Random Happenings

Before I let you in on all the good stuff that will be happening this weekend, let me inform you of a few things that have taken place the past few days.

I found out that my "magic" machine, is in fact, NOT magic.  I guess I jinxed myself with the last post, and Knox has NOT slept well at all the past two days.  BOO!  Up at 5:30 the past two days and only an hour long nap today!  I'm grasping for straws here, but I guess it's still his poor little teeth.  About the only thing making him feel better, besides the frequent doses of Motrin, is watching WIggles DVDs over and over again.  I know I'm a horrible mother for letting him watch so much TV, but isn't it better that I keep what sanity I have left?

Speaking of sanity, baby number two is not in the plans for the immediate future, but hopefully in the next year or so.  With this in mind, I have already planned to collect ovulation and pregnancy tests with coupons and sales, since last time we tried to get pregnant we probably spent a pretty penny on those things.  So today I got a notification that I can get $5 a $20 total sale at Rite Aid.  Rite Aid is normally my last go-to store in regards to couponing and sales.  I got on www.couponmom.com to check out the deals for this week, since they are almost up.  I saw they had EPT test on sale and there was a current coupon.  Rite Aid also had some cereal, which we have none of.  I also remembered at the last minute that I had a gift card for $10 for spending $50 there during the month of December in qualifying products.  Once there, I knew my total before taxes would be a penny short so I grabbed two individual rolls of paper towels on sale.  I had coupons for them but not with me--boo.  Anywho,  I saved $20.50 in coupons/gift card alone--and only spent $1.39--YEP!  ONE DOLLAR and THIRTY NINE CENTS!  That was for a pack of two pregnancy tests that retail at $17.99 (they don't expire until December of 2010), two boxes of Smart Start Cereal and two rolls of Bounty!!!  Yay me!

Back to Knox for a second.  I bought a pair of official hair cutting scissors from Sally's Beauty Supply so I can start cutting Knox's hair at home.  His hair has already grown a baby mullet since mid-December.  I did pretty decent for my first time cutting a toddler's hair.  Keith kept him distracted in his high chair, but he still kept turning his head to see what the heck I was doing to him.  I cut his hair at all one length from his scalp, which isn't the best option for those of you tempting the thought of the same.  Because I didn't keep his hair longer on the top, his sweet blonde-white hair sticks straight out from the crown on his head!  At least the cotton ball look is cute on one-year-olds! :)

Looking at the upcoming weekend, I'm super excited and the tiniest nervous, but for a good reason.  Tomorrow will be my first paid photography session, with me behind the lense!  I'm so excited that Mandy Hyde has decided to let me document this time in her, and her husband's life.  Mandy is about 8 months pregnant with their first baby, and I'm doing a maternity photo shoot with her.  I have so many great ideas, I just hope they transfer through the lense.  I'm heading over to her house Saturday afternoon, with a reprise visit on Sunday afternoon so her hubs can get his mug captured too!  After the photo session with Mandy, she's following me to our house for a mini-potluck with Natalie and Kaylie (and Knox).  Us girls and kids are kicking Daddy out of the house for the night, but he's not complaining.  He's going to see a silly movie I'd prefer not to see--everybody wins!  The great thing is that I get to see where Mandy lives, since it's only about 5 minutes away--a friend that lives close!  AND Knox gets to love on his girlfriend, Kaylie.  He has ALWAYS loved that girl, and think she reciprocates!  Anywho, Sunday I think we're going to get back to church after a two week hiatus with 2/3 of us having colds.

Wish me luck tomorrow!  Hopefully this can blossom into something a little more!!!

Rediscovery of the "Magic" Machine

If you've been keeping up-to-date with the last few posts, you know we've had a doozie of the past few weeks.  This was extended into the weekend with me getting a cold for my birthday (which was an absolutely fabulous one, by the way!), and quickly followed to me sharing the bug with Knox.

Not only has Knox been sick with one thing or another the past few weeks, but he hasn't been sleeping well in the mornings.  Since, oh I don't know, November or December maybe, Knox not been able to sleep past 6:30 in the morning--though 6:00 was the norm.  We do the same routine each night, and he sleeps VERY soundly until 6:00ish and we'd let him kinda whine until 6:30, when we'd either put him in bed with us or get in the bed in his room.  That's when he thought the party was starting, since he was ready to roll around with the dogs and play.  Since the beginning of 2009, the 6ish became more of a 5:30ish--YUCK!  I know most of this was due to his teeth initially (which are huge bulges in that little mouth--all four one-year molars, too!)  Of course, we all know why he hasn't been able to sleep the past few weeks.  Nap time was very similar, in that he simply DID NOT sleep for longer than an hour and a half.  And that was once a day.

During most of Knox's first year, I kept his cool-mist humidifier on constantly.  The only reason we quit using it was for me to clean (it was NASTY!), and with my urge to unplug everything, we just never refilled it.  So, I decided to give it a whirl once more, just to see if it would help baby boy.  The first attempt was two nights ago, and I woke up yesterday absolutely freaked out--and rested.  It was 6:30 before I heard the first peep, and 7:00 before he was really whining.  Was it a fluke?  Maybe, maybe not.

We haven't been to the gym since Thursday, with Knox's second rash, then our colds.  We did manage to get out for a bit to get some errands done.  Even though he slept until almost 7am, he was conked out in the car by 10am.  When we got home, I changed his diaper and turned on all of his "necessities"--sound machine, fan, heater and now humidifier.  That boy slept for 3 hours and 20 minutes, until I went in to wake him up!

I was thrilled again this A.M. when I woke up at 6:30 on my own, habit now I guess, and I was freaked out again--no peep to be heard.  Knox didn't make his first peep until 7:15!!!!!!!!  WHOOOO HOOOO!!!!  Fluke, I think NOT!  So moral to this story of the "magic" machine, is that if you have a wee little one and don't have a cool mist humidifier--GET ONE!  (Too bad I can't get endorsement deals for this little blub. ;)