Friday's Things That Rock

This Friday's Post is brought to you by Amanda's Friday's Things That Rock. This week, my list of "Things That Rock" are as follows, in no particular order

1. My husband - he has made dinner, took time off to take me to the Dr./babysit and just been an all around patient and sweet guy while I've been so crazy emotional.

2. Apple Crisp Blob made by the husband during the time I was craving such.

3. Peanut Butter Rice Crispie Treats

4. PedEgg - we bought one and my feet are much softer and smoother

5. My maternity shorts. I can't believe I'm already in them, but they feel so good, that even though they're still a little big, I am totally in love with them. They are Motherhood brand from several years ago (they were my BFF's) and they are real stretch denim w/ the full belly placket and a drawstring.

6. The new USA network show "White Collar" - even my husband, who really didn't want to add another show is addicted.

7. My awesomely supportive internet friends, especially the girls on the maternity board I frequent. With the stress I've been feeling about this pregnancy, they've been great. Supportive and concerned, etc.

8. The Sunrise series by Karen Kingsbury - I finally finished this series (borrowing them from the libraries has been tougher than I thought - I'm obviously not the only one trying to read them) and it was wonderful.

9. The cutest little Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz ever. Can't resist her.

Don't Sweat the Petty Things, Don't Pet the Sweaty Things

I have been very distressed and anxious about this pregnancy. I can't get through it, sometimes and it is negatively effecting my mood - I am easily agitated and irritated, which is not a good idea under any circumstances, but when you are the primary care giver to a toddler, it's especially bad.

The thing is, I originally wanted to make my appointment for later than the one they gave me, but when this was available, I took it. And then I had it in my head that I was going to know if this pregnancy was viable at this appointment. And that I don't, well, I think it's making me crazier.

Part of it is my family history, part of it is my awareness of all of the infertility problems. When I started reading blogs, I started reading IF blogs and while all of the women I follow have since had children, there is a lot of sad stories out there. Sometimes I feel like I've had it too easy. My first pregnancy was conceived in 6 months and I didn't have much trouble during my 9 months and despite the fact that she was a big baby, I didn't even have a hard delivery.

So, why should I expect it to be easy this time around? I don't. But sometimes I wonder if I'm making more out of it than I should. I'm probably worrying for nothing.

Update

I've been anxious about this pregnancy for awhile. Both my mom and my grandma lost their second pregnancies, and while I have no reason to think I will, too, the possibility is in the back of my mind. Constantly.

So I've kept from telling everyone about this pregnancy too early. I've kept the few who know to a select list of people who would be supportive if something bad were to happen. So, my dad doesn't know and I'm not telling random friends that I might have to then, explain that no, I am no longer pregnant.

My plan was to wait until after my appointment today to tell my dad and then, slowly let others know. I figured that this appointment would give me the assurance I needed to feel confident in this pregnancy.

I had my u/s this morning. And despite the running behind at the office, I stayed reasonably calm and unstressed throughout. The u/s revealed a good-looking gestational sac, according to the tech. It was well developed and the right measurements, etc. But we couldn't see a heartbeat. Based on my LMP, they thought they should, but based on my later than average ovulation date (I knew charting would come in handy!) we could be short by a day or 2. They scheduled me for a for a follow up a week from Thursday.

My midwife (who is wonderful and very knowledgeable) told me that the bleeding after sex in early pregnancy is fairly normal due to higher sensitivity and weaker blood vessels in that area. She said that the first question they ask when a newly pregnant woman calls w/ spotting is "did you just have sex?" and if the answer is yes, then they tell her not to worry. They did put me on progesterone supplements again, since they won't hurt me and I had low progesterone last time around. She said they could do the blood work, but this would take less time and wouldn't negatively effect me and you can't OD on progesterone, so why bother? I got lucky and got a coupon in the mail for a $25 gift card w/ new or transferred prescription to CVS when I got home this afternoon, so I've already gone to get the prescription filled and picked up my free gift card!

Pumpkins, Candies, and taking it easy

We had a very busy weekend!
We spent Saturday morning at the Pumpkin Festival and had a lot of fun with our friends. Fuss had her first experience with a pumpkin patch and first pony ride (she loved both) and we ate carnival food (though I never did get my nachos) and looked at crafts and watched cloggers (sort of) and had a genuine good time.

We drove home (she fell asleep) and later we went to the city's Halloween Trick or Treat event with our best friends. Their sons were Optimus Prime and a green power ranger, while Fuss was the most adorable Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz you've ever seen. (Pictures to come, I hope)

She took a slightly less than usual length nap, but did pretty well. When we were done Trick or Treating, the boys went and played on the bounce houses (you had to pay for that part of the event, and it was overkill since she could only jump on 2 of them, so we skipped it) so we went to the playground we she had a fabulous time sliding down the slide over and over again.

We all went out to dinner after and despite the crazy service (the waitress was frazzled - not sure what the deal was, but she was very absentee) we had a good time and everyone was well behaved (surprising - none of the kids are exactly known for their wonderful behavior in restaurants).

We were all very tired at the end of the day and she went to bed easily.

This morning, though, I woke up to a screwed up clock (an auto-DST set bought several years ago before they moved the weeks around) and a barking demon-dog (mom's) and after some early morning fun with Daddy Fuss, I discovered that I was spotting (which continued into the day). I've mostly taken it easy today because of that, and it seems to have stopped. Hopefully, it won't start again, especially before my appointment on Tuesday to confirm that everything was good.

My very first 7 quick takes

1. We're going to a Pumpkin Festival tomorrow. I love the autumn season in general and when I heard about this, I got very excited. My husband didn't seem as interested as I did, but when we were invited to join some friends of ours who have a son Fuss's age, I convinced him it would be fun. I am so excited, it's sort of funny. They have a corn maze and a pumpkin patch and pumpkin foods, etc. They are going to have games and a costume contest, too, but we're not going to dress our kids up - we kinda figured it would be hard on our little toddlers. But she has a Halloween shirt (candy corns) so I'll dress her in that. Can't wait for the photo ops.
   
   
2. Tonight is a new episode of that show Monk on the USA network. They've been promo-ing it for weeks using the song "My Sharona"since they are bringing back the character Sharona from the first 2 seasons played by Bitty Shram. I am suprisingly really looking forward to it, as I really liked Sharona.
   
   
3. My back and neck are killing me. Part of it is my posture, part of it is the pregnancy, I think, and part of it is the fact that I slept oddly last night. Ugh.
   
   
4. Caroline has been playing really rough with me today. She's been banging on my chest and stomach, she even picked up her plastic bat and was hitting me on the back with it earlier. (She's been told no, removed from the situation, etc.) but I don't know where this is coming from. Just the age?
   
   
5. My mother's dog is driving me nuts. Seriously. I'm ready to have him stuffed.
   
   
6. I teased my newly pregnant friend (yay!), N (hi!), yesterday when she said that her absentmindedness of late is preggo brain - that the baby was sucking her brain and I asked her if she was sure it was the baby. But today, I'm finding that I, too am very absentminded.
   
7. Apparently, an older lady drove her car over the curb into the front of the coin laundry next to the store where I work yesterday. She apparently then backed up her car, put it in park and unloaded her laundry from the trunk and walked through the shattered glass and began to do her laundry. My coworker witnessed it and went over to check it out. He asked the lady if she realized what happened and she asked, "oh? Did I do that?" My coworker called the leasing office, who then called the police. But rumor has it that she didn't even get a ticket. Should this woman be allowed on the road? Seriously?

For more quick takes click here.

Dishes

Are there little things that your husband does that annoy you, but maybe shouldn't? Does he ever do something to help, but since he didn't do it your way, it's kind of a hindrance? Do you ever feel like he just doesn't pay attention to little details?

Daddy Fuss is the husband of the Year. The Father of the Year. The Man of the Year. Seriously. In an overall picture, I cannot complain. I truly have the greatest, sweetest, most wonderful husband. But every once in awhile, there are these little things that poke up and I wonder why it's so hard for him to pay attention to the details.

The dishwasher is one such thing.
Now, in fairness, when we got married, we agreed that there is "no correct/incorrect way to load the dishwasher," as both of our mothers lectured over and over. But I feel the need, 4.5 years into our marriage to sometimes suggest that while there may not be hard and fast rules as to where everything goes in the dishwasher (besides the obvious ones, of course) that there are, in fact, BETTER ways to load the dishwasher, even MORE EFFICIENT ways.

For instance, in our dishwasher, the center row on the top rack in significantly wider than the other rows. The 2 rows directly on either side of that one are the most narrow and the far left one is the middle of the road. Our skinny blue glasses fit nicely in the skinny row and our big plastic cups fit perfect in the middle one. You can get quite a few more cups in the top rack if you pay attention to this little tidbit. But when you just throw them in without thought, many times you run out of room well before everything is loaded.

My mother always taught me that wooden items should not go through the dishwashing cycle because they will eventually crack and split or warp. I have discovered that my wooden spoons and spatulas are fine if they are on the top rack instead of with the other silverware on the door. But, of course, this takes up lots of room in the top rack, so the plastic and metal large utensils can go on the door without issue.

My husband cannot seem to remember these things. Ever. He regularly puts the wooden utensils on the door and the plastic ones on the top rack (because he knows I have a preference, he just can't remember what it is) and he rarely gives thought to the placement of glasses and cups in the top rack at all.

Now, I admit, he is a WHIZ at the puzzle that is often the bottom rack. If I have just one more pot or pan to stick in the machine and can't figure out how to best squeeze it into the bottom rack, he is the man to turn to. He can pack it all in, often with room to spare. And maybe he's better at that part because it's abstract and my "rules" are not? I don't know. But sometimes it drives me up a wall.

But more often, I let it go.

Because why on earth would I complain when he offers to do the dishes?

Producive Excuses

Got nothing today except to retell you how tired I am and pat myself on the back for being very productive despite that fact. I worked my 6-hour (very quiet. these are the days when I understand why my dad is closing the store) shift, went to Target to buy dog food (and jeans for Fuss - the 2ts are WAY too big and she doesn't seem to have any 18 mos that I can find. I swear she had some last winter...) and came home to an extra dog (my mom's. she and step-dad are out of town) that my daughter is apparently terrified of, even when he's locked up.

So I sat her in her high chair (yes, she's still in a high chair. We have an amazingly high table and chairs to match, but apparently, most booster seats are still not high enough to get her to the proper height at the dinner table, so she still eats off the tray like she has since she started solids. The one booster seat I've found that gets her high enough is almost $40 at Target and we haven't yet found a place in the budget for such things. We will, it just isn't a priority right now. Let me know if you have any suggestions on booster things) to feed her lunch and then juggled letting all the dogs out (they hate each other) and cleaned the kitchen while she ate and the oven heated up for my lunch to be made. (I was having TGI Friday's southwest eggroll appetizers. I love them, I wanted them, they were on sale at Target and I couldn't remember what else there was for me to eat, so I did it). I put her down for her nap* and let the dogs in and put the eggrolls in the oven. I finished cleaning the kitchen just as my rolls were done and sat down to eat them (after locking up mom's dog. OMG is he annoying. He's a Scottish Terror, er, Terrier and he acts like a 2 year old with a bad reaction to Benedryl - he litterally bounces EVERYWHERE until you want to scream and punt him across the room. We try and lock him up before we do so). When Fuss got up, I mopped her bedroom floor, which I am embarassed to say has not been done in MONTHS. I reserve my mopping for when she is asleep, as a rule, and it is difficult to mop in the same room as a sleeping baby you don't dare risk waking. Besides, the Pinesol fumes would probably be bad for her.

I also put away GOBS of laundry and scored my best score yet on Bejeweled Blitz! on FB. I know, not exactly PRODUCTIVE, but hey, I'm only competetive about weird stuff, so what can I say?

*Last week, she offically had switched to one-nap-a day - her choice. Her napping schedule has almost always been her choice and when she finally decided that this was the time, I was happy (sort of) to go along. But this week? EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. this week, she has fallen asleep between 10:30 and 11:30 - mostly just laid down on the floor and closed her eyes for 10-30 minutes, depending on when I decide to wake her. What is up with that? Is that when she SHOULD be taking her nap? I hope not. I need the afternoon hours. The earlier she wakes up, the more time we have before Daddy Fuss comes home, and those hours are almost always trying. So I limit them. I'd prefer her to sleep at 2 or 3 and sleep until 4 or 5, though she often can't stand it that long and needs a nap by 1-ish. Which is fine, but then she's up in the 3:00 hour and I have at least 3 more hours until he comes home. Makes for some extra stress, let me tell you.

This is the weirdest post I've written in awhile. Very stream of consciousness, I appologize. It was also written over 2 days, so I don't know what date to post it under, though since it describes Wednesday...

Tantrum

I did my morning walk this morning w/ my friend Jo and her son and Fuss, of course. Then Jo suggested that we let the kids play on the playground when we were done. They had a grand ol' time and that early, they had it all to themselves. They went up the stairs and down the slides over and over to their little hearts content. (Fuss especially loves slides. She gets the cutest smile on her face as she whizzes down the slippery plastic)

They played nicely together and we were getting ready to leave when a couple of older girls (I'd guess in the 4-6 range) came. We had no problem with them being there, of course, but they were significantly bigger, of course and it made us even more sure it was time to go, since they weren't great about waiting for our little ones to go down the slides before going down themselves. (Their mother did tell them they needed to wait and gave them a proper gentle lecture when they didn't. Again, we were not upset by their presence and their mother was properly supervising).

We told our kids it was time to go and began moving in the way of the cars. We let them go down one more little slide on the smaller play gym and then herded them to the parking lot. When Fuss attempted to climb on the large plastic bouncy dinosaur, I told her no, that it was time to go, and took her hand more firmly to guide her. Direct to meltdown mode. She fell to the ground and cried and cried and screamed and cried. I picked her up and she kicked and screamed and cried some more. I wrestled her all the way to the van and had to give her a little swat to get her to sit in the carseat. (Which of course, caused her to cry even more, though she sat where I put her and let me get the straps on her instead of melting and squirming so much I couldn't get her belted in.)

She cried the rest of the way through the park as we drove out. She continued to cry and scream all the way home. I offered her a stuffed animal (I had left Maddie the Monkey at home) which she rejected and then asked for, rejected and then asked for. I offered her juice, which she rejected. She continued to cry (though it was starting to ease off) as we went into the house and found Maddie. She sat on the living room floor moaning/crying with Maddie in her mouth for 10 more minutes.

I know what set her off - she often throws tantrums when she doesn't get what she wants. But I have no idea why it kept going on and on.

Shortly after she settled down, she fell asleep on the floor, hours before her usual nap time. I even changed her diaper without waking her. I put her in her crib and she stirred (of course!) and I talked to her for a few minutes - do you want to sleep or come with mommy while I take a shower? She got up and came with me and played nicely the entire time.

It's nearing naptime, finally. She just finished lunch and I'm trying to figure out when to put her down for her actual nap (total sleep time earlier was about 10 minutes, so a real nap is required.)

I know I just wrote a really long post about 1 tantrum, but she never does this. And I was baffled.

Tired.

I am tired. I am forever tired. Sometimes, I don't notice it until the end of the day when the husband comes home and asks, "are you okay?" and then i realize that I am TIRED. I vaguely remembered that the last time I was pregnant I was severely tired all the time, especially at the end of the day, but I had sort of forgotten how that felt. I think I remember now.

We told my sisters-in-law about the pregnancy this weekend, and there was much rejoicing. Everyone is thrilled and I was very happy to get a positive reaction this time around. Of course, anything would have been better than last time.

My sister knows now, too (she cried tears of happiness), and my grandma (so did she, but the next day confessed that she was had 2 glasses of wine and was a little tipsy and incoherent - which made a little more sense. She's not really a crier most of the time.) There are a few random people who know, but for the most part, we're not telling everyone until after my appointment next week. My dad doesn't even know yet.

My work situation is weird. I feel like there should be this big flurry of activity, this big show of things ending. But it seems to just be going on and on as usual. Feels weird. Feels like the day my mom told me she asked my dad for a divorce. I thought, "my life is forever changed, from now on," and then he came home that night and everything was the same. It seemed like it should have been this big, dramatic deal and it wasn't. I guess because I've never known I was going to leave a job with a lot of notice. Even when I left my dad the first time, it was kind of sudden - I'd given him 2 months' notice that I was GOING to leave, but then when I got the job and they wanted me to start right away, I basically showed up and said "I start Monday. this is my last day." But there are things I need to be doing to get the word out, but I don't really know where to start. I do know that about halfway through every shift, I feel like I'm wasting my time sitting there. Even today, when it was pretty steady, I felt bored by it all. I'm tired of being there, especially when I know there is no future.

I really want to take a nap. And since the Fuss is down for hers, I guess this is my chance.

One Nap

We've been fighting the one-nap days for awhile now. I've mentioned it several times in the past 6 months, doing the "here we go!" posts, only to have it fall apart days later and go back to 2 (blessed) naps. With the work schedule I keep, it guaranteed I had one nap while at home per day and I could get something done around the house (or not). What has come to fruition, is that the one nap per day falls just as I'm getting off work on work days, so I sometimes have time to run an errand (a quick one, please) or get her fed lunch (if I haven't already done so at work) before she goes down for a nap. Gone are the days of going to the mall for a few hours immediately after work, though.

It's still not perfect. She still gets so cranky in the AM that I wonder if she needs a nap. Some days, like today, I even attempt it (take off shoes, provide paci, lay her in playpen, turn off light) to try and see if that is what she really wants (no. It wasn't. She played quietly for 10 minutes with the toys she was able to reach and then called me until I came to get her)

On days when I don't have to work, though, it's helpful. I can get a LOT more done in the mornings, I can spend more time running errands and being out of the house instead of that 2-3 hour window I used to have in the middle of the day. And since it seems like there will be a lot more of those non-work days in the future, I guess that's a good thing. It's not so bad to now have a schedule where the non-work days are easier than the work days. I can handle that, I think.

And I know we'll get into a better rhythm. She likes schedules, always has. She goes through a cranky period whenever something messes with her schedule, so I'm assuming she will get past it when she is used to this new one.

++++++++++++++++++++++++

I have an end date for work: November 30th. Nothing has been put in writing yet, but that's what he said today, and that, at least, makes more sense than October 31st. We will have time to put together the delivery route, notify customers of our closing and get things ready for our new phase. I've already been mentally writing the letters to be spent out and posted on the door. "After 21 years, we will be closing the doors on this location..."


+++++++++++++++++++++++++

We have a Sleep Number bed. I love it. Really. It's wonderful. But every once in awhile, we have a nighttime incident involving one of our roaming dogs where they step on on the remote and the motor starts up at 3am (like last night) and it scares the whoozits out of me. Took me an hour to go back to sleep! Definitely don't like that part. And you'd think it would be hard for them to get to the remote, but somehow they manage. Very strange. Last night, my dog was on it long enough, that when I got him off it, I had to then let air OUT of the bed to make it more comfortable. Goofy dog.

The Friends that people don't understand

I find myself talking about the bloggers I read as if I've had a conversation with a friend. My husband knows them by their first names, knows the names of their children and often, their husbands since I've talked about them so frequently. In casual conversation with a friend, I usually refer to them simply as "a friend" without explaining that I have never in my life met them face-to-face, nor do I expect to (though it would be really nice to meet any number of them.)

It only gets complicated if the question is asked how I know said person. A lot of people just sort of nod, but you can read the expression of doubt. Others sort of subtley roll their eyes.

Maybe it's weird. Maybe having more friends inside the computer than out is a little odd. But when you're a stay-at-home-mom sometimes you have to take what you can get. But really, my bloggy friends and my message board friends are really important to me. Sometimes I feel that I have more in common with them than I do with my IRL friends. Maybe it's because we're more open on the internet - we don't have to deal with the social boundaries when we write a blog or post on a message board - we don't have to play the small-talk games, or pretend. We can vent, usually without judgement (there are always trolls, natch) and get good feedback and support and advice when needed.

There's a piece of flair/bumper sticker saying that says "I love my computer because my friends live there" and I really find it to be true, more often than not. I talk with Maggie, Julia, Mama Plett, Brittany, Amanda, and my friends on the boards (who don't all have blogs) on a daily or weekly basis. I can't say that about all my IRL friends.

I guess what I'm saying is, thanks for being there, girls. I am so blessed to have your friendship in my life!

Good news and great news

So, I have some news.

I actually have good news and great news.

The good news is that after talking to my dad this morning, I've got a little more time working. I don't have an actual end-date, but I've pretty much convinced him to hold on a little longer, give the landlord at least 30 days notice, give us a little more time to set up the route option, etc. It's still all going to end, and that is sad and stressful, but I have more time to adjust and figure out my options.

The great news is a positive pregnancy test. I had my suspicions all week last week (about 4 inconclusive HPTs) but finally got a very clear test on Saturday. We are very excited about the anticipated arrival of Numfar* and have been taking bets on guesses of the gender. We're keeping it to limited knowledge right now (though, here I am, telling the internet!) because of my family history. Both my mom and my grandmother lost their second pregnancies, and I'm a little nervous about that. I'm about 5 weeks pregnant, and thus far have almost no symptoms of pregnancy, other than the high temps on my chart and the positive HPTs. Of course, I didn't get morning sickness until week 7 or 8 last time, and my boobs were sore, but I don't remember them being as sensitive as the books describe. (Girlfriends' Guide says it can hurt to take a shower) I haven't had any weird or incredibly strong cravings yet, either, but the back aches have begun and the the more frequent peeing has definitely set in!

Workin' For A Livin'

As i was leaving the park this morning (my morning walk w/ Jo and the kids) I watched 2 women (I'm assuming mother/daughter) and a little kid (in a stroller, around Fuss's age) walk over to the lake where the ducks hang out. The mother opened up a bag of baby snacks (looked like those yogurt melts) and dump them on the ground for the ducks. They were standing about 4 feet away (they walked right past it) from the "don't feed the animals" sign. So, in addition to wasting that much money (those packs are about $3 at Target) they were also breaking the rules. I was really miffed about that. Why is it so hard to follow the reals?

++++++++++++++++++

I arrived at work yesterday to find a sign on the door saying "Closed for Columbus Day." Would have been nice if someone had bothered to tell the girl who was supposed to OPEN that day, huh? I called my dad before I actually left again, and he told me to go ahead and open, but we weren't processing that day. He opened our main store and when I talked to him later, he informed me that he was going to close my store for good. When I asked when, he told me end of October!

We didn't get much farther in our discussion, so I don't know that many more details of his thoughts, but I am rather shocked and the speed of this decision and upset at the possibility. I'm losing my job and my income and then, I have the emotional issues of losing the place that I spent half of my childhood, the place where my nephew and my best friend's kids spent lots of time.

I cried. While I was talking to my husband, I started to get really upset. It's ironic. Starting in November, I was going to be able to pay for the groceries and toiletries out of my my paycheck and use the rest for spending money. It's not a lot, but it would have been enough to go out to dinner more often, buy some clothes occasionally, buy some presents occasionally, and possibly save some up for various projects.

There are some possibilities still open, as far as employment goes, to remain working for my dad. It won't be as easy or conveinient, no matter what. We shall have to see.

Regardless, I'm under a lot of stress. I'm not prepared for this, and it's incredibly frustrating. I'm sad to lose this place, and while I don't love my job, it's comfortable and easy for me to do without a lot of thought, and it allows me to bring Fuss with me, of course. I'm going to miss that a lot.

Booty-full

I have to tell you about my party! I had so much fun! Cherry and I headed over to Liz's apartment and had a blast visiting and catching up. Her schedule is SO crazy this year (she's a speech pathologist for a school and she commutes 2-hours round trip 5 days a week - she's gone from her house from 6am-6pm every day) and we haven't had much time to talk, so it was great to visit.

We got there a little early and arrived just as Lisa, our consultant (called a Bootician, no I'm not making it up) arrived and was setting up. She was funny, full of energy and very friendly, but not in that fake, over-the-top way. (I don't know how many in-home product parties I've been to over the years and that fakeness really drives me crazy.) It helped that she was actually friends with Liz and they used to work together.

Liz had this FABULOUS pumpkin dip and a bunch of other healthy snacks set up (plus, rum punch) and it was delicious. When the party started, I was a little wary, since she had everything all set up at her table and there were some unusual items on display. But, we started out with the beauty products - bubble bath, scented/flavored sparkly dusting powder, pheremone-laced body butter, etc. We were all completely into this stuff. It smelled amazing, it felt great - this stuff that was like a liquid bronzer, actually made me look sort of tan! (for me, this is a BIG DEAL. My skin doesn't tan - even with fake help)

There was this delicious chocolate body fondue that isn't sticky on your skin and tastes like liquid fudge. (Yum!) There was body honey in several flavors and nice massage oils that felt so fantastic. There was aphrodisiac lipbalms and lingerie. All sorts of fun stuff.

She started to introduce the toys. There are levels of toys, of course. Some "beginner toys" and some "moderate" toys and "advanced" toys. We checked them all out (G-rated - this was not a demonstration party!) and some of them were funny and some of them were intriguing and some of them were, I confess, appalling to sheltered little ol' me. (Can I confess that I have never actually seen a vibrator in real life? TV, on sitcoms and the like, yes, but never in real life. Maybe that makes me really sheltered, but I think I'm okay with that.)

We all bought a few items - some for beauty and some for fun. Cherry and I are talking about scheduling a party - hopefully in November. The shipping is very fast (we expect to get our orders on Wednesday of this week) and Daddy Fuss and I are looking forward to trying out our finds and I'm guessing we'll be looking at some more of the products in the future.

There were some moderately embarassing moments during the presentation - but it was a comfortable setting, so it really wasn't too bad. It was a lot of fun.

Booty-liscious

So, over the summer I attended the wedding of my oldest friend. (I mentioned this in July sometime and am too lazy to link to it). Around that time our mutual old friend (Cherry and I met in Kindergarten, we met Liz in 1st grade) asked about my weekend schedule for the upcoming months since she wanted to have us over now that Cherry was living in-state. Liz lives across the state near Orlando, so it's a couple hours over there, not exactly a "let's meet for dinner" sort of jaunt. I told her my already booked weekends and didn't think much about it for awhile.

A few weeks ago I got an evite from her. To a product party. The headline said something about a "Booty Parlor" and since friend-Liz is kind quirky I figured it was some type of make-up or something of the like when I clicked on it.

Not so. Booty Parlor. Like se.x t.oys. To explain my reaction, I will first laugh and then tell you about the conversation I had with my mom about it. I told her I was going to such a thing and then said, "which of my high school friends - out of all of them - would you LEAST expect to invite me to such a thing?" my mom didn't even hesitate when she answered "Liz." In high school Liz was the most straight-laced one of us all. She never had a boyfriend until her freshman year of college (she married him, btw, and he's very nice), she could have been described as "prude" if you were to say something like that around Liz.

There was a website attached to the evite. So Daddy Fuss and I checked it out. It ranges from massage oils and whatnot to lingerie to what I would describe as "racy toys." Always up for a good time (okay, maybe not. But Daddy Fuss likes to spice things up once in awhile with a game or two, so...), even if I'm a lit tle weirded out by the concept, I checked the invitee list, assured myself that she didn't invite my SIL (who she is friends with, but who would be completely appalled at the thought. And also she isn't married, so she would have no use for such things. And yes, I'm very confident about that), noted that Cherry had already accepted (honestly, if no one had accepted yet, I would have assumed Liz's email had been hacked or something) and accepted my invitation. Why not?

I'm nervous, though. There are at least 2 strangers coming and 2 more "old acquaintences." I have no idea what to expect from this, but it should be an interesting time. I promise, if it's not horrible, I will review it here next week.

Wish me luck. At the very least, I'm gonna get 4 hours in the car with a speech pathologist to find out what I need to do to get Fuss to talk more. Ha ha!

If I wasn't a mostly stay-at-home-mom, I'd be...

Maggie wrote a post on what she would be doing if she weren't a SAHM over at MightyMaggie and asked the question what would *you* do if you weren't a SAHM. Her answers were great - funny and thought out and a great list of her own dream jobs. Mine won't be so great, as I haven't ever figured out what I wanted to be when I grow up, but here you go, for your own enjoyment (and mine - well, mostly mine):

1. A Graphic Designer for an Advertising Agency. I do actually have a degree in such a field, though my skills are woefully lacking at this time. I haven't opened up any of my programs in MONTHS and I haven't done anything but a little photo editing in years. But I enjoyed it when I was in school and it's what drew me to work for an ad agency to begin with (my pre-baby job was an Office Manager for such).

2. An Event Planner, specifically, A Wedding Coordinator. I loved planning my own wedding. Were it not for my mother's interference it would have been one of the most enjoyable times of my life up until that point. I've worked behind the scenes of about 15 weddings and I love it. I've even got kind of an original idea for said business, but I'm much too doubtful of my own abilities and I have no idea how to begin.

3. High School Choir Director. In high school, everyone thought I was going to major in music when I got to college. I can't play the piano and don't have enough desire to learn (5 years of lessons and I can pick out my part, but that's about it) and so it seemed foolish to me to pursue that as a career. I also didn't want to try and make a living as a performer, though I love to sing and used to be pretty good at it. But one of my friends is now teaching at our alma mater's arch nemisis and she's directing musicals every year and I miss it so much, I volunteered to help her out this year.

4. Bookstore Owner. I would love to have a small bookstore, filled with eclectic selections and host book clubs and maybe have a small cafe and host some local artists, etc. Think adult (not X-rated, but not exclusively kids) version of Shoppe Around the Corner from You've Got Mail. Or, if you happen to have read the Nora Roberts 3 Sisters Trilogy, like Mia's shop, without the witchcraft and magic. It's sad that most small shops can't make it nowadays with all the big discount stores (Borders, B&N) beating them in selection and the discount retailers (Target, Wal-mart, even Amazon.com) beating them in prices. But it's a nice dream.

5. Bed & Breakfast owner. My mom and grandma and I used to have a dream of returning to the mountain we vacationed on every summer and converting one of the huge old beautiful houses into a B&B. We stayed in several on other vacations and there was one in Williamsburg, VA that I would have lived at forever if I could have. I'm a decent cook, not amazing, but I'd try and there would always be a variety of things available.


As with Maggie, there are a lot more random things I'd have fun doing that are completely unrealistic (I'd love to be an actress - broadway or otherwise, a novelist, a TV writer, a lawyer) but these are the ones I've thought most about.

Princess

We spent the day at EPCOT (part of Walt Disney World, for those who don't know the FL parks) this weekend, as I've mentioned. There was the special event of the Food & Wine Festival, which is more geared towards adults anyway, but there were tons of kids. Which is fine, of course. They weren't drinking the wine, so if they wanted to enjoy the food, more power to them. I get the really tiny ones (though I have issues with parents bringing brand newborns to places such as that - all those germs! All those people!) like the babies (pre-walking age) and even some of the toddlers are there just as extensions of their parents.

Anyhow, what I found both adorable and amazing were the number of young girls (I'd average their ages to be approximately 8 yrs old) who were dressed head to tow in Princess garb. The large quantities of tulle and netting in the Florida heat - I'm amazed. I saw a bunch of Cinderellas, Belles, a Sleeping Beauty or 2, at least 1 Jasmine, an Ariel, 2 Tinkerbells and several Minnie Mouse(s). At Downtown Disney (the shopping area, not part of one of the parks) they had Princess salons. Your little girl can get her hair done, complete with glittery hairspray.

I spent a lot of time at Disney World as a kid. In elementary school, we'd go at least once per year and my high school choir sang for the Christmas Candelight Processional every year (so we'd spend half a day in the park + we'd get a free ticket to come back again). I never would have considered wearing something that is as uncomfortable as those dresses looked.

Sometimes I wonder what parents are thinking.

Hiya

It's been a very busy few days. Friday, I had MOPs and then had to do the grocery shopping on the timer of Fuss's nap being over due. (What a challenge! She also hadn't had lunch yet!) Saturday we did our Disney thing and spent the night in Orlando and when we returned on Sunday in the early afternoon, Fuss was completely off her schedule, hadn't slept well all weekend long and alternated between being cranky, being mad at me for leaving her, and being very clingy.

I have all sorts of randm thoughts on our Disney experience. I plan to come back to those in the next day or so. But today I want to introduce you to my dear husband's new blog. During the month of September, he competed in an office "Biggest Loser" contest and did very well. In the end he was 18 lbs lighter and $100 richer for his efforts. He is planning to continue his healthy living and wants to blog about his experiences and what he is learning about it. His first post went up today, so if you are interested, check out his journey on Weight Loss Odyssey! It would certainly encourage him to have some followers/readers. :) Now that we are through with the Food & Wine festival, I plan on examining my own eating habits and working on a little weightloss of my own.

So that is what you can look forward to here at Philosopher Jagger!

In the meantime, I have a few random tidbits for you...
We are searching for the perfect Halloween costume for the Fuss. I began my search on ebay and found a couple of cute costumes for little girls. The one Daddy Fuss and I agreed on the quickest was Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz an dwe have been searching for a costume that isn't going to cost us a ton of money. We've been to the local stores and they are costing a pretty penny to get the mediocre costumes brand new, and that's if I can even find them in her size. (This happened last year, too - plenty of tiny, non-mobile baby costumes and plenty of toddler costumes, but none for my reasonably mobile 9-month-old. This year I can find an assortment of baby costumes, and a bunch in 3T and larger, but my just barely 2T-sized kid is out of luck!) so we are back to searching on ebay. I am also considering Minnie Mouse (saw some adorable little girls in Minnie costumes at Disney) or Tinkerbell or a ballerina. These are all costumes I hope she will someday want to wear, but who knows what she is going to like as she gets older and exerts more of her own opinions? I was a girlie girl, but I don't know that she will be. She has a lot of her aunts in her, too!

What are your kids going to be for Halloween? Do you take them trick-or-treating? Why or why not? I'd love to hear input from all sides of the arguement.

Food & Wine

This weekend, Daddy Fuss and I will leave the Fuss with his mom and will head to Orlando to the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival. We have been looking forward to this for months. I am about 6 DPO (will be 8 the day we are at the festival) so I likely will not be drinking the wine while we are there. I am slightly bummed about this since the last time we were at this festival, I was 4.5 months PG and I couldn't drink then, either. However, the food is fabulous, so I will at least enjoy myself plenty. :)

Today has been a trying day - I switched work days so I could go to MOPs tomorrow, and then we had to do some errands at Target. The Fuss got whiney and fussy at the end of the Target trip and dumped half a cup of juice on her lap. Then, when I went to get her out of the cart (which she had been trying to get out of for 20 minutes) she had a fit because her pants were soaking wet and she was uncomfortable.

I'm cranky. I've accomplished a lot (my kitchen is sprkling right now - everything but the floor, which would have been mopped if she hadn't woken early from her nap), but I am cranky. Maybe I should have gotten on the treadmill instead of cleaning the kitchen, but the kitchen gives the impression of usefulness so it won out today.