First Day of Dieting...

And this is how I feel (excuse the foul language but these are strong feelings):

To make up for the F-bomb, here's a vintage pic of Sam.  I can't believe how different he looks now!

The road to becoming THIN! --FAIL (already)

Okay...so I've lost all my pregnancy weight but my clothes still don't fit.  My butt has morphed into this very odd shape and my belly is flabbier than Bill Cosby's jello.  I decided that I would try being more physically active in order to help reshape my arse and tighten my abs.  Jack came home early one day and so I went for a walk.  I walked for 15 minutes and came home and did some ab work using my exercise ball.  Well, the next morning, I literally could not walk!  I had to roll out of bed.  My shins hurt...my abs hurt...my back hurt...my butt muscles hurt.  Really?  One 30 minute workout and I'm out of commission.  Things have got to change NOW.

I decided to try Weight Watchers again on my own.  I begged J to do it with me since it would work better if he wasn't eating what he wants while I snacked on a carrot.  He agreed.  We decided we'd have one last supper of Dominos pizza on Saturday evening.  I spent the rest of the evening planning all of our meals for the week and then we hit the grocery store. 

Today, I woke up to find that J had eaten 4 slices of pizza for breakfast.  Hmmmm...that's not in our WW plan.  Figuring today was a bust, I ate the remaining 3 slices of pizza.  UGH!!!  I'm SO weak.  In fact, I begged J to go and get me some ice cream tonight b/c tonight was definitely my "last hurrah".  (J snickered when I said this.)

Seriously...I'm starting tomorrow!

Here's a pic of dinner tonight.  It was Tuscan chicken from one of my many WW cookbooks.  I paired it with a salad (ignore the big glob of ranch dressing).  Tomorrow will probably be pork and string beans.

Here's Sam's pic of the day:

My boys

J said that instead of calling it a random pic of Sam, I should call it the pic of the day.  I nicely reminded him that this is MY blog and I can call it what I want.  Then he said he might just start his own blog.  Then I said it wouldn't be as funny as mine. Then it went downhill from there...

Today UNC played NCState so J requested that Sam wear one of his UNC onesies.  Here's a pic of my boys...not only did Sam look at the camera but he also waited until I was done before he spit up all over the front of his shirt.

Practicing for school

Once again Sam and I have been working on preparations for medical school.  I explained to him that class participation is a very important part of the learning experience and to always raise his hand when he knows the answer to a question.

He is going to be teacher's pet...I just KNOW it!

Have you lost something recently?

Because I'm pretty sure you can find whatever it is hidden in Sam's cheeks!

Yay for the weekend!!!

You Do Not Meet The Requirements Of The Position

So, J's mom offered to watch Sam a few days a week if I was interested in getting a part-time job.  I thought this would be a great opportunity to get out of the house a few days a week and also bring in some money since we just got all of our MASSIVE hospital bills from having Sam.

Anyway...I completed an online application at Kohls and JCPenney.  The JCPenney application requires you to answer a 50 question skill assessment quiz.  I asked J to help me since he has worked in retail for a gazillion years.  No problemo, right?  I mean, not to sound conceited but I have a college degree and worked in a corporate environment for 8 plus years.  I've done customer service and coached and developed associates. I'm a fast learner and am good at taking direction.  I don't think I'd have a problem working as a "Replenishment Associate". 

J and I answer the questions one by one.  We talk them through.  We made informed choices.  We finally get through all 50.  I click submit and...JCPenney tells me that based on my answers I do NOT meet the requirements of the position.  I failed the test!  I FAILED!  J couldn't stop laughing.  I wanted to drive to the store with my resume and speak to the manager.  JCPenney says I can apply again in 180 days...as if I'd be more qualified at that time.

I'm not holding my breath on a call back from Kohls...

Random pic of Sam:

6 hours!!!

So, we had a breakthrough last night.  Instead of Sam sleeping like this for 45 minutes  (the little brown spots on his back are pistachio shells b/c I like to snack while he's sleeping):

He slept 6 hours on his own last night!  He fell asleep at 10:30 and woke up at 4:30.  When he started grunting this morning, I got up and put him on the changing table.  Here's my convo with J:

Me:  What time is it?
J:  4:30
Me:  What?  4:30????
J:  Yeah...
Me:  (Jumping up and down and clapping!)  Yay, Sam!!!!
J:  (Confused look on face)  What?  Did he poop?
::See how excited we can get about poop?::
Me:  I prayed last night that he would just sleep at least until 2:30 and he slept until 4:30.
J:  Wait...how many times did he wake up last night?
Me:  This is the first time!!!
J:  (slow to catch up)  Nuh-uh!
Me:  Yes!
Sam:  Someone give me my bottle!!!!!  :-)
J:  You have to make sure to do everything the same that you did last night.
Sam:  BOTTLE!!!!

And here Sam is hanging out in his chair:

Dancing it out with Sam

I'm attempting to get Sam used to laying in his crib since he absolutely hates it.  Today I was putting away laundry while he was laying in his crib and then we decided it was time to dance it out.

Here's the video.  Please ignore 2 things:  my horrible singing and my ratty t-shirt.

*Once again, if you're not one of Sam's grandparents, you probably will be bored before it is over.  :-)

New Year's Resolution - FAIL

We're not even out of January yet and I'm failing already at my ONE resolution.  When Jack and I decided to cancel our cable b/c we wanted to save money and also b/c Jack called it the idiot box and we spent way too much time watching it, I decided that I'd take this opportunity to read more.  I made a resolution to read 100 books in 2011.  I got 2 new books for Christmas and thought they'd get me started.

Then I realized that I have a kid.  So I ask Jack what 100 divided by 12 is (because my brain refuses to do any math) and he tells me that it's a little more than 8 books a month.  Hmmm...I'm only on page 29 of my first book and it's the end of January.  So then I ask him what 50 divided by 12 is b/c I'll just adjust my resolution.  He says "a little more than 4, Sandra".  I realize that I may be lucky enough to read 12 books this year unless I count children's books. I've read Good Night Moon and I Love You. Good Night many times this month.  ::sigh::

Once again, since Sam is full of awesomesauce, I will post some random pics of him in this entry.  He's doing much better although I'm not sure that a 2 1/2 month old should be drinking 7oz in one feeding and then another 5oz 2 hours later.  He's a beast!  :-)

Here he is doing his stretches on the changing table after a nap (He does these after EVERY nap.  It is the cutest thing EVER!):

And...just chillin:



Hair Dilemma

Why oh why couldn't Sam have inherited my hair instead of his dad's?  We're still hoping but these pics are not a good sign.

Tales of the Activity Mat

We're still trying to get excited about the activity mat.  I try to get Sam to spend quality time on it daily.  Today we tried tummy time which failed miserably.  Sam can lift his head but when I put him on his tummy, he just face plants.  The difference today is that Sam is spending more time talking to himself instead of crying.  I managed to catch some on video.

Keep in mind that if you are not Harmony, GP, Grammy or Grandpa, you will not find this video interesting.  (Mom, Sam is not crying!)

Here's the crazy tummy time.

Storytime

Since medical school will require a lot of reading, I thought we should start reading early so that Sam is ready.  I'm just not sure he's interested yet.

Here's the two of us reading a book his GP gave him.  I put Sam on the activity mat to practice grabbing and rolling over but he just lays there confused.  I crawled in there with him and read to him.

Bathtime/Bedtime

I'd really like to start some type of bedtime routine for Sam so that he gets used to going to sleep each night at the same time.  We've been trying to loosely follow a schedule of bathtime, story (sometimes) and bottle, then bed.  Sam used to hate bathtime but Jack has figured out a way to make it comfortable for Sam.

He gives Sam the spa treatment.  He runs a hot shower so that the bathroom is nice and steamy warm.  Jack is behind the curtain getting the tub ready.

Then we put Sam in the tub and cover him with warm washcloths.  Then I clean Sam while Jack talks to him and plays with his hands.  Finally we take a warm towel out of the dryer and dry him, lotion is next and then get him dressed in his PJs.

Here I am reading Sam a story.

Here's Jack and Sam playing in front of the bathroom mirror.

Dinner Disaster/Do Over

So, my chicken and dumplings dinner was kind of a disaster.  In fact, I had to throw the whole thing out.  In my defense, there were a couple of reasons why I missed a pretty important part of the recipe.

1.  I overslept b/c Sam didn't wake up until 10:30 so I was rushing to get all the ingredients in the crock pot so that dinner would be ready at a reasonable time.  Sam was screaming the whole time b/c he wanted a bottle.

2.  A couple of the reviewers said that using frozen chicken would be better b/c the chicken would be more moist .

Here's the problem.  You know how raw chicken comes on a little styrofoam tray wrapped in plastic?  You know how on the bottom of the chicken is some kind of plasticy/papery liner?  Well, I guess I didn't remember this and since the chicken was frozen, the liner was frozen to the chicken so I took the styrofoam tray off and dumped the chicken in the crock pot.  6 hours later when I go to stir the whole thing, I notice some papery gunk floating at the top and Ah-ha! I remember that I didn't remove the liner.  Yum!  I throw the whole thing out and need to find something else to make for dinner.  (Jack was really sweet b/c I was so upset and offered to eat it anyway.  Yuck!)

So, in the fridge I have thawed pork chops and carrots.  I have a couple of potatoes and rice in the pantry.  Let's make some pork fried rice, folks!  I use my mom's recipe and if I wasn't a lazy bum, I'd type it all out here so everyone could try to make it but nope...ask my mom if you really want it.

Jack found the camera.  Score!  I guess I should have checked my purse a little better.  (Doh!)  Here's a couple of pics of our delicious do-over.  I put a fried egg on top just like my mom does.

And...here's a pic of Sam just because every blog entry deserves some of his awesomeness.  (with his dad's "yeah, this is some good sh*t" smile)

What's For Dinner?

We are getting a snowstorm today so I will attempt to make the warm and yummy chicken and dumplings in my crockpot.  Here's where I got the recipe:  http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Slow-Cooker-Chicken-and-Dumplings/Detail.aspx?prop31=2

I'd take a picture when it is done tonight but well...you know.

Poop Happens! (Sometimes)

So, I was talking to my Sis-in-law yesterday (shout out to K-dog! - My favorite Mean Girl.) and here's our conversation:

K-dog:  How's Sam doing?
Me:  Good.
K-dog:  Is he pooping?
Me:  Yes!  He pooped on his own twice and it wasn't firm.  It was soft!!!

Really, Sandra?!?!  This is your life?  Getting excited about soft poop like it is a new pair of shoes or something?  I guess until you have a baby that goes days crying because he is so backed up, you'll never know how exciting soft poop is. 

Still can't find our camera.  I'm not worried yet b/c everytime I ask Jack about it, he doesn't seem too concerned so it must be around here somewhere.  Anyway, here are a couple of oldie but goodie pics.

This is what I get when I place Sam on the changing table...(Fun times)

This is what Jack gets when he changes Sam...I swear this kid screams just to torture me b/c he is as calm as can be when he's with his dad.

This is the face Sam now gives me when I try to take his picture. 

And last, a pic of my boys.  This is how Sam looks at his dad when he's holding him.

"Moody Day"

I wanted to do a post yesterday but we really didn't have a good day.  Sam spent any time during the day with me either sleeping, eating and/or crying.  When I say crying, I really mean screaming so hard that the sound literally stops coming out of his mouth.  And he does this for no reason that I can figure out.  So we spent a lot of the day on the couch with me watching episode after episode of Bones on Netflix and Sam alternating between sleeping and crying.  When I finally couldn't take anymore, I called Jack and asked him to come home.  Of course, Jack comes home and Sam immediately falls asleep for him in the carseat for 2 hours!  Grrrr..He was in a much better mood when he woke up until Jack left again in the evening to finish up some work at the office.

On Monday, I bought the book What To Expect The First Year.   I'm thinking that this probably wasn't a good idea b/c I happen to be the paranoid mom who worries that her child will be the one that is behind everyone else.  If the book says that Sam should be doing something by 2 months, I really need him to be doing it already!  So when Sam wakes up from his nap, we start practicing.

Sam should be cooing and saying "Ah-goo" (whatever that is).  However Sam cries more than coo and when I say to him over and over again "Sam, can you say Ah-goo?  Ah-goo?  Come on...Ah-goo?", he just looks at me like I'm crazy and eventually starts you-know-what...yep, crying.

So let's move on then.  The book says that Sam should be attempting to grab things and I should encourage him by getting him to grab small toys that fit in his hand.  So I lay him down on the playmat and dangle little grabby toys (technical term) in his face.  He has more interest in the lamp than the toy though. 

Jack finally makes me quit b/c he feels sorry for Sam and thinks that I've gone completely mom-psycho.  I'll have to do my practicing with Sam during the day when Dad isn't home. :-)

I can't find the camera so no new pics.  I'll just post some of my favorites.  Notice that my favorites are not of Sam crying.

First attempt at a smile:

Thinking hard while sleeping:

And playtime on the activity mat:

Family Pics

First, let me say that since this is my first time blogging, I have no idea what I did to the text on my first entry and 45 minutes later...I still can't fix it.  I'm okay with it if you are.  :-)  My sister is probably rolling her eyes right now b/c I'm so NOT technically savvy and she is like the best ever EVER at computers and stuff.  (Sorry, Drea!)

Anyway...I decided that I wanted a family pic of Jack, Sam and me.  Christmas seemed like the perfect opportunity since there are always a lot of cameras around.  Sam, however, did not seem to think that cooperating would be such an awesome Christmas gift for his mommy.

Here's our first try taken by Jack's sister:

What's Sam looking at?  Oh just the light and fan.  No way anyone/thing is more interesting than the light.

So then, on Christmas, Jack says that he can set the timer on the camera and we can get a family pic.  This gets me excited b/c I may just get the family portrait that I wanted. 

Here was the first try:



Hmmm...seems like Jack forgot to zoom in so you get to see all the clutter on our coffee table.  And Jack says after the pic is taken "you may need to do something with your hair". 

There were many more attempts at the perfect photo and then we thought we finally got it!

But wait...what's that coming out of Sam's mouth?  Oh yeah, that's spit up!  ::Sigh::  We'll get one eventually but we gave up after this.  All I kept think after this was how this could seriously be an entry on Awkward Photos.   

Our first blog!

So...everyone has a blog it seems.  Since Sam only seems to want to nap IN MY ARMS and wakes up immediately when I try to put him in the crib, car seat, swing, bouncy seat or bed, I spend a lot of time on the laptop reading blogs.  Some are DIY blogs or cooking blogs or "mom" blogs.  I started to convince myself that I should have one too.  I mean how hard could it be to write about my life everyday, right?  Hmmmm...the problem is that I spend most of my days on the couch reading blogs (remember?). 



I'm doing it anyway.  If not to just give my parents a way to keep up with what's going on with Sam since they live so far away and I know that it just kills them not to see him.  Now they can log in every day and get an updated pic and maybe he'll be doing something new that I'm able to catch with the camera.  Although lately all he's been doing is crying and that is definitely NOT new.



Here's the most recent pic of Sam.  We tried the Bumbo and it is very obvious from the picture that Sam is not ready.  He just kept looking at me like "Mom, really?  Really????"