working mom for a week

Well I just had my official working mom week.... My old boss and his assistant (who took over for me when I decided to stay home) were out of town all week "in training meetings". While they were away I tried my best to hold down the fort and answer emails and phone calls.... fax in applications and what not! I worked 8-4 Monday-Thursday... cause those were the days I could get a free babysitter :). JDub and I actually switched roles! He took a few days off work and stayed home with Bubba while I went in. Hopefully he enjoyed the time alone with our son more than the opportunity to take a 2 hour nap in the middle of the day...... I'm not gonna lie... it was kinda nice! It was a nice change of pace for a little bit... But by Friday I was glad to be home with my lil guy. And leaving in the morning and him crying was kinda hard..

It kinda makes me think maybe I could be a part-time working mom... like 1-2 days a week work outside the home... but then still be home most of the time with my soon to be 2 children. Obviously this won't be for a while... considering those first few months with a newborn are exhausting... or at least they were for me! And of course we'd have to get free babysitting to really make it worth it (aka grandmothers :) ) Money is so tight sometimes it would be nice to have additional money flowing in! I guess we'll see...

Monday was an insane day though... it just made me glad I don't work outside the home anymore. I use to work in the insurance business.... and it being the end of the month (when people decide to wait til the last minute to get insurance for March 1st effective) and also apparently a certain insurance company decided to increase their premiums for all members and send out a notice.... it was craziness. Most people were very nice, realizing that I couldn't help them but they had to wait until my boss got back... but others of course freaked out yelling and what not... You'd think it was the end of the world!

All in all I'd say it was a good week! JDub got to see what it was like to be me (sort-of... I mean its not like he did a whole lot of cleaning....) and when the paycheck comes in that will be nice too.

Public Restrooms

I don't enjoy using public restrooms... but sometimes it is a necessity (especially when you're prego). I think it should be a law that all public restrooms have pull handles when you enter... and push when you leave. It just makes sense right? I mean you would hope that people wash their hands after using the restroom (I know I do!) but you'd be surprised how often I see people use the facilities and then just leave! Gross!! So then I have to touch the door handle they just touched with their dirty hands?! I don't think so! Might as well have not even washed my hands at all!

Paper towels, hand dryer, pull down towel.....
Personally I prefer paper towels... I know they aren't the best for the environment... but I don't have to worry about a soggy towel... or the hand dryer taking forever or having to push the button over and over and over again until finally my hands are dry! I also like to use the paper towel to open the door if it happens to be a pull handle for a little extra protection..

I know you're probably thinking I'm some kind of germ-a-phobe! I'm no Howie Mandel.... but I do like to be clean!

Automatic flush, soap dispensor, paper towel......
I remember the first time I heard about the automatic flusher! I thought how cool is that?! I hate having to touch the flusher handle! Who knows what went on in that stall before you. But then I tried one... not only did it flush at the wrong time.... it wouldn't flush at the end when I really wanted it to!? What is up with that? as long as I can kick the handle or push it with my foot I'm good to go...
The whole soap dispensor thing seems kinda cool... but half the time I'm waving my hand around like and idiot trying to get it to sense I'm there! JDub said he was using the urinals and kept hearing  this weird sound... next thing he goes to wash his hands and there is soap all over the place b/c the thing was going off w/o people being around?! Seems like a waste...
I like the auto paper towels... they seem to work pretty well, but I dont mind working for it either!

To all you people designing bathrooms out there... think about these things before you start! I love those bathrooms that dont even have doors... just the walls that line up just right... smart! And don't even get me started on Port-o-potties.....

Valentine's Day

Honestly.... I find Valentine's Day a holiday that is kind of a load of crap...... I mean I'm a girl... so of course I love pampering, chocolates, flowers, all of those things... but is it necessary for them to declare a day when all of these things MUST happen? And everyone's all ooo what are you plans? What are you getting JDub? Well we're really cheap and don't have money to spend on frivolous things... so I wrote him a poem! Yea I know..... pretty lame.. It's not the first time I've done this. Sometimes I'll write them for his birthday... or our anniversary... just random things. I figure its more personal than buying a card someone else came up with. And I try my best to put a little bit of humor in there as well. Actually its mostly humor and I try to throw in a little appreciation or love dovey stuff.

We're not one of those PDA (public displays of affection) couples... In fact those couples kind of gross me out (you know who you are out there!). I mean what do you have to prove to everyone around that you love the one you're with? Get a room! j/k....

Well I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day anyway! Just cause I think its a silly holiday doesn't mean I don't want you to enjoy yourselves. I hope you have a special someone to spend it with... I know I have 2! (JDub and Bubba of course :) )I have a feeling it will be like any other day for me... but hopefully I won't get any judgemental looks from my husband if/when I stuff my face with chocolate! :)

And for all your enjoyment... look at this cute puppy born with a little heart shaped pattern!!!

dreamin....

Do you ever have re-occuring dreams? They say being prego can make you have some weird dreams... and that is VERY true for me. I really don't remember them after the fact though. I just know I wake up and go what?! and then try to get back to bed. But there are some dreams, or certain themes that I dream about more often than others for some reason.

I think I've figured out why this is a re-occuring dream for me... but it is still very weird! The people involved in the dream or places I am at are always changing... but the situation remains the same. I will be trying to talk and can't b/c there is a huge wad of gum stuck to the roof of my mouth. I'm constantly reaching into my mouth and pulling and pulling at the gum... stretching it and thinking I'm getting somewhere... but low and behold, I can't talk b/c the gum is still stuck. No matter how much I pull out... its never ending and I still can't talk! Usually when I wake up from this dream my mouth is very dry, and in fact my own tongue is stuck to the roof of my mouth! So that makes sense right? Its still annoying though. You'd think something would click and I'd realize I'm dreaming b/c it keeps happeneing to me?! ... but so far not so much.

Another dream I'm always having is being late for class! I haven't been in "class" in years... high school or college... but I'm still dreaming and freaking out about being late! I have my back-pack but can't find my schedule. I can't figure out where my classroom is. Or I get to a classroom and realize its the wrong one. Ususally I'm trying to walk as fast as I can or run even and am unable to. Its like everything is in slow motion..... I can only move my feet in the slowest way possible. There was a shuttle I would take in college to get to class sometimes, if that's in the dream its usually me trying to run after it and make it on time but I always miss it b/c I can't move any faster!

I know there are lots of dream books out there... or people who can tell you what your dreams really mean.. I dont know if I believe in that or just think its a load... But I do know I've talked about these dreams and I'm not the only one who has some of these themes... I wonder why?!

Do you ever have any repeated dreams?

New Yankee Workshop

Ok if you're too cheap to pay for cable like me.... you sometimes resort to watching PBS... Don't get me wrong, PBS is great. It has cartoons on during the day that Bubba enjoys (Thomas the train is kinda weird), and who doesn't like the Antique Roadshow right? The other day I was watching and some woman had a painting worth $350,000!!! I'd be selling that thing in a heartbeat and buying a new house....

Anyway, back to my point here... have you ever watched the New Yankee Workshop? This guy is insane! He can build anything.... and he makes it look so easy. I've seen him make and install kitchen cabients, a pantry, blinds, drawers, wooden floors, chairs, tables, kitchen islands and even a cutting board.

He does kind of make me want to make things myself... but at the same time he has every tool known to man! So while I'm sure it'd be great to try to make my own rocking chair... I don't have the space or real ambition. He does have help sometimes too... he hires painters, electricians, and plumbers to help with some projects. It makes me wish he was a good friend of mine. One I could get to work on things for cheap for me. I'd really like some bunk beds for Bubba's new room... too bad I can't just call good old Norm up and have him make some for me! But seriously if you can't find anything on... and you happen to come across this guy its kind of entertaining :)

why me?

As a stay-at-home mom I tend to talk to myself during the day. Well not so much talk to myself... but talk to Bubba as I'm doing mundane things... for example. "Mommy will be right back, I need to throw this in the garbage," "Where is the remote... have you seen the remote?" "Its time to brush our teeth! Come on let's go to the bathroom..." etc etc. I try to turn that off once JDub's home, cause I'm sure he doesn't like hearing every little thing I'm doing... but it can be hard.

So last night after Bubba had his bath and bottle I had to use the restroom.. Of course I had to annouce it to everyone.. "Mommy has to go potty..." as Bubba follows me into the bathroom. I do my business, flush the toilet, wash my hands and notice he's gone over to he toilet, lifted the lid, grabbed his potty seat and placed in on the other seat. I say "Now we don't play in the potty... do you have to go potty?" And he looks at me and smiles (which usually means yes). So I say "Ok, let's go potty then!" I proceed to take his sleeper off, and the diaper, and roll the onesie up so its not dangling into the toilet, place him on his potty seat and wait. I try to be encouraging and helpful and tell him this is how we use the potty when I notice he's actually peeing! In my excitement I yell to JDub... "He's actually peeing! He's using the toilet!!" and then Bubba begins to cry.... uncontrollably. NOT GOOD. I don't usually yell that much, and I was trying to tell him I wasn't yelling at him of course! I was just excited so I start clapping and saying yay... JDub comes in the bathroom with a nice "Way to go mom....." And now I'm pretty sure my son is traumatized from the experience. While I was trying to show him how happy I was that he used the potty, instead he seriously would not stop crying!

So far today he hasn't had any interest in using the potty... just in lifting the lid and putting his potty seat on and off... I hope I haven't ruined it.

p.s. don't you like that the photo I found above is a girl with pigtails?! funny...