No News

I live in a world where bad things don't happen.  I don't watch the news.  I don't read the paper. Us Weekly gives me all I need to know about what is happening in the world.  Weird?  Probably. Do I feel a little lost at work when discussions about the stock market start?  Yes. Do I know anything about our presidential candidates?  No.  Do I care?  Nope.  I know that makes me a little odd, but I have reasons.


Example 1 - While in Dallas for a work training, I had the local news on the hotel TV because I wasn't sure what the channels were.  In a 5 minute span, I saw 2 stories.  In one, a mother got drunk and rolled over on her 6 week old baby while sleeping and killed him.  In the other, a toddler burned her feet on a malfunctioning grate in a park so severely she will need skin grafts.  I turned off the TV.


Example 2 - While in Houston for work last night, I again had on the local news.  The first story - a single car vehicle that flipped over on a highway and killed a small child.  The second (and last) story - a mother was murdered in her apartment in front of her 2 children (ages 3 and 7).  I changed the channel.


See?  Nothing good can come from watching the news.  Sure, I might be uneducated about a lot of important information, but I can also continue living in my world where everyone is safe. {grin}


Am I totally weird?  I mean about this!

Double Movie Review

Brent and I recently watched 'Man on a Ledge', and Sunday, Allison and I went to see 'What to Expect When You're Expecting' (at our local dollar cinema).  Our original selection was 'Snow White and the Huntsman', but I think because of that hussy Kristen Steward, it was sold out.

{via}

Man on a Ledge

Plot: As a police psychologist works to talk down an ex-con who is threatening to jump from a Manhattan hotel rooftop, the biggest diamond heist ever committed is in motion... {via}

Review: Excellent!  Action from the start without being over the top.  Brent and I were going through our On Demand selections, and I mentioned seeing this discussed on Ellen and that it looked good.  Brent, per usual, was skeptical of my take on 'good'.  But we both really enjoyed it!  So a win-win for me.  Ha!


What to Expect
Plot: A look at love through the eyes of five interconnected couples experiencing the thrills and surprises of having a baby, and ultimately coming to understand the universal truth that no matter what you plan for, life doesn't always deliver what's expected.
Review: Neither Allison nor I had high expectations for this one, but we both came out having enjoyed it.  The guy stroller walking scenes were hysterical!  We both noticed that none of the actresses portraying labor had actually gone through labor in real life.  Brooklyn Decker's character is a trip - she's the woman that wears heels through her pregnancy, doesn't get fat, feels no pain in labor - essentially the myth woman, we both loved her!  Overall the movie had some super cheesy moments, but we both thought it was great.

First Dentist Visit

In line with the fact that we start speech therapy next week, I decided to get my act in gear and get Trent in to the dentist (for the FIRST time, momfail much?).  A lifelong friend (Hi Cele!!) who is an orthodontist emailed me after I posted about going to therapy and gave me her opinion about his bite (very inline with what I said) and also gave me an AMAZING recommendation for a pediatric dentist.  The dentist agreed about his bite (calling it an 'open bite') and said the best thing at his age was the speech therapy (momwin!), so I'm really excited for next week.  AND Trent did great at the appointment!  He only cried a little at the end (which is when this pregnant mama had to get in the chair with him) - let them take the xrays and clean his teeth and look around in there.  So proud!

And seriously?  Couldn't you die from this dose of cuteness?

Baby Dos Bumpdate - 18 weeks

18 weeks along!  Thought I would try one of the little survey style bumpdates I have seen online a lot.  Not sure I'll do it every time but thought it would be fun at least once.

18 weeks

How far along: 18 weeks, duh
Size of baby: Sweet potato (roughly 5.5 inches, 5 ozs.)
Gender: Unknown for 2 more weeks...and let me tell you...I didn't want to find out what this baby was (and didn't with Trent) but Brent did, and I decided to defer to the man who never has an opinion.  But not that we're 2 weeks away, I am DYING to find out!!!
Movement: Sporadic at this point.  I hate this phase where I'm not really sure if I'm feeling the baby, and then when I don't feel something for a few days I start to worry!
Sleep: Great!  My head hits the pillow and I'm out!
Symptoms: Sciatica is back, already find I move slower, get out of breath faster, some swelling has already happened (eek)
Cravings: Nothing really since the end of the nausea
What I miss: WINE
Best moment of the week: Picking Trent's big boy room bedding!!!  Semi-baby related because Baby Dos is why Trent is moving rooms.  SO EXCITED about his big boy room!
Belly-button watch:  My belly button gets weird looking really fast.  Half popped out.


I also added a comparison of my bump with Trent and Baby Dos.  I am way bigger this time around, hoping this slows down because Trent was big enough of a newborn!!

Close-up with Baby Dos!

19 weeks with Trent...I'm bigger now for sure.

Same Song...Another Verse...But Still CUTE

I thought T was starting to get tired of mowing.  I thought wrong.

2010

2011 (love that tushy)

2012 (we now always wear at least underwear outside ha)

Grow Baby Grow - 3 Years!!!

Trent's 3 year well check was this past Friday.  As usual, I had a list of items to discuss with the doctor, while Brent thought Trent was just fine. {grin}

Stats:

Height: 37 3/4" - 50-75%

Weight: 31 pounds, 2 ounces - 25-50%

The doctor commented on him having a growth spurt (he jumped height percentiles) which I like because I feel like he never eats, so I guess he is getting enough to grow!

One of the things I wanted to discuss with his pedi was him having a tongue thrust.  What's that you wonder?  Essentially it means you swallow incorrectly.  Yes, I am diagnosing Trent myself, but I think I am the right person to catch this as I also have one.  Mine was blamed on thumb sucking, but Trent came out of the womb with his tongue hanging out of his mouth.

See?  Tongue = out

I'm not super concerned about his teeth because he'll either need braces or he won't.  What I'm concerned about is he has a lisp.  Is it a lisp because he's 3 or because he talks with his tongue sticking out?  I think the latter.  

I also talked with her about our recent struggles.  She agreed it's a little early to diagnose with ADD (not sure I ever updated that I talked with his school and the education specialist has been observing him after I mentioned my doctor's visit and they feel he has good/normal concentration in class and would not say ADD...would definitely say impulsivity things to work on but not ADD...) but recommended that sensory therapy might help with his ability to settle/calm himself.  

I also happened to mention that we struggle with getting him to eat a lot of foods.  I figured it was normal toddler behavior, but she was a little surprised at some of the things I've never even been able to get him to try (almost all fruits/veggies and beans to name a few).  She thought combined with his tongue thrust he might have some texture issues.

So...point of all this?  We will be starting potential speech/sensory/occupational therapy next week.  We have an evaluation appointment set, and we'll see where it leads us.  I definitely think this is the right step to take just to have a specialist involved.

And the coolest part was literally the first search I entered into google was for a place that just moved into our town, accepts our insurance and offers all services we might need.  

I am so excited to see where this leads because I still feel we are having lots of daily struggles.  He is definitely getting better (although as I type this at 10:00 PM, Brent is putting him back in his bed...again), but I'd like to make sure we're handling all this the right way.

And, of course, I'll post about our first appointment and experience!!

Contributing...

I teased having big news today.  I got a few guesses that it would be a gender reveal.  Sorry!  Not that kind of news, check back August 8. {grin} 

However, I'm excited with my news.  I have been selected to be a regular contributor to the Austin Moms Blog!!  Ashlee is contributor who asked me to do a guest post and then asked if I'd be interested in applying as a regular.  Um, let's see...  More blogs to write, more mommies to connect with, more potential readers to my own blog?  Win, win, win!!  My first post is scheduled to go up today, so go check it out!

My Brain is Full

Do you ever have a day where you have so many things to think about that you can't think about any one thing?  I feel that way right now.  Not in an unhappy way, just a full way.

• Work is busy (not crazy), but I'm taking a lot of time off this summer (wah, right?).  But that just means I don't have enough time to do what I need to.  So I end up looking at my 'to do' list and not actually doing.
• We're thinking about some home renovations (exciting!), so I am spending a lot of time searching the internet for ideas.  I'll of course share when we firm up our plans.
• The more pregnant I get, I start to think more and more about this new baby.  I've started looking at names at the ends of movies again and in magazines, books.  Nothing to put on a 'potential' list yet...
• I'm reading a fun Nora Roberts fluff trilogy, but I stay up way too late reading it!
• Work is picking up for Brent (another exciting!) but we've had to adjust our routine, which is taking some getting used to.
• I have exciting news to share on Friday!  I'm such a tease.
• We're putting Trent to bed later right now since he's having so much trouble sleeping.  Which means less time to do anything else.
• And I spend a lot of time researching things to help him sleep naturally.  Which makes me think about all the other natural things I want to do in the future...and haven't yet done (cleaning supplies, stuff like that).  Someday, right?

See what I mean?  Brain = full. {grin}

Coolest Mom

I may not win Mom of the Year, but I can still make my little guy's day. {grin}

A Pain in the Neck Back

We went to the lake this weekend with my mom's side of the family.  My mom is 1 of 7 kids, so when we're all together (or somewhat together like this weekend), to me, the best description of our time together is insanity.  We have a blast together, but it's a bit crazy.  This trip was no different.  But that's not really what this story, er, post is about.  Trent was pitching a mini-fit about having to put on a shirt and get ready to take a nap.  {Sidebar: I took about 5 outfits for him and he wore 1.  The rest of the time?  Yup, naked.  I love my hippie boy.}  Anyway, he hadn't really gotten himself worked up yet but was heading that way, when he bucked at my efforts to put his shirt over his head.  And, whoops, fell off the bed we were sitting on.  Landed on his head (which is all I saw at first) and managed to scrape his back down my little plastic fan.  Ouch.

See?

Lots of love, snuggles, TLC, and a movie ensued.  Nap time ended up being no problem actually, funny enough.


Fast forward to the meat of this story...Sunday evening, we're back at home and need to go to the grocery store.  I would have put all the food items off on Brent for today (love you, sweets), but we needed more bandages for Trent's back.  So off to HEB we went.  Anyone who lives in ATX will know...it was storming big time.  But we had to go.  


As T sees the lights of HEB, he asks if we'll be able to get a race car cart.  Remember when I blogged about having one stolen from me?  Well, T and I both spotted a cart at the end of the parking lot and I parked next to it to grab it.  He even asked me if another family would take our cart. I promised him no one would get it.  Because no one else would be so stupid as to park at the end of the parking lot when it's been raining on and off for hours to grab a soaking wet race car cart except me.  I dry it off with the few Starbucks napkins I have (so my addiction isn't all that bad, right?) and off we go.  


While in the checkout line, the rain comes back.  POURING down.  All I can think is how am I going to get us back out to, oh you know, the BACK OF THE PARKING LOT without getting soaked.  I did remember to bring an umbrella, so I closed up my cloth bags as best as possible (and cursed myself for not using plastic this time since it would at least have been water repellent), opened the umbrella and tried to protect my first born and myself. About halfway to the car, he tells me he's cold and wants me to hold him and tries to climb up me as I'm steering us through the rain holding an umbrella.  It is at that moment that I just start to giggle.  All of this because of a tantrum over naptime.


And a story I want to remember. {grin}

16 Weeks: Baby Dos Update

Me and Baby Dos are doing just dandy.  Time is moving quickly and slowly this time around.  

I'm feeling SO much better (the pukies are gone!!), but I'm starting to feel the achiness/back pain.  That didn't start until later with Trent, but I'm realizing with a 2nd, everything starts faster.  Your bump pops out faster for sure!  I look more like I did at 20-24 weeks with Trent than 16 weeks!  

Still working out several times a week with Rhonda and hoping to keep that up through the duration.  Doing a better job of watching what I eat, but pregnancy sure does make it tempting to eat crap!  

Had my 16 week appointment today, and everything is rocking along just great.  Heart rate was 157 bpm today (was 170 at 12 weeks).  T's was always in the 140s, low 150s.

I think I am feeling Baby Dos move, at least I hope that is what it is!

20 week anatomy appointment is scheduled.  As with Trent, I don't want to find out, but Brent does.  Given he never has an opinion about anything, I try to honor him when he does.

16 week bump (don't judge the photography, my dad took)

Book Review: A Discovery of Witches

Another trilogy, Allena?  Another series about vampires and witches?  Yup!

{via}

Plot: It all begins with a lost manuscript, a reluctant witch, and 1,500-year-old vampire. Dr. Diana Bishop has a really good reason for refusing to do magic: she is a direct descendant of the first woman executed in the Salem Witch Trials, and her parents cautioned her be discreet about her talents before they were murdered, presumably for having "too much power." So it is purely by accident that Diana unlocks an enchanted long-lost manuscript (a book that all manner of supernatural creatures believe to hold the story of all origins and the secret of immortality) at the Bodleian Library at Oxford, and finds herself in a race to prevent an interspecies war. 

Review: I read other reviews that matched my sentiments exactly - this is Twilight for adults.  Don't get me wrong, I loved Twilight, but I found this book to be more mature.  Given it isn't about teenagers, that's probably a big duh!  I will admit, at first I had a hard time truly getting into the story, but after a few chapters I couldn't put it down.  Another plus was I started reading this one weeks before book #2 came out (yesterday!!), so I can't wait to get my hands on that one.  If you like Twilight or True Blood, I think you'll enjoy this!

Weekend Woes

Yes, I know it's Tuesday and I'm just now talking about the weekend.  Sue me.  We had our annual family reunion in Salado this weekend for my dad's side of the family.  I have gone every year of my life (including when my mom was 38 weeks pregnant with me) except the year Trent was born.  This year might be the last for the 3 Swope girls!  Why you ask?

• I am over sleeping in a bed this size with Brent.  But how cute are my two boys?

• Trent shoved his stuffed monkey's tail so far down his throat on Friday night that he puked on himself.  He's never thrown up in his life.  But seriously so cute, right?

• Lots of sleep battles...lots.  But cute, right?  Using their 'blowers'.

•  Brent and I fight in confined spaces, ha.  But isn't Trent's smile so precious?

• The A/C stinks at the place we stay, and it's July, in Texas.  But we're a pretty family, huh?  {Connor was NOT having his picture taken}

• Okay, so maybe it wasn't so bad.  {grin}

Currently

Current Book 
Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris...so far so good...better than the last 2 or 3!

Current Song
Payphone by Maroon 5
Too Close by Alex Clare


Current Outfit
Long gray cotton Old Navy skirt, garage sale Buckle tshirt


Current Celebrity Crush
Channing Tatum (same as last time I did Currently, ha)


Current Mood
I'm pregnant.  I'm experiencing them all!


Current Anticipation
Family reunion this weekend, the 3 boys (and Blair) will get to play together lots!


Current Film
See Celebrity Crush above.  {grin}


What's happening in your life currently?  Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Not What I Was Expecting

Trent has always been 'strong willed' and 'high spirited'.  Lately, though, it has been much more than that.  He is getting more aggressive, harder to control, and nap/bedtimes are a disaster.  I blame the sleep difficulties on him losing his night-night.  Maybe all of it.  Because he was addicted, and his night-night helped soothe him when he was upset or tired.  I finally decided things were spiraling to where Brent and I didn't know what to do (and both fully admitted and said that).

So I called my psychiatrist.  I prepared a list of things I wanted to discuss.  I went through my entire list rapid fire.  And the first words out of Dr. Maynard's mouth?  'These descriptions sound like classic ADD symptoms'.

WHAT?

I was completely not expecting to hear that.  

Trent is too young to be diagnosed, and he hasn't been evaluated, but even hearing this was a total shock to me.  I might have cried (pregnancy hormones don't help).   

We talked a lot about things to do with his outbursts and trouble sleeping.  We have phrases to use on him repeatedly about him controlling his own body.  We have some new homeopathic supplements to try to help him calm down and dietary changes to make.  3 days in and we aren't really seeing much change.  But we're not giving in.  Trent has his 3 year well-check in a few weeks, so we'll also talk to his pediatrician.

You don't want your kid to be different, even if it's minor.  You don't want your kid to have challenges.  So needless to say, it's been an interesting week!

Trent's 3rd Birthday Party

We had a great time celebrating Trent's birthday on Saturday.  After Blair's birthday, Trent informed me that he wanted a garbage truck birthday cake.  And from there, a theme was born.  Um, okay.  Not the easiest cake to try and make, but this mama was game!  I found a dump truck pan that I modified a smidge, and T gave me the garbage truck he wanted it to look like (Biffy).

Voila!  Biffy, the garbage truck birthday cake!

I was pretty darn proud of that cake.  It took me about 2 1/2 hours to decorate.  You can see below the practice cake and the few tweaks I made.  You can also see the inspiration of Biffy.  I think I came pretty close in the final product. {grin}

We also had dirt cake in a dump truck.  Super fun.  

And a delicious breakfast the next day!

I also decorated around the house with his toy trucks.  There were trucks on the mantle, end tables, food table, bar...he has A LOT of trucks!

Trent got it that it was his party and his presents.  And he had a blast opening them.  I would say 75% of what he got was some form of a truck.  He was SO happy!

Time to sing.  

Don't you love his shirt?  

We have this book, 'I Stink!' about a garbage truck, and I found the shirt!!

{Ignore my outfit, I got peed on by a 4 mo old and had to change!}

Hours to decorate, seconds to destroy and enjoy!

But with a face like that, I could care less.

We also tried a grandkid photo.  This was the best we could get.

Happy birthday, T!  We love you!!

Movie Review: MMMMMAAAAGGGIIIICCCCC MIKE!

My Sunday consisted of the usual...church, battle over naptime...and oh, you know, Magic Mike!!  

{via}

Plot (as if it needed one): A male stripper teaches a younger performer how to party, pick up women, and make easy money. {via}


Review: Well, as soon as the movie ended, a friend said 'Less plot, more stripping.'  Ha.  I think that summed it up for us though.  It was super fun, but it actually had more of a plot than we though it would.  We had a great time going, the theatre was 99.9% girls (while the entire waitstaff was male, which was hysterical) which made for a few cat calls and lots of laughing.  Overall I loved going, but it won't win any awards and I think should have tried a little less hard to be a 'real' movie.  Know what your strengths are and stick to it, ;)