Running in SloMo

Sometimes I feel like I'm in a movie. The character is running but the film is in slow motion. Slow blinks, one foot in front of the other and then BAM the fricken light post. I mean, I'm living. I'm loving staying at home with my buddies, but life just seems to be one big stretch of a running scene in slow motion. I've barely been running!

I try to remind myself, every day, that the kids are only this little once. In a year, Turner's not going to be telling me he's "gonna dit" me, Eli's not going to be nursing and sticking his fingers in my mouth and up my nose. Turner won't be listening to my heart with his Cookie Monster stethoscope or asking "Tan you tiss it?" I will sorely miss these moments...

BUT...

Some days. COME ON!

Wait, I just reminded myself to stop. One day, I'll be rewinding home videos wishing I was looking schleppy and enjoying my babies. Hopefully, Ollie won't be biting my boobs. My hair won't be pinned up and this huge zit won't exist because I was able to wash my face regularly!

Ok, I feel better. I'm in regular motion now.

Whatcha Doin'?

Turner had been playing with this magnifying glass the entire time we were at my parents' house. He was "inbestagating" everything.
I got this shot and asked him what he was doing. Very seriously, he says "I lookeeing for my penis. Ok, Mommy?"

Whew...

This week was CA-RAZY! We had John's Hail & Farewell Saturday. When we got home, I noticed Ollie still felt warm. From there, he had a high fever for three days. Two trips to the urgent care at the hospital at the Naval Air Station and one well baby visit later we still have no idea what happened. I attribute it to Ollie always wanting to keep things fresh. He'll be a great interior designer one day...

The menu this week ended up being that of survival. I am trying to use all the groceries I bought on Sunday but I'm not going to beat myself up. I did end up with $42 in savings. I had a few great coupons...

Tonight is the first night I've not had to nurse Ollie for hours on end. Holy molars and mystery illness!

Grocery Goods

This week's savings at Publix: $45.37. I was pretty excited about that.

$5.50 in vendor coupons, $4.00 in store coupons (actually, they were Food Lion coupons -one included $2 off a purchace of $5 or more in produce!), $34.78 in advertised special savings and $1.09 in advantage savings.

My greatest purchaces this time around: B1G1 Olive Oil and $1.99 Contessa Meals (for John this week)! The best was the deal on jars of Earth's Best Organic baby food. I make all of Ollie's food, but I picked up a few "just in case" jars. I found a $1 off 10 jars coupon from the Earth's Best site, then I had a $1 off 6 jars from Food Lion. It was B1G1 so the total for 10 jars was about $3.40!


*NOTES*

Last week's cilantro/lime/beer chicken was the best chicken I've ever made! Here's the "recipe."
whole chicken, cleaned, patted dry
1/2 stick butter, softened
beer
handful cilantro
cumin
paprika
garlic
s & P
red potatoes cut in to quarters


In a glass pan (or roasting pan if you're special), toss in potatoes and whatever else you decide must go in.
In a bowl, combine butter, cilantro, cumin, paprika, garlic. Rub S & P all over outside of chicken. Cut tiny holes (two on breast side, two on back side) in the chicken skin. Shove your fingers in there...lovely...and separate the skin from the muscle. Put some of the butter mixture under the skin and massage until you use it all up. I wipe my hands all over the outside of the chicken when I'm done. Gives the skin some goodness. Oh! and toss some of that beer in the pan.

Menu Saturday

I'm tired. So tired.

Saturday:
Garlic/lemon/wine roasted chicken (69 cents/lb) with asparagus and red potatoes. The plan is to process the herbs and place under the skin -using as little extra added fat as possible. I was going to stop doing this whole roasted chicken thing but it's so easy...

Sunday (duty day):
Cheesy Chicken & Mushroom Lasagna -probably adding spinach since I have a bag and like green stuff

Monday:
Spring Soup (recipe to follow if it all works out!)
Ingredient Ideas: leeks, peas, asparagus (1/2 the bunch from Saturday), stock from scratch, bits o' chicken, carrots, Arborio rice, herbs

Tuesday:
Veggie Pizza John picked up from Fresh Market

Wednesday - Friday: taking the kiddos down to LOL for Grandma's 87th birthday

Baby/Toddler Food:
ORGANIC carrots; apples; root veggies (carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes); green beans
Turner's Meatballs

Trying CVSing this weekend. Finally. I've really wanted to see what I can get with the extra care bucks since I got my card in. Hopefully, I don't flake out!

Um, Hello Iced COFFEE!

THIS rocks!

The End is Near

The end of my rope, that is. I'm getting there. Eli can't nap on his own. My hips and back are killing me from wearing him all the time. I'm really happy my body has finally gotten used to the lack of sleep. That helps with day to day functioning.

I understand his needing me at night. I don't mind now that he actually sleeps from 7:30-8 until 12 or sometimes later. Four hours or more to myself. I go and get him, bring him to our bed and pray that he just nurses and sleeps until day break. Most of the time, it's peaceful. This isn't the problem.

Nap times are turning in to nightmares. Around 9am he's sleepy. He can fight all day, but he's sleepy. I wear him for about a 45 minute nap from 9-9:45. I've tried putting him down and he cries in his crib. It's out of desperation. I'm there. He cried for about an hour for over 7 days in a row. I went in and got him. Nursed, comforted, etc. Around noon, we did the same thing again. Seven days in a row. So, without any naps, he trudged on.

Finally, I would make John take Eli and Turner out for a stroller walk. All of Eli's crying got Turner all cranky. After a week or more of craziness. I finally decided to just working on separating at night. Ollie goes down okay now. I mean, he still wines. There is no crying. It's just all out yelling at me. If you go in 45 minutes after it all started there's not a tear to be found. He just yells at me. Angrily.

John's back to work, so there's no break. I am just at a loss. It's absolutely ridiculous that he can't nap on his own. I truly believe you have to teach them these things. Obviously, I have failed. I just had such horrible PPD with Turner, I thought with Eli I'll just gobble every second up. In doing that, we never put him down. Not for a second. Well, crap.

Eli needs the sleep. He's so busy. He's tired in the morning around 9-10 then, again, around 12-1. If he didn't get a great nap -which is not unusual- he needs another 45 minutes in the evening. I've tried putting him down at different times, in a dark room, with normal living room noise. He just flat out refuses napping on his own. What the hell do I do when my back gives out? I have no idea where I'm going with this. I'm just so frustrated. John is a great support at night, but he's just as clueless as I am. Well, he thinks it'd be a great idea to just put Ollie down and let him yell to sleep for a nap. I'm not opposed to the yelling. It does not bother me anymore. No one understands when I say, "HE WON'T FALL ASLEEP IN HIS CRIB DURING THE DAY. PERIOD." He would rather be miserable than abdicate his position on this issue. I love the willfulness, but, damn I'm tired.

Even worse than being tired: Turner is super bored! I feel horrible. He's constantly trying to get my attention when Eli is in the mei tai. It's heart-breaking when he says "Fawn (c'mon) Mommy, pay wif me in my woom. Come sit." I can sit sweetie. If your brother wakes up right now he's going to be a wreck.

Oh, and Eli's decided it's high time he started walking...a little