Guess What I want for Christmas....

So you all know that I'm obsessed with sleep, right? Riiiiight? Well, if you didn't, you do now. I am truly obsessed..I can't stop thinking about sleep..example: I read an add in a magazine for some super energizing beverage & I'm like 'that sounds great. You know what sounds even greater? SLEEPING. Then I wouldn't need the caffienated beverage! Then, on the next page of the magazine I see some super skinny model in some super cute dress & I'm like 'oh, she's cute..I like that dress, I bet I'd look cute in it, too..but you know what would make me look REALLY cute? Sleep.' Yeah..'cause I've never looked so tired & blotchy & OLD in my life! Not when I was dating my husband & up till 5am with him, then at work at 6:30am till 3pm, all while going to school. I looked freakin' uh-mazing then. Now, I just look like someone smeared my mascara under my eyes..permanently. Ugh.

OK, so, the point of this post is to tell you a funny sleep story. Aiden & I took a little trip to the mall yesterday. We shopped. We strolled. Then we got a sandwich. And while we're sitting in the food court enjoying our turkey-&-provolone-on-wheat-with-apple-slices I notice that Aiden is eyeballing the carousel a few yards away. He keeps twisting in his highchair to looooooook at it (have I mentioned he is INCREDIBLY mobile these days? And that I haven't babyproofed anything in my house...it's AWESOME!) So I decide he'd probably like a ride on the carousel. We pay our ride-the-carousel-fee & select a nice looking pony. I buckle Aiden on, he grabs the bar & put my hand on his back..we start spinning...he's loving it..then about 6 mins in to the ride he just suddenly slumps to the side & slides right off the horse into my arms! Yeah, I kinda freaked out! My mind is racing through possibilities...did he choke? Did he faint? Do I have a fainting goat for a son? THEN, I realize that nothing that dramatic has occured...oh, no! My son has simply been spun to sleep. While sitting upright.

If that doesn't tell me he's tired, I don't know what will.

Blog Strike

Don't take this personally, guys, but I'm going to quit reading your blogs if you have a baby! Why, you ask? For your own safety! Because if I have to read one more post about how your baby 'falls asleep completely on their own without a peep' I WILL hunt you down & kill you. Got it? I'm happy for you..& I like you..but reading that makes me hate you.

Now.

This is the part where you all jump in with your sleep strategies & 'training'. I WANT to hear your advice. UNLESS. UNLESS. It involves crying it out!! Because I won't do that. Call me crazy/silly/softy etc. You may be right. But I won't. We tried that for a while..and this is how it went:

Aiden screaming. Aiden Screaming. Aiden SCREAMING. Meghan bawling. Hysterically. Go in to check on him & 'reassure' him. Aiden SCREAMS & grabs frantically at any part of my body he can get his tiny hands on. Go out. Cry in hall. AIDEN SCREAMING. Go in to check....PUKE everywhere!!! More times than once. The only variation was when it was BLOOD everywhere, 'cause he bit his tongue. He doesn't wear out. He doesn't calm down. He does. NOT. sleep. And while it may work for some people..to me it feels torturous (to me & him) & I feel like I'm breaking my child. Because after all the crying..it takes HOURS to calm him down to a whimper. And then he won't eat.

So. I love you guys. And I would like to hear your sleep advice. But I'm warning you..if you mention crying it out..I WILL be annoyed :)

Peace!

*UPDATE*: I just want to make abundantly clear that I don't think you're a terrible parent if you do/have use(d) the CIO method of sleep training. I'm not judging anyone here..there is no one size fits all & you do what works for you & your kiddo..that's what's important.

Smokin' Hot, Baby!

So, I got all ambitious the other night...fired up the grill! Crazy, right? Why would I do such a thing?

No. Seriously. WHY would I do that?

The grill is my husband's domain. Somewhere around our second year of marriage I got him this AWESOME, double sided Char Grill. One side for charcoal. The other side for gas. The man loves to grill old-school most of the time, & I felt he deserved to do so in style, while also having the option of flipping a switch for the convenience of gas grilling. Man, I'm an awesome wife!

Back to the story...

Grills get hot. It's their nature. I mean, they ARE supposed to COOK things..which entails heat. And they're designed to get hot without, um, self destructing. Or so I thought.

So, yeah, I'm all ambitious..I decide to grill some chicken for dinner. On the gas side, of course. I ain't messin' with charcoal, man..that stuff freaks me out (seriously, it does. Wussy, right?)! I flip on the burners, I push the light button, the grill springs to life! Awesome! I turned the burners down to medium heat, throw the chicken on, & go inside to work on a salad (well rounded nutrition folks!) I go check on the chicken about 10 minutes later..all is good in the hood!

Jeff calls to let me know he's on his way home..I'm choppin up some veggies..I'm in my cookin' groove. I hear Jeff pull up & think 'Yay! Back up is here!!' (for Aiden..cause entertaining a 5 month old all day can get wearing, some days). Well he came slamming through the garage door & yells 'Meghan! Are you alright?!' And of course, I'm all 'Yup, great! Why do you ask? Oh, hey, you're gonna be so proud of me..I'm using the grill to GRILL CHICKEN!' And he's like, 'Well, it looks like the house is on fire out there..come see..' So we walk outside..& sure enough! Black smoke is billowing out of the garage! The smoke is so thick you can't really see anything in there..it was nuts!

We're still not sure what I did. Jeff managed to get the grill turned off. Apparently the thermometer inside the grill was reading around 1000 degrees!! Man, I've got mad skillz! Poor Jeff is shopping for a new lid for his grill. 'Cause it melted. Yeah..MELTED!!

In other news, I have impressive talent in the 'backing up my car' department. I was running early to work the other night & figured I deserved a treat..so I pulled into McD's drive through to get one of those quite yummy frappes (not gonna lie..they ain't too shabby.) And I'm perusing the menu as the drive through guy says 'I can take your order whenever you're ready'. Well, I wasn't seeing my frappes...THEN I noticed I was in a KFC drive through! Cool! So I backed out of the drive through..90 degree turn & all! Woo hoo!

And I think I've made a big enough fool out of myself for one post!

Hmmmm...

My brain's felt too helter-skelter & slugish lately to sit down & write an actual, coherent post on this here blog o' mine! In fact, I'm struggling right now to string words together in an INTERESTING fashion (I hate it when my writing doesn't have any 'spark'!) So..here's a list of 'I Wonders' that have been streaming through my brain as of late:

I WONDER:

-If I'll ever get a full nights sleep ever. Again. My mother informs me that no, I will not..& I believe her! 'Cause once Aiden's 'sleeping through the night' (what idiot coined that phrase? I want to beat them!) He'll get teeth. Then nightmares. Then he'll be a teenager before I know it & I'll be waiting up for him! On a tangent..in highschool I never understood why my parents felt the need to do that..now I get it.

-Will my house ever NOT be covered in piles? Piles of laundry. Piles of paper. Piles of dishes. Piles of chew toys (baby's & dogs) & blocks. The answer, yet again, is NO. I'm not that motivated most of the time! I will accept the fact the my bathrooms, kitchen & floors are sparkling clean, & that's better than nothing!

-Will my skin ever be clear again? Before I even knew I was prego I started breaking out. And it's been downhill from there. I use ProActive. I use prescription meds (have since I was 16, honestly). All I can say is THANK GOODNESS FOR BARE MINERALS! That stuff saves my vanity :)

And now, on a more positive note, 'cause those 'I Wonders' seem a bit negative..

I WONDER:

-How I got so lucky as to have my husband! He is so amazing. I know everyone's husband is (usually...), but I think mine is better than yours :) Just sayin! He cleans our house, he grocery shops, he supports our little family, he does Tri's & builds fences & decks..& fixes my car & installs gas lines...PHEW! In all seriousness, I love having a man who is so motivated & a 'jack of all trades' as my husband. He puts me to shame. Did I mention he is the most incredible father?

-Can my baby boy get any cuter? Can I fall any more in love with him? I suspect the answer on both counts is YES! I look at him & I just melt..his gummy grins & flapping, grabby little hands...WOW!! This is so corny, please forgive me, because I used to absolutely hate it when mom's said this before I had my baby..but you just can't know how pure love can be, & what an incredible experience it is, until you're a mom!

-Will all of you in the Salt Lake area sign up for This Race with me? It's not long, it's not hard..you can walk it, if you want! It promotes healthy habits & positive body image in girls & women..which is a 'cause' near & dear to me. It's women only..no stinky boys...:) You know you want to!

Have a great day, y'all!

Dear Little Bug...An almost 4 months letter!

That's officially my nickname for you! But the little part won't be accurate for much longer! You are getting so big & chubby :) at least by your standards..grow, baby, grow!

I can't believe that you're almost four months old, little boy. You are 16 weeks today, actually! We've come a long way..I finally feel like an official 'mommy' these days. I know what you're cries mean (most of them, at least:), & I can predict your needs pretty well now...so you actually aren't crying a whole lot! Yay! You love playing with mommy & daddy better than any toy, & we absolutely love playing with you, too :) You've got the cutest chubby cheeks & little rolls around your wrists! You drool non-stop! Seriously! I thought you might be getting ready to teeth (& you might be..I'm not sure) so to check I ran my finger over your gums. You took this as an invitation to gum down on my finger & GRROOOWWWWL! It was so cute :) You also love to suck on your dad & I & on yourself...you gave yourself a hickey the other day! You've got the funniest feet: they're little chubby rectangles w/ the toes squiiished on there..I've taken pictures:

You love to stand on those chubby feet..you are SO strong! Sometimes you get mad at me when I make you sit down.

Your most favorite thing in the world is to talk. You love it when we talk to you, and you babble right back like you know exactly what we're saying.

You are growing so fast..& I love it, but it makes me sad, too. Soon you'll be a little boy, & I want to remember all this stuff: how much you love chilling in your stroller while I run, how half your naps are IN that stroller! How you love to click your tongue & cuddle with your dad & me...I could go on & on..but I won't :) I'll just post another pic to show everyone how cute you are! I love you, little bug!

Happy Birthday, Loverboy!

Jeff's Birthday was on Sunday, & man do we know how to partay! :) Once again, I didn't upload the pics in any particular order..I just don't think about that till after they're uploaded! Plus, a lot of these pics are for the grandparents, & they don't care what order they're in!!


He's destined to be a Utes' fan..which is a plus, cause I like red way better than blue!

Don't mind my weird looking smile in this pic..just focus on the cute little boy!

See? Like I said: SOOO cute!

Intense Daddy/Son convo...something along the lines of 'Dad, you look like Wolverine w/ those mutton chops!' lol

Open mouth, insert fist! It never gets old!

Yummy birthday breakfast! Blueberry French Toast...mmmmmm

Jeff's been coveting this pic for a while..

Aiden enjoyed breakfast, too! I know feeding him this 'broke' a bunch of 'rules'..but rules are made to be broken, baby! Esp if bluberry french toast is involved!

MAN, those mutton chops are HOT!

Rockin' out in his Metallica onsie..already has good taste in music! haha

He's a big fan of this octopus..we need to name him..any suggestions?

Looking quite studious in his Bumbo! He loves that he can sit up for a bit on his own :)

THE END

Where's the, um, oh, wait..crap.

This story's too funny not to tell..

So, I went to the grocery store today, list in hand. My hubby's work is having a BBQ tonight & he had two dishes he wanted to take. He kindly wrote down the list of what was needed, & off to the store I kindly went, 'cause I'm nice like that :)

Once in the store I perused over the list so I could categorize it & not have to run all over the place. Vanilla ice cream, check! Diet Mountain Dew, check! Frozen raspberries..check! Wait a sec! What's that one say? I cannot read his handwriting! Ugh! So I called him, oh, 5 or 6 times. But he was out back working on our deck, & didn't pick up. OK. Fine..I'll leave that till last & call him again. But he still didn't answer. SO I decided I'd ask someone else if they could read his handwriting, 'cause sometimes a fresh pair of eyes is all it takes..right? I figured a man would have better luck, since he was, ya know, a guy. So I searched out a nice looking dude (I made a point of making sure he a wedding ring on his finger, that way my asking couldn't be misconstrued as interest..how smart am I?:)

"Excuse me, my husband wrote this list down, & I CANNOT read what this is..can you help me?"

The gentleman kindly looked at the item I was pointing at.

"Um, I think it say croutons..yeah..I think..um....."

We both realized what it said at the exact same time. His face went bright red. "Oh, crap!!" I thought. HOW DID I NOT READ THAT????!

I'll give him credit. He did mutter what it actually said as he power walked away from me.

Hope you guys are smart & can figure it out!

haha