Darrell is trying his hand at putting Ben to bed tonight. :)

A lot of this stuff I'll end up getting anyway because it's stuff I'm going to need. Some things I will never get, but hey, I can dream! Here's my wish list for this year:

- slippers
- nursing tanks (in red, pink, wine, and blue http://www.target.com/Gilligan-OMalley-Women%E2%80%99s-Sling-Nursing/dp/B0010WEU8K/ref=sc_qi_detailbutton )
- breast pads (Lansinoh brand)
- necklace from Tiffany's
- maternity massage
- gift cards for Target/Amazon/Barnes and Noble
- food processor ( http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html?asin=B000NO6PS4&colid=31UEMTD3G432T&coliid=IKCEKXFOPIR43&bckreg=baby )
- small crockpot
- maid service
- fancy diaper bag ( http://www.amazon.com/Skip-Hop-Studio-Diaper-Tote/dp/B001LF3X66/ref=pd_sbs_ba_38 )
- stocking holders in the shape of snow flakes (silver or chrome, 4 or 5)
- charm for my charm bracelet with Ben's name (Benjamin) and birthdate, silver
- brownies
- donations to a no-kill animal shelter
- A Christmas Story (We don't have cable, so we don't get to watch it 24/7.)
- my student loans paid off
- time to do all the things I want to do

Yeah, I just went ahead and bought 6 more of the large Fuzzi Bunz. Happy Birthday to me! I'm not even joking either. It'll be so nice not to have to change his sheets and/or clothes everyday because of PEE.

So, it seems like Ben's peeing out issues ARE being caused by too small diapers. Which means I'll probably be spending part of my birthday money buying him a few more diapers. We're going to hit a local brick and mortar and check out some one-sizes. It would make sense to buy those if we think they will work for Ben because they could work for kid #2 for a longer period as well. I'd say we need at least six more diapers.

I kind of just want to buy more of the ones we just bought because I got them for so cheap. (Fuzzi Bunz size large, brand new with insert, for $12.95.)
BGs are at least $18 new, but they are one-size. BUT they don't have snaps and I'm not sure how often Ben would decide to run around naked. Not that I care if he's naked, but I'd rather not have to clean up toddler poop and pee off the floor. Especially once kid #2 gets here. http://pinstripesandpolkadots.com/products/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=4104&idcategory=80
There are one-size Fuzzi Bunz too, but they are also running about $18 new. http://www.abbyslane.com/catalog.php?category=800

The larger sizes and one-sizes are more difficult to find used. Babies don't grow out of them in a couple months like the newborn or small sizes.

For now we'll just have to keep changing his diaper often throughout the day and save the larges for overnight and going out of the house.

ETA: Ben's definitely teething. At least one of his top canines is coming down. I assume it won't be long before the other starts. Slowest teether ever.

You know how sometimes people on your friends list post about stuff going on in their life, and all of a sudden you think "Wait a minute? Since when were they working THERE? Since when were they dating HIM/HER? Since when???" And then you wonder how you could have missed all that seemingly pretty standard information, but somehow you feel too ashamed to ask for clarification because it seems like info you should already know? It happens to all of us sometimes.

Please copy the topics below, erase my answers and put yours in their place, and then post it in your journal! Please elaborate on the questions that would benefit from elaboration. One-Word-Answers seldom help anyone out.
( My answers. )

( Terra is THREE today! )

I love Terra so much! I can't imagine our lives without her. :)

Kids' library books should come with one of those things that you press to make them beep. You know, like remote controls. Because seriously, misplaced library books suck.

Darrell's gone for the week.
I got a lot of stuff done already though. I cleaned the kitchen (except for the dishes, I might do those later.), cleaned the bathroom, got diaper laundry done, went to the store and got toilet paper...
Ben and I had spaghetti for lunch. We read some books on the couch and it's almost naptime now.
Yesterday I washed ALL of Ben's bedding AND his carseat cover.

Nesting?

( 25 week Belly Photos )

I will post the rest of the November pictures when I get a minute.

Ben's been having issues peeing out of his diapers overnight and in the mornings. Overnight we even double stuff! I decided we should try a bigger size diaper. We ordered four large Fuzzi Bunz to see if that will help the problem. I found some of the discontinued ones for $12.95, so I'm pretty happy about that! Hopefully these will hold us over, at least for overnights. If they work, maybe I'll start looking for used larges. It's more rare to find those for sale though, than smalls. Then, when kid #2 is out of the smalls, I can sell those and get more larges. I think Ben outgrew the smalls somewhere around 6 months. Ben might even be using the potty by then. (Oh man I hope so!) That'll be around September. Ben will be three years old two months after that.


Thanksgiving was really great and I've already had leftovers for breakfast AND lunch!


Ben has not nursed since my last entry. I'm assuming this is it. I'm going to wait a little longer before I make it "official" though.

I just put Ben to bed and he didn't ask to nurse.

I asked if he wanted to and he said no! But that Chacha wanted to nurse. So, I nursed Chacha for about ten minutes. :)

He really is weaning.

Things have been busy around here the last couple weeks. Darrell's been on a route that is really long and was screwed up, so he had to take extra time to sort things out. He's been working looooooooong days and besides being hard on him, it's hard on us too. Ben misses him and I miss him. He was off this weekend though and we got some stuff done and also just hung out with each other. Last weekend was Ben's birthday party, so we had people in town and little time to talk to each other.

Next week Darrell will be out of town and I'm anticipating Ben walking around the house saying, "where Daddy go?" over and over and over and over. The worst part? He's going to the middle of nowhere and cell phones don't work much. We'll have to wait for him to call us. (Which he said he's going to try to do daily.) I'm trying to plan a few things to keep us somewhat busy. Friends coming over, dinners, playdates... And of course we'll do our usual going to the library and errand running.

The week of my birthday I'll be going down to New Orleans with a couple of my friends. Amber and Monica are going to drive here and then we'll go to New Orleans from here. We're going to stay there a couple days then go over to Biloxi so I can meet Holly and hopefully her family! Monica said we can call it "The Dirty Thirty Trip." Since it's for my 30th. But then she mentioned how we're not really "dirty." Especially with me being so pregnant and Monica being straight edge. But she said it's still ok to call it that because we're going to the "dirty south." We giggled. I'm really looking forward to the trip! I've wanted to go South for a while and it'll be fun hanging out with Monica and Amber. Of course I'm worried about how Ben will react to me not being here. He's not as used to me being gone as he is to Darrell being gone. But, you know, if we don't do this trip now, we might not be able to do it for two or three more years.

Money continues to be tight and actually, keeps getting tighter. It's taking a lot of getting used to. The fact is that we're going to be pressed for money until I start working again. Because of course Darrell's truck and my car need working on at the same time. And of course we have to start paying the OB. And of course we just keep getting more bills in the mail. I'm just really glad we have a savings or we'd be really, really stuck. Maybe I will take some time this week and next week to start making bouts and corsages to try to sell on etsy. Maybe market some as for Christmas? I have some red roses left over from my wedding. It'd be really easy to make corsages that are more winter-themed.

Over the weekend Darrell brought all the baby totes in from the shed. Most of the clothes are sorted now. (I'd just thrown them in the totes as Ben outgrew them.) The smaller clothes are still a bit of a mess, but I figure once I start washing things and putting them in the dresser, I'll be able to sort better. We definitely won't need anything clothes-wise until the fall. We don't need any blankets or bibs or anything like that. Speaking of kid #2... he's seriously moving in there. And it's making me a little scared that he'll be a mover outside as well. I don't remember Ben moving as much as this kid is moving. I'm about 26 weeks today and my belly is starting to itch. New baby should be around 2lbs. Sometimes I feel like I should be bruised all over with how hard and often I get kicked and hit. My Mom reminds me that before too long he'll start getting cramped and won't be able to hit and kick as HARD.

Ben is doing really well in his new room. Right now we just have one side off his crib and he's doing great not falling out. We'll probably be getting his twin bed in January. Ben is still an amazing little guy. Learning more everyday and surprising me with how fantastic he is. I've really been enjoying our time together. I think I'm probably trying to wring the best out of our time together RIGHT NOW since in a few months it won't be just Ben and I during the day anymore. I'm nervous about bringing a new child into our daily routine and completely disrupting our dynamic. I'm sure it'll be fine eventually, but Ben is so young... I don't know how he'll react from one day to the next regarding lunch time. I really don't know how he'll react to having to share Mommy. We've been doing a lot of talking and reading about new babies. He pats my belly and we talk to the baby, but who knows how much he actually understands.

All-in-all, my life is pretty great right now.

Darrell will be out of town November 28th- December 5thish.
Ben and I would like to have visitors!

( Photos taken by the wonderfully talented Monica Z. )

It was a great weekend! Monica came on Thursday and we got to hang out a ton. It was really nice. I miss her. Mom and Barry came Friday afternoon. We took Ben swimming at their hotel after naptime, which he LOVED. Nate got here around 7ish. Satruday we had the party. It was fairly small, around a dozen people, and really calm and relaxing. Today I got to spend some time with Nate. Seriously, it was an AWESOME weekend!

I just got a jury summons.
I'm going to ask to be excused since I'm Ben's care provider. We'd have to find a babysitter for three+ days. Lame.

Had an OB appointment today. Everything's right on track.
Monica is here! We went out to dinner. Ben is in love with her.
I've barely seen Darrell all week. I'll be glad for the weekend.
My parents will be here tomorrow afternoon.
Nate will be here Saturday.

Monica took some video of Ben:


There are a few others too!

Ben is TWO today!
The number of the day on Sesame Street is TWO!
What a perfect day!

Add another family to the post before this.
A lady I went to high school with was shot and killed today, in front of her two daughters, by their father.

http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/69657307.html

http://www.wndu.com/hometop/headlines/69662507.html