Hanging in there

I've sort of been MIA lately because it's just been a crazy week. Thankfully, Aubrey seems to be feeling better. She hasn't been taking good naps though, which makes for some long days with no breaks. Her finger... oh, her finger. It was fine all day yesterday. She kept the bandaid on it, and there was no more bleeding. I was going to play Bunco last night and was so happy to finally be out of the house when David called me. He said Aubrey had ripped her bandaid off and her finger was bleeding and I needed to come home. I literally wasn't even out of the neighborhood. By the time I got home, he had gotten it to quit bleeding, and he insisted that I still go to Bunco. He knew I needed a break. It was fine again today until she pulled the bandaid off and it started bleeding AGAIN! Ughh! It didn't bleed much though, so I think it's trying to get better. It's too late for stitches now, so we're just really trying to keep bandaids on it. I put a sock over her hand and taped it on with medical tape. Haha! It makes her so mad that she can't pull the sock off, but she's having to get over it. It's for her own good :)

On a brighter note, I got to go see my dear friend Rebekkah at the hospital today. She had her baby yesterday, and he is just too sweet! I said it was a good thing I am already pregnant because I would definitely have the baby bug after seeing him :)

Maybe soon I'll have something more interesting to talk about than my child's bleeding finger. Haha.

Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Wow, was yesterday a doozy of a day! I was right when I said our week would probably start with a trip to the pediatrician. Aubrey has an ear infection in one ear (Thankfully not a bad one, so hopefully antibiotics will clear it up -- her ear infections are usually a bit stubborn.) and she is wheezing. Her throat was also red, but that's just from drainage. So we got an antibiotic, a prescription cough medicine, and we started breathing treatments. Needless to say, all these aliments don't make for the happiest little girl. It also didn't help that it was about 25 degrees and snowing when we were going to the doctor and getting our prescriptions filled. Once we got home, I settled in for a long afternoon and evening of taking care of a poor, grumpy baby.

Then I decided that I absolutely HAD to have a barbecue sandwich. Weird, because I'm not even a big BBQ fan. But it became absolutely imperative for me to have barbecue last night. David tried to stop and pick one up for me on his way home from work, but the only place we know of to get BBQ around our house was closed. I called them about 20 times hoping they would open, but no. What losers. Don't they know they should stay open at all times in case I get a craving?! I had a little meltdown, and decided that I would have to load Aubrey up and drive across town to get my food while David went to karate. I know -- Mother of the Year 2010. So, I finally got my sandwich, came home and ate it, and was just settling in when....

Aubrey cut her finger on a can. I had been feeding her some Mandarin Oranges and left the can on the table in what I thought was out of her reach (Mother of the Year again). She somehow managed to grab that can and slice open her finger. She immediately starting screaming and blood started dripping. I grabbed her and held firm pressure on it, but it would NOT quit bleeding. (By the way, I'm deathly afraid of blood.) I was trying to hold myself together and be the calm mother that I knew Aubrey needed me to be, while at the same time basically pinning her down so I could hold pressure on her finger. I love the way this kind of stuff always happens while I'm home alone.

I called my mom at karate frantic, and she gave the phone to David who was teaching karate. He couldn't just walk out in the middle of class since he was the only teacher there, but I said I was on the verge of a panic attack and needed someone to come help me. So my mom and brother rushed over. Aubrey had calmed down by the time they got here, but her finger was still bleeding. We kept holding pressure on it until David got home, and we were going to take her to the ER to get it stitched up, but we called our doctor friend first and he offered to look at it before we went to the hospital.

So, we took her over to his house, and he thought we were going to have to go to the ER after all because it was still bleeding even after an hour and a half of holding pressure on it. (Bear in mind that by this point it was after Aubrey's bedtime, she was sick, and it was freezing outside. She was SUCH a trooper though.) Thank God, our friend was finally able to get it to stop bleeding, and he wrapped it up and put a splint and a mitten on her hand. (The splint was so she wouldn't wiggle her finger.)

We got her home, and her finger had started bleeding again. I think I had a full-fledged meltdown/panic attack at that point. This was also the point where David started feeling light-headed and almost passed out because he hadn't eaten all day. Thank goodness Aubrey's finger wasn't bleeding very much, so we were able to get it to stop, and David felt better after eating something. We finally put her to bed, and I was worried sick that it was going to start bleeding again in the night and we wouldn't know it. I shouldn't have worried though. She slept awful. She couldn't breath and just couldn't sleep. We tried everything. Finally David just made a pallet outside her door and slept there so when she cried he could go in quickly and give her the paci. She ended up sleeping some, and her finger didn't start bleeding again.

I have been so worried all day today that she is going to make it bleed again. She has been picking at the bandaid, and knocking her hand on everything. It's been ok so far though!

Sorry for the length of this post, but next time I have a frustrating day, I'm going to come back and read this post. Haha. For now though, I think I need a nap.

PS - Please ignore the fact that my blog is still decorated for Christmas. That just hasn't been at the top of my list of things to do so far :)

Week in Review: Happy New Year!

You might have noticed (but probably not) that my weekly recap is a day late this week. We had a busy day yesterday. This has been a different week than usual for us because David was off and we didn't have our normal weekly activities (karate, Wednesday night church) due to the holiday. It was nice though. We were able to hang around at home more than usual and get lots done around the house.

Sunday: We went to church and Sunday School, came home, and ate chili for lunch. Aubrey took a good nap that afternoon (Praise the Lord!) so David and I took a nap also. We went back to church Sunday night, and after church we had our monthly fellowship time with snacks.

Monday: David did have to go in to work for a little while that afternoon, so Aubrey and I just hung out at home while he was gone. I did some laundry, and Aubrey took a long nap. I went to the grocery store after David got home and cooked a ham casserole for dinner. David worked on painting our guest bedroom.

Tuesday: Aubrey and I went to lunch with my friend, Rebekkah. She is a teacher, so she was still off for the holidays. She is also due to have her baby boy any day! We are so ready to meet Aubrey's future husband! (Actually, I don't know about a younger man, so maybe we'll let him marry one of our future children -- ha!) After lunch, we went over to Rebekkah's house to see the nursery, and it is precious! We ended up hanging out over there for a long time. We are so excited to have another little friend to go on playdates with since Rebekkah will soon be a stay-at-home mommy! We went home, and Aubrey took a nap. David was still painting and I helped with some cutting in in our bedroom. I cooked soup for dinner, and we just hung out at home that evening.

Wednesday: Another low-key day. David started ripping up the old carpet since we were supposed to be getting our new carpet on Friday -- yay! Aubrey and I went to Target, and then just came back home. It was cold and rainy! I was going to cook dinner again, but we had lots of leftovers from the past two nights, so we just ate those.

Thursday: I had a doctors' appointment that morning, and Aubrey stayed home with David. After I came home David and I straightened up as much as we could. (Our furniture was still piled in the middle of all the rooms without carpet until we got our new carpet.) David A. and Rebekkah came over that night to celebrate New Year's Eve with us since they still hadn't had their baby. We ate pizza and played games. It was pretty low-key, but really fun. We discovered the joys of having a two story house -- we got kind of excited during our games and were pretty much shouting, and Aubrey slept right through it! :) Unfortunately, David and I never won a game, but it was still fun :) They didn't quite stay until midnight, but we were all tired at 11:30, so we thought that was close enough. And we got to see lots of pretty fireworks right outside our window.

Friday: The carpet installer came to put in our new carpet! Hallelujah! I was so incredibly happy about that. The downside was that we had to take Aubrey's crib apart so he could do her room, so that meant a no nap day for Aubrey. To distract her from her tiredness, we went and met my mom at the mall. Aubrey loves to shop, and she was pretty good considering we were there right in the middle of naptime. After we finished shopping, we went home and I was greeted by the smell of new carpet. There is just nothing like that smell to me -- I love it! David was in a super mood when we got home thanks to the fact that Auburn had won their bowl game. Whoo! Auburn win = Happy Husband! The carpet guy was there until 6 and still didn't finish. We got takeout for dinner, put Aubrey to bed early, and rented "The Proposal." It was funny.

Saturday: The carpet guy came back that morning to finish the carpet. He guessed that he would finish around 2, but he ended up being there until 7!! He finally got it done though! My family came over to our house that afternoon to watch the Cotton Bowl in HD on our TV. I actually sat through the whole game -- that is extremely rare for me. I think this was only about the second or third time in my life that I've watched an entire football game. Haha. It was mainly because there was nothing else to do since we were having carpet installed during the game. Thankfully, Ole Miss pulled out a win, so all the main people in my life were happy about their team victories :) After the carpet guy finally finished and left, David, Aubrey, and I went to dinner. I was craving Mediterranean food, and David was sweet enough to oblige even though that kind of thing isn't his favorite. After we got home David and I spent the rest of the night putting our bedroom together. We were finally able to set up the bed -- no more sleeping on a mattress on the floor! I'm liking the way everything is coming together. Ingleside is finally starting to feel like home :) We still have LOTS of painting to do, but I'll post pics of our progress soon.

Things should return to a more "normal" schedule this week. Sadly, Aubrey has been coughing and she is starting to wheeze, so it's looking like our week may start with a trip to the doctor.

Year in Review: 2009!

What a year we've had! 2009 was definitely a good, eventful year for us! I feel like 2009 was the year where I really learned how to be a mother. I started learning in 2008, and I will continue learning for the rest of my life, but I gained so much confidence in 2009. In 2010, I will begin the process of learning how to be a mother to two :) Our live has definitely changed over the last year, but it has definitely been changed for the better. Here is a little recap of 2009 in pictures. (I know -- everyone is doing this. But I think it's a fun idea!)

In January:

We went to Huntsville -- Aubrey's first [longish] trip...

... and we tried out the exersaucer for the first time -- it was a hit!In February:

Aubrey celebrated fer first Valentine's Day...

... and we went to visit GranFran!In March:

Aubrey discovered her feet...
... and David and I left Aubrey for the first time and went on a vacation with our friends, David and Rebekkah, to Keystone, Colorado!

In April:

Aubrey celebrated her first Easter...
...and I was Matron of Honor in my cousin, Devin's wedding!
In May:

I was so blessed to celebrate my first Mother's Day...
... and my little brother graduated from high school!
In June:

Aubrey went to the pool for the first time...
... and we went to Huntsville to meet Caroline!
In July:

We celebrated the 4th with the Lancasters...
... and we went to Bonsai to celebrate all the July birthdays in my family (there are a lot)!
In August:

Aubrey got some very important phone calls...
... and David took me on a surprise date!
In September:

Aubrey turned one year old...
... and we made a trip to Austin and Dallas and jumped on Aunt Sarah's trampoline!
In October:

David turned 30, we put our house on the market, and Sarah and Joy and families came for a visit...
... and Aubrey dressed up as a Lady Bug for Halloween!
In November:

I painted at Easely Amused with Ashley and Sarah Denley...

... and we took our Christmas card picture! (Not to mention we found out we were going to have another baby!)

In December:

We moved...

...and celebrated a wonderful Christmas!

Wow! What a wonderful year 2009 was! Thank you, Lord! And welcome 2010! :)

11 week checkup

My doctors' appointment went great today! Well, besides the fact that I had to wait forever! I was sitting there in a room with a little napkin draped over my lap (gotta love that first appointment) (even though this technically isn't my first appointment) when I finally heard my doctor right outside my door. Right before she came into my room, a voice came over the speaker saying, "Dr. McMinn, you're needed NOW in room 183 for delivery!" Ughhh. But that's just how it goes when you're at an OB's office :) When she got into my room, we listened for the heartbeat. She said not to freak out if we couldn't find it -- the baby is still small, and we would just do a sonogram. Of course, I would have still freaked out though. Thankfully, she found it immediately! It was between 160-170 beats per minute. My mom is now convinced it's a girl -- haha! I was glad to hear that sweet sound. The rest of the appointment was uneventful. I go back in 4 weeks, and then 4 weeks after that is our big ultrasound! I'm already dying to know if this baby is a boy or girl.

Oh, one other thing. I am immune to the chicken pox! I didn't know if I would be since I only got 1 out of 2 doses. For now I am immune though. Good to know :)

Well, that was embarrassing.

I have a doctors' appointment tomorrow. I'll be 11 weeks, and we are going to listen to the baby's heartbeat! I had to call my OB's office today. Whenever I call for anything they always put me through to the triage nurse where I leave a message and they call me back. You literally have to leave your name, rank, and serial number on this answering machine. You have to say your name, spell your name, give your date of birth, your social security number, your phone number, and the reason for your call. It's ridic (as SD would say ;o) ) and I hate leaving messages anyway. So today I was attempting to leave a message and watch Aubrey run around everywhere at the same time. This is what my message said:

"Hey, this is Carrie Howie. C-A-R-R-I-E H-O-W-I-E. My date of birth is 11-23 and my social is [I started saying my social security number and then got distracted by something Aubrey was doing.] Oh, hold on, that's not right. Let me start over. Oh, now I can't even remember my social security number! Just a second, let me think... Oh, I can't remember what it is! I'm sorry. Please just call me back at [insert phone number].

Let me just say that I was mortified when I hung up. I have never left such a stupid sounding message in my life. If there was some way I could have deleted that message, I would have done it in a heartbeat! I really do know my social security number, but after I started to say it and got distracted, I just got flustered and couldn't remember it for the life of me until after I hung up the phone. What an idiot.

Someone returned my call quickly and she said they had all been laughing at my message because they all do the same thing. I told her I was mortified, and she said not to be because it happens to the best of us. I keep telling myself that they deal with lots of pregnant women, and hopefully they will just chalk it up to that pregnancy brain! Haha!

The dreaded temper tantrum....

I mentioned recently that Aubrey has picked up the lovely new habit of throwing fits. She has cried when she doesn't get her way for a while now, but recently she has started throwing all out temper tantrums complete with blood curdling shrieks when she wants something. The most frustrating part is that it's not even just when she wants something she can't have. She throws them when she wants something period. If we aren't giving her food fast enough she throws a fit. If she sees her sippy cup on the counter she throws a fit. These are things that I would give her anyway without a temper tantrum! A mom with older children at church told me that 12-18 months old is the hardest age in her opinion because they're old enough to know what they want but not old enough to articulate it which leads to lots of temper tantrums. Sometimes when she wants something, Aubrey will point and make a polite little noise so I know she wants it, but other times it's like she just goes into meltdown mode. I'm trying to teach her to say please, but she hasn't caught on yet. Tonight she spent the evening screaming and pulling on my legs while I cooked dinner because she wanted me to pick her up. She was throwing fits like crazy and nothing would make her happy. Then two seconds later she turned it off, and was running around blowing David and me kisses as sweet as can be. Talk about mood swings!

I just feel so overwhelmed with these temper tantrums because I have a hard time knowing how to handle them. I try not to give her what she wants until she stops screaming and "asks" nicely. But that's not always possible -- I can't withhold food from my 15 month old to teach her a lesson, right?! We pop her hand and tell her no, but usually it doesn't phase her. Sometimes I just feel like I'm not ready to actually parent a child. I can handle taking care of an infant, but disciplining a toddler?? Scary!

I need to read some good parenting books. I got David the book Shepherding a Child's Heart for Father's Day before Aubrey was born, and he liked it. I haven't read it yet. Any other recommendations for good parenting books?? Also, if anyone has any tips for how they discipline their 15 month old, please share!

As awful as the temper tantrums are, I really can't stay frustrated about them for long. As soon as Aubrey runs to me and throws her arms around my legs and gives me a kiss, my heart melts. My ears are still ringing, but my heart is full of love ;o)