Lesser of two evils

Today's Cereal: None-- PopTart on the fly. Too busy cleaning up bodily fluids.

Is it better to catch the barf in your hands, or clean it up off of the carpet?

Post-Christmas report

Today's cereal: I've been too damn busy cleaning up Christmas crap and playing with my blog to eat any cereal. I did have a couple of caramels, though, so my most important meal of the day was covered.

So, my brother and sister-in-law got a new digital camera and they gave their old one to me. This is probably my favorite Christmas present, even though it wasn't really a present. Bryan doesn't realize it, but he could have tied a bow on it and saved himself some money buying the other present he gave me. (But the other present he got in Disneyland, so I'm awful glad he gave it to me. I am hoping that some "disney germs" get on me- thus enabling me to fly when I think happy thoughts. Ah, Disneyland, how I miss you.) I went a little nuts with my new camera, hence the photo-heavy post today.

We got The Boy some Thomas the Tank Engine trains, and had them all set up on a track for when he came out to see what Santa brought him (even though he was a-scared poopless of Santa). Here is his first look at his train set.

We spent a small bundle on presents for Aiden, but we could have gotten by with just the $14 Walmart train set. All he wanted to do was play with that, and he wouldn't open any other presents until we half-opened them for him so he could see what was inside. Once he caught a glimpse he would open the next one, but after he got it opened all he wanted was to play with that toy. It was the longest Christmas morning on record.

I think The Hubby had as much fun with the trains as The Boy did. What is it about trains that makes males go ape-poo-poo?

Robin was just adorable, although it was really pointless getting her anything. Or at least, it was pointless to wrap anything, since I ended up opening everything for her. She seems to like her new toys--almost as much as Aiden likes her new toys. He freaks out and screams "Mine!" everytime he sees her playing with them. (When he isn't busy with Gordon or Percy, that is. Have you ever heard a two-year-old say, "Chugga, chugga, whoo! Whoo!" Dammit that is cute.)

Thank you everyone for all of my neat-o presents!
Love and hickies and stuff,
Beck

Happy Birthday, Boy!

Today's Cereal: Life

Last Friday was Aiden's birthday. Since he has a funny little obsession for lights, we took him downtown to see the Christmas Lights at Temple Square. And since he is similarly obsessed with trains, we rode the Trax to get there. Aside from the bum-chilling cold, a good time was had by all.

Afterwards we went home for cake & ice cream with the grandparents. My mom is so friggin' awesome. She made the coolest cake for the Boy that looked like a road with trucks on it.

Yep, you guessed it, The Boy loves trucks, too. Deisels, garbage trucks, dump trucks, probably monster trucks. When he was a baby I refused to dress him in clothes that had construction vehicles on them. Now what does he love best? I should have refused to dress him in anything with U2 on it; then maybe he would love Bono as much as me. (Speaking of Bono, we went to the U2 concert on Saturday. But that is fodder for another blog post.)


Happy Birthday, my Boy. You've taught me more in the last two years than even you have learned with that amazing tape recorder mind of yours. I've never felt so much love before. I've never practiced so much patience before. I've never touched so much poop before. And I never thought I could be as happy as I am when you yell out, "Mama!"

Real Women

Today's Cereal: Rice Chex

I woke up this morning with a big ol' zit on my chin. Because I'm terribly vain, it really upset me. I don't know why it was so traumatic, especially since Lil' Becky (my zit's name-- yes, it's big enough to name) matches the one I got right between my eyes yesterday, and the one on my forehead the day before, and-- well, the last week or so I've broken out like I work at McDonalds. What is up with that? I'm almost 30 for pete's sake.

So Lil' Becky really had me bummed out this morning, and I think it's because I've been pretty down on myself lately. I've been feeling crappy about all the loose skin and flabby muscles sagging around my "babymaker", and I really, really need a haircut because I look like Ashton Kutcher in That 70's Show. I'm serious. Here is a picture of me today:
(Did you notice how I painted out his adam's apple? I'm so cool.)

Anyways,I've been feeling frustrated because I don't look like, oh, say Angelina Jolie, who is hott hott hott! Why can't I be hott (with two t's)? But then I stumbled across a website this morning, and I want to shout it's address from the rooftops for all the women to hear. Check it out. (Alert! Alert! Skimpy swimsuits and provacative poses! Consider yourself warned.)

Photo retouching. Go fig. I knew it existed, but I assumed a retouched photo would look like those cheesy BatBoy pictures on the front of the Enquirer. (Or like my "Picture of Me", above.) Not so! You can't tell who's photo has been retouched! So now I know that when I see Hott!Beyonce on the cover of Cosmo, she doesn't REALLY look like that in real life. Chances are, she's a real woman.

Real women have back fat. Real women have saggy boobs and butts. Real women are thicker around the middle than magazine covers would have you believe! Real women have bags under their eyes and moles and cellulite and short eyelashes and thin, lifeless hair... Real women can accept the stretch marks as an inevitable part of being Mommy, or of just being curvy. Real women work hard to be recognized for something other than how hott they are.

I guess I can live with Lil' Becky. Consider it a mark of a real woman.

Put a hold on those funeral potatoes...

Today's Cereal: Skipped breakfast! How unlike me.
Current Mood: Bored

So, The Boy almost died this weekened. Not really, but Kitt & I were a-scared that he was going to. Especially Kitt-- he had to see most of it while I was home with The Wee One.

Let me start over.

Friday afternoon, just before his nap, I noticed Aiden coughing. That dry cough--you know the one-- that sounds like a seal barking. It got worse and worse through the rest of the day, and by evening he was running a fever. OF COURSE my kid only gets sick on weekends and holidays! We thought he'd be okay, so we didn't take him to the Urgent Care that night. But everytime he coughed, one of us would run in there to make sure he was okay. It was obvious his throat really, really hurt, because everytime he coughed he woke up and started crying. He was miserable. WE were miserable. Saturday morning he started coughing again, and this time I noticed he was a little blue around the lips. And I watched his little chest sink in SO FAR trying to take in air! He looked like a little fish out of water. Let me tell you, it was pretty scary and really heartbreaking to watch your child not being able to breathe. The worst part was, there was nothing I could do! He started throwing a tantrum because he couldn't breathe (such a two-year-old!), and that only made it worse. I freaked out, and Kitt ran him over to the Urgent Care.

Three hours later I still hadn't heard anything. I was starting to think that maybe he had been sent over to the hospital or something. In my mommy-panic, I called the Urgent Care office and asked if my husband and child were still there. The receptionist wouldn't tell me anything other than the doctors had been moving pretty slow that day. So then I was imagining Kitt sitting in a crowded waiting room with tons of other sick people, while Aiden gasped for breath. And I kept thinking about how it was way past his lunchtime and way past his naptime, and he hadn't eaten anyting all day, and how he was probably being horrible (assuming he was still alive) and Kitt was having to deal with this. I made up my mind, packed a little lunch for My Boy, grabbed The Girlie, and headed to the office to see for myself.

I was surprised to find only one other person in the waiting room. The receptionist called to the back, and pretty soon a doctor came to fetch me. He started talking to me about all the things they had done to Aiden that morning, and none of it made any sense to me because it was all medical crap, and I was still in panic mode. He took me to a room and there was Kitt, looking miserable, and The Boy, looking more miserable.

It turns out he had croup. You parents out there who've dealt with this are probably saying, "well duh!" But it was pretty bad. They had to give him oxygen, and then they gave him some pretty kick-A steroids to stop the inflammation in his throat and lungs. And THEN they had to watch him to see how he reacted. He did okay for a while, but he relapsed and his oxygen levels dropped even lower than they were before. It was at this point they were considering sending him to Primary Children's Hospital. So my worries weren't that far off! But they dosed him up again with more steroids, and he did better after that. By the time I got there, they were just watching him again. He ate his little lunch--I was so glad I brought it!--and a little while later he was pronounced okay. And we went home.

At 8:00 that night Kitt took him back because he was having trouble again. They went through the whole routine again, but he responded well and he was able to come home in just a little while.

Monday morning we took The Boy in to our regualr doctor to follow up, like they told us to at the Urgent Care office. The Dr. listened to his lungs and said it sounded like he was getting better; but The Boy was being terrible and ornery and whiny. Dr. P. said, "This isn't like Aiden! There's really something wrong with this kid." So he checked him out all over, trying to see if he had an ear infection that had been missed, or something. But he was fine! I mentioned that he had cut a molar recently, and asked if that could be affecting him. The Dr. just laughed, and said that if he's cut one, another one is on the way. He watched him throw another tantrum, and said, "Yep! That's a molar alright." So I feel really stupid because we hauled our kid into the dr. and dropped a $20 co-pay to find out he was teething! Duh! But I was glad to know that he was not in danger of having another croup episode, and everything else was okay. He's been pretty ornery since, but at least we know why now. (Duh! So stupid!)

Tomorrow is Aiden's birthday, and we are going to take the Trax (Aiden loves trains!) downtown to see the lights at Temple Square (Aiden is fascinated by Christmas lights!). Just the three of us. I hope he will feel special and happy and loved. My sweet little guy! I'm glad he didn't die.

100 things, Part 2

Today's Cereal: Special K
Current Mood: Alright!

Okay, shut up already. I'm doing it NOW, Alright? Sheesh.

51. Most days I feel like I have a love/hate relationship with my toddler. Why won't he listen to me? He won't even look at me when I call his name. It's maddening. And how can he be so incredibly cute at the same time? Like when he calls pomegranates "mama-granets". Talk about melt your heart. But then there is the whining...And then his laugh. And he is so smart. But the tantrums! Argh!

52. I worry a lot about what I would do if the house caught on fire.

53. I'd rather lie to you than hurt your feelings.

54. Similarly, I'll go to the ends of the earth to avoid confrontation. If I'm confronting you about something, you know you have MORE than pissed me off.

55. I've just been given the job of teaching the teenage girls at my church. I NEVER wanted that job because I think teenagers are stupid and I have no patience for stupid. I'm not minding it so much, though! I hope I haven't spoken too soon...

56. I love all things Gummi. (Except those gummi bugs with liquid centers...)

57. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.

58. I like to be rewarded for good things I have done. Candy is usually enough of a reward.

59. The character traits I admire LEAST are impatience and selfishness.

60. The character traits I admire MOST are kindness and hard-workingness. (I know, that's not a word. How about 'industriousness'? The opposite of lazy.)

61. I feel like I am a really bad judge of character. I am no longer surprised that my first impressions are wrong.

62. I'm learning to heavily rely on "gut-feelings". I am finding they are rarely wrong.

63. My favorite color is Electric Blue.

64. I have hypothyroidism. And I am militant about getting it checked out every year. Mostly because I don't want the weight gain that often comes with it.

65. If we have another girl baby (not anytime soon! Don't worry!) I'm going to name her Leah. Leah Kapri.

66. I've been spelunking (sp?) once. It was terrifying and exhilarating. Once is enough for my lifetime.

67. I never bite my nails. I take great pride in having pretty hands.

68. I can't go without lotion.

69. I have a hard time saying what I want. I wish more people could read my mind.

70. I hate being taken advantage of. It happens frequently, though, because I don't speak up.

71. I like black licorice.

72. I like to watch American Idol.

73. I love seeing movies in the theatre.

74. At different times in my life I have wanted to be a veterinarian, a horticulturist, a geologist, and a travel agent- among other things.

75. I have absolutely NO ambition. I was fairly happy being just a secretary.


Okay, looks like there will have to be a part three as the baby is demanding attention. Same bat-channel, eh?

I thought of two more addictions...

Well, three more actually.

9. Girl Scout Cookies. Damn those girl scouts! And Dammit, why aren't they available year- round?
10. Del Taco
11. Root Beer. How random is that? I can't get enough root beer.

Hi, My name is Beck and I'm an addict.

Today's Cereal: Multi-grain Cheerios
Current Mood: Lazy

HO. LY. CRAP.

Carly clued me in to this article. I'm well on my way there. Seriously. I might even need an intervention soon, guys.

I liked Carly's list today, so I am copying her. Out of love.

Top 10 things I am addicted to:
1. The Internet
2. Cereal for breakfast
3. Candy
4. Beads
5. This blog
6. Genealogy
7. Harry Potter Fan-fiction. I know! I'm sorry. Especially this author.
8. Calling and bugging my husband at work all day.

I can't think of anymore right now, so I guess it's my top 8. Maybe my husband will tell me two more things I am addicted to (that I wasn't even aware of) next time I call and bug him.

Peace out, bee-yotches.

Quick one so you know I'm still alive

Today's Cereal: Cran-Vanilla Crunch
Current Mood: Angry, isolated, irritable, annoyed.


What kind of animal are you?

You Are A: Mouse!

Some people are scared of mice while others find them cute and cuddly. As a mouse, you forage for food and manage to sneak into everything, but prefer to stay out of sight. The phrase "quiet as a mouse" isn't for nothing, however surprise one and expect a squeak! Your small size and quiet nature are partly what makes you a mouse.

You were almost a: Duckling or a Chipmunk
You are least like a: Puppy or a SquirrelTake the Cute Animal Quiz