Sleep Fighter!

Sleep fighter! Sleep Fighter! I sing this as I play with the Little Misters' legs. I make him kick and I say "KaChow!" He gets a kick out of it and smiles and giggles....which by the way is one of the BEST things I've ever heard in my life. He really giggles now!

Cooper is a sleep fighter. He doesn't fight sleep all the time, just his afternoon nap naps. He's got a little schedule now, which is great, but literally only works if he is with his Fallible Mommy and stays at home ALL day. Just a smidge picky. Anyway, he goes down for his 10AM ish nap pretty well. Swaddle him, turn him on his side, and set the swing to 4 and he's good to go for anywhere between 1 1/2- 2 1/4 hours. Then around noonish, he eats...then we play. Then almost always, he sleep fights. I can put him down at 1:30...sleep fight. I can put him down at 2:00...sleep fight. He will squirm and depending on his mood, he will eventually sleep or SCREAM like he's on fire. No matter what he will eventually sleep for no more than an hour usually. Rinse and repeat. He then has a late afternoon nap which I cannot break him of-where he fights off sleep for about 30-45 minutes. He doesn't usually cry, he squirms and tries sooooo hard to keep his eyes open.

Bedtime is usually between 6:15-6:45. He eats and goes to sleep with relative ease. Then he wakes up every 3-4 hours to eat and then goes right back to sleep. I am grateful that he goes right back to sleep, but I truly long for a 5 hour stretch....5 hours for both Mike and I would be heavenly.

Oh and by the way...the next person that tells me that there child didn't sleep through the night until they were 2...3....4...5...6....I'm gonna punch in the ovary. OK not really, but you get the point.

Shedding and Shoes

Over the weekend I went out with a friend. We went to see The Hunger Games along with the rest of the population....it was awesome, not as awesome as the book but hey, do you know any movie that was better than the book? Anywho, after the movie we went out to have cocktails and, in my case, one too many cocktails is two. How sad. I decided to bestow my "having a baby" wisdom on her. Poor thing!

My "having a baby" wisdom included things that I was not prepared for. Things like....if you plan on delivering the old fashioned way, you better start doing P90X to prepare for it. I was prepared for a certain region to be in pain, I was not prepared for my entire body to feel like I had been hit by a semi. Seriously, every part of my being was in pain! Why didn't Jenny McCarthy warn me? Also, I was prepped in advance for the nurses to come in a press down on my abdomen....I was not prepared for the "crime scene" that followed the pressing. EWE. The last thing I was not ready for was the shedding. My hair began falling out 12 weeks post delivery. It is now 15 weeks post semi hit and I'm losing hair like a Siberian Husky in the summer. For reals.

Now onto shoes, oh, and socks. First, why does my three month old need no skid socks? Um, he's only rolled over once, he most certainly does not need no skid socks. I'lll tell you what he does need, some socks that stay on! Hey Gerber, Carters, Target...what the frick? He kicks those off in two shakes of a lambs tail. I love seeing those little sausage toes, so I guess I can live with falling socks.

My boy is a shoeless wonder. I find no need to add a necessary step to dressing Mr. A-Loop. But, I read a many blog and I shop around A LOT and it would seem that I may be the only Mommy out there who does not put shoes on her son. He's got one pair, and the poor little guy hasn't even wore them. I was out shopping yesterday and I saw a couple with twins who couldn't be more than 6 weeks old...both of them had on shoes. They have enough time and patience to put shoes on 4 feet. I'm too busy putting wrist rattles on his leg as if he wearing an ankle monitor and sunglasses because he looks like he might be blinded on a cloudy day.

The Tragic Life and Times of Liono Baggins

Once upon a time there was were two kittens named Sunny and Daisy. They were born in March of 2000. Sunny and Daisy spent the first months of their existence in a small cage in Chicago Heights. In July 2000, they were adopted by a loving couple...who promptly changed their lame names to Liono and Cheetara. They would forever be Thundercats to all.

Liono and the Mrs. had a bond like no other. She adored the cat and he in return, adored her. Without words or actions, she always knew what he wanted. Liono was not the best kitty on the block. He enjoyed chewing cords, climbing on things he shouldn't, singeing his hair on candles, sleeping curled up in the bathroom sink, running outside whenever he had a chance, and crying incessantly and loudly for the couple to wake up in the middle of the night. Yet, she loved the cat. Mrs. and Liono cuddled together on the couch and in bed. She adorned him with affection. He was her baby.

And, then this happened....

Mrs. got pregnant. Liono KNEW something was different and in response, he became different. At first, he stopped following her around and wanting to cuddle. She would call his name and he would just glare at her. As the months progressed, he eventually came back to her; however, he began to pull his hair out and just seemed to be depressed. The vet agreed. The girl began to give him more attention and things started to get better for the kitty and the girl. He was still a bit hesitant but just couldn't pinpoint what was amiss.

And, then this happened...

The couple brought home a new creature. The newest addition was far more needy than Liono Baggins and louder too. Liono tried to be the focus...climbing on the girl as she fed the creature, pulling out more hair and leaving it throughout the house, ignoring the creature as he tried to wiggle himself onto her lap....nothing seemed to work. The girl was consumed and gave every ounce of attention to the new addition. He thought if he just waited patiently the creature would be returned to wherever it came from.

As time went on, Liono began to adjust and the girl tried to give him more attention. Slowly, things began to fall into a new normal for the kitty. And then, the girl went back to work. And, depression has set in once again. Liono Baggins seems sad once again. He is pulling out chunks of hair and leaving it throughout the house. Try as she might, it will never be the same attention as he once got. Things will never be the same.

I love my cat. I wish I could make all the changes easier on him. He turned 12 years old this month. Happy Birthday Liono Baggins. You are still loved.

Tasty Obsessions

So, throughout my pregnancy I had seriously insane acid reflux...I couldn't indulge in like any cravings. Virtually everything I ate came back up. I found that I was able to eat one thing without any problems...the best salad I ever ate. I am still ob.sess.ed with this salad. I could eat it EVERYDAY! Here it is...

My favorite. Anything else just won't do.

Red Onion...a MUST

Perfect.

Roma Tomatoes (diced)

Cucs

     

Who Knew?

No, not Craisins...

 

Perfectly seasoned

Regular shred- not fine

 

Marinade Chicken Breast in this and grill it up!

 LOVE IT! Now to balance this out. I am addicted to McDonalds Mocha Frappe's. There is absolutely nothing good about these. They are like heaven in a cup...heaven that is all sugar, all carbs, all calories, all fattening, all goodness. Do yourself a favor and stay away.

My other current tasty obsession are King Coop's feet. They are fat. They are always clapping together. They are very monkey-like. I l.o.v.e them and as it turns out...I am not alone! When Bridget brought Mr. Aloop to school on Friday, he and I took a quick stroll through the building and his feet were kissed by no less than 3 people. A calorie free option. Just stop by and enjoy!

 Today I formally introduced Cooper to Sophie the Giraffe and apparently, she tastes almost as good as his hands.

Hands down his favorite tasty obsession is his brand new Lovey, I just can't call it that. We'll just call it his Blanky.

How stinking cute is that? I bought it on Etsy. http://www.etsy.com/shop/MyRaggyObsession?ref=pr_shop_more I chose this pattern because of the black, he really likes looking at black things and the back is made of super soft turquoise minky. It has encouraged his fists of fury to open up and grab. Num, num, num....it tastes soooo good.

"You're not going to take this away are you?"

 

Perspective

Oh, the weather outside is.....GORGEOUS! It has been crazy warm here in The Bourley, upper 70's-low 80's and sunny. My kind of weather :0) So, why then are you plopped on the couch blogging? My goal today was to take Coop for a looooong walk and possibly do some shopping or at least browsing at the mall and Kohls.

Yesterday, Mike ran over the tire of the stroller. The stroller that I adore. It is broke. I cannot be fixed. :(

Chicco Keyfit travel system. I know some people hate the travel systems, but I have loved it. The stroller, while it may be a bit heavy, is so easy to open up and fold up...the carseat snaps in perfectly. It has been super convenient. I could go out and buy a stroller frame for the carseat, but we would still have to buy a stroller. Have I mentioned I love the stroller? We can buy the Chicco Keyfit stroller separately but it will no longer match and it will now be a lovely yellow or red or some cube print...ick.

When I was about to flip my lid after Mike had told me, I was talking to my co-workers, who did their best to keep me in check. One of them said, "at least Coop wasn't in the stroller"....for real, if that doesn't help put things into perspective I don't know what will.