It's a date

Hubby officially started leave on Monday. Since he has so much time off built up, he has to take some now before he gets promoted. Or else he'll lose it. So, he has this week and next week off before he has to go back in to out process from his current unit.

Yesterday we both took Little Man to school, which off course he was super excited about showing Dad the gym and the "Po-Po" (police) car. Like always, I had to make sure to take his jacket off first before he runs away. Then he gives us both a kiss good-bye so he can get back to playing.

Afterwards? Hubby and I had a date.

It felt like we stepped back in time three years. Just him and I out strolling where ever we wanted and taking our time. We headed to IKEA (I know - of all places) for a cinnamon roll and free coffee and tea (since it was before 10am). Of course it felt weird (only slightly) to be out alone. It's not like we haven't gone out before by ourselves while Gramma and Pop-pop were watching LMA, but this was obviously different. Not to mention the cheapest date we have ever been on!

What was really funny was when we saw an ambulance and a fire truck and turned around to look in the back seat.

We're thinking of hitting up Starbucks and Panera Bread tomorrow morning for our "date". Hopefully, if the new kid doesn't come out sooner than expected (only 9 more days), we'll be able to get three more dates in before our family of three becomes four.

Preparing Little Man A

At my 36 week check-up last week, my doctor recommended getting Little Man A a baby doll. She recommended this more as a distraction for when I have to take care of the new kid. She found with her own children, that the added "responsibility" of having a baby doll to care for helped when she needed to tend to her new baby. Just by Little Man having his own baby doll to change the diaper or feed, will help with him adjusting to getting less attention (although I'm sure that's not going to be the case with the houseful that we will have once the new kid arrives).

Let me tell you, hubby is not all too thrilled with the idea of Little Man playing with a doll. So instead of buying one ourselves, which would make it a more permanent fixture in the house, I enlisted the help of a friend with a daughter. Both of which were more than happy to help.

So yesterday, when we came home from playing at the park, we found a baby doll at our doorstep. Because it was coming from a friend, I think Little Man was even more excited about it. As soon as I took the baby doll out of the bag, he was hooked like glue.




He sat down with the baby doll, patted his head, and began to speak softly to it. He was fascinated with the fact that his toes and fingers were stuck together. He absolutely loves giving the baby doll the bottle of milk (probably more because it disappears when you tip it up and then come back magically). The only thing that bothers him about the baby doll is that its eyes close when you lay it down. Next thing I know, LMA is prying open it's eyes. I just hope he doesn't do that to his baby brother when he's asleep.

But all in all, I think it was a good suggestion and move to get a baby doll (or at least borrow one). I'm sure it'll just be a novelty item over the next few days and will quickly fade away. But let's hope this is good preparation for when baby brother comes along.

Don't worry. They're coming.

Okay, I know some of you were upset that I didn't post any pictures of my big belly with my Waddle post. Sorry about that. I had every intention of taking pics myself (which would have been a big task with the size of this belly), but of course I got distracted with something else.

So next week, with hubby being home for two weeks, I've enlisted his help with taking pics... of me.... and my belly. Although I wish I could afford a professional photographer to come out, I'm a little apprehensive about showing my belly to even my husband, much less a stranger taking pictures it.

I have a few ideas in mind already, so I'm going to show hubby pics I've found online, set up the tripod, and hope for the best. Worst case scenario, they don't turn out very well, but at least I'll have documentation of the "big belly".

So stay tuned. I promise pregnancy pics are coming (with or without the stretch marks I haven't decide yet).

Almost there

It's hard to believe that in 16 days, our family will be completely changed. Our little family of three will become four. It seems like only last week that I was sending out Valentine Day cards that stated Little Man was going to be a big brother. I'm sure the last 9 months have flown by due partly, or maybe mostly, to Little Man A.

I think the nesting phase has definitely hit me. It started last weekend when I went through all our baby clothes, reorganized them by size in their own bin, washed the 0-3 month clothes, and moved the the play yard upstairs. Good thing I received an email from Parents.com about equipment recalls because our play yard was actually part of that recall. Turns out the Simplicity play yards have collapsed on their own, killing and injuring children over the past five months. If you want to know more about this recall and others, check out Product recalls on their website. Thankfully, Burlington Coat Factory gave me no hassles returning and exchanging a recalled product from three years ago.

I do have to admit that I still have doubts/fears/anxieties about having a second child. At least I've taken care of the fact that I won't have to wait until after his due date, but Little Man and I have gotten into such a routine, I hope it's not difficult fitting in another one. I'm sure all or most mothers have the same concerns about having a second child. Why else would they say that when you have three, it's no big deal (although I'm sure some parents would beg to differ).

I think my biggest concern is how Little Man will adjust to our new addition. Will he still be able to sleep through the night and until 8am when there is a screaming baby in the house? Will he lash out at me, his dad, or even the new kid from jealousy/anger? Will his personality change with a little brother around?

The good thing is that I will not have to endure the task of caring for two children alone - at least not right away. I will have plenty of support from my husband (at least for 3 weeks before he has to go to school) and my parents (who will be moving in for the month of October). Thankfully, like I may have stated before, my father is willing to stay until Christmas time. Hopefully, this will turn out to be a very good thing, for both myself (my sanity) and Little Man A. I'm sure - I know - he'll love having Pop-pop around.

Once I get past the first 3 months, then I get to worry about doing it all on my own.

Waddle, waddle, waddle

What do you think of when you read those words? Ducks? Geese? Penguins? Not me. I think of an 8-1/2 month pregnant woman who feels like she's about to bust.

That? Would be me.

It's hard to believe that I am only 29 days away from having a second child. These last couple weeks I've been going back and forth between relief that it's almost over and pure terror for what's to come. I'm sure I would be a little more relaxed about the situation if hubby wasn't abandoning me going to school in November for 7 weeks right after the new one arrives. My parents will be here for three weeks after he arrives and hubby will be on leave, so the first couple weeks should be okay. After everyone leaves in November, I'm lucky enough to have my father stay here and help with part of the load. Hopefully, I won't drive him crazy before he leaves after Christmas time.

And just for your viewing pleasure, he's my buddha belly at 35 weeks.

You should see the stretch marks this kid is making. Actually, he's just making the ones that Little Man created even worse. And let me tell you. The creams that say they "diminish the effects of stretch marks" - don't work one bit.

And He's Off!

Yesterday was Little Man's first day of school.


Seriously? Is he really that old already? How the heck did my baby grow up so fast?

We enrolled him in a Toddler Adventure class, rather than actual "Preschool", because of his age (32 months - needed to be 3 years old by September 30) and because he's not potty trained yet.

He handled it pretty well at first.


He was the first one in the room and made a beeline for the fire truck. I was trying to capture pictures of his first day, but he was really more excited about playing. I had to ask him for a kiss before I left.

I? Was a mess. Okay, it really wasn't that bad, but I've never left him before... wait, yes I have. But that was with Gramma and Pop-pop. And I had someone to talk to when I returned to tell me exactly what he did, how he reacted, and so on and so forth. I so wanted to peek through the window for the two and a half hours just to sit and watch him. If only they had a video camera in the room so we could watch them from afar.

I kept myself busy though by getting a hair cut and visiting Starbucks for a nice, warm Chai tea since the weather was a little blah.

Turns out, he wasn't all that brave though. According to his teacher, he had an on-off day once he realized I was gone. He would go back and forth between playing, then crying, then distracted by something else, and then cry again. I had expected that much, so it didn't really bother me.

When I went back to pick him up, they had the parents wait outside and call the children out one at a time. I was the first in line and when he saw me around the door, he walked back into the room! Must not want to go home, we thought. So when the teacher called him back, he turned around, plopped himself down on the floor and began to cry. I'm not sure if it was because he was sad to leave after having so much fun or if he was upset at me for leaving him. It was probably the latter because he started asking for Daddy right away. Must have been, "You're the one that left me here, so I want to talk to Daddy!" reaction.

Once he settled down, I started asking him about what type of snack he had, what toys did he play with, did he get to ride a bike... he wouldn't stop talking.

It'll be interesting to see how he reacts to going back on Thursday - he was asking about going back before we even left the parking lot. I think the best thing we did to prepare him was to visit the classroom before school started, meet the teacher last week, and then talk about all the different things he'll be able to do in school. Hopefully, this will be a good outlet for him once the new kid arrives.

A long time coming

In November, hubby will be leaving to go to school in Georgia for 7 weeks. He can fly down if he wants to, but he'll be without transportation while there (besides public transportation, that is). They do recommend taking a vehicle if you can just because you never know if you are going to be on or off post. I'm sure there will be a handful of people who don't have vehicles and will be hitching a ride, but hubby's not one to impose on people if he can help it.

So with only one vehicle right now, we needed to start shopping around for another vehicle for me. With the deals on the 2009 vehicles since the new 2010 are coming out on the lots, dealers are desperate to get rid of their overstock. Throw Labor Day weekend sales and events, and now made it the perfect time to purchase a car.

After two and a half years of only having one vehicle (and let me tell you, there have definitely been some hard times), I finally got me a new ride!




A new, with only 13 miles on it, 2009 Hyundai Tucson. This vehicle really reminds me of my Toyota Rav4 - drives just like it and is about the same size. We made sure to take BOTH car seats (still can't believe I had to take into consideration two car seats). Little Man even seems to like it as well. When we ventured out for our Sunday ritual to IKEA this weekend, he really wanted to take Mommy's new car (we took Daddy's truck in case we bought anything big, like a new big boy bed). And the perfect part, is that it fits right within our budget, it's not too small or too short where I need to bend over to fit everyone in their car seats, and a 5-year Bumper to Bumper Warranty included to boot! Oh and don't forget an XM satellite radio built into the radio!

It'll still take some getting used to from driving Daddy's big Ford F-150, but I'm pretty sure I'll catch on fast.