Bullet point Friday

I wanted to write a Whatnot Wednesday (on Thursday) but since that sort of defeats the point and I don't have the motivation to write anything more substantial, I will write a Bullet point Friday, instead.

• I have yet to take down Mia's pack 'n play in my office. It's behind a closet door, along with the extra exersaucer, so it isn't bothering anyone, but still. It should be at home, in a closet, rather than at work, in a closet. Part of me thinks that I might be needing it again. She's bound to get sick again pretty soon, and I may not be able to take a sick day! Mostly though, I'm just being lazy. Those portable cribs are so heavy, and my office is on the second floor. I keep trying to convince B to drive over and pick it up on one of his days off, but so far, nada.
• Speaking of my new office, the lighting throughout the entire space is hooked up to those motion sensor switches, where you walk into a room and the light turns on. This is fine, for most of the space, except my personal office. I sit at my desk and work on my computer, I'm not constantly getting up and moving around. So the light turns off. All the time. In the morning, when the sun is on my side of the building, it's fine. But in the afternoons, I look like a crazy person periodically waving my arms around.
• I had a momentary period of drama on Tuesday afternoon when B called me from work (he never calls from work) and asked how difficult it would be to change his departing flight to Chicago. Something about a scheduling conflict and his manager begging him to stay for at least part of the day, despite previously approving his day off request. After very nearly losing my mind at the prospect of carrying a car seat, stroller, baby and carry on luggage throughout the airport, entertaining a baby by myself for four hours and then collecting the car seat, stroller and luggage on my own, it turned out fine and we didn't have to make any switches. So everything's on schedule, despite prompting some concern from my co-workers when I was yelling at him on the phone.
• Last Friday, when I picked Mia up from daycare, I found an "art project" that had Mia's name on it in her backpack. My first instinct was that the teacher accidentally put someone else's art project in her bag, so I double checked. "No, that's definitely your Mia's!", the teacher informed me with a smile. It's a bunch of cotton balls, dipped in paint, and glued to a piece of green construction paper. I believe that she dunked cotton balls in paint, but beyond that, I'm skeptical. We put it up on the fridge anyway, because, well, what if our baby is actually a genius?
• Mia turns 11 months next week, and our biggest development is... drum roll please... she's finally growing a tooth! Everyone has been quite concerned that because both of her parents are missing their upper lateral incisors (both B and I had them as baby teeth, but the adult version never came. Mine are just... missing and I wore braces to close the gap, and B's baby teeth never fell out, so he's got tiny lateral incisors), Mia may not have teeth at all. But, all is well, as her little right bottom tooth is poking through, and the second one is closely following it. She has yet to let me take a picture of it, though.
• Chloe the Beagle is doing fine. No better, no worse. We've made the commitment to taking her out as often as possible, whenever we're around. She goes out as soon as I get home, for her evening walk, and once more immediately before bed. We had to add the extra walk at the very end of the night because she had taken to urinating in her crate as we were all settling into bed, which is easily avoided by snapping her leash on and walking down the stairs in our PJs. No big deal, and it saves huge amounts of frustration (and laundry).
• I've been saving my thoughts on daycare for a longer post, and I'll probably still do it, but so far, I'm pretty happy with everything. Except for our unpleasant weekend, Mia's been doing beautifully and seems to be adjusting well. B is supposed to do all the pickups and drop offs since he's so close, but I end up going to pick her up about half the time, despite the extra driving. I hate thinking of her being there when I'm perfectly capable of driving the extra 15 minutes. I like to come into the center and see her busily playing with one thing or another, it makes me feel much better about what she's up to all day. B says that I'm "wasting gas", but whatever. I drive a hybrid!

Whatnot Wednesday #4

Yes, I know it's been a while, but Juliet is back.  I haven't blogged in quite a long time and that's for two reasons: 1) We just returned from our first ever official family vacation!  We traveled "home" (my home that is, not Romeo's since he's a Las Vegas/Southern Cali native) to the Chicago suburbs.  We also rented a car and went down to Decatur, IL where I went to college.  2) I've been really totally hella' depressed.  FIL is really getting to me, yes, but on top of that I just feel...all around bad.  And I haven't been up to sitting and writing.  But I figured a Whatnot Wednesday would be the perfect opportunity to at least say "Hello" again and write a couple short things, if only to get me back in the saddle.

Side note: I am promising you and myself to not put anything negative in my following "flushing" of thoughts.  You all don't deserve to hear rough stuff *every* time I blog, lol, I'm not negative every time, am I?  Hope not.  Plus, I just don't want to focus on FIL and stuff like that this time around.  I'd like to look at the bright side for at least the next 20 minutes.

• I got a new phone.  Actually, I've gotten two new phones in the last 3 weeks.  My cell went "kaputz" around New Year's, but Romeo and I refuse to re-sign with Sprint.  So we waited as long as we could, until I couldn't stand it anymore, and bought me a no-contract phone with Virgin Mobile.  We still have to pay Sprint until the end of May, but enough is enough.  Luckily our tax refund gave us enough to cover paying two bills for a couple of months.  Then when we cancel my Sprint May 29th (not like I'm counting down days or anything, lol), we can just pay my Virgin Mobile, and change Romeo's sprint bill to a plan with minimal minutes and minimal texts seeing he doesn't really do much.  He's got 1 more year then hopefully we can be rid of Sprint for good.  It's not that we have a problem with their service.  Their call reception is great and everything, but their prices are way too high for what we need/want.  But, anyway, the first model I bought was crappy, so we had to go back to the store last night and stay on Virgin but get a different model phone.  Fingers crossed that this one will do all I want it to do.  Hey, I'm just excited to be an official member of the 21st century with a smart phone!
• Tybalt starting doing the cutest thing ever on vacation!  It's probably not unheard of, but he's never done it before.  We were out to eat and because the wait took FOREVER he lost patience and was utterly "done" by the time we sat down.  All he wanted to do was sit in Romeo or my lap.  So Romeo took the first turn while I ate, and then I took him while Romeo ate.  Well, while I was holding him, I tried to feed him a piece of chicken tender.  He refused.  But a few seconds later, he picked it up, and raised it up to my mouth to feed me!  He wanted to feed me over and over again.  It was so cute!  I mean, A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E!  Taking care of Mommy like that.  And he did it another time with Daddy a day or two later.
• No new news on the "Incident" aka shooting through my neighbors wall a couple weeks ago.  I have noticed that the apartment complex has patched and painted their wall.  And they re-coded the gates at the entrance and promptly shut them at 5:30pm everyday.
• My birthday was March 24.  It was fabulous!  Romeo's cousin was in town who is a good friend of mine now.  We went out to lunch with her as a family (Romeo, Me, Tybalt, and Cousin L.).  Then Tybalt went to MIL and FIL for an overnight while Romeo and I checked into a local hotel (they upgraded us to a huge suite!), went to a seafood buffet for dinner, and saw Penn and Teller's magic show at the Rio.  We actually went to their show on my first birthday together, so it was neat to do it again together 5 years later.
• Romeo's birthday is this Sunday, the 22nd.  I am taking him to a surprise dinner on Saturday night while Tybalt once again has a sleepover with MIL and FIL.  (I may not care for FIL, but I am grateful for how much they love Tybalt and are always willing and DESIRE to babysit him.)  One thing--is my husband the only one who never asks for anything fun or exciting for his birthday?  He wants an itunes card.  That's it.  And the years I've tried to be creative and get him something more fun, he doesn't use it or appreciate it.  Oh, he'll be nice and put on a happy face, but I've learned over the years.  So I've basically given up and just get him exactly what he wants, fun or not.  But man, it sure takes the excitement out of shopping.

Ah, what a refreshing feeling!  My brain has been cleaned out a bit!  Interested in participating in Whatnot Wednesdays yourself?  Follow the hyperlink button at the top of this entry to link to Elizabeth at "Every Day the Wonderful Happens" and find out more!

What not Wednesday: Frenchie Edition

Well, I have been having some bloggers block recently. I have four different posts started in Word, and I have yet to like or finish any of them. So, I figured I would give whatnot wednesdays my first shot. [it is wednesday, right?]

• Happy Leap Day! I think it's supposed to bring you luck, right? So I'm sending out two job applications today. One back in Chicago, which would be awesome, and one in the UK which I am qualified for according to the job description, but I mostly sent in my application for the LOLs. The job in Chicago's job description fit me to a T, and writing about it makes me nervous because I feel like I'm going to jinx it, but I figure leap day will counteract jinxes. And, I haven't written about any other job that I've applied to and that hasn't made any difference, so... who cares?
• It's T-8 days until my long LA weekend. I've mentioned this trip before, but it's for one of my high school BFFs - we were a very tight group of five and all five of us are making the trip out to California. I have been friends with her since we were 14 years old, and I'm so excited to celebrate with her next weekend, and in May at her wedding. We're staying at a condo on Venice Beach and going to some wine tastings in Malibu. And, the kicker is that this will be my first time away from my family since we became three. I spent one night away from Mia-boo when we went to Paris, but this time, she'll be spending the weekend with her Papa. B is pretty nervous and I can only imagine his terrified face when I drive off into the sunrise on Friday morning, but everything will go well, of course. As for me, we'll see how I handle myself being away from my little munchkin, with whom I manage to spend 24 hours a day with since my Mom went back to China.
• I'm thinking about covering up a tattoo that I got of a little chili pepper on my shoulder blade when I was 18. I have no idea why I went with a chili pepper, but I liked it at the time and throughout college. Now, ten years later, it's faded and no longer cute. I've been thinking about getting Mia's initials (MJC) in a scrolly-monogrammy letters to cover it up.  I hesitate for a couple of reasons. 1) B doesn't like tattos. I have two, and I don't think that covering one up counts as a third, so he should be fine with it. 2) If I have another baby at somepoint down the line, I'll kind of have to get that one's initials tattoed, right? And I don't particularly want another tattoo. I just want to replace this one that I no longer like.
• I've been knitting. A lot. In the past month, I've made a cable sweater (I finished the one I had initially written about a while ago), and two little blouses for Mia. Right now, I'm making another little summer top out of a beautiful cotton yarn. I think about making clothes for other people's children too, but I don't know that they would like that. Would you like it if someone gave you some handmade clothing for your child? Below is one of the blouses, that looks more like a vest, and the other is a close up of the stich I am currently working on.

•  We've made some progress on the whole sleeping front. We've continued the Ferber method to put her to sleep, but if she wakes up in the middle of the night, we've taken to sitting in her room and singing to her until she falls asleep. We used to pick her up and just plop her down in our bed. Lazy parenting = bad sleep habits. Last night, she actually slept from 8:30pm - 7:00am. It was amazing, and I work up at 6:30 wondering what the eff happened to me. Nothing, apparently.
• B and I have been watching Mad Men. We had initially tried the first season last year, when we first arrived in Las Vegas. When we moved here, we had a terrible experience with our movers, and our stuff didn't get to our apartment until we had already been there five days. We went to Target and bought the first season of Mad Men on DVD to watch and pass the time. We both disliked it. A lot. We picked it up again on Netflix, and whether it had something to do with the circumstances, or the first season just wasn't that good, we like it now. A lot. We're just starting season three, and hopefully we'll be able to catch up.
• In addition to the knitting, B and I have turned very domestic as of late. It's a good thing, really. We've been keeping up with the dishes, the cooking, the laundry, and everything else. This may not seem like much to all of you put together people out there, but this is a big accomplishment for us.
• Lastly, I'm giving the whole low-carb thing another go. After a memorable meal of Five Guys for dinner, I've had an egg and mushroom scramble for breakfast and a shrimp salad for lunch. I'm heading to the grocery store on the way home and making a turkey chili. Yums.
• And also, this:



 Need to clear your head? Write your own Whatnot Wednesday post and link up below so that we can all see the randomness that fell out when you rinsed your brain.

Whatnot Wednesday #2

Not much to talk about today, but I promised a "Whatnot Wednesday," so I'll take a deep breath and see what comes out...

• Tybalt is sick.  Sick babies/toddlers suck.  Period.  He HATES having his nose wiped, with a passion.  And right now he needs it wiped about every 10 minutes.  On top of that, he has an eye infection and needs eye drops.  1 drop in each eye, 4 times a day.  The first day he had no clue what he was in for, and so because of that it was actually much easier than I expected.  Since then?  For crying out loud!  The kid squeezes his eyes shut so hard that when I try to pry his lids open they flip inside out.  It's gross, makes me feel mean, frustrates me, etc., all at once.  And can I ask, why are Moms the ones just EXPECTED to give the medicine?  For all of Romeo's good qualities, on this one he doesn't even offer or try.  Tybalt's been sick more than once and every single time I'm the "pharmacy."
• I'm still sick.  Ugh.  Taking my meds, so shouldn't be contagious anymore, but still don't feel well.
• I'm reading a "new" book right now.  I wish I could just curl up in bed, start reading, and not stop until it's done.  It's the first in a series that Romeo and his roommate discovered in college--this one is called "Big Secrets" by William Poundstone.  There is also "Bigger Secrets" and "Biggest Secrets."  It's really interesting; all about trade secrets.  Like the first section of chapters is on highly classified recipes such as KFC, Coca-cola, etc.  Now I'm in the "Money" section that reveals how money is pressed, what secret messages are printed on it, and such.  There are upcoming sections on popular magic tricks, hidden messages in music (i.e. records due to when the book was written) and other neat things.  The book was written in 1983 which also provides some chuckles because not all the products are still available, or like I can't compare the U.S. currency as it describes it because there have been quite a few revisions since then.  But it's still a very good read.
• I do believe I'm addicted to Macaroni and Cheese.  Specifically Kraft.  I hate myself for it, because it's steering me WAY off my diet, but in the last few weeks I've had it at least once a week, and the last 3 days I've had it every day.  Do I get a pass because I'm sick and/or dealing with a fussy sick kid?  I hope... but I doubt.
• Side note--the best version of Kraft Mac'n'Cheese hands down is any of the "shape" versions, like Disney Cars or Sponge Bob Square Pants.  I don't care which shape version I buy, but the shapes both sauce and noodle consistency is much better than the plain old stuff.  Runner up is "spirals."  No matter what, Kraft is the best.  Only in a pinch will I do store brand, I have learned during this kick.  I bought it once a couple weeks ago for the price difference--not worth it.  Now mind you, this is just comparing the box make-at-home stuff.  Country Crock pre-made tubs in the refrigerated section are in a different class all to themselves (though I still think Kraft "shapes" win with an ever so slight margin, but it's like comparing apples to oranges) and of course I'm not even going to get into restaurant Macaroni and Cheese.  Any food that I don't have to make myself probably wins no matter what, simply for that fact, lol.

Sigh, it's time to be done when I'm assessing carbs so strictly.

"See" ya later.

Ah, what a refreshing feeling!  My brain has been cleaned out a bit!  Interested in participating in "Whatnot Wednesdays" yourself?  Follow the hyperlink button at the top of this entry to link to E at her blog "Every Day The Wonderful Happens," and find out more!

Whatnot Wednesday #1

Well, it's here!  I'd like to make a big announcement: Whatnot Wednesdays are beginning here on "Mommy and the Sin City!"  This is an idea and trend that is the brain child of the author (we'll call her "E") of the blog "Every Day The Wonderful Happens" and Frenchie and I are excited to take part.  I encourage you to become familiar with this author's entertaining blog about life and motherhood.  I promise you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll get sucked in!  Cross my heart, hope to die, never tell a single lie!  But for now, do me a favor, and at the very least follow the hyperlink I've included with her blog title, or click on the button above, and read some of her weekly "Whatnot Wednesday" entries.

The idea is exactly as she describes: it's "like a neti pot for your brain."  In fact, it is very much my PREFERRED style of writing.  (I don't do it often, because many times my OCD overtakes me and I proof-read EVERYTHING and thus what could be a 15 minute blog post session turns into an hour and a half--sadly, I'm not kidding.  It's often why I go days or weeks without writing-- because I over-analyze everything I write!  But with these Wednesday posts I'm going to try to let myself breathe.)  In Whatnot Wednesday posts not everything is in "perfect paragraph form."  Not every point transitions perfectly into the next.  Not everything has a backstory, or further explanation.  Why?  Because it's not about any of that.  Rather it's about writing what's been bubbling up to the top of your brain.  Letting your fingers graze the keys and see what is transposed by them.  Allowing yourself to just write/talk/get "it" out.

So, here goes, my very first Whatnot Wednesday!

• Tybalt is walking.  Finally.  Man, Romeo and I have been worried.  The pediatricians (his original and the new one we don't like and so are finding yet another new one to replace) have said he should be walking by 13 months.  Now at almost 17 months he is finally, albeit gingerly and tentatively, walking. He started taking a few steps on New Year's Day, stopped for a week or so, but is now crossing our small living room.  He doesn't walk in any other room or any one else's house, but hey, it's a start.
• I'm watching QVC's "In the Kitchen With David" as I type.  I would normally NEVER do that, because I prefer to solely focus on the writing.  See, I'm already allowing myself some wiggle room with this type of post!  Yay, me.
• Speaking of QVC--I'm an addict.  There, I said it.  Sometimes I order, sometimes I don't.  But I watch it.  Alot.  Frenchie has talked about some of her Guilty Pleasures?  Well, QVC is definitely one of mine.
• Romeo came home sick yesterday from work.  This worried/frightened me for two reasons.  1) Romeo is NEVER sick.  Literally.  Okay, occasionally a sniffly nose and tickly throat, but even then he never admits it.  I always just realize a couple days later that we are out of Kleenex in the house.  We actually tease he's the carrier monkey.  I have a weak immune system and get sick all the time.  If anyone is sick at his office I am bound to get it.  I don't know how it happens; I never have physical contact with the co-worker, and Romeo doesn't either really.  But I guess sharing an employee restroom or something must be enough, because he passes the germs on to me.  Yet he doesn't get it!  So for him to come home sick wakes me up and makes me worry about him.  It means he must REALLY be feeling near his death bed.  2) I have an irrational fear anytime he comes home early.  It started with my youth.  My dad lost his job a couple of times, and I remember once in particular.  He came home in the middle of the day, and my mom (I'm guessing from her experience when he was fired/laid off the time before that I'm not old enough to remember) FREAKED THE HELL OUT.  Seriously.  We lived in a condo, on the second floor, and had large living room windows that faced the street.  She heard a car door close, saw him, then opened our door and saw him walking up the stairs to our place.  Holy. Crap.  It was not a good day.  So anytime I hear Romeo's key turn in the front door lock midway through the day, my stomach drops.  Until I know he's there for an unexpected lunch, or forgot something-- anything innocent--I start to tremble and feel like I'm going to puke.  (In a weird fortunate way, he was the one puking though yesterday.)
• I said I was watching QVC while I typed and that I normally never would.  I have to admit about 45 minutes ago I did put it on mute.  Baby steps, baby steps.  And 45 minutes shows how long I've been typing, proof-reading, and re-typing.  But again, baby steps, right?  :)

Ah, what a refreshing feeling!  My brain has been cleaned out a bit!  Interested in participating in Whatnot Wednesdays yourself?  Follow the hyperlink button at the top of this entry to link to "Every Day The Wonderful Happens," and find out more!

Happy New Year (and Whatnot Wednesdays?)

Hello again, and Happy New Year.  Well, if it wasn't obvious before, it's pretty dang obvious now that Frenchie is the more dedicated blogger between the two of us.  But I mean well, I swear!  And like I said recently, my depression is just in full force right now.  And while I hope to feel better soon, I don't quite yet.

I did want to introduce you though to a blog that I've become addicted to as of late: "Every day the wonderful happens.”  The author is a married mom of two pre-school aged boys.  They are 6 months apart—one biological son, and one adopted son.  I encourage you to read more at the blog’s “About” page and then blog post after post, after post, after post!  Believe me, you’ll be hooked!  :)

Once Frenchie returns from her oh so fabulous French holiday, I will discuss with her starting “The Wonderful Happens” trend of “Whatnot Wednesdays.”  I am very excited about the prospect.  Go to the blog and check out some of the author’s Whatnot Wednesday posts to see what I am talking about.