Conversations with Toddlers

Me (bored with pushing him on the swing): Ethan, do you want to go inside?
E: mmmm...nooooo.. (it's funny, cause he actually thinks about it)
Me: Ethan, do you want NuNus (what he calls nursing)
E: Nunu? Nooooo. (very as matter of factly)
Me: Ethan, do you want to watch Elmo?
E: MELMO??!....Nooooo.

Weekend Update

So the little man has officially used the potty 3 times!

He also got his very first haircut this weekend and he definately looks like a litte boy- not a baby! It's so exciting and yet SO SAD!!

Yup. That's about it.

Because it’s pretty amazing when he’s only 18 months old!!

I am just barely awake this morning at quarter to 6. Ethan is full of vip and vigor. He practically jumps out of bed and pushes the bathroom door open. I warn him that he better not play in the toilet water. He doesn’t. Instead, he goes up to the toilet, pats the seat of it, and says “pee-pees” and then he proceeds to grab himself.

I asked if he needed to go pee-pee. He looks at me with a frantic look in his eye and again says “pee-pees”. So I strip his PJs off, take his diaper off, and I plop him right on the big boy toilet. And then I waited. Waited for something- anything- to happen. But after 5 minutes I got tired of crouching and holding him on the seat. We decide to watch Elmo instead.

On our way to the living room, he sees his little potty. And again he says “pee-pees” while he grabs at himself some more. So I put him on the training potty. But he doesn’t go pee-pee. Nope. He pooped! He was really excited about the whole thing (as was I) and was clapping and saying “big boy, big boy”!!!

Now. I don’t know if he’s early or right on time…but I was seriously impressed.

Pigeons are gross

No offense to anyone who actually likes pigeons...but seriously? I would never allow them to land on me unless I knew for a fact that they've been properly cleaned and vaccinated.

Yesterday, Ethan, my friend Jeremy, and I went to Pismo Beach. While we were walking on the pier, there was this lady with her two daughters who were probably 10 and 12 years old. The mom was proudly snapping pictures as the two girls let pigeons land ALL OVER them to eat the bread that they had in their hands! AGH!! HOW GROSS IS THAT??? Don't they know that pigeons are like flying rats???

Anyhow, aside from that, we had a great time.

I realize that I'm not that great at keeping this blog updated. You know why? Cause my life really isn't that interesting. And I COULD exaggerate and make it seem like I have all these funny anecdotes, but I really don't. Maybe later I'll do a day in the life of me, so you can see just how uneventful a typical day is.

Huh?

So my readers (readers= Caroline) have asked me why and when did I change the look of the blog. I just did it a couple of days ago...but I'm still not sold entirely on it. Though I definitely like the look better than the old one, hopefully I'll be able to design my own layout at some point.

The name is also something that will be changing. Too many people thought that "Life as a Daywalker" had some reference to vampires...and it SO didn't. I don't know what I'm going to call it yet...but I'm sure I'll come up with something good soon. Oh! And I'm totally open to suggestions.

So that's the story there!

Ears and Such

Well hello.
It's been awhile. How've you been? We've been good. Nothing too interesting has been going on. The fluid in Ethan's ears is back in full force. So I'll find out tomorrow if he's going to get tubes or just go back onto the antibiotics. It might sound bad, but I hope they just put the tubes in. Honestly, I (in my very professional opinion) think they should have done that 8 months ago, and skipped the middle man (and it would have saved us about 6 trips to the ear, nose, and throat doctor and the audiologist). So that's that.

In other Ethan news, he apparently has quite the taste for humans (he thinks they're especially good with fava beans and a nice chiante). Seriously though? I've had to sign 5-FIVE- incident reports for the lil monster at day care. All involve him biting other kids hard enough to leave marks. And honestly, I don't know what to do about it. I've tried pressing his teeth into his own arm, to show him that it really does hurt. That just made him mad. I've tried swatting his butt. I've tried the harshly toned "NO! Biting hurts!" And on saturday he got his first real spanking. I didn't like it. When he gave me that look...I can't even think about that look without getting choked up. I had always been open to the use of spanking in certain situations. But now I'm not so sure. It really hurt my heart to do that.

That's one of the drawbacks about being single. I don't have anyone to back me up when I discipline Ethan. I don't have anyone reassuring me that I'm doing the right thing. I also don't have someone to brainstorm with when nothing seems to be working. (Oh, and I don't have someone that can do the discipline for me, because face it. nobody likes to be the bad guy).

I just noticed that TiVo is recording Scrubs. I have to go devote me undivided attention to it. Yes. Even thought it's a rerun. I'm addicted to that show.

Regrouping



Ethan and I just got back from vacation, where we flew to Washington State (ok, we got back last Wednesday...so I'm slow. whatever.). We had a grand ole time. It was a time of playing with my parents 7 (yes. 7.) pygmie goats. And a time of Barbeques. We also went to the county fair. And the zoo. And the mall (this is only significant because I hadn't been to an actual mall in YEARs. Also. I bought myself some much needed clothes).

Vacations, when my parents are involved, are never terribly relaxing. In fact, we usually need a vacation from the vacation, just to feel rested. This one wasn't as bad as normal. But I still didn't get to sleep in at all. And my mom got kind of annoyed if we woke her up before like 8:30. That didn't stop me though. I figured that if I have to be awake at 6 am- so should everyone else!

All in all, it was a good, MUCH needed break from work. And it was so fun seeing Ethan run with glee to give my parents a hug. Oh. and my mom taught Ethan to throat punch people. yes. THROAT PUNCH. That's actually not as bad as it sounds...but it IS as funny! My mom used to help with speech therapy. So she was trying to teach Ethan to say the "g" sound. Apparently they way that you do that is by putting the kid's hand on your throat and making the sound. Ethan thinks this is about the funniest thing you could possibly do. And he gets very excited and punches you in the throat. Thanks mom.

Since then, Ethan's final molar (until he gets his 2 year molars) has FINALLY pushed it's way through the gums. That was NOT a fun day.

I got moved to a new office AGAIN. This move should be pretty permanent...and I think I'll like it WAY better than the last office. But anyhow...work....bleh....

I want to revamp this blog. I'm not liking the look. And I'm not sure about the name. Too bad I'm kind of dumb with this stuff and don't really know how.
Sweet! 2 hours till I get off work!!

Update...and Fun with Toddlers...

So remember how I posted that I was going to buy a car? Well. I didn't. I DID go test driving, but the sales guy just wouldn't show me anything in my price range ($15,000. HELLO??? shouldn't have been that hard.) So I left. Which is just sad, since I had every intention of walking away with a car that day. Oh well. The plan now, is to look up in Washington State when E and I visit in August. Everything's cheaper up there anyway. Then my dad will drive it the 15 hours down to my house. My dad's cool.

Now on to fun with toddlers...climbing on kitchen tables. That's fun. Immediately obeying mom when she says "get down". That's fun too...until you lose your balance and fall from the chair and hit your head on another chair on the way down. (Go figure he immediately did what I said...he almost never does it THAT quick.) That part wasn't too fun. There was much screaming. And then? None. He got very quiet. Eerily quiet. He stayed awake until I was done icing the bump...but I couldn't keep him up any longer. So we went to the ER. It was his first trip there and I cried the whole way. He didn't even wake up when I put him in his carseat. Or when I tickeled his feet and pulled on his toes. I was freaking out.

As soon as we pulled into the parking lot, he wakes up and starts talking and pointing, and acting like himself. Then I kind of felt stupid for even bringing him. But we still went in just to be sure that everything was cool. And it was. He actually ended up having a very good day.

It's all fun and games until someone falls of the table.

Weekend 'o fun

Tomorrow night I'm going to channel my inner Latina and get my Salsa on.

Saturday I'm going to the wonderful place that is Costco. Also? Buying a new car. YAY!!

Breakin' Dreams and Cardboard Ecstasy...

Sometimes when I tell people stories about my college days, they don't believe me. My best friend (and partner-in-crime), we'll call her Mini-Mod (or M for short). That is her street/breakin name. Mine is Tru-Loc. At one point we even had psuedo matching t-shirts that we both got from a thrift store, that had those names on them. We were AWESOME!!! What am I talking about??? We totally still are. But now it's a slightly more grown up brand of awesome.

We had a seriously kick-ass apartment in college. It was huge for the price we were paying. Our dining room table was made from a front door that my brother (who is a second degree blackbelt) kicked down and cinder blocks. You had to sit on the floor to use it. We had lots of dinner parties on it. I also had a lap dance on it (but that's a whole other story).

In this apartment, there were hideous fluorescent lights. To battle the tackiness of it all, we draped fabric from the ceiling to soften the light and kind of hide them. It looked great! It complimented the corner that we had hung carpet and fabric remnants on the walls. And in that corner sat a very cool stool that we fondly refered to as Gregory Abbott. You might know him as the guy who sang "Shake you Down" (at least that's what I think the song was called.) We also has a couch named Bob (Marley) and a loveseat named Rufus (Wainright). We were very big into naming inadimate objects. My car's name was Leon.

But that's not really the part that people don't believe. It's the fact that I co-starred in a movie called "Breakin Dreams, Cardboard Ecstasy". As you may have figured out from the title, it IS in fact a break-dancing movie. Starring me, Tru-Loc, the whitest of whiteys. And Mini-Mod, who is a pocket-sized person. Oh, M also wrote, directed and was the camera- girl for it.

This all took place the summer that M was taking a film class, and we shared a paper route. We made a bunch of other movies, and they were pretty much all shot at 3 in the morning while were were working. In one of the movies, I had to "hit" M with my car. I think we did something like 20 different takes from different angles. I also played the neighborhood trapeze artist in that same move, where I pulled a Milli Vanilli to that Carpenters song...the one about birds, but I don't know what it's actually called....why do birds suddenly appear....

That summer I had 2 other jobs. One of them was working at a vetrinary clinic, also with M, where we got to clean out animal cages and play with the doggies. We also sterilized the surgery rooms...where it wasn't uncommon to see animal parts...that was kind of gross. Ok. REALLY gross. The other job was Jack in the Box. It wasn't that interesting.

I think that's enough rambling for today.

Two words

"More cheese" and "the. ball."
Ethan has been right on time or early for every baby milestone except for talking. He was a little behind the curve on that one (my theory is that was a result of the fluid in his ears...). But he said his first word- "bubbles" about a month ago and he's just been increasing his vocabulary daily. He's going to start talking back any day now!

Yesterday, when I picked him up from daycare, he ran to give me a hug just like every other day then pointed to a ball and plain as day said "the. ball." HE PUT TWO WHOLE WORDS TOEGETHER!!! But that's nothing compared to what he said at lunch: "More cheese" that's really no suprise that he wanted more cheese (the boy doesn't mess around when it comes to food) but he asked for more! Maybe it's just because I'm his mom, but I think that's pretty amazing.

Oh, he also says "please."

Bubbles and dog-dogs

In light of the fact that I havn't posted in over a month, I'll give you the quick and dirty edition:

Between Ethan and myself, we went to the doctor 5 times. Nothing terrible. Ethan's ears still have fluid in them, but he can hear fine. I had 8 moles sliced off and 3 frozen. Yummy! Ethan is 34 inches tall and about 26 pounds!

Ethan is a regular chatterbox. Bubbles. Ball. Bottle. All done. dog-dog (which applies to EVERY animal). Juice. Please. Bye-bye. He has about the most adorable voice. Ever. Also. He calls me Mom about half of the time. MOM. not Mama. MOM. He's such a big boy!

I went on a 9 mile hike.

I shot a scary handgun for work. Bah! I don't like guns.

My son has turned into a monkey. He climbs on everything.

Rather than crying when he wakes up from a nap, he just climbs out of bed and wanders the house until he finds me. My baby's growing up! (sniff sniff)

Well. I actually think that's about it. It really seemed like more went on, but according to my calendar that is all.

For the the 4th, we went to a picnic where E got to go in a bounce house. And after that we went to La Purisima Mission in Lompoc, California. Where I head butted a horse. I swear it was an accident. Ethan got really excited to see all the 'dog-dogs' (horses, cows, goats, sheep, pigs and donkeys)!

I can't believe it's already July. They tell you that time really flies once you have kids. But you never really know the full scope of what they mean until you have one. Time just needs to slow down. Way down.

Brilliant!

Last night Ethan pointed to his electric bubble blower thing and said "buh-booo?" That's really one of his first words that he said on his own, without me prompting him. He'll say "dooce" for juice...and shoes, actually. He's so smart!

Also last night he was going around to all of his toys that play music and dancing with them (even if the music wasn't actually playing). I got some great video of it, which is a miracle, because he usually stops everything if I bring out the camera and then focuses all of his energy on trying to get it out of my hands! It's just too bad I can't figure out how to add video to this thing- if that's even possible...

I had a Pampered Chef party on saturday. Turned out to be kind of a bust. Out of the 40 people that were invited, none of them RSVPd, and only 3 of them showed up. But I did try some delicious recipes- Cheesy artichoke cups and fruit pizza...delish! I signed up to be a consultant back in September just so I could get all the tools for cheap, and I've had a couple of parties. But I think that one will be my last. I didn't really make any money off of it, maybe $100...so I won't miss anything!

Vomitus Humongous...


Puke. Vomit. Blow chunks. Yup. That's what my weekend has been filled with. My poor sweet Ethan has been afflicted with...well...I don't know what he has. But it makes him spew. Which, in turn, makes me want to join him. ESPECIALLY when the projectile vomit lands ALL OVER ME!

It's a really strange thing, though. He is as happy as a clam until about 20 seconds before he throws up. In that 20 seconds he cries. And then the puke. It's crazy how such a small child can produce THAT much throw up. And as soon as he's done- he's back to his happy self. I told my mom that I think he has baby bulemia. She didn't think it was funny. I guess she's right. Bulemia is no laughing matter. But he wasn't keeping anything down, until I gave him some delicious Pedialyte.

This whole throw up fiasco started when my gentleman friend was here (I really was going to tell him how I felt...). But the frantic cleaning of bodily fluids and changing Ethan's clothes, and my clothes, kind of killed that one. So needless to say, I chickened out. I wanted to be looking pretty good, and NOT smelling like bile.

Also? Ethan threw up on my friend's 2 month old sons head. He has impecable aim. No joke.

Feels like Junior High...

Remember when you were in junior high? Remember what it was like to have a crush on someone? Remember how you would talk to your girlfriends, saying things like, "He's so cute! Did he just look at me?? I wonder if he likes me too? Should I tell him? AHH! I can't stop thinking about him! He's stuck in my head! I think I might really like him. I think I might love him. What do I do? " And then do you remember how you'd have that same conversation with your friends over and over for what seems like forever? And then you FINALLY get the nerve to tell him? And half the time he's receptive, and the other half of the time he "just likes you as a friend"? No? This is just how my love life has worked since the 6th grade? Except that this system has never *really* worked that well.

And yet? I find myself in that situation again. I totally have a crush on one of my friends. And I have since I met him 2 years ago. We talk about stuff. Stuff that matters. OUr friendship isn't based on what most of my friendships are based on right now. Most of my friends- the biggest thing we have in common are that we are in the military and have kids. Don't get me wrong- if it weren't for these friends I think I would probably be in a looney bin by now. But when I hang out with them and their husbands and their kids- I sometimes feel incredibly alone. To the point where I'll sit and have a whole conversation with Ethan, because everyone else is talking about their husbands and such. And I can't even relate.

Back to my crush- he's my go to guy. When I need a date for a wedding- I call him. He's a snappy dresser and always smells good. When I need a dance partner for salsa lessons? I call him. The man can dance. And he doesn't freak out over the fact that I've been dancing for years. We dance and we have fun. When I just need to vent? I call him. When I need a big bear hug? I call him.

Before, when I first met him, I was pregnant and he had just gotten out of a long term relationship and was messing around with a coworker that I was friends with. Timing would have been WAY off if I had said anything about this. Then, I was busy trying to figure out how to be a single mom. And he was busy finishing up school. Well, now, he's about a month from graduation. He's been single for awhile. I know he wants to be in a relationship. And I'm terrified that if I don't say something now. It'll be too late and I'll be stuck beating myself up over "what if."

I finally feel like I'm ready to get back into the dating scene. But I'm overcome with fear of rejection courtesy of an ex boyfriend that got me pregnant and robbed me of my self confidence. I'm not sure I can handle it. I have a plan though. He's going to come over to hang out tomorrow. I'm going tell him. I have to. And if he "just likes me as a friend" I'll cry to my blog. And try to move on. And probably cry a little more.

Wish me luck.

Only a slight twitch...

I made it through last week and only had a slight twitch on friday! Having the three kids to look after was...uh...fun...yeah. That's it. No, actually it wasn't that bad. The 2.5 year old was pretty easy most of the time. And the 9 month old is probably the 2nd happiest baby on the face of the planet (Ethan is the happiest). It got a little hairy at bed time, since all of the kids wanted to snuggle but none of them wanted to share me....

I'm not a yeller. Most of the time I just don't think it's necessary. And even when Bella- the oldest one I was watching- took Ethan's toys from him and pushed him to the ground- I still didn't yell. I barely even raised my voice. I DID use a stern tone. But as soon as I said "Bella" with that tone, she would run to the playroom, screaming and crying, and sit herself in a corner. After she did that a couple of times I just thought I'd see how long she'd stay in there and cry. Turns out? A very long time. Ok. Maybe 10 minutes isn't that long. But when you're not used to having a child throw actual tantrums- it feels like a long time. Ethan doesn't even bother. As soon as he realizes that I'm not going to make a big deal of his flinging himself to the floor he quits and goes back to playing (this usually takes all of 20 seconds)

And poor Ethan. He's not used to sharing his mommy. Even at daycare he was acting all degected. He seemed to relieved on Friday when I picked him up and there were no other kids attached to me.

There were some fun times though...Ethan loves to hug babies, so he spent the whole time trying to smother Jordan with his baby lovin. And Bella liked to hug both, but her hugs kind of knocked the other two over into a pile of baby cuteness.

Oh! Yesterday I was feeding my Mt. Dew habit and Ethan pointed to my can and said "doda?" When I said "yes that is soda" with the emphasis on the S, he then pointed to the TV and said "doda?" and then he pointed to my eyeball (read: poked me in the eye) and said "doda?" So he can't talk yet. He's getting there.

I just don't know...

On Wednesday night, I had a co-worker and her family over for dinner. The purpose of this visit wasn't just a social one. You see, I, in a moment of sheer craziness, agreed to watch her 2 kids for 4 nights while she and her husband go on a cruise to Mexico. And we wanted to see how her kids would deal with staying in a new environment.

I don't know what I was thinking! Her daughter is 2 and a half. And she has a 9 month old son who just learned to crawl...Anyhow, at the dinner I made salmon cakes, steamed asparagus and couscous- which was delicious if I do say so myself. The evening, however quickly turned into one of mayhem. Yes. Mayhem. Ethan was chasing around Bella. Bella was jumping all over us grown ups. Causing Ethan to try and do the same. Jordan was busy trying to crawl and get into things until Ethan (who can't really jump yet) decided that Jordan's head would make a really good step stool. It was fun. But crazy exhausting- and that was with the ratio of one adult to every kid. I just am not sure what I'm gonna do next week.

I figure I'll be late to work every day next week since I have to drop 3 kids off at 3 different places for daycare. I'll probably be twitching a lot and possible falling asleep at my desk. We'll see.

I keep telling her I'm not too worried...And I'm not worried, but I AM convinced I'm crazy. All sorts of crazy....

Clarification

Ok. I just realized that the term 'daywalker' is what they call vampires in some movie. The name of this blog DOES NOT have anything to do with that.

Some guy I work with watches a lot of South Park. Apparently there's an episode that involves red heads and how they're going to take over the world or something like that. Well, there are the red heads with pale skin that can't go outside during the day because of the sun...and then there are the daywalkers. They're the ones that in spite of their red hair and pale skin and freckles- can go outside. That's me. Ever since that episode I've been called "Daywalker". But I'll let you in on a little secret...I dye my hair red. So there.

Dawn of the Daywalker

So I've gone and done it. I'm no longer a perpetual "lurker". Now I have my own blog. Who knows? Maybe someday I'll have some lurkers of my very own! I don't really know what I'll be writing about here. I do know that my friends get overloaded with stories about my son- so this should be a good outlet for that. Especially since these stories? They're not always cute or amusing or even good- that is, unless your his mother.

Chances are? I'll end up talking about the green glittery poop my son had because he ate a bunch of the finger paint he was using at day care before the people had a chance to stop him. Or how he isn't particularly a fan of meat, but he still takes bites of it, chews it up, and pushes it out of his mouth with his tongue. I don't know. You'd probably laugh if you actually saw it... maybe not.

So about me? In case you haven't figured it out, I am indeed, a mom. I'm not just a 'regular' mom. I'm a single mom. A single mom who is in the military (but more on that later). AND it turns out? I'm one of those moms that I always swore I wouldn't be. I talk constantly about my kid. His name is Ethan, by the way. He's 13 months old. I find it very hard to leave him at daycare on the week days, and even harder to leave him with a sitter on the weekends so I can have a life outside of motherhood. I actually am not sure how I have any friends due to the fact that I can't carry on an adult conversation anymore.

So the military. I'm in the Air Force. It's ok. But I'm not kidding- I know EXACTLY how long I have left of my 4 year enlistment (593 days). I can hardly wait. And all the crap going on the middle east worries me. The thought of leaving Ethan with my parents for 8 months makes me want to throw up. Not the part about my parents watching him- the part about me leaving him.
My official job title in the Force is "Engineering Apprentice". This often leads people to believe that I do engineering type work. If you thought that you would be wrong. VERY wrong. I actually end up being the copy b#@*&. It's like I work at Kinkos. Only I don't get to wear the cool aprons and they force me to work out (which I'm fairly certain, Kinkos doesn't).