The Compact Update

Rick is such a bad influence on me.

Surely I've mentioned how tough it is for me to not buy the Twilight New Moon DVD since I'm doing The Compact and committed to not buying anything new for the year. I first saw that it was available at Costco for $16 and passed it up like a good Compact-er should. Then I had hopes of being able to buy it in a few months once it went to the previously viewed section of the local video store. But the other day, as I was looking over our bank accounts I noticed a charge that seemed odd. I asked Rick about it and he said it was his Columbia House DVD club and he forgot to cancel this month's automatic shipment of the director's pick movie. By the time he went to select the option to refuse this month's selection, it was too late. His excuse was that he was thinking about adding more DVDs to the order and forgot. At first, I was really mad since the director's pick is always super expensive and you never get a deal on it. I started to reprimand him for being careless and wasting money since I just assumed we'd have to send it back and pay more for shipping. He quickly stopped me mid-sentence by admitting that this month's selection was the Twilight New Moon DVD. I pretended to be really upset and he pretended he'd be willing to send it back. Then I waiting patiently until it arrived in the mail and insisted on helping him open it, all the while offering to ship it back for him. He refused my offer on the basis that it would be even more expensive to return and we should just cut our losses. What a guy! I feel a tiny bit guilty, but it really wasn't my fault so I'm letting it slide this time.

The other tough part of The Compact this month was our trip to Minneapolis for my friend Cadence's wedding. You see, when I go to Minneapolis, I shop. It's what I do. They don't have sales tax on clothing and I live in Chicago where we have the highest or second highest sales tax in the nation at 10.25+%. It's beyond ridiculous here and I love a good deal so I tend to splurge whenever I'm in Minnesota. And, Cadence likes to shop so, it's our thing. Last time I went up to help her with wedding stuff, we were too busy to shop and I was good. This time, I tried to shop and even searched for a maternity resale store so that I'd be able to stay true to The Compact while filling a need for a bit more "big momma" clothes. So how did I do?

I succeeded at being good. I ended up buying one shirt that I'm not excited about but Rick says looks "cute". I was going for "hot momma" or "sexy" or "you don't even look pregnant" but instead I got "cute" and "comfortable". What do you expect? It was $6, with no sales tax, from the maternity resale store. As far as The Compact goes, I succeeded. As far as fixing the gaps in my wardrobe and making myself feel phenomenally awesome, I failed miserably.

The most painful part was following up that sad $6 shopping spree with a trip to the mall a few blocks away in which Rick was able to find two pair of dress shoes, a shoe horn, a dress shirt, matching tie, and a new suit. Seriously? He's making out like a bandit on my Compact commitment. Whatever money I've been saving by not shopping, he's been spending on updating his wardrobe. And I can't blame him. He only shops once every five year and gets a ton of wear out of his work clothes so I can't complain. Especially not when he gets 20+% off and doesn't pay sales tax. Nice. What's good for him is good for us both. It just isn't easy to sit back and watch him have all of the fun. Thankfully, my friend Jen got a few more maternity clothes back that she had loaned to her friend in Texas and they will add a much needed spark to my wardrobe for this final eight-week stretch -- and I'll admit her designer jeans do make my butt look good.

In other really-darn-lucky-me news, I was thoughtful enough to pack a back-up dress for the wedding "just in case". I don't know what made me do it but I listened to whatever it was and it turned out to be right. We drove all of the way up to Minneapolis to get into town with just enough time to check into our hotel room and change into our dress clothes for the rehearsal dinner when I realized that the original dress I had fit into just fine three weeks ago--not a maternity dress mind you--no longer fit and looked awful. I had the foresight to make sure black accessories would work with all dress options so it all turned out just fine in the end. Crisis averted. Good thing too since we didn't have any time to spare and I wasn't about to go shopping for a new dress to wear to the wedding. We later found out that I could have rented one from this maternity resale shop, but I think it would have been brown instead of black and you can just imagine the drama that would have created as I frantically searched for a pre-loved purse, shoes, sweater, and jewelry. It would not have been good at all.

Moral of the story: The Compact takes more time, more creative thinking and problem solving, a lot of supportive friends willing to lend you their stuff, a patient spouse, and a knack for planning ahead, but it is rewarding in the end knowing that you can do it.

Allergies at 2?

As parents, we worry about dietary allergies and what we are exposing our children to that could cause an alarming reaction and a scary trip to the emergency room. I’ve never really worried with Ada since neither Rick nor I have a history of allergies. I’m aware of the dangers and know to get her to the ER. I’ve heard stories of peanut allergies mostly. But it never really occurred to me that Ada might have seasonal allergies like Rick. We all had a bad cold during the Winter/Spring season transition, or I assumed it was a cold. Then Rick realized it was allergy season and our doctor suggested Zyrtec. Tree pollen has been bad all month so that could be it. Combined with a four day vacation at Grandma and Grandpas’ houses with multiple dogs and cats, makes me seriously suspect allergies as the cause.

In talking to friends about Ada’s symptoms – coughing so much she throws up clear phlegm or her latest meal, often at night or first thing in the morning, and now involving tons of snot that I’d classify as yellowish and disgusting—I’ve heard that some parents are having success with Zyrtec but it takes a few days to kick in so you have to keep them on it for awhile. Another recommendation was the addition of probiotics (like those found in Activa Yogurt) to her diet, which worked for a friend of a friend. And still another mom suggested getting children allergy tested once they are over two since that's when it is more accurate. I’m not excited about doing that until we know the Zyrtec doesn’t help and if we haven’t had any luck figuring out the causes just by observing her and taking note of what possible triggers may be.

Rick, on the other hand, is all for the allergy testing. Clearly he has never been tested, isn’t totally clear on what it entails and how painful it can be, and hasn't heard the horror stories. Or he just considers the benefits of knowing what she's allergic to more important than that trauma it will put her through. I had a friend who was tested in college and learned that she was allergic to 90% of the allergens she was tested for. I remember her showing me the red welts covering her entire back afterwards all labeled with their corresponding allergens. She was miserable for hours after the skin test. How do you explain that experience to a two-year-old? That’s where I draw the line. If Rick wants to know what the specific allergens are and the doctor recommends Ada should be tested, that’s fine. But I won’t be around when they do it unless they prove to me that it needs to be done.

In talking with other moms of kids with allergies, I am more thankful that Ada hasn’t had any food allergies so far. And I’m planning to stock up on Benedryl allergy strips to put in the car, house, diaper bag, and my purse so that I’m ready to at least buy her, or another child whom I happen to be around, enough time to get to the ER for treatment should they have a bad reaction. I’ve heard they are a lifesaver, literally. Not that I want to live in constant fear of having a kid react to an allergen on my watch, but it would give me more piece of mind since I don't cary EPI pens around in my back pocket.

Moral of the story: Watch for allergic reactions in your own children, be cautions when watching other children, and be prepared to act quickly should an allergy appear. That's the best you can do.

Day Care Drama – Good Cop, Bad Cop?

Ada seems to still be doing well at day care. Now that she isn’t crying every time we drop her off, we’ve noticed that she has picked favorites from her staff of care providers. Monica is her clear choice as Ada lights up, jumps from her stroller and runs toward her in the morning for the biggest of hugs. That makes me feel great. That isn’t something a two-year-old can fake either.

On the other hand when anyone else answers the door, Ada isn’t nearly as excited. She either quietly follows me into the building or cries the whole way if she sees her other care givers. When I asked Monica if it was a good cop, bad cop routine she just said they have different styles and the other care giver is more old school and strict. I’m a bit surprised to see that they don’t have similar styles of discipline across the board at the day care. Obviously there are many styles that work and some kids respond better to various techniques. Since Monica is headed for vacation next week, I think Rick and I need to politely pose the question of how their styles differ, how they think Ada is adjusting, and see what we can do to get Ada to like both “cops”. I’m not excited that she appears to fear or avoid one of her primary care givers. It is comforting to know she really likes the other one, but I’d be happier if we can balance that out a bit more. We’ll see how it goes.

Moral of the story: Day care is never a “set it and forget it” situation. Constant surveillance and monitoring of your child’s situation is a must and never easy.

Now I'm "Round"

This past weekend, Rick and I road tripped up to Minneapolis for the wedding of a very close friend. I'm not excited about road trips and Minneapolis is about the limit of a distance I'm willing to travel in a car without breaking up the trip and making it into something awesome. It isn't a trip I'd be excited about if we weren't able to leave Ada to be passed between, and spoiled by, both sets of grandparents.

A lot happened on the trip, but the main highlight was the epiphany that I am now round.

Bear with me and this will make sense in a moment.

Before the Friday night wedding, we needed to grab some lunch and chose a restaurant on the pedestrian street in downtown Minneapolis called Nicolette Mall. We found a nice place and they only had outdoor seating on high-top tables. Outdoor seating is always tight since sidewalk square footage is so limited and demand for the tables tends to be high when the weather is nice, which it was.

As we sat down at the table, I first had to ask Rick to come over and push my seat closer as the chair's height wasn't allowing me to wiggle anywhere. There was no way a server could have fit between me and the guy at the table behind me. We enjoyed a nice meal and watched as the servers scooted sideways through the crowded lunch goers with guacamole bowls and taco dishes held high. Yum. What a way to spend a Friday afternoon.

There was a moment when my food came that I went to roll open my black fabric napkin and ended up rolling my silverware right off the table top and onto the floor. Thankfully, a thinner, younger woman at the next table hopped down to get it for me. I'm not sure that I would have ever been able to get back up if I'd gone for them, but it didn't really matter since the silverware was soiled at that point anyway. Rick ended up giving me his and ate his tacos with his hands since mine were on flat, hard tortillas and his were soft.

After a delicious meal and good conversation, mixed with my discomfort from the constant state of heartburn that I was in for the duration of the trip, it was time to go. I hopped down from my chair and made it around the table with no problem. Then we had to shimmy sideways toward the entrance and that's when Rick pointed out what should have been obvious to me at this point: turning sideways doesn't do a damn bit of good--I'm the same width either way--side to side or protruding belly button to spine. Sad but true.

As I struggled to squeeze out of the roped off seating area, Rick and I burst into uncontrolled laughter at the thought of my belly matching my width. Thank goodness I have better bladder control at this point in the pregnancy because we couldn't stop laughing.

See if I knowingly choose to sit at outdoor high-top tables while pregnant again!

Moral of the story: There is a point in pregnancy where turning sideways or sucking it in isn't effective anymore. Just remember, it isn't permanent. This too shall pass.

Ada's Eviction Notice

This is the story of how Ada's room, as she once knew it, is gone. Over. Done with. Fini.

Poor kid.

She wasn't even bad. She didn't do anything to deserve this. Other parents at least wait until their child is crawling out of the crib, Superman-ing off the top railing and threatening to break his or her neck. Not us meanies. Nope. We just took over, picked a date, and made things happen.

Whatever. She's not a poor little kid. Don't pity her. The way I see it, she just entered the land of the free. No crib to keep her confined. She's spoiled and just got super lucky with the fact that her old crib doesn't turn into a toddler bed, whereas the new one does. In order for Baby Brother (BB) to fit into her room, she had to move to the big girl bed, and freedom. Tough life, I know.

So how is she handling it? Well... the first afternoon as we tore apart her room, she told me to kiss off when I tried to get her to take a nap. I even crawled into the toddler bed with her--while holding my breath and praying that it would hold me, BB in the belly, and 35 lbs of Ada, not to mention her 10 stuffed animals that permanently inhabit the surface of her mattress. It held, and she held firm on the no nap front too. I gave up and we kept on cleaning, reorganizing, and rearranging. But I wasn't all that surprised when 8 pm came and Ada climbed up on my chest and belly for a cuddle, and passed out within five minutes. It must be exhausting watching movies while your parents rearrange your whole room. I know it was exhausting rearranging it. And I'm thankful I don't have to put cribs together more than once or twice in my lifetime. Next time I'm just going to watch the video online instead of trying to translate the instruction manual.

The good news is, she's been good about sleeping in there at night so far. And we won't be home for her to take a nap until a week from now so we can deal with that issue later. She doesn't seem to be able to really turn her door handle quite yet either so she's still semi-contained, at least confined to her room. We'll see how long that lasts.

Free at last. Free at last. Ada Quinn is free at last.

I went in to take photos of the new set up tonight, but it's kind of a disaster zone so I'll have to wait a few more days.

Moral of the story: Some kids love their independence, others fear it. Hope for the best and try to instill an appreciation and acceptance of change in your child from day one. It pays off.

Momma Yoga

In an attempt to stay healthy and limber during my pregnancy, I've been taking prenatal yoga classes. The classes are wonderful and relaxing and all around awesome, when I can get to them. It hasn't been easy to actually get there with our hectic schedules and colds and Ada being sick and traveling, etc.

Luckily, a friend loaned me a prenatal yoga DVD so I could practice at home. Sadly, I'm 28 weeks along and finally found time this weekend to do a little yoga. The DVD is awful, but Ada (and Piggy) found a way to make it fun.

I think I got more of a workout laughing at her than I did doing the yoga. Either way, it was fun for the whole family.

Moral of the story: To make exercising more fun, find a way to include your toddler. You might not get the workout you expected, but you're likely to have a good time doing it.

Easter Bunny Flu

Not to be confused with Swine Flu or Avian Flu, Ada caught a bout of the post-Easter Bunny Flu. Just a stomach bug really, but it knocked her out for a day and made my life a lot more messy. Here she can be seen passed out on the couch with Pooh Bear as a makeshift pillow. She was so exhausted that she feel asleep watching her 2nd movie of the morning. Too bad the towel wasn't more strategically placed. I was expecting it to protect the couch for anything that may not have settled with her that morning. Instead, she drank so much juice and water to get rehydrated that her diaper leaked, a lot. Now we are on a mission to learn how to clean down feather couch cushions.

Moral of the story: When it comes to having a sick child, cover every hard-to-clean surface with a plastic barrier and then washable blankets. The trick is to prevent liquid seepage whenever possible.