He's Cute and I Love Him...

Please tell me I'm not alone on this one, I love my son.  I would take a bullet for him.  I'd lay down my life for him.  I adore him with all my heart and soul...but some days...I just don't particularly *like* him.

Today is one of those days.  I know he means no harm.  Chances are it's more my PMS and upset stomach than his attitude.  But *everything* is getting on my nerves!  Many days I'd like to just cuddle.  In fact, I wish this usually curious and independent toddler would.  Today, of all days, he refuses to leave my side, won't let me leave the room (which made throwing up earlier today from some eggs gone wrong difficult), won't listen to anything I say or ask, stares at me with big empty eyes like he isn't comprehending when I know he is, and seems to purposely be doing the opposite of what I ask.  Oh, and my darling sleeper usually goes to bed around 11pm, sleeps through the night, wakes groggily for milk around 7 or 8am, and happily falls quickly back asleep for another couple of hours until 9 or 10am. (I should probably quickly explain-- he is put to bed between 9 and 10pm but he chooses to "play" in his crib until later--which is fine with me who has insomnia, his whole sleeping routine and sleepy-head nature is great for me actually--I fall asleep around 4am, drag myself up after a cat nap to give him milk at "first call" and fall back asleep like he does until 10am).  Anyway, today he was up for milk and diaper at 2am, which was no biggie because I hadn't fallen asleep yet, but then up and ready to go go go at 6:30am!  Which means I got slightly over 2 hours of sleep on which to deal with him today.

I'm staring at the clock counting down the minutes until Romeo will walk in the door from work.  Unfortunately, with his job each night is different.  Last night he shocked me by arriving home at 5:55 of his own accord!  Gasp!  Did he really get home before 6pm?  And without my prompting because there was something he or we had to do that night?  With my luck tonight will be a 7 or 7:30pm evening.  Well, when he does get home, Mommy's eating in the bedroom (if eating at all on this still woozy stomach), and Daddy is on full-time duty.  I only feel slightly sorry that Daddy doesn't know this yet.

Anyway, a long, long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, I promised you more pictures of Tybalt, this time with his hair short right after his first cut.  Well, the cut was months ago, I still haven't blogged about it (Oops!  Bad, Juliet, bad!), he actually now needs a new cut, but I do have his cute short hair pictures.  So, in order to keep me sane and remind us all how cute he is, and remind me how much I love him, lol, I thought now would be a decent time to put up some cute pics.  Even though they are 5 months old (from January when he was 17 months old and he's now coming up 22 months): Enjoy!

"Hi, Mommy!  Sure, I'll model for Grandma, but I think you forgot to put my glasses on me this morning!"

"Oh, you were serious about the modeling and smiling thing?  What's the big deal, all I did was get a haircut?  (And scream bloody murder throughout.)"

"What?  Modeling means staying still and smiling nicely?  I thought it meant running and giggling!"

So not interested in getting any good shots for his Grandma and Grandpa in Chicago.

"I'm cute."

"In fact, I'm A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E!"

AAAAAAAAAaaaaaannnnnnddddd, now he's found a cereal bowl and metal spoon to bang.  (Why can't think kid at least choose some quiet tupperware?)  Gotta go put an end to "band rehearsal" as he's now moving on to banging the furniture, the cabinet, and the cable box with said spoon...and now scraping the walls in the hallway.  Sigh....Romeo?  Romeo? Wherefore art thou, Romeo?

Grand Opening!

Guess what I've been up to in the two hours between Mia's bedtime and my bedtime?

Frenchie's Frills Etsy Shop

Here are a few pictures of my start up pieces, but take a look at what I have available.

My absolute favorite bracelet, it's teasing me from its jewelry bag, whispering at me to take the listing down and keep it for myself!

I improved on the design I found at Ten Ten Knits, ordered some nice colored leather, experimented with different bead sizes and leathers, and... I just couldn't stop buying and making these bracelets! My initia idea was just to do area craft fairs, but there don't seem to be many around these parts at the moment. So, an Etsy shop seemed like a good place to start.

No Etsy sales yet, but I do have a couple of custom order requests here and there :)

Chicago Vacation Part 1: Wedding

Well, we're back! Six days in Chicago, and I need a vacation from my vacation. The first few days were packed full of activities. As soon as our Southwest flight got in, we dropped our bags off at B's grandparents' house and headed over to visit friends for lunch. Mia made a great impression (of course) thanks to her being fully rested from sleeping the whole flight over. She was fast friends with their new dog, so cuteness abounded. That night, we skipped the first of the wedding festivities (cocktails at Greg Achatz's new place) and had dinner with the in-laws. Mia was, again, a perfect angel, eating everything put in front of her, including a little bitty piece of B's favorite Italian Sausage from his favorite Deli.

On Friday morning, I headed downtown to meet up with the Bride's entourage for mani/pedis. This being the most relaxing portion of my trip, I was not disappointed when they took me to the "spa suite" away from the crew for my pedicure. I embarrassingly had to explain to the manicurist that I lived in the desert, and that was why there was so much to scrape off.... Incidentally, I tried a gel manicure for the first time, and as I type this, my nails are still perfect and chip-free. Although I don't have any experience with actually removing the polish quite yet, I am very happy with the results and will not hesitate to get this done again. I've heard they can get very addictive once you start, though. The Bride had reserved a little room for us at the Spa where we were able to have mimosas and a bit of lunch and we had a lovely little time hanging out with everyone.

Just before the rehearsal was to start, my high school group and I (minus the Bride) stopped at one of our old lunch break restaurants to have a cup of coffee and knock out our toast. We had a lovely time coming up with stories, most of which were too embarrassing or inappropriate to include, but you know, that's half the fun. I think we came up with a few gems that would cause the required amount of embarrassment. B was of course in charge of the camera, so there is no picture of our hilarious toast. Pretend to picture 4 girls and a crowd roaring with laughter. Well, I don't know about the roaring part, but we were funny.

But, back to chrological order. The night before the wedding, we attended a very fancy and very big rehearsal dinner at Spiaggia (where Barack and Michelle go on their anniversary, natch). It was more of a pre-wedding dinner since many of the wedding guests were invited, and there was a three course meal and open bar. I was so excited to see that I was seated with the lovely LagLiv and the rest of the Bride's law school friends, on whom I'm sure I made an excellent impression, being half drunk on Prosecco and black truffle arancini. I've always loved the parties that lead up to a wedding because they give you the chance to get to know the wedding guests before the big day, so it's a much nicer sence of community. It was great to meet her, and she is as awesome in person as she is on her blog, so you should all be very jealous. LL and I shared a couple of dances at the wedding itself, and managed to snap a pic together. She is VERY tall and svelte, so I look like an oompa loopma next to her:

Anyway... the morning after the pre-wedding dinner, I woke up (slightly hungover) thinking that the wedding had already happened, but wondering why I could not remember the way the Bride looked in her dress. I quickly realized that I had to get up, take som Advil, eat some carbs and head downtown to start getting ready. The Bride went all out with the pampering, and I got airbrushed foundation, and false lashes, both of which I absolutely loved. Don't judge the results from the above pictures, since this was post ceremony, dinner, drinking, and dancing. Here's a before ceremony, dinner, drinking and dancing shot:

I thought the result was very MadMen Peggy Olson.

The ceremony and reception were beautiful, and held at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, so everything was garden-themed. It didn't rain, but Chicago in May can be pretty unpredictable, so it was freezing for the ceremony. But we sucked it up and stood in the atrium without shawls. But, everything was beautiful and they were married!

Illness Spreading Like Wildfire

I know I've been an absentee blogger.  Unfortunately I've been horribly sick with migraines last week and now this week both the stomach flu (103.1 fever--yay!  Not.) and a respiratory infection.  I broke down and went to the doc yesterday who diagnosed me.  She says the "colds" I've had off and on for a couple months have led to stuff staying in my head and chest and getting yucky and infected.  And apparently the migraines were a symptom too.  And now Tybalt is sick as well.  Hoping it's not the same thing, but I worry it is and we'll have to take him for antibiotics and such of his own, just like Mommy.  So, we'll see what happens and once everyone in my house is in the clear, I should be back up and running here.  At the very least, I promise another one of those fun "Whatnot Wednesdays" soon.  In the meantime, please excuse my absence.  I don't know how other "mommy bloggers" never skip more than a day or two.  I mean, between the kids themselves, occasional household bouts of illness, after-school activities, errands, and sometimes just needing to hide alone with a good book or take a nap--what's a mom to do?  Sigh, anyway, guess I'm just not one of them.  Sometimes it's too much for me.  In the mean time, Happy Early Valentine's Day, everyone!  (Romeo and I will be celebrating twice.  A small date on Tuesday due to "budgetary constraints" and a nice night out the following Saturday where we'll not have to look at the prices on the menu, we'll exchange gifts finally, and be able to order a cocktail or two.  I'm actually not too disappointed that the actual February 14th will be small and have no gift exchange--I mean who else gets to say they had 2 V-days?  Okay, admittedly, maybe I am a touch disappointed and am just trying to talk myself out of it.  But so far so good.........................................................................kinda?)

In the interim, some cute pictures of my kid, because, well, just cuz I feel like it, I guess, lol.

What A Difference A Year Makes--Our Christmas Card 2010--Tybalt is between 3 and 4 months old here.

Christmas 2011.  Trucks and extra railroad pieces from Santa!  16 months old.

1. Take your hand.  2. Hold over me in this picture.  3. Proceed to enjoy looking at my adorable son as he reads. 

Bedtime Story With Mommy.  15 months.

Tybalt Outside Church, He Was Being A Little Loud Inside.  15 months.

Playing Piano with Daddy. Please God, I hope he really does play piano, or some instrument like Daddy.

16 months

16 months.  Blurry, but I love the tongue out.

Daddy and Tybalt Outside the Lion Exhibit at MGM Grand Hotel and Casino.  16 months.

"Hey, Mommy, Nice Camera!" 17 months.

"Cheese!"  17 months.

Intrigued By His Reflection In His Mirrored Closet Door

Bedtime Ritual--Brushing Teeth With Daddy.  17 months.

For the record, we did finally get his hair cut a few weeks ago, even though it was probably anywhere from 3-7 months late.  Mommy had a hard time with the first haircut.  It was even harder than I thought it would be.  But I couldn't handle him being mistaken for a girl anymore, plus on his really bad hair days I felt like a horrible mom for not having done it yet.  Actually, the above few 17 month pictures are from the night before the big cut so we could also document how long his locks had gotten.  Anyway, I've coincidentally saved that story (and photos with his cute short hair since then) for a future post.  So, you'll just have to enjoy his curls (and in some cases unruly "mop") in these pictures for now, and wait patiently for more!  :)

Crafting

Frenchie has blogged about her love of knitting. Personally, I've never been what I call "crafty." But after I got out of the hospital a year ago, finished further recovery, and Romeo, Tybalt and I moved into our new apartment, I felt I needed a hobby. So I started by making one baby blanket for Tybalt, and finding it was relatively easy to do as well as a cute little creation, I proceeded to make baby blankets for everyone I knew, and said hobby was found.

Becoming slightly addicted to finding and buying the adorable patterned fleece, a supply of it soon piled high in my walk-in closet. So, this holiday season I decided to enroll in a few craft fairs, put all that fleece to good use by making a buttload of blankets, and try my hand at selling them.

It's been an enjoyable albeit interesting experience. I've had more interest from potential customers than I expected. (I was secretly afraid some people would laugh my "craft" off.) And I've made some sales. But I've noticed that many folks still just don't seem to have the disposable income to spend much at craft fairs. While my blankets aren't expensive, little items here and there add up, and I understand that. Fortunately, like I said, it's been enjoyable as well. I've met many friendly fellow crafters. I've also learned new skills and found out what it takes to start a small business.

This Cheers Me Up

I've been feeling down the last few days. I had a crying fit in front of/to Romeo last night. It's mainly over the baby blues and not being able to have another one right now. Anyway, I don't have anything exciting to post due to my mood. But I did want to share this picture because it makes me smile. Tybalt ate his first orange a couple weeks ago, and I caught the moment on camera:

Oooh! Tart!

Happy Halloween!

M-I-C...K-E-Y! M-O-U-S-E!

How about a happy post from Juliet for a change? LOL.

Here's Tybalt in his Halloween costume!

The Birth Story

I've mentioned my pregnancy induced health problems before, but for some reason I felt tonight that I needed to touch on it again. Maybe sub-consciously I need the therapeutic aspect that "getting it out" can bring. And I started to write what is now this blog post as part of my bio page. But I quickly realized it was much too complicated and lengthy to be part of my basic bio. So, here it is as a separate blog post. On another note, check out my new official bio page! Click on the "About Juliet" tab in the upper left! :)

My pregnancy wasn't difficult, but it wasn't easy. I have a bad back and it exasperated it. But aside from morning sickness in the beginning, my back was my only complaint for about 7 months. Because I'm obese my ob-gyn was even thrilled that I LOST weight in the beginning and then stayed steady until about month 5 or 6. But gradually the weight creeped up, until about the 7.5 or 8 month mark where it exponentially added up. And around the same time I was gradually having more and more trouble with my breathing. Simply catching my breath at first but then not being able to breath if reclining at all. Exams and x-rays and hospital stays and further tests all occured but there was no fluid in my lungs, no super high blood pressure or other signs of complications such as pre-eclampsia or eclampsia.

At 37 weeks my son was delivered via emergency c-section due to bleeding (still unknown as to whether it had anything to do with all the other symptoms or my final diagnosis), and I experienced heart failure on the table. I was diagnosed with post-partum cardiomyopathy. It is a rare but life threatening condition in which the pregnant mother's heart expands and causes the mitral valve to not properly control the blood flow. And all my symptoms during pregnancy? Common symptoms of cardiomyopathy. But there is no clear testing guidelines currently in place to check for the disease because of it's rarity and unknown cause. It is unknown why any woman ever develops it. Why pregnancy causes it in any woman. I was an in-patient for three months. The first few days I was touch and go in ICU. I have no memory of the first two months due to heavy sedation. The silver lining? My beautiful, healthy, blessing of a son, Tybalt.

The First Known Picture Of Mommy And Son (I Have No Memory Of It)

Tybalt Visits Mommy (Again, I Was Sedated And Don't Remember)

Family Picture When Mommy Is Finally More Alert (And Allowed To Get Fresh Air!)

A Few Days Before Mommy's Discharge

Shhhh!

Whenever anyone would ask how I, Romeo, or Tybalt were doing, my husband and I would only half-jokingly say that Tybalt was the one who came out on top. I was horribly sick; my husband was horribly stressed. Tybalt however, was healthy, happy, and had round-the-clock love and affection from his grandparents, my in-laws. And it took an additional three months of at-home (read: my mother-in-law's home where my husband moved us into during the whole hubabaloo) rehab once I was released from the hospital, but once I was back on my feet Tybalt probably thought he had four loving full-time parents between me, Romeo, Grandma, and Grandpa. This kid won the lottery when it comes to love and attention. Even then though, I spent as much time bonding with him as possible so he would know who Mommy was.

A Tradition Is Born! Tybalt and Mommy Kiss At 4 Months!

When Tybalt was 6 months old, I was able to be alone with him and take care of him all by myself, so Romeo and I found a new apartment and moved out of MIL's basement. Our "baby" is now 14 months old and I have been full-time Mommy for about 10 months. It feels...different. Wonderful but weird. Because while we have permanently and properly bonded at this point I still feel like I am playing catch-up to some extent. And I wonder if I always will feel that way because of the first months and milestones that I missed.

And now, just for fun, some more pictures of my beautiful baby boy:

One Of My All-Time Favorite Pictures. Look At Those Rosy Cheeks and That Smile!

Mommy And Tybalt Venture Out Into The "Real World" Alone Together

Tired Of Trying On Clothes!

My Son, The Flirt!

Crazy Towel-Dried After-Bath Hair

His New Specs!

"Hello, Mommy!"