On the road again.....

....that's what it feels like this week. The three of us just got back from Milwaukee last night. *Nice to see you, Karen!!* Jason is going to Eden Prairie, MN today then we're leaving on Friday AM for NYC. So that means I have to unpack, do laundry and then pack again by tomorrow night. Not a problem because I kinda like doing the domestic thing.

What I don't like is Bret teething. His two top teeth haven't poked through yet but his gums are white. He screams and whines when I feed him, he screams and whines when I change him, he screams and whines when he doesn't get his way, he screams and whines when I try to give him something to chew on. Oh my Lord, the screaming and whining. Please stop soon because I feel like I'm going to go nuts. His DR said to give him some Tylen*l, which I do, but it doesn't seem to help. He's sleeping well which is a relief. He keeps tugging at his ears and that worries me because I think he's got an ear infection. The DR said that's normal when teething because fluid is draining into his ears. Yeah, but he tugs at his ears A LOT, like all the time. He doesn't have a fever so I guess I shouldn't be too worried.

Well gotta do another load of laundry since Bret is down for a nap.

The Last Lecture

I've seen Randy Pausch's interview w/ Oprah a few months (maybe even a year) back. His view on life are inspiring and uplifting. I just finished watching his last lecture and I want to share it with anyone who hasn't watched it yet.

The Last Lecture

RIP

We missed THAT party

Talking about the baby-making party....There are a ton of pregnant people. Two of our friends are expecting in January, a cousin in February, a friend and acquaintance in March. Anyone else that we don't know about?! Some of us have been busy this summer!! LOL

I would like to start trying soon, but Jason's brother is getting married in March and I'm in the wedding. I go back and forth, to tell you the truth. I can't wait for Bret to have a sibling but I'm nervous about it and don't know why. Maybe it's the thought of more stretch marks, flabbier stomach skin, no coffee and sleepless nights that do it to me! LOL

*WARNING*

Venting -

It's been so crazy for the past few weeks....the summers always are. I feel like Jason and I have been two ships passing in the night, lately. He works all day; I'm with Bret; we eat dinner; maybe go for a walk; weekends are jam-packed with God-knows-what; we really don't do anything or go anywhere as a family (i.e. park, zoo, etc.) - Jason may beg to differ; I just feel like we're disconnected lately. We definitely have different communication styles - I evaluate everything and to Jason, things seem superficial. For example - I was told something that wasn't the greatest of news. I shared it with Jason (because he's my husband) and his response was - paraphrasing - "now I wish you wouldn't have told me; to keep my life uncomplicated." WHAT? Are you friggin' kidding me? So my analytical (and maybe not so great) response to him was, "you can't go through life being ignorant." I admit I probably could've chose something better to say. But it's been those kind of jabs that are bugging me. I was just trying to share some information about a family member, not start an argument. He says that I just "can't relax and find joy" and on numerous occasions he's told me that I am an unhappy person and that I don't want to be happy. That hurts my feelings.

I crawl, therefore I conquer

All in one day. That's how long it took Bret to figure out that if he moves his legs forward, he can get somewhere. I always thought that there would be a transition period when kids learn how to do something. Guess not. It's unbelievable how he just goes and goes and goes.....straight to where he shouldn't. First he "discovered" the dusty tower of CDs that should probably be downloaded onto the iPod then pitched; second was the rack of magazines then the subwoofer and fireplace. It's hilariously mischievious. Bret's latest epiphany is pulling himself up onto the couches and anything else with a ledge. I feel bad because I want him to explore but then I'm petrified that he'll fall and hit his face, head, etc. Can't I just put him in a bubble until he can walk?!
Top teeth are coming in soon. He's totally not into eating - it's been such a chore lately - I feel like I'm force-feeding the poor kid. Sleeping is comme ci/comme ca. He naps well during the day but he still doesn't sleep through the night. Don't know why. His 9-month wellness appointment is on the 19th so that'll be the topic of discussion w/ his DR. I don't know if I can nurse for too much longer because my supply has decreased significantly even though I drink a ton of water and Bret is still nursing 4X a day. The not-sleeping-through-the-night thing really concerns me for some reason. Other than that, he's doing great. He is turning into such a little person with a HUGE personality. He's got my temperment - impatient and demanding. LOL
In other news - not too much going on this week. Next week we're the traveling circus....We leave for Milwaukee on Sunday. Jason's got work stuff there so Bret and I are tagging along. I'm supposed to be meeting up with KCK some time so that'll be fun. We come home on Tuesday, then Jason is flying to Eden Praire, MN for an "I'm-an-important-person" dinner with his boss' boss and his boss' boss' boss. He'll be back on Wednesday and then we leave for NYC on Friday for the weekend. Have any of you flown w/ an infant? Just wondering if you have any tips. After NYC, we don't have any travel plans for the rest of the year.....except for Labor Day - we're doing the Big Mac bridge walk. I can't wait for that!

Here are some pics:









I crawled into the Exersaucer!!












Now how do I get out of here?!

Mom, this floor kinda hurts my knees :(











Note: I swear I put sunblock on Bret. Nice t-shirt tan, bud.

Survived a trip to Houghton!

We think Bret had an awesome time at Tech! I think it was because of the change in scenery. He absolutely LOVED the canal.

We drove up to Jason's parents' cabin last Wednesday with Bernie (Cousino) and Julie. Thursday AM we finished the last leg of the trip. We pulled into Ho-ton at about 2pm....got situated into the rooms and went to the Library for food. Did some Delt Sig stuff most of the weekend. CCC on Saturday - Shute's, Gay Bar, Brockway....and yes, we did have our son in a bar! LOL

We hit the typical spots in town - DT (the deck), The Ambassador, campus, and Suomi for breakfast etc. I didn't go to the Dawg for a pickled egg and am bummed about that. I can't wait 'til 70th!! Kid(s) will be older and I can party a little more. Who knows, maybe at 40 I'll feel like I'm 21 again.....Yeah right! Delt Sigs are still crazier than ever.......Especially when they think they can party like they're collegiates again.

We had a blast. Too bad the trip was so short. I've always said, after I spent a summer up there, that I'll go back for at least a week. Hopefully that'll happen soon. Houghton will always be the best place on earth for me, despite the snow. I love it there and will forever.

In other news, Bret learned how to "pre-crawl" and cut his first two teeth in the same weekend!

A 2fer - 8 Months Old & update

This week is pretty hectic so I'm going to post Bret's 8 month and some updates all in one.

I officially do not have a baby anymore (at least that's the way I feel). Bret eats three solid meals a day (nursing in between), takes 2 long naps a day (woo hoo), plays in the bath like it's his own pool and he squirms whenever I hold him :( I know I say this every month, but seriously, I can not believe how fast time flies by. He's still trying to master how to crawl. I'm really proud at how he's handling teething. His two bottom ones are poking through and he's yet to act fussy or like he's in pain. They obviously bug him because he chews on anything he can get into his mouth. He's a trooper. All of a sudden his "vocabulary" has exploded. Instead of just saying da-da, he's saying ba-ba, la-la and is trying to say ma-ma. Whenever he says ma-ma is comes out as ma-ba. It's funny to watch him play with his toys because it looks like he's having a conversation with himself.

We're leaving for Tech on Wednesday. I can not wait!! We're driving up to Jason's parents' place for the night and then driving the rest of the way on Thursday AM. That'll give Bret a break from the carseat. Bernie (Cousino) is going to reunion too with his wife, Julie, and their son, Ethan. I can't wait to see Alanna and G-IV!! The weather is supposed to be decent - the low 70's.

I found out on Friday that if I would've gone back to work, I would've lost my job. The lab is cutting 19% of their engineers which turns out to be about 7 people. I was still pretty low on the seniority list (I f-in hate unions). I would've been eligible for a month's worth of severance pay, but oh well. I can't believe how many people have 30+ years and will not retire. They're screwing the young people and don't even care. It's not my fault that some old ass cheated on his wife; she left him w/ half his pension. Or it's not my fault that you've devoted 40 years to the company in lieu of having a life outside of work (sans family and hobbies). It's not anyone's fault that you didn't save money in your 401K but your own. I've never met so many f'ed up people as I did when I worked for F*rd. Somedays I felt like I was working in a pysch ward and I was the only 'normal' one....At least that was my perception!! I feel bad for the two people that were hired into the lab ONE MONTH AGO and now they're getting let go. The union f'ing sucks.

Question for you moms - when did you start giving your kids yogurt? I need some new breakfast ideas for Bret. The fruit and cereal thing just seems so boring every day. I am starting to try Gerber oatmeal; something new to try. I started putting fruit and veggies into this net-thing that my sister bought us. Bret just basically sucks the juice out of whatever I put into it and it turns into a pile of mush. He LOVES the Graduate Puffs. I think he would eat those all day if I let him. Plus it helps him to practice the pincer grasp. He does really, really well - I shouldn't say that I'm surprised, but I am. Now if only I could keep him from putting 4 in his mouth at at time. LOL

If anyone will be in Houghton, let me know if you want to meet up for a fishbowl and pizza!! We're staying at the Northern Lights.

It's been busy!!

I can not believe that June is almost over! The first few weeks have been crazy!

We had Jason's cousin's wedding last weekend that started with a Wednesday cookout, Thursday get together, Friday golf (guys), Saturday wedding and Sunday gift-opening. The wedding was fun. My cousin came down to watch Bret since it was an adult reception. I stayed 'til about 9:30pm then went back to the hotel room. Bret did well with Chrissy; I need to leave him for a few hours more often. He needs to get used to other people. My fault, I know.

Father's day was fun. The day started off like this....LOL....So gross at the same time. Jason and I were eating lunch on the couch when I heard splashing. I asked Jason where the heck that noise was coming from. When I looked at Bret, I just busted out laughing because he was stomping his feet in it.....YUCK

Jason got his gifts early. He got some Lowes gift cards (to start working on the basement again :) ), a mousepad with a funny pic of Bret on it and an "I love my Daddy" frame for his desk. Here is a pic of three generations of Starks:


The color is a little off because of the sunlight. Otherwise, it's a cute pic.

I've been checking out a lot of books on child-rearing lately because I've allowed Bret to fall asleep nursing since he's been born. Now that he's almost 8 months old and on the home stretch of nursing, I need to 'teach' him to fall asleep on his own. This is part of the reason why he still wakes up at night (I think). Today I started feeding him more food during the day and we'll see how he is at night. I started reading the Baby Whisperer (thanks Heather!) and so far, I've been doing two no-no's: using props to put my kid to sleep (stroller rides and nursing) and I practice 'accidental parenting' which means you start a bad habit with good intentions (i.e. nursing him to sleep). So, the author basically suggests the EASY method for routines E= eat, A= activity, S= sleep and Y= you time. For the S, she recommends the Put Down/Pick Up (PDPU) method for babies who don't know how to put themselves to sleep. Basically, I put Bret into his crib and walk out of the room. When he cries, I walk in and pick him up to comfort him. Once he stops crying, I put him down in the crib again. I'm supposed to do this until he doesn't cry or falls asleep. I tried this yesterday for his PM nap and it was HELL. We went through it for 1/2 hour and he still cried. I didn't have the heart to keep him crying so I nursed him. He slept for 2.5 hours. Last night he woke up at 1am and I did nurse him. However, I did not get him out of bed when he woke up at 2:30am and then again at 5am. He fell back asleep until 7am. Woo hoo. Today, I started the EASY routine. It's sort of different but it's worth trying. I fed him lunch (solids), played with a new toy that we bought then I put him in his crib. He cried one time. When I put him in his bed the second time, he fussed a little but then started 'talking' to himself. After about 10-15 minutes he fell asleep. ALLELUIA!!!! We'll see how long he sleeps this PM. I'm excited!!

This weekend, we have two birthday parties on Saturday and two graduation parties on Sunday! We're going to be traveling fools......Plus, I think we're going to Milwaukee with Jason in the next week or two....Karen, I'll call you before we leave; maybe we can get together for dinner or something. Then it's off to Tech for the 4th. I am SUPER excited for that trip. I can not wait!

That's my fun for the past few days / week!