle Best Sellers.  Amazon’s 100 top download free ebooks list is updated hourly.  Any really exciting freebies usually show up there pretty quickly. 

You could also check with your local library and see if they have ebooks available.  My library has quite a few books for kindle available.  The downside is that some of the wait lists are long, but it’s definitely a viable way to read best sellers for free. 

My new discovery is that there is a daily discussion in the Kindle Discussions where people list their favorite freebie finds.   I’ve found many an interesting book this way. Here’s the link for today’s discussion – FREE Books - Monday, February 6, 2012    

A couple of hints I’ve learned the hard way.  Some free books are self-published crap.  If you’re worried about wasting time, I’d do a quick Amazon search on an author and see what other books they’ve written.  Most established authors will have other books selling for actual money, but will be offering a freebie or two to lure in new readers. Also, read the reviews if you’re worried about reading something awful.  Also know that some freebies also go away in a hurry.  If you see something you like, go ahead and get it or you risk the price increasing.   

And finally, a quick disclaimer, I make no claims of being a kindle guru.  I’m just having a ton of fun with my new gadget and wanted to share what I’ve found so far. Please let me know (nicely preferably) if I’ve led anybody astray.  I’d love to hear if anybody has any other tricks up their sleeve so please share if you have anything to add.

Happy ebook bargain hunting.

Matching Up

It's funny to me how my husband and I agree on so many of the big, deep issues, but are so very different on the surface.  I probably talk three times as much as he does.  He's ESPN and I'm HGTV.  He's stoic to my silly.  You get the idea.

We do have some areas of overlap, but for the most part our hobbies are separate ventures.  This week sums us up well.  On Tuesday, my husband had a basketball game at 9:30 pm.  He thinks this is fun.  If somebody made me leave the house at 9 to drive 20 minutes to sweat, I'd be pissed. So while he's off point guarding the night away, I'm curled up with a book.

Then last night I had a neighborhood mom meeting.  I talked too much, laughed too loud and had one more glass of wine than wise - which is one of my very favorite ways to pass an evening.  My husband passed the time kicking robotic ass on the playstation. 

I'm not positive, but I suspect we're one of those couples that confuses people.  I don't think we're a pair that people would necessarily put together.

But it works for us.  We see the same big picture even if we don't agree on all the details.

Happy Friday all!