All about lastnight

I wanted to add these lastnight but I was having issues with Picturetrail.
Left: Brighton in the dishwasher
Center: Brighton in the closet
Right: Brighton eating/wearing beets

As suspected, I wasn't able to leave Brighton in his bed lastnight. I went in to see him before I went to bed and he woke up (myseriously...) and so I brought him to bed with me. The three of us didn't sleep all that well. So we're going to try again tonight. I don't think I can go cold turkey...maybe tonight when I'm not all keyed up from 4 shots of espresso and a cold, icy drive home...we'll see.

Being Lonely - or is it just Mom?

Well, tonight is the first time I'm going to attempt (maybe...) to leave Bright in his own bed for the night. The prospect of it makes me VERY sad. I have always been of the mind that everyone should be together at nighttime. I'm not sure why, but I've just always been that way. I hate to think that Andrew, the dogs, the cats and I are all in the bedroom and little Brighton is all by himself in his bed. He's not crying, he's sleeping well in his bed, but all night I will keep picturing Bright all alone, with his stuffed animals, suffocating. Good God, what a nice thought right before bed, huh? What prompted this whole thing? This morning at about 2:30, Mr. B. woke up and decided he wanted to play. Mom wasn't really wanting to play. So for about an hour I tried and tried to get him to go back to sleep, but failed. Miserably. Finally, about 3:45 I put him in his bed and told him to go sleepy. Lo and behold, quiet. Then a few muffled cries, but not for long. We both slept until 8 AM. WHA?~ That hasn't happened in a LONG LONG time. We'll see how long he stays in his bed. It's 11:19 now, I'll give it another 1/2 hour.

List 2

Things that really tick Brighton off:

10. Venti strawberry lemonade blended drinks (or the brain freeze that follows when he drinks them too fast...)
9. Venti three pump raspberry, three pump valencia passion tea lemonades
8. The phrase "Get off of that coffeetable"
7. Having to ride in his stroller rather than push it
6. The word "NO"
5. Baby gates
4. Bras
3. The phrase "Get out of the dishwasher!"
tied with
3. The phrase "Don't take all those hangers out of the clo...set..."
2. Mom picking his nose
and the number 1 thing that ticks Brighton off:
1. Obstacles in the road when he's trying to drive his trike, construction vehicle or Thomas the Tank Engine. Namely, a wall, a dog, a cat or one of his bajillion toys.

List 1

Some things I would never have done pre-baby:

Gone to the grocery store without a bra
Purchased a pair of mini pants for more than I would pay for my own pants
Licked my finger to wipe a smudge off of someone elses face
Picked someone else's nose
Wiped someone else's nose
Put my finger in someone else's mouth to remove a foreign object
Wiped anyone else's bum
Splashed in the bathtub
Cut anyone else's hair
Allowed anyone to drive their cars or ride their bikes in the house
Allowed someone else to have access to my "girlies" (boobs) at any time they wanted
Been on the verge of tears because I hadn't spent a whole day in their presence
Loved someone so unconditionally that I really would give my life for theirs

Yep, that's the mommy story :) And I'm sure the daddy story is similar.

Black Friday

Daddy, Brighton and I all pigged out yesterday at Nana Sally and Papa Tom's house. We had a wonderful meal, hard apple cider (the guys had Leinenkugel's Apple Spice Beer) and lots and lots of entertainment from the tot. He is walking more now so he toddled around, harrassed the dog with his truck, talked on the phone and of course, made somewhat of a mess during the meal. Which now that I am thinking back, I forgot to clean up...Sorry Sal. We had a very nice day to prelude Black Friday.

This will be the first time in a long time I've had to work retail on Black Friday and I am TERRIFIED!!!! I go in to Starbucks at 4 tonight which hopefully the crowds will have died down a bit, but I'm sure it will still be busy. Good thing I know how to make coffee and it's a good thing I've been calling out drinks in my sleep...or I wouldn't be prepared. Tomorrow is going to be the killer. I'll be there from 10 - 4 (I think). I will be missing my family but I think I can manage to get through it for a day or so.

Update on the house. I called the owners the other day to release the 48 hour contingency and found out they'd sold the house the day before. Techinically, they breached their contract, but since we were going to release it anyway, we didn't put up a stink. We got our $$ back and so I guess it just wasn't the right time. Then soon after I got our money back, we got a phone call asking if our house was still up for sale. Figures. But so far nothing. It's just a BAD time to sell I guess. Still holding out hope.

Later!

Is it just me?

Is it just me or are toddlers tempermental? I'm not sure what I did - except protect my neatly just folded towels from the predatory toddler - but all of a sudden Brighton had a minor meltdown. With the big bottom lip and everything. It was totally ridiculous. I find myself thinking a lot "is he crazy?" LOL or maybe "am I crazy?" Maybe a little bit of both. When I finally finished folding laundry, I managed to nestle the basket on my hip (kindof-as they get fuller it gets a little tougher to balance), grab my mug of coffee, dodge toys with wheels on the floor, place mug of now cold coffee into the microwave for the second time this morning, start micro, dodge dog lying in the middle of the kitchen, and finally deposit laundry basket full of towels into the bathroom to be put away. That got my mind racing, wondering just how many other moms were out there doing the very same thing - or something relatively similar. I feel so connected to other moms the instant I hear that they are a mom. It's like we have this great secret group where we discuss everything from breastfeeding to books and in total comfort. It's really a great thing. I suppose I'd best get off this computer. I can hear my little guy babbling in his crib - he must have just woken up from his nap. Maybe I should take advantage of his crib play and fold the other load of laundry in the dryer? Naw...that's no fun.

Attached is the photo of the newest addition to our family. Peter Matthew! Born to Aunt Amy and Uncle Pete in NW Iowa. Isn't he cute?!! Even though he's a little ticked off...I can't blame the little guy! He's lying there half nikked!

New Baby!!!

Brighton has a new baby cousin! Peter Matthew, born at 5:43 PM today (November 15). He weighed 9 lbs .14 oz and was 22 inches long! He was delivered by C-Section in NW Iowa - Spencer to proud parents Pete and Amy (Andrew's sister). YAY! Brighton was so excited he walked from the middle of the kitchen to the chair in the livingroom. Then from the hallway to the livingroom - I think. Dad told me but I sort of forgot and now they're sleeping so I can't ask. At any rate, Brighton is excited to have a new cousin and I'm excited to see the new baby we've been waiting for for so long!!! Now they're all tuckered out from all the excitement and I didn't have any caffeine tonight at work so I'm ready for bed myself :)

Congratulations Amy and Pete and Belle!!!

Little bit of nothing

Well, this is the last day of my long weekend hiatus. I finally after two weeks got a day (actually three days) off. I worked Friday night but that doesn't count. :) Andrew, Gma Mary, Brighton and I all went to Tanger Outlet Mall on Saturday to do some Christmas shopping. We got a lot done! Brighton of course, came out like a champ.

Today I took Brighton to the doctor because he had a funny looking sore on the back of his leg and since he's been so snotty and at times incorridgable I suspected he had another ear infection. Sure enough, he did. Dr. didn't know what the spot on his leg was. Might be an ingrown hair (at this age?!) might have been a bug bite, might be some kind of icky virus. He has a few spots around his mouth that she wants me to watch to see if they turn into anything, but she didn't quarantine him or anything so I assume it's OK. It looked watery yesterday but is crusted over today. It's very weird. He's already been through the chicken pox this year.

Brighton is entering that stage where he gets frustrated at every little thing. His car getting stuck on the doorway is cause to lie down and wail. Mom can't hold him and cook at the same time...DRAMA! Our house is one big opera lately. But he's also doing some very fun things too. Like blowing kisses, giving the dog and cats kisses, giving mom and dad kisses and hugs, taking steps here and there when encouraged and not tired, dancing all the time. Oh if you were a fly on the wall...

Election Day Hangover

Well, there are lots of things to report, but I'm so stinking tired that I hope to remember them all!

Brighton is getting braver and braver, starting to take a few more steps a little more often. He's also started hollaring out "DAAAAA DAAAAAAAA DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" in the morning when he wakes up. I assume he's calling for his DAD. Brighton just today discovered temporary tattoos. We got a sheet of them from buffalo wild wings a few weeks ago but he found them today in his "dog house" and so mom decided to show him what they were. He was very excited and chose one for his left hand (a chicken) and one for his right hand (a buffalo with wings). OK mom chose them because they were on the top, but what's the diff? He's also decided that he likes to ride one of his three cars around the house...all the time. Dogs be dammed he's coming through! He has a Thomas the Train, a Dump Truck and a Radio Flyer 3 & 1/2 wheeler. Fun times...This morning I caught him trying to get to the poop in Violet's litter box (Violet had an abscess and so until it's more healed up - and not open - she is in a kennel in the sun room with a temporary toilet). With my supersonic mommy ears, I heard a strange noise, and came out just before he reached the poop. I think moms have another sense, a seventh sense if you will, where we just know that something is going down...I had a vision of exactly what was happening...Now, anyone who knows me, knows that A. I don't like my son to be dirty in any way - unless it's intentional and even then I have a hard time with it, and B. my imagination runs wild with the prospect potential bugs and parasites and bacteria and other ookies streaming around in any kind of litter, dirt or sand (thanks Merial Company...). So I was freaking out. We promptly washed hands, feet and removed all clothing that potentially touched the cesspool of invisible critters. After that mess, we ate french toast (that I didn't prepare quickly enough) and watched the election results on GMA before turning the station to PBS and Sesame Street.

Brighton is also entering the terrible twos. And he's not even 1 1/2 yet. I think part of it is because mommy is working a second job and has been gone almost every night and so this routine is way off. But he's started to throw himself on the floor and bawl when something frustrates him or just plain ticks him off. So far, I've only been chewed out twice, maybe three times, but we get the idea.

As for the election day hangover, I was REALLY disgusted with this sessions elections. On my way home from work yesterday, I called my darling husband who reminded me to vote. "I'm not voting!! Those politicians PI$$ED ME OFF this year with all this negative garbage." "OK" he said. After quickly changing the topic, we hung up. On my 40 minute jaunt home, I started thinking of all the people who fought to have the right to vote, women, minorities, and I started feeling obligated (I HATE that feeling!!!!!) So I decided to do it, FOR THEM. I walked in with a BAD attitude, grabbed my sheet (after being harassed about my name - "is it under Reilly or Oberbreckling? You should go to the courthouse and get that changed," blah blah blah") walked briskly over to the "secret voting table" and begrudgingly filled in my choices for candidates. The whole time, I had a hole in my gut, a sinking feeling. None of these people (excepting one) I would trust with my child or my government. Hell, I wouldn't even let them take care of my pets or plants for the weekend lest they use them for some ad campaign. I thought I hated politicians before, well let me tell you, this is a whole new ballgame. They're in a whole new level of disgust in my book. With all the ugliness in this world right now, why do they have to contribute? Why can't we be PROGRESSIVE. I know that's a scary word for Washington and government in general, but it's a good thing. Really. It is. I'm done with my rant, but I want to end with this.

Thank goodness for Bob and Tom who make me laugh most mornings, Thank goodness for my son and husband who bring a smile to my face (most of the time) and thank goodness for my friends and some of my family, you know who you are, who no matter what I know I can count on, cry to, B&M about whatever, laugh with and share life with. Thank you. You are the white blanket that shields me from all things evil, sad, scary and maddening in the world today.